Successional stages, forest age, and associated wildlife.
Understanding the relationship between wildlife and your woodland will help you improve both. With planning and management, you can favor certain plants and animals on your property.
Wildlife have four basic requirements: food, cover, water, and space to live and raise their young. However, different wildlife species require different stages of diverse forest growth to meet their basic needs. Variations in plant cover, harvest operations, water resources, and topography determine how many species can live in a forest habitat and how abundant those species will be.
While some of North Carolina's forests are older, or mature, the majority are in a transition stage between seedlings and mature trees. The typical forest stand has developed from abandoned farmland. Other forests are mostly hardwoods that sprouted or were reseeded after logging operations.
Land features such as streams, swamps, rivers, and ponds also add to the diversity of plant and animal life in any woodland. Pastures and croplands adjacent to woodlands attract many wildlife species. The edges between forest stands of different ages and between forests and open land or water are rich wildlife habitats.
An aerial photograph of your property offers a complete look at the land uses and vegetative covers within your boundaries and on adjacent properties. This bird's eye view can help you understand the potential of your land for wildlife and the ways you can make it more beneficial. With aerial photographs you can identify water sources, fields, forest stands, and wetland areas, and evaluate their arrangement on your property and surrounding land.
Aerial photographs of your property should be available from the Consolidated Farm Services Agency (CFSA). You also may be able to obtain aerial photographs from the Department of Transportation or your county tax office. These organizations often have aerial photographs of your land on file dating back several years, which also will provide valuable information on the successional stage of your forestland.
You may find that at some time in the past at least some of your forestland was farmland. If photographs of your land have been taken every few years, you may be able to see the progression of these abandoned fields from brush to pole-sized timber and then eventually to mature timber. This progression from bare ground to mature forest is known as plant succession.
A knowledge of plant succession is important because all natural and human activities that affect the vegetation will also affect wildlife habitat. Because each species has a unique set of cover and food requirements, the successful wildlife manager matches forestry activities to the desired wildlife species. Plant succession begins on bare ground with light-seeded grasses, legumes, and flowering plants. Over time, small trees, brush, and briar thickets shade out the sun-loving grasses. Ultimately, light-seeded trees shade out the brush and make conditions favorable for shade-loving mast producers, like oaks and hickories (Figure 1).
Successional stages, forest age, and associated wildlife.
The relationship between vegetation management and wildlife is outlined in Table 1. The vegetation conditions of early- and mid-successional stages can be achieved or sustained only through periodic harvesting, mowing and disking, grazing, or burning. Without these interruptions, all field and shrublands will naturally grow into forests, and the habitat conditions for wildlife will change dramatically over time.
Table 1. Relationship of plant succession and wildlife.
For example, quail and pileated woodpeckers correspond to different stages of plant succession. Quail feed on seeds from annual and perennial plants. These plants occur in the early stages of plant succession when direct sunlight is abundant. Therefore, emphasize harvesting, thinning, and controlled burning if you want to promote quail populations. Pileated woodpeckers, on the other hand, depend on dead or rotting trees found in mature forests for their food and nesting sites.
Land managers who understand plant succession and its effects on wildlife can create a diverse habitat by mixing timber stands of various ages with open areas.
Once you understand the relationships between the kinds of wildlife you want and your land, you can develop a forest stewardship plan.
Begin with a list of objectives. Include financial concerns as well as wildlife, timber, aesthetic, and recreational goals. Many uses will be compatible and can be worked on simultaneously, while others will involve trade-offs. You will also find that some improvements and practices are inexpensive, while others may require substantial investments of labor or capital.
Wildlife biologists, foresters, soil conservationists, Extension agents, and consultants can help you to define your objectives. They can also help you list your resources, evaluate alternatives, develop a written framework, and, in some cases, supervise management operations.
Over time your objectives may change. However, a well-designed plan will be flexible enough to accommodate changes in goals, markets, and the economy. Plan carefully from the start, but treat the plan as a living document, making adjustments for the future as your interests, resources, and needs change.
For additional information on forest stewardship, see Woodland Owner Note 23, Enrolling in North Carolina's Forest Stewardship Program, available from your county Cooperative Extension Center.
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