Effects of selection cuts on winter habitat use of snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) in northern temperate forests

Abstract

Selection cutting is used in northern temperate forests where regeneration dynamics are driven by gap formation. By creating openings in the canopy, selection cutting modifies shrub cover, an important criterion in winter habitat selection by snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777), a key species in North American forests. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of selection cuts on snowshoe hare habitat and to evaluate the restoration of habitat quality over time. Occurrence indices for snowshoe hare (fecal pellets and tracks) were modelled according to habitat quality parameters for 22 hardwood stands that were subjected to selection cutting between 1993 and 2007 and 30 untreated stands (15 hardwood and 15 mixedwood) in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec. Model selection based on the Akaike second-order information criterion (AICc) identified lateral cover as the only habitat structure parameter having a positive effect on snowshoe hare abundance in the study sites. Indicators of snowshoe hare presence were highest in untreated mixedwood stands but more abundant in selection cuts than in untreated hardwood stands. The use of selection cuts by snowshoe hare increased with time since logging was performed. We conclude that selection cutting exerted a positive effect on the use of hardwood stands by snowshoe hare.

Umbrella effect of monitoring protocols for mammals in the Northeast US

“…As an example in the case of the marten, less disturbed areas 29 and areas with a higher proportion of hardwood 30 were characterized by higher detection and overall occupancy (higher initial occupancy, lower extinction and higher colonization), which was reflected by lower sampling effort required for these areas. Likewise, in the case of snowshoe hare, higher occupancy occurred in more disturbed areas and areas with lower proportion of hardwood (thus a higher proportion of conifers) 31 , which was reflected in the sampling protocols (Fig. S3 k).…”