Forestry & Society

Wildlife Habitat

HORT RGSC 302

J.G. Mexal

Spring 2008

What are the benefits??

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Rediscovered in Big Woods of AR (Apr/05)

Singer Tract, LA, 1935. Photo credit: David Allen Colorized version of version

Monarch Butterfly

Neotropical Parrots

Wildlife in the Forest/Ciencia Forestal

SUMATRA

BORNEO(P. p. pygmaeus)

(P. p. abelii)

http://www.cia.gov/nic/PDF_GIF_confreports/asiaUSoutlook/southeast_asia_map.gif

ORANGUTAN (Pongo pygmaeus)

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/Guanaco in Chile

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat

Jaguars in the Chiracahuas

Wildlife Corridors

Forestry & Society

Wildlife Habitat/U.Mass. CES 1993

Florida Sand Pine Forests

“The endangered bird lives in young sand pines that grow low to the ground, trees that generally are less than 15 years old.”

“a mature sand pine forest, you are not going to find successful gopher tortoise burrows….”

Forestry & Society

Wildlife Habitat• Concerns:

– Big animals• deer, elk, turkey, bear, cougar• thermal cover, hiding cover, food, corridors (forest

fragmentation

– Little animals• fish, prey (mice, etc), insects

– Threatened & Endangered Species• western goshawk, red cockaded woodpecker, spotted owl

(Mexican & northern), wolf

Meadow Conversion & Grazing

• Conifer invasion into meadow coincided with cessation of sheep grazing in Three Sisters Wilderness

• Stand replacement fires can require centuries to convert back to forests

• Invasion essentially complete after 30 yrs or so in both cases

Avg age ≈90yrs

≈50yrs

≈20yrs

Bird response to prescribed fireScience Findings PNW Station May’08

Species Response

Black-backed woodpecker +++

American robin +++

Western bluebird ++

White breasted nuthatch +

Hairy woodpecker +

Western wood pewee ½+

Gray flycatcher ½+

Pine siskin -

Swainson’s thrush -

Ruby-crowned kinglet -

Cassin’s vireo -

Clark’s nutcracker --

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/Harvesting decreases standing deadwood (Science Findings 42:3/02)

0

4

8

12

16

W-conifer Mixedconifer

SW mixedconifer

E mixedconifer

Oak/Doug-fir

E pond.pine

LPP Juniper

UnharvestedHarvested

Forest Type

Snags (>20”)/ac

Red-cockaded Woodpecker PreyWild. Soc. Bull. 31:131:’02

Number/tree Biomass (mg/tree)

Eastern Wild Turkey

• Habitat: A mixture of mature hardwood forests and open fields. Understory vegetation.Food: Acorns and other mast (hard fruit), fleshy fruits, corn, a variety of seeds, and invertebrates. Young turkeys (particularly) feed heavily on insects.

• Interesting facts: Turkeys frequently can be seen foraging in the fields that border forestland.

• Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection

Nature Photography by Gary D.TonhouseWildlife Gallery 1997-2003

Northern Bobwhite Quail

• Habitat-weedy/brushy-found in roadsides & successional areas-non-migrant (300 ac)-woodlands/crop fields-endangered

• Food: corn, seeds, insects

Source: All Things Quail

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/clearcuts have food!

y = 18.2x + 18.6

R2 = 0.48

0

30

60

90

120

150

Clearcut Shelterwood Single-tree Unharvested Group

Oak/Hickory (tpa)Hard Mast Index

71%22%

17%

10%

17%

% of total BA

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/clearcuts have food!

0

20

40

60

80

100

UnharvestedSingle-tree

GroupShelterwood

Clearcut

Yr-1Yr-3Yr-5

Harvest method

Soft mast cover (%)Ouachita NF, AR/OK

Wildlife Soc. Bull. 27:915:99

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/clearcuts have food!

0

20

40

60

80

100

UnharvestedSingle-tree

GroupShelterwood

Clearcut

Yr-1Yr-3Yr-5

Harvest method

Soft mast production (kg/ha)Ouachita NF, AR/OK

Wildlife Soc. Bull. 27:915:99

A

B

C

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/clearcuts have food!

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 5 10 15 20 25

Yr-1Yr-3Yr-5

Pine BA (m2/ha)

Soft mast production (kg/ha)Ouachita NF, AR/OK

Wildlife Soc. Bull. 27:915:99

ClearcutGroupShelterwoodSingle-treeUnharvested

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/soft mast species

• muscadine grapes• blueberries• blackberries• wild roses• sumac• American beautyberry• hackberry• dogwood

• plums• cherries• mulberry• pokeberry• holly• sassafras• green briers• poison ivy

Wildlife Soc. Bull. 27:915:99

Flying Squirrel Population (food for spotted owl) Science Findings 80/ Feb’06

Squirrel/ha

Biomass (kg/ha)

Squirrel Survival (%)

Forestry & Society

Wildlife Habitat/Small mammals vs patch size/ SEAFWA Proc. 1997

0

1

2

3

4

P. polin

otus

P. gossypinus

S. hisp

idus

R. humilu

s

All species

<6 ha10-15 ha>25 ha

Individuals captures/100 nights

Forestry & Society

Wildlife Habitat/Small mammals vs patch size/ SEAFWA Proc. 1997

Clearcutsize

Speciesrichness

Shannon’sdiversityindex (H’)

Variance ofH’

Small(<6 ha)

1 0.00 0.00

Medium(10-15 ha)

3 1.08 0.21

Large(>25 ha)

6 1.45 0.23

Forestry & Society

Wildlife Habitat/Small mammals vs patch size/ SEAFWA Proc. 1997

• 542 captures (307 individuals)– Peromyscus polionotus (44%) [field mice]– Sigmodon hispidus (36%) [cotton

rats]– Peromyscus gossypinus (16%)– Reithrodontomys humilus (2%)– Neotoma floridana (1% [wood rats]– Mus musculus (0.3%)

White-tailed Deer

• The white-tailed deer is an herbivore or plant eater. It follows well-used trails to its feeding areas.

• It eats green plants in the spring and summer. In the fall, it eats corn, acorns and other nuts. In the winter, it eats the buds and twigs of woody plants.If deer have enough food, water, shelter, population can grow quickly.

• Live in wooded areasNew Hampshire Public Television

Frizzell 2003 – Valley Forge

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/clearcuts have food!

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Pre-logging

1 2 3 4 5

Clearcut (wet)Clearcut (dry)Uncut

Years after Logging

Ungulate Fecal Groups (no/ha)

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/Elk like clearcuts!

Science Findings 22/feb2000 PNW Res. Stn.

Elk Body Weight Change (%)- OR

Forestry & SocietyWildlife Habitat/review questions

• Why are forest gaps good for wildlife?

• Why are forest gaps bad for wildlife?

• What kinds of trees do wildlife need?

• How do you keep the ‘critters’ and the ‘loggers’ happy?Pileated woodpecker