Biodiversity Management in Pacific Northwest Forests: Phase II Applications to Industry Planning Are

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Biodiversity Management in Pacific Northwest
Forests Phase II Applications to Industry
Planning Areas
Principle Investigators Andy Hansen, Montana
State University Dick Waring, Oregon State
University Linda Phillips, Montana State
University Jake Verschuyl, Montana State
University   Key Industry Cooperators Lorin
Hicks, Plum Creek Brian Kernohan, Boise Bob
Riggs, Boise Tony Melchiors, Weyerhaeuser Mike
Rochelle, Weyerhaeuser  NCASI Cooperators Jim
Shepard Larry Irwin Craig Loehle
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Goal

• Help timber industry cooperators to better manage
  biodiversity at landscape scales.

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Objectives

• Quantify patterns of bird diversity across forest
  structural stages and biophysical settings in
  four planning areas to evaluate the effectiveness
  of the shifting steady state mosaic approach.
• Determine the influence of biophysical factors on
  bird diversity across these sites to determine
  the locations where place- based management
  will best meet biodiversity objectives.
• 3. Develop landscape level biodiversity plans
  for the four planning areas to help industry
  cooperators to best manage biodiversity across
  their ownerships.

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Relevance to NFWF Help Improve Biodiversity
Management across the Pacific and Inland Northwest

• The project will assess how well the current
  approach of many forest companies (shifting
  steady state mosaic) is working in different
  portions of the PINW.
• The project will also develop a companion
  approach that may be more effective in some
  settings namely, the place-based approach.
• Possible changes in management include
• Identification and maintenance of biodiversity
  hotspots
• Greater retention of late seral stage of key
  habitats such as ponderosa pine
• Longer maintenance of the open canopy seral stage
  that is high in biodiversity.
• Forest managers throughout the Pacific and Inland
  Northwest may use some of the resulting
  guidelines.

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Background

• Phase II of the project (2001-2002) addressed
• How do place-based factors such as climate and
  soil influence biodiversity across the PINW.
• What are the resulting spatial patterns of
  biodiversity?

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Biophysical Variables and Bird Diversity
richness
richness
R2 .36
NPP
R2 .33
Percent conifer
Net Primary Producivity (gC m-2 year)
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Actual Tree Richness
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Habitat Relationships Vary across the Region
Eastside harsher ecoregions
Westside mesic ecoregions
Best Model R2 .79 precipitation, slope, VPD
land cover heterogeneity,
Best Model R2 .49 precipitation, slope, VPD
forest habitat type heterogeneity,
Precipitation, breeding season
Precipitation, breeding season
richness
richness
R2 .54
R2 .10
cm
cm
VPD, July
VPD, July
richness
richness
R2 .28
R2 .10
millibars
millibars
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Phase II Rationale
Forest structure concept
Place concept
Influence on Biodiversity
harsh
favorable
Abiotic Conditions
East side
West side
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Objectives

• Quantify patterns of bird diversity across forest
  structural stages and biophysical settings in
  four planning areas to evaluate the effectiveness
  of the shifting steady state mosaic approach.
• Determine the influence of biophysical factors on
  bird diversity across these sites to determine
  the locations where place- based management
  will best meet biodiversity objectives.
• 3. Develop landscape level biodiversity plans
  for the four planning areas to help industry
  cooperators to best manage biodiversity across
  their ownerships.

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Climatic Characteristics of Sites
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Planning Area Mapping and Analysis

• Extrapolate biodiversity across sites (bird
  species, guilds of species, and for community
  diversity).
• Map the coefficient of variation in the
  predictions.
• Combine maps of species richness with those for
  total bird abundance to delineate biodiversity
  hotspots.
• Use Dynamic Habitat and Population Analysis
  (Hansen et al. 1999) to identify the species most
  at risk and the places most important to these
  species.
• Id places and habitat elements that are being
  adequately maintained in the planning area and
  those that are sufficiently low to put species at
  risk.
• Evaluate in the context of company biodiversity
  objectives and develop guidelines.

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Products

• Guidelines for stand and landscape-level
  biodiversity management across large
  timber-industry planning areas in the Pacific and
  Inland Northwest.
• Two workshops for forest managers on the results
  of the study and guidance for landscape analysis
  and implementation.
• An article in the Journal of Forestry that
  exports the management guidelines to the larger
  forestry community.
• An article in Conservation Biology on the
  theoretical the relative effects of forest
  structure and biophysical factors on bird
  biodiversity in this region.

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Context

• Phase I quantified controls on bird, tree, and
  shrub richness across the Pacific and Inland
  Northwest.
• Phase II (2003-2005) will address these questions
  at a finer spatial resolution within 4 industry
  planning areas.
• Funds are requested to allow additional field
  sampling and outreach in Year 2 of Phase II.
  Matching funds from NFWF are critical to the
  successful completion of the study.
• A follow-up proposal will be submitted for Year 3
  of Phase II.
• A possible Phase III may focus on implementation
  and monitoring of results for biodiversity.