Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests

McWinn, James W.; Crossley, D. A.

doi:10.2737/se-gtr-94

Cited by 63 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…In such forests, key structural attributes are large live trees and abundant large dead wood in the form of snags, wood on the forest floor and wood in streams, and a multi-storied canopy (Harmon et al 1986, Spies et al 1988, McWinn and Crossley 1996. Large dead wood provides important habitat for a range of taxa, including fishes, amphibians, mammals, birds and invertebrates (Angermeier and Karr 1984, Raphael and White 1984, USDA and USDI 1994, Floyd et al 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using reference conditions in ecosystem restoration: an example for riparian conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest

2012

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Abstract. Quantifying the attributes of reference sites is a crucial problem in the restoration of ecosystems, driving both the evaluation of current conditions and the setting of management targets for specific points in the future. Restoration of riparian ecosystems, particularly those dominated by conifers, has become a priority because of the numerous ecosystem services they provide, including a high number of vertebrate species in population decline that utilize these structurally complex forests. By way of example, we illustrate a three-step process to assess the effects of proposed riparian ecosystem restoration efforts: (1) identify reference sites (2) quantify metrics that describe the reference sites, and (3) use models to predict the likely effects of restoration actions relative to reference conditions. To this end, we identified 117 natural, late-successional conifer dominated stands from existing forest inventories in the Pacific Northwest for the purpose of establishing reference conditions. We did this to establish quantitative metrics for structural attributes essential to the maintenance of biodiversity in these forests, and to assess whether there were any important quantitative differences between upland and riparian forests or whether upland and riparian forest reference sites could be used interchangeably. Both forest types were generally similar, but riparian stands had higher average live tree wood volumes and basal areas, suggesting they may be growing on sites that are more productive. Both riparian and upland forests had abundant large diameter (.50 cm) live trees and snags. Collectively, our data suggest that mature, late-successional conifer dominated forests have well developed structural characteristics in terms of abundant large trees in the overstory, abundant large snags, and a well-developed understory of shade-tolerant trees. We modeled the growth of young conifer stands to assess whether a common restoration treatment would accelerate development of structural characteristics typical of reference conditions. We found that left untreated, the stands followed a trajectory towards developing forest structure similar to the average reference condition. In contrast, the restoration treatment followed a developmental trajectory along the outside range of reference conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using reference conditions in ecosystem restoration: an example for riparian conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest

2012

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“…With shorter rotations, often for pulpwood production, managed southeastern forests have low amounts and small pieces of CWD. Typical volumes of CWD in managed forests of the Southeast are poorly known, but mean volume of CWD in natural pine forests on public land in Georgia is estimated at < 20 m 3 ha -1 (McMinn and Hardt 1996). By contrast, some of the highest recorded mean CWD volumes are in old-growth Douglas-fir forests of western Oregon (502 m 3 ha -1 ; Spies and Cline 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The amount and role of CWD in old-growth conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest have been intensively studied, but few studies of CWD in southeastern pine forests exist (McMinn and Crossley 1996a). In general, southeastern pine forests are younger than western conifer forests, with tree species that exhibit smaller maximum sizes and shorter life spans than western species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Understanding the role of CWD in managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forests in the Southeast is particularly important because of the predominance of this forest type in the landscape (Schultz 1997). Currently, there are insufficient data to allow specific management recommendations for CWD in managed southeastern pine forests (McMinn and Crossley 1996b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Woody debris is an ecosystem component amenable to management (McMinn and Crossley 1996a). Indeed, forest management practices lead to changes in the abundance of CWD-planned or not.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of coarse woody debris in southeastern pine forests; preliminary results from a large-scale experiment.

Timothy¹,

Hanula²,

Loeb³

et al. 2002

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We initiated a long-term experiment involving manipulation of coarse woody debris (CWD) at the Savannah River National Environmental Research Park in the upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina. Each of four 9.3-ha plots in each of four blocks was subject to one of the following treatments: removal of all snags and fallen logs, removal of fallen logs only, felling and girdling to simulate a catastrophic pulse of CWD, and control. Removal treatments were applied in 1996, and the felling or snag-creation treatment will be applied in 2000-2001. Monitoring of invertebrate, herptile, avian, and mammalian assemblages and CWD dynamics began immediately after CWD removal and continues through the present. Removal treatments resulted in a fivefold to tenfold reduction in CWD abundance. To date, significant differences among treatments have only been detected for a few animal taxa. However, preliminary results underscore the benefits of large-scale experiments. This experiment allowed unambiguous tests of hypotheses regarding the effect of CWD abundance on fauna. Coupled with studies of habitat use and trophic interactions, the experimental approach may result in stronger inferences regarding the function of CWD than results obtained through natural history observation or uncontrolled correlative studies.

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Invertebrate community response to coarse woody debris removal for bioenergy production from intensively managed forests

Grodsky

Moorman

Fritts

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. Increased market viability of harvest residues as forest bioenergy feedstock may escalate removal of coarse woody debris in managed forests. Meanwhile, many forest invertebrates use coarse woody debris for cover, food, and reproduction. Few studies have explicitly addressed effects of operational-scale woody biomass harvesting on invertebrates following clearcutting. Therefore, we measured invertebrate community response to large-scale harvest residue removal and micro-site manipulations of harvest residue availability in recently clearcut, intensively managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forests in North Carolina (NC; n = 4) and Georgia (GA; n = 4), USA. We captured 39,794 surface-active invertebrates representing 171 taxonomic groups using pitfall traps situated among micro-site locations (i.e., purposefully retained piles of hardwood stems and piles of conifer stems and areas without coarse woody debris in NC; windrows and no windrows in GA). Micro-site locations were located within six, large-scale treatments (7.16-14.3 ha) in clearcuts. Large-scale treatments represented intensive harvest residue removal, 15% and 30% harvest residue retention, and no harvest residue removal. In NC, ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) were three times more abundant in treatments with no harvest residue removal than those with the most intensive harvest residue removal and were reduced in treatments that retained 15% or 30% of harvest residues, although not significantly. Invertebrate taxa richness was greater at micro-site locations with retained hardwood and pine (Pinus spp.) harvest residues than those with minimal amounts of coarse woody debris. In both states, relative abundances of several invertebrate taxa, including cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae), fungus gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae and Sciaridae), millipedes (Diplopoda), and wood roaches (Blattodea: Ectobiidae), were greater at micro-site locations with retained harvest residues than those with minimal coarse woody debris. Intensified woody biomass harvesting without retention of ≥15% of harvest residue volume may reduce invertebrate taxa richness and abundances of some key invertebrate taxa in regenerating stands. Further, harvest residue management during and after woody biomass harvesting may be an important consideration for maintaining invertebrate diversity and conserving invertebrates that are influential in the maintenance of ecosystem function and integrity in young forests.

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Biodiversity and Coarse Woody Debris in Southern Forests

Cited by 63 publications

References 48 publications

Using reference conditions in ecosystem restoration: an example for riparian conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest

Using reference conditions in ecosystem restoration: an example for riparian conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest

The role of coarse woody debris in southeastern pine forests; preliminary results from a large-scale experiment.

Invertebrate community response to coarse woody debris removal for bioenergy production from intensively managed forests

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