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

在未来几十年里，加拿大至少有一部分森林将维持森林管理的集约化。一种批评是，种植的林分被消毒了，结构多样性较少，物种较少，并移除了倒下的和直立的枯木。人们的担忧通常集中在枯木稀少和上层建筑物种多样性减少的问题上。这项研究将确定在人工林轮作早期的关键生境结构对动植物分类群的影响，从而对关键生态系统过程的影响，以及如何将这些影响纳入管理战略。我们的重点是与枯木和间伐反应有明显联系的分类群，即直接依赖枯木的无脊椎动物、苔藓植物和鸟类物种，对干扰敏感的地面植被物种，以及在人工林中观察到的低密度的小型哺乳动物物种。我们将实验性地操纵栖息地结构元素

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