Skip to Main Content
U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Home > Search > Publication Information

  1. Winter bird communities in afforestation: Should we speed up or slow down ecological succession?

    Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Twitter
    Dislike this pubLike this pub
    Author(s): Paul B. Hamel; Daniel J. Twedt; Timothy J. Nuttle; Christopher A. Woodson; Fred Broerman; Joseph M. Wahome
    Date: 2000
    Source: In: Proceedings of a Conference on Sustainability of Wetlands and Water Resources, May 23-25, Oxford, Mississippi, eds. Holland, Marjorie M.; Warren, Melvin L.; Stanturf, John A., p. 98-108
    Publication Series: Miscellaneous Publication
    PDF: View PDF  (54 KB)
    Note: This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document

    Description

    Recent assessments of afforestation on agricultural lands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley imply the importance of quickly developing vertical forest structure to benefit wildlife. Examining this assumption, we find that mammals and birds occur through the full successional sere as targets of proactive management and control. Different species of animals thrive in structures available at different times during succession. Thus, forest managers’ choices of strategies favor species’ success differentially. Early successional species, particularly those avian communities occurring during winter, have heretofore been considered only in passing. However, because they occur in areas where herbaceous plants dominate vegetation structure, these communities include species otherwise rare or absent from the landscape. Extensive afforestation in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley provides ephemeral habitat for birds that winter in herbaceous areas. To provide habitat for winter birds, managers may wish to consider maintaining large tracts in herbaceous vegetation similar to that occurring 3 to 7 years after cessation of farming activities.

    Publication Notes

    • You may send email to pubrequest@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication.
    • (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)
    • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Hamel, Paul B.; Twedt, Daniel J.; Nuttle, Timothy J.; Woodson, Christopher A.; Broerman, Fred; Wahome, Joseph M. 2000. Winter bird communities in afforestation: Should we speed up or slow down ecological succession?. In: Proceedings of a Conference on Sustainability of Wetlands and Water Resources, May 23-25, Oxford, Mississippi, eds. Holland, Marjorie M.; Warren, Melvin L.; Stanturf, John A., p. 98-108

    Related Search

    XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
Jump to Top of Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/20155