Spotted owl foraging patterns following fuels treatments, Sierra Nevada, California

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire V. Gallagher ◽  
John J. Keane ◽  
Paula A. Shaklee ◽  
H. Anu Kramer ◽  
Ross Gerrard
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Foraging Patterns ◽  
Spotted Owl ◽  
Fuels Treatments

scholarly journals Habitat Selection in a Changing Environment: The Relationship Between Habitat Alteration and Spotted Owl Territory Occupancy and Breeding Dispersal

The Condor ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 566-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Seamans ◽  
R.J. Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Habitat Alteration ◽  
Breeding Dispersal ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Avian Behavior ◽  
Spotted Owl ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Abstract. Understanding the effect of habitat alteration on avian behavior is important for understanding a species' ecology and ensuring its conservation. Therefore, we examined the relationship between Spotted Owl habitat selection and variation in habitat in the Sierra Nevada. We estimated habitat selection by modeling the probability of territory colonization (γ), territory extinction (ε), and breeding dispersal in relation to the amount of mature conifer forest within and among territories. Alteration of ≥20 ha of mature conifer forest (coniferous forest with >70% canopy cover dominated by medium [30.4–60.9 cm dbh] and large [>60.9 cm dbh] trees) within individual territories (n  =  66) was negatively related to territory colonization and positively related to breeding dispersal probability. Although territory extinction was negatively related to the amount of mature conifer forest, it was not clear whether this relationship was due to variation of mature conifer forest within or among territories. Although modeling results for territory colonization and extinction generally supported the hypothesis that individuals are “ideal” when selecting a habitat in the sense that they settle in the highest-quality site available, we did not find a clear benefit in terms of habitat quality for Spotted Owls that exhibited breeding dispersal.

Simulating landscape-scale effects of fuels treatments in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra D. Syphard ◽  
Robert M. Scheller ◽  
Brendan C. Ward ◽  
Wayne D. Spencer ◽  
James R. Strittholt
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Fire Weather ◽  
Fuels Management ◽  
Fuels Treatments

In many coniferous forests of the western United States, wildland fuel accumulation and projected climate conditions increase the likelihood that fires will become larger and more intense. Fuels treatments and prescribed fire are widely recommended, but there is uncertainty regarding their ability to reduce the severity of subsequent fires at a landscape scale. Our objective was to investigate the interactions among landscape-scale fire regimes, fuels treatments and fire weather in the southern Sierra Nevada, California. We used a spatially dynamic model of wildfire, succession and fuels management to simulate long-term (50 years), broad-scale (across 2.2 × 106 ha) effects of fuels treatments. We simulated thin-from-below treatments followed by prescribed fire under current weather conditions and under more severe weather. Simulated fuels management minimised the mortality of large, old trees, maintained total landscape plant biomass and extended fire rotation, but effects varied based on elevation, type of treatment and fire regime. The simulated area treated had a greater effect than treatment intensity, and effects were strongest where more fires intersected treatments and when simulated weather conditions were more severe. In conclusion, fuels treatments in conifer forests potentially minimise the ecological effects of high-severity fire at a landscape scale provided that 8% of the landscape is treated every 5 years, especially if future fire weather conditions are more severe than those in recent years.

scholarly journals Is “Fuel Reduction” Justified as Fire Management in Spotted Owl Habitat?

Birds ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-403
Author(s):  
Chad T. Hanson
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Fuel Reduction ◽  
Spotted Owl ◽  
California Spotted Owl

The California spotted owl is an imperiled species that selects mature conifer forests for nesting and roosting while actively foraging in the “snag forest habitat” created when fire or drought kills most of the trees in patches. Federal agencies believe there are excess surface fuels in both of these habitat conditions in many of California’s forests due to fuel accumulation from decades of fire suppression and recent drought-related tree mortality. Accordingly, agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service are implementing widespread logging in spotted owl territories. While they acknowledge habitat degradation from such logging, and risks to the conservation of declining spotted owl populations, agencies hypothesize that such active forest management equates to effective fuel reduction that is needed to curb fire severity for the overall benefit of this at-risk species. In an initial investigation, I analyzed this issue in a large 2020 fire, the Creek Fire (153,738 ha), in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. I found that pre-fire snag density was not correlated with burn severity. I also found that more intensive forest management was correlated to higher fire severity. My results suggest the fuel reduction approach is not justified and provide indirect evidence that such management represents a threat to spotted owls.

Spotted Owl Demography in the Central Sierra Nevada

2001 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Seamans ◽  
R. J. Gutierrez ◽  
Christine A. Moen ◽  
M. Zachariah Peery
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Spotted Owl
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