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In recent years, conflicts between ecological conservation and economic growth forced a reassessment of the motivations and goals of wildlife and forestry management. Focus shifted from game and commodity management to biodiversity conservation and ecological forestry. Previously separate fields such as forestry, biology, botany, and zoology merged into a common framework known as conservation biology and resource professionals began to approach natural resource problems in an interdisciplinary light.
Wildlife Habitat Management: Concepts and Applications in Forestry presents an integrated reference combining silvicultural and forest planning principles with principles of habitat ecology and conservation biology. With extensive references and case studies drawn from real situations, Wildlife Habitat Management: Concepts and Applications in Forestry begins with general concepts such as habitat selection, forest composition, influences on habitat patterns, and the dynamics of disturbance ecology. It considers management approaches for specific habitats including even-aged and uneven-aged systems, riparian areas, and dead wood and highlights those approaches that will conserve and manage biodiversity. The author discusses assessment and prioritization policies, monitoring techniques, and ethical and legal issues that can have worldwide impact. Detailed appendices provide a glossary, scientific names, and tools for measuring and interpreting habitat elements. Writing in a species-specific manner, the author emphasizes the need to consider the potential effects of management decisions on biodiversity conservation and maintains a holistic approach throughout the book.
Drawing from the author's more than 30 years working and teaching in natural resources conservation, Wildlife Habitat Management: Concepts and Applications in Forestry provides a synopsis of current preservation techniques and establishes a common body of knowledge from which to approach the conservation of biodiversity in the future.
Introduction
- What is Habitat?
- Habitat Function
- Habitat for Humans
- Forests as Habitat
- Historical Approaches to Managing Forests as Habitat
- Why Manage Habitat?
- Case Study: The Forests of British Columbia
Vertebrate Habitat Selection
- Hierarchical Selection
- Density-Dependent Habitat Selection
- Relationship between Habitat Quality and Demographics
- Population Fitness
- Measuring Habitat Selection
- Proximate and Ultimate Cues to Habitat Quality
- Case Study: American Marten Habitat Selection
Forest Structure and Composition
- Food and Cover in a Cellulose-Managed System
- Vertical Complexity
- Horizontal Patchiness
- Forage Availability and Quality
- Fruit Production
- Dead and Damaged Trees
- Tree Species and Invertebrate Associations
- Tree Size and Density
- Forest Floor Litter and Soil
- Proximity to Water
- Case Study: Plant Response to Herbivores, or Its a (Chemical) War out There!
Physical and Cultural Influences on Habitat Patterns
- The Physical Environment
- Geology
- Topography: Slope, Aspect, and Elevation
- Soils
- Climate
- Hydrology
- Vegetation Patterns
- Cultural Effects on Habitat Patterns
- Land Use
- Climate Change
- Invasive Species
- Case Study: Passenger Pigeons, Humans, and Forests
Disturbance Ecology and Habitat Dynamics
- Disturbance Size
- Disturbance Severity
- Disturbance Frequency
- Disturbance Frequency, Size, and Severity Relationships
- Stand Dynamics
- Stand Initiation
- Stem Exclusion
- Understory Reinitiation
- Old Growth
- Succession as a Continuum of Habitat Elements
- Successional Pathways
- Management Implications from Disturbances
Silviculture and Habitat Management: Even-Aged Systems
- Silviculture as a Forest Disturbance
- Characteristics of Even-Aged Stands
- Considering the Capabilities of the Site
- Choosing a Regeneration Method
- Identifying Legacy Elements to Retain
- Site Preparation Effects on Habitat Elements
- Natural Regeneration and Planting Options
- Vegetation Management Effects on Habitat Elements
- Precommercial Thinning
- Commercial Thinning
- Fertilization
- Rotation Length: Ecological and Economic Trade-Offs
- Case Study: Douglas-Fir Plantation
Silviculture and Habitat Management: Uneven-Aged Systems
- Characteristics of Uneven-Aged Stands
- Considering the Site Potential
- Uneven-Aged Regeneration Methods
- Natural Regeneration and Planting Options
- Uneven-Aged Stand Development
- Habitat Elements in Uneven-Aged Stands
- Vertical Structure
- Horizontal Diversity
- Forage and Browse
- Dead and Dying Trees
- Mast
- Challenges to Using Uneven-Aged Methods
- Nontraditional Management Approaches
- Case Study: Managing a Small Privately Owned Forest
Desired Future Conditions
- Developing the Stand Prescription
- Case Study: Growing Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Habitat
- Species Background and Management Options
- Current Stand Condition
- Desired Future Condition
- Management Actions to Achieve the Desired Future Condition
- Monitoring Plans
- Budget
Riparian Area Management
- Animal Associations with Riparian Areas
- Gradients within Riparian Zones
- Riparian Functions
- Riparian Buffers
- Managing within Streamside Management Areas
- Beavers—The Stream Managers?
- Case Study: Riparian Area Management in a Patchwork Ownership
Dead Wood Management
- Primary Cavity Excavators
- Secondary Cavity Users
- Log Users
- Patterns of Dead Wood Following Disturbance
- Changes in Dead Wood over Time
- Dead Wood during Stand Development
- Management of Tree Cavities and Dead Wood
- Live Cavity-Tree Management in Managed Stands
- Dead Wood Retention and Harvest System Considerations
- Creating Snags and Logs for Wildlife
- Monitoring Cavity Trees, Snags, and Logs
- Case Study: Managing Dead Wood in Oregon Forests
Landscape Structure and Composition
- Defining the Landscape
- Habitat Quality at the Landscape Scale
- Living on the Edge
- Edge Geometry
- Habitat Fragmentation
- Habitat Area: Species–Area Relationships
- Case Study: Habitat Area or Pattern?
Landscape Connections
- Dispersal
- Understanding the Probability of Successful Dispersal
- Connectivity and Gap-Crossing Ability
- Management Approaches to Connectivity
- Case Study: Matrix Management for a Wide-Ranging Species
Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation
- What is Biodiversity?
- Setting Biodiversity Goals
- How Do We Conceptualize “Biodiversity” to be Able to Conserve It?
- Coarse-Filter Approaches
- Meso-filter Approaches
- Fine-Filter Approaches
- Challenges to Managing Biodiversity
- Spatial Scale
- Time
- Uncertainty
Landscape Management Plans
- Establishing Goals
- Current Conditions
- Desired Future Conditions
- Pathways to DFCs
- Developing the Landscape Management Plan
- Policy Guidelines for HCPs
- General Structure of the Landscape Management Plan
- Considering Alternative Plans
- Finding Solutions to Land Management Planning Problems
- Plan Effectiveness
Ecoregional Assessments and Prioritization
- Ecoregional Assessments
- Examples of Ecoregional Assessments
- Conducting an Ecoregional Analysis
- Assessing Patterns of Habitat Availability and Quality
- Prioritizing Management and Assessing Policies
- Coarse-Filter Approach
- Integrated Coarse- and Fine-Filter Approaches
- Fine-Filter Approaches
- Utility and Effectiveness of Ecoregional Assessments
Viable Populations in Dynamic Forests
- Extinction Risks
- Goals of PVAs
- PVA Models
- Conducting a PVA for a Forest-Associated Species
- Examples of PVA Analyses
- Grizzly Bear
- Marbled Murrelet
- Northern Spotted Owl
- Model Errors and Uncertainties
- Poor Data
- Difficulties in Parameter Estimation
- Weak Ability to Validate Models
- Effects of Alternative Model Structures
- Interpreting Results from PVA Projections
Monitoring Habitat Elements and Populations
- Adaptive Management
- Designing Monitoring Plans
- Selection of Response Variables
- Describe the Scope of Inference
- Describe the Experimental Design
- Sampling Intensity, Frequency, and Duration
- Monitoring Habitat Elements
- Monitoring for Species Occurrence
- Monitoring Trends
- Cause-and-Effect Monitoring Designs
- Are Data Already Available and Sufficient?
- Making Decisions with Data
- Examples of Approaches to Monitoring
- Monitoring Clonal Plants
- Monitoring the Occurrence of a Small-Mammal Species
- Monitoring Trends in a Salamander Subpopulation
- Monitoring Response of Neotropical Migrant Birds to Forest Management
- Monitoring Habitat Elements
Forest Sustainability and Habitat Management
- Defining the Resources to be Sustained
- Scales of Sustainability
- Humans are Part of the System
- Forest Certification
- Effectiveness of Certification
Regulatory and Legal Considerations
- International Laws and Agreements
- National Laws
- State Laws
- Municipal Policies
- Policy Analysis
- How Decisions in the United States Influence Habitat in the World?
Should I Manage a Forest?
- What Does Restoration Mean?
- Human Requirements as Constraints on Goals
- Developing a Personal Management Philosophy
- Our Place on Earth
- Living Simply and Sustainably
- Leaving the World a Better Place
Appendix 1: Common and Scientific Names of Species Mentioned in the Text
- Mammals
- Birds
- Amphibians
- Reptiles
- Insects
- Fish
- Plants
Appendix 2: Glossary
Appendix 3: Measuring and Interpreting Habitat Elements
- Methods
- Random Sampling
- Measuring Density
- Estimating Percent Cover
- Estimating Height
- Estimating Basal Area
- Estimating Biomass
- Using Estimates of Habitat Elements to Assess Habitat Presence
- Using Estimates of Habitat Elements to Assess Habitat Suitability
- Assessing the Distribution of Habitat across a Landscape
References
Index
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
