Understory

The UPstream Regional LiDAR Model for Extent of Trout (UPRLIMET) research project provides scientific information about where fish are located within Oregon, Washington, and northern California by predicting the upper limit of fish presence in streams. The USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station and Oregon State University serve as the science leads. With an all-lands approach and partners from the Tribal federal, state, and private sectors, the project’s data and maps about fish distribution serve as useful tools for forest managers, stewards, and policymakers.

What is biochar? What is biochar used for? What are some examples of projects and uses that biochar is being used for? Learn the answers to these questions and more in the Biochar FAQ fact sheet.

The Postfire Research and Monitoring Playbook seeks to increase awareness among those conducting postfire research and monitoring in Oregon. This will facilitate efficient investment of resources and promote leveraging or direct collaboration among various organizations responsible for fire prevention, mitigation, restoration, research, and monitoring. The collaborative postfire research and monitoring project focuses on Oregon and the fires experienced in 2020, but it will create a resource to be utilized for postfire recovery after future fires in the state.The goal of this playbook is to pr...

Planning and prioritizing forest and fuel treatment programs on vast, mixed-owner landscapes can be a wicked challenge. A typical project involves multiple management objectives, constraints on treatment location, and the resulting plans that must meet regulatory standards for analysis and consideration of multiple alternatives. Researchers with the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station developed the ForSys Planning System to help managers prioritize forest and fuel management investments and understand tradeoffs among alternative scenarios. The development of ForSys was motivate...

While forests are relatively resistant to non-native grass invasion, patches within forests with open canopies or sparse tree cover can be affected. This invasion may lead to changes in fire behavior on the landscape. A team of scientists with the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain Research Stations and Oregon State University used a suite of simulations to examine how non-native grass invasion might alter fire behavior. Their results indicated that forests near invaded patches were more likely to burn and produce crown fires.

Subalpine forests are an important ecological and cultural resource, but recently there have been concerning declines in some major subalpine species. Using Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, this project used subalpine fir population trends to examine the condition of subalpine ecosystems across the western United States and determined possible drivers of decline. This information is important for subalpine forest conservation, management, and research.

2024 hunt map for the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range.See how-to guide for using Avenza MapsTM* to download the hunt map for the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range on iOS and Android devices.

Effective beginning 06/04/2025: This website, and all linked websites under the control of the agency is under review and content may change.Blue carbon is carbon stored in coastal ecosystems like mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and salt marshes. Blue carbon ecosystems make up less than 2% of the earth’s coastal area but store ~15% of the carbon found in coastal sediments. Ensuring these ecosystems thrive helps lessen impacts of climate change and protects coastal communities and livelihoods. Mangroves are ecologically and culturally important. Intact mangrove forests store more carbon than a...

Non-native invasive plants cause enormous damage to native Hawaiian ecosystems and agricultural lands. Weeds like strawberry guava, Christmas berry, albizia, Himalayan ginger, miconia and Koster’s curse have spread across vast areas. They outcompete and displace native species, and impede agriculture. These invaders transform Hawaii’s landscapes, compromise access, reduce biodiversity, and degrade watersheds. Controlling these invasive plants by hand or with herbicides at large scales and in remote areas is simply not practical. Since 1984, scientists at the Institute of Pacific Islands Forest...