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Historic Range of Variability for Upland Vegetation in the Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming

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Historic Range of Variability for Upland Vegetation in the Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming Historic Range of Variability for Upland Vegetation in the United States Department Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming of Agriculture Forest Service Carolyn B. Meyer Rocky Mountain Dennis H. Knight Research Station Gregory K. Dillon General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-140 September 2005 Bighorn National Forest MONTANA WYOMING Lovell ALT 14 Sheridan SHERIDAN COUNTY 14 JOHNSON Greybull COUNTY Buffalo BIG HORN COUNTY WASHAKIE COUNTY 16 Worland N Wyoming Meyer, Carolyn B.; Knight, Dennis H.; Dillon, Gregory K. 2005. Historic range of variability for upland vegetation in the Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-140. Fort Collins, CO: Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 94 p. Abstract An approach for synthesizing the results of ecological research pertinent to land management is the analysis of the historic range of variability (HRV) for key ecosystem variables that are affected by management activities. This report provides an HRV analysis for the upland vegetation of the Bighorn National Forest in northcentral Wyoming. The variables include live tree density, dead tree (snag) density, canopy cover, abundance of coarse woody debris, species diversity, fire return intervals, the abundance of various diseases, the proportion of the landscape in differ- ent land cover types, and the degree of patchiness in the landscape. The variables were examined at the stand and landscape scales, using information available in the literature and USFS databases. High-elevation landscapes were considered separately from low-elevation landscapes. Much of the report pertains to forests dominated by lodge- pole pine, subalpine fir, and Engelmann spruce at high elevations, and by ponderosa pine, aspen, and Douglas-fir at lower elevations. We defined the HRV reference period for the BNF as approximately 1600 to 1890. Keywords: aspen, bark beetles, canopy gaps, coarse woody debris, comandra blister rust, Douglas-fir, dwarf mis- tletoe, Engelmann spruce, fire effects, forest fragmentation, insects in forests, landscape ecology, lodgepole pine, mistletoe, mountain pine beetle, ponderosa pine, roads, spruce beetle, subalpine fir, subalpine forests, timber harvesting effects, white pine blister rust, wind in forests The Authors Carolyn B. Meyer is on the faculty of the Department of Botany at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY. Much of her research focuses on spatial and temporal variation of ecological phenomena. She received a B.S. degree in natural resources from Humboldt State University, in 1983, an M.S. degree in wildlife biology from the University of Wyoming in 1985, and a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Wyoming in 1999. Dennis H. Knight is professor emeritus in the Department of Botany at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY. He retired in 2001 after 35 years on the faculty. He taught courses in ecology and forest management, and much of his research focused on the effects of natural and human-caused disturbances on Rocky Mountain coniferous for- ests. In 1999 he contracted with the Rocky Mountain Regional Office of the Forest Service to prepare historic range of variability analyses for the upland vegetation of the Medicine Bow, Bighorn, and Shoshone National Forests in Wyoming. He received a B.S. degree in biology from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1959, and the Ph.D. in plant ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1964. Gregory K. Dillon is a GIS specialist with the Forest Service at the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. His current work is focused on predictive mapping of biophysical settings in the United States for the LANDFIRE project. He received a B.S. degree in geography from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia in 1995, and an M.A. degree in geography from the University of Wyoming in 1998. Cover photo: Scattered Engelmann spruce and lodgepole pine along Tongue River on road to Bald Mt. City looking S.W. at 8,500 feet altitude on July 21, 1900. Photo by Harvard Professor of Dendrology John G. Jack. You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please specify the publication title and series number. Fort Collins Service Center Telephone (970) 498-1392 FAX (970) 498-1396 E-mail [email protected] Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/rm Mailing address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 West Prospect Road Fort Collins, CO 80526 Executive Summary The challenges of ecosystem management have led to an increased emphasis on incorporating the results of science in the decision-making process. One approach for accomplishing this objective is through analyzing the historic range of variability (HRV) for key ecosystem variables affected by management activities. Such analyses provide a means of synthesizing the scientific literature. The rationale for HRV analyses is that the chances of sustainable forest management are greater if the variation in managed ecosystems includes the range of conditions expected at vari- ous scales in ecosystems that are relatively uninfluenced by humans. This report provides an HRV analysis for the Bighorn National Forest (BNF) of northcentral Wyoming. By definition, HRV analyses require the identification of specific variables and an estimation of how those variables fluctuated, at more than one scale, prior to the advent of resource extraction and management by European- Americans. A complete list of the variables that we examined is found in table 7 on page 78. Examples include live tree density, dead tree (snag) density, canopy cover, abundance of coarse woody debris, species diversity, fire return intervals, the abundance of various diseases, the proportion of the landscape in different land cover types, and the degree of patchiness in the landscape. We examined variables at two scales, namely, the stand and the landscape. For this report we separated high-elevation landscapes from low-elevation landscapes. Much of the report pertains to forests dominated by lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, and subalpine fire at high elevations, and ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and aspen at lower elevations. Our analysis emphasizes forests rather than grasslands and shrub- lands because more historical information is available for the forests. Two significant challenges for HRV analyses are (1) selecting a “reference period” for comparison to present day conditions, and (2) making decisions with very little data about the range of variability of a variable during the refer- ence period. We defined the HRV reference period for the BNF as approximately 1600 to 1890, as some data sets on fire history go back several centuries and the influence of European-Americans in the BNF was minimal until about 1890. We also compared BNF ecosystems to comparable ecosystems in natural areas relatively uninfluenced by management activities, such as Yellowstone National Park. When data were lacking, our approach was to first make plausible though qualitative judgments about the conditions that must have existed in the reference period based on recent studies of plant adaptations and current knowledge about ecosystem structure and function. This approach is an example of deductive science. There will always be some uncertainty in such conclusions, but our conclu- sions were evaluated and supported by a panel of six anonymous peer reviewers. For each of our conclusions about whether a stand or landscape variable is within the HRV or trending away from that norm in managed landscapes, and the BNF as a whole, we indicate whether our confidence level is low, moderate, or high. Our report describes how the forests of the BNF have developed with regular disturbances, and how the kinds and frequency of disturbances have changed in some areas due to modern management practices. About 18% of the forested area has been harvested for timber (high- and low-elevation landscapes combined). Roughly 12% has been harvested on two occasions. The effects of fire suppression and livestock grazing are more widespread. Based on our understanding of BNF ecosystems, we have attempted to draw conclusions about whether or not cer- tain ecosystem variables are now beyond their HRV for the period 1600-1890, or trending in that direction. Our conclusions can be summarized as follows: At high elevations the following variables estimated at the stand scale appear to be within the HRV (confidence level is indicated in parentheses): • Fire return interval (moderate) and intensity (high) • Insect outbreaks (moderate) • Abundance of diseases, except for dwarf mistletoe in some areas (low) • Blowdowns (high) • Tree, sapling, and seedling density (high) • Plant species diversity (low) • Understory plant density and cover (high) • Age- and size-class structure of most stands (moderate) • Forest floor depth (high) Similarly, the following variables estimated at the landscape scale appear to be within the HRV at high elevations: • Fire intensity (high) • Insect outbreaks (moderate) • Abundance of diseases except for dwarf mistletoe (low) • Blowdowns (high) • Tree, sapling and seedling density (moderate) • Understory density and cover (moderate) i • Plant species diversity (low) • Forest floor depth (moderate) • Number and proportion of land cover types (high) • Forest/non-forest ratio (high) At low elevations, the following stand variables appear to be within the HRV: • Insect outbreaks (low) • Abundance and composition of diseases, except where
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