Sub-habitat structure preferences between built environments and regenerated forests in Lusaka National Park with respect to bird species diversity, richness, and relative abundance

Forests play a crucial role in maintaining terrestrial ecological diversity. In this study, two distinct forest types—built environments (Forest Reserve 27) and regenerated forests (Lusaka National Park)—in Lusaka, Zambia, are compared with respect to their bird species diversity and concentration. Predicting the bird species' preferred sub-habitat structure is another objective of this study. To evaluate species richness and species diversity, two ecological indicator indices were employed: The Simpson's Diversity Index (D) and the Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H'). Eight days in all, four days at each site, were dedicated to gathering data. To acquire data, an analytical experimental strategy utilizing transect formulation, geo-referencing, and mapping in a naturalistic observational study.

In addition, the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list categories were examined, order categorization, diet, habitat type, and migration status.  Forest 27 and Lusaka National Park yielded a total of 241 individual bird sightings. These totaled 79 observations, of which 35 (at 95% confidence interval 33.6-45.6%) came from Forest 27 and 44 (55.7%) from Lusaka National Park (95% confidence interval 44.4 – 66.4%). The species richness and species diversity of Lusaka National Park were measured at H' = 3.5 and D = 28.5, respectively, whereas Forest 27 saw H' = 3.2 and D = 23.1 for species richness and diversity, respectively. Although they highlight different facets, Simpson's and Shannon-Wiener diversity indices both quantify biodiversity.  While Shannon-Wiener takes into account both richness and evenness, with higher values suggesting higher diversity, Simpson's concentrates on dominance, with higher values indicating lower diversity. It was concluded that a variety of variables, including climate, fragmentation, noise pollution, affecting Forest 27 are probably responsible for Lusaka National Park's greater species richness and diversity.

This covers government policies on the forest reserve: 1. Sustainable use – Utilization of forest resources in a sustainable manner must be the focus as well as balancing wood extraction with the preservation of ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. 2. Biodiversity Protection- forest reserves are designed for the safeguard of threatened species and important ecosystems. In regards to forest reserves and protected areas, policy re-evaluation would be advised. Conservation strategies should focus on a variety of ground-nesting, canopy nesting and insectivorous bird species that are negatively impacted by logging. Conducting another assessment a few years from now would be recommended to further conclude whether Lusaka National Park would still compete or hold a higher amount of diversity and abundance compared to forest 27or other forest reserves in the Lusaka area.