Treesearch

Much is known about the ecological effects, economics, and social impacts of clearcutting, but little documented experience with other silvicultural systems exists in southeast Alaska. The Pacific Northwest Research Station and the Alaska Region of the USDA Forest Service have cooperatively established an interdisciplinary study of ecosystem and social responses to alternative silvicultural systems to evaluate their ability to provide for sustainable wood production and protection of other forest values. This information is needed to select appropriate systems for managing old-growth...

Earthworms are key components of many terrestrial ecosystems; however, little is known of their ecology, distribution, and taxonomy in the eastern interior Columbia River basin assessment area (hereafter referred to as the basin assessment area). This report summarizes the main issues about the ecology of earthworms and their impact on the physical and chemical status of the soil. The three main ecological types of earthworms found in the basin assessment area are epigeic, endogeic, and anecic. Each type has a different life history pattern, resource requirement, and ecological function....

Timber volume information and associated maps have been widely used in the Tongass National Forest for land-use planning and timber and wildlife management. Although considerable effort has been expended to improve timber volume maps, little has been done to evaluate the suitability of timber volume as a descriptor of forest character.We established a rough indicator of forest structure that uses trees per acre and quadratic mean diameter to examine the relation between timber volume and forest structure. Results indicated that timber volume and forest structure are not interchangeable...

Opportunities for natural and social science research were assessed in the Copper River ecosystem including long-term, integrated studies of ecosystem structure and function. The ecosystem is one where change, often rapid, cataclysmic change, is the rule rather than the exception. The ecosystem also contains a variety of people pursuing various human purposes. Although few people dwell in the ecosystem, their signatures are evident in many ways, and their numbers and effects are increasing. Thus, the Copper River ecosystem presents the opportunity to "watch creation," in the sense of both...

This atlas illustrates the dimensions, location, magnitude, and direction of social and economic change since 1989 in western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California that have occurred during a major transition period in natural resource management policy as well as large decreases in timber harvests. The diversity and the social and economic health of the Northwest Forest Plan region are synthesized by examining the fundamental attributes of the region, provinces, and communities; the atlas includes information about ourselves, our settlements, and our natural resources. We...

An assessment of small rural communities in the interior and upper Columbia River basin was conducted for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP). The characteristics and conditions of the rural communities in this region, which are complex and constantly changing, were examined. The research also assessed the resilience of the region’s communities, which was defined as a community’s ability to respond and adapt to change in the most positive, constructive ways possible for mitigating the impacts of change on the community. The study found that a town’s population...

Scenic quality is an important amenity on public lands in the interior Columbia basin (hereafter referred to as the basin). People’s interests in and expectations about ecosystems can help establish desired aesthetic conditions for the varied landscapes found in the basin. This paper, a portion of the social science assessment for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project, explains the procedures used to inventory scenic quality throughout the basin by using two primary indicators: landscape character and scenic condition. Landscape character is expressed as landscape...

Two strategies for managing forests for multiple values have achieved prominence in debates in the Pacific Northwest: (1) legacy retention with passive management and long rotations, and (2) intensive management for timber with commercial thinnings and long rotations. Northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus), Townsend's chipmunks (Tamias townsendii), and Douglas' squirrels (Tamiasciurus douglasii) were studied retrospectively in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests managed under the alternative strategies in the Puget Trough of Washington. Flying squirrels were twice as...

The Alaska forest products industry is experiencing significant changes in its structure due to economic, ecological, and social pressures. Papers presented at this workshop brought together technical specialists and exhibitors from forest products industry, associations, universities, and private, state, and federal land management agencies. Topics included: policy and management shifts necessary to link healthy forests, communities, and industries; silvicultural concerns for future forest potential; enhancing value in lumber, engineered timber products, processing of finished wood...

Watershed analysis is used as a tool to understand the functioning of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem processes at the landscape scale and to assess opportunities to restore or improve those processes and associated watershed conditions. Assessing those opportunities correctly requires an understanding of how humans have interacted with the watershed in the past and how they likely will interact with the watershed in the future. This paper provides a systematic approach to developing relevant information about human interaction with a watershed. The approach was originally developed as a...