Determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation
Linear features are increasing worldwide and, in many jurisdictions, their decommissioning has been identified as a way to restore wildlife habitat. Few studies have assessed restoration practices on forest roads, yet they are the main linear disturbance throughout most circumboreal forests. In bore...
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crwiley:10.1111/rec.13414 2024-09-15T18:31:47+00:00 Determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation Lacerte, Rebecca Leblond, Mathieu St‐Laurent, Martin‐Hugues Environment and Climate Change Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rec.13414 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/rec.13414 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/rec.13414 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Restoration Ecology volume 29, issue 7 ISSN 1061-2971 1526-100X journal-article 2021 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13414 2024-08-15T04:18:31Z Linear features are increasing worldwide and, in many jurisdictions, their decommissioning has been identified as a way to restore wildlife habitat. Few studies have assessed restoration practices on forest roads, yet they are the main linear disturbance throughout most circumboreal forests. In boreal forests of eastern Canada, such knowledge would be especially valuable for the conservation of boreal populations of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ). We assessed the short‐term establishment of vegetation following four treatments applied across 40 km of forest roads, along a restoration gradient involving additive treatments (i.e. each successive treatment included the treatments prior): closing the road to traffic, decompacting the soil, planting black spruce trees, and adding enriched soil. We linked lateral cover (a proxy of movement obstruction for wildlife) and the occurrence and abundance of plant species to road treatments and environmental covariates. Vegetation establishment 3–4 years after decommissioning was mostly influenced by treatments but also by road width and stand composition in the vicinity of roads. The combination of closing, decompacting, and planting was the most effective treatment to establish regeneration that would lead to suitable caribou habitat as it reduced food availability for moose and bears (i.e. lower presence of herbaceous species, fruit‐bearing shrubs, and deciduous trees). It also reduced the presence of plants competing with spruce, such as ericaceous shrubs. Our results suggest that the decommissioning of forest roads could benefit caribou, provided it is performed at a sufficiently broad scale, and accompanied by other habitat restoration and protection practices. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rangifer tarandus Wiley Online Library Restoration Ecology 29 7 |
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English |
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Linear features are increasing worldwide and, in many jurisdictions, their decommissioning has been identified as a way to restore wildlife habitat. Few studies have assessed restoration practices on forest roads, yet they are the main linear disturbance throughout most circumboreal forests. In boreal forests of eastern Canada, such knowledge would be especially valuable for the conservation of boreal populations of woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ). We assessed the short‐term establishment of vegetation following four treatments applied across 40 km of forest roads, along a restoration gradient involving additive treatments (i.e. each successive treatment included the treatments prior): closing the road to traffic, decompacting the soil, planting black spruce trees, and adding enriched soil. We linked lateral cover (a proxy of movement obstruction for wildlife) and the occurrence and abundance of plant species to road treatments and environmental covariates. Vegetation establishment 3–4 years after decommissioning was mostly influenced by treatments but also by road width and stand composition in the vicinity of roads. The combination of closing, decompacting, and planting was the most effective treatment to establish regeneration that would lead to suitable caribou habitat as it reduced food availability for moose and bears (i.e. lower presence of herbaceous species, fruit‐bearing shrubs, and deciduous trees). It also reduced the presence of plants competing with spruce, such as ericaceous shrubs. Our results suggest that the decommissioning of forest roads could benefit caribou, provided it is performed at a sufficiently broad scale, and accompanied by other habitat restoration and protection practices. |
author2 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lacerte, Rebecca Leblond, Mathieu St‐Laurent, Martin‐Hugues |
spellingShingle |
Lacerte, Rebecca Leblond, Mathieu St‐Laurent, Martin‐Hugues Determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation |
author_facet |
Lacerte, Rebecca Leblond, Mathieu St‐Laurent, Martin‐Hugues |
author_sort |
Lacerte, Rebecca |
title |
Determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation |
title_short |
Determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation |
title_full |
Determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation |
title_fullStr |
Determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation |
title_sort |
determinants of vegetation regeneration on forest roads following restoration treatments: implications for boreal caribou conservation |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rec.13414 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/rec.13414 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/rec.13414 |
genre |
Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
Restoration Ecology volume 29, issue 7 ISSN 1061-2971 1526-100X |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13414 |
container_title |
Restoration Ecology |
container_volume |
29 |
container_issue |
7 |
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1810473534570364928 |