Browse occurrence, biomass, and use by white-tailed deer in a northern New Brunswick deer yard

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1518-1524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn F Morrison ◽  
Graham J Forbes ◽  
Steven J Young
Keyword(s):  
Snow Depth ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Northeastern North America ◽  
Winter Conditions ◽  
Browse Species ◽  
Mixedwood Stands

Winter browse abundance influences population growth of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northeastern North America, where they regularly experience harsh winter conditions. We surveyed browse biomass and abundance among vegetation types and determined the extent of browse species selection and avoidance in a northeastern deer yard. Deer browsed 19 species but only red and striped maples (Acer rubrum L. and Acer pensylvanicum L.) were consistently selected. Regenerating, mature mixedwood, and mature spruce–fir stands were most likely to have high amounts of browse cover. Mature mixedwood stands had greater total browse biomass than submature hardwood and mature cedar stands. It is possible that our observed selection and avoidance of browse species reflects changes in availability as snow depth increased in middle to late winter. Thus, browse availability and use should be interpreted with respect to known patterns of deer habitat use during varying degrees of winter severity. We recommend that mixedwood stands be recognized as important part of winter habitat for deer. We underscore their importance for wintering deer, because they allow them to access shelter and browse simultaneously.

scholarly journals The influence of snow depth and hardness on winter habitat selection by caribou on the southwest coast of Newfoundland

Rangifer ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Tucker ◽  
Shane Mahoney ◽  
Bill Greene ◽  
Eric Menchenton ◽  
Lloyd Russell
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Southwest Coast ◽  
Winter Conditions ◽  
Winter Temperatures ◽  
Coastal Margin

LaPoile Herd caribou winter in the coastal margin of their range in southwestern Newfoundland. Reduced snow depths near the coast (0-20 km inland), as a result of moderated winter temperatures and low elevations, appear to provide more favourable foraging conditions than do areas further inland. In the latter areas greatly increased snow depth and hardness combine to create very extreme winter conditions and these areas are avoided by caribou throughout the winter period.

Winter habitat selection by female moose in western interior montane forests

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (12) ◽  
pp. 1823-1832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim G. Poole ◽  
Kari Stuart-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Causative Factor ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Winter Range ◽  
Crown Closure

Winter range has been identified as an important component of moose ( Alces alces (L., 1758)) conservation in managed forests, yet there have been few studies on habitat associations in montane ecosystems. We investigated habitat selection by moose at landscape and stand scales during late winter in southeastern British Columbia using global positioning system (GPS) collars on 24 adult moose cows in each of two winters. The strongest determinant of late-winter range at the landscape scale was decreasing elevation, while moose also selected for areas of gentler slopes and higher solar insolation. Elevation likely is a surrogate for snow depth, which is probably the primary causative factor influencing late-winter distribution of moose. Within late-winter range, topographic variables had little influence on moose habitat selection. Lower crown closure was the strongest determinant of stand-scale selection, although the resultant model was weak. We found no disproportionate selection for stands with high crown closure, and there was little evidence for greater use of cover stands with increasing snow as winter progressed. Within late-winter range, moose selected forage habitats (42% use vs. 30% availability) over cover habitats (22% use vs. 37% availability). The delineation of late-winter moose range can be based on snow depth, or elevation as its surrogate.

scholarly journals Late-winter habitat use by the Fisher, Pekania pennanti (Erxleben, 1777), in the Boreal Plains Ecozone of northwestern Saskatchewan, Canada

2014 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilbert Proulx
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Larix Laricina ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Boreal Plains ◽  
Pekania Pennanti ◽  
Crown Closure

Late-winter habitat use by the Fisher, Pekania pennanti (Erxleben, 1777) in northwestern Saskatchewan was assessed in February 2009, 2011, and 2012. A total of 78 Fisher tracks were recorded over 60 300 m of snowshoe surveys. Fisher tracks were significantly less frequent than expected in Tamarack (Larix laricina [Du Roi] K. Koch) stands with > 40% crown closure and mainly 0–10 m trees (P < 0.05) and in open areas. Fishers used other habitat types equal to availability, including muskeg and coniferous, mixed, and deciduous forest stands. Maintaining mosaics of forest stands of different seral stages interspersed with muskeg would meet the late-winter habitat needs of Fishers in the Boreal Plains Ecozone of northwestern Saskatchewan.

Moose selection of canopy cover types related to operative temperature, forage, and snow depth

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 3071-3077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis E. Schwab ◽  
Michael D. Pitt
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Early Winter ◽  
Thermal Limit ◽  
Operative Temperature ◽  
Metabolic Heat ◽  
High Forage ◽  
Selection Of

Simple linear and muliple regressions were used to determine the contribution of operative temperature (Te), forage, and snow depth to moose (Alces alces) selection of canopy cover types. The number of degree-hours for which Te exceeded the thermal limit at which panting is required to dissipate metabolic heat contributed significantly to selection during summer (1 June – 15 September) and late winter (16 January – 15 April). Forage explained canopy cover selection in early winter (16 November – 15 January) and contributed significantly to the best equation describing habitat selection during late winter. Snow depth contributed to habitat selection in early winter but was not related to habitat selection during late winter. During summer, moose generally selected against sites where Te exceeded 30 °C, the thermal limit requiring panting to dissipate metabolic heat. During late winter, moose also generally avoided canopy covers where Te commonly exceeded 8 °C, the temperature at which panting is required to dissipate heat. During early winter, moose apparently suffered minimal heat stress, as Te remained below 0 °C; consequently, moose selected canopy cover types that provided comparatively high forage availability.

FEEDING HABITS OF MULE DEER ON FALL, WINTER, AND SPRING RANGES NEAR KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA

1976 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. WILLMS ◽  
A. McLEAN ◽  
R. RITCEY
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Growth Form ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Plant Growth Form ◽  
Early Fall ◽  
Tree Component

Diets of mule deer were studied in the Kamloops area from September to April. The forages of 67 rumen samples were sorted to grass, tree, shrub, and forb species and the percent oven-dry weights calculated for each. Polynomial regressions (to the third degree) were used to describe the use of each plant-growth form over time, as well as to determine the influence of snow depth on plant species consumption. Douglas fir formed most of the tree component of the diet of the deer. Consumption of this species was highest in December and January. Grass consumption was less than 10% until early spring when it increased to almost 100%. More forbs were consumed in fall than in winter, while shrubs were consumed more in early fall and late winter than in late fall. Species composition of each plant growth-form generally varied with season. Increasing snow depth altered the proportion of both small and large plants in the diet. As snow depth increased, fewer small plants but more large plants were consumed.

scholarly journals Snow-Creep Pressure on Masts

1989 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 154-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Otto Larsen ◽  
Jens Laugesen ◽  
Krister Kristensen
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Close Correlation ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Pressure Measurements ◽  
Snow Pack ◽  
Snow Layer ◽  
Western Norway ◽  
Snow Pressure

Snow-pressure measurements have been carried out on two masts at the NGI avalanche station in Grasdalen, western Norway. These two tubular masts have diameters of 0.22 and 0.42 m, respectively, and are situated on a 25° slope with a deep snow cover. The most important conclusions are that within a homogeneous snow-pack there is a close correlation between snow-creep pressure and the product of acceleration due to gravity, g, density, ρ, and snow depth, H, that the highest pressures are recorded in late winter when the snow-pack is at the 0°C isothermal, and finally that a weak 0° C isothermal snow layer at ground level appears to increase snow pressure.

scholarly journals Influence of local factors on the distribution of snow resources in northern Tien Shan

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 220-224
Author(s):  
S.I. Severskiy ◽  
I.V. Severskiy
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
The Other ◽  
Statistical Relationship ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Local Factors ◽  
The One ◽  
Northern Tien Shan ◽  
Different Altitudes

Methods of quantitative evaluation of the influence of local factors such as slope exposure (aspect and gradient) and types of vegetation on the distribution of snow cover found in the northern Tien Shan are described. This investigation is based on regular measurements of snow depth and density at different altitudes and exposures, and with different vegetation types. A strong statistical relationship was obtained between snow cover on the one hand and slope exposure and vegetation types on the other. Local factors have a stronger influence on the distribution of snow cover than elevation. These methods were used for the estimation of the distribution of snow cover in a typical river basin. The results obtained differ significantly from the results of evaluations made by traditional methods.

scholarly journals Waterlogging under simulated late-winter conditions had little impact on the physiology and growth of Norway spruce seedlings

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 781-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ai-Fang Wang ◽  
Marja Roitto ◽  
Tarja Lehto ◽  
Janusz J Zwiazek ◽  
Mónica Calvo-Polanco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Winter Conditions

The influence of forest stand characteristics on snow interception in the coastal forests of British Columbia

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 566-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Scott McNay ◽  
Leslie D. Peterson ◽  
J. Brian Nyberg
Keyword(s):  
Snow Depth ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Related Phenomenon ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Coastal Forests ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Fresh Snow ◽  
Stand Characteristics

The capability of forest stands to intercept snow is an important factor in determining management prescriptions for such hydrologically related phenomenon as avalanches, floods, and water supply as well as suitability for ungulate winter habitat. This study tested the hypothesis that snow interception can be predicted as a function of various stand characteristics and storm sizes. The dependent variable was fresh snow depth under the forest canopy; the independent variables were crown completeness, crown length, crown width, basal area per hectare, tree height, tree density, and storm size. Ten stands were selected for study from two locations on Vancouver Island. Snow depth was monitored over 24 storms ranging from 1.4 to 38.0 cm. The best simple linear regression models that incorporated forest variables were those for individual storms, with fresh snow expressed as a function of mean crown completeness. The best assessments of a particular stand's capability to intercept snow were made using an equation with both storm size and mean crown completeness as independent variables.

scholarly journals Self-similarity in glacier surface characteristics

2003 ◽  
Vol 49 (167) ◽  
pp. 547-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil S. Arnold ◽  
W. Gareth Rees
Keyword(s):  
Surface Roughness ◽  
Energy Balance ◽  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Surface Albedo ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Correlation Lengths ◽  
Aerodynamic Roughness

AbstractCatchment-wide information on glacier snow-cover depth, surface albedo and surface roughness is important input data for distributed models of glacier energy balance. In this study, we investigate the small-scale (mm to 100 m) spatial variability in these properties, with a view to better simulating this variability in such models. Data were collected on midre Lovénbreen, a 6 km2 valley glacier in northwest Svalbard. The spatial variability of all three properties was found to be self-similar over the range of scales under investigation. Snow depth and albedo exhibit a correlation length within which measurements were spatially autocorrelated. Late-winter and summer properties of snow depth differed, with smaller depths in summer due to melt, and shorter correlation lengths. Similar correlation lengths for snow depth and surface albedo may suggest that snow-depth variation is an important control on the small-scale spatial variability of glacier surface albedo. For surface roughness, the data highlight a possible problem in energy-balance studies which use microtopographic surveys to calculate aerodynamic roughness, in that the scale of the measurements made affects the calculated roughness value. This suggests that further investigations of the relationships between surface form and aerodynamic roughness of glacier surfaces are needed.

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