Hybrid poplar plantations in a floodplain have balanced impacts on farmland and woodland birds

Hybrid poplar plantations are increasing worldwide and are often accused of impoverishing bird communities. We conducted 124 bird point counts in a landscape where plantations, semi-natural forests and farmland occupied similar surface areas. As expected, birds occurred at higher densities in areas dominated by forests than dominated by plantations, mostly due to the scarcity of late-successional forest birds in plantations. Contrary to expectations, bird communities were the poorest in farmland dominated areas and the most specialised in areas dominated by young plantations. Indeed, many grassland species, including some of conservation concern in Europe, frequently used young plantations. However, plantations have probably depleted grassland bird communities by fragmenting open areas, while playing a limited positive role on forest species. Total length of unpaved roads had a positive effect on community specialisation index, while total length of paved roads and mean forest/plantation patch size played no role. Bird density increased with the development of the understory vegetation in mature poplar plantations. We conclude that poplar should not be planted at the expense of areas of high conservation value; in other cases, they may increase the overall diversity of bird communities. At the plantation scale, we advocate stopping understory removal as soon as possible and maintaining old trees and hedgerows alongside or within plantations to provide suitable breeding habitats for bird species that may be foraging in the plantations.     

Can oil palm plantations become bird friendly?

Despite the increasing claims that structural complexity in agroforestry plantations is a key variable for enhancing bird biodiversity, few studies have experimentally manipulated the understory component of structural complexity. Here, we examined the impact of removing understory vegetation from oil palm plantations on the richness and abundance of birds in eastern Guatemala, testing if bird richness and abundance are positively affected by the presence of understory vegetation. Oil palm plantations with understory hold more bird richness and abundance than those lacking it. The experimental removal of this vegetation, equivalent to a reduction in complexity, decreases bird richness but not abudance. Our analysis shows clear effects of vegetation removal on bird richness, such that removal reduces richness and abundance to levels found in areas without understory. Hence, leaving or implementing structural complexity within plantations could satisfy the current need of making commodity production a cleaner industry, fulfilling both, the production of highly demanded commodities and the conservation of biodiversity in productive landscapes. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is one of the most rapidly expanding crop in tropical regions, representing the major cause of loss of natural forests and of the decline of endangered species in several countries. Enhancing understory vegetation might reduce such negative effects. This is one of the few experimental tests about how a component of the vegetation and structural complexity of plantations affects birds.     

Birds like it Corky: the influence of habitat features and management of ‘montados’ in breeding bird communities

In the southwest part of the Iberian Peninsula the dominant land-use are the Portuguese montados and Spanish dehesas, parkland forested areas of anthropogenic origin dominated by cork oak. They form a wooded matrix with open areas, scattered woodlands and undisturbed patches of Mediterranean forest and scrublands. The montados are characterized by a rich bird community. We have focus our study in a multidisciplinary approach, evaluating how management and landscape patterns influence the bird community in order to identify potential threats to its conservation. The study was conducted in the Site of Community Importance of Serra de Monfurado were 70% of the area is cork and holm oaks. We used data from 120 10-min point counts. Using variation partitioning, we determined the independent and joint effects of Forest, Management and Habitat variables. The variation captured in bird assemblage was 65.06%. Most of the explained variation was related to the Habitat and Management variables. The explanatory variables that were high-lighted as important predictors were variables that reflected tree and shrub density and cork removal. Modelling for forest species through generalized linear models (GLM) emphasize that the management plays an important role in the species distribution. The most important variables selected in models reflected cattle grazing and cork removal. Our results point out that the type of management is crucial to maintain the equilibrium in bird community associated to montados. Farmland and forest species will benefit from areas with different tree densities, small patches of Mediterranean scrubs in the understory and correct livestock numbers.     

Removing an exotic shrub from riparian forests increases butterfly abundance and diversity

Invasive plants are one of the greatest threats to endangered insect species and a major threat to Lepidoptera in eastern North America. We investigated the effects of the invasive shrub Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) and two methods (mulching or hand-felling) of removing it from riparian forests on butterfly communities and compared them to untreated, heavily invaded control plots and to “desired future condition” forests that never had extensive privet cover. Privet mulching resulted in nearly twice as many butterflies as privet felling and both treatments had more butterflies two years after privet removal than untreated control plots. Butterfly communities on control plots differed from those on the two treatments and the desired future condition forests. A number of forest characteristics were evaluated but only herbaceous plant cover (excluding privet) was positively correlated with butterfly abundance, diversity and evenness. The Carolina satyr, Hermeuptychia sosybius, was the best indicator of forests where privet had never invaded. Removing Chinese privet from riparian forests in the southeastern United States greatly improved forest habitats for butterflies and evidence suggests that butterfly communities in other temperate forests could benefit from removal of extensive shrub layers dominated by a single species.     

Senescence of Manilkara zapota trees and implications for large frugivorous birds in the Southern Yucatan Peninsula,Mexico

It has long been established that mature forests are mosaics of patches in different development phases but it has seldom explicitly been taken into account in ecological studies. We demonstrate here that these development phases, which are related to the population dynamics of trees, play an important role in the distribution of fauna based on observations on frugivorous birds. In an area close to the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, we studied the abundance of large forest bird species in relation to forest development phases, with a methodology that seems promising for ecological diagnosis and prognosis in forest management planning. Fine-scale forest mapping and bird counts were carried out in two block-transects of 40 m × 3000 m. Tree sampling in a sub-transect was used to generate population characteristics of trees. Large bird species preferred mature or senescent forest patches, whereas relatively young, growing forest patches were avoided. Important large tree species such as Manilkara zapota, Thouinia paucidentata, Guaiacum sanctum and Esenbeckia pentaphylla, characteristic of older forest patches, showed skewed size distributions indicating stress or overexploitation. The population of M. zapota, a key fruiting species that accounted for 26.5% of the total woody biomass, was most heavily affected by stress. A future collapse in the population of M. zapota, a decrease of the total area of older forest, and a decline in the abundance of large birds is likely if stress on the system continues at this level.     

集体林分权条件下的林地细碎化程度及与农户林地投入产出的关系——基于江西省8县602户农户调查数据的分析

以江西省8个县602户农户调查数据为基础,运用定量统计方法,分析集体林分权条件下的林地细碎化程度、农户投入水平及与林地产出的关系,以验证集体林权制度改革后的农户林地细碎化经营是否具有经济合理性.实证结果表明:以S指数衡量,江西省样本县林地细碎化的程度达到0.55,受访农户林地细碎化程度与地貌特征之间未出现明显的关联性;以户均数据衡量,受访农户从家庭收入中用于林业投资的比例维持在30％左右,且传统林业重点县的农户林业投入比例要明显高于非林业重点县.计量模型计算结果表明,S指数衡量的林地细碎化程度对农户林业投入和林地产出水平均构成负向影响趋势;曲线模型临界值分析表明,当农户林地细碎化程度低于0.23或高于0.69时,农户投资林业的积极性则随着林地细碎化程度高低呈现正向变化趋势,当林地细碎化程度低于0.22或高于0.67时,林地细碎化程度对林地产出水平表现为负向影响趋势.     

An Assessment of the English Farm Woodland Premium Scheme and its Ability to Promote and Sustain Environmental Improvements in Agricultural Landscapes

Governmental programs have been widely used in the United States and elsewhere to address agricultural problems. In England, the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme (FWPS) was established in 1992 to compensate farmers for converting farmlands into woodlands. This study found that the program was successful, but could be improved with a few modifications. For example, the high level of farmer satisfaction indicates that the scheme's enrollment levels are sustainable. However, implementing incentives for tenant participation and providing forest management training programs might achieve increased enrollment levels. Furthermore, FWPS administrators reported a tension-free relationship with farmers, steady funding levels, and new program efficiencies. The scheme may be even more effective, however, if it had more funding, better coordination between agencies, and slightly modified compliance policies. The FWPS also has promoted significant environmental improvements to the countryside by expanding woodland cover and edge, increasing wildlife biodiversity, and diminishing pollution levels. However, encouraging plantings that supplement or connect existing woodland patches would likely enhance such environmental benefits. The scheme should also provide effective flood and erosion control over time, as the new plantings develop into mature forests. Insights into the FWPS and its environmental benefits are discussed with respect to their possible relevance elsewhere.     

Effect of Peat-based Container Media on Establishment of Scots Pine,Norway Spruce and Silver Birch Seedlings after Transplanting in Contrasting Water Conditions

Abstract

Urban woodlands are the subject of complex decision-making that requires a strategic overview of the resource. This article contributes a national study of municipal woodland in Denmark. Data were collected among all Danish municipalities through a postal survey (with a response rate of 52%). As much as 83% of the woodland units were located within urban settlements or at their fringe, emphasising that municipalities are important urban woodland providers. Municipal woodland resources were typically divided into many separate units of varying size. On average, the responding municipalities owned 12.6 woodland units with an allocated area of 265 ha, resulting in a mean size of 21.5 ha. A general lack of management plans, and a significant drop in recreational facilities provided with decreasing woodland size indicate that the recreational use potential of small woodland units was largely overlooked. Municipal woodland units frequently bordered other woodland or nature areas of different ownership. Thus even small municipal woodlands can play a key role in the development of multifunctional green infrastructures in the urban landscape. Only municipalities with extensive woodland property had issued a woodland policy, and/or certified woodland management. This indicates a need for development of governance and strategic management instruments attractive to municipalities with limited woodland property.     

Centuries-old logging legacy on spatial and temporal patterns in understory herb communities

Understory herb communities in the Southern Appalachians are among the highest biodiversity plant communities in North America. In the mid-1990s, a debate began over whether understory herb communities recover to their pre-disturbance states following logging. Studies showing reduced herb-layer diversity in previously logged forests were criticized for not accounting for intersite environmental heterogeneity. More recent studies have addressed environmental heterogeneity, but have neglected long-term recovery by using “mature forests” as young as 80 years old as the benchmark for diversity comparison, even though old growth stands have disturbance return intervals exceeding 500 years. Here we address concerns clouding previous studies of high-diversity Appalachian herb communities and investigate their long-term recovery by comparing paired sites of old growth forest and forest logged 100–150 years ago. We found that species richness and individual abundance is greater in old growth forests than mature forests and that species composition differed significantly between the two. Turnover in species among old growth and mature forests accounted for 11% of the total species richness and was significantly greater than expected. Species turnover at intermediate (5–50 m) and landscape-scales (>10 km) contributed the most towards total species richness. Herb communities in rich cove forests have successional trajectories that exceed 150 years, with important community changes still occurring long after the forest returns to what has been previously termed a “mature” state. To conserve the diverse herb layer, we conclude that mature forest stands are too young to serve as baselines for recovery, landscape-scale preservation of multiple forest stands is needed to maximize species richness, and maintaining 100–150-year logging rotations will likely lead to loss of biodiversity.     

Community and species responses by birds to group retention in a coastal temperate forest on Vancouver Island,British Columbia

Group retention is a forest harvesting technique designed to sustain biodiversity and mitigate concerns regarding clearcut logging. It is characterized by retained forest patches that vary in number, size, spatial arrangement, and habitat attributes. We used birds to compare community composition and species abundance among clearcut, group retention, and uncut control forest treatments, and evaluated species’ responses to percentage retention. The bird community in group retention was more similar to that in control forests than it was to the community in clearcuts. The probability of occurrence for many bird species typical of uncut control forests was related positively to percentage retention. A preliminary analysis of plot-level effects (i.e., amount of forest sampled) suggests that patch size may be more important than total amount of retention.     

The confluence of landscape context and site-level management in determining Midwestern savanna and woodland breeding bird communities

Species distributions are determined by complex interplays between multi-scale factors. Conservation management, however, often occurs at a single scale of the site level. This is true for bird communities of restored savannas and mixed woodlands in the central U.S. In this region, many historic open-canopy oak savanna habitats have become closed canopy mixed woodlands due to loss of landscape-scale disturbance from fire and grazing. Site-level management efforts return some mixed woodland habitats back to savanna through fire and mechanical thinning. Savanna and woodland historically formed complex mosaic landscapes at the ecotone between prairies and Eastern deciduous forests and now exist within landscapes that vary in amount of open (e.g., perennial grassland and row crop agriculture) and woodland habitat. To understand the interplay between site and landscape level factors in savanna restoration, we sampled the breeding bird community in four combinations of site and landscape: restored savanna in open landscapes, restored savanna in woodland landscapes, and closed canopy woodland in both landscapes. We found that the outcome of site-level savanna restoration depended on the surrounding landscape. Compared to other treatment types, restored savannas in open landscapes supported a distinctive bird community characterized by high species richness, bird abundance, and percent of ground feeders, shrub nesters, and edge species. Both savanna and woodland sites in the open landscape had a higher percent of species of conservation concern, while at both site and landscape levels, woodland was associated with a higher percent of area sensitive species and habitat specialists. Our results suggest savanna restoration efforts should focus on sites that exist either in open country or on edges where closed canopy forest meets open country. This strategy would combine site and landscape level benefits of savanna restoration for avian diversity, while also preserving the conservation benefits of large tracts of intact forest.     

Differential effects of vegetation restoration in Mediterranean abandoned cropland by secondary succession and pine plantations on bird assemblages

Two contrasting trajectories for vegetation restoration in agricultural landscapes are secondary succession following cropland abandonment that can regenerate woodlands (passive restoration) and conversion of cropland to tree plantations (active restoration), which have mostly focused on pine species in the Mediterranean Basin. We compared the effects of these two contrasting trajectories of vegetation restoration on bird assemblages in central Spain. Vegetation structure differed in the two restoration trajectories, pine plantations attaining higher tree cover and height (31% and 4.1 m, respectively) but lower strata complexity than secondary shrubland and holm oak woodland (which attained 10% and 1.4 m of tree cover and height, respectively). Bird species richness differed in stands under active or passive restoration trajectories, the former collecting a higher total number of species (4.2 species per 0.78 ha plot) than the latter (3.5 species per plot). The number of forest species increased with vegetation maturity in both restoration trajectories, but especially in stands under active restoration. The occurrence of woodland generalist species increased and of species inhabiting open habitats decreased in actively restored stands, being some of these latter species of high conservation priority in the European context but relatively common at the regional level. Bird species inhabiting pine plantations had broader habitat breadth at the regional level than those inhabiting secondary shrublands and woodlands. Maximum regional density did not differ between both restoration trajectories, but it increased with development of the herbaceous layer only at the secondary succession trajectory. The relative importance of species of European biogeographic origin was higher in mature pine plantations (58.9% of total bird abundance) than in mature holm oak woodlands (34.4%), whereas that of Mediterranean species was considerably higher in the latter (40.1%) than in the former (20%). Bird assemblages of relatively small patches of pine plantations are unable to reflect the regional avifauna, in contrast with the relationships between local and regional assemblage characteristics that can be found in isolated natural forests. We conclude that programs of vegetation restoration should base upon a range of approaches that include passive restoration, active restoration with a variety of tree and shrub species, and mixed models to conciliate agricultural production, vegetation restoration and conservation of target species.     

Effects of fire disturbance on bird communities and species of mountain Serrano forest in central Argentina

In central Argentina, Serrano forest has a long history of fire disturbance; however, the impact of fire on avifauna remains unknown. We compared the avian–habitat relationships in forest patches with low, moderate, and high fire regimes using a community-level (species richness, abundance, ordination and guilds) and species-level (indicator species analysis) approach. In patches under each fire condition, we recorded bird community composition, richness and abundance, and different vegetation structure variables. The site under high-severity fire regime was structurally poor and had been converted from original forest to dense grassland. There, diversity of bird community was low, retaining approximately 30 % of the species present in the least impacted site. Avian assemblage was dominated by generalist and open area birds. Guilds were underrepresented, showing an important reduction of foliage granivorous, nectarivorous, omnivores, and foliage and bark insectivorous, and absence of fly-catchers. Moreover, low abundance of forest understory, midstory, and canopy species and of birds belonging to open and closed nesting guilds was detected. By contrast, under low and moderate-severity fire regimes highest bird diversity as well as highest representativeness of most guilds was observed. Forest bird species were strongly associated with low fire disturbance, whereas moderate fire disturbance was characterized by the presence of forest and generalist species. Given the critical conservation status of Serrano forest in Córdoba, Argentina, habitat restoration and protection of forest relicts could be suitable measures to promote avifauna preservation.     

From clearfell coupe to old-growth forest: Succession of bird assemblages in Tasmanian lowland wet eucalypt forests

As forests undergo succession after major disturbance events their assemblages of birds also change. Thus the frequency and extent of wildfire or clearfelling in the landscape can potentially affect the species-richness and abundance of forest birds. We used a chronosequence approach to investigate succession of bird communities in Tasmanian lowland wet eucalypt forest, from shortly after disturbance through to old-growth forest aged approximately 200–250 years. The number of native bird species recorded per survey per site increased as a linear function of stand-age. However, succession did not involve a unidirectional transition in assemblage-composition because of differences in successional responses among individual species and also among guilds of birds that mostly inhabited different strata of the forest. This was exemplified by the crescent honeyeater, which was observed most frequently in the youngest (6–8 years) and oldest (200–250 years) forests that we surveyed, and by the superb lyrebird (introduced to Tasmania from mainland south-eastern Australia) which favoured mid-aged regrowth (42–43 years) after clearfelling. Forests aged 200–250 years had the greatest richness-per-survey of those native species that were observed mostly in the lower layer or mid-layer. However, the greatest richness-per-survey of canopy-dwelling species and the highest native species-richness across the survey period were found in forests aged around 150 years. Younger regrowth was generally less rich in birds, although regrowth in the first decade after clearfelling was the only seral stage inhabited by superb fairy-wrens. These results suggest that, in the Tasmanian lowland wet eucalypt forest landscape, species-richness of birds may be greatest when old-growth forest is interspersed with young regrowth forests. Hence for bird conservation, a challenge is to ensure that old-growth forest continues to prevail in the production forest landscape.     

Visualization and landscape laboratories in planning, design and management of urban woodlands

Although participatory approaches are increasingly used in planning and management of urban woodlands, efficient tools are also needed to make the processes work. In urban forest planning impacts of proposed management regimes on aesthetic and recreational values are among the factors that interest the local residents the most. This article explores two potential methods for improving collaborative urban forest planning and design in Europe, based primarily on experience gained in the Nordic countries. The methods relate to the use of (i) computer-based visualization methods and (ii) demonstration forests and landscape laboratories. We suggest that use of both methods may lead to a major enhancement in forest planning and design.     

Alternative silvicultural practices with variable retention improve bird conservation in managed South Patagonian forests

Alternative silvicultural approaches to timber management, such as regeneration treatments with different degrees of stand retention, may mitigate negative effects of clear-cutting or shelterwood cuts in forested ecosystems, including changes in old-growth forest bird communities. The aims of this work were: (a) to compare bird species richness and densities among different silvicultural designs with variable retention (dispersed and/or aggregated) and unmanaged primary forests, and (b) to assess temporal changes at community and species levels before and after treatments. A baseline avian survey was conducted prior to harvesting to evaluate canopy gap presence and forest stand site quality influences. Subsequent to harvesting, data on bird species richness and density were collected by point-count sampling during the summer season for 5 consecutive years (4 treatments × 5 years × 6 sampling points × 5 counts). Bird species richness and density (15 species and 9.2 individuals ha⁻¹) did not change significantly with forest site quality of the stands and canopy gap presence in unmanaged forests. However, both variables were significantly modified in managed forests, increasing over time to 18 species and reaching to 39 individuals ha⁻¹. Inside the aggregated retention, bird communities were more similar to unmanaged primary forests than those observed within the dispersed retention or in clear-cuts. Opting for a regeneration method with dispersed and aggregated retention has great potential for managing birds in Nothofagus pumilio forests. This method retained enough vegetation structure in a stand to permit the establishment of early successional birds (at least in dispersed retention), and to maintain the bird species of old-growth forests which could persisted in the retention aggregates.     

Farmers’ objectives toward their woodlands in the upper Midwest of the United States: implications for woodland volumes and diversity

This paper reports the results of a study that explores the relationship between farm woodland owners’ stated intentions for owning woodland, and the structure and composition of these woodlands in the states of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa in the upper Midwest of the United States. Data from two sample-based inventories conducted by the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program were combined for this analysis—the FIA forest resources inventory and the National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS). We looked for relationships between product value and investment in woodlands, as reflected in volumes and tree quality. We also examined whether measures of diversity reflected specific management focus. Our results partially supported our hypotheses. Woodland-focused ownership reasons were found to have larger volumes and individual tree sizes. We found that a passive woodland ownership reason—that woods were “part of the farm”—generally had lower volumes per hectare. Although we were not able to differentiate between different forest product classes and measures of volume, we did find that those landowners who harvested veneer had more volume than those who harvested for firewood. Woodland owners who salvage-harvested their woodlands—a harvesting reason that is more reactive than proactive—exhibited lower volumes per hectare than those who harvested for more proactive, product-focused reasons. Biodiversity was also found to be related to the ownership focus and harvest intent. Generally, there was lower diversity in overstory species when the woodland was viewed merely as “part of the farm,” when the product harvested was fence posts and when timber was harvested for salvage or land clearing. The small sample size limits our analysis, but we can conclude that focusing the woodland owners on management of their woodlands—regardless of what the specific management goals might be—should increase productivity and biodiversity of those woodlands.

Moving riparian management guidelines towards a natural disturbance model: An example using boreal riparian and shoreline forest bird communities

Forest harvesting strategies that approximate natural disturbances have been proposed as a means of maintaining natural species’ diversity and richness in the boreal forests of North America. Natural disturbances impact shoreline forests and upland areas at similar rates. However, shoreline forests are generally protected from harvest through the retention of treed buffer strips. We examined bird community responses to forest management guidelines intended to approximate shoreline forest fires by comparing bird community structure in early (1–4 years) post-burned and harvested boreal riparian habitats and the adjacent shoreline forest. We sampled riparian areas with adjacent: (1) burned merchantable shoreline forest (n = 21), (2) burned non-merchantable shoreline forest (n = 29), (3) 10 m treed buffer with 25% retention in the next 30 m (n = 18), and (4) 30 m treed buffer (n = 21). Only minor differences were detected in riparian species’ abundance and bird community composition between treatments with greater differences in these parameters occurring between post-fire and post-harvest upland bird communities. Indicators of all merchantable treatments were dominated by upland species with open-habitat species and habitat generalists being typical upland indicator species of burned merchantable habitats and forest specialists typical upland indicators of harvested treatments. Riparian species indicative of burned riparian habitats were Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas), Le Conte’s Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii) and Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) and indicators of 30 m buffers were Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) and Wilson’s Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla). Multivariate Redundancy Analysis (RDA) of the overall (riparian and upland birds) community showed greater divergence than RDA with only riparian species suggesting less effect of fire and forestry on riparian birds than on upland birds. Higher natural range of variability (NRV) of overall post-fire bird communities compared to post-harvest communities emphasizes that harvesting guidelines currently do not achieve this level of variability. However, lack of a large negative effect on common riparian species in the first 4 years post-disturbance allows for the exploration of alternative shoreline forest management that better incorporates bird community composition of post-fire riparian areas and shoreline forests.     

Plant species richness in managed boreal forests—Effects of stand succession and thinning

Disturbance is a key factor affecting plant species richness and it has been hypothesized that species richness reaches a peak some time after disturbance occurs. Managed boreal forests are characterized by large scale disturbance in the form of clear-cuttings, which partly resembles natural disturbance regimes. The young stands however, which may be important to many plants, are often homogenous and dense compared to naturally regenerated stands. We examined previously unstudied effects of disturbance, succession and management practices on plant species richness in boreal forests. Survey data covering the northern and central parts of Sweden (4465 plots) were used to compare species richness and composition in four stand maturity classes—“cutting”, “young”, “pre-mature” and “mature”, and two fertility classes—“rich” and “poor”. In addition, the effect of thinning was examined in young and pre-mature forests.     

The effects of partial harvest on the understory vegetation of southern Ontario woodlands

We studied the effects of partial cutting on understory vegetation communities within 19 mixed maple forests in an agriculture-dominated landscape in southwestern Ontario. Woodlots that had been recently harvested were grouped according to provincial silviculture guidelines (standard and heavy cuts) and compared to woodlots that had been uncut for at least 24 years (reference stands). We found significant differences in richness, diversity, and quality of understory vegetation in response to harvest indices. More intensive harvesting resulted in increased richness and diversity, but mostly through the addition of habitat generalists and weedy species. However, partial harvest does not appear to drive vegetation community composition, as ordination methods found no clear community differences between the treatments. Use of the single-tree selection system based on basal area and harvest intensity targets will have an effect on the understory plants, but other factors including past management, disturbance history, and site level microclimate features will also play an important role in shaping vegetation communities. We caution against the removal of large volumes of trees ≥38 cm in diameter, and large reductions in canopy cover, as this can reduce the presence of “conservative” (forest dependent specialist) species, despite a general increase in species richness and diversity. Furthermore, we recommend additional research to investigate the potential for incremental degradation to occur on sites with a long-term history of harvesting, as we found that richness of exotics increased on sites with a history of forest management.