Treesearch

Timber Management techniques are changing the appearance of our nation's wildlands. Standard harvest practices often result in harsh visual impacts and public outcry. In some cases, subtle harvesting has been done, but without adequate thought as to what the visual result will be over time. Better visual results can be obtained by careful harvest design which utilizes knowledge of biological and stand growth characteristics as well as landscape architectural design techniques.

The Caspar Creek Experimental Watershed was set up as a traditional paired watershed to investigate the effects of logging and road construction on erosion and sedimentation. Research participants have come from the California Division of Forestry, the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, the California Department of Water Resources, the California Division of Mines and Geology, the California Department of Fish and Game, and Humboldt State University. The primary objectives of the project are to measure the sediment produced by a North Coastal watershed in an undisturbed...

These 104 papers were presented at "Our National Landscape: A Conference on Applied Techniques for Analysis and Management of the Visual Resource," Incline Village, Nevada, April 23-25, 1979. Included in this proceedings are state-of-the-art papers on landscape planning. Emphasis is upon planning the visual aspects of the large and wildland areas of the United States. Methodologies presented are useful in many areas of the world. The major thrusts of these papers are to a) describe the current and future challenges to the visual resource; b) describe available technology for solving...

The variable "complexity," or "diversity," has received a great deal of attention in recent research efforts concerned with visual resource management, including the identification of complexity as one of the primary evaluation measures. This paper describes research efforts that support the hypothesis that the landscapes we value are those with perceived diverse and variable environments.

Qualitative assessments of landscape resources can best be approached through direct measurement of landscape perceptions. Results from a survey of one District in Hertfordshire, England, show this approach not only to be viable but also to yield much information relevant to plans for landscape improvement and protection. Consensus was high and the socio-economic variables generally had little effect on evaluations. Residential location was important in affecting landscape perceptions, resulting in an urban/rural variation in results. For detailed surveys of landscape resources prior to...

The changes in scenic quality resulting from urbanization are explored for a region in the Northeast. The relative contributions to scenic quality of certain landscape features are examined by developing regression models for the region and for town landscapes within that region. The models provide empirical evidence of the importance of trees for maintaining high scenic quality in areas undergoing urbanization.

Five petroleum-related facilities often sited in the coastal zone during development of Outer Continental oil and gas can change the visual appearance of coastal areas. These facilities are service bases, platform fabrication yards, marine terminals and associated storage facilities, oil and gas processing facilities, and liquified natural gas terminals. Examples of innovative approaches to managing the visual impacts of these facilities are discussed. Subject areas requiring additional research are identified.

Forests are products of solar radiation use. The sun also drives the hydrologic cycle on forested watersheds. Some basic concepts of climatology and solar radiation are summarized in including earth-sun relations, polar tilt, solar energy, terrestrial energy, energy balance, and local energy. An example shows how these principles can be applied in resource management. This paper is designed to be used with an earlier report on controlling solar light and heat in a forest by managing shadow sources.

Not too long ago winter sports facilities were small and simple. As more people participated in winter sports and technology advanced, the impact on the land in-creased not only from the standpoint of actual facilities needed for winter recreation but also from associated facilities. In many instances winter sports areas developed into full fledged tourist oriented communities with a multitude of services. Although these areas were initially only winter sports oriented, it soon became apparent that the summer recreationists could enjoy them as well. To make the areas attractive to people,...