Treesearch

Fire suppression has resulted in a buildup of forest litter and an accumulation of organic nitrogen, and a decrease in available potassium. This has changed the historic structure of soils and their nutrient content. Studies at 15 sites in Montana have looked at a wide range of changes in soil productivity following prescribed fire. Results indicate obvious benefits to the soils from reduction in fuel loading through fire, and renewed growth of desirable understory plants.

Invasive alien weeds established themselves on the Sawmill Creek Research Natural Area, harming elk feeding grounds and threatening the integrity of the native plant community. Management enacted herbicide control over several growing seasons, resulting in greater elk winter forage on study plots. Monitoring the long-term effects of herbicide as a restoration tool continues.

A study was initiated in 1995 to measure landscape changes in forest structures between 1900 and 1995. A systematic sampling system was used to collect data on three forested faces on the Bitterroot Front. Over 1,200 tree cores were taken on 216 plots between the elevation range of 4,500 to 7,500 feet. Historic forests were reconstructed through quantitative techniques. Changes are presented in three elevation zones: lower (4,500 to 5,800 feet), middle (5,800 to 6,900 feet), and upper (6,900 to 7,500 feet). Dramatic decreases in fire dependent species and increases in fire intolerant...

We present a brief synopsis of the beginnings of watershed management research and practice in the Lake States and Northeastern United States, followed by a summary of significant research findings on many aspects of watershed management, and finally, a review of four examples of how watershed management research has been incorporated into national forest management plans, state best management practices, state river basin projects, and the large, multi state Chesapeake Bay Program.

An international conference to increase people's awareness of the contributions that watershed management can make to future land stewardship was held in Tucson, Arizona, March 13-16, 2000. This bibliography is a compilation of the synthesis and poster papers presented at the conference along with the literature cited in these papers on watershed research projects, applied watershed management activities, and technology transfer mechanisms. This publication furnishes a literature basis for researchers, managers, decision-makers, educators, students, and lay persons with a keen interest in...

Documented evidence shows that managers of units within the U.S. National Wilderness Preservation System are making decisions without reliable information on the amount, types, and distribution of recreation use occurring at these areas. There are clear legislative mandates and agency policies that direct managers to monitor trends in use and conditions in wilderness. This report is specifically designed as a convenient resource for wilderness managers and others who have the responsibility of monitoring and describing visitor use in wilderness. It is a comprehensive manual on estimation...

Rangelands provide habitat for a wide array of plants and animals and forage for both domestic and wild herbivores. Estimating the cumulative area of rangeland in a country (Indicator 10) is complicated by how rangeland is defined and the scale at which range sites occur and are classified. Determining biomass production available for grazing (Indicator 11) including plantations and seedings of native and exotic plants including cultivars (Indicator 12), and the amount of sustainable annual biomass removal (Indicator 13), and the removal of non-rangeland (2: non-livestock) products...

In this paper on sagebrush systematics and distribution, it is appropriate to begin by defining a few terms. Sagebrush, under my definition, are woody North American Artemisia of the subgenus Tridentatae. Tridentatae are one of four subgenera in Artemisia. Tridentatae or true sagebrush are separated from other Artemisia of the subgenera Artemisia, Dracunculus, and Seriphidum (e.g., wormwood, wormseed, sage, tarragon, etc.) by their completely woody nature, exclusive North American distribution, distinctive chemistry and molecular genetics, and their fertile, homogamous, perfect disc...

A representativeness assessment of National Forest System (NFS) Research Natural Areas in Idaho summarizes information on the status of the natural area network and priorities for identification of new Research Natural Areas. Natural distribution and abundance of plant associations is compared to the representation of plant associations within natural areas. Natural distribution and abundance is estimated using modeled potential natural vegetation, published classification and inventory data, and Heritage plant community element occurrence data. Minimum criteria are applied to select only...

At age 10, 100% of eastern redcedar ( L.) and Rocky Mountain juniper ( Sarg.) trees from several seed sources throughout the Great Plains had survived. Seed sources from southeastern Texas had the poorest survival. Eastern redcedar trees from Kansas seed sources grew tallest, and trees from Montana and southeastern Texas seed sources were the shortest. Rocky Mountain juniper trees survived better, were shorter, had smaller crowns, exhibited greater damage from Cercospora blight ( (Ellis and Everh.) Sutton and Hodges, formerly var. ) and Kabatina tip blight ( Schneider and V. Am) and less...