Breeding bird response to partially harvested riparian management zones

Christopher J. Chizinski, Anna Peterson, Jo Ann Hanowski, Charlie Blinn, Bruce Vondracek, Gerald J Niemi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

We compared avian communities among three timber harvesting treatments in 45-m wide even-age riparian management zones (RMZs) placed between upland clearcuts and along one side of first- or second-order streams in northern Minnesota, USA. The RMZs had three treatments: (1) unharvested, (2) intermediate residual basal area (RBA) (targeted goal 11.5m2/ha, realized 16.0m2/ha), and (3) low RBA (targeted goal 5.7m2/ha, realized 8.7m2/ha). Surveys were conducted one year pre-harvest and three consecutive years post-harvest. There was no change in species richness, diversity, or total abundance associated with harvest but there were shifts in the types of birds within the community. In particular, White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) and Chestnut-sided Warblers (Dendroica pensylvanica) increased while Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla) and Red-eyed Vireos (Vireo olivaceus) decreased. The decline of avian species associated with mature forest in the partially harvested treatments relative to controls indicates that maintaining an unharvested RMZ adjacent to an upland harvest may aid in maintaining avian species associated mature forest in Minnesota for at least three years post-harvest. However, our observations do not reflect reproductive success, which is an area for future research.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1892-1900
Number of pages9
JournalForest Ecology and Management
Volume261
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2011

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study benefited from the assistance of numerous individuals. Lauren Brudney, James Manolis, and Petra Wood provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Forest Resources Council and the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The use of trade, product, industry or firm names or products or software or models, whether commercially available or not, is for informative purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Government or the U.S. Geological Survey. This is contribution number 512 from the Center for Water and the Environment, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth.

Keywords

  • Early successional bird species
  • Mature forest bird species
  • Partial timber harvest
  • Riparian management

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