Understanding how birds respond to landscape disturbance is key to effective restoration. Two studies used non-invasive microphone arrays to determine the exact locations of singing individuals in the boreal forest of Alberta. BERA researcher shows that both Ovenbirds and Canada Warblers change their behaviours around landscape disturbances and will avoid features until they begin to regenerate. This highlights the importance of understory vegetation to the success of restoration and has implications for how we estimate population status.
Coarse woody debris is a natural component of forest ecosystems that affects nutrient cycling, carbon storage, wildfire fuel, microhabitats, and overall forest structure. However, mapping and estimating volumes of coarse woody debris can be difficult since amounts vary between ecosystem types and are affected by disturbances including fire, insects, and disease. BERA researchers have developed remote-sensing workflows for creating accurate maps of coarse woody debris. These strategies can be used by researchers, foresters, land managers,
and government agencies for a variety of applications including fire hazard assessments and woodland caribou habitat restoration.