Experimental manipulation of habitat structures in intensively managed spruce plantations to increase conservation value

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At least part of Canada's forest will sustain intensification of forest management over the next decades. A criticism is that planted stands are 'sanitized', with less structural diversity, fewer species, and removal of downed and standing deadwood. Concerns are typically focused on paucity of deadwood and reduced species diversity in the overstory. This research will determine the influence of key habitat structures, early in the rotation of planted stands, on animal and plant taxa and thereby on key ecosystem processes, and how these can be incorporated into management strategy. We are focusing on taxa that have a clear connection to deadwood and thinning response - namely invertebrates, bryophytes, and bird species that are directly dependent upon deadwood, ground vegetation species sensitive to disturbance, and small mammal species that have been observed to have low density in planted stands. We will experimentally manipulate habitat structure elements