Southern Research Station

Title: Chainsaws, Canebrakes, and Cotton Fields: Sober Thoughts on Silviculture for Songbirds in Bottomland Forests

Author: Hamel, Paul B.; Meadows, James S.; Gardiner, Emile S.; Stanturf, John A.

Date: 2001

Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS 42. Asheville, NC: U.S.Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 99-105

Description: Forested wetlands of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) are the most productive of birds, including neotropical migratory birds, of all land uses there. Forest land uses are difficult to maintain in economic competition with annual crops. We compare perspectives of a bird biologist, a wildlife manager, a production forester, and an economic pragmatist to the issue: How can we manage bottomland forests for products, like birds, in addition to economically viable commodities? Our thesis assumes: (a) private lands are the major land ownership category, (b) economically successful timber production generally is prerequisite to existence of forest on private lands, and (c) traditional silvicultural tools can produce bird habitats. Principles for production of specific bird communities in bottomland hardwoods remain to be articulated. We assert that the future of neotropical migratory birds in bottomlands depends upon communication between avian biologists and silviculturists and the innovative capacity of land managers.

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Citation

Hamel, Paul B.; Meadows, James S.; Gardiner, Emile S.; Stanturf, John A.  2001.  Chainsaws, Canebrakes, and Cotton Fields: Sober Thoughts on Silviculture for Songbirds in Bottomland Forests.   Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS 42. Asheville, NC: U.S.Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 99-105