Effects of uneven-aged timber harvest on forest floor vertebrates in the Cascade Mountains of southern Washington

Temporal changes in the relative abundance of amphibians relative to riparian buffer width in western Washington, USA

“…Temperature and precipitation data were evaluated for the months of October and November (pooled) for each year of each sampling period to determine if environmental conditions were similar [temperature (°C) 1995SD = 3.8;-2004SD = 4.4;precipitation (mm) 1995SD = 7.8;-2004 x = 6.1; SD = 11.7]. Mean temperature varied among years and stations; however, the variation was not enough to affect surface activities of amphibians and was within the range of temperature conditions considered suitable for amphibian sampling in the Pacific Northwest (Olson, 1999).…”

“…and not on how management strategies might serve to mitigate those effects. Results from studies specific to the Pacific Northwest are equivocal, particularly when it comes to species-specific responses, and most studies of the influences of habitat loss, fragmentation, or related mortality risks have not assessed the population-level implications of those impacts (Dupuis et al, 1995;Dupuis and Waterhouse, 2001;Greenberg, 2001;Aubry, 2000;Biek et al, 2002;Carr et al, 2002;Russell et al, 2002;MacCracken, 2004;Cushman, 2006;Karraker and Welsh, 2006). Although some generalizations about the effects of timber harvest on the relative abundance of amphibians can be made from those studies, no data exist on the longer-term, posttreatment effects of timber harvest and associated habitat-management strategies on the relative abundance or species richness of amphibians in the Pacific Northwest (Cushman, 2006).…”

Response of terrestrial small mammals to varying amounts and patterns of green-tree retention in Pacific Northwest forests

“…These species can occupy a range of forest age classes , and are generally present in lower numbers in early successional sites Songer et al, 1997). Species that respond negatively to clearcutting often persist or increase in abundance after moderate-intensity or small-scale disturbances (Gitzen and West, 2002;MacCracken, 2005). Thinning treatments that retained $40-70% of basal area (BA) in younger P. menziesii forests did not reduce abundance of S. trowbridgii or N. gibbsii in the Oregon Coast Range (Suzuki and Hayes, 2003) nor of S. trowbridgii, N. gibbsii, P. keeni, or M. gapperi in Washington (Wilson and Carey, 2000).…”

Microclimatic responses to different thinning intensities in a Japanese cedar plantation of northern Taiwan

“…Besides adjusting the spatial structure of a stand, thinning can promote biodiversity by modifying the microclimates within the thinned stands. In turn, this can allow the development of a more diverse flora and fauna (Muir et al, 2002;Hanley, 2005;MacCracken, 2005). By changing microclimatic conditions, thinning can also alter important ecophysiological and ecosystem processes (Aussenac, 2000;Thibodeau et al, 2000;Bauhus et al, 2001).…”