Chapter 12: fire and fuels management in relation to owl habitat in forests of the Sierra Nevada and southern California
Weatherspoon CP, Husari SJ, van Wagtendonk JW. 1992. Chapter 12: fire and fuels management in relation to owl habitat in forests of the Sierra Nevada and southern California. Pages 247-260. In Verner J, Mckelvey KS, Noon BR, Gutierrez RJ, Gould GI, Beck TW. The California spotted owl: a technical assessment of its current status. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. Albany, NY. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service General Technical Report. PSW-GTR-133
Over the millennia, fire has influenced the structure and function of most forested ecosystems and, consequently, most spotted owl habitat in California. Fire is a force that we must understand and attempt to deal with - as a shaper of ecosystems, as a tool, and as a potential destroyer of habitat - if we are to manage intelligently for the California spotted owl. In this chapter we discuss some fire management considerations related to protecting and possibly enhancing owl habitat. We concentrate on Sierran mixed-conifer forests - the most important and extensive habitat type statewide for the spotted owl, and on live oak/bigcone Douglas fir forests - one of the most important habitat types in southern California. We include brief discussions of three additional types - Sierran red fir and southern California mixed-conifer and riparian/hardwood.
- Type
- Published Report Section
- Authors
- Weatherspoon, C.; Husari, Susan; van Wagtendonk, Jan
- Units
- LAVO , YOSE
- Keywords
- Absence (Biodiversity), Abundance (Biodiversity), Animal Studies, Birds, Distribution (Biodiversity), Fire Management, Fuel Load (Fire), Habitats, Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), Presence (Biodiversity), Preservation, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Taxa Links To References, Wildlife