scholarly journals Determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Lacerte ◽  
Mathieu Leblond ◽  
Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent
Keyword(s):  
Forest Roads ◽  
Vegetation Regeneration ◽  
Boreal Caribou

FOREST ROADS SYSTEM IN MOUNTAIN RELIEF: INDICATOR EVALUATION OF WATER-EROSION RISK

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paweł B. Dąbek ◽  
◽  
Romuald Żmuda ◽  
Tomasz Kowalczyk ◽  
Jolanta Dąbrowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Erosion ◽  
Forest Roads ◽  
Erosion Risk ◽  
Indicator Evaluation

scholarly journals Potential of Small Culverts as Wildlife Passages on Forest Roads

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7224
Author(s):  
Hsiang-Ling Chen ◽  
Erin E. Posthumus ◽  
John L. Koprowski
Keyword(s):  
Animal Movement ◽  
Small Dimension ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus ◽  
Red Squirrels ◽  
Forest Roads ◽  
Alternative Pathways ◽  
Slow Moving ◽  
Trail Cameras ◽  
Spermophilus Variegatus

Roads and traffic can cause animal mortality. Specifically, roads serve as barriers by impeding animal movement, resulting in demographic and genetic consequences. Drainage structures, such as culverts, can provide linkages between habitat patches. However, the potential of small culverts with diameters of <60 cm (e.g., wildlife passages that facilitate movement on forest roads) are relatively unknown. In this study, we used trail cameras to monitor the use of 14 small culverts, by mammals, along forest roads on Mt. Graham, home of the critically endangered Mt. Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis), in southeastern Arizona, USA. From 2011 to 2013, we only recorded 20 completed road crossings through culverts. More than half of culvert uses were by striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), followed by the rock squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus) and the bobcat (Lynx rufus). The Mt. Graham red squirrel was the only species that was common along the roads, but never crossed the roads. Culverts with higher usages were characterized by shorter culvert lengths and absence of accumulated soil inside the culverts. Our study shows that small-dimension drainage systems may provide alternative pathways for wildlife crossing roads, especially for slow moving and ground dwelling species. However, the potential of small culverts assisting wildlife crossings can only be maximized when culverts are accessible year-round.

scholarly journals Comparison of Satellite and Drone-Based Images at Two Spatial Scales to Evaluate Vegetation Regeneration after Post-Fire Treatments in a Mediterranean Forest

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5423
Author(s):  
Jose Luis Martinez ◽  
Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja ◽  
Pedro Antonio Plaza-Alvarez ◽  
Pietro Denisi ◽  
Miguel Angel Moreno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Plant Biodiversity ◽  
Mediterranean Forests ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Vegetation Growth ◽  
Surface Conditions ◽  
Vegetation Regeneration ◽  
Forest Managers

The evaluation of vegetation cover after post-fire treatments of burned lands is important for forest managers to restore soil quality and plant biodiversity in burned ecosystems. Unfortunately, this evaluation may be time consuming and expensive, requiring much fieldwork for surveys. The use of remote sensing, which makes these evaluation activities quicker and easier, have rarely been carried out in the Mediterranean forests, subjected to wildfire and post-fire stabilization techniques. To fill this gap, this study evaluates the feasibility of satellite (using LANDSAT8 images) and drone surveys to evaluate changes in vegetation cover and composition after wildfire and two hillslope stabilization treatments (log erosion barriers, LEBs, and contour-felled log debris, CFDs) in a forest of Central Eastern Spain. Surveys by drone were able to detect the variability of vegetation cover among burned and unburned areas through the Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index (VARI), but gave unrealistic results when the effectiveness of a post-fire treatment must be evaluated. LANDSAT8 images may be instead misleading to evaluate the changes in land cover after wildfire and post-fire treatments, due to the lack of correlation between VARI and vegetation cover. The spatial analysis has shown that: (i) the post-fire restoration strategy of landscape managers that have prioritized steeper slopes for treatments was successful; (ii) vegetation growth, at least in the experimental conditions, played a limited influence on soil surface conditions, since no significant increases in terrain roughness were detected in treated areas.

scholarly journals Slowing down wolves to protect boreal caribou populations: a spatial simulation model of linear feature restoration

Ecosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias C. Spangenberg ◽  
Robert Serrouya ◽  
Melanie Dickie ◽  
Craig A. DeMars ◽  
Théo Michelot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Model ◽  
Spatial Simulation ◽  
Linear Feature ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Spatial Simulation Model ◽  
Boreal Caribou

scholarly journals Forest Road Status Assessment Using Airborne Laser Scanning

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Waga ◽  
Piotr Tompalski ◽  
Nicholas C Coops ◽  
Joanne C White ◽  
Michael A Wulder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Airborne Laser Scanning ◽  
Height Distribution ◽  
Forest Roads ◽  
The Road ◽  
Airborne Laser ◽  
Independent Field ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Forest roads allow access for silvicultural operations, harvesting, recreational activities, wildlife management, and fire suppression. In British Columbia, Canada, roads that are no longer required must be deactivated (temporarily, semipermanently, or permanently) in order to minimize the impact on the overall forested ecosystem. However, the remoteness and size of the road network present challenges for monitoring. Our aim was to examine the utility of airborne laser scanning data to assess the status and quality of forest roads across 52,000 hectares of coastal forest in British Columbia. Within the forest estate, roads can be active or deactivated, or have an unknown status. We classified road segments based on the vegetation growth on the road surface, and edges, by classifying the height distribution of airborne laser scanning returns within each road segment into four groups: no vegetation, minor vegetation, dense understory vegetation, and dense overstory vegetation. Validation indicated that 73 percent of roads were classified correctly when compared to independent field observations. The majority were classified as active roads with no vegetation or deactivated with dense vegetation. The approach presented herein can aid forest managers in verifying the status of the roads in their management area, especially in remote areas where field assessments are costly and time-consuming.

Function, effects, and management of forest roads

2000 ◽  
Vol 133 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel E Lugo ◽  
Hermann Gucinski
Keyword(s):  
Forest Roads
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