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Quantifying Losses Of Understory Forage In Aspen Stands On The Dixie And Fishlake National Forests, Barton R. Stam
Quantifying Losses Of Understory Forage In Aspen Stands On The Dixie And Fishlake National Forests, Barton R. Stam
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The West has lost up to 60% of its historic aspen stands over the last century, probably as a result of the successional tendency of aspen to be replaced by coniferous species in the absence of periodic fires. One of several major impacts of this change is the loss of understory forage as conifer canopy cover increases. I measured understory biomass in aspen stands ranging from 0% to 81 % absolute conifer cover in the canopy and found that understory production declines exponentially as conifers replace aspen. I also did an economic analysis to determine the value of the forage …