Forest Management

Photo Credit

U.S. Forest Service

Remapping the forest in 2008 using a laser and global positioning system.

Variable Density Thinning Study

The Variable Density Thinning study on the Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest was established to test a new approach to forest thinning designed to produce a highly variable forest structure, similar to what forests of the Sierra Nevada once looked like. This variability made historical forests resilient to wildfire and the diversity of habitats benefited a wide variety of plants and animals. Areas treated with the 'High Variability' prescription are being compared to forests thinned to a more even crown spacing, as well as unthinned control plots, all with and without prescribed fire. Both types of thinning substantially reduced tree mortality during and after the 2012-2015 drought.

Methods of Cutting Studies 
Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest

"Methods of Cutting" studies to document the outcome of different harvest methods were among the earliest studies set up by pioneering U.S. Forest Service researchers. Twelve plots were installed on the Stanislaus National Forest between 1909 and 1930. Four of these plots were rediscovered and all trees were mapped again between 2007 and 2016, providing a compelling picture of dramatic changes that have occurred to forests in the absence of fire. Increased stand density, infilling of gaps, and high surface fuel loads contributes to many of the challenges our forests face today, including high fire hazard and susceptibility to bark beetle mortality.