Few studies to date have focused specifically on intensively managed stands where old-growth characteristics, such as large snags and large pieces of decaying wood, are most likely to be in short supply. However, research is addressing this need. The worst possible approach to maintaining a wide diversity of species would be to manage every acre of forest the same way. As forests go through natural cycles of growth, death and regeneration, species may inhabit or be absent from a given area partly in response to natural changes in the structure of trees and other forest vegetation. The same occurs when forest stands are managed by humans.
Inevitable tradeoffs occur among the habitat needs of different species.
For example, replacing hardwoods with conifers in riparian areas benefits fish, but may adversely affect some birds and amphibians. Forest clearings support foraging by large populations of elk and deer, which in turn, reduce habitat for shrub-nesting birds. Some species do best in diseased and dying stands, conditions which increase the risk of forest-destroying catastrophes. Unless future credible research indicates otherwise, effort should be made to manage forests to encourage a wide range of forest structures. Maintaining diversity would be best served by using a broader range of management tools.