CONFLICTING PERSPECTIVES ON SPOTTED OWLS, WILDFIRE, AND FOREST RESTORATION
CONFLICTING PERSPECTIVES ON SPOTTED OWLS, WILDFIRE, AND FOREST RESTORATION
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DOI：
10.4996/fireecology.130318020
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发表时间：
2017-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
5.1
通讯作者：
Vojta, Christina D.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ganey, Joseph L.;Wan, Ho Yi;Vojta, Christina D.
近几十年来，美国西部火灾范围和严重程度不断增加的证据引起了人们对火灾对受威胁物种的影响的关注，例如斑点猫头鹰（Strix occurentalis Xantus de Vesey），它在森林中筑巢，树木高大，树冠覆盖率高，易受严重野火的影响。关于严重的野火对斑点猫头鹰的影响，存在着两种不同的观点。一种观点认为，由于高严重性野火，具有大树和高冠层覆盖的森林范围的减少是斑点猫头鹰的主要威胁，并且成功降低高严重性野火风险的燃料减少治疗可以帮助维持这种猫头鹰所需的条件。一个相互矛盾的观点认为，高严重性野火是相对常见的，在许多森林类型所占据的斑点猫头鹰，并不构成直接的威胁斑点猫头鹰，燃料减少治疗是误导，因为他们降低猫头鹰栖息地，并不减少高严重性火灾的程度。基于现有的文献，我们认为，相当大的不确定性仍然存在的反应，斑点猫头鹰高严重的野火，特别是在较长的时间框架和跨三个亚种（加州[Strix occurentalis occurentalis Xantus de Vesey]，墨西哥[S.o. lucida纳尔逊]和北方[S.o.斑鸮属（caurina梅里亚姆）。近年来，这些亚种范围内严重程度较高的野火，加上特大火灾范围和严重程度不断增加的趋势，表明这些火灾的累积影响可能在整个猫头鹰范围内都很显著。森林恢复或燃料减少治疗可能有助于减少栖息地的损失，特别是在战略位置，以优化减少火灾风险，但也可能局部影响斑点猫头鹰栖息地。我们主张进一步评估这种治疗对斑点猫头鹰的影响以及这种治疗在减轻火灾行为方面的有效性。我们还提倡更广泛地使用有管理的火灾，以减少高严重性野火的风险。最后，由于缺乏关于这一主题的长期数据，我们建议针对火灾后十年或更长时间进行有针对性的研究。这些研究应包括人口统计性能的措施，并应旨在阐明这些指标的景观格局，森林类型和亚种生态的差异。这些信息将为关于如何将斑点猫头鹰及其栖息地的保护与减少燃料和森林恢复目标相结合的辩论提供信息。
Evidence of increasing fire extent and severity in the western US in recent decades has raised concern over the effects of fire on threatened species such as the spotted owl (Strix occidentalis Xantus de Vesey), which nests in forests with large trees and high canopy cover that are vulnerable to high-severity wildfire. A dichotomy of views exists on the impact of high-severity wildfire on the spotted owl. One view holds that reduction in the extent of forests with large trees and high canopy cover due to high-severity wildfire is a primary threat to spotted owls, and that fuels reduction treatments that successfully reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire can aid in sustaining desired conditions for this owl. A conflicting view maintains that high-severity wildfire was relatively common in many forest types occupied by spotted owls and does not pose an immediate threat to spotted owls, and that fuels reduction treatments are misguided because they degrade owl habitat and do not reduce the extent of high-severity fire. Based on the existing literature, we argue that considerable uncertainty remains regarding the response of spotted owls to high-severity wildfire, especially over longer time frames and across the three subspecies (California [Strix occidentalis occidentalis Xantus de Vesey], Mexican [S.o. lucida Nelson], and northern [S.o. caurina Merriam]) of spotted owls. The considerable extent of high-severity wildfire within the ranges of these subspecies over recent years, coupled with the trend toward increasing extent and severity of megafires, suggests that the cumulative effects of these fires could be significant throughout the range of this owl. Forest restoration or fuels reduction treatments may aid in reducing habitat loss, particularly when strategically located to optimize reduction of fire risk, but also may locally impact spotted owl habitat. We advocate further evaluation of both the impacts of such treatments to spotted owls and the effectiveness of such treatments in mitigating fire behavior. We also advocate wider use of managed fire to reduce risk of high-severity wildfire. Finally, given the paucity of long-term data on this topic, we recommend targeted research aimed at a decade or longer time periods after fires. These studies should include measures of demographic performance, and should be designed to elucidate differences in those metrics related to landscape pattern, forest type, and subspecies ecology. Such information would inform the debate over how to integrate the conservation of spotted owls and their habitat with fuels reduction and forest restoration objectives.