Treesearch

\t

The physical structure of vegetation is an important predictor of habitat for wildlife species. The coastal forests of the Redwood region are highly productive, supporting structurally-diverse forest habitats. The major elements of structural diversity in these forests include trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which together create three-dimensional complexity. In the forests of the northern Redwood region, dense, continuous shrub layers were common understory structural elements in mature forests (Sawyer and others 2000). However, within the last 60 to 80 years, most of these forests...

Old-growth forests provide important structural habitat elements for many species of wildlife. These forests, however, are rare where lands are managed for timber. In commercial forests, large and old trees sometimes exist only as widely-dispersed residual or legacy trees. Legacy trees are old trees that have been spared during harvest or have survived stand-replacing natural disturbances. We define legacy trees as having achieved near-maximum size and age, which is significantly larger and older than the average trees on the landscape. This distinguishes them from other ‘residual’ trees,...

Conservation of avifauna in coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and Douglas-fir (Pseudosteuga menziesii) managed forestlands has historically involved two opposing goals. First, landowners want to minimize restricted acreage in order to maximize commercial utilization of forest products. Second, poor scientific understanding of species habitat needs has often led to conservation strategies that are overly conservative, and therefore restrictive. One solution to this conundrum is to better define critical species habitat needs. The Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO) has been collecting data...

To assess the needs for conservation, restoration and condition of aquatic habitat within its land Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) has been conducting watershed analysis. From watershed analysis completed to date, we estimate 73percent of the total sediment inputs over the last 30 to 40 years are road and skid trail associated. Of that percentage 30 percent is road and skid trail associated mass wasting, and 32 percent is road surface and point source erosion, the remaining 11percent is surface and point source erosion from skid trails. Hillslope mass wasting (not associated with roads or...

Insects are major components of forest ecosystems, representing most of the biological diversity and affecting virtually all processes and uses. In the USA, bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) heavily influence the structure and function of these ecosystems by regulating certain aspects of primary production, nutrient cycling, ecological succession and the size, distribution and abundance of forest trees. The purpose of this report is to review tree and stand factors associated with bark beetle infestations and analyze the effectiveness of vegetation management practices...

\t

Operational-scale experiments that evaluate the consequences of fire and mechanical "surrogates" for natural disturbance events are essential to better understand strategies for reducing the incidence and severity of wildfire. The national Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) study was initiated in 1999 to establish an integrated network of long-term studies designed to evaluate the consequences of using fire and fire surrogate treatments for fuel reduction and forest restoration. Beginning in September 2005, four regional workshops were conducted with selected clients to identify effective and...