Treesearch

Our objective is to report mortality rates for ponderosa pine trees in Oregon ten to eleven years after removing a fire-scarred partial cross-section from them, and five years after an initial survey of post-sampling mortality. We surveyed 138 live trees from which we removed fire-scarred partial crosssections in 1994/95 and 387 similarly sized, unsampled neighbor trees of the same species. These trees were from 78 plots distributed over about 5,000 ha at two sites in northeastern Oregon. The annual mortality rate for sectioned trees from 1994/95 to 2005 was 3.6% compared to 2.1% for the...

Wildlife research at the Fort Valley Experimental Forest began with studies to determine how to control damage by wildlife and livestock to ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) reproduction and tree growth. Studies on birds, small mammals, and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) browsing were initiated in the early 1930s and 1940s but these were short term efforts to develop control techniques. While researchers at Fort Valley and other study areas expressed a need for more information on forest wildlife, there was no major effort in this direction until 1962 when the Rocky Mountain Forest and...

Modern literature and Hollywood proved decades ahead of science in imagining the information that could be obtained from single hairs or feces. Indeed, from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932) to the cult movie GATTACA (Columbia Pictures Corporation 1997), writers and producers foreshadowed the scientific value of noninvasive samples. In the 1990s, with the advance of both molecular genetics and endocrine biology, forensic scientists developed tools to determine the identity, sex, health, and social status of humans from samples left at crime scenes (e.g., hair, scat, urine, saliva). As...

Watershed management and water yield augmentation have been important objectives for chaparral, ponderosa pine, and mixed conifer management in Arizona and New Mexico. The ponderosa pine forests and other vegetation types generally occur in relatively high precipitation zones where the potential for increased water yields is great. The ponderosa pine forests have been the subject of numerous research and management activities. Although the size, topography, and drainage patterns of the Fort Valley Experimental Forest are not conducive to watershedscale hydrologic studies, results from Fort...

Range management research at the Fort Valley Experimental Forest during the past 100 years has provided scientific knowledge for managing ponderosa pine forests and forest-range grazing lands in the Southwest. Three research timeperiods are identified: 1908 to 1950, 1950 to 1978, and 1978 to 2008. Early research (1908-1950) addressed ecological effects of livestock grazing on pine regeneration and forage plant growth. In later years (1950-1978) the research scope broadened to include the multiple uses of forest resources (trees, understory vegetation, livestock, wildlife, etc.), environment...

One legacy of the Fort Valley Experimental Forest is the number and quality of long-term studies associated with it. One such study is the "Hill plots," which began in 1912 and is still being actively studied. Livestock exclosures were built at five sites to examine vegetation recovery when protected from livestock grazing. Sites span a range of soil types and elevations. Materials associated with the Hill plots include historical data, plant specimens, and photographs. In this paper, we summarize the research that has occurred on the Hill plots, historical personnel who worked on them,...

We describe an individual-tree model that uses contemporary measurements to "grow trees backward" and reconstruct past tree diameters and stand structure in ponderosa pine dominated stands of the Southwest. Model inputs are contemporary structural measurements of all snags, logs, stumps, and living trees, and radial growth measurements, if available. Key steps include the application of inverse decay functions to estimate snag and log death dates, and the estimation of tree size in the reconstruction year via radial growth data or accrued basal area increment. The model is provided as a...

The nation's initial USFS research site commenced in a rustic cabin in the midst of northern Arizona’s expansive ponderosa pine forest. Gustaf A. Pearson was the first in a distinguished line of USFS scientists to live and study there. A visitor to Fort Valley today often wishes he could have stood in Pearson's large boots (he was said to have enormous feet) as he and his early compatriots were true pioneers on a journey toward understanding nature’s methods of ponderosa pine regeneration. Over the past century, their efforts have been honed into an extensive foundation of silviculture,...

We summarize the key findings of tree ecophysiology studies performed at Taylor Woods, Fort Valley Experimental Forest, Arizona between 1994 and 2003 that provide unique insight on impacts of long-term stand density management in ponderosa pine forests on tree water relations, leaf gas exchange, radial growth, leaf area-to-sapwood-area ratio, growth efficiency, leaf area index, resin defenses, and stand-level above-ground carbon sequestration.

The Rocky Mountain Research Station recognizes and values the contributions of our scientists and collaborators for their work over the past century at Fort Valley Experimental Forest. With the help of our partners and collaborators, Rocky Mountain Research Station is working to improve coordination across its research Program Areas and Experimental Forests and Ranges to better support an integrated landscape research platform for the Interior West region. Given the rich historic context of Fort Valley, and the long-term studies and data it entails, together we can adapt and innovate our...