Abstract
This study examined the habitat characteristics of areas used by woodland caribou and areas disturbed by fire or logging in the Naosap caribou range in west-central Manitoba. The population inhabiting this area is currently considered to be of high conservation concern. The purpose was to determine how long after disturbance forests again resembled caribou habitat and whether there were differences in the recovery period between fire disturbed and logged areas. Sample transects were located in areas used by caribou and areas disturbed by fire or logging. Previously, it was shown that variables positively associated with habitat suitability in this region were species composition (presence of black spruce), an index of arboreal lichen abundance and tree size, while variables negatively associated with habitat suitability were deadfall abundance and species composition (presence of trembling aspen). It was hypothesized that if disturbed sites had become suitable caribou habitat, then they should be statistically indistinguishable from sites used by caribou based on these variables. Using cluster analysis, it was found that 2 statistical clusters showed the highest level of agreement with sampling clusters, with 88% of plots used by caribou classified into one cluster, and 74% of disturbed plots classified into the other. Although a small proportion (12%) of disturbed plots resembled used plots, 30 years (the age of the oldest disturbed plot) was not enough time, in general, for forest to return to conditions resembling caribou habitat in this region.
Highlights
A reduction in the historical range of woodland caribou in the province of Manitoba is thought to have occurred (Johnson, 1993) that is similar to trends found elsewhere in Canada (Bergerud, 1974; Schaeffer, 2003)
Caribou in the Naosap area are potentially affected by highway and rail transportation corridors, road development associated with forestry operations, transmission line construction, and habitat disturbance from logging or forest fires
It was hypothesized that if a disturbed plot had returned to conditions that were suitable for caribou habitat, it should be statistically indistinguishable from plots used by caribou, based on these variables
Summary
A reduction in the historical range of woodland caribou in the province of Manitoba is thought to have occurred (Johnson, 1993) that is similar to trends found elsewhere in Canada (Bergerud, 1974; Schaeffer, 2003) This investigation was conducted between 1998 and 2002 in the Naosap caribou range in westcentral Manitoba, Canada (Fig. 1), a population currently considered to be of high conservation concern (Manitoba Conservation, 2005). One potential habitat management scheme that could be used to conserve woodland caribou populations involves ensuring that some critical proportion of the landscape remains in conditions that are suitable for woodland caribou. While caribou may exist in such forests in the absence of predators, the general result of this is an alteration of predator-prey dynamics
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