managing southwestern forests...2017/06/29  · ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests are...

MANAGING PONDEROSA AND DRY MIXED-CONIFER FORESTS FOR WILDLIFE: HABITATS, BIO-DIVERSITY, FOOD WEBS

Ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests are often referred to as frequent-fire forests because of:

• Characteristic frequent surface fire (return

intervals <35 years), which

• Maintained a composition of mostly mature fire tolerant and shade intolerant tree species with

• A spatial patterns of trees in small groups dispersed within a matrix of open grass-forb-shrub habitat

Yellow pine 200+ years

Blackjack 80-200 years

Poles 25-80 years

Grass/forb

Scale - feet 100 200 300 0

Historical natural conditions Pearson Natural Area, AZ 1909

Showing grass-forb matrix and spacing and interspersion of tree

age groups in ponderosa pine

FREQUENT-FIRE FOREST DISTRIBUTION

Why Focus on Frequent-Fire Forests

Very important wildlife habitat Most abundant throughout the West Most departed from natural conditions At risk for uncharacteristic disturbances

• Fires • Insect and disease outbreaks

Luckily, there is a large body of science regarding:

Historic range of variability (HRV) Reference conditions and reconstructions Disturbances Biological diversity

Tools for Restoring Goshawk Habitats

Goshawks, Food Webs,

Trophic Interactions

Goshawk Litigation History and Legal Status 1990 lawsuits and appeals affected the timber

program in Region 3. 1991-96. Three petitions filed to list goshawk as

endangered, all denied by FWS. 1992. FWS completes Status Review, cites

insufficient data supporting claims of declines. Currently a Sensitive Species in most Natl.

Forests. Queen Charlotte subspecies listed as

Threatened in 2000 by British Columbia.

A. g. atricapillus

A. g. laingi

A. g. apache

Goshawk Range, North America

Holarcticlctic

Morphological and Behavioral Characteristics Adapted to forest

environments Long tail, short wings Sub-canopy forager Primarily perch hunter Searches for prey in

low vegetation column Short-sit, short flight

hunting behavior Food limited

Desired Forest Conditions: Syntheses of Elements

Nest areas (6) 30 ac each

PFA* 420 acres Foraging area 5,400 acres

Home Range Elements

Total Home Range 6,000 Acres

*PFA = Post-fledging family area

Goshawk Nest Habitat Structure

Relatively large trees Relatively closed

canopy Open understory Shallow slopes or flat

areas

Goshawk Foraging Habitat o Forest structure

o Lifted crowns - flight space (older forests)

o Open understory – flight space

o Dispersed hunting perches

o Edges / small openings

o Composite of prey habitats o At the scale of

territory

Birds American robin Band-tailed pigeon Blue grouse Mourning dove Stellar’s jay Northern flicker Hairy woodpecker

Mammals Chipmunks Cottontail Jack rabbit Mantled ground squirrel Red squirrel Abert’s squirrel

Goshawk Prey

Synthesis of Goshawk & Prey Habitats

GOSHAWK HABITAT GOSHAWK PREY SPECIES

Composition & structure

Tree longevity

Sustainability

Disturbance factors

Landscape patterns/scale

Goshawk nesting habitat

Goshawk foraging habitat

Species 1

Foods &

Habitat

Species 2

Foods &

Habitat

Species 3

Foods &

Habitat

Species 4

Foods &

Habitat

FHE FHE FHE

SYNTHESIS OF FOREST HABITAT ELEMENTS (FHE)

SYNTHESIS OF HABITAT ELEMENTS WITH FOREST ECOLOGY

SUSTAINING LANDSCAPE MIX OF FOREST HABITATS

FOREST ECOLOGY

FHE FHE FHE

Vegetative Components Most Important to the Goshawk Food Web

Mid-aged to old forest (VSS 4-6) -where many prey occur

Grass/forb Openings -especially important for large-bodied prey (rabbits, ground squirrels, grouse, turkey)

Growth of Tree Groups

VSS 2

VSS 3

VSS 4

VSS 5

VSS 6 Grass/forb/shrub

Seedling-sapling

Young forest

Mid-aged forest

Mature forest

Old forest

Desired Conditions

Trees grouped with interlocking crowns

Small openings (interspaces) between groups

As much old forest as is sustainable

High interspersion of age classes

Snags and logs

Desired Conditions Trees grouped with

interlocking crowns Shaded habitats

Desired Conditions

Grass/forb/shrub openings between trees groups for bird & mammal prey

Desired conditions

High tree age-class group interspersion within grass-forb-shrub habitat

Desired Habitats: dead and decaying wood

Large tree component provides: Snags Logs Woody debris Nutrient recycling

Desired Conditions As much old forest as is sustainable

for bird & mammal prey

Unique Elements Multi species, food web approach

Information across trophic levels Desired forest conditions (DFC)

Focus on what is left rather than extracted Flexible prescriptions (depends on existing

conditions) Restores evolutionary environments

Habitat conditions to which plants & animals were adapted

However, GTR-217 did not specify sizes of tree groups or grass-forb opening

Outcomes: Eagar South Before treatment After treatment

Outcomes: Warm Fire, May 2011

2-years post-Wallow 2-years post (CIR)

Ecosystem Restoration Tool

Prey

Food Webs

Ecosystems

Predator

Group size ranges from <0.1 acre (2-10 trees) to 3/4+ acre (40+ trees) in size. Tree group and opening sizes are highly variable based on site conditions.

Tree group size and variability

Outcomes of Restoration

Resumption of frequent low-severity fire and increased flexibility for the use of fire as a management tool

Increased resilience to

disturbances and climate variability

Resumed feedback loop between composition,

structure, and fire

Questions?

www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/6420

www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/44885

Added values of achieving desired conditions Provides for:

many native plants and wildlife old growth visual quality forage wood products (quality, flow) hydrologic function

Reduces fire hazards and increases flexibility in appropriate management response

Increases resilience to: Insects, disease, drought Climate change

Climate Change? Restoration of composition, structure,

and function in FFF is best option for: Enhancing ecosystem survival and retention of

component species in face of increasingly frequent catastrophic losses, which

provides more time for research and management to develop options for future climate conditions, and

increases ecosystem resistance, resilience, and response to future climates by:

• Forestalling impacts. • Improving recovery after disturbances. • Allowing species to adapt in place or migrate to

new conditions.

For Consideration

Typical fuels reduction/management is seldom restoration, whereas ecological restoration in today’s FFF is almost always fuels reduction