Ecological legacies of anthropogenic burning in a British Columbia coastal temperate rain forest

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 2903-2915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kira M. Hoffman ◽  
Ken P. Lertzman ◽  
Brian M. Starzomski
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest ◽  
Ecological Legacies

Bryophyte community differences between edge and interior environments in temperate rain-forest fragments of coastal British Columbia

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn K Baldwin ◽  
Gary E Bradfield
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Functional Groups ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Edge Zone ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest

The species richness, community composition, and abundance of bryophytes within taxonomic and functional groups were examined in relation to habitat conditions in forest edge and interior habitats of nine old-growth temperate rain-forest patches remaining after logging in the Nimpkish River Valley of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Bryophytes were sampled at a fine scale using 0.1 m × 0.3 m microplots to examine responses of species abundance on the forest floor, downed logs, and tree bases and at a coarser scale using 10 m × 2 m belt transects to determine changes in patterns of species richness and distribution. Edge habitats, sampled to a depth of 45 m into the forest fragments, were characterized by greater windthrow disturbance. Within the edge zone, increases in the richness of clearing-affiliated functional groups were associated primarily with the location of windthrown trees and tip-up mounds, rather than with distance from the edge per se. Interior habitats had both greater abundance of old-growth-associated functional groups and total bryophyte cover. The extension of the edge zone to at least 45 m into remnant patches carries implications for minimum patch size requirements in the context of variable-retention logging of coastal temperate rain forests.

scholarly journals 13,000 years of fire history derived from soil charcoal in a British Columbia coastal temperate rain forest

Ecosphere ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Hoffman ◽  
D. G. Gavin ◽  
K. P. Lertzman ◽  
D. J. Smith ◽  
B. M. Starzomski
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Soil Charcoal ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest

Structural – compositional variation in three age-classes of temperate rainforests in southern coastal British Columbia

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Arsenault ◽  
Gary E. Bradfield
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Canonical Correlation ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest ◽  
Coastal British Columbia

Relationships between forest structure and species composition were examined in three age-classes of temperate rain forest in southern coastal British Columbia. Old forests (> 250 years) exhibited greater structural and compositional heterogeneity than young (31–60 years) and mature (61–80 years) forests. Size-class distributions of living and dead standing trees in the three age groups suggested both qualitative and quantitative differences in regeneration and mortality processes. The canonical correlation between structure and composition was high (Rc = 0.84), but a substantial amount of total variation remained unexplained by the analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) axis 1 of species composition separated the lower elevation (warmer and drier) mature forests from the higher elevation (cooler and wetter) young and old forests. PCA axis 1 of structure separated the young and mature forests as a group from the old forests. PCAs of the separate age-classes indicated weaker compositional – structural linkages than with all age-classes combined. Study area differences explained greater proportions of variation in young and mature forests (up to 53%) than in old forests (< 10%). The results indicate a slow recovery process following impacts from human disturbance in coastal forests. Key words: canonical correlation analysis, old-growth temperate rain forest, principal component analysis, species composition, forest structure.

Ancient temperate rain forest research in British Columbia

2006 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neville N. Winchester
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Habitat Specialization ◽  
Forest Diversity ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest ◽  
Ancient Forests

AbstractThis paper is a tribute to Dr. R.A. Ring upon his retirement. During the past 12 years (1993–2005), an emerging canopy research program has established a wealth of baseline information on the structure and functioning of temperate rain forest canopy arthropod communities. Studies from research sites on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, have shown that ancient temperate rain forest canopy ecosystems contain a largely undescribed fauna that is specific to habitat features found only in these canopies. In particular, diverse assemblages of free-living mites have been shown to dominate conifer species and canopy microhabitats. For example, oribatid mites are the dominant arthropod fauna on branches, branches with attached lichens, and suspended soil accumulations. Species composition differs significantly between the ground and the canopy at both the family and the species level. Arboreal specificity may be due to intrinsic variation in habitat quality, habitat architecture, patchiness, and (or) resource availability. The prevalent patterns of habitat specialization, low vagility, and restricted distribution displayed by a large percentage of the resident canopy microarthropods are features often associated with forest ecoregions that have enjoyed relatively stable conditions for long periods of time, as have the ancient forests on Vancouver Island. Investigators in the “one-Ring lab” continue to document the diversity and abundance of canopy arthropods of temperate forests in British Columbia. In particular, studies are concerned with defining the organizing principles that elicit community patterns associated with the various levels of complexity in arboreal communities. Our long-term goal is to provide a greater degree of predictability when addressing temperate forest diversity issues. To meet the stated goals of sustainable forest management and retention of biodiversity, an extensive plan of ecological research that features arthropods is needed. This plan, fostered by Dr. Ring, should have as a priority the inventory and cataloguing of species assemblages and should address dynamic processes such as organismal dispersal and the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on arthropods in ancient forests.

EPIPHYTE RESPONSE TO WOODLAND HABITAT CONDITION ASSESSED USING COMMUNITY INDICATORS: A SIMPLIFIED METHOD FOR SCOTLAND’S TEMPERATE RAIN FOREST

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-541
Author(s):  
V. Brosnan ◽  
C. J. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Ecological Stability ◽  
Forest Zone ◽  
Community Indicators ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest ◽  
Temporal Continuity ◽  
Epiphyte Communities ◽  
Community Types ◽  
Intensively Managed ◽  
Epiphyte Community

National vegetation classification (NVC) has been widely applied as a framework for mapping and conserving plant species and community types. However, a limited availability of expertise has prevented NVCs from being developed and used in cryptogam-dominated systems, such as for temperate and boreal epiphyte communities. This study simplified a recent systematically sampled NVC, trialled for epiphyte communities in Scotland, by reducing the original list of 82 community indicators to 34 easily recognisable species (lichens, mosses and liverworts). These were subsequently sampled from woodland sites positioned in Scotland’s temperate rain forest zone. Sites were positioned among localities in less intensively managed landscapes (northwest Scotland) through to peri-urban environments (southern Scotland), grouping sites for each locality based on a contrast in woodland temporal continuity (ancient or recent). The richness and diversity of epiphyte community indicators were compared with easily measured variables reflecting stand heterogeneity or ecological stability, and woodland temporal continuity, with air pollution as a covariable. Richness and diversity were significantly explained by the ecological stability of woodland stands, heterogeneity of the light environment, and nitrogen pollution. This demonstrates a tool that can be deployed by the non-specialist, with appropriate training, to quantify the condition of a woodland stand through consequences for its epiphytes in globally important temperate rain forest. The pattern of richness and diversity was consistent with the co-occurrence of particular indicator species, which represent the range of epiphyte community types supported by a woodland.

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