Disclaimer: This website was created for a class project, Ren R 580 Applied Statistics for Environmental Science. All data and results are preliminary and should not be taken as final results or recommendations outside the scope of this assignment.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Within Alberta, structural retention is based on coarse-scale emulation of the patterns created by wildfire, which is a dominant form of natural disturbance. After wildfire, biological legacies such as island remnants of un-burnt forest are generally present within the perimeter of larger burned areas. By leaving structural retention in harvested areas, the aim is to provide continuity and enrichment of structure and in turn maintain key ecological structures and functions; refugia for forest biota, maintenance of Coarse Woody Material (CWM) and live residual trees, wildlife thermal and hiding cover, and corridors for wildlife movement within harvest areas (Lindenmayer et al., 2002). We compared Coarse Woody Debris (CWD) attributes to determine the similarity between naturally formed wildfire remnant patches and anthropogenically created harvest remnant patches . During the spring of 2023, 28 sites (14 harvest and 14 fire) in West-Central Alberta(Upper Foothills Natural Sub region) were selected that experienced a harvest or fire between the years of 2005-2015 and left residuals that possessed a patch size >0.3 ha and with a species composition >50% lodgepole pine, this makes the post disturbance age to be a minimum of 9 to 10 years. Each site included an island (remnant patch) and a disturbance area. Within these 2 areas of a site, 4 plots starting from the edge at 0, 15, 30 and 45 m are sampled for islands and disturbance. The plot 0 is common for every island and disturbance. Each plot is of radius 7.3 m and contains 6 overlapping transect lines at every 60 degrees. Using the line-intercept method CWD ≥7.5 cm in diameter was counted, assigned a decay classification and identified by species (if possible): the same information was gathered for standing dead ≥9.1 cm.
Fire islands expressed higher coarse woody debris volume compared to harvest islands, especially in edges. The higher coarse woody debris volume in fire edges can be due the unique nature of fire edge formation. The tree mortality is higher in fire edges which overtime contribute to downed wood with the continuous exposure to wind, rising temperature, humidity or precipitation. Also fire islands had more coarse woody debris with larger size in terms of diameter and length compared to harvests. Apart from the edges, other plots exhibited a similar amount of coarse woody debris volume which indicates that the harvest remnants are emulating the fire remnants of lodgepole pine dominated boreal forests in a decent level when it comes to coarse woody debris volume.
Fire islands expressed higher coarse woody debris volume compared to harvest islands, especially in edges. The higher coarse woody debris volume in fire edges can be due the unique nature of fire edge formation. The tree mortality is higher in fire edges which overtime contribute to downed wood with the continuous exposure to wind, rising temperature, humidity or precipitation. Also fire islands had more coarse woody debris with larger size in terms of diameter and length compared to harvests. Apart from the edges, other plots exhibited a similar amount of coarse woody debris volume which indicates that the harvest remnants are emulating the fire remnants of lodgepole pine dominated boreal forests in a decent level when it comes to coarse woody debris volume.
Fig 1. Drone images taken during field scouting for potential sites.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neha is originally from the land of Western Ghats, Kerala, India. She completed her undergraduate degree in BSc. (Hons) Forestry from Kerala Agricultural University, India. Her dedication to the environment is not confined to academic pursuits. With her profound love for forest and wildlife ecology, She had the privilege of working with the Kerala Forest Department on a significant project focusing on biodiversity assessment in the high ranges of the Munnar Forest Division, Kerala contributing to the conservation of this ecologically sensitive region. In her leisure time, Neha enjoys travelling, photography, and birdwatching. Throughout her undergrad studies, she specialized in tropical fauna and flora identification and mastered the field surveys.
Her background in forest ecology led her to pursue a MSc. Her current research with Dr. Charles Nock in the Ecosystem Based Management lab aims to study the Coarse woody debris characteristics in post fire and post harvest island remnants. |