Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences

Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences PDF Author: David B. Lindenmayer
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1610911466
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
Salvage logging—removing trees from a forested area in the wake of a catastrophic event such as a wildfire or hurricane—is highly controversial. Policymakers and those with an economic interest in harvesting trees typically argue that damaged areas should be logged so as to avoid “wasting” resources, while many forest ecologists contend that removing trees following a disturbance is harmful to a variety of forest species and can interfere with the natural process of ecosystem recovery. Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences brings together three leading experts on forest ecology to explore a wide range of issues surrounding the practice of salvage logging. They gather and synthesize the latest research and information about its economic and ecological costs and benefits, and consider the impacts of salvage logging on ecosystem processes and biodiversity. The book examines • what salvage logging is and why it is controversial • natural and human disturbance regimes in forested ecosystems • differences between salvage harvesting and traditional timber harvesting • scientifically documented ecological impacts of salvage operations • the importance of land management objectives in determining appropriate post-disturbance interventions Brief case studies from around the world highlight a variety of projects, including operations that have followed wildfires, storms, volcanic eruptions, and insect infestations. In the final chapter, the authors discuss policy management implications and offer prescriptions for mitigating the impacts of future salvage harvesting efforts. Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences is a “must-read” volume for policymakers, students, academics, practitioners, and professionals involved in all aspects of forest management, natural resource planning, and forest conservation.

Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences

Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences PDF Author: David B. Lindenmayer
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1610911466
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

Get Book Here

Book Description
Salvage logging—removing trees from a forested area in the wake of a catastrophic event such as a wildfire or hurricane—is highly controversial. Policymakers and those with an economic interest in harvesting trees typically argue that damaged areas should be logged so as to avoid “wasting” resources, while many forest ecologists contend that removing trees following a disturbance is harmful to a variety of forest species and can interfere with the natural process of ecosystem recovery. Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences brings together three leading experts on forest ecology to explore a wide range of issues surrounding the practice of salvage logging. They gather and synthesize the latest research and information about its economic and ecological costs and benefits, and consider the impacts of salvage logging on ecosystem processes and biodiversity. The book examines • what salvage logging is and why it is controversial • natural and human disturbance regimes in forested ecosystems • differences between salvage harvesting and traditional timber harvesting • scientifically documented ecological impacts of salvage operations • the importance of land management objectives in determining appropriate post-disturbance interventions Brief case studies from around the world highlight a variety of projects, including operations that have followed wildfires, storms, volcanic eruptions, and insect infestations. In the final chapter, the authors discuss policy management implications and offer prescriptions for mitigating the impacts of future salvage harvesting efforts. Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences is a “must-read” volume for policymakers, students, academics, practitioners, and professionals involved in all aspects of forest management, natural resource planning, and forest conservation.

Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences

Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences PDF Author: David B. Lindenmayer
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 9781597264020
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Salvage logging—removing trees from a forested area in the wake of a catastrophic event such as a wildfire or hurricane—is highly controversial. Policymakers and those with an economic interest in harvesting trees typically argue that damaged areas should be logged so as to avoid “wasting” resources, while many forest ecologists contend that removing trees following a disturbance is harmful to a variety of forest species and can interfere with the natural process of ecosystem recovery. Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences brings together three leading experts on forest ecology to explore a wide range of issues surrounding the practice of salvage logging. They gather and synthesize the latest research and information about its economic and ecological costs and benefits, and consider the impacts of salvage logging on ecosystem processes and biodiversity. The book examines • what salvage logging is and why it is controversial • natural and human disturbance regimes in forested ecosystems • differences between salvage harvesting and traditional timber harvesting • scientifically documented ecological impacts of salvage operations • the importance of land management objectives in determining appropriate post-disturbance interventions Brief case studies from around the world highlight a variety of projects, including operations that have followed wildfires, storms, volcanic eruptions, and insect infestations. In the final chapter, the authors discuss policy management implications and offer prescriptions for mitigating the impacts of future salvage harvesting efforts. Salvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences is a “must-read” volume for policymakers, students, academics, practitioners, and professionals involved in all aspects of forest management, natural resource planning, and forest conservation.

Ecological Effects of Post-wildfire Management Activities (salvage-logging and Grass-seeding) on Vegetation Composition, Diversity, Biomass, and Growth and Survival of Pinus Ponderosa and Purshia Tridentata

Ecological Effects of Post-wildfire Management Activities (salvage-logging and Grass-seeding) on Vegetation Composition, Diversity, Biomass, and Growth and Survival of Pinus Ponderosa and Purshia Tridentata PDF Author: Timothy Ogden Sexton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Salvage-logging and artificial seeding of grass following wildfire are common practices in coniferous forests of the western United States, yet few studies have quantified the ecological effects of these post-fire activities. The effects of post-wildfire salvage-logging and grass-seeding on vegetation composition, aboveground biomass, and growth and survival of Pinus ponderosa and Purshia tridentata were quantified on the area burned by the 1992 Lone Pine Fire, Winema National Forest in the Klamath Basin, Oregon. Prior to the fire, the area was dominated by uneven-aged stands of Pinus ponderosa with Purshia tridentata and Stipa occidentalis in the understory. The fire was a stand-replacement disturbance, where the majority of trees, the herbaceous component, and crowns of understory shrubs were killed. Salvage logging resulted in a significant decrease in understory biomass, species richness, species diversity, and growth and survival of P. ponderosa and P. tridentata. In addition plant community composition was shifted from native forb dominance to grass dominance. In 1993, the understory biomass of salvage-logged sites was 38% of the aboveground biomass produced on nonsalvaged sites (322 kg ha^-1 vs 843 kg ha^-1). In 1994, salvage-logged sites produced only 27% of the biomass produced on nonsalvaged sites (402 kg ha^-1 vs 1468 kg ha^-1). Salvage-logging reduced species richness, species diversity, and altered species composition. The first and second years following logging, species richness was reduced by 13% (20 versus 23), and 30% (15 versus 22), respectively. In 1993 and 1994, native forb frequency on nonsalvaged sites was 80% and 77% respectively, while salvage-logged sites recorded 68% and 31% respectively. Conversely, graminoid frequency was significantly higher on salvage-logged sites. In 1994, native graminoid frequency was 35% in nonsalvaged sites and> 61% on salvage-logged sites. During the first two years following salvage-logging, mean height growth of naturally-regenerated Pinus ponderosa was significantly lower on salvaged sites (9.4 versus 7.8 cm yr^-1) as was density of natural Purshia tridentata seedlings (313 versus 530 seedlings ha^-1). Survival in salvage-logged treatments was 22% lower for planted Purshia tridentata seedlings (57% versus 45%). Height growth in salvage-logged treatments was 16% lower for planted Pinus ponderosa (4.4 versus 3.7 cm). Total aboveground biomass on nonsalvaged burned sites (controls) averaged 843 kg ha^-1 in 1993, and 1473 kg ha^-1 in 1994. In 1993, the first year following the fire, sites seeded to Secale cereale produced = 1995 kg ha^-1 total aboveground biomass; most of the biomass was S. cereale. Those seeded sites produced 89% less native forb biomass than controls (82 versus 780 kg ha^-1), and = 80% less native forb biomass than areas seeded to the native grasses Sitanion hystrix and Festuca idahoensis. In 1994, the second post-fire year, biomass on sites seeded to S. cereale was>1653 kg ha^-1, dominated by S. cereale. In 1994, no differences in total aboveground biomass were detected between S. cereale, F idahoensis, S. hystrix, and the Control, indicating that the erosion reducing benefits of grass-seeding did not last for more than one year. Treatments seeded with S. cereale produced 58% less native forb biomass than controls (350 versus 825 kg ha^-1). Seeding S. cereale also reduced by 69% the biomass ofStipa occidentalis, the most common native grass in the area (311 kg ha^-1 on control sites versus 96 kg ha^-1 on S. cereale sites). In 1993 and 1994, fewer species were recorded on S. cereale sites than on all other sites. Grass-seeded sites exhibited no significant differences in frequency of noxious weeds in either of the two years following wildfire and seeding, rejecting the hypothesis that grass-seeding reduces noxious weeds. However, native graminoid frequency was reduced on all grass-seeded treatments. There were no significant differences between grass-seeding treatments in height and density of natural P. ponderosa and P. tridentata seedlings or growth and survival of planted P. ponderosa and P. tridentata seedlings. While salvage-logging provides an economic benefit to local communities through the extraction of commercially valuable timber, there is an ecological cost. Reduction in ecosystem structure, production, species richness, diversity and alterations in species composition are important ecological consequences of salvage logging. In addition, this study demonstrates that salvage-logging retards the re-establishment and early growth of Pinus ponderosa and Purshia tridentata, two important wildfire restoration priorities. Grass-seeding also results in significant ecological changes. Alterations in ecosystem production, species richness, diversity and species composition are important ecological consequences of grass-seeding. Managers should consider these long-term influences on ecosystem composition and structure when faced with decisions concerning post-fire rehabilitation and management.

River Ecology and Management

River Ecology and Management PDF Author: Robert Naiman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780387952468
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 734

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Book Description
As the vast expanses of natural forests and the great populations of salmonids are harvested to support a rapidly expanding human population, the need to understand streams as ecological systems and to manage them effectively becomes increasingly urgent. The unfortunate legacy of such natural resource exploitation is well documented. For several decades the Pacific coastal ecoregion of North America has served as a natural laboratory for scientific and managerial advancements in stream ecology, and much has been learned about how to better integrate ecological processes and characteristics with a human-dominated environment. These in sightful but hard-learned ecological and social lessons are the subject of this book. Integrating land and rivers as interactive components of ecosystems and watersheds has provided the ecological sciences with impor tant theoretical foundations. Even though scientific disciplines have begun to integrate land-based processes with streams and rivers, the institutions and processes charged with managing these systems have not done so successfully. As a result, many of the watersheds of the Pacific coastal ecoregion no longer support natural settings for environmental processes or the valuable natural resources those processes create. An important role for scientists, educators, and decision makers is to make the integration between ecology and con sumptive uses more widely understood, as well as useful for effective management.

Effects of Salvage Logging on Biodiversity - Ecological Evidence for Conservation-oriented Management of Natural Disturbances

Effects of Salvage Logging on Biodiversity - Ecological Evidence for Conservation-oriented Management of Natural Disturbances PDF Author: Simon Otto Thorn
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Salvage Logging in the National Forests

Salvage Logging in the National Forests PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Logging
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description


Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change

Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change PDF Author: David B. Lindenmayer
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 159726606X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
Habitat loss and degradation that comes as a result of human activity is the single biggest threat to biodiversity in the world today. Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change is a groundbreaking work that brings together a wealth of information from a wide range of sources to define the ecological problems caused by landscape change and to highlight the relationships among landscape change, habitat fragmentation, and biodiversity conservation. The book: synthesizes a large body of information from the scientific literature considers key theoretical principles for examining and predicting effects examines the range of effects that can arise explores ways of mitigating impacts reviews approaches to studying the problem discusses knowledge gaps and future areas for research and management Habitat Fragmentation and Landscape Change offers a unique mix of theoretical and practical information, outlining general principles and approaches and illustrating those principles with case studies from around the world. It represents a definitive overview and synthesis on the full range of topics that fall under the widely used but often vaguely defined term "habitat fragmentation."

Towards Forest Sustainability

Towards Forest Sustainability PDF Author: David Lindenmayer
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 0643100059
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Towards Forest Sustainability is a collection of practical essays by some of the world’s leading forest ecologists and managers from the United States of America, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. The authors describe the changes that have taken place in forest management – highlighting what worked, what didn’t, and the lessons that have been learned. This unique set of essays documents the drivers of the change in the logging industry and the resulting outcomes. It provides real-world insights from an international perspective into government policy, industry concerns, and conservation and biodiversity issues.

Mountain Ash

Mountain Ash PDF Author: David Lindenmayer
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 1486304990
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
Mountain Ash draws together exciting new findings on the effects of fire and on post-fire ecological dynamics following the 2009 wildfires in the Mountain Ash forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria. The book integrates data on forests, carbon, fire dynamics and other factors, building on 6 years of high-quality, multi-faceted research coupled with 25 years of pre-fire insights. Topics include: the unexpected effects of fires of varying severity on populations of large old trees and their implications for the dynamics of forest ecosystems; relationships between forest structure, condition and age and their impacts on fire severity; relationships between logging and fire severity; the unexpectedly low level of carbon stock losses from burned forests, including those burned at very high severity; impacts of fire at the site and landscape levels on arboreal marsupials; persistence of small mammals and birds on burned sites, including areas subject to high-severity fire, and its implications for understanding how species in this group exhibit post-fire recovery patterns. With spectacular images of the post-fire environment, Mountain Ash will be an important reference for scientists and students with interests in biodiversity, forests and fire.

Smokescreen

Smokescreen PDF Author: Chad T. Hanson
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813181054
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
Smokescreen cuts through years of misunderstanding and misdirection to make an impassioned, evidence-based argument for a new era of forest management for the sake of the planet and the human race. Natural fires are as essential as sun and rain in fire-adapted forests, but as humans encroach on wild spaces, fear, arrogance, and greed have shaped the way that people view these regenerative events and given rise to misinformation that threatens whole ecosystems as well as humanity's chances of overcoming the climate crisis. Scientist and activist Chad T. Hanson explains how natural alarm over wildfire has been marshaled to advance corporate and political agendas, notably those of the logging industry. He also shows that, in stark contrast to the fear-driven narrative around these events, contemporary research has demonstrated that forests in the United States, North America, and around the world have a significant deficit of fire. Forest fires, including the largest ones, can create extraordinarily important and rich wildlife habitats as long as they are not subjected to postfire logging. Smokescreen confronts the devastating cost of current policies and practices head-on and ultimately offers a hopeful vision and practical suggestions for the future—one in which both communities and the climate are protected and fires are understood as a natural and necessary force.