Effects of pine and hardwood basal areas after uneven-aged silvicultural treatments on wildlife habitat

Abstract

Uneven-aged management (UEAM) is becoming increasingly popular in the southeastern United States. However, effects of UEAM on wildlife habitat have not been adequately documented. We examined response of habitat within stands of varying levels of pine and hardwood basal area under an uneven-aged management regime in southern Mississippi. Summer and winter trends in understory biomass were similar across treatments. Time since disturbance influenced plant productivity. Stands with lower basal areas tended to have higher browse production, denser and higher vertical habitat structure, more woody, vine, and fern biomass, greater total biomass, and higher plant species diversity and richness. Pine basal area had little influence on browse production relative to effects of hardwood basal area. Although stands with higher basal area had less biomass, a higher proportion of biomass was composed of preferred browse. We recommend that forest managers create stands of varying levels of pine and hardwood basal areas to provide for diverse needs of many wildlife species.