Historic Influence of the Mountain Pine Beetle on Stand Dynamics in Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks
Historic Influence of the Mountain Pine Beetle on Stand Dynamics in Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks

Author: Pamela Dykstra

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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The Canadian government announced the Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative (MPBI) in 2002 to address the socio-economic and ecological consequences of an epidemic of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins). The objective of this study was to establish baseline information on the ecological characteristics that occur at different stages of succession, resulting from mountain pine beetle disturbance at different time intervals. Key issues addressed by this study were: the post-beetle ecological character of stands; the ecological legacies that should be sought post-beetle; maintenance of ecological integrity in beetle-damaged landscapes; and the impacts of beetles on regeneration. This paper presents a study of stand conditions following two historic mountain pine beetle outbreaks events in the 1940s and 1980s. The study quantified structural and species composition of stands at different stages of succession (25 years and 65 years), and quantified the differences that occur in forest development between stands with and without disturbance by the beetle. It concludes with several recommendations for management of post-disturbance landscapes.

Mountain Pine Beetle
Mountain Pine Beetle

Author: Fred L. Bunnell

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13:

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This document provides a synthesis of recently completed studies to assess the ecological consequences of forest management after attack by mountain pine beetle or other large-scale disturbances. Studies are assessed for their contributions to gaps in knowledge previously identified in the Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative Working Paper "Evaluating effects of large scale salvage logging for mountain pine beetle on terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates," which was published in 2004. This report focuses on studies developed through the federal Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative, the federal Mountain Pine Beetle Program, and the complementary BC Forest Science Program. Relevant information from other jurisdictions is sometimes included to augment those studies. Topics examined are: the impacts of beetle kill and salvage operations on habitat attributes; the impacts of beetle kill and salvage operations on attendant processes, such as snag fall rates, light interception, and snow accumulation; and the wildlife response to large-scale beetle outbreaks and management strategies. For each of these three topics, we provide a summary of: research to date; pertinent findings to date; and gaps in research.

Historical Environmental Variation in Conservation and Natural Resource Management
Historical Environmental Variation in Conservation and Natural Resource Management

Author: John A. Wiens

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-09-04

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 1444337939

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In North America, concepts of Historical Range of Variability are being employed in land-management planning for properties of private organizations and multiple government agencies. The National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and The Nature Conservancy all include elements of historical ecology in their planning processes. Similar approaches are part of land management and conservation in Europe and Australia. Each of these user groups must struggle with the added complication of rapid climate change, rapid land-use change, and technical issues in order to employ historical ecology effectively. Historical Environmental Variation in Conservation and Natural Resource Management explores the utility of historical ecology in a management and conservation context and the development of concepts related to understanding future ranges of variability. It provides guidance and insights to all those entrusted with managing and conserving natural resources: land-use planners, ecologists, fire scientists, natural resource policy makers, conservation biologists, refuge and preserve managers, and field practitioners. The book will be particularly timely as science-based management is once again emphasized in United States federal land management and as an understanding of the potential effects of climate change becomes more widespread among resource managers. Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/wiens/historicalenvironmentalvariation.

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

Author: Carolyn B. Meyer

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 108

ISBN-13:

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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 different 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.

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

Author: Gregory K. Dillon

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 85

ISBN-13:

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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 Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern 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 different 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 lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, and Engelmann spruce at high elevations, and by ponderosa pine and aspen at lower elevations. We defined the HRV reference period for the MBNF as approximately 1600 to 1860.