One of the main questions in ecology and conservation is how organisms are governed and affected by their traits within the context of abiotic gradients. The main question of our study addresses how patch, topography, and land use influence conservation trait status (rarity and red-list index) of birds generally, and of farmland and woodland specialists specifically, in marginal forest landscape types. We sampled birds from 68 traditional fruit orchards existing as remnants of agroforestry within the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic during two consecutive years. We recorded 57 bird species, of which 31 species were forest dwellers and 16 farmland dwellers. Topographical predictors played the most significant role in influencing traits of the bird community as a whole. Farmland bird traits indicated the most balanced values, as they were significantly influenced by all studied predictor sets. Their responses nevertheless differed among the studied traits and also showed a more complex pattern because the values of interaction between some predictor categories were relatively high. Traits of woodland birds were most influenced by the patch configuration. We found that a structurally diversified marginal habitat type of traditional fruit orchards is able to promote a number of specialist species and also reveals important relationships between bird conservation traits and different predictor sets. Researchers should pay more attention to the conservation traits of birds and their interactions with environmental predictors. Furthermore, conservationists should be more attentive to the biodiversity value and sustainable management of traditional fruit orchards.

Alterations to riverine ecosystems and the establishment of new man-made habitats along rivers have been accompanied by changes in vegetation composition and structure, which affect the birds inhabiting riparian stands. We examined the differences between bird communities inhabiting the relict growth of river meanders and those inhabiting secondary plantations along the Rivers Otava and Blanice (Czech Republic). In addition, we investigated whether the well-developed oak plantations on artificial fishpond dams, which are common in the studied landscape, might compensate for the loss of bird diversity following river regulation. Breeding bird community and habitat attributes were studied on 30 fixed-width line transects and analysed using Multivariate Redundancy Analysis. Relict meanders were the most structurally diversified habitat type, with the highest species diversity and the great richness of forest birds. In contrast, secondary plantations were the simplest stands with the poorest communities inhabited by more farmland species. Fishpond dams, though resembling the meanders more so than secondary stands, were found to be insufficient compensation for river meanders in regard to avian diversity. Supporting diverse plantations of softwood tree species and widening the narrow belts along river banks are highlighted as ways of managing riparian stands that are beneficial to birds.