Northern caribou depend on terrestrial lichens as a primary source of food during winter. This paper illustrates how changes in harvesting intensity affect terrestrial lichen abundance, species richness and lichen mortality. Four silvicultural systems are examined; group selection, shelterwood, clearcut with reserves and clearcut with dispersed retention, and their impacts on terrestrial lichen communities discussed. It is determined that decreases in terrestrial lichen cover are correlated with removal of canopy cover, disturbances to the forest floor and the abundance of slash cover. Based on this relationship, the group selection silviculture system is most effective at maintaining terrestrial lichens while still allowing for timber removal.
Related Resources
Effectiveness of Population-Based Recovery Actions for Threatened Southern Mountain Caribou
Resource Date:
2023
Intervention-forward Adaptive Management in the Face of Extinction
Resource Date:
2023
Modeled Production, Oxidation, and Transport Processes of Wetland Methane Emissions in Temperate, Boreal, and Arctic Regions
Resource Date:
January
2023
Organization
Was this helpful?
|