Forest Structure Resulting from ‘Wildlife Forestry Silviculture’
Wildlife forestry is management of forest resources, within sites and across landscapes, to provide sustainable, desirable habitat conditions for all forest-dependent (silvicolous) fauna while concurrently yielding economically viable, quality timber products. In practice, however, management decisions associated with wildlife forestry often reflect a desire to provide suitable habitat for rare species, species with declining populations, and exploitable (i.e., game) species. Collectively, these species are deemed priority species and they are assumed to benefit from habitat conditions that result from prescribed silvicultural management actions.
The Challenge: Management of bottomland forests using wildlife forestry silviculture is being undertaken to achieve desired forest conditions for priority silvicolous wildlife, such as Louisiana black bear, migratory birds, and resident game species. Wildlife forestry management results in forests that have more open canopies and increased understory vegetation yet exhibit heterogeneous structure with retained dominant trees and cavities. Creating these conditions on recently reforested sites and maintaining these conditions in mature forests, without undesirable shifts shade-tolerant tree species composition are management concerns.
The Science: Changes in forest structure within reforested bottomland forests are being assessed and compared among differed management types and contrasted with unmanaged stands. Within mature forests, survival and accession to canopy of shade-intolerant trees are being assessed in response to wildlife forestry silviculture.
The Future: Assessments of changes in forest structure, rates of canopy gap closure, and survival of shade-intolerant tree species will provide a framework upon which to base the prognosis for perpetuation of desired forest conditions. Recommendations for forest management on reforested sites will target attainment and maintenance of enhanced forest habitat for priority wildlife.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Influence of forest harvest severity and time since perturbation on conservation of North American birds
Rapid adoption of nestboxes by Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) in mesic deciduous forest
Breeding birds in managed forests on public conservation lands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Object-based forest classification to facilitate landscape-scale conservation in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Forest structure of oak plantations after silvicultural treatment to enhance habitat for wildlife
Leaf-on canopy closure in broadleaf deciduous forests predicted during winter
Change in avian abundance predicted from regional forest inventory data
Effects of wildlife forestry on abundance of breeding birds in bottomland hardwood forests of Louisiana
Below are partners associated with this project.
Wildlife forestry is management of forest resources, within sites and across landscapes, to provide sustainable, desirable habitat conditions for all forest-dependent (silvicolous) fauna while concurrently yielding economically viable, quality timber products. In practice, however, management decisions associated with wildlife forestry often reflect a desire to provide suitable habitat for rare species, species with declining populations, and exploitable (i.e., game) species. Collectively, these species are deemed priority species and they are assumed to benefit from habitat conditions that result from prescribed silvicultural management actions.
The Challenge: Management of bottomland forests using wildlife forestry silviculture is being undertaken to achieve desired forest conditions for priority silvicolous wildlife, such as Louisiana black bear, migratory birds, and resident game species. Wildlife forestry management results in forests that have more open canopies and increased understory vegetation yet exhibit heterogeneous structure with retained dominant trees and cavities. Creating these conditions on recently reforested sites and maintaining these conditions in mature forests, without undesirable shifts shade-tolerant tree species composition are management concerns.
The Science: Changes in forest structure within reforested bottomland forests are being assessed and compared among differed management types and contrasted with unmanaged stands. Within mature forests, survival and accession to canopy of shade-intolerant trees are being assessed in response to wildlife forestry silviculture.
The Future: Assessments of changes in forest structure, rates of canopy gap closure, and survival of shade-intolerant tree species will provide a framework upon which to base the prognosis for perpetuation of desired forest conditions. Recommendations for forest management on reforested sites will target attainment and maintenance of enhanced forest habitat for priority wildlife.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Influence of forest harvest severity and time since perturbation on conservation of North American birds
Rapid adoption of nestboxes by Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) in mesic deciduous forest
Breeding birds in managed forests on public conservation lands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Object-based forest classification to facilitate landscape-scale conservation in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Forest structure of oak plantations after silvicultural treatment to enhance habitat for wildlife
Leaf-on canopy closure in broadleaf deciduous forests predicted during winter
Change in avian abundance predicted from regional forest inventory data
Effects of wildlife forestry on abundance of breeding birds in bottomland hardwood forests of Louisiana
Below are partners associated with this project.