Life Sciences Commons^™

Changes Of Forest Cover And Disturbance Regimes In The Mountain Forests Of The Alps, P. Bebi, R. Seidl, R. Motta, M. Fuhr, D. Firm, F. Krumm, M. Conedera, C. Ginzler, T. Wohlgemuth, Dominik Kulakowski

Geography

Natural disturbances, such as avalanches, snow breakage, insect outbreaks, windthrow or fires shape mountain forests globally. However, in many regions over the past centuries human activities have strongly influenced forest dynamics, especially following natural disturbances, thus limiting our understanding of natural ecological processes, particularly in densely-settled regions. In this contribution we briefly review the current understanding of changes in forest cover, forest structure, and disturbance regimes in the mountain forests across the European Alps over the past millennia. We also quantify changes in forest cover across the entire Alps based on inventory data over the past century. Finally, using the …

Survival And Growth Of Reserve Trees In An Expanding-Gap Silvicultural System 20 Years After Establishment, David R. Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Land managers today are increasingly called upon to retain and restore late-successional features on harvested landscapes in order to reverse the current global decline of large, old trees and their associated elevated levels of biodiversity and ecosystem function. Such retention practices are commonly thought to result in increased rates of mortality as a result of exposure to wind, thus compromising management objectives. This study investigated the survival and growth dynamics of the reserve trees retained in harvested gaps (n=787) established 20 years prior in the Acadian Forest Ecosystem Research Project (AFERP) in east-central Maine.

A high (relative to similar treatments …

Slides: Forest And Rangeland Planning, Nepa Analysis And Decisions, Glenn Casamassa

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Glenn Casamassa, Forest Supervisor, Arapahoe-Roosevelt National Forest

17 slides

Wind Damage In Maine Forests: Trends And Vulnerability Assessment, Thomas Perry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The likelihood of windthrow or windsnap occurring in a forest stand includes numerous factors; however, past research suggests that these factors can be grouped into four broad categories: regional climate, topographic exposure, soil properties and stand characteristics (Mitchell, 1995). Of the three categories, stand characteristics are most commonly and easily modified through forest management. Vulnerability to wind damage in Maine may increase in the future because of three trends influencing stand conditions. One, Maine forests contain a considerable amount of balsam fir and red spruce, tree species that are considered particularly susceptible to wind damage. Two, extensive areas regenerated after …

Severe Wind And Fire Regimes In Northern Forests: Historic Variability At The Regional Scale, Lisa A. Schulte-Moore, David J. Mladenoff

Lisa A. Schulte Moore

Within the northern Great Lakes region, mesoscale (10s to 100s of km2) forest patterning is driven by disturbance dynamics. Using original Public Land Survey (PLS) records in northern Wisconsin, USA, we study spatial patterns of wind and fire disturbances during the pre-Euroamerican settlement period (ca. 1850). Our goals were: (1) to determine how effectively wind and fire disturbance can be econstructed from the PLS, (2) to assess the roles of wind and fire in shaping vegetation patterns, (3) to evaluate landscape to regional controls of wind and fire regimes, and (4) to assess the potential for interactions between these disturbances. …

Flambeau Forest Blowdown, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Christopher Dunn, John R. Dorney

Field Station Bulletins

On July 4,1977, the 160 acre Flambeau River Forest Scientific Area was struck by a downburst of hurricane proportions (Fujita 1977) which destroyed most of the preserve. This stand had been one of the few relatively untouched old growth northern hardwood forest stands in the Upper Great Lakes region. Hemlock, yellow birch, and sugar maple are the dominant canopy tree species. The vegetation of this stand had been studied in 1967 (Anderson 1968) and 1973 (Anderson unpublished). Thus, the Flambeau River Forest Scientific Area in northern Wisconsin provides a unique opportunity to examine the changes following large scale disturbance in …