Relationships between white-footed mice and logging residue: Informing the sustainability of potential wood bioenergy harvests

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

卷:457

Article

Boggs, April D.^1,4  Moorman, Christopher E.¹  Hazel, Dennis W.²  Greenberg, Cathryn H.³  Pacifici, Krishna¹ 

[1] North Carolina State Univ, Fisheries Wildlife & Conservat Biol Program, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA

[2] North Carolina State Univ, Dept Forestry & Environm Resources, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA

[3] US Forest Serv, Southern Res Stn, Asheville, NC 28806 USA

[4] North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commiss, 128 Bruton Carpenter Rd, Mt Gilead, NC 27306 USA

关键词: Appalachia;    Downed wood;    Clearcut;    Coarse woody debris;    Peromyscus leucopus;    Small mammals;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117706

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

We examined local and site-scale relationships between white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and logging residue after timber harvests to assess potential effects of expanding bioenergy markets in the southern Appalachian region of the United States. We sampled mice in 10 recent (2013-2015) clearcut or shelterwood harvests dominated either by white pine or hardwoods prior to harvest. We captured mice May-August, 2016 and 2017 using 10 grids of 60 Sherman traps spaced 15 m apart and set twice for five consecutive nights in each year. We categorized traps as either near ( <= 5 m) or far ( > 5 m) from coarse woody debris (CWD; woody debris >= 10 cm in diameter). We estimated site-level woody debris volumes using modified prism sweep sampling and determined vegetation, woody debris, and ground cover composition at each trap location. White-footed mouse occupancy increased with greater trap-level CWD cover in all stands, and greater site-level woody debris volume in white pine stands. Mouse abundance increased with greater site-level woody debris volume, and abundance was greater at white pine sites than hardwood sites. These results demonstrate that residual logging debris is important to white-footed mice, both at the local- and site-scale. Reductions in residual logging debris following harvests, including via removal of low value stems for wood bioenergy, likely will result in decreased white-footed mouse occupancy and abundance. We recommend developing proactive strategies to retain scattered logging residues following even-aged timber harvests, especially in cases where bioenergy harvests occur in the southern Appalachian region.

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