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Note: Session titles beginning with an asterisk (*) have student presenters.
AUTHORS: Carl Schmidt, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Dawn Sherry, Middle Georgia State University
ABSTRACT: The 2003 Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) Recovery Plan defines the tree component of good quality foraging habitat (GQFH) using trees per acre (TPA) and basal area (BA). While the plan requires at least 40ft2 BA/acre of all pines 10" DBH, it has no guidance on when to initiate a thinning. The 2000 Draft Recovery Plan provided guidance, prescribing a 40 to 80 ft2 BA/acre range for loblolly/shortleaf pine stands. A problem with BA, however, is it is not independent of site and age. Another measure, Stand Density Index (SDI), is independent of site and age. The total number of 10” diameter trees an acre can support represents the maximum SDI. Twenty-five percent of the maximum indicates the beginning of crown closure, 35% corresponds to the lower limit of full site occupancy. These percentages are roughly equivalent to 50 to 80 ft2 BA/acre for a loblolly stand with a 10” average diameter, the index size for SDI. The difference between BA and SDI was compared using three hypothetical loblolly pine stands. Thinning the stands was modeled using the Forest Vegetation Simulator. BA-managed stands had decreasing relative density with age while SDI-managed stands were consistent. SDI-managed stands allowed the basal area to go over 100; BA-managed stands never did. BA-managed stands never maintained as many large diameter trees as SDI-managed stands. It is suggested that using SDI as a measure of stocking in red-cockaded woodpecker foraging habitat is the best approach.
Tuesday October 31, 2017 8:45am - 9:00am EDT
McCreary