Remote sensing maps of post-fire forest structure facilitate the modeling and mapping of Lewis's woodpecker nesting habitat

Jody Vogeler, Oregon State University, jody.vogeler@oregonstate.edu (Presenter)
Zhiqiang Yang, Oregon State University, zhiqiang.yang@oregonstate.edu
Warren Cohen, USDA Forest Service, warren.cohen@oregonstate.edu

As remote sensing mapping products representing important habitat components increase in availability, detail, and accuracy, new opportunities arise to map habitat for forest species of conservation concern, providing spatially explicit management and conservation resources. One such species is the Lewis's woodpecker which is a species of conservation interest in multiple U.S. states and areas of Canada with habitat loss and degradation proposed as contributing factors in the species decline. The purpose of this study was to use novel remote sensing derived maps of post-fire forest elements to provide important management-relevant habitat relationship information for a species of conservation concern in an acknowledged source habitat type. We also investigated the utility of the previously published Lewis's woodpecker habitat suitability model (HSM) for use in local scale post-fire management applications. We found promise in the utility of lidar and Landsat time series modeled snag and shrub products in conjunction with additional lidar structure and topographic metrics for modeling and mapping nesting habitat for the Lewis's woodpecker across a post-fire landscape in central Oregon. Our top model had a percent correctly classified rate of 83.3% and contained additional variables (variability in canopy cover and topographic slope) to those included in the previously published general HSM for the species (canopy cover, shrub cover, and density of large snags). We found the general HSM to have poor predictive performance for our local scale post-fire study area with a percent correctly classified rate of 45.8%. The importance of our large snag threshold adds to the studies exhibiting a 50 cm dbh snag threshold for Lewis's woodpeckers, suggesting that the published HSM may be too liberal in the utilized snag size of 30.5 cm dbh. We were able to apply the remote sensing products to map realized habitat relationships for the Lewis's woodpecker, providing a potential resource for local scale conservation and management efforts and adding to the regional knowledge of habitat selection for this species of conservation concern.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Theme 1: Tracking habitat change through new integrative approaches and products   (Mon 1:30 PM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Cohen, Warren: Using Landsat-derived disturbance and succession history to extend lidar estimates of forest biomass ...details
• Spies, Tom: Tradeoffs among carbon and other ecosystem services associated with different forest management practices ...details

Poster Location ID: 56