The effects of clearcutting on snowshoe hare ( Lepus americanus) relative abundance in central Labrador

Abstract

To assess the effects of clearcutting on snowshoe hare ( Lepus americanus) relative abundance, we surveyed pellets in 1 m 2 circular plots and, vegetation and browse surveys in 4.5 m 2 circular plots among four different aged clearcut (30, 20, 10, 5 years post-harvest) and mature forests (>150 years old) in central Labrador, Canada. Data were modelled at three grain sizes: transect (4400 m 2), plot (314 m 2) and subplot scales (4.5 m 2). Betula papyrifera, distance from mature forest edge, tree and herb cover as well as remotely sensed forest inventory data were used as predictors for hare pellets. We found pellet abundance was 5 and 37 times greater (new and old pellets, respectively) in clearcut stands 30 years old than the next highest in 20 year old cuts. There were few hare pellets in the remaining stand ages. B. papyrifera was the most proportionately used browse species and most important of our fine-detailed vegetation in predicting hare pellets. The coarse-detailed, forest inventory and topographic data better predicted hare pellets than the fine-detailed vegetation data.