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Abstract
A total of 789 black bear damaged trees were investigate over a multi-year period on 14 different study sites chosen on lands of four participating timber companies. The sites ranged from 30 to 50 years of age. Four different conifer species were found to have black bear damage: coastal redwood (
Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.), Douglas-fir (
Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), Sitka spruce (
Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.), and western hemlock (
Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.). Numerous variables were measured on each black bear damaged tree (diameter at breast height [DBH; 1.37 m], distance to nearest neighbor, height to beginning of damage, age of damage, and tree species). Very important variables were: tree species, DBH, percent girdle, distance to road, and basal area.
Citation
Fulgham, Kenneth O.; Hosack, Dennis. 2017. Black bear damage to northwestern conifers in California: a review. In: Standiford, Richard B.; Valachovic, Yana, tech cords. Coast redwood science symposium—2016: Past successes and future direction. Proceedings of a workshop. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-258. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 329-331.
