Effects of silvicultural treatments in the Rocky Mountains

Abstract

Neotropical migrants have been affected by the loss and fragmentation of forests in the eastern United States (Askins et al. 1990). Changes in western forests and the effects of these changes on birds may be different from those in the East. While timber harvesting is widespread in the western United States, the purpose of silvicultural systems on public land is to perpetuate forests, not to convert forests to agricultural land or residential areas. Western logging has resulted in landscapes that are primarily composed of forests of different ages and treatments, rarely isolated forests. The silvicultural systems used to manage these forests, however, include timber harvesting, intermediate treatments, and stand-regeneration practices that usually result in forests different from presettlement ones.

Citation

Hejl, Sallie J.; Hutto, Richard L.; Preston, Charles R.; Finch, Deborah M. 1995. Effects of silvicultural treatments in the Rocky Mountains. In: Martin, Thomas E.; Finch, Deborah M. Ecology and management of neotropical migratory birds. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 220-244.