Forest Explorer Newsletter - August 2024
Effective beginning 5/30/2025
This website, and all linked websites under the control of the agency, is under review and content may change.
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Caspar Creek Experimental Watershed |
 In Northern California, just 10 km (~6 miles) from the Pacific Ocean, sits the Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds, an important long-term research area for understanding ecological change in coastal redwood and Douglas-fir dominated forests. The Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds are located on the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, thanks to an enduring partnership between the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Forest Service.
Since its inception in 1961, Caspar Creek has served as a long-term study site for research on the impact of timber management on erosion, streamflow, and sedimentation. Caspar Creek is split into the North Fork and South Fork watersheds, allowing for paired watershed studies, or when one watershed is treated, while the other serves as a control. Experimental harvests are one of the major bodies of work for Caspar Creek, or specifically designed forest treatment and timber harvesting studies. The first experimental harvest occurred from 1967-1973, the second from 1989-1991, and the third and most recent from 2017-2019. With its rich management history, Caspar Creek has allowed us to not only ask, but answer some long-term questions about watershed management.
Joe Wagenbrenner, a research hydrologist with the Pacific Southwest Research Station, has worked on Caspar Creek since 2016, and recently led its 43rd annual meeting for federal, state, university, and industry partners. As Wagenbrenner continues his work to answer those long-term questions at Caspar Creek, the results from the third experimental harvest are starting to come in. One of Wagenbrenner’s favorite findings was the indirect impact of timber harvests on sediment delivery into streams. After the early days of Caspar Creek, California instituted its Forest Practice Rules. One of these rules requires a stream buffer, or a vegetated area along the stream to help mitigate bank erosion and sediment delivery from the hillslopes into the stream. This change did have a substantial effect on the sediment loads in Caspar Creek. Prior to these rules, common harvesting practices were to clear all the way to the stream channel. However, with the implementation of the buffer zone, increased downed wood can enter the stream from storm or wind events, which occurred in Caspar Creek’s North Fork. The result of excess downed wood translated into a temporary reduction of sediment transport occurring in the North Fork watershed. This was because stream bed materials (sediment) were temporarily “captured” by the downed wood. Since sediment transport can affect a stream channel’s shape and direction (morphology), this work is critical for land managers to better understand the effects of human activities, like logging, on forested and watershed ecosystems. |
Webinars, Events, and Information |
Previous Webinar  Wildfire Crisis Strategy Planning, Project Prioritization and Monitoring
Dr. Pat Manley (PSW), Research Ecologist
Lunch and Learn Webinar SeriesThe Lunch and Learn series shares our research with end users and connects PSW with forest and wildland managers.
Next Webinar: TBD
The Lunch and Learn Webinar Series will begin after the conclusion of field season. Stay tuned for our next speaker announcements.
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 Urban Forestry for Changing Times SymposiumThis is an in-person event and registration is required.
You may join the waitlist using the button below.
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Station News |
 National Climate Assessments Help Inform Protection of our Communities and ForestsClimate change is one of the most consequential threats to our planet. Understanding and sharing the science behind climate change is a primary goal of the national climate assessments. These highly influential assessments, which began in 2000, have helped shape climate policy in the U.S. and, in some cases, abroad. Each assessment is the culmination of about three and a half years of effort by hundreds of experts. Their diverse backgrounds are as varied as their affiliations, representing federal agencies, nonprofits, academia, and the private sector.
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 Connecting Communities to Growing TreesA 100-year-old sycamore stands sentinel in a Los Angeles park, surrounded by humanity’s buzz. Its outstretched limbs beckon weary pedestrians to find reprieve under its generous girth. Many do, not realizing this natural therapist is a hardened warrior. “City trees are some of the hardest working trees there are. They must live in a built environment with thousands of people,” Erika Svendsen, social scientist with the Forest Service’s Northern Research Station stated.
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 Tracing the Movement of People and Piñon Pines over Thousands of YearsForest ecologist Connie Millar has long been interested in understanding how trees are where they now grow. Archaeologist Dave Thomas focuses on tracing origins and movement of early people. Both are passionate about unearthing clues to the past.
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 Christopher Carlson Now Acting Deputy Station Director for Pacific Southwest Research StationChristopher Carlson became Acting Deputy Station Director for the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station. In this new role, he will report to the Station Director. Carlson brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his leadership position. Since 2020, he served as the Forest Service’s National Program Lead for watershed and aquatic ecology research for the Washington Office’s Research and Development branch.
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 Scientists Release New Research on Planted Mangroves’ Ability to Store CarbonU.S. Forest Service ecologists and partners published new findings on how planted mangroves can store up to 70% of carbon stock to that found in intact stands after only 20 years. |
 New Research Sheds Light on Relationships Between Plants and Insects in Forest EcosystemsU.S. Forest Service researchers and partners published new findings on how leaf-eating insects affect forest ecosystems worldwide. “The findings of this study provide an improved understanding of the intricate relationship between herbivorous insects and forest ecosystems,” Bernice Hwang, the paper’s lead author and former U.S. Forest Service technician, stated.
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External News A megafire overwhelmed even some of the best preparations. What’s next? Read more: The Washington Post (External Link) |
 California is home to millions of urban trees. What happens when they die? Read more: LA Times (External Link) |
 TEK is a Verb: Activating Indigenous Ecologies at ESA Speaker: Frank K. Lake and Lydia Jennings | Air Date: August 5, 2024 | Run Time: 43 mins | Season 4 Photograph by Alexandru Salceanu
Listen Here (External Link) |
 U.S. Forest Service scientists’ work featured in Netflix Documentary Read more: Tahoe Daily Tribune (External Link)
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Publication Highlight |
 Photo Credit
Michael Ulyshen
Pollinator diversity changes with forest age, often declining as young stands (A) develop into dense stands (B) during the stem exclusion phase. Pollinator diversity can then increase as forests mature, especially if fire or other disturbances maintain open understories (C) or if floral resources are provided by the overstory trees. Midstory thickets formed by invasive shrubs such as Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) (D) can greatly reduce floral resource availability near the forest floor. Efforts to eradicate such plants benefit flowering plants in the understory (E) as well as pollinators. Plantation forests such as this Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) plantation in New Zealand (F) are less structurally and compositionally complex than native forests (G), with important implications for biodiversity. The Value of Forests to Pollinating Insects Varies with Forest Structure, Composition, and Age
The primary objectives of this article are to: 1) Review how pollinator communities are influenced by changes in forest structure, composition, and age. 2) Explore how these patterns differ between conifer and broadleaf forests. 3) Provide recommendations for managers interested in optimizing forest conditions for pollinating insects.
Ulyshen, Michael D.; Ballare, Kimberly M.; Fettig, Christopher J.; Rivers, James W.; Runyon, Justin B. 2024. The value of forests to pollinating insects varies with forest structure, composition, and age. Current Forestry Reports. 21(34): 135. |
More PSW Publications via Treesearch
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Pacific Southwest Research StationThe Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) was founded in 1926 as a part of the Research and Development branch of U.S. Forest Service. Since its inception, PSW has expanded to serve California, Hawai'i, and the US-affiliated Pacific Islands. PSW develops and delivers science-based information, technologies, and applications to help people make informed decisions about natural resource management, conservation, and environmental protection. |