Skip to Main Content
-
California spotted owl: scientific considerations for forest planning
Author(s): John J. Keane
Date: 2014
Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-247. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 437-467. Chap. 7.2
Publication Series: General Technical Report (GTR)
Station: Pacific Southwest Research Station
PDF: Download Publication (335.75 KB)Note: This article is part of a larger document. View the larger documentDescription
California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) (fig. 1) have been at the forefront of Sierra Nevada management and conservation debates for 25 years because of their strong habitat associations with commercially valuable large trees, snags, and late-successional forests. Initial concerns focused on the effects of timber harvest on large trees and late-successional habitat and potential risks to California spotted owl population viability. In recent years, the debate over Sierra Nevada forest management and California spotted owls has broadened with growing recognition that past management practices, specifically timber harvest and fire suppression, have fundamentally changed forest structure, composition, and function over the last 100 years (North et al. 2009). Removal of fire as a primary natural disturbance process, coupled with reductions in large trees and late-successional forests through timber harvest, has resulted in contemporary Sierra Nevada forests that are generally more homogenous at multiple spatial scales, have higher densities of shade-tolerant tree species and reduced numbers of large trees, and are at greater risk of high-severity wildfire compared to their historical counterparts.Publication Notes
- You may send email to psw_communications@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
Keane, J.J. 2014. California spotted owl: scientific considerations for forest planning. In: Long, J.W.; Quinn-Davidson, L.; Skinner, C.N., eds. Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-247. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 437-467. Chap. 7.2.Keywords
ecological restoration, socioecological systems, ecosystem resilience, forest planning, fire management, altered fire regimes, wildfire, climate change, anthropogenic disturbance, invasive species, water resources, species of conservation concern, CaliforniaRelated Search
- The California spotted owl: current state of knowledge
- Threats to the viability of California spotted owls
- Chapter 5: California spotted owls
XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/46968