Group-selection silviculture conditionally enhances recruitment of yellow birch in a shade-tolerant hardwood forest

The Brown Creeper (Certhia americana Bonaparte, 1838) has been identified as one of the most sensitive passerines to partial forest harvest in North America. The effect of selection logging on Brown Creeper density, nest timing, nest survival, and nest and foraging site selection was examined in five silviculture treatments (intensive group selection, typical group selection, old single-tree selection, recent single-tree selection, and control forests) of Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada. As Brown Creeper nests under the bark of large, decaying trees, we hypothesized that Brown Creeper density, timing of breeding, nest survival, and nest and foraging site selection would be negatively affected by silviculture through the removal of large, decaying trees as part of providing safe conditions for loggers. We monitored 101 nests of Brown Creeper during the 2010 and 2011 breeding seasons, mapped territories to estimate density, and conducted foraging surveys. Brown Creeper density was reduced by about 42% in logged stands compared with control stands. Despite that, silviculture did not significantly alter timing of breeding or nest survival. However, the loss of large trees through partial harvesting meant that Brown Creeper nested closer to adjacent, small forested wetlands and often in balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) in treated stands. In control stands, Brown Creeper nested further from forested wetlands, disproportionately in greater numbers in upland hardwoods, and preferentially in the bark of snags of yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton). The change in the species of tree used for nesting and the general forest type as a result of logging also resulted in consequences for the selection of foraging substrates. To maintain higher densities of Brown Creeper in logged stands in Algonquin Park, we recommend retaining larger diameter yellow birch, both snags and live trees, preferably within strategically located uncut reserves based on habitat supply planning, that maintains patches roughly the size of Brown Creeper territories (10 ha).

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Predicting altered connectivity of patchy forests under group selection silviculture

Landscape Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10980-009-9421-1 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 435-447 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Seth W. Bigelow ◽

Sean A. Parks

Keyword(s):

Group Selection ◽

Selection Silviculture

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Effects of group selection silviculture in bottomland hardwoods on the spatial activity patterns of bats

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/s0378-1127(01)00516-3 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 162 (2-3) ◽

pp. 209-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Michael A. Menzel ◽

Timothy C. Carter ◽

Jennifer M. Menzel ◽

W. Mark Ford ◽

Brian R. Chapman

Keyword(s):

Group Selection ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Bottomland Hardwoods ◽

Spatial Activity ◽

Selection Silviculture

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Microclimate effects of fuels-reduction and group-selection silviculture: Implications for fire behavior in Sierran mixed-conifer forests

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2011.09.031 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 264 ◽

pp. 51-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Seth W. Bigelow ◽

Malcolm P. North

Keyword(s):

Group Selection ◽

Fire Behavior ◽

Conifer Forests ◽

Mixed Conifer ◽

Fuels Reduction ◽

Mixed Conifer Forests ◽

Selection Silviculture

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Calcium and magnesium in wood of northern hardwood forest species: relations to site characteristics

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x98-210 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 339-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

M A Arthur ◽

T G Siccama ◽

R D Yanai

Keyword(s):

Sugar Maple ◽

Abies Balsamea ◽

Fagus Grandifolia ◽

Hardwood Forest ◽

Northern Hardwood Forest ◽

Betula Alleghaniensis ◽

Forest Species ◽

White Birch ◽

Yellow Birch ◽

Northern Hardwood

Improving estimates of the nutrient content of boles in forest ecosystems requires more information on how the chemistry of wood varies with characteristics of the tree and site. We examined Ca and Mg concentrations in wood at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Species examined were the dominant tree species of the northern hardwood forest and the spruce-fir forest. The concentrations of Ca and Mg, respectively, in lightwood of these species, mass weighted by elevation, were 661 and 145 µg/g for sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), 664 and 140 µg/g for American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), 515 and 93 µg/g for yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.), 525 and 70 µg/g for red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), 555 and 118 µg/g for balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), and 393 and 101 µg/g for white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.). There were significant patterns in Ca and Mg concentrations with wood age. The size of the tree was not an important source of variation. Beech showed significantly greater concentrations of both Ca (30%) and Mg (33%) in trees growing in moist sites relative to drier sites; sugar maple and yellow birch were less sensitive to mesotopography. In addition to species differences in lightwood chemistry, Ca and Mg concentrations in wood decreased with increasing elevation, coinciding with a pattern of decreasing Ca and Mg in the forest floor. Differences in Ca and Mg concentration in lightwood accounted for by elevation ranged from 12 to 23% for Ca and 16 to 30% for Mg for the three northern hardwood species. At the ecosystem scale, the magnitude of the elevational effect on lightwood chemistry, weighted by species, amounts to 18% of lightwood Ca in the watershed and 24% of lightwood Mg but only 2% of aboveground biomass Ca and 7% of aboveground Mg.

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Ground-layer response to group selection with legacy-tree retention in a managed northern hardwood forest

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x07-052 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 37 (10) ◽

pp. 1797-1807 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Joshua M. Shields ◽

Christopher R. Webster

Keyword(s):

Group Selection ◽

Tree Height ◽

Rubus Idaeus ◽

Ground Layer ◽

Hardwood Forest ◽

Northern Hardwood Forest ◽

Upper Peninsula ◽

Northern Hardwood ◽

Tree Retention ◽

The Matrix

We examined the effects of group selection with legacy-tree retention on ground-layer or understory diversity and composition in an uneven-aged northern hardwood forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We sampled 20 reference plots in the surrounding forest matrix and 49 openings with radii of 0.5 (n = 16), 0.75 (n = 17), and 1.0 (n = 16) times mean canopy tree height (22 m). Resultant opening areas were 321 ± 16 (mean ± SEs), 697 ± 21, and 1256 ± 39 m2, respectively. Each opening contained a centrally located legacy tree. Two years after harvesting, ground-layer diversity was significantly higher in openings than on reference plots (p < 0.05) because of an influx of early seral, wetland, and weedy exotic species. The importance of aggressive ruderals (i.e., Carex ormostachya Wieg. and Rubus idaeus subsp. strigosus (Michx.) Focke) increased significantly (p < 0.001) with increasing opening area. Although the importance and cover of several late-seral species were lower in openings compared with the forest matrix, few species found in the matrix were wholly absent from the openings. These results suggest that ground-layer plant communities in managed northern hardwood forests may display a high degree of resilience to intermediate-intensity disturbances.

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Early seedling response to group selection harvesting in a northern hardwood forest

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc86100-1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 86 (1) ◽

pp. 100-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Karla J. Falk ◽

Ken A. Elliott ◽

Dawn M. Burke ◽

Erica Nol

Keyword(s):

Group Selection ◽

Sugar Maple ◽

Seedling Recruitment ◽

Betula Alleghaniensis ◽

Black Cherry ◽

Percent Cover ◽

Yellow Birch ◽

Single Tree ◽

Single Tree Selection ◽

Selection Harvesting

We evaluated the immediate effects of group selection harvesting on the establishment of yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) and black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) seedlings in maple-dominated hardwood stands of Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. Group selection gaps were compared to single-tree selection cutting and uncut reference stands pre-harvest and one growing season post-harvest using a before-after-control-impact (BACI) design. The percent cover of yellow birch seedlings increased significantly more in gaps than in single-tree selection and reference plots. Black cherry seedling cover increased significantly more in gaps than in reference plots, but increased at a similar rate in gaps and single-tree selection plots. Increased soil exposure and closer seed trees resulted in increased yellow birch recruitment when harvesting occurred in the late-summer-fall. These factors had little influence on yellow birch recruitment when harvesting occurred in the winter. The proportion of black cherry in the stand overstory had the greatest influence on black cherry recruitment; however, the uneven distribution of black cherry between stands may have precluded our ability to reliably test the influence of other factors. Concomitant increases in potential competitors such as wild red raspberry (Rubus strigosus Michx.) and sedges (Carex spp.) and the continued dominance of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh) in gap openings may limit yellow birch and black cherry regeneration in successive growing seasons. While continued monitoring is required, our short-term results demonstrate that fall harvesting with group selection is effective at stimulating natural regeneration of yellow birch and black cherry. Key words: yellow birch, black cherry, seedling recruitment, group selection, single-tree selection, mid-tolerant, shadeintolerant

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