Moreover, the natural structural heterogeneity that develops after many decades of stand development,

through accumulation of the effects of both competitive and non-competitive mortality, can be achieved fairly rapidly, thus accelerating the restoration process (O’Hara et al., 2010). Large woody debris is an important habitat element that can be abundant in passively U0126 purchase managed stands, but is often depleted in managed stands (Harmon et al., 1986 and Grove and Meggs, 2003). The depletion reflects the relatively short rotation or cutting cycle lengths of managed stands, compared to the natural life spans of trees, such that significant amounts of large deadwood does not have time to develop. Additionally, dead trees may not be left as biological legacies (sensu Franklin et al., 2000) in harvested stands. Moreover, living but decadent trees in the process of decline, decay, and eventual mortality, are abundant in natural forests, but managed against in traditional commercial forestry (e.g., Fridman and Walheim, 2000 and Kruys buy SCH727965 et al., 2013). In fact, traditional thinning is often used to improve and standardize tree quality and form, such that

poor quality trees (e.g., those with cavities, large branches, or decay pockets) may be preferentially removed ( Graves et al., 2000). Given the importance of dead and dying trees in forest ecosystems as habitat for many other organisms (Harmon et al., 1986 and Jonsson et al., 2005), a restoration program might include active techniques, beyond time, to add these structural elements into managed stands. One such approach is the inclusion of dead and MTMR9 dying trees in retention harvesting prescriptions. Conceptually, variable retention harvesting is meant to consider and include more than just large live trees,

but also other structural elements that are retained in the harvested stand as legacies, including standing and downed deadwood (Franklin et al., 1997 and Grove and Meggs, 2003). A restoration program might include actions such as deliberate killing of living trees, or injuring them to induce decline, with the goal of creating cavity trees and dead wood in its various forms in established stands (Laarmann et al., 2009, Vanha-Majamaa et al., 2007 and Gibbons et al., 2010). Alternatively, artificial cavities have been successfully created for some endangered species (Hooper and McAdie, 1996 and Lindenmayer et al., 2009). Leaving high stumps after harvest benefits saproxylic beetles by providing breeding habitat (e.g., Lindhe and Lindelöw, 2004). Restoring structural heterogeneity at multiple scales often is a component of habitat restoration for birds and other animals. Complex vegetation structures can be especially important for conservation of some top predators, but a diversity of structures may be needed to fulfill the habitat requirements of their prey.