Ecological requirements of the threetoed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) in boreal forests of northern Sweden

The three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) is a forest specialist bird, highly dependent on dead and decaying trees for foraging. I investigated the occurrence of the three-toed woodpecker in relation to vegetation characteristics including dead wood in the boreal forests of northern Sweden...

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Autor principal: Balasso, Michelle
Formato: H2
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: SLU/Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies 2016
Materias:
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author Balasso, Michelle
author_browse Balasso, Michelle
author_facet Balasso, Michelle
author_sort Balasso, Michelle
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description The three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) is a forest specialist bird, highly dependent on dead and decaying trees for foraging. I investigated the occurrence of the three-toed woodpecker in relation to vegetation characteristics including dead wood in the boreal forests of northern Sweden. Forty old forest stands were studied, were I collected data on living and dead trees, and related them to the occurrence of the three-toed woodpecker during the breeding season. Logistic regression was used to model the occurrence of the three-toed woodpecker in relation to habitat variables. I found that of all variables taken in consideration, the amount of freshly dead Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) contributed most to explaining the occurrence of three-toed woodpecker. The probability to find three-toed woodpecker in a stand increased with the basal area of freshly dead spruce, the size of the stand, the basal area of living deciduous trees and that of dying Scots pines. A probability of occurrence of 0.5 corresponded to 1.8 m²/ha of freshly dead spruce. The results refined the knowledge about three-toed woodpecker requirements, underlying the importance of spruce for foraging, and adding information on which decay stage is more preferable for the species. Taking in consideration the fact that the species is declining and included in the Swedish Red List, this study will help defining future targets for conservation management for the three-toed woodpecker.
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spelling RepoSLU87772016-02-09T13:58:48Z Ecological requirements of the threetoed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) in boreal forests of northern Sweden Habitatkrav hos den tretåiga hackspetten (Picoides tridactylus L.) i norra Sveriges boreala skogar Balasso, Michelle three-toed woodpecker dead wood dead spruce snags habitat requirements boreal forest forest management The three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) is a forest specialist bird, highly dependent on dead and decaying trees for foraging. I investigated the occurrence of the three-toed woodpecker in relation to vegetation characteristics including dead wood in the boreal forests of northern Sweden. Forty old forest stands were studied, were I collected data on living and dead trees, and related them to the occurrence of the three-toed woodpecker during the breeding season. Logistic regression was used to model the occurrence of the three-toed woodpecker in relation to habitat variables. I found that of all variables taken in consideration, the amount of freshly dead Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) contributed most to explaining the occurrence of three-toed woodpecker. The probability to find three-toed woodpecker in a stand increased with the basal area of freshly dead spruce, the size of the stand, the basal area of living deciduous trees and that of dying Scots pines. A probability of occurrence of 0.5 corresponded to 1.8 m²/ha of freshly dead spruce. The results refined the knowledge about three-toed woodpecker requirements, underlying the importance of spruce for foraging, and adding information on which decay stage is more preferable for the species. Taking in consideration the fact that the species is declining and included in the Swedish Red List, this study will help defining future targets for conservation management for the three-toed woodpecker. SLU/Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies 2016 H2 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8777/
spellingShingle three-toed woodpecker
dead wood
dead spruce
snags
habitat requirements
boreal forest
forest management
Balasso, Michelle
Ecological requirements of the threetoed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) in boreal forests of northern Sweden
title Ecological requirements of the threetoed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) in boreal forests of northern Sweden
title_full Ecological requirements of the threetoed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) in boreal forests of northern Sweden
title_fullStr Ecological requirements of the threetoed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) in boreal forests of northern Sweden
title_full_unstemmed Ecological requirements of the threetoed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) in boreal forests of northern Sweden
title_short Ecological requirements of the threetoed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus L.) in boreal forests of northern Sweden
title_sort ecological requirements of the threetoed woodpecker (picoides tridactylus l.) in boreal forests of northern sweden
topic three-toed woodpecker
dead wood
dead spruce
snags
habitat requirements
boreal forest
forest management