Integrating biodiversity and forestry practices in western Canada

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 906-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy T Work ◽  
John R Spence ◽  
W. Jan A. Volney ◽  
Luigi E Morgantini ◽  
John L Innes
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
Coarse Filter ◽  
Tree Retention ◽  
Fine Filter ◽  
Green Tree Retention

In western Canada, some forestry companies are attempting to incorporate conservation of biodiversity as a new management priority. Here we provide a review of management strategies currently implemented through a survey of companies in this region. Representatives from fourteen companies were asked to complete 30 questions designed to assess six broad issues, all of which are important for integrating biodiversity protection with timber production. Differences in provincial legislation were a major factor contributing to the prioritization of biodiversity objectives. All companies stressed that a variety of stand age classes and compositions was important for maintaining biodiversity. Green tree retention was a common approach proposed by all companies. Definitions of green tree retention varied significantly among companies, ranging from residual material left following standard clearcutting to merchantable trees selected specifically to foster wildlife and biodiversity. Most companies have proposed some monitoring aimed at biodiversity, although most plans target habitat structural features rather than directly monitoring species. Key words: biodiversity, sustainability, monitoring, green tree retention, coarse filter, fine filter, rare and threatened species, forest industry

scholarly journals Ecosystem Management of Eastern Canadian Boreal Forests: Potential Impacts on Wind Damage

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 578
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Ruel
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Wind Damage ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Partial Cutting ◽  
Tree Retention ◽  
Green Tree Retention ◽  
The Impact

Research Highlights: Windthrow can interfere significantly with ecosystem management practices. In some cases, their goal could still be reached but this may prove more complex in other cases, like the partial cutting of old-growth stands. In situations where windthrow is common without any human intervention, the use of partial cutting to maintain some stand structures may lead to a feedback loop leading to additional windthrow. Background and Objectives: Forest ecosystem management using natural disturbances as a template has become the management paradigm in many regions. Most of the time, the focus is on fire regime and effects. However, windthrow can be common in some places or can interfere with practices implemented in an ecosystem management strategy. This paper looks at interactions between ecosystem management and windthrow. Materials and Methods: The paper builds on three case studies looking at various elements that could be part of ecosystem management strategies. The first one looks at the impact of green tree retention, while the second one looks at the impact of reducing the size and dispersing clearcuts, and the last one examines the impact of a range of cutting practices in irregular old-growth stands. Results: Green tree retention leads to increased windthrow, especially when applied within mature even-aged stands. Reducing the size of clearcuts and dispersing them over the landscape also involves substantial windthrow along edges. Partial cutting in old-growth stands can lead to relatively high mortality, but part of it is not necessarily related to wind since it occurs as standing dead trees. Differences in the amount of damage with tree size and species have been found and could be used to reduce wind damage. Conclusions: Approaches to minimize wind damage in ecosystem management can be designed using existing knowledge. However, using windthrow as a template to design management strategies would prove more complex.

CFIRP: What we learned in the first ten years

1999 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol L. Chambers ◽  
William C. McComb ◽  
John C. Tappeiner II ◽  
Loren D. Kellogg ◽  
Rebecca L. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudotsuga Menziesii ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Tree Retention ◽  
Green Tree Retention ◽  
Patch Group

In response to public dissatisfaction with forest management methods, we initiated the College of Forestry Integrated Research Project (CFIRP) to test alternative silvicultural systems in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands in western Oregon. We compared costs and biological and human responses among a control and three replicated silvicultural alternatives to clearcutting that retained structural features found in old Douglas-fir forests. Treatments were applied within 8- to 15-ha stands and attempted to mimic crown fires (modified clearcut), windthrow (green tree retention), and small-scale impacts such as root rot diseases (small patch group selection). We also compared costs in three unreplicated treatments (large patch group selection, wedge cut, and strip cut). Each treatment included differences in the pattern of retained dead trees (snags), as either scattered individuals or as clumps. Good communication among researchers and managers, a long-term commitment to the project, and careful documentation of research sites and data are important to the success of long-term silvicultural research projects. To date, over 30 publications have resulted from the project. Key words: alternative silviculture, data management, Douglas-fir, green tree retention, harvesting costs, human dimensions, Oregon, Pseudotsuga menziesii, recreation, wildlife

scholarly journals Standing deadwood for keystone bird species in the eastern boreal forest: Managing for snag dynamics

2009 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Antoine Nappi ◽  
Louis Imbeau ◽  
Michel Saint-Germain
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
Tree Retention ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Managed Landscapes

Extensive even-aged management of the boreal forest and its consequences on the loss of late-seral stages (>100 years) is raising concerns about the future of organisms associated with standing deadwood. The considerable reduction of deadwood not only at the stand but at the landscape level is considered to be one of the principal causes of biodiversity loss in managed forest ecosystems worldwide. Ecosystem-oriented management approaches propose a fundamental change in forestry practices whereby live and dead tree retention becomes an important consideration in forest harvesting. We use woodpecker assemblages and their association with standing deadwood for both nesting and foraging to emphasize the importance of the entire range of snag degradation stages for maintenance of key ecological processes in habitat remnants of managed landscapes. We argue that bridging foraging and nesting knowledge of woodpecker’s snag requirements can refine conservation objectives for deadwood retention in the boreal forest. Key words: deadwood, woodpeckers, hole-nesting community, late-seral forests, keystone species, foraging and nesting tree requirements, food webs, nest webs, snag management

Green Tree Retention in Fennoscandian Forestry

2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (sup003) ◽  
pp. 79-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilkka Vanha-Majamaa ◽  
Jyrki Jalonen
Keyword(s):  
Tree Retention ◽  
Green Tree Retention

scholarly journals Slenderness of trees in black locust stands

2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-117
Author(s):  
Szymon Bijak ◽  
Katarzyna Orzoł
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Black Locust ◽  
Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Age Class ◽  
Crown Length ◽  
Research Material

Abstract This paper investigates the slenderness of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) trees in relation to the biosocial status of the trees, stand age class, crown parameters and habitat type. The research material was collected on 35 research plots in the Sława Śląska, Sulechów and Głogów forest districts in western Poland and comprises 1058 trees. For each tree, we measured height (h) as well as diameter at breast height (d) and determined its biosocial status (Kraft class), crown length (CL) and relative crown length (rCL). The age class and habitat type were assessed at the plot level. Because the obtained values for slenderness (s=h/d) diverged significantly from the normal distribution, we used Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests to investigate the influence of the above-mentioned parameters on the h/d ratio. Black locust slenderness ranged from 0.31 to 1.95 with an average of 0.91 (standard deviation 0.24). It furthermore differed significantly between Kraft classes (the higher the biosocial status, the lower the slenderness) and age classes (the older the trees, the lower their slenderness). We also found a significant effect of the habitat type (in oligotrophic sites trees formed more slender trunks than in mesotrophic sites) and crown parameters on the h/d ratio (decreasing with increasing crown length and relative crown length). The obtained results suggest that the slenderness of black locust does not differ substantially from native broadleaved trees in Poland.

scholarly journals Using osteological measurements to estimate body length in Amazonian manatees

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-161
Author(s):  
Gisele de Castro Maciel VALDEVINO ◽  
Vera Maria Ferreira DA SILVA ◽  
Rodrigo de Souza AMARAL
Keyword(s):  
Body Length ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Body ◽  
Simple Linear Regression ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Linear Measurements ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Condylobasal Length

ABSTRACT Body length is an important parameter in morphological, ecological and behavioral studies of a species and contributes to the understanding of the body condition of individuals. This parameter is essential for conservation and management strategies by informing studies evaluating growth rates, physical maturity and classification of individuals into age groups, promoting better accuracy for the biological parameters of the species. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of body length for Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis) using metric characters of osteological materials. Eleven linear measurements of skull, jaw, scapulae and humeri were collected from 41 Amazonian manatee skeletons of different age classes (calf, juvenile and adult). Data were analyzed by simple linear regression. The condylobasal length was the best predictor of body length for the species (R = 0.943), however, all bones evaluated showed at least one measurement with the capacity to predict body size (R2 > 0.9). Results of this study are useful for inferring body length of Amazonian manatees using bones deposited in museums and biological collections, expanding the informative potential of these materials.

scholarly journals Potential Recolonization Benefits of Retention Forestry Practices

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Loehle ◽  
Kevin A Solarik ◽  
Daniel U Greene ◽  
Laura Six ◽  
Darren J H Sleep
Keyword(s):  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Growth Period ◽  
Life History Trait ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
Retention Forestry ◽  
Tree Retention ◽  
Scattered Trees ◽  
Retention Practices ◽  
Slow Growing

Abstract Tree retention after forest harvest is often used to enhance biodiversity in forests that are otherwise managed using even-aged systems. It remains unclear to what extent scattered trees and residual patches (i.e., retained structures) actually facilitate recolonization of species in logged areas. For assessing recolonization benefits, it is necessary to consider both survival in retained structures postharvest and recolonization in cleared areas. We conducted a literature review to assess recolonization responses of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, vascular plants, invertebrates, lichens/bryophytes, and mycorrhizal fungi. The clearest benefits of retention were for poorly dispersing plants. Seed dispersal type may be a key life-history trait relative to effectiveness of recolonization, with animal-dispersed seeds having the greatest dispersal range. We found that lichens/bryophytes are likely not dispersal limited (with possible exceptions) but are slow growing and require the development of moist microsite conditions. Significant literature gaps exist for amphibians, nonvolant invertebrates, and mycorrhizal fungi. Overall, recolonization success postharvest is taxon specific, where the benefits of implementing retention systems will depend on the region and species within that region. Species that require a long growth period (some lichens) or are poor dispersers (some herbaceous species) may benefit more from the creation of forest reserves than from retention practices.

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