Ecology and management of aspen: A Lake States perspective

Abstract

Aspen has been an ecologically important, though relatively minor, component of the Lake States (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota) forests for millennia. General Land Office records from the 1800s indicate that aspen comprised a small fraction of the region's eastern forests, but was more extensive on the western edge. Then Euro-American settlement in the 1800s brought land clearing, timber harvesting, and subsequent widespread wildfires that increased aspen-birch acreages considerably. Although aspen-birch acreage has declined since the 1930s, it remains the region's second most prevalent forest type. Aspen management is probably the most contentious issue confronting forest managers in the Lake States.

Parent Publication

• Sustaining aspen in western landscapes: Symposium proceedings; 13-15 June 2000; Grand Junction, CO

Citation

Cleland, David T.; Leefers, Larry A.; Dickmann, Donald I. 2001. Ecology and management of aspen: A Lake States perspective. In: Shepperd, Wayne D.; Binkley, Dan; Bartos, Dale L.; Stohlgren, Thomas J.; Eskew, Lane G., comps. Sustaining aspen in western landscapes: Symposium proceedings; 13-15 June 2000; Grand Junction, CO. Proceedings RMRS-P-18. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 81-100.