Winter bird use of harvest residues in clearcuts and the implications of forest bioenergy harvest in the southeastern United States

Grodsky, Steven M.; Moorman, Christopher E.; Fritts, Sarah R.; Hazel, Dennis W.; Homyack, Jessica A.; Castleberry, Steven B.; Wigley, T. Bently

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2016.07.045

Cited by 22 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Based on comparisons of species responses between concurrent studies at some of the same research sites, breeding birds responded to harvest residue removal more than did winter birds ( see [58]). Lohr et al [27] recorded similar disparities between breeding and winter bird responses to down wood removal in mature, loblolly pine forests of the southeastern United States.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding, Early-Successional Bird Response to Forest Harvests for Bioenergy

et al. 2016

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Forest regeneration following timber harvest is a principal source of habitat for early-successional birds and characterized by influxes of early-successional vegetation and residual downed woody material. Early-successional birds may use harvest residues for communication, cover, foraging, and nesting. Yet, increased market viability of woody biomass as bioenergy feedstock may intensify harvest residue removal. Our objectives were to: 1) evaluate effects of varying intensities of woody biomass harvest on the early-successional bird community; and (2) document early-successional bird use of harvest residues in regenerating stands. We spot-mapped birds from 15 April– 15 July, 2012–2014, in six woody biomass removal treatments within regenerating stands in North Carolina (n = 4) and Georgia (n = 4), USA. Treatments included clearcut harvest followed by: (1) traditional woody biomass harvest with no specific retention target; (2) 15% retention with harvest residues dispersed; (3) 15% retention with harvest residues clustered; (4) 30% retention with harvest residues dispersed; (5) 30% retention with harvest residues clustered; and (6) no woody biomass harvest (i.e., reference site). We tested for treatment-level effects on breeding bird species diversity and richness, early-successional focal species territory density (combined and individual species), counts of breeding birds detected near, in, or on branches of harvest piles/windrows, counts of breeding bird behaviors, and vegetation composition and structure. Pooled across three breeding seasons, we delineated 536 and 654 territories and detected 2,489 and 4,204 birds in the North Carolina and Georgia treatments, respectively. Woody biomass harvest had limited or short-lived effects on the early-successional, breeding bird community. The successional trajectory of vegetation structure, rather than availability of harvest residues, primarily drove avian use of regenerating stands. However, many breeding bird species used downed wood in addition to vegetation, indicating that harvest residues initially may provide food and cover resources for early-successional birds in regenerating stands prior to vegetation regrowth.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding, Early-Successional Bird Response to Forest Harvests for Bioenergy

et al. 2016

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“…As hypothesized, the harvest of logging residues from clear‐cut plantations had consistently negative effect on avian occupancy across all nesting and foraging guilds in the study, but the magnitude of the effect was surprising. In addition, a recent experiment on residue removal found little effects on breeding and wintering birds (Grodsky et al ., ,b); rather, Grodsky et al . (,b) and instead suggested that the successional trajectory of vegetation (e.g., sapling growth/tree successional stage) was more critical than residue retention per se.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In addition, a recent experiment on residue removal found little effects on breeding and wintering birds (Grodsky et al ., ,b); rather, Grodsky et al . (,b) and instead suggested that the successional trajectory of vegetation (e.g., sapling growth/tree successional stage) was more critical than residue retention per se. Similarly, the understory of clear‐cuts where debris was retained varied substantially in our study area, and some had a well‐developed understory and vertical structure (e.g., snags and nontarget trees), which was reflected by variation in basal area and DBH of remaining trees (Table ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Alternative biomass strategies for bioenergy: implications for bird communities across the southeastern United States

et al. 2017

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Concerns over energy demands and climate change have led the United States to set ambitious targets for bioenergy production in the coming decades. The southeastern United States has had a recent increase in biomass woody pellet production and is projected to produce a large portion of the nation's cellulosic biofuels. We conducted a large-scale, systematic comparison of potential impacts of two types of bioenergy feedstocks -corn (Zea mays) and pine (Pinus spp.) -on bird communities across the southeastern United States. In addition, we evaluated three biomass alternatives for woody biomass from pine plantations: thinning, residue harvest, and short-rotation energy plantations (SREPs). We conducted transect counts for birds in eight different land uses across the region (85 sites), including corn fields, reference forest, and plantation forests, 2013-2015. We then used hierarchical occupancy models to test the effect of these biomass alternatives on 31 species. Across all species, birds had lower rates of occupancy in corn fields compared to pine stands. Thinning had positive effects on the average occupancy across species, while residue harvest and the potential conversion of conventional plantations to SREPs had negative effects. Cavity nesters and species with bark-gleaning foraging strategies tended to show the strongest responses. These results highlight the potential negative effects of corn as an energy crop relative to the use of pine biomass. In addition, harvesting biomass via thinning was a bird-friendly harvest method in comparison with other alternatives. While SREPs may negatively impact some bird species, previously reported yields emphasize that they may provide an order of magnitude greater yield per unit area than other alternatives considered, such that this land-use practice may be an important alternative to minimize the bioenergy impacts across the landscape.

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“…Unfortunately, we were unable to include the impacts of intensification of existing management plantations in our analysis, because projections of intensification of existing plantations for the study region were not available, and the GAP habitat suitability models do not distinguish between different management intensities in pine plantations. Forest management can have either positive effects, for instance due to thinning (Gottlieb et al, ; Verschuyl et al, ), or neutral or negative impacts, for instance due to residue removal (Fritts et al, ; Gottlieb et al, ; Grodsky, Moorman, Fritts, Castleberry, & Wigley, ; Grodsky, Moorman, Fritts, & Hazel, et al, ; Riffell et al, ) on species richness. Therefore, impacts on species richness due to pine plantation establishment may be overestimated if new plantations are not managed intensively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of increased wood pellet demand on biodiversity in the south‐eastern United States

et al. 2018

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Increasing wood pellet exports from the United States are projected to lead to changes in land use and timberland management, including a shift from natural timberland to pine plantations. These projected changes may impact biodiversity. This study aims to quantify potential biodiversity impacts of increased wood pellet demand in the south‐eastern United States in a spatially explicit manner. We determined differences according to an index of potential species richness (for total, threatened and endemic species and four taxonomic groups) between scenarios of high and low demand for wood pellets, while taking into account potential developments in other wood markets and other land uses. Increased demand for wood pellets was projected to cause both positive and negative biodiversity impacts. Negative shifts in total potential species richness were projected for areas in Florida, coastal Virginia and North Carolina, and parts of the Gulf Coast. Positive shifts in total potential species richness were projected in parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas. In some locations, the direction of change differed per taxonomic group, highlighting the importance of analysing different taxonomic groups. Shifts in potential species richness due to increased wood pellet demand were considerably smaller compared to the changes due to other drivers, such as urbanization and increased timber demand. Biodiversity impacts due to wood pellet demand should therefore be considered in the context of other drivers of land‐use change and biodiversity loss. Our results provide information that allows policymakers, industry and NGOs to focus on areas of concern and take appropriate mitigation measures to limit negative biodiversity impacts and promote positive impacts. The spatially explicit approach presented in this study can be applied to different regions and drivers of land‐use change, to show how projected demand for an internationally traded commodity may lead to impacts on land use and biodiversity in the procurement region.

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Winter bird use of harvest residues in clearcuts and the implications of forest bioenergy harvest in the southeastern United States

Cited by 22 publications

References 43 publications

Breeding, Early-Successional Bird Response to Forest Harvests for Bioenergy

Breeding, Early-Successional Bird Response to Forest Harvests for Bioenergy

Alternative biomass strategies for bioenergy: implications for bird communities across the southeastern United States

Impact of increased wood pellet demand on biodiversity in the south‐eastern United States

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