Teaming up with magazine publisher Time Incorporated, the University of Moncton, the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources, Bird Studies Canada and the Nature Conservancy of Canada, UPM is to use songbird and woodpecker species as biodiversity indicators with the intention of improving forest management schemes.
“The aim is to measure bird responses to different forest management treatments in order to help develop harvest plans and logging methods compatible with the conservation of healthy populations,” said Dr Marc-André Villard, from the Univeristy of Moncton.
“Presence and successful reproduction of these species in post-harvest stands or landscapes would indicate a good potential for ecological resilience.”
Forest land managed by UPM will be at the centre of the study and it is hoped that the results will allow the groups to put together a model for future biodiversity studies in Canadian forests.
