Down wood and biodiversity — implications to forest practices

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (NA) ◽  
pp. 397-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred L. Bunnell ◽  
Isabelle Houde
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Forest Planning ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Forest Practices ◽  
Target Values

Many species require or use down wood (fine and coarse woody debris) as habitat. Where forestry has been practiced for several rotations large proportions of these species are considered threatened. Key attributes determining the suitability of down wood as habitat are decay stage, tree species, and size, specifically diameter. Both quantity and distribution of suitable down wood influence species’ presence and abundance. We present a simple framework describing use of down wood based on broad natural history features, derive predictions from the framework, then test these by review and summary of literature. Our focus is terrestrial vertebrates, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Species other than vertebrates are addressed to ensure that metrics derived for vertebrates also are appropriate for other organisms. Basic metrics are the same, but appropriate values span a larger range among nonvertebrates. Current evidence suggests that the “extinction debt” apparent for nonvertebrates is approaching for vertebrates. Predictions derived from underlying natural history hold when tested. From that basis we derive broad guidelines for forest planning and practice, and suggest how regional target values can be derived.

Managing for Mature Habitat in Production Forests of Western Oregon and Washington

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 422-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Canopy Opening ◽  
Tolerant Species ◽  
Shade Tolerant Species

Standard timber management practices in the Pacific Northwest result in stands which often vary from unmanaged stands in structure and composition. Forest and wildlife managers have identified a deficit of stands in the mature (> 100-yr-old) age class that contain certain desirable wildlife habitat features. Techniques are being developed that would increase the likelihood that managed stands can produce these characteristics. The key desirable components in these stands include large (> 75 cm diam breast height) conifer trees, snags, coarse woody debris, and understory structure, including regeneration. Vegetation management techniques can facilitate development of these components within stands. Thinning the overstory, underplanting shade-tolerant species, and creating snags and coarse woody debris can be accomplished within a production forest. Maintaining shade-intolerant species requires a higher level of disturbance and canopy opening than needed for shade-tolerant species. Treatments which remove competition from shrubs and herbaceous plants may be necessary to insure growth and survival of understory regeneration. Injection of different herbicides into low-grade conifers may yield different types of snags in comparison to girdling or topping. Although much of the understory may be eliminated during future thinnings and final harvest, some of the structure will remain and could be carried over into the next rotation along with snags and large coarse woody debris. These treatments are expected to enhance mature habitats in present and future cycles with minimum impact on yield.

Characteristics and function of large woody debris in subalpine Rocky Mountain streams in northern Colorado

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1789-1802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann D. Richmond ◽  
Kurt D. Fauseh
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Large Woody Debris ◽  
Mountain Streams ◽  
Coastal Forests ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
And Function ◽  
Rocky Mountain Streams

Large woody debris has been well studied in coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest, but little is known of its role in Rocky Mountain streams. Large woody debris was measured in 11 undisturbed streams draining subalpine old-growth forests in north central Colorado to assess abundance, characteristics, and function. Although large woody debris in Colorado had smaller diameter, length, and volume than in the Pacific Northwest, its abundance and function were similar. The majority of pools (76%) were plunge and dammed pools formed by large woody debris, most of which spanned the channels perpendicular to stream flow. Smaller streams had a greater proportion of such perpendicular pool-forming pieces than larger streams. Four disturbed streams had significantly less and smaller large woody debris than undisturbed streams. Flows in larger undisturbed streams were capable of moving large woody debris, so pieces were more often located at the stream margins, oriented diagonally, or distributed in clumps than in smaller streams. Individual pools were larger and deeper in larger streams, but their size was not related to the size of large woody debris pieces forming them. Therefore, the function of large woody debris in forming fish habitat in small Rocky Mountain streams is strongly influenced by the stream's location within the watershed.

The relationship between forest management and amphibian ecology: a review of the North American literature

1995 ◽  
Vol 3 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 230-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip G. deMaynadier ◽  
Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Forest Practices ◽  
Logging Roads

Questions about the compatibility of forest harvesting practices and conservation of biological diversity are largely driven by concerns that habitat quality for many species may be degraded in intensively managed forest landscapes. We review the literature on relationships between common forest harvesting practices and the distribution and abundance of amphibians, a group that has attracted considerable attention in recent years because of their potential ecological importance in forest ecosystems and because of reports of widespread population declines. Clear-cut harvesting generally has negative short-term impacts on local amphibian populations, especially salamanders. An analysis of the results of 18 studies that examined the effects of clear-cutting on amphibians yielded a 3.5-fold median difference in abundance of amphibians on controls over clear-cuts. However, research on the influence of forest age suggests that the long-term effects of forest harvesting on amphibians are variable, and for many species these effects can be mitigated if regeneration practices leave adequate microhabitat structure intact. In contrast, long-term effects can be significant in forest plantations, which are often associated with intensive site preparations and stand management practices that modify levels of coarse woody debris and other microhabitats. Other forest practices reviewed for their effect on amphibians include prescribed fire, logging roads, and streamside harvesting. We discuss problems commonly encountered in the experimental design and measurement of forest amphibian populations, including a notable lack of pretreatment data, and outline several aspects of amphibian–forestry relationships in need of further research. Management recommendations relevant to conserving upland and riparian zone amphibian habitat during forest harvesting are offered.Key words: amphibians, clear-cutting, coarse woody debris, forest management, logging roads, plantations, prescribed fire, riparian, succession.

Reafforestation in the U. S. Pacific Northwest

1976 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. Waring
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Federal State ◽  
State Laws ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Ecological Understanding ◽  
Intensive Forest Management ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Forest Practices ◽  
Forest Lands ◽  
Economic Future

The Pacific Northwest is economically dependent upon its forest resources, which at present represent about 30% of the nation's softwood supply. Predicted decreases in the available supply have encouraged more intensive forest management, and new methods of planting, harvesting, and transport, have been developed.Even with these improvements, problems exist in reducing erosion and accommodating other uses of forest lands and streams. With adequate planning and effort, however, most of these problems can be solved. But costs are high, and State laws controlling all forest practices are forcing Federal, State, and private, landowners to cooperate in planning for the future. Decisions that must soon be made should reflect an ecological understanding that could ensure the economic future of the Pacific Northwest.

Hypogeous fungal production in mature Douglas-fir forest fragments and surrounding plantations and its relation to coarse woody debris and animal mycophagy

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 2157-2165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Amaranthus ◽  
James M. Trappe ◽  
Larry Bednar ◽  
David Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
Hypogeous Fungi ◽  
Mature Forest ◽  
Forest Practices

Production of hypogeous fungi (truffles) in high-elevation, 180-year-old mature forest fragments of Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco was compared with surrounding regenerated clearcuts ranging from 4 to 27 years since harvest at two study areas. Thirty pairs of plots, one of each pair in soil, the other in brown-cubical-rotted coarse woody debris (CWD), were searched for truffles in each stand during four periods; August and November 1990, and February and May 1991. Overall analysis of presence/absence of truffles using log-linear models revealed that CWD and mature forest status of stands each significantly influence truffle occurrence. Mature forest fragments had greater percent frequency of occurrence and truffle number and dry weight than did plantations. Truffle numbers and dry weight were 30 and 20 times greater, respectively, in mature forests than in plantations. The plantations did not differ significantly among each other for any parameter. CWD yielded higher numbers and biomass of truffles than soil in the mature forest, but production in plantations did not differ between substrates. The total dry weight of truffles in CWD exceeded that in soil by more than 10 times in mature forests. Of 21 truffle species found, 13 were only in the mature forest and 8 only under coarse woody debris. Forest practices that emphasize the retention of mature trees and coarse woody debris promote the abundance and diversity of truffles, which are integral and functionally important members of forest ecosystems.

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