Treesearch

In this paper, we describe our application of Ostrom et al.'s ADICO syntax, a grammatical tool based in the Institutional Analysis and Development framework, to a study of ecological restoration decision making in the Chicago Wilderness region. As this method has only been used to look at written policy and/or extractive natural resource management systems, our application is novel in context (a value-adding environmental management action), data type (in-depth, qualitative interviews, and participant observation), and extent of institutional statement extraction (we extract rules, as well...

Early applications of wilderness economic research demonstrated that the values of natural amenities and commodities produced from natural areas could be measured in commensurate terms. To the surprise of many, the economic values of wilderness protection often exceeded the potential commercial values that might result from resource extraction. Here, the concepts and tools used in the economic analysis of wilderness are described, and the wilderness economic literature is reviewed with a focus on understanding trends in use, value, and economic impacts. Although our review suggests that...

Seed transfer guidelines and zones are used to manage the movement of plant materials, but by the end of the century many landscapes across the globe will have climates that are incompatible with current vegetation. The mismatch in rates between climate change and plant migration and adaptation will pose significant challenges for natural resource managers, especially when scientific information often lags behind the demand for management actions. We developed a bibliography to reflect the growing interest in assisted migration, the intentional movement of plant materials in response to...

We detect transition to agropastoral land use in a mountain landscape by radiocarbon dating physical signatures (sedimentation rates, charcoal concentrations, magnetic susceptibility) of conversion from native forest to pasture contained within colluvial stratigraphic sections. Focus is on two study sites located on toeslopes directly beneath zero-order hollows draining several hectares in the commune of Larrau (Pyr
en
ees Atlantiques, France) along the international drainage divide of the western Pyrenees. Sample sites maximize likelihood of spatially and temporally uniform slopewash...

An attempt was made to model diameter distributions of aspen (Populus spp) stands. The aspen (1,020,150 acres) cover type has the greatest acreage on DNR lands and it contains a variety of hardwood and softwood species. Aspen is a valuable pulpwood species, annually comprising around 50 percent of total timber harvest on DNR lands. Modeling distributions of this cover type has been minimal; stands often contain a variety of tree sizes and species, making modeling difficult, particularly given a disproportionate amount of smaller trees. For this analysis, a three-parameter Weibull-based...

For Minnesota, the only data available to conduct regional or state-wide level assessments across all ownerships is the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA). Some of the many alternatives available to estimate regional changes in standing volume are referred to here as 1.) FIA alternative, 2.) a commonly applied growth and yield system referred to as Walters and Ek, 3.) a calibrated Walters and Ek alternative, 4.) a different calibrated Walters and Ek alternative, and 5.) Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) estimates. The purpose of this study is to quantify the ability of these...

Understanding how climate affects tree growth is essential for assessing climate change impacts on forests, but is complicated by the effects of competition, which strongly influences growth and could alter how forests respond to climate change. We characterized the joint effects of climate and competition on diameter growth in the mountain forests of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA using long-term (32-year) forest monitoring data from permanent sample plots in mature and old-growth stands. To analyze the data, we adapted the diameter growth function from ORGANON (a...

The Forest Inventory and Analysis Program strives to make its data publicly available in a format that is easy to use and understand most commonly accessed through online tools such as EVALIDator and Forest Inventory Data Online. This requires a certain amount of data reduction. Using a common data request concerning the resource of southern yellow pine (SYP), we demonstrate how results may vary depending on the particular data reduction approach employed. We used the loblolly-shortleaf pine forest-type group (FTG) and the longleaf-slash pine FTG as surrogates for SYP. The volume of our...

The landscape of the central United States is dominated by cropland and rangeland mixed with remnants of short- and tall-grass prairies that were once prevalent. Since the last ice age, these areas had sparse tree cover due to cyclical severe droughts, intentional fires used by indigenous people as a land management tool, and natural fires caused by lightning. More recently, tree cover is suppressed by tillage or grazing. However, the combination of fire suppression and idling of farmland due to conservation programs and periodic downturns in the agricultural economy allows woody species...

The National Report on Sustainable Forests—2015 relies on Montrèal Process Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for Forest Sustainability to organize and present data relevant to U.S. forests. The 2015 report addresses seven criteria, the first of which is Conservation of Biological Diversity, which is organized into nine indicators that address three sub-criteria: ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity. Selected highlights from the report include the following. Total forest land area increased by 14 million acres since the previous report. Area of timberland increased by 7...