Thinning and prescribed fire effects on overstory tree and snag structure in dry coniferous forests of the interior Pacific Northwest

Harrod, Richy J.; Peterson, David W.; Povak, Nicholas A.; Dodson, Erich Kyle

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2009.05.011

Cited by 53 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…In North America, more studies have evaluated bat response to thinning than any other silvicultural treatment, with thinning often applied in combination with other treatments on the same landscape (Erickson and West 1996;Patriquin and Barclay 2003;Loeb and Waldrop 2008;. Studies of treatment combinations are important as future directions in the management of forests in North America are emphasising multi-treatment prescriptions (Aubry et al 2009;Harrod et al 2009;Hessburg et al 2010), to increase structural habitat complexity, both vertically and horizontally, while reducing the impact of insect infestations and the threats of wildfire and global climate change (Boerner et al 2008;Parks and Bernier 2010;Duerr and Mistretta 2013). Some forest management strategies specifically target bats, though often bats are catered for under broad forest prescriptions that aim to accommodate the needs of a range of forest-dependent species in an area (Law 2004).…”

Section: Loggingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insectivorous Bats and Silviculture: Balancing Timber Production and Bat Conservation

Law

Park

Lacki

2015

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World

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Forests are one of the most important habitats for insectivorous bats as they offer the potential for both roosting and foraging. We reviewed silvicultural literature from North America, Australia, and Europe and found that diverse research approaches have revealed commonalities in bat responses to forest silviculture. Almost all silvicultural treatments evaluated were compatible with some use by forest bats, though different bat ensembles respond in different ways. Ensemble ecomorphology was a consistent predictor of how bats respond to vegetative clutter and its dynamic changes as forests regenerate and develop a dense structure following harvesting. Sustaining high levels of bat diversity in timber production forests requires a mix of silvicultural treatments and exclusion areas staggered across the landscape, regardless of forest type or geographic region. Use of edge habitats, exclusion areas/set-asides, and riparian corridors for roosting and foraging by bats were consistent themes in the literature reviewed, and these habitat elements need to be considered in forest planning. Densities of hollow or dead trees sufficient to support large populations of roosting bats are unknown and remain a major knowledge gap, but will likely be species contingent. New paradigm shifts in forest management away from the use of even-aged systems to multi-spatial scale retention of mature forest including trees with cavities should be beneficial to bats, which are influenced by landscape-scale management. Such

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Section: Loggingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insectivorous Bats and Silviculture: Balancing Timber Production and Bat Conservation

Law

Park

Lacki

2015

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World

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“…Current fuel loads may be too high to achieve mortality of fir without excessive mortality of large pine; even low-intensity prescribed fires may direct successional trends away from desired conditions by killing oldgrowth ponderosa pine (Swezy and Agee 1991). Mortality rates of large, old ponderosa pine after prescribed burns range from 3.2% in the Sierras, to 11.4% in eastern Washington, to 50% in Crater Lake National Park (Fettig et al 2010, Harrod et al 2009, Swezy and Agee 1999. Other important pine species are also susceptible; in Crater Lake NP large (old 80-200 years) sugar pines died due to beetle attack between 1-4 years post burn (Thomas and Agee 1986).…”

Section: Treatment Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mechanical treatments usually result in fewer snags than a prescribed burn or thin/burn treatment (Harrod et al 2009, Vershuyl et al 2011). In the eastern Washington Cascades about 70% of all snags, including 50% of snags >15.8 in dbh, were cut down during mechanical thinning operations primarily for safety concerns (Harrod et al 2009). Designation of retention areas to protect snags may be one way to reduce the number of snags cut down for safety reasons.…”

Section: Mechanical Thinningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mechanical treatments are also prone to increase surface fuels and thus increase the risk of higher surface fire intensities for a period of time after harvest (Harrod et al 2009). …”

Section: Mechanical Thinningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Harrod et al (2009) found that prescribed burning increases snag density because more snags were created than lost. However, in the Sierras of California, Bagne et al (2008) found a net loss of snags in burned stands as compared to controls.…”

Section: Mechanical Thinningmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Between-Year Breeding Dispersal by White-Headed Woodpeckers: A Caution About Using Color Bands to Estimate Survival

Lorenz

2016

Northwestern Naturalist

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Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions

Prichard

Hessburg

Hagmann

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

Self Cite

183

126

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We review science-based adaptation strategies for western North American (wNA) forests that include restoring active fire regimes and fostering resilient structure and composition of forested landscapes. As part of the review, we address common questions associated with climate adaptation and realignment treatments that run counter to a broad consensus in the literature. These include: (1) Are the effects of fire exclusion overstated? If so, are treatments unwarranted and even counterproductive? (2) Is forest thinning alone sufficient to mitigate wildfire hazard? (3) Can forest thinning and prescribed burning solve the problem? (4) Should active forest management, including forest thinning, be concentrated in the wildland urban interface (WUI)? ( 5) Can wildfires on their own do the work of fuel treatments? (6) Is the primary objective of fuel reduction treatments to assist in future firefighting response and containment? (7) Do fuel treatments work under extreme fire weather? (8) Is the scale of the problem too great -can we ever catch up? (9) Will planting more trees mitigate climate change in wNA forests? and (10) Is post-fire management needed or even ecologically justified? Based on our review of the scientific evidence, a range of proactive management actions are justified and necessary to keep pace with changing climatic and wildfire regimes and declining forest successional heterogeneity after severe wildfires. Science-based adaptation options include the use of managed wildfire, prescribed burning, and coupled mechanical thinning and prescribed burning as is consistent with land management allocations and forest conditions. Although some current models of fire management in wNA are averse to short-term risks and uncertainties, the long-term environmental, social, and cultural consequences of wildfire management primarily grounded in fire suppression are well documented, highlighting an urgency to invest in intentional forest management and restoration of active fire regimes.

show abstract

Thinning and prescribed fire effects on overstory tree and snag structure in dry coniferous forests of the interior Pacific Northwest

Cited by 53 publications

References 47 publications

Insectivorous Bats and Silviculture: Balancing Timber Production and Bat Conservation

Insectivorous Bats and Silviculture: Balancing Timber Production and Bat Conservation

Between-Year Breeding Dispersal by White-Headed Woodpeckers: A Caution About Using Color Bands to Estimate Survival

Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions

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