An Ecological Functional Basis for Managing Wood Decay Elements for Wildlife

The traditional approach to managing decaying wood for wildlife has been to list species associated with snags, down wood, and other wood decay elements, and then to provide the kinds, sizes, and amounts of wood decay elements presumed necessary to meet their needs. An expanded approach more consistent with the spirit of ecosystem management would also describe those species’ key ecological functions (KEFs). KEFs influence the ecosystem through trophic relations, species interactions, soil aeration, primary cavity and burrow excavation, and dispersal of fungi, lichens, seeds, fruits, plants, and invertebrates. These “functional webs” can be described for wildlife species associated with various wood decay elements (snags, down wood, litter, duff, mistletoe brooms, dead parts of live trees, hollow living trees, natural tree cavities, bark crevices, and live remnant or legacy trees) in Washington and Oregon. Information on species’ KEFs also is part of the DecAID wood decay management advisory model. The challenge is posed for management to think functionally beyond simple species-habitat relations, as to the broader role of wood decay in supporting functional webs.