DOI: 10.5061/dryad.g1jwstr43
title: Fire size and vegetation productivity shape bird diversity across burned landscapes in the Atlantic Forest

description: Fires pose an increasing threat to tropical forests worldwide. However,
 few studies have attempted to evaluate their impacts on bird communities.
 Consequently, the responses of tropical birds to this disturbance remain
 unclear. We assessed bird community composition, species richness, and
 functional diversity between unburned and burned forests across 15
 landscapes in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Additionally, we analyzed how
 these indices were influenced by native forest cover, vegetation
 productivity, fire severity, and fire size. To address these questions, we
 applied generalized linear mixed models.  While unburned and
 burned forests exhibited similar species richness and functional
 diversity, they differed significantly in bird species composition.
 Species richness was positively associated with vegetation productivity.
 Functional diversity was primarily explained by fire size, with the
 magnitude and direction of the effects varying according to the functional
 index used and the forest type.  Functional divergence showed a
 positive correlation with fire size in unburned forests and a negative
 correlation in burned forests. Functional dispersion, when considering
 communities across both forest types, was negatively correlated with fire
 size. Synthesis and applications: This study highlights how bird
 communities in the Atlantic Forest respond to fires. Our findings show
 that fire can significantly alter species composition, even when species
 richness remains unchanged. Bird community responses are further shaped by
 vegetation productivity and fire size, emphasizing the need to consider
 multiple ecological factors in post-fire conservation strategies. We
 emphasize the need for tailored fire management strategies aimed at
 reducing forest degradation and fire occurrence. Effective measures, such
 as forest restoration and the implementation of 'fire-smart
 management' practices, are essential to safeguard bird diversity.
 These results underscore the need for proactive governmental policies to
 prevent and manage fires in the Atlantic Forest, particularly in highly
 degraded landscapes.
description: # Fire size and vegetation productivity shape bird diversity across burned
 landscapes in the Atlantic Forest Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.g1jwstr43](10.5061/dryad.g1jwstr43) ## Description of the
 data and file structure Authors: Bruno F.C.B. Adorno¹⁴*, Milton C.
 Ribeiro², Erica Hasui³, Bianca Dinis³, Ederson Godoy³, Enzo
 Coletti-Manzoli¹, Pedro G. Vaz⁴, Augusto J. Piratelli⁵* This dataset
 supports the published article titled "Fire size and vegetation
 productivity shape bird diversity across burned landscapes in the Atlantic
 Forest." Detailed information regarding the objectives, study design,
 and data collection methods can be found in the published manuscript.
 **File Description** The Excel file contains three worksheets: **1.
 metadata** This sheet provides the final data used in regression analyses.
 The columns are: Landscape: ID code of the sampled landscape X, Y:
 Geographic coordinates of each sampling point Sampling_point: Code of each
 individual sampling point Land_class: Land use/cover classification code
 Forest_cover: Percentage of forest cover in the surrounding buffer
 Fire_size: Proportion of burned area in the landscape NDVI_landsat: Mean
 NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) value of forested areas
 (from Landsat imagery) Fire_severity: Mean fire severity based on dNBR
 (delta Normalized Burn Ratio) values Species_richness: Number of bird
 species observed at each sampling point Feic: Functional richness Feve:
 Functional evenness Fdiv: Functional divergence Fdis: Functional
 dispersion All functional diversity indices refer to bird communities.
 **2. community** Species presence/absence or abundance data across all
 sampling points. Each row represents a sampling point, and columns
 indicate species. **3. traits** Functional traits of bird species. The
 columns include: For_afi: Forest affinity Diet: Diet type Foraging:
 Foraging stratum Nesting: Nesting location Beak.Length: Beak length (in
 mm) Beak.Width: Beak width (in mm) Beak.Depth: Beak depth (in mm)
 Tarsus.Length: Tarsus length (in mm) Wing.Length: Wing length (in mm)
 Kipps.Distance: Kipp’s distance (indicator of wing pointedness, in mm)
 Tail.Length: Tail length (in mm) Mass: Body mass (in grams) **Contact**
 For questions or additional information, please contact the corresponding
 author: Bruno F.C.B. Adorno –
 [brunoadorno.bio@gmail.com](mailto:brunoadorno.bio@gmail.com) ### Files
 and variables #### File: Adorno_et_al_2025.xlsx **Description:**  This
 dataset contains bird community data, functional traits, and
 landscape-level environmental variables collected in burned and unburned
 forests across the Atlantic Forest. It was used to investigate how fire
 size and vegetation productivity influence taxonomic and functional bird
 diversity. The file includes three tabs: (1) metadata used for regression
 analyses, (2) species occurrence per sampling point, and (3) species
 functional traits. ## Code/software The data provided can be opened with
 any standard spreadsheet software such as **Microsoft Excel**,
 **LibreOffice Calc**, or **Google Sheets**. However, all analyses were
 conducted in **R** (version 4.3.1), a free and open-source statistical
 computing environment available at
 [https://www.r-project.org](https://www.r-project.org).