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Forest Research In Iowa's State Parks - The Values Of Natural Diversity, Donald R. Farrar

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Approximately 3% of Iowa's forests are contained in state parks and preserves. In addition to aesthetics and recreation, these protected forests provide a vital service in the unique opportunities they provide for forest research. As intact ecosystems where natural ecological processes dominate, they provide standards by which we measure the effects of livestock pasturing, methods of timber harvest, and other manipulations of managed forests. A number of current studies and public programs emphasize the importance of natural diversity in forests. They rely on state parks and preserves to provide a measure of potential diversity for a given region of the …