8. Logging – Temperature

By looking at this snow, one can begin to see the difference, a few degrees in temperature can make.

280. What makes a healthy tree or plant? The availability in the proper proportions of the right "STEW" - Space, Temperature, Elements and Water. And the energy of the sun will be used optimally making a tree into the most efficient system on earth. Everything is recycled.

281. Logging is removing present and future protection from predators and environmental extremes for a variety of invertebrate species.   Logging is removing a present and future source of construction maternal and overwintering and hibernating sites for a variety of invertebrate species (Samuelsson et al. 1994) (Voller and Harrison, 1998).

282. Logging is removing present and future sound CWD, which would have provided secure travel corridors for small mammals (Maser et al. 1979; Maser and Trappe 1984; Carter 1993), and provided subnivean habitat during winter. (Voller and Harrison, 1998).

283. Logging is removing present and future CWD. The CWD, would have had positive affects on temperature as well as moisture, which could have had benefit for certain beneficial fungi (Amaranthus, Trappe and Bednar, 1994).

284. Logging is removing present and future parts and processes, where as, decay would have proceeded and the fallen tree would have begun to more closely be hugged by the soil. It would have buffered it (the soil) against fluctuations in air temperature (Maser and Trappe, 1984, pg 13-par3).

285. Logging is removing present and future parts and their processes which would have performed various ecological functions between the time it would have fell and the time it would have been finally incorporated into the soil. If it would have lied up-and-down slope or fallen across other downed trees, most of its volume would have been initially suspended above the ground. Such elevated relief would have added complexity to the forest floor by creating cover and shade (Maser, Tarrant, Trappe and Franklin, 1988, pg41-par4).

286. Logging removes and depletes materials that would provide thermal and security cover for a variety of small mammals. Studies in British Columbia (Voller and Harrison, 1998).

287. Logging is removing present and future materials which martens would have selected for habitats partly on the basis of thermal microhabitats (Taylor 1993), such as those provided by CWD (Lofroth 1993; Buskirk and Powell 1994; Buskirk and Ruggiero 1994). Corn and Raphael (1992) reported that martens selected subnivean access points that had greater volumes of CWD, more layering of logs, more sound and moderately decayed logs, and fewer highly decayed logs than random sites (Voller and Harrison, 1998).

288. Logging removes material that would ameliorate the affects of cold air drainage on plants, helps stabilize slopes, and minimizes soil erosion (Maser et al. 1988) (Voller and Harrison, 1998).

289. Conclusion: The capacity and ability, of CWD, to function as thermal microhabitats, cover, shade provider, subnivean habitat during winter, protection provider as well as ameliorating the affects of cold air drainage on plants and potential to buffer soil against fluctuations in air temperature too often goes unobserved such as in the Painter Run Windthrow Salvage Project.