Download or read book Moose Alces Alces Browse Enhancement and Sustainable Forestry as a Rural Development Tool in the Sub Arctic Boreal Forest Region of Alaska written by Bruce David Cain and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This project studies indigenous and western moose browse management issues in the sub-arctic boreal forest and how this topic relates to rural development. Chapter one explains the methodology of the project. Chapter two describes how moose browse and biomass management support rural development and investigates productivity potential of combining moose browse management with sustainable forestry and biomass production. Chapter three investigates landscape and habitat management principles from a customary and traditional practice versus a scientific approach. It looks at management models in the following territories: Alaska, Canada, Continental US, Mongolia/Russia and Scandinavia. Chapter four investigates indigenous wildlife management systems and other indigenous wildlife policy issues. Chapter five is a selected annotated bibliography. The project has a focus on the Ahtna region of central Alaska and recognizes the implications of these issues for this region.
Download or read book Alaska s Changing Boreal Forest written by F. Stuart Chapin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-01-12 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Boreal forest is the northern-most forest in the world, whose organisms and dynamics are shaped by low temperature and high latitude. The Alaskan Boreal forest is warming as rapidly as any place on earth, providing an opportunity to examine a biome as it adjusts to change. This book looks at this issue.
Download or read book Bioenergetics and Behavior of Moose Alces Alces in the Aspen dominated Boreal Forest written by Lyle Alfred Renecker and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Socio ecological Drivers of Resource Selection and Habitat Use by Moose in Interior Alaska written by Casey L. Brown and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainably managing wildlife with diverse utilization values is one of the greatest challenges facing contemporary wildlife management. These challenges can be amplified under changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. In Alaska, boreal forest systems are experiencing rapid change as a result of climate warming. Alaska’s boreal region has warmed twice as rapidly as the global average, affecting a host of processes including an increase in wildfire frequency, extent, and severity. Wildfire is the most common ecological disturbance in the Alaskan boreal forest and an important driver of landscape heterogeneity, burning on average 1 to 2 million acres per year. Fire severity is a particularly important factor dictating the regeneration of deciduous species, and one that can influence the overall quality of habitat for herbivores, such as moose (Alces alces). However, the relationships between the availability and duration of biomass production and moose habitat selection are largely unknown. Additionally, the effects of fire on wildlife resources in Alaska can have important consequences for boreal social-ecological systems as well. Fire-related changes to the community composition of forest stands would likely affect the densities of species that human communities rely on for hunting and trapping. In Interior Alaska, where natural wildfire is the primary means of increased browse production for moose, managers may want to consider incorporating burns into management plans while paying particular attention to hunter accessibility. However, an increase in hunter activity into moose habitat could result in changes to moose distribution and activity patterns near trails and roads. To examine these questions I utilized telemetry data from 26 moose along with methods in spatial ecology, plant-animal interactions, resource selection and human dimensions of wildlife research to predict the influence of an ecological disturbance (fire) and an anthropogenic disturbance (hunter activity) on moose habitat use. I used dynamic Brownian bridge movement models (dBBMM) in conjunction with browse assessment surveys to examine how fire severity, via its control over vegetation composition, forage production and nutritional quality, affect habitat use patterns of moose across their seasonal home ranges and core use areas. To assess the effects of hunter activity on moose habitat use, I created fine-scale stepselection models to test whether habitat selection and movement patterns were affected by spatio-temporal variation in risk from hunting activity. Additionally, from August-October, I used a camera trap array to collect field data on human activity (off-road vehicles, automobiles, 4x4 trucks, dirt bikes, and hunters afoot) together with the RandomForests algorithm to create high-resolution hunter distribution models. Finally, to integrate my research within a socialecological framework, I examined the interactions between wildfire, forage production and hunter access on management scenarios overtime. In winter, moose preferred low-severity sites more than high and moderate-severity sites, but in summer, moose selected for high-severity sites. Forage biomass production ranged from 62 to 243 kg/ha/yr across all sites during winter within the Hajdukovich Creek Burn, but production and availability varied depending on fire severity and browse species. These results indicate that differing distributions of wildfire severity across a landscape can create a dynamic, mosaic of habitat patches that may optimize and extend the value of burns over time for moose. I found that while moose selected habitat closer to trails and roads, they also avoided areas with more hunting activity. Finally, my management scenarios provide a framework for managers to adapt goals and actions to changing conditions that can affect moose-hunter systems. I recommend that wildlife conservation and management decisions consider these methods as we seek to sustainably manage wildlife for future generations during a time of rapid socio-ecological change in Alaska.
Download or read book Alaska Communities and Forest Environments written by Linda E. Kruger and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2008-05 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This problem analysis describes a variety of human-resource interaction issues & identifies related social science R&D needs that serve as the foundation for the Alaska Communities & Forest Environments Team within the Pacific Northwest Research Station. The document lays out a research agenda that focuses on understanding relations between human communities & natural resources. The agenda is divided into four sub-topics: (1) communities in transition; (2) collaborative planning & stewardship; (3) sustainable tourism & outdoor recreation; & (4) cultural orientations to & uses & values of natural resources, including traditional knowledge, indigenous property rights, & tenure systems. Illustrations.
Download or read book USDA Forest Service Alaska Region Heritage Program Annual Report written by United States. Forest Service. Alaska Region and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Variable Fire Severity in Alaska s Boreal Forest written by Rachel E. Lord and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Over 1 million hectares burn annually across interior Alaska's boreal forest, altering the composition and distribution of vegetation communities that provide critical winter habitat for Alaskan moose (Alces alces gigas). Within a burn, fire severity (the amount of residual soil organic matter following a fire event) is spatially variable and influences the trajectories of post-fire succession. I examined the response of moose to patterns of regeneration resulting from variable fire severity within two burns in interior Alaska. I found significantly higher production of forage biomass (kg/ha) in high fire severity sites than in low severity sites. Proportional removal of forage biomass by moose was 36% higher on sites with higher fire severity compared with low severity sites. I used multiple regression models to examine the role of post-fire forage distribution on proportional removal. The overall explanatory power of any landscape descriptor was moderate at best. Winter forage is a limiting factor for moose reproductive potential, especially in areas with low predation rates. Changes in moose habitat potential is easily measured using remote sensing and GIS techniques and should be assessed to combine field-based knowledge of moose response to variations in regeneration to large-scale patterns of vegetation regeneration following wildfires"--Leaf iii.
Download or read book Timber Management Guidelines for the Provision of Moose Habitat written by Ontario. Wildlife Branch and published by Wildlife Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. This book was released on 1988 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Guidelines to assist resource managers in maintaining or creating through timber management the diversity of age classes and species of vegetation that provide habitat for moose. The document also summarizes moose habitat requirements and the possible impact of various timber management operations. Guidelines are recommended for both general needs for moose habitat and specific needs that can be identified for specific geographic areas.
Download or read book Forest Service written by United States. Forest Service. Alaska Region and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Management of an Expanding Moose Alces Alces Population on the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Alaska written by Eric J. Wald and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My overall objective of this project was to identify and develop management tools for an expanding moose population in western Alaska. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) is home to over 40 villages that rely on subsistence resources across the region, and the high demand for resources has prioritized moose management on the Delta. It is critical for wildlife managers to understand not only wildlife ecology, but also the social component to resource management, which often times is the most important factor for success. I investigate a historical perspective of moose and moose management on the YKD. The historical colonization of moose into Alaska and subsequently into the Yukon-Kuskokwim region is described. I document a case study of the dual-management process for wildlife management in Alaska between the state and federal agencies and how this process worked for moose in the region. Additionally, the success of co-management is documented where the local residents of the region worked with agencies to make resource management decisions such as enacting a short-term moose hunting moratorium that benefited them in the long-term. I investigated management tools to help better understand the expanding moose population. There was a need to develop an alternative population survey technique for parts of the region that do not receive adequate or reliable survey conditions for the standard method used in the area. I developed a helicopter-based distance sampling technique that can be used in narrow riparian corridors during low snow years. Additionally, I developed a method for characterizing and indexing moose browse species within the region. Moose expanding into previously unoccupied habitats could have lasting effects on forage if populations become excessive in localized areas. It is important to characterize the condition of the browse base before the moose population expands and increases in density in order to have a baseline for future comparisons. This project also investigates the effects that snowshoe hares and beavers have on moose browse in the study area. Lastly, I relate a brooming index based on plant architecture to moose twinning rates, a measure of population productivity.
Download or read book Alaska Communities and Forest Environments written by Linda Everett Kruger and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Introduced Moose Alces Alces on Vegetation Composition Nutrient Dynamics and Decomposition Rates in Boreal Forest Ecosystems in Newfoundland Canada written by Nichola Mary Ellis and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Globally, consumers affect ecosystem processes including nutrient dynamics. Herbivores have been known to slow nutrient flow in boreal forest ecosystems. I examined the effects of introduced moose on disturbed forests of Newfoundland, Canada by conducting a field experiment during August - November 2014 in 20 paired moose exclosure-control plots. I tested whether moose browsing directly and indirectly affected forests by measuring plant species composition, litter quality and quantity, soil quality, and decomposition rates in areas moose exclosure-control plots. I analyzed moose effects using linear mixed effects models and found evidence indicating that moose reduce plant height and litter biomass affecting the availability of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. However, plant diversity, soil quality, and litter decomposition did not differ between moose exclosures and controls. Moose in Newfoundland directly influence plant regeneration and litter biomass while indirect effects on soil ecosystems may be limited by time, disturbance, and climate.
Download or read book Moose Alces Alces Browse Availability and Use in Response to Post fire Succession on Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge Alaska written by Erin L. Julianus and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I examined post-fire moose habitat dynamics on Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge in interior Alaska with the objective of increasing understanding of local moose habitat characteristics. I estimated browse density, biomass, and summer browse use in a 2005 burn, 1990 burn, 1972 burn, and an unburned area. I revisited each site the following spring to estimate browse availability and removal during winter. In addition to evaluating browse production and use, I estimated proportional habitat use of varying-aged burns by 51 VHF-collared moose. I found that summer browse production and winter browse availability were highest in the 1990 and 2005 burns. I found that summer and winter browse use was highest in the 1990 burn. Collared moose generally avoided recently burned stands and demonstrated preference for >30 year old stands in both summer and winter. Moose demonstrated preference for unburned stands during calving. Although biomass production and availability were highest in 11 – 30 year old stands, disproportionate use of food resources in burns was evident. This disproportionate use of burns and food resources could be due to a variety of reasons including resource type, historic moose distribution patterns, and predation avoidance strategies.
Download or read book Effects of Timber Management Practices on the Use of Aquatic Feeding Areas by Moose Alces Alces in the Great Lakes St Lawrence and Boreal Transition Forests of Central Ontario microform written by Jennifer Chikoski and published by National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada. This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study compared the use of feeding sites by moose along selection cutting in the Algonquin Park Forest Management Unit, uniform shelterwood cutting in the French-Severn FMU, and clearcutting in the Spanish FMU.--Abstract.
Download or read book Environmental and Demographic Drivers of a Rapidly Expanding Sub arctic Moose Population written by Vassily Sebastian Zavoico and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anthropogenic forces are dramatically altering the dynamics of many populations and ranges. A thorough understanding of drivers and mechanisms underlying population dynamics is needed to better understand reasons for range shifts and broaden our understanding of how environmental and demographic drivers affect population trajectories. In this thesis, I present two chapters that investigate the population dynamics of a rapidly colonizing moose (Alces alces) population in southwest Alaska. In the first chapter, I correlated environmental variables with demographic rates estimated using a multistate model and found that annual patterns of vegetation productivity and winter severity affected calf survival most strongly, followed by twinning rate. In the second chapter, I applied transient life table response experiments (tLTREs) to demographic rates and components of population structure estimated using an integrated population model (IPM). I found that, although calf survival did not have the highest sensitivity out of all other parameters, variation in calf survival contributed the most to variation in population growth rate. Together, these chapters suggest that variation in environmental conditions drove variation in population growth rate via effects on calf survival. Results uphold and add nuance to the demographic buffering hypothesis (DBH), which states that species evolve to buffer highest sensitivity demographic rates against variation that could otherwise decrease individual fitness and population sustainability. My research indicates that an outcome of the DBH is that lower sensitivity vital rates ultimately have a higher actual impact on population growth rate. Additionally, I found that the environmental drivers that currently limit population growth exhibit long-term trends consistent with climate change in ways that are amenable to moose, which suggests climate change facilitated moose colonization of the region. The lack of shortterm trends, lower adult survival in the most heavily hunted part of the study area, and the abrupt colonization that aligned with the irruption of a local caribou (Rangifer tarandus) herd indicate that human hunting pressure also played an important role in allowing moose to establish themselves at high density. These findings pertaining to drivers and mechanisms of population dynamics are relevant for conservation and management of large herbivores across the world that might similarly expand into new areas.
Download or read book Evaluating Tools Used to Estimate and Manage Browse Available to Wintering Moose on the Copper River Delta Alaska written by Sharon E. Smythe and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ungulates comprise some of the most well researched and intensely managed wildlife populations on earth. As such, they are recognized as ideal study subjects for developing and modifying management tools or theories (Danell et al. 1994, Shipley 2010). An introduced moose (Alces alces gigas) population on the Copper River Delta (CRD; Delta) of south-central Alaska functions as a valuable resource for the residents of Cordova and an isolated research population on which to test managerial techniques. Since its introduction (1949-1958), the founding population of 23 moose has grown to over 830 in 2013, divided into two sub-populations. However, in 1964, the largest earthquake recorded in U.S. history (9.2 magnitude) uplifted the Delta by 1.0-4.0 m, initiating delta-wide changes in hydrology, vegetation distributions, and successional processes. The proportion of stands dominated by woody species, especially alder (Alnus viridis sinuata) and spruce (Picea sitchensis), increased visibly. Furthermore, previous research (1987-89) observed that 90% of the moose on the western region of the Delta wintered within 9-24% of the total land area, possibly restricting their available winter browse. Because moose diets on the CRD are dominated by willows (Salix spp.), managers were concerned that the combined effects of a restricted winter range and earthquake-initiated vegetation changes would negatively influence the population. Managers have responded to this concern by 1) supporting work to estimate the nutritional carrying capacity (NCC; i.e., the forage available to a population within a specified area and time) of the Delta, and 2) by exploring the feasibility of mechanical treatment as a means of stimulating browse production for the moose. Thus, the objectives of this thesis were to 1) explore the factors influencing NCC for moose on the west CRD while combining updated digital and field-collected data to estimate NCC, and 2) to assess the effects of mechanical treatment on the production of moose browse across stand types and over time. We collected field data and evaluated differences in the past (1988-89) and present (2012-13) biomass-predicting regression equations for two willow species (Barclay's and Hooker's willow, Salix barclayi and hookeriana) used within NCC models to determine 1) whether past and present models of Barclay's willow predicted similarly and 2) whether Hooker's and Barclay's willow differed in average available biomass, nutritional quality, and utilization by moose. The linear coefficients for the current (2013) Barclay's willow, Hooker's willow, and combined equations were 2.2x, 1.6x, and 1.9x larger, respectively, than that derived from the 1988 model for Barclay's willow (which possibly included Hooker's willow data). Thus, willows on the CRD may now be supporting more biomass per stem than predicted by prior models. Hooker's and Barclay's willow did not differ in mean available biomass, nutritional values, or utilization rates. These results suggest a need to evaluate the accuracy of older allometric regressions, though separate identification of the visually-similar Barclay's and Hooker's willow may be unnecessary for future biomass-estimating efforts on the CRD. To further explore the factors influencing the biomass available to moose and their associated NCC estimates, we compared 5 NCC model types across 4 winter ranges and under 3 winter-severity scenarios for the western CRD moose population. We conducted a sensitivity analysis (Sx) of our final model to determine the relative influence of factors affecting NCC estimates. Lastly, we compared current (2012-13) browse available biomass, stand type areas (2011), and NCC results to those obtained by past research (1987-89, MacCracken et al. 1997 and 1959/1986, Stephenson et al. 2006) to determine changes over time, while evaluating the effects of models incorporating satellite-based estimates of stand areas and forage nutritional values on NCC estimates. Because recent aerial survey observations suggest expansion of the moose winter range, our final model estimated NCC between 2,198-3,471 moose depending on winter severity within a winter range encompassing the entire west Delta. These results suggest the current western moose population (approximately 600 in 2013) is below NCC. Model components with the largest and smallest Sx were snow depth and tannin- and lignin-caused reductions in forage nutritional quality, respectively. Changes from 1987-2013 in available biomass of forage species ranged from -66-493%, while changes from 1959-2011 in stand type areas ranged from -60-661%. Overall, NCC estimates only declined by 2% from 1959-2013, however inclusion of forage nutritional quality in models reduced NCC estimates by 60%. Lastly, we assessed the use of hydraulic-axing (i.e., hydro-axing) as tool for increasing the available willow biomass. We evaluated treatment effects on biomass, height, nutritional quality (crude protein, lignin, and tannin levels), utilization, and snow burial of the winter forage species within 3 winter-severity scenarios. Sites were treated in 4 winters (1990-92, 2008, 2010, and 2012) within 5 stand types in 20 locations varying from 0.86-63.40 ha in size. Results indicate few significant differences relative to controls, though treatment significantly increased the ratio of willow to alder. Our results may be limited by sample sizes (n = 1-9 per stand type or treatment year) as visual comparison suggests treatment via hydraulic-axing may be an effective method for increasing willow biomass without influencing nutritional quality. However, willows 20-23 years post-treatment are still significantly shorter than untreated willows (P = 0.03). Thus, treatment may result in decreased forage available to moose in severe winters. Management concerns regarding continued earthquake-initiated changes in vegetation distributions and successional processes prompted our investigation. However, studies on the vegetation dynamics of the CRD suggest the vegetation distribution of the Delta may be relatively stable (Boggs 2000, Thilenius 2008). If so, our current estimates of NCC suggest the west Delta can support a larger moose population than is currently present. Hydro-axing may not be necessary to ensure the future of the moose population, though it could be used to counter increases in alder (Alnus viridis sinuata) which are likely within certain successional sequences. However, together with earthquakes, the processes determining the future forage available on the CRD include complex, interactive forces such as glaciers, the Copper River, oceanic tides, and zoological- and human-caused influences. These forces and their effects on the vegetation create a dynamic ecosystem for the moose population, are difficult to predict, and may be further complicated by climate change. As a result, application of any managerial tool may be temporary and often difficult. However, this guarantees a constant need for further revision and redevelopment of the tools used to manage the moose population, ensuring that the moose of the CRD will remain an important resource for researching and refining ungulate management worldwide.
