Book Description

"Wildlife Trees play a significant role in maintaining species richness in forested ecosystems by providing critical habitat. This study was completed to develop a better understanding of the relationship between ecosystem and tree attributes and an established functional Wildlife Tree type classification. Data from four studies conducted in different ecosystems in central British Columbia are compared in this paper. The four study areas were: (1) boreal aspen forests, (2) mixed conifer forests in the boreal foothills, (3) mixed conifer forests in the moist interior plateau, and (4) mixed conifer forests in the interior wet belt. In each study area, tree species were evaluated by diameter classes for the percentage of live versus dead stems and functional Wildlife Tree types based on an existing classification system, and results within and among study areas were then compared. The combined tree sample size totalled almost 19 300 stems, comprising 10 different tree species. To provide a link to provincial Wildlife Tree policy, each tree's value was ranked using guidelines established by the provincial Wildlife Tree Committee."--Document.