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1.
Salvage logging after natural disturbance has received increased scrutiny in recent years because of concerns over detrimental effects on tree regeneration and increased fine fuel levels. Most research on tree regeneration after salvage logging comes from fire-prone systems and is short-term in scope. Limited information is available on longer term responses to salvage logging after windstorms or from forests outside of fire-prone regions. We examined tree and shrub regeneration after a stand-replacing windstorm, with and without salvage logging and prescribed fire. Our study takes place in northern Minnesota, USA, a region where salvage logging impacts have received little attention. We asked the following questions: (i) does composition and abundance of woody species differ among post-disturbance treatments, including no salvage, salvage alone, and salvage with prescribed burning, 12 years after the windstorm?; (ii) is regeneration of Populus, the dominant pre-blowdown species, inhibited in unsalvaged treatments?; and (iii) how do early successional trajectories differ among post-blowdown treatments? Twelve years after the wind disturbance, the unsalvaged forest had distinctly different composition and abundance of trees and woody shrubs compared to the two salvage treatments, despite experiencing similar wind disturbance severities and having similar composition immediately after the blowdown. Unsalvaged forest had greater abundance of shade tolerant hardwoods and lower abundance of Populus, woody shrubs, and Betulapapyrifera, compared to salvage treatments. There was some evidence that adding prescribed fire after the blowdown and salvage logging further increased disturbance severity, since the highest abundances of shrubs and early successional tree species occurred in the burning treatment. These results suggest that salvage treatments (or a lack thereof) can be used to direct compositional development of a post-blowdown forest along different trajectories, specifically, towards initial dominance by early successional Populus and B.papyrifera with salvage logging or towards early dominance by shade tolerant hardwoods, with some Populus, if left unsalvaged.  相似文献   

2.
Large wildfire events in coniferous forests of the western United States are often followed by postfire timber harvest. The long-term impacts of postfire timber harvest on fire-associated cavity-nesting bird species are not well documented. We studied nest-site selection by cavity-nesting birds over a 10-year period (1994–2003), representing 1–11 years after fire, on two burns created by mixed severity wildfires in western Idaho, USA. One burn was partially salvaged logged (the Foothills burn), the other was primarily unlogged (the Star Gulch burn). We monitored 1367 nests of six species (Lewis’s Woodpecker Melanerpes lewis, Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus, Black-backed Woodpecker P. arcticus, Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus, Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana, and Mountain Bluebird S. currucoides). Habitat data at nest and non-nest random locations were characterized at fine (field collected) and coarse (remotely sensed) spatial scales. Nest-site selection for most species was consistently associated with higher snag densities and larger snag diameters, whereas wildfire location (Foothills versus Star Gulch) was secondarily important. All woodpecker species used nest sites with larger diameter snags that were surrounded by higher densities of snags than at non-nest locations. Nests of Hairy Woodpecker and Mountain Bluebird were primarily associated with the unlogged wildfire, whereas nests of Lewis’s Woodpecker and Western Bluebird were associated with the partially logged burn in the early years after fire. Nests of wood-probing species (Hairy and Black-backed Woodpeckers) were also located in larger forest patch areas than patches measured at non-nest locations. Our results confirm previous findings that maintaining clumps of large snags in postfire landscapes is necessary for maintaining breeding habitat of cavity-nesting birds. Additionally, appropriately managed salvage logging can create habitat for some species of cavity-nesting birds that prefer more open environments. Our findings can be used by land mangers to develop design criteria for postfire salvage logging that will reserve breeding habitat for cavity-nesting birds.  相似文献   

3.
Vegetation and birds were inventoried on the same plot before and after a severe windstorm in 1999 disturbed a mature black spruce (Picea mariana)–jack pine (Pinus banksiana) forest in northern Minnesota. Following the storm, another plot was established in an adjacent portion of the forest that was salvage-logged. Birds were inventoried on both plots through 2002. The original unsalvaged plot was prescribed-burned in 2004, but vegetation was surveyed through 2003, and through 2005 on the salvaged plot. We examined the effects of wind disturbance by comparing the pre-storm bird and vegetation communities with those developing afterwards through 2002 and 2003, respectively, and the effects of salvage logging by comparing vegetation and the bird community on the unsalvaged plot with those in the salvaged area. Wind reduced the canopy of the forest by over 90% with a temporary increase in the shrub layer, mostly resulting from tip-ups. Several plant species, including jack pine and beaked hazel (Corylus americana), appeared temporarily in the ground layer (<1 m height), but did not persist through 2003. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) root sprouts were abundant in 2001, but decreased dramatically by 2003. Delayed mortality of tipped trees resulted in reduction of the shrub layer to pre-storm levels, and release of advanced regeneration black spruce and balsam fir (Abies balsamea). Bird species using the forest changed from dominance by canopy-foraging species to ground-brush foraging species, with an overall increase in bird diversity. Salvage logging resulted in significant reduction in coarse woody debris, and successful recruitment of jack pine seedlings. Quaking aspen sprouts were nearly 30 times more abundant in the salvage-logged area compared to the unsalvaged control. Ruderal species, especially red raspberry (Rubus ideaus), fringed bindweed (Polygonum cilinode), and several sedges (Carex spp.), were significantly more abundant after salvage logging. The bird community, on the other hand, was greatly diminished by salvage logging, with a reduction in diversity, density, and overall richness of species.  相似文献   

4.
Areas of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks in the Black Hills can provide habitat for black-backed woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus), a U.S. Forest Service, Region 2 Sensitive Species. These outbreaks are managed through removal of trees infested with mountain pine beetles to control mountain pine beetle populations and salvage timber resources. To minimize impacts to black-backed woodpeckers while meeting management objectives, there is a need to identify characteristics of these areas that support black-backed woodpeckers. We examined the habitat associations of this species nesting in areas of beetle outbreaks in the Black Hills, South Dakota in 2004 and 2005. We used an information theoretic approach and discrete choice models to evaluate nest-site selection of 42 woodpecker nests at 3 spatial scales—territory, nest area, and nest tree. At the territory scale (250 m around nest), availability and distribution of food best explained black-backed woodpecker selection of beetle outbreaks versus the surrounding forest. Selection at the territory scale was positively associated with densities of trees currently infested by mountain pine beetles and indices of wood borer (Cerambycidae and Buprestidae) abundance, and was greatest at distances of 50–100 m from the nearest patch of infestation. At the nest-area scale (12.5 m radius around the nest), densities of snags positively influenced nest-area selection. Finally, at the nest-tree scale, aspen (Populus tremuloides) and 3–5-year-old ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) snags were important resources. The association between abundant wood-boring insects and black-backed woodpeckers creates a difficult challenge for forest managers. In the absence of fire, areas of beetle outbreak might serve as the only substantial source of habitat in the Black Hills. Regulating insect populations via salvage logging will reduce key food resources to black-backed woodpeckers during nesting. Therefore, given the relatively infrequent occurrence of large-scale fire in the Black Hills, management should recognize the importance of beetle-killed forests to the long-term viability of the black-backed woodpecker population in the Black Hills.  相似文献   

5.
Woodpeckers (family Picidae) merit specific monitoring and management efforts, both as keystone/facilitator species and as indicators of forest condition. Recent studies indicated that species richness of woodpeckers was correlated with richness of all forest birds, thus suggesting potential exists for management practices that can address needs of woodpeckers in particular and other forest birds in general. We used data from a long-term study (1995–2008) from forest sites in the interior of British Columbia to evaluate how abundances of seven woodpecker species varied with habitat variables previously identified as associated with forest bird richness. We found that tree species richness had either a neutral or positive effect on the abundance of all woodpecker species, whereas abundances of most woodpecker species tended to be lower in stands with high densities of lodgepole pine. Abundances of most woodpecker species were positively correlated with density of beetle-killed pines. Relative to control sites, higher densities of most woodpecker species were found at harvested sites where most trembling aspen and large Douglas-fir trees had been retained. Therefore, management strategies that favour a mixture of tree species, with particular attention to retention of aspen, should safeguard populations of most woodpecker species. Abundances of individual woodpecker species were weakly but positively inter-correlated before the beetle outbreak, and less so during and post-outbreak. It thus appears that no strong trade-offs exist among woodpecker species. These results, combined with previously identified positive correlations between woodpecker and forest bird richness, indicate woodpeckers can be managed as a suite for the purpose of managing avian biodiversity as a whole.  相似文献   

6.
The role of disturbance in structuring vegetation is widely recognized; however, we are only beginning to understand the effects of multiple interacting disturbances on ecosystem recovery and development. Of particular interest is the impact of post-disturbance management interventions, particularly in light of the global controversy surrounding the effects of salvage logging on forest ecosystem recovery. Studies of salvage logging impacts have focused on the effects of post-disturbance salvage logging within the context of a single natural disturbance event. There have been no formal evaluations of how these effects may differ when followed in short sequence by a second, high severity natural disturbance. To evaluate the impact of this management practice within the context of multiple disturbances, we examined the structural and woody plant community responses of sub-boreal Pinus banksiana systems to a rapid sequence of disturbances. Specifically, we compared responses to Blowdown (B), Fire (F), Blowdown-Fire, and Blowdown-Salvage-Fire (BSF) and compared these to undisturbed control (C) stands. Comparisons between BF and BSF indicated that the primary effect of salvage logging was a decrease in the abundance of structural legacies, such as downed woody debris and snags. Both of these compound disturbance sequences (BF and BSF), resulted in similar woody plant communities, largely dominated by Populus tremuloides; however, there was greater homogeneity in community composition in salvage logged areas. Areas experiencing solely fire (F stands) were dominated by P. banksiana regeneration, and blowdown areas (B stands) were largely characterized by regeneration from shade tolerant conifer species. Our results suggest that salvage logging impacts on woody plant communities are diminished when followed by a second high severity disturbance; however, impacts on structural legacies persist. Provisions for the retention of snags, downed logs, and surviving trees as part of salvage logging operations will minimize these structural impacts and may allow for greater ecosystem recovery following these disturbance combinations.  相似文献   

7.
Although the initial response to salvage (also known as, post-disturbance or sanitary) logging is known to vary among system components, little is known about longer term forest recovery. We examine forest overstory, understory, soil, and microtopographic response 25 years after a 1977 severe wind disturbance on the Flambeau River State Forest in Wisconsin, USA, a portion of which was salvage logged. Within this former old-growth hemlock-northern hardwoods forest, tree dominance has shifted from Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) to broad-leaf deciduous species (Ulmus americana, Acer saccharum, Tilia americana, Populus tremuloides, and Betula alleghaniensis) in both the salvaged and unsalvaged areas. While the biological legacies of pre-disturbance seedlings, saplings, and mature trees were initially more abundant in the unsalvaged area, regeneration through root suckers and stump sprouts was common in both areas. After 25 years, tree basal area, sapling density, shrub layer density, and seedling cover had converged between unsalvaged and salvaged areas. In contrast, understory herb communities differed between salvaged and unsalvaged forest, with salvaged forest containing significantly higher understory herb richness and cover, and greater dominance of species benefiting from disturbance, especially Solidago species. Soil bulk density, pH, organic carbon content, and organic nitrogen content were also significantly higher in the salvaged area. The structural legacy of tip-up microtopography remains more pronounced in the unsalvaged area, with significantly taller tip-up mounds and deeper pits. Mosses and some forest herbs, including Athyrium filix-femina and Hydrophyllum virginianum, showed strong positive responses to this tip-up microrelief, highlighting the importance of these structural legacies for understory biodiversity. In sum, although the pathways of recovery differed, this forest appeared to be as resilient to the compound disturbances of windthrow plus salvage logging as to wind disturbance alone, by most vegetative measures.  相似文献   

8.
Snags are critical structural features for managing biological diversity in forests of the Pacific Northwest, USA. However, commercial forests in this region often contain reduced numbers of snags compared to unmanaged forests and managers require effective methods to augment snag numbers in harvest units. Therefore, we created snags by topping live trees with a mechanical harvester and studied foraging and nesting use by cavity-nesting birds of these snags in clearcuts in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga mensezii) forests along the west slope of the Cascade Mountain Range and east slope of the Coast Range in Oregon, USA. We used a completely randomized design to assign 6 different treatments (single or scattered distribution by 3 different densities) to 31 different harvest units. We created 1111 snags from February 1997 through April 1999 and monitored them from 2–5 years after harvest (1999–2002). Fraction of created snags with nest cavities in harvest units was generally low across all treatments and years of the study, although some individual stands demonstrated increased nesting use with snag age. While the highest fractions of snags with nest cavities were found in units with low density and scattered snags, the mean fraction of snags used for nesting did not differ among treatments. Treatment type, distribution of snags (i.e., scattered or clumped), and associated interactions did not influence fraction of snags used for foraging. However, fraction of created snags used for foraging in all harvest units increased with snag age. Fraction of snags used for foraging was greatest in the low density treatments. While this technique provides managers with a relatively economical option for creating snags, mechanical harvesters cannot be used to create tall, large snags upon which several cavity-dependent species rely and provides only a partial solution to a critical forest management issue.  相似文献   

9.
10.
Large cavity-nesting birds depend on large-diameter trees for suitable nest sites. The increased spatial extent of commercial timber harvesting is modifying forest structure across the land base and may thus compromise the availability of large trees at the landscape scale. In this study, our objectives were to (1) characterize the availability of large living and dead trees in old-growth stands dominated by different tree species and surficial deposits that encompass the range of natural cover types of eastern Québec's boreal forest; (2) analyze the distribution of trees among decay-classes; and (3) compare the availability of large trees in unharvested, remnant, and harvested stands for the entire range of decay-classes. A total of 116 line transects were distributed across unharvested forests, remnant linear forests, and cutblocks in cutover areas. Unharvested forest stands (black spruce [Picea mariana], balsam fir [Abies balsamea]–black spruce, balsam fir–white spruce [Picea glauca] and balsam fir) reflected a gradient of balsam fir dominance. The remnant forests selected were isolated for 5–15 years. Analyses were performed at two diameter cut-off values. Trees with DBH ≥20 cm were considered for availability of total trees whereas trees with DBH ≥30 cm were considered for availability of large trees. Forest stands comprised high proportions of standing dead trees (33% of all stems, 8% were large dead stems). Availability of total and large standing trees increased with the dominance of balsam fir in stands. Forest stands located on thick surficial deposits showed higher densities of large dead trees for every stand type suggesting a higher productivity on those sites. Availability of stems according to decay-classes showed a dome-shaped distribution with higher densities of snags in intermediate decay stages. However, for large stems, black spruce stands showed a significantly lower availability that was consistent across all decay-classes. In linear remnant forests, pure balsam fir stands were absent. Remnant stands thus showed a much lower availability in large trees when compared with unharvested balsam fir stands. Clearcuts had the lowest densities of dead trees across sampled stands. Current even-aged management practices clearly affect availability and recruitment of large trees, therefore forest-dwelling wildlife relying on these structures for breeding is likely to be affected by large-scale harvesting in coniferous boreal forests.  相似文献   

11.
Boreal species that are dependent on old forests, such as many cavity-using birds and mammals, are at high risk from conventional harvest practices. These species may benefit from ecologically sustainable forest management practices that increase heterogeneity within stands and across landscapes. Structural retention within cutblocks and spatial aggregation of cutblocks into large (1000s ha) harvest units are two such management practices being implemented by forestry companies in the boreal plains of Alberta and Saskatchewan. However, little is known about the implications of these practices for old forest species. The goal of our study was to determine if the cavity-using assemblage associated with old upland forest in this region is retained within aggregated harvests with structural retention. We used a cavity web approach to describe and contrast interactions among cavity excavators (woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches) and the secondary (i.e. non-excavating) species reusing their cavities. We described the cavity web for two intact landscapes of old upland forest and for two aggregated harvest landscapes. We identified four key excavators of intact forest: yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus), northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), and pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). These woodpeckers should be considered key excavators primarily of mature and old aspen forest, which dominated the study landscapes. Each woodpecker filled a unique role in the cavity web and all are important for conservation of two mammal and three bird species that used their cavities. In the short term (i.e. within four years post-harvest), the key cavity excavators and many secondary cavity-using species associated with intact forest were retained in the harvested landscapes. One secondary species (American kestrel (Falco sparverius)) was unique in the harvest cavity web. Compared to the intact cavity web, the harvest web had lower abundance of sapsuckers, greater abundance of flickers, and high reuse of flicker cavities by kestrels. These differences were associated with the shift from intact forest to a landscape characterized by patches of old forest surrounded by early-successional habitat. Abundances of hairy and pileated woodpeckers were too low to detect differences between intact and harvested landscapes. The key excavators primarily used trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) for cavity trees and thus aspen should be targeted for retention in harvested landscapes. A more detailed examination of the habitat requirements of the key excavators is needed to develop best practices for tree and patch retention and ensure conservation of the cavity-using assemblage in aggregated harvests.  相似文献   

12.
We compared species richness and relative abundance of stream-associated amphibians in late-seral redwood forests with those in mid-seral, second-growth forests to examine the continued (as opposed to immediate) effects of timber harvest on amphibian populations. Lacking pre-harvest data on amphibian abundances for streams in the second-growth stands, we assumed that nearby tributaries transecting late-seral stands with similar topography and flora harbored similar numbers of animals as second-growth stands prior to harvest. The study was conducted in two blocks (ca. 160 km apart) with three matched-pairs of streams per block. The mid-seral forests (treatment, n = 6) ranged from 37 to 60 years post-harvest; the late-seral forests (control, n = 6) consisted of unharvested stands. We conducted nocturnal visual encounter surveys to sample for amphibians in spring, summer, and fall, for 2 years, with three repeated visits per season. Environmental factors, including water temperature, air temperature, and fine sediment loads were also recorded. Results indicated that amphibian species richness and relative abundances of lotic amphibians were significantly greater in the late-seral forest streams compared with streams transecting mid-seral forests. Water and air temperatures were similar in both forest types, but streams in mid-seral forests had greater amounts of fine sediments compared with the streams in the late-seral forests.  相似文献   

13.
Improving ways of managing disturbed areas is in urgent need of further research. We assessed the effect of two contrasting management types—salvage logging and set aside for natural regeneration—applied to a large-scale windthrow in NE Poland on two distinct taxonomic groups of animals: scuttle flies and birds. In total, 5,368 individual scuttle flies were trapped and 1,649 individual birds were recorded. In both taxonomic groups, we recorded the “winners and losers” of the effects of salvage logging. The responses of particular species in both groups were independent of their body size. Species diversity, assessed by rarefaction, increased as a result of the logging in birds and declined in scuttle flies. The species richness, corrected for unseen species of scuttle flies and birds, was higher on the managed windthrow when compared to the natural one. Comparison of the results obtained with published data from the intact stands of Białowieża Primeval Forest suggests that salvage logging reduced the similarity of the fly and bird community to those reported from undisturbed, natural forest areas. Our results concern mostly the common species. We conclude that salvage logging has considerable influence on assemblages of common species in the post-disturbance forests. Birds and flies did not respond similarly to salvage logging in term of species diversity, although both groups included species that were attracted to either managed or unmanaged windthrow sites.  相似文献   

14.
We investigated the responses of forest birds to habitat changes following timber harvest by selection cutting in three northern tolerant hardwood forest stands using a before–after control-impact (BACI) type of experimental design. We observed only minor effects on the bird community associated with mature forests. Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) abundances declined by about 80–90% in two of the three harvested blocks. Black-throated blue warblers (Dendroica caerulescens) declined in abundance by about 70% on a single block 2 and 3 years post-harvest. Mechanical disturbance of the shrub layer [primarily Canada yew (Taxus canadensis)] was coincident to this decline. Several bird species that prefer early successional or shrubby habitats, such as veery (Catharus fuscescens), cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), chestnut-sided warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica), magnolia warbler (Dendroica magnolia), American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), mourning warbler (Oporornis philadelphia) and white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), benefited from selection cutting, with the timing of individual species’ responses related to changes in habitat structure and composition. Effects in one block were still evident 7 years after harvest. Guidelines that support a residual stocking target of 20 m2/ha should promote the retention of mature forest bird communities, including ovenbird, while still providing habitat for early successional bird species.  相似文献   

15.
Snags are important both as structural components and as animal habitat in forests, but abundance is often low and their dynamics poorly understood in young, managed stands. Using a large data set of 19,622 snags from permanent plots in second-growth forests of coastal British Columbia, we modeled snag longevity (time from tree mortality to snag fall) for three species: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), and western redcedar (Thuja plicata). Snag longevity was strongly related to species and snag size (diameter): the median snag longevity was 16 years for Douglas-fir, 11 years for hemlock and 5 years for redcedar. Western redcedar was predominantly in the subcanopy and its rapid fall rate was related to the small size of its snags. In addition to diameter, other attributes (height to diameter ratio, height, and live crown ratio before death) contributed significantly to models for one or two of the species. However, site level variables did not contribute significantly to any of the models. Snags greater than 50 cm diameter, especially Douglas-fir snags, have the potential for persistence well beyond 20 years in these second-growth forests, and could be important for wildlife.  相似文献   

16.
Woodpeckers, able to excavate holes in trees, can provide resources critical for non-excavator hole users. Supply of woodpecker-made holes in forests depends on excavation rates by the birds and holes’ persistence times. I use 30 years of data from a primeval forest (strictly protected reserve, Bia?owie?a National Park, E Poland) to determine how long woodpecker-made holes persist, and whether their persistence varies across forest types, tree species and conditions, and woodpecker species. I followed the fate of 719 breeding holes, excavated by eight woodpecker species, for up to 27 years, from 1979 to 2010. Almost 80% of hole losses were caused by collapse of either the tree or the section supporting the hole. Holes were retained for (median) 6-7 years in riverine and oak-hornbeam forest but 10 years in coniferous forest. These differences can be explained by almost completely non-overlapping sets of tree species used in these different habitats. Lifespan of holes varied by tree species, ranging from four (Picea abies) to >22 years (Pinus sylvestris, almost 100% dead). The long lifespan of holes in the dead Pinus was exceptional, as otherwise, persistence was much lower for holes excavated in dead trees or limbs (5 years) than for those in living substrates (9 years). Tree species with higher frequency of holes in dead wood showed lower persistence times of holes. Lifespans of holes excavated by individual woodpecker species varied widely and was strongly dependent on frequency with which the species excavated in dead wood. Holes of Dendrocopos minor and Dendrocopos leucotos (only in dead wood) persisted for four years, while holes of Dendrocopos major (able to excavate in living sapwood of some trees) lasted for nine, and those of Dryocopus martius for 18 years. Retention of dead P. sylvestris, decaying Quercus robur in stands and addition/retention of aspens (Populus tremula and Populus tremuloides) in them would provide conditions to increase the availability of relatively persistent woodpecker holes in forests of the Northern hemisphere.  相似文献   

17.
Tropical forests are characterized by diverse assemblages of plant and animal species compared to temperate forests. Corollary to this general rule is that most tree species, whether valued for timber or not, occur at low densities (<1 adult tree ha−1) or may be locally rare. In the Brazilian Amazon, many of the most highly valued timber species occur at extremely low densities yet are intensively harvested with little regard for impacts on population structures and dynamics. These include big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), ipê (Tabebuia serratifolia and Tabebuia impetiginosa), jatobá (Hymenaea courbaril), and freijó cinza (Cordia goeldiana). Brazilian forest regulations prohibit harvests of species that meet the legal definition of rare – fewer than three trees per 100 ha – but treat all species populations exceeding this density threshold equally. In this paper we simulate logging impacts on a group of timber species occurring at low densities that are widely distributed across eastern and southern Amazonia, based on field data collected at four research sites since 1997, asking: under current Brazilian forest legislation, what are the prospects for second harvests on 30-year cutting cycles given observed population structures, growth, and mortality rates? Ecologically ‘rare’ species constitute majorities in commercial species assemblages in all but one of the seven large-scale inventories we analyzed from sites spanning the Amazon (range 49–100% of total commercial species). Although densities of only six of 37 study species populations met the Brazilian legal definition of a rare species, timber stocks of five of the six timber species declined substantially at all sites between first and second harvests in simulations based on legally allowable harvest intensities. Reducing species-level harvest intensity by increasing minimum felling diameters or increasing seed tree retention levels improved prospects for second harvests of those populations with a relatively high proportion of submerchantable stems, but did not dramatically improve projections for populations with relatively flat diameter distributions. We argue that restrictions on logging very low-density timber tree populations, such as the current Brazilian standard, provide inadequate minimum protection for vulnerable species. Population declines, even if reduced-impact logging (RIL) is eventually adopted uniformly, can be anticipated for a large pool of high-value timber species unless harvest intensities are adapted to timber species population ecology, and silvicultural treatments are adopted to remedy poor natural stocking in logged stands.  相似文献   

18.
The role of lianas (woody vines) in the development and diversity of both tropical and temperate forests under differing management scenarios has not been thoroughly explored. We examined changes in grapevine (Vitis spp.) densities over time in clearcut stands as influenced by manual tending, physiography, and host tree associations. We used data from long-term studies on 66 clearcut stands dominated by temperate deciduous forest tree species on the Hoosier National Forest in south-central Indiana, USA. Fourteen of the stands had grapevines removed manually, approximately during the stem exclusion stage of development. Grapevine densities steadily increased from age 5 until age 15, which coincides with the period of stem exclusion of these stands. Subsequent grapevine mortality may have been related to light competition. Manually treated stands had similar grapevine densities as untreated stands after 20 years across sites, and it appeared that only on the most xeric area was the grapevine treatment effective in reducing grapevine densities. During early stand development, ranging from ages 5 to 17, grapevine density was strongly related to slope position, but as stands developed through the stem exclusion stage, aspect emerged as a stronger factor influencing grapevine density. Black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.), walnut (Juglans spp.), and elm (Ulmus spp.) were the most common grapevine host trees under both treated and untreated scenarios, which may be associated with the crown architecture of these species. Results suggest lianas play a critical role in the early development of disturbed forest sites in temperate deciduous forests. With concerns that lianas are increasing in abundance and distribution in these forest types, understanding their role in forest dynamics, such as host tree associations at different stages of development, competition dynamics on different sites and corresponding influences on tree growth, species composition, and diversity, will be critical to decision-making processes in achieving desired management goals in the future.  相似文献   

19.
The frequency and intensity of salvage logging has recently increased in burned forests of the Canadian boreal so that post-fire areas make up a significant annual share of all harvested forest land in some years. However, little is known about how this practice affects re-establishment of animal and plant communities that already have been strongly altered by the fire. We pitfall-trapped carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) for two consecutive years following a large-scale boreal wildfire (276,000 ha) in burned mixed-wood forests of 12 landscape units (2.5 km × 2.5 km each). These units included four salvage treatments, each replicated three times: control (no salvaging), low (ca. 20–30% of merchantable mixed-wood removed), moderate (40–50%) and high salvage intensity (60–70%). We established 16 sampling sites in each unit: on the control landscapes, all 16 sites were in un-logged stands; in low-salvage units, 4 out of 16 sites were in salvaged areas; in moderate- and high-salvage units, 8 and 12 out of 16 sites, respectively, were in salvaged areas. Salvage logging positively affected carabid species richness. However, there was an overall salvage-caused decrease in the abundance of many common forest-dwelling carabids, and an increase in the abundance of disturbance or open-habitat specialists. Interestingly, the effects of salvage logging on the total catch and several abundant forest species (e.g., Calosoma frigidum, Harpalus laevipes, Pterostichus punctatissimus, P. adstrictus and Platynus decentis) appeared to be more important at the landscape level (the four landscape treatments) than at the level of sampling sites (site logged versus not). We suggest that this observation resulted from ambiguous site-level responses to salvage that collectively contributed to the (mostly negative) significant responses at the landscape level. Effects of fire severity (estimates based on tree survival) on carabids were species-specific; however, the impact of this measure was most often significant at the site, and not at the landscape, level. A Multivariate Regression Tree revealed that fire severity and the overall (pre-fire) amount of mixed-wood forest on the landscape were significant determinants of assemblage structure, with the local effects of fire severity being strongest.  相似文献   

20.
Saproxylic beetles are highly sensitive to forest management practices that reduce the abundance and variety of dead wood. However, this diverse fauna continues to receive little attention in the southeastern United States even though this region supports some of the most diverse, productive and intensively managed forests in North America. In this replicated three-way factorial experiment, we investigated the habitat associations of saproxylic beetles on the coastal plain of South Carolina. The factors of interest were forest type (upland pine-dominated vs. bottomland hardwood), tree species (Quercus nigra L., Pinus taeda L. and Liquidambar styraciflua L.) and wood posture (standing and downed dead wood, i.e., snags and logs). Wood samples were taken at four positions along each log and snag (lower bole, middle bole, upper bole and crown) ∼11 months after the trees were killed and placed in rearing bags to collect emerging beetles. Overall, 33,457 specimens from 52 families and ≥250 species emerged. Based on an analysis of covariance, with surface area and bark coverage as covariates, saproxylic beetle species richness differed significantly between forest types as well as between wood postures. There were no significant interactions. Species richness was significantly higher in the upland pine-dominated stand than the bottomland hardwood forest, possibly due to higher light exposure and temperature in upland forests. Although L. styraciflua yielded more beetle species (152) than either Q. nigra (122) or P. taeda (125), there were no significant differences in species richness among tree species. There were also no relationships evident between relative tree abundance and observed or expected beetle species richness. Significantly more beetle species emerged from logs than from snags. However snags had a distinct fauna including several potential canopy specialists. Our results suggest that conservation practices that retain or create entire snags as opposed to high stumps or logs alone will most greatly benefit saproxylic beetles in southeastern forests.  相似文献   

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