A land manager's guide to conserving habitat for forest birds in ...

Downed woody debris — Photo: Ken Elliott
Methods to maintain or develop old growth features in managed stands
1) Forests of great age — uncut patches of legacy trees and tracts of old and older growth forest
• retain entire uncut patches or stands with a diversity of species, sizes, and quality; including snags and cavity trees
• provide for future old growth by maintaining snags, downed woody debris, and permanent patches of legacy trees adjacent to existing
old growth features
2) Trees of marketable value — larger and older living trees
• maintain some basal area of large and extra large healthy trees that will survive over the long term
• in sites with old growth potential or features, retain higher basal area target of 24–27 m²/ha
• target 1–2 trees/ha to retain and allow to grow beyond 80 cm diameter at breast height (dbh)
• increase growth of some of the large, healthy trees by allowing for full or partial crown release of longer lived tall tree
species such as white oak, sugar maple, and white pine over early successional species such as birch and poplar
• look to retain trees with potential to become supercanopy trees
3) Broken canopy structure — increased diversity of tree sizes and ages
• harvest small groups or single trees
• repeat on an 8–15 year cycle to increase diversity of ages
• log carefully to avoid damaging small trees
4) Downed logs — increased amount of decaying large logs and woody debris on the ground
• do not remove or destroy existing fallen trees, branches, stumps, or snags felled during logging
• select unhealthy large and medium trees to fell and leave on the ground
5) Standing snags and cavity trees — greater number of large standing dead trees
• maintain as many cavity trees and snags as possible
• harvest only those standing dead trees that are a safety hazard
• where snags are felled, leave these on site to operate as downed logs
• where safe, create snags through girdling selected medium and large trees
6) Treefall gaps — canopy gaps of varying size and tree density across woodland
• create both small and large gaps (up to one hectare in size), using group selection for larger woodlands to mimic natural patchiness of
older growth conditions
• thin between gaps using single tree selection to maintain a basal area of 22–24 m 2 /ha to mimic the dominant disturbance of single tree
fall gaps
7) Pit and mound topography — maintain natural diversity of forest floor attributes
• allow for dead and dying trees to fall naturally and become uprooted, creating the pit and mound formation common to old growth sites
• these pits and mounds give the forest floor a rugged appearance and provide a great diversity of moisture conditions
8) Undisturbed soils — protect thick organic soils
• reduce the use of heavy logging equipment in sensitive areas to avoid heavy soil compaction
• confine logging in wet areas to frozen ground conditions when the ground is less prone to damage
9) Diversity of plants and animals — keep what you have
• retain and protect mast trees that produce nuts and berries
• protect species at risk at all levels: plants, trees, birds, and animals
• use techniques to promote less common species that were characteristic of historical forests
10) Unique habitats—site specific features such as ephemeral ponds and wetlands
• retain and protect from disturbance small ponds and wet areas in woodlands and any other unique habitats that are not widely
available (e.g., stick nests or habitat for species at risk).
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Guidelines for Forest Management and Maintenance of Forest Bird Diversity