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South America sustains an important part of the world's terrestrial biodiversity and its population is highly urbanized. Global syntheses have revealed a paucity of urban ecological research in the region; however, local research might be overlooked due to language barriers. As a contribution to disseminating local knowledge, we conducted a synthesis of Spanish-language literature on bird species richness in the Southern Cone of South America - an area of high diversity, endemism, and more than half of the world's terrestrial biome types. In this systematic review, we identified patterns and trends in the literature, and the variables that influence bird species richness. Research has focused on national capital cities and green areas (large urban parks). Most studies covered short periods of time (1 year or less) and involved one season only (reproductive). The most studied biomes were temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands, and Mediterranean and temperate forests, and no studies were found in mountains or deserts. Bird species richness in cities from the Southern Cone was positively influenced by vegetation cover and plant and habitat diversity; whereas variables associated with urban cover and disturbance exhibited negative effects. Important gaps in knowledge include: research in small and medium size cities, in overlooked biomes (deserts, xeric shrublands, and montane grasslands and shrublands), long-term research comprising different seasons, the inclusion of green spaces other than urban parks, and interdisciplinary studies that consider environmental, social, and economic components of urban ecosystems. By filling these key knowledge gaps, researchers from South America can contribute to the development of science-based actions to preserve nature in an urbanizing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Anthropogenic disturbance alters forest structure and composition. • Forest animals may respond to local- and landscape-scale attributes. • We surveyed forest animal abundances in four forest disturbance conditions. • Canopy cover and fallen logs were the most relevant attributes at the local scale. • Forest cover and heterogeneity were the most relevant landscape attributes. Anthropogenic disturbance has dramatically degraded and reduced the extension of the temperate rainforests of southern South America, negatively affecting forest animals that depend on habitat attributes at local and landscape scales. We conducted a multi-scale assessment (from 1 to 4000 m) to understand better how local and landscape attributes influence forest animal abundance in an anthropogenic disturbance gradient. We selected five forest-dependent animal species to assess the effects of habitat alteration: an arboreal marsupial (Dromiciops gliroides) and four forest birds (Pteroptochos tarnii , Scytalopus magellanicus , Scelorchilus rubecula , and Sylviorthorhynchus desmursii). We recorded forest animal abundances in four different habitat types (old-growth native, secondary, and logged native forests and forestry plantations). We measured local attributes in the field and characterized landscape attributes remotely. We evaluated marsupial abundance using camera traps and forest bird abundance using point counts, which were analyzed with Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Locally, canopy cover positively predicted marsupial abundance, while the number of fallen logs positively predicted bird abundance. At the landscape scale, native forest cover positively affected marsupial abundance, with significant effects at all levels. Conversely, plantation cover negatively affected forest bird abundance, while landscape heterogeneity negatively affected both groups. Our results showed that the abundance of the forest animals assessed here depends on multi-scale determinants. At the local scale, we advise greater canopy cover and maintaining woody debris. On the landscape scale, maintaining native forest cover should prioritize biodiversity management in the southern South America temperate forests. It is also crucial to control the expansion of forest plantations and reduce forest fragmentation to guarantee the persistence of forest-dependent species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]