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Maintenance of small mammals using post-harvest woody debris structures on clearcuts: linear configuration of piles is comparable to windrows

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Abstract

Management of post-harvest woody debris structures (e.g., piles and windrows) may help conserve mammal diversity in commercial forest landscapes. A windrow (continuous woody debris) provides a linear habitat to connect patches and reserves of uncut forest and riparian areas to maintain forest-floor small mammals and allow some of their avian and mammalian predators to access and traverse clearcut openings. However, most post-harvest residues are arranged in independent piles of woody debris (separated by 20–30 m, on average) and we asked if a linear configuration of piles would provide similar habitat conditions for small mammals as that achieved by a windrow of continuous woody debris. We tested two hypotheses (H) that piles of woody debris arranged in a linear configuration, on newly clearcut sites, would (H1) enhance (a) abundance of the major small mammal species (Myodes gapperi and Microtus spp.), and (b) total abundance, species richness, and species diversity of the forest-floor small mammal community; compared with dispersed (conventional) treatment of woody debris. H2 predicted that, because of the continuity of habitat, responses of small mammals in windrows would be greater than those in piles of woody debris. Three study areas were monitored in southern British Columbia, Canada, and each had three treatments of woody debris: dispersed, in a linear set of piles, and as a windrow. Forest-floor small mammals were sampled by live-trapping in spring and fall periods from 2010 to 2012. Woody debris in a linear configuration of piles and in windrows enhanced mean abundance of the southern red-backed vole (M. gapperi), total voles, and total abundance of small mammals compared with the dispersed treatment. Small mammal responses were variable between spring and fall periods, but overall mean values ± 95% CIs indicated that abundance of M. gapperi, total voles, and total small mammals were reasonably similar in piles and windrows.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, British Columbia Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Gorman Bros. Lumber Ltd., Aspen Planers Ltd., Jaeden Resources Ltd., Gold Mountain Mining Corp., and the Applied Mammal Research Institute for financial and logistical support. T. Ball, S. Clerke, D. Gossoo, A. LaChapelle, K. Rouck, and R. Wilson were particularly helpful in assisting with this project. We thank H. Sullivan for assistance with the fieldwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of B.C., 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Thomas P. Sullivan

  2. Applied Mammal Research Institute, 11010 Mitchell Avenue, Summerland, BC, V0H 1Z8, Canada

    Druscilla S. Sullivan

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  1. Thomas P. Sullivan
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  2. Druscilla S. Sullivan
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Correspondence to Thomas P. Sullivan.

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All handling of animals was in accordance with the principles of the Animal Care Committee, University of British Columbia.

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Communicated by: Thales Renato Ochotorena de Freitas

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Sullivan, T.P., Sullivan, D.S. Maintenance of small mammals using post-harvest woody debris structures on clearcuts: linear configuration of piles is comparable to windrows. Mamm Res 63, 11–19 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-017-0336-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-017-0336-y

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