Bird Responses to burns and clear cuts in the boreal forest of Canada
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Unlike many other ecosystems in North America, the boreal forest in Canada still retains a natural fire regime. However, increasing industrial forestry, primarily clear cutting, could alter natural fire dynamics and adversely affect some species. A possible solution to this, promoted by many forest managers, is to cut the forest in a way that emulates natural fire patterns on the landscape (e.g. Hunter 1993). This can be done by retaining some live trees on clear cuts to emulate wood left after a burn and by laying out cutblocks on the landscape in a similar size and shape distribution as that produced by fire. A major assumption of this approach is that the responses of biota to clear cutting are similar to their responses to burns. Here we evaluate this assumption by summarizing information on bird assemblages in burns and recent clear cuts in boreal mixed-wood stands (aspen (Populus tremuloides) and white spruce (Picea glauca)) in Alberta and boreal black spruce (Picea mariana) forest in Quebec.