Protecting Quebec’s Birds in the Face of Climate Change
- Natasha Dudek
- Mar 20
- 4 min read
Birds are crucial to maintaining healthy ecosystems. They help regulate insect populations, disperse seeds, aerate soils, and support nutrient cycling. Climate change is already impacting Quebec’s boreal forests, raising concerns about how these changes will affect the forest and its wildlife. What can be done to protect our local bird species? A recent study conducted by researchers from Université du Québec à Montréal, the Canadian Forest Service, the University of Alberta, and Environment and Climate Change Canada examines how bird populations and their habitats may shift due to climate change and forest management practices.
The Impact of Climate Change on Bird Populations
To understand how Quebec’s bird populations may change, Labadie and colleagues (2025) used bird survey data from 1996 to 2022 to predict shifts in populations until 2100. They considered factors such as changes in tree types and structure, logging, wildfires, and pest outbreaks. By grouping birds based on their habitat preferences, the researchers identified broader trends and how forest management and climate change could influence bird numbers across different regions.
The study revealed that by 2100, climate change will cause shifts in bird populations, distributions, and habitats, with some species facing significant declines. On average, 15% of bird species may see population decreases, and 3% could lose more than 25% of their core habitats. In the most extreme cases, species like the Golden-crowned Kinglet and the Cape May Warbler are projected to experience a >70% decline in abundance and lose around 50% of their core habitat. Overall, species in the colder northern boreal forests are expected to be especially affected, while birds in warmer, human-influenced areas are more likely to thrive, as they tend to be more generalist species that are less reliant on specific natural habitats.
How Climate Change and Forest Management Practices Drive Forest Changes
Climate change is altering forest composition and structure through factors like rising temperatures, increased drought, and more frequent wildfires. In fact, Labadie et al (2025) predict that increasing wildfire frequency will be the main driver of changes in the abundance of bird populations. These shift forest composition and structure, favoring younger forests with more deciduous trees and reducing the amount of old-growth forest. This leads to habitat loss and reduced food availability for many species of birds.
These changes may be exacerbated by current forest management practices. For example, even-aged management, which involves harvesting all trees in a given area at the same time, contributes to promoting younger stands over older forests, accelerating habitat loss for many species. There is also a vicious cycle in play, where climate change increases wildfire frequency, which makes stands younger, and those younger forests are more likely to catch fire again in the future, preventing the regeneration of old-growth forests.
Shifting Forest Management Practices to Protect Bird Species
Labadie et al. (2025) found that, in the short term, forest management practices have the most significant impact on the health of bird populations in Quebec. However, as climate change intensifies, its effects will become the primary drivers of change. Nevertheless, the way we manage forests in the interim can enhance their resilience to climate change and help mitigate some of the most severe potential consequences.
Forest management practices like clear-cutting and short rotation cycles play a crucial role in forest conditions that affect bird populations, for example by promoting younger forest. While these practices may benefit timber production, they also reduce biodiversity and forest resilience, making it harder for bird species to thrive, especially in the face of increasing wildfires. Shifting towards more ecosystem-oriented forest management strategies, such as longer rotation cycles, mixed-species planting, and retention harvesting, could help support biodiversity and improve forest resilience. Longer rotation cycles involve allowing trees to grow for a longer period before being harvested, which helps forests develop into mature ecosystems that provide better habitats for wildlife. Mixed-species planting introduces a variety of tree species, creating more diverse habitats and improving the forest’s resilience to pests, diseases, and climate change. Retention harvesting leaves some trees standing after logging, preserving important parts of the forest that support wildlife and maintain ecological functions like nutrient cycling and soil protection. Together, these practices can create healthier, more adaptable forests, supporting bird populations and other wildlife while enhancing the forest's ability to withstand the challenges posed by climate change. These practices could also enhance carbon storage, helping to mitigate climate change itself.
Looking Ahead: Proactive Conservation for Quebec’s Boreal Forests
To protect birds in Quebec’s boreal forests, proactive conservation strategies are essential. Labadie et al. (2025) emphasize the need for ecosystem-friendly practices like longer tree rotation cycles, planting diverse tree species, and leaving some trees behind during logging to maintain habitat diversity. These strategies not only support bird populations but also enhance forest resilience to climate change.
As climate change intensifies, short-term management efforts will become less effective, requiring a long-term, adaptive approach that accounts for shifting species distributions and increasing wildfires. Selective logging, preserving climate refugia, and habitat restoration will be key to safeguarding Quebec’s forests and bird species.
By adjusting forest management practices and focusing on long-term conservation, we can do our best to support bird populations as they face ongoing challenges.
