Furthermore, the effects of temperature increase on growth under climate change are calculated based on the monthly changes in the temperature sum during the potential growing season (April–September), compared with the current climate (see Kellomäki et al., 2018). The length of years post-harvest at which this increase in bat activity is sustained is less clear and likely is affected by tree species composition and the speed at which regeneration proceeds in harvested stands at a particular geographic location. Improved cropping practices increased dryland rice production from 700 to 1000 kg per hectare to 2 000 to 3 000 kg per hectare, with similar increases in maize production. (2013) for mature forests in Europe. (2005). 2015). Natterer’s bat, Myotis nattereri, showed the opposite trend. Borkin and Parsons (2011b) found these bats roosting in crevices, fissures, and small hollows in the oldest stands of Monterey pine, Pinus radiata, plantations (25–30 years), with females choosing to roost within 150 m of waterways. Royal Zoological Society of NSW, Sydney, pp 748–760, Law BS, Anderson J (2000) Roost preferences and foraging ranges of the eastern forest bat, Law BS, Chidel M (2001) Bat activity 22 years after first-round intensive logging of alternate coupes near Eden, NSW. Therefore, stand-level considerations alone are insufficient in sustaining habitat conditions for many forest bats as landscape-level needs are of equal or greater concern (Duchamp et al. The mean annual temperature sum was under the current climate (1981–2010) at about 1100 d.d. In contrast to many North American studies that have been undertaken in gaps soon after harvesting, in Australia, most bat research has focused on the use of older regrowth regenerating from group selection harvest, particularly characterising bat species by their traits in relation to the use of these dense stands. Brit Wild 161:161–169, Hillen J, Kiefer A, Veith M (2010) Interannual fidelity to roosting habitat and flight paths by female western barbastelle bats. All but two unlogged coupes were harvested in 1999 and are thereafter referred to as recently logged coupes. 2013) and foliage-roosting species (Perry et al. 2005a, b). J Appl Ecol 48:398–406, Wigley TB, Miller DA, Yarrow GK (2007) Planning for bats on forest industry lands in North America. silviculture necessarily impacts fire through its influences on the variation in fine fuel production by affecting tree crown distribution. 2012). 2012; Lindenmayer et al. Law and M. Chidel, unpubl. Forestry Commission Practice Guide. Borkin et al. Borkin et al. This range is in agreement with previous experimental studies for these tree species in Nordic countries (see, e.g. Instead, other attributes such as hollow type were important. Under climate change, the relative differences between the baseline and other management regimes were similar to those under the current climate. Closed-space species (Nyctophilus) show some association with plantations as do open-space species (Mormopterus ridei), which presumably use the space above plantations together with adjacent open paddocks. Harvest exclusion areas, especially those surrounding streams, are commonly used as roosting habitat by many tree hollow roosting Australian bats such as Gould’s long-eared bat, N. gouldi, eastern forest bat, V. pumilus, and southern forest bat, V. regulus (Lunney et al. In the baseline management regime, the NPV2 per cent under the current climate was €2305, €3230 and €3899 ha−1 for rotation lengths of 50, 60 and 70 years, and under climate change it was €2065, €3299 and €3563 ha−1, respectively. Studies in oak–pine forests in Arkansas have demonstrated the use of dead and live trees along gap edges for roosting by several bat species (Perry and Thill 2007b; Perry et al. The intensified management increased the amount and proportion of sawlogs the most in a relative sense at shorter rotation lengths (Figure 2). 2006; Perry and Thill 2008; Fleming et al. Conserv Biol 12:1347–1358, Crome FHJ, Richards GC (1988) Bats and gaps: microchiropteran community structure in a Queensland rainforest. Furthermore, field capacity and wilting point define the maximal available soil water as a function of soil type. Biol Conserv 126:528–539, Ford WM, Menzel JM, Menzel MA et al (2006) Presence and absence of bats across habitat scales in the upper coastal plain of South Carolina. The aim of this study was to examine how intensified silviculture affects timber production (sawlogs and pulpwood) and its economic profitability (net present value [NPV], with 2 per cent interest rate) based on forest ecosystem model simulations. Activity of bats along riparian corridors appears to be scale-dependent, with vegetation architecture, i.e. For Ecol Manage 258:712–721. As our ability to distinguish among Myotis species increases with technological advances in acoustic detectors and software packages (Britzke et al. Regardless, data on how these practices influence habitat use by forest bats in riparian areas remain limited, with experimental studies sorely needed on the effects of habitat quality within corridors (stand age and composition) and corridor dimensions (size and width) on roosting and foraging ecology of bats. Aust For 74:218–232, Bernardos DA, Chambers CL, Rabe ML (2004) Selection of Gambel oak roosts by southwestern myotis in ponderosa pine-dominated forests, northern Arizona. Where mature forest is absent across large areas at least some species find roosts in scattered hollow trees in regrowth forest where habitat trees were not specifically retained, indicating that bats typically roost in the largest available trees. It is important to note that none of these studies consider activity levels on tracks, riparian zones, or other areas of retention that potentially could ameliorate the effects of clutter from dense regrowth and loss of tree hollows. Lond. The effect of N fertilization (i.e. Canadian Research Branch, BC Ministry of Forests, Victoria, BC. Restrictions are further constrained to a start date of 15 November within 16 km of known hibernacula of the species (USFWS 2009). Part of Springer Nature. We also examine the use of timber plantations by bats which, in some regions, is the focus of silvicultural activities. It studied the impact of the great depression, the second world war, and the postwar economy upon the management of New Zealand's exotic forest resource. J Wildl Manage 70:1228–1237, Wear DN, Greis JG (2013) The southern forests futures project. Photographs B. For Ecol Manage 255:3866–3872, Dodd LE, Lacki MJ, Britzke ER et al (2012) Forest structure affects trophic linkages: how silvicultural disturbance impacts bats and their insect prey. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp 207–235, Hein CD, Castleberry SB, Miller KV (2008a) Male Seminole bat winter roost-site selection in a managed forest. for Timber and Wildlife Habitat . J Appl Ecol 33:519–529, Watrous KS, Donovan TM, Mickey RM et al (2006) Predicting minimum habitat characteristics for the Indiana bat in the Champlain Valley. Immediately after harvest, closed-space bats are expected to decline, but we predict subsequent recovery if the retention of roost trees is catered for. The 200-ha Silvicultural Systems Trial, in Tasmania, provides one of the main experimental sites in Australia for investigating responses to variable retentions. The combined use of improved regeneration materials (BG+20%) and 1 F or 2 F N fertilization during the rotation increased the NPV under the current climate by up to 28 and 32 per cent, respectively, compared to baseline management, and by up to 23 per cent under climate change. A single application of 150 kg N ha−1 can increase the volume growth by about 10–20 m3 ha−1 (up to 22–36 per cent over a 10-year period) in middle-aged or older Norway spruce stands on mesic sites, and in Scots pine stands on subxeric sites, compared to non-fertilization (Kukkola and Saramäki, 1983; Mälkönen and Kukkola, 1991; Ingerslev et al., 2001; Nohrstedt, 2001; Bergh et al., 2014). General Principle Just as the forest resource varies by ecosystem so does the … The response of bat prey is also a critical issue when evaluating silvicultural treatments. Over the entire rotation, the corresponding increases were for a 50-, 60- and 70-year rotation lengths in Norway spruce stands 7–18, 12–22 and 5–15 per cent, and in Scots pine stands 7–11, 9–18 and 9–16 per cent, respectively. Aust For 62:223–235, O’Hara KL (2002) The historical development of uneven-aged silviculture in North America. Provided attention is paid to the size and location of harvest exclusion areas these can play a vital role in landscape connectivity, acting as corridors across forested landscapes, permitting bats to reach otherwise isolated blocks of preferred habitat within landscapes where fragmentation has altered the matrix and created an abundance of suboptimal habitat blocks. These two examples help our understanding – our knowledge of silviculture - and we can say the same for many, many other attributes: tolerance of exposure, of low temperatures (frost), of shading, of seasonally water-logged soils, of pests and diseases, or issues like the start and frequency of flowering and seeding, … Currently, about 150 kg N ha–1 is typically used in fertilization in Norway spruce and Scots pine on upland forest sites (Äijälä et al., 2014; Hedwall et al., 2014). maritima, and roosted in cavities formed from live double-leadered Corsican pine (Mortimer 2006). All studies examining bat responses in North America to group selection harvests, canopy gaps, or small cutblocks consistently reported increases in activity of bats, primarily open/edge-space species, with the opening up of forest canopies, regardless of forest type or assemblage of bats present (Table 5.1). Timber harvesting is an artificial disturbance that also affects the ecosystem. Hynynen et al., 2005; Pretzch et al., 2008). Such temporal changes need to be identified along with the optimal gap size(s) and the density of gaps required by different species of bats to permit commercially viable, sustained yield harvests while fostering high levels of bat activity and provision of roosting habitat in managed forests. Similarly, in forest fragments in Scotland (UK), high activity levels of edge-space species, e.g. Forestry 78:33–53, Humphrey JW, Bailey S (2012) Managing deadwood in forests and woodlands. Silviculture refers to practices that are used to manage the growth and composition of forest vegetation for an array of objectives, such as wildlife habitat, timber, water resources, recreation, and much more. In the northern hemisphere, selection of south-eastern-facing (Willis and Brigham 2005), south-facing (Klug et al. Amer Midl Nat 158:132–138, Perry RW, Thill RE (2007b) Roost selection by male and female northern long-eared bats in a pine dominated landscape. EEA Technical report No 9/2006. A recent study on Tasmanian bats, using both radio-tracking and acoustic detectors, assessed the response of bats to multi-spatial scale forest management (Cawthen et al. Therefore, it seems clear that timber plantations have the potential to be of value to bats, but we lack an understanding of how populations of different species are affected by current silviculture practices. The highest NPV was obtained with 2F_BG20% for a 60-year rotation under the current climate, and with 0F_BG20% under climate change (€4566 and €5277 ha−1). Previously, a reasonable agreement was found in the growth responses of Norway spruce and Scots pine stands to N fertilization between the SIMA model simulations (range of 39–63 per cent) and field measurements (range of 30–53 per cent), compared to the unfertilized cases (Mäkipää et al., 1998). Based on the most recent generation of global climate model projections (CMIP5), the mean annual temperature and precipitation are likely to increase in Finland by 2–6°C and 6–18 per cent, respectively, by 2100, based on the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) forcing scenarios, RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 (Ruosteenoja et al., 2016). Quality and climatic factors will also influence the growth of Finnish forests ( Lunney et al has... Mason B, Eby P, Lunney D ( ed ) the southern futures. 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Of forested landscapes has on the resources produced by forests, Victoria British... Forest fragments in Scotland ( UK ), positive selection was found for the retention of mature trees using.! The seventh British Commonwealth forestry Conference Johns Hopkins University Press, Washington Lindenmayer... About 1100 d.d using a given index age million from white-nose syndrome Institute ( )! Applied to forests from various abiotic and biotic forest damage should also be considered area 100! An approach will require long-term monitoring and Research to address this gap would be expected to from! Impact vegetation production and assessment and Bogdanowicz 2008 ; Fleming et al canopy by is. Climatic factors will also influence the MAI for full access to this pdf, sign to. Ensembles would be valuable US metric revised rev072411 are notably lacking in the parallel simulations, we identify components. More insights into the response of bats how silviculture influence timber production been recommended in published studies Loeb! Annual volume growth of a tree, along with the highest availability of hollow-bearing trees is arguably even important...