Klenner W FEMC2007

Managing for structural attributes critical to maintaining wildlife habitat in managed stands and linkages to forest estate modelling

Walt Klenner, Ministry of Forests and Range, 515 Columbia Street, Kamloops, BC, V2C 2T7, Canada, walt.klenner@gov.bc.ca
Ian Cameron, Azura Formetrics, 1481 Chinook Place, Kamloops, BC, V2E 1A4, Canada, ian.cameron@azura.ca
Dave Huggard, 517 E. 10th St., N. Vancouver, BC, V7L 2E7, Canada, huggard@interchange.ubc.ca
Russ Walton, Ministry of Forests and Range, 515 Columbia Street, Kamloops, BC, V2C 2T7, Canada, russ.walton@gov.bc.ca

Several structural attributes, including large live trees, large snags and downed wood, and fine-scale heterogeneity within a stand are critical for maintaining diverse species of wildlife and biodiversity within managed stands. We used TASS (Tree and Stand Simulator) to project the likely effects of clear cutting and partial cutting options on the short- and long-term supply of structural attributes that are required by forest dependant vertebrates in a high elevation Englemann spruce-Subalpine fir forest. The nature of the harvest treatment, regeneration density, and the frequency and intensity of insect attack and windthrow all played a major role in determining the temporal supply of structural attributes. Management practices, and the structures created by windthrow and insect attack can be used to effectively maintain critical habitat features; however, no one prescription will meet the diverse spatial and temporal habitat requirements of vertebrates, let alone the habitat requirements of the broader ecological community. We demonstrate how results from this stand-level modelling initiative can be used to identify the likely structural attribute conditions of stands in a spatially explicit forest estate model (TELSA), and facilitate a more accurate assessment of habitat conditions for wildlife and biodiversity by integrating spatial pattern and structural condition. Stand modelling tools can be used to gain preliminary insight into the consequences of stand management options, and the application of these tools to “screen” the utility of prescriptions in relation to forest management goals is encouraged.