Background:Theglobaldecreaseinwildlifepopulations,especiallybirds,ismainlyduetolandusechangeandincreasingintensityoflanduse(ParmesanandYohe2003).However,impactsofmanagementtoolstomitigatebiopersitylossatregionalandglobalscalesarelessapparentinforestregionsthathaveaconstantforestarea,andwhichdidnotsufferfromhabitatdegradation,andwhereforestsaresustainablymanaged,suchasinCentralEuropeorthenortheasternUSA.AbiopersityassessmentforGermanysuggested,forexample,thatbirdpopulationswereconstant(BundesamtfürNaturschutz2015).Results:Thisstudyshowsthatchangesintheenvironmentandinforestmanagementoverthepast45yearshavehadasignificant,positiveeffectontheabundanceofnon-migratoryforestbirdspeciesinCentralEurope.Economy(timberpricesandGDP),forestmanagement(timberharvestandmixedforestarea),andenvironmentalfactors(atmosphericCO2concentrationandnitrogendeposition)wereinvestigatedtogetherwithchangesinabundancesofmigratoryandnon-migratoryforestbirdsusingpartialleastsquarespathmodeling.Climatechange,resultinginlongerseasonsandmilderwinters,andforestmanagement,promotingtreepersity,weresignificantlypositivelyrelatedtotheabundanceofnon-migratoryforestbirdsandexplained92%ofthevariationintheirabundanceinEurope.Regionally-migratingforestbirdshadstablepopulationswithlargevariation,whilebirdsmigratingacrosscontinentsdeclinedinrecentdecades,suggestingsignificant,contrastingchangesinbirdpopulationsinEurope.InnortheasternNorthAmericawealsofoundevidencethatnon-migratoryforestshaveexperiencedlong-termincreasesinabundance,andthisincreasewasrelatedtomanagement.TheincreaseofpopulationsofnonmigratoryforestbirdsinEuropeandNorthAmericaisassociatedwithanincreaseinstructuralpersityanddisturbancesatthelandscapelevel.Conclusions:Ourresultssuggestthatreportsaboutbirddecline
