Characterizing woodland caribou habitat in sub-boreal and boreal forests

Johnson, Chris J.; Alexander, N.; Wheate, Roger; Parker, Katherine L.

doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(02)00563-7

Cited by 27 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…However, when habitat was treated as a cat-egorical variable in the analysis, both treed peatland and jackpine were selected. Habitat selection and avoidance patterns for PAGE caribou were similar to that reported in other boreal caribou populations (Ferguson et al, 1988;Johnson et al, 2003;Mahoney & Virgil, 2003;Brown et al, 2007;Dyke, 2008), and for an earlier study of the PAGE area (Rettie & Messier, 2000). Dyke (2008) attributed the weaker selection of jackpine by PAGE caribou to the highly fragmented nature of jackpine stands and their proximity to hardwood mixedwood stands, young stands and roads.…”

Section: Caribou Calving Sitessupporting

confidence: 81%

Land management strategies for the long-term persistence of boreal woodland caribou in central Saskatchewan

Arsenault¹,

Manseau²

2011

Ran

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We investigated landscape changes and their potential effects on woodland caribou-boreal ecotype (Rangifer tarandus caribou) within a portion of the Smoothstone-Wapaweka Woodland Caribou Management Unit (SW-WCMU). The SW-WCMU is one of eight areas delineated by the Province of Saskatchewan for potential recovery planning efforts for boreal caribou, and is one of four management units located on the Boreal Plain Ecozone. The Prince Albert Greater Ecosystem (PAGE) study area was selected within the SW-WCMU for intensive study from 2004 - 2008. Studies focused on quantifying a suite of landscape and population parameters. This paper presents a summary of study results to date and recommends land management strategies intended to contribute to the long-term viability of boreal caribou in the central boreal plain ecoregion of Saskatchewan. The PAGE study area has undergone structural changes from an area that historically presented a lesser amount but well connected mature coniferous forest, to a currently larger amount of mature coniferous stands fragmented by a highly developed network of roads and trails. Movement data pointed to highly clustered use of the landscape by small groups of caribou and smaller home ranges when compared to 15 years ago. Calving sites were located within each individual home range in treed peatland and distant from hardwood/mixedwood forest stands, roads and trails access. Adult annual survival rates were low, averaging 73% over the course of the study. In order to ensure a self-sustaining population level, study results clearly point to the need for landscape restoration to reduce the level of anthropogenic disturbances in some key parts of the study area. Key strategies include retention of mature softwood forest interior proximate to local areas of caribou activity, protection of calving habitat, improving structural connectivity, planning disturbances (forest harvesting, fire salvage, resource exploration, access development) in ways to minimize the anthropogenic footprint, and recovery action planning integrated with other land-use planning initiatives

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Section: Caribou Calving Sitessupporting

confidence: 81%

Land management strategies for the long-term persistence of boreal woodland caribou in central Saskatchewan

Arsenault¹,

Manseau²

2011

Ran

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“…In forest ecosystems, understorey vegetation accounts for the majority of diversity (Gilliam ; Halpern & Lutz ) and affects overstorey succession and productivity (Royo & Carson ), nutrient cycling (Nilsson & Wardle ) and wildlife habitat (Johnson et al. ). Corresponding with global trends in resource consumption (Foley et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compositional stability of boreal understorey vegetation after overstorey harvesting across a riparian ecotone

MacDonald

Chen

Bartels

et al. 2015

J Vegetation Science

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Questions: Understanding factors that contribute to the stability of an ecosystem following harvesting is central to predicting responses of boreal ecosystems to increasing human disturbances. While the response of understorey vegetation to harvesting is well understood for upland sites, little is known about compositional stability of riparian understorey vegetation. We examined how compositional stability changes with or without harvesting along an upland to streamside gradient and tested whether compositional stability is affected by pre-harvest species diversity and composition.Location: Lower Foothills sub-region of the Boreal Plain, ca. 20 km northwest of Whitecourt, Alberta, CA.Methods: We repeatedly sampled understorey vegetation of four winter-harvested and four unharvested sites in western Canadian boreal forest. Species covers were measured during the summer prior to harvesting in 2003 (year 0) and in 2004, 2008 and 2010 (1, 5 and 7 yrs after, respectively). We used nonmetric multidimensional scaling to ordinate plots using species covers, and measured vector length in the ordination space to quantify floristic dissimilarity of each plot between year 0 and years 1, 5 and 7, an inverse measure of compositional stability.Results: Floristic dissimilarity between year 0 and subsequent years was significantly greater in harvested than unharvested sites for all subsequent sampling years. Furthermore, along the upland to stream gradient, floristic dissimilarity was larger on upland than stream sites. Additional analyses revealed that floristic dissimilarity was related negatively to pre-harvesting species richness and evenness, but positively to bryophyte cover.Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that understorey compositional stability is strongly influenced by harvesting, and streamside communities are more stable than upland communities. Our results indicate that compositional stability of understorey vegetation in response to harvesting is associated positively with pre-disturbance species richness and evenness, but negatively with bryophyte dominance.

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“…One little-studied component of managed forests in North America is understory vegetation. Often the target of control measures early in the rotation of a new forest, understory vegetation is nevertheless an important part of the boreal ecosystem in terms of its contribution to biodiversity (Qian et al 1998), wildlife habitat (Johnson et al 2003), nutrient dynamics (Wurtz 1995), net primary productivity (NPP) (O'Connell et al 2003), and even site mycorrhizal status (Hagerman et al 2001). The successional changes in understory vegetation in several northern Ontario jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aspects of ecological development in managed stands of jack pine and black spruce in northern Ontario: Understory vegetation and nutrient relations

Hunt¹,

Gordon²,

Morris³

2005

The Forestry Chronicle

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This study investigated relationships between understory vegetation and nutrient pools in managed stands of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] BSP) in the Lake Nipigon region of northern Ontario. The species composition, biomass, and nutrient pool sizes in the understory vegetation, as well as biomass and nutrient pools in trees and soils, were determined in 16 managed stands ranging in age from 10 to 53 years since establishment and one mature, natural stand. Patterns of above-ground biomass accumulation in understory vegetation varied with overstory tree species and general site type (dry, sandy soils, or mesic, finer-textured soils). Understory vegetation contributed little (0.3 to 2.6%) to total above-ground organic matter (live biomass plus forest floor) but accounted for higher proportions of total above-ground nutrient pools (e.g., 0.7 to 3.4% of N; 3.2 to 11.7% of K) and net primary productivity (1.2 to 21.2%). The species composition of the understory vegetation was strongly related to stand basal area as well as to concentrations of nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) in the forest floor and mineral soil. The greatest amount of change in vegetation community composition occurred from the pre-to post-canopy closure stages of stand development; fewer differences were observed among stands of a given species and site type 35 to 50 years after establishment. The effects of silvicultural practices were detected in certain stands 35 years after establishment; for example the most severely treated (bladed and thinned) jack pine stand differed from other stands of similar age and soils with its Cladina/Vaccinium-dominated understory, and large amounts of biomass in the moss/lichen stratum. The understory vegetation communities in other managed jack pine stands, by 35 to 50 years, were similar to that of the mature, natural stand, indicating resilience to silvicultural disturbances. Silviculture may have lasting effects on understory vegetation biomass and species composition through its effects on stand basal area, overstory species, and soil nutrients. This research serves as baseline information for further studies into the ecology of managed stands in northern Ontario.Key words: understory, nutrients, managed forests, jack pine, black spruce, canonical correspondence analysis RÉSUMÉCette étude s'attarde aux relations entre la végétation en sous-étage et les sources d'éléments nutritifs dans des peuplements aménagés de pin gris (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) et d'épinette noire (Picea mariana [Mill.] BSP) de la région du Lac Nipigon du nord de l'Ontario. La composition en fonction des espèces, de la biomasse et de la taille des sources d'élé-ments nutritifs a été relevée dans 16 peuplements aménagés dont l'âge variait de 10 à 53 ans depuis l'établissement et dans un peuplement mûr naturel. Les modèles d'accumulation de la biomasse au-dessus du sol de la végétation en sousétage variaient en fonction des espèces d'arbres du couvert et du type général de la station (sec, sols sab...

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Characterizing woodland caribou habitat in sub-boreal and boreal forests

Cited by 27 publications

References 14 publications

Land management strategies for the long-term persistence of boreal woodland caribou in central Saskatchewan

Land management strategies for the long-term persistence of boreal woodland caribou in central Saskatchewan

Compositional stability of boreal understorey vegetation after overstorey harvesting across a riparian ecotone

Aspects of ecological development in managed stands of jack pine and black spruce in northern Ontario: Understory vegetation and nutrient relations

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