MPB - Wildlife

MPB - Wildlife
- Wildlife Habitat - forest stand structures
  - large trees
    - vertical & horizontal complexity (lotsa niches)
    - rough bark - insects for bark gleaners
  - dead/ dying trees
    - primary & secondary cavity nesters
    - wood boring insects
    - perches
  - down wood (CWD)
    - surface - perches & travelways
    - loose bark - hiding & thermal cover
    - modifies microclimate - moisture/ temperature (imp. for amphibians)
  - shrub undergrowth
    - thermal & security cover
    - nesting sites
    - food - berries/ seeds, foliage, insects
  - canopy cover
    - closed canopy - thermal cover & snow interception
    - open canopy - light ... shrubs & forage
- Impact of MPB Outbreak
  - massive conversion of live trees --> snags --> CWD
  - result
    - loss of canopy cover
    - abundance of snags (short term)
    - then abundance of CWD
    - more shrubs
    - less thermal cover
    - less snow interception
- Some Management Tactics for MPB
  - early harvest
  - density control (JS, beetle proof)
  - Sanitation / Salvage
  - Result
    - less older forest
    - wider spaced stands
    - large areas of new plantation
- Addressing Wildlife
  - Partial harvest (retention) measures
    - applied in selected areas
    - retain >20% of BA to retain vertebrate species diversity
    - retain >90% BA to retain mature-forest-dependent species
    - aggregate pattern >> dispersed
    - tree patch size >0.8 ha
    - residuals best in
      - deeper soils / dry sites - last longer
      - riparian areas
      - in patches with high snag #'s
  - Maintain key habitat structures
    - large live trees, snags & CWD
    - in time, may need to create large snags
    - JS ... leave some "thickets" (security & thermal cover)
  - Landscape level mosaics
    - balance timber with wildlife objectives
    - leave beetle-killed stands in strategic locations
    - create a mosaic (as much as possible)