Isn't there a much simpler way to maintain these valuable "early
succession" habitats?
Why not simply re-cut the older "early succession" habitats once they reach
7 to 10 years of age? No need to cut those old trees. So much cheaper &
easier (and less manpower) to use a brush hog than a chain saw.
Actually the Electric Power Companies already do this along their
high-voltage right-of ways. So why aren't they listed as birding hot spots?
Sounds like an area for future research.
Bob Powers
In a message dated 4/12/2015 9:49:32 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
There is no doubt that seeing a fresh clearcut is extremely jarring. I,
also, used to believe that they were environmentally devasting but have
changed my opinion for 3 main reasons:
1. Amanda Rodewald, formerly of OSU and now at Cornell Ornithology Lab,
is an amazingly good birder and someone whose opinion I deeply respect. A
few years ago she wrote an excellent report titled "Managing Forest Birds in
Southeast Ohio: A Guide for Land Managers" which was based on years of
research. I don't know if this listserv will allow hotlinks to be pasted or
not but I'll try:
http://www.obcinet.org/committees/ForestManagement_web.pdf
If the link didn't work, it can be found by Googling the above title.
In brief, the report states that woodland breeding birds in Ohio have
fared fairly well in the last 50 years, whereas early successional and
grassland dwelling birds have declined significantly, in no small part due to
habitat loss. A very surprising finding of the study was that even mature
forest specialists (e.g., wood thrush and scarlet tanagers) are drawn to early
successional habitat right after fledging -- probably because of the dense
cover and abundant food (berries on brambles and insects).
Early successional habitat is AMAZINGLY short-lived (only about 6 years
before it has matured too much to provide the attraction to early
successional habitat specialists (e.g., indigo buntings, yellow-breasted chat)) so it
must be constantly re-disturbed to keep being a bird magnet.
Amanda's guide gives specific recommendations on the sizes and placement
of the clearcuts. The most value comes from them being pretty large and
close together.
2. There is a sound silvicultural reason for doing a clearcut;
specifically there are some species of trees that not only thrive on disturbance, they
rely on it. Many species of oak fall into that category -- they will not
regenerate in great numbers without serious disturbance. Historically it
was frequent spring fires but a clearcut is a good alternative. Which
brings me to the second person whose opinion I deeply respect: Jim McCormac.
His PowerPoint on the importance of forest caterpillars to the health of
bird populations is amazing. Oak trees are incredibly important "caterpillar
factories" so we want to be sure we've got a steady supply of oaks
up-and-coming.
3. My own personal experience with driving past a clearcut on the way to
work. It looked like Hiroshima about 25 years ago and my opinion pretty
much was the same as yours..."Shouldn't there be a law against that?". But
within 2 years it had probably the prettiest fall foliage that I've seen --
the trees had sprouted back so thickly from the stumps that you couldn't
have walked through the place. The density of the foliage made the intensity
of the colors incredible. Now, 2 decades later, the early successional
aspect is long gone but it is still a nice young forest. Since then I've
learned the first 2 points above that I didn't know then.
A nice quote from Amanda's publication is: No matter how a forest is
managed, whether actively or passively, certain species will be favored and
others discouraged. The best strategy depends upon the management goal. State
forests offer a unique opportunity to do coordinated forest management
with timelines over a century and create habitat that is in significant
decline throughout the Appalachian area. My opinion about clearcuts has
definitely changed now that I understand the place they have in the ecosystem.
Humans too often want to keep things "status quo" whereas wildlife has evolved
under realms of disturbance and we do a disservice to the wildlife by not
providing disturbances.
Alan Walter
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