The relationship between the understory shrub component of coastal forests and the conservation of forest carnivores

Abstract

The physical structure of vegetation is an important predictor of habitat for wildlife species. The coastal forests of the Redwood region are highly productive, supporting structurally-diverse forest habitats. The major elements of structural diversity in these forests include trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which together create three-dimensional complexity. In the forests of the northern Redwood region, dense, continuous shrub layers were common understory structural elements in mature forests (Sawyer and others 2000). However, within the last 60 to 80 years, most of these forests have been logged and subsequently managed on short rotations (for example, 60 years) to maximize the production of wood. This has resulted in a reduction in the complexity of shrub and herb layers in these forests due to a combination of detrimental factors (for example, mechanical damage, burning, herbiciding, competition for light with densely stocked stands, fragmentation by roads). We investigated the importance of shrub cover to three species of mesocarnivores, the American marten (Martes americana), fisher (M. pennanti), and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus).

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the Redwood Region Forest Science Symposium: What does the future hold?

Citation

Slauson, Keith M.; Zielinski, William J. 2007. The Relationship Between the Understory Shrub Component of Coastal Forests and the Conservation of Forest Carnivores. In: Standiford, Richard B.; Giusti, Gregory A.; Valachovic, Yana; Zielinski, William J.; Furniss, Michael J., technical editors. 2007. Proceedings of the redwood region forest science symposium: What does the future hold? Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-194. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 241-244