Author: Chris C. Maguire

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13:

The College of Forestry Integrated Research Project (CFIRP) is an on-going experiment in the eastern Coast Range foothills of western Oregon. Started in 1989, a team of scientists, resource managers, and students at Oregon State University designed and implemented silvicultural alternatives to clearcutting. These silvicultural practices aimed to create and retain features of mature and old-growth Douglas- fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests while also producing timber. Fine-, moderate-, and large-scale natural disturbance patterns served as the basis for prescriptions. The study includes replicates of three silvicultural treatments (n = 27 stands) wherein 33% to 95% of the timber volume was removed, three non-replicated demonstration treatments wherein 33% of timber volume was removed in variable sized and shaped patches, and untreated controls (n = 3 stands). Additionally, clumped or randomly distributed snags were created from green trees in each stand. In this book, CFIRP scientists describe harvest challenges and economics; short-term (10-yr) responses of vegetation, wildlife, and humans to silvicultural treatments; and additional studies conducted using CFIRP study sites. A synopsis of past and present research and management directions also is included. Work continues on CFIRP today, and data collected from previous studies are available to other researchers. By comparing characteristics of forests managed under different silvicultural systems, we will be better able to assess their potential economic, social, and ecological contributions to managed forest landscapes.