Tree planting saving Peruvian bird species [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Tree planting saving Peruvian bird species



A Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird. Credit: Roger Ahlman, ABC

Published: March. 7, 2012 at 7:50 PM

LIMA, March 7 (UPI) -- A tree-planting campaign in Peru may have avoided the extinction of a number of endangered bird species in and around two nature reserves, conservationists say.

More than a million new trees have been planted in Peru in the last nine years, with more than 150,000 in 2011 alone, a release from the American Bird Conservancy, which has supported the planting effort, said Wednesday.

A leading Peruvian conservation organization, Asociacion Ecosistemas Andinos, has led the campaign to plant native trees and shrubs from 21 different species in two important Andean reserves, the Abra Patricia-Alto Nieva Private Conservation Area and the Huembo Conservation Easement.

Exotic birds such as the Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird, the Long-whiskered Owlet and the Ochre-fronted Antpitta may have been spared from extinction by the habitat created in the planting program, an ABC release said Wednesday.

More:
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2012/03/07/Tree-planting-saving-Peruvian-bird-species/UPI-51031331167810/#ixzz1oV2hGbd2