Direct and Indirect Effects of Habitat Disturbances on Caribou Terrestrial Forage Lichens in Montane Forests of British Columbia
Cumulative effects of increased forest harvesting, mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; MPB) outbreaks, and wildfire in low-elevation lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests could limit long-term winter habitat supply for the northern group of southern mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus)....
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/1999-4907/13/2/251/ 2023-08-20T04:09:24+02:00 Direct and Indirect Effects of Habitat Disturbances on Caribou Terrestrial Forage Lichens in Montane Forests of British Columbia Deborah Cichowski Glenn D. Sutherland R. Scott McNay Randy Sulyma agris 2022-02-06 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020251 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f13020251 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Forests; Volume 13; Issue 2; Pages: 251 lichen caribou forage Rangifer natural disturbance forest harvesting prescribed burns mountain pine beetle (MPB) bryophyte moss feathermoss site characteristics Text 2022 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020251 2023-08-01T04:04:46Z Cumulative effects of increased forest harvesting, mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; MPB) outbreaks, and wildfire in low-elevation lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests could limit long-term winter habitat supply for the northern group of southern mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus). In a 17 year longitudinal study of vegetation remeasurements at eight sites in north-central and west-central British Columbia (BC), we assessed responses of terrestrial caribou forage lichen abundances to nine forest harvesting treatments and one prescribed burn 8–14 years following treatment, as well as to MPB attack. Overall, after initially declining following forest harvesting, mean forage lichen abundance increased between 1 and 2 years post-harvest and 13 and 14 years post-harvest at 10 of 11 site/treatment combinations. Mean forage lichen abundance decreased following MPB attack at all sites. Biophysical factors influencing rates of lichen recovery post-disturbance include site type (transitional vs. edaphic), a reduction in favourable conditions for moss recovery, level of MPB attack, and both seasonal timing and method of forest harvesting. When considering effects of forest harvesting on forage lichens, objectives of silvicultural management strategies should focus on protecting and retaining terrestrial lichens at edaphic sites and on re-establishing terrestrial lichens at transitional sites. Text Rangifer tarandus MDPI Open Access Publishing Forests 13 2 251 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
lichen caribou forage Rangifer natural disturbance forest harvesting prescribed burns mountain pine beetle (MPB) bryophyte moss feathermoss site characteristics |
spellingShingle |
lichen caribou forage Rangifer natural disturbance forest harvesting prescribed burns mountain pine beetle (MPB) bryophyte moss feathermoss site characteristics Deborah Cichowski Glenn D. Sutherland R. Scott McNay Randy Sulyma Direct and Indirect Effects of Habitat Disturbances on Caribou Terrestrial Forage Lichens in Montane Forests of British Columbia |
topic_facet |
lichen caribou forage Rangifer natural disturbance forest harvesting prescribed burns mountain pine beetle (MPB) bryophyte moss feathermoss site characteristics |
description |
Cumulative effects of increased forest harvesting, mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; MPB) outbreaks, and wildfire in low-elevation lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests could limit long-term winter habitat supply for the northern group of southern mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus). In a 17 year longitudinal study of vegetation remeasurements at eight sites in north-central and west-central British Columbia (BC), we assessed responses of terrestrial caribou forage lichen abundances to nine forest harvesting treatments and one prescribed burn 8–14 years following treatment, as well as to MPB attack. Overall, after initially declining following forest harvesting, mean forage lichen abundance increased between 1 and 2 years post-harvest and 13 and 14 years post-harvest at 10 of 11 site/treatment combinations. Mean forage lichen abundance decreased following MPB attack at all sites. Biophysical factors influencing rates of lichen recovery post-disturbance include site type (transitional vs. edaphic), a reduction in favourable conditions for moss recovery, level of MPB attack, and both seasonal timing and method of forest harvesting. When considering effects of forest harvesting on forage lichens, objectives of silvicultural management strategies should focus on protecting and retaining terrestrial lichens at edaphic sites and on re-establishing terrestrial lichens at transitional sites. |
format |
Text |
author |
Deborah Cichowski Glenn D. Sutherland R. Scott McNay Randy Sulyma |
author_facet |
Deborah Cichowski Glenn D. Sutherland R. Scott McNay Randy Sulyma |
author_sort |
Deborah Cichowski |
title |
Direct and Indirect Effects of Habitat Disturbances on Caribou Terrestrial Forage Lichens in Montane Forests of British Columbia |
title_short |
Direct and Indirect Effects of Habitat Disturbances on Caribou Terrestrial Forage Lichens in Montane Forests of British Columbia |
title_full |
Direct and Indirect Effects of Habitat Disturbances on Caribou Terrestrial Forage Lichens in Montane Forests of British Columbia |
title_fullStr |
Direct and Indirect Effects of Habitat Disturbances on Caribou Terrestrial Forage Lichens in Montane Forests of British Columbia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Direct and Indirect Effects of Habitat Disturbances on Caribou Terrestrial Forage Lichens in Montane Forests of British Columbia |
title_sort |
direct and indirect effects of habitat disturbances on caribou terrestrial forage lichens in montane forests of british columbia |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020251 |
op_coverage |
agris |
genre |
Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
Forests; Volume 13; Issue 2; Pages: 251 |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f13020251 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020251 |
container_title |
Forests |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
251 |
_version_ |
1774722332458221568 |