Treesearch

(Please note: This PDF is part of a CD-ROM package only and was not printed on paper.) Fuels and vegetation spatial data layers required by the spatially explicit fire growth model FARSITE were developed for all lands in and around the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. Satellite imagery, terrain modeling, and biophysical simulation were used to create the three vegetation spatial data layers of biophysical settings, cover type, and structural stage. Fire behavior fuel models and vegetation characteristics needed by FARSITE were assigned to combinations of categories on maps developed...

FINDIT, the Forest Insect and Disease Tally System, is an easy-to-use tool for analyzing insect and disease population information taken during stand surveys. Incidence of insects, pathogens, and other biotic and abiotic influences on forest ecosystems are summarized using traditional mensurational measurements. Information is summarized by diameter class, tree species, influencing agent, and for the entire stand. Several insect and disease hazard rating systems are also included. FINDIT version 1.2 runs within the Windows platform.

Assessment of standing crop on grasslands using a visual obstruction technique provides valuable information to help plan livestock grazing management and indicate the status of wildlife habitat. The objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a simple regression model using easily measured visual obstruction to estimate standing crop on sandy lowland range sites in the Nebraska Sandhills, (2) provide sampling and monitoring suggestions in the use of visual obstruction on this grassland type, and (3) compare the visual obstruction technique to the standard clip and weigh procedure....

Organized groups present a major use of wilderness resources. The focus of this paper is on the research findings that have emerged over the past 12 years concerning the benefits and effects of participation by groups in wilderness and wilderness-like areas. In general, the majority of research in this area has provided evidence of the beneficial and positive effects of wilderness participation by both individuals and groups. This paper categorizes these benefits and effects into three major variable clusters: self-systems, therapeutic outcomes, and group dynamics. Also included is a...

This report documents trends in America's rangelands as required by the Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. The Forest Service has conducted assessments of the rangeland situation for 30 years. Over this period, rangeland values and uses have gradually shifted from concentrating upon forage production and meeting increasing demand for red meat to a more broad-based understanding under a framework of sustainable resource management. The total extent of rangeland will likely continue a trend of slow decline, but any changes will be small in relation to the total U.S. grazing land base...

This volume is divided into three sections: (1) Ecological, Biological, and Physical Science; (2) Social and Cultural; and (3) Economics and Utilization. Effective ecological restoration requires a combination of science and management. The authors of the first section exemplified this integration in the course of addressing a broad range of topics, from detailed microsite and small-scale changes in fungal, plant, and animal communities, up through landscape, regional, and subcontinental scales. Although the themes were diverse, papers were linked by underscoring the relationship between...

Research in wilderness areas (areas with minimal human activity and of large spatial extent) formed the foundation for ecological models and theories that continue to shape our understanding how ecosystems change through time, how ecological communities are structured and how ecosystems function. By the middle of this century, large expanses of wilderness had become less common and comparative studies between undisturbed and human-dominated landscapes were more prevalent. Such studies formed the basis an evolving understanding of human impacts on ecosystem productivity and biogeochemical...

Many anadromous salmonid stocks in the Pacific Northwest are at their lowest recorded levels, which has raised questions regarding their long-term persistence under current conditions. There are a number of factors, such as freshwater spawning and rearing habitat, that could potentially influence their numbers. Therefore, we used the latest advances in information-theoretic methods in a two-stage modeling process to investigate relationships between landscape-level habitat attributes and maximum recruitment of 25 index stocks of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia...

Knowledge of environmental factors impacting anadromous salmonids in their freshwater habitats, particularly at large spatial scales, may be important for restoring them to previously recorded levels in the northwestern United States. Consequently, we used existing data sets and an information-theoretic approach to model landscape-level attributes and snorkel count categories of spring–summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) parr within index areas in Idaho. Count categories of chinook salmon parr were negatively related to geometric mean road...

Fire suppression has resulted in severe management challenges, especially in the wildland-urban interface zone. Fire managers seek to reduce fuels and risks in the interface zone, while striving to return the natural role of fire to wildland ecosystems. Managers must balance the benefits of wildland fire on ecosystem health against the values that need to be protected from fire, and they need to achieve this balance for entire landscapes. Although wildland fire managers have a full spectrum of strategies available for reducing fuels, they lack appropriate tools for effectively applying...