Responses of terrestrial animals to forest characteristics and climate reveals ecological indicators for sustaining wildlife in managed forests.

• Forest understory was a significant contributor to wildlife relative abundance. • Consideration of life history strategy improved understanding of species responses. • Forest habitat characteristics and climate were often more important than disturbance. • Many forest resource inventories do not adequately capture wildlife habitat. • Monitoring habitat at multiple scales may improve sustainability assessment. Assessing the impacts of forest harvest on biodiversity is a key mandate for demonstrating sustainable forest management in many jurisdictions, yet the identification of an appropriate suite of wildlife and habitat indicators remains a challenge. We used individual species-based modelling and a spatially extensive dataset of forest-dependent bird, amphibian, and mammal species to measure the strength of response and prominent patterns among taxa to variation in forest habitat conditions, ranging from understory site characteristics to landscape level patterns. Our findings revealed that understory habitat was a significant contributor to species relative abundance. Stand level features and climate were generally more important than disturbance or landscape patterns in affecting wildlife response. There was much variability among species in the specific habitat conditions and scales of importance, consistent with the inherent complexity and diversity of forest ecosystems. Our work highlights that setting targets and monitoring for a diverse range of wildlife and habitat indicators at multiple scales, including understory features, may be needed to adequately assess biodiversity response to sustainable forest management activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]