Use of restoration-treated ponderosa pine forest by tassel-eared squirrels

Loberger, Chad D.; Theimer, Tad C.; Rosenstock, Steven S.; Wightman, Catherine S.

doi:10.1644/10-mamm-a-321.1

Cited by 22 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Because human disturbances increase environmental exposure and reduce forest structure and complexity of Polylepis woodlands [4], we predicted that habitat specialists would be more sensitive to habitat degradation than habitat generalists and that specialist diversity would be less in the mid-successional woodland than the intact woodland. Kirkland [16] and Fisher and Wilkinson [17], for example, have shown in temperate habitats that disturbances change the habitat structure and food resources that then alter small mammal communities, and species that are forest habitat specialists are especially vulnerable to changes in the vertical structure of habitat used for cover from predators and while foraging and nesting [18]. The present study is the first to attempt to delineate such effects in a high-andean tropical cloud forest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

A comparison of small mammal communities in two High-Andean Polylepis woodlands in Ecuador

Ojala-Barbour

Brito

Teska

2019

ACI

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Polylepis forest, historically widespread throughout high elevations of the central and northern Andes, now remain only in discontinuous small patches. An expanding agricultural frontier, along with other anthropogenic pressures, imperils these remnants through further isolation and loss of habitat quality. Using two grids of live traps we compared the populations of small nonvolant mammals in an intact Polylepis woodland with one nearby that had been logged 50 years before. Our study is the first to examine the effects of habitat degradation and associated changes to vertical complexity and habitat heterogeneity on mammalian communities in Polylepis woodlands above 3500 m. The intact woodland had significantly more vertical complexity than the mid-successional woodland. A total of 315 captures of 147 individuals of 9 species were sampled during an intensive trapping effort in 2010. Trap success was especially high averaging 35.4 % and 28.1 % in the intact and mid-successional woodland, respectively. Diversity and abundance of small mammals were greater in the intact woodland than the mid-successional site. Forest specialist species were more abundant in the intact habitat; while Thomasomys paramorum, a habitat generalist, was dominant in both. Habitat quality affected movement patterns of T. paramorum. The results affirm a high diversity and density of small mammals in intact Polylepis woodland and indicate that the effects of habitat disturbance are species dependent. We suggest that habitat specialists are more susceptible to loss of habitat heterogeneity and vertical complexity than habitat generalists.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

A comparison of small mammal communities in two High-Andean Polylepis woodlands in Ecuador

Ojala-Barbour

Brito

Teska

2019

ACI

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“…Homogeneity of forest canopy and lack of structural complexity also increase vulnerability of ecosystems to landscape-scale disturbances such as stand-replacing wild re, bark beetle attacks, and density-dependent or drought induced mortality (Covington et al 1997, Agee andSkinner 2005;Kolb et al 2007;McWethy et al 2019). Although, interconnected tree crowns and greater canopy cover are important for some wildlife species, such as the tassel-eared squirrel (Sciurus aberti), Mexican spotted-owl (Strix occidentalis lucida), and northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) (Ganey et al 1999;Prather et al 2006;Loberger et al 2011;Tuten et al 2015;Bagdon et al 2016), severe loss of habitat due to stand-replacing re is of high concern to forest managers.…”

Section: Comparisons To Managed Wildland Resmentioning

confidence: 99%

Southwestern ponderosa pine forest patterns following wildland fires managed for resource benefit differ from reference landscapes

Donager

Meador

Huffman³

2021

Preprint

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Context. Managers aiming to utilize wildland fire to restore southwestern ponderosa pine landscapes require better understanding of forest cover patterns produced at multiple scales. Restoration effectiveness of wildland fires managed for resource benefit can be evaluated against natural ranges of variation.Objectives. We describe landscape patterns within reference landscapes, including restored and functioning ponderosa pine forests of northern Arizona, and compare them to wildland fires managed for resource benefit. We make comparisons along a gradient of extents and assess the effects of scale on landscape differences.Methods. Using Sentinel-2 imagery, we classified ponderosa pine forest cover and calculated landscape metrics across a gradient of landscape extent within reference and managed landscapes. We used non-parametric tests to assess differences. We used random forest models to assess and explore which landscape metrics were most importance in differentiating landscape patterns.Results. Managed wildfire landscapes were significantly different from reference landscapes for most metrics and extents (15 ha to 840 ha). Landscape type (managed vs. reference) became increasingly differentiable with scale, with area and aggregation metrics being the most informative. Classification models increased in accuracy despite fewer observations with increasing scale.Conclusions. Wildland fires managed for resource benefit in ponderosa pine forests of northern Arizona are not producing landscape patterns consistent with reference landscapes likely due to predominance of low-severity burning and minimal resulting changes in overstory structure. Differences become more pronounced with increasing landscape size and suggest small-scale heterogeneity and mid - and large-scale homogeneity within each landscape type.

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“…Given their ubiquity, detectability, and use as a managed small-game species, Abert's squirrel (Sciurus aberti) has been the focus of many studies on forest treatments and wildlife in the Southwest (Dodd et al 2006, Kalies et al 2010, Loberger et al 2011, Worden and Kleier 2012). Abert's squirrels are dependent upon ponderosa pine for virtually every aspect of their life history (Keith 1965, Patton 1977, Brown 1984, Allred and Gaud 1994, Dodd et al 2003.…”

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confidence: 99%

Response in Abert's Squirrel Abundance to Forest Treatments on Camp Navajo, Arizona

Gwinn

Gist

Diamond

et al. 2016

Western North American Naturalist

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Use of restoration-treated ponderosa pine forest by tassel-eared squirrels

Cited by 22 publications

References 38 publications

A comparison of small mammal communities in two High-Andean Polylepis woodlands in Ecuador

A comparison of small mammal communities in two High-Andean Polylepis woodlands in Ecuador

Southwestern ponderosa pine forest patterns following wildland fires managed for resource benefit differ from reference landscapes

Response in Abert's Squirrel Abundance to Forest Treatments on Camp Navajo, Arizona

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