What are the effects of alternative forest management practices (especially uneven-aged management) on habitat and wildlife communities?
Within the Western Gulf Coastal Plain, stands managed under a regulated, sustained-yield system of single-tree selection are rare, and those that are available generally have few, if any, hardwoods. Group selection cuts have only recently been initiated on national forests within Region 8 and none are available on other ownerships. Thus, with the exception of the few extant selectively cut private stands, much of this research will involve stands in transition from an even- to an uneven-aged structure and group-selection stands that have had only one, possibly two, initial harvesting entries. Consequently, research under this problem area will be long-term and initial findings will characterize stands in transition from an even- to uneven-aged structure. Nevertheless, data describing wildlife responses under these transitional conditions will be valuable because nearly all the stands that are being brought under uneven-aged management are initially even aged. Studies that have already
