Density Management in the 21St Century: West Side Story
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United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station Density Management Density in the 21 Management General Technical st Report in the 21 Century: PNW-GTR-880 August 2013 West Side Story D E E P R A U R T LT MENT OF AGRICU st Century: West Side Story Side Century: West PNW-GTR-880 Proceedings of the Density Management Workshop 4–6 October 2011, Corvallis, Oregon Pacific Northwest Research Station The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of Forest Service multiple use management of the Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture States and private forest owners, and management of the national forests and national grasslands, it strives—as directed by Congress—to provide increasingly greater service Abstract to a growing Nation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and Anderson, Paul D.; Ronnenberg, Kathryn L., eds. 2013. Density Management in the 21st Century: activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual West Side Story. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-880. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, orientation, marital status, family status, status as a parent (in education and training programs and activities), because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 249 p. public assistance program, or retaliation. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs or activities). Since adoption of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) in the early 1990s, there has been a fundamental If you require this information in alternative format (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.), shift in forest management practices on federal lands in western Oregon and Washington. Commodity- contact the USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (Voice or TDD). driven clearcut regeneration harvests have given way to thinnings intended to enhance development If you require information about this program, activity, or facility in a language other than English, contact the agency office responsible for the program or activity, or any USDA office. of late-successional forest habitats and to conserve important aquatic and riparian ecosystems. Density st To file a complaint alleging discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Management in the 21 Century: West Side Story presents abstracts and peer reviewed papers from a 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call toll free, (866) regional conference highlighting more than twenty years of research related to forest thinning in the 632-9992 (Voice). TDD users can contact USDA through local relay or the Federal relay at NWFP area. Presentations from the BLM Density Management and Riparian Buffer Study provide a (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (relay voice users). You may use USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Forms AD-3027 or AD-3027s (Spanish) which can be found at: focal point, with presentations from additional studies providing for a more complete overview of the http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html or upon request from a local Forest west-side thinning science. The contributions are organized as five topical themes: The Regional and Service office. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Landscape Context for Density Management in the Northwest Forest Plan Era; Implementation and Influences of Density Management in the Terrestrial Ecosystem; Riparian and Aquatic Ecosystems and their Responses to Thinning and Buffers; Socioeconomics and Operations; and Thinning and Adaptation. Collectively, the contributions summarize many important forest dynamics and ecosystem responses to partial overstory removals. Interactions between aquatic and riparian ecosystem conservation measures and upland harvest are emphasized. Targeting resource management practitioners, decision-makers Pacific Northwest Research Station and researchers, the collected works provide a reference to the current and future roles and issues of density management as a tool for forest ecosystem management. Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/ Keywords: Aquatic Conservation Strategy, biodiversity, density management, forest structure, Telephone (503) 808-2592 ecosystem processes, late-successional habitat, northern spotted owl, public perception, riparian Publication requests (503) 808-2138 buffers, stream temperature, thinning, wildlife. Fax (503) 808-2130 E-mail [email protected] Editors Mailing address Publications Distribution Paul D. Anderson is a supervisory research forester, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Research Station 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331; [email protected]. P.O. Box 3890 Kathryn L. Ronnenberg is a research information assistant, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forestry Sciences Portland, OR 97208-3890 Laboratory, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331; [email protected]. Front cover and cover background photos by Mark Meleason. Section divider art and cover design by Kathryn Ronnenberg. Papers were provided by the editors in camera-ready form for printing. Authors are responsible for the content and accuracy. Opinions expressed may not neccessarily reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of any product or service. Density Management in the 21st Century: West Side Story Paul D. Anderson and Kathryn L. Ronnenberg, Editors Proceedings of the Density Management Workshop 4–6 October 2011, Corvallis, Oregon iii Table of Contents Two Decades of Learning about Th inning in the Ecosystem Management Era .............................. 1 Paul D. Anderson Section 1. The Regional and Landscape Context for Density Management in the Northwest Forest Plan Era ................................................................................................................... 9 Th e Intertwining Paths of the Density Management and Riparian Buff er Study and the Northwest Forest Plan ........................................................................................................... 10 Kenneth J. Ruzicka, Jr., Deanna H. Olson, and Klaus J. Puettmann Public Perceptions of West-Side Forests: Improving Visual Impact Assessments and Designing Th innings and Harvests for Scenic Integrity ............................................................... 22 Robert G. Ribe A Satellite’s View of Recent Trends in Forest Harvest Intensity in the Pacifi c Northwest .............. 38 Robert E. Kennedy, Zhiqiang Yang, Justin Braaten, Warren B. Cohen, Peder Nelson, and Eric Pfaff Landscape Context for Density Management: Implications of Land Ownership and Ecological Gradients .................................................................................................................... 41 Janet L. Ohmann Section 2: Implementation and Influences of Density Management in the Terrestrial Ecosystem ............................................................................................................................43 Short-Term Responses of Overstory and Understory Vegetation to Th inning Treatments: A Tale of Two Studies .................................................................................................................. 44 Klaus J. Puettmann, Erich K. Dodson, Adrian Ares, and Carrie A. Berger Making the Little Th ings Count: Modeling the Development of Understory Trees in Complex Stands .......................................................................................................................... 59 Peter J. Gould and Constance A. Harrington Th inning Eff ects on Tree Mortality and Snag Recruitment in Western Oregon ............................ 71 Erich K. Dodson, Klaus J. Puettmann, and Adrian Ares Th inning Eff ects on Spotted Owl Prey and Other Forest-Dwelling Small Mammals ................... 79 Todd M. Wilson and Eric D. Forsman Above-ground Carbon Storage, Down Wood, and Understory Plant Species Richness after Th inning in Western Oregon ....................................................................................................... 91 Julia I. Burton, Adrian Ares, Sara E. Mulford, Deanna H. Olson, and Klaus J. Puettmann Green-Tree Retention, Ectomycorrhiza Diversity, and Ectomycorrhizal Spore Inoculum ........... 101 Daniel L. Luoma and Joyce L. Eberhart Density Management in the 21st Century: West Side Story PNW-GTR-880 iv Managing for Old-growth Forests: A Moving Target ................................................................. 108 Th omas A. Spies and Robert J. Pabst Stand Density Relationships ...................................................................................................... 110 John C. Tappeiner, II Adapting Management of Shade-intolerant Douglas-Fir Forests to Provide Maximum Diversity of Habitats Continuously and Productively ................................................................ 112 Michael Newton Westside Th inning and Underplanting Study in 50- to 55-year-old Douglas-fi r and Douglas-fi r/Hemlock Stands ..................................................................................................... 114 Elizabeth C. Cole and Michael Newton Th e Th eoretical and Empirical