Ecological classification of deer habitat in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska.
Ecological classification of deer habitat in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska.
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DOI：
10.1898/1051-1733(2007)88
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发表时间：
2007-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Kirchhoff, Matthew D.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Farmer, Christopher J.;Kirchhoff, Matthew D.
生态学家和野生动物管理者经常依赖基于现有资源清单和专家意见的栖息地分类。在阿拉斯加东南部的汤加斯国家森林，就像许多受管理的生态系统一样，森林类型主要是根据结构特征来定义的，如树木蓄积、大小和组成。这种确定森林类型的方法虽然对木材生产的管理有用，但所产生的分类与野生动物管理的相关性有限。锡特卡黑尾鹿（Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis）是该地区生态和经济的重要组成部分。我们分类森林应用聚类分析的一套12个环境变量的生态重要性鹿，采样180平方公里的研究区域。分析确定了一个生态类型，包括3个古老的和5个第二次生长的森林类型和1个非森林覆盖类型。我们发现，目前使用的结构分类混淆后伐木类别的不同价值的鹿和分类的方式，可能不清楚地涉及到鹿的生态古老的森林。我们的方法使得有可能产生一个生态分类，从现有的资源数据库，促进整合的2个类型的信息。这种以生态为基础的生境分类是保护动物物种的宝贵工具，特别是那些居住在密集管理的生态系统中的动物物种。
Ecologists and wildlife managers often rely on habitat classifications that are based on existing resource inventories and expert opinion. In the Tongass National Forest of southeastern Alaska, as in many managed ecosystems, forest types are defined primarily on the basis of structural characteristics, like tree stocking, size, and composition. While useful in management for timber production, this method of identifying forest types produces a classification with limited relevance to wildlife management. Sitka Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) are an important component of the ecology and economy of this region. We classified forests by applying cluster analysis to a suite of 12 environmental variables of ecological importance to deer, sampled on a 180-km2 study area. The analysis identified an ecological typology that consisted of 3 old- and 5 2nd-growth forest types and 1 non-forest cover type. We found that the structural classification currently in use confounded post-logging categories of differing value to deer and categorized old-growth forests in ways that may not relate clearly to deer ecology. Our method makes it possible to produce an ecological classification that in-corporates information from an existing resource database, facilitating the integration of the 2 typologies. Such ecologically based habitat classifications are valuable tools for the conservation of animal species, especially those inhabiting intensively managed ecosystems.