Traditional paddy field-supported bird diversity ignored by forest-focused protection of ecosystems in tropical China

Biodiversity in tropical regions is facing threats from agricultural expansion and intensification. Therefore, a promising future for local ecosystem conservation depends not only on traditional protected areas but also on well-managed agricultural landscapes. In this study, we compared the ecological traits of bird species in paddy fields outside of protected areas and natural forests within the protected areas of Xishuangbanna, southern China. There were 148 species in total, of which 98 were in forests and 55 in paddy fields. The abundance of birds in paddy fields was 176 per kilometer, which was much higher than the 60 per kilometer in forests. There were 26 law-protected species observed, half of which were found in each habitat. The main functional groups living in nature reserves are invertivores and frugivores, whereas paddy fields provide habitats for aquatic predator and granivore bird species. Our results indicate that paddy fields act as a refuge for wetland and grassland bird species when natural wetlands disappear, highlighting the urgent need to focus more on wetland protection and eco-friendly agricultural schemes at the landscape scale in future conservation policies.