Planning for the expansion of biomass production in the Midwest: Remaining wildlife neutral JoAnn Hanowski Natural Resources Research Institute University of Minnesota-Duluth

Remaining Wildlife Neutral  No net loss in Conservation Reserve Program acreage  Establish landscape appropriate biomass crop  Understand habitat change implications from upland brush and timber harvest residue removal  Create positive habitat change for wildlife in under-utilized ecosystem types, lowland brush

No net loss in CRP acreage  CRP protects almost 40 million acres of highly erodible farmland  CRP has restored over 1.8 million acres of wetland  CRP produces 2.1 million ducks/year  CRP provides critical habitat for 100’s of wildlife species

Establish landscape appropriate biomass crop  Avoid planting hybrid poplar in open landscapes  Switchgrass managed properly could have positive impacts on wildlife  Switchgrass mix would provide better wildlife habitat than monoculture

Breeding birds and hybrid poplar  What are the pressing issues with wildlife (specifically breeding birds)?  Studies completed in Minnesota in the last decade  Developed recommendations for hybrid poplar plantations  Pulp prices have made it difficult to utilize hybrid poplar as an energy source

Study Sites  Large plantations (up to 300 acres) located in western and southwestern MN  Eleven plantations were surveyed over 7 years  Oldest plantation was 11 years (in 2001)

Bird sampling in plantations and surrounding habitats

Habitat  What species respond positively to presence of plantation habitat?  What species are replaced when existing land-use is converted to plantation?  How can we increase plantation diversity?

Community response  Total number of individuals increase as plantations age  Species richness does not change much, usually 4 to 6 species

Habitat guild response  Composition of bird community changes as plantations age  Young plantations have species associated with open and shrub habitats  Number of forest dwelling individuals increases with age

Species response  Species that colonize plantations are generally found in adjacent habitats  Young plantations have lots of sparrows and blackbirds  Beginning to see vireos and warblers in older plantations and some permanent residents

Bird species replaced  Dependent upon habitat  Replacement of cropland least amount of impact  Replacement with “good” CRP most impact

Pheasants Forever?  Initial concern that pheasants would be negatively impacted  We observed pheasants in summer and winter  Likely not affected unless large percentage of area is in plantation

Landscape Context  Species that colonize plantations are dependent upon landscape context  Plantations in a predominantly agricultural landscape are colonized by mostly open country and shrub bird species  Plantations in forest landscapes are colonized earlier by forest birds

Negative landscape effects

Habitat quality  Longevity of habitat for individual species is short  Community turnover is almost 50% each year  Productivity of individuals is questionable  Are plantations largely sink habitats?

Are plantations attractive hazards?  Open tree architecture, lack of understory and ground cover may result in increase predation of bird nests and increased parasitism rates by Brown-headed Cowbirds

Artificial nest studies  Plantation and surrounding habitats  Results indicated that predation rates were independent of habitat type and distance from plantation edge  Predation rates were high on some sites, likely due to local predator populations

Recommendation: What to avoid  Replacement of “good CRP habitat” and highly erodible sites  Fragmentation of open habitats especially in areas with sharp-tailed grouse and prairie chickens  “Large” areas of single- aged plantations

Understand habitat change implications from upland brush and timber harvest residue removal  Fire suppression has resulted in buildup of brush in forest ecosystems-create guidelines for habitat restoration  A percentage of residue from timber harvest could be removed from site- create guidelines

Minnesota guidelines: Woody Biomass Removal  Retain timber harvest guidelines for retention trees, snags and CWD  Old guideline for slash- leave scattered on site  New guideline: Leave 20% of tree tops and limbs scattered on site  Issue for certified land owners to ensure that operations are sustainable

Create positive habitat change for wildlife in under-utilized ecosystem types, lowland brush  Brush management for open country species includes shearing and burning brush on site which cost money  Opportunity to harvest biomass from these sites and have positive impact on wildlife

Lowland Brush Harvest  Positive impact on open country birds  Negative impact on other species  Planning needs to be done on landscape level to get best results for species with complicated life histories (Sharp-tailed grouse)

Identify species of concern  Partners in Flight species of concern  4 species, Veery, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Golden- winged Warbler and Canada Warbler, use upland and/or lowland brush habitat

Summary: remaining wildlife neutral  Control crop expansion on CRP lands (corn and soybeans)  Establish landscape suitable biomass crops and diverse species crops if possible  Exploit woody biomass on timber harvest sites with a plan  Explore habitat restoration possibilities with upland brush removal  Plan landscape level lowland brush harvest to benefit species of concern