Postfire woodpecker foraging in salvage-logged and unlogged forests of the Sierra Nevada

Abstract

In forests, high-severity burn patches—wherein most or all of the trees are killed by fire—often occur within a mosaic of low- and moderate-severity effects. Although there have been several studies of postfire salvage-logging effects on bird species, there have been few studies of effects on bird species associated with high-severity patches in forests that have otherwise burned at lower severities. From 2004 to 2006, we investigated the foraging presence or absence of three woodpecker species, the Black-backed (Picoides arcticus), Hairy (P. villosus), and White-headed (P. albolarvatus) Woodpeckers, within four different forest habitat conditions in Sierra Nevada conifer forests: unburned; moderate-severity and unlogged; highseverity and unlogged; and high-severity and logged. We found Black-backed Woodpecker foraging was restricted to unlogged high-severity patches. Hairy Woodpeckers foraged most in unlogged high-severity patches, and White-headed Woodpeckers showed no significant difference in presence among conditions. These results suggest that unlogged, high-severity forest is important habitat for the Black-backed and Hairy Woodpeckers.

Citation

Hanson, C.T., and M.P. North. 2008. Postfire woodpecker foraging in salvage-logged and unlogged forests of the Sierra Nevada. Condor 110: 777–782