Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers and Silviculture Practice: Is Uneven-Aged SilviculturePreferable to Even-Aged

摘要

The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) has become a high-profile management issue in the southeastern United States. Suitable habitat consists of mature to old pine, or mixed pine-hardwood forest, with minimal hardwood mid-story vegetation. Loss of habitat, detrimental silvicultural practices, and changes in the fire regime have resulted in small fragmented populations, most of which have been declining precipitously in recent decades. The current population of 10-12 thousand birds occurs across much of the original range from Virginia and Florida west to Oklahoma and Texas (James 1995).