Pacific Northwest Research Station

Title: Wildlife of westside and high montane forests.

Author: Olson, D.H.; Hagar, J.C.; Carey, A.B.; Cissel, J.H.; Swanson, F.J.

Date: 2001.

Source: In: Johnson, D.H.; O'Neil, T.A. Wildlife-habitat relationships in Oregon and Washington. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press: 187-212. Chapter 7

Description: More than 300 vertebrate species are associated with western forests of Oregon and Washington (Table 1). Western and montane conifer-hardwood forests and oak woodlands are some of the more species-rich areas within the two states. Both the productivity and the mosaic of conditions within western forests contribute to the higher vertebrate diversity. These forests are exceeded in richness only by habitats encompassed by riparian wetlands urban, and agriculture and pasture designations Interestingly, these are habitats that either border or are found nested within western forests. A high overlap of species occurs between these habitat types and western forests, especially along their interfaces. Forest specie include those taxa that are obligates to forested habitat for all or part of their life history, more generalist specie that occur in the forest matrix but also in other nonforest types, and transient species that are found incidentally in forests because of their proximity to other habitats. This chapter provides an overview of the broad- and fine-scale patterns of western forest wildlife assemblages, emphasizing the main faunal habitat associations with forest conditions. Drivers of the geographic distributions of many taxa include climate conditions, the legacy of past natural disturbances, and vegetation types. This mix of physical and biological conditions has been elegantly consolidated ecoregion designations for western forests. Ecoregions provide a context for broad-scale species richness pattern assessment. At finer spatial scale, site, microhabitat, and microclimate conditions, and recent disturbance events con-tribute to explanations of species distribution patterns. Habitat assessments of forest-associated wildlife conducted for this volume are of compiled to summarize species-habitat relations. Across spatial scales, species life history, behavior, and intra- and interspecific interactions are significant elements for our understanding of wildlife habitat associations. These abiotic and biotic components are outlined to more fully conceptualize their roles in the organization of forest of faunal assemblages. Hotspots of wildlife diversity are addressed at both broad landscape and finer forest stand spatial scales.

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Citation

Olson, D.H.; Hagar, J.C.; Carey, A.B.; Cissel, J.H.; Swanson, F.J.  2001. .  Wildlife of westside and high montane forests..   In: Johnson, D.H.; O'Neil, T.A. Wildlife-habitat relationships in Oregon and Washington. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press: 187-212. Chapter 7