scholarly journals Ground-Dwelling Invertebrate Abundance Positively Related to Volume of Logging Residues in the Southern Appalachians, USA

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1149
Author(s):  
April D. Boggs ◽  
Christopher E. Moorman ◽  
Dennis W. Hazel ◽  
Cathryn H. Greenberg ◽  
D. Magdalena Sorger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Taxonomic Resolution ◽  
Trap Level ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Rove Beetles ◽  
Logging Residues ◽  
Sustainability Strategies ◽  
Western North Carolina ◽  
Solenopsis Invicta Buren

Invertebrates, especially those dependent on woody debris for a portion of their life cycle, may be greatly impacted by the amount of downed wood retained following timber harvests. To document relationships between invertebrates and logging residues, we sampled invertebrates with pitfall traps placed near or far from woody debris in 10 recently (2013–2015) harvested sites in western North Carolina with varying levels of woody debris retention. We measured the groundcover and microclimate at each trap and estimated site-level woody debris volume. We modeled predictors (e.g., site-level woody debris volume, percent woody debris cover at the trap site, site type) of captures of spiders (Araneae), harvestmen (Opiliones), centipedes/millipedes (Chilopoda/Diplopoda), ground beetles (Carabidae), rove beetles (Staphylinidae), other beetles, ants (Formicidae), grasshoppers (Acrididae/Tetrigidae), crickets (Gryllidae), and cave crickets (Rhaphidophoridae). In addition, we modeled ant occurrence at a finer taxonomic resolution, including red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta Buren) and 13 other genera/species. Forest type, whether hardwood or white pine (Pinus strobus L.) overstory preharvest, was a predictor of invertebrate response for 21 of 24 taxonomic analyses. Invertebrate captures or the occurrence probability of ants increased with increasing site-level woody debris volume for 13 of the 24 taxa examined and increased with increasing coarse woody debris (CWD; diameter ≥ 10 cm) cover at the trap level for seven of 24 taxa examined. Our results indicate that woody debris in harvested sites is important for the conservation of a majority of the taxa we studied, which is likely because of the unique microclimate offered near/under woody debris. Stand-scale factors typically were more important predictors of invertebrate response than trap-level cover of woody debris. We recommend implementing sustainability strategies (e.g., Biomass Harvesting Guidelines) to retain woody debris scattered across harvested sites to aid in the conservation of invertebrates.

Mass and nutrient content of woody debris and forest floor in western red cedar and western hemlock forests on northern Vancouver Island

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1052-1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney J. Keenan ◽  
Cindy E. Prescott ◽  
J.P. Hamish Kimmins
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Western Red Cedar

Biomass and C, N, P, and K contents of woody debris and the forest floor were surveyed in adjacent stands of old-growth western red cedar (Thujaplicata Donn)–western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) (CH type), and 85-year-old, windstorm-derived, second-growth western hemlock–amabilis fir (Abiesamabilis (Dougl.) Forbes) (HA type) at three sites on northern Vancouver Island. Carbon concentrations were relatively constant across all detrital categories (mean = 556.8 mg/g); concentrations of N and P generally increased, and K generally decreased, with increasing degree of decomposition. The mean mass of woody debris was 363 Mg/ha in the CH and 226 Mg/ha in the HA type. The mean forest floor mass was 280 Mg/ha in the CH and 211 Mg/ha in the HA stands. Approximately 60% of the forest floor mass in each forest type was decaying wood. Dead woody material above and within the forest floor represented a significant store of biomass and nutrients in both forest types, containing 82% of the aboveground detrital biomass, 51–59% of the N, and 58–61% of the detrital P. Forest floors in the CH and HA types contained similar total quantities of N, suggesting that the lower N availability in CH forests is not caused by greater immobilization in detritus. The large accumulation of forest floor and woody debris in this region is attributed to slow decomposition in the cool, wet climate, high rates of detrital input following windstorms, and the large size and decay resistance of western red cedar boles.

scholarly journals Estimates of Down Woody Materials on Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia

2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason R. Applegate
Keyword(s):  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Forest Cover Type ◽  
Cover Type ◽  
Forest Cover Types ◽  
Structure Class

Abstract An inventory of down woody materials (DWM) was conducted on Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, to develop a baseline of DWM abundance and distribution to assist in wildland fire management. Estimates of DWM are necessary to develop accurate assessments of wildfire hazard, model wildland fire behavior, and establish thresholds for retaining DWM, specifically CWD (coarse woody debris), as a structural component of forest ecosystems. DWM were sampled by forest type and structure class using US Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) field procedures. DWM averaged 12–16 tn/ac depending on forest cover type and structure class. Coarse woody debris (CWD) averaged 2.7–13.0 tn/ac depending on forest cover type and structure class. CWD comprised more than 70% of DWM across all forest cover types and structure classes. Fine woody debris (FWD) averaged 0.05–3.2 tn/ac depending on fuel hour class, forest cover type, and structure class. DWM was consistently higher in mature (sawtimber) forests than in young (poletimber) forests across all forest cover types, attributed to an increased CWD component of DWM. The variability associated with DWM suggests that obtaining robust estimates of CWD biomass will require a higher sampling intensity than FWD because of its nonuniform distribution in forest systems. FIA field procedures for tallying and quantifying DWM were practical, efficient, and, subsequently, included as permanent metrics in Fort A.P. Hill's Continuous Forest Inventory program.

Detrital carbon pools in temperate forests: magnitude and potential for landscape-scale assessment

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 802-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Bradford ◽  
Peter Weishampel ◽  
Marie-Louise Smith ◽  
Randall Kolka ◽  
Richard A. Birdsey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Partial Solution ◽  
Carbon Accounting ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Carbon Pools ◽  
Aboveground Carbon ◽  
Detrital Carbon

Reliably estimating carbon storage and cycling in detrital biomass is an obstacle to carbon accounting. We examined carbon pools and fluxes in three small temperate forest landscapes to assess the magnitude of carbon stored in detrital biomass and determine whether detrital carbon storage is related to stand structural properties (leaf area, aboveground biomass, primary production) that can be estimated by remote sensing. We characterized these relationships with and without forest age as an additional predictive variable. Results depended on forest type. Carbon in dead woody debris was substantial at all sites, accounting for ∼17% of aboveground carbon, whereas carbon in forest floor was substantial in the subalpine Rocky Mountains (36% of aboveground carbon) and less important in northern hardwoods of New England and mixed forests of the upper Midwest (∼7%). Relationships to aboveground characteristics accounted for between 38% and 59% of the variability in carbon stored in forest floor and between 21% and 71% of the variability in carbon stored in dead woody material, indicating substantial differences among sites. Relating dead woody debris or forest floor carbon to other aboveground characteristics and (or) stand age may, in some forest types, provide a partial solution to the challenge of assessing fine-scale variability.

Coarse woody debris stocks as a function of forest type and stand age in Costa Rican tropical dry forest: long-lasting legacies of previous land use

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa B. Kissing ◽  
Jennifer S. Powers
Keyword(s):  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Tropical Dry Forest ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Ecological Importance

The ecological importance of trees lasts much longer than their life spans. Standing dead trees (snags) and fallen trunks and branches are an important component of above-ground carbon stocks and nutrient reserves, provide habitat for wildlife, and interact with disturbance regimes (e.g. by serving as fuel for fires) (Clark et al. 2002, Harmon et al. 1986, Pyle et al. 2008). Despite these diverse functions, woody debris stocks remain poorly quantified in tropical forests in general (Brown 1997), and in tropical dry forests in particular (Harmon et al. 1995). More empirical studies of the patterns of woody debris and processes that control its dynamics are needed to understand its role in global biogeochemical cycles and for ecosystem simulation models, many of which do not represent coarse woody debris (CWD) as a separate pool (Cornwell et al. 2009).

Logging-residue extraction does not reduce the diversity of litter-layer saprotrophic fungi in three Swedish coniferous stands after 25 years

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 1737-1748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Allmér ◽  
Jan Stenlid ◽  
Anders Dahlberg
Keyword(s):  
Woody Debris ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Litter Layer ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Saprotrophic Fungi ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Logging Residues ◽  
Logging Residue

Logging residues, consisting of branches and treetops, are increasingly being extracted for biofuel purposes in Fennoscandia, thereby decreasing the availability of fine woody debris (FWD). Little is known about the importance of FWD and litter to fungal diversity, although they constitute the major components of dead organic matter in both managed and natural forests. We investigated the long-term effects of removing logging residue on the saprotrophic fungi community in the litter layer by using an experiment established 25 years ago, comprising stands with and without removal of clear-cut slash. The fungal communities were identified using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism from standardized baits of wood and needles left in the litter layer for 30 months. A total of 74 fungal taxa were recorded. No differences in species richness or frequency of abundant species were detected between the stands with and without slash removal, suggesting that the extraction of logging residues has a negligible long-term impact on abundant saprotrophic fungi. Twenty-five of the 36 abundant species colonized wood and needles indiscriminately, while 10 species occurred exclusively on wood or needles and only one species mainly on wood. The importance of litter to certain wood-inhabiting fungi may therefore be underrated. The frequent records of Trichaptum abietinum (Dicks.) Ryvarden indicate that wood-inhabiting species may, surprisingly, be found in the litter layer.

Immediate tree uprooting after retention-felling in a coniferous boreal forest in Fennoscandia

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 3167-3172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harri Hautala ◽  
Ilkka Vanha-Majamaa
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Tree Retention ◽  
Green Tree Retention ◽  
Coniferous Boreal Forest ◽  
Tree Uprooting ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Continuum

We studied the immediate effects of retention-felling on the occurrence of tree uprooting in two different types of boreal spruce forest in Finland to determine whether susceptibility to uprooting is dependent on the biotope. During the first post-treatment year, 7.1% of the trees in the paludified forest type and 1.8% in the upland forest type were uprooted. During the 2 following post-treatment years, uprooting percentages increased considerably (39.3% in the paludified type and 11.5% in the upland type in year 2; 48.3% in the paludified type and 15.2% in the upland type in year 3). Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), the dominant species in both forest types, was the species most susceptible to uprooting. The high uprooting rate in the paludified groups was probably caused by an interaction between the rocky ground and moist overlying peat layer with the shallow root system of P. abies. As paludified forest biotopes are generally recognized to have high biodiversity, the use of green-tree retention in these biotypes may enhance the continuum and survival of sensitive species. Moreover, because of the high level of uprooting, green-tree retention in paludified forest types can quickly and more naturally help restore levels of coarse woody debris.

scholarly journals Comparative effects of full-tree and tree-length shelterwood harvesting on residual tree damage and coarse woody debris volume in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence forest

2012 ◽  
Vol 88 (06) ◽  
pp. 736-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor A. Jones ◽  
Scott McPherson
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Growing Stock ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Tree Length ◽  
Residual Tree ◽  
Stand Damage ◽  
Study Sites

Residual stand damage and coarse woody debris loads were evaluated in 15 hardwood and white pine uniform shelterwood harvest blocks, in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Forest Region, using tree-length (TL) and full-tree (FT) harvesting techniques. Stand-level damage rates to residual stems in both the TL and FT harvest operations were below Ontario’s allowable “major” damage limits of 15% to all residual trees and 10% to acceptable growing stock (AGS) trees. No significant differences in damage rates were observed between the TL and FT harvest systems and were comparable to past assessments in TL and FT harvested blocks. Despite efforts to increase utilization of material from these study sites, no significant differences were observed in coarse woody debris (CWD) volume or the distribution of that volume across decay classes.

scholarly journals Mortality of the white pine weevil associated with silvicultural practices in jack pine plantations

1996 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 388-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Isabel Bellocq ◽  
Sandy M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammal ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Pissodes Strobi ◽  
Pine Weevil ◽  
Competing Vegetation ◽  
Overwintering Mortality ◽  
White Pine Weevil

A synthesis of white pine weevil (Pissodes strobi Peck) mortality caused by predation (insects, birds, and mammalian predators), crowding of pupae, and abiotic factors, acting under different stand conditions given by the type of reforestation, depth of the duff, distance from woody debris, and presence of competing vegetation is presented, based on a four-year study conducted in northeastern Ontario. The type of reforestation (planted vs. aerial seeding) did not influence mortality to immature weevils in the leaders from either bird predation, insect predators and parasitoids or crowding of pupae, but 16% more weevils died during winter in a planted than in a seeded stand suggesting that there was an effect of site condition or small mammal predation on overwintering adults in the duff. Over all conditions, overwintering mortality averaged 76-92% with small mammal predation representing about 5-13%. Site conditions which augmented small mammal populations and predation, such as proximity to woody debris and presence of competing vegetation, had no effect on overwintering mortality of the weevils. The most important factor influencing overwintering mortality was likely the depth of duff where an inverse relationship was observed between mortality and depth. Forest managers should address conditions of duff depth and small mammal predation to increase the already significant overwintering mortality of adult weevils in young jack pine stands. Key words: Pissodes strobi, silvicultural treatments, planted and seeded stands, competing vegetation, duff layers, small mammal predation, overwintering mortality

Armillaria species distribution and site relationships in Pinus- and Tsuga-dominated forests in Massachusetts

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 1477-1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Brazee ◽  
Robert L. Wick
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Eastern Hemlock ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Eastern White Pine ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Pitch Pine ◽  
Armillaria Species

The primary objective of this study was to determine the composition of Armillaria species in northeastern North American Pinus - and Tsuga -dominated forests. This was accomplished by sampling 32 plots at eight sites within pitch pine ( Pinus rigida Mill.), eastern white pine ( Pinus strobus L.), eastern white pine – mixed oak, and eastern hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) forests. In total, 320 isolates were collected from 19 host tree species, with 207 of 320 (65%) of all isolations coming from Pinus and Tsuga. Armillaria solidipes Peck was the most abundant species, making up 188 of 320 (59%) of all isolations, which included 39 isolations from hardwoods. Meanwhile, Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P. Kumm. was collected a total of 27 times from eastern white and pitch pine. These two Armillaria species co-occurred at five of the eight sites sampled. Chi-square analyses showed that incidence of Armillaria species were significantly different by forest type. Pitch pine forests had a higher incidence of A. solidipes (p < 0.001), eastern white pine forests had a higher incidence of A. mellea (p = 0.001), and eastern hemlock forests had a higher incidence of Armillaria gallica Marxm. & Romagn. (p = 0.002) compared with expected values. The distribution of A. solidipes varied significantly by soil drainage and soil type, with a higher incidence on excessively drained (p < 0.001) and loamy sand (p < 0.001) soils.

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