How do forest structure and composition near trees with black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius L.) cavities differ from the surrounding forest? A multisite approach in French forests

Key message

In French temperate lowland and mountain forests, the black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius L.) excavates preferably trees in beech-dominated sites, with a lower fraction of small-diameter trees than in the surrounding areas, while the presence of deadwood in the immediate vicinity does not matter.

Keywords
Nest site; Tree cavities; Tree-related microhabitats; Conservation; Forest management

Publication
Breton, V., Guignot, ME., Vincenot, L. et al. How do forest structure and composition near trees with black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius L.) cavities differ from the surrounding forest? A multisite approach in French forests. Annals of Forest Science 82, 39 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-025-01313-7

Data availability
The dataset can be accessed through the Recherche Data Gouv multidisciplinary repository https://recherche.data.gouv.fr/fr (DOI: https://doi.org/10.57745/JCEOEA).

Handling editor
Andreas Bolte