Watershed research and management in the lake states and northeastern United States

Treesearch

Elton S. Verry; James W. Hornbeck; H. Albert

2000-01-01

We present a brief synopsis of the beginnings of watershed management research and practice in the Lake States and Northeastern United States, followed by a summary of significant research findings on many aspects of watershed management, and finally, a review of four examples of how watershed management research has been incorporated into national forest management...

76 FR 64375 - Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Genesee County and Orleans County, NY; Final Comprehensive...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-18

... would be managed. Management of shrublands would be discontinued, and the only shrub habitats that would remain are small native shrub swamps. Forest cover would increase (1,548 additional acres) under this...

Skills Conversion Project: Chapter 6, Forest Operations and Wood Products. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Society of Professional Engineers, Washington, DC.

A study of the forest operations and wood products industries was conducted in Atlanta and Seattle by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Included among these industries are tree development, crop and land management, logging, material handling transportation, cutting, peeling, assembly, pulp and paper, mobile homes, construction,…

76 FR 18151 - Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln County, MT; Miller West Fisher Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-01

... proposed action, the Draft EIS and the Final EIS, and the Forest Service is not inviting comments at this...: Contact Leslie McDougall, Team Leader, Three Rivers Ranger District, at (406) 295-4693. SUPPLEMENTARY...; implementation of best management practices (BMPs) and road maintenance work will be applied to approximately 38...

A Forest Products Technology Program for Washington Community Colleges. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grotefend, Robert T.

This report describes a project to develop a forest product technology curriculum that prepares students at the technical level, junior management, to work in the manufacturing of wood and bark into lumber, plywood, particle board, laminates, and pulp chips. Chapter 1 describes project objectives and procedures followed. In chapter 2 the history…

China's Classification-Based Forest Management: Procedures, Problems, and Prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Limin; Zhao, Fuqiang; Shao, Guofan; Zhou, Li; Tang, Lina

2009-06-01

China’s new Classification-Based Forest Management (CFM) is a two-class system, including Commodity Forest (CoF) and Ecological Welfare Forest (EWF) lands, so named according to differences in their distinct functions and services. The purposes of CFM are to improve forestry economic systems, strengthen resource management in a market economy, ease the conflicts between wood demands and public welfare, and meet the diversified needs for forest services in China. The formative process of China’s CFM has involved a series of trials and revisions. China’s central government accelerated the reform of CFM in the year 2000 and completed the final version in 2003. CFM was implemented at the provincial level with the aid of subsidies from the central government. About a quarter of the forestland in China was approved as National EWF lands by the State Forestry Administration in 2006 and 2007. Logging is prohibited on National EWF lands, and their landowners or managers receive subsidies of about 70 RMB (US10) per hectare from the central government. CFM represents a new forestry strategy in China and its implementation inevitably faces challenges in promoting the understanding of forest ecological services, generalizing nationwide criteria for identifying EWF and CoF lands, setting up forest-specific compensation mechanisms for ecological benefits, enhancing the knowledge of administrators and the general public about CFM, and sustaining EWF lands under China’s current forestland tenure system. CFM does, however, offer a viable pathway toward sustainable forest management in China.

Does Management Matter?: Using MISR to Assess the Effects of Charcoal Production and Management on Woodland Regeneration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wurster, K.

2008-12-01

In much of Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 75 percent of a rapidly growing urban population depends on charcoal as their primary source of energy for cooking. The high demand for charcoal has led many to believe that charcoal harvesting catalyzes widespread deforestation. The Senegalese government and international donors have initiated projects within protected areas to combat deforestation and created land management plans to sustainably harvest charcoal. To date, the effects of forest management techniques on forest sustainability are still in question. This research uses a multiphase approach integrating satellite analysis with field surveys to assess the effect of varying forest management strategies on forest regeneration and sustainability after charcoal harvesting. Phase I involved testing the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) satellites capability in detecting structural changes in vegetative cover caused by charcoal harvesting and production. Analysis of the MISR derived k(red) parameter showed MISR can consistently differentiate between forest cover types and successfully differentiates between sites at pre- and post-charcoal harvest stages. Phase II conducted forestry and social surveys comparing and contrasting local effects of land management, land use, and charcoal production on forest regeneration. Phase III uses the local surveys to validate and train the regional remote sensing data to assess the effectiveness of land management in promoting forest regeneration and sustainability after charcoal harvesting. Combining detailed local knowledge with the regional capabilities of MISR provide valuable insight into the factors that control woodland regeneration and sustainability. Preliminary results from phases II and III indicate that both field and remotely sensed variations in forest cover, tree regeneration, and land use change does not vary when compared against land management type. Final results will provide managers with additional information to create more effective land management strategies that can be implemented across sub- Saharan Africa, ensuring the long-term sustainability of woodland ecosystems and local livelihoods.

75 FR 11107 - Revision of Land Management Plan for the George Washington National Forest, Virginia and West...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-10

... additional information. Finally, this notice briefly describes the applicable planning rule and how work done..., or recorded at past public meetings, related to the revision of the GW Forest Plan since 2007 will be..., environmental stresses and threats, societal demands and our current state of scientific knowledge. Also since...

The Development of Environmental Education Materials for Investigating Fire-Environment-Man Relationships: Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanselman, David L.; Reider, David A.

This publication details the development and use of environmental education materials based on the United States Forest Service "Process Approach." This publication focuses on materials that teach the ecology and management of natural and man-made forest and brush fires. The main body of the contents develop and document a rationale for…

Land-use history as a major driver for long-term forest dynamics in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (central Spain) during the last millennia: implications for forest conservation and management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morales-Molino, César; Colombaroli, Daniele; Valbuena-Carabaña, María; Tinner, Willy; Salomón, Roberto L.; Carrión, José S.; Gil, Luis

2017-05-01

In the Mediterranean Basin, long-lasting human activities have largely resulted in forest degradation or destruction. Consequently, conservation efforts aimed at preserving and restoring Mediterranean forests often lack well-defined targets when using current forest composition and structure as a reference. In the Iberian mountains, the still widespread Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pyrenaica woodlands have been heavily impacted by land-use. To assess future developments and as a baseline for planning, forest managers are interested in understanding the origins of present ecosystems to disclose effects on forest composition that may influence future vegetation trajectories. Quantification of land-use change is particularly interesting to understand vegetation responses. Here we use three well-dated multi-proxy palaeoecological sequences from the Guadarrama Mountains (central Spain) to quantitatively reconstruct changes occurred in P. sylvestris forests and the P. sylvestris-Q. pyrenaica ecotone at multi-decadal to millennial timescales, and assess the driving factors. Our results show millennial stability of P. sylvestris forests under varying fire and climate conditions, with few transient declines caused by the combined effects of fire and grazing. The high value of pine timber in the past would account for long-lasting pine forest preservation and partly for the degradation of native riparian vegetation (mostly composed of Betula and Corylus). Pine forests further spread after planned forest management started at 1890 CE. In contrast, intensive coppicing and grazing caused Q. pyrenaica decline some centuries ago (ca. 1500-1650 CE), with unprecedented grazing during the last decades seriously compromising today's oak regeneration. Thus, land-use history played a major role in determining vegetation changes. Finally, we must highlight that the involvement of forest managers in this work has guaranteed a practical use of palaeoecological data in conservation and management practice.

The value of information for woodland management: Updating a state–transition model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morris, William K.; Runge, Michael C.; Vesk, Peter A.

2017-01-01

Value of information (VOI) analyses reveal the expected benefit of reducing uncertainty to a decision maker. Most ecological VOI analyses have focused on population models rarely addressing more complex community models. We performed a VOI analysis for a complex state–transition model of Box-Ironbark Forest and Woodland management. With three management alternatives (limited harvest/firewood removal (HF), ecological thinning (ET), and no management), managing the system optimally (for 150 yr) with the original information would, on average, increase the amount of forest in a desirable state from 19% to 35% (a 16-percentage point increase). Resolving all uncertainty would, on average, increase the final percentage to 42% (a 19-percentage point increase). However, only resolving the uncertainty for a single parameter was worth almost two-thirds the value of resolving all uncertainty. We found the VOI to depend on the number of management options, increasing as the management flexibility increased. Our analyses show it is more cost-effective to monitor low-density regrowth forest than other states and more cost-effective to experiment with the no-management alternative than the other management alternatives. Importantly, the most cost-effective strategies did not include either the most desired forest states or the least understood management strategy, ET. This implies that managers cannot just rely on intuition to tell them where the most VOI will lie, as critical uncertainties in a complex system are sometimes cryptic.

Relative contributions of set-asides and tree retention to the long-term availability of key forest biodiversity structures at the landscape scale.

PubMed

Roberge, Jean-Michel; Lämås, Tomas; Lundmark, Tomas; Ranius, Thomas; Felton, Adam; Nordin, Annika

2015-05-01

Over previous decades new environmental measures have been implemented in forestry. In Fennoscandia, forest management practices were modified to set aside conservation areas and to retain trees at final felling. In this study we simulated the long-term effects of set-aside establishment and tree retention practices on the future availability of large trees and dead wood, two forest structures of documented importance to biodiversity conservation. Using a forest decision support system (Heureka), we projected the amounts of these structures over 200 years in two managed north Swedish landscapes, under management scenarios with and without set-asides and tree retention. In line with common best practice, we simulated set-asides covering 5% of the productive area with priority to older stands, as well as ∼5% green-tree retention (solitary trees and forest patches) including high-stump creation at final felling. We found that only tree retention contributed to substantial increases in the future density of large (DBH ≥35 cm) deciduous trees, while both measures made significant contributions to the availability of large conifers. It took more than half a century to observe stronger increases in the densities of large deciduous trees as an effect of tree retention. The mean landscape-scale volumes of hard dead wood fluctuated widely, but the conservation measures yielded values which were, on average over the entire simulation period, about 2.5 times as high as for scenarios without these measures. While the density of large conifers increased with time in the landscape initially dominated by younger forest, best practice conservation measures did not avert a long-term decrease in large conifer density in the landscape initially comprised of more old forest. Our results highlight the needs to adopt a long temporal perspective and to consider initial landscape conditions when evaluating the large-scale effects of conservation measures on forest biodiversity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aquatic biodiversity in forests: A weak link in ecosystem services resilience

USGS Publications Warehouse

Penaluna, Brooke E.; Olson, Deanna H.; Flitcroft, Rebecca L; Weber, Matthew A.; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Wondzell, Steven M.; Dunham, Jason B.; Johnson, Sherri L.; Reeves, Gordon H.

2017-01-01

The diversity of aquatic ecosystems is being quickly reduced on many continents, warranting a closer examination of the consequences for ecological integrity and ecosystem services. Here we describe intermediate and final ecosystem services derived from aquatic biodiversity in forests. We include a summary of the factors framing the assembly of aquatic biodiversity in forests in natural systems and how they change with a variety of natural disturbances and human-derived stressors. We consider forested aquatic ecosystems as a multi-state portfolio, with diverse assemblages and life-history strategies occurring at local scales as a consequence of a mosaic of habitat conditions and past disturbances and stressors. Maintaining this multi-state portfolio of assemblages requires a broad perspective of ecosystem structure, various functions, services, and management implications relative to contemporary stressors. Because aquatic biodiversity provides multiple ecosystem services to forests, activities that compromise aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity could be an issue for maintaining forest ecosystem integrity. We illustrate these concepts with examples of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services in forests of northwestern North America, also known as Northeast Pacific Rim. Encouraging management planning at broad as well as local spatial scales to recognize multi-state ecosystem management goals has promise for maintaining valuable ecosystem services. Ultimately, integration of information from socio-ecological ecosystems will be needed to maintain ecosystem services derived directly and indirectly from forest aquatic biota.

76 FR 29782 - Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Hawai‘i County, HI; Final Comprehensive Conservation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-23

... this final CCP, we describe how we will manage this refuge for the next 15 years. ADDRESSES: You may view or obtain copies of the final CCP and FONSI by any of the following methods. You may request a... lava tubes and lava tube skylights. We announce our decision and the availability of the FONSI for the...

Spatial occurrence of a habitat-tracking saproxylic beetle inhabiting a managed forest landscape.

PubMed

Schroeder, L Martin; Ranius, Thomas; Ekbom, Barbara; Larsson, Stig

2007-04-01

Because of the dynamic nature of many managed habitats, proper evaluation of conservation efforts calls for models that take into account both spatial and temporal habitat dynamics. We develop a metapopulation model for successional-type systems, in which habitat quality changes over time in a predictable fashion. The occupancy and recruitment of the predatory saproxylic (dependent on dead wood) beetle Harminius undulatus was studied in a managed boreal forest landscape, covering 24,449 ha, in central Sweden. In a first step, we analyzed the beetle's occupancy pattern in relation to stand characteristics, and the amounts of present and past habitat in the surrounding landscape. Managed forest is suitable habitat when > or =60 years old, and immediately after cutting, but not between the ages of 10 and 60 years. The observed occupancy of H. undulatus was positively correlated with the stand's age as habitat. We used a metapopulation model to predict the current probability of occurrence in each forest stand, given the spatiotemporal distribution of suitable forest stands during the last 50 years. Metapopulation parameters were estimated by matching predicted spatial distributions with observed spatial distributions. The model predicted observed spatial distributions better than a similar model that assumed constant habitat quality of each forest stand. Thus, metapopulation models for successional-type systems, such as dead wood dependent organisms in managed forest landscapes, should include habitat dynamics. An estimated 82% of the landscape-wide recruitment took place in managed stands, which covered 87% of the forest area, in comparison with 18% in unmanaged stands, which covered 13% of the forest area. Among the managed stand types, > or =60-year-old stands and 3-7-year-old clear-cuttings contributed to 79% of the total recruitment while 8-59-year-old stands only contributed 3%. The results suggest the following guidelines to improve conditions for H. undulatus and other species with similar habitat requirements: (1) the proportion of the landscape constituted by younger stands should not be allowed to grow too large, (2) the rotation period of managed stands should not be allowed to be too short, and (3) dead wood should be retained and created at final cutting.

Results of a paired catchment analysis of forest thinning in Turkey in relation to forest management options.

PubMed

Yurtseven, Ibrahim; Serengil, Yusuf; Gökbulak, Ferhat; Şengönül, Kamil; Ozhan, Süleyman; Kılıç, Umit; Uygur, Betül; Ozçelik, Mehmet Said

2018-03-15

Adaptation to climate change has become a more serious concern as IPCC assessment reports estimate a rise of up to 2°C in average global temperatures by the end of the century. Several recently published studies have underlined the importance of forest management in mitigating the impacts of climate change and in supporting the adaptation capacity of the ecosystem. This study focuses on the role of water-related forest services in this adaptation process. The effects of forestry practices on streamflow can best be determined by paired watershed analysis. The impact of two cutting treatments on runoff was analyzed by a paired experimental watershed study in the Belgrade Forest and the results were evaluated in relation to similar experiments conducted around the world. Forest thinning treatments at 11% and 18% were carried out in a mature oak-beech forest ecosystem over different time periods. Although the thinning increased the runoff statistically, the amount of surplus water remained <5% of the annual water yield. Evidently, the hydrologic response of the watersheds was low due to the reduced intensity of the timber harvest. Finally, the results were combined with those of global studies on thinning, clearcutting and species conversion with the aim of formulating management options for adaptation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Final Program Report for 2010-2012: Monitoring and evaluation for conserving biological resources of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area

Treesearch

Stephen J. Solem; Burton K. Pendleton; Casey Giffen; Marc Coles-Ritchie; Jeri Ledbetter; Kevin S. McKelvey; Joy Berg; Jim Menlove; Carly K. Woodlief; Luke A. Boehnke

2013-01-01

The Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) includes approximately 316,000 acres of National Forest System (NFS) lands managed by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada (see fig. 1-1). The Spring Mountains have long been recognized as an island of endemism, harboring flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world. Conservation...

Ecological responses to el Niño-induced surface fires in central Brazilian Amazonia: management implications for flammable tropical forests.

PubMed Central

Barlow, Jos; Peres, Carlos A

2004-01-01

Over the past 20 years the combined effects of El Niño-induced droughts and land-use change have dramatically increased the frequency of fire in humid tropical forests. Despite the potential for rapid ecosystem alteration and the current prevalence of wildfire disturbance, the consequences of such fires for tropical forest biodiversity remain poorly understood. We provide a pan-tropical review of the current state of knowledge of these fires, and include data from a study in a seasonally dry terra firme forest of central Brazilian Amazonia. Overall, this study supports predictions that rates of tree mortality and changes in forest structure are strongly linked to burn severity. The potential consequences for biomass loss and carbon emissions are explored. Despite the paucity of data on faunal responses to tropical forest fires, some trends are becoming apparent; for example, large canopy frugivores and understorey insectivorous birds appear to be highly sensitive to changes in forest structure and composition during the first 3 years after fires. Finally, we appraise the management implications of fires and evaluate the viability of techniques and legislation that can be used to reduce forest flammability, prevent anthropogenic ignition sources from coming into contact with flammable forests and aid the post-fire recovery process. PMID:15212091

Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation and Timber Production in Mixed Uneven-Aged Mountain Forests: Identification of Ecological Intensification Pathways.

PubMed

Lafond, Valentine; Cordonnier, Thomas; Courbaud, Benoît

2015-11-01

Mixed uneven-aged forests are considered favorable to the provision of multiple ecosystem services and to the conciliation of timber production and biodiversity conservation. However, some forest managers now plan to increase the intensity of thinning and harvesting operations in these forests. Retention measures or gap creation are considered to compensate potential negative impacts on biodiversity. Our objectives were to assess the effect of these management practices on timber production and biodiversity conservation and identify potential compensating effects between these practices, using the concept of ecological intensification as a framework. We performed a simulation study coupling Samsara2, a simulation model designed for spruce-fir uneven-aged mountain forests, an uneven-aged silviculture algorithm, and biodiversity models. We analyzed the effect of parameters related to uneven-aged management practices on timber production, biodiversity, and sustainability indicators. Our study confirmed that the indicators responded differently to management practices, leading to trade-offs situations. Increasing management intensity had negative impacts on several biodiversity indicators, which could be partly compensated by the positive effect of retention measures targeting large trees, non-dominant species, and deadwood. The impact of gap creation was more mitigated, with a positive effect on the diversity of tree sizes and deadwood but a negative impact on the spruce-fir mixing balance and on the diversity of the understory layer. Through the analysis of compensating effects, we finally revealed the existence of possible ecological intensification pathways, i.e., the possibility to increase management intensity while maintaining biodiversity through the promotion of nature-based management principles (gap creation and retention measures).

Potential effects of forest management on surface albedo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otto, J.; Bréon, F.-M.; Schelhaas, M.-J.; Pinty, B.; Luyssaert, S.

2012-04-01

Currently 70% of the world's forests are managed and this figure is likely to rise due to population growth and increasing demand for wood based products. Forest management has been put forward by the Kyoto-Protocol as one of the key instruments in mitigating climate change. For temperate and boreal forests, the effects of forest management on the stand-level carbon balance are reasonably well understood, but the biophysical effects, for example through changes in the albedo, remain elusive. Following a modeling approach, we aim to quantify the variability in albedo that can be attributed to forest management through changes in canopy structure and density. The modelling approach chains three separate models: (1) a forest gap model to describe stand dynamics, (2) a Monte-Carlo model to estimate the probability density function of the optical path length of photons through the canopy and (3) a physically-based canopy transfer model to estimate the interaction between photons and leaves. The forest gap model provides, on a monthly time step the position, height, diameter, crown size and leaf area index of individual trees. The Monte-Carlo model computes from this the probability density function of the distance a photon travels through crown volumes to determine the direct light reaching the forest floor. This information is needed by the canopy transfer model to calculate the effective leaf area index - a quantity that allows it to correctly represent a 3D process with a 1D model. Outgoing radiation is calculated as the result of multiple processes involving the scattering due to the canopy layer and the forest floor. Finally, surface albedo is computed as the ratio between incident solar radiation and calculated outgoing radiation. The study used two time series representing thinning from below of a beech and a Scots pine forest. The results show a strong temporal evolution in albedo during stand establishment followed by a relatively stable albedo once the canopy is closed. During this period, albedo is affected for a short time by forest operations. The modelling approach allowed us to estimate the importance of ground vegetation in the stand albedo. Given that ground vegetation depends on the light reaching the forest floor, ground vegetation could act as a natural buffer to dampen changes in albedo, allowing the stand to maintain optimal leaf temperature. Consequently, accounting for only the carbon balance component of forest management ignores albedo impacts and is thus likely to yield biased estimates of the climate benefits of forest ecosystems.

Effect of Forest Management of Picea abies and Fagus sylvatica with Different Types of Felling on Carbon and Economic Balances in the Czech Republic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plch, Radek; Pulkrab, Karel; Bukáček, Jan; Sloup, Roman; Cudlín, Pavel

2016-10-01

The selection of the most sustainable forest management under given site conditions needs suitable criteria and indicators. For this purpose, carbon and economic balance assessment, completed with environmental impact computation using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were used. The aim of this study was to compare forestry operations and wood production of selected forest stands with different i) tree species composition (Norway spruce - Picea abies and European beech - Fagus sylvatica) and ii) type of felling (chainsaw and harvester). Carbon and economic balance methods consist in the comparison of quantified inputs (fossil fuels, electricity, used machinery, fertilizers, etc., converted into emission units of carbon in Mg of C- CO2-eq. or EUR) with quantified outputs (biomass production in Mg of carbon or EUR). In this contribution, similar forest stands (“forest site complexes”) in the 4th forest vegetation zone (in the Czech Republic approximately 400-700 m above sea-level) were selected. Forestry operations were divided into 5 main stages: i) seedling production, ii) stand establishment and pruning, iii) thinning and final cutting, iv) skidding, and v) secondary timber transport and modelled for one rotation period of timber production (ca. 100 years). The differences between Norway spruce and European beech forest stands in the carbon efficiency were relatively small while higher differences were achieved in the economic efficiency (forest stands with Norway spruce had a higher economic efficiency). Concerning the comparison of different types of felling in Norway spruce forest stands, the harvester use proved to induce significantly higher environmental impacts (emission of carbon) and lower economic costs. The comparison of forestry operation stages showed that the main part of carbon emissions, originating from fuel production and combustion, is connected with a thinning and final cutting, skidding and secondary timber transport in relations to different types of felling.

Forest inventory: Peter T. Johnson Wildlife Mitigation Unit, Craig Mountain, Idaho. Final Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Narolski, Steven W.

The primary objective of this report is to determine the quantity and quality of existing forest habitat types on the 59,991-acre Peter T. Johnson Wildlife Mitigation Unit (WMU). Products from this effort include a description of the ecological condition, a map of habitat types, and an inventory of forest resources on the WMU lands. The purpose of this and other resource inventories (plant and wildlife) is to assess the current resources condition of the WMU and to provide necessary information to generate a long-term management for this area.

Forests, Wildlife, and Habitat Management: A critical examination of practice and need

Treesearch

Joseph S. Larson

1967-01-01

The history of the relationship between man and wildlife in the United States includes several stages, starting with the American Indian tribes, running through the conquest of the land by white man, and ending with man's attempt to protect, husband, and finally manage wildlife populations. When it was realized around the beginning of the 20th century that many...

Slash disposal and seedbed preparation by tractor

Treesearch

Donald T. Gordon

1956-01-01

Creating ground conditions favorable to regeneration immediately after the final harvest cutting is basic to forest management wherever advance growth is deficient. Ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa Laws) and Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) seeds require bare mineral soil for satisfactory germination. Pine seedlings,...

Forest edges: Effects on vegetation, environmental gradients and local avian communities in the Sierra Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burcsu, Theresa Katherine

Edge effects are among the most serious threats to forest integrity because as global forest cover decreases overall, forest edge influence increases proportionally, driving habitat change and loss. Edge effects occur at the division between adjacent habitat types. Our understanding of edge effects comes mainly from tropical wet, temperate and boreal forests. Because forest structure in moisture-limited forests differs from wetter forest types, edge dynamics are likely to differ as well. Moreover, dry forests in the tropics have been nearly eliminated or exist only as forest fragments, making edge influence an important conservation and management concern for remaining dry forests. This study addresses this gap in the edge influence knowledge by examining created, regenerating edges associated with forest management in a seasonally dry pine-oak forest of Oaxaca, creating a new data point in edge effects research. In this study I used Landsat TM imagery and a modified semivariance analysis to estimate the distance of edge influence for vegetation. I also used field methods to characterize forest structure and estimate edge influence on canopy and subcanopy vegetation. To finalize the project I extended the study to bird assemblages to identify responses and habitat preferences to local-scale changes associated with regenerating edges created by group-selection timber harvest. Remote sensing analysis estimated that the distance of edge influence was 30-90 m from the edge. Vegetation analysis suggested that edge effects were weak relative to wetter forest types and that remote sensing data did not provide an estimate that was directly applicable to field-measured vegetative edge effects. The bird assemblages likewise responded weakly to habitat change associated with edge effect. Open canopy structure, simple vertical stratigraphy, and topographic variation create forest conditions in which small openings do not create a high contrast to undisturbed forest. Thus, in this seasonally dry, open forest, vegetation and bird communities respond less to small openings than they do in wetter, more closed-canopy forests. Management practices and historical land-use interact and interfere with the detectability of edge influence in our study area. These results support hypotheses proposed for open forest types and suggest that patterns in edge influence in wet forest types may not be applicable to dry sites.

75 FR 2540 - Environmental Impacts Statements; Notice of Availability

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-15

... Recreation Area, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Clark County, NV, Wait Period Ends: 02/16/2010, Contact.... 20090437, Final EIS, USACE, NC, Western Wake Regional Wastewater Management Facilities, Proposed... of Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville, Research Triangle Park, Wake County, NC, Wait Period...

The Role Of Management Of The Field-Forest Boundary In Poland's Process Of Agricultural Restructuring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woch, Franciszek; Borek, Robert

2015-01-01

The aim of the work described here has been to point to the relationships between the field-forest boundary and crop productivity as regards the present agrarian land-use structure in Poland, and to provide new opportunities for arranging the agrarian process and the spatial planning of the rural landscape in the context of the sustainable shaping of the field-forest boundary. Impacts of forests and woodlands on crop productivity have been assessed using available data from relevant Polish literature. An assessment of the plot-distribution pattern characterising farms in Poland was made on the basis of reference data from the Agency for the Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture. Finally, the possibility of afforestation of agricultural land has been evaluated within the existing legal framework, and on the basis of available data, with attention paid to the need to include organization of the field-forest boundary within the comprehensive management and planning of rural areas, and to preserve woody elements in patchy landscapes. This all creates an opportunity to test innovative approaches to integrated land use which combines the creation of public goods and local products based on participatory learning processes that bring in local stakeholders and decision-makers.

Final Environmental Assessment for Munitions Storage Area at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-08-01

Existing Conditions LAND USE Land uses on Langley AFB are grouped by function in distinct geographic areas. For example, aircraft operations and...1998a) is used to coordinate natural resource management. Langley’s Urban Forest Inventory Review and Management Plan (Davey Resource Group 1997...following data to develop noise contours: aircraft types, runway utilization patterns, engine power settings, airspeeds, altitude profiles , flight track

Final Environmental Assessment: Evaluation of Prescribed Burning for Ecological Restoration and Forest Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

north. Most of the birds winter in western parts of the state, particularly at Reelfoot Lake , and at Dale Hollow Reservoir. However, bald eagles may...Units Final Environmental Assessment d Tims Ford Lake Crumpton Creek Sinking Pond Retention Reservoir ormandy Lake Woods Reservoir P:\\ARNOLDAFB...occur in long narrow areas on first bottoms along streams (USDA SCS, 1949). 3.3.3 Hydrology Hydrological features consist of surface waters ( lakes

Forest disturbances, deforestation and timber harvest patterns in the Conterminous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boschetti, L.; Huo, L. Z.

2016-12-01

Current estimates of carbon-equivalent emissions report the contribution of deforestation as 12% of total anthropogenic carbon emissions (van der Werf et al., 2009), but accurate monitoring of forest carbon balance should discriminate between land use change related to forest natural disturbances, forest management and deforestation. The total change in forest cover (Gross Forest Cover Loss, GFCL) needs to be characterized based on the cause (natural/human) and on the outcome of the change (regeneration to forest/transition to non-forest)(Kurtz et al, 2010). We developed a multitemporal, object-oriented methodology to classify GFCL as either (a) deforestation, (b) fire and insect disturbances (c) forest management practices. The Landsat-derived University of Maryland Global Forest Change product (Hansen, 2013) is used to identify all the areas forest cover loss: those areas are subsequently converted to objects, and used to extract temporal profiles of spectral reflectances and spectral indices from the Landsat WELD dataset. Finally, the temporal profiles and descriptive parameters of shapes, textures, and spatial relationships of the objects are used in a rule-based classifier to identify the type of disturbance. To pathfind a global disturbance type classification, the methods are demonstrated by wall-to-wall classification of the forest cover loss in the conterminous United States for the 2002-2011 period. The results show that deforestation accounts for a small percentage (approximately 2%) of the GFCL in the CONUS, and are in agreement with the known patterns of logging activity, fire and insect damage. The time series of timber harvest clearcut is also in agreement with the national timber extraction statistics, showing reduced harvesting following the 2008 economic crisis. The results also highlight the different management practices on private and public lands: 36% of the US forests are publicly owned (federal, state and local institutions) but account only for 12% of the clearcuts, whereas private lands (64% of the total) account for 88% of the clearcut area. Conversely, stand replacing fire and insect disturbances affect primarily public lands (85% versus 15% on private lands).

Conversion from forests to pastures in the Colombian Amazon leads to differences in dead wood dynamics depending on land management practices.

PubMed

Navarrete, Diego; Sitch, Stephen; Aragão, Luiz E O C; Pedroni, Lucio; Duque, Alvaro

2016-04-15

Dead wood, composed of coarse standing and fallen woody debris (CWD), is an important carbon (C) pool in tropical forests and its accounting is needed to reduce uncertainties within the strategies to mitigate climate change by reducing deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). To date, information on CWD stocks in tropical forests is scarce and effects of land-cover conversion and land management practices on CWD dynamics remain largely unexplored. Here we present estimates on CWD stocks in primary forests in the Colombian Amazon and their dynamics along 20 years of forest-to-pasture conversion in two sub-regions with different management practices during pasture establishment: high-grazing intensity (HG) and low-grazing intensity (LG) sub-regions. Two 20-year-old chronosequences describing the forest-to-pasture conversion were identified in both sub-regions. The line-intersect and the plot-based methods were used to estimate fallen and standing CWD stocks, respectively. Total necromass in primary forests was similar between both sub-regions (35.6 ± 5.8 Mg ha(-1) in HG and 37.0 ± 7.4 Mg ha(-1) in LG). An increase of ∼124% in CWD stocks followed by a reduction to values close to those at the intact forests were registered after slash-and-burn practice was implemented in both sub-regions during the first two years of forest-to-pasture conversion. Implementation of machinery after using fire in HG pastures led to a reduction of 82% in CWD stocks during the second and fifth years of pasture establishment, compared to a decrease of 41% during the same period in LG where mechanization is not implemented. Finally, average necromass 20 years after forest-to-pasture conversion decreased to 3.5 ± 1.4 Mg ha(-1) in HG and 9.3 ± 3.5 Mg ha(-1) in LG, representing a total reduction of between 90% and 75% in each sub-region, respectively. These results highlight the importance of low-grazing intensity management practices during ranching activities in the Colombian Amazon to reduce C emissions associated with land-cover change from forest to pasture. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 27982 - Fremont and Winema Resource Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-19

... management projects for funding in FY 2011, under the provisions of Title II of the Secure Rural Schools and...: The agenda will include a review of FY 2011 Title II project proposals submitted by the Forest Service, the public, non-profits and other agencies, presentations by project proponents, and final...

78 FR 40497 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-05

...In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA); the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended; and the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 (CEQA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the United States Forest Service (USFS), and the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD), a California State agency, have prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Casa Diablo IV Geothermal Development Project near the town of Mammoth Lakes in Mono County, California, and by this notice are announcing its availability.

Adapting natural resource management to climate change: The South Central Oregon and Northern Rockies Adaptation Partnerships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halofsky, J.; Peterson, D. L.

2015-12-01

Concrete ways to adapt to climate change are needed to help natural resource managers take the first steps to incorporate climate change into management and take advantage of opportunities to balance the negative effects of climate change. We recently initiated two science-management climate change adaptation partnerships, one with three national forests and one national park in south central Oregon, and the other with 16 national forests, three national parks and other stakeholders in the northern Rockies region. Goals of both partnerships were to: (1) synthesize published information and data to assess the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of key resource areas, including water use, infrastructure, fisheries, and vegetation and disturbance; (2) develop science-based adaptation strategies and tactics that will help to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and assist the transition of biological systems and management to a warmer climate; (3) ensure adaptation strategies and tactics are incorporated into relevant planning documents; and (4) foster an enduring partnership to facilitate ongoing dialogue and activities related to climate change in the partnerships regions. After an initial vulnerability assessment by agency and university scientists and local resource specialists, adaptation strategies and tactics were developed in a series of scientist-manager workshops. The final vulnerability assessments and adaptation actions are incorporated in technical reports. The partnerships produced concrete adaptation options for national forest and other natural resource managers and illustrated the utility of place-based vulnerability assessments and scientist-manager workshops in adapting to climate change.

Development of a Method for Selecting Optimum Sites for the Automatic Mountain Meteorology Observation Station (AMOS) to Improve Predictability of Forest Fires in Inaccessible Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, S.; Won, M.; Jang, K.; Lim, J.

2016-12-01

As there has been a recent increase in the case of forest fires in North Korea descending southward through the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ), ensuring proper response to such events has been a challenge. Therefore, in order to respond and manage these forest fires appropriately, an improvement in the forest fire predictability through integration of mountain weather information observed at the most optimal site is necessary. This study is a proactive case in which a spatial analysis and an on-site assessment method were developed for selecting an optimum site for a mountain weather observation in national forest. For spatial analysis, the class 1 and 2 forest fire danger areas for the past 10 years, accessibility maximum 100m, Automatic Weather Station (AWS) redundancy within 2.5km, and mountain terrains higher than 200m were analyzed. A final overlay analysis was performed to select the candidates for the field assessment. The sites selected through spatial analysis were quantitatively evaluated based on the optimal meteorological environment, forest and hiking trail accessibility, AWS redundancy, and supply of wireless communication and solar powered electricity. The sites with total score of 70 and higher were accepted as adequate. At the final selected sites, an AMOS was established, and integration of mountain and Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) weather data improved the forest fire predictability in South Korea by 10%. Given these study results, we expect that establishing an automatic mountain meteorology observation station at the optimal sites in inaccessible area and integrating mountain weather data will improve the predictability of forest fires.

Effects of forest management on California Spotted Owls: implications for reducing wildfire risk in fire‐prone forests.

PubMed

Tempel, Douglas J; Gutiérrez, R J; Whitmore, Sheila A; Reetz, Matthew J; Stoelting, Ricka E; Berigan, William J; Seamans, Mark E; Zachariah Peery, M

Management of many North American forests is challenged by the need to balance the potentially competing objectives of reducing risks posed by high-severity wildfires and protecting threatened species. In the Sierra Nevada, California, concern about high-severity fires has increased in recent decades but uncertainty exists over the effects of fuel-reduction treatments on species associated with older forests, such as the California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis). Here, we assessed the effects of forest conditions, fuel reductions, and wildfire on a declining population of Spotted Owls in the central Sierra Nevada using 20 years of demographic data collected at 74 Spotted Owl territories. Adult survival and territory colonization probabilities were relatively high, while territory extinction probability was relatively low, especially in territories that had relatively large amounts of high canopy cover (≥70%) forest. Reproduction was negatively associated with the area of medium-intensity timber harvests characteristic of proposed fuel treatments. Our results also suggested that the amount of edge between older forests and shrub/sapling vegetation and increased habitat heterogeneity may positively influence demographic rates of Spotted Owls. Finally, high-severity fire negatively influenced the probability of territory colonization. Despite correlations between owl demographic rates and several habitat variables, life stage simulation (sensitivity) analyses indicated that the amount of forest with high canopy cover was the primary driver of population growth and equilibrium occupancy at the scale of individual territories. Greater than 90% of medium-intensity harvests converted high-canopy-cover forests into lower-canopy-cover vegetation classes, suggesting that landscape-scale fuel treatments in such stands could have short-term negative impacts on populations of California Spotted Owls. Moreover, high-canopy-cover forests declined by an average of 7.4% across territories during our study, suggesting that habitat loss could have contributed to declines in abundance and territory occupancy. We recommend that managers consider the existing amount and spatial distribution of high-canopy forest before implementing fuel treatments within an owl territory, and that treatments be accompanied by a rigorous monitoring program.

25 CFR 163.11 - Forest management planning and sustained yield management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... GENERAL FORESTRY REGULATIONS Forest Management and Operations § 163.11 Forest management planning and... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Forest management planning and sustained yield management... management planning for Indian forest land shall be carried out through participation in the development and...

Assessing the cocmpatibility of fuel treatments, wildfire risk, and conservation of Northern Spotted Owl habitats and populations in the eastern Cascades

EPA Science Inventory

Land managers are faced with conundrum when tasked with maintaining populations of threatened Northern Spotted Owl (NSO; Strix occidentalis caurina) while reducing wildfire risk in dry, fire-prone forests of the inland northwest. The USDI Fish and Wildlife Service Final Recovery...

76 FR 64318 - Multilayered Wood Flooring From the People's Republic of China: Final Determination of Sales at...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-18

... Parity (``Petitioner''), Style Limited, Shanghai Lizhong Wood Products Co., Ltd/The Lizhong Wood Industry... submitted case briefs on August 4, 2011. On August 9, 2011, Petitioner, Style Limited, Lumber Liquidators... Environment and Natural Resources, Forest Management Bureau (``FMB'')'s 2009 price data for lauan plywood...

New criteria for measuring range management activities.

Treesearch

T.M. Quigley; D.S. Dillard; J.B. [and others] Reese

1989-01-01

The USDA Forest Service national range program is currently evaluating its information needs at the national level A Range Measurement Task Group of Agency personnel was assembled in January 1988 to evaluate the information needs and recommend appropriate measures and reports. This document is the final recommendation of the task group. The recommendation includes...

76 FR 5194 - Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, Henry, Benton, Decatur, and Humphreys Counties, TN; Final...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-28

... plants, 303 species of birds, and 280 species of mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. We announce our... inventories for non-game mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. We will also consider... species. Alternative D will incorporate a comprehensive fire management program into forest habitat. Over...

Global patterns and determinants of forest canopy height.

PubMed

Tao, Shengli; Guo, Qinghua; Li, Chao; Wang, Zhiheng; Fang, Jingyun

2016-12-01

Forest canopy height is an important indicator of forest biomass, species diversity, and other ecosystem functions; however, the climatic determinants that underlie its global patterns have not been fully explored. Using satellite LiDAR-derived forest canopy heights and field measurements of the world's giant trees, combined with climate indices, we evaluated the global patterns and determinants of forest canopy height. The mean canopy height was highest in tropical regions, but tall forests (>50 m) occur at various latitudes. Water availability, quantified by the difference between annual precipitation and annual potential evapotranspiration (P-PET), was the best predictor of global forest canopy height, which supports the hydraulic limitation hypothesis. However, in striking contrast with previous studies, the canopy height exhibited a hump-shaped curve along a gradient of P-PET: it initially increased, then peaked at approximately 680 mm of P-PET, and finally declined, which suggests that excessive water supply negatively affects the canopy height. This trend held true across continents and forest types, and it was also validated using forest inventory data from China and the United States. Our findings provide new insights into the climatic controls of the world's giant trees and have important implications for forest management and improvement of forest growth models. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Synergy of agroforestry and bottomland hardwood afforestation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Twedt, D.J.; Portwood, J.; Clason, Terry R.

2003-01-01

Afforestation of bottomland hardwood forests has historically emphasized planting heavy-seeded tree species such as oak (Quercus spp.) and pecan (Caryaillinoensis) with little or no silvicultural management during stand development. Slow growth of these tree species, herbivory, competing vegetation, and limited seed dispersal, often result in restored sites that are slow to develop vertical vegetation structure and have limited tree diversity. Where soils and hydrology permit, agroforestry can provide transitional management that mitigates these historical limitations on converting cropland to forests. Planting short-rotation woody crops and intercropping using wide alleyways are two agroforestry practices that are well suited for transitional management. Weed control associated with agroforestry systems benefits planted trees by reducing competition. The resultant decrease in herbaceous cover suppresses small mammal populations and associated herbivory of trees and seeds. As a result, rapid vertical growth is possible that can 'train' under-planted, slower-growing, species and provide favorable environmental conditions for naturally invading trees. Finally, annual cropping of alleyways or rotational pulpwood harvest of woody crops provides income more rapidly than reliance on future revenue from traditional silviculture. Because of increased forest diversity, enhanced growth and development, and improved economic returns, we believe that using agroforestry as a transitional management strategy during afforestation provides greater benefits to landowners and to the environment than does traditional bottomland hardwood afforestation.

Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project: the experiment

Treesearch

Steven L. Sheriff

2002-01-01

Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP) is a unique experiment to learn about the impacts of management practices on a forest system. Three forest management practices (uneven-aged management, even-aged management, and no-harvest management) as practiced by the Missouri Department of Conservation were randomly assigned to nine forest management sites using a...

Seeing the future impacts of climate change and forest management: a landscape visualization system for forest managers

Treesearch

Eric J. Gustafson; Melissa Lucash; Johannes Liem; Helen Jenny; Rob Scheller; Kelly Barrett; Brian R. Sturtevant

2016-01-01

Forest managers are increasingly considering how climate change may alter forests' capacity to provide ecosystem goods and services. But identifying potential climate change effects on forests is difficult because interactions among forest growth and mortality, climate change, management, and disturbances are complex and uncertain. Although forest landscape models...

Water, Forests, People: The Swedish Experience in Building Resilient Landscapes.

PubMed

Eriksson, Mats; Samuelson, Lotta; Jägrud, Linnéa; Mattsson, Eskil; Celander, Thorsten; Malmer, Anders; Bengtsson, Klas; Johansson, Olof; Schaaf, Nicolai; Svending, Ola; Tengberg, Anna

2018-07-01

A growing world population and rapid expansion of cities increase the pressure on basic resources such as water, food and energy. To safeguard the provision of these resources, restoration and sustainable management of landscapes is pivotal, including sustainable forest and water management. Sustainable forest management includes forest conservation, restoration, forestry and agroforestry practices. Interlinkages between forests and water are fundamental to moderate water budgets, stabilize runoff, reduce erosion and improve biodiversity and water quality. Sweden has gained substantial experience in sustainable forest management in the past century. Through significant restoration efforts, a largely depleted Swedish forest has transformed into a well-managed production forest within a century, leading to sustainable economic growth through the provision of forest products. More recently, ecosystem services are also included in management decisions. Such a transformation depends on broad stakeholder dialog, combined with an enabling institutional and policy environment. Based on seminars and workshops with a wide range of key stakeholders managing Sweden's forests and waters, this article draws lessons from the history of forest management in Sweden. These lessons are particularly relevant for countries in the Global South that currently experience similar challenges in forest and landscape management. The authors argue that an integrated landscape approach involving a broad array of sectors and stakeholders is needed to achieve sustainable forest and water management. Sustainable landscape management-integrating water, agriculture and forests-is imperative to achieving resilient socio-economic systems and landscapes.

Contributions of a global network of tree diversity experiments to sustainable forest plantations.

PubMed

Verheyen, Kris; Vanhellemont, Margot; Auge, Harald; Baeten, Lander; Baraloto, Christopher; Barsoum, Nadia; Bilodeau-Gauthier, Simon; Bruelheide, Helge; Castagneyrol, Bastien; Godbold, Douglas; Haase, Josephine; Hector, Andy; Jactel, Hervé; Koricheva, Julia; Loreau, Michel; Mereu, Simone; Messier, Christian; Muys, Bart; Nolet, Philippe; Paquette, Alain; Parker, John; Perring, Mike; Ponette, Quentin; Potvin, Catherine; Reich, Peter; Smith, Andy; Weih, Martin; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael

2016-02-01

The area of forest plantations is increasing worldwide helping to meet timber demand and protect natural forests. However, with global change, monospecific plantations are increasingly vulnerable to abiotic and biotic disturbances. As an adaption measure we need to move to plantations that are more diverse in genotypes, species, and structure, with a design underpinned by science. TreeDivNet, a global network of tree diversity experiments, responds to this need by assessing the advantages and disadvantages of mixed species plantations. The network currently consists of 18 experiments, distributed over 36 sites and five ecoregions. With plantations 1-15 years old, TreeDivNet can already provide relevant data for forest policy and management. In this paper, we highlight some early results on the carbon sequestration and pest resistance potential of more diverse plantations. Finally, suggestions are made for new, innovative experiments in understudied regions to complement the existing network.

Adapting Natural Resource Management to Climate Change: The Blue Mountains and Northern Rockies Adaptation Partnerships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halofsky, J.; Peterson, D. L.

2014-12-01

Concrete ways to adapt to climate change are needed to help natural resource managers take the first steps to incorporate climate change into management and take advantage of opportunities to balance the negative effects of climate change. We recently initiated two science-management climate change adaptation partnerships, one with three national forests and other key stakeholders in the Blue Mountains region of northeastern Oregon, and the other with 16 national forests, three national parks and other stakeholders in the northern Rockies region. Goals of both partnerships were to: (1) synthesize published information and data to assess the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of key resource areas, including water use, infrastructure, fisheries, and vegetation and disturbance; (2) develop science-based adaptation strategies and tactics that will help to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and assist the transition of biological systems and management to a warmer climate; (3) ensure adaptation strategies and tactics are incorporated into relevant planning documents; and (4) foster an enduring partnership to facilitate ongoing dialogue and activities related to climate change in the partnerships regions. After an initial vulnerability assessment by agency and university scientists and local resource specialists, adaptation strategies and tactics were developed in a series of scientist-manager workshops. The final vulnerability assessments and adaptation actions are incorporated in technical reports. The partnerships produced concrete adaptation options for national forest and other natural resource managers and illustrated the utility of place-based vulnerability assessments and scientist-manager workshops in adapting to climate change.

Forest Insect Pest Management and Forest Management in China: An Overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Lanzhu; Wang, Zhen; Wang, Xiaowei; An, Linli

2011-12-01

According to the Seventh National Forest Inventory (2004-2008), China's forests cover an area of 195.45 million ha, or 20.36% of the total land area. China has the most rapidly increasing forest resources in the world. However, China is also a country with serious forest pest problems. There are more than 8,000 species of potential forest pests in China, including insects, plant diseases, rodents and lagomorphs, and hazardous plants. Among them, 300 species are considered as economically or ecologically important, and half of these are serious pests, including 86 species of insects. Forest management and utilization have a considerable influence on the stability and sustainability of forest ecosystems. At the national level, forestry policies always play a major role in forest resource management and forest health protection. In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of both achievements and challenges in forest management and insect pest control in China. First, we summarize the current status of forest resources and their pests in China. Second, we address the theories, policies, practices and major national actions on forestry and forest insect pest management, including the Engineering Pest Management of China, the National Key Forestry Programs, the Classified Forest Management system, and the Collective Forest Tenure Reform. We analyze and discuss three representative plantations— Eucalyptus, poplar and Masson pine plantations—with respect to their insect diversity, pest problems and pest management measures.

Forest insect pest management and forest management in China: an overview.

PubMed

Ji, Lanzhu; Wang, Zhen; Wang, Xiaowei; An, Linli

2011-12-01

According to the Seventh National Forest Inventory (2004-2008), China's forests cover an area of 195.45 million ha, or 20.36% of the total land area. China has the most rapidly increasing forest resources in the world. However, China is also a country with serious forest pest problems. There are more than 8,000 species of potential forest pests in China, including insects, plant diseases, rodents and lagomorphs, and hazardous plants. Among them, 300 species are considered as economically or ecologically important, and half of these are serious pests, including 86 species of insects. Forest management and utilization have a considerable influence on the stability and sustainability of forest ecosystems. At the national level, forestry policies always play a major role in forest resource management and forest health protection. In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of both achievements and challenges in forest management and insect pest control in China. First, we summarize the current status of forest resources and their pests in China. Second, we address the theories, policies, practices and major national actions on forestry and forest insect pest management, including the Engineering Pest Management of China, the National Key Forestry Programs, the Classified Forest Management system, and the Collective Forest Tenure Reform. We analyze and discuss three representative plantations-Eucalyptus, poplar and Masson pine plantations-with respect to their insect diversity, pest problems and pest management measures.

Forest Management as an Element of Environment Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaszczak, Roman; Gołojuch, Piotr; Wajchman-Świtalska, Sandra; Miotke, Mariusz

2017-12-01

The implementation of goals of modern forestry requires a simultaneous consideration of sustainable development of forests, protection, needs of the environment development, as well as maintaining a balance between functions of forests. In the current multifunctional forest model, rational forest management assumes all of its tasks as equally important. Moreover, its effects are important factors in the nature and environment protection. The paper presents legal conditions related to the definitions of forest management concepts and sustainable forest management. Authors present a historical outline of human's impact on the forest and its consequences for the environment. The selected aspects of forest management (eg. forest utilization, afforestation, tourism and recreation) and their role in the forest environment have been discussed.

Whiskey springs long-term coast redwood density management; final growth, sprout, and yield results

Treesearch

Lynn A. Webb; James L. Lindquist; Erik Wahl; Andrew Hubb

2012-01-01

Multi-decadal studies of commercial and precommercial thinning in redwood stands are rare and consequently of value. The Whiskey Springs study at Jackson Demonstration State Forest has a data set spanning 35 years. In addition to growth and yield response to commercial thinning, the results provide important information for evaluating regeneration and...

76 FR 31979 - Notice of Interim Final Supplementary Rules for Public Lands Managed by the Ukiah Field Office in...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-02

... parts, soil, rocks, minerals, or cave resources within the following ACECs: Lost Valley--40 acres (Cow... Creek, Cow Mountain, Knoxville, Geysers, Indian Valley, Black Forest, the Cedars of Sonoma County and... hour after sunset except for long-term parking for overnight backcountry visitors. Cow Mountain...

Looking back to move forward: collaborative planning to revise the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests land and resource management plans

Treesearch

Michael J. Dockry

2015-01-01

The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (Forest Service) manages 154 national forests and 20 grasslands in 44 states and Puerto Rico. National Forest Land and Resource Management Plans (forest plans) form the basis for land and resource management of national forests in the United States. For more than a decade the Forest Service has been attempting...

25 CFR 163.25 - Forest management deductions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Forest management deductions. 163.25 Section 163.25... Forest Management and Operations § 163.25 Forest management deductions. (a) Pursuant to the provisions of 25 U.S.C. 413 and 25 U.S.C. 3105, a forest management deduction shall be withheld from the gross...

25 CFR 163.25 - Forest management deductions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Forest management deductions. 163.25 Section 163.25... Forest Management and Operations § 163.25 Forest management deductions. (a) Pursuant to the provisions of 25 U.S.C. 413 and 25 U.S.C. 3105, a forest management deduction shall be withheld from the gross...

Susceptibility of eastern U.S. habitats to invasion of Celastrus orbiculatus (oriental bittersweet) following fire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leicht-Young, Stacey A.; Pavlovic, Noel B.; Grundel, Ralph

2013-01-01

Fire effects on invasive species are an important land management issue in areas subjected to prescribed fires as well as wildfires. These effects on invasive species can be manifested across life stages. The liana Celastrus orbiculatus (oriental bittersweet) is a widespread invader of eastern US habitats including those where fire management is in practice. This study examined if prescribed fire makes these habitats more susceptible to invasion of C. orbiculatus by seed at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Four treatments (control, litter removed, high and low intensity fire) were applied in six habitat types (sand savanna/woodland, sand prairie, moraine prairie, sand oak forest, beech-maple forest, and oak-hickory forest) and germinating seedlings were tracked over two growing seasons. Treatment did not have a significant effect on the germination, survival, or biomass of C. orbiculatus. However, habitat type did influence these responses mostly in the first growing season. Moraine prairie, beech-maple forest, and oak-hickory forests had the greatest peak percentage of germinants. Moraine prairie had significantly greater survival than oak forest and savanna habitats. Control plots with intact litter, and the moraine prairie habitat had the tallest seedlings at germination, while tallest final heights and greatest aboveground biomass were highest in oak forest. Thus, fire and litter removal did not increase the susceptibility of these habitats to germination and survival of C. orbiculatus. These results indicate that most eastern US habitats are vulnerable to invasion by this species via seed regardless of the level or type of disturbance to the litter layer.

Adopting public values and climate change adaptation strategies in urban forest management: A review and analysis of the relevant literature.

PubMed

Ordóñez Barona, Camilo

2015-12-01

Urban trees are a dominant natural element in cities; they provide important ecosystem services to urban citizens and help urban areas adapt to climate change. Many rationales have been proposed to provide a purpose for urban forest management, some of which have been ineffective in addressing important ecological and social management themes. Among these rationales we find a values-based perspective, which sees management as a process where the desires of urban dwellers are met. Another perspective is climate change adaptation, which sees management as a process where urban forest vulnerability to climate change is reduced and resilience enhanced. Both these rationales have the advantage of complementing, enhancing, and broadening urban forest management objectives. A critical analysis of the literature on public values related to urban forests and climate change adaptation in the context of urban forests is undertaken to discuss what it means to adopt these two issues in urban forest management. The analysis suggests that by seeing urban forest management as a process by which public values are satisfied and urban-forest vulnerabilities to climate change are reduced, we can place issues such as naturalization, adaptive management, and engaging people in management at the centre of urban forest management. Focusing urban forest management on these issues may help ensure the success of programs focused on planting more trees and increasing citizen participation in urban forest management. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impacts of forest and land management on biodiversity and carbon

Treesearch

Valerie Kapos; Werner A. Kurz; Toby Gardner; Joice Ferreira; Manuel Guariguata; Lian Pin Koh; Stephanie Mansourian; John A. Parrotta; Nokea Sasaki; Christine B. Schmitt; Jos Barlow; Markku Kanninen; Kimiko Okabe; Yude Pan; Ian D. Thompson; Nathalie van Vliet

2012-01-01

Changes in the management of forest and non-forest land can contribute significantly to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Such changes can include both forest management actions - such as improving the protection and restoration of existing forests, introducing ecologically responsible logging practices and regenerating forest on degraded...

[A review on fundamental studies of secondary forest management].

PubMed

Zhu, Jiaojun

2002-12-01

Secondary forest is also called as natural secondary forest, which regenerates on native forest that has been disturbed by severe natural or anthropogenic disturbances. The structural and dynamic organizations, growth, productivity and stand environment of secondary forests are significantly different from those of natural and artificial forests. Such significant differences make secondary forests have their own special characteristics in forestry. Secondary forests are the main body of forests in China. Therefore, their management plays a very important role in the projects of natural forest conservation and the construction of ecological environment in China or in the world. Based on a wide range of literature collection on secondary forest research, the fundamental studies of secondary forest management were discussed. The major topics are as follows: 1) basic characteristics of secondary forest, 2) principles of secondary forest management, 3) types of secondary forest, 4) community structure and succession dynamics of secondary forest, including niches, biodiversity, succession and so on, 5) main ecological processes of secondary forest, including regeneration, forest soil and forest environment. Additionally, the research needs and tendency related to secondary forest in the future were also given, based on the analyses of the main results and the problems in current management of secondary forest. The review may be helpful to the research of secondary forest management, and to the projects of natural forest conservation in China.

Simulating post-wildfire forest trajectories under alternative climate and management scenarios

Treesearch

Alicia Azpeleta Tarancon; Peter Z. Fule; Kristen L. Shive; Carolyn H. Sieg; Andrew Sanchez Meador; Barbara Strom

2014-01-01

Post-fire predictions of forest recovery under future climate change and management actions are necessary for forest managers to make decisions about treatments. We applied the Climate-Forest Vegetation Simulator (Climate-FVS), a new version of a widely used forest management model, to compare alternative climate and management scenarios in a severely burned...

Using soil quality indicators for monitoring sustainable forest management

Treesearch

James A. Burger; Garland Gray; D. Andrew Scott

2010-01-01

Most private and public forest land owners and managers are compelled to manage their forests sustainably, which means management that is economically viable,environmentally sound, and socially acceptable. To meet this mandate, the USDA Forest Service protects the productivity of our nation’s forest soils by monitoring and evaluating management activities to ensure...

Small mammals in managed, naturally young, and old-growth forests.

Treesearch

A.B. Carey; M.L. Johnson

1995-01-01

Forest managers in the Pacific Northwest are faced with new challenges of providing for all wildlife in managed forests. Our objective was to elucidate the factors governing the composition and biomass of forest floor mammal communities that are amenable to management. We sampled small mammal communities in forests of various management histories on the Olympic...

Forest management in Northeast China: history, problems, and challenges.

PubMed

Yu, Dapao; Zhou, Li; Zhou, Wangming; Ding, Hong; Wang, Qingwei; Wang, Yue; Wu, Xiaoqing; Dai, Limin

2011-12-01

Studies of the history and current status of forest resources in Northeast China have become important in discussions of sustainable forest management in the region. Prior to 1998, excessive logging and neglected cultivation led to a series of problems that left exploitable forest reserves in the region almost exhausted. A substantial decrease in the area of natural forests was accompanied by severe disruption of stand structure and serious degradation of overall forest quality and function. In 1998, China shifted the primary focus of forest management in the country from wood production to ecological sustainability, adopting ecological restoration and protection as key foci of management. In the process, China launched the Natural Forest Conversion Program and implemented a new system of Classification-based Forest Management. Since then, timber harvesting levels in Northeast China have decreased, and forest area and stocking levels have slowly increased. At present, the large area of low quality secondary forest lands, along with high levels of timber production, present researchers and government agencies in China with major challenges in deciding on management models and strategies that will best protect, restore and manage so large an area of secondary forest lands. This paper synthesizes information from a number of sources on forest area, stand characteristics and stocking levels, and forest policy changes in Northeastern China. Following a brief historical overview of forest harvesting and ecological research in Northeast China, the paper discusses the current state of forest resources and related problems in forest management in the region, concluding with key challenges in need of attention in order to meet the demands for multi-purpose forest sustainability and management in the future.

Forest Management

Treesearch

S. Hummel; K. L. O' Hara

2008-01-01

Global variation in forests and in human cultures means that a single method for managing forests is not possible. However, forest management everywhere shares some common principles because it is rooted in physical and biological sciences like chemistry and genetics. Ecological forest management is an approach that combines an understanding of universal processes with...

Improved agriculture and forest management in Africa through the AGRICAB project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bydekerke, L.; Tote, C.; Jacobs, T.; Gilliams, S.

2012-04-01

Agriculture and forestry are key economic sectors in many African countries. A sound management of these resources, in order to ensure stable food supply, is key for development. In many countries in Africa both forest and agricultural resources are under stress due to, among others, a growing population, land reforms, climate variability and change. Sound information is required to efficiently manage these resources. Remote sensing contributes significantly to these information needs and for this reason more and more institutes and agencies integrate this technology into their daily work. In this context, there is a growing need for enhancing remote sensing capacity in Africa and for this reason the European Commission launched the AGRICAB Project, funded by the FP7 Programme. The main focus of AGRICAB 'A Framework for enhancing earth observation capacity for agriculture and forest management in Africa as a contribution to GEOSS', is to link European and African research capacity in the use of earth observation technology for agriculture and forestry. The project consortium consists of 17 partners located in 12 different countries (5 in Europe, 10 in Africa and 1 in South America) and has three main components. Firstly, AGRICAB aims to ensure satellite data access, partly through GEONETCast. Secondly, AGRICAB will enhance research capacity through partnerships between African and European institutes in the following thematic areas (a) yield forecasting, (b) early warning and agricultural mapping of food crops, (c) agricultural statistics, (d) livestock and rangeland monitoring, and (e) forest and forest fire monitoring. Thirdly, a significant part is dedicated to training and building awareness concerning the advantage and benefits of the use of remote sensing in forest and agricultural management. AGRICAB intends to allow African partners: (i) to get exposed to state-of-the art techniques and models for agricultural and forest monitoring, (ii) to discover these techniques and models through workshops and dedicated training, (iii) to gain experience in the application of these techniques and models on the local conditions in various use cases, and finally, (iv) to adapt appropriate models for integration in the local operational workflows. Through use cases, located in Northern Africa, Senegal, Kenya, Mozambique and South-Africa, methodologies will be adapted to local conditions and demonstrated in different agro-meteorological conditions.

Diagnostic laryngeal electromyography: The Wake Forest experience 1995-1999.

PubMed

Koufman, J A; Postma, G N; Whang, C S; Rees, C J; Amin, M R; Belafsky, P C; Johnson, P E; Connolly, K M; Walker, F O

2001-06-01

Laryngeal electromyography (LEMG) is a valuable diagnostic/prognostic test for patients with suspected laryngeal neuromuscular disorders. To report our experience with diagnostic LEMG at the Center for Voice Disorders of Wake Forest University and to evaluate the impact of LEMG on clinical management. Retrospective chart review of 415 patients who underwent diagnostic LEMG over a 5-year period (1995-1999). Of 415 studies, 83% (346 of 415) were abnormal, indicating a neuropathic process. LEMG results altered the diagnostic evaluation (eg, the type of radiographic imaging) in 11% (46 of 415) of the patients. Unexpected LEMG findings (eg, contralateral neuropathy) were found in 26% (107 of 415) of the patients, and LEMG results differentiated vocal fold paralysis from fixation in 12% (49 of 415). Finally, LEMG results altered the clinical management (eg, changed the timing and/or type of surgical procedure) in 40% (166 of 415) of the patients. LEMG is a valuable diagnostic test that aids the clinician in the diagnosis and management of laryngeal neuromuscular disorders.

50 CFR 35.8 - Forest management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Forest management. 35.8 Section 35.8... NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM WILDERNESS PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT General Rules § 35.8 Forest management. Forest management activities in a wilderness unit will be directed toward allowing natural...

50 CFR 35.8 - Forest management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Forest management. 35.8 Section 35.8... NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM WILDERNESS PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT General Rules § 35.8 Forest management. Forest management activities in a wilderness unit will be directed toward allowing natural...

50 CFR 35.8 - Forest management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Forest management. 35.8 Section 35.8... NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM WILDERNESS PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT General Rules § 35.8 Forest management. Forest management activities in a wilderness unit will be directed toward allowing natural...

50 CFR 35.8 - Forest management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Forest management. 35.8 Section 35.8... NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM WILDERNESS PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT General Rules § 35.8 Forest management. Forest management activities in a wilderness unit will be directed toward allowing natural...

50 CFR 35.8 - Forest management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Forest management. 35.8 Section 35.8... NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM WILDERNESS PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT General Rules § 35.8 Forest management. Forest management activities in a wilderness unit will be directed toward allowing natural...

The Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project: the effects of forest management on the forest ecosystem

Treesearch

Brian Brookshire; Carl Hauser

1993-01-01

The effects of forest management on non-timber resources are of growing concern to forest managers and the public. While many previous studies have reported effects of stand-level treatments (less than 15 ha) on various stand-level attributes, few studies have attempted to document the influence of forest management on the biotic and abiotic characteristics of entire...

Monitoring and assessment of soil erosion at micro-scale and macro-scale in forests affected by fire damage in northern Iran.

PubMed

Akbarzadeh, Ali; Ghorbani-Dashtaki, Shoja; Naderi-Khorasgani, Mehdi; Kerry, Ruth; Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, Ruhollah

2016-12-01

Understanding the occurrence of erosion processes at large scales is very difficult without studying them at small scales. In this study, soil erosion parameters were investigated at micro-scale and macro-scale in forests in northern Iran. Surface erosion and some vegetation attributes were measured at the watershed scale in 30 parcels of land which were separated into 15 fire-affected (burned) forests and 15 original (unburned) forests adjacent to the burned sites. The soil erodibility factor and splash erosion were also determined at the micro-plot scale within each burned and unburned site. Furthermore, soil sampling and infiltration studies were carried out at 80 other sites, as well as the 30 burned and unburned sites, (a total of 110 points) to create a map of the soil erodibility factor at the regional scale. Maps of topography, rainfall, and cover-management were also determined for the study area. The maps of erosion risk and erosion risk potential were finally prepared for the study area using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) procedure. Results indicated that destruction of the protective cover of forested areas by fire had significant effects on splash erosion and the soil erodibility factor at the micro-plot scale and also on surface erosion, erosion risk, and erosion risk potential at the watershed scale. Moreover, the results showed that correlation coefficients between different variables at the micro-plot and watershed scales were positive and significant. Finally, assessment and monitoring of the erosion maps at the regional scale showed that the central and western parts of the study area were more susceptible to erosion compared with the western regions due to more intense crop-management, greater soil erodibility, and more rainfall. The relationships between erosion parameters and the most important vegetation attributes were also used to provide models with equations that were specific to the study region. The results of this paper can be useful for better understanding erosion processes at the micro-scale and macro-scale in any region having similar vegetation attributes to the forests of northern Iran.

Ecological modeling for forest management in the Shawnee National Forest

Treesearch

Richard G. Thurau; J.F. Fralish; S. Hupe; B. Fitch; A.D. Carver

2008-01-01

Land managers of the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois are challenged to meet the needs of a diverse populace of stakeholders. By classifying National Forest holdings into management units, U.S. Forest Service personnel can spatially allocate resources and services to meet local management objectives. Ecological Classification Systems predict ecological site...

Rare Plants of the Redwood Forest and Forest Management Effects

Treesearch

Teresa Sholars; Clare Golec

2007-01-01

Coast redwood forests are predominantly a timber managed habitat type, subjected to repeated disturbances and short rotation periods. What does this repeated disturbance mean for rare plants associated with the redwood forests? Rare plant persistence through forest management activities is influenced by many factors. Persistence of rare plants in a managed landscape is...

A Special Issue of the Journal of Forestry—Tribal Forest Management: Innovations for Sustainable Forest Management

Treesearch

Michael J. Dockry; Serra J. Hoagland

2017-01-01

Native American forests and tribal forest management practices have sustained indigenous communities, economies, and resources for millennia. These systems provide a wealth of knowledge and successful applications of long-term environmental stewardship and integrated, sustainable forest management. Tribal forestry has received an increasing amount of attention from...

Timing and Planning for Hardwood Regeneration in the Coastal Plains

Treesearch

Robert L. Johnson

1971-01-01

Foresters generally do a good job of managing hardwood overstories; they upgrade the stand by deadening or cutting decadent and undesirable trees. But eventually they have to cut the overstory,and if they wait until after final harvesting to plan for reproduction, it is too late. Where the overstory has been removed and reproduction is unacceptable, as it is on many...

Forest Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weicherding, Patrick J.; And Others

This bulletin deals with forest management and provides an overview of forestry for the non-professional. The bulletin is divided into six sections: (1) What Is Forestry Management?; (2) How Is the Forest Measured?; (3) What Is Forest Protection?; (4) How Is the Forest Harvested?; (5) What Is Forest Regeneration?; and (6) What Is Forest…

75 FR 8645 - Public Meetings on the Development of the Forest Service Land Management Planning Rule

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-25

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Public Meetings on the Development of the Forest Service Land Management Planning Rule AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meetings. SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service is committed to developing a new Forest Service Land Management Planning Rule...

Cadastre (forest maps) and spatial land uses planning, strategic tool for sustainable development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drosos, Vasileios C.

2014-08-01

The rise in the living standards of the Greeks created, especially since 1970, along with other needs and the need for second or holiday home since 1990 after finding the first house on the outskirts of large urban centers. Trying to find land for the creation of new resorts or new type of permanent residences (maisonettes with or without garden, depending on the financial position of each) had the painful consequence of wasteful and uncontrolled use of land, without a program, without the fundamental rules of land planning and the final creation was usually unsightly buildings. The costs were to pay as usually the forest rural lands. The national spatial planning of land use requires that we know the existing land uses in this country, and based on that we can design and decide their land uses on the future in a rational way. On final practical level, this planning leads to mark the boundaries of specific areas of land that are permitted and may change uses. For this reason, one of the most valuable "tools" of that final marking the boundaries is also the forest maps. The paper aims the investigation to determine the modern views on the issues of Cadastre and Land Management with an ulterior view to placing the bases for creating a building plan of an immediate completion of forest maps. Sustainable development as a term denoting a policy of continued economic and social development that does not involve the destruction of the environment and natural resources, but rather guarantees their rational viability.

Forest Fuels Management in Europe

Treesearch

Gavriil Xanthopoulos; David Caballero; Miguel Galante; Daniel Alexandrian; Eric Rigolot; Raffaella Marzano

2006-01-01

Current fuel management practices vary considerably between European countries. Topography, forest and forest fuel characteristics, size and compartmentalization of forests, forest management practices, land uses, land ownership, size of properties, legislation, and, of course, tradition, are reasons for these differences.Firebreak construction,...

Effects of national forest-management regimes on unprotected forests of the Himalaya.

PubMed

Brandt, Jodi S; Allendorf, Teri; Radeloff, Volker; Brooks, Jeremy

2017-12-01

Globally, deforestation continues, and although protected areas effectively protect forests, the majority of forests are not in protected areas. Thus, how effective are different management regimes to avoid deforestation in non-protected forests? We sought to assess the effectiveness of different national forest-management regimes to safeguard forests outside protected areas. We compared 2000-2014 deforestation rates across the temperate forests of 5 countries in the Himalaya (Bhutan, Nepal, China, India, and Myanmar) of which 13% are protected. We reviewed the literature to characterize forest management regimes in each country and conducted a quasi-experimental analysis to measure differences in deforestation of unprotected forests among countries and states in India. Countries varied in both overarching forest-management goals and specific tenure arrangements and policies for unprotected forests, from policies emphasizing economic development to those focused on forest conservation. Deforestation rates differed up to 1.4% between countries, even after accounting for local determinants of deforestation, such as human population density, market access, and topography. The highest deforestation rates were associated with forest policies aimed at maximizing profits and unstable tenure regimes. Deforestation in national forest-management regimes that emphasized conservation and community management were relatively low. In India results were consistent with the national-level results. We interpreted our results in the context of the broader literature on decentralized, community-based natural resource management, and our findings emphasize that the type and quality of community-based forestry programs and the degree to which they are oriented toward sustainable use rather than economic development are important for forest protection. Our cross-national results are consistent with results from site- and regional-scale studies that show forest-management regimes that ensure stable land tenure and integrate local-livelihood benefits with forest conservation result in the best forest outcomes. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

A tool to analyze environmental impacts of roads on forest watersheds

Treesearch

Ajay Prasad

2007-01-01

The construction and use of forest roads can have impacts on geomorphic processes and erosion patterns in forested basins. Analyzing these impacts will help forest managers to effectively manage road and road drainage system and hence minimize the negative impacts of forest roads. To manage forest roads effectively the USDA Forest Service (USFS) has developed a road...

Updating beliefs and combining evidence in adaptive forest management under climate change: a case study of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) in the Black Forest, Germany.

PubMed

Yousefpour, Rasoul; Temperli, Christian; Bugmann, Harald; Elkin, Che; Hanewinkel, Marc; Meilby, Henrik; Jacobsen, Jette Bredahl; Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark

2013-06-15

We study climate uncertainty and how managers' beliefs about climate change develop and influence their decisions. We develop an approach for updating knowledge and beliefs based on the observation of forest and climate variables and illustrate its application for the adaptive management of an even-aged Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) forest in the Black Forest, Germany. We simulated forest development under a range of climate change scenarios and forest management alternatives. Our analysis used Bayesian updating and Dempster's rule of combination to simulate how observations of climate and forest variables may influence a decision maker's beliefs about climate development and thereby management decisions. While forest managers may be inclined to rely on observed forest variables to infer climate change and impacts, we found that observation of climate state, e.g. temperature or precipitation is superior for updating beliefs and supporting decision-making. However, with little conflict among information sources, the strongest evidence would be offered by a combination of at least two informative variables, e.g., temperature and precipitation. The success of adaptive forest management depends on when managers switch to forward-looking management schemes. Thus, robust climate adaptation policies may depend crucially on a better understanding of what factors influence managers' belief in climate change. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatio-temporal change in forest cover and carbon storage considering actual and potential forest cover in South Korea.

PubMed

Nam, Kijun; Lee, Woo-Kyun; Kim, Moonil; Kwak, Doo-Ahn; Byun, Woo-Hyuk; Yu, Hangnan; Kwak, Hanbin; Kwon, Taesung; Sung, Joohan; Chung, Dong-Jun; Lee, Seung-Ho

2015-07-01

This study analyzes change in carbon storage by applying forest growth models and final cutting age to actual and potential forest cover for six major tree species in South Korea. Using National Forest Inventory data, the growth models were developed to estimate mean diameter at breast height, tree height, and number of trees for Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, Pinus rigida, Larix kaempferi, Castanea crenata and Quercus spp. stands. We assumed that actual forest cover in a forest type map will change into potential forest covers according to the Hydrological and Thermal Analogy Groups model. When actual forest cover reaches the final cutting age, forest volume and carbon storage are estimated by changed forest cover and its growth model. Forest volume between 2010 and 2110 would increase from 126.73 to 157.33 m(3) hm(-2). Our results also show that forest cover, volume, and carbon storage could abruptly change by 2060. This is attributed to the fact that most forests are presumed to reach final cutting age. To avoid such dramatic change, a regeneration and yield control scheme should be prepared and implemented in a way that ensures balance in forest practice and yield.

The ecological sustainability of tropical forest management: evaluation of the national forest management standards of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with emphasis on the need for adaptive. management

Treesearch

Kathleen McGinleya; Bryan Fineganb

2003-01-01

From a conceptual point of view, national forest management standards in Latin American countries have progressed significantly in recent years.Examples include the Costa Rican Standards and Procedures for Sustainable Forest Management and Certification, developed by the National Commission for Forest Certification and in Nicaragua, the National Institute of Forestry...

The status of forest management research in the United States.

Treesearch

Donald G. Hodges; Pamela J. Jakes; Frederick W. Cubbage

1988-01-01

In 1985, the USDA Forest Service invested nearly $30 million in forest management research, forest industry invested $19 million, and universities invested at least $17 million. Investments in this research have been declining since then. Forest Service data indicate that the public sector is the largest beneficiary of forest management research.

36 CFR 221.3 - Disposal of national forest timber according to management plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Disposal of national forest timber according to management plans. 221.3 Section 221.3 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TIMBER MANAGEMENT PLANNING § 221.3 Disposal of national forest timber...

Forest structure and development: implications for forest management

Treesearch

Kevin L. O' Hara

2004-01-01

A general premise of forest managers is that modern silviculture should be based, in large part, on natural disturbance patterns and species' adaptations to these disturbances. An understanding of forest stand dynamics is therefore a prerequisite to sound forest management. This paper provides a brief overview of forest stand development, stand structures, and...

78 FR 56650 - Boundary Description and Final Map for Roaring Wild and Scenic River, Mount Hood National Forest...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-13

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Boundary Description and Final Map for Roaring Wild and... availability. SUMMARY: In accordance with section 3(b) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the USDA Forest Service, Washington Office, is transmitting the final boundary description and map of the Roaring Wild and...

Spatially quantifying and attributing 17 years of land cover change to examine post-agricultural forest transition in Hawai`i

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucas, M.; Trauernicht, C.; Carlson, K. M.; Miura, T.; Giambelluca, T. W.; Chen, Q.

2017-12-01

The past decades in Hawaii have seen large scale land use change and land cover shifts. However, much these dynamics are only described anecdotally or studied at a single locale, with little information on the extent, rate, or direction of change. This lack of data hinders any effort to assess, plan, and prioritize land management. To improve assessments of statewide vegetation and land cover change, this project developed high resolution, sub-pixel, percent cover maps of forest, grassland and bare earth at annual time steps from 1999 to 2016. Vegetation cover was quantified using archived LANDSAT imagery and a custom remote-sensing algorithm developed in the Google Earth Engine platform. A statistical trend analysis of annual maps of the these three proportional land covers were then used to detect land cover transitions across the archipelago. The aim of this work focused on quantifying the total area of change, annual rates of change and final vegetation cover outcomes statewide. Additionally these findings were attributed to past and current land uses and management history by compiling spatial datasets of development, agriculture, forest restoration sites and burned areas statewide. Results indicated that nearly 10% of the state's land surfaces are suspected to have transitioned between the three cover classes during the study period. Total statewide net change resulted in a gain in forest cover with largest areas of change occurring in unmanaged areas, current and past pastoral land, commercial forestry and abandoned cultivated land. The fastest annual rates of change were forest increases that occurred in restoration areas and commercial forestry. These findings indicate that Hawaii is going through a forest transition, primarily driven by agricultural abandonment with likely feedbacks from invasive species, but also influenced by the establishment of forestry production on former agricultural lands that show potential for native forest restoration. These results directly link land management history to land cover outcomes using an innovative approach to quantify change. It is also the first study to quantify forest transition dynamics in Hawaii and points to the need for similar assessments in post-agricultural landscapes on other oceanic islands.

76 FR 5397 - Bureau of Land Management

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-31

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service...; California AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior; and Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of public... Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Forest Service) Santa Rosa...

Pioneer forest - a half century of sustainable uneven-aged forest management in the Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

James M. Guldin; Greg F. Iffrig; Susan L. Flader

2008-01-01

This collection of papers analyzes the Pioneer Forest, a privately owned 150,000-acre working forest in the Missouri Ozarks, on which the science and art of forest management has been practiced for more than 50 years. The papers discuss how this half century of management has contributed to forest restoration and sustainability on the forest itself and, through its...

Individual tree crown delineation using localized contour tree method and airborne LiDAR data in coniferous forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Bin; Yu, Bailang; Wu, Qiusheng; Huang, Yan; Chen, Zuoqi; Wu, Jianping

2016-10-01

Individual tree crown delineation is of great importance for forest inventory and management. The increasing availability of high-resolution airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data makes it possible to delineate the crown structure of individual trees and deduce their geometric properties with high accuracy. In this study, we developed an automated segmentation method that is able to fully utilize high-resolution LiDAR data for detecting, extracting, and characterizing individual tree crowns with a multitude of geometric and topological properties. The proposed approach captures topological structure of forest and quantifies topological relationships of tree crowns by using a graph theory-based localized contour tree method, and finally segments individual tree crowns by analogy of recognizing hills from a topographic map. This approach consists of five key technical components: (1) derivation of canopy height model from airborne LiDAR data; (2) generation of contours based on the canopy height model; (3) extraction of hierarchical structures of tree crowns using the localized contour tree method; (4) delineation of individual tree crowns by segmenting hierarchical crown structure; and (5) calculation of geometric and topological properties of individual trees. We applied our new method to the Medicine Bow National Forest in the southwest of Laramie, Wyoming and the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest in the central portion of the Cascade Range of Oregon, U.S. The results reveal that the overall accuracy of individual tree crown delineation for the two study areas achieved 94.21% and 75.07%, respectively. Our method holds great potential for segmenting individual tree crowns under various forest conditions. Furthermore, the geometric and topological attributes derived from our method provide comprehensive and essential information for forest management.

U.S. National forests adapt to climate change through science-management partnerships

Treesearch

Jeremy S. Littell; David L. Peterson; Constance I. Millar; Kathy A. O' Halloran

2011-01-01

Developing appropriate management options for adapting to climate change is a new challenge for land managers, and integration of climate change concepts into operational management and planning on United States national forests is just starting. We established science-management partnerships on the Olympic National Forest (Washington) and Tahoe National Forest (...

Trends in management of the world's forests and impacts on carbon stocks

Treesearch

Richard Birdsey; Yude Pan

2015-01-01

Global forests are increasingly affected by land-use change, fragmentation, changing management objectives, and degradation. In this paper we broadly characterize trends in global forest area by intensity of management, and provide an overview of changes in global carbon stocks associated with managed forests. We discuss different interpretations of "management...

76 FR 30303 - Tongass National Forest; Alaska; Bell Island Geothermal Leases Supplemental Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-25

...The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Tongass National Forest will prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to a 2008 programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) titled Geothermal Leasing in the Western United States. This analysis is needed for consent determination to allow the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to issue three pending leases to a private geothermal developer. These leases encompass much of Bell Island and a portion of the Cleveland Peninsula on the adjacent mainland in the Alexander Archipelago of Southeast Alaska. The agency invites comments and suggestions on the scope of the analysis to be included in the draft SEIS. In addition, the agency gives notice of this environmental analysis and decision making process so that interested and affected people know how they may participate and contribute to the final decision.

An eco-efficient and economical optimum evaluation technique for the forest road networks: the case of the mountainous forest of Metsovo, Greece.

PubMed

Tampekis, Stergios; Samara, Fani; Sakellariou, Stavros; Sfougaris, Athanassios; Christopoulou, Olga

2018-02-12

The sustainable forest management can be achieved only through environmentally sound and economically efficient and feasible forest road networks and transportation systems that can potentially improve the multi-functional use of forest resources. However, road network planning and construction suggest long-term finance that require a capital investment (cash outflow), which would be equal to the value of the total revenue flow (cash inflow) over the whole lifecycle project. This paper emphasizes in an eco-efficient and economical optimum evaluation method for the forest road networks in the mountainous forest of Metsovo, Greece. More specifically, with the use of this technique, we evaluated the forest roads' (a) total construction costs, (b) annual maintenance cost, and (c) log skidding cost. In addition, we estimated the total economic value of forest goods and services that are lost from the forest roads' construction. Finally, we assessed the optimum eco-efficient and economical forest roads densities based on linear equations that stem from the internal rate of return method (IRR) and have been presented graphically. Data analysis and its presentation are achieved with the contribution of geographic information systems (GIS). The technique which is described in this study can be for the decision makers an attractive and useful implement in order to select the most eco-friendly and economical optimum solution to plan forest road network or to evaluate the existing forest transportation systems. Hence, with the use of this method, we can combine not only the multi-objective utilization of natural resources but also the environmental protection of forest ecosystems.

Examining the Role of Voluntary Associations in Environmental Management: The Case of the Sam Houston National Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Jiaying; Schuett, Michael A.

2012-02-01

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of voluntary associations involved in forest management. The specific areas examined in this study include organizational attributes, membership profile, attitudes toward forest-management priorities, and concerns about forest-management issues. To achieve this purpose, data were collected using a case study approach with mixed-methods (document reviews, personal interviews, and a Web survey) at a national forest in Texas, USA. Overall, the voluntary associations in this study can be described as place-based, small to moderate in scale, activity-oriented, and active groups that are adaptive to sociopolitical and environmental changes. General group members placed high importance on aesthetic, ecological, and recreation management of the national forest. In addition, this study showed five key forest management issues: (1) limited recreation access; (2) financial challenges for forest management; (3) conflict among recreation user groups; (4) inadequate communication by the United States Forest Service to the general public, and (5) sustainability of the forest. Theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed.

Managing forests because carbon matters: integrating energy, products, and land management policy

Treesearch

Robert W. Malmsheimer; James L. Bowyer; Jeremy S. Fried; Edmund Gee; Robert Izlar; Reid A. Miner; Ian A. Munn; Elaine Oneil; William C. Stewart

2011-01-01

The United States needs many different types of forests: some managed for wood products plus other benefits, and some managed for nonconsumptive uses and benefits. The objective of reducing global greenhouse gases (GHG) requires increasing carbon storage in pools other than the atmosphere. Growing more forests and keeping forests as forests are only part of the...

Projecting Forest Policy and Management Effects across Ownerships in Coastal Oregon

Treesearch

Thomas A. Spies; K. Norman Johnson

2007-01-01

Two of the most fundamental questions in forest ecosystem management are: (1) What are the consequences of different forest management practices? and (2) How do they vary with spatial and temporal scale? The forest management controversies of the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest revolved around these questions and led to major new forest polices in the region for federal...

Relationship of various factors affecting the sustainable private forest management at Pajangan District, Special Regions Yogyakarta, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widayanto, B.; Karsidi, R.; Kusnandar; Sutrisno, J.

2018-03-01

Forests have a role and function in providing good atmosphere with stable oxygen content and affecting global climate stability. Good forest management will provide stable climatic conditions in global climate change. A good forest is managed to provide a sustainable environment condition. This study aims to analyze the relationship of various factors affecting the sustainability of private forests management. This research is a quantitative research with survey method and determination of sampling are was by purposive sampling. Sampling method using multiple stage cluster sampling with 60 samples. From the results it was found that the successful sustainable private forest management influenced by various factors, such as group dynamics, stakeholder support, community institutions, and farmer participation. The continuity of private forest management is determined by the fulfillment of economic, social and environmental dimensions. The most interesting finding is that the group dynamics conditions are very good, whereas the sense of togetherness among community is very strong under limited resources managing private forests. The sense of togetherness resulted creativity to diversify business and thus reduced the pressure in exploiting the forest. Some people think that managing the people's forest as a culture so that its existence can be more sustainable.

Nontimber forest products management on national forests in the United States.

Treesearch

Rebecca J. McLain; Eric T. Jones

2005-01-01

This study provides an overview of nontimber forest products (NTFP) programs on national forests in the United States. We conducted an email survey in 2003 to obtain data on NTFP management activities on national forests across the country. Program characteristics examined in the study included important NTFPs managed on national forests, presence of NTFP coordinators...

Current Status and Problems in Certification of Sustainable Forest Management in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jingzhu; Xie, Dongming; Wang, Danyin; Deng, Hongbing

2011-12-01

Forest certification is a mechanism involving the regulation of trade of forest products in order to protect forest resources and improve forest management. Although China had a late start in adopting this process, the country has made good progress in recent years. As of July 31, 2009, 17 forest management enterprises and more than one million hectares of forests in China have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Several major factors affect forest certification in China. The first set is institutional in nature. Forest management in China is based on centralized national plans and therefore lacks flexibility. A second factor is public awareness. The importance and value of forest certification are not widely understood and thus consumers do not make informed choices regarding certified forest products. The third major factor is the cost of certification. Together these factors have constrained the development of China's forest certification efforts. However, the process does have great potential. According to preliminary calculations, if 50% of China's commercial forests were certified, the economic cost of forest certification would range from US0.66-86.63 million while the economic benefits for the forestry business sector could exceed US150 million. With continuing progress in forest management practices and the development of international trade in forest products, it becomes important to improve the forest certification process in China. This can be achieved by improving the forest management system, constructing and perfecting market access mechanisms for certificated forest products, and increasing public awareness of environmental protection, forest certification, and their interrelationship.

Current status and problems in certification of sustainable forest management in China.

PubMed

Zhao, Jingzhu; Xie, Dongming; Wang, Danyin; Deng, Hongbing

2011-12-01

Forest certification is a mechanism involving the regulation of trade of forest products in order to protect forest resources and improve forest management. Although China had a late start in adopting this process, the country has made good progress in recent years. As of July 31, 2009, 17 forest management enterprises and more than one million hectares of forests in China have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Several major factors affect forest certification in China. The first set is institutional in nature. Forest management in China is based on centralized national plans and therefore lacks flexibility. A second factor is public awareness. The importance and value of forest certification are not widely understood and thus consumers do not make informed choices regarding certified forest products. The third major factor is the cost of certification. Together these factors have constrained the development of China's forest certification efforts. However, the process does have great potential. According to preliminary calculations, if 50% of China's commercial forests were certified, the economic cost of forest certification would range from US$0.66-86.63 million while the economic benefits for the forestry business sector could exceed US$150 million. With continuing progress in forest management practices and the development of international trade in forest products, it becomes important to improve the forest certification process in China. This can be achieved by improving the forest management system, constructing and perfecting market access mechanisms for certificated forest products, and increasing public awareness of environmental protection, forest certification, and their interrelationship.

77 FR 44144 - National Forest System Land Management Planning; Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-27

... Management Planning; Correction AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Correcting amendments. SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a National Forest System land management planning rule in the... document may be sent to the Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination Staff, USDA Forest Service, 1400...

Overview of Contemporary Issues of Forest Research and Management in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Hong S.; Shifley, Stephen R.; Thompson, Frank R.

2011-12-01

With 207 million ha of forest covering 22% of its land area, China ranks fifth in the world in forest area. Rapid economic growth, climate change, and forest disturbances pose new, complex challenges for forest research and management. Progress in meeting these challenges is relevant beyond China, because China's forests represent 34% of Asia's forests and 5% of the worlds' forests. To provide a broader understanding of these management challenges and of research and policies that address them, we organized this special issue on contemporary forest research and management issues in China. At the national level, papers review major forest types and the evolution of sustainable forestry, the development of China's forest-certification efforts, the establishment of a forest inventory system, and achievements and challenges in insect pest control in China. Papers focused on Northern China address historical, social, and political factors that have shaped the region's forests; the use of forest landscape models to assess how forest management can achieve multiple objectives; and analysis and modeling of fuels and fire behavior. Papers addressing Central and South China describe the "Grain for Green" program, which converts low productivity cropland to grassland and woodland to address erosion and soil carbon sequestration; the potential effects of climate change on CO2 efflux and soil respiration; and relationships between climate and net primary productivity. China shares many forest management and research issues with other countries, but in other cases China's capacity to respond to forest management challenges is unique and bears watching by the rest of the world.

Understanding perceptions of stakeholder groups about Forestry Best Management Practices in Georgia.

PubMed

Tumpach, Chantal; Dwivedi, Puneet; Izlar, Robert; Cook, Chase

2018-05-01

Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) are critical in ensuring sustainable forest management in the United States because of their effectiveness in protecting water quality, reducing soil erosion, maintaining riparian habitat, and sustaining site productivity. The success of forestry BMPs depends heavily on coordination among primary stakeholder groups. It is important to understand perceptions of such groups for a successful forest policy formulation. We used the SWOT-AHP (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis with the Analytical Hierarchy Process) framework to assess perceptions of three stakeholder groups (loggers, landowners, agency foresters) about forestry BMPs in Georgia, the largest roundwood producing state in the United States. The agency and logger stakeholder groups gave the highest priority to improved reputation under the strength category, whereas the landowner stakeholder group perceived sustainable forestry as the highest priority under the same category. Lack of landowner education was the highest priority under the weakness category for landowner and agency stakeholder groups, whereas the logger stakeholder group selected lack of trained personnel as the highest priority under the same category. Agency and landowner stakeholder groups gave the highest priority to training and education while loggers indicated maintenance of forest-based environmental benefits as their highest priority under the opportunity category. Finally, landowners and agency stakeholder groups perceived more regulations and restrictions as most significant in the threat category whereas the logger stakeholder group was most concerned about the insufficient accounting of cost sharing under the same category. Overall, selected stakeholder groups recognize the importance of forestry BMPs and had positive perceptions about them. A collaborative approach based on continuous feedback can streamline expectations of stakeholder groups about forestry BMPs in Georgia and several other states that are interested in maintaining high compliance rate of forestry BMPs for ensuring sustainable forest management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A multi-scale analysis of streamflow response to changes in evapotranspiration and soil hydrology in the Blue Ridge Mountains (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, K.; Jackson, C. R.

2013-12-01

A large amount of research exploring the relationship between watershed forest cover and streamflow quantity has been conducted in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains, particularly in association with the USFS Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and the Coweeta LTER. However, a clear answer to the question ';How does changing tree cover influence runoff?' has not yet emerged for guidance of policy and management. The southern Blue Ridge is the source of water reaching much of the drought-sensitive Southeastern US, and a firmer understanding of the complexities of this issue is critical for water resources management for millions of people and diverse aquatic habitats. When this question has been explored in mesoscale systems (10s to 100s km2), results indicate that watersheds with greater forest cover have greater baseflow. Associated work has shown that hydraulic conductivities in forest soils are nearly an order of magnitude greater than lawn and pasture soils in this region. Our interpretation has been that in these mesoscale systems, the compaction of soil associated with forest conversion to other land uses has played a bigger role than related changes in evapotranspiration (ET) in shaping watershed dynamics and the overall water budget. Particular influence has been seen in baseflows, we posit, due to reduced infiltration and recharge. However, nearly a century of research in small experimental watersheds at Coweeta has shown that forest ET substantially reduces streamflows, including baseflows, when soils are not substantially altered. At this smaller scale of observations, details of forest composition and species water use variability have been thoroughly considered, while in the mesoscale studies 'forest cover' is treated as regionally uniform. Current small-scale work at Coweeta has shown that hemlock decline and subsequent replacement with other species has changed the magnitude and seasonality of ET, which is detectible in streamflow quantity and timing. Here, we attempt to resolve the seemingly conflicting results from experimental watershed and mesoscale studies, and consider the implications for even larger systems more directly linked to policy and management. A singular focus on streamflow quantities ignores broader water quality considerations related to forest management and conversion. We explore the idea that the pronounced control of precipitation variability on streamflow variability in this region confounds the inference of the relative importance of other influences, such as ET and soil hydraulics, particularly at moderate levels of disturbance. We also consider the complexities of heterogeneous land use and geomorphology, which are inevitably encountered in larger watersheds. Finally, we suggest preliminary guidance and future research approaches to provide information to policy and management on the sensitivity of various systems to forest removal or species conversion, across a range of spatial scales.

Evaluating land-use and private forest management responses to a potential forest carbon offset sales program in western Oregon (USA)

Treesearch

Gregory S. Latta; Darius M. Adams; Kathleen P. Bell; Jeff Kline

2016-01-01

We describe the use of linked land-use and forest sector models to simulate the effects of carbon offset sales on private forest owners' land-use and forest management decisions inwestern Oregon (USA). Our work focuses on forest management decisions rather than afforestation, allows full forest sector price adjustment to land-use changes, and incorporates time-...

Influence of Different Forest System Management Practices on Leaf Litter Decomposition Rates, Nutrient Dynamics and the Activity of Ligninolytic Enzymes: A Case Study from Central European Forests

PubMed Central

Schulz, Elke; Schloter, Michael; Buscot, François; Hofrichter, Martin; Krüger, Dirk

2014-01-01

Leaf litter decomposition is the key ecological process that determines the sustainability of managed forest ecosystems, however very few studies hitherto have investigated this process with respect to silvicultural management practices. The aims of the present study were to investigate the effects of forest management practices on leaf litter decomposition rates, nutrient dynamics (C, N, Mg, K, Ca, P) and the activity of ligninolytic enzymes. We approached these questions using a 473 day long litterbag experiment. We found that age-class beech and spruce forests (high forest management intensity) had significantly higher decomposition rates and nutrient release (most nutrients) than unmanaged deciduous forest reserves (P<0.05). The site with near-to-nature forest management (low forest management intensity) exhibited no significant differences in litter decomposition rate, C release, lignin decomposition, and C/N, lignin/N and ligninolytic enzyme patterns compared to the unmanaged deciduous forest reserves, but most nutrient dynamics examined in this study were significantly faster under such near-to-nature forest management practices. Analyzing the activities of ligninolytic enzymes provided evidence that different forest system management practices affect litter decomposition by changing microbial enzyme activities, at least over the investigated time frame of 473 days (laccase, P<0.0001; manganese peroxidase (MnP), P = 0.0260). Our results also indicate that lignin decomposition is the rate limiting step in leaf litter decomposition and that MnP is one of the key oxidative enzymes of litter degradation. We demonstrate here that forest system management practices can significantly affect important ecological processes and services such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. PMID:24699676

Influence of different forest system management practices on leaf litter decomposition rates, nutrient dynamics and the activity of ligninolytic enzymes: a case study from central European forests.

PubMed

Purahong, Witoon; Kapturska, Danuta; Pecyna, Marek J; Schulz, Elke; Schloter, Michael; Buscot, François; Hofrichter, Martin; Krüger, Dirk

2014-01-01

Leaf litter decomposition is the key ecological process that determines the sustainability of managed forest ecosystems, however very few studies hitherto have investigated this process with respect to silvicultural management practices. The aims of the present study were to investigate the effects of forest management practices on leaf litter decomposition rates, nutrient dynamics (C, N, Mg, K, Ca, P) and the activity of ligninolytic enzymes. We approached these questions using a 473 day long litterbag experiment. We found that age-class beech and spruce forests (high forest management intensity) had significantly higher decomposition rates and nutrient release (most nutrients) than unmanaged deciduous forest reserves (P<0.05). The site with near-to-nature forest management (low forest management intensity) exhibited no significant differences in litter decomposition rate, C release, lignin decomposition, and C/N, lignin/N and ligninolytic enzyme patterns compared to the unmanaged deciduous forest reserves, but most nutrient dynamics examined in this study were significantly faster under such near-to-nature forest management practices. Analyzing the activities of ligninolytic enzymes provided evidence that different forest system management practices affect litter decomposition by changing microbial enzyme activities, at least over the investigated time frame of 473 days (laccase, P<0.0001; manganese peroxidase (MnP), P = 0.0260). Our results also indicate that lignin decomposition is the rate limiting step in leaf litter decomposition and that MnP is one of the key oxidative enzymes of litter degradation. We demonstrate here that forest system management practices can significantly affect important ecological processes and services such as decomposition and nutrient cycling.

Forest Management Expenses of Mississippi's Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners

Treesearch

Kathryn G. Arano; Tamara L. Cushing; Ian A. Munn

2002-01-01

Detailed information about the forest management expenditures incurred by nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners over time provides a wealth of information about costs associated with forestland ownership, management practices implemented hv NIPF landowners, and changes in management intensity over time. A survey of Mississippi's nonindustrial private...

Tropical secondary forest management influences frugivorous bat composition, abundance and fruit consumption in Chiapas, Mexico.

PubMed

Vleut, Ivar; Levy-Tacher, Samuel Israel; de Boer, Willem Frederik; Galindo-González, Jorge; Vazquez, Luis-Bernardo

2013-01-01

Most studies on frugivorous bat assemblages in secondary forests have concentrated on differences among successional stages, and have disregarded the effect of forest management. Secondary forest management practices alter the vegetation structure and fruit availability, important factors associated with differences in frugivorous bat assemblage structure, and fruit consumption and can therefore modify forest succession. Our objective was to elucidate factors (forest structural variables and fruit availability) determining bat diversity, abundance, composition and species-specific abundance of bats in (i) secondary forests managed by Lacandon farmers dominated by Ochroma pyramidale, in (ii) secondary forests without management, and in (iii) mature rain forests in Chiapas, Southern Mexico. Frugivorous bat species diversity (Shannon H') was similar between forest types. However, bat abundance was highest in rain forest and O. pyramidale forests. Bat species composition was different among forest types with more Carollia sowelli and Sturnira lilium captures in O. pyramidale forests. Overall, bat fruit consumption was dominated by early-successional shrubs, highest late-successional fruit consumption was found in rain forests and more bats consumed early-successional shrub fruits in O. pyramidale forests. Ochroma pyramidale forests presented a higher canopy openness, tree height, lower tree density and diversity of fruit than secondary forests. Tree density and canopy openness were negatively correlated with bat species diversity and bat abundance, but bat abundance increased with fruit abundance and tree height. Hence, secondary forest management alters forests' structural characteristics and resource availability, and shapes the frugivorous bat community structure, and thereby the fruit consumption by bats.

Public perceptions about climate change mitigation in British Columbia's forest sector

PubMed Central

Hagerman, Shannon; Kozak, Robert; Hoberg, George

2018-01-01

The role of forest management in mitigating climate change is a central concern for the Canadian province of British Columbia. The successful implementation of forest management activities to achieve climate change mitigation in British Columbia will be strongly influenced by public support or opposition. While we now have increasingly clear ideas of the management opportunities associated with forest mitigation and some insight into public support for climate change mitigation in the context of sustainable forest management, very little is known with respect to the levels and basis of public support for potential forest management strategies to mitigate climate change. This paper, by describing the results of a web-based survey, documents levels of public support for the implementation of eight forest carbon mitigation strategies in British Columbia’s forest sector, and examines and quantifies the influence of the factors that shape this support. Overall, respondents ascribed a high level of importance to forest carbon mitigation and supported all of the eight proposed strategies, indicating that the British Columbia public is inclined to consider alternative practices in managing forests and wood products to mitigate climate change. That said, we found differences in levels of support for the mitigation strategies. In general, we found greater levels of support for a rehabilitation strategy (e.g. reforestation of unproductive forest land), and to a lesser extent for conservation strategies (e.g. old growth conservation, reduced harvest) over enhanced forest management strategies (e.g. improved harvesting and silvicultural techniques). We also highlighted multiple variables within the British Columbia population that appear to play a role in predicting levels of support for conservation and/or enhanced forest management strategies, including environmental values, risk perception, trust in groups of actors, prioritized objectives of forest management and socio-demographic factors. PMID:29684041

Public perceptions about climate change mitigation in British Columbia's forest sector.

PubMed

Peterson St-Laurent, Guillaume; Hagerman, Shannon; Kozak, Robert; Hoberg, George

2018-01-01

The role of forest management in mitigating climate change is a central concern for the Canadian province of British Columbia. The successful implementation of forest management activities to achieve climate change mitigation in British Columbia will be strongly influenced by public support or opposition. While we now have increasingly clear ideas of the management opportunities associated with forest mitigation and some insight into public support for climate change mitigation in the context of sustainable forest management, very little is known with respect to the levels and basis of public support for potential forest management strategies to mitigate climate change. This paper, by describing the results of a web-based survey, documents levels of public support for the implementation of eight forest carbon mitigation strategies in British Columbia's forest sector, and examines and quantifies the influence of the factors that shape this support. Overall, respondents ascribed a high level of importance to forest carbon mitigation and supported all of the eight proposed strategies, indicating that the British Columbia public is inclined to consider alternative practices in managing forests and wood products to mitigate climate change. That said, we found differences in levels of support for the mitigation strategies. In general, we found greater levels of support for a rehabilitation strategy (e.g. reforestation of unproductive forest land), and to a lesser extent for conservation strategies (e.g. old growth conservation, reduced harvest) over enhanced forest management strategies (e.g. improved harvesting and silvicultural techniques). We also highlighted multiple variables within the British Columbia population that appear to play a role in predicting levels of support for conservation and/or enhanced forest management strategies, including environmental values, risk perception, trust in groups of actors, prioritized objectives of forest management and socio-demographic factors.

Contribution of Remote Sensing and GIS for Sustainable Forest Management in Côte d'Ivoire; Case of the classified Forest of TENE in the department of OUME (Côte d'Ivoire).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, N. A.

2015-12-01

The classified forest of TENE located in the department of OUME has a role of timber production characterized by a high logging. This operation requires a measure of preservation of sensitive sites to exploitation in order to maintain ecological functions, ecosystem and biodiversity living there. The parameters such as streams, slopes, wetlands and rivers are indicators of the existence of sensitive sites to preserve. However, no knowledge of the location, boundaries and the surface of these natural habitats makes its protection difficult. Thus, knowledge of the natural and conceptual environment at the forest of TENE is necessary for the preservation of the ecosystem and biodiversity, prerequisite for its sustainability. Furthermore, Remote Sensing and GIS are less expensive techniques for synthetic and fast analysis of these parameters at different scales as well as spatially and temporally. It should be noted that this study is focused on wetlands mapping in the forest of TENE for a sustainable management. The satellite image of December 2014 from Landsat 8 carried on the Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor was used for analysis. The methodological approach is based primarily on prior knowledge of the spectral signatures of different elements on the image in different wavelengths. Then the thematic layers extraction of hydromorphic soil without and with vegetation are made by thresholding associated luminance values. The combination of the obtained layers allowed to map all wetlands in the forest of TENE. Finally, the superimposition of this layer with the water system was used to assess the conformity of the result with the reality on the ground. The result showed that the wetlands subject of sensitive sites are mainly found in the western part of the forest of TENE. They are also encountered along the rivers. These wetlands extend over a total area of 12,915 ha against 16,898.22 ha for the non wetlands with a coverage rate of 43.32 %. These areas should be protected against logging in order to do not disturb them because they are refuge environments for fauna as well as flora conservation. This study will enable the manager of the classified forest of TENE to target those sites considered sensitive to preserve for a sustainable management. Keywords: Spectral signature, Forest, Wetland, Remote Sensing, GIS, Côte d'Ivoire.

Biodiversity differences between managed and unmanaged forests: meta-analysis of species richness in Europe.

PubMed

Paillet, Yoan; Bergès, Laurent; Hjältén, Joakim; Odor, Péter; Avon, Catherine; Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus; Bijlsma, Rienk-Jan; De Bruyn, Luc; Fuhr, Marc; Grandin, Ulf; Kanka, Robert; Lundin, Lars; Luque, Sandra; Magura, Tibor; Matesanz, Silvia; Mészáros, Ilona; Sebastià, M-Teresa; Schmidt, Wolfgang; Standovár, Tibor; Tóthmérész, Béla; Uotila, Anneli; Valladares, Fernando; Vellak, Kai; Virtanen, Risto

2010-02-01

Past and present pressures on forest resources have led to a drastic decrease in the surface area of unmanaged forests in Europe. Changes in forest structure, composition, and dynamics inevitably lead to changes in the biodiversity of forest-dwelling species. The possible biodiversity gains and losses due to forest management (i.e., anthropogenic pressures related to direct forest resource use), however, have never been assessed at a pan-European scale. We used meta-analysis to review 49 published papers containing 120 individual comparisons of species richness between unmanaged and managed forests throughout Europe. We explored the response of different taxonomic groups and the variability of their response with respect to time since abandonment and intensity of forest management. Species richness was slightly higher in unmanaged than in managed forests. Species dependent on forest cover continuity, deadwood, and large trees (bryophytes, lichens, fungi, saproxylic beetles) and carabids were negatively affected by forest management. In contrast, vascular plant species were favored. The response for birds was heterogeneous and probably depended more on factors such as landscape patterns. The global difference in species richness between unmanaged and managed forests increased with time since abandonment and indicated a gradual recovery of biodiversity. Clearcut forests in which the composition of tree species changed had the strongest effect on species richness, but the effects of different types of management on taxa could not be assessed in a robust way because of low numbers of replications in the management-intensity classes. Our results show that some taxa are more affected by forestry than others, but there is a need for research into poorly studied species groups in Europe and in particular locations. Our meta-analysis supports the need for a coordinated European research network to study and monitor the biodiversity of different taxa in managed and unmanaged forests.

Meeting current and future conservation challenges through the synthesis of long-term silviculture and range management research

Treesearch

Mary Beth Adams; Joe NcNeel

2010-01-01

The Experimental Forests and Ranges (EFRs) of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture were established to represent major forest vegetation types of the United States, to provide guidelines for management of those forests and ranges, and to serve as "outdoor classrooms" for land managers to learn how to better manage their forests. Research data...

Management of early-successional communities in central hardwood forests: with special emphasis on the ecology and management of oaks, ruffed grouse, and forest songbirds.

Treesearch

Frank R. III Thompson; Daniel R. Dessecker

1997-01-01

Describes the history, ecology, and silviculture of central hardwood forests and the status and ecology of early-successional forest songbirds and ruffed grouse. Concludes with management guidelines for early-successional communities in central hardwood forests.

Public acceptability of forest management practices at Morgan-Monroe State Forest

Treesearch

Shannon C. Rogers; William L. Hoover; Shorna B. Allred

2013-01-01

Forest management practices on public forests are controversial with many organizational and individual stakeholders. Forest managers' understanding of the attitudes of stakeholders is necessary to honor statutory requirements and the social contract under which they operate. The human dimension component of the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) in Indiana...

Lessons from native spruce forests in Alaska: managing Sitka spruce plantations worldwide to benefit biodiversity and ecosystem services

Treesearch

Robert L. Deal; Paul Hennon; Richard O' Hanlon; David D' Amore

2014-01-01

There is increasing interest worldwide in managing forests to maintain or improve biodiversity, enhance ecosystem services and assure long-term sustainability of forest resources. An important goal of forest management is to increase stand diversity, provide wildlife habitat and improve forest species diversity. We synthesize results from natural spruce forests in...

75 FR 32738 - Gallatin National Forest-Hebgen Lake Ranger District; MT; Lonesome Wood Vegetation Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-09

...; Lonesome Wood Vegetation Management Project 2 AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. SUMMARY: This integrated forest vegetation management project... comments to Gallatin National Forest, Attn: Lonesome Wood Vegetation Management Project 2, Bozeman Ranger...

78 FR 13316 - National Forest System Land Management Planning Directives

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-27

... responsibilities. It should be used in conjunction with the FSH. FSH 1909.12--Land Management Planning Handbook... management planning. Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, section 31.12 (57 FR 43208; September 18, 1992... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service RIN 0596-AD06 National Forest System Land Management...

Forest operations for ecosystem management

Treesearch

Robert B. Rummer; John Baumgras; Joe McNeel

1997-01-01

The evolution of modern forest resource management is focusing on ecologically sensitive forest operations. This shift in management strategies is producing a new set of functional requirements for forest operations. Systems to implement ecosystem management prescriptions may need to be economically viable over a wider range of piece sizes, for example. Increasing...

Choosing forest residues management alternatives.

Treesearch

John M. Pierovich; Richard C. Smith

1973-01-01

Forest residues management involves disposal, modification, or utilization of wood products. The costs and benefits of the several alternatives available to forest managers must be evaluated in relation to land management goals and constraints in four areas: (1) unused wood fiber, (2) conflagrations, (3) impairment of forest resources, and (4) opposition to treatment...

77 FR 17402 - Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-26

... including fire management and mountain pine beetle infestations, travel management, forest monitoring and... recommendations on a broad range of forest issues such as forest plan revisions or amendments, travel management... in 2000; 2. A 2004 initial Off-Highway Vehicle Travel Management Subcommittee report; 3. A report on...

Rangelands management in Spanish Natura 2000 sites.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernando Gallego, A.; Tejera Gimeno, R.; Velázquez Saornil, J.; Núñez Martí, V.; Grande Vega, M.

2009-04-01

Spanish open oak woodlands have had multiple land uses such as firewood extraction and grazing through centuries. Consequently, 20% of the Spanish forest is coppice forest. This particular agrosilvopastoral system is well widespread in the southern and western part of the Iberian Peninsula. As a result of the implementation of Natura 2000 in Spain, many of these habitats have been included in this network listed as "Dehesas" with evergreen Quercus spp. (Sclerophyllous grazed forests -dehesas-). The main goal of Natura 2000 is assuring "favourable conservation status" of natural habitats and species within these areas (Habitats Directive 92/43/ECC). This is the case of the study area, "Dehesa Boyal" (Ávila), which management plan has been carried out in a public forest land. The current situation is a degraded coppice forest, Quercus pyrenaica and Q.ilex, with a shrub encroachment due to previous firewood extraction. Besides, problems such as soil compaction and lack of sexual have been observed presumably related with livestock (180 horses, 1100 goats, 900 sheeps and 190 cows distributed in different seasons). Livestock feed on the acorns and hedge young sprouts making them sprouting again. The shrub encroachment is far from "conservation status" required in Natura 2000. Furthermore, the livestock cannot be removed because it is an important part of this agrosilvopastoral system not only for the landscape but also for its economic importance to local owners. Management plans should consider all of these circumstances and propose an integrated approach. To achieve this goal, the area was accurately classified in age classes by "stands" (oak shrubland, low pole stages, coppice tall shrub and sapling) in each habitat, using Geographic Information Systems (G.I.S), remote sensing techniques and detailed field work. Then, the "conservation status" of each stand is classified in A (Favourable), B (Inconvenient) and C (Unfavourable conservation status) considering some features such as vital functions, restoration, floral richness and structure. Finally, the implemented management plan proposes a sustainable solution to restore the habitat and maintain the livestock. Conversion by thinning on coppice forest to high forest is a popular recommendation by expert managers. It is proposed in high polewood (with B: inconvenient conservation status), sapling (A) and coppice tall shrubs (C) during the first fifteen years. Low-intensity thinning on sprouts, less than 35% of the basal area. Besides, the cattle will be led to these areas to control the sprouts. Low polewood (C) is left to grow with livestock and only the best trees will survive. Oak shrubland will be tested. The main purpose is avoiding the whole forest to become a coppice forest (C) without acorn regeneration. Therefore oak shrubland will be fenced and different measures tested (brush out, bulldozer scalping, intensive and medium thinning and no treatment) in order to choose the most suitable one for future management. In conclusion, the proposed selvicultural measures use the livestock as a part of the solution to ensure biodiversity.

Tropical Secondary Forest Management Influences Frugivorous Bat Composition, Abundance and Fruit Consumption in Chiapas, Mexico

PubMed Central

Vleut, Ivar; Levy-Tacher, Samuel Israel; de Boer, Willem Frederik; Galindo-González, Jorge; Vazquez, Luis-Bernardo

2013-01-01

Most studies on frugivorous bat assemblages in secondary forests have concentrated on differences among successional stages, and have disregarded the effect of forest management. Secondary forest management practices alter the vegetation structure and fruit availability, important factors associated with differences in frugivorous bat assemblage structure, and fruit consumption and can therefore modify forest succession. Our objective was to elucidate factors (forest structural variables and fruit availability) determining bat diversity, abundance, composition and species-specific abundance of bats in (i) secondary forests managed by Lacandon farmers dominated by Ochroma pyramidale, in (ii) secondary forests without management, and in (iii) mature rain forests in Chiapas, Southern Mexico. Frugivorous bat species diversity (Shannon H’) was similar between forest types. However, bat abundance was highest in rain forest and O. pyramidale forests. Bat species composition was different among forest types with more Carollia sowelli and Sturnira lilium captures in O. pyramidale forests. Overall, bat fruit consumption was dominated by early-successional shrubs, highest late-successional fruit consumption was found in rain forests and more bats consumed early-successional shrub fruits in O. pyramidale forests. Ochroma pyramidale forests presented a higher canopy openness, tree height, lower tree density and diversity of fruit than secondary forests. Tree density and canopy openness were negatively correlated with bat species diversity and bat abundance, but bat abundance increased with fruit abundance and tree height. Hence, secondary forest management alters forests’ structural characteristics and resource availability, and shapes the frugivorous bat community structure, and thereby the fruit consumption by bats. PMID:24147029

Rainforest birds: A land manager's guide to breeding bird habitat in young conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Altman, Bob; Hagar, Joan

2007-01-01

An underlying premise of the Guide is that forest management has a direct and significant influence on bird populations. Consequently, manipulation of forest conditions as part of forest management can be designed and implemented to achieve bird conservation objectives (Busing and Garman, 2002; Lehmkuhl and others, 2002). It is not our intent to describe all the potential forest management activities that could be conducted to achieve the desired habitat conditions for birds. Those need to be determined locally by assessing the most ecologically appropriate management at each site. However, to assist land managers, the Guide offers some basic forest management activities that are widely accepted for achieving habitat conditions and features which benefit breeding birds.

Watering the forest for the trees: An emerging priority for managing water in forest landscapes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grant, Gordon E.; Tague, Christina L.; Allen, Craig D.

2013-01-01

Widespread threats to forests resulting from drought stress are prompting a re-evaluation of priorities for water management on forest lands. In contrast to the widely held view that forest management should emphasize providing water for downstream uses, we argue that maintaining forest health in the context of a changing climate may require focusing on the forests themselves and on strategies to reduce their vulnerability to increasing water stress. Management strategies would need to be tailored to specific landscapes but could include thinning, planting and selecting for drought-tolerant species, irrigating, and making more water available to plants for transpiration. Hydrologic modeling reveals that specific management actions could reduce tree mortality due to drought stress. Adopting water conservation for vegetation as a priority for managing water on forested lands would represent a fundamental change in perspective and potentially involve trade-offs with other downstream uses of water.

Modelling in forest management

Treesearch

Mark J. Twery

2004-01-01

Forest management has traditionally been considered management of trees for timber. It really includes vegetation management and land management and people management as multiple objectives. As such, forest management is intimately linked with other topics in this volume, most especially those chapters on ecological modelling and human dimensions. The key to...

Mountain biking: issues and actions for USDA Forest Service managers

Treesearch

Deborah J. Chavez

1996-01-01

Managers of National Forests are faced with many challenges related to the growing use of mountain bikes. To determine the issues and management actions associated with this growth, USDA Forest Service managers from across the United States were surveyed. Managers from at least two National Forests from every Region (except Alaska) reported annual use of trails by 10,...

Assessment of forestry best management practices II: patterns in stream biological endpoints in terms of natural variability and fertilization

Treesearch

Camille Flinders; Daniel L. McLaughlin; Larry Korhnak; William J. Arthurs; Joan Ikoma; Matthew J. Cohen; Erik B. Schilling

2016-01-01

Watersheds dominated by forest cover typically have high quality water. In managed forests, fertilizers may be periodically applied during the growing period. The Florida Forest Service has developed Best Management Practices (BMPs) for managed forests to minimize the potential impacts of forestry operations, including fertilization, to forest streams and maintain ...

Using FORSEE and continuous forest inventory information to evaluate implementation of uneven-aged management in Santa Cruz County coast redwood forests

Treesearch

Douglas D. Piirto; Scott Sink; Dominic Ali; Steve Auten; Christopher Hipkin; Reid. Cody

2012-01-01

Swanton Pacific Ranch in northern Santa Cruz County has been owned and managed by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) Foundation since 1987. The California Forest Practice Rules specific to Santa Cruz County limit harvest rate and opening size. Cal Poly forest managers are implementing uneven-aged forest management on 1,182 acres of 80 to 110...

Does increasing rotation length lead to greater forest carbon storage?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ter-Mikaelian, M. T.; Colombo, S. J.; Chen, J.

2016-12-01

Forest management is a key factor affecting climate change mitigation by forests. Increasing the age of harvesting (also referred to as rotation length) is a management practice that has been proposed as a means of increasing forest carbon sequestration and storage. However, studies of the effects of increasing harvest age on forest carbon stocks have mostly been limited to forest plantations. In contrast, this study assesses the effects of increased harvest age of managed natural forests of Ontario (Canada) at two scales. At the stand level, we assess merchantable volume yield curves to differentiate those for which increasing the age of harvest results in an increase in total forest carbon stocks versus those for which increased harvest age reduces carbon stocks. The stand level results are then applied to forest landscapes to demonstrate that the effect of increasing the age of harvest on forest carbon storage is specific to the forest growth rates for a given forest landscape and depends on the average age at which forests are harvested under current (business-as-usual) management practice. We discuss the implications of these results for forest management aimed at mitigating climate change.

Short-Term Effects of Understory and Overstory Management on Breeding Birds in Arkansas Oak-Hickory Forests

Treesearch

Paul G. Rodewald; Kimberly G. Smith

1998-01-01

Relatively little is known about the effects of uneven-aged forest management practices on eastern forest birds, despite the fact that such methods are now commonly practiced. In 1993-94, we studied the short-term effects of uneven-aged forest management on bird communities in oak-hickory forests of north-western Arkansas. We estimated bird abundance in mature forests...

Agency perspectives on transition to participatory forest management: a case study from Tamil Nadu, India

Treesearch

Jagannadha Matta; Janaki Alavalapati; John Kerr; Evan Mercer

2005-01-01

India’s Joint Forest Management (JFM) policy, in which government forest agencies and local communities jointly manage forests, has been touted as a successful strategy in helping both forests and people. Its efficacy in the field, however, is uneven. Although government forest departments are charged with implementing JFM, very little is known about their perspectives...

77 FR 50985 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-23

... National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land... implementation of the National Forest System Land Management Rule. The meeting is open to the public. The purpose...

Can forest watershed management mitigate climate change effects on water resources

Treesearch

James M. Vose; Chelcy R. Ford; Stephanie Laseter; Salli Dymond; Ge Sun; Mary Beth Adams; Stephen Sebestyen; John Campbell; Charlie Luce; Devendra Amatya; Kelly Elder; Tamara Heartsill Scalley

2012-01-01

Long-term hydrology and climate data from United States Forest Service Experimental Forests and Ranges (EFR) provide critical information on the interactions among climate, streamflow, and forest management practices. We examined the relationships among streamflow responses to climate variation and forest management using long-term data. Analysis of climate data from a...

Can forest watershed management mitigate climate change impacts on water resources?

Treesearch

James M. Vose; Chelcy R. Ford; Stephanie Laseter; Salli Dymond; GE Sun; Mary Beth Adams; Stephen Sebestyen; John Campbell; Charles Luce; Devendra Amatya; Kelly Elder; Tamara. Heartsill-Scalley

2012-01-01

Long-term hydrology and climate data from United States Forest Service Experimental Forests and Ranges (EFR) provide critical information on the interactions among climate, streamflow, and forest management practices. We examined the relationships among streamflow responses to climate variation and forest management using long-term data. Analysis of climate data from a...

Managing Sierra Nevada forests

Treesearch

Malcolm North

2012-01-01

There has been widespread interest in applying new forest practices based on concepts presented in U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report PSW-GTR-220, "An Ecosystem Management Strategy for Sierran Mixed-Conifer Forests." This collection of papers (PSW-GTR-237) summarizes the state of the science in some topics relevant to this forest management approach...

Reconstructing European forest management from 1600 to 2010

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGrath, M. J.; Luyssaert, S.; Meyfroidt, P.; Kaplan, J. O.; Buergi, M.; Chen, Y.; Erb, K.; Gimmi, U.; McInerney, D.; Naudts, K.; Otto, J.; Pasztor, F.; Ryder, J.; Schelhaas, M.-J.; Valade, A.

2015-04-01

European forest use for fuel, timber and food dates back to pre-Roman times. Century-scale ecological processes and their legacy effects require accounting for forest management when studying today's forest carbon sink. Forest management reconstructions that are used to drive land surface models are one way to quantify the impact of both historical and today's large scale application of forest management on today's forest-related carbon sink and surface climate. In this study we reconstruct European forest management from 1600 to 2010 making use of diverse approaches, data sources and assumptions. Between 1600 and 1828, a demand-supply approach was used in which wood supply was reconstructed based on estimates of historical annual wood increment and land cover reconstructions. For the same period demand estimates accounted for the fuelwood needed in households, wood used in food processing, charcoal used in metal smelting and salt production, timber for construction and population estimates. Comparing estimated demand and supply resulted in a spatially explicit reconstruction of the share of forests under coppice, high stand management and forest left unmanaged. For the reconstruction between 1829 and 2010 a supply-driven back-casting method was used. The method used age reconstructions from the years 1950 to 2010 as its starting point. Our reconstruction reproduces the most important changes in forest management between 1600 and 2010: (1) an increase of 593 000 km2 in conifers at the expense of deciduous forest (decreasing by 538 000 km2), (2) a 612 000 km2 decrease in unmanaged forest, (3) a 152 000 km2 decrease in coppice management, (4) a 818 000 km2 increase in high stand management, and (5) the rise and fall of litter raking which at its peak in 1853 removed 50 Tg dry litter per year.

Fragmentation and Management of Ethiopian Moist Evergreen Forest Drive Compositional Shifts of Insect Communities Visiting Wild Arabica Coffee Flowers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berecha, Gezahegn; Aerts, Raf; Muys, Bart; Honnay, Olivier

2015-02-01

Coffea arabica is an indigenous understorey shrub of the moist evergreen Afromontane forest of SW Ethiopia. Coffee cultivation here occurs under different forest management intensities, ranging from almost no intervention in the `forest coffee' system to far-reaching interventions that include the removal of competing shrubs and selective thinning of the upper canopy in the `semi-forest coffee' system. We investigated whether increasing forest management intensity and fragmentation result in impacts upon potential coffee pollination services through examining shifts in insect communities that visit coffee flowers. Overall, we netted 2,976 insect individuals on C. arabica flowers, belonging to sixteen taxonomic groups, comprising 10 insect orders. Taxonomic richness of the flower-visiting insects significantly decreased and pollinator community changed with increasing forest management intensity and fragmentation. The relative abundance of honey bees significantly increased with increasing forest management intensity and fragmentation, likely resulting from the introduction of bee hives in the most intensively managed forests. The impoverishment of the insect communities through increased forest management intensity and fragmentation potentially decreases the resilience of the coffee production system as pollination increasingly relies on honey bees alone. This may negatively affect coffee productivity in the long term as global pollination services by managed honey bees are expected to decline under current climate change scenarios. Coffee agroforestry management practices should urgently integrate pollinator conservation measures.

Climate Change Effects of Forest Management and Substitution of Carbon-Intensive Materials and Fossil Fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sathre, R.; Gustavsson, L.; Haus, S.; Lundblad, M.; Lundström, A.; Ortiz, C.; Truong, N.; Wikberg, P. E.

2016-12-01

Forests can play several roles in climate change mitigation strategies, for example as a reservoir for storing carbon and as a source of renewable materials and energy. To better understand the linkages and possible trade-offs between different forest management strategies, we conduct an integrated analysis where both sequestration of carbon in growing forests and the effects of substituting carbon intensive products within society are considered. We estimate the climate effects of directing forest management in Sweden towards increased carbon storage in forests, with more land set-aside for protection, or towards increased forest production for the substitution of carbon-intensive materials and fossil fuels, relative to a reference case of current forest management. We develop various scenarios of forest management and biomass use to estimate the carbon balances of the forest systems, including ecological and technological components, and their impacts on the climate in terms of cumulative radiative forcing over a 100-year period. For the reference case of current forest management, increasing the harvest of forest residues is found to give increased climate benefits. A scenario with increased set-aside area and the current level of forest residue harvest begins with climate benefits compared to the reference scenario, but the benefits cannot be sustained for 100 years because the rate of carbon storage in set-aside forests diminishes over time as the forests mature, but the demand for products and fuels remains. The most climatically beneficial scenario, expressed as reduced cumulative radiative forcing, in both the short and long terms is a strategy aimed at high forest production, high residue recovery rate, and high efficiency utilization of harvested biomass. Active forest management with high harvest level and efficient forest product utilization will provide more climate benefit, compared to reducing harvest and storing more carbon in the forest. Figure. Schematic diagram of complete modelled forest system including ecological and technological components, showing major flows of carbon.

36 CFR 211.6 - Cooperation in forest investigations or the protection, management, and improvement of the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... investigations or the protection, management, and improvement of the National Forest System. 211.6 Section 211.6... investigations or for the protection, management, and improvement of the National Forest System and only in accordance with written cooperative agreements. Management of the National Forest System may include such...

Streamflow Modification Through Management of Eastern Forests

Treesearch

James E. Douglass; Wayne T. Swank

1972-01-01

Protection of the water resource was a primary objective in establishing the National Forest System in America, and improving quantity, quality, and timing of streamflow is an important objective of forest management in certain regions of the United States.Effective management of the forest for increased streamflow presupposes that impact of various management...

Logging safety in forest management education

Treesearch

David Elton Fosbroke; John R. Myers

1995-01-01

Forest management degree programs prepare students for careers in forestry by teaching a combination of biological sciences (e.g., silvics and genetics) and business management (e.g., forest policy and timber valuation). During a 4-year degree program, students learn the impact of interest rates, equipment costs, and environmental policies on forest management and...

25 CFR 163.10 - Management of Indian forest land.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Management of Indian forest land. 163.10 Section 163.10 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND AND WATER GENERAL FORESTRY REGULATIONS Forest Management and Operations § 163.10 Management of Indian forest land. (a) The Secretary shall...

25 CFR 163.10 - Management of Indian forest land.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Management of Indian forest land. 163.10 Section 163.10 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND AND WATER GENERAL FORESTRY REGULATIONS Forest Management and Operations § 163.10 Management of Indian forest land. (a) The Secretary shall...

25 CFR 163.10 - Management of Indian forest land.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2012-04-01 2011-04-01 true Management of Indian forest land. 163.10 Section 163.10 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND AND WATER GENERAL FORESTRY REGULATIONS Forest Management and Operations § 163.10 Management of Indian forest land. (a) The Secretary shall...

25 CFR 163.10 - Management of Indian forest land.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Management of Indian forest land. 163.10 Section 163.10 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND AND WATER GENERAL FORESTRY REGULATIONS Forest Management and Operations § 163.10 Management of Indian forest land. (a) The Secretary shall...

Leave islands as refugia for low-mobility species in managed forest mosaics

Treesearch

Stephanie J. Wessell-Kelly; Deanna H. Olson

2013-01-01

In recent years, forest management in the Pacifi c Northwest has shifted from one based largely on resource extraction to one based on ecosystem management principles. Forest management based on these principles involves simultaneously balancing and sustaining multiple forest resource values, including silvicultural, social, economic, and ecological objectives. Leave...

The science of decisionmaking: applications for sustainable forest and grassland management in the National Forest System

Treesearch

Matthew P. Thompson; Bruce G. Marcot; Frank R. Thompson; Steven McNulty; Larry A. Fisher; Michael C. Runge; David Cleaves; Monica Tomosy

2013-01-01

Sustainable management of national forests and grasslands within the National Forest System (NFS) often requires managers to make tough decisions under considerable uncertainty, complexity, and potential conflict. Resource decisionmakers must weigh a variety of risks, stressors, and challenges to sustainable management, including climate change, wildland fire, invasive...

NED Software for Forest Management: Much More Than Cruising

Treesearch

Mark J. Twery; H. Michael Rauscher

2002-01-01

The term NED describes a set of computer programs intended to help resource managers and landowners develop goals, assess current and potential conditions, and produce sustainable management plans for forest properties. NED-l helps analyze forest inventory data from the perspective of various forest resources for management areas up to several thousand acres. The...

Factors affecting collective action for forest fire management: a comparative study of community forest user groups in central Siwalik, Nepal.

PubMed

Sapkota, Lok Mani; Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad; Jourdain, Damien; Shivakoti, Ganesh P

2015-01-01

The attributes of social ecological systems affect the management of commons. Strengthening and enhancing social capital and the enforcement of rules and sanctions aid in the collective action of communities in forest fire management. Using a set of variables drawn from previous studies on the management of commons, we conducted a study across 20 community forest user groups in Central Siwalik, Nepal, by dividing the groups into two categories based on the type and level of their forest fire management response. Our study shows that the collective action in forest fire management is consistent with the collective actions in other community development activities. However, the effectiveness of collective action is primarily dependent on the complex interaction of various variables. We found that strong social capital, strong enforcement of rules and sanctions, and users' participation in crafting the rules were the major variables that strengthen collective action in forest fire management. Conversely, users' dependency on a daily wage and a lack of transparency were the variables that weaken collective action. In fire-prone forests such as the Siwalik, our results indicate that strengthening social capital and forming and enforcing forest fire management rules are important variables that encourage people to engage in collective action in fire management.

The Cooperative Forest Ecosystem Research Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2002-01-01

Changes in priorities for forest management on federal and state lands in the Pacific Northwest have raised many questions about the best ways to manage young-forest stands, riparian areas, and forest landscapes. The Cooperative Forest Ecosystem Research (CFER) Program draws together scientists and managers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Oregon State University to find science-based answers to these questions. Managers, researchers, and decisionmakers, working within the CFER program, are helping develop and disseminate the knowledge needed to carry out ecosystem-based management successfully in the Pacific Northwest.

36 CFR 222.33 - Management coordination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Management coordination. 222.33 Section 222.33 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RANGE MANAGEMENT Management of Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros § 222.33 Management coordination. All management...

36 CFR 222.33 - Management coordination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Management coordination. 222.33 Section 222.33 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RANGE MANAGEMENT Management of Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros § 222.33 Management coordination. All management...

36 CFR 222.73 - Management coordination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Management coordination. 222.73 Section 222.73 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RANGE MANAGEMENT Management of Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros § 222.73 Management coordination. All management...

36 CFR 222.73 - Management coordination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Management coordination. 222.73 Section 222.73 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RANGE MANAGEMENT Management of Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros § 222.73 Management coordination. All management...

36 CFR 222.33 - Management coordination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Management coordination. 222.33 Section 222.33 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RANGE MANAGEMENT Management of Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros § 222.33 Management coordination. All management...

Special Forest Products on the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests: a research-based approach to management

Treesearch

Marla R. Emery; Clare Ginger

2014-01-01

Special forest products (SFPs) are gathered from more than 200 vascular and fungal species on the Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF) and Finger Lakes National Forest (FLNF). This report documents those SFPs and proposes an approach to managing them in the context of legislation directing the U.S. Forest Service to institute a program of active SFP management. Based...

Dynamics and pattern of a managed coniferous forest landscape in Oregon.

Treesearch

T.A. Spies; W.J. Ripple; G.A. Bradshaw

1994-01-01

We examined the process of fragmentation in a managed forest landscape by comparing rates and patterns of disturbance (primarily clear-cutting) and regrowth between 1972 and 1988 using Landsat imagery. A 2589-km2 managed forest landscape in western Oregon was classified into two forest types, closed-canopy conifer forest (CF) (typically, > 60% conifer cover) and...

Influences of management of Southern forests on water quantity and quality

Treesearch

Ge Sun; Mark Riedel; Rhett Jackson; Randy Kolka; Devendra Amatya; Jim Shepard

2004-01-01

Water is a key output of southern forests and is critical to other processes, functions, and values of forest ecosystems. This chapter synthesizes published literature about the effects of forest management practices on water quantity and water quality across the Southern United States region. We evaluate the influences of forest management at different temporal and...

Effects of Management on the Composition and Structure of Northern Hardwood Forests in Upper Michigan

Treesearch

Thomas R. Crow; David S. Buckley; Elizabeth A. Nauertz; John C. Zasada

2002-01-01

To improve our understanding of how management affects the composition and structure of northern hardwood forests, we compared managed with unmanaged sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) dominated forests. Unmanaged old-growth and unmanaged second-growth forests provided baselines for comparing the effects of even-aged and uneven-aged forest...

Next-generation simulation and optimization platform for forest management and analysis

Treesearch

Antti Makinen; Jouni Kalliovirta; Jussi Rasinmaki

2009-01-01

Late developments in the objectives and the data collection methods of forestry create new challenges and possibilities in forest management planning. Tools in forest management and forest planning systems must be able to make good use of novel data sources, use new models, and solve complex forest planning tasks at different scales. The SIMulation and Optimization (...

Spatial impact assessment of conifer stands in the Hoosier National Forest

Treesearch

Richard Thurau; Craig Wayson; Dale Weigel; Jeff Ehman

2011-01-01

Forest management decisions on Federal lands must be administered at many spatial and temporal scales. Forest condition, size class, and cover type at the stand level determine how silvicultural practices today will impact management area and overall forest goals in the future. The Hoosier National Forest (HNF) Land Resource Management Plan lists eight goals for...

Introduction to proceedings of a workshop on science considerations in functional restoration

Treesearch

Carlos Rodriguez-Franco

2014-01-01

There has been a great deal of discussion in the scientific literature and in traditional forest management literature about forest restoration, ecological restoration, adaptive and active management for restoring forest ecosystems, and a variety of linked topics. The USDA Forest Service manages 193 million acres of forest and grasslands for a variety of uses, and...

Influence of forest planning alternatives on landscape pattern and ecosystem processes in northern Wisconsin, USA

Treesearch

Patrick A. Zollner; L. Jay Roberts; Eric J. Gustafson; Hong S. He; Volker Radeloff

2008-01-01

Incorporating an ecosystem management perspective into forest planning requires consideration of the impacts of timber management on a suite of landscape characteristics at broad spatial and long temporal scales. We used the LANDIS forest landscape simulation model to predict forest composition and landscape pattern under seven alternative forest management plans...

USDA Forest Service watershed analyses: A lesson in interdisciplinary natural resource management

Treesearch

Anthony S. DeFalco

1999-01-01

Abstract - Recent thinking in natural resource management has led federal land management agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (Forest Service) to adopt ecosystem management as its official land management policy. A pivotal aspect of ecosystem management is interdisciplinary analysis of complex land management problems....

Model for multi-stand management based on structural attributes of individual stands

Treesearch

G.W. Miller; J. Sullivan

1997-01-01

A growing interest in managing forest ecosystems calls for decision models that take into account attribute goals for large forest areas while continuing to recognize the individual stand as a basic unit of forest management. A dynamic, nonlinear forest management model is described that schedules silvicultural treatments for individual stands that are linked by multi-...

Integrating studies in the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project: Status and outlook

Treesearch

David Gwaze; Stephen Sheriff; John Kabrick; Larry Vangilder

2011-01-01

The Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP), which was started in 1989 by the Missouri Department of Conservation, evaluates the effects of forest management practices (even-aged management, uneven-aged management, and no-harvest management) on upland oak-forest components in southern Missouri. MOFEP is a long-term, landscape-level, fully replicated, and...

Evaluating carbon storage, timber harvest, and habitat possibilities for a Western Cascades (USA) forest landscape.

PubMed

Kline, Jeffrey D; Harmon, Mark E; Spies, Thomas A; Morzillo, Anita T; Pabst, Robert J; McComb, Brenda C; Schnekenburger, Frank; Olsen, Keith A; Csuti, Blair; Vogeler, Jody C

2016-10-01

Forest policymakers and managers have long sought ways to evaluate the capability of forest landscapes to jointly produce timber, habitat, and other ecosystem services in response to forest management. Currently, carbon is of particular interest as policies for increasing carbon storage on federal lands are being proposed. However, a challenge in joint production analysis of forest management is adequately representing ecological conditions and processes that influence joint production relationships. We used simulation models of vegetation structure, forest sector carbon, and potential wildlife habitat to characterize landscape-level joint production possibilities for carbon storage, timber harvest, and habitat for seven wildlife species across a range of forest management regimes. We sought to (1) characterize the general relationships of production possibilities for combinations of carbon storage, timber, and habitat, and (2) identify management variables that most influence joint production relationships. Our 160 000-ha study landscape featured environmental conditions typical of forests in the Western Cascade Mountains of Oregon (USA). Our results indicate that managing forests for carbon storage involves trade-offs among timber harvest and habitat for focal wildlife species, depending on the disturbance interval and utilization intensity followed. Joint production possibilities for wildlife species varied in shape, ranging from competitive to complementary to compound, reflecting niche breadth and habitat component needs of species examined. Managing Pacific Northwest forests to store forest sector carbon can be roughly complementary with habitat for Northern Spotted Owl, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and red tree vole. However, managing forests to increase carbon storage potentially can be competitive with timber production and habitat for Pacific marten, Pileated Woodpecker, and Western Bluebird, depending on the disturbance interval and harvest intensity chosen. Our analysis suggests that joint production possibilities under forest management regimes currently typical on industrial forest lands (e.g., 40- to 80-yr rotations with some tree retention for wildlife) represent but a small fraction of joint production outcomes possible in the region. Although the theoretical boundaries of the production possibilities sets we developed are probably unachievable in the current management environment, they arguably define the long-term potential of managing forests to produce multiple ecosystem services within and across multiple forest ownerships. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Conclusion: applying South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme science to land-use management policy and practice in a changing landscape and climate

PubMed Central

Walsh, Rory P. D.; Nussbaum, Ruth; Fowler, David; Weilenmann, Maja; Hector, Andy

2011-01-01

The context and challenges relating to the remaining tropical rainforest are briefly reviewed and the roles which science can play in addressing questions are outlined. Key messages which articles in the special issue, mainly based on projects of the Royal Society South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP), have raised of relevance to policies on land use, land management and REDD+ are then considered. Results from the atmospheric science and hydrology papers, and some of the ecological ones, demonstrate the very high ecosystem service values of rainforest (compared with oil palm) in maintaining high biodiversity, good local air quality, reducing greenhouse emissions, and reducing landslide, flooding and sedimentation consequences of climate change—and hence provide science to underpin the protection of remaining forest, even if degraded and fragmented. Another group of articles test ways of restoring forest quality (in terms of biodiversity and carbon value) or maintaining as high biodiversity and ecological functioning levels as possible via intelligent design of forest zones and fragments within oil palm landscapes. Finally, factors that have helped to enhance the policy relevance of SEARRP projects and dissemination of their results to decision-makers are outlined. PMID:22006974

Uneven-aged management after a half-century of research on the Forest Service Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virgina

Treesearch

Thomas M. Schuler

2014-01-01

Uneven-age management in forestry refers to a system of management that periodically selects individual trees or small groups of trees for harvest. In general, the concept of uneven-age management entails the sustained yield of forest products while maintaining continuous forest cover. In North America, interest in uneven-age management grew in the second half of the...

Forest Management in Earth System Modelling: a Vertically Discretised Canopy Description for ORCHIDEE and Effects on European Climate Since 1750

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGrath, M.; Luyssaert, S.; Naudts, K.; Chen, Y.; Ryder, J.; Otto, J.; Valade, A.

2015-12-01

Forest management has the potential to impact surface physical characteristics to the same degree that changes in land cover do. The impacts of land cover changes on the global climate are well-known. Despite an increasingly detailed understanding of the potential for forest management to affect climate, none of the current generation of Earth system models account for forest management through their land surface modules. We addressed this gap by developing and reparameterizing the ORCHIDEE land surface model to simulate the biogeochemical and biophysical effects of forest management. Through vertical discretization of the forest canopy and corresponding modifications to the energy budget, radiation transfer, and carbon allocation, forest management can now be simulated much more realistically on the global scale. This model was used to explore the effect of forest management on European climate since 1750. Reparameterization was carried out to replace generic forest plant functional types with real tree species, covering the most dominant species across the continent. Historical forest management and land cover maps were created to run the simulations from 1600 until the present day. The model was coupled to the atmospheric model LMDz to explore differences in climate between 1750 and 2010 and attribute those differences to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and concurrent warming, land cover, species composition, and wood extraction. Although Europe's forest are considered a carbon sink in this century, our simulations show the modern forests are still experiencing carbon debt compared to their historical values.

Dry forest resilience varies under simulated climate‐management scenarios in a central Oregon, USA landscape.

PubMed

Halofsky, Joshua S; Halofsky, Jessica E; Burcsu, Theresa; Hemstrom, Miles A

Determining appropriate actions to create or maintain landscapes resilient to climate change is challenging because of uncertainty associated with potential effects of climate change and their interactions with land management. We used a set of climate-informed state-and-transition models to explore the effects of management and natural disturbances on vegetation composition and structure under different future climates. Models were run for dry forests of central Oregon under a fire suppression scenario (i.e., no management other than the continued suppression of wildfires) and an active management scenario characterized by light to moderate thinning from below and some prescribed fire, planting, and salvage logging. Without climate change, area in dry province forest types remained constant. With climate change, dry mixed-conifer forests increased in area (by an average of 21–26% by 2100), and moist mixed-conifer forests decreased in area (by an average of 36–60% by 2100), under both management scenarios. Average area in dry mixed-conifer forests varied little by management scenario, but potential decreases in the moist mixed-conifer forest were lower with active management. With changing climate in the dry province of central Oregon, our results suggest the likelihood of sustaining current levels of dense, moist mixed-conifer forests with large-diameter, old trees is low (less than a 10% chance) irrespective of management scenario; an opposite trend was observed under no climate change simulations. However, results also suggest active management within the dry and moist mixed-conifer forests that creates less dense forest conditions can increase the persistence of larger-diameter, older trees across the landscape. Owing to projected increases in wildfire, our results also suggest future distributions of tree structures will differ from the present. Overall, our projections indicate proactive management can increase forest resilience and sustain some societal values, particularly in drier forest types. However, opportunities to create more disturbance-adapted systems are finite, all values likely cannot be sustained at current levels, and levels of resilience success will likely vary by dry province forest type. Land managers planning for a future without climate change may be assuming a future that is unlikely to exist.

36 CFR 251.9 - Management of Municipal Watersheds.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Watersheds. 251.9 Section 251.9 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LAND USES Miscellaneous Land Uses Natural Resources Control § 251.9 Management of Municipal Watersheds. (a) The Forest Service shall manage National Forest watersheds that supply municipal water under...

36 CFR 251.9 - Management of Municipal Watersheds.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Watersheds. 251.9 Section 251.9 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LAND USES Miscellaneous Land Uses Natural Resources Control § 251.9 Management of Municipal Watersheds. (a) The Forest Service shall manage National Forest watersheds that supply municipal water under...

36 CFR 251.9 - Management of Municipal Watersheds.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Watersheds. 251.9 Section 251.9 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LAND USES Miscellaneous Land Uses Natural Resources Control § 251.9 Management of Municipal Watersheds. (a) The Forest Service shall manage National Forest watersheds that supply municipal water under...

36 CFR 251.9 - Management of Municipal Watersheds.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Watersheds. 251.9 Section 251.9 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LAND USES Miscellaneous Land Uses Natural Resources Control § 251.9 Management of Municipal Watersheds. (a) The Forest Service shall manage National Forest watersheds that supply municipal water under...

36 CFR 251.9 - Management of Municipal Watersheds.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Watersheds. 251.9 Section 251.9 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LAND USES Miscellaneous Land Uses Natural Resources Control § 251.9 Management of Municipal Watersheds. (a) The Forest Service shall manage National Forest watersheds that supply municipal water under...

Forest carbon management in the United States: 1600-2100

Treesearch

Richard A. Birdsey; Kurt Pregitzer; Alan Lucier

2006-01-01

This paper reviews the effects of past forest management on carbon stocks in the United States, and the challenges for managing forest carbon resources in the 21st century. Forests in the United States were in approximate carbon balance with the atmosphere from 1600-1800. Utilization and land clearing caused a large pulse of forest carbon emissions during the 19th...

Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) invasion in maritime forests: the role of anthropogenic disturbance and its management implication

Treesearch

Lauren S. Pile; G. Geoff Wang; Benjamin O. Knapp; Joan L. Walker; Michael C. Stambaugh

2017-01-01

Land-use and forest management practices may facilitate the invasion success of non-native plants in forests. In this study, we tested if agricultural land abandonment and subsequent forest management contributed to the invasion success of Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera (L.) Small) in the maritime forest of Parris Island, SC. We compared the...

Forest and grassland carbon in North America: A short course for land managers

Treesearch

Chris Swanston; Michael J. Furniss; Kristen Schmitt; Jeffrey Guntle; Maria Janowiak; Sarah Hines

2012-01-01

This multimedia short-course presents a range of information on the science, management and policy of forest and grassland carbon. Forests and grasslands worldwide play a critical role in storing carbon and sequestering greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The U.S. Forest Service, which manages 193 million acres of forests and grasslands, emphasizes the need for...

Changing Forest Values and Ecosystem Management

Treesearch

David N. Bengston

1994-01-01

There is substantial evidence that we are currently in a period of rapid and significant change in forest values. Some have charged that managing forests in ways that are responsive to diverse and changing forest values is the main challenge faced by public forest managers. To tackle this challenge, we need to address the following questions: (1) What is the nature of...

Sustainability assessment in forest management based on individual preferences.

PubMed

Martín-Fernández, Susana; Martinez-Falero, Eugenio

2018-01-15

This paper presents a methodology to elicit the preferences of any individual in the assessment of sustainable forest management at the stand level. The elicitation procedure was based on the comparison of the sustainability of pairs of forest locations. A sustainability map of the whole territory was obtained according to the individual's preferences. Three forest sustainability indicators were pre-calculated for each point in a study area in a Scots pine forest in the National Park of Sierra de Guadarrama in the Madrid Region in Spain to obtain the best management plan with the sustainability map. We followed a participatory process involving fifty people to assess the sustainability of the forest management and the methodology. The results highlighted the demand for conservative forest management, the usefulness of the methodology for managers, and the importance and necessity of incorporating stakeholders into forestry decision-making processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Forestry in urban and urbanizing areas of the United States; connecting people with forest in the 21st century

Treesearch

John F. Dwyer; Gina M. Childs; David J. Nowak

2000-01-01

Resource managers worldwide face challenges in responding to expanding urbanization and its effects on forest resources. These challenges can be met head on if managers work toward: (1) comprehensive management of forest resources in urban and urbanizing areas, and (2)connection of urban people with forests and their management. Opportunities exist for...

Importance of scale, land cover, and weather on the abundance of bird species in a managed forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grinde, Alexis R.; Hiemi, Gerald J.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Panci, Hannah; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Wolter, Peter

2017-01-01

Climate change and habitat loss are projected to be the two greatest drivers of biodiversity loss over the coming century. While public lands have the potential to increase regional resilience of bird populations to these threats, long-term data are necessary to document species responses to changes in climate and habitat to better understand population vulnerabilities. We used generalized linear mixed models to determine the importance of stand-level characteristics, multi-scale land cover, and annual weather factors to the abundance of 61 bird species over a 20-year time frame in Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota, USA. Of the 61 species modeled, we were able to build final models with R-squared values that ranged from 26% to 69% for 37 species; the remaining 24 species models had issues with convergence or low explanatory power (R-squared < 20%). Models for the 37 species show that stand-level characteristics, land cover factors, and annual weather effects on species abundance were species-specific and varied within guilds. Forty-one percent of the final species models included stand-level characteristics, 92% included land cover variables at the 200 m scale, 51% included land cover variables at the 500 m scale, 46% included land cover variables at the 1000 m scale, and 38% included weather variables in best models. Three species models (8%) included significant weather and land cover interaction terms. Overall, models indicated that aboveground tree biomass and land cover variables drove changes in the majority of species. Of those species models including weather variables, more included annual variation in precipitation or drought than temperature. Annual weather variability was significantly more likely to impact abundance of species associated with deciduous forests and bird species that are considered climate sensitive. The long-term data and models we developed are particularly suited to informing science-based adaptive forest management plans that incorporate climate sensitivity, aim to conserve large areas of forest habitat, and maintain an historical mosaic of cover types for conserving a diverse and abundant avian assemblage.

Management of tropical forests for products and energy

Treesearch

John I. Zerbe

1992-01-01

Tropical forests have always been sources for prized timbers, rubber, tannin, and other forest products for use worldwide. However, with the recent concern regarding global change, the importance of effective forest products management and utilization has increased significantly. The USDA Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wisconsin, has...

Factors influencing sediment plume development from forest roads

Treesearch

Johnny M. Grace

2005-01-01

Southern forests, which rely on intensive management practices, are some of the most productive forests in the United States. Intensive forest management utilizes forest operations, such as site preparation, fertilization, thinning, and harvesting, to increase site productivity and reduce rotation time. These forest operations are essential to meet the ever-...

Governmental Forest Policy for Sustainable Forest Management in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua: Regulation, Implementation, and Impact

Treesearch

Kathleen A. McGinley; Frederick W. Cubbage

2012-01-01

We evaluated how governmental forest regulation in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua has succeeded or failed in fostering changes in forest owner and user behavior that enhance the sustainability of tropical forest management. As expected, sufficient resources and capacity for forest policy implementation are crucial for attaining governmental forest policy...

36 CFR 230.41 - Eligibility requirements for cost-share assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... management plans such as Tree Farm management plans, Forest Stewardship management plans, or similar plans... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Eligibility requirements for cost-share assistance. 230.41 Section 230.41 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE...

36 CFR 230.41 - Eligibility requirements for cost-share assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... management plans such as Tree Farm management plans, Forest Stewardship management plans, or similar plans... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Eligibility requirements for cost-share assistance. 230.41 Section 230.41 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE...

36 CFR 230.41 - Eligibility requirements for cost-share assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... management plans such as Tree Farm management plans, Forest Stewardship management plans, or similar plans... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Eligibility requirements for cost-share assistance. 230.41 Section 230.41 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE...

36 CFR 230.41 - Eligibility requirements for cost-share assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... management plans such as Tree Farm management plans, Forest Stewardship management plans, or similar plans... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Eligibility requirements for cost-share assistance. 230.41 Section 230.41 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE...

Ecosystems and people: managing forests for mutual gains.

Treesearch

Valerie Rapp

2004-01-01

The debate over forest management has often portrayed management choices as tradeoffs between ecological and socioeconomic values. Scientists at Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station, along with their colleagues at universities and national forests, decided to look scientifically at the question: "Can we as a society produce wood products and other forest...

Simulating post-wildfire forest trajectories under alternative climate and management scenarios.

PubMed

Tarancón, Alicia Azpeleta; Fulé, Peter Z; Shive, Kristen L; Sieg, Carolyn H; Meador, Andrew Sánchez; Strom, Barbara

Post-fire predictions of forest recovery under future climate change and management actions are necessary for forest managers to make decisions about treatments. We applied the Climate-Forest Vegetation Simulator (Climate-FVS), a new version of a widely used forest management model, to compare alternative climate and management scenarios in a severely burned multispecies forest of Arizona, USA. The incorporation of seven combinations of General Circulation Models (GCM) and emissions scenarios altered long-term (100 years) predictions of future forest condition compared to a No Climate Change (NCC) scenario, which forecast a gradual increase to high levels of forest density and carbon stock. In contrast, emissions scenarios that included continued high greenhouse gas releases led to near-complete deforestation by 2111. GCM-emissions scenario combinations that were less severe reduced forest structure and carbon stock relative to NCC. Fuel reduction treatments that had been applied prior to the severe wildfire did have persistent effects, especially under NCC, but were overwhelmed by increasingly severe climate change. We tested six management strategies aimed at sustaining future forests: prescribed burning at 5, 10, or 20-year intervals, thinning 40% or 60% of stand basal area, and no treatment. Severe climate change led to deforestation under all management regimes, but important differences emerged under the moderate scenarios: treatments that included regular prescribed burning fostered low density, wildfire-resistant forests composed of the naturally dominant species, ponderosa pine. Non-fire treatments under moderate climate change were forecast to become dense and susceptible to severe wildfire, with a shift to dominance by sprouting species. Current U.S. forest management requires modeling of future scenarios but does not mandate consideration of climate change effects. However, this study showed substantial differences in model outputs depending on climate and management actions. Managers should incorporate climate change into the process of analyzing the environmental effects of alternative actions.

Forest Resource Management Plans: A Sustainability Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pile, Lauren S.; Watts, Christine M.; Straka, Thomas J.

2012-01-01

Forest Resource Management Plans is the capstone course in many forestry and natural resource management curricula. The management plans are developed by senior forestry students. Early management plans courses were commonly technical exercises, often performed on contrived forest "tracts" on university-owned or other public lands, with a goal of…

Effects of Selected Timber Management Practices on Forest Birds in Missouri Oak-Hickory Forests: Pre-treatment Results

Treesearch

Rich L. Clawson; John Faaborg; Elena Seon

1997-01-01

Our goal is to understand the repercussions of two different forest management techniques on Neotropical migrant birds in the heavily forested landscape of the Missouri Ozarks. Our objectives are to determine breeding densities of forest birds under even-aged and uneven-aged management regimes and to determine the effects of these practices on songbird demographics....

Analysis of perception and community participation in forest management at KPHP model unit VII-Hulu Sarolangun, Jambi Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purnomo, B.; Anggoro, S.; Izzati, M.

2017-06-01

The concept of forest management at the site level in the form of forest management units (KPH) implemented by the government in an effort to improve forest governance in Indonesia. Forest management must ensure fairness for all stakeholders, especially indigenous and local communities that have been the most marginalized groups. Local communities have become an important part in the efforts to achieve sustainable forest management. Public perception as one of the stakeholders in forest management need to be analyzed to determine their perspectives on the forest. This study aimed to analyze the perception and the level of community participation in forest management activities in KPHP Model Unit VII-Hulu Sarolangun, as well as examine the relationship between these two variables. Perception variables are divided into three categories: good, moderate and bad, while the participation variable is also divided into three categories: high, medium, and low. Data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with the key informants and questionnaires to randomly selected respondents. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine whether there are differences of perception and participation between the two villages and the relationship between perceptions of participation or not. The results showed 90,16 % of people have a good perception and the remaining 9,84% have a moderate perception. In general, community participation is at a low level that is as much as 76,17 % and only 1,55% had a high participation rate. The analysis showed differences in levels of participation between the two villages and there is no relationship between the perception and the level of community participation in forest management. The results of this study can be taken into consideration for KPHP and other stakeholders in forest management policy in the region KPHP.

Changes in ground layer vegetation following timber harvests on the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project

Treesearch

Jennifer K. Grabner; Eric K. Zenner

2002-01-01

The Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP) is a landscape-scale experiment to test for effects of the following three common forest management practices on upland forests: 1) even-aged management (EAM), 2) uneven-aged management (UAM), and 3) no-harvest management (NHM). The first round of harvesting treatments was applied on the nine MOFEP sites in 1996. One...

Herbaceous-layer and overstory species in clear-cut and mature central Appalachian hardwood forests

Treesearch

Frank S. Gilliam; Nicole L. Turrill; Mary Beth Adams

1995-01-01

The current interest among resource managers in ecosystem management necessitates a better understanding of the response of plant species diversity to forest management practices. This study attempted to assess the effects of one forest management practice—clear-cutting—on plant biodiversity in a mid-Appalachian hardwood forest by comparing species composition and...

Relationships of three species of bats impacted by white-nose syndrome to forest condition and management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Silvis, Alexander; Perry, Roger W.; Ford, W. Mark

2016-01-01

Forest management activities can have substantial effects on forest structure and community composition and response of wildlife therein. Bats can be highly influenced by these structural changes, and understanding how forest management affects day-roost and foraging ecology of bats is currently a paramount conservation issue. With populations of many cave-hibernating bat species in eastern North America declining as a result of white-nose syndrome (WNS), it is increasingly critical to understand relationships among bats and forest-management activities. Herein, we provide a comprehensive literature review and synthesis of: (1) responses of northern long-eared (Myotis septentrionalis) and tri-colored (Perimyotis subflavus) bats—two species affected by WNS that use forests during summer—to forest management, and (2) an update to a previous review on the ecology of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis).

Did 250 years of forest management in Europe cool the climate?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naudts, Kim; Chen, Yiying; McGrath, Matthew; Ryder, James; Valade, Aude; Otto, Juliane; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan

2016-04-01

Over the past two centuries European forest has evolved from being an over-exploited source of timber to a sustainably managed provider of diverse ecosystem services. Although this transition is often perceived as exemplary in resources management, the loss of unmanaged forest, the progressive shift from traditional coppice forestry to the current production-oriented management and the massive conversion of broadleaved to coniferous species are typically overlooked when assessing the impact of land-use change on climate. Here we present a study that addressed this gap by: (1) developing and reparameterizing the ORCHIDEE land surface model to simulate the biogeochemical and biophysical effects of forest management, (2) reconstructing the land-use history of Europe, accounting for changes in forest management and land cover. The model was coupled to the atmospheric model LMDz in a factorial simulation experiment to attribute climate change to global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission and European land-use change since 1750 (i.e., afforestation, wood extraction and species conversion). We find that, despite considerable afforestation, Europe's forests failed to realize a net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere due to wood extraction. Moreover, biophysical changes due to the conversion of deciduous forest into coniferous forest have offset mitigation through the carbon cycle. Thus, two and a half centuries of forest management in Europe did not mitigate climate warming (Naudts et al., 2016). Naudts, K., Chen, Y., McGrath, M.J., Ryder, J., Valade, A., Otto, J., Luyssaert, S, Europe's forest management did not mitigate climate warming, Science, Accepted.

Decision Support for Ecosystem Management and Ecological Assessments (Chapter 12)

Treesearch

H. Michael Rauscher; Walter D. Potter

1999-01-01

In the face of mounting confrontation and after almost 20 years of increasingly contentious public unhappiness with the management of National Forests, the USDA Forest Service officially adopted ecosystem management as a land management paradigm (Overbay, 1992). Other federal forest land management agencies, such as the USDI Bureau of Land Management, the USDI National...

Under What Circumstances Do Wood Products from Native Forests Benefit Climate Change Mitigation?

PubMed

Keith, Heather; Lindenmayer, David; Macintosh, Andrew; Mackey, Brendan

2015-01-01

Climate change mitigation benefits from the land sector are not being fully realised because of uncertainty and controversy about the role of native forest management. The dominant policy view, as stated in the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report, is that sustainable forest harvesting yielding wood products, generates the largest mitigation benefit. We demonstrate that changing native forest management from commercial harvesting to conservation can make an important contribution to mitigation. Conservation of native forests results in an immediate and substantial reduction in net emissions relative to a reference case of commercial harvesting. We calibrated models to simulate scenarios of native forest management for two Australian case studies: mixed-eucalypt in New South Wales and Mountain Ash in Victoria. Carbon stocks in the harvested forest included forest biomass, wood and paper products, waste in landfill, and bioenergy that substituted for fossil fuel energy. The conservation forest included forest biomass, and subtracted stocks for the foregone products that were substituted by non-wood products or plantation products. Total carbon stocks were lower in harvested forest than in conservation forest in both case studies over the 100-year simulation period. We tested a range of potential parameter values reported in the literature: none could increase the combined carbon stock in products, slash, landfill and substitution sufficiently to exceed the increase in carbon stock due to changing management of native forest to conservation. The key parameters determining carbon stock change under different forest management scenarios are those affecting accumulation of carbon in forest biomass, rather than parameters affecting transfers among wood products. This analysis helps prioritise mitigation activities to focus on maximising forest biomass. International forest-related policies, including negotiations under the UNFCCC, have failed to recognize fully the mitigation value of native forest conservation. Our analyses provide evidence for decision-making about the circumstances under which forest management provides mitigation benefits.

Under What Circumstances Do Wood Products from Native Forests Benefit Climate Change Mitigation?

PubMed Central

Keith, Heather; Lindenmayer, David; Macintosh, Andrew; Mackey, Brendan

2015-01-01

Climate change mitigation benefits from the land sector are not being fully realised because of uncertainty and controversy about the role of native forest management. The dominant policy view, as stated in the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, is that sustainable forest harvesting yielding wood products, generates the largest mitigation benefit. We demonstrate that changing native forest management from commercial harvesting to conservation can make an important contribution to mitigation. Conservation of native forests results in an immediate and substantial reduction in net emissions relative to a reference case of commercial harvesting. We calibrated models to simulate scenarios of native forest management for two Australian case studies: mixed-eucalypt in New South Wales and Mountain Ash in Victoria. Carbon stocks in the harvested forest included forest biomass, wood and paper products, waste in landfill, and bioenergy that substituted for fossil fuel energy. The conservation forest included forest biomass, and subtracted stocks for the foregone products that were substituted by non-wood products or plantation products. Total carbon stocks were lower in harvested forest than in conservation forest in both case studies over the 100-year simulation period. We tested a range of potential parameter values reported in the literature: none could increase the combined carbon stock in products, slash, landfill and substitution sufficiently to exceed the increase in carbon stock due to changing management of native forest to conservation. The key parameters determining carbon stock change under different forest management scenarios are those affecting accumulation of carbon in forest biomass, rather than parameters affecting transfers among wood products. This analysis helps prioritise mitigation activities to focus on maximising forest biomass. International forest-related policies, including negotiations under the UNFCCC, have failed to recognize fully the mitigation value of native forest conservation. Our analyses provide evidence for decision-making about the circumstances under which forest management provides mitigation benefits. PMID:26436916

Overview of contemporary issues of forest research and management in China

Treesearch

Hong S. He; Stephen R. Shifley; Frank R., III Thompson

2011-01-01

With 207 million ha of forest covering 22% of its land area, China ranks fifth in the world in forest area. Rapid economic growth, climate change, and forest disturbances pose new, complex challenges for forest research and management. Progress in meeting these challenges is relevant beyond China, because China's forests represent 34% of Asia's forests and 5...

76 FR 11193 - Sequoia National Forest; California; Piute Mountains Travel Management Plan; Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-01

... National Forest; California; Piute Mountains Travel Management Plan; Correction AGENCY: Forest Service... intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the Piute Mountains Travel Management Plan. FOR...

What Data to Use for Forest Conservation Planning? A Comparison of Coarse Open and Detailed Proprietary Forest Inventory Data in Finland

PubMed Central

Lehtomäki, Joona; Tuominen, Sakari; Toivonen, Tuuli; Leinonen, Antti

2015-01-01

The boreal region is facing intensifying resource extraction pressure, but the lack of comprehensive biodiversity data makes operative forest conservation planning difficult. Many countries have implemented forest inventory schemes and are making extensive and up-to-date forest databases increasingly available. Some of the more detailed inventory databases, however, remain proprietary and unavailable for conservation planning. Here, we investigate how well different open and proprietary forest inventory data sets suit the purpose of conservation prioritization in Finland. We also explore how much priorities are affected by using the less accurate but open data. First, we construct a set of indices for forest conservation value based on quantitative information commonly found in forest inventories. These include the maturity of the trees, tree species composition, and site fertility. Secondly, using these data and accounting for connectivity between forest types, we investigate the patterns in conservation priority. For prioritization, we use Zonation, a method and software for spatial conservation prioritization. We then validate the prioritizations by comparing them to known areas of high conservation value. We show that the overall priority patterns are relatively consistent across different data sources and analysis options. However, the coarse data cannot be used to accurately identify the high-priority areas as it misses much of the fine-scale variation in forest structures. We conclude that, while inventory data collected for forestry purposes may be useful for forest conservation purposes, it needs to be detailed enough to be able to account for more fine-scaled features of high conservation value. These results underline the importance of making detailed inventory data publicly available. Finally, we discuss how the prioritization methodology we used could be integrated into operative forest management, especially in countries in the boreal zone. PMID:26317227

What Data to Use for Forest Conservation Planning? A Comparison of Coarse Open and Detailed Proprietary Forest Inventory Data in Finland.

PubMed

Lehtomäki, Joona; Tuominen, Sakari; Toivonen, Tuuli; Leinonen, Antti

2015-01-01

The boreal region is facing intensifying resource extraction pressure, but the lack of comprehensive biodiversity data makes operative forest conservation planning difficult. Many countries have implemented forest inventory schemes and are making extensive and up-to-date forest databases increasingly available. Some of the more detailed inventory databases, however, remain proprietary and unavailable for conservation planning. Here, we investigate how well different open and proprietary forest inventory data sets suit the purpose of conservation prioritization in Finland. We also explore how much priorities are affected by using the less accurate but open data. First, we construct a set of indices for forest conservation value based on quantitative information commonly found in forest inventories. These include the maturity of the trees, tree species composition, and site fertility. Secondly, using these data and accounting for connectivity between forest types, we investigate the patterns in conservation priority. For prioritization, we use Zonation, a method and software for spatial conservation prioritization. We then validate the prioritizations by comparing them to known areas of high conservation value. We show that the overall priority patterns are relatively consistent across different data sources and analysis options. However, the coarse data cannot be used to accurately identify the high-priority areas as it misses much of the fine-scale variation in forest structures. We conclude that, while inventory data collected for forestry purposes may be useful for forest conservation purposes, it needs to be detailed enough to be able to account for more fine-scaled features of high conservation value. These results underline the importance of making detailed inventory data publicly available. Finally, we discuss how the prioritization methodology we used could be integrated into operative forest management, especially in countries in the boreal zone.

The consequences of poaching and anthropogenic change for forest elephants.

PubMed

Breuer, Thomas; Maisels, Fiona; Fishlock, Vicki

2016-10-01

Poaching has devastated forest elephant populations (Loxodonta cyclotis), and their habitat is dramatically changing. The long-term effects of poaching and other anthropogenic threats have been well studied in savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana), but the impacts of these changes for Central Africa's forest elephants have not been discussed. We examined potential repercussions of these threats and the related consequences for forest elephants in Central Africa by summarizing the lessons learned from savannah elephants and small forest elephant populations in West Africa. Forest elephant social organization is less known than the social organization of savannah elephants, but the close evolutionary history of these species suggests that they will respond to anthropogenic threats in broadly similar ways. The loss of older, experienced individuals in an elephant population disrupts ecological, social, and population parameters. Severe reduction of elephant abundance within Central Africa's forests can alter plant communities and ecosystem functions. Poaching, habitat alterations, and human population increase are probably compressing forest elephants into protected areas and increasing human-elephant conflict, which negatively affects their conservation. We encourage conservationists to look beyond documenting forest elephant population decline and address the causes of these declines when developing conversation strategies. We suggest assessing the effectiveness of the existing protected-area networks for landscape connectivity in light of current industrial and infrastructure development. Longitudinal assessments of the effects of landscape changes on forest elephant sociality and behavior are also needed. Finally, lessons learned from West African elephant population loss and habitat fragmentation should be used to inform strategies for land-use planning and managing human-elephant interactions. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Forest pricing and concession policies: Managing the high forest of west and Central Africa. World Bank Technical Paper 143; Politique de redevances et de concessions forestires: gestion des futaies en afrique occidentale et centrale

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grut, M.; Gray, J.A.; Egli, N.

1993-12-01

This French edition of Forest Pricing and Concession Policies: Managing the High Forest of West and Central Africa describes forest revenue systems and concession policies in the tropical moist hardwood forests of West and Central Africa. Virtually all the forests of Africa are publicly owned by central governments or local communities. Revenues from these forests are generally very low due to low forest fees and low collection rates. The lack of concession fees encourages acquisition and waste rather than management and conservation, leading to the allocation of large areas as logging concessions. This paper reviews current issues in silviculture, tenure,more » concession management, and biological and financial sustainable development. Until the fledgling forestry departments of governments in West and Central Africa are strengthened, the report concludes that a simple system of forest fees should be implemented. The report recommends that such a system emphasize bidding and concession fees. Three specific options in forest pricing are examined for a proposed system; annual concession rent; annual concession rent set by competitive bidding; logging concessions replaced by forest management concessions.« less

Development of a stand-scale forest biodiversity index based on the state forest inventory

Treesearch

Diego Van Den Meersschaut; Kris Vandekerkhove

2000-01-01

Ecological aspects are increasingly influencing silvicultural management. Estimating forest biodiversity has become one often major tools for evaluating management strategies. A stand-scale forest biodiversity index is developed, based on available data from the state forest inventory. The index combines aspects of forest structure, woody and herbal layer composition,...

36 CFR 222.32 - Use of non-Forest Service personnel.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Use of non-Forest Service personnel. 222.32 Section 222.32 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RANGE MANAGEMENT Management of Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros § 222.32 Use of non-Forest...

Management impacts on forest floor and soil organic carbon in northern temperate forests of the US

Treesearch

Coeli M. Hoover

2011-01-01

The role of forests in the global carbon cycle has been the subject of a great deal of research recently, but the impact of management practices on forest soil dynamics at the stand level has received less attention. This study used six forest management experimental sites in five northern states of the US to investigate the effects of silvicultural treatments (light...

The intertwining paths of the density managment and riparian buffer study and the Northwest Forest Plan

Treesearch

Kenneth J. Ruzicka; Deanna H. Olson; Klaus J. Puettmann

2013-01-01

Initiated simultaneously, the Density Management and Riparian Buff er Study of western Oregon and the Northwest Forest Plan have had intertwining paths related to federal forest management and policy changes in the Pacifi c Northwest over the last 15 to 20 years. We briefl y discuss the development of the Northwest Forest Plan and how it changed the way forest policy...

Managing burned landscapes: Evaluating future management strategies for resilient forests under a warming climate

Treesearch

K. L. Shive; P. Z. Fule; C. H. Sieg; B. A. Strom; M. E. Hunter

2014-01-01

Climate change effects on forested ecosystems worldwide include increases in drought-related mortality, changes to disturbance regimes and shifts in species distributions. Such climate-induced changes will alter the outcomes of current management strategies, complicating the selection of appropriate strategies to promote forest resilience. We modelled forest growth in...

Timber management opportunities in Pennsylvania

Treesearch

Henry H. Webster

1960-01-01

The Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters serves the people in managing state forest lands and in helping private owners manage their forest lands. To produce more timber from Pennsylvania forests, the Department applies many different forestry practices. But the more effort it spends in one direction, the less it can spend in others. So the Department must...

Education and Training in Natural Forest Management. Training Discussion Paper No. 88.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Longo, Alceu Natal

A program for natural forest management in developing countries consists of several integrated projects. Although aimed at establishing norms and criteria for natural forest management in Mata Atlantica (Atlantic Forest) in southern Brazil, the norms also apply to other types of tropical vegetation in order to ensure continuous economic…

A framework for identifying carbon hotspots and forest management drivers

Treesearch

Nilesh Timilsina; Francisco J. Escobedo; Wendell P. Cropper; Amr Abd-Elrahman; Thomas Brandeis; Sonia Delphin; Samuel Lambert

2013-01-01

Spatial analyses of ecosystem system services that are directly relevant to both forest management decision making and conservation in the subtropics are rare. Also, frameworks that identify and map carbon stocks and corresponding forest management drivers using available regional, national, and international-level forest inventory datasets could provide insights into...

75 FR 27286 - McKelvie Geographic Area Range Allotment Management Planning on the Samuel R. McKelvie National...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-14

... range allotment management planning on the McKelvie Geographic Area, Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service McKelvie Geographic Area Range Allotment Management Planning on the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest, Bessey Ranger District in Nebraska AGENCY: Forest...

Will concern for biodiversity spell doom to tropical forest management?

Treesearch

A.E. Lugo

1999-01-01

Arguments against active tropical management are analyzed in light of available data and new research that shows tropical forests to be more resilient after disturbances than previously thought. Tropical forest management involves a diverse array of human activity embedded in a complex social and natural environment. Within this milieu, forest structure and composition...

Sediment loads and erosion in forest headwater streams of the Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Carolyn T. Hunsaker; Daniel G. Neary

2012-01-01

Defining best management practices for forests requires quantification of the variability of stream sediment loads for managed and unmanaged forest conditions and their associated sediment sources. Although "best management practices" are used, the public has concerns about effects from forest restoration activities and commercial timber harvests. It is...

Proceedings: integrated management and dynamics of forest defoliating insects

Treesearch

A.M. Liebhold; M.L. McManus; I.S. Otvos; S.L.C Fosbroke

2001-01-01

This publication contains 18 research papers about the population ecology and management of forest insect defoliators. These papers were presented at a joint meeting of working parties s7.03.06, "Integrated Management of Forest Defoliating Insects," and S7.03.07, "Population Dynamics of Forest Insects," of the International Union of...

Communicating the story of silviculture on the Allegheny National Forest

Treesearch

Lois M. DeMarco; Susan L. Stout

1997-01-01

To communicate the story of silviculture on the Allegheny National Forest, we need to distinguish silviculture-the art and science of manipulating forest vegetation to achieve management objectives-from forest management. During the field trip for the National Silviculture Workshop we visited five sites that demonstrate how inventory and monitoring, resource management...

Values, Ethics, and Attitudes Toward National Forest Management: An Empirical Study

Treesearch

Robert Manning; William Valliere; Ben Minteer

1999-01-01

This study measures environmental values and ethics and explores their relationships to attitudes toward national forest management. The principal research methods were literature review and a survey of Vermont residents concerning management of the Green Mountain National Forest. Descriptive findings suggest respondents (1) favor nonmaterial values of national forests...

Range management research, Fort Valley Experimental Forest

Treesearch

Henry A. Pearson; Warren P. Clary; Margaret M. Moore; Carolyn Hull Sieg

2008-01-01

Range management research at the Fort Valley Experimental Forest during the past 100 years has provided scientific knowledge for managing ponderosa pine forests and forest-range grazing lands in the Southwest. Three research time periods are identified: 1908 to 1950, 1950 to 1978, and 1978 to 2008. Early research (1908-1950) addressed ecological effects of livestock...

A historical forest management conundrum: do social and biophysical mix?

Treesearch

Heidi Bigler-Cole

2005-01-01

Forest managers face an array of prickly, seemingly intractable environmental problems. They have traditionally turned to the biophysical sciences to help gauge potential management effects, weigh alternatives, and set priorities. Over the past several decades, forest managers have watched management plans disintegrate in the face of grassroots-level protests, quarrels...

Potential for spatial management of hunted mammal populations in tropical forests

Treesearch

Miranda H. Mockrin; Kent H. Redford

2011-01-01

Unsustainable hunting in tropical forests threatens biodiversity and rural livelihoods, yet managing these harvests in remote forests with low scientific capacity and funding is challenging. In response, some conservationists propose managing harvests through spatial management, a system of establishing notake zones where hunting is not allowed. Spatial management was...

Quantifying the Detrimental Impacts of Land-Use and Management Change on European Forest Bird Populations

PubMed Central

Wade, Amy S. I.; Barov, Boris; Burfield, Ian J.; Gregory, Richard D.; Norris, Ken; Butler, Simon J.

2013-01-01

The ecological impacts of changing forest management practices in Europe are poorly understood despite European forests being highly managed. Furthermore, the effects of potential drivers of forest biodiversity decline are rarely considered in concert, thus limiting effective conservation or sustainable forest management. We present a trait-based framework that we use to assess the detrimental impact of multiple land-use and management changes in forests on bird populations across Europe. Major changes to forest habitats occurring in recent decades, and their impact on resource availability for birds were identified. Risk associated with these changes for 52 species of forest birds, defined as the proportion of each species' key resources detrimentally affected through changes in abundance and/or availability, was quantified and compared to their pan-European population growth rates between 1980 and 2009. Relationships between risk and population growth were found to be significantly negative, indicating that resource loss in European forests is an important driver of decline for both resident and migrant birds. Our results demonstrate that coarse quantification of resource use and ecological change can be valuable in understanding causes of biodiversity decline, and thus in informing conservation strategy and policy. Such an approach has good potential to be extended for predictive use in assessing the impact of possible future changes to forest management and to develop more precise indicators of forest health. PMID:23704997

Spatial and temporal trends of drought effects in a heterogeneous semi-arid forest ecosystem

USGS Publications Warehouse

Assal, Timothy J.; Anderson, Patrick J.; Sibold, Jason

2016-01-01

Drought has long been recognized as a driving mechanism in the forests of western North America and drought-induced mortality has been documented across genera in recent years. Given the frequency of these events are expected to increase in the future, understanding patterns of mortality and plant response to severe drought is important to resource managers. Drought can affect the functional, physiological, structural, and demographic properties of forest ecosystems. Remote sensing studies have documented changes in forest properties due to direct and indirect effects of drought; however, few studies have addressed this at local scales needed to characterize highly heterogeneous ecosystems in the forest-shrubland ecotone. We analyzed a 22-year Landsat time series (1985–2012) to determine changes in forest in an area that experienced a relatively dry decade punctuated by two years of extreme drought. We assessed the relationship between several vegetation indices and field measured characteristics (e.g. plant area index and canopy gap fraction) and applied these indices to trend analysis to uncover the location, direction and timing of change. Finally, we assessed the interaction of climate and topography by forest functional type. The Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), a measure of canopy water content, had the strongest correlation with short-term field measures of plant area index (R2 = 0.64) and canopy gap fraction (R2 = 0.65). Over the entire time period, 25% of the forested area experienced a significant (p-value < 0.05) negative trend in NDMI, compared to less than 10% in a positive trend. Coniferous forests were more likely to be associated with a negative NDMI trend than deciduous forest. Forests on southern aspects were least likely to exhibit a negative trend while north aspects were most prevalent. Field plots with a negative trend had a lower live density, and higher amounts of standing dead and down trees compared to plots with no trend. Our analysis identifies spatially explicit patterns of long-term trends anchored with ground based evidence to highlight areas of forest that are resistant, persistent or vulnerable to severe drought. The results provide a long-term perspective for the resource management of this area and can be applied to similar ecosystems throughout western North America.

[A review on disturbance ecology of forest].

PubMed

Zhu, Jiaojun; Liu, Zugen

2004-10-01

More than 80% of terrestrial ecosystems have been influenced by natural disasters, human activities and the combination of both natural and human disturbances. Forest ecosystem, as one of the most important terrestrial ecosystems, has also been disturbed without exception. Under the disturbance from natural disasters and human activities, particularly from the unreasonable activities of human beings, forest decline or forest degradation has become more and more severe. For this reason, sustaining or recovering forest service functions is one of the current purposes for managing forest ecosystems. In recent decades, the studies on disturbed ecosystems have been carried out frequently, especially on their ecological processes and their responses to the disturbances. These studies play a very important role in the projects of natural forest conservation and the construction of ecological environment in China. Based on a wide range of literatures collection on forest disturbance research, this paper discussed the fundamental concepts of disturbance ecology, the relationships between forest management and disturbance, and the study contents of forest disturbance ecology. The major research topics of forest disturbance ecology may include: 1) the basic characteristics of disturbed forests; 2) the processes of natural and human disturbances; 3) the responses of forests ecosystem to the disturbances; 4) the main ecological processes or the consequential results of disturbed forests, including the change of biodiversity, soil nutrient and water cycle, eco-physiology and carbon cycle, regeneration mechanism of disturbed forests and so on; 5) the relationships between disturbances and forest management; and 6) the principles and techniques for the management of disturbed forests. This review may be helpful to the management of disturbed forest ecosystem, and to the projects of natural forest conservation in China.

Uncertainty in future water supplies from forests: hydrologic effects of a changing forest landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, J. A.; Achterman, G. L.; Alexander, L. E.; Brooks, K. N.; Creed, I. F.; Ffolliott, P. F.; MacDonald, L.; Wemple, B. C.

2008-12-01

Forests account for 33 percent of the U.S. land area, process nearly two-thirds of the fresh water supply, and provide water to 40 percent of all municipalities or about 180 million people. Water supply management is becoming more difficult given the increasing demand for water, climate change, increasing development, changing forest ownership, and increasingly fragmented laws governing forest and watershed management. In 2006, the US National Research Council convened a study on the present understanding of forest hydrology, the hydrologic effects of a changing forest landscape, and research and management needs for sustaining water resources from forested landscapes. The committee concluded that while it is possible to generate short-term water yield increases by timber harvesting, there are a variety of reasons why active forest management has only limited potential to sustainably increase water supplies. These include the short-term nature of the increases in most environments, the timing of the increases, the need for downstream storage, and that continuing ground- based timber harvest can reduce water quality. At the same time, past and continuing changes in forest structure and management may be altering water supplies at the larger time and space scales that are of most interest to forest and water managers. These changes include the legacy of past forest management practices, particularly fire suppression and clearcutting; exurban sprawl, which permanently converts forest land to nonforest uses; effects of climate change on wildfires, insect outbreaks, forest structure, forest species composition, snowpack depth and snowmelt; road networks; and changes in forest land ownership. All of these changes have the potential to alter water quantity and quality from forests. Hence, the baseline conditions that have been used to estimate sustained water yields from forested watersheds may no longer be applicable. Stationarity also can no longer be assumed for the long-term control watersheds that have served as the cornerstone for most watershed-scale forest hydrology studies. The net result is that forest and water managers are facing greater uncertainty about future water supplies, water quality, and aquatic ecosystems, and their planning must consider a broader range of future scenarios than in the past. In this presentation, we outline a way forward for the research community to address the challenging questions of the future related to forests and water, and we chart a path for the involvement of various stakeholder groups to engage in water resources research, monitoring and policy formation.

Revaluing unmanaged forests for climate change mitigation.

PubMed

Krug, Joachim; Koehl, Michael; Kownatzki, Dierk

2012-11-14

Unmanaged or old-growth forests are of paramount importance for carbon sequestration and thus for the mitigation of climate change among further implications, e.g. biodiversity aspects. Still, the importance of those forests for climate change mitigation compared to managed forests is under controversial debate. We evaluate the adequacy of referring to CO2 flux measurements alone and include external impacts on growth (nitrogen immissions, increasing temperatures, CO2 enrichment, changed precipitation patterns) for an evaluation of central European forests in this context. We deduce that the use of CO2 flux measurements alone does not allow conclusions on a superiority of unmanaged to managed forests for mitigation goals. This is based on the critical consideration of uncertainties and the application of system boundaries. Furthermore, the consideration of wood products for material and energetic substitution obviously overrules the mitigation potential of unmanaged forests. Moreover, impacts of nitrogen immissions, CO2 enrichment of the atmosphere, increasing temperatures and changed precipitation patterns obviously lead to a meaningful increase in growth, even in forests of higher age. An impact of unmanaged forests on climate change mitigation cannot be valued by CO2 flux measurements alone. Further research is needed on cause and effect relationships between management practices and carbon stocks in different compartments of forest ecosystems in order to account for human-induced changes. Unexpected growth rates in old-growth forests - managed or not - can obviously be related to external impacts and additionally to management impacts. This should lead to the reconsideration of forest management strategies.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cranbrook, The Earl of.

After a century of scientific investigation, it is now possible to understand Malaysia's complex ecosystem as an essential prerequisite to the successful management for conservation and long term productivity in the area. Contents: The physical setting: Forest types and forest zonation; The dipterocarps; Forest palms; Forest bamboos; Herbaceous flowering plants; Ferns; Higher fungi; Forest tree biology; Forest management; Mammals; Genetic diversity and evolution; Mammals; Distribution and ecology, Earl of Cranbook, Birds; Termites in rain forests; Forest lepidoptera; Freshwaters; Animal conservation strategies; People of the forest.

­­Estimating Forest Management Units from Road Network Maps in the Southeastern U.S.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, D.; Hall, J.; Fu, C. S.; Binford, M. W.

2015-12-01

The most important factor affecting forest structure and function is the type of management undertaken in forest stands. Owners manage forests using appropriately sized areas to meet management objectives, which include economic return, sustainability, recreation, or esthetic enjoyment. Thus, the socio-environmental unit of study for forests should be the management unit. To study the ecological effects of different kinds of management activities, we must identify individual management units. Road networks, which provide access for human activities, are widely used in managing forests in the southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain and Piedmont (SEUS). Our research question in this study is: How can we identify individual forest management units in an entire region? To answer it, we hypothesize that the road network defines management units on the landscape. Road-caused canopy openings are not always captured by satellite sensors, so it is difficult to delineate ecologically relevant patches based only on remote sensing data. We used a reliable, accurate and freely available road network data, OpenStreetMap (OSM), and the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) to delineate management units in a section of the SEUS defined by Landsat Wprldwide Reference System (WRS) II footprint path 17 row 39. The spatial frequency distributions of forest management units indicate that while units < 0.5 Ha comprised 64% of the units, these small units covered only 0.98% of the total forest area. Management units ≥ 0.5 Ha ranged from 0.5 to 160,770 Ha (the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge). We compared the size-frequency distributions of management units with four independently derived management types: production, ecological, preservation, and passive management. Preservation and production management had the largest units, at 40.5 ± 2196.7 (s.d.) and 41.3 ± 273.5 Ha, respectively. Ecological and passive averaged about half as large at 19.2 ± 91.5 and 22.4 ± 96.0 Ha, respectively. This result supports the hypothesis that the road network defines management units in SEUS. If this way of delineating management units stands under further testing, it will provide a way of subdividing the landscape so that we can study the effects of different management on forest ecosystems.

Sensitivity of managed boreal forests in Finland to climate change, with implications for adaptive management.

PubMed

Kellomäki, Seppo; Peltola, Heli; Nuutinen, Tuula; Korhonen, Kari T; Strandman, Harri

2008-07-12

This study investigated the sensitivity of managed boreal forests to climate change, with consequent needs to adapt the management to climate change. Model simulations representing the Finnish territory between 60 and 70 degrees N showed that climate change may substantially change the dynamics of managed boreal forests in northern Europe. This is especially probable at the northern and southern edges of this forest zone. In the north, forest growth may increase, but the special features of northern forests may be diminished. In the south, climate change may create a suboptimal environment for Norway spruce. Dominance of Scots pine may increase on less fertile sites currently occupied by Norway spruce. Birches may compete with Scots pine even in these sites and the dominance of birches may increase. These changes may reduce the total forest growth locally but, over the whole of Finland, total forest growth may increase by 44%, with an increase of 82% in the potential cutting drain. The choice of appropriate species and reduced rotation length may sustain the productivity of forest land under climate change.

Managing the stands of the future based on the lessons of the past: estimating Western timber species product recovery by using historical data.

Treesearch

James A. Stevens; R. James Barbour

2000-01-01

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest Research Station have completed over 100 forest product recovery studies over the past 40 years. Tree, log, and product data from these studies have been entered into a database, which will allow further analysis within, between, and across studies. Opportunities for analysis include stand-to-log-to-final product estimates of volume...

Evaluating the impact of abrupt changes in forest policy and management practices on landscape dynamics: analysis of a Landsat image time series in the Atlantic Northern Forest.

PubMed

Legaard, Kasey R; Sader, Steven A; Simons-Legaard, Erin M

2015-01-01

Sustainable forest management is based on functional relationships between management actions, landscape conditions, and forest values. Changes in management practices make it fundamentally more difficult to study these relationships because the impacts of current practices are difficult to disentangle from the persistent influences of past practices. Within the Atlantic Northern Forest of Maine, U.S.A., forest policy and management practices changed abruptly in the early 1990s. During the 1970s-1980s, a severe insect outbreak stimulated salvage clearcutting of large contiguous tracts of spruce-fir forest. Following clearcut regulation in 1991, management practices shifted abruptly to near complete dependence on partial harvesting. Using a time series of Landsat satellite imagery (1973-2010) we assessed cumulative landscape change caused by these very different management regimes. We modeled predominant temporal patterns of harvesting and segmented a large study area into groups of landscape units with similar harvest histories. Time series of landscape composition and configuration metrics averaged within groups revealed differences in landscape dynamics caused by differences in management history. In some groups (24% of landscape units), salvage caused rapid loss and subdivision of intact mature forest. Persistent landscape change was created by large salvage clearcuts (often averaging > 100 ha) and conversion of spruce-fir to deciduous and mixed forest. In groups that were little affected by salvage (56% of landscape units), contemporary partial harvesting caused loss and subdivision of intact mature forest at even greater rates. Patch shape complexity and edge density reached high levels even where cumulative harvest area was relatively low. Contemporary practices introduced more numerous and much smaller patches of stand-replacing disturbance (typically averaging <15 ha) and a correspondingly large amount of edge. Management regimes impacted different areas to different degrees, producing different trajectories of landscape change that should be recognized when studying the impact of policy and management practices on forest ecology.

Evaluating the Impact of Abrupt Changes in Forest Policy and Management Practices on Landscape Dynamics: Analysis of a Landsat Image Time Series in the Atlantic Northern Forest

PubMed Central

Legaard, Kasey R.; Sader, Steven A.; Simons-Legaard, Erin M.

2015-01-01

Sustainable forest management is based on functional relationships between management actions, landscape conditions, and forest values. Changes in management practices make it fundamentally more difficult to study these relationships because the impacts of current practices are difficult to disentangle from the persistent influences of past practices. Within the Atlantic Northern Forest of Maine, U.S.A., forest policy and management practices changed abruptly in the early 1990s. During the 1970s-1980s, a severe insect outbreak stimulated salvage clearcutting of large contiguous tracts of spruce-fir forest. Following clearcut regulation in 1991, management practices shifted abruptly to near complete dependence on partial harvesting. Using a time series of Landsat satellite imagery (1973-2010) we assessed cumulative landscape change caused by these very different management regimes. We modeled predominant temporal patterns of harvesting and segmented a large study area into groups of landscape units with similar harvest histories. Time series of landscape composition and configuration metrics averaged within groups revealed differences in landscape dynamics caused by differences in management history. In some groups (24% of landscape units), salvage caused rapid loss and subdivision of intact mature forest. Persistent landscape change was created by large salvage clearcuts (often averaging > 100 ha) and conversion of spruce-fir to deciduous and mixed forest. In groups that were little affected by salvage (56% of landscape units), contemporary partial harvesting caused loss and subdivision of intact mature forest at even greater rates. Patch shape complexity and edge density reached high levels even where cumulative harvest area was relatively low. Contemporary practices introduced more numerous and much smaller patches of stand-replacing disturbance (typically averaging <15 ha) and a correspondingly large amount of edge. Management regimes impacted different areas to different degrees, producing different trajectories of landscape change that should be recognized when studying the impact of policy and management practices on forest ecology. PMID:26106893

76 FR 69700 - Klamath National Forest; California; Pumice Vegetation Management Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-09

... Management Project AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact.... Grantham, Forest Supervisor, Attn: Ben Haupt, Pumice Vegetation Management Project Team Leader, Goosenest... Management Project will recommend implementation of one of the following: (1) The proposed action; (2) an...

Balancing trade-offs between ecosystem services in Germany’s forests under climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutsch, Martin; Lasch-Born, Petra; Kollas, Chris; Suckow, Felicitas; Reyer, Christopher P. O.

2018-04-01

Germany’s forests provide a variety of ecosystem services. Sustainable forest management aims to optimize the provision of these services at regional level. However, climate change will impact forest ecosystems and subsequently ecosystem services. The objective of this study is to quantify the effects of two alternative management scenarios and climate impacts on forest variables indicative of ecosystem services related to timber, habitat, water, and carbon. The ecosystem services are represented through nine model output variables (timber harvest, above and belowground biomass, net ecosystem production, soil carbon, percolation, nitrogen leaching, deadwood, tree dimension, broadleaf tree proportion) from the process-based forest model 4C. We simulated forest growth, carbon and water cycling until 2045 with 4C set-up for the whole German forest area based on National Forest Inventory data and driven by three management strategies (nature protection, biomass production and a baseline management) and an ensemble of regional climate scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 8.5). We provide results as relative changes compared to the baseline management and observed climate. Forest management measures have the strongest effects on ecosystem services inducing positive or negative changes of up to 40% depending on the ecosystem service in question, whereas climate change only slightly alters ecosystem services averaged over the whole forest area. The ecosystem services ‘carbon’ and ‘timber’ benefit from climate change, while ‘water’ and ‘habitat’ lose. We detect clear trade-offs between ‘timber’ and all other ecosystem services, as well as synergies between ‘habitat’ and ‘carbon’. When evaluating all ecosystem services simultaneously, our results reveal certain interrelations between climate and management scenarios. North-eastern and western forest regions are more suitable to provide timber (while minimizing the negative impacts on remaining ecosystem services) whereas southern and central forest regions are more suitable to fulfil ‘habitat’ and ‘carbon’ services. The results provide the base for future forest management optimizations at the regional scale in order to maximize ecosystem services and forest ecosystem sustainability at the national scale.

Application of BIOME-BGC to Managed Forest Ecosystems in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pietsch, S. A.; Petritsch, R.; Hasenauer, H.

2007-05-01

European forests have been severely modified by humans resulting in a reduction of forest covered land area, a change in tree species distribution and the deterioration of forest soils. One option to assess forest management impacts on the cycling of carbon, nitrogen and water is the use of BGC-Models. Such models are considered as diagnostic tools for studying sustainability of forest ecosystems and have been used for climate change impact studies on forest growth and carbon sequestration issues. In our efforts to develop an appropriate diagnostic tool to assess the dynamics of carbon, nitrogen, water and energy flux for sustainable forest ecosystem management and climate change studies, we have selected BIOME-BGC. The main reason was that the general model structure is flexible enough to integrate large scale, regional as well as forest stand level information. During the last years we worked on the following extensions: (1) Tested and extended algorithms to interpolate daily climate input data as they are needed to run the model for any location within the country; (2) We developed a set of species specific parameters for all major tree species in Central Europe: Norway spruce (two variants highland and lowlands), Scots pine, Stone pine, larch, common beech and oak forests. These parameters sets are important since in BIOME-BGC vegetation is distinguished in biomes or plant functional types but the impacts of forest management (e.g. changes in stand density) may differ substantially among the tree species assigned to a single biome. (3) We extended the model to cover the full variation ranging from conditions including temperature extremes at the timberline to periodic ground water access or flooding in lowlands. (4) We adapted the spinup procedure to ensure unbiased predictions on forest status in the absence of past and present management impacts. (5) Explicitly addressed the effects of past and present forest management as they may differ by species and silvicultural practice. (6) We assess climate change impacts on managed forests and discuss the impacts of our results on forest management practices.

Carbon profile of the managed forest sector in Canada in the 20th century: sink or source?

PubMed

Chen, Jiaxin; Colombo, Stephen J; Ter-Mikaelian, Michael T; Heath, Linda S

2014-08-19

Canada contains 10% of global forests and has been one of the world's largest harvested wood products (HWP) producers. Therefore, Canada's managed forest sector, the managed forest area and HWP, has the potential to significantly increase or reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases. Using the most comprehensive carbon balance analysis to date, this study shows Canada's managed forest area and resulting HWP were a sink of 7510 and 849 teragrams carbon (TgC), respectively, in the period 1901-2010, exceeding Canada's fossil fuel-based emissions over this period (7333 TgC). If Canadian HWP were not produced and used for residential construction, and instead more energy intensive materials were used, there would have been an additional 790 TgC fossil fuel-based emissions. Because the forest carbon increases in the 20th century were mainly due to younger growing forests that resulted from disturbances in the 19th century, and future increases in forest carbon stocks appear uncertain, in coming decades most of the mitigation contribution from Canadian forests will likely accrue from wood substitution that reduces fossil fuel-based emissions and stores carbon, so long as those forests are managed sustainably.

Forest inventory: role in accountability for sustainable forest management

Treesearch

Lloyd C. Irland

2007-01-01

Forest inventory can play several roles in accountability for sustainable forest management. A first dimension is accountability for national performance. The new field of Criteria and Indicators is an expression of this need. A more familiar role for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program is for assessment and...

Conversion of natural forest to managed forest plantations decreases tree resistance to prolonged droughts

Treesearch

Jean-Christophe Domec; John S. King; Eric Ward; A. Christopher Oishi; Sari Palmroth; Andrew Radecki; Dave M. Bell; Guofang Miao; Michael Gavazzi; Daniel M. Johnson; Steve G. McNulty; Ge Sun; Asko Noormets

2015-01-01

Throughout the southern US, past forest management practices have replaced large areas of native forests with loblolly pine plantations and have resulted in changes in forest response to extreme weather conditions. However, uncertainty remains about the response of planted versus natural species to drought across the geographical range of these forests. Taking...

75 FR 54085 - Divide Ranger District, Rio Grande National Forest; Colorado; Big Moose Vegetation Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-03

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Divide Ranger District, Rio Grande National Forest; Colorado; Big Moose Vegetation Management Project AGENCY: Forest Service, Rio Grande National Forest, USDA. ACTION: Corrected Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. DATES: The draft...

Recreation-related perceptions of natural resource managers in the Saranac Lakes wild forest area

Treesearch

Diane Kuehn; Mark Mink; Rudy Schuster

2007-01-01

Public forest managers often work with diverse stakeholder groups as they implement forest management policies. Within the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest area of New York State's Adirondack Park, stakeholder groups such as visitors, business owners, and landowners often have conflicting perceptions about issues related to water-based recreation in the region's...

Mixed-species forest ecosystems in the Great Lakes region: A bibliography

Treesearch

John P. Gerlach; Daniel W. Gilmore; Klaus J. Puettmann; John C. Zasada

2002-01-01

Most of the world?s forests are dominated by mixed species stands but until recently, most forest management activities have focused on the development of single-species stands. To maximize fiber production, monoculture plantations were preferred because management and growth and yield prediction were simplified. This model of forest management developed because the...

Soil carbon sequestration and forest management: challenges and opportunities

Treesearch

Coeli M. Hoover

2003-01-01

The subject of the effects of forest management activities on soil carbon is a difficult one to address, but ongoing discussions of carbon sequestration as an emissions offset and the emergence of carbon-credit-trading systems necessitate that we broaden and deepen our understanding of the response of forest-soil carbon pools to forest management. There have been...

The scenic impact of key forest attributes and long-term management alternatives for hardwood forests

Treesearch

R.G. Ribe

1991-01-01

The problem of identifying the scenic value of forest attributes and management plans is empirically explored. A sample of hardwood forests in Wisconsin, representing a diversity of management histories, is analyzed through photographs and field inventories. Scenic beauty judgements of the photographs by a diversity of respondents yield general scenic beauty estimates...

Forecasting long-term acorn production with and without oak decline using forest inventory data

Treesearch

Cathryn H. Greenberg; Chad E. Keyser; Leah C. Rathburn; Anita K. Rose; Todd M. Fearer; Henry W. McNab

2013-01-01

Acorns are important as wildlife food and for oak regeneration, but production is highly variable, posing a challenge to forest managers targeting acorn production levels. Forest managers need tools to predict acorn production capability tailored to individual landscapes and forest management scenarios, adjusting for oak mortality and stand development over time. We...

Using topography to meet wildlife and fuels treatment objectives in fire-suppressed landscapes

Treesearch

Emma C. Underwood; Joshua H. Viers; James F. Quinn; Malcolm North

2010-01-01

Past forest management practices, fire suppression, and climate change are increasing the need to actively manage California Sierra Nevada forests for multiple environmental amenities. Here we present a relatively low-cost, repeatable method for spatially parsing the landscape to help the U.S. Forest Service manage for different forest and fuel conditions to meet...

Site index determination techniques for southern bottomland hardwoods

Treesearch

Brian Roy Lockhart

2013-01-01

Site index is a species-specific indirect measure of forest productivity expressed as the average height of dominant and codominant trees in a stand of a specified base age. It is widely used by forest managers to make informed decisions regarding forest management practices. Unfortunately, forest managers have difficulty in determining site index for southern US...

Human Health Impacts of Forest Fires in the Southern United States: A Literature Review

Treesearch

Cynthia T. Fowler

2003-01-01

Forestry management practices can shape patterns of health, illness, and disease. A primary goal for owners federal, state, andprivate forests is to crap ecosystem management plans that simultaneously optimize forest health and human health. Fire-a major forest management issue in the United States-complicates these goals. Wildfires are natural phenomena with...

Sex and the single squirrel: a genetic view of forest management in the Pacific Northwest.

Treesearch

Sally Duncan

2003-01-01

Forest management throughout the world is producing simplified forests. There is growing concern that these forests maintain neither complete vertebrate communities nor conditions favorable to maintenance of genetic diversity of those vertebrate populations that do find habitat in simply structured stands. Genetics is increasingly being used as a basis for management...

3-PG simulations of young ponderosa pine plantations under varied management intensity: why do they grow so differently?

Treesearch

Liang Wei; Marshall John; Jianwei Zhang; Hang Zhou; Robert Powers

2014-01-01

Models can be powerful tools for estimating forest productivity and guiding forest management, but their credibility and complexity are often an issue for forest managers. We parameterized a process-based forest growth model, 3-PG (Physiological Principles Predicting Growth), to simulate growth of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) plantations in...

Biology and Management of Insect Pests in North American Intensively Managed Hardwood Forest Systems

Treesearch

David R. Coyle; T. Evan Nebeker; Elwood R. Hart; William J. Mattson

2005-01-01

Increasing demand for wood and wood products is putting stress on traditional forest production areas, leading to long-term economic and environmental concerns. Intensively managed hardwood forest systems (IMHFS), grown using conventional agricultural as well as forestry methods, can help alleviate potential problems in natural forest production areas. Although IMHFS...

Characteristics of sustainable forest management

Treesearch

Stephen R. Shifley; Francisco X. Aguilar; Nianfu Song; Susan I. Stewart; David J. Nowak; Dale D. Gormanson; W. Keith Moser; Sherri Wormstead; Eric J. Greenfield

2012-01-01

Forests can provide numerous benefits to society today, tomorrow, and far into the future. Many in society seek sustainable forest management to ensure that future generations enjoy those benefits. The foundation of professional forest management is “the use of the natural resources for the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time” (Gifford Pinchot...

Forest classification at high latitudes as an aid to regeneration.

Treesearch

Mayo ed. Murray

1985-01-01

Early in 1979, the School of Agriculture and Land Resources Management of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks surveyed forest managers in a number of northern countries to identify topics of circumpolar interest in forest management. Responses most frequently centered on problems of forest regeneration. As a result, we initiated what was to be a series of international...

Development effects on private forest management: a critical look at the evidence.

Treesearch

J.D. Kline

2007-01-01

The timber production and ecological effects of forest land development are influenced by both the rate and spatial distribution of forest land development, and how remaining undeveloped forest lands are managed. Regarding effects on management, research conducted in the U.S. South and in Oregon suggests that development can reduce the intensity with which landowners...

Proceedings: population dynamics, impacts, and integrated management of forest defoliating insects

Treesearch

M.L. McManus; A.M., eds. Liebhold

1998-01-01

This publication contains 52 research papers about the population ecology and management of forest insect defoliators. These papers were presented at a joint meeting of working parties S7.03.06, "Integrated Management of Forest Defoliating Insects", and S7.03.07, "Population dynamics of forest insects", of the International Union of Forestry...

Range management research, Fort Valley Experimental Forest (P-53)

Treesearch

Henry A. Pearson; Warren P. Clary; Margaret M. Moore; Carolyn Hull Sieg

2008-01-01

Range management research at the Fort Valley Experimental Forest during the past 100 years has provided scientific knowledge for managing ponderosa pine forests and forest-range grazing lands in the Southwest. Three research timeperiods are identified: 1908 to 1950, 1950 to 1978, and 1978 to 2008. Early research (1908-1950) addressed ecological effects of livestock...

Early forest thinning changes aboveground carbon distribution among pools, but not total amount

Treesearch

Michael S. Schaedel; Andrew J. Larson; David L. R. Affleck; Travis Belote; John M. Goodburn; Deborah S. Page-Dumroese

2017-01-01

Mounting concerns about global climate change have increased interest in the potential to use common forest management practices, such as forest density management with thinning, in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. Long-term effects of forest density management on total aboveground C are not well understood, especially for precommercial thinning (PCT)...

Modelling Associations between Public Understanding, Engagement and Forest Conditions in the Inland Northwest, USA

PubMed Central

Hartter, Joel; Stevens, Forrest R.; Hamilton, Lawrence C.; Congalton, Russell G.; Ducey, Mark J.; Oester, Paul T.

2015-01-01

Opinions about public lands and the actions of private non-industrial forest owners in the western United States play important roles in forested landscape management as both public and private forests face increasing risks from large wildfires, pests and disease. This work presents the responses from two surveys, a random-sample telephone survey of more than 1500 residents and a mail survey targeting owners of parcels with 10 or more acres of forest. These surveys were conducted in three counties (Wallowa, Union, and Baker) in northeast Oregon, USA. We analyze these survey data using structural equation models in order to assess how individual characteristics and understanding of forest management issues affect perceptions about forest conditions and risks associated with declining forest health on public lands. We test whether forest understanding is informed by background, beliefs, and experiences, and whether as an intervening variable it is associated with views about forest conditions on publicly managed forests. Individual background characteristics such as age, gender and county of residence have significant direct or indirect effects on our measurement of understanding. Controlling for background factors, we found that forest owners with higher self-assessed understanding, and more education about forest management, tend to hold more pessimistic views about forest conditions. Based on our results we argue that self-assessed understanding, interest in learning, and willingness to engage in extension activities together have leverage to affect perceptions about the risks posed by declining forest conditions on public lands, influence land owner actions, and affect support for public policies. These results also have broader implications for management of forested landscapes on public and private lands amidst changing demographics in rural communities across the Inland Northwest where migration may significantly alter the composition of forest owner goals, understanding, and support for various management actions. PMID:25671619

Adapting an IPCC-Compliant Full Forest Carbon Accounting Model to Determine the Effects of Different Forest Management Strategies in California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starrs, C.; Stewart, W.; Potts, M. D.

2016-12-01

As California experiences increasing rates of disturbance events such as wildfire, drought, and insect outbreaks, understanding how different management strategies affect long-term forest carbon stock changes in the forest and in harvested wood products used by society will be key to determining strategies to best maximize forest-related carbon sequestration in the future. California's forest area is roughly evenly split across three ownership types: private timberlands, National Forest timberlands, and reserved forests. Forest management strategies in California generally vary by these ownerships; management in reserved lands sequesters carbon within the forest (i.e. leaves wood in the forest), while on private and National Forest timberlands a significant amount of wood is removed from the forest and converted to harvested wood products. The Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) is an IPCC-compliant full forest carbon accounting model developed for use in Canada that has been adapted for use in other countries. Changes in natural disturbances in the forest and technological innovation in the use of harvested wood products could substantially alter future carbon trajectories of forests under different management regimes. A key advantage of the CBM-CFS3 model is that in addition to tracking live tree, dead tree, and dead organic matter (DOM) carbon pools in the forest, it also tracks carbon stock changes in harvested wood products. We calibrated the CBM-CFS3 model with US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data for seven forest types across three ownership types to predict carbon stock changes under different natural disturbance and harvested wood product utilization futures. Our results illustrate the importance of using a tractable model that can integrate future changes in forest carbon cycling to keep pace with our changing climate and usage of wood products.

Designing Forest Adaptation Experiments through Manager-Scientist Partnerships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagel, L. M.; Swanston, C.; Janowiak, M.

2014-12-01

Three common forest adaptation options discussed in the context of an uncertain future climate are: creating resistance, promoting resilience, and enabling forests to respond to change. Though there is consensus on the broad management goals addressed by each of these options, translating these concepts into management plans specific for individual forest types that vary in structure, composition, and function remains a challenge. We will describe a decision-making framework that we employed within a manager-scientist partnership to develop a suite of adaptation treatments for two contrasting forest types as part of a long-term forest management experiment. The first, in northern Minnesota, is a red pine-dominated forest with components of white pine, aspen, paper birch, and northern red oak, with a hazel understory. The second, in southwest Colorado, is a warm-dry mixed conifer forest dominated by ponderosa pine, white fir, and Douglas-fir, with scattered aspen and an understory of Gambel oak. The current conditions at both sites are characterized by overstocking with moderate-to-high fuel loading, vulnerability to numerous forest health threats, and are generally uncharacteristic of historic structure and composition. The desired future condition articulated by managers for each site included elements of historic structure and natural range of variability, but were greatly tempered by known vulnerabilities and projected changes to climate and disturbance patterns. The resultant range of treatments we developed are distinct for each forest type, and address a wide range of management objectives.

Managing forest ecosystems to conserve fungus diversity and sustain wild mushroom harvests.

Treesearch

D. Pilz; R. Molina

1996-01-01

Ecosystem management is the dominant paradigm for managing the forests of the Pacific Northwest. It integrates biological, ecological, geophysical, and silvicultural information to develop adaptive management practices that conserve biological diversity and maintain ecosystem functioning while meeting human needs for the sustainable production of forest products. Fungi...

Managing forests after fires

Treesearch

Rhonda. Mazza

2007-01-01

Fire is a part of the forest ecosystem, and its effects have been well documented in the scientific literature. But controversy remains about the effects of management options in a burned forest, and the scientific basis for decisionmaking about postfire management is uncertain and has not been effectively articulated. Management concerns after a fire...

78 FR 13315 - Bridger-Teton National Forest; Wyoming; Teton to Snake Fuels Management Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-27

... Fuels Management Project AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an...) to document the potential effects of the Teton to Snake Fuels Management Project. The analysis will... Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The Teton to Snake Fuels Management Project was previously scoped and...

25 CFR 163.37 - Forest management research.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Forest management research. 163.37 Section 163.37 Indians... Management and Operations § 163.37 Forest management research. The Secretary, with the consent of the authorized Indian representatives' is authorized to perform forestry research activities to improve the basis...

25 CFR 163.37 - Forest management research.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2012-04-01 2011-04-01 true Forest management research. 163.37 Section 163.37 Indians... Management and Operations § 163.37 Forest management research. The Secretary, with the consent of the authorized Indian representatives' is authorized to perform forestry research activities to improve the basis...

25 CFR 163.37 - Forest management research.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Forest management research. 163.37 Section 163.37 Indians... Management and Operations § 163.37 Forest management research. The Secretary, with the consent of the authorized Indian representatives' is authorized to perform forestry research activities to improve the basis...

Forest residues management guidelines for the Pacific Northwest.

Treesearch

John M. Pierovich; Edward H. Clarke; Stewart G. Pickford; Franklin R. Ward

1975-01-01

Forest residues often require treatment to meet land management objectives. Guideline statements for managing forest residues are presented to provide direction for achieving these objectives. The latest research information and the best knowledge of experts in various land management disciplines were used to formulate these statements. A unique keying system is...

36 CFR 212.5 - Road system management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... safety or to environmental degradation. (c) Cost recovery on National Forest System roads. The Chief may... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Road system management. 212.5... MANAGEMENT Administration of the Forest Transportation System § 212.5 Road system management. (a) Traffic...

Influence of forest management systems on natural resource use and provision of ecosystem services in Tanzania.

PubMed

Strauch, Ayron M; Rurai, Masegeri T; Almedom, Astier M

2016-09-15

Social, religious and economic facets of rural livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa are heavily dependent on natural resources, but improper resource management, drought, and social instability frequently lead to their unsustainable exploitation. In rural Tanzania, natural resources are often governed locally by informal systems of traditional resource management (TRM), defined as cultural practices developed within the context of social and religious institutions over hundreds of years. However, following independence from colonial rule, centralized governments began to exercise jurisdictional control over natural resources. Following decades of mismanagement that resulted in lost ecosystem services, communities demanded change. To improve resource protection and participation in management among stakeholders, the Tanzanian government began to decentralize management programs in the early 2000s. We investigated these two differing management approaches (traditional and decentralized government) in Sonjo communities, to examine local perceptions of resource governance, management influences on forest use, and their consequences for forest and water resources. While 97% of households understood the regulations governing traditionally-managed forests, this was true for only 39% of households for government-managed forests, leading to differences in forest use. Traditional management practices resulted in improved forest condition and surface water quality. This research provides an essential case study demonstrating the importance of TRM in shaping decision frameworks for natural resource planning and management. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chapter 4: Low compaction grading to enhance reforestation success on coal surface mines

Treesearch

R. Sweigard; J. Burger; C. Zipper; J. Skousen; C. Barton; P. Angel

2017-01-01

This Forest Reclamation Advisory describes final-grading techniques for reclaiming coal surface mines to forest postmining land uses. Final grading that leaves a loose soil and a rough surface increases survival of planted seedlings and forest productivity. Such practices are often less costly than traditional "smooth grading" while meeting the requirements...

Thinking About Oak Forests as Responsive Ecosystems

Treesearch

Paul S. Johnson

2004-01-01

Like all forests, oak forests are continually responding to disturbances originating from both within and outside the forest. Oaks (Quercus spp.) owe their very existence to disturbance. In this context, silvicultural and other manage-ment practices can be thought of as planned disturbances designed to direct forest change in specific ways. The...

25 CFR 163.32 - Forest development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Forest development. 163.32 Section 163.32 Indians BUREAU... Management and Operations § 163.32 Forest development. Forest development pertains to forest land management... development funds will be used to re-establish, maintain, and/or improve growth of commercial timber species...

An Overview of Hydrologic Studies at Center for Forested Wetlands Research, USDA Forest Service

Treesearch

Devendra M. Amatya; Carl C. Trettin; R. Wayne Skaggs; Timothy J. Callahan; Ge Sun; Masato Miwa; John E. Parsons

2004-01-01

Managing forested wetland landscapes for water quality improvement and productivity requires a detailed understanding of functional linkages between ecohydrological processes and management practices. Studies are being conducted at Center for Forested Wetlands Research (CFWR), USDA Forest Service to understand the fundamental hydrologic and biogeochemical processes...

Assessing sustainability using data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program of the United States Forest Service

Treesearch

Ronald E. McRoberts; William H. McWilliams; Gregory A. Reams; Thomas L. Schmidt; Jennifer C. Jenkins; Katherine P. O' Neill; Patrick D. Miles; Gary J. Brand

2004-01-01

Forest sustainability has emerged as a crucial component of all current issues related to forest management. The seven Montreal Process Criteria are well accepted as categories of processes for evaluating forest management with respect to sustainability, and data collected.

43 CFR 5400.0-3 - Authority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... administered by the Secretary of Agriculture for national forest purposes or for purposes of title III of the..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOREST MANAGEMENT (5000) SALES OF FOREST PRODUCTS; GENERAL Sales of Forest... Grant Lands and directs that such lands shall be managed for permanent forest production and the timber...

43 CFR 5400.0-3 - Authority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... administered by the Secretary of Agriculture for national forest purposes or for purposes of title III of the..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOREST MANAGEMENT (5000) SALES OF FOREST PRODUCTS; GENERAL Sales of Forest... Grant Lands and directs that such lands shall be managed for permanent forest production and the timber...

43 CFR 5400.0-3 - Authority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... administered by the Secretary of Agriculture for national forest purposes or for purposes of title III of the..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOREST MANAGEMENT (5000) SALES OF FOREST PRODUCTS; GENERAL Sales of Forest... Grant Lands and directs that such lands shall be managed for permanent forest production and the timber...

43 CFR 5400.0-3 - Authority.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... administered by the Secretary of Agriculture for national forest purposes or for purposes of title III of the..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOREST MANAGEMENT (5000) SALES OF FOREST PRODUCTS; GENERAL Sales of Forest... Grant Lands and directs that such lands shall be managed for permanent forest production and the timber...

Bartlett Experimental Forest

Treesearch

Jane Gamal-Eldin

1998-01-01

The Bartlett Experimental Forest is a field laboratory for research on the ecology and management of northern forest ecosystems. Research on the Bartlett includes: 1) extensive investigations on structure and dynamics of forests at several levels, and developing management alternatives to reflect an array of values and benefits sought by users of forest lands, 2) a...

An integrated approach to mapping forest conditions in the Southern Appalachians (North Carolina)

Treesearch

Weimin Xi; Lei Wang; Andrew G Birt; Maria D. Tchakerian; Robert N. Coulson; Kier D. Klepzig

2009-01-01

Accurate and continuous forest cover information is essential for forest management and restoration (SAMAB 1996, Xi et al. 2007). Ground-truthed, spatially explicit forest data, however, are often limited to federally managed land or large-scale commercial forestry operations where forest inventories are regularly collected. Moreover,...

Forests of the Northern United States

Treesearch

Stephen R. Shifley; Francisco X. Aguilar; Nianfu Song; Susan I. Stewart; David J. Nowak; Dale D. Gormanson; W. Keith Moser; Sherri Wormstead; Eric J. Greenfield

2012-01-01

Bounded by Maine, Maryland, Missouri, and Minnesota, the 20 Northern States have a larger population and a higher proportion of forest cover than other comparably sized U.S. regions. Forest-associated issues across the North include insect and disease pests, invasive species, forest management capacity, management standards, biodiversity, forest fragmentation, water...

Forest tenure and sustainable forest management

Treesearch

J.P. Siry; K. McGinley; F.W. Cubbage; P. Bettinger

2015-01-01

We reviewed the principles and key literature related to forest tenure and sustainable forest management, and then examined the status of sustainable forestry and land ownership at the aggregate national level for major forested countries. The institutional design principles suggested by Ostrom are well accepted for applications to public, communal, and private lands....

Sustaining Urban Forests

Treesearch

John F. Dwyer; David J. Nowak

2003-01-01

The significance of the urban forest resource and the powerful forces for change in the urban environment make sustainability a critical issue in urban forest management. The diversity, connectedness, and dynamics of the urban forest establish the context for management that will determine the sustainability of forest structure, health, functions, and benefits. A...

Forest Service Resource Inventories: An Overview

Treesearch

USDA Forest Service

1992-01-01

Forest and related resource inventories are conducted by the US. Forest Service to provide the quantitative base necessary for making sound management, conservation, and stewardship decisions affecting these valuable resources. Inventory information has guided the management of 191 million acres (77.3 million ha) of publicly-owned National Forest land. Forest...

Estimating the potential of carbon sequestration by Korean forestry sector under climate change and management scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.; Kim, M.; Son, Y.; Lee, W. K.

2017-12-01

Korean forests have recovered by the national-scale reforestation program and can contribute to the national greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation goal. The forest carbon (C) sequestration is expected to change by climate change and forest management regime. In this context, estimating the changes in GHG mitigation potential of Korean forestry sector by climate and management is a timely issue. Thus, we estimated the forest C sequestration of Korea under four scenarios (2010­-2050): constant temperature with no management (CT_No), representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 with no management (RCP_No), constant temperature with thinning management (CT_Man), and RCP 8.5 with thinning management (RCP_Man). Dynamic stand growth model (KO-G-Dynamic; for biomass) and forest C model (FBDC model; for non-biomass) were used at approximately 64,000 simulation units (1km2). As model input data, the forest data (e.g., forest type and stand age) and climate data were spatially prepared from the national forest inventories and the RCP 8.5 climate data. The model simulation results showed that the mean annual C sequestrations during the period (Tg C yr-1) were 11.0, 9.9, 11.5, and 10.5, respectively, under the CT_No, RCP_No, CT_Man, and RCP_Man, respectively, at the national scale. The C sequestration decreased with the time passage due to the maturity of the forests. The climate change seemed disadvantageous to the C sequestration by the forest ecosystems (≒ -1.0 Tg C yr-1) due to the increase in organic matter decomposition. In particular, the decrease in C sequestration by the climate change was greater for the needle-leaved species, compared to the broad-leaved species. Meanwhile, the forest management enhanced forest C sequestration (≒ 0.5 Tg C yr-1). Accordingly, implementing appropriate forest management strategies for adaptation would contribute to maintaining the C sequestration by Korean forestry sector under climate change. Acknowledgement: This study was supported by Korean Ministry of Environment (2014001310008).

Forest management under uncertainty for multiple bird population objectives

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, C.T.; Plummer, W.T.; Conroy, M.J.; Ralph, C. John; Rich, Terrell D.

2005-01-01

We advocate adaptive programs of decision making and monitoring for the management of forest birds when responses by populations to management, and particularly management trade-offs among populations, are uncertain. Models are necessary components of adaptive management. Under this approach, uncertainty about the behavior of a managed system is explicitly captured in a set of alternative models. The models generate testable predictions about the response of populations to management, and monitoring data provide the basis for assessing these predictions and informing future management decisions. To illustrate these principles, we examine forest management at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, where management attention is focused on the recovery of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) population. However, managers are also sensitive to the habitat needs of many non-target organisms, including Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) and other forest interior Neotropical migratory birds. By simulating several management policies on a set of-alternative forest and bird models, we found a decision policy that maximized a composite response by woodpeckers and Wood Thrushes despite our complete uncertainty regarding system behavior. Furthermore, we used monitoring data to update our measure of belief in each alternative model following one cycle of forest management. This reduction of uncertainty translates into a reallocation of model influence on the choice of optimal decision action at the next decision opportunity.

Research in the Luquillo Experimental Forest has advanced understanding of tropical forests and resolved management issues

Treesearch

A.E. Lugo; T. Heartsill Scalley

2014-01-01

Long-term research on the response of wet forests in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) to natural and anthropogenic disturbances yielded information useful for the management of these forests and to a better understanding of the functioning of tropical forests and how species composition changes under different distrubance regimes. We summarize studies on basal...

Development of Spatial Scaling Technique of Forest Health Sample Point Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J. H.; Ryu, J. E.; Chung, H. I.; Choi, Y. Y.; Jeon, S. W.; Kim, S. H.

2018-04-01

Forests provide many goods, Ecosystem services, and resources to humans such as recreation air purification and water protection functions. In rececnt years, there has been an increase in the factors that threaten the health of forests such as global warming due to climate change, environmental pollution, and the increase in interest in forests, and efforts are being made in various countries for forest management. Thus, existing forest ecosystem survey method is a monitoring method of sampling points, and it is difficult to utilize forests for forest management because Korea is surveying only a small part of the forest area occupying 63.7 % of the country (Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport Korea, 2016). Therefore, in order to manage large forests, a method of interpolating and spatializing data is needed. In this study, The 1st Korea Forest Health Management biodiversity Shannon;s index data (National Institute of Forests Science, 2015) were used for spatial interpolation. Two widely used methods of interpolation, Kriging method and IDW(Inverse Distance Weighted) method were used to interpolate the biodiversity index. Vegetation indices SAVI, NDVI, LAI and SR were used. As a result, Kriging method was the most accurate method.

The role of experimental forests in science and management

Treesearch

Theresa B. Jain

2012-01-01

Happy 100 years to the Priest River Experimental Forest (PREF)! PREF, which is managed by the Research and Development Branch of the USDA Forest Service, celebrated its centennial in September 2011. It was established in northern Idaho to provide useful information that would improve forest management in the western part of District One at a time when US forestry was...

Forest Adaptation Resources: climate change tools and approaches for land managers, 2nd edition

Treesearch

Christopher W. Swanston; Maria K. Janowiak; Leslie A. Brandt; Patricia R. Butler; Stephen D. Handler; P. Danielle Shannon; Abigail Derby Lewis; Kimberly Hall; Robert T. Fahey; Lydia Scott; Angela Kerber; Jason W. Miesbauer; Lindsay Darling

2016-01-01

Forests across the United States are expected to undergo numerous changes in response to the changing climate. This second edition of the Forest Adaptation Resources provides a collection of resources designed to help forest managers incorporate climate change considerations into management and devise adaptation tactics. It was developed as part of the Climate Change...

Elk management in the Northern Region: Considerations in forest plan updates or revisions

Treesearch

Alan G. Christensen; L. Jack Lyon; James W. Unsworth

1993-01-01

National Forests provide a major proportion of the habitats in which elk grow, reproduce, and exist as elements of biological diversity. Forests also provide the basis upon which State management programs depend and provide sites for the public to hunt, view, and otherwise enjoy the elk resource. Individual National Forests can creatively address elk management through...

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; forest structure and fire hazard fact sheet 03: visualizing forest structure and fuels

Treesearch

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2004-01-01

The software described in this fact sheet provides managers with tools for visualizing forest and fuels information. Computer-based landscape simulations can help visualize stand and landscape conditions and the effects of different management treatments and fuel changes over time. These visualizations can assist forest planning by considering a range of management...

Long-term soil productivity: genesis of the concept and principles behind the program

Treesearch

Robert F. Powers

2006-01-01

The capacity of a forest site to capture carbon and convert it into biomass defines fundamental site productivity. In the United States, the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 mandates that this capacity must be protected on federally managed lands. Responding to NFMA, the USDA Forest Service began a soil-based monitoring program for its managed forests....

CVal: a spreadsheet tool to evaluate the direct benefits and costs of carbon sequestration contracts for managed forests

Treesearch

E.M. Bilek; Peter Becker; Tim. McAbee

2009-01-01

This documentation is meant to accompany CVal, a downloadable spreadsheet tool. CVal was constructed for foresters, other land management advisors, landowners, and carbon credit aggregators to evaluate the direct benefits and costs of entering into contracts for carbon sequestered in managed forests and forest plantations. CVal was designed to evaluate Exchange...

Seven decades of change in forest structure and composition in Pinus resinosa forests in northern Minnesota, USA: Comparing managed and unmanaged conditions

Treesearch

Brian D. Young; Anthony W. D' Amato; Christel C. Kern; Douglas N. Kastendick; Brian J. Palik

2017-01-01

An understanding of long-term patterns of forest structural and compositional development is critical for anticipating management outcomes and developing appropriate silvicultural strategies for restoring complex forest conditions. In most cases, this information comes from stand-level assessments; however, the impacts and outcomes of management and other disturbances...

Toward geodesign for watershed restoration on the Fremont-Winema National Forest, Pacific Northwest, USA

Treesearch

Keith Reynolds; Philip Murphy; Steven Paplanus

2017-01-01

Spatial decision support systems for forest management have steadily evolved over the past 20+ years in order to better address the complexities of contemporary forest management issues such as the sustainability and resilience of ecosystems on forested landscapes. In this paper, we describe and illustrate new features of the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS...

Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in boreal forest soils: a mycorrhizal ecosystems perspective.

PubMed

Robertson, Susan J; McGill, William B; Massicotte, Hugues B; Rutherford, P Michael

2007-05-01

The importance of developing multi-disciplinary approaches to solving problems relating to anthropogenic pollution is now clearly appreciated by the scientific community, and this is especially evident in boreal ecosystems exposed to escalating threats of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) contamination through expanded natural resource extraction activities. This review aims to synthesize information regarding the fate and behaviour of PHCs in boreal forest soils in both ecological and sustainable management contexts. From this, we hope to evaluate potential management strategies, identify gaps in knowledge and guide future research. Our central premise is that mycorrhizal systems, the ubiquitous root symbiotic fungi and associated food-web communities, occupy the structural and functional interface between decomposition and primary production in northern forest ecosystems (i.e. underpin survival and productivity of the ecosystem as a whole), and, as such, are an appropriate focal point for such a synthesis. We provide pertinent basic information about mycorrhizas, followed by insights into the ecology of ecto- and ericoid mycorrhizal systems. Next, we review the fate and behaviour of PHCs in forest soils, with an emphasis on interactions with mycorrhizal fungi and associated bacteria. Finally, we summarize implications for ecosystem management. Although we have gained tremendous insights into understanding linkages between ecosystem functions and the various aspects of mycorrhizal diversity, very little is known regarding rhizosphere communities in PHC-contaminated soils. This makes it difficult to translate ecological knowledge into environmental management strategies. Further research is required to determine which fungal symbionts are likely to survive and compete in various ecosystems, whether certain fungal - plant associations gain in ecological importance following contamination events, and how PHC contamination may interfere with processes of nutrient acquisition and exchange and metabolic processes. Research is also needed to assess whether the metabolic capacity for intrinsic decomposition exists in these ecosystems, taking into account ecological variables such as presence of other organisms (and their involvement in syntrophic biodegradation), bioavailability and toxicity of mixtures of PHCs, and physical changes to the soil environment.

On the patterns and processes of wood in northern California streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benda, Lee; Bigelow, Paul

2014-03-01

Forest management and stream habitat can be improved by clarifying the primary riparian and geomorphic controls on streams. To this end, we evaluated the recruitment, storage, transport, and the function of wood in 95 km of streams (most drainage areas < 30 km2) in northern California, crossing four coastal to inland regions with different histories of forest management (managed, less-managed, unmanaged). The dominant source of variability in stream wood storage and recruitment is driven by local variation in rates of bank erosion, forest mortality, and mass wasting. These processes are controlled by changes in watershed structure, including the location of canyons, floodplains and tributary confluences; types of geology and topography; and forest types and management history. Average wood storage volumes in coastal streams are 5 to 20 times greater than inland sites primarily from higher riparian forest biomass and growth rates (productivity), with some influence by longer residence time of wood in streams and more wood from landsliding and logging sources. Wood recruitment by mortality (windthrow, disease, senescence) was substantial across all sites (mean 50%) followed by bank erosion (43%) and more locally by mass wasting (7%). The distances to sources of stream wood are controlled by recruitment process and tree height. Ninety percent of wood recruitment occurs within 10 to 35 m of channels in managed and less-managed forests and upward of 50 m in unmanaged Sequoia and coast redwood forests. Local landsliding extends the source distance. The recruitment of large wood pieces that create jams (mean diameter 0.7 m) is primarily by bank erosion in managed forests and by mortality in unmanaged forests. Formation of pools by wood is more frequent in streams with low stream power, indicating the further relevance of environmental context and watershed structure. Forest management influences stream wood dynamics, where smaller trees in managed forests often generate shorter distances to sources of stream wood, lower stream wood storage, and smaller diameter stream wood. These findings can be used to improve riparian protection and inform spatially explicit riparian management.

Integrating forest management for wildlife and fish: 1987 Society of American Foresters national convention; 1987 October 18-21; Minneapolis, MN.

Treesearch

USDA FS

1988-01-01

Papers from a technical session working group of the 1987 Society of American Foresters national convention. Topics include ecological and economic considerations of integrated forest resource management.

The Template for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Management Options (TACCIMO): Science at Your Fingertips

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jennings, L. N.; Treasure, E.; Moore Myers, J.; McNulty, S.

2012-12-01

There is an ever-increasing volume of useful scientific knowledge about climate change effects and management options for natural ecosystems. Agencies such as the USDA Forest Service have been charged with the need to evaluate this body of knowledge and if necessary adapt to the impacts of climate change in their forest planning and management. However, the combined volume of existing information and rate of development of new information, lack of climate change specialists, and limited technology transfer mechanisms make efficient access and use difficult. The Template for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Management Options (TACCIMO) addresses this difficulty through its publically accessible web-based tool that puts current and concise climate change science at the fingertips of forest planners and managers. A collaborative product of the USDA Forest Service Research Stations and the National Forest System, TACCIMO integrates peer-reviewed research with management and planning options through search and reporting tools that connect land managers with information they can trust. TACCIMO highlights elements from the wealth of climate change science with attention to what natural resource planners and managers need through a searchable repository of over 4,000 effects of climate change and close to 1,000 adaptive management options, all excerpted from a growing body of peer-reviewed scientific literature. A geospatial mapping application provides downscaled climate data for the nation and other spatially explicit models relevant to evaluating climate change impacts on forests. Report generators assist users in capturing outputs specific to a given location and resource area in a consistent and organized manner. For USDA Forest Service users, science findings can be readily linked with management conditions and capabilities from national forest management plans. The development of TACCIMO was guided by interactions with natural resource professionals, resulting in a flexible framework that allows new information to be added routinely and existing information to be reorganized as new science emerges and management needs change. TACCIMO is currently being used to support climate change science assessments for national forest land and management plan revisions in El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, the Southern Sierra national forests in California, and Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina. The tool is also being actively used by state, extension, and private natural resource professionals for climate change education and outreach. For all users, TACCIMO provides a fast, concise, and creditable starting point to guide critical thinking, additional analysis, and expert consultation to support all aspects of natural resource management decision making.

Designing a carbon market that protects forests in developing countries.

PubMed

Niesten, Eduard; Frumhoff, Peter C; Manion, Michelle; Hardner, Jared J

2002-08-15

Firmly incorporated into the Kyoto Protocol, market mechanisms offer an innovative and cost-effective means of controlling atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. However, as with markets for many other goods and services, a carbon market may generate negative environmental externalities. Possible interpretations and application of Kyoto provisions under COP-6bis and COP-7 raise concerns that rules governing forestry with respect to the Kyoto carbon market may increase pressure on native forests and their biodiversity in developing countries. In this paper, we assess the following two specific concerns with Kyoto provisions for forestry measures. First, whether, under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), by restricting allowable forestry measures to afforestation and reforestation, and explicitly excluding protection of threatened native forests, the Kyoto Protocol will enhance incentives for degradation and clearing of forests in developing countries; second, whether carbon crediting for forest management in Annex I (industrialized) regions under Article 3.4 creates a dynamic that can encourage displacement of timber harvests from Annex I countries to developing nations. Given current timber extraction patterns in developing regions, additional harvest pressure would certainly entail a considerable cost in terms of biodiversity loss. In both cases, we find that the concerns about deleterious impacts to forests and biodiversity are justified, although the scale of such impacts is difficult to predict. Both to ensure reliable progress in managing carbon concentrations and to avoid unintended consequences with respect to forest biodiversity, the further development of the Kyoto carbon market must explicitly correct these perverse incentives. We recommend several steps that climate policymakers can take to ensure that conservation and restoration of biodiversity-rich natural forests in developing countries are rewarded rather than penalized. To correct incentives to clear natural forests through CDM crediting for afforestation and reforestation, we recommend for the first commitment period that policymakers establish an early base year, such as 1990, such that lands cleared after that year would be ineligible for crediting. We further recommend an exception to this rule for CDM projects that are explicitly designed to promote natural forest restoration and that pass rigorous environmental impact review. Restoration efforts are typically most effective on lands that are adjacent to standing forests and hence likely to have been recently cleared. Thus, we recommend for these projects establishing a more recent base year, such as 2000. For the second and subsequent commitment periods, we recommend that climate policymakers act to restrain inter-annex leakage and its impacts by ensuring that crediting for forest management in industrialized countries is informed by modelling efforts to anticipate the scale of leakage associated with different Annex I 'Land use, land-use change and forestry' policy options, and coupled with effective measures to protect natural forests in developing countries. The latter should include expanding the options permitted under the CDM to carbon crediting for projects that protect threatened forests from deforestation and forest degradation. Ultimately, carbon market incentives for forest clearing can be reduced and incentives for forest conservation most effectively strengthened by fully capturing carbon emissions associated with deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries under a future emissions cap. Finally, we note that these recommendations have broader relevance to any forest-based measures to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions developed outside of the specific context of the Kyoto Protocol.

Managing carbon sequestration and storage in northern hardwood forests

Treesearch

Eunice A. Padley; Deahn M. Donner; Karin S. Fassnacht; Ronald S. Zalesny; Bruce Birr; Karl J. Martin

2011-01-01

Carbon has an important role in sustainable forest management, contributing to functions that maintain site productivity, nutrient cycling, and soil physical properties. Forest management practices can alter ecosystem carbon allocation as well as the amount of total site carbon.

Forest management strategy, spatial heterogeneity, and winter birds in Washington.

Treesearch

B. Haveri; A.B. Carey

2000-01-01

Ecological management of second-growth forest holds great promise for conservation of biodiversity, yet little experimental evidence exists to compare alternative management approaches. Wintering birds are one of several groups of species most likely to be influenced by forest management activities. We compared species richness and proportion of stand area used over...

Decision support models for economically efficient integrated forest management

Treesearch

Hans R. Zuuring; Judy M. Troutwine; Greg J. Jones; Janet Sullivan

2005-01-01

Forest managers are challenged to fulfill conflicting social, biological, and commodity production objectives. To wisely use available, scarce resources for management activities, it is not enough to consider short term costs and effects of management (fuel reduction, planting, or other forest treatments). Long term tactical, spatial and temporal planning is needed to...

76 FR 22075 - Divide Ranger District, Rio Grande National Forest; CO; Black Mesa Vegetation Management Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-20

... Ranger District, Rio Grande National Forest; CO; Black Mesa Vegetation Management Project AGENCY: Forest... Web site http://www.fs.usda.gov/riogrande under ``Land & Resource Management'', then ``Projects'' on... need for the Black Mesa Vegetation Management Project is move toward achieving long-term desired...

Simulating timber management in Lake States forests.

Treesearch

Gary J. Brand

1981-01-01

Describes in detail a management subsystem to simulate cutting in Lake States forest types. This subsystem is part of a Stand and Tree Evaluation and Modeling System (STEMS) contained in the Forest Resource Evaluation Program (FREP) for the Lake States. The management subsystem can be used to test the effect of alternate management strategies.

Disturbance ecology and forest management: A review of the literature

Treesearch

Paul Rogers

1996-01-01

This review of the disturbance ecology literature, and how it pertains to forest management, is a resource for forest managers and researchers interested in disturbance theory, specific disturbance agents, their interactions, and appropriate methods of inquiry for specific geographic regions. Implications for the future of disturbance ecology-based management are...

Lodgepole pine: regeneration and management.

Treesearch

Mayo. Murray

1983-01-01

Early in 1979, the School of Agriculture and Land Resources Management of the University of Alaska surveyed forest managers in a number of northern countries to identify topics of circumpolar interest in forest management. Responses most frequently centered on problems of forest regeneration. As a result we initiated what was to be a series of international workshops...

Applying the ecosystem services concept to public land management

Treesearch

Jeffrey D. Kline; Marisa J. Mazzota; Thomas A. Spies; Mark E. Harmon

2013-01-01

We examine challenges and opportunities involved in applying ecosystem services to public land management with an emphasis on national forests in the United States. We review historical forest management paradigms and related economic approaches, outline a conceptual framework defining the informational needs of forest managers, and consider the feasibility of its...

Forest management for mitigation and adaptation: insights from long-term silvicultural experiments

Treesearch

Anthony W. D' Amato; John B. Bradford; Shawn Fraver; Brian J. Palik

2011-01-01

Developing management strategies for addressing global climate change has become an increasingly important issue influencing forest management around the globe. Currently, management approaches are being proposed that intend to (1) mitigate climate change by enhancing forest carbon stores and (2) foster adaptation by maintaining compositionally and structurally complex...

Atypical forest products, processes, and uses: a developing component of National Forest management

Treesearch

Mike Higgs; John Sebelius; Mike Miller

1995-01-01

The silvicultural practices prescribed under an ecosystem management regimen will alter the volume and character of National Forests' marketable raw material base. This alteration will affect forest-dependent communities that have traditionally relied upon these resources for their economic and social well being. Community based atypical forest products, processes...

Forest operations and water quality in the south

Treesearch

Johnny M. Grace

2005-01-01

Southern forests, which rely on intensive management practices, are some of the most productive forests in the U.S. Intensive forest management utilizes forest operations, such as site preparation, fertilization, thinning, and harvesting, to increase site productivity and reduce rotation time. These operations are essential to meet the ever-increasing demands for...

Increased water yields following harvesting operations on a drained coastal watershed

Treesearch

Johnny M. Grace; R.W. Skaggs; H.R. Malcom; G.M. Chescheir; D.K. Cassel

2003-01-01

Forest harvesting operations have been reported to affect annual and seasonal outflow characteristics from drained forest watersheds. Increases in forest outflow, nutrient concentrations, and suspended sediments are commonly seen as a result of these forest management activities. Thus, it is important to assess the impact of forest management activities on hydrology,...

Predictive mapping for tree sizes and densities in southeast Alaska.

Treesearch

John P. Caouette; Eugene J. DeGayner

2005-01-01

The Forest Service has relied on a single forest measure, timber volume, to meet many management and planning information needs in southeast Alaska. This economic-based categorization of forest types tends to mask critical information relevant to other contemporary forest-management issues, such as modeling forest structure, ecosystem diversity, or wildlife habitat. We...

Cognitive styles of Forest Service scientists and managers in the Pacific Northwest.

Treesearch

Andrew B. Carey

1997-01-01

Preferences of executives, foresters, and biologists of the Pacific Northwest Research Station and executives, District Rangers, foresters, engineers, and biologists of the Pacific Northwest Region, National Forest System (USDA Forest Service), were compared for various thinking styles. Herrmann brain dominance profiles from 230 scientists and managers were drawn from...

Hydrological principles for sustainable management of forest ecosystems

Treesearch

Irena F. Creed; Gabor Z. Sass; Jim M. Buttle; Julia A. Jones

2011-01-01

Forested landscapes around the world are changing as a result of human activities, including forest management, fire suppression, mountaintop mining, conversion of natural forests to plantations, and climate change (Brockerhoff et al., 2008; Cyr et al., 2009; Johnston et al., 2010; Miller et al., 2009; Kelly et al., 2010; Palmer et al., 2010). Forests...

36 CFR 222.2 - Management of the range environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Management of the range environment. 222.2 Section 222.2 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... environment. (a) Allotments will be designated on the National Forest System and on other lands under Forest...

36 CFR 222.2 - Management of the range environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Management of the range environment. 222.2 Section 222.2 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... environment. (a) Allotments will be designated on the National Forest System and on other lands under Forest...

36 CFR 222.2 - Management of the range environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Management of the range environment. 222.2 Section 222.2 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... environment. (a) Allotments will be designated on the National Forest System and on other lands under Forest...

36 CFR 222.2 - Management of the range environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Management of the range environment. 222.2 Section 222.2 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... environment. (a) Allotments will be designated on the National Forest System and on other lands under Forest...

Managing forest products for community benefit

Treesearch

Susan Charnley; Jonathan W. Long

2014-01-01

Forest products harvesting and use from national forest lands remain important to local residents and communities in some parts of the Sierra Nevada science synthesis area. Managing national forests for the sustainable production of timber, biomass, nontimber forest products, and forage for livestock can help support forestbased livelihoods in parts of the region where...

36 CFR 222.2 - Management of the range environment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Management of the range environment. 222.2 Section 222.2 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... environment. (a) Allotments will be designated on the National Forest System and on other lands under Forest...

The role of forests in reducing hydrogeomorphic hazards.

Treesearch

Matt E. Sakals; John L. Innes; David J. Wilford; Roy C. Sidle; Gordon E. Grant

2006-01-01

Increasingly, forests are being valued for goods and services beyond wood fibre; one of these is protection forests. Functions provided by natural and managed forests have been associated with reduced hazards from floods, debris floods, debris flows, snow avalanches and rockfalls. Maintaining a high level of protection may require active management, as forests are...

Chapter 8: Socioeconomic well-being and forest management in northwest forest plan- area communities

Treesearch

Susan Charnley; Jeffrey D. Kline; Eric M. White; Jesse Abrams; Rebecca J. McLain; Cassandra Moseley; Heidi Huber-Stearns

2018-01-01

Given the need to conserve forest biodiversity and produce forest products, President Clinton’s vision for the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP, or Plan) was that it would provide “a balanced and comprehensive strategy for the conservation and management of forest ecosystems, while maximizing economic and social benefits from forests” (USDA and USDI 1994: E-1). The Plan was...

Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 years (1994-2003): status and trend of late-successional and old-growth forest.

Treesearch

Melinda Moeur; Thomas A. Spies; Miles Hemstrom; Jon R. Martin; James Alegria; Julie Browning; John Cissel; Warren B. Cohen; Thomas E. Demeo; Sean Healey; Ralph Warbington

2005-01-01

We monitored the status and trend of late-successional and old-growth forest (older forest) on 24 million ac of land managed by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service in the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) area between 1994 and 2003. We developed baseline maps from satellite imagery of older forest conditions at the start of the Plan...

The role of communities in sustainable land and forest management: The case of Nyanga, Zvimba and Guruve districts of Zimbabwe

PubMed Central

Sagonda, Ruvimbo; Kaundikiza, Munyaradzi

2016-01-01

Forest benefit analysis is vital in ensuring sustainable community-based natural resources management. Forest depletion and degradation are key issues in rural Zimbabwe and strategies to enhance sustainable forest management are continually sought. This study was carried out to assess the impact of forests on communities from Nyanga, Guruve and Zvimba districts of Zimbabwe. It is based on a Big Lottery Fund project implemented by Progressio-UK and Environment Africa. It focuses on identifying replicable community forest and land management strategies and the level of benefits accruing to the community. Analysis of change was based on the Income and Food Security and Forest benefits, which also constitutes the tools used during the research. The study confirms the high rate of deforestation and the increased realisation by communities to initiate practical measures aimed at protecting and sustaining forest and land resources from which they derive economic and social benefits. The results highlight the value of community structures (Farmer Field Schools and Environmental Action Groups) as conduits for natural resource management. The interconnectivity among forests, agricultural systems and the integral role of people are recognised as key to climate change adaptation.

Assessing management effects on Oak forests in Austria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gautam, Sishir; Pietsch, Stephan A.; Hasenauer, Hubert

2010-05-01

Historic land use as well as silvicultural management practices have changed the structures and species composition of central European forests. Such changes have effects on the growth of forests and contribute to global warming. As insufficient information on historic forest management is available it is hard to explain the effect of management on forests growth and its possible consequences to the environment. In this situation, the BIOME-BGC model, which integrates the main physical, biological and physiological processes based on current understanding of ecophysiology is an option for assessing the management effects through tracking the cycling of energy, water, carbon and nutrients within a given ecosystems. Such models are increasingly employed to simulate current and future forest dynamics. This study first compares observed standing tree volume, carbon and nitrogen content in soil in the high forests and coppice with standards stands of Oak forests in Austria. Biome BGC is then used to assess the effects of management on forest growth and to explain the differences with measured parameters. Close positive correlations and unbiased results and statistically insignificant differences between predicted and observed volumes indicates the application of the model as a diagnostic tool to assess management effects in oak forests. The observed data in 2006 and 2009 was further compared with the results of respective model runs. Further analysis on simulated data shows that thinning leads to an increase in growth efficiency (GE), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and water use efficiency (WUE), and to a decrease in the radiation use efficiency (RUE) in both forests. Among all studied growth parameters, only the difference in the NUE was statistically significant. This indicates that the difference in the yield of forests is mainly governed by the NUE difference in stands due to thinning. The coppice with standards system produces an equal amount of net primary production while consuming significantly less nitrogen compared to the high forests.

Regional factors rather than forest type drive the community structure of soil living oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida).

PubMed

Erdmann, Georgia; Scheu, Stefan; Maraun, Mark

2012-06-01

Most European forests are managed by humans. However, the manner and intensity of management vary. While the effect of forest management on above-ground communities has been investigated in detail, effects on the below-ground fauna remain poorly understood. Oribatid mites are abundant microarthropods in forest soil and important decomposers in terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we investigated the effect of four forest types (i.e., managed coniferous forests; 30 and 70 years old managed beech forests; natural beech forests) on the density, diversity and community structure of oribatid mites (Acari). The study was replicated at three regions in Germany: the Swabian Alb, the Hainich and the Schorfheide. To relate changes in oribatid mite community structure to environmental factors, litter mass, pH, C and N content of litter, fine roots and C content of soil were measured. Density of oribatid mites was highest in the coniferous forests and decreased in the order 30 years old, 70 years old, and natural beech forests. Mass of the litter layer and density of oribatid mites were strongly correlated indicating that the litter layer is an important factor regulating oribatid mite densities. Diversity of oribatid mites was little affected by forest type indicating that they harbor similar numbers of niches. Species composition differed between the forest types, suggesting different types of niches. The community structure of oribatid mites differed more strongly between the three regions than between the forest types indicating that regional factors are more important than effects associated with forest type.

Reconciling salvage logging of boreal forests with a tural-disturbance management model.

PubMed

Schmiegelow, Fiona K A; Stepnisky, David P; Stambaugh, Curtis A; Koivula, Matti

2006-08-01

In North American boreal forests, wildfire is the dominant agent of natural disturbance. A natural-disturbance model has therefore been promoted as an ecologically based approach to forest harvesting in these systems. Given accelerating resource demands, fire competes with harvest for timber and there is increasing pressure to salvage naturally burned areas. This creates a management paradox: simultaneous promotion of natural disturbance as a guide to sustainability while salvaging forests that have been naturally disturbed. The major drivers of postfire salvage in Canadian boreal forests are societal perceptions, overallocation of forest resources, and economic and policy incentives, and postfire salvage compromisesforest sustainability by diminishing the role of fire as a critical, natural process. These factors might be reconciled through consideration of fire in resource allocations and application of active adaptive management. We provide novel treatment of the role of burn severity in mediating biotic response by examining its influence on the amount, type, and distribution of live, postfire residual material, and we highlight the role of fire in shaping spatial and temporal patterns in forest biodiversity. Maintenance of natural postfire forests is a critical component of an ecosystem-based approach to forest management in boreal systems. Nevertheless, presentpracticesfocus heavily on expediting removal of timber from burned forests, despite increasing evidence that postfire communities differ markedly from postharvest systems, and there is a mismatch between emerging management models and past management practices. Policies that recognize the critical role of fire in these systems and facilitate enhanced understanding of natural system dynamics in support of development of sustainable management practices are urgently needed.

Conserving forest biodiversity across multiple land ownerships: lessons from the Northwest Forest Plan and the Southeast Queensland Regional Forests Agreement (Australia).

Treesearch

C.A. McAlpine; T.A. Spies; P. Norman; A. Peterson

2007-01-01

As the area of the world's forests shrinks, the management of production forests is becoming increasingly paramount for biodiversity conservation. In the United States and Australia, public debate and controversy about the management of production forests during the later decades of the 20th century resulted in governments adopting sweeping top-down changes to...

Natural forest management as a conservation tool in the tropics: divergent views on possibilities and alternatives

Treesearch

Matthew B. Dickinson; Joshua C. Dickinson; Francis E. Putz; Francis E. Putz

1996-01-01

A round table discussion was convened to explore divergent views on the potential for natural forest management (NFM) for timber to contribute to wide-scale maintenance of forest cover and biological diversity in tropical forests. The general argument for NFM for timber is that, by conferring relatively more economic value on forests that alternative forest uses, NFM...

Detecting and monitoring acidic deposition effects on soil chemistry and forest growth on the Monongahela National Forest

Treesearch

Patricia Elias; James Burger; Stephanie Connolly; Mary Beth. Adams

2010-01-01

The Monongahela National Forest (MNF) lies downwind from many sources of acid deposition (AD) pollution. Therefore, managers are concerned about the possible deleterious effects of AD on the forest ecosystem. To address the needs of MNF managers, we used Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) sites to evaluate forest growth patterns on the MNF to determine the...

Application of a distributed process-based hydrologic model to estimate the effects of forest road density on stormflows in the Southern Appalachians

Treesearch

Salli F. Dymond; W. Michael Aust; Stephen P. Prisley; Mark H. Eisenbies; James M. Vose

2014-01-01

Managed forests have historically been linked to watershed protection and flood mitigation. Research indicates that forests can potentially minimize peak flows during storm events, yet the relationship between forests and flooding is complex. Forest roads, usually found in managed systems, can potentially magnify the effects of forest harvesting on water yields. The...

Integration of carbon conservation into sustainable forest management using high resolution satellite imagery: A case study in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langner, Andreas; Samejima, Hiromitsu; Ong, Robert C.; Titin, Jupiri; Kitayama, Kanehiro

2012-08-01

Conservation of tropical forests is of outstanding importance for mitigation of climate change effects and preserving biodiversity. In Borneo most of the forests are classified as permanent forest estates and are selectively logged using conventional logging techniques causing high damage to the forest ecosystems. Incorporation of sustainable forest management into climate change mitigation measures such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) can help to avert further forest degradation by synergizing sustainable timber production with the conservation of biodiversity. In order to evaluate the efficiency of such initiatives, monitoring methods for forest degradation and above-ground biomass in tropical forests are urgently needed. In this study we developed an index using Landsat satellite data to describe the crown cover condition of lowland mixed dipterocarp forests. We showed that this index combined with field data can be used to estimate above-ground biomass using a regression model in two permanent forest estates in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Tangkulap represented a conventionally logged forest estate while Deramakot has been managed in accordance with sustainable forestry principles. The results revealed that conventional logging techniques used in Tangkulap during 1991 and 2000 decreased the above-ground biomass by an annual amount of average -6.0 t C/ha (-5.2 to -7.0 t C/ha, 95% confidential interval) whereas the biomass in Deramakot increased by 6.1 t C/ha per year (5.3-7.2 t C/ha, 95% confidential interval) between 2000 and 2007 while under sustainable forest management. This indicates that sustainable forest management with reduced-impact logging helps to protect above-ground biomass. In absolute terms, a conservative amount of 10.5 t C/ha per year, as documented using the methodology developed in this study, can be attributed to the different management systems, which will be of interest when implementing REDD+ that rewards the enhancement of carbon stocks.

Predicting changes in hypertension control using electronic health records from a chronic disease management program

PubMed Central

Sun, Jimeng; McNaughton, Candace D; Zhang, Ping; Perer, Adam; Gkoulalas-Divanis, Aris; Denny, Joshua C; Kirby, Jacqueline; Lasko, Thomas; Saip, Alexander; Malin, Bradley A

2014-01-01

Objective Common chronic diseases such as hypertension are costly and difficult to manage. Our ultimate goal is to use data from electronic health records to predict the risk and timing of deterioration in hypertension control. Towards this goal, this work predicts the transition points at which hypertension is brought into, as well as pushed out of, control. Method In a cohort of 1294 patients with hypertension enrolled in a chronic disease management program at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, patients are modeled as an array of features derived from the clinical domain over time, which are distilled into a core set using an information gain criteria regarding their predictive performance. A model for transition point prediction was then computed using a random forest classifier. Results The most predictive features for transitions in hypertension control status included hypertension assessment patterns, comorbid diagnoses, procedures and medication history. The final random forest model achieved a c-statistic of 0.836 (95% CI 0.830 to 0.842) and an accuracy of 0.773 (95% CI 0.766 to 0.780). Conclusions This study achieved accurate prediction of transition points of hypertension control status, an important first step in the long-term goal of developing personalized hypertension management plans. PMID:24045907

Predicting changes in hypertension control using electronic health records from a chronic disease management program.

PubMed

Sun, Jimeng; McNaughton, Candace D; Zhang, Ping; Perer, Adam; Gkoulalas-Divanis, Aris; Denny, Joshua C; Kirby, Jacqueline; Lasko, Thomas; Saip, Alexander; Malin, Bradley A

2014-01-01

Common chronic diseases such as hypertension are costly and difficult to manage. Our ultimate goal is to use data from electronic health records to predict the risk and timing of deterioration in hypertension control. Towards this goal, this work predicts the transition points at which hypertension is brought into, as well as pushed out of, control. In a cohort of 1294 patients with hypertension enrolled in a chronic disease management program at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, patients are modeled as an array of features derived from the clinical domain over time, which are distilled into a core set using an information gain criteria regarding their predictive performance. A model for transition point prediction was then computed using a random forest classifier. The most predictive features for transitions in hypertension control status included hypertension assessment patterns, comorbid diagnoses, procedures and medication history. The final random forest model achieved a c-statistic of 0.836 (95% CI 0.830 to 0.842) and an accuracy of 0.773 (95% CI 0.766 to 0.780). This study achieved accurate prediction of transition points of hypertension control status, an important first step in the long-term goal of developing personalized hypertension management plans.

A method of forest management for the planned introduction of intensive husbandry in virgin forest stands

Treesearch

B. Dolezal

1978-01-01

The method proposed is derived from long experience of intensive management in forest stands of Central Europe and from our proposal for management in virgin Iranian forests of the Caspian Region. The method establishes the need for systematic planning of stand conversion to insure both sustained yield and the harvesting of sufficient timber to sustain economic...

Germination, survival, and early growth of three invasive plants in response to five forest management regimes common to US northeastern deciduous forests

Treesearch

Cynthia D. Huebner; Adam E. Regula; David W. McGill

2018-01-01

The association between invasive plants and disturbance is well-documented. Most forest management regimes include disturbance (i.e., harvesting and fire) to improve regeneration of native plants, such as oaks. There is a need for land managers of northeastern forests to foster regeneration of native species without promoting invasive species establishment. We...

Involving forest communities in identifying and constructing ecosystems services: millennium assessment and place specificity

Treesearch

Stanley T. Asah; Dale J. Blahna; Clare M. Ryan

2012-01-01

The ecosystem services (ES) approach entails integrating people into public forest management and managing to meet their needs and wants. Managers must find ways to understand what these needs are and how they are met. In this study, we used small group discussions, in a case study of the Deschutes National Forest, to involve community members and forest staff in...

Science information for informing forest fuel management in dry forests of the western United States

Treesearch

Sarah McCaffrey; Russell Graham

2007-01-01

Land managers need timely and straightforward access to the best scientific information available for informing decisions on how to treat forest fuels in the dry forests of the western United States. However, although there is a tremendous amount of information available for informing fuels management decisions, often, it is in a form that is difficult to use or of...

Using Biodiversity Indicators to Assess the Success of Forecasting Adaptive Ecosystem Management: The Newfoundland and Labrador Experience

Treesearch

C. Sean Dolter

2006-01-01

This paper reports on an initiative referred to as the Biodiversity Assessment Project (BAP). A suite of tools is being developed to assist forest managers in assessing the predicted future forest conditions of Newfoundland and Labrador’s forests under a variety of management scenarios. Since 1999, the Western Newfoundland Model Forest partnership...

Principles and practices for the restoration of ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests of the Colorado Front Range

Treesearch

Robert N. Addington; Gregory H. Aplet; Mike A. Battaglia; Jennifer S. Briggs; Peter M. Brown; Antony S. Cheng; Yvette Dickinson; Jonas A. Feinstein; Kristen A. Pelz; Claudia M. Regan; Jim Thinnes; Rick Truex; Paula J. Fornwalt; Benjamin Gannon; Chad W. Julian; Jeffrey L. Underhill; Brett Wolk

2018-01-01

Wildfires have become larger and more severe over the past several decades on Colorado’s Front Range, catalyzing greater investments in forest management intended to mitigate wildfire risks. The complex ecological, social, and political context of the Front Range, however, makes forest management challenging, especially where multiple management goals including forest...

Raccoon ecological management area: partnership between Forest Service research and Mead Corporation

Treesearch

Daniel Yaussy; Wayne Lashbrook; Walt Smith

1997-01-01

The Chief of the Forest Service and the Chief Executive Officer of Mead Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understating (MOU) that created the Raccoon Ecological Management Area (REMA). This MOU designated nearly 17,000 acres as a special area to be co-managed by Mead and the Forest Service. The REMA is a working forest that continues to produce timber and pulpwood for...

Forest management challenges for sustaining water resources in the Anthropocene

Treesearch

Ge Sun; James M. Vose

2016-01-01

The Earth has entered the Anthropocene epoch that is dominated by humans who demand unprecedented quantities of goods and services from forests. The science of forest hydrology and watershed management generated during the past century provides a basic understanding of relationships among forests and water and offers management principles that maximize the benefits of...

Forecasting landscape-scale, cumulative effects of forest management on vegetation and wildlife habitat: a case study of issues, limitations, and opportunities

Treesearch

Stephen R. Shifley; Frank R. Thompson; William D. Dijak; Zhaofei F. Fan

2008-01-01

Forest landscape disturbance and succession models have become practical tools for large-scale, long-term analyses of the cumulative effects of forest management on real landscapes. They can provide essential information in a spatial context to address management and policy issues related to forest planning, wildlife habitat quality, timber harvesting, fire effects,...

Management perceptions of off-highway vehicle use on national forest system lands in Appalachia

Treesearch

Katherine A. Thompson; Chad D. Pierskalla; Michael A. Schuett

2008-01-01

In 2005, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) issued new standards for dealing with unmanaged recreation. All National Forest System units are to develop travel management plans by 2009. The purpose of this study was to determine differences in perceptions between USFS managers of national forests in Appalachia with low and high levels of offhighway vehicle (OHV) use...

A chronosequence feasibility assessment of emergency fire rehabilitation records within the intermountain western United States-final report to the Joint Fire Science Program-Project 08-S-08

Treesearch

Kevin C. Knutson; David A. Pyke; Troy A. Wirth; David S. Pilliod; Matthew L. Brooks; Jeanne C. Chambers

2009-01-01

Department of the Interior (DOI) bureaus have invested heavily (for example, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) spent more than $60 million in fiscal year 2007) in seeding vegetation for emergency stabilization and burned area rehabilitation of non-forested arid lands over the past 10 years. The primary objectives of these seedings commonly are to (1) reduce the...

Final Environmental Assessment Addressing Aerial Application of Herbicides at Joint Base Charleston-Weapons Station Charleston, South Carolina

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-02-01

areas of JB CHS-WS. However, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) will be planted where soil conditions are not conducive to sustain longleaf pine populations...more subject to soil erosion. Once forested areas have been planted with seedlings, further reduction of competitive vegetation through mechanical...uses. The soil qualities, growing season, and moisture supply are needed for a well-managed soil to produce a sustained high yield of crops in an

Climate and Management Controls on Forest Growth and Forest Carbon Balance in the Western United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelsey, Katharine Cashman

Climate change is resulting in a number of rapid changes in forests worldwide. Forests comprise a critical component of the global carbon cycle, and therefore climate-induced changes in forest carbon balance have the potential to create a feedback within the global carbon cycle and affect future trajectories of climate change. In order to further understanding of climate-driven changes in forest carbon balance, I (1) develop a method to improve spatial estimates forest carbon stocks, (2) investigate the effect of climate change and forest management actions on forest recovery and carbon balance following disturbance, and (3) explore the relationship between climate and forest growth, and identify climate-driven trends in forest growth through time, within San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado, USA. I find that forest carbon estimates based on texture analysis from LandsatTM imagery improve regional forest carbon maps, and this method is particularly useful for estimating carbon stocks in forested regions affected by disturbance. Forest recovery from disturbance is also a critical component of future forest carbon stocks, and my results indicate that both climate and forest management actions have important implications for forest recovery and carbon dynamics following disturbance. Specifically, forest treatments that use woody biomass removed from the forest for electricity production can reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere, but climate driven changes in fire severity and forest recovery can have the opposite effect on forest carbon stocks. In addition to the effects of disturbance and recovery on forest condition, I also find that climate change is decreasing rates of forest growth in some species, likely in response to warming summer temperatures. These growth declines could result in changes of vegetation composition, or in extreme cases, a shift in vegetation type that would alter forest carbon storage. This work provides insight into both current and future changes in forest carbon balance as a consequence of climate change and forest management in the western US.

Small-forest management in the spruce-fir region

Treesearch

A. C. Hart

1953-01-01

Small forest properties occupy about 3.4 million acres, or 25 percent of the total forest land, in the spruce-fir region of Maine and New Hampshire. Careful management of these small forest properties is important to the region and to the owners.

Working woods: A case study of sustainable forest management on Vermont family forests

Treesearch

Neal F. Maker; Rene H. Germain; Nathaniel M. Anderson

2014-01-01

Families own 35% of US forestland and 67% of Vermont forestland. Sustainable management of their woodlots could provide social and economic benefits for generations. We examined sustainable forest management across four counties in Vermont by evaluating the use of silvicultural practices and best management practices on 59 recently harvested, family-owned properties...

Modeling impacts of management on carbon sequestration and trace gas emissions in forested wetland ecosystems

Treesearch

Changsheng Li; Jianbo Cui

2004-01-01

A process- based model, Wetland-DNDC, was modified to enhance its capacity to predict the impacts of management practices on carbon sequestration in and trace gas emissions from forested wetland ecosystems. The modifications included parameterization of management practices fe.g., forest harvest, chopping, burning, water management, fertilization, and tree planting),...

Adaptations to climate change: Colville and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests

Treesearch

William L. Gaines; David W. Peterson; Cameron A. Thomas; Richy J. Harrod

2012-01-01

Forest managers are seeking practical guidance on how to adapt their current practices and, if necessary, their management goals, in response to climate change. Science-management collaboration was initiated on national forests in eastern Washington where resource managers showed a keen interest in science-based options for adapting to climate change at a 2-day...

A toolkit modeling approach for sustainable forest management planning: achieving balance between science and local needs

Treesearch

Brian R. Sturtevant; Andrew Fall; Daniel D. Kneeshaw; Neal P. P. Simon; Michael J. Papaik; Kati Berninger; Frederik Doyon; Don G. Morgan; Christian Messier

2007-01-01

To assist forest managers in balancing an increasing diversity of resource objectives, we developed a toolkit modeling approach for sustainable forest management (SFM). The approach inserts a meta-modeling strategy into a collaborative modeling framework grounded in adaptive management philosophy that facilitates participation among stakeholders, decision makers, and...

Chapter 17: the search for compatibility: what have we learned?

Treesearch

Robert A. Monserud; Richard W. Haynes; Adelaide C. Johnson

2003-01-01

Forest management that seeks compatible production opportunities across several forest resources is the essence of compatible forest management. Most landowners and many land managers are keenly aware that their management actions produce a range of goods or services that contributes to both their personal prosperity and to societal well-being. It is this diversity of...

Integrating concerns about wood production and sustainable forest management in the United States.

Treesearch

R.W. Haynes

2007-01-01

The implementation of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in the United States is strongly influenced by U.S. forest products markets and the numerous management decisions made by individual landowners and managers. These decisions are influenced by a mix of market incentives and regulatory actions reducing predictability in assessing progress towards SFM and causing...

Communicating forest management science and practices through visualized and animated media approaches to community presentations: An exploration and assessment

Treesearch

Donald E. Zimmerman; Carol Akerelrea; Jane Kapler Smith; Garrett J. O' Keefe

2006-01-01

Natural-resource managers have used a variety of computer-mediated presentation methods to communicate management practices to diverse publics. We explored the effects of visualizing and animating predictions from mathematical models in computerized presentations explaining forest succession (forest growth and change through time), fire behavior, and management options...

A practical approach for translating climate change adaptation principles into forest management actions

Treesearch

Maria K. Janowiak; Christopher W. Swanston; Linda M. Nagel; Leslie A. Brandt; Patricia R. Butler; Stephen D. Handler; P. Danielle Shannon; Louis R. Iverson; Stephen N. Matthews; Anantha Prasad; Matthew P. Peters

2014-01-01

There is an ever-growing body of literature on forest management strategies for climate change adaptation; however, few frameworks have been presented for integrating these strategies with the real-world challenges of forest management. We have developed a structured approach for translating broad adaptation concepts into specific management actions and silvicultural...

Forestry 101.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markham, Mary T.

2000-01-01

Introduces a unit on forest management in which students manage the school forest. Involves students in tree identification, determining the size or volume and height of trees, and evaluation of the forest for management decisions. Integrates mathematics, writing, and social studies with plant classification, plant reproduction, and the use of…

Maximizing Conservation and Production with Intensive Forest Management: It's All About Location

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tittler, Rebecca; Filotas, Élise; Kroese, Jasmin; Messier, Christian

2015-11-01

Functional zoning has been suggested as a way to balance the needs of a viable forest industry with those of healthy ecosystems. Under this system, part of the forest is set aside for protected areas, counterbalanced by intensive and extensive management of the rest of the forest. Studies indicate this may provide adequate timber while minimizing road construction and favoring the development of large mature and old stands. However, it is unclear how the spatial arrangement of intensive management areas may affect the success of this zoning. Should these areas be agglomerated or dispersed throughout the forest landscape? Should managers prioritize (a) proximity to existing roads, (b) distance from protected areas, or (c) site-specific productivity? We use a spatially explicit landscape simulation model to examine the effects of different spatial scenarios on landscape structure, connectivity for native forest wildlife, stand diversity, harvest volume, and road construction: (1) random placement of intensive management areas, and (2-8) all possible combinations of rules (a)-(c). Results favor the agglomeration of intensive management areas. For most wildlife species, connectivity was the highest when intensive management was far from the protected areas. This scenario also resulted in relatively high harvest volumes. Maximizing distance of intensive management areas from protected areas may therefore be the best way to maximize the benefits of intensive management areas while minimizing their potentially negative effects on forest structure and biodiversity.

Using a Forest Health Index as an Outreach Tool for Improving Public Understanding of Ecosystem Dynamics and Research-Based Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osenga, E. C.; Cundiff, J.; Arnott, J. C.; Katzenberger, J.; Taylor, J. R.; Jack-Scott, E.

2015-12-01

An interactive tool called the Forest Health Index (FHI) has been developed for the Roaring Fork watershed of Colorado, with the purpose of improving public understanding of local forest management and ecosystem dynamics. The watershed contains large areas of White River National Forest, which plays a significant role in the local economy, particularly for recreation and tourism. Local interest in healthy forests is therefore strong, but public understanding of forest ecosystems is often simplified. This can pose challenges for land managers and researchers seeking a scientifically informed approach to forest restoration, management, and planning. Now in its second iteration, the FHI is a tool designed to help bridge that gap. The FHI uses a suite of indicators to create a numeric rating of forest functionality and change, based on the desired forest state in relation to four categories: Ecological Integrity, Public Health and Safety, Ecosystem Services, and Sustainable Use and Management. The rating is based on data derived from several sources including local weather stations, stream gauge data, SNOTEL sites, and National Forest Service archives. In addition to offering local outreach and education, this project offers broader insight into effective communication methods, as well as into the challenges of using quantitative analysis to rate ecosystem health. Goals of the FHI include its use in schools as a means of using local data and place-based learning to teach basic math and science concepts, improved public understanding of ecological complexity and need for ongoing forest management, and, in the future, its use as a model for outreach tools in other forested communities in the Intermountain West.

A methodological framework to assess the carbon balance of tropical managed forests.

PubMed

Piponiot, Camille; Cabon, Antoine; Descroix, Laurent; Dourdain, Aurélie; Mazzei, Lucas; Ouliac, Benjamin; Rutishauser, Ervan; Sist, Plinio; Hérault, Bruno

2016-12-01

Managed forests are a major component of tropical landscapes. Production forests as designated by national forest services cover up to 400 million ha, i.e. half of the forested area in the humid tropics. Forest management thus plays a major role in the global carbon budget, but with a lack of unified method to estimate carbon fluxes from tropical managed forests. In this study we propose a new time- and spatially-explicit methodology to estimate the above-ground carbon budget of selective logging at regional scale. The yearly balance of a logging unit, i.e. the elementary management unit of a forest estate, is modelled by aggregating three sub-models encompassing (i) emissions from extracted wood, (ii) emissions from logging damage and deforested areas and (iii) carbon storage from post-logging recovery. Models are parametrised and uncertainties are propagated through a MCMC algorithm. As a case study, we used 38 years of National Forest Inventories in French Guiana, northeastern Amazonia, to estimate the above-ground carbon balance (i.e. the net carbon exchange with the atmosphere) of selectively logged forests. Over this period, the net carbon balance of selective logging in the French Guianan Permanent Forest Estate is estimated to be comprised between 0.12 and 1.33 Tg C, with a median value of 0.64 Tg C. Uncertainties over the model could be diminished by improving the accuracy of both logging damage and large woody necromass decay submodels. We propose an innovating carbon accounting framework relying upon basic logging statistics. This flexible tool allows carbon budget of tropical managed forests to be estimated in a wide range of tropical regions.

A National Assessment of the Urban Forest: An Overview

Treesearch

John F. Dwyer; David J. Nowak

2000-01-01

Urban forest management promises to play a critical role in the management of .... our nation's forest resources in the 21st century. Urban forests are significant and diverse ecosystems with intricate connections among their physical, biological, and social components; as well as with other elements of urban and natural resource systems. Urban forests are also...

Overview of best management practices related to forest roads: The southern states

Treesearch

Johnny M. Grace

2002-01-01

Forest roads are vital in the implementation of most all forest management activities. However, the potential of forest roads to have accelerated erosion losses and degrade water quality through stream sedimentation has long been recognized throughout the U.S. Forest roads have the potential to cause serious environmental impacts (possibly consequences) without...

Forest management practices and silviculture. Chapter 12.

Treesearch

Donald A. Perala; Elon S. Verry

2011-01-01

This chapter is an overview of forest management and silviculture practices, and lessons learned, on the Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF). The forests there are a mosaic of natural regeneration and conifer plantations. Verry (1969) described forest-plant communities in detail for the study watersheds (Sl through S6) on the MEF. The remaining area is described in...

Minimum cost strategies for sequestering carbon in forests.

Treesearch

Darius M. Adams; Ralph J. Alig; Bruce A. McCarl; John M. Callaway; Steven M. Winnett

1999-01-01

This paper examines the costs of meeting explicit targets for increments of carbon sequestered in forests when both forest management decisions and the area of forests can be varied. Costs are estimated as welfare losses in markets for forest and agricultural products. Results show greatest change in management actions when targets require large near-term flux...

Sediment plume development from forest roads: How are they related to filter strip recommendations

Treesearch

Johnny M. Grace

2004-01-01

Forest roads have been presented as the major source of soil erosion from forestactivities in recent years. Controlling sediment movement from forest roads is emphasizedin forest management throughout the nation. However, design and development of BestManagement Practices (BMPs) to control sediment movement from the forest road prismrequires a better understanding of...

Bat activity in selection harvests and intact forest canopy gaps at Indiana state forests

Treesearch

Scott Haulton; Kathryn L. DeCosta

2014-01-01

Forest managers often prescribe silvicultural methods based on how effectively they mimic the natural disturbance agents that have historically shaped the forests they manage. On Indiana state forests, selection systems are used on most harvested acreage and appear to structurally mimic the effects of naturally occurring, gap-forming disturbances affecting individual...

Globalization and structural change in the U.S. forest sector: an evolving context for sustainable forest management

Treesearch

Peter Ince; Albert Schuler; Henry Spelter; William Luppold

2007-01-01

This report examines economic implications for sustainable forest management of globalization and related structural changes in the forest sector of the United States. Globalization has accelerated structural change in the U.S. forest sector, favored survival of larger and more capital-intensive enterprises, and altered historical patterns of resource use.

Land parcelization and forest cover fragmentation in three forested countries in Northern Lower Michigan

Treesearch

Scott A. Drzyzga; Daniel G. Brown

1999-01-01

Many northern Michigan counties have grown in permanent residents and seasonal homes over the past several decades. Forest managers have observed that this influx of new forest owners affects public expectations and the range of socially acceptable forest management options. This shift in settlement and ownership patterns affects the landscape and has important...

Southern forest science: past, present, and future

Treesearch

H. Michael Rauscher; Kurt Johnsen

2004-01-01

Southern forests provide innumerable benefits. Forest scientists, managers, owners, and users have in common the desire to improve the condition of these forests and the ecosystems they support. A first step is to understand the contributions science has made and continues to make to the care and management of forests. This book represents a celebration of past...

Forests, people, fire: Integrating the sciences to build capacity for an “All Lands” approach to forest restoration

Treesearch

Marie Oliver; Susan Charnley; Thomas Spies; Jeff Kline; Eric White

2017-01-01

Interest in landscape-scale approaches to fire management and forest restoration is growing with the realization that these approaches are critical to maintaining healthy forests and protecting nearby communities. However, coordinated planning and action across multiple ownerships have been elusive because of differing goals and forest management styles among...

Law on the Forests of the DPRK [11 December 1992].

PubMed

1992-12-16

This 1992 law implements the state policy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on forests by establishing rules for the creation, management, and protection of all classes of forests and forest resources. The Law includes provisions on plans for the planting of trees, forest-fire prevention, soil erosion control, and proper management of commercial logging.

The climate change performance scorecard and carbon estimates for national forest

Treesearch

John W. Coulston; Kellen Nelson; Christopher W. Woodall; David Meriwether; Gregory A. Reams

2012-01-01

The U.S. Forest Service manages 20 percent of the forest land in the United States. Both the Climate Change Performance Scorecard and the revised National Forest Management Act require the assessment of carbon stocks on these lands. We present circa 2010 estimates of carbon stocks for each national forest and recommendations to improve these estimates.

Predictive Mapping of Forest Attributes on the Fishlake National Forest

Treesearch

Tracey S. Frescino; Gretchen G. Moisen

2005-01-01

Forest land managers increasingly need maps of forest characteristics to aid in planning and management. A set of 30-m resolution maps was prepared for the Fishlake National Forest by modeling FIA plot variables as nonparametric functions of ancillary digital data. The set includes maps of volume, biomass, growth, stand age, size, crown cover, and various aspen...

FIA photointerpretation in Southern New England: a tool to determine forest fragmantation and proximity to human development.

Treesearch

Rachel Riemann; Kathy Tillman

1999-01-01

The increasing proximity of human development to forest lands and the extent of forest fragmentation caused by this development are major concerns for natural resource managers. Forest fragmentation affects the biodiversity of native flora and fauna, hydrologic processes, and management opportunities. Knowing the extent and location of forest fragmentation and...

Forest inventory and management-based visual preference models of southern pine stands

Treesearch

Victor A. Rudis; James H. Gramann; Edward J. Ruddell; Joanne M. Westphal

1988-01-01

Statistical models explaining students' ratings of photographs of within stand forest scenes were constructed for 99 forest inventory plots in east Texas pine and oak-pine forest types. Models with parameters that are sensitive to visual preference yet compatible with forest management and timber inventories are presented. The models suggest that the density of...

Carbon Legacy of Forest Degradation Foregone: can Europe's Forests Contribute to Deep Decarbonization?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kauppi, P.; Nabuurs, G. J.

2016-12-01

Contemporary European forests, comprising 161 Mha, play a large role in mitigation of the EU carbon emissions. These intensively managed forests, roughly compensate 10% of EU emissions in forest carbon, in synchrony with the harvest for lumber, fibre and bioenergy, . But this has not always been the case; European forests are recovering since roughly 1850 from thousands of years of human induced degradation. The impact of more recent management is profound and has stimulated a worldwide unique and unprecedented recovery of this forest biome, partly in terms of area, but mainly in forest density that is, biomass per hectare increases. Based on what we know of the recent historic development, can these forests further contribute to deep decarbonization and how? We outline historic development of European forests since roughly 0 AD. We sketch evidence on degradation and deforestation, and on the impact of forest management on restoring the forest growth thus feeding on biomass recovery. We estimate the historical trajectory of the recovery from forest degradation. We discuss the future pathways of European forest resources, and the prospects for the European-model recovery to occur in degraded forests of the other continents. Based on this evidence from the past, we outline what Climate Smart Forestry could mean in the European circumstances aiming to further strengthen this role of European forests. Big scientific challenges remain to understand and project the future development of these forests under climate change and natural disturbances closely entangled with forest management and new demands of industry in the bio-economy.

Effects of Coffee Management Intensity on Composition, Structure, and Regeneration Status of Ethiopian Moist Evergreen Afromontane Forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hundera, Kitessa; Aerts, Raf; Fontaine, Alexandre; Van Mechelen, Maarten; Gijbels, Pieter; Honnay, Olivier; Muys, Bart

2013-03-01

The effect of arabica coffee management intensity on composition, structure, and regeneration of moist evergreen Afromontane forests was studied in three traditional coffee-management systems of southwest Ethiopia: semiplantation coffee, semiforest coffee, and forest coffee. Vegetation and environmental data were collected in 84 plots from forests varying in intensity of coffee management. After controlling for environmental variation (altitude, aspect, slope, soil nutrient availability, and soil depth), differences in woody species composition, forest structure, and regeneration potential among management systems were compared using one way analysis of variance. The study showed that intensification of forest coffee cultivation to maximize coffee production negatively affects diversity and structure of Ethiopian moist evergreen Afromontane forests. Intensification of coffee productivity starts with the conversion of forest coffee to semiforest coffee, which has significant negative effects on tree seedling abundance. Further intensification leads to the conversion of semiforest to semiplantation coffee, causing significant diversity losses and the collapse of forest structure (decrease of stem density, basal area, crown closure, crown cover, and dominant tree height). Our study underlines the need for shade certification schemes to include variables other than canopy cover and that the loss of species diversity in intensively managed coffee systems may jeopardize the sustainability of coffee production itself through the decrease of ecosystem resilience and disruption of ecosystem services related to coffee yield, such as pollination and pest control.

No effects of thinning with riparian buffers on terrestrial salamanders in headwater forests 5 to 6 years post-harvest in western Oregon

Treesearch

Matthew R. Kluber; Deanna H. Olson; Klaus J. Puettmann

2013-01-01

Th ere are emerging concerns for wildlife species associated with forested headwater systems. Given that headwater streams comprise a large portion of the length of fl owing waterways in western Oregon forests, there is a need to better understand how forest management aff ects headwater forest taxa and their habitats. Forest management strategies that consist of only...

Sixty years of research, 60 years of data: long-term US Forest Service data management on the Penobscot Experimental Forest

Treesearch

Matthew B. Russell; Spencer R. Meyer; John C. Brissette; Laura Kenefic

2014-01-01

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service silvicultural experiment on the Penobscot Experimental Forest (PEF) in Maine represents 60 years of research in the northern conifer and mixedwood forests of the Acadian Forest Region. The objective of this data management effort, which began in 2008, was to compile, organize, and archive research data collected in the...

Coronado National Forest Draft Land and Resource Management Plan: Cochise, Graham, Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz Counties, Arizona, and Hidalgo County, New Mexico

Treesearch

Terry Austin; Yolynda Begay; Sharon Biedenbender; Rachael Biggs; Erin Boyle; Eli Curiel; Sarah Davis; Sara Dechter; Tami Emmett; Mary Farrell; Richard Gerhart; William Gillespie; Polly Haessig; Ed Holloway; Melissa Jenkins; Larry Jones; Debby Kriegel; Robert Lefevre; Mark Stamer; Mindi Lehew; Ann Lynch; George McKay; Linda Peery; Albert Peralta; Jennifer Ruyle; Jeremy Sautter; Kenna Schoenle; Salek Shafiqullah; Christopher Stetson; Mindi Sue Vogel; Laura White; Craig Wilcox; Judy York

2013-01-01

The Coronado National Forest is an administrative component of the National Forest System. It administers 1,783,639 acres of National Forest System lands. National forests across the United States were established to provide natural resource-based goods and services to American citizens, and to protect timber and watershed resources. Management of national forests is...

Changes in forest land use and management in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, 1990–2010, with a focus on the Danum Valley region

PubMed Central

Reynolds, Glen; Payne, Junaidi; Sinun, Waidi; Mosigil, Gregory; Walsh, Rory P. D.

2011-01-01

In an earlier special issue of this journal, Marsh & Greer summarized forest land use in Sabah at that time and gave an introduction to the Danum Valley Conservation Area. Since that assessment, during the period 1990–2010, the forests of Sabah and particularly those of the ca 10 000 km2 concession managed on behalf of the State by Yayasan Sabah (the Sabah Foundation) have been subject to continual, industrial harvesting, including the premature re-logging of extensive tracts of previously only once-logged forest and large-scale conversion of natural forests to agricultural plantations. Over the same period, however, significant areas of previously unprotected pristine forest have been formally gazetted as conservation areas, while much of the forest to the north, the south and the east of the Danum Valley Conservation Area (the Ulu Segama and Malua Forest Reserves) has been given added protection and new forest restoration initiatives have been launched. This paper analyses these forest-management and land-use changes in Sabah during the period 1990–2010, with a focus on the Yayasan Sabah Forest Management Area. Important new conservation and forest restoration and rehabilitation initiatives within its borders are given particular emphasis. PMID:22006960

Changes in forest land use and management in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, 1990-2010, with a focus on the Danum Valley region.

PubMed

Reynolds, Glen; Payne, Junaidi; Sinun, Waidi; Mosigil, Gregory; Walsh, Rory P D

2011-11-27

In an earlier special issue of this journal, Marsh & Greer summarized forest land use in Sabah at that time and gave an introduction to the Danum Valley Conservation Area. Since that assessment, during the period 1990-2010, the forests of Sabah and particularly those of the ca 10 000 km(2) concession managed on behalf of the State by Yayasan Sabah (the Sabah Foundation) have been subject to continual, industrial harvesting, including the premature re-logging of extensive tracts of previously only once-logged forest and large-scale conversion of natural forests to agricultural plantations. Over the same period, however, significant areas of previously unprotected pristine forest have been formally gazetted as conservation areas, while much of the forest to the north, the south and the east of the Danum Valley Conservation Area (the Ulu Segama and Malua Forest Reserves) has been given added protection and new forest restoration initiatives have been launched. This paper analyses these forest-management and land-use changes in Sabah during the period 1990-2010, with a focus on the Yayasan Sabah Forest Management Area. Important new conservation and forest restoration and rehabilitation initiatives within its borders are given particular emphasis.

Weather Observation Systems and Efficiency of Fighting Forest Fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khabarov, N.; Moltchanova, E.; Obersteiner, M.

2007-12-01

Weather observation is an essential component of modern forest fire management systems. Satellite and in-situ based weather observation systems might help to reduce forest loss, human casualties and destruction of economic capital. In this paper, we develop and apply a methodology to assess the benefits of various weather observation systems on reductions of burned area due to early fire detection. In particular, we consider a model where the air patrolling schedule is determined by a fire hazard index. The index is computed from gridded daily weather data for the area covering parts Spain and Portugal. We conduct a number of simulation experiments. First, the resolution of the original data set is artificially reduced. The reduction of the total forest burned area associated with air patrolling based on a finer weather grid indicates the benefit of using higher spatially resolved weather observations. Second, we consider a stochastic model to simulate forest fires and explore the sensitivity of the model with respect to the quality of input data. The analysis of combination of satellite and ground monitoring reveals potential cost saving due to a "system of systems effect" and substantial reduction in burned area. Finally, we estimate the marginal improvement schedule for loss of life and economic capital as a function of the improved fire observing system.

Understanding the Socioeconomic Effects of Wildfires on Western U.S. Public Lands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, J. J.; Srivastava, L.; Marcos-Martinez, R.

2017-12-01

Climate change has resulted in the increased severity and frequency of forest disturbances due to wildfires, droughts, pests and diseases that compromise the sustainable provision of forest ecosystem services (e.g., water quantity and quality, carbon sequestration, recreation). A better understanding of the environmental and socioeconomic consequences of forest disturbances (i.e., wildfires) could improve the management and protection of public lands. We used a single-site benefit transfer function and spatially explicit information for demographic, socioeconomic, and site-specific characteristics to estimate the monetized value of market and non-market ecosystem services provided by forests on Western US public lands. These estimates are then used to approximate the costs of forest disturbances caused by wildfires of varying frequency and intensity, and across sites with heterogeneous characteristics and protection and management strategies. Our analysis provides credible estimates of the benefits of the forest for land management by the United States Forest Service, thereby assisting forest managers in planning resourcing and budgeting priorities.

Effects of forest management on productivity and carbon sequestration: A review and hypothesis

Treesearch

A. Noormets; D. Epron; J.C. Domec; S.G. McNulty; T. Fox; G. Sun; J.S. King

2015-01-01

With an increasing fraction of the world’s forests being intensively managed for meeting humanity’s need for wood, fiber and ecosystem services, quantitative understanding of the functional changes in these ecosystems in comparison with natural forests is needed. In particular, the role of managed forests as long-term carbon (C) sinks and for mitigating climate change...

47 CFR 17.58 - Facilities to be located on land under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management. 17.58 Section 17.58 Telecommunication... land under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management. Any... the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management shall include a statement that the facilities...

Temporal variation in woody species composition from 1922 to 1996 in a second-growth Appalachian forest

Treesearch

Thomas M. Schuler

1997-01-01

The National Forest Management Act, in part, instructs the Forest Service to maintain the diversity of tree species that are present on federal lands before the onset of management. Further, this act directs the Forest Service to preserve and enhance diversity of tree species within each management area so that diversity is equal to or greater than that of an unmanaged...

76 FR 2878 - Six Rivers National Forest, Mad River Ranger District, CA; Buck Mountain Vegetation and Fuel...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-18

...; Buck Mountain Vegetation and Fuel Management Project EIS AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice... the Buck Mountain Vegetation and Fuel Management Project to accelerate late-successional forest... project design features have been identified. Late-Successional Reserve Management Silvicultural...

Forest Fertilization Symposium Proceedings

Treesearch

Albert L. Leaf; Raymond E. Leonard

1973-01-01

Forest fertilization is a cultural practice becoming available to forest land managers for use in meeting management objectives. Like other cultural practices, it involves an investment in the site, it may result in an array of side effects in the ecosystem, and it must fit logically into long-range management plans.

36 CFR 222.7 - Cooperation in management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Cooperation in management. 222.7 Section 222.7 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... authorized to recognize, cooperate with, and assist local livestock associations in the management of the...

[Greenhouse gas emissions, carbon leakage and net carbon sequestration from afforestation and forest management: A review.

PubMed

Liu, Bo Jie; Lu, Fei; Wang, Xiao Ke; Liu, Wei Wei

2017-02-01

Forests play an important role in climate change mitigation and concentration of CO 2 reduction in the atmosphere. Forest management, especially afforestation and forest protection, could increase carbon stock of forests significantly. Carbon sequestration rate of afforestation ranges from 0.04 to 7.52 t C·hm -2 ·a -1 , while that of forest protection is 0.33-5.20 t C·hm -2 ·a -1 . At the same time, greenhouse gas (GHG) is generated within management boundary due to the production and transportation of the materials consumed in relevant activities of afforestation and forest management. In addition, carbon leakage is also generated outside boundary from activity shifting, market effects and change of environments induced by forest management. In this review, we summarized the definition of emission sources of GHG, monitoring methods, quantity and rate of greenhouse gas emissions within boundary of afforestation and forest management. In addition, types, monitoring methods and quantity of carbon leakage outside boundary of forest management were also analyzed. Based on the reviewed results of carbon sequestration, we introduced greenhouse gas emissions within boundary and carbon leakage, net carbon sequestration as well as the countervailing effects of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon leakage to carbon sequestration. Greenhouse gas emissions within management boundary counteract 0.01%-19.3% of carbon sequestration, and such counteraction could increase to as high as 95% considering carbon leakage. Afforestation and forest management have substantial net carbon sequestration benefits, when only taking direct greenhouse gas emissions within boundary and measurable carbon leakage from activity shifting into consideration. Compared with soil carbon sequestration measures in croplands, afforestation and forest management is more advantageous in net carbon sequestration and has better prospects for application in terms of net mitigation potential. Along with the implementation of the new stage of key ecological stewardship projects in China as well as the concern on carbon benefits brought by projects, it is necessary to make efforts to increase net carbon sequestration via reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon leakage. Rational planning before start-up of the projects should be promoted to avoid carbon emissions due to unnecessary consumption of materials and energy. Additionally, strengthening the control and monitoring on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon leakage during the implementation of projects are also advocated.

A conspiracy of optimism: Sustained yield, multiple use, and intensive management on the national forests, 1945-1991

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hirt, P.W.

1991-01-01

This study focuses on two core national forest management policies; sustained yield and multiple use. Public and elected officials attempt to apply principles of sustainable development to publicly-owned forest lands to ensure that a wide variety of both market and nonmarket forest values are preserved for the benefit of present and future generations. Interest groups, the Forest Service, and policy makers have conceived of sustained yield and multiple use in different and evolving ways over the years. This study explores how these principles have been variously defined and either implemented or thwarted. After World War Two, with escalating demands onmore » national forest resources, the US Forest Service turned to intensive management as a technological method of enhancing natural forest productivity and mitigating the environmental effects of increased use. But the agency's optimistic vision of efficient, sustained production of forest commodities through technical mastery over nature has met overwhelming fiscal, environmental, technical, and political obstacles. Changing public values since the 1960s and popularization of ecology have initiated a growing skepticism toward the premises of intensive management.« less

Do forests best mitigate CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by setting them aside for maximization of carbon storage or by management for fossil fuel substitution?

PubMed

Taeroe, Anders; Mustapha, Walid Fayez; Stupak, Inge; Raulund-Rasmussen, Karsten

2017-07-15

Forests' potential to mitigate carbon emissions to the atmosphere is heavily debated and a key question is if forests left unmanaged to store carbon in biomass and soil provide larger carbon emission reductions than forests kept under forest management for production of wood that can substitute fossil fuels and fossil fuel intensive materials. We defined a modelling framework for calculation of the carbon pools and fluxes along the forest energy and wood product supply chains over 200 years for three forest management alternatives (FMA): 1) a traditionally managed European beech forest, as a business-as-usual case, 2) an energy poplar plantation, and 3) a set-aside forest left unmanaged for long-term storage of carbon. We calculated the cumulative net carbon emissions (CCE) and carbon parity times (CPT) of the managed forests relative to the unmanaged forest. Energy poplar generally had the lowest CCE when using coal as the reference fossil fuel. With natural gas as the reference fossil fuel, the CCE of the business-as-usual and the energy poplar was nearly equal, with the unmanaged forest having the highest CCE after 40 years. CPTs ranged from 0 to 156 years, depending on the applied model assumptions. CCE and CPT were especially sensitive to the reference fossil fuel, material alternatives to wood, forest growth rates for the three FMAs, and energy conversion efficiencies. Assumptions about the long-term steady-state levels of carbon stored in the unmanaged forest had a limited effect on CCE after 200 years. Analyses also showed that CPT was not a robust measure for ranking of carbon mitigation benefits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive forest management for drinking water protection under climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koeck, R.; Hochbichler, E.

2012-04-01

Drinking water resources drawn from forested catchment areas are prominent for providing water supply on our planet. Despite the fact that source waters stemming from forested watersheds have generally lower water quality problems than those stemming from agriculturally used watersheds, it has to be guaranteed that the forest stands meet high standards regarding their water protection functionality. For fulfilling these, forest management concepts have to be applied, which are adaptive regarding the specific forest site conditions and also regarding climate change scenarios. In the past century forest management in the alpine area of Austria was mainly based on the cultivation of Norway spruce, by the way neglecting specific forest site conditions, what caused in many cases highly vulnerable mono-species forest stands. The GIS based forest hydrotope model (FoHyM) provides a framework for forest management, which defines the most crucial parameters in a spatial explicit form. FoHyM stratifies the spacious drinking water protection catchments into forest hydrotopes, being operational units for forest management. The primary information layer of FoHyM is the potential natural forest community, which reflects the specific forest site conditions regarding geology, soil types, elevation above sea level, exposition and inclination adequately and hence defines the specific forest hydrotopes. For each forest hydrotope, the adequate tree species composition and forest stand structure for drinking water protection functionality was deduced, based on the plant-sociological information base provided by FoHyM. The most important overall purpose for the related elaboration of adaptive forest management concepts and measures was the improvement of forest stand stability, which can be seen as the crucial parameter for drinking water protection. Only stable forest stands can protect the fragile soil and humus layers and hence prevent erosion process which could endanger the water resources. Forest stands which are formed by a tree species set which conforms to the potential natural forest community are more stable than the currently wide-spread mono-species Norway spruce plantations, especially in times of climate change, where e.g. bark beetle infestations threat spruce with increased intensity. FoHyM also provides the relevant ecological boundary conditions for any estimation of climate change adaptations. The adaptation of the tree species distribution within each forest hydrotope to climate change conditions was fulfilled by the integration of climate change scenarios and the estimation of the eco-physiological characteristics of related tree species. Hence it was possible to define the tree species distribution related to a specific climate change scenario for each forest hydrotope. The silvicultural concepts and measures to accomplish the defined tree species distribution and forest stand structure for each forest hydrotope were defined and elaborated by taking the specific requirements of drinking water protection areas into account, what e.g. comprised the prohibition of the clear cut technique and the application of continuous cover forest management concepts. The overall purpose of these adaptive silvicultural concepts and techniques which were based on the application of FoHyM was the improvement of the water protection functionality of forest stands within drinking water protection zones.

Capacity of US Forests to Maintain Existing Carbon Sequestration will be affected by Changes in Forest Disturbances and to a greater extent, the Economic and Societal Influences on Forest Management and Land Use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joyce, L. A.; Running, S. W.; Breshears, D. D.; Dale, V.; Malmsheimer, R. W.; Sampson, N.; Sohngen, B.; Woodall, C. W.

2012-12-01

Increasingly the value of US forest carbon dynamics and carbon sequestration is being recognized in discussions of adaptation and mitigation to climate change. Past exploitation of forestlands in the United States for timber, fuelwood, and conversion to agriculture resulted in large swings in forestland area and terrestrial carbon dynamics. The National Climate Assessment explored the implications of current and future stressors, including climate change, to the future of forest carbon dynamics in the United States. While U.S forests and associated harvested wood products sequestered roughly 13 percent of all carbon dioxide emitted in the United States in 2010, the capacity of forests to maintain this amount of carbon sequestration will be affected by the effects of climate change on forest disturbances, tree growth and mortality, changes in species composition, and to a greater extent, the economic and societal influences on forest management and forestland use. Carbon mitigation through forest management includes three strategies: 1) land management to increase forest area (afforestation) and/or avoid deforestation; 2) carbon management in existing forests; and 3) use of wood in place of materials that require more carbon emissions to produce, in place of fossil fuels to produce energy or in wood products for carbon storage. A significant financial incentive facing many private forest owners is the value of their forest lands for conversion to urban or developed uses. In addition, consequences of large scale die-off and wildfire disturbance events from climate change pose major challenges to forestland area and forest management with potential impacts occurring up to regional scales for timber, flooding and erosion risks, other changes in water budgets, and biogeochemical changes including carbon storage. Options for carbon management on existing forests include practices that increase forest growth such as fertilization, irrigation, switch to fast-growing planting stock and shorter rotations, and weed, disease, and insect control, and increasing the interval between harvests or decreasing harvest intensity. Economic drivers will affect future carbon cycle of forests such as shifts in forest age class structure in response to markets, land-use changes such as urbanization, and forest type changes. Future changes in forestland objectives include the potential for bioenergy based on forestland resources, which is as large as 504 million acres of timberland and 91 million acres of other forest land out of the 751 million acres of U.S. forestland. Implications of forest product use for bioenergy depend on the context of specific locations such as feedstock type and prior management, land conditions, transport and storage logistics, conversion processes used to produce energy, distribution and use. Markets for energy from biomass appear to be ready to grow in response to energy pricing, policy and demand, although recent increases in the supply of natural gas have reduced urgency for new biomass projects. Beyond use in the forest industry and some residences, biopower is not a large-scale enterprise in the United States. Societal choices about forest policy will also affect the carbon cycles on public and private forestland.

Application of Remote Sensing for Forest Management in Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bajracharya, B.; Matin, M. A.

2016-12-01

Large area of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is covered by forest that is playing a vital role to address the challenges of climate change and livelihood options for a growing population. Effective management of forest cover needs establishment of regular monitoring system for forest. Supporting REDD assessment needs reliable baseline assessment of forest biomass and its monitoring at multiple scale. Adaptation of forest to climate change needs understanding vulnerability of forests and dependence of local communities on these forest. We present here different forest monitoring products developed under the SERVIR-Himalaya programme to address these issues. Landsat 30 meter images were used for decadal land cover change assessment and annual forest change hotspot monitoring. Methodology developed for biomass estimation at national and sub-national level biomass estimation. Decision support system was developed for analysis of forest vulnerability and dependence and selection of adaptation options based on resource availability. These products are forming the basis for development of an integrated system that will be very useful for comprehensive forest monitoring and long term strategy development for sustainable forest management.

User group attitudes toward forest management treatments on the Shawnee National Forest: application of a photo-evaluation technique

Treesearch

Jonathan M. Cohen; Jean C. Mangun; Mae A. Davenport; Andrew D. Carver

2008-01-01

Diverse public opinions, competing management goals, and polarized interest groups combine with problems of scale to create a complex management arena for managers in the Central Hardwood Forest region. A mixed-methods approach that incorporated quantitative analysis of data from a photo evaluation-attitude scale survey instrument was used to assess attitudes toward...

Reconstructing European forest management from 1600 to 2010

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGrath, M. J.; Luyssaert, S.; Meyfroidt, P.; Kaplan, J. O.; Bürgi, M.; Chen, Y.; Erb, K.; Gimmi, U.; McInerney, D.; Naudts, K.; Otto, J.; Pasztor, F.; Ryder, J.; Schelhaas, M.-J.; Valade, A.

2015-07-01

Because of the slow accumulation and long residence time of carbon in biomass and soils, the present state and future dynamics of temperate forests are influenced by management that took place centuries to millennia ago. Humans have exploited the forests of Europe for fuel, construction materials and fodder for the entire Holocene. In recent centuries, economic and demographic trends led to increases in both forest area and management intensity across much of Europe. In order to quantify the effects of these changes in forests and to provide a baseline for studies on future land-cover-climate interactions and biogeochemical cycling, we created a temporally and spatially resolved reconstruction of European forest management from 1600 to 2010. For the period 1600-1828, we took a supply-demand approach, in which supply was estimated on the basis of historical annual wood increment and land cover reconstructions. We made demand estimates by multiplying population with consumption factors for construction materials, household fuelwood, industrial food processing and brewing, metallurgy, and salt production. For the period 1829-2010, we used a supply-driven backcasting method based on national and regional statistics of forest age structure from the second half of the 20th century. Our reconstruction reproduces the most important changes in forest management between 1600 and 2010: (1) an increase of 593 000 km2 in conifers at the expense of deciduous forest (decreasing by 538 000 km2); (2) a 612 000 km2 decrease in unmanaged forest; (3) a 152 000 km2 decrease in coppice management; (4) a 818 000 km2 increase in high-stand management; and (5) the rise and fall of litter raking, which at its peak in 1853 resulted in the removal of 50 Tg dry litter per year.

Participatory forest management in Ethiopia: learning from pilot projects.

PubMed

Ameha, Aklilu; Larsen, H O; Lemenih, Mulugeta

2014-04-01

Different arrangements of decentralized forest management have been promoted as alternatives to centralized and top down approaches to halt tropical deforestation and forest degradation. Ethiopia is one of the countries piloting one of these approaches. To inform future programs and projects it is essential to learn from existing pilots and experiences. This paper analyses five of the pilot participatory forest management (PFM) programs undertaken in Ethiopia. The study is based on the Forest User Group (FUG) members' analyses of the programs using selected outcome variables: forest income, change in forest conditions, forest ownership feelings and effectiveness of FUGs as forest managing institutions. These variables were assessed at three points in time-before the introduction of PFM, during the project implementation and after the projects ended. Data were collected using group discussions, key informant interviews and transect walks through the PFM forests. The results show that in all of the five cases the state of the forest is perceived to have improved with the introduction of PFM, and in four of the cases the improvement was maintained after projects ended. Regulated access to the forests following introduction of PFM was not perceived to have affected forest income negatively. There are, however, serious concerns about the institutional effectiveness of the FUGs after projects ended, and this may affect the success of the PFM approach in the longer term.

Bird response to future climate and forest management focused on mitigating climate change

Treesearch

Jaymi J. LeBrun; Jeffrey E. Schneiderman; Frank R. Thompson; William D. Dijak; Jacob S. Fraser; Hong S. He; Joshua J. Millspaugh

2016-01-01

Context. Global temperatures are projected to increase and affect forests and wildlife populations. Forest management can potentially mitigate climateinduced changes through promoting carbon sequestration, forest resilience, and facilitated change. Objectives. We modeled direct and indirect effects of climate change on avian...

Potential increases in natural disturbance rates could offset forest management impacts on ecosystem carbon stocks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bradford, John B.; Jensen, Nicholas R.; Domke, Grant M.; D’Amato, Anthony W.

2013-01-01

Forested ecosystems contain the majority of the world’s terrestrial carbon, and forest management has implications for regional and global carbon cycling. Carbon stored in forests changes with stand age and is affected by natural disturbance and timber harvesting. We examined how harvesting and disturbance interact to influence forest carbon stocks over the Superior National Forest, in northern Minnesota. Forest inventory data from the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program were used to characterize current forest age structure and quantify the relationship between age and carbon stocks for eight forest types. Using these findings, we simulated the impact of alternative management scenarios and natural disturbance rates on forest-wide terrestrial carbon stocks over a 100-year horizon. Under low natural mortality, forest-wide total ecosystem carbon stocks increased when 0% or 40% of planned harvests were implemented; however, the majority of forest-wide carbon stocks decreased with greater harvest levels and elevated disturbance rates. Our results suggest that natural disturbance has the potential to exert stronger influence on forest carbon stocks than timber harvesting activities and that maintaining carbon stocks over the long-term may prove difficult if disturbance frequency increases in response to climate change.

Proceedings of the California Forest Soils Council Conference on Forest Soils Biology and Forest Management

Treesearch

Robert F. Powers; Donald L. Hauxwell; Gary M. Nakamura

2000-01-01

Biotic properties of forest soil are the linkages connecting forest vegetation with an inert rooting medium to create a dynamic, functioning ecosystem. But despite the significance of these properties, managers have little awareness of the biotic world beneath their feet. Much of our working knowledge of soil biology seems anchored in myth and misunderstanding. To...

The use of Forest Service experimental forests and ranges for long-term research on invasive species

Treesearch

Ralph Holiday Crawford; Gary W. Miller

2010-01-01

The 81 experimental forests and ranges (EFRs) research sites make the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service unique among land management agencies. The EFRs were established for conducting applied research that serves as a basis for managing forests and rangelands. Most EFR research sites have long histories of experimentation and research that provide...

Regulating the sustainability of forest management in the Americas: Cross-country comparisons of forest legislation

Treesearch

Kathleen McGinley; Raquel Alvarado; Frederick Cubbage; Diana Diaz; Pablo J. Donoso; Laercio Antonio Jacovine Goncalves; Fabiano Luiz de Silva; Charles MacIntyre; Elizabeth Monges Zalazar

2012-01-01

Based on theoretical underpinnings and an empirical review of forest laws and regulations of selected countries throughout the Americas, we examine key components of natural forest management and how they are addressed in the legal frameworks of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay, and the U.S. We consider forest policy...

The impact and control of major southern forest diseases

Treesearch

A. Dan Wilson; Theodor D. Leininger; William J. Otrosina; L. David Dwinell; Nathan M. Schiff

2004-01-01

A variety of forest health issues, concerns, and events have rapidly changed southern forests and plantations in the past two decades. These factors have strongly impacted the ways we manage forest pests in the Southern United States. This trend will no doubt continue to shape forest pest management in the future. The major issues and events of concern include changing...

Vertical distribution and persistence of soil organic carbon in fire-adapted longleaf pine forests

Treesearch

John R. Butnor; Lisa J. Samuelson; Kurt H. Johnsen; Peter H. Anderson; Carlos A. Gonzalez Benecke; Claudia M. Boot; M. Francesca Cotrufo; Katherine A. Heckman; Jason A. Jackson; Thomas A. Stokes; Stanley J. Zarnoch

2017-01-01

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Miller) forests in the southern United States are being restored and actively managed for a variety of goals including: forest products, biodiversity, C sequestration and forest resilience in the face of repeated isturbances from hurricanes and climate change. Managed southern pine forests can be sinks for atmospheric...

Integrating GIS Technology With Forest Management And Habitat Assessment Efforts On Our National Forests

Treesearch

Joan M. Nichols; S. Arif Husain; Christos Papadas

2000-01-01

Research was conducted on a section of the Superior National Forest to develop and examine potential methods or approaches that may be used to integrate non-timber resources in multiple-use planning. An indicator species for old-growth conifer forests, pine marten (Martes americana), was chosen to examine potential conflicts between specific forest management practices...

Wind in the forests of southeast Alaska and guides for reducing damage.

Treesearch

A.S. Harris

1999-01-01

Alaska based on the literature and the author's experience. Storm winds resulting in damage to forest stands are described, and some ecological and management considerations of wind that are of concern to forest managers are reviewed. The author made a general reconnaissance of forest conditions on Prince of Wales Island and adjacent islands based on forest-type...

Summary and findings of the 2006 BLM Forest Lands Report

Treesearch

Tim Bottomley; Jim Menlove

2009-01-01

In 2006, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contracted with the Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA) to assist in the preparation of a report specific to all forest lands under the administration of the BLM. The BLM requested that the FIA provide information on the extent and general conditions of BLM- managed forests and woodlands, within...

Use of LIDAR for forest inventory and forest management application

Treesearch

Birgit Peterson; Ralph Dubayah; Peter Hyde; Michelle Hofton; J. Bryan Blair; JoAnn Fites-Kaufman

2007-01-01

A significant impediment to forest managers has been the difficulty in obtaining large-area forest structure and fuel characteristics at useful resolutions and accuracies. This paper demonstrates how LIDAR data were used to predict canopy bulk density (CBD) and canopy base height (CBH) for an area in the Sierra National Forest. The LIDAR data were used to generate maps...

A model for managing edge effects in harvest scheduling using spatial optimization

Treesearch

Kai L. Ross; Sándor F. Tóth

2016-01-01

Actively managed forest stands can create new forest edges. If left unchecked over time and across space, forest operations such as clear-cuts can create complex networks of forest edges. Newly created edges alter the landscape and can affect many environmental factors. These altered environmental factors have a variety of impacts on forest growth and structure and can...

Interactive effects of environmental change and management strategies on regional forest carbon emissions.

PubMed

Hudiburg, Tara W; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan; Thornton, Peter E; Law, Beverly E

2013-11-19

Climate mitigation activities in forests need to be quantified in terms of the long-term effects on forest carbon stocks, accumulation, and emissions. The impacts of future environmental change and bioenergy harvests on regional forest carbon storage have not been quantified. We conducted a comprehensive modeling study and life-cycle assessment of the impacts of projected changes in climate, CO2 concentration, and N deposition, and region-wide forest management policies on regional forest carbon fluxes. By 2100, if current management strategies continue, then the warming and CO2 fertilization effect in the given projections result in a 32-68% increase in net carbon uptake, overshadowing increased carbon emissions from projected increases in fire activity and other forest disturbance factors. To test the response to new harvesting strategies, repeated thinnings were applied in areas susceptible to fire to reduce mortality, and two clear-cut rotations were applied in productive forests to provide biomass for wood products and bioenergy. The management strategies examined here lead to long-term increased carbon emissions over current harvesting practices, although semiarid regions contribute little to the increase. The harvest rates were unsustainable. This comprehensive approach could serve as a foundation for regional place-based assessments of management effects on future carbon sequestration by forests in other locations.

78 FR 69363 - Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, California, Heavenly Mountain Resort Epic Discovery Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-19

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, California, Heavenly Mountain Resort Epic Discovery Project AGENCY: Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Forest Service, USDA...: The Epic Discovery Project is intended to enhance summer activities in response to the USDA Forest...

25 CFR 163.36 - Tribal forestry program financial support.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... services to carry out forest land management activities and shall be based on levels of funding assistance... carrying out forest land management activities. Such financial support shall be made available through the... of carrying out forest land management activities may apply and qualify for tribal forestry program...

25 CFR 163.36 - Tribal forestry program financial support.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... services to carry out forest land management activities and shall be based on levels of funding assistance... carrying out forest land management activities. Such financial support shall be made available through the... of carrying out forest land management activities may apply and qualify for tribal forestry program...

Management of Giant Sequoia on Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest

Treesearch

Norman J. Benson

1986-01-01

Established in 1946, the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest, Tulare County, California, is managed by the California Department of Forestry. It is a multiple-use forest with recreation as its primary focus, although timber management has always played an important role. Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum [Lindl. ] Buchholz) occurs in...

Trees of Our National Forests.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forest Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

Presented is a description of the creation of the National Forests system, how trees grow, managing the National Forests, types of management systems, and managing for multiple use, including wildlife, water, recreation and other uses. Included are: (1) photographs; (2) line drawings of typical leaves, cones, flowers, and seeds; and (3)…

Technology transfer for ecosystem management

Treesearch

Tim O' Keefe

1995-01-01

In many parts of our country today, forest health and sustainability are important management questions. Some individuals and groups have observed that during the past century the emphasis in American forest management on commodity production has, in many cases, contributed to a unhealthy forest landscape. For example, the forestland in eastern Oregon has considerably...

36 CFR 223.218 - Consistency with plans, environmental standards, and other management requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Consistency with plans... plans, environmental standards, and other management requirements. The disposal of special forest products from National Forest System lands shall be consistent with applicable land management plans. Each...

Private Forests: Management and Policy in a Market Economy

Treesearch

Frederick W. Cubbage; Anthony G. Snider; Karen Lee Abt; Robert L. Moulton

2003-01-01

This chapter discusses privately owned forests and timber management in a market economy, including private property rights and tenure, landowner objectives and characteristics, markets, and government policies. Private forest land ownership and management-whether it be industrial or nonindustrial-is often assumed to represent the classic model of atomistic competition...

Using the Viability Theory to Assess the Flexibility of Forest Managers Under Ecological Intensification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathias, Jean-Denis; Bonté, Bruno; Cordonnier, Thomas; de Morogues, Francis

2015-11-01

Greater demand for wood material has converged with greater demand for biodiversity conservation to make balancing forest ecosystem services a key societal issue. Forest managers, owners, or policymakers need new approaches and methods to evaluate their ability to adapt to this dual objective. We analyze the ability of forest owners to define sustainable forest management options based on viability theory and a new flexibility index. This new indicator gauges the adaptive capacity of forest owners based on the number of sustainable actions available to them at a given time. Here we study a public forest owner who regulates harvest intensity and frequency in order to meet demand for timber wood at forest scale and to meet a biodiversity recommendation via a minimum permanently maintained volume of deadwood per hectare at stand scale. Dynamical systems theory was used to model uneven-aged forest dynamics—including deadwood dynamics—and the dynamics of timber wood demand and tree removals. Uneven-aged silver fir forest management in the "Quatre Montagnes region" (Vercors, France) is used as an illustrative example. The results explain situations where a joint increase in wood production and deadwood retention does not reduce the flexibility index more than increasing either one dimension alone, thus opening up ecological intensification options. To conclude, we discuss the value of the new flexibility index for addressing environmental management and ecological intensification issues.

Detailed maps of tropical forest types are within reach: forest tree communities for Trinidad and Tobago mapped with multiseason Landsat and multiseason fine-resolution imagery

Treesearch

Eileen H. Helmer; Thomas S. Ruzycki; Jay Benner; Shannon M. Voggesser; Barbara P. Scobie; Courtenay Park; David W. Fanning; Seepersad Ramnarine

2012-01-01

Tropical forest managers need detailed maps of forest types for REDD+, but spectral similarity among forest types; cloud and scan-line gaps; and scarce vegetation ground plots make producing such maps with satellite imagery difficult. How can managers map tropical forest tree communities with satellite imagery given these challenges? Here we describe a case study of...

Raccoon spatial requirements and multi-scale habitat selection within an intensively managed central Appalachian forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Owen, Sheldon F.; Berl, Jacob L.; Edwards, John W.; Ford, W. Mark; Wood, Petra Bohall

2015-01-01

We studied a raccoon (Procyon lotor) population within a managed central Appalachian hardwood forest in West Virginia to investigate the effects of intensive forest management on raccoon spatial requirements and habitat selection. Raccoon home-range (95% utilization distribution) and core-area (50% utilization distribution) size differed between sexes with males maintaining larger (2×) home ranges and core areas than females. Home-range and core-area size did not differ between seasons for either sex. We used compositional analysis to quantify raccoon selection of six different habitat types at multiple spatial scales. Raccoons selected riparian corridors (riparian management zones [RMZ]) and intact forests (> 70 y old) at the core-area spatial scale. RMZs likely were used by raccoons because they provided abundant denning resources (i.e., large-diameter trees) as well as access to water. Habitat composition associated with raccoon foraging locations indicated selection for intact forests, riparian areas, and regenerating harvest (stands <10 y old). Although raccoons were able to utilize multiple habitat types for foraging resources, a selection of intact forest and RMZs at multiple spatial scales indicates the need of mature forest (with large-diameter trees) for this species in managed forests in the central Appalachians.

In search of radiation minima for balancing the needs of forest and water management in snow dominated watersheds (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, M.; Seyednasrollah, B.; Link, T. E.

2013-12-01

In upland snowfed forested watersheds, where the majority of melt recharge occurs, there is growing interest among water and forest managers to strike a balance between maximizing forest productivity and minimizing impacts on water resources. Implementation of forest management strategies that involve reduction of forest cover generally result in increased water yield and peak flows from forests, which has potentially detrimental consequences including increased erosion, stream destabilization, water shortages in late melt season, and degradation of water quality and ecosystem health. These ill effects can be partially negated by implementing optimal gap patterns and vegetation densities through forest management, that may minimize net radiation on snow-covered forest floor (NRSF). A small NRSF can moderate peak flows and increase water availability late in the melt season. Since forest canopies reduce direct solar (0.28 - 3.5 μm) radiation but increase longwave (3.5-100 μm) radiation at the snow surface, by performing detailed quantification of individual radiation components for a range of vegetation density and and gap configurations, we identify the optimal vegetation configurations. We also evaluate the role of site location, its topographic setting, local meteorological conditions and vegetation morphological characteristics, on the optimal configurations. The results can be used to assist forest managers to quantify the radiative regime alteration for various thinning and gap-creation scenarios, as a function of latitudinal, topographic, climatic and vegetation characteristics.

Risk of natural disturbances makes future contribution of Canada's forests to the global carbon cycle highly uncertain.

PubMed

Kurz, Werner A; Stinson, Graham; Rampley, Gregory J; Dymond, Caren C; Neilson, Eric T

2008-02-05

A large carbon sink in northern land surfaces inferred from global carbon cycle inversion models led to concerns during Kyoto Protocol negotiations that countries might be able to avoid efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions by claiming large sinks in their managed forests. The greenhouse gas balance of Canada's managed forest is strongly affected by naturally occurring fire with high interannual variability in the area burned and by cyclical insect outbreaks. Taking these stochastic future disturbances into account, we used the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) to project that the managed forests of Canada could be a source of between 30 and 245 Mt CO(2)e yr(-1) during the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period (2008-2012). The recent transition from sink to source is the result of large insect outbreaks. The wide range in the predicted greenhouse gas balance (215 Mt CO(2)e yr(-1)) is equivalent to nearly 30% of Canada's emissions in 2005. The increasing impact of natural disturbances, the two major insect outbreaks, and the Kyoto Protocol accounting rules all contributed to Canada's decision not to elect forest management. In Canada, future efforts to influence the carbon balance through forest management could be overwhelmed by natural disturbances. Similar circumstances may arise elsewhere if global change increases natural disturbance rates. Future climate mitigation agreements that do not account for and protect against the impacts of natural disturbances, for example, by accounting for forest management benefits relative to baselines, will fail to encourage changes in forest management aimed at mitigating climate change.

A report on the potential use of USDA Forest Service forest inventory and analysis data by the Bureau of Land Management

Treesearch

Bill Williams; Tracey S. Frescino; Larry T. DeBlander; Sharon W. Woudenberg; Michael Wilson

2006-01-01

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) does not have a consistent internal program or source of vegetation data to use for strategic level planning, such as in resource management plans. This technical note discusses and evaluates the potential of the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program to assist the BLM in filling this data gap. The FIA...

Criterion 6, indicator 34 : value of capital investment and annual expenditure in forest management, wood and non-wood product industries, forest-based environmental services, recreation, and tourism

Treesearch

Ken Skog; John Bergstrom; Elizabeth Hill; Ken Cordell

2010-01-01

USDA Forest Service capital investment in management infrastructure was $501 and $390 million (2005$) for 2005 and 2007, respectively. National forest programs expenditures decreased from $3.0 to $2.7 billion between 2004 and 2007 and wildfire management expenditures increased from $1.7 to $2.1 billion (2005$). State forestry program expenditures for 1998, 2002, and...

Proceedings of the symposium on the ecology and management of dead wood in western forests

Treesearch

William F. Laudenslayer; Patrick J. Shea; Bradley E. Valentine; C. Phillip Weatherspoon; Thomas E. Lisle

2002-01-01

Dead trees, both snags (standing dead trees) and logs (downed dead trees), are critical elements of healthy and productive forests. The “Symposium on the Ecology and Management of Dead Wood in Western Forests” was convened to bring together forest researchers and managers to share the current state of knowledge relative to the values and interactions of dead wood to...

National Silviculture Meeting: Forestry to meet special objectives (A look at uneven-aged management); Marquette, Michigan; September 10-14, 1973

Treesearch

Michael A. Barton; Louis J. Verme; Robert E. Radtke; Berwyn O. Reed; William T. Plass; Stephen G. Boyce

1973-01-01

As a matter of policy and good forest resource management, the Forest Service will manage the timber resources on the National Forests to achieve the various multiple use objectives established for the respective management units. In so doing, we are not to be bound to any particular system of management as the primary system, but we are to prescribe and use the system...

Comparing simulated carbon budget of a Lei bamboo forest with flux tower data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Li, Xuehe; Jiang, Hong; Liu, Jinxun; Sun, Cheng; Wang, Ying; Jin, Jiaxin

2014-01-01

Bamboo forest ecosystem is the part of the forest ecosystem. The distribution area of bamboo forest is limited, but in somewhere, like south China, it has been cultivate for a long time with human management. As the climate change has been take great effect on forest carbon budget, many researchers pay attention to the carbon budget in bamboo forest. Moreover cultivative management had a significant impact on the bamboo forest carbon budget. In this study, we modified a terrestrial ecosystem model named Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS) according the management of Lei bamboo forest. Some management, like fertilization, shoots harvesting and organic mulching in winter, had been incorporated into model. Then we had compared model results with the observation data from a Lei bamboo flux tower. The simulated and observed results had achieved good consistency. Our simulated Lei bamboo forest yearly net ecosystem productivity (NEP) was 0.41 kgC a-1 of carbon, which is very close to the observation data 0.45 kgC a-1 of carbon. And the monthly simulated results can take the change of carbon budget in each month, similar to the data we got from flux tower. It reflects that the modified IBIS model can characterize the growth of bamboo forest and perform the simulation well. And then two groups of simulations were set to evaluate effects of cultivative managements on Lei bamboo forests carbon budget. And results showed that both fertilization and organic mulching had taken positive effects on Lei bamboo forests carbon sequestration.

Development of watershed hydrologic research at Santee Experimental Forest, coastal South Carolina

Treesearch

Devendra Amatya; Carl Trettin

2007-01-01

Managing forested wetland landscapes for water quality improvement and productivity requires a detailed understanding of functional linkages between ecohydrological processes and management practices. Watershed studies are being conducted at USDA Forest Service Santee Experimental Forest, South Carolina, to understand the fundamental hydrologic and biogeochemical...

77 FR 472 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-05

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule; Correction AGENCY: USDA Forest Service. ACTION... for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1 (800) 877-8339 between 8...

Assessing economic tradeoffs in forest management.

Treesearch

Ernie Niemi; Ed. Whitelaw

1999-01-01

Method is described for assessing the competing demands for forest resources in a forest management plan by addressing economics values, economic impacts, and perceptions of fairness around each demand. Economics trends and forces that shape the dynamic ecosystem-economy relation are developed. The method is demonstrated through an illustrative analysis of a forest-...

Forest structure following tornado damage and salvage logging in northern Maine, USA

Treesearch

Shawn Fraver; Kevin J. Dodds; Laura S. Kenefic; Rick Morrill; Robert S. Seymour; Eben Sypitkowski

2017-01-01

Understanding forest structural changes resulting from postdisturbance management practices such as salvage logging is critical for predicting forest recovery and developing appropriate management strategies. In 2013, a tornado and subsequent salvage operations in northern Maine, USA, created three conditions (i.e., treatments) with contrasting forest structure:...

Integrating silviculture, forest management, and forest policy

Treesearch

Chadwick D. Oliver

1997-01-01

Much progress has been made in developing and implementing individual silvicultural operations such as regeneration, thinning, and harvesting by various means. Similarly, foresters have made progress at managing flows of timber and other commodity values. Present concern that forests provide an even greater variety of commodity and non-commodity values can be...

Forest carbon calculators: a review for managers, policymakers, and educators

Treesearch

Harold S.J. Zald; Thomas A. Spies; Mark E. Harmon; Mark J. Twery

2016-01-01

Forests play a critical role sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide, partially offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, and thereby mitigating climate change. Forest management, natural disturbances, and the fate of carbon in wood products strongly influence carbon sequestration and emissions in the forest sector. Government policies, carbon offset and trading programs,...

36 CFR 230.42 - Cost-share assistance application and payment procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... service representative, existing landowner management plans such as Tree Farm management plans, Forest... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Cost-share assistance application and payment procedures. 230.42 Section 230.42 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE...

36 CFR 230.42 - Cost-share assistance application and payment procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... service representative, existing landowner management plans such as Tree Farm management plans, Forest... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Cost-share assistance application and payment procedures. 230.42 Section 230.42 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE...

36 CFR 230.42 - Cost-share assistance application and payment procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... service representative, existing landowner management plans such as Tree Farm management plans, Forest... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Cost-share assistance application and payment procedures. 230.42 Section 230.42 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE...

36 CFR 230.42 - Cost-share assistance application and payment procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... service representative, existing landowner management plans such as Tree Farm management plans, Forest... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Cost-share assistance application and payment procedures. 230.42 Section 230.42 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE...

Value of the Morgan-Monroe-Yellowwood State Forest Complex

Treesearch

William L. Hoover

2013-01-01

As publicly owned forest land, the Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests (Indiana), referred to herein as the Morgan-Monroe Yellowwood Complex (MMYC), have many stakeholders with differing management expectations. The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) within the MMYC will significantly increase the science-based information available for forest management...

Planted forests and biodiversity

Treesearch

Jean-Michel Carnus; John Parrotta; Eckehard G. Brockerhoff; Michel Arbez; Hervé Jactel; Antoine Kremer; David Lamb; Kevin O’Hara; Bradley Walters

2006-01-01

Expansion of planted forests and intensification of their management has raised concerns among forest managers and the public over the implications of these trends for sustainable production and conservation of forest biological diversity. We review the current state of knowledge on the impacts of plantation forestry on genetic and species diversity at different...

36 CFR 223.30 - Consistency with plans, environmental standards, and other management requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Consistency with plans, environmental standards, and other management requirements. 223.30 Section 223.30 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SALE AND DISPOSAL OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM TIMBER...

A management guide for invasive plants in southern forests

Treesearch

James H. Miller; Steven T. Manning; Stephen F. Enloe

2013-01-01

Invasions of nonnative plants into forests of the Southern United States continue to spread and include new species, increasingly eroding forest productivity, hindering forest use and management activities, and degrading diversity and wildlife habitat. This book provides the latest information on how to organize and enact prevention programs, build strategies,...

78 FR 23219 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-18

... National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land... Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to provide advice and recommendations on...

76 FR 81911 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-29

... National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule AGENCY: USDA Forest Service. ACTION: Notice of intent... intends to establish the National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land... (FACA), the Committee is being established to provide advice and recommendations on the implementation...

78 FR 9883 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-12

... National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land... Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to provide advice and recommendations on the...

78 FR 34034 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-06

... National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land... purpose of the Committee is to provide advice and recommendations on the implementation of the National...

Effects of scale and logging on landscape structure in a forest mosaic.

PubMed

Leimgruber, P; McShea, W J; Schnell, G D

2002-03-01

Landscape structure in a forest mosaic changes with spatial scale (i.e. spatial extent) and thresholds may occur where structure changes markedly. Forest management alters landscape structure and may affect the intensity and location of thresholds. Our purpose was to examine landscape structure at different scales to determine thresholds where landscape structure changes markedly in managed forest mosaics of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. We also investigated how logging influences landscape structure and whether these management activities change threshold values. Using threshold and autocorrelation analyses, we found that thresholds in landscape indices exist at 400, 500, and 800 m intervals from the outer edge of management units in our study region. For landscape indices that consider all landcover categories, such as dominance and contagion, landscape structure and thresholds did not change after logging occurred. Measurements for these overall landscape indices were strongly influenced by midsuccessional deciduous forest, the most common landcover category in the landscape. When restricting analyses for mean patch size and percent cover to individual forest types, thresholds for early-successional forests changed after logging. However, logging changed the landscape structure at small spatial scale, but did not alter the structure of the entire forest mosaic. Previous forest management may already have increased the heterogeneity of the landscape beyond the point where additional small cuts alter the overall structure of the forest. Because measurements for landscape indices yield very different results at different spatial scales, it is important first to identify thresholds in order to determine the appropriate scales for landscape ecological studies. We found that threshold and autocorrelation analyses were simple but powerful tools for the detection of appropriate scales in the managed forest mosaic under study.

Effects of increasing forest plantation area and management practices on carbon storage and water use in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, G.; Hayes, D. J.; Tian, H.

2013-12-01

Planted forest area in the United States gradually increased during the last half century, and by 2007 accounted for about 20% of the total forest area in the southern United States and about 13% in the entire country. Intensive plantation management activities - such as slash burning, thinning, weed control, fertilization and the use of genetically improved seedlings - are routinely applied during the forest rotation. However, no comprehensive assessments have been made to examine the impacts of this increased forest plantation area and associated management practices on ecosystem function. In this study, we integrated field measurement data and process-based modeling to quantitatively estimate the changes in carbon storage, nitrogen cycling and water use as influenced by forest plantations in the United States from 1925 to 2007. The results indicated that forest plantations and management practices greatly increased forest productivity, vegetation carbon, and wood product carbon storage in the United States, but slightly reduce soil carbon storage at some areas; however, the carbon sink induced by forest plantations was at the expense of more water use as represented by higher evapotranspiration. Stronger nitrogen and water limitations were found for forest plantations as compared to natural or naturally-regenerated forests.

Measuring impacts of community forestry program through repeat photography and satellite remote sensing in the Dolakha district of Nepal.

PubMed

Niraula, Rabin Raj; Gilani, Hammad; Pokharel, Bharat Kumar; Qamer, Faisal Mueen

2013-09-15

During the 1990's community-based forest management gained momentum in Nepal. This study systematically evaluates the impacts that this had on land cover change and other associated aspects during the period 1990-2010 using repeat photography and satellite imagery in combination with interviews with community members. The results of the study clearly reflect the success of community-based forest management in the Dolakha district of the mid-hills of Nepal: during the study period, the rate of conversion of sparse forest into dense forest under community-based management was found to be between 1.13% and 3.39% per year. Similarly, the rate of conversion of non-forest area into forest was found to be between 1.11% and 1.96% per year. Community-based forest management has resulted in more efficient use of forest resources, contributed to a decline in the use of slash-and-burn agricultural practices, reduced the incidence of forest fires, spurred tree plantation, and encouraged the conservation and protection of trees on both public and private land. The resulting reclamation of forest in landside areas and river banks and the overall improvement in forest cover in the area has reduced flash floods and associated landslides. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) pesticide policy and integrated pest management in certified tropical plantations.

PubMed

Lemes, Pedro Guilherme; Zanuncio, José Cola; Serrão, José Eduardo; Lawson, Simon A

2017-01-01

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was the first non-governmental organization composed of multi-stakeholders to ensure the social, environmental, and economic sustainability of forest resources. FSC prohibits certain chemicals and active ingredients in certified forest plantations. A company seeking certification must discontinue use of products so listed and many face problems to comply with these constraints. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of certification on pest management from the perspective of Brazilian private forestry sector. Ninety-three percent of Brazilian FSC-certified forest companies rated leaf-cutting ants as "very important" pests. Chemical control was the most important management technique used and considered very important by 82 % of respondents. The main chemical used to control leaf-cutting ants, sulfluramid, is in the derogation process and was classified as very important by 96.5 % of the certified companies. Certified companies were generally satisfied in relation to FSC certification and the integrated management of forest pests, but 27.6 % agreed that the prohibitions of pesticides for leaf-cutting ant and termite control could be considered as a non-tariff barrier on high-productivity Brazilian forest plantations. FSC forest certification has encouraged the implementation of more sustainable techniques and decisions in pest management in forest plantations in Brazil. The prohibition on pesticides like sulfluramid and the use of alternatives without the same efficiency will result in pest mismanagement, production losses, and higher costs. This work has shown that the application of global rules for sustainable forest management needs to adapt to each local reality.

Working with knowledge at the science/policy interface: a unique example from developing the Tongass Land Management Plan.

Treesearch

Charles G. Shaw; Fred H. Everest; Douglas N. Swanston

2000-01-01

An innovative, knowledge-based partnership between research scientists and resource managers in the U.S. Forest Service provided the foundation upon which the Forest Plan was developed that will guide management on the Tongass National Forest for the next 10-15 years. Criteria developed by the scientists to evaluate if management decisions were consistent with the...

Operational approaches to managing forests of the future in Mediterranean regions within a context of changing climates

Treesearch

Scott L. Stephens; Constance I. Millar; Brandon M. Collins

2010-01-01

Many US forest managers have used historical ecology information to assist in the development of desired conditions. While there are many important lessons to learn from the past, we believe that we cannot rely on past forest conditions to provide us with blueprints for future management. To respond to this uncertainty, managers will be challenged to integrate...

Proposed wildland fire amendment to the Coronado National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan

Treesearch

Sherry A. Tune; Erin M. Boyle

2005-01-01

The Coronado National Forest proposed amending its 1986 Land and Resource Management Plan to conform to the 2001 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy. This Policy emphasizes fire’s essential role in maintaining natural ecosystems and allows a broader range of management options for wildland fires. Under the current Forest Plan, fires must be suppressed in areas...

Forest sector carbon analyses support land management planning and projects: Assessing the influence of anthropogenic and natural factors

Treesearch

Alexa J. Dugan; Richard Birdsey; Sean P. Healey; Yude Pan; Fangmin Zhang; Gang Mo; Jing Chen; Christopher W. Woodall; Alexander J. Hernandez; Kevin McCullough; James B. McCarter; Crystal L. Raymond; Karen Dante-Wood

2017-01-01

Management of forest carbon stocks on public lands is critical to maintaining or enhancing carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. Acknowledging this, an array of federal regulations and policies have emerged that requires US National Forests to report baseline carbon stocks and changes due to disturbance and management and assess how management activities and...

78 FR 6289 - Wallowa-Whitman National Forest; Oregon; Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplement to the 2010...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-30

... Impact Statement for Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Invasive Plants Treatment AGENCY: Forest Service... USDA Forest Service will prepare a Supplement to the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Invasive Plants Treatment Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address deficiencies identified by Judge Simon...

The Rise and Fall of Traditional Forest Management in Southern Moravia: A History of the Past 700 Years

PubMed Central

Müllerová, Jana; Szabó, Péter; Hédl, Radim

2017-01-01

European broadleaved forests have been influenced by humans for centuries. Historical management practices are related to environmental conditions but the role of socio-economic factors is also important. For the successful restoration of traditional management for conservation purposes, detailed knowledge on management history and on the driving forces of historical forest changes is necessary. In order to reconstruct long-term spatio-temporal dynamics in forest management, we chose the Pálava Protected Landscape Area, Czech Republic and analyzed archival sources spanning the past seven centuries. Forests in the study area comprise two relatively large woods (Děvín and Milovice) with different environmental conditions. Historical forest management in both woods was coppicing. The coppice cycle was lengthened from 7 years (14th century) to more than 30 years (19th century) with a fluctuating density of standards. After WWII, coppicing was completely abandoned. This led to pronounced changes in forest age structure accompanied by stand unification indicated by a sharp decrease in the Shannon index of age diversity. To study local attributes responsible for spatial patterns in coppice abandonment, we constructed a regression model with the date of abandonment as a dependent variable and three groups of explanatory variables: i) remoteness of forest parcels, (ii) morphometric environmental factors and iii) site productivity. In Děvín Wood, coppicing was abandoned gradually with the pattern of abandonment related significantly to slope steepness and forest productivity. Poorly accessible upper slopes and low productive forest sites were abandoned earlier. By contrast, in Milovice Wood, where no clear topographic gradient is present, the abandonment of coppicing was not related to any of the variables we studied. Our study brings insights into the history and consequences of past management practices, and can be used in current attempts to re-establish coppice management for conservation purposes and as a source of sustainable energy. PMID:28529404

Effectiveness of management interventions on forest carbon stock in planted forests in Nepal.

PubMed

Dangal, Shambhu Prasad; Das, Abhoy Kumar; Paudel, Shyam Krishna

2017-07-01

Nepal has successfully established more than 370,000 ha of plantations, mostly with Pinus patula, in the last three and a half decades. However, intensive management of these planted forests is very limited. Despite the fact that the Kyoto Convention in 1997 recognized the role of plantations for forest-carbon sequestration, there is still limited knowledge on the effects of management practices and stand density on carbon-sequestration of popular plantation species (i.e. Pinus patula) in Nepal. We carried out case studies in four community forests planted between 1976 and 1990 to assess the impacts of management on forest carbon stocks. The study found that the average carbon stock in the pine plantations was 217 Mg C ha -1 , and was lower in forests with intensively managed plantations (214.3 Mg C ha -1 ) than in traditionally managed plantations (219 Mg C ha -1 ). However, it was the reverse in case of soil carbon, which was higher (78.65 Mg C ha -1 ) in the forests with intensive management. Though stand density was positively correlated with carbon stock, the proportionate increment in carbon stock was lower with increasing stand density, as carbon stock increased by less than 25% with a doubling of stand density (300-600). The total carbon stock was higher in plantations aged between 25 and 30 years compared to those aged between 30 and 35 years. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spring bird migration in Mississippi Alluvial Valley forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, R. Randy; Twedt, Daniel J.

2003-01-01

We surveyed forest songbirds during migration in bottomland hardwood forest stands and managed cottonwood (Populus deltoides) plantations in northeast Louisiana and west-central Mississippi between 24 March and 24 May 1996 and 1997. We detected more bird species in bottomland hardwood stands than in cottonwood stands. Within hardwood stands, we detected more individuals in stands subjected to uneven-aged timber harvest than in unmanaged stands. Early in migration, avian species composition was similar in both forest types, being comprised mainly of short-distance migrants. Bird species composition in these forest types became increasingly disparate as long-distance neotropical-nearctic migrants arrived. Ten bird species were characteristic of bottomland hardwood forests, whereas eight different species were characteristic of managed cottonwood plantations. Because these two forest types supported different bird communities, both forest types provide important inland stopover habitat during migration. Silvicultural management of bottomland hardwood forests that increases their understory vegetation will provide forested habitat for a more species rich and abundant population of songbirds during migration.

Potential of VIIRS Time Series Data for Aiding the USDA Forest Service Early Warning System for Forest Health Threats: A Gypsy Moth Defoliation Case Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spruce, Joseph P.; Ryan, Robert E.; McKellip, Rodney

2008-01-01

The Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 mandated that a national forest threat Early Warning System (EWS) be developed. The USFS (USDA Forest Service) is currently building this EWS. NASA is helping the USFS to integrate remotely sensed data into the EWS, including MODIS data for monitoring forest disturbance at broad regional scales. This RPC experiment assesses the potential of VIIRS (Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite) and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data for contribution to the EWS. In doing so, the RPC project employed multitemporal simulated VIIRS and MODIS data for detecting and monitoring forest defoliation from the non-native Eurasian gypsy moth (Lymantria despar). Gypsy moth is an invasive species threatening eastern U.S. hardwood forests. It is one of eight major forest insect threats listed in the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003. This RPC experiment is relevant to several nationally important mapping applications, including carbon management, ecological forecasting, coastal management, and disaster management

Stability of diameter distributions in a managed uneven-aged oak forest in the Ozark Highlands

Treesearch

Zhiming Wang; Paul S. Johnson; H. E. Garrett; Stephen R. Shifley

1997-01-01

We studied a privately owned 156,000-acre oak-dominated forest in the Ozark Highlands of southern Missouri. The forest has been managed by the single-tree selection method since 1952. Using 40 years of continuous forest inventory records, we analyzed the stability of the shape of tree diameter distributions at the forest-wide scale. Results show that for trees ...

Monitoring the effects of extreme climate disturbances on forest health in the northeast U.S.

Treesearch

Allan N.D. Auclair; Warren E. Heilman; Peter Busalacchi

2002-01-01

No methodology has been developed to date to predict when a forest population is at risk to specific climate and air pollution stressors. Yet, this information is important to natural resource managers who need frequent, updated assessments of forest health upon which to base management decisions and respond to public concerns on forest health. The USDA Forest Service...

Potential increases in natural disturbance rates could offset forest management impacts on ecosystem carbon stocks.

Treesearch

John B. Bradford; Nicholas R. Jensen; Grant M. Domke; Anthony W. D' Amato

2013-01-01

Forested ecosystems contain the majority of the world’s terrestrial carbon, and forest management has implications for regional and global carbon cycling. Carbon stored in forests changes with stand age and is affected by natural disturbance and timber harvesting. We examined how harvesting and disturbance interact to influence forest carbon stocks over the Superior...

A U.S. Forest Service special forest products appraisal system: background, methods, and assessment.

Treesearch

Jerry Smith; Lisa K. Crone; Susan J. Alexander

2010-01-01

Increasing concern over the management and harvest of special forest products (SFP) from national forest lands has led to the development of new Forest Service policy directives. In this paper, we present a brief history of SFPs in the Western United States, highlighting the issues that necessitated new management direction. The new policy directives that led to the...

Workshop on Functional Aspects of Regeneration of the Boreal Forest in the Context of Sustainable Forest Management

Treesearch

Christian Messier; John Zasada; David Greene

1999-01-01

The three review papers presented in this issue of the Canadian Journal of Forest Research follow a 1-day workshop that was held in Montreal in early January 1997 entitled Functional Aspects of Regeneration In the Boreal Forest in the Context of Sustainable Forest Management. This workshop was held as part of the regeneration working group of Canada...

Differential Responses of Herbivores and Herbivory to Management in Temperate European Beech

PubMed Central

Gossner, Martin M.; Pašalić, Esther; Lange, Markus; Lange, Patricia; Boch, Steffen; Hessenmöller, Dominik; Müller, Jörg; Socher, Stephanie A.; Fischer, Markus; Schulze, Ernst-Detlef; Weisser, Wolfgang W.

2014-01-01

Forest management not only affects biodiversity but also might alter ecosystem processes mediated by the organisms, i.e. herbivory the removal of plant biomass by plant-eating insects and other arthropod groups. Aiming at revealing general relationships between forest management and herbivory we investigated aboveground arthropod herbivory in 105 plots dominated by European beech in three different regions in Germany in the sun-exposed canopy of mature beech trees and on beech saplings in the understorey. We separately assessed damage by different guilds of herbivores, i.e. chewing, sucking and scraping herbivores, gall-forming insects and mites, and leaf-mining insects. We asked whether herbivory differs among different forest management regimes (unmanaged, uneven-aged managed, even-aged managed) and among age-classes within even-aged forests. We further tested for consistency of relationships between regions, strata and herbivore guilds. On average, almost 80% of beech leaves showed herbivory damage, and about 6% of leaf area was consumed. Chewing damage was most common, whereas leaf sucking and scraping damage were very rare. Damage was generally greater in the canopy than in the understorey, in particular for chewing and scraping damage, and the occurrence of mines. There was little difference in herbivory among differently managed forests and the effects of management on damage differed among regions, strata and damage types. Covariates such as wood volume, tree density and plant diversity weakly influenced herbivory, and effects differed between herbivory types. We conclude that despite of the relatively low number of species attacking beech; arthropod herbivory on beech is generally high. We further conclude that responses of herbivory to forest management are multifaceted and environmental factors such as forest structure variables affecting in particular microclimatic conditions are more likely to explain the variability in herbivory among beech forest plots. PMID:25119984