Salamander response to woody biomass harvests in clearcut aspen stands in Michigan

Interest in woody biomass as a source of renewable energy is increasing. In response, managers have developed retention guidelines that are intended to mitigate the negative effects of biomass harvests on forest floor-dwelling wildlife, particularly species that depend on downed wood like terrestrial salamanders. The theme of my thesis is how woody biomass harvest may affect a prevalent terrestrial salamander species in Michigan. The primary objective of my thesis is to assess the woody biomass retention guidelines created by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). In Chapter 1, I discuss Plethodon cinereus use of downed wood retained following clearcut timber harvest. I used experimental enclosures and mark-recapture methods coupled with linear and logistic regression modeling to determine the association of population-level and individual P. cinereus response to downed wood. In Chapter 2, I assessed the effects of MDNR guidelines for woody biomass harvest retention on P. cinereus . I used wood removals based on MDNR guidelines coupled with single-season occupancy models and N-mixture models to quantify occupancy probability and estimate salamander abundance based on downed wood characteristics. This study is one of the first to quantify terrestrial salamander habitat selection at varying levels of biological organization and to quantitatively assess the effects of woody biomass harvest guidelines on terrestrial salamanders. This study has relevance to the experimental design of future amphibian-forest management studies and provides guidance on how downed wood can be managed to potentially improve conservation of forest floor-dwelling wildlife like P. cinereus in recent clearcuts.