Roberge, Jean-Michel
- School for Forest Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Research article2011Peer reviewed
Stighäll, Kristoffer; Roberge, Jean-Michel; Angelstam, Per; Andersson, Kjell
Efficient conservation planning in managed forest landscapes requires knowledge about the location of functional habitat for specialised species. We explored the importance of different variables to predict habitat suitability for the white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos Bechstein), a proposed umbrella species in deciduous forest. Specifically, we tested whether biophysical proxy variables indicating management intensity and the occurrence of natural processes constituted a useful complement to traditional remotely sensed data on tree species composition and forest stand age for modelling the woodpecker's habitat. Presence-absence of the woodpecker during the study period (1986-2006) in southwestern Sweden was explained by the area of edge habitats (forest bordering water or farmland) and wetland forest, and location relative to the historical marine limit. The number of years with occurrence of the woodpecker in a territory was explained by the area of forest bordering water and wetland forest. Among traditional forest variables, the area of deciduous forest had a strong positive effect on both woodpecker presence-absence and the number of years with occurrence. The results support the hypothesis that edge habitats and forest types subject to natural processes favouring deciduous trees and dead wood creation are valuable to the woodpecker and should be prioritised in conservation planning.
Conservation planning; deciduous forest; Dendrocopos leucotos; edge habitats; habitat suitability; land-use history; remote sensing
Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research
2011, Volume: 26, number: 6, pages: 576-585
Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS AS
Forest Science
Landscape Architecture
Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02827581.2011.599813
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/57345