Abstract
Logging of commercially important old-growth Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii forests in the Pacific Northwest threatens the long-term survival of the northern spotted owl Strix occidentalis caurina. Reduction and fragmentation of owl habitat becomes serious, and the greater proportion of forest edge encourages other owl species which compete with or indeed prey on spotted owl. The USDA Forest Service has a management plan of setting aside 550 habitat areas, each of c2200 acres, for spotted owl in Washington and Oregon. Conservationists have criticised both the proposed number and size of such areas; the timber industry argues that the cost of this plan is too high. Other issues are implicated: the question of population viability; preservation of the old-growth forest; and the ability to regenerate such forests. -P.J.Jarvis
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 113-114 |
Number of pages | 2 |
Journal | Trends in Ecology & Evolution |
Volume | 1 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1986 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics