Early-Successional
Forest
and Shrub Habitat
Definition
Young trees and shrubs, often occupying
recently disturbed sites and areas such as abandoned
farm fields, provide unique and important habitat
for many wildlife. Some of the tree and shrub
species that colonize abandoned agricultural land
and disturbed sites include grey birch, dogwood,
aspen species, cherry, willow, and alder. Due to the
propensity of these plant species to quickly
colonize disturbed sites, they are often referred to
as 'pioneer species.' These habitats occur
throughout the state in various forms in wet
conditions, dry conditions, and at mid-elevation and
low elevation. These are not habitats typical of
high elevation, at least not as defined by the
species discussed here.
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Importance
Many species of wildlife require
early-successional forest and shrub habitat. Popular
species such as ruffed grouse, American woodcock,
and New England Cottontail require this habitat for
many of their annual life needs. Songbirds such as
the golden-winged warbler nest only in this sort of
habitat and, in fact, are at risk of population
declines due to the loss of such habitat.
New England in general, and
Vermont
specifically, has realized a drastic decline of
early-successional forest and shrub habitat. This
loss is due largely to development and natural
forest succession. Traditionally, this habitat was
created by a variety of natural disturbances such as
fire, floods, and wind, including hurricanes. In
addition, human activities on the land, such as
agriculture and timber production, created
early-successional forest habitat. Today, with the
chronic loss of agriculture, declining land
ownership by forest products industries, and
increased residential development of those same
lands, opportunities for perpetuating these habitats
is diminished. As a result, those species of plants,
mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles that
require this habitat to survive are generally
declining in the Northeast region (Litviatus, 1999).
In addition, these habitats support species
such as ruffed grouse that have long been the
passion of
Vermont
and
New England
upland game hunters. These habitats serve as sources
for the production of such species as the American
woodcock, whose populations continue to decline
precipitously. Populations of American woodcock, a
fascinating bird species unique to these habitats,
are continuing to decline solely because of the loss
of this habitat to development primarily, and forest
succession secondarily.
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Conservation
Goals
It's important to consider several factors
when deciding where and how to conserve and
perpetuate early-successional forest and shrub
habitat. Some areas of the state offer greater
opportunities to benefit the species that require
this sort of habitat than others. The
Champlain
Valley
, for instance, is frequented more than the
Northern Green Mountains
region by the American woodcock and golden-winged
warbler. That is not to say that this habitat is not
found in the Northern Green Mountains; rather, it is
to point out that a greater abundance of early
successional forest and shrub habitat in the lower
elevation zones of
Vermont
provides greater value to the species that most
require it. There are exceptions to this
generalization. For example, Bicknell's thrush
prefers the low density of spruce-fir forests of the
higher elevations, which are often disturbed by
winds and ice damage. Many widespread species, such
as black bear and deer, benefit from the diversity
of soft mast (berries) plants and browse that is
made available from early successional habitat.
A planning group might adopt the following
goals to conserve early-successional forest and
shrub habitat.
1.
Maintain early-successional forest and shrub
habitat and, where appropriate, increase the acreage
of this habitat within the town or area of interest.
Be sure to consult with a wildlife habitat expert
before deciding to promote the development of new
early-successional forest habitat since some areas
or sites may not be compatible or appropriate for
the types of disturbance or management actions
required to establish those habitats.
2.
Encourage management of existing early
successional forest and shrub habitat in a manner
compatible with the nesting, breeding, and brood
rearing requirements of species that are declining,
such as American woodcock. This species may serve as
a useful surrogate for the habitat requirements of
other early successional habitat dependant wildlife.
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Obtaining
and Interpreting Information
Information
Sources
See Resources
for information on how to
contact or visit the websites of the agencies and
organizations mentioned below.
Vermont
Center for Geographic Information: The Center has land use/land cover
GIS data.
Agency
of Natural Resources: This
agency maintains information on early-successional
habitat occurrence on state land for most, but not
all, state-owned parcels.
Vermont
Mapping Program The Vermont Department of Taxes administers
this program and supplies each town (by law) with
two sets of 1:5000 scale orthophoto printouts for
its geographic area. They also sell digital format
orthophotos (on CD-ROM) and will do custom printouts
of orthophotos (and some spatial data layers) at
other scales for a fee.
U.S.
Forest
Service: This
agency maintains data, maps, and information on the
distribution of forest cover types, including
early-successional forest, throughout the state and
region.
Conservation
Strategies
Some strategies presented in other element
sections may apply to the conservation and
management of early-successional forest habitat.
Once information on early-successional forest and
shrub habitat has been collected, it is possible to
develop specific Conservation Strategies to help achieve those goals related to this
habitat. Some examples of strategies related to each
goal follow.
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1. Goal: Maintain
early-successional forest and shrub habitat and,
where appropriate, increase the acreage of this
habitat within the town or area of interest.
Strategies:
a.
Emphasize the importance
of conserving, managing and perpetuating these
habitats in a town plan or other planning document. Sample Language: Early-successional
forest and shrub habitat - important to the
survival of many species of wildlife as well as
related public interests - is declining statewide.
The conservation, protection, management and, where
appropriate, restoration of these habitats will be a
priority.
b.
Identify areas of beaver activity or those with high potential for
beaver activity, and ensure the continuation of
beaver-related landscape dynamics. Conserve
beaver-influenced landscapes by encouraging
residents and road crews to consider alternatives to
dam removal.
c.
Ensure that these sorts of habitats are represented in at least
some of the land conservation or acquisition
actions. Develop management and conservation plans
for conserved lands, public or private, that support
the protection, conservation, management and, where
appropriate, creation of these habitats.
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2. Goal: Encourage
management of existing early-successional forest and
shrub habitat in a manner compatible with the
nesting, breeding, and brood rearing requirements of
the American woodcock. This species may serve as a
useful surrogate for the habitat requirements of
other early-successional habitat dependant wildlife.
Strategies:
a.
Encourage agricultural and forest products economies by providing
tax incentives or other incentives for large
landowners to retain ownership and management of
those lands.
b. Encourage large
landowners to enroll in the current use program
administered by the Vermont Department of Forests,
Parks and Recreation. This program requires that a
qualified professional develop a forest management
plan. The program can be a useful tool for
incorporating the actions required to perpetuate
this sort of habitat and the species that rely upon
it.
