Forest management practices that manipulate forest structure have significant impacts, both positive and negative, on wildlife populations and largely determine the presence, abundance, and productivity of various wildlife species on a given site.
Growing public concern over the effects of forest fragmentation on biodiversity has led to substantial changes in the way forest management is conducted.
For example, the reduction in clear-cutting on public lands is attributable to protests based primarily on such concerns.
It is therefore desirable to devise silvicultural systems and landscape structures that have minimal negative impacts on wildlife yet allow for commercially viable and sustainable forest management.
The overall goal of wildlife research at the Center is to assess the effects of forest management practices on wildlife population dynamics and behavior, and, ultimately, to use this information to model wildlife habitat relationships in managed landscapes.
The Center is currently involved in several projects investigating wildlife habitat relationships in the South Carolina Coastal Plain.