Oak Woodlands and Chaparral
Chaparral provides important habitat for birds and other wildlife in oak woodland ecosystems, yet land managers concerned about the risk of severe wildfire often reduce shrubs to protect oak woodlands. To provide guidance on how to best reduce chaparral in oak restoration projects so that it still provides key habitat for shrub-associated species, we developed a decision support tool for land managers based on the results from three studies. The Oak Woodlands and Chaparral: Aligning chaparral-associated bird habitat needs with oak woodland restoration and fuel reduction in southwest Oregon and northern California DST informs management decisions regarding how different fuel-reduction methods (i.e., mechanical or manual treatments) influence bird communities and how the size and arrangement of the remaining chaparral patches influences whether shrub-associated birds will use them.
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