What are the components of high quality early seral forests?

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What are the components of high quality early
seral forests?

• Cheryl Friesen, Science Liaison, Willamette NF
  (presenter)
• and
• Brenda McComb, Professor, Univ of Mass.

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The world view of forestry
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Notice the naked area in the lower left?
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I would submit that the emperor has no clothes!
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• The Emperor Has No Clothes Award presented
  to you and me for our lack of recognition of a
  biodiversity rich natural habitat type

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What is the best dressed early seral forest
wearing these days?(to stretch the metaphor)

• Snags
• Large trees
• Shrubs
• Down logs
• Tree Seedlings
• Hardwoods
• Grasses and forbs

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Side-bar WHAT DID I GOOGLE TO FIND PHOTOS OF
COMPONENTS OF HIGH QUALITY EARLY SERAL FOREST?

• OLD GROWTH FORESTS.

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MORAL OF THE STORY

• Legacy
• Legacy
• Legacy
• Managing for complexity in early successional
  forests is likely to be most successful if the
  preceding seral stage is also complex prior to a
  disturbance.
• Managing for complexity through a rotation or
  sere helps to ensure the continuity in habitat
  elements over time.

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This habitat is more popular than you might have
thought.

• Analysis of wildlife on the Willamette National
  Forest found
• 14 species tied specifically to old growth
• 0 species tied specifically to mid seral
• 116 species generalists.use all stages
• 71 species tied specifically to early seral
• and edges, but.

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• All of the early seral or generalist species
  require one or more of the structural components
  listed previously
• For example,
• 85 need dead wood at some life stage

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Standard adornments that come quickly to mind

• Deer and elk
• Red-tailed hawks
• Mountain bluebirds

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But theres more!Early seral forest
Truly a rich community
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Reptiles

• Western skink
• Western fence lizard
• Gopher snake
• Garter snake
• Racer

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Birds

• White-crowned sparrow
• Wrentit
• Calliope hummingbird
• MacGillivrays warbler

• Merlin
• Dusky flycatcher
• Brewers sparrow
• Willow flycatcher
• Mountain quail
• Great Gray Owl

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Mammals

• California myotis
• Pocket gopher
• California ground squirrel
• Townsends vole
• Big Brown Bat
• Badger

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Elaboration to follow.

• Is it more complicated than weve given it credit
  for?
• Can it be human made?
• Can we allow it naturally?
• Is there a proxy?
• Food for thought.