Stand characteristics of three forest types within the dry interior forests of British Columbia, Canada: Implications for biodiversity

Coarse wood debris and plant communities within forested ecosystems play vital roles in the life history of many wildlife species. Descriptions of the characteristics and dynamics of these ecosystem properties therefore are crucial for guiding managers interested in maintaining biodiversity and site productivity. In North America, stands of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) have been identified as making an important contribution to the biodiversity in certain forested landscapes. These stands are relatively rare within the dry conifer-dominated forests of interior British Columbia (western Canada), yet detailed work on their structural and vegetative properties has been lacking. To this end, we investigated coarse woody debris and plant communities in aspen stands, within a dry-forest ecosystem near Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Downed and standing coarse woody volumes, plant diversity, and plant abundance all were significantly higher in aspen stands, as compared to neighbouring Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) and mixedwood (aspen + Douglas-fir) stands. Aspen stands also contained a relative abundance of snags and coarse woody debris. Because of these attributes, these stands likely serve as an integral part of the dry interior British Columbia forest ecosystems, representing areas of high biological diversity. This information, along with the fact that these stands may be threatened due to anthropogenic influence, make it critical that a significant component of aspen remains within these forested ecosystems.