Treesearch

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...

Advanced-generation tree breeding programs are underway for Douglas-fir and coastal western hemlock. These programs will continue to improve growth rates and other traits. Regardless of whether seeds is from a seed orchard or natural collection, it must be used in its appropriated breeding zone or seed zone. These zones vary by species. Breeding programs are underway for other species as well, with many of these programs emphasizing disease and insect resistance. Absolute gains at rotation are still an unknown, but absolute (not percentage) gains observed early in the rotation should...

The effectiveness of six IBA and four NAA concentrations, four combinations of IBA and NAA concentrations, and control were tested for their ability to enhance rooting frequency (%) of Douglas-fir cuttings. Two IBA and one NAA treatments were also compared to the control for quality of root system. Between 1984 and 1998, six independent studies were conducted in mist or fog environments with the same 11 or 14 clones. Auxin concentrations tested ranged from 0 to 123 mM IBA and o to 10 mM NAA. Auxin, clone, and auxin by clone effects were significant in every study, although individual clone...

Global warming: Is it real or not? Ron Neilson, PNW Research Station bioclimatologist, has been studying the phenomena for about 25 years. He also is the lead author on one of three models in the world designed to track climate-driven vegetation change patterns on the planet.Neilson's findings, featured in this issue of "Science Findings," may be able to assist land managers to prepare for global warming impacts. Neilson and his colleagues developed a model called the mapped atmosphere-plant-soil system (MAPSS).The MAPSS model can simulate changes in vegetation distribution and runoff...

This issue of "Science Findings" focuses on remote sensing research and how it can be used to assess a landscape. The work of PNW Research Station scientists Tom Spies and Warren Cohen and their use of satellite technology in developing the coastal landscape analysis and modeling study (CLAMS) is featured. The CLAMS study area includes more than 5 million acres in Oregon extending from the Pacific Ocean to the Willamette Valley fringe. Field and satellite data are combined to produce a picture of current vegetation and other resources in the Oregon Coast Range. The data are then used to...

Commercial, recreational, and subsistence harvesting of chanterelle mushrooms in Washington's Olympic Peninsula has long been an issue for managers and harvesters alike. What guidelines should be used to manage nontimber products?Is there concern about possible increased commercial harvesting? Pacific Northwest Research Station scientist Leon Liegel and botanist David Pilz initiated a study to help public and private forest land owners interested in cooperative management of the chanterelle resource. Liegel's and Pilz' study offer insights into who is harvesting and possible guidelines to...

What lessons does historical disturbance hold for the management of future landscapes? Fred Swanson, a researcher at the Pacific Northwest Research Station and John Cissel, research liaison for the Willamette NF, are members of a team of scientists and land managers who are examining the way we think about and manage landscapes. The team found that past ecosystem processes are an important reference point for guiding the design of timber sales, fire prescriptions, cutting rotations, and aquatic conservation strategies. Complex disturbance regimes result in highly complex forest structure...