Disturbance and canopy gaps as indicators of forest health in the Blue Mountains of Oregon.

Abstract

Disturbance profiles, indices based on both spatial and non-spatial statistics, are used to examine how small-scale disturbances and the resulting canopy gaps disrupt ecosystem patterns and processes in selected stands in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. The biological meaning of many indices remains undefined for small scale disturbance phenomena, but their disturbance profiles could eventually be used to assess current and desired forest conditions and suggest actions to meet specific management objectives. These profiles can be determined for plots representing desired conditions associated with specific management objectives, to establish a range of variability for forest health indicators, and to monitor the progress of disturbances used as silvicultural tools.

Parent Publication

• Forest health through silviculture: Proceedings of the 1995 National Silviculture Workshop

Citation

Beatty, Jerome S.; Geils, Brian W.; Lundquist, John E. 1995. Disturbance and canopy gaps as indicators of forest health in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. In: L.G. Eskew, comp. Forest health through silviculture: proceedings of the 1995 National Silviculture Workshop, Mescalero, New Mexico, May 8-11, 1995. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-GTR-267. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: 74-78