Forest Management Commons^™

Fire, Fuels, And Streams: The Effects And Effectiveness Of Riparian Treatments, Josh Mcdaniel

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Fire is an important disturbance in riparian systems—consuming vegetation; increasing light; creating snags and debris flows; altering habitat structure; and affecting stream conditions, erosion, and hydrology. For many years, land managers have worked to keep fire out of riparian systems through the use of buffers. A number of projects funded by the Joint Fire Science Program are shedding light on the dynamics of fire in riparian systems. Recent research and field practice have shown that (1) riparian treatments can be beneficial and are not as risky as previously thought; and (2) riparian treatments need the “Goldilocks” prescribed fire—not too hot …

Effects Of Selective Logging And Roads On Instream Fine Sediments And Macroinvertebrate Assemblages In The Clackamas Basin, Oregon, Paula Elizabeth Hood

Dissertations and Theses

Logging and associated skid trails, haul routes, and roads can have significant impacts on the magnitude and timing of sediments in streams in forested watersheds. Loss of vegetation, soil compaction, use of heavy logging equipment, and alteration of natural hydrologic patterns within the watershed can increase landslide rates, create erosion, and generate fine sediments. Selective logging, also called thinning, is a logging practice that leaves some trees within sale units unharvested. The ecological impacts of thinning on stream ecosystems are not fully understood and need further study. My hypothesis was that macroinvertebrate assemblages would be different in streams in non-reference …

Rapid Response Tools And Datasets For Post-Fire Modeling: Linking Earth Observations And Process-Based Hydrological Models To Support Post-Fire Remediation, Mary Ellen Miller, Michael Billmire, William J. Elliot, K. A. Endsley, P. R. Robichaud

Michigan Tech Research Institute Publications

Preparation is key to utilizing Earth Observations and process-based models to support post-wildfire mitigation. Post-fire flooding and erosion can pose a serious threat to life, property and municipal water supplies. Increased runoff and sediment delivery due to the loss of surface cover and fire-induced changes in soil properties are of great concern. Remediation plans and treatments must be developed and implemented before the first major storms in order to be effective. One of the primary sources of information for making remediation decisions is a soil burn severity map derived from Earth Observation data (typically Landsat) that reflects fire induced changes …

Mapping Ancient Baldcypress Forests For Conservation At Black River, North Carolina, Jordan Nichole Burns

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A few ancient baldcypress-bottomland hardwood forests survive across the southeastern United States in a mosaic of remnant old-growth stands left untouched by extensive logging during the early 20th century. Uncut stands in the Southeast that survived centuries of disturbance following European settlement tended to be too senescent and non-commercial to justify logging. Remnant ancient baldcypress forests at Black River, North Carolina, appear to contain the oldest living trees in eastern North America and The Nature Conservancy has protected several of these stands. However, the full extent of ancient bottomland forests along Black River is not known and many valuable tracts …

Forest Park Ecosystems Services Inventory: An Exploratory Study, Pablo Barreyro, Jenny Dempsey Stein

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

This report presents both qualitative and quantitative survey data concerning resident perceptions of ecosystem services in Portland’s Forest Park. Focus group best practices and ecosystem services in urban parks literature are reviewed. Representative focus groups were conducted to ascertain local awareness and understanding of the urban wilderness area’s ecosystem services, identify concurrent challenges and measure interest in a potential interpretive center. Individual surveys were also administered in order to connect issues with demographics and recreational use information. Regression analyses were conducted to examine related park usage, access and economic trends.

While the study is preliminary, the results reveal opportunities for …

Morphological And Moisture Availability Controls Of The Leaf Area-To-Sapwood Area Ratio: Analysis Of Measurements On Australian Trees, Henrique Furstenau Togashi, Iain Colin Prentice, Bradley John Evans, David Ian Forrester, Paul Drake, Paul Feikema, Kim Brooksbank, Derek Eamus, Daniel Taylor

Natural Resources Research Articles

1. The leaf area-to-sapwood area ratio (LA:SA) is a key plant trait that links photosynthesis to transpiration. The pipe model theory states that the sapwood cross-sectional area of a stem or branch at any point should scale isometrically with the area of leaves distal to that point. Optimization theory further suggests that LA:SA should decrease toward drier climates. Although acclimation of LA:SA to climate has been reported within species, much less is known about the scaling of this trait with climate among species.
2. We compiled LA:SA measurements from 184 species of Australian evergreen angiosperm trees. The pipe model was …

Modeling Predator Habitat To Enhance Reintroduction Planning, Shiloh Michael Halsey, William J. Zielinski, Robert M. Scheller

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Context

The success of species reintroduction often depends on predation risk and spatial estimates of predator habitat. The fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a species of conservation concern and populations in the western United States have declined substantially in the last century. Reintroduction plans are underway, but the ability of the species to establish a selfsustaining population is affected by predation from its primary predator, the bobcat (Lynx rufus).

Objectives

To develop a habitat model that incorporates both habitat of the focal species and the spatial patterning of predator habitat. To locate areas of densely aggregated habitat that would be suitable …

Agenda: Seeds Of Change: Responding To Global Change In A Bottom-Up World, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law, Posner Center For International Development, Resolve (Firm), Newmont Mining Corporation

Seeds of Change: Responding to Global Change in a Bottom-Up World (Martz Winter Symposium, February 12-13)

Sponsors: Posner Center for International Development, RESOLVE, Inc., Newmont Mining Corporation, and Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment.

Conference moderators, panelists and speakers included University of Colorado Law School professors Phil Weiser, Sarah Krakoff, Britt Banks, and Lakshman Guruswamy.

This conference is made possible through the generous support of donors who sponsored this year’s Martz Sustainability Symposium (including Newmont Mining Corporation) and those who have invested in our Clyde O. Martz Endowed Fund for Natural Resources Management (including Brian Dolan and Davis Graham and Stubbs LLP). The Martz Natural Resources Management Fund was established in the memory …

Fire Modulates Climate Change Response Of Simulated Aspen Distribution Across Topoclimatic Gradients In A Semi-Arid Montane Landscape, Jian Yang, Peter J. Weisberg, Douglas J. Shinneman, Thomas E. Dilts, Susan L. Earnst, Robert M. Scheller

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Content Changing aspen distribution in response to climate change and fire is a major focus of biodiversity conservation, yet little is known about the potential response of aspen to these two driving forces along topoclimatic gradients.

Objective This study is set to evaluate how aspen distribution might shift in response to different climate-fire scenarios in a semi-arid montane landscape, and quantify the influence of fire regime along topoclimatic gradients.

Methods We used a novel integration of a forest landscape succession and disturbance model (LAN DIS-II) with a fine-scale climatic water deficit approach to simulate dynamics of aspen and associated conifer …

Integrating Hands-On Undergraduate Research In An Applied Spatial Science Senior Level Capstone Course, David Kulhavy, Daniel Unger, I-Kuai Hung, David Douglass

Faculty Publications

A senior within a spatial science Ecological Planning capstone course designed an undergraduate research project to increase his spatial science expertise and to assess the hands-on instruction methodology employed within the Bachelor of Science in Spatial Science program at Stephen F Austin State University. The height of 30 building features estimated remotely with LiDAR data, within the Pictometry remotely sensed web-based interface, and in situ with a laser rangefinder were compared to actual building feature height measurements. A comparison of estimated height with actual height indicated that all three estimation techniques tested were unbiased estimators of height. An ANOVA, conducted …

Provisioning And Its Effects On The Social Interactions Of Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana) At Mt. Huangshan, China, Brianna I. Schnepel

All Master's Theses

The dispersal patterns of food resources has a significant effect on the composition of primate groups and social interactions within those groups. Humans often alter the dispersal of food. Non-humans often use affiliative behaviors to elicit tolerance or support from other group members. I investigated whether provisioned food resources alter the social interactions and group dynamics of Macaca thibetana. All-occurrence sampling and scan sampling were used for data recorded by camera traps. Trail-cameras were placed at six locations that contain natural and human food resources and recorded 60-second videos. Social behavior and proximity of the monkeys were recorded. I …

Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Upland Plant Biodiversity And Abundance In Northeast Florida, Peter D. Maholland

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial ecosystems in the southeastern United States have evolved with fire as a common disturbance and as a result many natural communities require the presence of fire to persist over time. Human development precludes natural fires from occurring within these communities; however, prescribed fire is considered to be a critical tool in the effort to restore fire-dependent ecosystems after decades of fire exclusion. Direct effects of fire on individual floral and faunal species as well as benefits to biodiversity at the landscape (gamma diversity) level have largely been supported in previous research. However, information on the effects of natural and …

Matrix And Edge Effects On The Maintenance Of Ecological Function In An Afromontane Protected Area, Robin M. Martino

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Land use type in the human dominated matrix surrounding tropical forest can influence edge effects at the forest-matrix interface. Edge effects can alter ecological processes and impact the function of forest edge ecosystems. A key ecological process that helps maintain tropical forest and is affected by forest disturbance is seed dispersal by large, fruit eating vertebrates (frugivores). This dissertation examines how the type of vegetation in the matrix, the `soft’ edge contrast of pine plantations and the `hard’ edge contrast of tea plantations, affect seed dispersal behavior of large frugivores, and the structure and composition of tree species, in forest …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Ecotourism As A Funding Source For Protected Area Management In Guyana, Jordan S. Flagel

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Protected areas in tropical rainforests serve many important ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. These areas are often in need of donor or grant funding to operate as governments in tropical forested countries are not always able to provide adequate funds for protection. This paper focuses on the Iwokrama International Center for Rainforest Conservation and Development in the South American country of Guyana, which has had funding issues since the global economic crisis of 2008 and an accompanying shift in donor country financial priorities. Increasing the amount of sustainable ecotourism in the Iwokrama reserve was identified as a potential source for …

Taming The Software Chaos: True To Its Promise, Iftdss Eases The Burden Of Fuels Treatment Planning—And Does A Lot More Besides, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

A key problem reported by the fuels treatment planning community is the difficulty and inefficiency of evaluating and then applying many planning tools and applications. Fuels specialists have struggled to find, load, and learn all the different fuels and fire planning models, not to mention the interface of running, adjusting, and inputting data specific to each model without the ability to easily share inputs/outputs between models.

The Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS) was conceived as a way for users to learn one interface, access a variety of data and models all in one place, and pass data (inputs …

Agenda: Celebrating The Great Law: The Wilderness Act At 50, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, The Wilderness Society

Celebrating the Great Law: The Wilderness Act at 50 (September 4-5)

"A conference sponsored by the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment and The Wilderness Society."

On September 3, 2014, the National Wilderness Preservation System—established and protected by the Wilderness Act of 1964—celebrates its 50th anniversary. We are gathering on September 4th and 5th to celebrate Wilderness—“ornery old wilderness, scratchy, sweaty, and distant, but sacred every step of the way”—and to commemorate the great law so central to its protection.

This is not an ordinary conference, full of dry presentations or heated policy debates. Instead, this will be a full-throated love song to wild country. We have brought …

A Win-Win On Agricultural Lands: Creating Wildlife Habitat Through Agroforestry, Gary Bentrup

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

With increasing demands from society for limited resources, agroforestry will likely be one source of solutions as people find it increasingly necessary to achieve multiple social, economic, and ecological objectives on the same plot of land. Indications are that this is a growing field, so wildlife biologists of the future may want to consider incorporating agroforestry into their career development.

Mass And Nutrient Loss In Decaying Hardwood Boles At Hubbard Brook, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Investigating Meter Scale Topographic Variation As A Factor Of Monterey Pine (Pinus Radiata) Growing Conditions At Kenneth Norris Rancho Marino Reserve, Cambria, Ca, William J. Meyst

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Endemic Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) is limited to three locations in California due to its unique ecological requirements. This project was conducted to investigate spatial growth patterns ofMonterey pine over complex ground surfaces. The coastal hills of Rancho Marino Reserve, Cambria, were surveyed using four 150-m transects to quantify and record ground surface features and growing conditions ofMonterey pine. Changes in elevation of each transect were measured using an Abney level. Linear ground surfaces were found at 86% (344 of 400) of survey nodes. Convex ground surfaces were found at 10.5% of survey nodes (42 of 400). Of …

The Community Economic Impacts Of Large Wildfires: A Case Study From Trinity County, California, Emily Jane Davis, Cassandra Moseley, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Pamela J. Jakes

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wildfires are increasing in severity and frequency in the American West, but there is limited understanding of their economic effects at the community level. We conducted a case study of the impacts of large wildfires in 2008 in Trinity County, California, by examining labor market, suppression spending, and qualitative interview data. We found that the 2008 fires had interrelated effects on several economic sectors in the county. Labor market data indicated a decrease in total private-sector employment and wages and an increase in public-sector employment and wages during the summer of 2008 compared to the previous year, while interviews captured …

"Nature Is Pushing One Way And People Are Pushing The Other": A Political Ecology Of Forest Transitions In Western Montgomery County, Pa, Megan Elizabeth Maccaroni

Environment and Sustainability Honors Papers

Forests in Southeastern Pennsylvania have been shaped by a number of anthropocentric factors over the past century, with many areas experiencing a recent trend towards forest recovery. Studies on forest dynamics have shown that most developed regions exhibit a forest transition, which begins when land is cleared for natural resource extraction (e.g., agriculture, forestry) during an early development stage. Then as a population grows and food production needs are met, rural peoples begin to migrate to the city, and a feeling of scarcity of trees develops that may lead to changes in land management attitudes, and many formerly deforested areas …

Salinity Risk Mapping For Assessing Carbon Farming Initiative Proposals: Decision Support And Data Requirements, Paul Raper, Peter Gardiner

Resource management technical reports

The Clean Energy Legislation passed by the Australian Parliament on 8 November 2011 links the carbon price to the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). Under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (the Act), proponents need to consider regional natural resource management (NRM) plans to ensure that tree plantings for carbon bio-sequestration maximise environmental benefits and avoid unintended adverse effects on biodiversity, water and agricultural production systems.

The Effectiveness Of Forest Collaborative Groups At Reducing The Likelihood Of Project Appeals And Objections In Eastern Oregon, Brent M. Summers

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Collaborative planning has been used as a tool to address wicked natural resource conflicts and engage those affected by federal land management agency decisions. The United States Forest Service (USFS) is mandated by law to involve the public on project-level planning. In Oregon, Forest Collaborative Groups have been engaging with the USFS to involve stakeholders who are concerned with the activities on National Forests. It is widely believed that these groups are reducing project-level appeals and objections (appeals); however, there is no empirical evidence to validate these beliefs. National Environmental Protect Act (NEPA) document data were collected from the USFS …

Trail Degradation In Parque Internacional La Amistad: An Intersection Of Design, Management And Use, Jordan Stark

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

National parks are created and used for a variety of purposes but are primarily important for the conservation of natural resources and use by visitors. While park use is meant to be non-destructive, human interaction causes changes in ecosystems, leading to conflicts between these goals. Here, I examine the causes of trail degradation and impacts on surrounding forests in Parque Internacional la Amistad (PILA), Panama. This park is a world heritage site with the primary goal of preserving some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems including rare and endangered species. However, the park entrance in Las Nubes, Cerro Punta receives …

Climate Change Effects On Northern Great Lake (Usa) Forests: A Case For Preserving Diversity, Matthew Joshua Duveneck, Robert M. Scheller, Mark A. White, Stephen D. Handler, Catherine Ravenscroft

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Under business as usual (BAU) management, stresses posed by climate change may exceed the ability of Great Lake forests to adapt. Temperature and precipitation projections in the Great Lakes region are expected to change forest tree species composition and productivity. It is unknown how a change in productivity and/or tree species diversity due to climate change will affect the relationship between diversity and productivity. We assessed how forests in two landscapes (i.e., northern lower Michigan and northeastern Minnesota, USA) would respond to climate change and explored the diversityproductivity relationship under climate change. In addition, we explored how tree species diversity …

Managing For Resistance And Resilience Of Northern Great Lakes Forests To The Effects Of Climate Change, Matthew Joshua Duveneck

Dissertations and Theses

Climate change is expected to drastically change the environmental conditions which forests depend. Lags in tree species movements will likely be outpaced by a more rapidly changing climate. This may result in species extirpation, a change in forest structure, and a decline in resistance and resilience (i.e., the ability to persist and recover from external perturbations, respectively). In the northern Great Lakes region of North America, an ecotone exists along the boreal-temperate transition zone where large changes in species composition exist across a climate gradient. Increasing temperatures are observed in the more southern landscapes. As climate change is expected to …

Smith Falls State Park Forest Enhancement Project For Aspen, Mike Groenewold

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

A 76-mile stretch of the middle Niobrara River, which includes Smith Falls State Park, is designated as a National Scenic River. This reach of the river is referred to as the biological crossroads of the Midwest as the river’s deeply incised valley is the intersection of a diverse mix of plant communities including several forest and prairie types. The mix of forests supports a rich diversity of species including rare plants such as glacial relict aspen and paper birch.

In recent decades eastern red cedar and ponderosa pine densities have increased substantially in the middle Niobrara River due to fire …

Development And Evaluation Of High Resolution Simulation Tools To Improve Fire Weather Forecasts, Brian K. Lamb, Jason M. Forthofer, Peter R. Robichaud

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fire weather forecasts rely on numerical weather simulations where the grid size is 4 km x 4 km or larger. In areas of complex terrain, this model resolution will not capture the details of wind flows associated with complicated topography. Wind channeling in valleys, wind speed-up over mountains and ridges, and enhanced turbulence associated with rough terrain and tall forest canopies are poorly represented in current weather model applications. A number of numerical wind flow models have been developed for simulating winds at high resolution; however, there are limited observational data available at the spatial scales appropriate for evaluating these …

Exploring How Deliberation On Scientific Information Shapes Stakeholder Perceptions Of Forest Management And Climate Change, Troy E. Hall, Jarod J. Blades

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Climate change has resulted in rapid biophysical changes in forests of the western U.S. and has prompted the need for an increased understanding of potential impacts and adaption measures. Land managers, policy makers, and community officials lack locally relevant climate change science and are urgently calling for research to inform management decisions. Nevertheless, a substantial disconnect remains between emerging scientific information and its application in management decisions. Effective action depends on understanding regional and local implications of climate change and open, reasoned discussions about current research and potential mitigation actions among researchers, land managers, and other stakeholders. Boundary objects have …

Fire Effects On Seedling Establishment Success Across Treeline: Implications For Future Tree Migration And Flammability In A Changing Climate, F. S. Chapin Iii, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, Rebecca E. Hewitt

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Understanding the complex mechanisms controlling treeline advance or retreat in the arctic and subarctic has important implications for projecting ecosystem response to changes in climate. Changes in landcover due to a treeline biome shift would alter climate feedbacks (carbon storage and energy exchange), ecosystem services such as wildlife and berry habitat, and landscape flammability. Wildfire frequency and extent has increased in the last half-century in the boreal forest and tundra in response to warmer weather and lower precipitation. Invasion of tundra by trees may be facilitated by wildfire disturbance, which exposes new seedbeds, increases nutrient availability immediately post-fire, and creates …