The importance of nontimber values [of forests] is dramatized in the provocative assertion that modern civilization could get along without wood, but not without forests.

S.T. Dana

Forests & Wildlife

• What are the major forest types, how do they differ, and how do they relate to wildlife populations?

• How do forest structure and composition affect wildlife?

• What are the pros and cons of forest management practices for wildlife?

Forests & Wildlife

• How does forest ownership (private v. public) affect wildlife management?

• How have forests and their management changed?

• What are the major issues related to forests & wildlife?

• Who cares?

Forests & Wildlife• Forest v. rangeland

– >40 cm/yr rainfall– Vegetation structure

• Layers & closure

– Dominant vegetation: trees*• Florida confusing

– Overstory tree density• Basal area (ft2/acre; m2/ha)

– DBH (4.5 ft/1.37 m)

• Coniferous v. deciduous – Softwood v. hardwood

• Evergreen

Forests & Wildlife• Forest types of U.S. & Canada

– Tropical moist broadleaf– Tropical dry broadleaf– Temperate broadleaf & mixed– Temperate coniferous– Boreal/taiga

Forests & Wildlife• Tropical moist broadleaf

• Tropical dry broadleaf– Puerto Rico

• Mahogany, ebony, mamey, mangrove, Spanish cedar, Sierra palm

• Acacia, yucca, cacti, royal palm

– Hawaii• Ohia• Koa

Forests & Wildlife• Temperate broadleaf & mixed

– Eastern U.S. & Canada• Oaks, hickories, maples, beech, basswood,

buckeye, birches, (chestnut)• Ashes, elm, cottonwood, sweetgum, water tupelo,

sycamore• Hemlock, pines, red cedar, spruces, firs

• Best fall foliage

Forests & Wildlife• Temperate coniferous

– Southeastern, Middle Atlantic, & Florida Sand Pine• Gum, cypress, bald cypress, oaks, magnolia, ashes, elm• Pines

– Piney Woods• Oaks• Pines

– Rocky Mountain & Pacific Coast• Oaks• Firs, spruces, hemlock, red cedar, cedar,

pines, sequoia

Forests & Wildlife• Boreal/taiga (northern coniferous)

– Canada & Alaska• Aspen, birch• Spruces, firs, tamarack/larch (Smokey Gold), pines

Forests & Wildlife

• Major forest types of the Southeast (Dickson 2001)

– Pine plantation (often slash in FL)– Natural pine (longleaf, slash, shortleaf, loblolly)– Oak-pine– Upland hardwood (oaks)– Bottomland hardwood (tupelo, cypress, sycamore)

David J. Moorhead, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org

William M. Ciesla, Forest Health Management International, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & Wildlife

• Forest Wildlife

(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)

(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)

(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)

(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)

(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)

Forests & Wildlife

• History of the forests– Dynamic

• Fire• Wind• Floods• Ice• Insects & Disease• People

Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Andrew J. Boone, South Carolina Forestry Commission, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & Wildlife

• History of the North American forests– Regional differences in trends

Forests & Wildlife

• History of the Southeast forests (Dickson 2001)

Upland Hardwood

Natural Pine

Bottomland Hardwood

Oak-Pine

Pine Plantation

Forests & Wildlife

• Status of the North American forests

Forests & Wildlife

• Status of the North American forests– ~25-38% of U.S. (~200-307 million ha)

• 75% east of 100th meridian• 64% commercial (v. industrial)

– >1.4 m3 of wood/ha/yr– Not in park, wilderness, or other non-timber uses

– ~45% of Canada is forest (401 million ha)• 50% commercial

Forests & Wildlife

• Status of the Southeast forests (Dickson 2001)

– ~50% of land is forest (~87 million ha)• 94% commercial timberland

– Composition• 37% upland hardwoods• 15% bottomland hardwoods• 14% oak-pine• 18% natural pine• 16% pine plantation

– Age/size• 29% seedling-sapling• 26% poletimber• 45% sawtimber

William D. Boyer, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org Bob Farrah, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & Wildlife

• Forest ownership in U.S. (Yonce 1983)

– Public: 55.3 million ha• Federal: 42.8 million ha• State: 9.6 million ha• Local: 2.9 million ha

– Private: 142.2 million ha• Forest industry: 27.5 million ha• Other: 114.7 million ha

Forests & Wildlife

• Forest ownership in Southeast (Dickson 2001)

– Public: ~8.5 million ha

– Private: ~72.5 million ha• Forest industry: ~16.6 million ha• Other: ~55.9 million ha

• Ownership affects management & use

Forests & Wildlife• Federal

– National Forest System• USDA Forest Service

– Multiple-use

– USDI-BLM• Multiple-use

– Others: parks, refuges, etc.

• State Forest System– Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

(FDACS)• Forest Service (Division of Forestry)

– Others: parks, etc.

Forests & Wildlife

• Economic value of forest products– Saw logs, veneer, pulpwood, fuelwood, charcoal,

Christmas trees, maple syrup, medicinal plants, other non-wood products, & others

– Nationwide• Billions/yr!

– Southeast (Dickson 2001)

• 1984: $6,100,000,000– 10% of economy– 10% of workforce

• Replacing Northwest as largest producer today

David J. Moorhead, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org

Jamie Welsh, , www.forestryimages.org

North Carolina State University Archives, North Carolina State University, www.forestryimages.org

David J. Moorhead, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org

Chuck Bargeron, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org

David J. Moorhead, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org

Chris Schnepf, University of Idaho, www.forestryimages.org

David J. Moorhead, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeIssues & Management

• Wood products

• Disease & insects

• Roads

• Recreation – Off-road vehicles (ORV’s)

Billy Humphries, Forest Resource Consultants, Inc., www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeIssues & Management

• Grazing livestock– Silvopasture & agroforestry

• Overabundant herbivores

• Fire– Fuel loads

• Water

• Ownership

Chris Schnepf, University of Idaho, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & Wildlife

• Forestry– Silviculture

• Silvics

– Sustained yield of wood products• Pinchot & Roosevelt

– Multiple-use

USDA Forest Service - Rocky Mountain Region Archives, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & Wildlife

• Forests & Management– Structure

• Vertical• Horizontal

– Composition

– Scale• Spatial• Temporal

Bob Farrah, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

• Silvicultural– Harvest– Regeneration– Tending/Intermediate Treatments

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

• Harvest– None (preservation)– Even-aged– Uneven-aged (selective)

– Other considerations• Rotation time• Cutting cycle• Species

– Shade tolerant v. intolerant species

– Product

• Site index

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

• Even-aged harvest management– Clearcuts– Shelterwood cuts– Seed tree cuts

Philip McDonald, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Scott Roberts, Mississippi State University, www.forestryimages.org

John D. Hodges, Mississippi State University, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

• Uneven-aged (selective) harvest management– Single-tree selection cut– Group-selection cut

Bob Frank, www.forestryimages.org

Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

Even-aged

Uneven-aged

Stands

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

Even-aged

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

Uneven-aged

Forests & WildlifeComparison of Management Techniques

Characteristic Even-Aged Uneven-Aged

Harvest Method Clearcut

Shelterwood

Seed tree

Single-tree selection

Group selection

Type of trees Usually shade intolerant Shade tolerant

Stand appearance Uniform tree height

Often aesthetically unattractive

Variation in tree height

Aesthetically acceptable

Forest appearance Patchwork of various ages Aesthetically acceptable

Large expanse of uniformly mixed sizes of trees

Type of wildlife use Mobile species adapted to early successional and mixed successional stages

Species adapted to mature forest conditions

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

• Regeneration– Natural (advance)

• Even-aged harvest management– Clearcuts– Shelterwood cuts– Seed tree cuts– Coppice

• Uneven-aged harvest management– Single-tree selection cut– Group-selection cut– Coppice

James N. Long, Utah State University, www.forestryimages.org

Edward L. Barnard, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

• Regeneration– Artificial

• Site preparation– Mechanical– Chemical– Prescribed fire

• Site Improvement– Fertilizer– Drainage & irrigation

• Direct seeding• Propagule

• Monocultures & disturbance

John D. Hodges, Mississippi State University, www.forestryimages.org

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeManagement Techniques

• Tending/Intermediate Treatments– Herbicides– Pesticides– Thinning– Pruning– Prescribed fire– Sanitation cuts– Salvage cuts

– Timber Stand Improvement (TSI)

USDA Forest Service - Rocky Mountain Region Archives, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeSpecial Habitat Features

• Evergreen cover– Thermal & escape cover

• E.g., deer yards

William M. Ciesla, Forest Health Management International, www.forestryimages.org James Denny Ward, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeSpecial Habitat Features

• Live den trees, wolf/legacy trees, snags, logs, & course woody debris

Chris Schnepf, University of Idaho, www.forestryimages.org

Chris Schnepf, University of Idaho, www.forestryimages.orgJerry A. Payne, USDA ARS, www.forestryimages.org

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Archives, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeSpecial Habitat Features

• Mast, browse, & forage plants– Selective cutting– Coppice

– Hard v. soft mast

Jerry A. Payne, USDA ARS, www.forestryimages.orgDavid J. Moorhead, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org

David J. Moorhead, The University of Georgia, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeSpecial Habitat Features

• Forest edges & “brushy” areas

Billy Humphries, Forest Resource Consultants, Inc., www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeSpecial Habitat Features

• Rights-of-way

Max Williamson, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeSpecial Habitat Features

• Openings

Ronald F. Billings, Texas Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeSpecial Habitat Features

• Water & riparian areas

Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & WildlifeLarge Managed Forests

• Generally managed at the landscape scale– Cut size, type, shape, amount of edge,

fragmentation, interspersion, & connectivity

80 year old forest New cuts40 year old forest

Forests & Wildlife

• Large managed forests v. woodlots– Scale

Forests & Wildlife

• What about old growth?– Unique– Irreplaceable?

Forests & Wildlife

• What about old growth?– Core areas & corridors– Soften fragmentation

OldGrowth

Age = 60

Age = 70

Age = 0

Age = 10 Age = 40

Age = 50

Age = 20

Age = 30

After Harris 1984

OldGrowth

Age = 60

Age = 20

Age = 50

Age = 10 Age = 40

Age = 0

Age = 70

Age = 30

Forests & Wildlife

• Forest fires– Smokey the Bear v. Let it burn

Dale Wade, USDA Forest Service, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & Wildlife

• Single species v. biodiversity management?

(U.S Fish & Wildlife Service)

Forests & Wildlife

• Heterogeneity in the forest landscape– Ruffed grouse v. ovenbirds & spotted owls

Forests & Wildlife

• Heterogeneity in the forest landscape– Plantations & even-aged management

as monocultures

William M. Ciesla, Forest Health Management International, www.forestryimages.org

Forests & Wildlife

• Can wildlife and the production of forest products coexist?

• Do we need forestry?

• The case of the Tropics– Are Protected Areas enough?

Forests & WildlifeIncentive Programs

• Federal/Farm Bill– USDA Forest Service

• Community Forest & Open Space Program (CFOSP)• Healthy Forest Reserve Program (HFRP)

• Cooperative Forest Innovation Partnership Grants (CFIPG)• Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)

• Other “farm” programs

Forests & WildlifeIncentive Programs

• Federal– USDA Forest Service

• Forest Stewardship Program (FSP)– Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act (1978)– Farm Bill?

• State– Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

• Landowner Assistance Program (LAP)

Forests & Wildlife

• Food, cover, water, & space

• Interspersion & connectivity

• Disturbance

• So what?