DOCSLIB.ORG

Complex Forest Dynamics Indicate Potential for Slowing Carbon

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Complex Forest Dynamics Indicate Potential for Slowing Carbon OPEN Complex forest dynamics indicate SUBJECT AREAS: potential for slowing carbon FOREST ECOLOGY SUSTAINABILITY accumulation in the southeastern United FORESTRY States Received John W. Coulston1, David N. Wear2 & James M. Vose2 4 July 2014 Accepted 1United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, 4700 Old Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919, 2United States Department 16 December 2014 of Agriculture Forest Service, PO Box 8008 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695. Published 23 January 2015 Over the past century forest regrowth in Europe and North America expanded forest carbon (C) sinks and offset C emissions but future C accumulation is uncertain. Policy makers need insights into forest C dynamics as they anticipate emissions futures and goals. We used land use and forest inventory data to Correspondence and estimate how forest C dynamics have changed in the southeastern United States and attribute changes to requests for materials land use, management, and disturbance causes. From 2007-2012, forests yielded a net sink of C because of net land use change (16.48 Tg C yr21) and net biomass accumulation (175.4 Tg C yr21). Forests disturbed should be addressed to by weather, insect/disease, and fire show dampened yet positive forest C changes (11.56, 11.4, 15.48 Tg C J.W.C. (jcoulston@fs. yr21, respectively). Forest cutting caused net decreases in C (276.7 Tg C yr21) but was offset by forest growth fed.us) (1143.77 Tg C yr21). Forest growth rates depend on age or stage of development and projected C stock changes indicate a gradual slowing of carbon accumulation with anticipated forest aging (a reduction of 9.5% over the next five years). Additionally, small shifts in land use transitions consistent with economic futures resulted in a 40.6% decrease in C accumulation. orests represent the largest sink of terrestrial carbon (C) and continued storage, forest growth, and removals for long life-span products may help reduce greenhouse gases in the future1. Over the past century, ‘‘forest transitions’’2 from a period of deforestation to reforestation and regrowth in Europe and North America, for F 3–5 example, have greatly expanded forest biomass and forest C sinks . In the U.S., the net C accumulation from land use, land use change, and forestry was equivalent to 15 percent of all emissions from the energy and transportation sectors in 20136. The potential for future C accumulation in forests is uncertain due in part to the combined effects of changes in forest growth rates, land use choices7, forest management, mortality-inducing events such as insect epidemics, other disturbances such as wildfires and hurricanes, and the direct and indirect effects of climate change8–10. Over broad spatial scales C accumulation rates are driven by multiple co-occurring vectors of change. Understanding the relative influence of these vectors of change on overall forest C dynamics represents a considerable challenge because they rarely occur in isolation and may have compounding effects. Several studies have examined C accumulation rates in relation to climate, atmospheric, disturbance, and land use histories using process/simulation models. Tian and colleagues11 simulated the effects of climate, land cover change, nitrogen deposition, atmospheric CO2 concentration, and tropospheric ozone on C sequestration and found that elevated CO2 was the largest contributor to C sequestration and land cover change was the largest contributor to C losses in the southeastern U.S. Pan and colleagues12 found that nitrogen deposition was the largest contributor to C accumulation in the mid-Atlantic U.S and that forest regrowth following disturbance had a greater capacity for C accumulation than did growth in old forests. Forest disturbance results in C emissions but then enhances net C uptake over the long run as forests revert to a more productive age-class but net effects depend on several factors including forest species, forest management, and environmental conditions13,14.In Canada, Kurz and colleagues15 suggest that managed forests may become a source of atmospheric C due to wide- spread insect outbreaks. At landscape and regional scales, the age-class distribution of the forest population in a region and forest aging strongly influence potential C accumulation. Forest aging, as used in this essay, addresses the temporal progres- sion of forests (growth, normal mortality levels) as modified by disturbance (mortality and removals). Both newly SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | 5 : 8002 | DOI: 10.1038/srep08002 1 www.nature.com/scientificreports established forests and old forests have limited capacity to sequester of agricultural land, with 2 701 km2 yr21 shifting from agricultural to carbon as compared to juvenile to middle-aged forests13. As forests forest land uses and 2 385 km2 yr21 shifting from agricultural to across the landscape age, C accumulation rates eventually decline. developed land uses (Table 1). Forest C increased 23.36 Tg yr21 as For example, Nabuurs and colleagues16 found strong indicators that a result of agriculture to forest transitions (Figure 2) but was partially forest C accumulation rates are declining in Europe. Disturbances offset by a forest C decrease of 13.13 Tg yr21 associated with forest to and land use transitions influences the overall forest age structure agriculture transitions. Forest to developed conversion (1 676 km2 across the landscape by either removing forests or resetting the forest yr21) resulted in a decrease in forest C of 20.73 Tg yr21. Shifts from to a younger age. The combined effects of forest aging, disturbance, forest use to non-forest use do not mean complete depletion of the C and land use change will determine the overall rate of C accumula- stock; rather a portion of the forest C (largely soil carbon) is trans- tion in the U.S.17 Quantifying concurrent influences of disturbances, ferred to the non-forest land use. land use change, growth, and forest cutting on forest C stock change Among disturbances that occurred between measurements, only requires a consistently measured and comprehensive data source and forest cutting reduced net forest C stock (276.7 Tg C yr21). Forests is fundamental to understanding C dynamics and improving projec- with weather, insect/disease, and fire disturbances showed net tions of forest C to support policy making. increases in forest C of 11.56, 11.4, and 15.48 Tg C yr21, respect- The present study uses recently remeasured forest inventory plots ively after accounting for salvage cutting following the initial disturb- for the entire southeastern U.S. to identify the relative influences of ance (Figure 2). Forest disturbances result in some tree mortality, but forest growth, land use changes that expand or reduce forest area, they did not lead to net reductions in total forest C stocks over the and various causes of forest mortality. Because the forest inventory remeasurement period due to the growth of residual trees, regenera- starts with a sampling of all land uses across a gridded landscape and tion to fill gaps, the stability of soil organic C, and changes in residual includes remeasurement of permanent plots, it provides estimates of dead material. The largest gain in forest C came from those areas all land use transitions among forest, agricultural, developed, and without a disturbance event reflecting forest growth (including C other land uses. The effects of weather (e.g. hurricanes, ice storms, increases in above ground, below ground, and forest floor pools) that and tornados), fire, and insect/disease outbreaks are isolated along resulted in a C accumulation of 143.77 Tg C yr21 (Figure 2). This with the effects of forest harvesting/management and land use exceeds losses from forest cutting by 87%. Rather than emitted to the changes. atmosphere, a large share of C losses from forest cutting is stored in The southeastern U.S. (Figure 1) provides an especially useful durable wood products20. laboratory for exploring forest dynamics: it has more forest land than The net gain of forest C represents the combined effects of dis- 96% of the countries reported by Food and Agriculture Organization turbance mortality, forest growth (above and below ground), forest 18 of the United Nations , produces .15% of global wood products floor accumulation, and the gradual decay of dead forest material. Of from largely (89%) private forests, contains intensively managed the 754 150 km2 of retained forest land use, 32 388 km2 yr21 (4.3% forests (18%, as indicated by forest planting activity), and is subject yr21) was disturbed. The extent of forest cutting was 21 968 km2 yr 21 19 to multiple extreme weather and biotic disturbances (e.g., hurri- (2.9% yr21). Insects and diseases, fire, and weather disturbances canes and wildfires). impacted 1 694 km2 yr 21 (0.2% yr21), 4 411 km2 yr 21 (0.6% yr21), and 4 297 km2 yr 21 (0.6% yr21), respectively. Disturbance and forest Results cutting occurred on 2.4 times as much area as experienced a land use From 2007–2012, total forest C increased by 81.95 Tg yr21 in the change. region. Land use changes resulted in forest area gains and a net The age structure of the forest is fundamental to understanding increase of 6.48 Tg yr21 while forest dynamics (growth, mortality, potential future C accumulation. When considering non-harvested cutting, forest floor accumulation) accounted for a net increase of areas, the C accumulation rate (Mg C ha21 yr21) for the region peaks 75.47 Tg yr21. Forest dominates land use (55% of period 2 inventory) at age classes 10–15 years and 15–20 years and then declines with age followed by agriculture (23%) and developed (12%) uses. (ages based on first period measurements, Figure 3a). C accumula- Approximately 95% of the area remained in the same land use tion rate drops by .50% by age class 35–40 and by .75% by age class between measurements.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Dynamics and Disturbance in an Old-Growth Forest Remnant In
    DYNAMICS AND DISTURBANCE IN AN OLD-GROWTH FOREST REMNANT IN WESTERN OHIO Thesis Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Science in Biology By Sean Michael Goins UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Dayton, Ohio August, 2012 DYNAMICS AND DISTURBANCE IN AN OLD-GROWTH FOREST REMNANT IN WESTERN OHIO Name: Goins, Sean Michael APPROVED BY: __________________________________________ Ryan W. McEwan, Ph.D. Committee Chair Assistant Professor __________________________________________ M. Eric Benbow, Ph.D. Committee Member Assistant Professor __________________________________________ Mark G. Nielsen, Ph.D. Committee Member Associate Professor ii ABSTRACT DYNAMICS AND DISTURBANCE IN AN OLD-GROWTH FOREST REMNANT IN WESTERN OHIO Name: Goins, Sean Michael University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Ryan W. McEwan Forest communities are dynamic through time, reacting to shifts in disturbance and climate regimes. A widespread community shift has been witnessed in many forests of eastern North America wherein oak (Quercus spp.) populations are decreasing while maple (Acer spp.) populations are increasing. Altered fire regimes over the last century are thought to be the primary driver of oak-to-maple community shifts; however, the influence of other non-equilibrium processes on this community shift remains under- explored. Our study sought to determine the community structure and disturbance history of an old-growth forest remnant in an area of western Ohio where fires were historically uncommon. To determine community structure, abundance of woody species was measured within 32 plots at 4 canopy strata and dendrochronology was used to determine the relative age-structure of the forest.
    [Show full text]
  • Old-Growth Forests
    Pacific Northwest Research Station NEW FINDINGS ABOUT OLD-GROWTH FORESTS I N S U M M A R Y ot all forests with old trees are scientifically defined for many centuries. Today’s old-growth forests developed as old growth. Among those that are, the variations along multiple pathways with many low-severity and some Nare so striking that multiple definitions of old-growth high-severity disturbances along the way. And, scientists forests are needed, even when the discussion is restricted to are learning, the journey matters—old-growth ecosystems Pacific coast old-growth forests from southwestern Oregon contribute to ecological diversity through every stage of to southwestern British Columbia. forest development. Heterogeneity in the pathways to old- growth forests accounts for many of the differences among Scientists understand the basic structural features of old- old-growth forests. growth forests and have learned much about habitat use of forests by spotted owls and other species. Less known, Complexity does not mean chaos or a lack of pattern. Sci- however, are the character and development of the live and entists from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station, dead trees and other plants. We are learning much about along with scientists and students from universities, see the structural complexity of these forests and how it leads to some common elements and themes in the many pathways. ecological complexity—which makes possible their famous The new findings suggest we may need to change our strat- biodiversity. For example, we are gaining new insights into egies for conserving and restoring old-growth ecosystems. canopy complexity in old-growth forests.
    [Show full text]
  • Sass Forestecomgt 2018.Pdf
    Forest Ecology and Management 419–420 (2018) 31–41 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Forest Ecology and Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foreco Lasting legacies of historical clearcutting, wind, and salvage logging on old- T growth Tsuga canadensis-Pinus strobus forests ⁎ Emma M. Sassa, , Anthony W. D'Amatoa, David R. Fosterb a Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA b Harvard Forest, Harvard University, 324 N Main St, Petersham, MA 01366, USA ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Disturbance events affect forest composition and structure across a range of spatial and temporal scales, and Coarse woody debris subsequent forest development may differ after natural, anthropogenic, or compound disturbances. Following Compound disturbance large, natural disturbances, salvage logging is a common and often controversial management practice in many Forest structure regions of the globe. Yet, while the short-term impacts of salvage logging have been studied in many systems, the Large, infrequent natural disturbance long-term effects remain unclear. We capitalized on over eighty years of data following an old-growth Tsuga Pine-hemlock forests canadensis-Pinus strobus forest in southwestern New Hampshire, USA after the 1938 hurricane, which severely Pit and mound structures damaged forests across much of New England. To our knowledge, this study provides the longest evaluation of salvage logging impacts, and it highlights developmental trajectories for Tsuga canadensis-Pinus strobus forests under a variety of disturbance histories. Specifically, we examined development from an old-growth condition in 1930 through 2016 across three different disturbance histories: (1) clearcut logging prior to the 1938 hurricane with some subsequent damage by the hurricane (“logged”), (2) severe damage from the 1938 hurricane (“hurricane”), and (3) severe damage from the hurricane followed by salvage logging (“salvaged”).
    [Show full text]
  • The Impacts of Increasing Drought on Forest Dynamics, Structure, and Biodiversity in the United States
    Global Change Biology (2016) 22, 2329–2352, doi: 10.1111/gcb.13160 SPECIAL FEATURE The impacts of increasing drought on forest dynamics, structure, and biodiversity in the United States JAMES S. CLARK1 , LOUIS IVERSON2 , CHRISTOPHER W. WOODALL3 ,CRAIGD.ALLEN4 , DAVID M. BELL5 , DON C. BRAGG6 , ANTHONY W. D’AMATO7 ,FRANKW.DAVIS8 , MICHELLE H. HERSH9 , INES IBANEZ10, STEPHEN T. JACKSON11, STEPHEN MATTHEWS12, NEIL PEDERSON13, MATTHEW PETERS14,MARKW.SCHWARTZ15, KRISTEN M. WARING16 andNIKLAUS E. ZIMMERMANN17 1Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA, 2Forest Service, Northern Research Station 359 Main Road, Delaware, OH 43015, USA, 3Forest Service 1992 Folwell Avenue,Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA, 4U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center Jemez Mountains Field Station, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA, 5Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA, 6Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Monticello, AR 71656, USA, 7Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, 04E Aiken Center, 81 Carrigan Dr., Burlington, VT 05405, USA, 8Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA, 9Department of Biology, Sarah Lawrence College, New York, NY 10708, USA, 10School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, 2546 Dana Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA, 11U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Climate Science Center and Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell
    [Show full text]
  • Ecological Insights from Long-Term Research Plots in Tropical and Temperate Forests
    Ecological Insights from Long-term Research Plots in Tropical and Temperate Forests Organized Oral Session 40 was co-organized by Amy Wolf, Stuart Davies, and Richard Condit, and held on 6 August 2009 during the 94th ES A Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. An International Network of Forest Research Sites This session was devoted to findings from an international network of long-term forest dynamics plots, providing some of the first comparisons between the tropical and temperate study areas. Whereas most ecologists recognize the importance of long-term research (Callahan 1984, Likens 1989, Magnuson 1990, Hobbie et al. 2003, and others), large-scale projects like this one are rare. The global network of forest dynamics plots has expanded since its origin in the early 1980s, yet research at the plots has remained integrated due to a combination of individual scientists' efforts and institutional commitments from the Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS, <www.ctfs.si.edu> of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (Hubbell and Foster 1983, Condit 1995). Today, 26 large plots have been established in tropical or subtropical forests of Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, along with 8 recently added temperate forest plots. A standard protocol (Condit 1998) is followed at all sites, including the marking, mapping, and measuring of all trees and shrubs with stem diameters >1 cm. Reports October 2009 519 Reports An underlying objective of the ESA session was to illustrate how an understanding of forest dynamics can contribute to long-term strategies of sustainable forest management in a changing global environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Silvicultural Activities: Description and Terminology 1
    WHITE PAPER F14-SO-WP-SILV-34 Silvicultural Activities: Description and Terminology 1 David C. Powell; Forest Silviculturist Supervisor’s Office; Pendleton, OR Initial Version: JUNE 1992 Most Recent Revision: FEBRUARY 2018 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 2 Silvicultural systems ............................................................................................................ 2 Age-based silvicultural systems .................................................................................... 2 Even-aged management ............................................................................................... 3 Figure 1 – Three common stand structures ........................................................................... 4 Figure 2 – Clearcutting ............................................................................................................ 5 Figure 3 – Seed-tree and shelterwood cutting ....................................................................... 6 Figure 4 – Windthrow in spruce-fir forest in the northern Blue Mountains .......................... 8 Figure 5 – Examples of overstory removal and understory removal cutting ......................... 9 Uneven-aged management ........................................................................................ 10 Figure 6 – Examples of individual-tree selection cutting in ponderosa pine ....................... 12 Figure 7 – Examples of group selection
    [Show full text]
  • Decelerating Growth in Tropical Forest Trees
    Ecology Letters, (2007) 10: 461–469 doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01033.x LETTER Decelerating growth in tropical forest trees Abstract Kenneth J. Feeley,1* S. Joseph The impacts of global change on tropical forests remain poorly understood. We Wright,2 M. N. Nur Supardi,3 examined changes in tree growth rates over the past two decades for all species occurring Abd Rahman Kassim3 and Stuart in large (50-ha) forest dynamics plots in Panama and Malaysia. Stem growth rates 2,4 J. Davies declined significantly at both forests regardless of initial size or organizational level 1 Center for Tropical Forest (species, community or stand). Decreasing growth rates were widespread, occurring in Science, Arnold Arboretum Asia 24–71% of species at Barro Colorado Island, Panama (BCI) and in 58–95% of species at Program, Harvard University, 22 Pasoh, Malaysia (depending on the sizes of stems included). Changes in growth were not Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, consistently associated with initial growth rate, adult stature, or wood density. Changes in MA 02138, USA 2Smithsonian Tropical Research growth were significantly associated with regional climate changes: at both sites growth Institute, Panama City, Panama was negatively correlated with annual mean daily minimum temperatures, and at BCI 3Forest Environment Division, growth was positively correlated with annual precipitation and number of rainfree days Forest Research Institute (a measure of relative insolation). While the underlying cause(s) of decelerating growth is Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, still unresolved, these patterns strongly contradict the hypothesized pantropical increase Malaysia 52109 in tree growth rates caused by carbon fertilization. Decelerating tree growth will have 4Center for Tropical Forest important economic and environmental implications.
    [Show full text]
  • Pre-Fire Treatment Effects and Post-Fire Forest Dynamics on the Rodeo-Chediski Burn Area, Arizona
    Pre-fire treatment effects and post-fire forest dynamics on the Rodeo-Chediski burn area, Arizona by Barbara A. Strom A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Forestry Northern Arizona University May 2005 Approved: __________________________________ Peter Z. Fulé, Ph.D., Chair __________________________________ Stephen C. Hart, Ph.D. __________________________________ Thomas E. Kolb, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Pre-fire treatment effects and post-fire forest dynamics on the Rodeo-Chediski burn area, Arizona Barbara A. Strom The 2002 Rodeo-Chediski fire was the largest wildfire in Arizona history at 189,000 ha (468,000 acres), and exhibited some of the most extreme fire behavior ever seen in the Southwest. Pre-fire fuel reduction treatments of thinning, timber harvesting, and prescribed burning on the White Mountain Apache Tribal lands (WMAT) and thinning on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (A-S) set the stage for a test of the upper boundary of effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments at decreasing burn severity. On the WMAT, we sampled 90 six-hectare study sites two years after the fire, representing 30% of the entire burn area on White Mountain Apache Tribe lands, or 34,000 hectares, and comprising a matrix of three burn severities (low, moderate, or high) and three treatments (cutting and prescribed burning, prescribed burning only, or no treatment). Prescribed burning without cutting was associated with reduced burn severity, but the combination of cutting and prescribed burning had the greatest ameliorative effect. Increasing degree of treatment was associated with an increase in the number of live trees and a decrease in the extremity of fire behavior as indicated by crown base height and bole char height.
    [Show full text]
  • FAO Forestry Paper 120. Decline and Dieback of Trees and Forests
    FAO Decline and diebackdieback FORESTRY of tretreess and forestsforests PAPER 120 A globalgIoia overviewoverview by William M. CieslaCiesla FADFAO Forest Resources DivisionDivision and Edwin DonaubauerDonaubauer Federal Forest Research CentreCentre Vienna, Austria Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 19941994 The designations employedemployed and the presentation of material inin thisthis publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever onon the part ofof thethe FoodFood andand AgricultureAgriculture OrganizationOrganization ofof thethe UnitedUnited Nations concerning the legallega! status ofof anyany country,country, territory,territory, citycity oror area or of itsits authorities,authorities, oror concerningconcerning thethe delimitationdelimitation ofof itsits frontiers or boundarboundaries.ies. M-34M-34 ISBN 92-5-103502-492-5-103502-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publicationpublication may be reproduced,reproduced, stored in aa retrieval system, or transmittedtransmitted inin any form or by any means, electronic, mechani-mechani­ cal, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyrightownecopyright owner.r. Applications for such permission, withwith aa statement of the purpose andand extentextent ofof the reproduction,reproduction, should bebe addressed toto thethe Director,Director, Publications Division,Division, FoodFood andand Agriculture Organization ofof the United Nations,Nations, VVialeiale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.Italy. 0© FAO FAO 19941994
    [Show full text]
  • Margaret Rowan Metz
    CURRICULUM VITAE Margaret Rowan Metz Department of Biology 503-768-7684 (tel) Lewis & Clark College 503-768-7658 (fax) 0615 SW Palatine Hill Rd., MSC 53 [email protected] Portland, OR 97219 www.margaretmetz.com PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS Assistant Professor Department of Biology, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR. August 2014-present. Project Scientist Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis. 2014. Postdoctoral Researcher Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis. 2008-2014. EDUCATION Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Integrative Biology. 2007. Spatiotemporal variation in seedling dynamics and the maintenance of forest diversity in an Amazonian forest. Thesis committee: Drs. Wayne Sousa (advisor), David Ackerly, John Battles, & Carla D’Antonio. A.B. Princeton University, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, cum laude. 1998. GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS 2017 Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute $34,500 “Long-term studies of flowering, fruiting and seedling dynamics at Yasuní.” 2016-2020 NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity $1,600,000 “Dynamical interactions between plant and oomycete biodiversity in a temperate forest.” PIs: B. Tyler, N. Grunwald, A. Jones, M. Metz, J. Lutz, D. Oline. Subaward to Lewis & Clark College to support undergraduate research experiences $127,355 2011-2017 NSF Long-term Research in Environmental Biology (renewal) $450,000 “Collaborative Research: LTREB Renewal - Long-term studies of flowering, fruiting and seedling recruitment in Neotropical forests: global change, climate variability and mechanisms.” PIs: N. C. Garwood, M. R. Metz, H. C. Muller-Landau, N. Swenson, M. Uriarte, S. J. Wright, J. K. Zimmerman. 2011-2016 NSF Ecology of Infectious Diseases $785,398 “Collaborative Research: Interacting disturbances: leaf to landscape dynamics of emerging disease, fire and drought in California coastal forests.” Lead PI D.
    [Show full text]
  • Disturbance History and Dynamics of an Old-Growth Nothofagus Forest in Southern Patagonia
    Article Disturbance History and Dynamics of an Old-Growth Nothofagus Forest in Southern Patagonia Mariano Martín Amoroso 1,2,* and Ana Paula Blazina 3 1 Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Mitre 630, San Carlos de Bariloche CP 8400, Argentina 2 Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Av. de los Pioneros 2350, San Carlos de Bariloche CP 8400, Argentina 3 Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Bernardo Houssay 200, Ushuaia V9410, Argentina; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 3 December 2019; Accepted: 10 January 2020; Published: 14 January 2020 Abstract: The identification of disturbance events using disturbance chronologies has become a valuable tool in reconstructing disturbance history in temperate forests worldwide; yet detailed reconstructions of disturbance history and their effect on the structure and dynamics of the old-growth Nothofagus forests in the southern Patagonia are scarce. We reconstructed forest dynamics and disturbance history of an old-growth N. pumilio forest in the Toro River Valley, Santa Cruz, Argentina using dendroecological techniques. Since a variation in the disturbance regimes was expected with changing elevation, we sampled at different elevations. We found distinct differences in forest structure, dynamics, and disturbance history with changes in the elevation. The disturbance chronologies provided robust evidence that forests in the study area have been subjected to multiple disturbance events over the last 200 years. Yet, recognizing the agent of disturbance could be difficult in these montane forests and further studies are required.
    [Show full text]
  • Restoring Fire-Adapted Ecosystems: Proceedings of the 2005 National Silviculture Workshop
    United States Department of Restoring Fire-Adapted Agriculture Forest Service Ecosystems: Proceedings of the Pacific Southwest 2005 National Silviculture Research Station Workshop General Technical Report PSW-GTR-203 June 6-10, 2005 Tahoe City, California January 2007 Historic and Future Trends Management Strategies Silvicultural Options Risks And Impacts Abstract Powers, Robert F., tech. editor. 2007. Restoring fire-adapted ecosystems: proceedings of the 2005 national silviculture workshop. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-203. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 306 p. Many federal forests are at risk to catastrophic wild fire owing to past management practices and policies. Mangers of these forests face the immense challenge of making their forests resilient to wild fire, and the problem is complicated by the specter of climate change that may affect wild fire frequency and intensity. Some of the Nationʼs leading scientists and practitioner present approaches in tackling the problem. Key words: wild fire, fuel management, thinning, climate change, fire history, resilience The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
    [Show full text]