FOREST REGIONS OF NORTH AMERICA

I N T R O D U C T I O N TO

Forest Ecosystem
Science and Management
THIRD EDITION

RAYMOND A. YOUNG
R O N A L D L. GIESE
Editors
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Young, Raymond A. and Giese, Ronald L., eds.

Introduction to Forest Ecosystem Science and Management, Third Edition
ISBN 0-471-33145-7

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 Authors and
Affiliations

Kari E. Bisbee Joseph Buongiorno

Department of Forest Ecology and Management Department of Forest Ecology and Management
University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin
Paul V. Bolstad J. Lin Compton
Department of Forest Management Department of Forest Ecology and Management
University of Minnesota University of Wisconsin-Madison
St. Paul, Minnesota Madison, Wisconsin

Mark S. Boyce Alan R. Ek

Department of Biological Sciences Department of Forest Management
University of Alberta University of Minnesota
Edmonton, Alberta St. Paul, Minnesota
Canada Ronald L. Giese
Diana M. Burton Department of Forest Ecology and Management
Departments of Forest Science University of Wisconsin-Madison
and Agricultural Economics Madison, Wisconsin
Texas A & M University Daniel W. Gilmore
College Station, Texas North Central Research and Outreach Center
John C. Bliss Department of Forest Resources
College of Forestry University of Minnesota
Oregon State University Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Corvallis, Oregon Stith T. Gower
James G. Bockheim Department of Forest Ecology and Management
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Departments of Soil Science and
Madison, Wisconsin
Forest Ecology and Management
University of Wisconsin-Madison Gene Grey
Madison, Wisconsin 106 Golf Villa Dr.
Thomas M. Bonnicksen Moneta, Virginia
Department of Forest Science James M. Guldin
Texas A & M University Southern Research Station
College Station, Texas U.S.D.A. Forest Service
Hot Springs, Arkansas
John W. Bruce
Legal Department Richard W. Guldin
The World Bank U.S.D.A. Forest Service
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C.

iii
iv Authors and Affiliations

Eric L. Kruger Kenneth F. Raffa

Department of Forest Ecology and Management Departments of Entomology and
University of Wisconsin—Madison Forest Ecology and Management
Madison, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Joe J. Landsberg
CSIRO Institute of Natural Resources Ronald Raunikar
and Environment Department of Forest Ecology and Management
Canberra, Australia University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Wayne C. Leininger
Department of Range Science Robert O. Ray
Colorado State University College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Fort Collins, Colorado University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Craig G. Lorimer
Robert M. Shaffer
Department of Forest Ecology and Management
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources
Madison, Wisconsin Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia
D. Scott Mackay
Glen R. Stanosz
Department of Forest Ecology and Management and
Departments of Plant Pathology and
Institute for Environmental Studies
Forest Ecology and Management
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
David J. Mladenoff
John D. Stednick
Department of Forest Ecology and Management Department of Range Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison Colorado State University
Madison, Wisconsin Fort Collins, Colorado
A. Jeff Martin Thomas A. Walbridge, Jr.
Department of Forest Ecology and Management School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources
University of Wisconsin-Madison Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Madison, Wisconsin Blacksburg, Virginia
George L. Martin Eugene M. Wengert
Department of Forest Ecology and Management Department of Forest Ecology and Management
University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin
Volker C. Radeloff Raymond A. Young
Department of Forest Ecology and Management Department of Forest Ecology and Management
University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin
 Preface

The science of forestry is a complex amalgamation important aspects of forestry employment oppor-
of the biological, physical, managerial, social, and tunities are discussed in Chapter 2.
political sciences. Few, if any, forestry profession- Part 2, Forest Biology and Ecology, contains
als are able to treat all aspects of forest science with information on factors affecting individual tree
complete authority. An edited book on forestry is growth through growth of the forest stand. The first
thus the best method for conveying the science of chapter in the section (Chapter 3) describes the
forestry in one text. This third edition, formerly titled location and composition of forests around the
Introduction to Forest Science, reflects the many world as biomes. Biotic and abiotic influences on
changes and approaches to forestry that have forest growth are discussed in detail in this section,
occurred in the field of forestry during the past 12 and many agents affecting the complex forest
years, and we therefore decided, with reviewer ecosystem are analyzed in separate chapters on tree
input, to title this new edition Introduction to For- ecophysiology, soils, insects, and diseases. A new
est Ecosystem Science and Management. The book chapter on Landscape Ecology (Chapter 7) has been
is intended to provide beginning and intermediate added to this third edition to emphasize the increas-
students with a comprehensive introduction to the ing importance of this subject area.
important aspects of the field of forestry. It repre- The management of the forest ecosystem for
sents a collective effort by a number of authors to multiple uses is treated in Part 3, Forest Manage-
present a broad view of the field. The authors give ment—Multiple Uses. An overview of Forest Man-
general coverage of their specialized fields within agement and Stewardship is given in Chapter 9 and
forestry and emphasize how decisions made by for- the significant role of private nonindustrial forests
est managers affect the forest ecosystem. References (NIPFs) is given special treatment in Chapter 10,
to other works that explore certain aspects of for- because these forests constitute about 60 percent
est ecosystem science and management are pro- of all commercial forests. This is followed by two
vided for the student interested in greater depth. chapters emphasizing measurement and monitor-
It seems that there are as many approaches to ing of the forest through land-based and satellite
the organization of a book in forestry as there are technology. Biological aspects of management are
forestry professionals. In this third edition of the given thorough treatment in Chapter 13, Silvicul-
book, we attempt to maintain a flow from the basic ture and Ecosystem Management. Separate chap-
cell and individual trees to the forest stand, followed ters are devoted to management of forest wildlife,
by management of the forest stand, and then to rangeland, watersheds, recreation, and fires in the
acquisition of goods and services from the forest. forest. After a description of timber harvesting in
In this new edition, we have added a new section, Chapter 19, the last two chapters in the Manage-
Forests and Society, to reflect the increasing role ment section deal with the conversion of forests to
of human influences in forestry. usable commodities and their valuation. In Chap-
The book is arranged in four major parts. In the ter 20, the structure and properties of wood are
two chapters in the Introduction (Part 1), the devel- described, and the methods for conversion to lum-
ber, reconstituted products such as particleboard,
opment of American forest policy and the forestry
paper, chemicals, and energy are outlined. The eco-
profession are described. Important events that have
nomics and management of the forest for wood and
shaped forest policy, such as the environmental
amenity values are analyzed in Chapter 21. An
movement, are treated in the first chapter and

v
vi Preface

attempt is made in this chapter to assign monetary of Introduction to Forest Ecosystem Science and
values to the amenities ascribed by humans to the Management provides many new perspectives
forest. This chapter puts into perspective the rela- tuned to the changing values of the new millen-
tive value of the multiple uses we make of forests. nium, especially in terms of human-forest interac-
As already mentioned, the last section, Part 4, tions.
is devoted to Forests and Society. The increased Also new to this third edition is the inclusion of
interaction of humans with the forest, and the chapter sidebars and a full-color insert. Many of the
expectation of further intense interactions, both in chapters contain sidebars with detailed, specialized
urban and rural settings, has mandated specialized information pertinent to the discussion in the text.
treatment of this subject matter. The unique situa- The sidebars also provide additional information for
tion of Urban Forests is described in Chapter 22. the interested reader. The full-color insert has been
Social Forestry is described in detail in Chapter 23 included in this third edition to better illustrate the
through a discussion of community-based man- features of some of the more complicated figures
agement of natural resources. Both regional and in the book.
global emphasis are given in this important new Students are encouraged to use the glossary for
chapter for the third edition of Introduction to For- technical words that are unfamiliar. Also, the appen-
est Ecosystem Science and Management. dixes include taxonomy of forest trees as well as
In reality, the field of forestry cannot be sepa- common and scientific names for trees and animals
rated into these four distinct sections, because of mentioned in the text.
the interdependence of the many factors affecting As with the previous editions, the third edition
the forest. Therefore, the reader is encouraged to of Introduction to Forest Ecosystem Science and
refer to other sections or chapters where appro- Management was designed to give students a broad
priate. Cross-references in the text designate when overview of the field of forestry but with sufficient
a specific subject is given more detailed treatment detail that they will be able to assess their specific
in another chapter. A glossary is also included to role as practicing forestry professionals. The book
aid readers who are not familiar with the special- is intended to be the most advanced introductory
ized terminology used in forestry. text available. Indeed, current forestry profession-
As noted, a considerable number of changes als would find the text a convenient method for
have been incorporated into this third edition of updating their knowledge of forest science. Cer-
Introduction to Forest Ecosystem Science and tainly the book conveys the broad scope of forestry
Management in response to changing societal needs and the great challenges that lie ahead.
and constructive criticism from students, colleagues,
and reviewers. Fourteen of the 23 chapters, or over
60 percent of the book, have been totally rewrit- Raymond A. Young
ten by new authors and the other chapters have Ronald L. Giese
been extensively revised. Thus, this third edition November, 2002
 Contents

Concluding Statement 50
Part 1 Introduction 1 References 51

1. Forest Policy Development in

the United States 5 Part 2 Forest Biology
T H O M A S M . B O N N I C K S E N AND
DIANA M. BURTON and Ecology 53

Profile of Forest Policy Development 6 3. Forest Biomes of the World 57

Native Americans and Forests (to 1607) 6 S T I T H T . G O W E R , J O E J . L A N D S B E R G , AND
Colonial Settlers and Forests (1607-1783) 6 KARI E. BISBEE
Building and Defending the Republic
(1783-1830) 8 Factors Affecting Vegetation
The Erosion of a Myth (1830-1891) 10 Distribution 58
Crystallizing a Philosophy (1891-1911) 13 Forest Biomes 60
Organization, Action, and Conflict Vegetation Classification Systems 60
(1911-1952) 18 Boreal Forests 61
Adjusting to Complexity (1952-Present) 24 Temperate Broad-Leaved Deciduous
Concluding Statement 36 Forests 65
References 36 Temperate Needle-Leaved Evergreen
Forests 66
Temperate Mixed Forests 67
2. Forestry: The Profession Temperate Broad-Leaved Evergreen
and Career Opportunities 38 Forests 68
RONALD L. GIESE Tropical Broad-Leaved Evergreen
Forests 69
Paths to the Profession 39 Tropical Broad-Leaved Deciduous
Career Decisions 39 Forests 70
Forestry Curricula 41 Global Change and Forests 71
Career Opportunities 43 Habitat Protection and Land Use
Sources of Employment 43 Change 72
Public Forestry in Federal Agencies 43 Climate Change 72
Public Forestry in State Settings 44 Concluding Statement 73
Forestry in Private Industry 45 References 73
International Forestry 46
Research and Teaching 47 4. Forest Ecophysiology 75
Consulting Forestry 47 ERIC L. KRUGER
Other Areas 48
Employment 48 Coupling Tree Structure and Function 76
Expectations of Employers 48 Leaves—The Tree's Solar Panels 76
Seeking Employment 49
vii
viii Contents

Woody Stem—The Distinctive Feature Timber Harvesting and Long-Term Soil

of Trees 78 Productivity 110
Roots—Anchorage and Access to Soil Nutrient Budgets and Forest
Resources 81 Management 111
Root Symbioses—Enhancing Nutrient Concluding Statement 112
Acquisition 82 References 112
Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds 83
Coping with Environmental Stress 85 6. Forest Ecosystem Ecology 114
Effect of Seasonal Variation in Climate 85
STITH T. GOWER
Effect of Chronic Resource Shortages 87
Effect of Variation in Resource Forest Tree Species Distribution 115
Availability 88 Tolerance and Competition 115
Global Issues in Forest Ecophysiology 90 Life History Patterns 116
Effect of Anticipated Global Warming 90 The Carbon Cycle a n d Forest Growth 118
Effect of Changes in Atmospheric The Carbon Cycle 118
Chemistry 92 Environmental Controls on Leaf
Potential Impacts of Atmospheric Photosynthesis 119
Pollution 95 Environmental Constraints on Canopy
Concluding Statement—Future Directions in Structure and Forest Growth 120
Forest Ecophysiology 96 The Nutrient Cycle 122
References 97 Nutrient Distribution 123
Additional Reading 97 Nutrient Inputs 123
Nutrient Losses 125
5. Forest Soils 98 Nutrient Transfers Within Forest
JAMES G. BOCKHEIM Ecosystems 126
Forest Succession 127
Concept of Forest Soil 98 Effects of Timber Harvesting on Forest
Properties of Forest Soils 99 Ecosystems 128
Soil Morphology 99 Concluding Statement 130
Physical Soil Properties 100 References 130
Organic Matter 102
Soil Water 102 7. Landscape Ecology 132
Soil Organisms 103 VOLKER C. RADELOFF AND
Chemical Soil Properties 104 DAVID J. MLADENOFF
Nutrient Distribution and Cycling in Forest
Ecosystems 105 Introduction 132
Forest Soils and Tree Nutrition 108 Definition and History 132
Soil-Site Factors Related to Tree Growth 108 Landscape Patterns and H o w They Are
Diagnosis and Correction of Nutrient Generated 133
Deficiencies 108 Effects of Topography, Surface Geology, and
Soil Survey and Classification 109 Geomorphological Processes on
Forest Soils and Environmental Landscape Patterns 133
Quality 110 Effects of Natural Disturbance Processes on
Forest Health, Sustainability, and Ecosystem Landscape Patterns 134
Management 110 Effects of Animals on Landscape
Patterns 135
Contents ix

Effects of Human Activities on Landscape Concluding Statement 173

Patterns 136 References 174
H o w Landscape Patterns Affect Forest
Ecosystems 138
Effects of Individual Patch Size and
Shape 139
Part 3 Forest
Effects of Landscape Patterns 140 Management—
Interactions Between Landscape Patterns and Multiple Uses 177
Processes 141
Methods in Landscape Ecology 142
Data Collection and Analysis 143 9. Forest Management and
Landscape Indexes 144 Stewardship 179
Simulation Models 144
J A M E S M . G U L D I N AND R I C H A R D W . G U L D I N
Concluding Statement—Management
Rules 145 Forest Management 181
References 146 Multiple Uses 182
Interactions Among Competing Uses 186
8. Forest Trees: Disease and Sustainability and Ecosystem
Insect Interactions 147 Management 186
G L E N R. S T A N O S Z , K E N N E T H F. R A F F A , AND
Forest Owners and Ownership 191
RONALD L. GIESE Land Ownership and Distribution 192
Volume, Productivity, Growth, Mortality, and
Introduction 148 Removals 193
Origins and Roles of Microorganisms and Stewardship of Public Lands 196
Insects in Forests 148 Forest Service 197
Losses Caused by Forest Tree Diseases and National Park Service 198
Insects 148 Bureau of Land Management 199
Diseases and Insects Affecting Forest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 200
Trees 150 Natural Resources Conservation Service 201
The Causes of Forest Tree Diseases 150 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 201
Diseases Caused by Fungi 151 State Agencies and Other Organizations 202
Other Pathogens That Cause Diseases of Stewardship of Private Lands 202
Trees 158 Forest Industry 202
Insects That Damage Forest Trees 160 Nonindustrial Corporate Holdings 204
Tree, Pathogen, a n d Insect Private Conservation Groups 204
Interactions 165 Stewardship Across Ownerships 206
Vector-Pathogen Relationships 166 Cooperative Forestry Programs 207
Insect-Pathogen Complexes 166 Forest Protection Programs 208
Decline Diseases 168 Research and Development Programs 208
Tree Disease and Insect Management 169 Advocacy Programs 210
Influences on Disease and Insect Forestry at the National Level 211
Occurrence and Development 170 The Federal Government Role 212
Forest Pest Management Principles and The Public Interest 214
Practices 171 International Forestry 215
Integrated Pest Management 172 The Role of Forestry Research 217
x Contents

Concluding Statement 218 Forest Type Mapping and Area

References 219 Measurement 248
Measurement of Forest Resources with a
Focus on Timber 249
10. Nonindustrial Private Forests 221
Standing Trees 249
JOHN C. BLISS AND A. JEFF MARTIN
Forest Sampling 252
Forest Growth and Yield 260
Introduction 221 Measurement of Nontimber Resources 262
Significance of NIPFs 222 Concluding Statement—Future of
Dynamics Underlying NIPF Issues 223 Measurement and Monitoring 264
The Forest Resource 223 References 265
Size and Distribution 223
Forest Productivity, Growth, and
Removal 224 12. Remote Sensing and
The Human Resource 226 Geographical Information
Who Are the NIPF Owners? 226 Systems for Natural
Why Do They Own Forest Land? 227
Resource Management 266
NIPF Policies and Programs 227
PAUL V. BOLSTAD
Historical Overview 227
Contemporary Policies and Programs 232
Basic Concepts in GIS 267
Emerging Trends and Issues 236
Data Entry—Digitizing 269
Rights and Responsibilities of NIPF
Global Positioning System 270
Owners 238
Spatial Analysis 271
Nonregulatory Mechanisms for Environmental
Database Operations 272
Protection 238
Geographic Operations 272
Changing Forest Ownership Patterns 238
Remote Sensing 274
Changing Markets 238
Radiant Energy and Spectral Reflectance
Emerging Forestry Paradigms 239
Patterns 274
Concluding Statement 239
Aerial Photography 274
References 240
Photo Coverage, Scale, and Geometry 275
Photogrammetry and Photo
11. Measuring and Monitoring Measurements 277
Forest Resources 241 Photointerpretation 278
ALAN R. EK, GEORGE L. MARTIN, AND Vegetation Types 278
DANIEL W. GILMORE Regeneration, Health, and Damage
Assessment 279
Measurements of Primary Forest Filmless Imaging 280
Products 242 Principles of Imaging Scanners 280
Scaling 242 Remote Sensing Systems 281
Grading 245 Landsat 281
Land Surveying and Mapping 245 SPOT 282
Distance 245 Radarsat 283
Direction 246 Other Remote Sensing Systems 283
Land Surveys 246 Concluding Statement 284
References 284
Contents xi

13. Silviculture and 14. Forest-Wildlife Management 313

Ecosystem Management 285 MARK S. BOYCE
CRAIG G. LORIMER
Wildlife Values 313
Evolution of Silvicultural Practice 286 Ecological Interactions 314
European Origins 286 Wildlife as Components of Forest
Silvicultural Practice in North America: Ecosystems 315
From Tree Farming to Ecosystem Forest Habitats 315
Management 286 Wildlife Effects on Forests 319
Natural Disturbance Patterns: A Effects of Forest Management on
Blueprint for Ecosystem Wildlife 321
Management 288 Fire Suppression 321
Frequent High-intensity Disturbance 288 Prescribed Burning 321
Diffuse Small-scale Disturbance 289 Timber Harvest 322
Frequent Low-intensity Fire 289 Forest Fragmentation 322
Growth a n d Development of Forest Pesticides and Herbicides 322
Stands 290 Wildlife Considerations in Ecosystem
Even-aged Stands 290 Management 323
Uneven-aged Stands 292 Managing for Biodiversity 323
Pure Versus Mixed Stands 293 Ecosystem Structure and Function 323
Treatments to Improve Existing Population Control 325
Stands 293 Concluding Statement 326
Release Treatments 294 References 326
Improvement Cuts 294
Thinnings 294
15. Rangeland Management 328
Fertilization 296
WAYNE C. LEININGER AND JOHN D. STEDNICK
Pruning 296
Salvage Cuts 296
Rangeland Grazing Management 328
Regeneration of Forest Stands 296
Forested Rangelands 329
The Role of Site Preparation 297
Nonforested Rangelands 331
Natural Regeneration 297
Rangeland Water Quality 333
Artificial Regeneration 299
Hydrologic Evaluation of Grazing
Silvicultural Systems 301
Systems 334
Even-aged Methods 301
Concluding Statement 335
Two-aged Management 305
References 335
Uneven-aged Methods 305
Silvicultural Practices and Ecosystem
Integrity 307 16. Watershed Management:
Maintaining Long-term Site Productivity 308 A Regional to Global
Maintaining Biological Diversity 310
Perspective 337
Concluding Statement: Public Forests of
D. SCOTT MACKAY
the Future 311
References 312
The Watershed 337
The Global Hydrologic Cycle 340
xii Contents

Global Distribution of Terrestrial Water Technology 375

and Life 342 Section Summary 376
Precipitation 342 User Conflict 376
Evaporation and Transpiration 343 Social Succession 377
Soil Water 346 The Recreational Opportunity
Ground Water 347 Spectrum (ROS) 378
Runoff 347 Management by Design 378
Streamflow 348 Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) 381
Integrated View of the Watershed a n d Its Management by Objectives 381
Management 350 Some Notes on Management Planning 382
Land Use 350 Fees as a Recreation Management
Cumulative Watershed Analysis 352 Tool 383
International Watershed Management: The Concluding Statement 386
Case of the Great Lakes Basin 355 References 387
New Technologies for Integrated Watershed
Management 359 18. Behavior and Management
Concluding Statement 360
References 360
of Forest Fires 389
CRAIG G. LORIMER
Additional Reading 361

Natural Fire Regimes 390

17. Managing Recreation The Natural Role of Fire 390
Behavior 362 Influence on the Landscape 391
ROBERT O. RAY Human Influence a n d Fire Policy 391
Fire Behavior 393
Perceptions of Forest Use 363 Fuel Conditions and Fire Types 393
Some Background on Management of Weather Conditions 395
Recreation 364 Topography 396
Forest-Based Recreation Erratic Behavior 397
Management 366 Prediction of Fire Behavior 397
What Is This Recreation Stuff Fire Prevention 400
Anyway? 368 Unhealthy Forests and Wildfire Risk 401
Recreation Is Personal 368 The Urban-Wildland Interface 402
Recreation Can Be Seen as an Activity Free of Fire Control 402
Obligations 369 Detection 403
Recreation Is Multifaceted 369 Suppression of Wildfires 403
Recreation Is a Multiphasic Activity 370 Prescribed Burning 404
Pursuing Recreation 370 Environmental Impacts of Forest Fires 406
Education 372 Fire in the Wilderness 407
Age Structure 372 The Approach 408
Gender 373 Thirty Years of Natural Fire
Minority Populations 373 Management 409
Immigration 374 Concluding Statement—The Challenge of
Affluence 375 Fire Management 410
Urbanization 375 References 410
Contents xiii

19. Timber Harvesting 412 Biotechnology—Biopulping and

R O B E R T M . S H A F F E R AND
Biobleaching 443
THOMAS A. WALBRIDGE, J R . Paper and Paperboard 443
Stock Preparation 443
Timber Harvesting Operations 413 Papermaking 444
C o m m o n Timber Harvesting Systems 416 Finishing and Converting of Paper 444
Manual Chainsaw/Cable Skidder System 416 Recycled Paper 444
Feller-Buncher/Grapple Skidder System 417 Environmental Protection 445
Harvester/Forwarder (Cut-to-Length) Cellulose Derivatives 446
System 417 Fibers and Films 446
Cable Yarder (Skyline) System 418 Chemical Commodities 446
Helicopter Logging System 418 Conversions of Wood to Energy, Fuels, and
Logging Aesthetics 418 Chemicals 446
Logging in the 21st Century 419 Direct Combustion 447
Concluding Statement 420 Saccharification-Fermentation 450
References 420 Thermal Decomposition 451
Thermochemical Liquefaction 451
Wood Extractives 452
20. Wood Products 421 Extractives Soluble in Organic Solvents 453
E U G E N E M . W E N G E R T AND
Water-Soluble Extractives 454
RAYMOND A. YOUNG
Biotechnology Chemicals 455
Concluding Statement 455
Importance of Wood Products 422
References 455
Wood Properties 423
What Is Wood? 423
Moisture and Wood 426
2 1 . Economics and the
North American Wood Consumption 427
Conversion of Wood into Primary Wood
Management of Forests
Products 428 for Wood and
Raw Material Requirements 429 Amenity Values 457
Lumber Manufacturing 430 J O S E P H B U O N G I O R N O AND R O N A L D R A U N I K A R

Extending the Service Life of Wood

Products 431 Economics of Timber Production 458
Plywood Manufacturing 432 The Value of Forestland and Faustmann's
Particleboard Manufacturing 433 Formula 458
Oriented Strandboard (OSB) Economic Comparison of Alternative Land
Manufacturing 433 Uses 459
Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF) Dealing with Risk 460
Manufacturing 434 Economics of Forest Product Markets 461
Chemical Nature of Wood 434 Demand and Supply 461
Microscopic Structure of Wood and Wood Market Equilibrium and Price 462
Fibers 436 Forecasting and Policy Analysis 463
History of Pulp and Papermaking 438 Non-Timber Values and Benefit-Cost
Pulping of Wood 439 Analysis 463
Bleaching and Brightening of Pulp 442 Forest Externalities 464
xiv Contents

Benefit-Cost Analysis of Forestry Urban Wildlife 487

Projects 464 Urban Forest Valuation 487
Measuring Social Welfare 466 Information Management 487
Assessing the Value of Forest Amenities 466 Program Needs Analysis 488
Opportunity Cost of Non-timber Indirect Management 488
Objectives 468 Information Dissemination 488
Concluding Statement 468 Working with Those Who Service the Urban
References 469 Forest 489
Program Support 489
Volunteers 489
Technical Support 489
Part 4 Forests and Financing 490
Society 471 Concluding Statement 490
References 490
22. Urban Forestry 473
GENE GREY
23. Social Forestry: The
The Urban Forestry Environment 475
Community-Based
Physical Environment 475 Management of
Socioeconomic Environment 475 Natural Resources 491
Legal Environment 476 J. LIN COMPTON AND JOHN W. BRUCE
Political Environment 477
Management Structure 477 Global Experience in Social Forestry 492
The Office of City Forester 477 Issues and Challenges 499
Tree Boards 477 Participation and Local Initiative 499
Determining What the Urban Forest Community Control 499
Needs 477 Program Planning and Development 499
Surveys 478 Legal and Policy Environment 501
Inventories 479 Ecological Settings and Processes 501
Planning and Budgeting for Urban Watershed Management 501
Forestry 479 Land and Tree Tenure 501
Program Implementation 481 Land Use Patterns 501
Tree Establishment 481 Agroforestry 502
Location and Selection 481 Forest and Woodland Management 502
Planting 482 Wood Industry 503
Aftercare 483 Reforestation and Ecological Restoration 503
Evaluation 483 Biodiversity Conservation 503
Maintenance 483 Sociocultural Context 504
Hazard Management 483 Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) 504
Plant Health Management 484 Gender and Poverty 504
Tree Quality Improvement 484 Migration and Settlement 504
Removal a n d Utilization 486 Economic Change 505
Other Management Considerations 486 Interorganizational Collaboration 505
Trees and Construction 486 Conflict Resolution 505
Fire Protection 487 Extension 506
Contents xv

Measurement and Evaluation 506 III. Unit Conversion Table 515

Concluding Statement 506
References 507
IV. Taxonomy of Selected

Forest Trees 516

Appendixes
V. Glossary 517
I. Common and Scientific
Names of Tree Species Index 539
Mentioned in the Text 509

II. Common and Scientific

Names of Animal Species
Mentioned in the Text 513
 Acknowledgments

The chapter authors and we have received many Environmental Studies, University of Wiscon-
constructive comments on the chapters and the sin-Madison, for thoughtful discussion; Chapter 8,
book from both our colleagues and outside review- UW-CALS; Chapter 17, Research Assistants Amy
ers. We are grateful to the departmental secretaries, Sloane and Deborah Adams Ray for their critique,
Nancy Nehring, Marilyn McDole, and Sandy guidance and technical editing; Chapter 20, the late
Fowler for clerical assistance along the way. Our Professor John N. McGovern for contributions in
wives, Kathryn and Maureen, deserve special thanks the papermaking section; and Chapter 21, u'S.D.A.
for their love and assistance throughout the edit- Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station,
ing process. and the School of Natural Resources, University of
We are grateful to the following people for Wisconsin-Madison.
reviews or assistance with specific chapters. Chap-
ter 5, Robert F. Powers, U.S. Forest Service; Chap- R.A.Y.
ter 12, Dr. Thomas Lillesand, Institute for R.L.G.
 PART 1
Introduction
RAYMOND A. YOUNG

T hroughout history, forests have been impor-

tant to human beings. Forests provided shel-
ter and protection, and trees provided many
products such as food, medicine, fuel, and tools.
For example, the bark of the willow tree, when
chewed, was used as a painkiller in early Greece
and was the precursor of present-day aspirin; acorns
from oak trees were an important food base to the
American Indian. Wood served as the primary fuel
in the United States until about the turn of the nine-
teenth century; indeed, over one-half of the wood
now harvested in the world is used for heating fuel.
Today over 10,000 products are made from wood.
Forests provide many other benefits, such as
control of erosion and flooding and reduction of
wind erosion. In addition to many utilitarian uses,
the forest provides many aesthetic features to
which quantitative values are difficult to assign.
The amenities include forest wildlife such as song-
birds, fall coloration, wildflowers, and beautiful
landscapes (Figure Pl.l). Urbanized society has
placed increasing emphasis on preserving the nat-
ural qualities of the forest for recreational pur-
poses, escape, and solace. This has led to the
designation of "Wilderness Areas" intended to be
unaltered by humans.
Because of the many different viewpoints, con- F i g u r e P l . l A majestic, mature stand of western
flicts of interest have arisen over what is consid- redcedar in western Washington State. Lichens
ered to be the proper use of the forest in modern clothing the dead branches attest to a humid climate.
American society. What a member of a preserva- (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
tionist group such as the Sierra Club defines as
proper management of the forest may be in con-
flict with how a paper industry executive views as We can now define forestry as the art, science,
proper use of the forest. The forest manager, and practice of managing the natural resources that
although recognizing this conflict, must understand occur on and in association with forestland for
both views and develop a management plan that human benefit. This definition necessitates that the
reflects the values involved in both points of view. forest manager consider not only the trees in the
1
2 Introduction

forest, but also such things as protecting wildlife forests from other types of communities. Forests
and preserving water systems for drinking and are widespread, representing almost 30 percent of
aquatic life. Foresters are often involved with the the earth's land surface, and typically have a pre-
control of fire, insect pests, and diseases in the for- dominant species composition; thus there are
est, and they can also assume the broad role of pro- many forest types. The distribution of forest types
tecting the forest environment. The forester is a land or "biomes" around the world is discussed in
manager responsible for all the goods, benefits, and Chapter 3, Forest Biomes of the World. The
services that flow from the forest (1). remainder of the land surface is composed of
The Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 desert (31 percent), grasslands (21 percent), polar
recognized the many benefits derived from the for- ice caps and wasteland (11 percent), and croplands
est: outdoor recreation, rangeland, timber, water- (9 percent) (1).
shed protection, and wildlife and fish habitat. All Although trees are the predominant woody veg-
need not be available at every location, but the etation in terms of biomass,1 trees represent only
value of each should be given equivalent recog- a small proportion of the total number of species
nition on a nationwide basis. Thus a clearcut for present in the forest. There are thousands, perhaps
timber in a national forest should in some way be millions, of different types of plants and animals
balanced by opportunities for wilderness-type in the forest. Shrubs, herbs, ferns, mosses, lichens,
experience at another location. The importance of and fungi are present beneath the forest canopy
the legislative process is further discussed in Chap- and in the gaps of the forest cover. Large animals
ter 1, Forest Policy Development in the United such as deer and bears coexist with smaller birds,
States. insects, and tiny microorganisms. Each component
In order to conform with legislation, managers makes a contribution to the flow of energy and
of forests on public lands must strive to maintain materials through the system.
a continual supply of the products, services, and The forest is thus a dynamic ecosystem domi-
amenities available from the forest. To do this, they nated by trees that is continually changing in struc-
must have a solid knowledge of science and soci- ture and composition. Disturbances such as fire,
ety, a broad background in physical, biological, and windfall, and harvesting produce sites where new
social sciences, as well as administrative skills and communities of trees, plants, and animals can exist
an element of diplomacy for resolving conflicts. and differ from the original forest. Fallen leaves
Clearly the task of the forest manager is a complex and woody material that reach the forest floor
one requiring insight and many learned skills (2). decay and continue the cycling of energy and
Further discussion concerning the profession of nutrients through the system. The forest commu-
forestry is given in Chapter 2, Forestry: The Pro- nity is a complex unit divided into many areas of
fession and Career Opportunities. study; these areas are treated in specific chapters
in the text.

The Forest
The forest is a biological community of plants and
Tree Classification
animals existing in a complex interaction with the Although forest ecosystems are composed of many
nonliving environment, which includes such fac- plant and animal species, the dominant vegetation
tors as the soil, climate, and physiography. A con- that foresters study and manipulate is the variety
tinuous canopy of large trees usually distinguishes of tree species in the forest. Trees are generally

1
Terms that may be unfamiliar to the reader are defined in the Glossary.
Tree Classification 3

classified into two categories as seed plants:

angiosperms with encased seeds and gymnosperms
with naked seeds (Figure P1.2). The angiosperms
are the dominant plant life of this geological area.
They are products of a long line of evolutionary
development that has culminated in the highly spe-
cialized organ of reproduction known as the flower.
The seeds of angiosperms are enclosed in the
matured ovary (fruit).
Two classes exist for the angiosperms, the Mono-
cotyledones and the Dicotyledones (Table Pl.l).
Palms are classified as monocots, and the woody
dicots are what we usually refer to as broad-leaved
trees. Because the broad-leaved trees typically lose
their leaves each fall, they are also often referred
to as deciduous trees. However, a number of excep-
tions occur, such as southern magnolia or Pacific F i g u r e P 1 . 2 Depiction of angiosperms (encased
madrone, both of which retain their leaves all year. seed) and gymnosperms (naked seed).
The broad-leaved or deciduous trees are also often
referred to as hardwood trees, although this is a
misnomer and does not refer to wood texture. Many
broad-leaved trees such as basswood (linden) have
soft-textured wood.
The other major class of trees is the gymno-
sperms, which bear their seeds in cones. The major-
ity of the trees in this classification fall into the
division Coniferophyta or conifers. A notable excep-
tion is the ginkgo tree, the only living species in
the division Gingophyta. Some of the last living
ginkgo trees were located by a botanical expedi-
tion in China in 1690. Subsequently, seeds from the
mature tree have been planted worldwide (Figure
PI.3). In recent years, extracts from the seeds and
leaves have been touted for their medicinal values.
The conifers generally do not lose their needle-
like leaves annually in the fall and therefore are
termed evergreens. Again, there are exceptions
such as larch and bald cypress, conifers that lose
their needles each year like the broad-leaved trees.
The conifers are also referred to as softwoods, but,
like the hardwoods, the designation does not refer
to the texture of the wood but to the class of tree.
The terminology of hardwoods and softwoods
probably originated in the early sawmills when F i g u r e P 1 . 3 The ancient ginkgo tree thrives in
most of the conifers used for timber were soft- polluted urban environments and is planted as an
textured pines, whereas most of the broad-leaved ornamental worldwide. (Photograph by R. A. Young.)
4 Introduction

Table P l . l Scientific and Common Terms for Trees

Angiosperms
(Magnoliophyta; Gymnosperms
Encased Seeds) (Naked Seeds)

Liliopsida (monocots; Cycadophyta

parallel-veined leaves) Cycads
Palms and palmettos (Palmaceae) Ginkgophyta
Yucca (Liliaceae) Ginkgo
Magnoliopsida (dicots; Coniferophyta
net-veined leaves) Common terms for trees in this class:
Common terms for trees in this class:2 Softwoods
Hardwoods Evergreens
Deciduous trees Needle- (or scale-) leaved
Broad-leaved trees Conifers
a
These terms are considered synonymous in common usage, but it is important to remember that many exceptions occur as
described in the text.

trees used were hard-textured maples and oaks. It States, the common name "Black Pine" usually
is important to recognize the synonymous terms listed refers to Austrian Pine (Pinus nigra) introduced
in Table Pl.l, since they are used interchangeably from Europe. The use of binomial scientific names,
in both the literature and the common language. developed by the Swedish botanist Linnaeus in the
Trees are referred to both by their common and mid-eighteenth century, avoids this confusion. Com-
scientific names. Common names are often utilized mon and scientific names of tree species mentioned
since the tree name is more recognizable in Eng- in the text are given in Appendix I.
lish than the Latin-based scientific names. In the text
we have generally utilized the common names in
reference to specific trees or stands of trees, with
the scientific name sometimes in parentheses. How- References
ever, it is important to recognize that common 1. R. D. NYLAND, C. C. LARSON, AND H. L. SHIRLEY, Forestry
names can vary in different localities and refer to and Its Career Opportunities, Fourth Edition, McGraw-
totally different trees. For example, the common Hill, New York, 1983.
name "Black Pine" is utilized for Ponderosa Pine 2. G. W. SHARPE, C. W. HENDEE, W. F. SHARPE, AND J. C.
(Pinus ponderosa) in the Rocky Mountain regions HENDEE, Introduction to Forest and Renewable
of the United States, while in the eastern United Resources, McGraw-Hill, Sixth Edition, New York, 1995.
 CHAPTER 1
Forest Policy Development
in the United States
THOMAS M. BONNICKSEN AND
D I A N A M. BURTON

Profile of Forest Policy Conservation versus Preservation

Development Forest Recreation
Native Americans and Forests (to 1607) Forestry Research
Civilian Conservation Corps
Colonial Settlers and Forests (1607-1783)
Regulation and Control of the Forests
Building and Defending the Republic
Important Features of the Period
(1783-1830)
1911-1952
Important Features of the Period
Adjusting to Complexity (1952—present)
1783-1830
Multiple Uses of the Forests
The Erosion of a Myth (1830-1891)
The Wilderness System
Exploitation of the Forests
The Clearcutting Issue
Conservation and Preservation of the
Judicial Involvement in Resource Policy
Forests
Making
Important Features of the Period
Additional Legislation
1830-1891
Small Private Forestry
Crystallizing a Philosophy (1891-1911)
Important Features of the Period 1952
Creation of Forest Reserves
Important Features of the Period to the Present
1891-1911 Concluding Statement
Organization, Action, and Conflict
(1911-1952) References

All U.S. residents derive benefits from forests, either this process and the forest policy it generates is the
indirectly as forest product consumers or directly principal focus of this chapter.
as participants in forest outdoor activities. Ameri- According to Boulding, a policy "generally
cans are making increasingly heavy and varied refers to the principles that govern action directed
demands on forests. Although forest resources are toward given ends" (1). However, policies are
renewable, there is limited land on which to pro- much more. They are also hypotheses about what
duce forests. As demand rises, competition for will happen if certain actions are taken. Whether
resources also rises. Competition leads to forma- a policy will achieve its specified ends is always
tion of interest groups to influence elected officials in question until policy implementation results are
and government agencies on forest resource allo- realized. If a policy does not perform as expected,
cation and management issues. The policy-making the whole policy process might be reinitiated.
process resolves these differences. Understanding Thus, policy making is a continuous process that

5
6 Forest Policy Development in the United States

constantly attacks both new problems and those forested and occupied by seafaring people who
generated by past policies (2). were highly skilled woodworkers (3, 4). Although
A society's history, philosophy, beliefs, attitudes, many native peoples of the eastern deciduous
values, contemporary problems, and hopes are forests also obtained wood from forests, the forest
woven into its policy-making process. Thus, what was principally an obstacle to the cultivation of
is acceptable forest policy to one society in a given maize, beans, and squash (5).
context may be inconceivable to another society American Indians at times consciously favored
in the same setting. Although U.S. forest policy certain tree species. In California, abundant oak
incorporates many European forestry principles, it trees produced acorns that were the staff of life for
is a unique blend of approaches and goals tailored the Indian. The Miwok in Yosemite Valley burned
to American needs and circumstances. U.S. forest grass under black oak trees in the fall to prevent
policy is also continually developing to accom- growth of other trees that might shade the black
modate change. Thus, forest policies adopted in the oak. They also burned to clear the ground so that
late 1800s differ significantly from those of a cen- acorns could be easily gathered.
tury later. Which policies are better at one time can- American Indians abided by certain rules while
not be judged using standards of another time, just deriving their livelihoods from the land. These rules
as forest policies appropriate to a given society can- or guidelines were handed down from one gen-
not be judged according to another society's values. eration to the next by word and action. Such an
agreed-upon pattern of behavior, designed to
accomplish a specified goal, fits the definition of
Profile of Forest Policy a policy. Consequently, although native peoples did
not have forest policies that were explicitly recog-
Development nized as such, they did have rules that governed
Throughout this chapter, the policy process is used their relationships to forests. Whether modern peo-
as a framework for visualizing U.S. forest policy his- ple agree with these rules is unimportant. What is
torical development. We look at broad periods that important is that American Indians had the equiv-
characterize major shifts in policies toward forests. alent of forest policies that enhanced their survival.
In addition, we describe the environmental context
and goals of the policy process within each period
and evaluate policy results in terms of these goals. Colonial Settlers and Forests
Because American forest policy is a vast topic, the (1607-1783)
scope of this text is necessarily limited. We empha- Although the world known to Europe expanded to
size the federal government's role and national for- include North America in 1492, it was not until 1607
est management. We focus on policies stated as that Europeans successfully colonized what is now
legislative statutes, executive orders and decrees, the United States. The Virginia Company of Lon-
administrative rules and regulations, and court don founded Jamestown, on the wooded banks of
opinions. the James River, in what is now Virginia. Forests
were the colonial landscape's dominant feature and
a valued resource. Forests surrounding Jamestown
Native Americans and Forests were used to construct the town and as fuel for a
(to 1607) thriving glass industry. However, the thick forests
The relationship between American Indians and hid unfriendly Indians, so forests were cleared to
forests varied. Forests provided building materials, make the area safe. Forests were also cleared for
food, or both. Forests were often seen as an obsta- farms and roads. Thus, two attitudes toward forests
cle to cultivation. For instance, the pre-Columbian developed that profoundly influenced forest poli-
northwestern coast of North America was heavily cies for generations. First, forests were nuisances
Profile of Forest Policy Development 7

Sidebar 1.1

Questions About Future Forests

America's forests have undergone pronounced ancient or pre-European settlement forests as

changes since first seen by European explorers. models for creating sustainable forests. Restora-
Many older forests disappeared because a grow- tion does not apply to forests that are dedicated
ing nation needed wood for fuel and con- to growing wood fiber. Ancient forests provided
struction. Clearing for agriculture and towns many of the things that people want from today's
took the greatest toll. Even so, reforestation on forests, including large trees, scenic vistas, abun-
federal and private lands and planting on aban- dant wildlife, and wildflowers. However, peo-
doned agricultural lands have replaced much of ple also want forest products. Management that
the lost forest. includes controlled burning and cutting can
Forests now cover one-third of the United mimic processes that created and sustained the
States, but they differ significantly from the orig- ancient forest beauty and diversity and gener-
inal ancient forests. There are fewer old trees ate forest products as well. Since ancient forests
in today's forests than there were in ancient were sustainable, future forests that use them as
times, and forests are less patchy and diverse. models should also be sustainable.
Some change is caused by timber management, Managers can produce what we want from
but also results from efforts to protect against forests by engineering new forests using mod-
lightning fires, insects, diseases, and develop- ern tools and scientific principles. They do not
ment. The elimination of traditional burning by need ancient forests as models. This is already
American Indians may have caused the most happening in forests that are being manipulated
widespread changes. The lack of Indian fires and to favor certain wildlife species, particularly
suppression of lightning fires allow debris to endangered and threatened species, or to max-
accumulate in today's forests. They are choked imize timber production. However, are these
with thickets of young trees, which is slowing artifical forests necessary or even desirable, and
tree growth, increasing mortality and reducing will they be sustainable? Do we really want to
stream flows. Thicker and more uniform forests invent new forests, or do we want forests to
also have less wildlife habitat. In addition, trees look as beautiful and diverse as they did when
that grow in the shade replace trees that grow explorers first saw them? Can we have both
in the sun, such as Douglas fir and pine. Even historic forests and engineered forests? Can the
more disturbing is that increasing fuels make same forest serve both purposes or must they
wildfires more severe and dangerous. be separated? Even more intriguing, do we
Many scientists and resource managers want forests to look the way they might look
believe that forest restoration provides the best now if Europeans had not settled the continent
hope for reversing American forest decline. Some and American Indians were still the only inhab-
predicted the forest health crisis coming several itants? On the other hand, do we want forests
decades ago. One of the first was Aldo to look as if no one, including Native Ameri-
Leopold, who promoted forest restoration as cans, had ever lived on the land? These are just
early as 1934. Forest restoration involves using some of the policy questions that should be
(continues)
8 Forest Policy Development in the United States

Sidebar 1.1 (continued)

pondered. The future of America's forests Source;

depends on the answers. An in-depth descrip- 1. T. M. BONNICKSEN, America's Ancient Forests: From
tion of North America's ancient forests is found the Ice Age to the Age of Discovery, John Wiley &
in America's Ancient Forests: From the Ice Age Sons, New York, 2000.
to the Age of Discovery (1).

and citizens made great improvements to the land America's forests. As early as 1609, the first ship-
by cutting trees. Second, the seemingly unending ment of masts was sent from Virginia to England
supply of trees led to acceptance of waste and a (6) (Figure 1.1). Trees of sufficient size were scarce
view that American forests were inexhaustible. and hostile countries could easily disrupt supply
Wood was the primary fuel and energy source lines from northern and central Europe. Great Britain
for colonial America and remained so until 1870. was competing for European masts, so America
Because the colonists lacked transportation, wood became its principal source of supply. In order to
for fuel and building material was cut near settle- protect its interests, Great Britain in 1691 granted a
ments. As forests receded from settlements, it new charter to the Province of Massachusetts Bay
became increasingly difficult to haul wood. that reserved for the crown all trees 24 inches (6l
Although forests as a whole seemed inexhaustible, centimeters) or more in diameter growing on lands
local timber supplies were limited. As a result, the not in private ownership. This was known as the
first American forest policy on record was estab- Broad Arrow policy because reserved trees were
lished on March 29, 1626, by Plymouth Colony. The marked with a broad arrow blaze—the symbol of
policy forbade transport of any timber out of the the British Navy. By 1721, this policy covered all
colony without the governor's and council's con- colonial lands from Nova Scotia to New Jersey. The
sent. Similar policies were adopted by Rhode British did obtain a relatively steady supply of naval
Island, New Hampshire, and New Jersey. In addi- timbers under the Broad Arrow policy, which had
tion, William Penn directed in 1681 that in Penn- to be enforced with large fines because colonists
sylvania ("Penn's woodland") 1 acre (0.4 hectare) vigorously opposed it. In 1772, for instance, in
of forest be left for every 5 acres (2 hectares) Weare, New Hampshire, Sheriff Benjamin Whiting
cleared. arrested Ebenezer Mudgett for cutting the king's
Colonial policy making included political rule by white pine. The colonists reacted by seizing the sher-
a distant monarchy. Thus, forest policies reflected iff in the night, beating him with rods, and forcing
the perceived wants of a distant society as well as him to ride out of town. This event was known as
the colonists' immediate needs. The tension the "Pine Tree Riot" (6). The Broad Arrow policy
between these two interests seriously limited Eng- likely contributed to the American Revolution.
land's forest policies for the New World.
The abundance of large trees made a colonial
shipbuilding industry possible. The Blessing of the Building and Defending the
Bay, a ship launched at Medford, Massachusetts in Republic (1783-1830)
1631, marked the beginning of both this industry The British formally recognized United States inde-
(6) and a direct conflict with British interests in pendence in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. America
Profile of Forest Policy Development 9

F i g u r e 1.1 A sheer hulk stepping a mainmast. (Courtesy of Mr. Jack Coggins and Stackpole Books.)

then controlled her own forests. The social and eco- The Articles of Confederation required unanimous
nomic problems of the new nation were exacer- consent of all thirteen states. Six states were reluc-
bated by the old belief that American forests were tant to sign because they did not have claims to large
inexhaustible. The most significant change in the tracts of unsettled western lands. States with such
forest policy process that occurred at this time was lands had an advantage because land could be sold
establishing the first American government. The to defray Revolutionary War debts. Maryland, with-
new government was based on the Articles of Con- out western land, refused to sign the Articles of Con-
federation, a document designed to preserve the federation unless other states abandoned their
states as free and independent sovereignties while claims. Maryland held out until March 1781, when
granting Congress limited authority. Thus, the Arti- New York surrendered its western land claims to
cles denied Congress the authority to levy taxes and the federal government and Virginia appeared ready
to regulate commerce. to do so. Thus, ratification of the confederation also
10 Forest Policy Development in the United States

marked the beginning of the public domain. (The appropriated an additional $10,000 for land pur-
public domain included all lands that were at any chases. These timber reserves received no more
time owned by the United States government and public support than had the earlier British Broad
subject to sale or transfer of ownership under the Arrow policy. Looting, or timber trespass, was com-
laws of the federal government.) Congress pledged mon. In 1821, the General Land Office commis-
to dispose of the public domain for the "common sioner instructed his agents to stop illegal cutting
benefit," partly to create new states and partly to on the reserves (6), but officials responsible were
make good on its promise to grant land to Revo- political appointees with little interest in confronting
lutionary War veterans. Since Congress could not timber thieves. Therefore, in 1822, Congress
levy taxes, it used the public domain as a revenue authorized use of the army and navy to prevent tim-
source to discharge national debt and run the ber depredations in Florida, but there was little
government. improvement.
Although Congress was weak under the Articles
of Confederation, it managed to pass two laws that Important Features of the Period 1783-1830
affect the landscape to this day. The first is the Land Forest policies adopted between 1783 and 1830 pro-
Ordinance of 1785. It provided that the Old North- duced mixed results. First, revenues derived from
west, a territory lying between the Ohio and Mis- public land sales did not reach expected amounts.
sissippi rivers and the Great Lakes southern shores, The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided that lands
should be sold to help defray national debt. The should be sold in blocks of at least 640 acres (259
land was surveyed before sale using the now-famil- hectares) to the highest bidder at not less than $1
iar rectangular grid system of townships and sec- per acre. Unfortunately, land could be purchased
tions. Only the thirteen original states and later elsewhere at lower prices, and the $640 required
Texas, whose admission to the union was contin- as a minimum purchase price proved too high for
gent on state ownership of public lands, were not most people. As a result, people in need of land
subjected to this survey system. The Northwest "squatted" on the public domain in increasing num-
Ordinance of 1787 further provided that when a ter- bers, and efforts to remove them met with little suc-
ritory could claim 60,000 residents, it could be cess. Naval timber reserve policies faced similar
admitted as a state. This scheme worked so well results because forests were regarded as inex-
that it was carried over to other areas of the pub- haustible. In addition, the public domain was
lic domain. expanding as the nation added to its land holdings
One problem facing the new Congress was the through the Louisiana Purchase and like transac-
need for a strong navy. Congress authorized con- tions, and interest in forest reserves gradually
struction of six frigates in 1794, established a declined. However, the policy of reserving forest-
Department of the Navy in 1798 (6), and appro- lands as a source of timber set an important pol-
priated $200,000 to purchase timber and lands icy precedent. Congress's right to control public
growing timber suitable for naval construction. lands use in the national interest was firmly
Thus, Congress bought two islands supporting live established.
oak off the Georgia coast. At the outbreak of the
War of 1812, the United States still had only six-
teen ships in its entire navy against the 800 men- The Erosion of a Myth (1830-1891)
of-war in the British navy. By war's end, the United In 1830, Andrew Jackson was elected U.S. Presi-
States had only two or three ships left (7). Congress dent with the support of common people. Many
reacted in 1817 by authorizing the Secretary of the in the upper classes sneered at this "New Democ-
Navy to reserve from sale, with presidential racy," referring to "coonskin congressmen" and
approval, public-domain lands that supported live enfranchised "bipeds of the forest" (7). Neverthe-
oak and red cedar to rebuild the navy. An 1828 act less, politicians who could boast of birth in a log
Profile of Forest Policy Development 11

cabin had a real advantage in an election. The sturdy Commissioner Joseph S. Wilson recommended that
pioneer and forest settler were clearly in command. homesteaders be required to plant trees in areas
By the 1867 Alaska purchase, the public domain had lacking timber (6). Therefore, Congress enacted the
grown by more than one billion acres (405 million Timber Culture Act in 1873- Under the law, settlers
hectares) and there was a need to fill these lands received 160 acres (65 hectares) of public land by
with settlers to protect them and make them pro- planting 40 acres (16 hectares) with trees and main-
ductive. During this period more than any other, the taining them for a given period.
nation's policy was to transfer land into private own- With the exception of railroad land grants, most
ership and rely on market forces as a primary means policies enacted during this period focused on agri-
for allocating natural resources. cultural development. However, by 1878 it was clear
that large areas of public domain were more suited
Exploitation of the Forests With seemingly inex- to timber than agriculture and that no provision
haustible forests, and a government dominated by existed for timber or timberland acquisition by the
western settlement and economic expansion inter- public. Congress offered a remedy in 1878: the Free
ests, rapid resource exploitation was inevitable. Timber Act and the Timber and Stone Act. The Free
Pressure on timberlands increased as wood was Timber Act stipulated that residents of nine west-
used to build on the treeless Great Plains, to con- ern states could cut timber for building, mining, and
struct railroads, to fight the Civil War and repair other purposes without charge to aid in farms and
what it destroyed, and to rebuild four square miles mineral claims development (Figure 1.2). While this
(10.4 square kilometers) of Chicago burned in the act was well intentioned and undoubtedly provided
Great Fire of 1871. Settlers occupying lands on the substantial aid to deserving settlers, it was widely
Great Plains had to import timber. Tree planting was abused, as enforcement was nearly impossible. The
thought to be a reasonable solution that might also Timber and Stone Act provided that unoccupied,
increase rainfall. In 1866, General Land Office surveyed land principally valuable for timber or

Figure 1.2 Native Americans used wood under provisions of the Free Timber Act, Black Hills National
Forest, South Dakota, in 1931. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
12 Forest Policy Development in the United States

stone, but not agriculture, could be purchased in However, the myth that timber and other resources
160 acre (65 hectare) tracts for $2.50 per acre in were inexhaustible gradually eroded, while a con-
Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada. The cern for conservation and preservation grew. As
purchaser had to swear that the land was for per- early as 1801, publications by Andre Michaux and
sonal use and not for speculation. his son, after their travels through U.S. forests, noted
Throughout this period, two major forest policy "an alarming destruction of the trees" and warned
problems existed. First, speculation and fraud in that increasing population would make timber
public land sales and transfers were rampant. Spec- scarce (6). By 1849, the commissioner of patents
ulators and lumber executives accumulated large was also warning of timber shortages (6). In 1864,
timberland holdings and abused public domain dis- George Perkins Marsh published his famous book
posal policies. Most laws were designed to encour- Man and Nature, pointing out undesirable conse-
age small owner-operator farms, but there was little quences of forest destruction. Beginning about
control over what the landowner did after purchase. 1866, annual reports from the Secretary of the Inte-
For example, military land bounties granted to sol- rior and the commissioner of the General Land
diers for their service and to encourage enlistment Office regularly included an expression of concern
were sold to land speculators and large companies. about the exhaustion of forest resources.
The sales became so common that bounty warrants In 1867, this concern translated into state action
were quoted on the New York Stock Exchange (6). when legislatures in both Michigan and Wisconsin
Second, some timber operators made no pretense appointed committees to investigate potential
of purchasing timberlands but simply set up lum- long-term consequences of deforestation. More
ber mills on the public domain and cut trees. In dramatic action was taken in 1885 by New York
other cases, they purchased 40-acre (16 hectare) when it created a "forest preserve" on state-owned
plots and proceeded to cut timber on surrounding lands in the Adirondack and Catskill mountains. In
public lots. These were known as "round forties" 1894, the new state constitution of New York for-
or "rubber forties" because of the flexibility of the bade timber cutting on the preserve. In addition,
boundaries. in 1885, California established a State Board of
The end of timber stealing began in 1877 with Forestry and granted it police powers two years
the appointment of Secretary of the Interior Carl later.
Schurz. He immigrated from Germany where scarce Federal action aimed at forest conservation began
forest resources were carefully husbanded. Schurz about the same time. In 1874, an American Asso-
advocated a similar approach in the United States. ciation for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
He took exception to the popular belief of inex- committee prevailed on President Ulysses S. Grant
haustible timber resources. In his first annual report, to ask Congress to create a commission of forestry
Schurz predicted that the timber supply would not (6). Congress attached an amendment to the Sundry
meet national needs in 20 years (8). Schurz vigor- Civil Appropriations Bill of 1876, providing $2000
ously enforced laws against timber theft (6). He to hire someone to study U.S. forest problems. This
based his authority on the March 1831 Timber Tres- act established such a position in the Department
pass Law, which imposed fines and imprisonment of Agriculture and henceforth federal forest man-
on those who cut timber from public lands with- agement would be primarily performed by this
out authorization. In 1850, the U.S. Supreme Court department. Franklin B. Hough, who had chaired
upheld the act and extended it to include any tres- the AAAS committee, was appointed to the job. He
pass on public lands. published three monumental reports containing
most of what was known about forestry in the
Conservation and Preservation of the Forests United States at that time. Later, he became chief
Rapid disposal and exploitation of the public of the Division of Forestry, which was subsequently
domain characterized the period from 1830 to 1891. given statutory permanence in the Department of
Profile of Forest Policy Development 13

Agriculture on June 30, 1886. This division was the of land, which would have been an adequate size
precursor of what is now the U.S.D.A. Forest Ser- for a farm in the East where water was plentiful,
vice. Also in 1886, Bernard E. Fernow, who had was completely inadequate for sustaining a farmer
studied forestry in western Prussia, succeeded in the arid West, and therefore many farms in the
Hough as chief of the division. West were abandoned. Finally, prodigious amounts
The preservation movement had a profound of timber products were produced, but subsequent
effect on forest policy. In 1832, George Catlin, a generations inherited a legacy of cutover and dete-
painter and explorer of the American West, called riorated forestland. Nevertheless, this period ended
for establishment of "a nation's park" in the Great with a rapidly growing and prosperous nation that
Plains "containing man and beast, in all the wild had already taken major steps toward improving
and freshness of their nature's beauty!" (9). Catlin's the use of its forests.
plea for preservation was echoed by Henry David
Thoreau in 1858 when he asked, in an article in
the Atlantic Monthly, "why should not we . . . have Crystallizing a Philosophy
our national preserves . . . for inspiration and our (1891-1911)
true re-creation?" (10). Other well-known preser- The circumstances affecting U.S. forest policy
vationists such as Frederick Law Olmsted and John between 1891 and 1911 were different from those
Muir followed Catlin and Thoreau. Together they of any previous period. The shift from rural to urban
helped to found our present system of national life was accelerating. In 1790, only 2.8 percent of the
parks and monuments, beginning with Yellowstone population lived in cities with 10,000 or more
National Park, which was set aside in 1872 "as a people; by 1900, 31.8 percent did (7). An urban pop-
public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and ulation often perceives natural resources differently
enjoyment of the people." Yosemite Valley and the than a rural population, whose livelihood is directly
Mariposa Big Tree Grove were set aside in 1864 and visibly land-dependent. Thus, the conflict
for public recreation, to be managed by the state between the strong desire for preservation of East-
of California. They became part of Yosemite ern seaboard urban residents, and the expansionist
National Park in 1890. Sequoia and General Grant views of Western rural residents became marked.
(now Kings Canyon) became national parks that This was the first period without a geographic
same year. frontier. In 1890, the superintendent of the census
in Washington announced that a frontier line no
Important Features of the Period 1830-1891 The longer existed (3). All of the United States and its
period from 1830 to 1891 saw three separate move- territories contained settlements. The myth of inex-
ments. One, an exploitive movement, was to dis- haustible resources had been eroding for decades.
pose of the public domain and cut forests However, the loss of the frontier and the presence
extensively. At the same time—and partly in of large tracts of cutover land in the once heavily
response—two other movements encouraged sci- forested East made it obvious that something had
entific resource management and natural scenery to be done to conserve forests and other resources.
preservation. One major success stands out. About People saw a "timber famine" as a real possibility.
one billion acres (405 million hectares), nearly the Three societal goals emerged that strongly affected
same amount of land as entered the public domain forest policy: defend the rights of the people, main-
during this period, were sold to private owners (6). tain a continuous supply of timber, and prevent
However, much land did not end up with small waste in natural resource use, particularly timber.
farmers but added to large corporate holdings.
Another major success was the encouragement of Creation of Forest Reserves Perhaps the most
western expansion and settlement, but the bene- important forest policy enacted in the United States
fits were mixed with problems. A quarter-section was the General Revision Act of 1891. Provisions
14 Forest Policy Development in the United States

Sidebar 1.2

The Legacy of George Perkins Marsh

Born in Woodstock, Vermont, in 1801, Marsh sion a scarcity of this latter fish in waters
grew up on America's frontier. As the fifth of where he would otherwise be abundant. Thus
all nature is linked together by invisible
eight children of the local district attorney, Marsh bonds, and every organic creature, however
read intensively and ran free in the great out- low, however feeble, however dependent, is
doors. Graduating at the top of his Dartmouth necessary to the well-being of some other
class, Marsh taught Greek and Latin for a time among the myriad forms of life with which
at a military academy. He became a lawyer, a the Creator has peopled the earth (1, p. 96).
politician, and eventually was appointed as
ambassador to Italy by President Abraham Lin- One of the main messages in Man and
coln (1). His most famous work, Man and Nature is that man ought to consider fully the
Nature, or Physical Geography Modified by impacts of his actions, not that nature should not
Human Action (1) was written during his tenure be modified.
in Italy and published in 1864. Marsh's ideas were taken up by many who
Marsh's claim that man was modifying nature read his works. As science progressed, the com-
was not remarkable at the time. Forests were plexity of natural ecosystems became more
being removed for agriculture, canals were being apparent. Writers such as Rachel Carson, who
constructed, and a spreading population erected published Silent Spring in 1962 (2), pointed out
new towns. However, his notion that man that agricultural pesticides were killing eagles
should consider his impact on the natural envi- through their food chain, as well as the intended
ronment, in part because a changed natural envi- crop bug targets. The Environmental Impact
ronment would have an impact on man, was Statement, required by NEPA, is modern soci-
almost radical. Marsh's thoughts anticipate by ety's attempt to do what Marsh suggested: act,
more than a century the now widely accepted but act with maximum possible knowledge of
idea of an integrated ecosystem: consequences.

... the trout feeds on the larvae of the May fly, Sources:
which is itself very destructive to the spawn 1. G. P. MARSH, Man and Nature, The Belknap Press
of salmon, and hence, by a sort of house-that- of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1967
Jack-built, the destruction of the mosquito,
that feeds the trout that preys on the May (originally published 1864).
fly that destroys the eggs that hatch the 2. R. CARSON, Silent Spring, Houghton Mifflin, Boston,
salmon that pampers the epicure, may occa- 1962.

included repeal of the Timber Culture Act of 1878 time to time, set apart and reserve any part of the
and Preemption Act of 1841, as well as imposition public lands wholly or in part covered with timber
of restrictions on the 1862 Homestead Act to dis- or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or
courage speculation and fraud. What made this act not." The authority granted to the president by Sec-
so important to forestry was Section 24. It provided tion 24 (also known as the Forest Reserve Act) to
that "the President of the United States may, from set aside forest reserves from the public domain
Profile of Forest Policy Development 15

served as the basis for the U.S. national forest sys- passed the Sundry Civil Appropriations Act with an
tem. Less than a month later, President Benjamin amendment (known as the Organic Administration
Harrison established Yellowstone Park Forest Reser- Act). Senator Richard Pettigrew of South Dakota
vation. Over two years, he proclaimed an additional introduced the amendment. It provided that "no
fourteen forest reserves, bringing the total to over public forest reservation shall be established
13 million acres (5.3 million hectares). A storm of except to improve and protect the forest . . . for
protests from western interests followed, in part the purpose of securing favorable conditions of
because the Forest Reserve Act did not include a water flows, and to furnish a continuous supply of
provision for using the reserves. Consequently, the timber." The act excluded lands principally valu-
westerners' argument that forest reserves were able for mining and agriculture and authorized the
"locked up" and could not be used was correct. Log- Secretary of the Interior to make rules for the
ging, mining, and other activities were illegal on the reserves "to regulate their occupancy and use, and
reserves. However, there was little law enforcement, to preserve the forests thereon from destruction."
so timber theft proceeded unobstructed. This language dated from 1893 when Representa-
A few months before passage of the Forest tive Thomas C. McRae introduced the first of many
Reserve Act, Gifford Pinchot, who became the most bills for forest reserve management. Early opposi-
famous person in American forestry history, tion came from western senators whose constituents
returned from Europe where he had been study- were accustomed to obtaining timber from public
ing forestry under Dr. Dietrich Brandis in France. lands without paying a fee. When a compromise
Pinchot's motto, from the beginning of his career was reached to handle western criticism, eastern
until the end, was "forestry is tree farming" (11). senators continued to block passage of the bill
He did not believe in preserving forests but in using because they feared that opening up the reserves
them "wisely." would lead to more abuses. President Cleveland's
Pinchot emerged on the national forest policy bold action in setting aside reserves served as the
scene when he joined a National Academy of Sci- catalyst to overcome the impasse. Enough votes
ences forest commission formed at the request of were obtained to pass the Organic Administration
Secretary of the Interior Hoke Smith. The com- Act because even some eastern senators thought
mission studied the forest reserves and their the new reserves created a hardship for people in
administration and made legislative recommen- the West.
dations that would break the Congressional dead- The General Land Office administered the for-
lock over forest reserve management. The est reserves, an agency that Pinchot said was gov-
commission submitted a list of proposed forest erned by "paper work, politics, and patronage" (11).
reserves to President Grover Cleveland without a Reform seemed impossible, so when Pinchot
plan for their management. Pinchot argued, with- became head of the Division of Forestry in July
out success, that a plan should accompany the list 1898, he immediately set out to gain control of the
so that western congressional representatives reserves. His good friend Theodore Roosevelt, who
would know that the commission wanted to use became president in September 1901, after Presi-
the forests and not simply lock them up. Presi- dent William McKinley's assassination, aided Pin-
dent Cleveland had only ten days left in office, chot. Roosevelt and Pinchot were both master
so he was forced to act on the commission's rec- politicians—persuasive, dedicated, and equipped
ommendation. On February 22, 1897, he set aside with boundless energy (Figure 1.3). The same ideas
an additional 21.3 million acres (8.6 million about the meaning of conservation, epitomized by
hectares) of forest reserves. such words and phrases as efficiency, wise use, for
Once again, a storm of criticism arose in Con- the public good, and the lasting good of men, drove
gress and legislation was introduced to nullify Pres- them. To Roosevelt and Pinchot, conservation was
ident Cleveland's actions. In June 1897, Congress the "antithesis of monopoly" and, though wealthy
16 Forest Policy Development in the United States

chot wrote the letter (6). In keeping with the phi-

losophy of the time, the letter required that the
reserves be used "for the permanent good of the
whole and not for the temporary benefit of indi-
viduals or companies." It also stipulated that "all the
resources of the reserves are for use" and "where
conflicting interests must be reconciled the ques-
tion will always be decided from the standpoint of
the greatest good of the greatest number in the long
run" (6). These lofty, although somewhat ambigu-
ous, goals still guide Forest Service administration.
Many landmark policies affecting U.S. forests
were enacted during this period. The Forest
Reserve Act's precedent was copied in the Amer-
ican Antiquities Act of 1906, which authorized the
president "to declare by proclamation . . . objects
of historic or scientific interest" on the public lands
"to be national monuments." The lands had pro-
tection against commercial utilization and were
open for scientific, educational, and recreation pur-
poses. President Roosevelt used the act to set aside
eighteen national monuments, including what later
became Grand Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, and
Olympic National Parks. Roosevelt also enlarged
the forest reserves more than any other president
did. When he came to office, there were 41
F i g u r e 1.3 Chief forester Gifford Pinchot (right) reserves totaling 46.5 million acres (18.8 million
with President Theodore Roosevelt on the riverboat hectares) and by 1907, he had increased the
Mississippi in 1907. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest reserves (now called national forests) to 159 and
Service.)
their total area to 150.7 million acres (6l million
hectares) (12). Roosevelt's zealous expansion
themselves, they both abhorred "concentrated moved Congress, in March 1907, to revoke his
wealth," which they viewed as "freedom to use and authority to establish reserves in six western states.
abuse the common man" (11). With President Roosevelt left the act unsigned until after he had
Roosevelt's help, Pinchot accomplished his goal to reserved an additional 16 million acres (6.5 mil-
gain custody of the forest reserves. The Transfer Act lion hectares) of forestland (12).
of 1905 moved their administration from the Depart- The end of this period is marked by a contro-
ment of the Interior to the Department of Agricul- versy between Pinchot and Secretary of the Inte-
ture. One month later, Pinchot's agency became the rior Richard A. Ballinger that led President William
Forest Service. In 1907, forest reserves were Howard Taft to fire Pinchot as chief of the Forest
renamed national forests. Service in January 1910. Actually, Pinchot had
Management of forest reserves changed dramat- decided several months earlier to "make the boss
ically under the new regime. On the day the Trans- fire him" (12). Taft's policies upset Pinchot,
fer Act was signed, Secretary of Agriculture James because, in his view, they did not carry on the tra-
Wilson sent a letter to Pinchot outlining the gen- ditions of President Roosevelt and the philosophy
eral policies to follow in managing the reserves. Pin- of conservation.
Profile of Forest Policy Development 17

Sidebar 1.3

The Father of American Forestry

You may describe a Forester from the stand- work or in public work, whether he is work-
point of his specialized education and his ing for a lumber company, an association of
application of technical knowledge to the lumbermen, a group of small forest owners,
protection and management of the forest, the proprietor of a great estate, or whether
but you can not stop there. There is another he is a forest officer of State or Nation. By
concept that is equally important. Every virtue of his profession a Forester is always
Forester is a public servant, no matter by and everywhere a public servant (1, p. 27).
whom employed. It makes no difference
whether a Forester is engaged in private continues

The father of American Forestry.

18 Forest Policy Development in the United States

Sidebar 1.3 (continued)

Gifford Pinchot firmly believed that the Pinchot was instrumental in establishing the
forester owed his allegiance to the forest, to nation's first forestry school at Yale University
the land, and to the profession of forestry. Pin- and taught there after he left government. He
chot is known as the Father of American wrote much, including textbooks like The Train-
Forestry because he gave so much to the estab- ing of a Forester from which the previous quote
lishment of professional forestry in the United is taken. This text outlines in detail all the dis-
States. Long respected and practiced in France ciplines that a forester must study in addition to
and Germany, where Pinchot went to study, silviculture, such as soil science, economics and
the forestry profession made its debut in the zoology, to properly manage forest complexi-
United States about 100 years ago. When he ties. First published in 1914, the book discusses
took over the country's national forests in 1905, what a forester does on the job, how, and why.
Pinchot established the Forest Service as a Much of what modern forestry professionals
highly trained group of professional forest learn and practice today has roots in European
managers. On the occasion of the 1905 Trans- traditions brought to this country by Gifford Pin-
fer Act, he set forth, in the famous Pinchot let- chot. His life of dedication to the profession, and
ter, the decentralized management philosophy the courage and foresight he displayed, truly
by which the Forest Service operated for most make him worthy of the title Father of Ameri-
of the twentieth century. can Forestry.
Pinchot was a founding member of the Soci-
ety of American Foresters (SAF). Founded in Sources:
November 1900 in Pinchot's office, membership 1. G. PINCHOT, The Training of a Forester, J. B. Lip-
was limited to trained foresters. Enthusiasts such pincott Company, New York, 1937 (originally pub-
as President Roosevelt were relegated to asso- lished 1914).
ciate member status (2). Today, the SAF remains 2. T. M. BONNICKSEN, Politics and the Life Sciences, 15,
the premier professional forestry organization. 23-34 (1996).

Important Features of the Period 1891-1911 The Organization, Action, and Conflict
period from 1891 to 1911 was one of the most col- (1911-1952)
orful and active in American forest policy history.
Specific goals guided forest policy throughout the The United States faced enormous difficulties and
period. Nevertheless, eliminating waste and bring- hardships from 1911 to 1952. The world went to
ing the management of national forests up to the war twice, taking a frightening toll in human lives
standard hoped for by Pinchot and Roosevelt con- and property, and underwent the agonies of the
stituted too great a task given meager funding and Great Depression. In the United States, disastrous
little time. Creation of the Forest Service, estab- floods regularly ripped through settled valleys. At
lishment of a national forest system, and crystal- the same time, drought cycles and improper farm-
lization of a utilitarian conservation philosophy to ing practices on the Great Plains drove farmers off
guide their management represented the greatest the land as the soil and their livelihoods blew away
forest policy accomplishments. during the Dust Bowl era. Intolerable working
Profile of Forest Policy Development 19

conditions and low wages also drove urban labor- on creating a separate agency to manage national
ers to protest in the streets. parks. Pinchot countered by trying to consolidate
These were difficult years, but also relatively national parks with national forests. Although
simple years, in that forest problems were clearly preservationists succeeded in gaining support from
understood by most people and goals, though Taft and Ballinger, Pinchot argued that such an
always controversial, were also clear. These goals agency was "no more needed than two tails to a
included: 1) keeping watersheds of navigable cat" (12). He carried enough influence in Congress
streams and rivers covered with vegetation to to block the proposal. However, Secretary of the
reduce flooding and sedimentation, 2) keeping suf- Interior Franklin K. Lane rescued the preserva-
ficient wood flowing out of forests to meet the tionists by placing all national parks and monu-
nation's requirements for building its industries and ments under the jurisdiction of an assistant to the
successfully ending its wars, 3) protecting the secretary. He filled the post with Steven T. Mather,
nation's forests from overexploitation and losses a wealthy preservationist who helped usher the
from insects, diseases, and fire, and 4) using for- National Park Act of 1916 through Congress and
est resource production from public lands to was named first director of the National Park Ser-
reduce unemployment during the Great Depres- vice. Preservationists thus obtained an administra-
sion and to stabilize the economies of communi- tive home in the Department of the Interior and a
ties dependent on local forests. In addition, a small champion to expand and protect the national park
but influential segment of society inspired the pub- system.
lic to preserve tangible parts of the United States' Pinchot was no longer chief of the Forest Ser-
cultural and natural heritage. vice, but his successors, Henry S. Graves
(1910-1920) and William B. Greeley (1920-1928),
Conservation versus Preservation By 1910, the were utilitarian conservationists. Furthermore, Pin-
conservation philosophy of Catlin, Thoreau, and chot continued to be influential with Congress,
Muir was gaining ground as private organizations both as an individual and through the National
formed to represent this view. These "aesthetic Conservation Association. Thus, the adversaries
conservationists," or preservationists, differed sig- were firmly entrenched in two separate agencies
nificantly from "Pinchot" or "utilitarian conserva- within two separate federal departments, each with
tionists." Preservationists concentrated their efforts its own constituency. Their first contest centered
on protecting natural beauty and scenic attractions on the fact that the national forests contained most
from the lumberjack's axe and miner's pick by plac- of the public land suitable for national parks, and
ing them within national parks. Utilitarian conser- the National Park Service was anxious to take these
vationists' philosophy was rooted in the idea that lands away from the Forest Service. The Forest Ser-
resources must be "used." They referred to preser- vice was not hostile toward national parks, but as
vationists as "misinformed nature lovers" (12). This Chief Forester Graves said, "the parks should com-
difference of opinion finally led preservationists to prise only areas which are not forested or areas
break away from the organized conservation move- covered only with protective forest which would
ment because it was dominated by utilitarian phi- not ordinarily be cut" (8). The problem was philo-
losophy. When conservationists and preservationists sophical as well as territorial. The Forest Service
ceased to be allies, conflict over public lands dis- did not want to give up land it was already man-
position and management was inevitable. This con- aging and therefore countered Park Service
flict has grown in intensity. By the 1960s and 1970s, advances by vigorously resisting withdrawal of
it dominated American forest policy. national forestland for park purposes. The Forest
In the early 1900s, conflict between preserva- Service also continued its efforts to develop a
tionists and conservationists centered on partition- recreation program that it hoped would make new
ing public lands. At first, preservationists focused national parks unnecessary.
20 Forest Policy Development in the United States

Forest Recreation The Forest Service recreation The Forest Service was still a popular and
program represented a response to a technologi- aggressive agency even though it spent part of its
cal innovation—the automobile—and expansion of time defending against incursions from the Park
roads pleasure-seekers used to gain access to Service. The momentum of the Roosevelt-Pinchot
national forests. In 1907, there were about 4,971 era had slowed somewhat, but the Forest Service
miles (8,000 kilometers) of roads in all national maintained a strong sense of mission. It advanced
forests. The need for roads increased with auto- on four fronts: expanding national forests in the
mobile use, and between 1916 and 1991 over $33 East, promoting forest research, developing the
million was spent on roads in and near national national forests, and regulating forest practices on
forests (10). These roads brought in so many recre- private land.
ationists that rangers, concerned about fire hazards Preservationists lobbied to add lands to the
and other conflicts with commodity uses, sought national forest system in the East. As early as 1901,
to discourage them by concealing entrances to new the Appalachian National Park Association joined
trails and leaving roads unposted (10). The tide of with other private organizations to petition Congress
recreationists could not be turned, however, and to preserve southern Appalachian forests. However,
the Forest Service reluctantly began providing for most public lands in the East had already passed
their needs. into private ownership, so additional national forests
One of the celebrated accomplishments in would have to be purchased. Congress authorized
national forest recreation was establishment of the studies but no purchases. A few years later, the
nation's first designated wilderness area. In 1918, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
a road was proposed that would cut through the joined forces with the Appalachian group, and
Gila River watershed in New Mexico. Aldo together they succeeded in securing passage of the
Leopold, an assistant district forester for the Forest Weeks Act of 1911 (11). The Weeks Act specified
Service, protested against the road, claiming, "the that the federal government could purchase lands
Gila is the last typical wilderness in the south- on the headwaters of navigable streams and appro-
western mountains" (10). He then proposed des- priated funds. This restrictive language reflected a
ignating the watershed as a "wilderness" without congressional view that the government had the
roads or recreational developments. No action was power to buy land for national forests only if the
taken on his proposal. Then, in 1921, when an purchase would aid navigation. Naturally, advocates
appropriation of $13.9 million for developing for- of eastern reserves, including Pinchot, shifted their
est roads and highways passed Congress, he pub- arguments from an emphasis on forests themselves
licly expressed his proposal for wilderness to the role of forests in preventing floods and reduc-
protection. He defined wilderness as "a continuous ing sedimentation. These arguments worked and,
stretch of country preserved in its natural state, open influenced by the great Mississippi flood of 1927,
to lawful hunting and fishing, big enough to absorb Congress accelerated acquisition of forestland when
a two weeks pack trip, and kept devoid of roads, it passed the Woodruff-McNary Act of 1928 (13).
artificial trails, cottages or the works of man" (10). By 1961, over 20 million acres (8.1 million hectares)
This definition has remained relatively unchanged of forestland, mostly in the East, had been pur-
until the present. It took nearly three years for chased (8).
Leopold to convince the district forester of New
Mexico and Arizona to approve the Gila Wilder- Forestry Research The second major task of the
ness plan. While this was a local decision, criticism Forest Service was expanding efforts in forest
of the Forest Service by preservationists mounted research. Documenting relationships between
and the Park Service increased its acquisition of forests and streamflow accelerated forest research
national forests, leading Forest Service Chief Gree- activity. However, reforesting cutover lands, increas-
ley to establish a national wilderness system in 1926. ing yields, and reducing waste through greater
Profile of Forest Policy Development 21

utilization of trees were also important research act increased appropriations for forest research and
goals. Raphael Zon deserves much credit for the For- authorized a periodic nationwide survey of timber
est Service research organization. He emphasized resources in the United States.
applied research, stating that "science . . . must serve
mankind" (13). In 1908, he presented a plan to Pin- Civilian Conservation Corps Development of
chot to establish forest experiment stations on key national forests received increased attention when
national forests. Pinchot, recalling his response, said President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the
that "I had seen forest experiment stations abroad Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) by executive
and I knew their value. The plan, therefore, was order on April 5, 1933, as part of his New Deal. In
approved at once" (11). When Pinchot left office in a March 21, 1933, document asking Congress for
1910, he had established two forest experiment sta- its support, Roosevelt detailed his goals as not only
tions and authorized the construction of the Forest "unemployment relief during the Great Depression
Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. but also advanced work in "forestry, the preven-
Congress was tightfisted with research funding tion of soil erosion, flood control, and similar proj-
over the next fifteen years. A big boost came in ects." He thought of the CCC as an investment
1925, when enough funds were appropriated to add "creating future national wealth" (9). Between 1933
six new experiment stations. Yet funding was hap- and 1942, when the CCC started to disband because
hazard, severely limiting research activities. With of World War II, over two million people worked
Greeley's enthusiastic support, the Forest Service in the program with as many as a half million
obtained assistance from private groups to lobby enrolled at one time (Figure 1.4). The Forest Ser-
Congress for long-term research funding. Their vice received nearly half the projects, but the Park
efforts paid off in 1928 with passage of the Service and other federal agencies also received
McSweeney-McNary Act. This act raised research substantial aid from the program (8). Although
to the same importance as other Forest Service func- some people criticized the CCC for hiring enrollees
tions such as timber and grazing. Furthermore, the from lists of Democrats (8), its accomplishments

F i g u r e 1.4 Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the territory of Alaska. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
22 Forest Policy Development in the United States

outweighed its problems. Young people built trails, states in growing and distributing planting stock and
thinned forests, fought fires, planted trees, and con- in providing aid to private owners in forest man-
structed campgrounds and other facilities. Their agement. These two acts stimulated the establish-
efforts substantially advanced the development of ment of state forestry organizations throughout the
the national forests. country. The Clarke-McNary Act also expanded the
Weeks Act provisions for land purchases.
Regulation and Control of the Forests The most Clarke-McNary set a precedent by authorizing pur-
controversial action by the Forest Service during chase of land in the watersheds of navigable streams
the period was its attempt to regulate private for- for timber production as well as streamflow pro-
est management. The agency had played an advi- tection. Purchase of timberland, particularly after
sory role in private timber management until it had been logged, was one approach to solving
passage of the Transfer Act of 1905, when much the deforestation problem on which most parties
of its attention shifted to managing the newly could agree. Overall, the Clarke-McNary Act is one
acquired national forests. Cooperation with private of the most important pieces of legislation in Amer-
owners was generally accepted as beneficial to all ican forest policy.
concerned at the time. However, Pinchot later World War II increased the nation's timber
recalled that he had been "misled" into thinking appetite. Great quantities of timber were harvested
that timber owners were interested in "practicing from both public and private lands, and certain
forestry" (11). important tree species were in short supply. For
Regulation created a split in professional forester example, loggers almost cut in Olympic National
ranks. A Pinchot-led faction favored federal control, Park because of the need for Sitka spruce to build
and Forest Service chiefs Graves and Greeley led warplanes. Rapid cutting to satisfy wartime timber
the state control fight. Pinchot argued that "forest requirements also intensified the public-regulation
devastation will not be stopped through persuasion" controversy. Timber executives mounted a major
but by "compulsory nation-wide legislation" (6). Pin- publicity campaign to thwart further federal regu-
chot believed that the lumber industry could con- lation. They were particularly concerned about
trol state legislatures. In his view, only the federal attaching conditions to cooperative funds allocated
government had the power to enforce regulations. under the Clarke-McNary Act.
The Forest Service argued that federal regulation was Heightened pressure on forest resources
unconstitutional and the federal role should focus induced by war and by proposed federal regula-
on cooperation rather than direct intervention in pri- tions motivated passage of forestry legislation at
vate forest management. The line was drawn and the state level. For example, the continued threat
Congress became the battlefield. Bills favored each of federal control helped lumber interests decide
position, and both sides stood firm. Pinchot said it to support state laws as the least offensive alter-
was "a question of National control or no control native. By 1939, five states had enacted legislation
at all" (8). The bills stalled. Greeley then proposed to curtail destructive cutting practices, but they
a compromise measure that dropped regulation were ineffective. The Oregon Forest Conservation
entirely and emphasized fire control. After all, he Act of 1941 set a precedent for more effective state
contended, timber cutting was "insignificant" in com- action, aimed primarily at securing and protect-
parison to wildfires as a cause of deforestation (8). ing tree reproduction, including several specific
Pinchot agreed (8), and Congress passed the and quantitative guidelines. Landowners had to
Clarke-McNary Act of 1924. obtain an approved, alternative timber manage-
Although the Weeks Act previously authorized ment plan to deviate from practices specified in
state and federal cooperation in fire control, the law. Likewise, the state forester could correct
Clarke-McNary expanded cooperation into other problems on timberlands caused by violating the
areas. It enabled the Secretary of Agriculture to assist law and charge the owners. Similar acts passed
Profile of Forest Policy Development 23

in Maryland (1943), Mississippi (1944), Washing- survey lands and manage the transfer of territory
ton (1945), California (1945), and Virginia (1948). to private hands. The BLM owns great tracts of tim-
Other states, such as Massachusetts (1943), Vermont berland in the western United States, most acquired
(1945), New York (1946), and New Hampshire through default of original grantees of federal lands.
(1949), relied on incentives and voluntary control The rapid and destructive cutting practices asso-
of cutting on private land (6). ciated with the war left behind millions of acres
At the federal level, Congress enacted two major that were not producing timber. Equally troubling
forest policies in 1944. Congress amended federal was the fact that timber harvests exceeded forest
income tax laws to allow timber owners to declare growth. The Forest Service laid blame squarely on
net revenue from timber sales as capital gains the shoulders of private timberland owners. The
instead of as ordinary income. This law reduced debate became acrimonious and technical argu-
taxes and helped to encourage timber owners to ments were set aside as the issue degenerated into
retain forestland in timber production. It also helped an emotional squabble. One timber industry rep-
to discourage them from abandoning land to avoid resentative accused the Forest Service of leading the
paying delinquent taxes. country into "totalitarian government and ultimately
Congress also passed the Sustained Yield For- socialism," and even called the Assistant Chief of
est Management Act of 1944. Sustained yield, in a the Forest Service, Edward C. Crafts, a "dangerous
general sense, means that an area is managed to man" because Crafts felt the public had the right
produce roughly equal annual or regular periodic, to protect its interests in private land (8). Dwight
yields of a resource such as timber. This concept D. Eisenhower settled the debate when, during his
can be traced back centuries in Europe where tim- campaign, he said that he was against "federal dom-
ber resources were scarce, and predictable, steady ination of the people through federal domination
yields were essential. The U.S. frontier economy of their natural resources" (8). Eisenhower became
made this approach politically difficult until war- president in 1952. He appointed Governor Sherman
induced shortages helped to make the idea more Adams of New Hampshire, a fomer lumberman, as
acceptable. However, the Sustained Yield Forest his presidential assistant. Adams stated earlier that
Management Act focused on safeguarding forest- natural resources could be conserved and distrib-
dependent communities from local timber shortages uted "without succumbing either to dictatorship or
rather than national needs. The act authorized the national socialism" (8). The Forest Service, sensing
Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to establish that the election might bring a philosophical change,
sustained-yield units of either federal timberland or moved to have Richard E. McArdle appointed chief,
a mixture of private and public timberland. Thus, in part because he was not identified with the reg-
the secretaries could enter into long-term agree- ulation issue (14). The decision proved sound.
ments with private forest owners to pool their McArdle dropped the Forest Service regulation cam-
resources with the government to supply timber to paign and retained his position through the change
local mills. Opposition from small companies and of administrations.
labor unions prevented the establishment of more
than one cooperative sustained-yield unit. However, Important Features of the Period 1911-1952 An
the Forest Service did establish five federal sus- evaluation of forest policies between 1911 and 1952
tained-yield units on national forests (8). shows the usual mixture of success and failure. The
In 1946, President Truman signed an executive goal of preventing forest resource overexploitation
order to create the Bureau of Land Management conflicted with that of furnishing wood needed to
(BLM) (22). This order combined the lands in the fight World Wars I and II. Maintaining forest cover
Department of the Interior held by the Grazing Ser- in the headwaters of navigable streams was only
vice and those still held and managed by the Gen- partially accomplished. The government could not
eral Land Office, which was established in 1812 to purchase all such watersheds, and purchased
24 Forest Policy Development in the United States

cutover lands were not always reforested. Tech- divided preservationists and utilitarian conserva-
nological constraints and shortages of money and tionists in previous periods.
workers during much of the period made it diffi- Global events such as the Cold War, the wars in
cult to protect forests adequately from insects, dis- Korea and Vietnam, and the Watergate scandal
eases, and fire. played an important role in the development of for-
Nevertheless, the period produced at least four est policy. The Government's lack of candor con-
major accomplishments, although none of them cerning these events caused a large segment of
represented a major societal goal when the period society to become suspicious of many public offi-
began. First, the National Park System grew in size cials and, consequently, distrustful of those in
to include the nation's most scenic areas and a new authority, including professional foresters. Public
agency was established to coordinate their man- demands for citizen participation in resource man-
agement. Second, the Forest Service established a agement decisions were largely a result of this lack
wilderness system. Third, cooperative arrangements of trust. Professional foresters were unprepared for
in forest management developed among state, this intense public scrutiny.
federal, and private timberland owners. Finally, the Most forest policy goals from 1911 through 1952
CCC converted the adversity of the Great Depres- carried over into the current period. The end of For-
sion into a significant contribution to the develop- est Service efforts to impose federal regulation on
ment of U.S. forests. private forest management in 1952 was a major turn-
ing point for the forestry profession. Foresters accus-
tomed to strong public support for the way they
Adjusting to Complexity managed forests now became defensive. They also
(1952-present) faced the challenges of reducing conflicts over
Although the forest policy problems of previous resource uses, and providing a growing nation with
periods were never simple, they still seem more more goods and services from a fixed land base.
comprehensible then the problems faced by con- Achieving these goals had become more difficult in
temporary society. Since World War II, the United the political and economic complexity of the period
States has experienced unparalleled material afflu- and the resulting uncertainty. In 1981, tax cuts and
ence and technological advances. A burgeoning recession created a $200 billion annual federal
population has heightened competition for essen- deficit, followed by major budget reductions in fed-
tial natural resources. After World War II came a eral forestry programs (15). Then, in 1982, stumpage
rapid growth in timber demand, particularly for prices fell 60 percent because housing construction
housing construction, that resulted in a continua- declined sharply. Consequently, the timber indus-
tion of destructive logging practices. Timber needs try began selling timberland and cutting back on per-
were too great to be satisfied from private lands sonnel and operations.
alone, so heavy logging reached into the national
forests. At the same time, prosperity, supported by Multiple Uses of the Forests Recreational use of
rapid exploitation of natural resources, made it pos- national forests grew steadily during the pre-World
sible for people to spend more of their leisure time War II years, but never reached parity with tim-
in the nation's forests, leading to "mass recreation." ber production as an objective of forest manage-
The numbers of people visiting the nation's wild- ment. Recreation achieved formal recognition as
lands increased tremendously and the nature of an objective in 1935 when the Division of Recre-
those visits changed to include more ' cars and ation and Lands was created in the Forest Service.
developed recreational sites (22). Extractive use and However, much recreation spending was on camp-
intensive recreational use, other than hunting, gen- grounds and other facilities to keep recreationists
erally conflict with each other. Therefore, issues in confined and out of the way of commodity users.
the 1950s and 1960s were broader than issues that Fire prevention was also an important reason for
Profile of Forest Policy Development 25

concentrating people in campgrounds (16), partic- ing position in Congress. The legal vehicle was
ularly in southern California. the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act (MUSY) of
Following WWII, a huge demand for forest prod- 1960, through which Congress directed that
ucts dominated the attention of professional national forests be managed for outdoor recre-
foresters, but they overlooked the equally enormous ation, range, timber, watershed, and wildlife and
growth in recreation. For example, recreation vis- fish purposes.
its to national forests climbed from fewer than 30 Although Edward C. Crafts said, "the bill con-
million in 1950 to about 233 million in 1982 (17, tained a little something for everyone" (19); it was
18). The explosive increase in recreational use nevertheless opposed by the timber industry, the
revived the idea, prevalent in the 1930s, that the Sierra Club (a preservationist group), and the Park
Park Service should administer recreation. This Service. The lumber industry thought that timber
spuned competition between the National Park Ser- had always been given the highest priority in
vice and the Forest Service over authority to admin- national forest management and that the bill would
ister recreational use of public lands. eliminate this preferential treatment by placing all
In 1956, the National Park Service received fund- resources on an equal level. Their opposition to the
ing for its "Mission 66," a ten-year plan to expand bill turned into mild support when the bill was
and upgrade recreational facilities in national parks. amended to include the following phrase: "The pur-
The Forest Service, not to be left out, responded poses of this Act are declared to be supplemental
with Operation Outdoors in 1957 to garner funds to, but not in derogation of, the purposes for which
for recreation on national forests, with a focus on the national forests were established as set forth in
the more "primitive" recreation available in national the Act of June 4, 1897" (10). In other words, since
forests as opposed to the more developed oppor- the Organic Administration Act of 1897 specified
tunities found in national parks. Operation Out- timber and water as the resources that forest
doors laid a critical foundation for the first Forest reserves were meant to protect, they felt that these
Service effort to emphasize nontimber uses. On the resources would be given a higher priority than
other hand, the BLM also tried for recreation dol- other resources. However, it is generally agreed this
lars with its Project 2012 (to celebrate the 200th ranking covers the establishment of national
anniversary of the creation of the General Land forests and does not extend to forest management
Office), but it was less successful. (19, 20).
While getting funding for Operation Outdoors, The Sierra Club opposed the multiple-use bill
Forest Service attempts to increase other recreation for two reasons. First, members wanted wilderness
funding met with limited success because of a lack added to the resource list so that wilderness would
of statutory responsibility to provide recreational recieve equal but separate recognition from recre-
facilities on national forests (16). The Forest Ser- ation. This issue was partially resolved when the
vice had to find a way to increase its recreational bill was amended at the request of the Wilderness
budget and at the same time protect itself from Society to state that wilderness was "consistent with
what it viewed as unacceptable demands from the the purposes and provisions" of the bill (21). Sec-
timber industry, the grazing industry, and the Park ond, the Sierra Club and the Park Service believed
Service for exclusive use of certain national for- the real purpose of multiple-use was to stop the
est lands. The concept adopted for defending the Park Service from taking national forest lands to
agency was "multiple use." In other words, the make national parks. However, they failed to
Forest Service felt that obtaining congressional include an amendment stating that the bill would
endorsement to manage lands for several uses, not affect creation of new national parks (19). Pres-
including grazing, wildlife, recreation, watershed, ident Eisenhower signed the Multiple Use-Sus-
and timber, would both legitimate the agency's tained Yield Act of 1960 even though it did not
management of all resources and enhance its fund- fully satisfy the Sierra Club and the Park Service.
 26 Forest Policy Development in the United States

The Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act has been suc- be given equal consideration; that all uses will be
cessful in accomplishing the Forest Service's goals. managed according to sustained-yield principles;
The Forest Service preserved its broad constituency, and that land productivity will not be impaired.
its political flexibility, and its varied responsibilities. Now the broader concept of "ecosystem manage-
However, the boost in congressional funding for ment" integrates multiple-use management within
nontimber resources that was expected to follow the higher priority of sustaining an ecological sys-
passage of the act did not materialize. Only wildlife tem. The Forest Service adopted this concept by
management received a significant average increase an administrative decision. However, this decision
in funding relative to Forest Service requests (20) creates new issues because it raises the standard
(Figure 1.5). of sustaining an ambiguous, and possibly unde-
One unresolved multiple-use issue involves pri- finable, ecological system above all other purposes
orities for allocation among uses. The Multiple for national forests specified in existing law.
Use-Sustained Yield Act evades priorities entirely.
It mandates that all uses mentioned are appropriate The Wilderness System MUSY did not eliminate
for national forest management; that all uses will Forest Service problems with single-use advocates.

F i g u r e 1.5 Bull moose in the Gallatin National Forest, Montana. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
Profile of Forest Policy Development 27

The wilderness issue remained. Creation of a wilder- preservationists sought increased security from con-
ness system aided the agency in defending its gressional action for wilderness designation. In
boundaries, but also created a preservation-oriented addition, they wanted to establish wilderness on
constituency that wanted to protect scenic and road- other federal lands, particularly within national
less areas against Forest Service commodity use parks and monuments. After eight years of debate
programs. and eighteen public hearings, Congress passed the
Over the years, the Forest Service added to its Wilderness Act of 1964 (Figure 1.6).
wilderness system and refined administrative reg- The wilderness system created by the Wilder-
ulations. The agency developed a classification ness Act set aside 9.1 million acres (3.7 million
scheme including a continuum of protection lev- hectares) of land in fifty-four areas that the Forest
els from primitive areas, which permitted some Service originally identified as wilderness and wild
roads and logging, to wild and wilderness areas that areas. Some existing uses of the land, like graz-
prohibited these activities. In 1940, the Forest Ser- ing, could continue. Similarly, mineral prospecting
vice extended greater protection to primitive areas could continue until 1983 (22). National Park Ser-
as well (10). However, wilderness enthusiasts vice lands were not included in the original wilder-
watched as the Forest Service gradually reduced the ness areas, but Congress designated some lands for
size of wilderness, wild, and primitive areas. Log- study and many wilderness areas now exist in
ging roads advanced and technology increased tim- national parks. Bureau of Land Management lands
ber utilization in remote areas, so pressures to open were not included under the Wilderness Act until
protected lands to harvesting increased. Because the passage of the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Man-
Forest Service could change wilderness boundaries, agement Act (22). This act legislatively authorized

F i g u r e 1.6 Packing into the

Pecos Wilderness Area of the
Santa Fe National Forest, New
Mexico. (Photograph by Harold
Walter, courtesy of U.S.D.A.
Forest Service.)
28 Forest Policy Development in the United States

the BLM, defining a land management mission public the results and recommended to Congress
more than thirty years after executive reorganiza- that 15.1 million acres (6.1 million hectares) of
tion established the Bureau (22). national forests be added to the wilderness system,
One of the more interesting debates concerned and that an additional 11.2 million acres (4.5 mil-
the renewability of wilderness as a resource. The lion hectares) be held for "further planning" because
Forest Service stated that wilderness could not be of a need for more reliable information on mineral
renewed. In other words, land used for other pur- deposits. There was hope that this recommenda-
poses could not be restored to its original wilder- tion would bring resolution to the wilderness ques-
ness character. On the other hand, preservation tion. However, preservationists reacted with "acute
groups contended that "certain areas not wilderness disappointment" to the recommendation, feeling
. . . if given proper protection and management can that it fell short, while the timber industry argued
be restored and regain wilderness qualities" (23). that it was excessive (24).
This was an important issue in the eastern United Advocates were still demanding more wilderness
States because timber production and agriculture twenty years after passage of the Wilderness Act.
had already affected much public land. The Forest Therefore, the Ninety-eighth Congress added 6.9 mil-
Service felt that most of these lands no longer lion acres (2.8 million hectares) of wilderness to the
retained their original character, so it resisted system, bringing the total to 32.4 million acres (13.1
attempts to classify wilderness areas in the East. million hectares). The Eastern Wilderness Act and
Instead, it proposed a new eastern roadless area subsequent congressional actions led to a gradual
system that would be less restrictive and separate change in the standards used to judge wilderness
from the national wilderness preservation system. quality. Today, many groups use wilderness desig-
Preservationists refused to accept this alternative nation as a way to preserve areas that would not
and succeeded in pressuring Congress to pass the have qualified as wilderness under provisions of the
Eastern Wilderness Act of 1975. The act added six- Wilderness Act of 1964. In Wisconsin, for example,
teen new areas to the wilderness system totaling
one wilderness area contains a red pine plantation.
nearly 207,000 acres (83,772 hectares). An additional
Likewise, current forests in many western wilder-
125,000 acres (50,587 hectares) in seventeen areas
ness areas are growing so thick that wildfires often
in national forests were set aside for the Secretary
burn hotter than would have occurred in the his-
of Agriculture to evaluate for possible inclusion in
toric forests. These extremely hot fires threaten local
the wilderness system.
communities and devastate the wilderness charac-
Wilderness advocates could not satisfy their ter of the land. Thus, wilderness is gradually losing
appetite for land. Their sights included all national its distinction as the repository of the last remnants
forest roadless areas as well as congressionally des- of the historic American landscape. Clearly, wilder-
ignated wilderness study areas. The Forest Service ness issues will be around for some time.
responded in 1967 by conducting a nationwide
inventory and evaluation of roadless lands within The Clearcutting Issue Wood consumption
national forests for wilderness suitability. The pro- increased in the 1970s at the same time that envi-
cedure known as RARE (Roadless Area Review and ronmental constraints, such as air and water pol-
Evaluation) identified 1,449 sites containing approx- lution control and restrictions on the use of
imately 56.21 million acres (22.7 million hectares). pesticides and herbicides, were limiting timber pro-
In 1973, the chief of the Forest Service designated duction. Furthermore, net losses of timberland in
235 of these sites for further study as possible all ownerships to nontimber purposes averaged
wilderness areas. about 4.9 million acres (2 million hectares) per
Many people criticized the RARE process, so a decade. Consequently, foresters believed that
new RARE II process began in 1977. In January wood shortages could develop at some point in the
1979, Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland made future. Although their apprehensions have not been
Profile of Forest Policy Development 29

borne out, preservationists and land managers still timber harvest as the dominant use of national
disagree over which methods are best for produc- forests" (26). In sum, the Forest Service did an out-
ing timber. standing job of producing timber, but it failed to
The focal point of the debate is clearcutting, adjust to changing social values.
which is a regeneration method in which all the The Forest Service modified forest management
trees on a certain area of land are cut and the site policies on the Bitterroot National Forest, but dis-
regenerated by natural seeding, seeding from air- regarded national implications of public concerns
craft, or replanting of pioneer tree species that grow over clearcutting. A few months after the Bolle com-
in openings. Preservationists claimed that clearcut- mittee report was released, the Subcommittee on
ting has "an enormously devastating environmen- Public Lands of the Senate Interior and Insular
tal effect which includes soil destruction, stream Affairs Committee, chaired by Senator Frank
siltation, and a stinging blow to the aesthetic sense" Church of Idaho, held hearings on public lands
(25). Where properly applied, clearcutting is less management practices, focusing on clearcutting in
damaging than wildfire but, like a wildfire, little can the national forests, especially in Montana, West Vir-
be done to reduce the unpleasant appearance of ginia, Wyoming, and Alaska. The subcommittee
a recent clearcut. concluded that clearcutting had to be regulated and
Concern over national forest management found that the Forest Service "had difficulty com-
practices erupted in November 1970, when Sena- municating effectively with its critics, and its image
tor Lee Metcalf of Montana released the Bolle has suffered" (27). Although the Forest Service had
Report, titled A University View of the Forest Ser- taken some actions to adjust to public concerns over
vice, and put it into the Congressional Record. Sci- clearcutting, the subcommittee felt they "have made
entists from the University of Montana prepared little impact" (27). The Forest Service lost the oppor-
the report at Metcalf's request. The report not only tunity to make forward-looking revisions in man-
criticized Forest Service management practices, but agement policies and instead had to accept the
it also uncovered a deep division within profes- Church guidelines.
sional forester ranks. The problem began in 1968 The clearcutting of hardwood forests in the
when residents of Montana's Bitterroot Valley com- Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia fur-
plained that clearcuts damaged the national forest ther increased the controversy, and the issue remains
surrounding them. Most disturbing to local resi- unresolved to this day (Figure 1.7). Clearcutting
dents was the Forest Service's practice of terrac- replaced selective cutting in the Monongahela
ing steep mountain slopes to prevent erosion and National Forest in 1964, and the reaction was almost
improve timber reproduction. The Forest Service immediate. Concerned citizens pressured the West
received a torrent of letters demanding that these Virginia legislature to pass resolutions in 1964, 1967,
practices be stopped. The Forest Service responded and 1970, requesting investigations of Forest Ser-
by appointing a task force to conduct an impar- vice timber management practices. A Forest Service
tial analysis of management practices in the Bit- special review committee confirmed that abuses had
terroot National Forest. The task force released its occurred (28). As a result, timber management poli-
findings in April 1970, a full six months before the cies were changed to encourage a variety of har-
Bolle committee, and was remarkably candid. Task vesting techniques. In addition, clearcuts were
force members found, for example, that the atti- limited to 25 acres (10 hectares) or less, and dis-
tude of many national forest staff was "that resource tances between clearcuts were regulated. Since
production goals come first and that land man- many timber sales were under contract using the
agement considerations take second place" (26). old 80-acre (32-hectare) limit, Forest Service reforms
The Bolle committee concurred with many of the could not bring immediate results (29).
findings in the task force report, but also found These reforms failed to satisfy preservationists.
that "the Forest Service is primarily oriented toward They wanted all clearcutting stopped immediately.
30 Forest Policy Development in the United States

F i g u r e 1.7 Clearcuts (background) on the Monongahela National Forest (Gauley District), West Virginia.
(Photograph by R. L. Giese.)

In May 1973, the Izaak Walton League of America The Monongahela decision produced a number
and other preservation organizations filed suit alleg- of bills in Congress to overcome the timber pro-
ing that clearcutting violated a provision in the 1897 duction bottleneck. For example, a preservation-
Organic Administration Act stating that only ist-sponsored bill would have instituted legislative
"dead, matured, or large growth of trees" could be prescriptions on timber harvesting. Acting with
cut and sold from a national forest. In December unusual speed, Congress passed an alternative bill
1973, Judge Robert Maxwell of the Northern Dis- titled the National Forest Management Act (NFMA).
trict Federal Court of West Virginia accepted this It was signed into law on October 22, 1976. The
interpretation. His ruling effectively banned act contained many important provisions. Together
clearcutting on national forests. The Fourth Circuit with the Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the lower Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA) (see "Addi-
court's decision in 1975, and the Forest Service tional Legislation" later in this chapter), the NFMA
halted all timber sales on national forests within requires the Forest Service to prepare compre-
the jurisdiction of the court. In 1976, the U.S. Dis- hensive interdisciplinary forest plans for all admin-
trict Court of Alaska used the same reasoning to istrative units at ten-year intervals. By 1986,
issue a permanent injunction against timber har- twenty-five national forest plans were in final form,
vesting on a large area of Prince of Wales Island. but most were challenged by interest groups. By
These and similar lawsuits halted timber sales on the mid-1990s, all forest plans had been finalized
national forests in six states (30). and approved by the Forest Service Chief, though
Profile of Forest Policy Development 31

court challenges to some plans remain. The NFMA whose principal interest is scenic beauty could sue
repealed the section of the Organic Administration government agencies (31). This decision opened the
Act of 1897 that served as the basis for lawsuits door to the courts and ushered in judicial involve-
that stopped national forest clearcutting. It allows ment in resource policy-making, including the
clearcutting when it is found to be the "optimal" Monongahela case. Lawsuits are expensive, time-
(left undefined) silvicultural treatment. Clearcuts consuming, and often embarrassing to the agency
today are less extensive and nontimber values, such involved. Thus, just the threat of a lawsuit can
as wildlife and recreation, have a greater role in increase participation by citizens in formulating
decisions about regeneration methods. While the agency policy. Preservationists also use lawsuits as
NFMA did not completely resolve the clearcutting a delaying tactic.
controversy, it did make foresters more alert and Passage of the National Environmental Policy Act
sensitive to public opinion. The act also brought of 1969 (NEPA) and similar legislation enacted by
forest management closer to the multiple-use ideal. various states greatly expanded opportunities to file
lawsuits. NEPA established a detailed procedure for
Judicial Involvement in Resource Policy Making assessing environmental consequences of federal
The Monongahela decision illustrates the growing actions significantly affecting the quality of the
importance of courts in forest policy development. human environment. These procedures require that
In 1978, for example, the U.S. Supreme Court fur- agencies consider so many potential effects that it
ther complicated management of the national forests is difficult to fully comply with the law, which
by handing down the Rio Mimbres decision. The invites litigation on procedural grounds alone. Fur-
Rio Mimbres flows through the Gila National For- thermore, NEPA is one of the first environmental
est in New Mexico. The dispute centered on the policies using "sunshine provisions," which require
legal right of the Forest Service to have enough that decision-making be open to public view and
water to manage the multiple uses of a national for- comment. Thus, the public is more aware of reg-
est versus the rights of upstream water users who ulatory decisions and can quickly respond with legal
wanted water for irrigation and other purposes. As challenges. This delays decisions and, in many
in the Monongahela decision, the Organic Admin- cases, brings about changes in forest policy. The
istration Act of 1897 was used against the Forest large volume of environmental legislation passed
Service. The Court interpreted the act to mean that by Congress and the states during the late 1960s
forest reserves were set aside to maintain timber and 1970s also provided increased opportunities for
supplies and favorable waterflows. The act did not lawsuits, in part because the laws included citizen
mention rights to water for other purposes. In suit provisions that permitted individuals to sue an
essence, the Court ruled that the Forest Service had agency to mandate enforcement of the law.
no legal right to Rio Mimbres water and that it
would have to satisfy water needs through state Additional Legislation The Forest and Range-
water rights procedures (15). Thus, courts dramat- land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974
ically increased the complexities and uncertainties (RPA) was perhaps the most far-reaching forest
of national forest management. policy enacted during this period. The RPA was
The courts normally limit the number and scope part of a congressional effort to gain greater con-
of their reviews of administrative decisions. The trol of the budgetary process. Congress was react-
judiciary gradually became more involved with ing to what it perceived as a decline in its authority
administrative review as preservationists, frustrated relative to the executive branch (32). Furthermore,
in their dealings with administrators, turned to the Congress had always shown greater support for
courts for relief. The number of suits increased dra- resource programs than the executive branch, par-
matically after the "Scenic Hudson" case of 1965, ticularly the Office of Management and Budget
in which the court decided that an organization (OMB), and RPA was one means of pressuring the
32 Forest Policy Development in the United States

president to raise budget requests for natural Act of 1973, Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976,
resources management. and Clean Water Act of 1977. Two major attributes
RPA initiated a procedure for setting goals and of these policies are particularly important. First,
formulating forest policies. The act requires the Sec- they rely on complex and detailed federal and state
retary of Agriculture to make periodic assessments regulation procedures and the exercise of federal
of national needs for forest and rangeland police powers. They also mandate public involve-
resources. Then the Secretary must make recom- ment in the regulatory process, including public
mendations for long-range programs that the For- hearings and comment periods on proposed reg-
est Service must carry out to meet those needs. The ulations. Second, they focus on broad environ-
act required the Secretary to tramsmit the assess- mental goals rather than forestry, yet they
ment and program to Congress in 1976 and again influence forest policy. For example, Section 208
in 1980. A new assessment was required every ten of the 1972 Federal Water Quality Act amendments
years thereafter, and the program is to be revised required the establishment of enforceable best
every five years. Subsequent assessments included management practices to control water pollution.
comprehensive analyses of the forestry and forest These practices apply to timber harvesting and sil-
products sectors in the United States and world- vicultural treatments on public and private forest-
wide, pointing to a need for improved information lands, and they further complicate the forest policy
to better manage forests under all ownerships. In process (35).
addition, the president is required to submit a The 1980s saw much litigation concerning
statement to Congress with each annual budget forestry move through the courts and relatively lit-
explaining why funding requests differ from the tle legislation move through Congress. The idea of
program approved by Congress. "conflict resolution" became a natural resource man-
The Forest Service took advantage of the oppor- agement specialty because lawsuits proved too
tunity provided by RPA. In its first budget request cumbersome and time-consuming for use in
under RPA, the agency asked for substantial resolving disputes over resource use. Mediation and
increases in funds. Congress responded favorably, stakeholder meetings to collect information, assure
and President Jimmy Carter signed the appropria- that all viewpoints are aired, and hammer out pos-
tions bill for the 1978 fiscal year. The Forest Ser- sible solutions were hailed as the future of public
vice budget was raised $275 million over the natural resource management, as indeed they have
funding level of the previous fiscal year (33). Sub- become. Those most closely involved in an issue
sequent budgets did not do as well. Massive fed- come together to work out a solution that is accept-
eral deficits forced budget reductions that resulted able to everyone.
in a 30 percent decline in national forest funding After more than a decade of litigation over the
between 1978 and 1986 (34). While recent federal adequacy of national forest plans in meeting all of
budgets have not had the sizable deficits of the past, the requirements imposed by RPA, NFMA, NEPA,
Forest Service budgets have been largely flat or and various other laws, and squabbles over wilder-
declining in both real and nominal terms as enti- ness, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA)
tlement spending grows. moved to center stage in the 1980s, 1990s, and
Although many important policies dealing with 2000s. It may be the most important law affecting
forest resources developed during this period, a forest policy development in the United States.
series of laws adopted for other purposes pro- Although not originally controversial, the ESA
foundly affected forest management as well. These became more onerous to many agencies and
policies include enactment of NEPA (already dis- landowners as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
cussed), Clean Air Act of 1970, Federal Water Pol- became more aggressive in carrying out its provi-
lution Control Act of 1972, Federal Environmental sions. Thus, subsequent amendments attempted to
Pesticide Control Act of 1922, Endangered Species ease the burden on affected interests, but with
Profile of Forest Policy Development 33

limited affect. For example, the 1978 amendments clarified how the ESA applies to private lands. Pri-
created the "God Squad," a presidentially appointed vate property rights are a precious part of Amer-
cabinet-level committee convened to evaluate sit- ica's cultural heritage, so balancing the rights of
uations where a species' critical habitat designation landowners against the public interest remains a
and recovery measures have a profound economic legal issue. A 1995 Supreme Court decision in Bab-
or other impact. Subsequent amendments allowed bitt v. Sweet Home, et al. affirmed that the ESA
private landowners to be issued "incidental take applies to private lands and that a habitat conser-
permits" in return for developing a habitat con- vation plan is the remedy for landowners. How-
servation plan for the at-risk species where the crit- ever, these plans are expensive to prepare and
ical habitat involves private land. difficult to implement. Consequently, efforts are
Perhaps the most well known ESA impact on underway to find workable alternatives for small
forestry stems from listing the northern spotted owl landowners. "Safe Harbor" is one proposed rem-
as a threatened species in northern California, Ore- edy under which small landowners can agree, as
gon, and Washington. This decision curtailed har- part of a statewide habitat conservation plan, to
vesting of old growth forests (generally more than maintain some habitat on their lands for a given
200 years old) by court injunctions in 1989. Hun- number of animals (36). Under "Safe Harbor," small
dreds of sawmills and other processing facilities uti- landowners can work together by trading agree-
lizing this timber shut down, causing economic ments. It is possible for one landowner to main-
depression in the myriad small towns in which these tain all needed habitat in an area. Then other
facilities were major employers. The loss of pub- landowners compensate the owner who accepts
lic timber also shifted the burden of meeting the responsibility for maintaining the habitat so that they
nation's wood fiber needs to private forest are free to harvest timber on their lands.
landowners and it dramatically increased reliance A group of concerned citizens in Quincy, Cali-
on foreign imports. Since most of the remaining old fornia, pioneered another innovative alternative to
growth forests in this region are on federal lands public forest management. They are known as the
(Forest Service or BLM), government appeared on Quincy Library Group because they met in the town
all sides of the debate: as land manager, as enforcer library. They succeeded in forging a compromise
of the ESA, and as states and counties which stood plan to protect their community from two interre-
to lose substantial revenues because so much tim- lated problems. First, they needed a way to revi-
ber harvesting had ceased. The rhetoric surround- talize the local economy that had suffered from
ing this issue was extreme, some local economic reduced timber harvests on public lands. In addi-
losses were severe, and emotions remain high. Mat- tion, the lack of forest management allowed trees
ters reached such a level that the God Squad was to become denser and dead fuel began piling up
convened under the ESA to determine whether underneath them. Therefore, their community also
some timber sales in process on BLM lands would faced a growing threat from wildfires. After several
be allowed to continue. years in development, their plan to resolve these
In the South, the red-cockaded woodpecker issues became law in The Herger-Feinstein Quincy
(RCW) was listed as endangered in 1970. The effects Library Group Forest Recovery Act of 1999, which
on Southern forestry have been much smaller than passed in Congress as an amendment to the
in the Pacific Northwest, in large part because Omnibus Appropriations Bill. Similar programs for
remaining RCW habitat is mostly on public land, local participation in forest management exist in sev-
which is a small part of commercial forestland in eral communities, such as the Applegate Partner-
this region. ship in southwestern Oregon. However, the
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on many of the Canadian government has gone farther than any
issues surrounding the presence of endangered other country's in creating opportunities for local
species on forested lands. In particular, the Court participation. They launched their Model Forests
34 Forest Policy Development in the United States

Sidebar 1.4

Rediscovering the Local Community

Today's forest management issues frequently conflict then develops because the needs of los-
involve vast areas of land and national interests. ers in the process remain unfulfilled. This is
Local communities that must live with decisions another reason why conflict often fails to deliver
to resolve such issues often become victims of acceptable or sustainable decisions.
the policy process rather than participants. Fur- Cooperation focuses on the process that leads
thermore, the grand scale of these issues makes to a decision. It represents recognition by the
relationships within them highly complex, participants that there are no right or wrong
which increases uncertainty about the conse- answers, only acceptable solutions. People who
quences of actions designed to resolve the work together for their individual and common
issues. National interest groups, who lack interests develop a better understanding of each
detailed firsthand knowledge of local conditions, other and the issue being addressed. Thus, coop-
further complicate such problems by ignoring eration usually leads to mutual respect and it
uncertainties, and oversimplifying issues so that increases the likelihood of achieving a durable
they can prescribe simple solutions. Decisions consensus (1).
reached in this manner often generate unantic- Decades of conflicts over forest management
ipated and undesireable social and ecological have led to weariness with endless lawsuits and
side effects. Many of these side effects are so acrimonious debates. Decisions that resulted
serious that they ignite further conflict. Keeping from these debates tended to ignore some
decision making centralized at the national level groups and favor others, which led to frustra-
cannot break the cycle of conflict, simplistic solu- tion and a search for new ways to reduce con-
tions, and new conflicts that such decisions flict by promoting cooperation. What has
inevitably generate. emerged is the rediscovery of the local com-
Conflict can be a constructive force in an munity. In the United States, the two best-known
open society, but it has limits. Conflict often local groups working to resolve forest manage-
focuses on the outcome of a decision. The ment issues are the Quincy Library Group and
process that leads to a decision may not be as the Applegate Partnership. They both developed
important to interest groups as winning. Further from efforts by local community leaders, loggers,

Program in 1992 through the Canadian Forest Ser- on NIPF landowners because they own about 60
vice. Now the program is international, with ten percent of the commercial timberland in the United
forests in Canada, three in the United States, includ- States. For example, the Clarke-McNary Act of 1924
ing the Applegate Partnership, and seven more in targets NIPFs of less than 1,000 acres (404.7
such countries as Chile, Russia, Mexico, and Japan. hectares). These NIPF landowners can obtain cost
sharing for reforestation and technical assistance if
Small Private Forestry Landowners who do not they meet certain criteria. The Forestry Incentives
have a wood-processing facility are called nonin- Program of 1973 provided further assistance to small
dustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners (also see landowners. States administer many of these
Chapter 10 on NIPFs). Much forest policy focuses cooperative programs.
Profile of Forest Policy Development 35

farmers, ranchers, and environmentalists who

came together because conflict was damaging
their communities. They are all striving to
achieve the same goal: a sustainable balance
between human well-being and healthy and pro-
ductive forests.
The Applegate Partnership deals with issues
involving all forest ownerships in the Applegate
River watershed in southwestern Oregon. There
is no hierarchy, nor are there officers, and the
chair position rotates at each meeting. Thus, all
participants have equal status and the meetings
are open to everyone. Public and donated funds
Rediscovering the local community.
support the organization, and members work to
ensure that all interests are respected and fairly
considered in decisons.
The Quincy Library Group concentrates on Forest Service, created a Model Forest Program.
national forests around the town of Quincy, Cal- It encourages stakeholders, scientists, and pub-
ifornia. Anyone who shows up at a meeting can lic and private landowners to work together to
join, and decisions are made by consensus, develop sustainable forests that incorporate a
because each member has a veto. They reached broad range of values. The program began with
a consensus on a forest management plan for ten Model Forests, but the idea is so popular that
the surrounding forests that was rejected by it is now part of the International Model Forest
national environmental groups and the Forest Network. To date, there are Model Forests in six
Service, so the Quincy Library Group went to countries and the list is expanding. Thus, redis-
Congress. The result was the passage of the covering the local community could change the
Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest future of forest management worldwide.
Recovery Act of 1999 that requires the Forest Ser-
vice to carry out a national forest management Source:
plan similar to the one proposed by the group. 1. T. M. BONNICKSEN, Politics and the Life Sciences, 15,
Canada has taken a different path to coop- 23-34 (1996).
eration. The government, through the Canadian

Congress passed the Forest Stewardship Act in landowner need not manage for all potential uses.
1990 in response to growing concerns about the The second major provision is the Stewardship
management of small private forestlands. The act Incentives Program, which provides technical
includes three main provisions. First, the Forest assistance and cost sharing to those who have an
Stewardship provision renders technical assistance, approved ten-year stewardship plan. The third
but it requires that a forest stewardship plan be pre- major provision is the Forest Legacy Program. This
pared by a professional forester and approved program permits landowners to retire lands of spe-
by the state forestry agency. The stewardship plan cial character or lands that are environmentally sen-
must include land management objectives and sitive in return for payments from the state. Small
strategies for multiple-use management, though the landowners will increasingly be required to plan
36 Forest Policy Development in the United States

with the assistance of resource professionals and Second, both the lack of objective criteria for
demonstrate how their efforts benefit society in assessing policies and citizen participation ensure
order to receive public monies. that debate and compromise will continue to be the
central means for making forest policy decisions.
Important Features of the Period 1952 to the Pre- A professional forester or natural resource manager
sent An evaluation of American forest policy since must be prepared not only to engage in these
1952 shows a gradual transition to a more balanced debates but also to compromise. The time when
and environmentally aware approach to resources professional judgment was accepted without ques-
management. The growing strength of nontimber tion has passed. (The following chapter discusses
interest groups fostered this change, but timber pro- the forestry profession, and its responsibilities and
duction remains critically important to the nation's career opportunities.)
economy and forest management. Citizen partici- Finally, the forest policy process is growing more
pation in local decision-making increased, and will complex. As demand for forest resources increases
likely continue to do so, although the traditional leg- and diversity among interest groups widens, pro-
islative and judicial processes continued to play an viding for society's needs in an equitable and cost-
important role in forest policy development. Much effective manner becomes more difficult. Important
work remains to achieve equity and harmony among strides have been made in resolving forestry issues,
affected interests. In spite of conflicts, and with the but the unending search for creative answers
exception of many small communities in the West, remains the challenge of American forest policy.
most groups received substantially more forest
resources from all ownerships, including timber
products, than they obtained in any previous period.
References
1. K. E. BOULDING, Principles of Economic Policy,
Concluding Statement Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1958.
2. J. E. ANDERSON, Public Policy-Making, Holt, Rinehart
In this chapter, we traced the history of forest pol-
& Winston, New York, 1979.
icy development in the United States as seen
through the policy process. This approach neces- 3. G. F. CARTER, Man and the Land—A Cultural Geog-
raphy, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, 1975.
sarily simplifies history, but certain general princi-
ples about forest resource policy making emerge, 4. H. E. DRIVER, Indians of North America, Univ. of
principles that will remain unaltered into the fore- Chicago Press, Chicago, 1961.
seeable future. 5. G. M. DAY, Ecology, 34, 329 (1953).
First, the forest policy process is inherently sub- 6. S. T. DANA, Forest and Range Polity: Its Development
jective. The preferred forest policy of one group in the United States, First Edition, McGraw-Hill, New
may be seen as disastrous by another group. The York, 1956.
search for objective measures to set goals and 7. T. A. BAILEY, The American Pageant, D. C. Heath,
resolve forest policy issues has proved futile. No Boston, 1961.
single criterion can ensure agreement among all 8. H. K STEEN, The U.S. Forest Service: A History, Univ.
contending interests as each group uses different of Washington Press, Seattle, 1976.
standards to judge forest policies. Therefore, con- 9. R. NASH, ed., The American Environment, Addison
verting the forest policy process to science is not Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1968.
likely, nor will scientists and professionals be del- 10. J. P. GILLIGAN, "The Development of Policy and Admin-
egated authority to make the decisions. Active cit- istration of Forest Service Primitive and Wilderness
izen participation will remain an essential part of Areas in the Western United States," Vols. I and II,
the forest policy process. Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Michigan, 1953-
References 37

11. G. PINCHOT, Breaking New Ground, Harcourt Brace, Edition, McGraw-Hill, Second Edition, New York.
New York, 1947. 1980.
12. S. P. HAYS, Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency, 23. T. M. BONNICKSEN, California Today, 2, 1 (1974).
Atheneum, New York, 1975. 24. R. PARDO, Am. For., 85, 10 (1979).
13. D. C. SWAIN, Federal Conservation Policy 1921-1933, 25. N. WOOD, Sierra Club Bull., 56, 14 (1971).
Univ. of California Press, Berkeley, 1963.
26. A. W. BOLLE, "A University View of the Forest Servce,"
14. E. C. CRAFTS, "Forest Service Researcher and Con- U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Doc. 91-115,1970.
gressional Liaison: An Eye to Multiple Use," For. Hist.
27. U.S. Senate, "Clearcutting on Federal Timberlands,"
Soc. Publ., Santa Cruz, Calif., 1972.
Rept., Public Lands Sub-Committee, Committee on
15. J. RAMM AND K. BARTOLOMI, J. For., 83, 363, 367, (1985). Interior and Insular Affairs, 1972.
16. F. W. GROVER, "Multiple Use in U.S. Forest Service Land 28. G. O. ROBINSON, The Forest Service, Johns Hopkins
Planning," For. Hist. Soc. Publ., Santa Cruz, Calif., 1972. Press, Baltimore, 1975.
17. President's Advisory Panel on Timber and the Envi- 29. L. POPOVICH, J. For, 74, 169,176 (1976).
ronment, Final Rept., U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 1973.
30. J. F. HALL AND R. S. WASSERSTROM, Environ. Law, 8, 523
18. A. S. MILLS, "Recreational Use in National Forests." In (1978).
Statistics on Outdoor Recreation, Part II, C. S. Van
31. C. W. BRIZEE, J. For., 73, 424 (1975).
Doren, ed., Resources for the Future, Washington,
D.C., 1984. 32. D. M. HARVEY, "Change in Congressional Policymak-
ing and a Few Trends in Resource Policy." In Cen-
19. E. C. CRAFTS, Am. For., 76, 13, 52 (1970).
ters of Influence and U.S. Forest Policy, F. J. Convery
20. R. M. ALSTON, "FOREST—Goals and Decision-Making and J. E. Davis, eds., School of Forestry and Envi-
in the Forest Service." U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Inter- ronmental Studies, Duke Univ., Durham, N.C., 1977.
mountain For. Range Expt. Sta., Res. Pap. INT-128,
33. L. POPOVICH, J. For., 75, 656, 660 (1977).
1972.
34. N.SAMPSON, Am. For., 92, 10, 58 (1986).
21. E. C. CRAFTS, Am. For., 76, 29 (1970).
35. J. A ZIVNUSKA, J. For., 76, 467 (1978).
22. S. T DANA AND S. K. FAIRFAX, Forest and Range Pol-
icy: Its Development in the United States, Second 36. R. BONNIE, J. For, 95, 17 (1997).
 CHAPTER 2
Forestry: The Profession
and Career Opportunities
RONALD L. GIESE

Paths to the Profession International Forestry

Career Decisions Research and Teaching
Forestry Curricula Consulting Forestry
General Education Other Areas
Professional Education Employment
Career Opportunities Expectations of Employers
Seeking Employment
Sources of Employment
Public Forestry in Federal Agencies Concluding Statement
Public Forestry in State Settings References
Forestry in Private Industry

Forestry provides a diverse set of opportunities, ment of the environmental consequences of for-
which can lead to a challenging and fulfilling career. est management decisions. The Forest and Range-
Many people are attracted to forestry by their out- land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974
door orientation or environmental concerns, others and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA)
by the mathematical and engineering applications of 1976, and the Federal Land Policy and Man-
so important in modern forestry; still others find the agement Act of 1976 provided new opportunities
biological aspects of forestry to their liking. Some to set national goals and formulate forest policies.
people find rewarding the elements of social stud- Legal challenges to timber management practices
ies in forestry such as economics, sociology, and on federal lands, like those arising from the Monon-
political science. Still others are taken with appli- gahela clearcutting issue, have led to changes in
cations of new technologies such as global posi- timber-management policies. In 1999, after 20 years
tioning systems and satellites, or new disciplines like of experience under the forest land management
landscape ecology and geographic information sys- planning rules of the NFMA, the Forest Service
tems in forestry. Whatever the motivation, a sense issued new planning regulations.
of stewardship and an appreciation of natural rela- The net result of these changes has been to cre-
tionships are common denominators among those ate an institutional setting for forestry that is very
who pursue forestry as a professional career. different and more complex than ever before. As
Events in recent decades have created momen- a society, we are now more concerned with ecosys-
tous changes in the forestry profession. Passage of tem management and resource planning, which
the National Environmental Policy Act and the must deal with issues relating to diversity and bio-
establishment of the Environmental Protection logical conservation, wilderness, endangered
Agency, along with various state versions of envi- species and the right of the people to influence the
ronmental and forest practices acts, require assess- direction of resource management. Modern foresters
38
Paths to the Profession 39

are challenged, interested, and motivated by the that of over 12,000 Society of American Foresters
complexities of their profession in a milieu of bio- members who reported the level of their jobs, 52
logical, quantitative and social sciences. percent of these active professionals are in man-
During a forestry career, a person usually agement, administrative, or staff specialist positions
encounters a progression of duties and expecta- (1). The general direction of a forestry career is
tions. Early on, foresters are very dependent on therefore from exercising technical forestry skills to
technical field skills (Figure 2.1). As they move up employing business and management practices.
the career ladder into the broader aspects of land However, the ability to communicate well and to
management, economics and decision-making work effectively on multidisciplinary teams is an
skills become more pertinent to their professional asset at all stages of a person's career.
performance. The next stage of the career often
places foresters in the role of people managers who
must draw broadly on a background of technology Paths to t h e Profession
and experience in land management, as well as
cope with the challenges generated by people both Career Decisions
inside and outside their sphere of control. That For students making tentative career choices,
such an evolution happens is evident by the fact forestry is sometimes a mystery. Their perception

Figure 2.1 Students learn technical forestry skills in the field during the required summer camp experience.
40 Forestry: The Profession and Career Opportunities

of forestry may focus on operating sawmills, cut- information systems—each a component of

ting trees, or outdoor recreation. However, as will forestry—have not yet found their way into the
be evident over the course of this chapter, mod- repertoire of the occupational codes or counsel-
ern forestry positions emphasize business ing services.
approaches, computer science, social science, math- Some counselors and their subjects place too
ematics and engineering skills, as well as the life much credence and emphasis on test results. If
sciences. Careers in forestry can provide a variety taken as an end point rather than a beginning, test
of stimulating challenges in areas that students not results are likely to lead to incorrect conclusions.
primarily interested in biology usually do not con- This is so because the popular Strong vocational
sider seriously. interest approach incorporates the Holland codes.
In planning for careers, students must use test- Self-directed career searches and the Holland Dic-
ing and classification services with caution. To a tionary (2) provide required educational develop-
large extent the counseling services at the high ment. However, the educational preparation
school and college levels are usually out of date specified does not include advanced mathematics
with respect to forestry. Vocational tests often suf- or the ability to read technical literature—such a
fer from biases and outdated bases of information. background would not even qualify a forestry pro-
Typically, current automated testing systems picture gram for accreditation. If you have interests or
a firefighter wearing a hard-hat or a logger with a background in advanced mathematics, computer
chainsaw as characterizing forestry. These out- science, or statistics, an aptitude survey or voca-
moded perceptions fail to do justice to the skills tional interest test will erroneously declare that you
and education of the modern forestry professional are overqualified for forestry. Because of the inter-
whose background embraces computer science, dependency of these counseling tools, incorrect
ecology, operations research, business, policy, information in one of the components automatically
resource planning and management, engineering, creates flaws in the others.
and communications. If you wish to choose career possibilities with
Vocational tests are widely available and gen- an open mind and an eye to future satisfaction, you
erally fall into three categories: aptitude, interests, should use testing information as only one of sev-
and personality. The outcomes of some of these eral sources of input. The informed person will
tests are clearly wrong (based on outdated infor- develop a mixed strategy for choosing a career.
mation), and others are incomplete. The Holland Testing can provide some direction, but it should
Classification, for example, takes interests, values also stimulate questions. Interviews with counselors
and skills of individuals and combines them into may help interpret the outcome of testing (Figure
six personality types (2). A combination of R (real- 2.2). Armed with vocational testing information, you
istic), S (social), and I (investigative) types leads can greatly enhance decisions on careers or aca-
to forester in the Holland Code of occupations. demic majors by looking into careers, talking with
If you undergo an analysis under this system using advisors in college forestry departments, inter-
terms such as business management, taking risks, viewing professionals engaged in fields that inter-
organizing, computing, writing, or decision-mak- est you, and taking a summer job to gain firsthand
ing as inputs, you will not be led, for example, experience.
to the following important aspects of forestry: Never before have opportunities for exploring
planning, trade, paper processing, systems analy- forestry issues been so easy and widespread. In this
sis, managerial activities, marketing, technical writ- book, we help you to capitalize on this rich
ing, or administration. Moreover, the concepts of resource of information by interspersing references
artificial intelligence and expert systems, land- to websites globally. By using computers, you can
scape ecology, biotechnology, and geographic expand on specialized information as interested.
Paths to the Profession 41

tems across space and time, and (b) molec-

ular biology, cells, organisms, populations,
species, communities and ecosystems.
Physical sciences—understanding of physical and
chemical properties, measurements, structure,
and states of matter.
Mathematics—understanding and using basic
approaches and applications of algebra,
trigonometry and statistics for analysis and
problem solving.
Computer Literacy—using computers and other
electronic technologies in professional life.
3. Social Sciences and Humanities. Competency
is required as an understanding of:
Figure 2.2 Interactions with knowledgeable
counselors can help in career choices. (Photo by W. Moral and ethical questions and using critical rea-
Hoffman, UW-Madison.) soning skills,
Human behavior and social and economic struc-
tures, and
Forestry Curricula Dimensions of the human experience.
The Society of American Foresters (SAF) defines
forestry as "the science and art of attaining desired Professional Education Competencies are
forest conditions and benefits. As professionals, required in the following major areas:
foresters develop, use and communicate their 1. Ecology and Biology—understanding taxon-
knowledge for one purpose: to sustain and omy, distribution and ecological characteristics
enhance forest resources for diverse benefits in per- of trees and their associated vegetation and
petuity. To fulfill this purpose, foresters need to wildlife; physiology of trees; genetics; ecologi-
understand the many demands now and in the cal principles including structure and function
future" (3). Within this context, the SAF prescribes of ecosystems; soil formation, classification and
the curricula upon which professional forestry is properties; silviculture including control of
built. The general requirements specified by the SAF composition, growth and quality of forest
fall into two categories, and a brief description will stands, and fire ecology and use; entomology
serve to show the diversity and strength of a forestry and pathology, and integrated pest management.
education. Ability must be shown to conduct forest and
stand assessments and to create silvicultural pre-
General Education This component must provide scriptions.
coverage and competency in the following areas: 2. Measurement of Forest Resources—identify-
1. Communications. Oral and written compe- ing and measuring land areas and conducting
tencies of communication must be demonstrated. spatial analysis; designing and implementing
Programs reinforce these skills throughout the comprehensive forest inventory; and analyzing
entire curriculum. inventory information to project future forest
2. Science, Mathematics and Computer Liter- conditions.
acy. Competency is required in: 3. Management of Forest Resources—analyzing
Biological Science—understanding (a) patterns economic, environmental and social conse-
and processes of biological and ecological sys- quences of resource management strategies and
42 Forestry: The Profession a n d Career Opportunities

decisions; developing management plans with in its mission. The SAF is recognized by the fed-
specific multiple objectives and constraints; eral government as the official accrediting agency
understanding harvesting methods, wood prop- for forestry programs in the United States. A cur-
erties, products manufacturing and utilization; rent listing of forestry schools in the United States
and understanding administration, ownership and descriptions of their programs are available on
and organization of forest enterprises. SAF's website (4).
4. Forest Resource Policy and Administra- Forestry is atypical among professions because
tion—understanding forest policy, processes of of the high percentage of baccalaureate-trained
how local and federal laws and regulations gov- professionals and the small fraction of self-
ern forestry, professional ethics and ethical employed professionals, the highest percentage
responsibility, and integrating technical, finan- being employed in the public and private sectors
cial, human resources and legal aspects of pub- (Table 2.1).
lic and private enterprises. Although the majority of students terminate their
formal education at the bachelor's level, increas-
The mission of the Society of American Foresters ing numbers are proceeding to advanced graduate
is "to advance the science, education, technology, degree programs, which they enter either from a
and practice of forestry; to enhance the competency forestry undergraduate curriculum, or from any
of its members; to establish professional excellence; number of other undergraduate majors, including
and to use the knowledge, skills, and conservation mathematics, engineering, botany, and economics
ethic of the profession to ensure the continued or other social sciences. Students who enter from
health and use of forest ecosystems and the pres- another major are eligible to pursue the first pro-
ent and future availability of forest resources to ben- fessional degree at the master's level. According to
efit society" (3). An important function of the SAF the Occupational Outlook Handbook (5), the
is the study and development of standards in increasingly complex nature of forestry has led
forestry education and accreditation of forestry some employers to prefer graduates with advanced
schools, and these processes further the objectives degrees.

T a b l e 2.1 Employment Distribution of Society of American Foresters Membership (1)

Employer Sector Number a Percent

Government
Federal 2,196 17
State or local 1,917 15
Other than U.S. 64 <1
Private industry 3,728 28
Self-employed
Consulting 2,116 16
Other self-employed 705 5
College/university 1,350 10
Association/foundation 252 2
Other 341 3
Unemployed 93 <1
Not indicated 429 3
Total 13,191 100
a
This table excludes, compared to the original information base, retirees and students (constituting over 5,000 other Society of
American Foresters members) who would not normally be seeking full-time professional employment.
Sources of E m p l o y m e n t s 43

The relative balance among educational levels of agroforestry practices are especially important.
in recent forestry recruitment provides a good idea For an expanded discussion on the variety of spe-
of opportunities. A 1998 report (6) noted that for cialties available in the profession, the interested
entry-level forestry hirings over a two-year period, reader is referred to Opportunities in Forestry
75 percent were filled at the bachelor's level, 18 Careers (8).
percent at the associate degree level, and slightly Students often fail to realize that a degree in
over 2 percent were at the master's level. A year forestry provides an excellent general education,
later, another analysis was completed (7) indicat- one that can be viewed similarly to the liberal arts
ing that for the previous five-year duration, 70 per- bachelor's degree programs offered at many insti-
cent of the forestry recruitment was at the tutions. Students undecided on an academic major
bachelor's level. Respondents to the 1998 study should not miss the opportunity to explore
revealed their intentions, for the foreseeable forestry, either as a major emphasis or as a minor
future, to recruit people at the bachelor's level for field to serve as a companion to a degree in sta-
about three-fourths of all forestry positions. tistics, mathematics, engineering, or environmen-
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has its Occupa- tal science. A forestry education provides a
tional Handbook available electronically. Informa- background for a broad variety of jobs in man-
tion about "Foresters and Conservation Scientists" agement, business, or computer science and stu-
can be found at their website (5). Nature of the dents pursuing forestry degrees should not constrain
work, working conditions, employment, training, their job searches just to forest management posi-
job outlook, and sources of information are tions, especially if their interests are broader.
included in the descriptive material. The handbook Though the emphasis of this book is on forestry,
is updated and republished periodically so inter- a group of related programs also offer coursework
ested people can find reasonably current informa- leading to rewarding careers. Wood science and
tion in this source. technology and pulp and paper science majors,
available at many forestry schools and colleges, typ-
ically have high placement rates for graduates.
Career Opportunities
New careers in forestry continually emerge as gen-
eral technology advances. Today, computer appli-
Sources of Employment
cations in forestry have become important in
virtually all aspects of the field. As an example, Public Forestry in Federal Agencies
expert systems based on principles of artificial intel- With 5,000 foresters, agencies within the federal gov-
ligence promise exciting methods for assessing and ernment constitute a large employment base of pro-
diagnosing forestry problems in much the same way fessional foresters; 17 percent of the active SAF
these systems are used in the medical field. Remote foresters in the United States fall within this group.
sensing of the environment and geographic infor- The Forest Service (U.S.D.A.) has a total permanent
mation systems have become invaluable tools in work force of 29,000 people. This department is the
managing forest resources. Biotechnology and largest federal employer of foresters. In 1999, there
genetic engineering show potential for application were about 4,000 professional foresters and 7,000
to forestry, especially for improving the yield and forestry technicians working in the Forest Service.
value of forest products. Scientists are modifying This group of professionals is entrusted with man-
species to increase resistance to diseases and her- aging large and widely dispersed holdings in numer-
bicides. There is now a greater emphasis on inter- ous national forests comprising 191 million acres.
national forestry, and for filling these worldwide In addition, the Forest Service works cooperatively
positions, skills in foreign languages and knowledge with state and private enterprises and conducts
44 Forestry: The Profession a n d Career O p p o r t u n i t i e s

research at its forest and range experiment stations, Other agencies in the U.S.D.A. that employ
at the Institute of Tropical Forestry, and at the For- forestry graduates include the Natural Resources
est Products Laboratory (Figure 2.3). An employment Conservation Service, Cooperative Agricultural
overview of this agency is available online and also Extension Service and the Agricultural Research Ser-
provides links to other sites of potential interest (9). vice. Elsewhere in the federal government, pro-
An administrative perspective of n e w hires in the fessional foresters are found in the U.S. Department
Forest Service is that: of Interior (Bureaus of Land Management, Outdoor
Recreation, and Indian Affairs, as well as the
Today's forestry professionals entering the fed- National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Ser-
eral workforce still need the technical skills and vice), Tennessee Valley Authority, and an assorted
understanding of ecosystem functions that smaller number in the Departments of Defense and
their predecessors possessed. However, they face
Commerce, the Office of Management and Budget
a full array of n e w challenges in managing nat-
ural resources. The Forest Service is changing, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Hirings
much as the society we serve is changing. Our in federal agencies are made through the U.S. Office
job is one of stewardship of public lands with of Personnel Management.
lots of collaboration from the public we serve.
We must all understand the concept of customer
service. Our daily jobs involve satisfying many
internal and external customers. How effec- Public Forestry in State Settings
tively we do so figures largely in our professional Most of the states, through their departments of nat-
success. The n e w forester must keep in mind the ural resources (or some similar title), maintain a staff
long-term nature of resource management.
of forestry professionals to carry out state policies
Whereas most of our customers may look to the
productivity and beauty of a forest for a decade, in managing their forest resources. There are over
or for their lifetime, the forester must ensure the 5,000 foresters in the state natural resource depart-
needs of future generations and the health of ments and they represent 15 percent of the active
forest ecosystems far into the future (10). practicing foresters w h o hold membership in the

F i g u r e 2 . 3 The U.S. Forest

Products Laboratory in Madison,
Wisconsin, is a research and
development laboratory and is
part of the Forest Service.
(Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest
Service.)
Sources of Employments 45

SAF. This represents a large pool of positions, and departments of highways and taxation, and com-
collectively the states now have a larger work force missions of public lands. At about 8 million acres
than the Forest Service, a condition that was the nationally, community forests represent an impor-
reverse until the early 1990s. In addition, the state tant component of public forests at the state level.
agencies hire over 7,000 seasonal or temporary Some were established over 100 years ago. Many
employees each year; with a wide variety of sea- are owned and managed by municipalities, but
sonal positions across the country, the states offer others may be operated by counties, schools, or
excellent opportunities for pre-professional expe- other public institutions largely for multiple-use.
rience. Together, the states also employ over 9,000 The school forests often serve an important role
technicians; these positions are supportive in nature, in the environmental education programs of local
normally do not require a 4-year degree, and typ- districts.
ically the salaries in the category are lower than The increasing importance of forests and trees
those for professional foresters. For the most part in the urban setting has given rise to a new empha-
the forestry programs and employees are adminis- sis on urban forestry (see Chapter 22, devoted
tered by the state forester, usually located in the entirely to urban forestry). This emerging area
capitol city. The National Association of State requires integration of traditional forestry and arbori-
Foresters maintains a website (11) with current culture.
employment opportunities listed as well as links to
each of the states' department of natural resources
where local employment and program information Forestry in Private Industry
are available. By far the largest amount of commercial forest area
One chief state forestry administrator summarized in the United States is privately owned. An impor-
the setting for this sector as follows: tant part of this is held by forest products compa-
nies to provide a supply of wood for production
Foresters working in a state forestry agency are of lumber, pulp and paper, and other wood prod-
faced with the need to be proficient in a broad
range of functions, from the biophysical aspects ucts. "Whereas federal and state resource agencies
of forest resource management to complex primarily manage forests, industrial firms both pro-
social interactions with people and groups that duce timber and utilize it to manufacture products.
have diverse interests and strongly held values Thus, industry also offers a diverse set of oppor-
relating to forests and natural resources and
how they should be managed. Forestry profes- tunities for foresters. Industrial foresters may be
sionals require broad-based knowledge of for- involved in wood procurement as well as the man-
est science with an integrated natural resources agement of forests. Private industry also promotes
management perspective. They must be able to modern forestry practices through formal "tree farm"
use that knowledge to develop, interpret, and programs. The total number of professional
implement policies and procedures to sustain
and enhance functioning forest ecosystems; pro- foresters in this category is elusive; however, Wille
vide a sustainable supply of forest resources to (8) reports that about 10,000 foresters are employed
meet human needs (material, economic, and by private industry. Electronic access to a large num-
social); protect lives and property from wildfire; ber of forest products industries can be gained
and provide an economic return to citizens and
corporate organizations. It is essential that through the American Forest and Paper Association
graduates leave school with that basic knowl- (12), where an extensive roster of URLs is main-
edge and an initial development of those abili- tained for individual member firms nationwide and
ties (10). for related associations dealing with, for example,
recycling, international trade, pulp, paper, plywood,
Other state agencies employing foresters, veneer, and hardwoods.
though to a lesser extent, include the park serv- From a corporate perspective, industrial forestry
ices, fish and game divisions, and in some states, firms:
46 Forestry: The Profession a n d Career Opportunities

... seek foresters who are technically sound but in Rome has a website (14) with excellent global
also educated. New contributions from the fields information put together with a neutral approach
of ecology and biotechnology rapidly increase
the demands for an even more basic under- in a factual format.
standing of forest science and art—and social International forestry activities are conducted
interaction with diverse stakeholders requires along three general fronts. Community forestry
professionals who are broad in their thinking, functions in rural development, improving work
who understand people, and who demonstrate opportunities and consumable goods and enhanc-
clear leadership in their decisions and actions.
Forestry leaders must integrate forest science, ing the environment. With the participation of local
social, and business skills ... We need not just a people, the community forestry approach takes
deep scientific and technical education, not just into consideration the importance of forestry in
a how-to education of forestry on the ground, land use planning and its strong relationship to
but the broad professional understanding of the watershed management, arid-zone reclamation,
science, the sociology, the economics, and the
politics associated with the management of soil fertility, and integrating forestry and agricul-
complex natural resources that are important to ture. Among the techniques available for com-
the public ... (10). munity approaches are: multiple-product forestry,
the use of forests for wood, edibles, and other
products; small-scale forestry, cultivating village
woodlots for the production of fuelwood; agro-
International Forestry forestry, combining of forest and agricultural crops;
One of the greatest challenges for the forestry pro- and silvi-pastoral systems, controlled grazing of for-
fession is the wise use of tropical forests. Spurred est vegetation. Forest-based industries are being
by population growth and the pressure to gain for- established, but they can benefit the country only
eign exchange, developing countries are experi- if sustainable development of carefully managed
encing depletion of vital forest resources. Nearly forests is achieved. Required are intensified man-
half of the world's population depends on wood agement and reforestation, development of appro-
for fuel; in fact, about 60 percent of the total pro- priate harvesting, transportation and marketing
duction of the world's forests is consumed as fuel. systems and intelligent use of residues. The con-
An interesting paradox is that in the developed servation of forest ecosystems is recognized as an
world 80 percent of the wood produced is used important emerging area. Tropical forests help to
for industrial purposes, and in the developing coun- maintain a stable global environment, provide a
tries 80 percent of the wood produced is used for major genetic reservoir, and offer a source of new
energy. The Food and Agriculture Organization of forest products and medicines. Wise use of these
the United Nations (FAO) regards the dependence ecosystems is a high priority among international
of developing nations on dwindling supplies of fuel- strategists.
wood as a crisis. Over and above the pervasive There are numerous opportunities for con-
fuelwood shortage, tropical forests are being whit- tributing to the international forestry effort. The
tled away by resettlement programs, development Peace Corps supports forestry projects in many
projects, clearing for agricultural purposes and parts of the developing world. Staffed primarily by
ranching, and logging without attendant forest man- volunteers, it provides excellent opportunities for
agement. Tropical forests decline each year by an professional and personal development. Non-
area equivalent to Austria and Switzerland (13). This governmental organizations such as CARE play an
rate of destruction is a major social issue of our important role in international forestry. The Food
time—so crucial that every nation has a stake in and Agriculture Organization collects and analyzes
its solution. FAO is partitioned into eight depart- information on forestry, serves as a major source
ments, one of which is Forestry and Sustainable of technical assistance, and helps to identify invest-
Development. The forestry program, headquartered ment opportunities in the forestry sector.
Sources of E m p l o y m e n t s 47

The U.S. Agency for International Development An active and comprehensive organization
(USAID) pursues two strategic goals relevant to known as the National Association of Professional
environmental protection: 1) reducing long-term Forestry Schools and Colleges serves to advance
threats to the global environment, particularly loss the science, practice and art of forest resource man-
of biodiversity and climate change, and 2) pro- agement through the encouragement and support
moting sustainable economic growth locally, of forest resource education, research, extension
nationally, and regionally. Forest and other natu- and international programs at the university level.
ral resource management practices form a key ele- Some of the larger forest products firms conduct
ment of many USAID assistance efforts in the substantial research and development programs,
agency's major spheres of action, notably sub- although the number of scientists involved is
Saharan Africa; Asia and the Near East; Latin Amer- unknown. The Forest Service plays a major role in
ica and the Caribbean; and Europe. In addition to research activities, and to a lesser extent, some of
its permanent staff, USAID accomplishes forestry the major forested states also support research
work by employing people for varying periods of efforts.
time, for short-term consultancies as well as long- Embracing forestry research on a global scale is
term assignment overseas. To this end the Office the International Union of Forestry Research Orga-
of International Programs within the Forest Ser- nizations (IUFRO). Its lead office is located in
vice-U.S.D.A. maintains a large roster of individu- Vienna, Austria; this organization is over 100 years
als competent in tropical forestry. The Office of old. IUFRO is a nonprofit, nongovernmental inter-
International Programs also offers technical assis- national network of 700 member institutions
tance and training in forest management and for- involving 15,000 participating forest scientists. The
est conservation to a wide variety of international main purpose of IUFRO is to promote international
partners. In addition to its usual governmental part- cooperation in scientific studies embracing the
ners, this program has recently expanded its array entire field of research related to forestry. Each year
of cooperators to include more nongovernmental over 50 conferences and symposia are sponsored
and international research organizations. around the world, and every fifth year IUFRO holds
a World Congress. Like FAO, IUFRO hosts an on-
line reference library where literature searches may
Research and Teaching be done at its website (15).
There are over 1,300 people involved as forestry
faculty in educational programs at the colleges and
universities in the United States. The primary func- Consulting Forestry
tions of faculty positions are distributed approxi- Some professionals choose a private consulting
mately as follows: instruction—45 percent; practice. Most of the consultants operate as sole pro-
research—45 percent; and extension (outreach)— prietors, and except for a small number of part-
10 percent. The largest number of faculty are in for- nerships, the rest are organized as consulting firms.
est management, although well represented are the There are over 2,000 consulting foresters in the
areas of: forest biology; wood science, technology, United States. Consultants provide advice and assis-
and industry; biometry; forest hydrology; forest tance related to forest management, marketing, and
engineering; and urban forestry. All faculty posi- sale of forest products. Timber marking and sales,
tions require advanced graduate education and, for timber inventory and appraisal, timber volume esti-
the most part, a doctorate. Another group of over mates, timber management plans and harvesting,
600 foresters serves in professional staff roles in damage appraisal, and investment advice constitute
forestry departments at universities, while others most of the work collectively conducted by con-
teach in instructional programs at community col- sultants. Sometimes consulting firms deal with large-
leges or technical schools. scale assessments for public agencies and industry.
48 Forestry: The Profession and Career Opportunities

Over and above technical forestry understand- ing to importance value, shows the twenty com-
ing, from a consulting perspective, "the real key petencies which are most important to employers
to success—for the individual forester, the con- and which the majority of employers expect to be
sulting firm, and perhaps also for the profession— acquired at the undergraduate level. Certainly the
is the ability to communicate well both in writing scientific foundation of forestry forms a strong basis
and speaking. Opportunity in consulting is unlim- of the competencies, but a very high premium is
ited for foresters who understand the technical placed on ethics, communications, and teamwork.
basics, gain field experience, see forestry in the per- This is in accord with another nationwide analysis
spective of nature and society, and can commu- published a year earlier by Brown and Lassoie (6)
nicate ideas" (10). who found that the application of sound ethical
Many consultants hold membership in the Asso- principles is the attribute with the highest desir-
ciation of Consulting Foresters of America. One ability regardless of employer category—in fact, 95
requirement for membership is a forestry degree percent of the respondents said it is a requirement.
from an accredited university program. This study too, showed that communication and
group interaction processes are competencies
required for most entry-level positions (Figure 2.4).
Other Areas Also important to employers hiring professional
According to the roster of members of the SAF, the foresters is a set of broader skills. The Pinchot Insti-
remaining foresters are self-employed or involved tute study (7) identified the skills most critical to
with organizations such as the American Forest hiring agencies and, at the same time, those that
Foundation, American Forest and Paper Association, entry-level practicing professionals find they need
American Pulpwood Association, National Wood- for long-term success in forestry (Table 2.3). Think
land Owners Association, National Hardwood of these skills as the synthesis and application of
Lumber Association, or various state forestry certain clusters of competencies seen before in
associations. Table 2.2. For example, the ability to listen to and
address public questions and concerns—the sec-
ond skill listed in Table 2.3—would draw not only
on specific subject matter knowledge, but would
Employment be integrated with ethics, communication, and col-
laborative problem-solving competencies as well.
Expectations of Employers Our society is still evolving from a somewhat
Changes in the public's understanding of sustain- autocratic mode of management to more of a shared
ability and developments in science, communica- governance model. Thus, there are gaps between
tions, and global markets have created a recent how importantly a skill is perceived by employer
evolution in the practice of forestry (7). Conse- groups and their rating of performance for the
quently, employers now seek an expanded set of foresters they have recruited. The biggest gaps are
skills and competencies when hiring graduates of reflected in the top two skills, teamwork and pub-
professional forest programs. lic concerns. However, positive changes have tran-
Table 2.2 provides an overview of technical com- spired in this regard during the last decade, and
petencies sought by employers. Based on a strate- continued improvement will occur to narrow the
gic assessment conducted by the Pinchot Institute gap between importance and performance.
(7) involving employers who had recently hired Most forestry employers expect the undergrad-
forestry graduates, the surveys covered all forestry uate educational experience to primarily provide
sectors, with federal and state agency, industrial, a sound foundation of technical competency (Table
and consultant participants making up 93 percent 2.2), with the development of broader integrative
of the survey participants. The table, ranked accord- skills (Table 2.3) coming largely with experience,
Employment 49

T a b l e 2.2 Technical Competencies Employers Expect to be Achieved at the Undergraduate

Level and Their Importance (7)
% of employers
expecting the Importance
item by end of to
undergraduate employers
Technical Competencya education (1-10 scale)

Ethics 79 9.3
Written communication 86 9.2
Oral communication 78 9.1
Silvicultural systems 85 8.4
Collaborative problem solving 53 8.2
Resource management 62 8.0
Forest ecology 63 8.0
Forest inventory and biometry 86 7.8
Landscape analysis-GIS 55 7.7
Tree and plant species identification 93 7.7
Watershed management 64 7.6
Resource economics 70 7.5
Fire dynamics 67 7.3
Forest soils 80 7.2
Resource policy, law 57 7.0
Wildlife biology 78 7.0
Forest pathology 79 6.8
Conservation biology 57 6.8
Forest engineering, transportation systems 64 6.3
Wildland and protected areas management 60 5.8
a
Terms listed only for which 50% or more of the employers expected the competency to be gained during the undergraduate
experience and for which they attached an importance value greater than 5.0 on a scale of 1-10.

graduate education, and continuing education. You

may notice a strong correlation between employer's
expectations and curricular requirements for a
degree from an accredited program discussed
earlier.

Seeking Employment
Application for employment is an art and how to
do it most effectively differs by industry. In the for-
est products industry, applicants should develop
some knowledge of the company and should not
set employment goals that are too narrow. Work
experience, a vision of the potential employee's F i g u r e 2 . 4 T h e ability t o work with others i s a n
future, and direct contact with the company are important c o m p o n e n t of a forestry career. (Courtesy of
desirable. All this requires homework. Do not U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
50 Forestry: The Profession a n d Career Opportunities

T a b l e 2.3 Skills Identified as Necessary for Success in Forestry, and Their Fatings of
Importance and Performance by Employers [Scale of 1-10] (7)
Needed Skill Importance Performance

Ability to work in teams that include 9.0 7.3

individuals with a variety of perspectives,
both within and outside the organization.

Ability to listen to and address public 8.2 6.5

questions and concerns and to explain
the principles of environmentally respon-
sible forest management practices.

Understanding of the requirements of 8.0 7.4

a healthy forest ecosystem and the full
variety of silvicultural and other tools
available to manage that system.

An innovative approach to forest manage- 8.0 7.2

ment that includes critical thinking and willing-
ness to test new and nontraditional approaches.

An innovative approach to working 7.7 6.6

with the public to address forest
management problems.

Ability to evaluate and synthesize infor- 7.5 7.1

mation from a variety of specialists when
developing resource management plans.

Understanding of landscape-level 7.3 6.9

planning of forest ecosystems and how
to manage them to meet ecological,
economic, and social needs.

expect most companies to interview on campus; or timber management. The variety of organizations
they usually rely on resumes submitted by people involved in the many aspects of forestry echoes the
seeking employment, and they purposely look for breadth of the field itself. Governmental agencies
people from various geographic areas, different uni- have active programs in forestry, and industrial firms
versities, and from diverse backgrounds. are major players in the production of forest prod-
ucts. Different forestry programs span a geographic
area that may be local, national or international.
Regardless of agency or firm goals, the majority of
Concluding Statement forestry professionals deal with ecosystems, a theme
The field of forestry offers a vast diversity of career that flows through this book.
opportunities that range from policy and social Students with interests in forestry education
issues to highly technical, quantitative processes. should explore careers with several universities to
Career seekers can pursue interests in conservation understand curricular requirements and employ-
References 51

ment prospects. Sufficient website locations are 2500. 1998 [document online]. [21 Oct 1999]. URL:
included which, along with related sites included http ://stats.bis.gov/oco/ocos048. htm.
at each address, will provide a breadth of useful 6. T. L. BROWN AND J. P. LASSOIE. J. For., 96, 8 (1998).
forestry information. Descriptions of, and questions 7. V. A. SAMPLE, P. C. RINGGOLD, N. E. BLOCK, AND J. W.
regarding specific positions are best achieved by GILTMIER. J. For. 97, 4 (1999).
visiting with forestry-related agencies, industries, or 8. C. M. WILLE, Opportunities in Forestry Careers, VGM
consulting firms. Career Horizons/Contemporary Publishing Co.,
Lincolnwood, Ill., 1998.
9. Forest Service, U.S.D.A., Employment in the Forest
Service. [21 Oct 1999]. URL: http://www.fs.fed.us/
References people/employ/index.html.
1. F. W. CUBBAGE, L. G. JERVIS, AND P. G. SMITH, J. For., 10. "The employer's perspective on new hires." J. For.,
97, 24 (1999). 97, 12 (1999).
2. G. D. GOTTFREDSON AND J. L. HOLLAND, Dictionary of 11. National Association of State Foresters. [21 Oct 1999]
Holland Occupational Codes, Third Edition, Psycho- URL: http://www.stateforesters.org.
logical Assessment Resources, Odessa, FL, 1996. 12. About AF&PA, American Forest and Paper Associa-
3. ANON., Accreditation Handbook: Standards, Proce- tion. [21 Oct 1999]. URL: http://205.197.9.134/about/
dures, and Guidelines for Accrediting Educational members.htm.
Programs in Professional Forestry, Publ. No. 86-08, 13. World Resources 1994-95: A Guide to the Global Envi-
Society of American Foresters, Bethesda, MD, 1994. ronment. World Recources Institute, Washington, D.C.,
(A new handbook was in process as this book went 403 pp., 1994.
to press. It is based on the "Report to the Council of
the Society of American Foresters" by the SAF Task 14. Forestry and Sustainable Development Program, FAO,
Force on Forestry Education Accreditation, May, 2000. UN. [21 Oct 1999]. URL:http://www.fao.org/
The text in this book conforms to the new standards.) WAICENT/FAOINFO/FORESTRY/forestry.htm.
4. Society of American Foresters: Guide to Forestry & 15. International Union of Forestry Research Organiza-
Natural Resource Education. SAFnet [22 Oct 1999]. tions. [24 Oct 1999]. URL: http://iufro.boku.ac.at/
URL: http://www.safnet.org/market/edguide/htm#A. iufro/.

5. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,

1998-99 Occupational Outlook Handbook, Bull.
 PART 2
Forest Biology
and Ecology
T rees are the largest and oldest of the known
living plant species in the world today (Figure
P2.1). Starting as a minute seed, they can grow to
heights over 120 meters (394 ft) and accumulate as
much as 1500 cubic meters (5.3 x 104 ft3) of wood
in the process. In addition, trees possess a water-
transporting system so powerful that it can raise
water about a hundred times as efficiently as the
best suction pump ever made by human beings (1).
Trees are truly remarkable mechanisms of nature.
Like all other plants, trees are constructed solely
of cells, the basic units of life. However, the cells
in a leaf, for example, are quite different from those
in the trunk and different again from those in the
root. Each kind of cell is usually found in associ-
ation with similar cells; groups of similar cells make
up tissue and tissues combine into even more com-
plex groups know as organs (1). Clearly the spe- F i g u r e P 2 . 1 One of the oldest known living
cialized organs serve different purposes in the tree. plants in the world: a 3000-year-old bristlecone pine
The complex functions of the tree and its compo- sculptured by the wind, sand, and ice of the White
nent parts are treated in detail in Chapter 4, For- Mountains in eastern California. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A.
est Ecophysiology. Forest Service.)
The growth and vigor of trees are a function of
many factors. In addition to genetic variations, envi-
ronmental factors can have a profound influence gration of the many factors that affect tree and stand
on tree growth. Minerals in the soil, water short- growth are discussed in Chapter 6, Forest Ecosys-
ages, wind and climate, the availability of sunlight, tem Ecology. The importance of ecological rela-
and attack by insects and disease all affect the pat- tionships across landscapes is then discussed
terns of tree growth (Figure P2.2). The impact of Chapter 7, Landscape Ecology. Not only do land-
these influences and human interaction for control scape patterns affect organisms, but organisms can
of tree growth and vigor are examined in this sec- also create landscape patterns.
tion. The distribution of forests around the world A forest community is a dynamic structure that
are discussed in Chapter 3, Forest Biomes of the responds to the laws of cause and effect, one in
World. A biome is a broad classification of plant which all organisms intertwine to form a harmonic
communities characterized by climate and soil. ecosystem (2). The classic ecological concept is
Within a biome there are numerous ecosystems. A that forests evolve through plant succession, the
further description of forest ecosystems and inte- orderly replacement of one plant community or
53
54 Forest Biology a n d Ecology

However, the behavior of forests frequently does

not follow this classical concept. Many tree
species, rather than arising during predicted peri-
ods of succession, often play a more opportunis-
tic role. For example, red maple, which is usually
considered to be a climax or final successional stage
species, has light wind-borne seeds that can invade
open areas and thus function as an early succes-
sional species (3). Disturbances such as those
described below can also affect forest succession.
The many factors affecting vegetation distribution
and succession of forests are described in several
chapters in this section.
Disturbances in the forest can be either natural
(wind, fire, insect and disease outbreaks) or caused
by human beings (forest harvesting and fire) and
can result in destruction of small or large segments
of the forest. The effect of disturbance is to pro-
duce sites where new communities of the trees,
plants, and animals can exist. These new
communities may differ from those of the native
forest (Figure P2.3). The effect of disturbances are
treated in several chapters in this section while the
specific effects of disease and insects on forests are
F i g u r e P 2 . 2 Twisted aspens on the Grand described in Chapter 8.
Canyon's northern rim in Arizona are called "The
Crooked Forest." The resilient trees were probably
bent as saplings by deep snowdrifts, a phenomenon
referred to as snow creep. (Courtesy of Life Picture
Service.) References
1. P. FARB, The Forest, Time-Life Books, New York, 1969.
2. H. W. HOCKER, JR., Introduction to Forest Biology, John
forest stand with another. Generally a temporary Wiley & Sons, New York, 1979.
plant community is replaced by a relatively more 3. R. R. HICKS, JR., Ecology and Management of Central
stable community until a dynamic equilibrium is Hardwood Forests, John Wiley & Sons, New York,
attained between the plants and the environment. 1998.
References 55

F i g u r e P 2 . 3 The blast from the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in the state of Washington flattened
previously lush, green forests. Ecologists are closely monitoring the return of plant and animal life. (Photograph
by R. L. Giese.)
 CHAPTER 3
Forest Biomes of the World
STITH T. GOWER, JOE J. LANDSBERG,
AND KARI E . BlSBEE

Factors Affecting Vegetation Tropical Broad-leaved Evergreen Forests

Distribution Tropical Broad-leaved Deciduous Forests

Forest Biomes Global Change and Forests

Habitat Protection and Land Use Change
Vegetation Classification Systems
Climate Change
Boreal Forests
Temperate Broad-leaved Deciduous Forests Concluding Statement
Temperate Needle-leaved Evergreen
Forests References
Temperate Mixed Forests
Temperate Broad-leaved Evergreen Forests

Forests provide many ecosystem services to tural characteristics such as height, density, the
humans and other organisms. Forests provide tim- amount of leaf area, leaf habit (e.g., evergreen ver-
ber that is used for a myriad of wood and paper sus deciduous) are important factors that differ
products (Chapter 20). Millions of species of flora among forest biomes, and forest ecosystems
and fauna, some of which have gone, or will go, within a biome. The climate and soils of forests also
extinct before they are documented, live in influence the ecosystem services and function.
forests. Forests protect the soils from erosion, min- Therefore, it is essential to understand how impor-
imize sedimentation in adjacent wetlands and tant characteristics such as species composition, cli-
aquatic ecosystems, mitigate flooding, and remove mate, soils, disturbance and structural characteristics
toxic heavy metals and organics (Chapters 5 and differ among major forest types. This knowledge
16). Forests also provide recreational opportunities can be used to ensure which forest should be man-
and have inherent aesthetic value to society (Chap- aged for timber production, devise management
ter 17). Lastly, forests play an important role in plans that ensure forests are managed on a sus-
global carbon budget. tainable basis, identify forests that should be pre-
The contribution of a forest biome to each of served for services other than timber production,
the ecosystem services and functions varies among and determine how global change may affect world
biomes, and ecosystems within the major forest bio- forests.
mes. Therefore, sustainable management of forests The objective of this chapter is to describe briefly
of the world requires a fundamental understand- each of the major forest biomes. The first section
ing of the effects of environmental factors on dis- describes the major factors that influence the geo-
tribution and growth of forests (Chapters 4-8), and graphic distribution of forest biomes of the world.
properly matching forest management practices to The second section highlights the major forest
the silvics of the trees (Chapters 9 and 13). Struc- biomes of the world. We describe the extent and

57
58 Forest Biomes of the World

distribution, climate, soils, important structural and or physiognomy. Plants require solar radiation,
functional characteristics, and management and mis- water, nutrients and adequate temperatures to ger-
management issues for each biome. The third sec- minate, grow, and reproduce (see Chapters 4-7).
tion summarizes some of the major conservation The relative amount of these essential resources and
concerns for forests and the susceptibility of for- the ecophysiology of the plants determine the
est biomes to global change. The treatment of each species composition and structure of the forests. Cli-
forest biome is cursory because of space limitations. mate directly and indirectly affects the distribution
The text is intended to provide the necessary back- of biomes. Temperature and moisture availability
ground for the more detailed treatments of various directly affect the growth of plants. Climate also
aspects of forest/environment interaction in the fol- strongly influences soil development (Chapter 5),
lowing chapters. which also influences plant distribution.
The major control on climate at the global scale
is solar radiation. The amount of solar radiation
Factors Affecting Vegetation reaching the forest canopy is greatest near the equa-
tor and decreases toward the poles. The causes for
Distribution the variation in solar radiation are two-fold: the
The distribution of the major forest biomes, and ter- angle at which the sun's radiation strikes the earth's
restrial biomes in general, is strongly influenced by surface and the length of the pathway that solar
climatic, geologic, ecological, and anthropogenic radiation must pass to reach the canopy (Figure 3.1).
factors. Plant geographers first noted the influence Solar radiation strikes the Earth's surface at a less
of climate on the distribution of vegetation; they direct angle at higher latitudes than near the equa-
observed that similar climates, regardless of conti- tor, resulting in the radiation being distributed over
nent, produced vegetation with similar appearance a greater area—or a smaller intensity per unit land

F i g u r e 3.1 A schematic diagram contrasting the solar radiation path length at the equator and high latitude.
The global precipitation patterns are determined by the convergence of air masses. Collectively, the solar
radiation and precipitation patterns determine the distribution of terrestrial biomes. Adapted from Bailey (22).
Factors Affecting Vegetation Distribution 59

surface area. Also, solar radiation travels through capacity of the oceans. The large thermal buffer-
a greater distance of the atmosphere, increasing the ing capacity of oceans has a pronounced effect on
reflection of solar radiation away from the earth's the distribution of forest biomes. In the Southern
surface. As a result, the temperature is warmer near Hemisphere, temperate forests occur from 30° to
the equator than at higher latitudes. 55° S, and within this zone broad-leaved evergreen
Within a similar latitudinal zone, seasonal vari- species dominate the forest landscape. In the North-
ation in temperature is much greater for a conti- ern Hemisphere, broad-leaved deciduous tree
nental than for a coastal location. The pronounced species are the dominant forest type in the lower
differences in climate are because water has a latitudes, and boreal forests can occur as far south
greater thermal capacity than land. Examples of the as 50-55° N. Axelrod (1) concluded that the tem-
effects of large water bodies on climate are shown perate climates, ample rainfall evenly distributed
in Figure 3-2. The latitude of Portland, Maine and throughout the year, and rarity of frost, favored the
Madison, Wisconsin are similar, but the winters are evolution of broad-leaved evergreen rather than
colder, the growing season is shorter and the sum- deciduous forests in the temperate regions of the
mers are hotter in Madison than Portland. Similarly, Southern Hemisphere.
for a similar latitude and elevation, the climate is Water availability, a function of both precipita-
milder and more equitable in the Southern than tion and drying power of the air, also influences
Northern Hemisphere. Continents are smaller in the the distribution of vegetation biomes. Near the
Southern Hemisphere than Northern Hemisphere, equator, moisture-saturated trade winds rise and
and as a result, the mesoscale climate of the South- produce abundant precipitation (Figure 3.1). The
ern Hemisphere is buffered by the greater thermal dry subtropical high-pressure air masses centered

F i g u r e 3.2 Comparison of
the long-term monthly average of
the maximum and minimum air
temperature for Madison,
Wisconsin (continental climate),
and Portland, Maine (coastal
climate). The two locations have
approximately the same latitude.
Data obtained from http://www.
worldclimate.com.
60 Forest Biomes of the World

on the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (23.5° N vegetation with a similar climate and physiognomy.
and S, respectively) produce bands that are too dry Within a biome there are numerous ecosystems. For
to support forests. Precipitation pattern is also influ- example, the temperate needle-leaved evergreen
enced by continental position. Warm air passing over forest biome includes the coastal Douglas fir
large bodies of water (oceans) collects water vapor. (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in the Pacific North-
As the warm, moisture laden air mass goes over a west, the jack pine (Pinus banksiand) forests in the
large land mass it loses its ability to hold the water Lake States, and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forests
vapor, especially if the air mass must rise over a in the southeastern United States. Classification sys-
coastal mountain range. Rainfall is typically very high tems differ in the level of detail, ranging from a sim-
for these coastal regions. Forests growing on wind- ple system that has eight vegetation cover types to
ward slopes of mountains near oceans can receive 30 vegetation associations. In this chapter, we pro-
from 3.5 to 6.5 meters of rain—some of the largest vide an overview of the main forest biomes in the
annual amounts of precipitation in the world! world. We briefly characterize the extent and dis-
Soil fertility also influences distribution of veg- tribution, the climate and dominant soils (readers
etation. In general, evergreen plants occupy the are suggested to refer to Chapter 5, Forest Soils,
more infertile soils while deciduous forests occur for a detailed explanation of the different soil
on more fertile soils. Parent material and climate orders), a general description of the vegetation
influence soil fertility (Chapter 5). Hot and moist including some of the dominant forest genera (or
climates, such as subtropical and tropical regions families for the extremely diverse tropical forests),
increase soil weathering, causing nutrients to be unique structural and functional characteristics that
removed from the soil on the time scale of millions influence the ecology and management, and man-
of years. Conversely, milder climates have more fer- agement of the major forest biomes.
tile soils. Extremely young soils, such as those that For the purpose of this book, we used the veg-
developed since recent glacial advances, tend to be etation classification system used by Melillo, et al.
nitrogen-limited. The type of parent material that (2), because it is a reasonable compromise
the soils develop from also influences soil fertility. between complex and simple schemes. Forest bio-
Disturbance intensity, frequency, and type of dis- mes are based on major climatic zones (tropical,
turbance also influence biome distribution and temperate, and boreal) and the physiognomy
species composition within a biome. The distur- (broad-leaved evergreen, broad-leaved deciduous,
bance can be natural, such as fire, wind, or drought, and needle-leaved evergreen conifer) of the vege-
or related to human activity (e.g., land clearing, har- tation. Figure 3.3 (see color insert) shows the
vesting, and fire suppression). Fire suppression in regions where biomes could occur, although it is
the midwestern United States has hastened the inva- unlikely that the areas concerned are completely
sion of woody and tree species into prairies. covered by those vegetation types. The impact of
humans has resulted in vegetation loss and change
across very large areas of the globe.
The description of the major forest biomes is
Forest Biomes brief, but provides a general overview of the dis-
tribution, climate, soils, species composition, struc-
Vegetation Classification Systems ture, and function, and management characteristics
There are many vegetation classification systems of the major forest biomes. The amount of infor-
used, although all of them use climate, physiog- mation available for each forest biome varies sub-
nomy (the general appearance of the vegetation, stantially. The information provided for each forest
e.g., desert, grassland, forest) and leaf habit (ever- biome is intended to provide a framework for think-
green or deciduous) to classify vegetation. The ing about the ecology and management of forests,
broadest level of classification is the biome— as discussed in the following chapter.
Forest Biomes 61

Boreal Forests when temperatures remain above zero, there are sig-
nificant water deficits. There may be fewer than 50
Distribution and Extent Boreal forests cover frost-free days in summer (Figure 3.4a). Permafrost,
about 15.7 x 108 hectares and occur only in the a buried frozen soil layer, is common in many boreal
Northern Hemisphere (Table 3-1). The greatest sin- forests. Woodward (3) suggests that the northern limit
gle area of boreal forests is in Eurasia, where they of boreal forests may be crudely defined by the num-
extend from Scandinavia to eastern Siberia. The sec- ber of months in which the air temperature is greater
ond largest boreal forest region occurs as a 500-600 than 10°C. The length of growing season must be
km wide band from eastern Canada and the north- sufficient for evergreen conifers to construct an ade-
eastern United States westward into northern British quate cuticle to protect needles from winter desic-
Columbia and Alaska. Boreal forests give way to cation, and mycorrhizae (root-fungus association) to
arctic woodland or tundra to the north, while the facilitate nutrient and water uptake.
vegetation to the south of the southern boundary
varies. In some regions, such as eastern Canada, Soils Soil development is slow in boreal forests
boreal forests transition to cold temperate evergreen because of the cold temperatures; therefore soils
needle-leaved or broad-leaved deciduous forests. tend to be nutrient-poor. Poorly drained soils accu-
In central Canada, the southern boreal forests give mulate large amounts of peat—undecomposed
rise to prairies, and in Eurasia boreal forests often mosses and sphagnum. The soils are young and
transition into cold steppe or shrubland. derived from parent material left by retreating gla-
ciers. Permafrost, which can be less than one meter
Climate The climate of the boreal forests is one below the surface, restricts root zones and impedes
of the harshest in which trees occur. The boreal for- soil water drainage. Few major soil taxonomic
est regions, represented by climatic data from The groups occur in boreal forests. Histisols, or organic
Pas, Manitoba, in Canada (Figure 3-4a), are charac- soils, are common to poorly drained forests. Enti-
terized by long cold winters. The mean daily mini- sols have little or no horizon development and are
mum temperature at The Pas is below 0°C for more typically associated with early successional ripar-
than seven months of the year, and during the period ian forests (Populus, Betula) and coarse-textured,

Table 3.1 Area (hectares x 108) and Average Net Primary Production (NPP, tC ha -1 yr -1 ) of
the Forest Biomes of the World [Adapted from Landsberg and Gower (4) and Gower, et al. (6)]
Forest Area %of Average NPP
Biome (ha x 108) total (tC ha-1 yr-1)

Boreal 15.7 30 4.2

Deciduous — — —
Evergreen — — —
Temperate 14.2 27 —
Coniferous 2.4 5 6.6
Deciduous 3.5 7 6.6
Mixed 5.1 10 —
Evergreen (Broad-leaf) 3.2 6 10.0
Tropical 22.0 43 —
Evergreen 17.4 34 8.2
Deciduous 4.6 9 8.0
62 Forest Biomes of the World

F i g u r e 3 . 4 Climate diagrams illustrating the conditions in which we can expect to find: a) boreal forests;
b) temperate deciduous forests; c) temperate coniferous forests; d) temperate mixed forests; e) and f) temperate
evergreen forests; g) tropical evergreen forests; h) tropical deciduous forests. The diagrams show long-term
monthly averages of maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperatures (°C), precipitation (mm) radiation (MJ
m-2day-1) and the water balance, calculated as the difference between precipitation and evaporation using the
Thornthwaite (23) equation. The diagrams were produced from data presented by Muller (24). Radiation data
were not available for every station (they were missing for The Pas, Hobart, Manaus and Jamshedpur); where this
Forest Biomes 63

was the case, data from other stations at similar latitiudes, that closely matched these in terms of sunshine hours,
temperature and rainfall patterns, were used. The water balance data (precipitation-evaporation) were derived
from the monthly potential evaporation figures provided by Muller (24), which were calculated from the
evapotranspiration formula derived by Thornthwaite (23). This formula is based on temperature and is unlikely to
provide accurate values for the water use of tropical forests. However, as Muller points out, the Thornthwaite
equation is the only one that gave comparable values for every station, and it does provide a reasonable
indication of evapotranspiration regimes and hence the overall water balance.
64 Forest Biomes of the World

excessively drained pine forests (P. banksiana in supports (Chapter 6). Aboveground net primary
Canada and P. sylvestris in Eurasia). Some Spodosols production (ANPP, the annual amount of organic
can be found in the wetter regions of boreal forests. matter or biomass trees accumulate in stem,
branches, and foliage) is low, averaging 4.2 and 3.2
Species Composition Tree species diversity is very tC ha-1yr-1 for evergreen and deciduous forests,
poor in the boreal forests. There are only nine dom- respectively (6). Although live bryophytes consti-
inant tree species in North America, and 14 in tute less than 1 percent of the total aboveground
Fennoscandinavia and the former Soviet Union (4). biomass of boreal forests, they have a profound
The low species diversity is attributed to the recent effect on the structure and function of boreal forests.
development of boreal forests following the retreat Bryophytes insulate the soil, which strongly affects
of glaciers and the harsh climate (3). In general, the thermal regime and hence overall nutrient
boreal species arrived in this region less than 2000 cycling and productivity patterns of boreal forests.
years ago. The distribution of species, and the Also, the productivity of bryophytes can equal or
species composition of stands are strongly influ- exceed that of the stem growth of trees (7).
enced by topography and soils. Important genera Fire is an important natural disturbance in boreal
include fir (Abies), birch (Betula), larches (Larix), forests. Fires, ignited by lightning, tend to cover
spruce (Picea), aspen (Populus), and willow large areas and may burn as much as 25,000 to
(Salix). Picea and Larix commonly occur on poorly 50,000 hectares (8). Fire frequency in the boreal
drained lowland soils. Pines commonly occupy forests in North America ranges from 30 to 200
well-drained upland soils, while Populus, Abies, years, depending on species composition and topo-
Salix, and certain species of Picea occur on the graphic position. Fire strongly influences species
finer-textured upland soils. In North America and composition, nutrient availability and forest pro-
Europe, needle-leaved evergreen conifers tend to ductivity (8). Insect damage can be important in
dominate the boreal landscape, especially at boreal forests in some regions. Damaging summer
northern latitudes. However, Larix, a deciduous storms are rare, and severe winter weather is
conifer, increases in importance in Eurasia and dom- unlikely to cause damage to trees.
inates the boreal treeline in Siberia (5). Ericaceous
shrubs commonly dominate the understory of Management Boreal forests are one of the least
boreal forests. In no other forest biome do managed forest biomes of the world because of the
bryophytes play such an important role. Lichens low growth rates, the extremely cold and dry cli-
(Cladina spp.) occur on the excessively drained mate, and inaccessibility. However, there are
sandy soils, feathermoss (Pleurozium spp.) forms areas—for example, along the southern edges of the
a continuous ground layer in many spruce and pine forests in Canada, Scandinavia, and in Siberia—
forests of intermediate drainage and sphagnum where commercial logging occurs. A concern with
(Sphagnum spp.) are the most common bryophyte harvesting boreal forests is that the rate of vegeta-
on poorly drained soils. tion regrowth is very slow because of the extremely
cold winters and infertile soils. Timber companies
Structure and Function Boreal forests have low are interested in harvesting boreal forests, especially
leaf area index (LAI, the amount of leaf area per in Siberia, because of the large areas of mature
unit ground surface area) and the conifer trees have forests (Table 3.1). The political instability and poor
very pronounced spiral canopies. The spiral infrastructure in Siberia may be the only factor stop-
canopies help shed the snow and maximize light ping large-scale harvesting of this fragile ecosystem.
interception when the sun is low in the horizon. Plantation forests are scarce in the boreal regions.
Boreal forests have a low LAI because the Management of natural and plantation boreal forests
extremely short growing season and very nutrient in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Finland
poor soils limit the amount of foliage area a stand and Norway) can approach the intensity of
Forest Biomes 65

plantation forestry, but are probably the best exam- mer being young and infertile and the latter being
ple of sustainable management of boreal forests. moderately weathered, but fertile. In warmer cli-
Another serious environmental threat to boreal mates (e.g., southeastern United States, southern
forests is the unchecked air pollution from some Europe) the soils have undergone greater weath-
of the world's largest iron ore, and nickel mines. ering and the dominant soil order is Ultisols; these
soils can be productive, especially if nitrogen and
phosphorus fertilizer is applied.
Temperate Broad-leaved Deciduous
Forests Species Composition Both tree and understory
diversity are greater in temperate deciduous than
Distribution and Extent Temperate broad-leaved temperate conifer and boreal forests; approxi-
deciduous forests cover 3.5 x 108 hectares (Table mately 30 plant families and 65 genera occur in
3.1) and occur primarily between 30° to 50° N lat- the overstory canopy of temperate deciduous
itude (Figure 3.3). Large tracts of these forests occur forests (9). Species diversity of deciduous forests
in the eastern United States, Europe, western Turkey is highest in North America, China and Japan,
and eastern border areas of Iran, western China and where refugia for temperate forests are hypothe-
Japan. The noticeable absence of deciduous sized to have existed during the most recent gla-
forests in the Southern Hemisphere, except for the cial periods. Species diversity is lower in Europe,
western coast of southern Chile, is because the year- perhaps because the predominantly east-west
round mild climate favors the evergreen over decid- mountain ranges prevented species from retreat-
uous leaf habit. ing south to warmer climates during the most
recent glacial advance. Species composition varies
Climate In the temperate deciduous forest zone according to topography, soil fertility, and suc-
of the northern United States (represented by cessional status. A few important temperate decid-
Chicago, Illinois, Figure 3.4b), minimum tempera- uous tree genera and species include maple (Acer),
tures are well below freezing for at least four birch (Betula), hickory (Carya), beech (Fagus), ash
months of the year. The best period for growth is (Fraxinus), walnut (Juglans), tulip tree (Lirio-
in the spring, when temperature and water are ade- dendron), Magnolia, aspen (Populus), oak (Quer-
quate. During the summer high, evaporation may cus), basswood (Tilia), tree of heaven (Ailanthus),
equal or exceed precipitation, resulting in water silktree (Albizzia), Castanopsis, and Zelkova.
deficits that restrict growth. Except for stands of Populus, pure stands of one
Further south, in the temperate mixed (ever- species are uncommon.
green, needle-leaved conifers and broad-leaved
deciduous) region, represented by the climate at Structure and Function The growing season
Nashville, Tennessee (Figure 3.4d), higher rainfall ranges from 4 months in northern forests to 8
is not enough to prevent summer water deficits, months in southern forests. The leaf area index of
but early-season temperatures are significantly temperate broad-leaved deciduous forests tends to
higher than in the deciduous and coniferous areas. be higher than that of temperate evergreen forests
The deciduous trees lose their leaves during the because the evergreen conifer forests often occur
winter, but the period when temperatures are low on the more infertile, drought-prone soils. Net pri-
enough to prevent growth of evergreen conifers mary productivity of temperate broad-leaved
is relatively short. deciduous forests averages 6.6 tC ha-1 yr-1. The
riparian broad-leaved temperate forests in the
Soils Temperate forest soils are highly variable. southeastern United States are some of the most
Many of the mountain soils in temperate regions productive forests in the world and NPP can exceed
are Entisols, Inceptisols, or Alfisols, with the for- 10 tC ha-1 yr-1. Riparian forests are also important
66 Forest Biomes of the World

in flood prevention, maintaining water quality, fil- perate conifer forests tend to occur on droughty or
tering harmful chemicals and sediments, and infertile soils that cannot supply the greater water
habitat for aquatic flora and fauna. A large per- and nutrient demands of deciduous species. Ever-
centage of the original temperate deciduous forests green conifers are the most common trees in the
have been cleared for agriculture because these Pacific Northwestern United States, where dry sum-
soils tend to be fertile. The drainage and conver- mers and mild winters provide a more favorable
sion of riparian forests to agriculture threatens environment for evergreens than conifers (10).
regional watersheds.
Climate Temperate evergreen conifers occur in a
Management Present-day temperate deciduous wide range of climates, such as sub-tropical, wood-
forests do not usually occur in extensive tracts land, boreal forests and temperate rainforests (Fig-
because of large-scale human activities (e.g., clear- ure 3.3). However, an area notable for such forests
ing and conversion to agriculture, pasture, and is the northwest coast of the United States, repre-
urban areas). Management may range from peri- sented by Seattle, Washington (Figure 3.4c), which
odic selective tree removal to short-rotation plan- has cooler summers than the temperate deciduous
tations for fiber or fuel production—the most zone, warmer winters (the average minimum tem-
intensive form of forest management. Species com- perature for any month is never below zero) and
monly used in short-rotation plantations include a different precipitation pattern. The largest
poplars, sweetgum, willows, and sycamore. amount of precipitation occurs in the winter
Depending upon the species, life history, and eco- months, with very little during the period of high-
physiology, both even-aged and uneven-aged man- est evaporation. As a result, significant water deficits
agement practices can be sustainable. Even-aged occur and reduce tree growth during the summer.
management is most prevalent for shade-intolerant Fire can be an important cause of ecosystem dis-
and coppicing—regrowth of aboveground vegeta- turbance, especially in exceptionally dry summers
tion from the root stock of the trees that were har- when the normal summer drought (Figure 3.4c) is
vested—species (aspen), while uneven-aged extended and exacerbated by unusually hot
management is commonly used for shade-tolerant weather and lack of precipitation.
species. Uneven-aged management is becoming
increasingly popular because managed uneven- Soils It is also difficult to generalize about tem-
aged forests retain many of the desirable charac- perate needle-leaved forest soils because they are
teristics (e.g., canopy gaps, multilayer canopies, extremely variable over the wide range of climatic
biodiversity) of old-growth forests. and parent materials where these forests occur. The
more common forest soil orders include: Incepti-
sols, Alfisols, and Ultisols. Spodosols are primarily
Temperate Needle-leaved restricted to cool to cold-temperate conifer forests
Evergreen Forests that receive abundant rainfall. Many of the tem-
perate needle-leaved conifer forests occurring on
Distribution and Extent Temperate evergreen Ultisols and Spodisols respond positively to nitro-
coniferous forests are largely restricted to the North- gen and phosphorus fertilization treatments.
ern Hemisphere and cover approximately 2.4 x 108
hectares (Table 3.1). Conifers dominate the mon- Species Composition Common genera in the tem-
tane forests in North America, Europe, and China perate coniferous forests in the northern latitudes
and smaller areas of temperate conifers are located include fir (Abies), spruce (Picea), Douglas fir
in montane regions of Korea, Japan, and Central (Pseudotsuga menziesii), while hemlock (Tsuga)
America. Pines species have been planted exten- occur over a much broader range of environmen-
sively in the Southern Hemisphere. Natural tem- tal conditions. Pine, an important genera from both
Forest Biomes 67

an economic and ecological perspective, occur in similar to "old-growth" or pristine forests. At the
a wide variety of environments ranging from hot, other extreme, temperate conifers are managed at
arid southwestern United States to cold temperate a level of intensity that rivals or exceeds agricul-
regions of Scandinavia and Eurasia. ture. Intensive management includes mechanized
site preparation and planting, use of genetically
Structure and Function Given the diverse envi- superior seedlings, application of herbicides and fer-
ronments in which temperate conifers occur, it is tilizers during the rotation, pruning (the removal
not surprising that the ecophysiology and structure of low branches to increase wood quality), and
of these forests also vary. For example, needle mechanised harvesting, which can include the com-
longevity can range from less than 2 years for plete removal of all above ground biomass.
loblolly pine (P. taeda) to greater than 40 years for Major needle-leaved temperate conifer species
bristlecone pine (P. longaeva). Above ground bio- used in plantations include Sitka spruce (Picea
mass of mature forests can range from a low of sitchensis) in Britain, extensive plantations of
about 100 t ha-1 for Pinus forests in the southwestern loblolly and slash pine (P. taeda and P. elliotti,
United States to 3300 t ha-1 for giant redwood respectively) in the southern United States, Dou-
{Sequoia sempervirens) forests in northern Califor- glas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the Pacific north-
nia (11). Some of the lowest leaf area index < 1 western United States and Canada, and Monterey
occur in temperate conifer forests, while the high- pine (P. radiatd) in Australia, New Zealand, Chile
est measured leaf area index 12 was for a western and South Africa (although South Africa also uses
hemlock (Tsuga heterophylld) forest in coastal Ore- several other softwood species).
gon (4). Aboveground net production is also quite
variable, ranging from about 2 to 20 t ha-1 yr-1, aver-
aging 6.6 tC ha-1 yr-1 (Table 3.1). Temperate Mixed Forests
Temperate mixed (deciduous plus evergreen)
Management Management practices in temperate forests occur throughout the temperate evergreen
coniferous forests vary greatly; the intensity of man- and deciduous regions—particularly the south-
agement tends to be strongly correlated to the suit- eastern United States, Europe through northern Iraq
ability of environmental conditions for tree growth. and Iran, and China—where the climates are the
At one extreme these forests are allowed to regen- same as those described for temperate deciduous
erate naturally following disturbance such as fire or and coniferous forests. Mixed forests have been
harvesting. Biomass accumulation can be substan- studied less than pure deciduous or evergreen
tial over several centuries, but the annual accumu- forests. Their occurrence reflects past land use
lation rate is very slow. The harvesting of mature, change, successional status and local variations in
slow growing forests is controversial, because these edaphic conditions. In the southeastern United
forests provide many other valuable ecosystem serv- States, conifers dominant early successional forests,
ices such as wilderness areas extensively used for mixed forests are common for mid-successional
recreation, wildlife refuges, and valuable watersheds. forests, and broad-leaved hardwoods dominate late
Because of the long growth cycle and the destruc- successional forests. In the Lake States, needle-
tion of many of these values, harvesting these "old leaved evergreen forests dominate the xeric, infer-
growth" forests more closely resembles resource tile soils, mixed forests are most common on the
mining than sustainable forest management. soils of intermediate edaphic conditions, and broad-
Management practices of intermediate intensity leaved hardwood forests occur on the mesic fine-
are becoming more common because there is textured soils (12). A wide range of species
increasing pressure from society to manage mature combinations is found in mixed forests: evergreen
forests on an uneven-aged basis. Managed uneven- conifers and deciduous broad-leaved species: for
aged stands retain structural characteristics that are example, oak and loblolly pine, Douglas fir, red
68 Forest Biomes of the World

alder and western hemlock, Sitka spruce and alder, temperate forest soils. The soils of schlerophylous
larch, fir and pine, eucalyptus, and acacias. forests of Australia and Mediterranean areas are
composed of Inceptisols and Ultisols, while the
forests in Tasmania, New Zealand and South Amer-
Temperate Broad-leaved Evergreen ica are dominated by Alfisols and Inceptisols.
Forests
Species Composition The sclerophyll—a term that
Distribution and Extent The potential area of describes the thick, tough foliage of many of these
temperate broad-leaved evergreen forests is 5.1 x tree species—forests in the Mediterranean area and
108 km2 (Table 3.1). Two categories of temperate the United States are dominated by oaks (Quer-
broad-leaved evergreen forests are recognized: cus), while the broad-leaved temperate forests of
broad-leaved sclerophyll and broad-leaved rain Australia are dominated by Eucalyptus. In Tas-
forests (4). The broad-leaved sclerophyll forests mania and Victoria, there are relatively small areas
occur in areas with a Mediterranean-type climate: of Nothofagus forests; these are extensive in New
winter rain and summer drought. The temperate Zealand and Chile. Temperate broad-leaved ever-
broad-leaved rainforests are found in humid, frost- green forests in New Zealand vary from multi-
free climates, usually along coastal areas. The scle- storied, mixed-species coastal forests, with tall
rophyll forests occur in scattered areas of the United conifers (Podocarpus, Dacrycarpus, Agathis), to
States, around the Mediterranean, and over large the pure, dense-canopied montane and subalpine
areas of Asia from northern India through south- stands of beech (Nothofagus). The evergreen
ern China. The greatest continuous areas still exist- beech forests should not be confused with the
ing are the eucalyptus forests of Australia. deciduous beech forests that are native to the east-
Temperate broad-leaved evergreen rain forests ern United States. Many of the trees species have
occur in Japan, Chile, New Zealand, Australia (Tas- chemical compounds in the foliage that make them
mania), and in scattered, remnant patches in Asia. much more flammable than other tree species, and
are therefore much more prone to catastrophic
Climate The climate at Hobart, Tasmania, Australia wildfires (see below).
(Figure 3.4e) is not dissimilar to that of the west
coast of South Island, New Zealand, and both areas Structure and Function The characteristic sclero-
are characterized by broad-leaved evergreen phyll foliage is advantageous because it deters her-
forests. The annual rainfall in Hobart is not high, bivory, helps avoid drought, and is believed to be
but it is evenly distributed through the year and an important adaptation to help plants cope with
evaporation is low. Therefore, trees only experience nutrient infertile soils. The natural structure of the
mild water deficits during the summer. Average min- sclerophyllous oak forests is a dense, often contin-
imum monthly temperatures are rarely below zero, uous canopy, less than 20 m tall. Eucalyptus canopies
so tree growth occurs throughout the year. The cli- may vary from tall (up to 60 m in height) closed for-
mates of Sydney and Tasmania, Australia are sim- est to shorter closed forest and woodland. The LAI
ilar (Figure 3.4e-f), although the average annual of eucalyptus forests is low, especially relative to the
temperature for Sydney is higher (17.4°C versus high productivity of these forests. The forests have
12.2°C). Higher rainfall (1200 mm or 47 inches) relatively dense shrub understory, presumably
compensates for the higher temperatures and evap- because there is adequate light and reduced evap-
oration, so environmental conditions are good for orative demand. The NPP averages 10.0 tC ha-1
growth throughout the year. yr-1, the highest of all the forest biomes, but this
average is based on very few data. Nonetheless, tem-
Soils Less is known about the temperate broad- perate broad-leaved forest can be very productive
leaved evergreen forest soils compared to other when moisture and nutrient availability are high.
Forest Biomes 69

Management Forests in the Mediterranean area isthmus of Panama and into southern Mexico, the
have been used by humans for thousands of years, Congo Basin in equatorial Africa, and the south-
and in the United States cutting and clearance for ern fringe of West Africa. In Asia, tropical rainforests
agriculture and various other forms of development occur along the southeast coast of India, in Sri
have been rapid. The forest industry in Australia has Lanka, the Malaysian Peninsula, the Indonesian
been based on native forests for more than 100 archipelago, Borneo, Sarawak, and Papua New
years. During this time, the mature forests have been Guinea (collectively called Melanesia). A small rem-
either clearcut or selectively logged. Most Eucalyp- nant strip of tropical rainforest also occurs along
tus species are tolerant of fire, and the forest ecosys- the northeast coast of Australia. Rainfall is gener-
tems are adapted to it. The native people of Australia ally greater than 1500 mm per year and relative
used fire for thousands of years in a manner that humidity is uniformly high. There is a broad range
appeared to be consistent with natural regimes (fires of subtypes within tropical forests, ranging from
caused by lightning strikes). Since European set- lowland to montane types. The large differences in
tlement, fire has been excluded, as much as possi- climate and parent material have a pronounced
ble, from the remaining forests. The result has been impact on the structure and function of tropical
fuel buildup, so that when fires do occur, they are forests (13), and it is difficult to make generaliza-
likely to be much more intense than was normal tions about such a large forest biome.
historically (Chapter 18).
Large areas of the native Eucalyptus forests in Climate The tropical evergreen forests are gen-
Australia have been cleared and replaced by soft- erally considered to be wet at all times, but Figure
wood Monterey pine (P. radiata) plantations. The 3.4g indicates there are periods when evaporation
establishment of hardwood plantations has been may exceed rainfall in the Amazon rainforests. This
slow, largely because of economic and sociologi- pattern also occurs in the African tropical rainforests,
cal reasons. Many lowland Podocarp forests have but in many of the southeast Asian areas rainfall
been harvested for their exotic timber. There are exceeds evaporation in every month of the year.
still large areas of beech forest. New Zealand has In general, diurnal variation in temperature exceeds
now virtually halted native forest logging. seasonal variation in temperature.
The South American temperate broad-leaved
evergreen forests include a range of types, from Soils Tropical forest soils are highly variable. An
lowland to Andean slopes. The dominant species excellent summary of tropical soil distribution, extent,
is generally Nothofagus. These forests have all been and key pedogenic processes that control soil fer-
heavily exploited for timber. Like Australia and New tility is provided by Sanchez (14). Oxisols and Ulti-
Zealand, Chile now has extensive P. radiata plan- sols, the two dominant soil orders in the tropics, are
tations, which may serve to slow the destruction highly weathered and are typically infertile. Phos-
of native Nothofagus forests. phorus and base cations are commonly the most
deficient nutrients. They have extremely low cation
exchange capacity, base saturation, and pH. Alfisols,
Tropical Broad-leaved Evergreen more fertile than Oxisols and Ultisols, occur in
Forests regions with lower precipitation (e.g., tropical decid-
uous forest regions) than lowland wet tropical forests.
Distribution and Extent Tropical broad-leaved Because of their higher fertility, the forests on these
evergreen forests, or rainforests, comprise the largest soils are often cleared and used for agriculture.
single forest biome in the world (see Table 3.1).
The greatest single area of tropical evergreen for- Species Composition Tropical evergreen forests are
est is in the Amazon Basin, in the northern half of the most diverse terrestrial ecosystems on earth,
South America. Similar forests are found on the with the greatest number of species per unit area.
70 Forest Biomes of the World

The Amazonian forests contain more than 2500 dif- approximately 0.6 percent of all lowland tropical
ferent tree species, with thousands more in the rainforest—were harvested or cleared. An additional
African and Asian forests. Dipterocarps are com- 2.5 million hectares of tropical montane forests are
mon trees in many tropical forests in the world. destroyed each year. Indonesia and Brazil
Eastern South America tropical rainforests contain accounted for 45 percent of the total. Degradation
conifers such as Dacrydium, Podocarpus, Agathis, and fragmentation of the remaining forests result
and Araucaria (15). The African rainforests appear in the loss of large tracts of unmanaged forests sub-
to be relatively poor in species compared to those stantially greater than the clearing rates suggest. The
of America and Asia. Characteristic species are causes for deforestation are numerous, and the
Lophira alata, Turraeanthus africana, Tarrieta utilis remedies are complex. In Africa, expanding pop-
and Uapaca spp. The most important commercial ulations and constant clearance for agriculture are
tree species of the evergreen forests of Africa belong the primary causes of deforestation. Shifting culti-
to the Meliaceae family (16). vation and cattle ranching are major causes of
deforestation in South America. In Asia, deforesta-
Structure and Function Rainforest canopies are tion is caused by burgeoning human populations
characterized by layered architecture. The canopy and poorly regulated logging. Solutions must be
includes an upper layer of emergent trees, a main found for these problems—perhaps the most impor-
canopy layer and a subcanopy of smaller trees and tant will be control of human populations. Agro-
shrubs. The varied canopy structure is caused by forestry may be a sustainable system for tropical
gaps of different sizes, created at different times. areas. The development of viable tropical forest
The aboveground biomass of tropical rainforests management systems and procedures for preserv-
varies with topography, soil type, stage of devel- ing the forests and utilizing them on a sustainable
opment and other factors. Aboveground biomass basis will require much better ecological and phys-
ranges from 100 to 1500 t ha-1 (4). NPP averages iological information for the dominant tree species.
8.2 tC ha-1 yr-1. The most recent summaries of NPP With the exception of the widely grown Euca-
for different forest biomes suggest that differences lyptus plantations, most tropical plantations are soft-
in NPP between tropical and temperate forests are woods, although hardwood plantations are
smaller than reported in earlier studies (17). beginning to gain popularity in the tropics. How-
Millions of canopy-dwelling insects reside in wet ever, a great deal of research is necessary before
tropical forests. These insects are part of an ecosys- the problems of managing tropical plantations to
tem in which predator-prey relationships are produce acceptable timber growth rates are solved.
extremely complex. Vast numbers of these organisms
consume large quantities of foliage, bark and wood.
Natural disturbances in tropical forests include Tropical Broad-leaved Deciduous
cyclonic storms, wildfires and volcanic eruptions. Forests
Inland forests, in the Amazon and Congo basins,
are not subject to hurricanes and appear to be at Distribution and Extent Tropical deciduous
very little risk from environmental hazards, but the forests occupy 4.6 x 108 hectares (Table 3.1) and
hazard is significant through much of the southeast comprise 42 percent of tropical and subtropical
Asian area, particularly in the Indonesian archi- regions (18). Tropical broad-leaved deciduous
pelago and Malaysia. Hurricanes are a common forests replace tropical broad-leaved evergreen trees
form of disturbance for coastal tropical rainforests. as annual rainfall decreases and interseasonal dif-
ferences in precipitation increase. Drought induces
Management Tropical rainforests are under leaf shedding and the deciduous growth habit in
increasing pressure from human activities. During trees. Deciduous tropical forests occur on the bor-
the 1980s (1981-90) 4.6 million hectares—or ders of evergreen forests in South America and
Global Change a n d Forests 71

Africa, where the mountain forests of central Africa and characterized by more open structure than trop-
may be included in the deciduous category. The ical evergreen forests. Dense shrubs often occur as
largest areas of tropical deciduous forests are the the second layer, presumably because of the bet-
monsoonal forests of southern and southeastern ter light environment and reduced evaporative
Asia, in India, the Himalayan countries and demand at lower levels in the canopy. The pro-
Bangladesh, stretching through to Burma, Thailand, ductivity of tropical deciduous forests is influenced
Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (16). by the periods for which the trees have leaves and
water relations are such that the trees can utilize radi-
Climate Jamshedpur, in India (Figure 3.4h) is a ant energy and grow relatively unchecked by water
monsoon climate, characterized by heavy rains for stress (see Chapter 4 on water relations and Chap-
4-6 months of the year, with high water deficits ter 13 on ecosytem models). Average NPP for trop-
developing after the monsoon season. Temperatures ical broad-leaved deciduous forests is 8.0 tC ha-1 yr-1
are high throughout the year. A very similar climate (Table 3.1). Fire is an important natural ecological
is found in Central and South America; Managua, component of tropical broad-leaved deciduous
Nicaragua has a mean annual temperature of 27.3°C forests, and human disturbance has greatly reduced
(cf. 26.4°C at Jamshedpur), and total annual pre- the amount and quality of these forests (4).
cipitation of 1142 mm, most of which falls in five
months. Management Tropical deciduous forests in all
continents have been subject, over long periods,
Soils Major soils orders of tropical broad-leaved to burning and clearing for grazing and arable agri-
deciduous forests are Alfisols and Inceptisols. Highly culture. Annual deforestation rates during the 1980s
weathered soils (e.g., Ultisols and Oxisols) are rare was 6.6 million hectares, and like the tropical broad-
because lower precipitation prevents excessive leaved evergreen forests, the greatest rates of defor-
weathering of the soil. Many of these soils are rich estation are occurring in Brazil and Indonesia;
in base cations. human population growth in these areas will lead
to continued destruction of the few remnants, with
Species Composition Species diversity is typically progression towards degraded forests, woodland
less in tropical deciduous than in tropical evergreen and savannah. Soil erosion is among the many seri-
forests (18). Dominant species in Africa include ous effects of forest destruction and degradation.
Antiarus africana, Ceiba pentandra, Triplochiton Protection of these forests is an unattainable goal
scleroxolon, and others, while important species in in many regions of the world because of rapidly
America are Andira, Dalbergia, and Tabebuia gen- growing population. The future objective should be
era, with conifers represented by Caribbean Pine to preserve existing pristine forests and develop sus-
(P. caribaea) and P. oocarpa (16). Important trop- tainable management plans for disturbed ecosys-
ical deciduous tree species in Central America tems. Where damaged forests can be protected,
include Calcophyllum candidissimum and Licania their recovery depends heavily on the state of the
arborea in lowland forests, Luehea seemannii and soils, in terms of organic matter content, structure,
Guarea excelsa in lowland riparian areas and an and nutrient status.
oak, Quercus oleoides, which occurs in scattered
populations over a wide area (19). Deciduous trop-
ical forests in Asia include Tectona grandis (teak),
Shorea robusta, and species of Dalbergia and Ter- Global Change and Forests
minalia (16). Forests are an important component of the bios-
phere. Forest and woodland soils contain 45 per-
Structure and Function The canopies of decid- cent of the total soil carbon of terrestrial ecosystems,
uous tropical forests tend to be shorter, less layered, forest and woodland vegetation contain 84 percent
72 Forest Biomes of the World

of the total terrestrial vegetation carbon, and forests assumption outlined earlier, the area affected by
annually assimilate 61 percent of the total carbon clearing—the so-called rate of fragmentation—
dioxide removed from the atmosphere by terres- would be 380,000 km2 yr-1. Although the assump-
trial ecosystems (17). The role of forests in the bios- tion made by Skoles and Tucker about the
phere is changing because of land use change and magnitude of the edge effect is controversial, they
climate and atmospheric chemistry change. Alter- raise a valid concern, particularly for animals that
ing the extent and spatial distribution of forests can require large tracts of natural forests.
cause feedbacks between the atmosphere and An increasing percentage of timber products
vegetation. used in the world today, particularly pulpwood but,
increasingly, sawn timber products, come from
plantations rather than from natural forests. Plan-
Habitat Protection and Land Use tations have many advantages over natural forests.
Change Plantations can be established on prepared land,
Habitat protection is a necessary management prac- using genetically improved and uniform material at
tice to maintain or improve biodiversity—an standardized spacings that allow optimum growth
important component of sustainable forestry. The rates of individual trees. It is economically feasible
practice is more difficult because of the need to pro- to control weeds and use fertilizers to ameliorate
tect large tracts of threatened ecosystems. The World problems of soil nutrition in plantations. Plantations
Conservation Union, an independent international should be used to increase the production of wood
organization that oversees conserving biodiversity products, thereby alleviating the need to harvest the
established a goal of protecting a minimum of 10 remaining native forests.
percent of each of the world's major biomes. Few
of the forest biomes has the minimum 10 percent
of the area protected (Figure 3.5). The temperate Climate Change
forest biomes have the smallest area in protected Changes in atmospheric chemistry also threaten the
forests (2.9 to 3.2 percent). Tropical broad-leaved health of forest ecosystems. The concentration of
deciduous forests also have less than 5 percent of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2),
the total area in protected forests. Perhaps even methane (CH4), nitrous oxides (N2OX) and chlo-
more disturbing is there are very few temperate roflorocarbons (CFCs) have all greatly increased and
broad-leaved deciduous and broad-leaved ever- the consensus of world experts is that the
green forests of "low human disturbance" available increased concentration of greenhouse gases will
for protection. cause the climate to change (21). One major con-
A second, and more complicated consideration, cern is that the predicted increase in temperature
is the spatial arrangement of the protected forests. is far faster than changes in climate in the geologic
The spatial arrangement of vegetation communities past and some forest ecosystems tree species may
is important for the survival of certain species and experience future climates that do not currently
proper ecosystem function. For example, assuming occur in their present-day range. There is great inter-
the edge effect of harvest extends one kilometer est in understanding how anticipated climate
into the intact forest, a 10 x 10 km clearcut would change will affect the distribution and extent of
affect 143 km2 of forest. However, if 100 km2 is future forests. Model simulations suggest that the
deforested as 10 strips, each 1 x 10 km (e.g., log- extent of boreal forests will decrease and tropical
ging adjacent to new roads in remote forests) the forests will increase, although the magnitude of the
affected area would be about 350 km2. Skoles and change differs among the models (4).
Tucker (20), using repeated satellite imagery, esti- Ozone is another atmospheric pollutant that is
mated an annual deforestation rate for the entire harmful to plant growth. Ozone is the product of
Amazon Basin of 280,000 km2 yr-1, but using the complex chemical reactions in the atmosphere that
References 73

F i g u r e 3 . 5 Percentage of
each major forest biome area that
is protected or subject to low
human disturbance. The dashed
line represents the goal of
designating 10% of the total area
of each forest biome as protected
preserves. TrBLD = Tropical
broad-leaved deciduous; TrBLE =
Tropical broad-leaved evergreen;
STBLE = Subtropical broad-
leaved evergreen; TeBLE =
Temperate broad-leaved
evergreen; TeNLE = Temperate
needle-leaved evergreen; TeBLD
= Temperate broad-leaved
deciduous.

involve pollutants from the combustion of fossil objective in forestry is to manage ecosystems on a
fuel. Reductions in the growth of agriculture crops sustainable basis. To achieve this goal, managers,
and trees from elevated ozone concentrations are politicians, and scientists must work together to
well d o c u m e n t e d (Chapter 4). A second atmos- develop management plans that are consistent with
pheric pollutant that is gaining worldwide atten- the ecology of each of the forest ecosystems com-
tion is atmospheric nitrogen deposition. Although prising all the major forest biomes. Obtaining this
many forest ecosystems are nitrogen limited, goal will occur only if forest management is based
chronic deposition of moderate to high amounts on a sound understanding of forest biology (Chap-
of nitrogen may cause forest ecosystems to func- ters 4-8), forest fire ecology (Chapter 18), plant-ani-
tion improperly, causing forest dieback and mal interactions and protection (Chapters 14 and
contamination of adjacent watersheds. The sus- 18), and forest hydrology (Chapter 16).
ceptibility of forests to nitrogen deposition is
strongly d e p e n d e n t u p o n forest species, and soil
type. Forest dieback attributed to stress induced
from climatic change has already b e e n suspected
References
in many heavily industrialized areas in the tem- 1. D. I. AXELROD, Evolution, 20, 1 (1966).
perate forests (4). 2. J. M. MELILLO, A. D. MCGUIRE, D. W. KICKLIGHTER, B.
MOORE, III, C. J. VOROSMARTY, A. L. SCHLOSS. Nature
363, 234 (1993).
3. F. I. WOODWARD, "Ecophysiological controls on
Concluding Statement conifer distribution." In Ecophysiology of Coniferous
Humans have exerted a large influence on forest Forests, W. K. Smith and T M. Hinckley, eds.,
ecosystems of the world, and will continue to do Academic Press, San Diego, Calif., 1995.
so as the world population increases. Preserving 4. J. J. LANDSBERG AND S. T GOWER, Applications of Phys-
large areas of (relatively) undisturbed forest iological Ecology to Forest Management, Academic
ecosystems should be pursued wherever possible, Press, San Diego, Calif., 1997.
but it is equally important to be realistic about the 5. S. T. GOWER AND J. H. RICHARDS, BioScience 19, 252
fact that forests must be used. The most pressing (1990).
74 Forest Biomes of the World

6. S. T. GOWER, D. FELDKIRSHNER, R.J. OLSON, AND J. M. O. 15. T. C. WHITMORE, Tropical Rain Forests of the Far East,
SCURLOCK, "Global leaf area index and net primary pro- Second Edition, MacMillan, N e w York, 1984.
duction data." Environmental Sciences Division Pub., 16. J. BOROTA, "Tropical forests: Some African and Asian
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, O a k Ridge, Tenn., case studies of composition a n d structure." In Devel-
2000. opments in Agricultural and Managed Forest Ecol-
7. S. T. GOWER, O. KRAKINA, R. J. OLSON, M. APPS, S. LIN- ogy, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1991.
DER, AND C. WANG. "Net primary production and car- 17. W. H. SCHLESINGER, Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of
b o n allocation patterns of boreal forest ecosystems." Global Change, Second Edition, Academic Press, San
Ecological Applications, 11, 1395 (2001). Diego, Calif., 1997.
8. C. T. DYRNESS, L. A. VIERECK, AND K. VAN CLEVE, "Fire 18. P. G. MURPHY AND A. LUGO, Annual Review Ecology
in taiga communities on interior Alaska." In Forest and Systematics, 17, 67 (1986).
Ecosystems in the Alaskan Taiga, K. Van Cleve, F. S.
19. G. S. FIARTSHORN, "Gap-phase dynamics and tropical
Chapin, III, P. W. Flanagan, L. A. Viereck, and C. T.
tree species richness." In Tropical Forests: Botanical
Dyrness, eds., Springer-Verlag, N e w York, 1986.
Dynamics, Speciation, and Diversity, L. B. Holm-
9. E. ROHRIG, E. AND B. ULRICH, "Temperate deciduous Nielsen, I. C. Nielsen, and H. Balslev, eds., Acade-
forests." In Ecosystems of the World, D. W. Goodwall, mic Press, London, 1989.
ed., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1991.
20. D. SKOLES AND C. TUCKER, Science, 260, 1905 (1993).
10. R. W. WARING AND J. F. FRANKLIN, Science, 204, 1380
21. IPCC, "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
(1979).
Synthesis Report," World Meteorological Organization,
11. M. G. R. CANNELL, World Forest Biomass and Primary Geneva, Switzerland, 1995.
Production Data, Academic Press, N e w York, 1982.
22. R. G. BAILEY, Ecosystem Geography. Springer-Verlag,
12. J. KOTAR, J. KOVACH, AND C. LOCEY. "Field Guide to For- N e w York, 1996.
est Habitat Types in Northern Wisconsin." Department
23. C. W. THORNTHWAITE, Geogr. Res., 38, 55 (1948).
of Forestry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.,
1982. 24. M. J. MULLER, "Selected Climate Data for a Global Set
of Standard Stations for Vegetation Science." Junk, The
13. P. M. VITOUSEK AND R. L. SANFORD, JR., Annual Review
Hague, 1982.
Ecology Systematics, 17, 137 (1986).
14. P. A. SANCHEZ, Properties and Management of Soils in
the Tropics, J o h n Wiley & Sons, N e w York, 1976.
 CHAPTER 4
Forest Ecophysiology
ERIC L. KRUGER

Coupling Tree Structure Global Issues in Forest

and Function Ecophysiology
Leaves—The Tree's Solar Panels Effect of Anticipated Global Warming
Woody Stem—The Distinctive Feature of Effect of Changes in Atmospheric
Trees Chemistry
Roots—Anchorage and Access to Soil Potential Impacts of Atmospheric
Resources Pollution
Root Symbioses—Enhancing Nutrient
Acquisition
Concluding Statement—Future
Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds Directions in Forest Ecophysiology
Coping with Environmental Stress References
Effect of Seasonal Variation in Climate
Additional Reading
Effect of Chronic Resource Shortages
Effect of Variation in Resource Availability

Ecophysiology is a marriage of ecology and phys- rently a pressing need for these forecasts as soci-
iology in which the functions and activities of organ- ety faces the seemingly imminent specter of marked
isms are studied in the context of their environment. shifts in global climate and atmospheric chemistry.
Implicit in this description is a quest to identify As the discipline of ecophysiology has evolved,
adaptive traits that organisms possess to cope with it has expanded in scope, addressing issues at an
their often harsh and variable surroundings. For- increasingly wide range of scales. For instance, eco-
est ecophysiology explores many of the questions physiologists have recently been studying how for-
and issues that emerge in related disciplines, includ- est responses to changes in atmospheric chemistry
ing forest ecology, genetics, silviculture, pathology, will affect continental rainfall patterns, and the expla-
and entomology. A good example of such an issue nation links molecular behavior in certain leaf cells
is forest succession, a fascinating and important eco- with landscape-level changes in vegetation water
logical process involving the orderly replacement use. Conceptually, ecophysiology relies heavily on
of certain plant species or communities by others basic sciences such as chemistry and physics. How-
through time (see Chapter 13). Ecophysiologists ever, it has also developed ties with ostensibly unre-
continue to pursue a mechanistic understanding of lated disciplines, such as economics. This has
this phenomenon and the species adaptations that occurred because the ability of organisms to flour-
drive it. Another current focus is the generation of ish in a given environment depends in part on such
accurate predictions as to how forests will respond aspects as the efficiency in which a particular
to changes in the global environment. There is cur- resource is used, or how effectively it is scavenged

75
76 Forest Ecophysiology

from the environment. These are critical consider- This elegant process occurs in layers of leaf cells
ations in the life of a tree, as essential resources exist (Figure 4.1) collectively referred to as mesophyll
in dilute concentrations in most forest ecosystems. (meaning middle of the leaf). A leaf is green
So where does one begin in tackling issues in because these cells contain bacterium-sized
forest ecophysiology? The first step is to garner a organelles called chloroplasts, which are laden with
basic understanding of how trees "make a living." the pigment chlorophyll. The green color of chloro-
This step necessarily entails a coupling of tree struc- phyll stems from its preferential absorption of red
ture and function, and there this chapter begins. (600-700 nm) and blue (400-500 nm) light. Thus,
From there, one can pursue any number of differ- when looking at a leaf, we see the small amount
ent paths. Here we will explore various aspects of (typically <10%) of visible light that is reflected or
tree response to environment, highlighting our transmitted rather than absorbed and utilized for
knowledge (or lack thereof) about mechanisms photosynthesis.
underlying these behaviors. Armed with this back- Chlorophyll is one of several pigments, proteins,
ground, we will then take a brief look at global- and other components of chloroplast machinery that
scale issues facing forests at present and in the absorbs and converts light energy into what is
future. essentially electric current. The energy in this cur-
rent is then stored in chemical fuels that are used

Coupling Tree Structure

and Function

Leaves—The Tree's Solar Panels

Like all other plants, trees are made mostly from
sugars as the basic building blocks. Sugars are the
primary raw material from which all tree tissues
(wood, bark, leaves, fine roots, flowers, etc.) are
constructed. They are also the source of fuel used
by enzymes and associated biochemical machinery
in building and maintaining the tree. Tree leaves
are sugar factories producing glucose, an organic
(carbon-based) compound, by way of photosyn-
thesis, the process of "trapping" the sun's energy.
A large tree typically displays thousands of leaves
that absorb sunlight and transfer its energy (by way
of electrons) to carbon dioxide (CO2), a relatively
scarce gas in our atmosphere (currently ~0.037%
by volume). The electron-rich carbon is then assem-
bled to make either a disaccharide sugar, sucrose,
F i g u r e 4.1 Cross-section of a Norway maple
or the closely related storage polysaccharide, starch
(Acerplatanoides) leaf. The wax-coated epidermis
(the general formula of both is [C6H12O6]x). A glance encloses several cell types, including columnar
at the simplified chemical formula for photosyn- chloroplast-laden cells called palisade parenchyma,
thesis, CO2 + H2O CH2O + O2, reveals that it amorphous spongy mesophyll (beneath the palisade
also produces life-sustaining oxygen (O 2 ) when it cells) and vascular bundles containing xylem and
strips electrons from water (H2O) (see also Chap- phloem (not shown). All of this is packed in an
ter 20, Wood Products). envelope less than one millimeter thick.
Coupling Tree Structure and Function 77

to "fix" or assimilate carbon dioxide (CO2) mole-

cules into sugar. The first step in CO2 assimilation
is performed in the chloroplast by one of the most
abundant and important enzymes on earth, known
by the acronym "rubisco" (short for ribulose bis-
phosphate carboxylase-oxygenase). Rubisco, which
can constitute nearly one-half of the protein in a
leaf, is responsible for producing an estimated 200
billion tons of sugar around the world each year.
As a frame of reference, humanity currently con-
sumes the equivalent of roughly 10 percent of that
energy, including portions of the enormous fossil
fuel reservoirs that were generated by rubisco mil-
lions of years ago.
Water is a critical factor in the design of a leaf.
Living cells such as the mesophyll must bathe in
water, and to ensure that this is always the case,
mesophyll is wrapped in the epidermis, a largely
water-impermeable skin (Figure 4.1). The epider-
mis is impermeable because it deposits a thin wax
(hydrophobic) cuticle on its exterior. However, the
photosynthetic requirement for CO2 necessitates that
the mesophyll has access to the atmosphere, and
therefore the epidermis has holes in it called sto-
mates. Tens of thousands of these tiny pores typ-
ically dot a square centimeter of leaf surface. An
important implication of this arrangement is that,
in order to photosynthesize, the leaf must lose
water, which diffuses from the moist leaf interior
through the stomates to the relatively dry atmos-
phere. As water is generally the most limiting
resource for trees and other terrestrial plants, it is F i g u r e 4.2 Close-up of a pair of guard cells
essential that water loss, otherwise known as tran- lining a stomatal pore in the leaf epidermis. When
spiration, is carefully controlled. To achieve this, guard cells absorb water, the stomate opens (upper
stomatal pores are lined with a pair of guard cells photo), and when they lose water, it closes (lower
(Figure 4.2). photo).
Guard cells maintain a balance between photo-
synthesis and transpiration by opening and clos-
ing the stomatal pore in response to key lectively, these behaviors tend to minimize the
environmental factors, including light, relative amount of water lost per molecule of CO2 assimi-
humidity, and even CO2 concentration. Stomates lated.
open in response to increasing light intensity, and Another essential component of leaves is the
they close in response to dry air or high CO2 con- "plumbing"—the conduits through which materi-
centrations inside the leaf. Stomates also close in als are transported to and from the leaf. Water is
response to soil drying, and this is often mediated delivered from the roots to the leaf mesophyll
by a chemical message from the root system. Col- through a set of pipes known as the xylem. Sugar
78 Forest Ecophysiology

is delivered from the mesophyll to the rest of the

tree through a different system called the phloem.
The xylem and phloem lie adjacent to each other
in vascular bundles that are imbedded in the veins
pervading the leaf.

Woody Stem—The Distinctive

Feature of Trees
The key feature distinguishing trees from other
plants is the perennial woody stem, generally a sin-
gle column that, in the case of species such as
coastal redwood {Sequoia sempervirens), can reach
massive proportions. Through the ages, arboreal
forms have arisen repeatedly in unrelated plant fam-
ilies around the world. Why such a convergence
in design? It may simply boil down to the enhanced F i g u r e 4.3 Cross-section of the stem of eastern
light capture and competitive ability afforded by a hemlock (Tsuga canadensis, a gymnosperm) and
tall stem. white ash (Fraxinus americana, an angiosperm). Note
Wood, which affords the stem sufficient strength in both stems the conspicuous heartwood core
surrounded by sapwood and bark. Between the
to support a massive canopy, is essentially a matrix sapwood and inner bark (phloem) lies the
of lignified water conduits (Figure 4.3) that extend meristimatic band of cells known as the vascular
from the tips of the roots to the tips of the leaves. cambium.
Wood (or xylem, derived from the Greek word for
wood) actually owes most of its strength and den-
sity to lignin, an amorphous polymer deposited in integrity of the wood, by responding to injury and
cell walls (see Chapter 20). Much of the wood of defending against stem-boring insects and fungi
conifers and other gymnosperms (often referred to (Figure 4.4). They also participate in a coordinated
as softwoods) is a honeycomb-like aggregate of abandonment of older wood as the tree stem
conduits called tracheids. In dicot angiosperms increases in girth. This core of completely dead tis-
(often referred to as hardwoods), the pipes, called sue is the heartwood, which, during the transition
vessels, are interspersed with thick-walled fibers that from sapwood, is often infused with organic chem-
make the wood strong and dense. With few excep- icals (e.g., resins, gums, and oils) that deter wood-
tions, the cross-sectional diameter of tracheids and decay organisms (see Chapter 20). This imparts
vessels ranges from 10—500 micrometers, and only much of the durability and color that characterizes
the widest of them (such as the large vessels of highly valued lumber from species such as red-
many oaks) are visible to the naked eye when view- wood, cedar, and oak.
ing a stem cross-section. While water is transported through the stem sap-
Technically, most of the wood is dead. That is, wood from roots to transpiring foliage, a solution
tracheids, vessels, and fibers consist of nothing more of carbohydrates (mostly sugar) flows from the
than cell walls at functional maturity. However, in canopy down the stem by way of the phloem,
the outer band of wood, known as sapwood, there which is a thin band of cells often referred to as
is a network of living cells, called parenchyma, the inner bark (Figure 4.3). Unlike the tracheids
which permeates the otherwise inert matrix. These or vessels of xylem, the plumbing in phloem tis-
cells serve as storage reservoirs for the tree's food- sue, consisting primarily of sieve cells (gym-
stuffs (mainly starch), and they help maintain the nosperms) or sieve tube members (angiosperms),
Coupling Tree Structure a n d Function 79

Sidebar 4.1

Trees are remarkable organisms.

Trees are remark- named "Pando," in the Wasatch Mountains of

able for their size, Utah. This single organism, composed of some
longevity, and abil- 47,000 interconnected and genetically identical
ity to thrive in a tree stems, covers about 43 hectares (106 acres)
wide range of and is estimated to weigh about 6,000 tons. (The
habitats. As for former record holder was also a forest
size, there are organism—the giant shoestring fungus, Armil-
coastal redwood laria bulbosa, found in Michigan). Not only is
and giant sequoia this aspen stand the
(Sequoiadendron largest organism
giganteum) trees ever measured, it
in California that may also be the
exceed 110 meters longest-lived. It is
(360 feet) in height thought that the
and 30 meters clone may have
(100 feet) in basal been established
circumference, before the end of
respectively. But the Pleistocene (last
none of these glacial epoch) some
methuselan trees 10,000 years ago. If
has been crowned that estimate holds
the largest organ- true, it smashes the
ism on Earth. previous record
Instead, the current record holder is a clone of among trees, which
trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), nick- was held by a tena-
cious, 4,900 year-old bristlecone pine (Pinus lon-
gaevd) growing in the cold, high-elevation
deserts in the western United States. Yet from
the standpoint of an ecophysiologist, the most
impressive feature of trees is the broad range
of habitats in which they can survive. There are
species, such as bristlecone pine, that can eke
out an existence in some of the driest and cold-
est areas on earth. And there are others, such
as bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), that suc-
cessfully inhabit the warmest and wettest
places.
80 Forest Ecophysiology

F i g u r e 4 . 4 In many gymnosperms, parenchyma called epitheleal cells line a network of resin ducts in the
wood. When the stem is injured, these cells produce copious amounts of resin to repel the intruder and plug the
wound. The presence of pitch tubes on this lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) indicates that the tree has been
attacked by mountain pine beetles. Sometimes the intruder is entombed in resin (like the beetle on the right).
(Photo at right courtesy of Ken Raffa, copyright of Plenum Press.)

is alive at functional maturity. This contrast under- loading, water flows into the sieve elements from
scores a key difference in the mechanism of mate- the adjacent xylem. This phenomenon, known as
rial transport between the two juxtaposed tissues. osmosis, is made possible by the unique proper-
Leaf transpiration generates a tension that pulls ties of the plasma membrane. Pressures exceeding
water through the tiny capillaries of the entire ten atmospheres will commonly develop as water
xylem, which is essentially an open or porous sys- fills the confines of the phloem cells. Downstream,
tem. On the other hand, the sugary solution in the sugar is offloaded to needy tissues, and this lessens
phloem is transported by the buildup of pressure the strength with which the phloem can hold water.
at one end of the system (e.g., the leaf). This occurs Consequently, water leaks out and pressure
within an interconnected plasma membrane that declines, creating the gradient in pressure from
lines all the individual sieve elements, creating leaves to roots that drives phloem transport.
something akin to a very long dialysis tube through When one examines the cross-section of a stem
which the pressurized fluid moves from leaves all (Figure 4.3), it may be a bit puzzling as to how the
the way to root tips. tree coordinates the production of new xylem and
It may seem counterintuitive that the plasma phloem tissues as the stem increases in girth. It turns
membrane, which is essential for the creation as out that the stem has a thin layer of meristematic
well as maintenance of phloem hydraulic pressure, cells, known as the vascular cambium, positioned
is inherently leaky. Like all cell membranes, it is between the xylem and phloem (or wood and inner
semipermeable, meaning that certain substances, bark). Each year throughout the life of the tree, the
including water, pass easily across it while others, cells in this cylinder undergo innumerable divisions,
such as sugar, do not. The key here is that sieve producing new xylem in an inward direction, and
elements have mechanisms to accumulate sugar at the same time new phloem in the outward
from surrounding cells. In response to this sugar direction.
Coupling Tree Structure and Function 81

Meanwhile, new cells are being produced in yet upper 20 cm of the soil profile. They are the pri-
another meristematic cylinder that lies outside of mary means with which the tree absorbs water and
the phloem, the cork cambium (or phellogen). The an array of soil elements (nitrogen, phosphorus,
cork cambium is responsible for maintaining the potassium, and at least 11 others) essential for nor-
protective outer bark of the tree. As the name mal growth and vigor.
implies, much of the tissue manufactured by this While woody coarse roots resemble branches in
perennial cambium is cork, which is dead at matu- structure, fine roots have a distinctive architecture
rity and has suberin, a waxy waterproof polymer, reflecting their absorptive function (Figure 4.5). As
incorporated in its cell walls. This creates a barrier in the case of a twig in the tree crown, the fine
to water loss from the inner stem, as well as a tough root terminates in an apical meristem, which lies
guard against potential intruders. In some species, beneath a protective root cap. Unlike a twig, the
such as paper birch (Betula papyrifera), this skin fine root's plumbing (xylem and phloem) is located
remains fairly thin throughout the life of the tree, in its core, which is surrounded by a band of
whereas in others, such as cork oak (Quercus parenchyma called the cortex. All of this is enclosed
suber), it can exceed 30 cm in thickness. (Quer- in an epidermis, from which a plethora of root hairs
cus suber is the source of wine bottle corks.) Most typically emanate. These elongated epidermal cells
of the variation in bark design that distinguishes dif-
ferent tree species derives from the wide array of
peculiar behaviors of the cork cambium.
Until they begin to senesce, trees continuously
increase in height as well as girth, and the former
is accomplished by meristems at the tips of
branches. These apical zones of cell division, which
number in the thousands on a large tree, give rise
to new stems and leaves, as well as the repro-
ductive structures (flowers and fruits). All stem tis-
sues originate in the apical meristem, including the
vascular and cork cambia: hence, there is a con-
tinuous network of interconnected apical and lat-
eral meristems that forms a sheath around the
entire stem.

Roots—Anchorage and Access to

Soil Resources
The meristematic sheath around the stem also
extends below ground, surrounding the tissues of
a massive root system that at times can rival the F i g u r e 4.5 Most of the water and nutrients
tree crown in weight and volume. Large subter- acquired by a tree are absorbed through fine roots
with a cross-sectional structure like that shown here.
ranean branches, and in many species a deep-
Just outside of the stele (core of xylem and phloem)
running taproot, serve to anchor the tree in the soil. lies the endodermis. This acts as a barrier to unwanted
From these woody "coarse roots" grows a network materials flowing inwardly through the cortex. Primary
of ever smaller laterals, which eventually terminate roots such as this are short-lived; within a few months
in a labyrinth of fine roots. The latter, typically light they will either die or initiate secondary growth,
brown- or cream-colored and no more than a few becoming a perennial woody root. (Photograph by
millimeters in diameter, are typically confined to the Richard Dickson.)
82 Forest Ecophysiology

greatly enhance the effective surface area a n d

absorptive capacity of a root system.
O n e of the key functions of a fine root is to pre-
vent the tree from accumulating potentially
harmful—yet often prevalent—substances in the
soil. A common example of this is aluminum, which
is o n e of the most abundant elements in soil, and
which can be toxic w h e n in a soluble form.
Between the stele (core of xylem and phloem) and
the cortex lies an important cell layer, called the
endodermis, which allows the fine root to dis-
criminate b e t w e e n beneficial and harmful materi-
als. The radial walls of these cells are impregnated
with a plastic-like polymer (called a casparian strip)
that acts as a barrier to the movement of water and
anything floating in it. Consequently all materials F i g u r e 4 . 6 A mutualistic partnership, or
that enter the stele must first cross the endodermal symbiosis, between terrestrial plants and mycorrhizal
cell membranes, which are very effective filters. fungi has existed for at least 400 million years.
Pictured here is a fine root of red pine (Pinus
resinosa) that has been colonized by an
ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete (mushroom fungus).
Root Symbioses—Enhancing The telltale feature of ectomycorrhizae is the coralloid
Nutrient Acquisition and/or bifurcated appearance of the root. The "fuzz"
around this root is a matrix of fungal hyphae that
O n e of the most intriguing aspects of root struc- permeate the soil, greatly enhancing the absorptive
ture and function is the mutualistic partnership, or surface of the root. (Photograph by Glen Stanosz.)
symbiosis, that fine roots of trees and virtually all
other terrestrial plants form with certain fungi and
in many cases bacteria as well. These ancient
liaisons have b e e n shown to enhance many facets root system by manyfold. In return, the fungus
of root function and appear to be critical for plant absorbs food, primarily in the form of sugars, from
survival in most environments. The symbiosis the host tree root.
between a fine root and a fungus is called a mycor- Hundreds of tree species belong to an impor-
rhiza (derived from the Greek words for fungus and tant group of plants that form a symbiosis with
root) (Figure 4.6). Among the several major types nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Figure 4.7). Nitrogen fix-
of mycorrhizae, two are commonly found on trees, ation is the energy-demanding process of convert-
ecto- and endomycorrhizae. These types involve dif- ing atmospheric nitrogen (N 2 ) into a form that
ferent taxa of fungi and are readily distinguished plants and other organisms can use—namely,
from o n e another by general contrasts in the struc- a m m o n i u m (NH 4 + ). (Fertilizer manufacturers cur-
ture of the fungus-fine root complex. Overall, the rently use a tremendous amount of fossil fuel to
chief benefit of this symbiosis for the host tree is accomplish this feat.) Typically, most of the usable
an increased ability to scavenge typically scarce nitrogen in an ecosystem is generated through this
nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, from mechanism by free-living soil bacteria and blue-
the soil. Much of the benefit is conferred by the green algae. However, particularly in environments
network of gossamer fungal hyphae that radiate w h e r e soil or climatic factors limit bacterial activ-
from and deliver absorbed nutrients to the mycor- ity, many plant species have evolved the capabil-
rhizal root, often expanding the effective size of the ity of harboring certain nitrogen-fixing bacteria in
Root Symbioses—Enhancing Nutrient Acquisition 83

sexual reproduction are critical to this role, includ-

ing the timing and mode of flowering and polli-
nation, fruit structure and chemistry, as well as seed
ripening, dispersal, and germination physiology.
Perhaps the most effective way to examine some
of these aspects is by highlighting the reproduc-
tive characteristics of individual species.
A comparison of the flowers of northern
Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) and northern pin oak
(Quercus ellipsoidalis) illustrates the key connec-
tion between flower structure and mode of polli-
nation (Figure 4.8). The flowers of catalpa trees are
"complete," in that they possess all the major flower
parts, including sepals, petals, pistils, and stamens.
Oak, on the other hand, has separate male (sta-
F i g u r e 4 . 7 Here is yet another root symbiosis,
this time involving nitrogen-fixing bacteria. These minate) and female (pistillate) flowers, each of
berry-like structures are root nodules of speckled alder which is incomplete—not only because one of the
(Alnus rugosa), which house actinomycete bacteria. sexes is lacking, but also because petals are absent.
Another group of leguminous tree species form Consequently these flowers are fairly inconspicuous.
nodules containing Rhizobia. Both symbioses reduce It turns out that these two species rely on dif-
(add electrons to) large quantities of nitrogen gas (N2) ferent pollinators. The "showy" flowers of catalpa
and convert it into ammonium (NH/(+), which is a form attract not only our attention, but that of insect pol-
that plants can absorb and use.
linators as well. Insects inadvertently transfer pollen
from flower to flower in their quest for sugar-rich
nectar, which is secreted from tiny nectaries located
in various places such as the base of the pistil. In
their roots (and sometimes elsewhere), in special- contrast, the relatively drab flowers of oak rely
ized structures called nitrogen-fixing nodules. exclusively on wind pollination. Thus they have no
In these nodules, the host tree provides energy need for visual attractants such as brightly colored
(small carbohydrates derived from sugar) and a petals. Rather, the structure of both male and female
favorable environment for the bacteria, and in return flowers facilitates wind pollination. The female
it assimilates the NH4+ that its prokaryotic guests stigma is located in an exposed position, while the
manufacture. This partnership often allows the host male anthers are born on a long catkin, which flops
tree to grow relatively well in dry, nutrient-poor around in the wind, promoting pollen dispersal.
and/or cold environments. Indeed, N-fixing species Although there are numerous exceptions, wind-
commonly dominate these habitats, where they pollinated species tend to flower in the spring in
exert a strong influence on the ecosystem nitrogen temperate and boreal forests, when the air is less
cycle. humid (aiding pollen dispersal) and too cool for
many flying insects. On the other hand, many
insect-pollinated trees flower in the early summer
Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds months, when the climate is generally more favor-
Tree reproductive biology plays an important role able for insect activity. Perhaps for similar reasons,
in the ecology of forests. For example, reproduc- wind tends to be the dominant pollination mode
tive strategies, whether sexual (seed-producing) or in the cooler, drier climes at high latitudes and alti-
vegetative, often govern the distributions of different tudes, whereas insect pollination is most common
tree species in space and time. Several aspects of in the warm moist tropics.
84 Forest Ecophysiology

The seasonality of flowering and pollination is

not necessarily linked to that of seed ripening and
dispersal. For example, many early-flowering
species common to upland temperate forests do not
disperse their seeds until the fall. In contrast, most
bottomland or floodplain hardwoods, such as sil-
ver maple (Acer saccharinum), not only flower
early but also ripen and disperse their seeds in early
or midsummer. These seeds germinate immediately,
as it is an opportune time for seedling establish-
ment in the newly deposited alluvium on recently
flooded sites. Fall is generally not a safe time to
germinate in temperate forests, and thus the seeds
of most upland trees are dormant at the time of fall
dispersal. These dormant seeds must be exposed
to a fairly specific set of environmental cues before
they germinate. The most common requirement is
exposure to a period of near-freezing temperatures
(typically 2-5°C), which must last for weeks to
months depending on the species. This helps to
ensure that seeds do not germinate before the onset
of consistently warm temperatures in the spring.
Seeds of angiosperm trees are imbedded in a
fruit that develops from the ovary and at times other
flower parts. The chemistry and architecture of the
fruit has important implications for the manner in
which the seed is dispersed. The role of architec-
ture is apparent when one observes the tiny seeds
of trembling aspen floating from their capsules with
the aid of a parachute-like appendage, or the
winged samaras of sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
whirling away from their parent like helicopter
blades. Water is also an important mode of dispersal
for many species with floating fruit, such as the
coconuts of palms, which can wash up on a beach
F i g u r e 4.8 With these flowers, form certainly thousands of kilometers from their parents, and the
follows function. The showy corolla (collection of acorn of overcup oak (Quercus lyrata), which has
petals) of northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa, top) is enough cork in its outer wall to buoy a heavy seed.
an effective attractant for insect pollinators. The Yet some other propagules are designed to avoid
relatively drab male catkins and inconspicuous female
the vagaries of travel. A good example of this is
flowers (in leaf axils) of northern pin oak (Quercus
ellipsoidalis, bottom) rely instead on wind pollination. the seed of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle)
Results of the previous year's flowering, a developing (Figure 4.9).
acorn, can be seen farther back on the oak twig. Around the world, tree seeds and/or their fruits
Acorns of this and associated species in the red oak serve as important dietary staples for a wide array
subgenus require two growing seasons for full of mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and
development. even fish. A fine example of this is an oak acorn,
Coping w i t h Environmental Stress 85

Many animals will ingest an entire fruit, such as

the drupe of a cherry tree, and subsequently excrete
the intact seed after traveling long distances from
the parent. In fact, some tree species have become
dependent on this process as a means of promot-
ing seed germination. Among the most famous
examples of this is the large seed of the Calvaria
tree, which lives on the island of Mauritius in the
Indian Ocean (1). In order to germinate, the seed's
tough outer coat must be softened and cracked.
This used to occur when the seed was ingested and
excreted by a flightless, turkey-sized bird known
as the dodo. Unfortunately, dodos were extirpated
from the island during the 19th century. Conse-
quently, this tree species has not regenerated itself
for many decades and is now threatened with
extinction. Other species have evolved traits that
deter fruit and seed predation. During development,
for instance, the fleshy fruits of certain tree species,
such as persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), contain
high levels of bitter, mouth-puckering astringents,
which disappear when the fruits are ripe. This trait
discourages fruit consumption before the seed is
mature and ready to be dispersed.
F i g u r e 4.9 This dagger-like structure is a red
mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) seed. The "blade" is
really a root radical that grows while the seed is still Coping w i t h
attached to the tree. This uncommon circumstance,
where the seed germinates before dispersal, is called Environmental Stress
vivipary. The structure of mangrove seed is critical to
its establishment in favored habitat, the muddy flats or Effect of Seasonal
shallows along tropical or subtropical ocean coasts.
The germinant literally drops from the parent and
Variation in Climate
embeds itself firmly in the mud beneath. (Photograph Since they have no means of escape, trees and other
copyright W.H. Freeman and Company.) sessile organisms have evolved strategies to deal
with extreme seasonal variation in climate. This
capability is most obvious in deciduous forests of
temperate, boreal, and montane biomes around the
which is eaten by everything from an acorn wee- world, where trees drop their leaves in preparation
vil to a chipmunk to a black bear. It is also an for the annual onset of potentially lethal winter tem-
important food source in many human cultures. A peratures. By shedding foliage, deciduous trees also
number of animals hoard or cash acorns, and in avoid excessive buildup of snow or ice on their
the process they are often unwitting agents of acorn branches, which can topple the crown. On the other
dispersal. For example, migrating blue jays will carry hand, deciduous tree species can be found in dry
an acorn in their crops for hundreds of kilometers, tropical and subtropical environments where the
dropping the seed as they attempt to consume it threat of cold temperatures is minimal. In these bio-
and the accompanying cargo. mes, there are regular annual cycles of wet and dry
86 Forest Ecophysiology

Sidebar 4.2

Trees don't always rely on sex.

In addition to seed that remained dormant until the stem was killed.
production, various A number of angiosperms are also capable of
modes of vegeta- forming new shoots from their root systems. The
tive reproduction list of species that root sprout (often referred to
are employed by as "suckering") includes trembling aspen, Amer-
many tree species. ican beech (Fagus grandifolid), and several other
Perhaps the most hardwoods. Although relatively few gym-
common means of nosperms can sprout from the stump or root sys-
reproducing vege- tem, many are capable of yet another trick called
tatively is sprouting layering. Layering is the rooting of a living tree
from the tree stump. branch that has come into contact with the soil
This capability is or some other rooting medium, such as a rot-
common among ting deadfall. Eventually, that branch separates
angiosperms and from the parent tree and becomes a whole new
rare among gym- entity. Dense, genetically uniform stands of firs,
nosperms. A new spruces and cedars can form in this manner from
shoot will typically just one "founder" tree. Many angiosperm trees
emerge from under- are also able to layer, and this trait has been
neath the bark on the stump of a tree that has exploited in the vegetative propagation, or
been severely damaged or decapitated for any cloning, of individual trees with desirable
of a number of reasons. The origin of this new qualities. Stem cuttings are often used to prop-
shoot is often, but not always, a perennial bud agate poplars.

periods, and accordingly many species will mini- anthocyanins produced by foliage largely during
mize untimely water loss by dropping their foliage senescence.
before or during the drought. In seasonally cold climates, leaf senescence is
In many deciduous forests, an aesthetic conse- just one of many steps that trees take to prepare
quence of leaf senescence and abscission each fall for winter. A number of biochemical transforma-
is the brief appearance of brilliant leaf colors. This tions occur throughout the tree's living tissues, and
is a byproduct of an essential recycling process that collectively they allow the tree to become "cold
precedes leaf abandonment. The nitrogen-rich hardy." In evergreen species, such as most of the
green pigment (chlorophyll) and associated photo- needle-leaved conifers, cold hardiness develops in
synthetic chemicals in leaves are broken down, foliage as well as other tissues (Figure 4.10). The
withdrawn and stored by the tree for use in next process of cold hardening may include tissue dehy-
year's foliage. Chlorophyll degradation unmasks yel- dration, changes in the chemical makeup of cell
low, orange, and red pigments called carotenoids, membranes, increases in cell sugar concentrations,
which are actually present all summer in the green and the appearance of certain dormancy proteins.
leaf. Pinks and purples, on the other hand, are These changes are quite effective, as is evident in
Coping w i t h Environmental Stress 87

case of seeds, this prechilling requirement, which

varies in duration from 30-120 days, prevents a tree
from being fooled by spells of warm winter weather
and waking up too early.

Effect of Chronic Resource

Shortages
In order to persist in many ecosystems, trees and
other plants must make a living in the presence of
chronic shortages in resources such as light or nutri-
ents. Tree species vary considerably in their abil-
ity to tolerate these shortfalls, and that variation
Figure 4.10 Tree species can differ markedly in leads to the differentiation of species niches (suit-
cold hardiness, which is measured here as the able positions) along environmental gradients. The
temperature that kills 50% of the needle tissue. The litany of acclimations (short-term adjustments by
relatively tolerant white spruce (Picea glauca) is a individuals) and adaptations (evolutionary changes
boreal forest species in North America. The less
tolerant yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) in populations) to resource limitation is too large
inhabits low-elevation sites along the northwest coast to explore here. Instead, we will focus on the ways
of Canada and Alaska. Note the wide seasonal in which trees cope with a common stress, the min-
oscillation in lethal temperature. Tissues are quite imal light availability often endured by seedlings
vulnerable to frost during the growing season, whereas and saplings (and mature individuals of certain
during mid-winter spruce needles withstand the species) in the forest understory. As for acclima-
minimum temperature used in the study, -65°C. tion, most tree species exhibit light-dependent plas-
(Figure redrawn from Silim and Lavender, 1994, Can. J. ticity in leaf structural and biochemical properties,
Bot., vol. 72, pages 309-316; copyright of NRC Press.) and this plasticity allows the tree to construct leaves
that maximize photosynthetic efficiency in a given
light environment (Figure 4.11). However, because
the recent finding that needles of some evergreen both shade-tolerant and -intolerant species possess
conifers, such as red pine (Pinus resinosa), can this capability, it does not afford much insight into
withstand immersion in liquid nitrogen (—196°C) the true nature of shade tolerance.
during the winter (2). The amount of light reaching the regeneration
Trees appear to use at least two environmental layer in an undisturbed forest is typically less than
cues to time the onset not only of winter dormancy 5 percent of that in an open habitat. Differences
but also the subsequent reawakening in the fol- among tree species in the ability to tolerate this level
lowing spring. This timing of behavior is referred of shading create the driving force for forest suc-
to as phenology. Studies have indicated that most cession. Generally, fast-growing, shade-intolerant
temperate and boreal trees enter winter dormancy species, such as tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulip-
in response to the combination of shortened day ifera), are the first to colonize and dominate a site
lengths and colder temperatures. These same following disturbance. However, largely because of
species break bud in the spring following the onset their intolerance, these early-successional species
of warm weather. However, for temperate species do not regenerate under themselves. Instead, they
in particular, there is a clever twist in this response. are gradually replaced by slower-growing, shade-
These trees require a period of chilling (exposure tolerant species, such as sugar maple. While this
to near-freezing temperatures) before they will sequence of events is predictable, the underlying
respond to spring warming. Just as it does in the physiological basis remains somewhat of an
88 Forest Ecophysiology

do tolerant species. Whereas photosynthesis utilizes

light energy to make sugar, dark respiration (oper-
ating in the absence of light) generates usable
chemical energy, called ATP, by breaking down a
portion of that same sugar. (The chemical formula
describing respiration is CH2O + O2 —> ATP + CO2 +
H2O, which mirrors that of photosynthesis.) This
catabolism (enzymatic breakdown) occurs in all liv-
ing tissues and is essential because ATP powers the
tree's biochemical machinery. But, high rates of res-
piration can deplete sugar supplies and ultimately
the starch reserves from which they originate. Over-
all, there is an intriguing correspondence between
tolerance of shade and other chronic stresses, inher-
F i g u r e 4 . 1 1 Response of leaf photosynthesis to ently slow growth, and low rates of tissue metab-
variation in light intensity. Examples shown are leaves olism. But the mechanistic underpinnings of this
that have developed in sun and shade. Compared to
relationship remain elusive.
sun leaves, shade leaves are thinner and have less
photosynthetic machinery per unit leaf area.
Correspondingly, they have a lower photosynthetic
capacity and rate of dark respiration (when light
Effect of Variation in Resource
intensity is 0). These traits allow shade leaves to be Availability
more photosynthetically efficient in low light (less Trees must also endure stochastic and often life-
than 5% of full light in this example). threatening variation in the availability of resources,
especially water. Drought is common to most for-
est ecosystems around the world, and excesses of
water are also problematic, particularly in lowland
enigma. Despite a considerable amount of research, or flood plain forests. Trees possess a number of
there is no consensus as to why seedlings and attributes that allow them to survive drought and
saplings of one species are necessarily more tol- flooding, and some species are much better than
erant of shade than those of another. others at coping with water stress. Indeed these dif-
One prevailing hypothesis is that persistence in ferences constitute much of the basis for the pres-
shade is linked with the ability to conserve valu- ence or absence of a given species in a particular
able resources, especially carbohydrate reserves. ecosystem, and for the broad patterns of vegeta-
Starch is one form of reserve that is commonly tion we see at the biome and continental scales.
stored in trees and is available for use when pho- Scientists that study drought adaptations distin-
tosynthesis cannot meet the demand for energy or guish between two general resistance strategies,
building materials. This circumstance is likely the drought avoidance versus drought tolerance. With
rule rather than the exception in dimly lit under- few exceptions, trees and other terrestrial plants
stories. Intolerant species may not maintain ade- respond to the onset of soil drying by closing their
quate carbohydrate reserves for two reasons. First, stomates to conserve existing water supplies. As
because they are geared for rapid growth, intoler- mentioned previously, this response originates in
ants tend to allocate most of the photosynthate they the root system. When the surface soil begins to
earn to new tissue construction in lieu of reserve dry, fine roots in that soil manufacture a small chem-
accumulation. ical messenger called abscisic acid. This hormone
Second, and of equal importance, intolerants travels to the leaves through the transpiration
tend to have higher rates of dark respiration than stream, whereupon it triggers a set of biochemical
Coping w i t h Environmental Stress 89

Sidebar 4.3

Trees can supply water to the forest.

It turns out that the role sharing it with

of trees in forest less deeply
hydrology is not always rooted species.
confined to water use The mechanism
(evapotranspiration). of hydraulic lift
Recent studies (3, 4) works as fol-
have revealed the lows: The water
importance of certain tension that
tree species as suppli- forms during
ers of water to the forest ecosystem. For instance, leaf transpira-
the architecture of needles, branches, and tion allows the
crowns of coastal redwood trees in California tree to pull
creates an effective collector of fog and mist, groundwater
which then drips to the forest floor. Calculations through its tap-
of ecosystem water budgets indicate that this root up into the tree crown (shown at right).
process is responsible for as much as 30 per- However, especially when the surface soil of a
cent of the water input to the soil. Equally note- forest is dry, some of that groundwater is pulled
worthy is the phenomenon of hydraulic lift out of the tree's surface roots at night by the
carried out by deep-rooted tree species. In this strong water tension in the soil. It is thought that
case, trees with taproots that penetrate the during drought, this mechanism may facilitate
groundwater table are capable not only of the survival of understory herbs and shrubs
absorbing that deep water supply, but also of located near these deeply rooted "nurse" trees.

events that lead to stomatal closure. The importance (xeric) ecosystems, such as jack pine (Pinus
of this nearly ubiquitous response has been high- banksiana), have these deeply penetrating taproot
lighted in studies of certain genotypes of black Cot- systems. Some species from these environments are
tonwood (Populus trichocarpa) that do not close also capable of competing for scarce water
their stomates in response to soil water depletion. through a mechanism known as "osmotic adjust-
Needless to say, these trees perish during drought ment." In essence, soil drying induces these trees
and thus are confined to riparian and other habi- to accumulate unusually high amounts of sugars
tats where water is continuously in ample supply. and other organic solutes in their living tissues. This
Perhaps the next most common characteristic is buildup creates a large osmotic force (like that used
structural in nature. Many species effectively avoid in phloem functioning), which allows the tree to
internal drought (maintain adequate tissue water absorb (and retain) the scarce supplies of tightly
content) by constructing a deep-running taproot to held water in dry soil.
access the ground water supply, which during Ultimately, if drought persists there will be no
drought may lie many meters below the soil sur- way for most trees to avoid eventual dehydration.
face. Species that are adapted to inherently dry It is at this point that many species will succumb.
90 Forest Ecophysiology

A few, however, possess the seemingly miraculous

ability to tolerate tissue desiccation. In these cases,
the cells of living tissues enter a sort of dormancy,
which entails a number of membrane alterations
and other biochemical changes that allow them to
retain their integrity until adequate levels of mois-
ture return. The most remarkable examples of this
capability are found not in trees but in certain ferns
and mosses. These plants are often referred to as
"resurrection plants," because they can withstand
extended dry periods, in which their tissue water
contents equilibrate with that of the atmosphere,
and quickly regain their original vigor following re-
watering.
The ability of certain tree species to endure pro-
longed periods of flooding is another matter
entirely. Several serious problems arise when the
roots and lower stems (and at times the crown as
well) are inundated for more than a few days. The
most critical of these is a shortage of oxygen (O2),
the concentration of which is quite low in water
as opposed to an aerated soil. A lack of O2, known Figure 4.12 Trees that endure prolonged flooding
as anoxia, impairs the metabolism of plant cells and will typically produce adventitious roots and
eventually kills them. But trees and other plants hypertrophied lenticels (upper photo) at or near the
have a few mechanisms that delay this fate, the most water line on the stem. The lenticels look like little
important being fermentation. One might recognize cotton balls dotting the stem. Adventitious roots, which
this as the process used to generate ethanol (an help the tree restore its water and nutrient uptake, often
have an altered structure that includes aerenchyma
alcohol), and that is precisely what happens in an
(lower-right photo of root cross-section), large openings
anoxic plant cell. Fermentation is an alternative type in the cortex that facilitate oxygen transport to the root.
of respiration that requires no O2, and under anoxia (Lower images provided by Richard Dickson.)
it maintains a certain, albeit minimal, level of metab-
olism (ATP production).
This shift in metabolism is not, however, a long- (Betula nigra) can make these necessary changes
term solution, and trees that survive protracted inun- while others, such as the closely related paper birch
dation undergo a number of additional changes, (Betulapapyrifera), cannot. About all that appears
including the production of hypertrophied lenticels certain is that the origin of this difference lies pri-
and aerenchyma in stems and root systems (Fig- marily within the root system.
ure 4.12). These modifications can greatly enhance
the diffusion of O2 from aerial portions of the tree
to the flooded roots. The development of adven-
Global Issues in Forest
titious roots is also a common flood response (Fig-
ure 4.12). These new fine roots often form on the Ecophysiology
tree stem near the water surface, presumably so that
they have access to enough O2 to allow for nor- Effect of Anticipated Global Warming
mal functioning. There is currently no clear under- At the outset of this chapter, I cited forest response
standing as to why some species, such as river birch to global change as one of the prominent con-
Global Issues in Forest Ecophysiology 91

temporary issues addressed by forest ecophysiol- and given that the predicted magnitude of warm-
ogists. Global change embodies two related envi- ing is equivalent to shifting isotherms (imaginary
ronmental phenomena, changes in climate and lines connecting areas with the same average tem-
atmospheric chemistry. The two are closely linked perature) by 300-400 kilometers northward, it
because climate is governed in part by atmospheric appears likely that warming will lead to widespread
chemistry and vice versa. Atmospheric scientists species migrations.
have been utilizing global circulation models The U.S. Forest Service has recently published
(GCMs) to derive estimates of future climates, and some provocative forecasts (6) of possible tree
such calculations are influenced strongly by current species migrations in North America (Figure 4.13).
and predicted future increases in atmospheric con- In the northern United States, they include a mass
centrations of "greenhouse gases" such as CO2 and exodus of keystone northern species and an inva-
methane (CH4). These and other atmospheric con- sion by southerners. But how credible are such pre-
stituents are effective absorbers of infrared radia- dictions? As with any modeling effort, they are only
tion, or heat, that would otherwise escape from the as good as their underlying assumptions. In this case
earth's atmosphere. it is fair to question the presumed link between a
Depending primarily on future patterns of human species' current geographic and climatic boundaries.
behavior (e.g., fossil fuel consumption, land use),
concentrations of CO2 may nearly double during
the 21st century (from 0.037% to ~0.07%). Conse-
quently, the global mean for surface temperature
could rise by as much as 3°C (5). GCM output also
indicates that warming might be most pronounced
at higher latitudes and during the winter rather than
summer (in the Northern Hemisphere).
One of the charges to physiological ecologists
is to generate credible predictions regarding the
impact of these dynamics on the world's forests.
However, the challenge of forecasting these con-
sequences is daunting in its complexity. First of all,
the effects of warming will be mediated through
changes in the metabolism not only of trees, but
of all life forms. Also, the nature of this change will
vary depending on the manner in which climate
warming is manifested. For example, a rise in the
annual average for surface temperature can be
brought about by a variety of changes in temper-
ature patterns, including increases in the minimum
or maximum temperatures during either the sum-
mer or winter. That these different scenarios have F i g u r e 4 . 1 3 Recent predictions by scientists from
the U.S. Forest Service (6) indicate that the anticipated
varying implications becomes apparent when we
extent of climate warming could lead to long-distance,
begin exploring the possible effects of climate northward migrations by certain tree species in North
warming on the spatial distribution of individual tree America. Illustrated here is the potential response of
species and forest communities around the world. sugar maple. The light shade represents its current
A basic assumption in ecology is that the geographic range, while the dark areas represent the overlap
range of most plant species is governed primarily between current and predicted future ranges.
by climate and soil characteristics. In light of this, (Illustration courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service.)
92 Forest Ecophysiology

In fact, there are many instances where a given tree

species thrives in areas where conditions are quite
different from those associated with its native range.
In other words, there is no certainty that a species'
realized niche (the range of habitats in which it is
found) matches its fundamental niche (the range
of habitats that it can colonize). Moreover, there are
few, if any, tree or other plant species for which
scientists have identified the specific suite of envi-
ronmental factors defining their fundamental
niches. Further complicating this issue is the fact
that these environmental factors are biotic as well
as abiotic, and the former, including insects and
fungi, may be very sensitive to changes in climate. F i g u r e 4 . 1 4 Comparison of the sensitivities of
What effects will climate warming have on for- leaf photosynthesis and dark respiration to variation in
est growth? Once again this is a complex issue leaf temperature. Rates are expressed in terms of CO2
influx or efflux per unit leaf area per second. The
requiring consideration of all facets of tree metab-
example shown is a leaf from a sugar maple
olism. Initially, it is probably most useful to focus sapling. Under current levels of atmospheric CO2,
on the balance between photosynthesis and its photosynthesis is not very responsive to changes in
chief counterpart, dark respiration (Figure 4.14). temperature between 20°C and 30°C. In contrast, dark
Because enzymes carry out key steps in photo- respiration roughly doubles for every 10°C increase in
synthesis and dark respiration, the rate at which temperature.
both processes occur is inherently sensitive to tem-
perature. Yet, at least under current atmospheric
conditions, dark respiration is relatively more of all this is that there is much to be learned before
responsive than photosynthesis. The net result is the scientific community can confidently embrace
that increases in temperature tend to stimulate dark any broad-scale prediction of global warming
respiration more than photosynthesis, and thus impact on forest structure or function.
lessen the amount of sugar produced per unit sugar
consumed in fuel production. That balance
equates with growth (biomass accumulation), Effect of Changes in
which accordingly may decrease in response to Atmospheric Chemistry
higher growing season temperatures. The potential influences of fossil fuel combustion
Alternatively, the most important consequence on forests are not restricted to alterations of global
of climate warming may be an increase in the length climate. Based on a wealth of evidence from lab-
of the growing season. Interestingly, there is a grow- oratory and field experiments, along with some
ing body of evidence, based largely on plant and alarming trends in forest health, it appears that our
animal phenologies, indicating that this is already emissions of CO2 and a suite of other atmospheric
happening (7). Such a trend would simply increase pollutants may already be having direct, widespread
the annual duration of photosynthetic activity and impacts on forests and other ecosystems, especially
growth by trees. Support for this prediction is found in the Northern Hemisphere.
in a comparison of annual tree growth along lati- The burning of fossil fuels or any other organic
tudinal gradients in the midwestern United States. matter results in the volatilization (conversion to
(For example, both the length of the growing sea- gaseous forms) not only of carbon, but several other
son and annual rate of tree growth in Mississippi elements, including nitrogen and sulfur. These gases
are at least twice those in Minnesota.) The upshot (mostly oxides of N, C, and S) are considered to
Global Issues in Forest Ecophysiology 93

be primary pollutants because we emit them into While these impacts could be important in cer-
the atmosphere. Ironically, they do not necessar- tain ecosystems, it is the group of indirect effects,
ily pose a direct threat to forests, at least in the con- resulting from acid deposition to the forest soil,
centrations at which they presently occur. Rather, which may prove to be most damaging in the long
it is their subsequent conversion into secondary pol- run. Several key properties of forest soils are sen-
lutants, namely ozone (O 3 ) and nitric and sulfuric sitive to acidity and to balances of elements such
acids (HNO3, H2SO4), that generally causes the most as N and S. Inputs of acidity per se can accelerate
concern. The latter two are constituents of acid pre- leaching of valuable base cations (such as K, Mg,
cipitation ("acid rain"), which has been the focus and Ca) from the soil profile, inhibit microbial activ-
of much public attention in recent decades. This ity (and thus nutrient cycling) and increase the sol-
stems primarily from its postulated (but not nec- ubility of toxic compounds, such as aluminum, that
essarily proven) role in the widespread decline in are naturally abundant but mostly inert in soil clay
health of high-elevation conifer forests in Europe fractions. Once again, however, it is worth noting
and North America that first caught the attention that some indirect effects, such as soil N fertiliza-
of the media during the 1970s. tion, may be beneficial. However, even this bene-
Nitric and sulfuric acids form in the atmosphere fit has a downside. There is increasing concern that
when nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide chronically high rates of N deposition will cause
(SO2) are oxidized (altered by chemical interaction detrimental nutrient imbalances in many forests,
with oxygen) and subsequently combined with which may result in declining tree health, shifts in
water vapor. These acids are carried aloft in clouds species composition, and disruption of ecosystem
and eventually deposited on the earth's surface as nutrient cycling. This postulated threat, coined the
precipitation (rain, snow, or, especially at high ele- "nitrogen saturation hypothesis," has received much
vations, fog). The acidity of this precipitation, which attention in the eastern United States (8).
is expressed in terms of pH (-log 10 of solution H+ The overall concern surrounding O3 can be
concentration), varies markedly among regions and somewhat confusing, in that it involves both short-
elevations. For example, in pristine areas remote age and excess. Part of the earth's stratosphere
from major pollution sources, rain pH is about 5.6, (upper atmosphere) contains relatively high con-
whereas in industrialized regions of North Amer- centrations of O3, which forms an effective barrier
ica and Europe, rain pH often falls below 4.5. to much of the harmful ultraviolet light that would
Within these regions, the extremes of exposure would otherwise strike the earth's surface (O 3
occur at high elevations, where clouds with a pH absorbs ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths
as low as that of vinegar (pH = 3.3) can envelop between 250 and 320 nanometers). High intensi-
the vegetation. ties of ultraviolet radiation threaten all life forms.
Studies have revealed numerous potential It appears that "ozone holes," areas of dangerously
threats to forests posed by chronic exposure to low stratospheric O3 concentration, have been
acid precipitation. These are typically separated enlarging during the last few decades, perhaps
into two major types, direct and indirect. Direct because of our use and release of chlorofluoro-
effects occur as a result of acid deposition on the carbons into the atmosphere.
forest canopy, and the possible consequences On the other hand, concentrations of O3 in the
include destruction of leaf cuticles (waxy protec- troposphere (~ lower ten kilometers above Earth's
tive coverings), leaching of nutrients (especially surface) are too high in many regions. The extra O3,
potassium) from foliage, and disruption of polli- which is a potent oxidant, is produced through a
nation. There are potential benefits as well, includ- complex chemical interaction among oxides of nitro-
ing a direct fertilization of tree foliage with the gen (e.g., NO2), oxygen and volatile organic com-
essential elements N and S, when nitric and sul- pounds (primary pollutants resulting from
furic acids are absorbed through leaf stomates. incomplete fuel combustion). Notably, the process
94 Forest Ecophysiology

is catalyzed by ultraviolet radiation, and thus the rate

of O3 production in the troposphere is accelerated
when it is sunny. Although the problem arises chiefly
in urban and industrial areas, it is not confined to
them; transportation, power generation, and indus-
try pump the air full of O3 precursors, and, while
O3 is accumulating, the polluted air mass flows into
rural areas, over O3-sensitive croplands and forests.
The threat that O3 poses to trees and other veg-
etation is essentially the same as that faced by all
organisms; O3 is a strong oxidant, and as such it
can damage and destroy the living tissues with
which it comes in contact. (For that reason, O3 is
used to kill microbes in some municipal water sup-
plies.) In forests, it is the canopy foliage that
normally bears the brunt of this assault. Corre-
spondingly, forest canopies are excellent "filters"
of O3 and other gaseous or particulate pollution in
the atmosphere. Leaves are vulnerable to O3 pri- F i g u r e 4.15 Necrotic spots on the upper surface
marily because of their stomates, through which O3 of this trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) leaf
can diffuse and subsequently damage the leaf inte- resulted from chronic exposure to moderately high
rior. One may recall that the interior, or mesophyll, ozone (O3) concentrations (e.g., 60 ppb).
houses photosynthetic machinery. Hence a loss of
photosynthetic capacity is often the first functional
symptom of O3 exposure. Eventually, continued
exposure will cause the death of leaf mesophyll forests. For example, the gas emitted in greatest
cells, and it is at this point that O3 damage becomes quantity, CO2, is a primary substrate in the dark
visually apparent (Figure 4.15). reactions of photosynthesis. Thus the recent and
Through its inhibiting effects on photosynthesis, anticipated future increases in atmospheric CO2 con-
O3 exposure can cause large losses in growth and centrations are likely to stimulate photosynthesis
vigor, and thus predispose trees to other biotic and and growth in most terrestrial plant species. How-
abiotic stresses such as fungal pathogens, high tem- ever, by what magnitude will growth be stimulated?
peratures, and other forms of pollution. Also, it This is a critical uncertainty in predictions of future
doesn't take much O3 to cause trouble. Based on climate (based on global circulation models),
controlled laboratory and field exposures, these because the overall increase in atmospheric CO2,
problems can arise when trees are chronically a pivotal greenhouse gas, may be tempered sub-
exposed to atmospheric concentrations of O3 stantially by the increased absorption of CO2, and
exceeding 50-60 ppb (parts per billion). In many subsequent incorporation into wood, by the
areas of the eastern United States, concentrations world's forests. This issue is viewed by the U.S. gov-
commonly rise much higher than that threshold on ernment to be sufficiently important to warrant con-
sunny days during the growing season. Although siderable investment in research on forest responses
less common, O3 levels routinely exceed 100 ppb to atmospheric CO2 enrichment. As a result, three
in some areas, and these episodes can result in FACE (free-air CO2 enrichment) facilities have been
acute damage to foliage. constructed in the eastern United States specifically
As mentioned earlier, not all atmospheric pol- to monitor the long-term behavior of tree stands
lution necessarily has negative consequences for exposed to CO2-enriched atmospheres (Figure 4.16).
Global Issues in Forest Ecophysiology 95

Potential Impacts of Atmospheric so obvious that they require little discussion and
Pollution debate.
It has proven much more difficult, however, to
To answer this question, one has only to fly over
indict atmospheric pollution as a cause of the wide-
any of the infamous ore processors in North Amer-
spread declines of forest health and vigor that have
ica. Consider, for instance, the large iron sinterer
been observed with increasing frequency during the
near Wawa, Ontario. Directly downwind from its
last several decades. The most notorious of these
smokestack lies a zone that is essentially denuded
have occurred in montane spruce forests of Ger-
of vegetation. Beyond that one can see concentric
many (largely Norway spruce, Picea abies) and the
bands of improving forest health and vigor as the
northeastern United States (primarily red spruce,
distance from the stack increases. The total impact
Picea rubens). Beginning in the 1960s, widespread
of that stack's emissions on its immediate sur-
episodes of crown damage, growth loss and mor-
roundings extends for hundreds of square kilo-
tality have been documented in these forests (9).
meters. The nearby forest quite clearly is not able
No one can ignore the disturbing coincidence
to cope with the chronic exposure to a cocktail of
between these epidemics and high rates of pollu-
sulfuric acid and a host of heavy metals (such as
tant deposition. As was mentioned previously, high
zinc and copper), which together not only kill veg-
elevations in polluted regions receive especially
etation, but also leave a legacy of soil toxicity. The
severe loadings of acid precipitation as well as O3.
impacts of this type of point-source pollution are
Yet, to the dismay of many, decades of careful

Sidebar 4.4

Tree species differ in their tolerance of gaseous oxidants.

A survey of trees in urban or other polluted land- tend to have higher rates of photosynthesis.
scapes often reveals a great deal of variation, However, stomatal behavior is only part of the
within as well as among species, in vulnerabil- story. Another mechanism for dealing with
ity to gaseous oxidants such as ozone. Norway gaseous pollution is the maintenance of a large
maple (Acer platanoides), for example, is pool of antioxidants and associated enzymes in
widely planted in urban settings partly because leaf tissues. Species have been shown to vary
of its comparative pollution tolerance. Why does considerably in foliar levels of antioxidants, such
the foliage of one species or genotype differ as ascorbate (vitamin C) and alpha-tocopherol
from that of another in pollution tolerance? There (vitamin E), as well as key enzymes such as
are at least two reasons. The first is that leaves superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase,
of some species do not open their stomates as which together quench the oxidative power of
widely as others (the measure of openness is ozone and other gases before they injure vital
stomatal conductance). Consequently, leaves plant components. We require a constant sup-
with a lower stomatal conductance absorb less ply of vitamin C for the same general purpose;
of the gaseous pollutant per unit time. The trade- however, since we do not produce it, we have
off for this decrease in exposure is an oppor- to eat vitamin-rich vegetables and fruit.
tunity cost, as leaves with wide-open stomates
96 Forest Ecophysiology

rainfall are most favorable. In certain cases, steady

increases in ring width have occurred during the
last several decades in the absence of discernible
trends in monitored climatic variables (11). Many
scientists implicate rising CO2 concentration as the
only remaining explanation for these growth
stimulations.
F i g u r e 4.16 In an effort to generate accurate
predictions of forest response to atmospheric CO,
enrichment, scientists have constructed three FACE
(free-air CO2 enrichment) facilities in the eastern U.S. Concluding Statement—Future
Each facility consists of several large rings of vertical Directions in Forest
pipes surrounding stands of trees. Based on measures
of meteorology and atmospheric chemistry inside the Ecophysiology
ring, CO2 is released from vents in a subset of the After reading this chapter, it should be apparent that
pipes. Using this approach, stands of trees can be
some of the most interesting and important ques-
continuously exposed to a target CO2 concentration
with otherwise minimal perturbation of their tions in forest biology remain largely unresolved.
environment. The rings shown here enclose stands of For example, ecophysiologists still do not know
trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), white birch exactly why certain tree species are more shade-
(Betula papyriferd) and sugar maple (Acer saccharuni) tolerant than others, and perhaps to the surprise of
at a facility in northern Wisconsin. (Photograph by many, we lack sufficient information to determine
Evan McDonald.) how forests will respond to predicted changes in
global climate. A variety of new tools are emerging
to help us address these issues. Interestingly, these
experimentation and monitoring have not resulted new frontiers promise to further expand the scale
in a consensus among scientists regarding the real of inquiry. Exploration of biological mechanisms at
culprit in these declines. very fine scales is increasingly feasible as new tech-
Some of the most compelling detective work in niques evolve in molecular biology. This has already
recent years has been the deciphering and synthesis created new insight in plant physiology. For
of an array of data to characterize past trends in instance, much information has recently been gen-
climate and atmospheric chemistry. For example, erated as to how different plant hormones modify
CO2 concentrations in air bubbles trapped in cores a fundamental process underlying all aspects of plant
taken from the Greenland Ice Sheet indicate that behavior, gene expression and consequent protein
atmospheric CO2 levels have risen more than 30 metabolism in plant cells. And at the other end of
percent since the middle of the 19th century. Cor- the scale, a number of satellites are now equipped
respondingly, there is circumstantial evidence that with an array of different electro-optical sensors
at least some forests around the world may be monitoring reflectance by vegetation in critical por-
growing faster as a result of this "CO2 fertilization." tions of the radiation spectrum, such as visible and
The evidence exists primarily in the form of tree infrared wavelengths. Increased availability of
rings, the concentric layers of wood that a tree will these remotely sensed data, along with advances in
build each year. There is a discipline, called den- our ability to couple them with particular aspects
drochronology, which studies historical patterns in of tree physiology, hold considerable promise in
tree ring widths to draw inferences about past cli- allowing scientists to monitor forest structure and
mates. Wide rings usually correspond with grow- function at the stand and landscape scales (see
ing seasons wherein temperatures and patterns of Chapter 7 and 12).
Additional Reading 97

9. A. H.JOHNSON, Annual Review of Phytopathology, 30,

References 349 (1992).
1. S. A. TEMPLE, Science, 197, 885 (1977). 10. D. R. VANN, G. R. STRIMBECK AND A. H. JOHNSON, For-
est Ecology and Management, 51, 69 (1992).
2. M. L.SUTINEN, J. P. PALTA, AND P. B. REICH, Tree Phys-
iology, 11, 241 (1992). 11. D. A. GRAYBILL AND S. B. IDSO, Global Biogeochemi-
cal Cycles, 7, 81 (1993).
3. T. E. DAWSON, Oecologia, 108, 273 (1996).
4. T. E. DAWSON, Oecologia, 117, 476 (1998).
5. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC),
Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change. Additional Reading
J. T Houghton, et al., eds, Cambridge University Press,
1995. T. T. KOZLOWSKI AND S. G. PALLARDY, Physiology of Woody
Plants, Second Edition. Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.
6. L. R. IVERSON AND A. M. PRASAD, Ecological Mono-
graphs, 68, 465 (1998). H. LAMBERS, F. S. CHAPIN AND T L. PONS, Plant Physiological
Ecology. Springer-Verlag, New York, 1998.
7. L. HUGHES, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 15, 56
(2000). P. H. RAVEN, R. F. EVERT, AND S. E. EICHHORN, Biology of
Plants, Sixth Edition. W. H. Freeman and Company, New
8. J. ABER, W. MCDOWELL, K. NADELHOFFER, A. MAGILL, G.
York, 1999.
BERNTSON, M. KAMAKEA, S. MCNULTY, W. CURRIE, L. RUS-
TAD, AND I. FERNANDEZ, BioScience, 48, 921 (1998).
 CHAPTER 5
Forest Soils
JAMES G. BOCKHEIM

Concept of Forest Soil Forest Soils and Tree Nutrition

Soil-Site Factors Related to Tree Growth
Properties of Forest Soils Diagnosis and Correction of Nutrient Defi-
Soil Morphology ciencies
Physical Soil Properties
Soil Color Soil Survey and Classification
Soil Texture
Soil Structure
Forest Soils and Environmental
Organic Matter Quality
Soil Water Forest Health, Sustainability, and Ecosys-
Soil Organisms tem Management
Chemical Soil Properties Timber Harvesting and Long-Term Soil
Soil Reaction (pH) Productivity
Cation-Exchange Capacity Nutrient Budgets and Forest Management
Essential Soil Nutrients Concluding Statement
Nutrient Distribution and Cycling
References
in Forest Ecosystems

Forest-soil science is a broad field involving chem- ral grassland or desert vegetation in that it contains
istry, physics, geology, forestry, and other disci- a forest floor, tree roots, and specific organisms
plines. Because soils have a profound influence on whose existence depends solely on the presence
both the composition and productivity of a forest, of forest vegetation. Soil also has been defined as
it is important that persons dealing with the for- a natural body with physical, chemical, and bio-
est ecosystem understand the basic character of logical properties governed by the interaction of
soils. five soil-forming factors: initial material (geologic
substratum), climate, organisms, and topography,
all acting over a period of time. A third (hydro-
logic) view (see Chapter 16) holds that the forest
Concept of Forest Soil soil is a vegetated, water-transmitting mantle.
There are at least four concepts of the forest soil Finally, the soil may be recognized as a compo-
(1). The forest soil may be viewed as a medium nent of the forest ecosystem where materials are
for plant growth. Indeed, soils are important to added, transformed, translocated, and lost because
trees because they offer mechanical support and of natural cycling mechanisms (ecologic view).
supply moisture and nutrients. The forest soil dif- Each of these views has value in understanding the
fers from the agricultural soil or soils under natu- role of the soil in forest science.
98
Properties of Forest Soils 99

zons, that are distinct, more or less parallel, genetic

Properties of Forest Soils layers in the soil (Figure 5.1).
Forest soils may be characterized in terms of their The capital letters O, A, E, B, C, and R repre-
morphological and physical properties, their sent the master horizons and layers of soils. The
organic matter and moisture contents, their popu- forest floor (O horizon) is a layer of relatively fresh
lations of organisms, and their chemical properties. and partially decomposed organic matter that over-
lies a series of mineral horizons. The forest floor
is important as a "slow-release" source of nutrients,
Soil Morphology as an energy source for organisms, and as a cov-
A soil profile is a two-dimensional section or lat- ering for protecting the soil against runoff, erosion,
eral view of a soil excavation. The soil profile is and temperature extremes. A horizons are mineral
divided into a number of sections termed soil hori- horizons formed at the surface or below an O

Figure 5.1 A hypothetical soil profile showing the principal soil horizons.
100 Forest Soils

horizon that contain humified organic matter inti-

mately mixed with the mineral fraction or have
properties resulting from cultivation or similar kinds
of disturbance. E horizons are mineral horizons that
have lost silicate clay, iron, and aluminum, leav-
ing a concentration of sand and silt particles of
quartz or other resistant minerals. B horizons con-
tain weathering products, such as silicate clay, iron,
aluminum, and humus, that have either been
translocated from A, E, or O horizons above or
have developed in situ. A key property of the B
horizon is that all or much of any original rock
structure has been obliterated by soil-forming
processes. C horizons are horizons or layers,
excluding hard bedrock, that are little affected by
soil-forming processes and lack properties of hori-
zons described earlier. R layers represent hard
bedrock that can be investigated only with heavy
power equipment.
Lowercase letters are used as suffixes to desig-
nate specific kinds of master horizons and layers.
For example, Figure 5.2 shows two contrasting soil
profiles, along with their horizons, beneath north-
ern hardwoods and red pine in northern Wiscon-
sin. The soil under northern hardwoods is derived
from wind-blown, silty sediments (loess) over an
unsorted, medium-textured glacial till. The soil F i g u r e 5 . 2 Contrasting soil profiles beneath
northern hardwoods and red pine in northern
beneath red pine is derived from stratified, sandy
Wisconsin.
glacial outwash. The profiles differ in at least two
respects: (i) the profile featuring northern hard-
woods contains a thick A horizon reflecting mix- shown in Figure 5.3. This soil contains a thin O hori-
ing of organic matter by earthworms, and the profile zon, followed by a dark-colored, organic-enriched
supporting red pine has a distinct O horizon and A horizon, a bleached E horizon, an iron-enriched
no A horizon; and (ii) the soil beneath northern Bs horizon, and a relatively unaltered sandy C
hardwoods has a clay-enriched B horizon, desig- horizon.
nated as Bt (t = clay accumulation), and the soil
under red pine has an iron-enriched B horizon, des-
ignated at Bs (s = accumulation of translocated iron Physical Soil Properties
and aluminum oxides and hydroxides and organic Soils can be differentiated according to a range of
matter). In Soil Taxonomy, these soils beneath physical properties. These properties are discussed
northern hardwoods and red pine are designated fully in forest soils textbooks (2); therefore, only
as an Alfisol and Spodosol, respectively (see sec- three such properties will be discussed here: soil
tion on "Soil Survey and Classification" in this color, texture, and structure.
chapter).
An example of a soil profile occurring beneath Soil Color Soils display a wide array of colors. This
a northern hardwoods forest in Upper Michigan is has been recognized by landscape artists who have
Properties of Forest Soils 101

sieving techniques. After such analyses are com-

pleted, particle-size data often are plotted on a soil-
textural triangle, as s h o w n in Figure 5.4. Thus, for
example, a soil that contains 60 percent sand, 30
percent silt, and 10 percent clay by weight is termed
a sandy loam. Texture is important because it influ-
ences other soil properties such as structure and
aeration, water retention and drainage, ability of the
soil to supply nutrients, root penetrability, and
seedling emergence.
Sandy forest soils often support pines, hemlocks,
scrub oaks, and other trees with low moisture and
nutrient requirements. In contrast, silt- and clay-
F i g u r e 5 . 3 A soil profile occurring beneath a
enriched soils usually support trees of high moisture
northern hardwoods forest in the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan. The profile contains a thin forest floor and nutrient requirements, including Douglas fir,
followed by an organic-enriched A horizon, a maple, hickory, ash, basswood, oak, elm, spruce,
bleached E horizon, an iron-enriched Bs horizon, and fir, tulip poplar, and black walnut. Soil texture is thus
a relatively unaltered sandy C horizon.(Photograph by an important consideration in reforestation, in selec-
J. Bockheim). tion of silvicultural treatment and system (Chapter
13), and in establishment of forest nurseries.

depicted soil profiles in their paintings. Soil color

is d e p e n d e n t u p o n (i) mineral composition, (ii)
organic matter content, and (iii) drainage class,
among other factors. For example, red colors are
caused by the presence of iron oxides, and native
cultures have used red soils to prepare paints. Black
or dark b r o w n colors are typical of soils enriched
in organic matter. Blue and green colors may exist
in soils that are poorly aerated. Soil color may be
measured in the field by comparing samples of the
soil to standardized soil-color charts.

Soil Texture Soil texture refers to the relative pro-

portion of the various mineral particles, such as
sand, silt, and clay in the soil. The U.S. Department
of Agriculture developed a classification system
where the particle-size fraction of sand ranges
between 2 and 0.05 millimeters; silt particles range
between 0.05 and 0.002 millimeters; and clay par-
F i g u r e 5 . 4 A soil textural triangle using the
ticles are less than 0.002 millimeters in diameter. classification scheme of the U.S. Department of
Soil texture may be estimated in the field by trained Agriculture. A soil with 60 percent sand, 30 percent
people by simply feeling the soil in moist and dry silt, and 10 percent clay (designated by the point
states. However, soil texture is measured in the lab- within the triangle) is classified as a sandy loam.
oratory using sedimentation, centrifugation, and (Courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture.)
102 Forest Soils

Soil Structure Soil structure refers to the position, soil organic matter is an important source
arrangement of primary soil particles into sec- of plant nutrients.
ondary units that are characterized on the basis Most organic matter is added to the forest soil
of size, shape, and degree of distinction. Common in the form of litter, which includes freshly fallen
shapes include prisms, columns, angular or sub- leaves, twigs, stems, bark, cones, and flowers. Many
angular blocks, plates, and granules (Figure 5.5). factors influence litter production. Annual produc-
The major causes for such differences in soil struc- tion in temperate latitudes is 1000 to 4000 kilograms
ture are chemical reactions, the presence of per hectare. Litter is composed predominantly of
organic matter and organisms, and wetting and cellulose and hemicelluloses (which are carbohy-
drying or freezing and thawing cycles. A well- drates), lignins, proteins, and tannins, the charac-
structured soil is able to retain and transmit water teristics of which are treated in more detail in
and provide nutrients more effectively than a soil Chapter 20. Many nutrient elements are supplied
lacking structure. by litter, including calcium, nitrogen, potassium, and
magnesium, in descending order of abundance.
Once litter reaches the forest floor, a host of
Organic Matter macro- and microrganisms act on it. As litter is
Organic matter in the forest soil serves several decomposed, carbon dioxide, water, and energy are
important functions. It improves soil structure by released. A byproduct of litter decomposition is
binding mineral grains and increases soil porosity humus, which is a dark mass of complex amor-
and aeration. In addition, organic matter moderates phous organic matter. Organic matter may be pro-
soil temperature fluctuations, serves as a source of duced below ground by the annual turnover of
energy for soil microbes, and increases the mois- small roots. The organic-matter content of an undis-
ture-holding capacity of forest soils. Upon decom- turbed, mature forest soil represents the equilibrium
between agencies supplying fresh organic debris
and those leading to its decomposition. The ratio
of carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) is stable in soils where
this equilibrium exists. Whereas the C:N ratio of
agricultural soils commonly ranges from 8:1 to 15:1,
the ratio is wider in the surface mineral horizon of
forest soils, usually 15:1 to 30:1.
Organic matter may be regulated in the forest
soil by careful selection of a silvicultural system (i.e.,
shelterwood versus clearcutting) and of a utiliza-
tion practice (i.e., harvesting of only the mer-
chantable stem versus the entire aboveground
portion of the tree), and by leaving the slash on
the ground following pruning or thinning (see
Chapter 13). Burning may be prescribed in some
areas for release of nutrients from thick, unde-
composed humus and slash.

F i g u r e 5.5 Examples of several types of structure Soil Water

commonly found in soils: (A) prismatic; (B) columnar; Moisture supplies in the forest soil are rarely at opti-
(C) angular blocky; (D) subangular blocky; (E) platy; mum levels during the growing season, as described
(F) granular. (From U.S. Department of Agriculture.) in Chapter 4. Studies with forest trees invariably have
Properties of Forest Soils 103

shown growth responses to changes in soil mois- ranges between 400 and 800. Therefore, trees, par-
ture. Not only does soil water influence the distri- ticularly conifers, are more efficient in their use of
bution and growth of forest vegetation, but it also water than are agricultural crops.
acts as a solvent for transporting nutrients to the tree Excessive amounts of soil water may be con-
root. Soil-water content influences soil consistency trolled by ditching, ridging, or bedding, mechani-
(i.e., resistance to deformation or rupture), soil aer- cal breakup of barriers such as a hardpan, and
ation, soil temperature, the degree of microbial activ- underplanting with species requiring high amounts
ity, the concentration of toxic substances, and the of moisture. Wilde (3) described a situation where
amounts of runoff and soil erosion. Trappist monks were able to reduce standing water
The ability of the soil to retain water is influenced and the incidence of malaria by planting eucalyp-
by adhesive and cohesive forces associated with the tus trees. Flooding and irrigation have been used
soil matrix and by attraction of water molecules for on a limited scale in areas where water deficien-
ions produced by soluble salts in the soil. Often cies exist. Silvicultural treatments, such as thinning
soil scientists speak of "available" water—the pro- and herbicide application to control weed growth,
portion of water in a soil that can be readily may be an economical way to increase the amount
absorbed by tree roots. Many factors influence the of moisture available to trees in some areas.
amount of "available" water in soils, including the
amount and frequency of precipitation, runoff, soil
storage and leaching, and the demand placed on Soil Organisms
water by the vegetation. Soil organisms play an important role in forest soils
Water moves in forest soils under saturated and and tree growth. Soil organisms decompose
unsaturated conditions and as water vapor. Satu- organic matter and release nutrients for consump-
rated flow occurs predominantly in old root chan- tion by trees. They incorporate organic matter into
nels, along living roots, in animal burrows, and in the soil, thereby improving soil physical properties,
other macropores of the subsoil. Saturated flow also soil moisture, temperature, and aeration. Soil organ-
occurs in smaller soil pores in the surface soil dur- isms also influence soil profile development, par-
ing and immediately following heavy rainstorms. ticularly the nature of the forest floor.
Unsaturated flow occurs by capillarity at the upper Perhaps the most important organisms in the for-
fringe of the water table, from the soil matrix to est soil are the roots of higher plants. These roots
the tree root, and in small to medium pores in the do the following: (i) add organic matter to the soil,
soil matrix whenever moisture gradients exist in the (ii) stimulate microorganisms via root exudates,
available-water range. (iii) produce organic acids that solubilize certain
A mode of water loss from the soil is through compounds that are relatively insoluble in pure
transpiration. In a humid temperate environment, water, (iv) hold and exchange nutrients within the
trees transpire nearly as much water as will be evap- soil, (v) give off toxic compounds that inhibit the
orated from an open body of water. Agricultural establishment and growth of other plants, (vi) act
crops transpire less than a forest because of lower as an important soil-forming agent, and (vii) pro-
leaf area indexes and a shorter growing period. tect against soil creep and erosion.
However, during the peak period of growth, agri- Another group of important soil organisms are
cultural crops may consume more water than a for- mycorrhizae ("fungus root"), which are associations,
est. A measure of the efficiency of water usually symbiotic, of specific fungi with the roots
consumption is the transpiration ratio, which is the of higher plants. Mycorrhizae increase the absorb-
grams of transpired water required to produce a ing surface area of tree roots, and roots infected with
gram of dry matter. While the transpiration ratio of mycorrhizal fungi usually live longer than uninfected
trees commonly ranges between 150 and 350, the roots. Mycorrhizae may also increase the ability of
transpiration ratio of agricultural crops generally trees to take up nutrients, particularly nitrogen,
104 Forest Soils

phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. may naturally acidify the soil by taking up and stor-
Other types of fungi also are important in forest soils; ing in woody tissues calcium, magnesium, and other
for example, saprophytic-type fungi decompose for- elements that tend to form bases in the soil. Atmos-
est litter, and parasitic fungi may cause "damping pheric deposition in areas receiving pollution ("acid
off or may kill young seedlings by decay of the rain") may also acidify soils. Liming (i.e., replacing
stem or roots. The influence of certain fungi on hydrogen with calcium or magnesium) commonly
growth of forest trees is discussed further in Chap- is used to raise the pH in agricultural ecosystems.
ter 8. Because of cost limitations, this practice seldomly
Bacteria, microscopic unicellular organisms of dif- is used in forest ecosystems, except in forest nurs-
ferent forms, are also important soil organisms. Some eries. Soil pH may decrease following fertilizer
types of bacteria break down organic matter and application and increase following burning of lit-
others utilize nitrogen directly from the atmosphere ter and slash.
or mutually with higher plants. A variety of other
organisms occur in forest soils, such as protozoa, Cation-Exchange Capacity Cation exchange is the
algae, nematodes, earthworms, insects, and small ability of the soil to hold and exchange positively
invertebrates. In terms of soil organisms, forest soils charged forms of plant nutrients. These positively
tend to contain an abundance of fungi, while agri- charged ions, or cations, are held on "exchange
cultural soils often have a greater number of bac- sites" on the surfaces of clay particles and humus.
teria. This is mainly because fungi are favored by Dominant cations in most forest soils are hydrogen
the more acidic forest soils, while bacteria respond ion (H+), aluminum (Al3+), calcium (Ca2+), magne-
more favorably to the mildly acidic or neutral agri- sium (Mg2+), potassium (K+), ammonium (NH4+), and
cultural soils (see section on Soil Reaction). sodium (Na+), in descending order of abundance.
Cation-exchange capacity (CEC) is dependent on the
amount of organic matter, the amount and types of
Chemical Soil Properties clays, and pH. Cation-exchange capacity is low in
As in the case of physical properties, soils can be sandy soils but higher in finer-textured soils.
differentiated according to a range of chemical
properties. Since detailed discussions are provided Essential Soil Nutrients In addition to carbon,
in forest soils textbooks (2), only three chemical hydrogen, and oxygen, which constitute the bulk of
properties will be discussed here: soil reaction, the dry matter of plants, thirteen chemical elements
cation-exchange capacity, and essential soil are considered essential for normal growth and
nutrients. development of trees. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potas-
sium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur are absorbed
Soil Reaction (pH) The acidity or alkalinity of a in relatively large amounts by trees and are referred
soil solution is measured according to the pH; a to as macronutrients. Iron, manganese, boron, cop-
pH of less than 7 indicates an acidic solution, while per, molybdenum, zinc, and chlorine are called trace
a pH between 7 and 14 indicates an alkaline solu- elements or micronutrients, because they are taken
tion. pH is extremely important in forest soils, up in comparatively small but important quantities.
because it influences the microbial population of Macro and micronutrients need to be present in the
the soil, the availability of phosphorus, calcium, necessary forms, in sufficient quantities, and in the
magnesium, and trace elements, and the rate of proper balance for normal tree growth.
nitrification—that is, biological oxidation of ammo- The sources and available forms of the macro-
nium to nitrate. Forest soils are often more acidic and micronutrients are shown in Table 5.1.
than grassland or agricultural soils. This is because Nitrogen is present largely in the organic form in
tree litter commonly is acidic and releases hydro- forest soils. Trees utilize nitrogen in inorganic forms,
gen ions upon decomposition. In addition, trees as ammonium (NH4+) or as nitrate (NO3-). Bacte-
Nutrient Distribution a n d Cycling in Forest Ecosystems 105

Table 5.1 Sources and Ionic Forms of Nutrients Taken Up by Trees

Nutrient Source Ionic form taken up by tree

Macronutrients
Nitrogen Organic matter (proteins, amino acids) NH4+, NO3-
Phosphorus Organic matter (phytin, nucleic acids),
apatite, secondary Ca, Al, Fe phosphates HPO42~, H 2 PO 4 -
Potassium Feldspars, phyllosilicates K+
Calcium Feldspars, hornblende, calcite, dolomite Ca2+
Magnesium Mica, hornblende, dolomite, serpentinite,
phyllosilicates Mg2+
Sulfur Organic matter, pyrite, gypsum SO42-
Micronutrients
Iron Oxides, sulfides, silicates Fe2+, Fe3+
Manganese Oxides, silicates, carbonates Mn2+
Boron Borosilicates, borates BO33-
Copper Sulfides, hydroxy carbonates Cu+, Cu2+
Molybdenum Sulfides, molybdates MoO42-
Zinc Sulfides, oxides, silicates Zn2+
Chlorine Chlorides Cl-

ria are able to convert organic nitrogen to ammo- Micronutrients are present in mineral forms and
nium and nitrate, a series of processes called nitro- as complexes with organic matter. Acid sandy soils,
gen mineralization. Recent studies suggest that trees organic soils, and intensively cropped soils, such
may be able to take up some organic forms of as those in forest nurseries, may be depleted in
nitrogen. micronutrients.
Phosphorus is present in organic forms and also
as secondary inorganic phosphate compounds in
combination with calcium, iron, and aluminum; Nutrient Distribution and
H2PO4- and HPO42- are soluble forms taken up by
trees. Phosphorus is most available under near-
Cycling in Forest Ecosystems
neutral pH conditions. The behavior of nutrients in forest ecosystems is
Potassium, calcium, and magnesium are con- characterized in terms of abundance and migration.
tributed mainly by weathering of soil minerals. Nutrient abundance refers to the amount (mass per
Potassium is present largely in minerals such as unit area) of an element in various compartments
micas and orthoclase feldspar. Calcium and mag- of the ecosystem. In forest ecosystems, these com-
nesium exist in dolomite, olivines, pyroxenes, and partments generally include the atmospheric com-
amphibole minerals. These chemical elements are partment, the organic compartment, the extractable
available to trees as exchangeable and as water- or exchangeable ("available") soil compartment,
soluble mono- and divalent cations. and the soil and rock mineral compartment (Fig-
Sulfur is present in organic and mineral forms ure 5.6).
and can be taken up by trees as exchangeable and The distribution of nutrients within forest ecosys-
as water-soluble sulfate, SO42-. In addition, sulfur tems is dependent on climatic zone or ecosystem
dioxide (SO2) gas may be taken up directly by trees type, forest type, successional stage, and site qual-
through their stomata (see Figure 4.2). ity. Table 5.2 shows the distribution and cycling of
106 Forest Soils

F i g u r e 5.6 Nutrient distribution and cycling in forest ecosystems (from reference 15, Likens and Bormann).

nutrients in a 65-year-old aspen-mixed-hardwood urements of inputs, transfers, transformations, and

ecosystem in northern Wisconsin. The living vege- outputs of chemical elements are necessary.
tation contains 69 percent of the dry matter in the Atmospheric deposition is the major source
ecosystem and from 11 percent (nitrogen) to 76 per- (input) of nutrients in forest ecosystems, in the form
cent (potassium) of the ecosystem nutrients. The for- of liquids (rain, fog, etc.), solids (dust), and gases.
est floor contains less than 4 percent of the dry An additional input in the case of nitrogen is N fix-
matter and nutrients in the ecosystem. ation by free-living or symbiotic (rhizospheric)
To understand the behavior of chemical elements organisms. In managed forest ecosystems, chemi-
in terrestrial ecosystems, a knowledge of nutrient cals may be applied as fertilizers, lime, and other
cycling is needed. Three kinds of nutrient cycles additives.
have been identified in forest ecosystems (4). The There are five ways in which nutrients are lost
geochemical, or external cycle, refers to the bal- from forest ecosystems: erosion, runoff, drainage
ance between precipitation inputs and streamwa- beyond the rooting zone (leaching), gaseous losses,
ter or leaching-loss outputs from the system. The and product removal. Erosion and runoff contribute
biogeochemical cycle refers to the circulation of minimal nutrient losses in undisturbed or well-
nutrients between the vegetation and soil com- managed forest ecosystems. Gaseous losses occur
partments. The biochemical, or internal cycle, primarily with regard to nitrogen in the form of
encompasses the translocation of nutrients within ammonia volatilization and denitrification. The
individual trees. To understand these cycles, meas- major source of nutrient loss in unmanaged forest ,
Nutrient Distribution and Cycling in Forest Ecosystems 107

ecosystems is leaching beyond the rooting zone ground vegetation nutrient pool, divided by stand
(i.e., streamwater output.) For example, the aspen- age), which exceeds the annual leaching losses for
mixed hardwood ecosystem lost between 0.047 these elements.
kg/ha/yr (nitrogen) and 2.5 kg/ha/yr (calcium) Nutrient transfers involve movement from one
because of leaching (Table 5.2). In managed for- compartment to another. For example, litterfall is
est ecosystems, product removal may constitute a the primary pathway by which most elements are
major loss of nutrients. For example, if the above- returned to the forest floor (Table 5.2). Through-
ground biomass (all but roots) were to be fall (the solution that passes through the forest
removed in the example from northern Wisconsin canopy) and stemflow (the solution that moves
(Table 5.2), 818 kg/ha of Ca and 329 kg/ha of N along the bole of the tree) may return large pro-
would be removed from the site, averaging 12 and portions of the potassium and sulfur taken up by
5.1 kg/ha/yr for Ca and N, respectively (i.e., above- trees (Table 5.2).

Table 5.2 Distribution and Cycling of Nutrients in a 65-year-old A s p e n - m i x e d

Hardwood-Spodosol Ecosystem in Northern Wisconsin
Compartment or Flux Organic Matter N P K Ca Mg S

Nutrient distribution mg/ha kg/ha

Vegetation
Roots 20 70 17 77 190 24 10
Bolewood 124 97 13 190 160 25 15
Bolebark 24 86 11 83 400 17 8.0
Branches 23 92 14 78 220 17 6.0
Leaves 3.4 54 7.0 26 38 5.0 5.0
Total 194 399 62 454 1008 88 44
Forest Floor 4.1 41 2.9 3.3 62 3.2 3.0
Mineral soil (0-30 cm) 84 3200 100 140 840 110
Ecosystem total 283 3640 165 597 1910 201

Nutrient cycling kg/ha/yr

Inputs
Precipitation 5.6 2.4 5.2 0.6 4.65
Transfers
Litterfall 4800 43 6.5 18 75 7.7 5.0
Throughfall + stemflow 3.6 20 10.7 2.0 6.35
Uptake* 59 10 60 126 13 15
Accum. in perennial tissues 26 4.1 25 6.3 5.4 9.4
Transformations
Mineral weathering** 24 60 5.6
Net mineralization*** 69 1.8 2.4 14 2.0
Outputs
Leaching loss 0.047 1.1 2.5 0.8 2.6
Input-output**** 5.6 1.3 2.7 -0.2 2.1
*Uptake - return in leaf litterfall + net leaching from canopy + annual accumulation in perennial tissues.
**Mineral weathering = leaching loss output - precipitation input + annual accumulation in perennial tissues of trees.
***Net mineralization - assumes release of 2.5% of mineral soil pool, 0-20 cm.
****Precipitation input - leaching loss output.
108 Forest Soils

Nutrient transformations involve a change in and tree stunting. Although many of these symp-
chemical form. For example, mineral weathering toms are relatively easy to recognize, nutrient-defi-
releases a large amounts of calcium to the soil solu- ciency symptoms of trees may be difficult to isolate
tion in northern Wisconsin (Table 5.2). Similarly, from those caused by disease, insects, or other site
mineralization of soil organic matter releases large limitations, such as a moisture deficiency. Thus, it
amounts of nitrogen—that can be taken up by trees. is important to combine visual techniques with soil
or plant analysis.
Soil testing involves determining the "available"
nutrient content of the soil and relating it to pro-
Forest Soils and Tree Nutrition ductivity of a particular tree species. Two problems
with this technique include: 1) selecting a chemi-
Soil-Site Factors Related to Tree cal that will extract that portion of the nutrients
Growth available to the plant, and 2) establishing optimum
Soil-site evaluation involves the use of soil prop- levels of soil nutrients for the various tree species.
erties (as discussed earlier in this chapter) and of Soil testing is available through most land-grant uni-
other site factors, such as topographic and climatic versities and from private laboratories.
features, to predict tree growth. The ability to The third method for identifying nutrient defi-
predict tree growth is of great value to the forester ciencies is tissue analysis, which is the determina-
and for planning in the forest-products industry. To tion of the nutrient content of a particular plant
use the method, plots are located in stands repre- tissue, usually the foliage, and relating it to visual
senting the range of sites and soils found within a deficiency symptoms and tree growth.
particular region. Measurements of tree growth and Nutrient deficiencies may be corrected through
soil properties are then taken and correlated using the use of fertilizers. Forest fertilization is gener-
statistical methods. The resulting equations can be ally used where the following three conditions exist:
used to predict site quality of stands that are heav- 1) forests respond to fertilization with significant
ily cut or too young for traditional site-index increases in growth rates, 2) high demand in the
measurements. region makes the price of raw wood expensive, and
Soil features important in soil-tree growth stud- 3) the infrastructure for buying, transporting, and
ies usually include depth, texture, and drainage (5). applying fertilizers exists. The practice of forest fer-
Site factors other than soils that are important to tilization is becoming widely used especially in parts
tree growth include slope position, orientation of North America. Volume gains from nitrogen aver-
(aspect), and steepness. These factors influence soil age 16 percent to 26 percent in the Pacific North-
moisture and temperature relations and the degree west. In a regional study employing nitrogen and
of erosion. Elevation and rainfall vary considerably phosphorus in a factorial design, volume growth
in western North America and influence produc- of loblolly pine averaged 25 percent greater for
tivity of western conifers. treated than controls (7). Forest fertilization may
increase not only fiber yield but also insect and dis-
ease resistance and aesthetic quality of the vege-
Diagnosis and Correction of tation. However, use of fertilizers in the forest
Nutrient Deficiencies constitutes use of a nonrenewable resource for per-
Three methods are commonly used to diagnose petuating a renewable resource. Fertilization is also
nutrient deficiencies in forest ecosystems: 1) visual expensive and may contribute to environmental pol-
tree symptoms, 2) soil analysis, and 3) plant-tissue lution when not applied judiciously.
analysis (2, 6). Visual nutrient-deficiency symptoms Rate of fertilizer application depends on: 1) ini-
include chlorosis and necrosis of foliage, unusual tial soil fertility level, 2) tree species, 3) age of
leaf structure, deformation or rosetting of branches, stand, and 4) type of fertilizer. The nutrient most
Soil Survey a n d Classification 109

commonly applied to forests is nitrogen. Nitrogen western North America (8). These systems differ-
is applied at rates of 100 to 400 kilograms per entiate and classify ecologically significant segments
hectare to stands of Douglas fir in the Pacific of the landscape using landform, soil initial mate-
Northwest and at rates of 5 to 100 kilograms per rial, forest cover type, and soil taxonomic unit.
hectare to pines in southeastern United States. Single-factor systems are used to map and/or
Phosphorus is applied to pines in the southeast classify individual components of the ecosystem,
at rates of 30 to 100 kilograms per hectare. Fer- such as vegetation or soils. The habitat system is
tilizer generally is applied to open land or young an example of a single-factor system and is based
plantations using mechanical spreaders. In estab- on climax plant associations that can be used to
lished stands and those occupying large land predict site/successional relationships and site qual-
areas, aerial application may be used. Municipal ity (9).
and industrial effluents and sludges ("bio-solids") Soil Taxonomy (10) is an example of a single-
may be applied as a fertilizer substitute in some factor (soil) system used to classify forest land.
forested areas. There are seven categories of classification in the
system: 1) order (broadest category), 2) suborder,
3) great group, 4) subgroup, 5) family, 6) series,
and 7) type.
Soil Survey and Classification Of the 12 soil orders in Soil Taxonomy, four are
A soil survey involves the systematic examination, of particular importance in world forests: Ultisols,
description, classification, and mapping of soils in Alfisols, Spodosols, and Oxisols. Ultisols are forest
a particular area. Mapping of soils requires a soils with less than 35 percent of the exchange sites
knowledge of the interaction of five soil-forming containing calcium, magnesium, potassium, and
factors: climate, initial material, relief, organisms, sodium. These soils occur in areas with moist, warm
and time. to tropical climates, with an average annual tem-
A soil-survey report contains soil maps at scales perature of more than 8°C. Ultisols contain a yel-
commonly ranging from 1:10,000 to 1:60,000 and low E horizon and a reddish, iron and clay-enriched
the following information: descriptions, use and B horizon. These soils support loblolly and short-
management, formation and classification of soils, leaf pine in the southeastern United States and oak-
laboratory data, and general information pertain- hickory and oak-pine in the south-central United
ing to the area. The resulting soil surveys provide States and tropical rainforest in central South Amer-
the forester with valuable information for planning ica, equatorial Africa, southeast Asia and Oceania,
forest activities. For example, soil surveys can be and eastern Australia.
used to locate roads and landing areas, to match Alfisols are forest soils with greater than 35 per-
harvesting systems with soil conditions for mini- cent of the exchange sites containing calcium,
mizing site degradation, and to match tree species magesium, potassium, and sodium. They contain
with soil type during reforestation for increasing a gray E horizon and a brown, clay-enriched B hori-
yield. These soil surveys also enable the forester zon. These soils feature oak-hickory in the central
to plan silvicultural treatments, such as thinning and United States, northern hardwoods in northern New
fertilization, more efficiently. Finally, soil surveys York, aspen-birch in the northern Great Lakes states,
are useful for planning recreational facilities, for and ponderosa and lodgepole pines in western
evaluating potential impacts of mining, grazing, and North America. Alfisols are common in drought-
waste disposal, and for predicting water yield and deciduous forest and central broad-leaved forests
quality in forested areas. worldwide (see Chapter 3).
Numerous schemes have been used to classify Spodosols contain a grayish E horizon and dark
forest land and to predict site quality. Multiple-factor reddish-brown B horizons that are enriched in
systems have been used extensively especially in organic matter and/or iron and aluminum oxides
110 Forest Soils

(Figure 5.3). These soils develop from coarse- all essential ecosystem processes. Basically, for-
textured, acid initial materials under cold humid cli- est health is a condition of forest ecosystems that
mates. Major forest cover types are spruce-fir, sustains their complexity while providing for
eastern white pine, and northern hardwoods in human needs.
New England and eastern Canada, and northern Forest sustainability is the continued ability of the
hardwoods and aspen-birch in the Great Lakes forest ecosystem to provide a number of valued
region. In southwest Alaska, Spodosols support
goods and services and involves 1) intergenerational
western hemlock—Sitka spruce, and in Florida
responsibility; 2) maintenance of ecosystem
poorly drained Spodosols support longleaf and
processes and scales; and 3) use of management
slash pines. Spodosols are common in the taiga of
practices that reflect ecological conditions (12).
northern Eurasia.
Oxisols are intensively weathered soils enriched
in iron oxides and depleted in weatherable min- Timber Harvesting and Long-Term
erals. They occur in tropical areas, especially in Soil Productivity
equatorial South America and Africa. The Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP) program
was established to address U.S. National Forest
Management Act of 1976 concerns over possible
losses in soil productivity on National Forest lands.
Forest Soils and Environmental Following an extensive review of the world's lit-
erature on productivity decline, authors of the
Quality cooperative LTSP concluded that soil porosity and
site organic matter are the key properties most
Forest Health, Sustainability, and influenced by management and most related to
Ecosystem Management forest health and growth within the constraints of
With the advent of "Ecosystem Management" (Chap- climate and topography (Figure 5.7). The LTSP
ters 6 and 13), a number of terms have arisen that program follows standard format throughout
are intended to address the long-term productivity North America with some modifications for local
of forest ecosystems. Because of the importance of conditions (13). Steps consist of site selection, pre-
soils in supplying nutrients to sustain productivity, treatment measurements, treatment installation,
it is appropriate to consider these terms in this chap- and post-treatment measurements. About 50
ter. A healthy forest ecosystem has the following experiments have been established in major com-
characteristics (11): mercial forest types on public and private land
in North America. The treatments generally
• the physical environment, biotic resources, and
include different levels of organic matter removal
trophic networks to support productive forests
and different levels of compaction. Among the
during at least some serai stages;
important findings to date are those concerning
• resistance to catastrophic change and/or the abil- the effects of treatment on soil physical proper-
ity to recover from catastrophic change at the ties affecting site productivity. For example, retain-
landscape level; ing the forest floor or logging slash keeps soils
• a functional equilibrium between supply and cooler in the summer and improves plant water
demand of essential resources (water, nutrients, availability by reducing evaporative losses.
light, growing space) for major portions of the Another key finding is that a slight amount of
vegetation; and compaction may actually improve the available
• a diversity of serai stages and stand structures water-holding capacity of coarse-textured, sandy
that provide habitat for many native species and soils.
Forest Soils a n d Environmental Quality 111

Figure 5.7 Conceptual model of how soil porosity and site organic matter regulate the processes controlling
forest growth and site productivity (from reference 13, Powers et al.).

Nutrient Budgets and Forest to 60 percent (K) of the nutrients in the tree.
Management Therefore, if feasible, leaving the bark along with
Nutrient budget and balance sheets enable the for- the branches, foliage and roots would conserve
est manager to assess the consequences of alter- nutrients in this ecosystem. A more accurate esti-
native management practices on long-term site mate of the long-term sustainability of the site can
quality. For example, based on data in Table 5.2, be obtained by comparing the annual needs of the
a bolewood harvest in aspen-mixed hardwoods tree ("Accumulation of nutrients in perennial tis-
in northern Wisconsin would remove 64 percent sues," Table 5.2) with the net gain or loss of nutri-
of the dry matter in the tree but less than 42 per- ents. The net gain or loss is determined by
cent of the macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and summing "Mineral weathering," "Net mineraliza-
S) present in the vegetation. A conventional stem tion," and "Input-Outputs." Based on this analy-
harvest (bolewood + bolebark) would remove 76 sis, all of the nutrients are in good supply, except
percent of the dry matter but from 38 percent (P) possibly, phosphorus.
112 F o r e s t Soils

warming (i.e., the "greenhouse effect") and is dis-

Concluding Statement cussed further in Chapter 4, Forest Ecophysiology.
As the d e m a n d for forest products continues to
increase, forest soils will be more intensively used.
The following forest management practices may
References
have profound effects on soil and water quality: 1)
shortened rotations; 2) close utilization; 3) use of 1. E. L. STONE, "Soil and man's use of forest land," In
fast-growing hybrid species; and 4) mechanical and Fourth North American Forest Soils Conf. Proc, B.
chemical site preparation. Bernier and C. H. Winget, eds., Laval Univ. Press,
Industrial foresters have expressed interest in Quebec, 1985.
short-rotation intensive culture (SRIC), which has 2. R. F. FISHER AND D. BINKLEY, Ecology and Management
also b e e n called fiber farming or "puckerbrushing." of Forest Soils, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York,
This practice uses fast-growing hybrid cuttings that 2000.
are grown at close spacings and are harvested every 3. S. A. WILDE, Forest Soils: Their Properties and Rela-
few years. This practice may require fertilization to tion to Silviculture, Ronald Press, New York, 1958.
supply an adequate supply of nutrients. 4. SWITZER, G. L. AND L. E. NELSON, Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.
Site preparation refers to soil manipulation tech- Proc. 36, 143 (1972).
niques designed to 1) rid areas of logging slash, 5. W. H. CARMEAN, Adv. Agron., 29, 209 (1975).
2) reduce w e e d competition, 3) prepare a mineral 6. K. A. ARMSON, Forest Soils: Properties and Processes,
seedbed, 4) reduce compaction or improve drainage, Univ. of Toronto Press, Canada, (1977).
5) create more favorable microsites for tree plant- 7. North Carolina State Forest Nutrition Cooperative,
ing, and 6) control diseases (14). Site preparation 1998: http://www2.ncsu.edu:8010/unity/lockers/
involves use of prescribed burning, chemical project/ncsfnchpg.
applications, mechanical techniques, and combi- 8. Proc. of the Symp. on Forest Land Classification: Expe-
nations of these practices. Where injudiciously riences, Problems, Perspectives, J. Bockheim (ed),
applied, these practies may lead to increased ero- Dept. of Soil Science, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison,
sion and runoff and an overall decline in site quality. 1984.
Improper road-building practices are often 9. KOTAR, J., J. A. KOVACH, AND C. T. LOCEY, Field Guide
cited as a major cause of sedimentation in forest to Forest Habitat Types of Northern Wisconsin., Dept.
environments, particularly in steep mountainous of Forestry, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, 1988.
areas. Timber removal may also contribute to sed- 10. U.S. Soil Survey Staff, Soil Taxonomy: a Basic System
imentation of streams, lakes, and reservoirs by of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil
exposing the surface soil, particularly during skid- Surveys, U.S. Dept. Agric, Handbook 436, 1999.
ding and yarding operations (see Chapter 19 for 11. KOLB, T. E., M. R. WAGNER, AND W. W. COVINGTON, J.
methods of timber harvesting). Skidding of logs with For. 92(7), 7 (1994).
tractors and rubber-wheeled vehicles is more likely
12. TOMAN, M. A. AND P. M. S. ASHTON, For. Sci., 42, 366
to cause soil erosion and mass-wasting than w h e n (1996).
high-lead cable, skyline cable, balloon, or helicopter
13. POWERS, R. F, D. H. ALBAN, R. E. MILLER, A. E. TIARKS,
systems are employed. Wet-weather logging is espe-
C. G. WELLS, P. E. AVERS, R. G. CLINE, R. O. FITZGER-
cially detrimental to soils and should be avoided ALD, AND N. S. LOFTUS, JR., Sustaining site productiv-
if at all possible. ity in North American Forests: problems and prospects,
A major concern in recent years has b e e n the In Sustained Productivity of Forest Soils, Proc. 7th
potential effects of widespread deforestation in trop- North Amer. For. Soils Conf., Univ. of British Colum-
ical and boreal forests on carbon dioxide accu- bia, Vancouver, pp. 49-79, 1995.
mulation in the atmosphere. The accumulation of 14. STEWART, R. C, "Site preparation," In: B. D. Cleary, R.
CO 2 in the atmosphere has b e e n related to climate D. Greaves, and R. K. Hermann (eds.), Regenerat-
References 113

ing Oregon's Forests, Oregon State Univ. and U.S. Website for further information on Forest Soils:
Dept. of Agric, For. Serv., Pacific Northwest For. & http://soilslab.cfr.washington.edu/3-7.
Range Exp. Sta., Portland, Ore.
15. LIKENS, G. E. AND F. H. BORMANN, Biogeochemistry of
a Forested Ecosystem, Second Edition, Springer-Verlag,
New York, 1995.
 CHAPTER 6
Forest Ecosystem Ecology
STITH T. GOWER

Forest Tree Species Distribution Nutrient Losses

Tolerance and Competition Nutrient Transfers Within Forest
Life History Patterns Ecosystems
The Carbon Cycle and Forest Succession
Forest Growth Effects of Timber Harvesting
The Carbon Cycle on Forest Ecosystems
Environmental Controls on Leaf Photosyn-
thesis Concluding Statement
Environmental Constraints on Canopy
Structure and Forest Growth References
The Nutrient Cycle
Nutrient Distribution
Nutrient Inputs

Ecology is the study of the interactions between ent cycling, and production ecology, to achieve the
organisms and the environment. The study of the forest management objectives. This chapter provides
relationship of a species to the environment is an introduction to the topics of succession, nutri-
referred to as autecology. An ecosystem includes ent cycling, and production ecology as they relate
the vegetation, the soil, the organisms, as well as to forest management. It is essential to understand
complex interaction of the three components. For- how forest ecosystems are affected by natural dis-
est ecosystem ecology is the study of the interac- turbances and harvesting, because very few forests
tions between forest vegetation and organisms and remain unaffected by humans.
the environment. The subdiscipline of ecology that The first section of the chapter focuses on the
focuses on all organisms and their complex inter- processes that determine the species distribution in
actions with each other and the environment is a stand. Tolerance and competition are two key
referred to as synecology. processes that affect species composition. The life
Foresters must be well versed in both autecol- history patterns and associated ecological attributes
ogy and synecology to manage forests to ensure affect the tolerance, and hence competitiveness, of
adequate regeneration, growth, and reproduction species in a stand. The second section introduces
of the desirable forest tree species. In essence, for- the carbon cycle, of which plant growth, or net pri-
est management, or applied forest ecology, is the mary production, is one component. Plant growth
application of theoretical forest ecology, including is strongly influenced by the quantity and quality
topics such as species dynamics, succession, nutri- of organic matter in the soil, and in turn, the growth
114
Forest Tree Species Distribution 115

rate of the vegetation influences the quantity and

quality of organic matter that is returned to the soil Forest Tree Species Distribution
(also see Chapter 5, Forest Soils).
Tree growth is often limited by nutrient avail- Tolerance and Competition
ability, which is affected by the amount of organic What determines the distribution of species? In Chap-
matter that returns the soil. The third section pro- ter 3, Forest Biomes of the World, you learned that
vides a brief introduction to nutrient cycles. Nutri- climate, soil, and disturbance regime influence the
ent inputs, losses, and internal cycling of nutrients distribution of the major forest biomes. These same
are discussed and the strong linkage between the factors influence the distribution of species at the
carbon, or organic matter cycle, and nutrient cycles local (within a stand) scale. Tree species are ranked
is emphasized. according to their tolerance to varying environmental
The fourth section reviews the basic concepts of conditions. Tolerance to light is the ecophysiologi-
succession. Forests are not static; species composi- cal characteristic most commonly used to classify tree
tion, structure and function of forests change in species. Although the classification of species can
response to internal and external factors. One of the be subjective, it has a physiological basis, and is a
most important external factors is disturbance; par- useful concept to guide forest managers. Table 6.1
ticularly, forest harvesting. Forests provide many summarizes some common forest tree species for dif-
services to humans, such as wood, and other organ- ferent forest regions in the United States and their
isms. The last section of the chapter reviews how relative tolerance to light. The physiological basis for
forest harvesting affects the long-term sustainabil- the classification is leaf photosynthesis versus light
ity of forests and adjacent aquatic ecosystems. relationship. Figure 6.1 illustrates the relationship

Table 6.1 Examples of Commercially Important Tree Species for Different Forest Regions
in the United States that Vary in Shade Tolerance (Adapted from Hocker [1])
Shade Forest Region
Tolerance
Class Eastern Lake Rocky Pacific
Deciduous States Mountain Northwest

Very pin cherry trembling aspen trembling aspen Douglas fir

Intolerant willow jack pine lodgepole pine red alder
to tulip poplar tamarack ponderosa pine western larch
Intolerant river birch

Intermediate ash spp. basswood blue spruce sugar pine

Tolerant oak spp. ash spp. Douglas fir western white pine
American elm oaks spp. — noble fir
sweetgum red maple — giant sequoia

Tolerant sugar maple sugar maple Englemann spruce western hemlock

to Very American beech yellow birch subalpine fir Pacific silver fir
Tolerant hickory spp. eastern hemlock western red cedar
Eastern hemlock grand fir
redwood
116 Forest Ecosystem Ecology

Despite the emphasis placed on the relationship

between light availability and plant tolerance, other
resources such as water and nutrients affect the abil-
ity of plants to compete and survive, and ultimately
affect the distribution of plants. Plants range in tol-
erance to nutrient and water availability, tempera-
ture, pollution, and so forth. Niche is the physical
environment where a species occurs. The physio-
logical niche is the environment that a species can
tolerate when grown in isolation and is used to infer
that species can grow and reproduce successfully
(Figure 6.2). Ecological niche is the environment
that a species can tolerate when grown with nat-
F i g u r e 6.1 Hypothetical response curve urally co-occurring or sympatric species. The eco-
illustrating the relationship between net leaf logical niche of species A is more restricted than
photosynthesis and photosynthetic active radiation, or its physiological niche because species B and C are
visible light, for shade-intolerant and shade-tolerant better adapted than species A at edges of the phys-
tree species. The light compensation point, or the light iological niche of species A. Why are species B and
intensity at which net carbon reaches zero, is lower C better adapted than species A at edges of the
for shade tolerant (la) than shade intolerant (lb) physiological niche of species A? The answer to this
species. Light saturation point, the light intensity at question is not straightforward, but a partial expla-
which net leaf photosynthesis no longer increases with nation is related to the morphological or physio-
increasing light, is greater for shade intolerant (2b)
than shade tolerant (2a) species. (solid line—shade logical adaptations of plants that enable them to
tolerant species; dashed line—shade intolerant more effectively compete for growth-limiting
species) resources. This is the topic of the next section.

between net carbon balance and increasing photo- Life History Patterns
synthetic active radiation (PAR)—the wavelengths of Numerous classification schemes have been devised
light that plants use in photosynthesis—for a shade- to categorize plants based on the ecological niche
intolerant versus shade-tolerant tree for increasing they commonly occupy. Some classification
light. The light level at which the leaf carbon bal- schemes emphasize successional status, while oth-
ance is zero (photosynthesis equals respiration) is ers emphasize tolerance to light, resource limita-
refened to as the light compensation point (LCP). The tions, and so forth. J. Grimes (2) proposed a very
LCP is lower for shade-tolerant than shade- useful classification scheme that was based on the
intolerant trees, allowing shade-tolerant plants to general life history patterns of plants. The life his-
maintain a positive carbon budget (photosynthesis tory refers to the ecological niche and disturbance
exceeds respiration) at much lower light level than regime that plants occupy. The Grime's life history
shade-intolerant plants. The light level at which pho- classification scheme recognizes three categories:
tosynthesis no longer increases with increasing light ruderals, competitors, and stress-tolerants. Ruder-
is refened to as the light saturation point (LSP). The als are plants that occupy niches with high resource
LSP is greater for shade-intolerant than shade-tolerant (water, nutrients, and light) availability and frequent
tree species, demonstrating that shade-intolerant disturbance. Many of the invasive weedy plants
trees will outgrow shade-tolerant tree in high light found along roadside cuts, railroad right-of-ways,
environments because they can more fully utilize and forest tree species that occur in recently dis-
the higher light levels. turbed forests are good examples of ruderals.
Forest Tree Species Distribution 117

Table 6.2 summarizes some of the general charac-

teristics and tree species of each of the three life
history categories. Ruderal plants are characterized
by rapid growth rates, prolific reproduction, and
high shoot:root ratios. Competitors occupy a niche
that experiences less frequent disturbance than rud-
erals, and competition for resources is high. Many
commercially desirable forest tree species fall into
this category. Stress-tolerant plants occur in the most
resource-limited environments and the disturbance
frequency is low. Stress-tolerant species have the
slowest growth rates because resource availability
is very low. Stress-tolerant species typically have a
greater root:shoot ratio than ruderals or competi-
tors to increase uptake of limiting nutrients and
water. Competitors have life history characteristics
that are intermediate to ruderals and stress-toler-
ant species.
The unique suite of morphological and physio-
logical characteristics of each of the life history pat-
terns makes each plant species best adapted to
different environments. The different life history pat-
terns of commercially valuable trees species
F i g u r e 6.2 Comparison of the physiological
require different forest management practices to
niche (a) and ecological niche (b) for three species of
varying tolerance to the availability of an essential promote the growth of desirable tree species and
resource required for plant growth. Note that the retard the growth of unwanted tree or weed species.
physiological niche is always greater than the Ruderal tree species, such as aspen, are more com-
ecological niche; the unique suite of ecophysiological mon to early successional forests originating from
and structural characteristics make species better natural disturbance or timber harvesting. Stress-
competitors for aquiring limiting, but essential, tolerant tree species are poor competitors in recent
resources for plant growth. clearcut because of their intrinsic slow growth rates
and greater allocation of biomass to roots. How-
ever, the availability of light, nutrients, and water

Table 6.2 General Life History Characteristics of Ruderal, Competitor, and Stress-tolerant
Tree Species
Characteristic Ruderal Competitor Stress-tolerant

Life longevity short intermediate long

Leaf longevity short intermediate long
% NPP allocated to reproduction large intermediate small
Maximum growth potential rapid intermediate slow

Adapted from Table 5-3 in Barbour, Burk, and Pitts (3)

NPP = Net Photosynthetic Productivity
118 Forest Ecosystem Ecology

changes during succession. Conversely, ruderals are

poorly adapted to harsh environments, such as
drought-prone, nutrient-poor soils where stress-
tolerant plants occur. The boundaries between the
three life history categories are not discrete, but are
a continuous gradient. Nonetheless, the classifica-
tion scheme is useful for categorizing tree species
for both ecological and management purposes.

The Carbon Cycle and Forest

Growth
The Carbon Cycle
The cycle or budget of elements such as carbon F i g u r e 6.3 Schematic diagram of the carbon
can be described by the size of the various pools, cycle. The boxes represent pools, or containers of
or reservoirs of the elements in the ecosystem, and carbon, while each arrow depicts a transfer of a
the fluxes, or rates of movement of the element fraction of carbon between pools. The corresponding
between the different pools. The carbon, or organic names of the numbered fluxes are as follows: 1 =
matter, cycle is composed of five major pools and gross primary production (GPP); 2 = autotrophic
the transfer of carbon among the pools. The five respiration; 3 = detritus production; 4 = heterotrophic
respiration; 5 = herbivory; 6 = animal mortality.
pools are: the atmosphere, forest biomass, animal
biomass, microbial biomass, and the various forms
of soil organic matter (Figure 6.3). The uptake of
carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere by the dependent upon other organisms to produce the
vegetation is referred to as gross primary produc- organic matter that they consume for energy. Car-
tion (arrow #1). The vegetation, or photoautotrophs, bon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere
use the solar radiation (Figure 6.4) to produce their as heterotrophs decompose the soil organic mat-
own carbohydrates that are used to build new ter; this process is referred to as heterotrophic res-
organic matter (autotrophs). A portion of the atmos- piration (arrow #4). The net difference between the
pheric carbon dioxide taken up by the plant is total organic matter inputs and loss of organic mat-
released back to the atmosphere; this process is ter from the soil determines whether the soil organic
referred to as autotrophic respiration (arrow #2). matter is increasing or decreasing.
Net primary production, the net difference between Understanding the carbon cycle is important for
gross primary production and autotrophic respi- several reasons. First, an imbalance between the
ration, is closely related to forest growth. Stated exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmos-
slightly differently, net primary production is the phere and terrestrial ecosystems increases the con-
sum of all the new biomass (stem, branches, foliage, centration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This
roots, mycorrhizae, and reproductive tissues) pro- is important because carbon dioxide is a green-
duced each year. A fraction of the living organic house gas and is suspected of being responsible
matter dies each year, and returns to the soil sur- for climate warming as described in Chapter 4, For-
face as detritus (arrow #3). There are millions of est Ecophysiology. Soil organic matter is important
fungi and bacteria that derive their energy by because of its large water and nutrient holding
decomposing dead organic matter. These organisms capacity. Maintaining the soil organic matter is an
are referred to as heterotrophs because they are essential component of sustainable forest man-
The Carbon Cycle a n d Forest Growth 119

Figure 6.4 Aerial view of a regenerating southern pine forest several years after planting (right). The location of
old windrows (left) are still apparent because the nutrients in the windrows and displaced nutrients from the upper
soil horizons of the surrounding area stimulated growth. Conversely, the excessive displacement of nutrients that can
occur during site preparation appears to have decreased the soil fertility of the areas between the windrows.

agement. Third, the net uptake of carbon dioxide verted to carbohydrates (CH2O) as described in
from the atmosphere by the vegetation determines Chapter 4. Air and soil temperature, solar radiation,
the growth rate of the forest, or the ability of the vapor pressure deficit (or how dry the air is) and
forest to provide forest products for human use. A foliage nutrient status are the major environmen-
more detailed discussion of the factors that influ- tal factors that affect leaf-level rates of photosyn-
ence forest structure and growth, and soil carbon thesis. The climate diagrams presented in Chapter
dynamics is discussed next. 3 (Forest Biomes of the World) illustrate that the
relative importance of the environmental constraints
on leaf photosynthesis varies among forest biomes.
Environmental Constraints on Leaf Liebig's "Law of the Minimum" states that the rate
Photosynthesis of a process—photosynthesis, for example—is con-
There are numerous environmental and biological trolled by the most limiting resource. A useful anal-
factors that influence the growth rate of forests, but ogy is imaging each stave of a wooden barrel as
for simplicity, this chapter focuses on the funda- an environmental constraint (Figure 6.5). The water
mental factors that influence growth rate of level in the barrel, or photosynthesis rate, can be
forests. Where appropriate, the reader is referred only as high as the shortest stave, or the most lim-
to other relevant sections in the book that provide iting resource. The precise relationship between
more detail. The growth rate of forests is controlled each of the above-mentioned environmental vari-
by two major groups of constraints: environmen- ables and leaf photosynthesis varies among species,
tal constraints on leaf-level photosynthesis, and but a general relationship exists that fits most tree
environmental constraints on leaf area index—an species.
important canopy structural characteristic of ter- Extreme cold air and soil temperatures restrict
restrial ecosystems. photosynthesis; therefore, trees do not grow dur-
Photosynthesis is the biochemical process by ing the winter periods when temperatures drop
which carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, below freezing for several days in a row. Photo-
and water (H2O), in the presence of light, are con- synthesis increases linearly with temperature above
120 Forest Ecosystem Ecology

plant water status and pre-dawn xylem water poten-

tial as a useful index of plant water status was dis-
cussed in Chapter 4 (Forest Ecophysiology). When
plants open their stomates to absorb CO2, water
vapor is lost, because the ambient air surrounding
the leaf is drier than the near-saturated mesophyll
inside the leaf. Extremely hot, dry days cause stom-
ata to close because the water uptake by the roots
cannot keep pace with the rapid water loss. The
large vapor pressure gradient causes a rapid loss
of water from high to low vapor pressure gradient
until plants close their stomata. Plants, therefore,
must optimize the duration and rate of stomatal con-
ductance to maximize CO2 uptake and minimize
water loss from photosynthesis and transpiration,
respectively. When soil moisture is plentiful,
plants keep the stomata open for most of the day,
F i g u r e 6.5 Conceptual model of Liebig's Law of but as the soil moisture decreases, plants will keep
the Minimum. The top of the barrel represents the the stomata open during the early morning and par-
theoretical maximum of a rate—in this case, leaf tially or completely close the stomata during mid-
photosynthesis. However, the maximum rate is day to avoid large water losses. During extreme
determined by the most limiting resource, or the droughts, plants experience severe water stress and
greatest environmental constraint on leaf
will close stomata for days until soil moisture is
photosynthesis, which is depicted by the shortest
staves in the barrel—soil moisture and leaf nitrogen, replenished.
in this hypothetical example. Many of the essential elements are required to
construct the biochemical constituents involved in
photosynthesis. As a result, photosynthesis is pos-
itively correlated to nutrient concentration, espe-
freezing, levels off at some optimum temperature, cially nitrogen over a moderately broad range of
and declines rapidly if lethal temperatures occur leaf nitrogen concentration (Figure 6.6d). Nitrogen
(Figure 6.6a). The optimum temperature for pho- is required to construct chlorophyll. Nitrogen is
tosynthesis for temperate and boreal tree species commonly limiting in many forests, and foliage
ranges from 15 to 20°C, and can be as high as 25°C nitrogen concentrations are typically on the linear
for some tropical tree species (4). Even if air tem- portion of the curve.
perature is above freezing, roots cannot absorb
water from frozen soil, making it impossible for
trees to replace water lost by transpiration. The
Environmental Constraints on
growing season, defined as the period of the year Canopy Structure and Forest
when environmental conditions are suitable for Growth
trees to grow, of continental boreal forests is Many of the same environmental constraints that
reduced by three to four weeks in the spring influence photosynthesis at the leaf level also influ-
because the soils remain frozen when all other envi- ence stand-level growth of forests by altering the
ronmental conditions are suitable for tree growth. biomass allocation patterns of trees. Trees use the
Soil moisture availability, or, more accurately, the current photosynthate to construct stems, branches,
internal water status of the plant, limits leaf pho- coarse and fine roots (including mycorrhizae, a
tosynthesis (Figure 6.6b). The concept of internal symbiotic fungus—see Chapter 4), and reproduc-
The Carbon Cycle a n d Forest Growth 121

F i g u r e 6 . 6 Canopy photosynthesis is limited by five major environmental constraints: (a) air and soil
temperature, (b) soil moisture, (c) photosynthetic active radiation, (d) leaf nitrogen, and (e) vapor pressure deficit.
Each of the environmental constraints has a different influence on leaf photosynthesis.

tive tissues, as well as storage and defense com- plant growth regulators, or chemical compounds,
pounds. In general, trees allocate more biomass to that control the growth of different plant parts.
construct tissues that will increase the availability Water availability also influences the allocation
of the most limiting resource (5). For example, trees of biomass to trees. As we have seen in Chapter
grow fewer fine roots and mycorrhizae and more 3, global patterns of precipitation, solar radiation,
foliage when they are fertilized, because nutrients and temperature vary among the forests biomes of
are less limiting (Figure 6.7). The increased nutri- the world. Collectively, these environmental factors
ent availability often stimulates an absolute increase influence the water budget, and hence water avail-
in foliage production. The remarkable process by able for plant uptake (see Chapter 16, Watershed
which trees control the growth of different tissues Management).
is not fully understood. However, it appears that Figure 6.8 illustrates the strong influence the
the environmental stimuli (such as drought, high hydrologic budget has on canopy structure—
vapor pressure deficit, etc.) cause plants to specifically, leaf area index (LAI)—and the positive
increase or decrease the production of different relationship between leaf area index and forest
122 Forest Ecosystem Ecology

sues, such as foliage. Autotrophic respiration costs

occur each day regardless of whether the stomates
are open and photosynthesis is occurring. In other
words, supporting a large leaf area index increases
the large carbon cost each day, regardless of
whether environmental constraints are prohibiting
photosynthesis (Figure 6.6). Consequently, plants
support a leaf area index that optimizes the poten-
tial for net primary production. Excessive amounts
of foliage cause excessive autotrophic respiration
costs, while less than optimum amounts of foliage
result in an incomplete use of light and canopy
photosynthesis.
F i g u r e 6.7 The fine root:foliage production ratio
for control and fertilized conifer forests growing in
contrasting environments. In all cases, fertilization
caused a relative shift in priority of new growth of The Nutrient Cycle
decreased fine root growth and increased foliage
Figure 6.9 summarizes the important components
growth. Figure was adapted from Landsberg and
Gower (5). of the nutrient cycle for a hypothetical forest. The
figure includes only the major nutrient pools and
fluxes. Readers interested in a more detailed treat-
ment of terrestrial nutrient cycles should refer to
growth. The data are from forests along a precip- Schlesinger (8). Most of the processes shown in Fig-
itation gradient caused by the orographic rainfall ure 6.9 apply to all nutrients, but there are a few
pattern1 as moisture from the Pacific Ocean crosses processes that are applicable only to the nitrogen
the Coastal Range and then the Cascade Mountains cycle.
in Oregon. Forests that receive more precipitation Why do we need to understand the nutrient
have a more favorable site water balance. The aver- cycles of forest? The answer to this question has
age water balance of a forest is determined by the both an applied and theoretical basis. From an
amount of precipitation minus the losses such as applied or management point of view, it is impor-
evapotranspiration, overland flow, and deep tant to understand how forest management affects
drainage (see Chapter 16). A large leaf area index soil fertility, because nutrients often limit forest
is beneficial because there is more photosynthetic growth. For example, can forests be harvested
surface area to absorb carbon dioxide from the repeatedly without decreasing the long-term pro-
atmosphere. The amount of solar radiation absorbed ductivity of the site? If so, how frequently can they
and converted into carbohydrates for tree growth be harvested without depleting the nutrients in the
is directly proportional to the leaf area index. soil? Also large losses of nutrients from the forest
One question that should come to mind then is: ecosystem into adjacent aquatic ecosystems can
Why don't all forests support a large leaf area index severely decrease water quality and threaten human
to absorb all the solar radiation? The answer to this health. Are there some forest types that are more
question can be found by revisiting the carbon likely to experience greater nutrient losses to
budget of forests. Recall that a fraction of gross pri- groundwater following disturbance? Answers to
mary production is used to repair and maintain tis- these questions are needed if forests are to be man-

1
Rainfall patterns in mountainous regions.
The Nutrient Cycle 123

F i g u r e 6.8 Relationship
between site water balance, leaf
area index (LAI), and forest
growth. The data were obtained
for forests in Oregon that occur
along a pronounced orographic
precipitation gradient along the
Coastal Range and the further
inland Cascade Mountains. Leaf
area index is positively correlated
to precipitation and available soil
water, and in turn, aboveground
net primary production (ANPP) is
positively correlated to leaf area
index. Similar relationships
between the hydrologic budget
and forest growth have been
reported for other forest regions
of the world. Data from Grier
and Running (6) and Gholz (7).

aged on a sustainable basis. The effects of natural greatest fraction (80-99%) of the total nutrient con-
and human disturbance on nutrient cycle are dis- tent of forest ecosystems. It is important to note that
cussed later in the chapter after a general intro- although a large fraction of the nutrients are in the
duction to the nutrient cycle is presented. From a soil, only a very small percentage of the elements
basic point of view, there is great interest in under- occur in a form that plants can absorb. The distri-
standing the processes that control nutrient cycling butions of nutrients shown in Figure 6.10 are rep-
rates and nutrient accumulation in the various com- resentative of many forest ecosystems of the world,
ponents of forest ecosystems. although there are several notable exceptions.
Extremely infertile forests, such as the tropical
forests that occur on nutrient poor Oxisols and Spo-
Nutrient Distribution dosols, contain a higher percentage of the total
Nutrients are generally not distributed equally within nutrients in the vegetation than the soil.
forest ecosystems. Figure 6.10 is a graphical illus-
tration of the relative distribution of nitrogen (N),
phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca) in the foliage, Nutrient Inputs
wood, and soil (forest floor + mineral soil) for four Atmospheric deposition and weathering are two
contrasting forest ecosystems. The soil contains the primary pathways by which nutrients enter forest
124 Forest Ecosystem Ecology

F i g u r e 6.10 Relative distribution of nitrogen (N),

F i g u r e 6.9 Diagram of a nutrient cycle for a
phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca) in foliage, wood
hypothetical forest. The diagram illustrates the major
tissue, and soil (forest floor and mineral soil) for
pools and fluxes of nutrients. A complete treatment of
forests in four contrasting biomes. By far the greatest
the major terrestrial nutrient cycles is provided by
fraction of the total nutrient content in an ecosystem is
Schlesinger (8).
contained in the soil, but only a small fraction of this
pool is available for plant uptake. Adapted from
Landsberg and Gower (5).
ecosystems, although nitrogen can enter via
biological fixation (see Sidebar 6.1—Nitrogen Fix-
ation). The amounts and types of nutrients that are eastern United States and Europe. Sodium and
present in atmospheric deposition are strongly chlorine, originating from sea spray aerosols, are
dependent upon geographic location. Large important nutrient inputs in forests that occur along
amounts of nitrogen and sulfur deposition occur the coast. The amounts and types of nutrients that
in highly industrialized areas such as the north- become available for plant uptake from weather-
The Nutrient Cycle 125

ing are strongly dependent upon climate and par-

ent material—or the type of rock beneath the soil Sidebar 6.1
(see Chapter 5, Forest Soils). Chemical weather-
ing of limestone produces calcium, feldspars and
micas release potassium when they weather, and
Biological Nitrogen Fixation
dolomite releases calcium and magnesium when
it weathers. Nitrogen is not contained in rock near
A unique source of nitrogen input to terres-
the earth's surface; therefore, nitrogen is not
trial ecosystems is biological fixation of nitro-
released from weathering. As a result, nitrogen is
gen. It is ironic that many forests are limited
almost always limiting in new soils derived from
by nitrogen, despite the chemical composi-
volcanic activity, or from unconsolidated rocks
tion of the atmosphere, which is 70 percent
from glacial deposits.
nitrogen. However, there are a small number
Nutrient mineralization is the primary source of
of free-living organisms and organisms that
nutrients for trees in many forests. Unlike atmos-
have evolved a symbiotic relationship that can
pheric deposition and weathering, nutrient miner-
convert atmospheric nitrogen into an organic
alization is not a new input, but is derived from
form of nitrogen that can be used by the plant
recycled nutrients contained in decaying organic
or organism. There are two types of biolog-
matter and detritus input. Sources of decaying
ical nitrogen fixation: symbiotic or asymbiotic
organic matter include dead leaves, branches, stems,
fixation. Symbiotic fixation involves a mutu-
and roots, as well as dead animal matter. The annual
alistic relationship between a plant and, often,
input of nutrients to the soil from detritus
a bacteria. Examples of symbiotic nitrogen fix-
decreases in the order of tropical > temperate >
ation include the agriculture crop, alfalfa, and
boreal forests (5). Dead leaves and fine roots com-
the bacteria Rhizobium; or black locust, a
prise the majority of the annual nutrient input in
common early successional tree species in the
forest ecosystems. The chemical composition of the
southeastern United States, and the bacteria
tissues and the physical environment determine the
Rhizobium. Some of the highest biological
rate that the organic matter will decompose and that
nitrogen fixation rates, ranging from 100 to
nutrients are released back to the soil. Leaves and
300 kgN ha-1 yr -1 , have been reported for the
fine roots have higher nutrient concentrations and
tree species red alder (Alnus rubra) and the
lower concentrations of chemicals, and therefore
actinomycete, Frankia, in the Pacific North-
decompose faster than woody tissue.
west. Shrubs such as Ceanothus in the west-
ern United States and alder in the boreal forest
can also fix nitrogen. There are also many
Nutrient Losses ground and tree dwelling lichens that are
capable of biological nitrogen fixation. Asym-
Erosion, leaching, volatilization, and harvesting are
biotic nitrogen fixation involves only free-
the primary pathways for nutrient loss from forest
living microorganisms, and the rates of
ecosystems. The loss of nutrients via erosion is gen-
nitrogen fixation are much smaller than those
erally not a concern for intact forests because the
for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Typical rates
multilayers of foliage and the forest floor reduce
of asymbiotic nitrogen fixation range from
the physical impact of raindrops on the soil. The
5-10 kg N ha-1 yr-1.
forest floor increases water infiltration into the soil
which also helps minimize erosion. The erosion of
the surface soil can be a large source for nutrient
loss in highly disturbed forests (i.e., the canopy
126 Forest Ecosystem Ecology

and/or forest floor are removed) because a large Nutrient Transfers Within Forest
percentage of the total nutrient content of the soil Ecosystems
is in the upper soil horizons.
Nutrient leaching below the rooting zone is a Nutrients intercepted by the forest canopy are
second potential pathway of nutrient loss. Nutrient either absorbed by the vegetation, drip from the
leaching is detrimental because it is a permanent canopy to the soil surface (throughfall), or flow
loss of nutrients from the soil and decreases the down the stem (stemflow) (Figure 6.9). Nutrients
water quality of adjacent aquatic ecosystems. The entering the soil follow one of several pathways.
leaching of nitrate (NO 3 - ) is a common concern in Nutrients are either stored on the exchange sites
agricultural ecosystems. Nitrate is derived from ani- of the soil, absorbed by the roots and mycorrhizae
mal waste and excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer, and reused by the vegetation, temporarily immo-
and is a serious health concern. Ironically, nitrate bilized by soil microorganisms, which require nutri-
leachate levels can exceed government standards ents similar to vegetation, or lost. Nutrients taken
in some natural forest ecosystems that are domi- up by the vegetation are stored in the perennial
nated by nitrogen-fixing trees, such as red alder. A tissue of the vegetation or returned to the soil sur-
more detailed discussion of the effects of timber face at the end of the growing season as detritus,
harvesting on nutrient leaching is provided later in primarily as leaf litterfall or fine root turnover. Nutri-
this chapter. Measurement and modeling the leach- ents return to the soil as litterfall or fine root
ing of nutrients in forested watersheds requires a turnover (Figure 6.9). Decomposition of the
biological understanding of the cycling of nutrients organic matter releases the nutrients, completing
and the flow of water in the soils (see Forest the nutrient cycle. The amount of nutrients returned
Hydrology, in Chapter 16). to the soil each year varies among and within the
Volatilization is the conversion of an element major forest biomes, but in general litterfall nutri-
from the ionic form to a gas that is subsequently ent content decreases from tropical forests to boreal
lost to the atmosphere. Volatilization of nutrients forests (5).
occurs during wildfires when the temperatures The mean residence time of nutrients is calcu-
exceed the threshold for an element. Denitrification lated as the total nutrient content of the compart-
is a process similar to volatilization in that an ionic ment divided by the sum of all the inputs to an
form of nitrogen is converted to a gas, but the mech- ecosystem compartment. For example, the mean
anisms and environmental conditions necessary for residence time of nutrients in the forest floor is cal-
denitrification to occur are very different. Chemoau- culated as the nutrient content of the forest floor
totrophic bacteria, or soil microorganisms that derive divided by the sum of nutrient content of litterfall
their energy from breaking chemical bonds, are (leaves and woody tissues) and fine root turnover.
responsible for denitrification. These bacteria require The nutrient residence time is a useful index of the
anaerobic conditions and an abundant source of rate that organic matter or nutrients cycle through
nitrogen. These conditions are not common in most a forest. In general, nutrient availability is inversely
upland forest soils, but can be important in fertile proportional to mean residence time. What factors
lowland soils. Denitrification is the source of large influence the residence time of nutrients in forests?
nitrogen losses in cattle and pig feedlots, because Warm moist climates stimulate the activity of soil
the soils are typically poorly drained and nitrogen microorganisms that decompose litterfall, while
is abundant from urine and feces. A complete treat- cold, dry climates restrict the activity of decom-
ment of the factors controlling nutrient losses in har- posers. Consequently, the organic matter and nutri-
vested forests, and the potential implications for ent content of the forest floor is lowest in the
sustainable forest management, are discussed later tropical forests and highest for boreal forests (Fig-
in the chapter. ure 6.11). It should be of little surprise then that
Forest Succession 127

erally self-replacing, is referred to as the climax

sere. There are two major types of succession: pri-
mary and secondary. Primary succession is the
establishment of vegetation on bare rocks or
severely disturbed soil. Secondary succession is the
reestablishment of vegetation following a distur-
bance that killed or removed the vegetation but
did not greatly affect the soil. Volcanic eruptions,
retreating glaciers and colonization of bare sand
dunes are examples of primary succession, while
clearcutting of forests, wildfires, and hurricanes are
examples of secondary succession. Hundreds to
thousands of years are required for primary suc-
cession to reach climax, compared to decades to
F i g u r e 6.11 A generalized relationship for
hundreds of years for secondary succession. The
organic matter or nutrient content in the forest floor
and annual litterfall organic matter or nutrient content. longer time to reach the climax sere for primary
The mean residence times for the organic matter and than secondary succession is because soil devel-
nutrients in the forest floor, depicted by the dashed opment must take place in primary succession. The
lines, illustrate that the time it takes for organic matter rate of succession is dependent upon the severity
and nutrients to decompose and mineralize decreases of the disturbance, and the availability of seeds for
in the order of boreal forests > temperate forests > recolonization. Tree species that have small, light
tropical forests. The abbreviations are as follows: seeds that are dispersed by wind or transported
BENL = boreal evergreen needle-leaf; BDBL = boreal by animals recolonize a disturbed area quicker than
deciduous broad-leaf; TENL = temperate evergreen a species with large seeds.
needle-leaf; TEBL = temperate evergreen broad-leaf;
TDBL = temperate deciduous broad-leaf; TREBL = What morphological and ecophysiological char-
tropical evergreen broad-leaf; and TRDBL = tropical acteristics determine the species composition and
deciduous broad-leaf. The figure was adapted from abundance in succession? In general, nitrogen fix-
organic matter data summarized by Landsberg and ing plants are important early succession species
Gower (5). in primary succession because nitrogen is not
derived from weathering, and little or no soil
organic matter is present. Ruderals are common
early successional species because of their rapid
organic matter and nutrient residence times are growth rates, while stress-tolerant species are com-
shortest for tropical forests, intermediate for tem- mon late successional species.
perate forests, and longest for boreal forests (Fig- The structure of a forest changes during suc-
ure 6.11). cession as well (5). Depending upon the type and
severity of the disturbance, a moderate to large
amount of dead organic matter from the previous
forest remains on the site immediately after distur-
Forest Succession bance. The leaf area of the forest is at a minimum
Succession is the continuous change in the species and slowly increases as new vegetation occupies
composition, structure, and function of a forest the site. Following a stand-reinitiating disturbance,
through time following disturbance. The early stage such as a blow-down or fire, the new canopy is
of succession is referred to as a successional sere. largely composed of similar-aged, or even-aged,
The final stage or sere of succession, which is gen- trees. Light, nutrient and water availability are
128 Forest Ecosystem Ecology

highest during the early successional sere because

the vegetation has not completely occupied the site. Effects of Timber Harvesting on
Canopy closure, or maximum leaf area can occur Forest Ecosystems
within several years after disturbance in some trop-
The effects of timber harvesting on the long-term
ical forests, but may take 3 to 50 years in boreal
site productivity of forests are of great interest to
forests.
land mangers and the general public. The issues
The second stage of stand development is
surrounding timber harvesting and sustainability
referred to as the stem exclusion stage because
have many facets: deleterious effects on the phys-
of the tree mortality caused by competition for
ical properties of forest soils, altered microclimate,
light, nutrients, and water. The intense intra-
increased nutrient leaching loss, and excessive nutri-
species (within a species) and inter-species
ent removal in the biomass. The effects of forest
(between species) competition for light, nutrient
management on wildlife is beyond the scope of this
and water induces mortality of plants that are
shaded or have one or more life history charac- chapter, but is discussed in Chapter 14.
teristics that are not well-adapted to the chang- Maintaining the physical properties of forest soils
ing environment. The third stage of stand is essential for sustainable forest management.
development, referred to as understory re- Increased bulk density can restrict fine root growth,
initiation, is characterized by openings in the over- thereby decreasing water and nutrient availability
story canopy, caused by tree mortality, and the to trees. The use of heavy equipment for harvest-
renewed growth of understory and suppressed ing or site preparation is primarily responsible for
sub-story trees in response to increased light soil compaction. Soil compaction can often be
reaching the forest floor. Consequently, the for- avoided or minimized by restricting heavy equip-
est canopy becomes more complex, or multilay- ment to designated areas (logging trails and deck),
ered. The final stage of stand development, climax the use of high flotation tires, hi-lead cable logging,
or old-growth stage, is characterized by a species or helicopter logging. Harvesting wet areas when
composition that in theory will continue to replace the soil is frozen is also a management option in
itself until a catastrophic disturbance takes place. cold temperate boreal forests.
Unique characteristics of old-growth forests A second form of physical abuse of the soil is
include the largest accumulation of standing and soil displacement. Soil displacement can take on
fallen dead trees—referred to as coarse woody several different forms, but all are deleterious to
debris. Also, the annual input of litter is domi- the soil. Operating heavy equipment on wet soils
nated by coarse woody debris compared to the often results in long-term damage to the soil struc-
earlier stages of stand development where leaf ture, which reduces water infiltration and water
and fine root detritus were the dominant sources available for plant uptake. Decreased water infil-
of nutrient and organic matter input to the soil. tration increases overland flow and the likelihood
of severe erosion. Soil displacement can also occur j
Some vegetation ecosystems may never reach the
during site preparation if the operator of the equip-
latter stages of succession if natural disturbances
ment is not careful to minimize disturbance of the
(fire, flooding, hurricanes, etc.) are frequent. A pyric
forest floor and upper soil horizons. The debris
climax refers to an ecosystem that never reaches
remaining from the harvesting is often pushed into
the potential climax vegetation defined by climate
long rows referred to as windrows. Significant
because of frequent fires. The ecotone, or bound-
ary, between grasslands and forests is a pyric cli- removal of the forest floor and mineral soil to the
max, and only with fire suppression have windrows drastically decreases nutrients in the
woodlands and forest begun to advance into these field except for where the windrows occur (Fig-
regions. ure 6.4).
Effects of Timber Harvesting on Forest Ecosystems 129

The removal of the forest canopy in some harsh

climates, such as hot and dry forests, sufficiently
changes the microclimate to restrict adequate regen-
eration. Greater extremes in temperature occur in
clearcut than control forests, and even greater
extremes occur in forests that are burned because
the black surface decreases the albedo 2 (Figure
6.12). Small changes in the microclimate maybe
insignificant for many forests, but the changes may
be deleterious for hot, drought-prone forests such
as those found in the Rocky Mountains and east-
ern slopes of the Cascades in the western United
States.
Much of the discussions surrounding the poten-
tial adverse effects of timber harvesting have F i g u r e 6.12 Comparison of the temperature of
the air 10 cm above the forest floor surface, the forest
focused on nutrient leaching losses following har-
floor, and mineral soil at a 10 cm depth for an uncut,
vesting and nutrient removal. Nutrient leaching is clearcut, and clearcut and burned forest.
the loss of nutrients, in solution, below the root-
ing zone. Recall from Chapter 5 (Forest Soils) most
temperate forests soils lack an anion exchange tive of this experiment was not to simulate a typi-
capacity, meaning that unless plants or soil cal forest harvest. The removal of the trees (harvest)
microorganisms take up anions (e.g., NO 3 - , Cl-, and continued suppression of vegetation re-growth
HCO3-, HSO4-), the anions in the soil will be (herbicide treatment) allowed decomposition and
leached if there is sufficient water draining below nutrient mineralization to occur, but there were few
the tree roots. A cation of similar charge to the anion plants to take up the mineralized nutrients. Even-
will also be leached because electroneutrality must tually the microbial demand for nutrients was
be maintained. Nutrient leaching decreases the exceeded and large nutrient leaching losses
amount of nutrients available for plant uptake and occurred (Figure 6.13).
decreases water quality in the groundwater or adja- How representative are the results in the Hub-
cent aquatic ecosystems. bard Brook study to normal forest harvesting
Concern for the potential nutrient leaching asso- practices? This was a question asked by both
ciated with timber harvesting gained worldwide foresters and environmentalists alike after the Hub-
attention with the Hubbard Brook study by Likens, bard Brook results were published. Control and har-
et al. (9). The Hubbard Brook watershed experiment vested paired watershed studies were conducted in
involved a control (uncut) and a clearcut plus her- the United States to quantify potential nutrient leach-
bicide-treated watershed. The objective of the study ing losses and to better understand the mechanisms
was to better understand the natural mechanisms that govern nutrient leaching losses. A wide range
in a forest ecosystem that controls nutrient cycling, of nutrient leaching losses were observed by
including nitrate leaching. To do this, the investi- Vitousek, et al. (10). Nutrient leaching losses were
gators removed the hypothesized primary mecha- insignificant in some forests, but exceeded 50-100
nism that prevents nutrient leaching—plant uptake kg N ha-1 yr-1 for other forests (Figure 6.14). In gen-
of nutrients. It is important to note that the objec- eral, high nitrogen leaching losses occurred in

2
The ratio of light reflected to that received.
130 Forest Ecosystem Ecology

F i g u r e 6 . 1 4 Comparison of annual nitrate

leaching losses for paired control and clearcut
watersheds. Abbreviations for the sites are as follows:
HB, NH is Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire; GR, NH
is Green River, New Hampshire; WV is West Virginia;
NC is Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina;
HJA, OR is the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest,
Oregon; and AR, OR is Oregon. Figure was prepared
from data presented in Vitousek, et al. (10).

F i g u r e 6 . 1 3 Comparison of the nutrient leaching

ogy, and hydrology. Although, conceptual under-
losses from the uncut control (solid line) and
harvested + herbicide (dashed line) forest. Copyright standing of forest ecosystem ecology is required,
permission provided by Springer-Verlag (9). all too often, economical, political, or social issues
take precedence over ecological principles. These
situations often result in mismanagement and dele-
forests that had large nitrogen mineralization rates terious effects to the forest. This chapter attempted
or experienced chronic atmospheric nitrogen d e p - to illustrate the interconnection of the water, nutri-
osition. Conversely, forests with low nitrogen min- ent, and carbon cycles, and h o w alteration of a
eralization rates or small nitrogen deposition rates process in one of the cycles, resulting from natu-
experienced small to non-significant nitrogen ral of h u m a n disturbance, affects the structure and
leaching losses in the clearcut forest. function of the forest.

Concluding Statement References

Sustainable forest ecosystem management requires 1. H. W. HOCKER, JR., Introduction to Forest Biology, John
a fundamental understanding of the principles of Wiley & Sons, New York, 1979.
forest management and forest ecosystem ecology. 2. J. R GRIMES, Plant Strategies and Vegetation Processes,
I h o p e this chapter has provided the reader a bet- John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1979.
ter appreciation of the challenges of forest ecosys- 3. M. G. BARBOUR, J. H. BURK, AND W. D. PITTS, Terres-
tem ecology—a discipline in ecology that draws trial Plant Ecology, Benjamin/Cummings Publishing
u p o n ecophysiology, soil science, micrometeorol- Company, Menlo Park, Calif., 1987.
References 131

4. H. LAMBERS, F. S. CHAPIN, III, AND T. L. PONS, Plant Phys- 9. G. E. LIKENS, F. H. BORMANN, R. S. PIERCE, J. S. EATON,
iological Ecology, Springer-Verlag, N e w York, 1998. AND N.M. JOHNSON, Biogeochetnistry, Springer-Verlag,
5. J- J. LANDSBERG, J. J. AND S. T. GOWER, Applications of New York, 1979.
Physiological Ecology to Forest Management, Acade- 10. P. M. VITOUSEK, J. R. Gosz, C.C. GRIER, J. M. MELILLO,
mic Press, San Diego, Calif., 1997. W. A. REINERS, AND R. L. T O D D , Science, 204, 469

6. C. C. GRIER AND S. W. RUNNING, Ecology, 58, 893 (1977). (1979).

7. H. L. GHOLZ, Ecology, 63, 469 (1982).

8. W. H. SCHLESINGER, Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of
Gobal Change, Second Edition, Academic Press. San
Diego, Calif., 1997.
 CHAPTER 7
Landscape Ecology
VOLKER C. RADELOFF AND DAVID J. MLADENOFF

Introduction How Landscape Patterns Affect

Definition and History Forest Ecosystems
Effects of Individual Patch Size and Shape
Landscape Patterns and How They Effects of Landscape Patterns
Are Generated Interactions Between Landscape Patterns
Effects of Topography, Surface Geology, and Processes
and Geomorphological Processes on
Landscape Patterns Methods in Landscape Ecology
Effects of Natural Disturbance Processes Data Collection a n d Analysis
on Landscape Patterns Landscape Indexes
Effects of Animals on Landscape Patterns Simulation Models
Effects of Human Activities on Landscape
Patterns
Concluding Statement—
Management Rules
References

landscape patterns. For instance, beaver create

Introduction ponds in forests by building dams on creeks or
Ecologists recognized early the effect of the sur- small rivers. Trees that are flooded die, and beaver
rounding landscape on a given ecosystem. For cut down more trees for food, thus opening the for-
example, a pond located within a forest will have est canopy. Once their food supply is depleted, the
very different ecological characteristics from a pond beaver abandon their pond, their dam breaks down
located among agricultural fields, even if both and an open, nutrient-rich wet meadow remains
ponds are of the same size and depth. The forest that will gradually be recolonized by trees. Land-
pond is likely to be cooler because of the shade scape ecologists study both the effects of landscape
from nearby trees, and the surrounding forests pro- patterns and the processes that create them (2-4).
vide habitat for amphibians that will lay their eggs The aim of this chapter is to provide an introduc-
in it. The agricultural field pond is likely to con- tion to the science of landscape ecology and its
tain more nutrients from fertilizer runoff, and may application to forest management.
be a stopover site for waterfowl during migration.
These two examples illustrate how landscape pat-
terns affect organisms (1). Definition and History
However, not only do landscape patterns affect Ecology is the study of relationships between organ-
organisms, but organisms can also create certain isms and their environment. Landscape ecology is
132
Landscape Patterns and How They Are Generated 133

the subdiscipline of ecology that focuses on spa- tions. A map of alpine tundra therefore shows only
tial relationships usually over broad areas or "land- relatively small patches of tundra that are isolated
scapes" (2-4). from each other (Figure 7.1).
The importance of examining ecological rela- Surface geology has a strong effect on soils as
tionships across landscapes was recognized in the parent material and thereby on the distribution of
early 20th century. Carl Troll, a German geographer, different types of forest patches. A good example
coined the term landscape ecology in 1939 after he of this effect exists in northern Wisconsin, a land-
had studied aerial photographs of various land- scape that was glaciated until about 10,000 years
scapes around the globe. Aldo Leopold, an Amer- ago. When the glaciers retreated north, the features
ican wildlife ecologist, noted the importance of they left were large sandy outwash plains,
landscape patterns for game animal populations in moraines, and former lakebeds. Jack pine is a tree
1933, and Alexander Watt, an English botanist, stud- species that is well adapted to sandy soils, and the
ied the relationships between patterns and outwash plains are the only places in Wisconsin
processes in plant communities in 1947 (4). where jack pine is common, whereas the moraines,
Despite these early roots, landscape ecology did with heavier, loamy soils, are dominated by hard-
not gain widespread recognition in North America woods and hemlock.
until the 1980s. The increasing availability of com- Geomorphological processes that shape land-
puterized spatial data (e.g., satellite images, soil scape patterns include landslides, erosion, sand
maps, forest inventories) and computer programs dune development, and pattern formation over per-
that have the ability to analyze mapped informa- mafrost. We will discuss here only one process, the
tion (e.g., Geographical Information Systems or fluvial dynamics that are typical of meandering
GIS), fostered new research and applications (5).
At the beginning of the 21st century, landscape ecol-
ogy has become a well-established scientific disci-
pline, and an increasingly important aspect of forest
management.

Landscape Patterns and H o w

They Are Generated
In the previous sections, we introduced the con-
cept of landscape patterns and landscape processes.
In this section, we will examine various forms of
characteristic landscape patterns, and discuss how
they originate. The different types of processes that
cause landscape patterns are the organizing prin-
ciple for this section.

Effects of Topography, Surface

Geology, and Geomorphological
Processes on Landscape Patterns F i g u r e 7.1 Panoramic view of a mountain range
One of the most basic causes of landscape patterns with alpine tundra at highest elevations, and a
is topography. Alpine tundra, for example, occurs corresponding map with isolated patches of alpine
in the Rocky Mountains only at the highest eleva- tundra.
134 Landscape Ecology

Sidebar 7.1

Key Concepts

Several concepts and terms are central to land- Scale is also very important conceptually. Dif-
scape ecology. The first of these are patch and ferent landscape processes occur at a certain
matrix. A patch is a reasonably homogeneous scales, and need to be studied at their appro-
area identifiable within a landscape. Patches are priate scale (1). For example, fires in the boreal
often delineated based on their vegetation. forest operate at a very broad scale, and one
Patches are embedded in the landscape matrix has to analyze several 100,000 hectares at once
(1). For example, in a forested landscape with to capture the dynamics of these large fire
scattered, small bogs, the bogs can be regarded dynamics. Forest management, on the other
as patches, whereas the forest forms the matrix. hand, operates at a smaller scale, and a study
The second important concept is the rela- area that captures several thousand hectares will
tionship of landscape patterns and landscape usually be sufficient to study the effects of dif-
processes (2). The spatial arrangement of patches ferent forest management activities on landscape
and matrix forms the landscape patterns of a patterns (3).
given area. Landscape processes are dynamic
processes that operate over large areas. An Sources:
example of a landscape process is forest fire. In 1. M. G. TURNER, Landscape Heterogeneity and Dis-
boreal forests, fires occur naturally and one fire turbance, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1987.
can cover a very large area (10,000 to 100,000 2. K. MCGARIGAL AND B. J. MARKS, Spatial pattern
hectares). After a fire, the forests regenerate and analysis program for quantifying landscape struc-
form very large patches of even-aged trees (3). ture, Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-351, Pacific North-
The third important issue is that of landscape west Research Station, U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Portland,
scale, which is defined by landscape grain and Ore., 1995.
extent (4). The landscape grain is the smallest 3. J. F. FRANKUN AND R. T. T. FORMAN, Landscape Ecoi,
spatial unit of a landscape or map representa- 1, 5 (1987).
tion, also termed the resolution. The size of the 4. D. J. MLADENOFF AND W. L. BAKER, Advances in Spa-
smallest patches usually determines the land- tial Modeling of Forest Landscape Change:
scape grain. The landscape extent comprises the Approaches and Applications, Cambridge Univer-
entire area within the boundaries of a landscape. sity Press, Cambridge, U.K., 1999.

rivers (see Figure 7.2a in color insert). These rivers vegetation, and later with shrubs and trees. The
are characterized by numerous curves. These curves shapes of the oxbows, however, remain, and form
constantly change position because rivers erode the a very characteristic landscape pattern.
outside of the curves and deposit gravel and sands
on the inside of the curve. When the river course
forms the shape of a horseshoe, it may eventually Effects of Natural Disturbance
break through, leaving an oxbow lake. Such Processes on Landscape Patterns
oxbows can persist as open water bodies for quite The previous examples described how geological
a while, but will gradually fill in, first with aquatic and geomorphological processes affect landscape
Landscape Patterns and H o w They Are Generated 135

pattern. One may not think of mountain ranges as boreal forest fires. Wind disturbance patches occur
a process, but underlying their development are in very variable shapes. For example, tornadoes may
plate tectonics and erosional forces that operate over cause narrow, elongated patches of windthrow, and
millions of years. Glacial landscapes are shaped by hurricanes may cause damage across a much larger
10,000-100,000 year cycles of glaciation, and rivers area, with very variable effects. Another unique
change their paths over centuries or decades. In con- aspect of wind disturbance is that it can blow down
trast, the landscape processes that we focus on in all or only a portion of the trees in an area. Forests
this section operate at much shorter time scales. that are particularly prone to wind damage include
These processes are collectively referred to as "dis- tropical forests in the Carribean, Central America,
turbances" or "disturbance regimes," because they and the forests in the southeastern United States,
alter the vegetation rather abruptly (6). However, because of the higher likelihood of hurricanes in
the term "disturbance" is somewhat misleading these regions. Windthrow that can have extensive
because it implies that the disturbance process is damage also occurs in north temperate regions, such
not part of the natural ecosystem. On the contrary, as central North America, that are affected by large
disturbances are inherent parts of many ecoystems low pressure storms and thunderstorms. However,
and are forces that often create characteristic land- the frequency of wind damage even in these regions
scape patterns and cyclic alterations in ecosystems. is generally much lower than the frequency of fires
A typical disturbance that was previously men- in the boreal zone.
tioned is fire in boreal forests (7). The boreal forest The different disturbance processes of boreal and
zone occurs in the Northern Hemisphere across Central American forest landscapes result in a much
Canada, Alaska, Siberia, and Scandinavia and smaller grain for the Central American forest land-
reaches to the treeline, the northernmost extent where scape compared with the boreal landscape. An even
trees can grow. Fires are a natural part of the boreal smaller grain is typical of some temperate forests,
forest ecoystem; they are necessary to initiate forest such as the eastern United States, or tropical rain
regeneration, and they create important habitat for forest in Amazonia, that typically experience fire
many wildlife species. A single fire may last only a and wind damage less frequently than the regions
few days or weeks, and may cover hundreds, up to mentioned earlier. The dominant landscape patterns
more than 100,000 hectares. The vegetation type in of these forests are often the result of single tree
these landscapes depends on the time since the last gaps, caused by the death of an old tree with a large
fire. Recently burned patches are open, and contain crown. Such gaps are usually not larger than 0.1
only grasses and shrubs. Tree regeneration, especially ha. An interesting case of gap disturbance is the
by aspen and pine, soon follows, and even-aged European beech forest ecosystem. Gaps in beech
young forests characterize a patch 20-30 years after forests are often 1-2 ha in size and elongated in a
a fire. As more time passes, the forests of the patch north-to-south direction. The reason for this is that
grow older until a new fire occurs. Fires are fairly mature beech trees often die after a few years when
frequent in the boreal zone, and most forests burn their trunk is exposed to sunlight. Once a single
on average about every 100 years. The landscape pat- old beech tree dies, the trunks of its neighbors to
tern that is typical of boreal forests is a very large the north are exposed to sunlight, and their death
mosaic of large patches (see Figure 13.2). This land- causes the northward expansion of the gap.
scape pattern is called a "shifting mosaic," because
the landscape always exhibits a mosaic of patches
of different ages, but their location shifts over time. Effects of Animals on
Quite different landscape patterns result from hur- Landscape Patterns
ricanes, tornadoes and other winds. Wind damage Physical processes, such as wind, fire, and sunlight
to forests can also be fairly extensive, but does not are powerful forces that shape the landscape pattern
typically reach a contiguous extent comparable to of many ecosystems, but animals also leave their
136 Landscape Ecology

mark in the landscape (1). We will again present retreating glaciers and migrate northwards. The
three examples of processes that create distinctive activity of jays and other seed dispersers is one of
landscape pattern, all of them being related to ani- the major processes that shape the spatial pattern
mal activities. of plant occurrence.
Forest insects can shape forest landscapes at large
scales (8). Outbreaks of defoliating insects can occur
simultaneously over many hundreds of thousands of Effects of H u m a n Activities
hectares. One result of these outbreaks is that the tree on Landscape Patterns
species composition in the landscape is changed. For All the processes described above have shaped
example, a spruce budworm outbreak in boreal landscape patterns for many millions of years, but
forests will kill mainly fir and spruce thereby giving during the last few thousand years, human activ-
hardwoods such as aspen a competitive advantage. ities have increasingly affected landscape pattern.
Spruce budworm outbreaks can also increase fire fuel It is important to note that humans have altered
loads by leaving large areas of dead trees, which may the landscape for a long time. For example, indige-
make fires more intense and/or likely. nous peoples in Australia and North America set
We briefly mentioned the effect of beaver on fires in forests and grasslands to promote young
landscape patterns in stream valleys. Beaver cre- regrowth, and thus provide better habitat for the
ate dams along creeks where trees, especially young animals they hunted. However, the impact of
hardwood trees, are common. They maintain their human activities has greatly increased with the
dam over many years until food sources in the vicin- advent of agriculture, cities, the industrial revolu-
ity are depleted. Sediments accumulate on the bot- tion, and growing world population and resource
tom of their ponds during this period. Once a dam use in the 20th century.
is abandoned, it will eventually break, thus drain- One of the most distinct patterns of landscapes
ing the pond. What remains are nutrient-rich sed- is the pattern of human settlements. These patterns
iments that quickly revegetate, first by grasses and are particularly striking when forested areas are
forbs, and later by tree species such as aspen. Once being settled and often follow the patterns of trans-
a new forest has formed the cycle may start again portation networks and legal boundaries. For exam-
with the establishment of a new beaver dam. ple, in the Amazonian province of Rondonia
Our last example for the effects of animal activ- (Brazil), roads are the most important means of
ity on landscape patterns is certainly not a distur- transportation (see Figure 7.2b in color insert).
bance. Jays are birds that feed on acorns among Major roads form the backbone of what has been
other things. One aspect of their feeding behavior called "fishbone patterns." Early settlers clear land
is that they carry acorns, sometimes over several adjacent to the major roads, but soon numerous
kilometers, and bury them in the ground. They do minor roads develop that run perpendicularly to
not recover all of these buried acorns, and some the major roads. Farmers continue to clear land in
of them will germinate. This makes jays very effec- the vicinity of the minor roads thus leaving only
tive seed dispersers (Figure 7.3). Trees with heavy small strips of forest in the middle between them.
seeds, such as acorns, are otherwise limited in that This process of breaking up the intact forest is
their seeds cannot travel far from the parent tree. called forest fragmentation, which encompasses
However, activities by jays may ensure that oaks both the loss of the majority of the forest and a
can spread relatively quickly into areas where they resulting pattern where forests occur only in small
do not occur. This is an important advantage after patches that are isolated (9). Forest fragmentation
a disturbance such as fire has killed the canopy by settlement has occurred in many parts of the
across a large area. At larger spatial and temporal world over time. Most recently, it has occurred dur-
scales, after glaciations, seed dispersal capability ing the last 300 years in areas that were colonized
determines how quickly tree species can follow the by European immigrants such as the eastern United
Landscape Patterns and H o w They Are Generated 137

F i g u r e 7 . 3 Diagram of oak encroachment with short-range seed dispersal caused by wind and squirrels (on
the left) and long-range seed dispersal by jays (on the right).

States, Western Australia, and in tropical regions with topography, usually being larger in flat terrain,
with rapidly growing populations. and depending on the tree species and purpose of
Even where forests remain, human management forest management.
will often have a strong influence on their patterns. Rotation length determines how much of the
Forest harvesting—especially clearcutting—creates landscape is open at any given point in time. For
very distinct landscape patterns (10-13). The actual instance, a rotation length of 50 years translates into
pattern will depend on three factors, the size of the 20 percent of the landscape area being younger
dearcuts, the rotation length (i.e., how often each than 10 years and thus probably not containing a
forest is harvested), and how cutting units are allo- closed forest canopy. A rotation length of 100 years
cated across the landscape spatially. reduces the area of open patches to 10 percent of
Both management objectives and legal restric- the landscape area.
tions determine the size of clearcuts. For instance, The allocation of clearcuts also has a strong effect
the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany on landscape patterns. In the recent past, the most
allows clearcuts no larger than 1 ha. Currently, the common management practice in the United States
National Forests in the United States observe a 16 ha has been to disperse clearcuts as much as possible.
limit, whereas some clearcuts in Canada can occupy The result is a pattern characterized by many small,
hundreds of hectares. Clearcut size will also vary open patches with narrow stands of intervening
138 Landscape Ecology

forest, creating a highly fragmented matrix (Fig-

ure 7.4). A very different approach is to allocate n e w
clearcuts in the vicinity of previous harvests. This
creates larger openings, but it also leaves large areas
of continuous and undisturbed forest, and regen-
erates large, future patches of forest.
Subtler patterns that humans impose on land-
scapes are the road networks (14). Forests can be
fragmented even without any forest cutting,
because roads form barriers to movement of some
animals. It is obvious that major highways have a
strong effect even on large mammals. Highways not
only cause wildlife accidents and deaths, they can
also prevent migration b e t w e e n areas, leading to
the isolation of populations and a higher potential
for local extinctions (9). However, even small roads
impair the movements of insects, small mammals
and amphibians (15). In experiments, pedestrian
beetles only once crossed a six-meter-wide, two-
lane road and even single-lane roads w e r e only
rarely successfully crossed (Figure 7.5). The main
reason is that the gravel makes it very easy for pred-
ators to spot their prey. This finding demonstrates
that even small, rarely traveled logging roads can
fragment forests.

F i g u r e 7 . 5 Number of beetle crossings over a

major and two minor roads, A-D represent trap rows;
circles represent live traps. Curved lines represent the
movement of a marked beetle between capture and
recapture.

How Landscape Patterns Affect

Forest Ecosystems
F i g u r e 7 . 4 Clearcuts on U.S. National Forest land In the previous section, we outlined causes for dif-
(on the left) adjacent to Yellowstone National Park (on ferent landscape patterns. In this section, we will
the right). (Photo courtesy of J. Rotella, Montana State examine h o w different landscape patterns affect
University.) forests. This includes not only direct effects on trees,
H o w Landscape Patterns Affect Forest Ecosystems 139

Sidebar 7.2

Temporal and Spatial Scales of Processes That Affect Landscape Patterns

It is useful to stratify landscape processes that such as plate tectonics and glaciations have very
alter forest landscape pattern according to two long return intervals. However, there are
criteria; their return interval (i.e., how much time notable exceptions to this rule, and they indi-
passes, on average, until a location is affected cate how disturbance-prone a landscape is. For
a second time by a process), and their spatial example, boreal forest fires extend over large
extent. These two aspects are somewhat corre- areas, and occur relatively often. This indicates
lated (i.e., processes that operate on smaller that boreal forests are particularly prone to
areas tend to occur more frequently). On the disturbance.
other hand, processes that affect very large areas,

but also on other aspects of forest ecosystems. The ecological processes. For example, a large forest
organizing principles of this section are the differ- opening, perhaps caused by a fire or a clearcut, will
ent basic patterns, first, of single patches, and sec- often experience different natural regeneration than
ond, of the arrangement of multiple patches in a a small one. The reason is that the ability to invade
landscape. open areas differs among plant species. Tree species
such as aspen have light wind-dispersed seeds.
They can disperse their seeds into the center of
Effects of Individual Patch even a very large opening. Other species, such as
Size and Shape maple, have seeds that are heavier. Seeds such as
The most obvious spatial attribute of a single patch these are not dispersed great distances and may
is its size. Patch size has a strong influence on many reach only the center of small openings, but fail to
140 Landscape Ecology

colonize the center of large openings. The result

is that aspen will be more dominant in larger open-
ings than species such as maple, even if stand his-
tory, soil conditions, and climate are the same. Also,
the size of an opening will affect its microclimate.
For example, wind will be less pronounced in small
openings, and very small openings might be par-
tially shaded by the adjacent forest canopy.
Patch size can also determine if a patch is suit-
able habitat for an animal species. For example, a
pair of northern spotted owls requires a patch of
at least 450 ha of continuous, mature forest to suc-
cessfully raise their young. The reason is that the
density of their prey is relatively low. Smaller F i g u r e 7.6 Two patches of different complexity
patches do not provide the necessary amount of and amount of interior habitat.
food. The minimum value of 450 ha increases to
up to 1700 ha in areas where prey is particularly
sparse. However, this value is only the habitat
requirement of a single pair of spotted owls. If an Plants or animals that survive best under intact for-
owl pair is isolated from other owl pairs it is unlikely est are often called interior species, because they
that owls will persist in that location. The forest are usually only found in the interior of forests.
patch size required to maintain an entire popula- Edge effects may persist up to 200-300 meter into
tion of northern spotted owls is much larger. A a patch, making small woodlots often unsuitable
strong relationship between patch size and likeli- for interior species.
hood of extinction occurs not only in owls, but in
many species. The size of a patch (i.e., the total
amount of suitable habitat), affects the number of Effects of Landscape Patterns
species it is likely to contain. This is the first law In order to understand landscape pattern fully, it
of island biogeography: larger patches (or islands) is necessary to look not only at the size and shape
of the same habitat type are likely to contain more of single patches, but also at the spatial arrange-
species than smaller ones. ment of multiple patches on a landscape. Distances
Another spatial attribute of single patches is the between patches or connectivity are an important
shape of its boundary. This can be defined by how attribute of patches of the same type. For exam-
long its perimeter is compared to its area. A cir- ple, amphibians that live in forests may be able to
cular patch has the lowest perimeter compared to traverse agricultural fields up to 300 meters, and
its area. This value increases when patches are more thus colonize forest patches that are less than 300
elongated or have complex boundaries (Figure 7.6). meters apart. This means that a forest patch that is
Patch shape is important because the forest along devoid of amphibians is only likely to be recolo-
the edges of a patch functions differently from the nized if it is less than 300 meters away from the
forest in the interior. For example, sunlight and next forest patch. The maximum distance for recol-
wind can penetrate onto the forest floor along the onization varies among different species. It may be
edges, thereby creating a different microclimate and very small for ground beetles, and much larger for
more favorable conditions for sun-loving tree wide-ranging mammals or birds. The result of this
seedlings or groundlayer plants. These plant pattern is that the further a forest patch is from
species will have an advantage in this environment another forest, the fewer species it is likely to con-
over species that compete better in total shade. tain. This is the second law of island biogeogra-
H o w Landscape Patterns Affect Forest Ecosystems 141

phy. The combination of the first law (island size), Such management can have unexpected conse-
and the second law (distance to mainland) can be quences because landscapes are complex systems,
used to calculate a rough estimate about the likely and reducing this complexity may make them less
biodiversity (i.e., the number of species) of an island resilient to stressors. For example, insect defolia-
or an isolated forest patch. However, the actual tion is often more intense when tree species diver-
number of species in a given patch is not only sity across the landscape is low. This is because
affected by patch size and distance to the next insects disperse during an outbreak into areas that
patch, but also by habitat heterogeneity and dis- are not yet infested. A landscape that is homoge-
turbance history, among other factors. neous, where host species are abundant, may result
Most landscapes contain not only one type of in a more rapid spread of a disturbance. In this case
patch but many. Forest landscapes are commonly a high percentage of insect dispersal attempts are
a mosaic of patches of old-growth, maturing and successful, which means that the number of insects
regenerating forest, wetlands, lakes, and other on each tree is higher, and tree mortality may
vegetation types. Such landscapes exhibit a high increase.
diversity of patch or ecosystem types, exhibiting
landscape heterogeneity. A diverse landscape usu-
ally provides habitat for more species than a land- Interactions Between Landscape
scape that is composed of only one vegetation type. Patterns and Processes
However, biodiversity alone is not necessarily a In the previous sections, we discussed the origin
good indicator for assessing landscapes or quanti- and effects of landscape patterns. Our examples
fying management effects. For example, in a region described comparatively simple one-way relation-
of largely young, managed forests, a large contin- ships; we discussed how a process creates a land-
uous block of forest may contain relatively few, but scape pattern or how a pattern affects a process.
regionally rare or even endangered forest interior In reality, much more complex relationships are
species. Fragmentation of this block may cause the common. This section will provide examples of
extinction of these species in this area (9). How- feedbacks and indirect relationships that can be
ever, the biodiversity of this area may increase at important but difficult to predict.
the same time, because habitat for common, open We will return in our first example of complex
habitat species was created. Thus, it should not be interactions between pattern and process to the
a management goal to maximize biodiversity for a effects of human settlements. In the European Alps,
given forest stand, but to ensure that viable pop- most settlements, agricultural fields and roads are
ulations of all species are maintained in the located in the valley bottoms. These valley bottoms
landscape. were historically the wintering grounds for red deer.
A heterogeneous landscape will also respond dif- Because of habitat alterations and human distur-
ferently to disturbance. For example, wetlands and bance, red deer today remain in the forests at higher
lakes are natural firebreaks that will limit the size elevations during winter. Food availability is lim-
of a burn. Furthermore, these areas can be impor- ited in these forests, and hunters often provide sup-
tant refuges during fires, where some mature trees plemental forage to prevent a reduction of the deer
can survive and provide seed sources for tree regen- herd from starvation. High deer densities in the for-
eration on the burned upland patch. A landscape est result in widespread damage to tree regenera-
that contains many wetlands will therefore regen- tion, both by browsing tree buds, and by peeling
erate differently after fires than one that contains of the bark. This damage severely limits the regen-
only upland forest. eration of many alpine forests and threatens human
Forest management that regenerates only a lim- settlements because forests are an important pro-
ited number of tree species and age classes can tection from avalanches. Many alpine forests have
reduce landscape diversity in terms of tree species. been protected from cutting for centuries to ensure
142 Landscape Ecology

that they can form a barrier against avalanches. Cur- Most of the landscape in the Pacific northwest
rent landscape changes and the chain of effects is mountainous and the forest cover is largely com-
described previously threaten this historic protec- posed of conifers, most notably Douglas fir. The
tion system and thus some of the human settlements common forest harvesting practice has been to
in the European Alps themselves. clearcut. The steep slopes are often prone to ero-
Another example of unexpected changes is sion once the forest cover is removed, and forest
related to an alteration of a landscape process. For road building further increases the likelihood of
the last half century, fires have been actively sup- landslides. This has detrimental effects on stream
pressed in many parts of North America, Australia, habitat because the silt load increases. Furthermore,
and Eurasia. This has changed many ecosystems, water temperature rises once trees no longer shade
especially where fire was part of the natural regen- the streams. Forest management has partly adapted
eration cycle. For example, under natural condi- to these problems, and riparian zones are often left
tions, ponderosa pine forests of the American West standing during harvesting. Nevertheless, forest har-
are kept open by very frequent, but low-intensity vesting has been one important factor causing the
surface fires. Fire suppression altered this cycle and decline of the salmon populations in the Pacific
permitted in some areas less fire-tolerant species, northwest. Other factors include commercial har-
such as Douglas fir, to invade ponderosa pine vesting of salmon, and the hydroelectric power
stands. This young Douglas fir in the understory is dams along the major rivers. The combined effect
typically much denser than the ponderosa pine. The of all these factors is that current salmon runs rep-
change in species composition and forest structure resent only a fraction of their historic levels. Salmon
has several consequences. First, Douglas fir forests runs comprised an important food source for many
are susceptible to spruce budworm defoliation, and predators and scavengers, such as gulls, eagles, and
their outbreaks are becoming more frequent as their bears. However, salmon not only affect the num-
food source becomes more abundant in the land- bers of these predators along rivers, they also rep-
scape. Second, ponderosa pine seedlings are not resent an important source for nutrient input for the
very shade-tolerant; they can grow only under an forest as well as the river. Forest soils in the Pacific
open canopy. Dense Douglas fir prevents pon- northwest are often limited in phosphorus, and it
derosa pine regeneration. Third, a fire in a dense has been estimated that a good salmon run can
Douglas fir stand can be very intense. Ponderosa result in as much as 6.7 kg/ha of phosphorus input
pine is adapted to light surface fires, but it cannot in a forest strip of 100 meters along both sides of
survive a crown fire. This means that mature pon- a stream. The effect is strongest close to the river
derosa pine will disappear from the tree species because this is where bears leave most of the car-
mix. Once the mature trees are gone, seed sources casses. This level of phosphorus input is compa-
are lacking in the landscape and the ecosystem is rable to the amount that is applied commercially
even less likely to revert to its original state. when fertilizing evergreens. Forest harvesting thus
Most of our examples have focused on terres- affects not only the salmon populations, and the
trial systems, but interactions also occur between populations of those predators that depend on
terrestrial and aquatic systems. Our last example on them, but also indirectly the nutrient dynamics of
complex interactions between landscape patterns the forests themselves.
and processes will address the relationship of forests
and streams in the Pacific northwest. Forest man-
agement and the salmon fisheries are two major
environmental issues, and these issues are widely
Methods in Landscape Ecology
discussed among the public and studied by scien- The importance of landscape ecology was recog-
tists. What emerges is a picture of an intricate web nized early, but major progress has been made
of relationships between these two resources. largely since the 1980s, when new sources of spa-
M e t h o d s in Landscape Ecology 143

Sidebar 7.3

Critical Thresholds of Landscape Patterns

The effects of landscape pattern on process are olds can cause landscape connectivity to break
often nonlinear, and landscape context is very down suddenly (1). The exact percentage of for-
important. For example, forest cutting on 10 per- est cover at which direct connectivity is lost
cent of a landscape area may have very little varies somewhat among landscapes, but usually
effect if the landscape is still 90 percent forested. occurs with between 20-40 percent remaining
However, a landscape with only 10 percent for- forest cover. Knowledge of critical thresholds is
est left will change dramatically when this last crucial for predicting the results of management
10 percent is cut. actions, but can be difficult to ascertain. Also,
Critical thresholds are a special case of non- thresholds will vary for different species because
linear relationships. Systems that reach a criti- habitat requirements differ among them, and
cal threshold will change abruptly. For example, because they have differing abilities to cross
when water is heated up it does not change its unsuitable habitat.
properties much until reaching 100°C, at which
point it starts boiling, turning to water vapor. Source:
There is growing evidence that landscapes also 1. J. A. BISSONETTE, Wildlife and Landscape Ecology—
exhibit critical thresholds. Studies of forest frag- Effects of Pattern and Scale, Springer-Verlag, New
mentation indicate that as more forest cover is York, 1997.
cut, reducing forest cover below certain thresh-

tial data, and new techniques to analyze them, long-term changes. Air photos are commonly inter-
became available. Other chapters in this book pro- preted by outlining the boundaries of identifiable
vide an introduction to remote sensing, and geo- patches on them, either manually on paper prints,
graphical information systems (GIS). We will not or digitally on scanned and computerized versions.
duplicate the material covered there, but rather out- This requires that the study purpose, land classifi-
line specifically some of the applications of these cation, and resolution be determined in advance
tools and methods in landscape ecology (5). of the mapping. Attributes, such as tree species
composition, age, stocking density, or habitat val-
ues, are entered into the GIS database for each
Data Collection and Analysis patch or polygon identified.
Landscape ecology originated with the advent of In the mid-1970s, satellite images of the earth's
aerial photography in the 1930s, which provided surface became available, and they have funda-
the means to accurately map large areas consistently mentally changed the way we see and study very
and at comparatively low costs. Aerial photogra- large landscapes. The main advantages of satellite
phy remains an important data source for landscape images are that they 1) cover very large areas,
ecology. Its main advantage is that it provides a spa- 2) can be automatically classified by computer,
tially detailed picture. Also, for many areas histor- 3) provide information for remote areas, and 4) per-
ical aerial photographs have been available since mit the examination of changes where images from
the 1930s. This provides an opportunity to study different dates are available for a given area.
144 Landscape Ecology

Digital maps derived from aerial photography or patches of the same shape, the mean perimeter-area
satellite imagery can be analyzed in a Geographi- ratio is smaller when patches are larger. There is
cal Information System (GIS). A GIS is a computer no upper limit of the mean perimeter-area ratio.
system designed to retrieve, store, manipulate, ana- The Shannon Weaver Diversity Index cannot be
lyze, and reproduce spatial data. This definition may calculated for single patches but only for an entire
sound dry, but the long list of attributes indicates landscape. It combines an estimate of the number
that a GIS is a very powerful tool to work with all of different ecosystems that are present in a
the information that was traditionally stored on landscape (richness) with a measurement of how
paper maps. The vast amounts of data provided by much area each ecosystem type occupies (even-
satellites, the increasing abundance of widely avail- ness). Richness is higher where more ecosystem
able digital data, such as elevation models, forest types occur. Evenness is highest when all ecosys-
inventories, ecosystem and habitat attributes, and tems occur in equal portions in the landscape.
climate measurements, and the need to analyze We will not discuss these mathematical formu-
large areas, make GIS an essential tool for most las of these indexes in detail, but rather point to
landscape ecologists. three excellent reviews of landscape metrics and
their use (16-18). Scientists have developed
dozens of landscape indexes. Specialized computer
Landscape Indexes software is now available to calculate landscape
The importance of landscape patterns for the func- metrics for any type of digital data and their use is
tioning of forest ecosystems necessitates being able becoming more widespread. For example, scien-
to describe them quantitatively. Numerous land- tists investigate how animals respond to landscape
scape indexes have been proposed to measure var- pattern by correlating animal censuses with land-
ious spatial attributes of individual patches scape indexes. Forest managers use landscape
(Figure 7.6), and of entire landscapes. These land- indexes to examine if their management actions
scape metrics help to predict the habitat suitabil- alter landscape pattern drastically. Also, govern-
ity or other ecosystem properties of a given ments use landscape indexes as indicators of
landscape, provide a framework for comparing dif- ecosystem health. Landscape indexes offer a sim-
ferent landscapes, and allow quantifying landscape ple, objective and cost-effective way to summarize
change over time. Specific landscape metrics have landscape characteristics for large areas. However,
been designed, for example, to measure patch area, the relationship between the ecological question at
the ratio of patch perimeter to patch area, and diver- hand, and the landscape index in use has to be kept
sity of habitat types in a landscape, among many in mind in order to attain meaningful results.
other spatial attributes. The following three exam-
ples illustrate the use of landscape metrics.
The mean patch area index is calculated as the Simulation Models
average size of all patches. We discussed earlier that Computers provide not only the means to analyze
certain species require habitat to occur in patches large amounts of data and to synthesize the infor-
of a certain minimum size in order to utilize it. Com- mation using landscape indexes, they also allow the
puting the mean patch area is a good way to com- use of simulation models. Landscape simulation
pare landscape and to evaluate if habitat is clumped models are unique in that they are spatially explicit;
or dispersed. that is, they simulate processes, such as fires or ani-
The mean perimeter-area ratio estimates the mal movements, at actual locations in a landscape
shape of patches. Again, it is an average of a value (19, 20). Traditional, nonspatial, forest models
that is first derived for every single patch. Among included processes such as fire, but they model fire
patches of equal area but different shape, circles only as an event that may affect any given loca-
exhibit the lowest perimeter-area ratio. Among tion with a certain likelihood. What is unique about
Concluding Statement—Management Rules 145

spatial landscape models is that they can incorpo- simulation models, to test, for example, the effects
rate neighborhood effects. For example, a fire is of different forest harvesting regimes on a land-
much more likely to spread and burn a stand that scape over a century or more. Such an approach
adjoins the fire than one that is far away. Only spa- allows predicting changes in landscape pattern that
tially explicit models can incorporate such aspects result from certain management practices. It
of landscape processes. would also allow predicting, for instance, which
Landscape ecology and management face a chal- wildlife species may increase in the landscape and
lenge, because the scale of analysis required to which are likely to decrease. Such information
study landscapes usually precludes the use of allows proactive management decisions, and
experiments as a tool for scientific investigation. might help avoid ecological problems before they
Landscapes are in many cases simply too large to arise. However, these uses of simulation models
be altered for a scientific experiment. Also, there are only now being explored, and time will tell if
are many cases where a landscape may be unique, they become a widely used tool.
such as the Florida Everglades. Experimenting with
such a landscape would not only be unfeasible, but
also a major risk for the survival of the ecosystem Concluding Statement—
under investigation. Also, a scientific experiment tra-
ditionally requires the use of controls (i.e., similar
Management Rules
experimental units that are not altered in the exper- Landscape ecology is a young subdiscipline of ecol-
iments) and replicates (i.e., a number of similar units ogy but attention to pattern and process at the land-
in which the experiment is conducted). The use of scape scale is increasing, both in forest science and
controls and replicates is obviously not feasible forest management. Landscape ecologists recog-
when a unique landscape is studied. Furthermore, nized early the importance of the landscape con-
landscape processes may operate over large time text on ecosystems. Forest managers are becoming
scales. For example, changes in fire frequency may increasingly aware that ecosystem management
not translate into altered landscape patterns until requires looking beyond the stand level at the entire
many decades have passed, because natural fire landscape and managing for all its components. The
regimes contain high degree of variability, and importance of landscape patterns and processes for
broadscale ecological processes often operate the management of a forest will vary for different
slowly. ecosystems, but a few general rules for forest man-
All these factors have resulted in the extensive agers emerge.
use of simulation models in landscape ecology. The first rule is to take the landscape context
Models are used for many different purposes. Some into account when managing an area. Questions
models are fairly simple and mainly used to test that are important to consider before making man-
scientific understanding. For example, scientists agement decisions include: Does this management
built simple models simulating forest fire and area contain unique habitat types, or key resources
regrowth to examine which fire frequency would for certain wildlife species? How important is the
result in the landscape pattern observed in boreal management area as a corridor for animal disper-
forests. Other models incorporate many processes sal? What is the effect of management actions on
simultaneously and are currently being tested as neighboring ecosystems?
tools to improve complex forest management deci- The second rule is to carefully choose the spa-
sions (see Figure 7.7 in color insert). The results tial unit of management. Traditionally, forests were
of forest management are difficult to predict over managed one stand at a time. This chapter provided
large areas. Foresters have good tools to manage numerous examples of interactions between patterns
single stands, but struggle to manage landscapes and processes in forests that operate at much larger
as a whole. This may change by using landscape scales. Management can take these interactions into
146 Landscape Ecology

account only w h e n it adapts the scale of manage- 4. S. ZONNEFELD AND R. T. T. FORMAN, Changing Land-
ment to the scale at which the most important pat- scapes: An Ecological Perspective, Springer-Verlag,
tern and processes of an ecosystem occur. In New York, 1990.
mountainous areas, entire watersheds are often 5. M. G. TURNER AND R. H. GARDNER, Quantitative Meth-
managed as a whole, and this appears to be a suc- ods in Landscape Ecology, Springer-Verlag, New York,
cessful way to define boundaries of management 1991.
units based on ecological properties. 6. M. G. TURNER, Landscape Heterogeneity and Distur-
The third rule is to use natural disturbance bance, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1987.
processes as a guideline for forest management 7. M. L. HEINSELMAN, "Fire and fire succession in the
(12,21). For example, ecosystems previously conifer forests of northern North America." In For-
shaped by extensive crown fires may be more est Succession—Concepts and Application, D. C. West,
resilient to large clearcuts than forests that exhibit H. H. Shugart and D. B. Botkin, eds., Springer-Verlag,
only g a p dynamics. The comparison of landscape New York, 1981.
pattern in managed and u n m a n a g e d forests can 8. D. G. MCCULLOUGH, R. A. WERNER, D. NEUMANN, Ann.
assist forest managers in their harvest planning. Rev. Entom., 43, 107 (1998).
Landscapes are inherently complex and dynamic, 9. H. ANDREN, Oikos, 71, 355 (1994).
and much is still to be learned about the relation- 10. J. F. FRANKLIN AND R. T T FORMAN, Landscape Ecol,
ships b e t w e e n patterns and processes. Our current 1, 5 (1987).
understanding suggests certain changes in forest 11. E. J. GUSTAFSON AND T. R. CROW, J. Env. Manag., 46,
management practices. However, more research is 77 (1996).
needed, and we h o p e that the way we manage 12. D. J. MLADENOFF, M. A. WHITE, J. PASTOR, AND T. R.
forested landscapes will evolve with increasing CROW, Ecol. Appl., 3, 294 (1993).
knowledge about them. Landscape scale manage- 13. T A. SPIES, W. J. RIPPLE, G. A. BRADSHAW, Ecol. Appl,
ment is challenging and not all attempts will suc- 4, 555 (1994).
ceed. Because of the development of tools and
14. R. T. T FORMAN AND L. E. ALEXANDER, Ann. Rev. Ecol.
methods that can be applied to large spatial data
Syst., 29, 207 (1998).
sets we are better e q u i p p e d today than ever before
15. H. J. MA'DER, Biol. Cons., 29, 81 (1984).
to rise to the challenge. Landscape ecology as a sci-
ence, and forest management as an application of 16. E. J. GUSTAFSON, Ecosystems, 1, 143 (1998).
the science, will have succeeded w h e n we find 17. K. MCGARIGAL AND B. J. MARKS, Spatial pattern analy-
ways to integrate the utilization and the conserva- sis program for quantifying landscape structure, Gen.
tion of forested landscapes. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-351, Pacific Northwest Research
Station, U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Portland, Ore., 1995.
18. M. G. TURNER, Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 20, 171 (1989).
19. W. L. BAKER, Landscape Ecol., 2, 111 (1989).
References 20. D. J. MLADENOFF AND W. L. BAKER, Advances in Spa-
l.J. A. BISSONETTE, Wildlife and Landscape Ecology— tial Modeling of Forest Landscape Change: Approaches
Effects of Pattern and Scale, Springer-Verlag, New and Applications, Cambridge University Press, Cam-
York, 1997. bridge, U.K., 1999.
2. R. T. T. FORMAN AND M. GODRON, Landscape Ecology, 21. P. M. ATTIWILL, For. Ecol. Manage., 63, 247 (1994).
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1986.
3. D. L. URBAN, R. V. O'NEILL, H. H. SHUGART JR., Bio-
Science, 37, 119 (1987).
 CHAPTER 8
Forest Trees: Disease and
Insect Interactions
GLEN R. STANOSZ, KENNETH F. RAFFA
AND RONALD L. GIESE 1

Introduction Tree, Pathogen, and Insect

Origins and Roles of Microorganisms and Interactions
Insects in Forests Vector—Pathogen Relationships
Losses Caused by Forest Tree Diseases and Insect—Pathogen Complexes
Insects Red Pine Pocket Mortality
Diseases and Insects Affecting Dutch Elm Disease
Sirex Wasps—Amylostereum Fungi
Forest Trees Defoliating Insects—Opportunistic
The Causes of Forest Tree Diseases Pathogens and Insects
Abiotic or Noninfectious Agents The Beech Scale—Nectria Complex
Biotic or Infectious Agents Decline Diseases
Diseases Caused by Fungi Maple Decline
Foliage Diseases Birch Dieback
Rust Diseases Oak Decline
Vascular Wilt Diseases and Stain Fungi
Canker Diseases Tree Disease and Insect
Stem Decay Management
Root Diseases Influences on Disease and Insect
Other Pathogens That Cause Diseases of Occurrence and Development
Trees Tree and Stand Attributes
Viruses, Phytoplasmas, and Bacteria Site and Weather Attributes
Nematodes Pathogen and Insect Attributes
Mistletoes Forest Pest Management Principles and
Insects That Damage Forest Trees Practices
Defoliators Integrated Pest Management
Bark Beetles
Wood Borers Concluding Statement
Sucking Insects References
Shoot and Bud Insects
Root Insects

1
Authors' note: This chapter has been revised and condensed from chapters by R. L. Giese and R. F. Patton that were included in
previous editions.
147
148 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

Like all plants, forest trees are subject to injury and nators, certain insects are necessary for reproduc-
disease caused by adverse environmental influ- tion of some forest tree species (e.g., maples and
ences, including other organisms. They may be willows). A diverse group of fungi and the feeder
affected at all stages in their life cycle, from seed roots of trees form mutually beneficial symbioses
to mature tree. Diseases and insects produce a vari- called mycorrhizae that function in uptake of both
ety of effects and can cause losses in economic, water and nutrients (9). Both microorganisms and
environmental, recreational, and aesthetic values insects are important sources of food or substrate
produced by the forest. Forest pathology and for- for similar organisms and for a vast array of wildlife,
est entomology involve study and management of including birds and mammals. In addition, many
the influences of diseases and insects, respectively, microorganisms and insects are parasites or pred-
on trees, forests, and forest products. Practitioners ators of other species that can damage forest trees.
of these biological disciplines also are interested in They can play a major role in suppressing pest pop-
the effects of forest management activities on the ulations and reducing the damage they cause.
occurrence and development of diseases and Microorganisms and insects, although damaging
insects. In the broadest sense, forest pathology and to individual trees, also have important roles in the
forest entomology include study of diseases and function of forest ecosystems and in the develop-
insects affecting trees in nurseries and the land- ment of forest stands. Insects deteriorate leaves,
scape, as well as plantations and forests. Although bark, and wood, which microorganisms ultimately
not discussed here, the degradation of wood prod- decompose. Fungi, in particular, are essential and
ucts such as lumber by microorganisms and insects unique in their ability to decompose complex sub-
often is included. Thus, forest pathology and for- strates such as wood. This process is essential in
est entomology literature is vast. Current texts and the cycling of nutrients necessary to sustain all other
reference books emphasize the nature of damag- life. Decomposition of killed trees also reduces accu-
ing agents, as well as the principles and practices mulation of fuel in forests, and therefore decreases
that are employed in their management (1-8). the risk and intensity of wildfires. As microorgan-
isms and insects kill some trees or cause damage
that leads to stem breakage or "windthrow," they
provide disturbance that alters forest structure. For
Introduction example, mineral soil may be exposed and a gap
may open in the canopy to provide light, allowing
Origins and Roles of new seedlings to become established or releasing
Microorganisms and Insects other trees from the effects of competition. Partic-
in Forests ular pathogens and insects also can exhibit host pref-
Although the destructive activities of some forest erences or even very narrow host specificity. As they
microorganisms and insects are well known and often damage certain plant species and leave others
dramatic, most are beneficial to trees and forest unharmed, they can influence individual species dis- j
ecosystems. The periodic epidemic or outbreak, and tribution and the composition of the plant com-
even the sudden, severe, and long-lasting damage munity. Similarly, in removing shorter-lived or
resulting from introduction of exotic organisms, are intolerant "pioneer" species, pathogens and insects
exceptions rather than the rule in forests. The vast may be powerful forces in driving or directing the
majority of microorganisms and insects have long succession of forest plant communities.
evolved with the tree species comprising the forests
they inhabit, and only a relatively small proportion
of these are capable of causing severe damage. Losses Caused by Forest Tree
Many activities of microorganisms and insects are Diseases and Insects
of direct benefit to plants, animals, and other organ- When they interfere with the objectives of owners
isms that comprise forest communities. As polli- and managers of forest lands, both microorganisms
Introduction 149

and insects might be considered forest "pests." impact is the result of all the various effects result-
Activity of forest pests can inhibit production of a ing from damaging agents, or the sum of both tree
diversity of benefits, including aesthetic, recre- mortality and tree growth loss (10). Mortality refers
ational, environmental, and economic values. simply to death from natural causes. Growth loss
Although more emphasis is being placed on includes reduced rates of terminal or diameter
noneconomic values of forests, estimates of the growth, losses of accumulated growth (e.g., by
damage caused by forest pests usually are associ- decay), losses of efficiency in utilizing a site, and
ated with their impact on the quality or quantity losses in quality.
of forest products such as fiber and lumber. Indeed, Our knowledge of the losses caused by forest
development of the disciplines of forest pathology tree diseases and insects is grossly inadequate, and
and forest entomology, and continued research in for lack of better figures, we continue to quote the
these fields, is very much motivated by the poten- estimates made at the time the concept of growth
tial for reducing the tremendous economic losses impact was derived in 1952, as shown in Table 8.1
caused by forest pests. (10). These estimates do, however, give some idea
A sudden and unpredictable destruction of for- of the enormous annual magnitude of total growth
est trees resulting from an event of dramatic pro- impact. In addition, differences are apparent in the
portions can be referred to as a catastrophe. relative proportions of mortality and growth loss
Examples of catastrophic events include massive ice that are caused by diseases, insects, and other
or windstorms, wildfires, and extensive outbreaks destructive agents. The growth impact resulting
of insects such as the mountain pine beetle or epi- from diseases and insects, for example, is far greater
demics of diseases such as chestnut blight. It has than that resulting from fire. The majority of growth
been estimated that during the 20th century, almost impact attributed to diseases is the result of growth
300 million cubic meters of timber were destroyed loss, whereas insects cause greater losses due to
during catastrophes (10). Almost half of this cata- mortality. More recent reports of mortality (11) and
strophic loss is attributed to the activity of insects. pest activity (12) confirm the enormity of losses
Less spectacular but actually more important than resulting from forest tree pests, and identify the
catastrophe, is total growth impact, which is a con- numerous and diverse diseases and insects that con-
tinuous and pervasive feature of forests. Growth tinue to affect the health of forest trees.

Table 8.1 Estimated Single-Year Losses Caused by Destructive Agents to Forests

Loss Factor Total Volume Reduction* Insects Diseases Fire All Other**

Mortality
Growing stock 99.4 28 22 7 43
Sawtimber 29.9 40 18 6 36
Growth loss
Growing stock 217.7 10 56 19 15
Sawtimber 73.5 11 57 21 11
*Million cubic meters.
**Includes weather, animals, suppression, logging damage.
Source: Timber resources for America's future, U.S.D.A. For. Serv. Res. Rpt. 14, 1958
150 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

air or soil (3, 6-8). Mechanical injury may be

Diseases and Insects Affecting inflicted by hail, ice, snow, and windstorms; light-
Forest Trees ning damage may kill individual trees or even trees
in groups. Diseases caused by abiotic agents are
The health of forest trees is affected by numerous
often difficult to diagnose because the causal agent
factors, including diseases and insects, that subject
is no longer present or active, or because the cause
them to stress. At any point in time, several factors
and effect relationship is difficult to establish.
may be operating concurrently, so that the general
Temperature or moisture extremes may cause
state of health of a tree may be determined by the
direct damage to trees or so weaken them that they
total effect of all stresses (13). For convenience in
are predisposed to attack by microorganisms. Sun-
study and understanding, however, we separate the
scald canker of thin-barked trees often follows upon
treatment of these factors into various disciplines,
a sudden exposure to direct summer sun, for exam-
such as pathology and entomology. In each of these
ple, after thinning. Days and nights of high and low
fields of study, damage may be classified in sev-
temperatures during late winter or early spring may
eral ways, for example, according to the causal
cause a similar injury to bark, exposing it to sun
agent, the portion of the tree affected, the process
and then freezing it again by a rapid drop in tem-
or function disrupted, or the stage of development
perature at night. When warm winds in winter
of the tree.
cause excessive transpiration, and roots in frozen
ground cannot replace the water, the foliage of
The Causes of Forest Tree Diseases conifers may suffer winter injury or winter drying.
Plant disease can be defined as: a malfunction of Physical and chemical characteristics of soils may
a metabolic process or a disturbance of normal have profound effects on tree growth and tree
structure of a plant, that is caused by some abiotic species differ greatly in their tolerance of various
agent or biotic pathogen, is influenced by the envi- soil properties. Soil texture, for example, influences
ronment in which they exist, and results from con- root development, aeration, moisture penetration,
tinuous irritation. Abiotic agents are noninfectious and water holding capacity. Forest tree species vary
and nonparasitic; biotic pathogens (e.g., a bacterium in the range of soil pH in which each may thrive,
or fungus) usually are infectious and parasitic. and soil must provide a balance of macro- and
Injury, as opposed to disease, also may impair vital micronutrients within limits that also vary among
functions or disrupt the normal structure, but it is species. Soil conditions in which nutrients or other
caused by an agent such as fire, insects, or animals chemicals are deficient or in excess may be encoun-
that affects the plant only once, briefly, or inter- tered in local areas, especially in nurseries and for-
mittently, and the irritation is discontinuous or tem- est plantations. As forest management becomes
porary. Damage is sometimes used as a synonym more intensive, forest fertilization may become
for injury, but it usually connotes a decrease in almost routine, but there is also the likelihood of
quantity or quality of a product that decreases its damage from a variety of chemicals such as fertil-
economic value. A reaction (often visible) of the izers, fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides, if they
plant to disease is called a symptom, and any struc- are applied at excessive rates or under improper
ture of the pathogen on or in the affected plant is conditions.
called a sign. Symptoms and signs are used to char- In recent decades, air pollution has reached such
acterize and diagnose diseases. high levels that forest and urban trees in industri-
alized regions of the world have been damaged
Abiotic or Noninfectious Agents A number of abi- (Figure 8.1). Many chemicals toxic to plants are
otic agents cause disease in trees, including introduced into the atmosphere, especially by trans-
extremes of moisture and temperature, nutrient portation vehicles, industrial processes, and power
excess or deficiency, and toxic substances in the plants. Sulfur dioxide, produced in coal combus- {
Diseases a n d Insects Affecting Forest Trees 151

total loss. Examples of diseases caused by these

pathogens are described in the following sections.

Diseases Caused by Fungi

The most numerous and destructive agents caus-
ing tree diseases are fungi. The basic structural unit
of fungi is the hypha, a microscopic threadlike fil-
ament or tube that contains the cytoplasm. Col-
lectively, many hyphae make up mycelium, which
comprises the vegetative body of the fungus.
Mycelium is seen in the growth of the common
bread mold or the white mycelial fans beneath the
F i g u r e 8.1 Symptoms produced by aspen bark of a tree root attacked by the root rot fungi
exposed to sulfur dioxide. (Courtesy of U.S. in the genus Armillaria. Fungi reproduce by spores
Department of Agriculture.)
produced on fruiting structures that vary in com-
plexity from a simple hypha to complex bodies,
tion and other industrial processes, and the pho- such as the mushroom that emerges from the soil
tochemical pollutants ozone and peroxyacetyl or the shelflike bracket or "conk" on the trunk of
nitrate, the main components of urban smog, are a tree with heartrot. Some fungus spores are dis-
major causes of damage to conifers in particular. seminated by wind, but fungi are also distributed
Eastern white pine has suffered damage from sul- by rain, insects, birds and other animals, and even
fur dioxide and ozone, and disease of ponderosa human beings. On a suitable substrate the spore
pine in southern California is attributed to pro- germinates to form a simple hypha or germ tube,
longed exposure to aerial oxidants, mainly ozone. which then elongates and branches to form another
Fluorides have caused local damage to forest and mycelium.
orchard trees when released into the atmosphere Fungi are heterotrophic, requiring complex com-
from ore reduction, fertilizer, and ceramics instal- pounds that are synthesized by autotrophic organ-
lations. The potential for both wet and dry depo- isms such as chlorophyll-containing plants. They
sition of acidic substances to influence plant growth, secrete enzymes that degrade their substrates and
especially that of forest trees, also is attracting con- allow absorption of nutrients from organic matter,
siderable attention. At present, however, the either as saprophytes on dead material or as par-
effects of acidic deposition on forest trees remain asites on living plants or animals. Most fungi are
unknown and the subject of continuing investiga- saprophytes, and the deterioration of dead organic
tion. There are no research results indicating that material by saprophytic fungi is often designated
acid precipitation has a direct damaging effect on as rot or decay. The activities of parasitic fungi dis-
forest vegetation, but the complexity of forest rupt the structures or life processes of their hosts,
ecosystems makes it difficult to document such and disease results. These diseases vary enormously
effects conclusively. in the species and parts of the tree affected, in
symptoms, and in the type of damage they cause.
Biotic or Infectious Agents Most diseases of for- Therefore, the effects of diseases on the produc-
est trees are caused by biotic agents, usually referred tion of various values of the forest and their sig-
to as pathogens. These include viruses, bacteria nificance to forest management are also variable;
(including phytoplasmas), fungi, parasitic higher some may be inconsequential, but others may be
plants, and nematodes. Of these, fungi cause the limiting factors in growth and management of a
largest number of diseases as well as the greatest species.
152 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

Foliage Diseases A large number of fungi cause

foliage diseases that can vary greatly in both the
symptoms produced and in their ultimate effects
on tree health (3, 6-8). Growth and vigor may be
reduced, but the time of year of the attack and the
shoot and foliage characteristics of the tree greatly
influence the amount of damage caused. In wet
years that favor spread of spores and repeated infec-
tion by many leaf pathogens, complete defoliation
can result. Young seedlings with relatively few
leaves can be severely damaged, but diseases that
damage most of the leaves of even very large trees
can have great and prolonged impacts on tree
health.
A variety of leaf spot and anthracnose pathogens
are among the most damaging fungi to broadleaved
tree species. Large numbers of small leaf spots, each
resulting from an individual infection, can cause
leaves to drop. Defoliation of black cherry seedlings,
caused by Blumeriella jaapii, can greatly reduce
their growth or even lead to death. Anthracnose F i g u r e 8.2 Growth of a germ tube from a spore
symptoms are characterized by dark discoloration of the brown spot fungus, Mycosphaerella dearnessii,
and a collapse of affected leaf tissue sometimes on a needle of Scots pine, and development in the
referred to as watersoaking. As the pathogen grows stomatal antechamber as seen with the scanning
through the leaf, the areas killed progressively electron microscope.
enlarge and coalesce. The effects of sycamore
anthracnose, caused by Apiognomonia veneta, are
compounded as it also colonizes and kills buds, suc- of branches and persist for years in western forests
culent shoots, and twigs. at a low, endemic level. Under conditions that are
Radial growth of conifers is often reduced in pro- not yet well understood, however, repeated defo-
portion to the degree of defoliation, and there is liation may occur and result in mortality.
usually an accompanying reduction in vigor. Cos-
metic damage that reduces quality also is impor- Rust Diseases The rust fungi, so called because
tant in ornamentals, especially in Christmas trees; of the orange color of many of their spores, con-
a single year of attack may completely destroy mar- stitute a group of highly specialized parasites with
ketability. The brown spot needle blight, caused by complex life cycles. Both hardwoods and conifers
Mycosphaerella dearnessii, (Figure 8.2), has exten- are hosts of various rusts that may attack fruits or
sively damaged Christmas tree plantations of Scots cones, leaves, and stems (Figure 8.3) (3, 6-8). Most
pine, especially in the Great Lakes region. The same rust fungi produce five different spore stages
disease affects production of longleaf pine in the appearing in a definite sequence, although some
South, where it defoliates seedlings and kills young species have only two. Although rust fungi often
trees or greatly delays their height growth, keep- have very narrow host ranges, many require two
ing them in the "grass stage" for unacceptably long different and widely unrelated host plants to com-
periods. In the western United States, Elytroderma plete their life cycle. Their different spore stages
deformans, causes a serious needle disease of pon- have specific functions in dissemination, survival,
derosa, Jeffrey, and lodgepole pines. The fungus and reproduction. Cronartium ribicola, the cause
initially infects needles, but can grow into the bark of the white pine blister rust disease, produces sper-
Diseases a n d Insects Affecting Forest Trees 153

most important as a killer of seedlings and young

trees. The fusiform rust pathogen, Cronartium
quercuum f. sp. fusiforme, alternates between
southern pines and oaks. Although many loblolly
and slash pines are killed by development of the
elongated fusiform (spindle-shaped) stem galls,
longleaf pine and shortleaf pines are relatively
resistant (Figure 8.4). This fungus is native to North
America, but has become more damaging as man-
agement of susceptible pine species has become
more widespread and intensive (24).

Figure 8.3 Aecial pustules or "blisters" containing

orange masses of aeciospores on a branch canker of
white pine blister rust.

matia (pycniospores) and aeciospores on white

pines, and three other spore forms (urediniospores,
teliospores, and basidiospores) on the alternate host
plants including currants and gooseberries in the
genus Ribes.
Stem rusts of conifers are diseases of major
impact in natural forests and plantations. The white
pine blister rust, a native of Asia, spread to Europe
and from there was introduced to North America
on imported white pine planting stock in about
1900. On this continent it found a number of highly
susceptible hosts in the white (five-needle) pines
and it has spread to become one of the limiting
factors in growth and management of these com-
mercially important trees. The fungus produces F i g u r e 8.4 Spindle-shaped gall on the main stem
branch and stem cankers that girdle and may kill of a loblolly pine, induced by Cronartium quercuum
trees of all ages and sizes, although the disease is f. sp. fusiforme. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
154 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

Both conifers and hardwoods are affected by a stock or already be present in soil when trees are
large number of foliage rust diseases. The Melamp- planted in the landscape. When the opportunity
sora rusts of poplars are receiving increased attention arises, the fungus grows from sclerotia to infect roots
as clonal plantations of hybrid poplars and cotton- of maples, ashes, elms, and many other species
woods are being established in the Pacific North- through natural or artificial wounds. Sclerotia form
west and the southern United States. Premature in the debris of its colonized hosts, so careless land-
defoliation reduces growth rates, and increases sus- scape use of untreated chips of killed trees is a
ceptibility of defoliated trees to damage from other potential means of further spread of the pathogen.
agents including cold temperatures and stem The introduced fungi that cause Dutch elm dis-
canker pathogens. ease (14) and the native oak wilt pathogen (15) are
among the most destructive diseases of ornamen-
Vascular Wilt Diseases and Stain Fungi Vascu- tal and shade trees. The American elm is most sus-
lar wilts are among the most publicized tree dis- ceptible to the former, and species in the red oak
eases, probably because some are not relegated to group are most damaged by the latter. In both cities
the forest, but rather kill trees along city streets and and forests, these fungi spread rapidly from tree to
in suburban yards. Vascular wilt pathogens colo- tree through grafted roots (Figure 8.5). They over-
nize xylem vessels. Their activity reduces or inhibits winter and develop fruiting bodies in their dead
normal water conduction in stems, resulting in per- hosts, and failure to remove recently killed trees
manent wilting of leaves and death of branches or results in production of inoculum that is carried long
entire trees. Dutch elm disease, oak wilt, and Ver- distances by their insect vectors. Ophiostoma ulmi
ticillium wilt each can cause sudden death, killing and O. novo-ulmi are carried to elms by the Euro-
susceptible hosts in a single growing season. The pean elm bark beetle and the native elm bark bee-
notoriety of wilt disease fungi is enhanced by their tle, and introduced to trees as these insects feed
particular adaptations enabling survival and spread. on or bore into stems. Ceratocystis fagacearum is
The Verticillium wilt pathogen can persist in resist- carried to fresh wounds on oaks, such as those
ant structures called sclerotia in the soil for many resulting from pruning, by beetles including some
years. Sclerotia can be moved in soil with nursery members of the family Nitidulidae. Costs for con-

F i g u r e 8.5 Large oak wilt

"pocket" in an oak forest
continues to enlarge by marginal
spread through root grafts.
Diseases a n d Insects Affecting Forest Trees 155

trol of these diseases, removal of the many trees The relative balance in the host-pathogen inter-
killed, and planting of replacements total millions action also may be used to categorize canker dis-
of dollars annually. eases. A high level of host resistance normally
Many other similar fungi colonize the vascular dominates many interactions. Factors that induce
tissues of trees, imparting discolorations referred to tree stress, however, may allow relatively weak
as "stain," ranging from brown to blue to black. pathogens to become more aggressive and cause
Although many of these pathogens are not highly saprobic canker diseases. Cytospora canker of blue
aggressive, and when acting alone may have lim- spruce, which damages older trees grown outside
ited affects on tree health, some stain fungi are very of their native geographic range, and some Fusic-
damaging when interacting with insects in com- occum, Diplodia, and Sphaeropsis cankers of
plexes or in decline diseases (described later in this drought-stressed trees are examples. Diffuse canker
chapter). In addition, discoloration of wood in diseases are characterized by rapid growth of the
standing trees or stain developing after harvest can pathogen through host bark with little or no cal-
reduce the value of pulpwood and be a cause of lus development. Resulting from interactions that
serious reduction in lumber grade. are dominated by aggressiveness of the pathogen,
such diffuse cankers may girdle and kill even large
Canker Diseases Cankers result when areas of the trees in a single year. Damage caused by Hypoxy-
bark and vascular cambium of stems, branches, and lon canker of aspens, the most important disease
twigs are infected and killed by a variety of fungi. of these species in the Great Lakes area, can dec-
There is often a discrete canker margin between imate entire stands in just a few years (Figure 8.6).
the healthy and the colonized tissues, which may
be discolored and deformed, sunken or swollen, Stem Decay When wood is used as food by fungi,
and surrounded by a layer of healthy callus tissue. cell walls are degraded to result in changes in the
Ends of branches may be killed as they are "gir- physical and chemical properties of wood. This
dled" by cankers that coalesce or expand around process, and the resulting altered wood, are known
their circumference, and stems weakened by as decay or rot. Most decay occurs in the central
cankers or subsequent decay often break. The vari- core or "heartwood" of nonliving wood inside trees,
ety of canker diseases that affect a wide range of and may be referred to as heartrot (Figure 8.7).
hosts are categorized according to the duration of Decay of heartwood, which reduces harvestable
the association and the relative balance in the volume and wood quality, has been estimated to
host-pathogen interaction (6).
Canker diseases may be annual or perennial.
Annual canker pathogens, such as Fusarium solani
(which affects maples and several other hard-
woods), apparently are active at a particular loca-
tion in the stem during a single growing season.
Usually only a small area is killed, and as the tree
grows it may become enclosed to form a perma-
nent defect in the wood. A perennial canker dis-
ease usually involves a longer-term relationship
between the pathogen and its host. Year after year
the pathogen gradually enlarges the area it has col-
onized, and the host responds by development of
a new layer of callus. The resulting concentric ridges
or layers of callus characterize these "target F i g u r e 8.6 Stem breakage and cankering
cankers" such as Eutypella canker of maple and (arrows) in a stand of aspen trees severely affected by
Nectria canker of various hardwoods. Hypoxylon canker.
156 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

partially rotted wood may be unsatisfactory for con-

struction. Pulp yields from partially white-rotted
wood may be relatively high (much of the cellu-
lose will remain, however, whereas brown-rotted
wood cannot be used for pulp). Because of changes
in texture that accompany the decay process, var-
ious adjectives, including laminated, spongy,
stringy, and cubical are used to describe different
wood rots.
Many different species of fungi cause stem decay,
but each has its own distinctive characteristics (3,
6-8). Phellinus pini is among the most damaging
stem decay pathogens across North America. Decay
columns may extend for many meters, destroying
the economic value of entire stems of conifers
including Douglas fir, pines, spruces, larches, hem-
locks, and western red cedar. A related species,
Phellinus tremulae, is restricted to aspens, but is
F i g u r e 8 . 7 Typical brown cubical heartrot in a
the greatest cause of decay in its host species and
log of Douglas fir. (Courtesy of Canadian Forest again decay columns are often extensive. Fruiting
Service.) bodies of Oxyporus populinus commonly are
observed in old wounds, cracks, or cankers of sugar
and red maples, and some other hardwoods. The
decay of both heartwood and sapwood caused by
be responsible for the majority of growth impact this fungus often is restricted to within a meter of
attributed to forest tree diseases. Because the effect the conk, and therefore most of the wood in
of heartrot is largely on deadwood, it is not a major affected trees may be usable.
influence of tree vigor or mortality unless structural Although the number of trees decayed and the
weakness leads to breakage. In contrast, decay of volume of rot generally increase as trees age, the
sapwood, which is living and has important func- total amount of decay in forest stands is extremely
tions in tree growth and maintenance, can strongly variable. The associated decay fungi, as well as the
affect tree health. Although sapwood is relatively rate of decay, vary greatly among tree species.
resistant to decay in many living trees, it can be Events in the history of the stand also strongly influ-
decayed by some fungi. ence decay, especially those such as fires, severe
Wood rots produced by fungi are commonly storms, and past silvicultural practices which have
grouped into two main types, brown and white rots, resulted in broken branches or trunk wounds
referring to color changes characteristic of differ- through which many decay fungi enter trees. Deter-
ent decay processes. Brown-rot fungi decompose mining the amount of decay in given forest stands,
wood by using primarily the carbohydrates (cellu- however, is important for the preparation of accu-
lose) of the cell walls, whereas white-rot fungi uti- rate inventories of present and potential growing
lize both the carbohydrate and lignin components stock upon which estimates of yield and allowable
of the cell wall. Chapter 20 contains further dis- cuts are made in forests managed for wood pro-
cussion of the chemical nature of wood. These dif- duction (see Chapters 9 and 13). Foresters can esti-
ferences in the mechanism of decay are important mate the amount of decay in a stand with
in that they can affect the utilization of decayed information from sample plot measurements and
wood. Both types of decay weaken wood, and even by examining trees for external indicators of decay,
 Diseases a n d Insects Affecting Forest Trees 157

such as fruiting bodies or "conks" (Figure 8.8), stem) causing a loss of growth and reduction in
swollen knots, and branch stubs. both volume and quality. Trees with root and butt
rots also are subject to windthrow (Figure 8.9), pro-
Root Diseases A large group of very different fungi viding gaps in the forest canopy. Development of
causes root diseases that reduce vigor, growth, and symptoms on seedlings in clusters in nurseries and
even kill trees from every stage of development large openings in forests (sometimes called root rot
from seedling to mature tree (3, 6-8). Some attack "centers") may result from underground spread of
only young, succulent roots such as the feeder root pathogens.
roots, essentially causing tree health to deteriorate Many devastating root diseases are widely dis-
through starvation. Other fungi are root sapwood tributed in temperate forests throughout the world.
colonists, and some first kill roots by parasitic attack The genus Armillaria (16) contains some species
and then decay them. Some root pathogens also known as aggressive tree killers, and others that
cause butt rot (decay of the basal portion of the appear to be opportunistic pathogens of trees under
stress. Spores disseminated from mushrooms (Fig-
ure 8.10) may be responsible for initiation of new

F i g u r e 8 . 9 Wind-thrown trees in a Phellinus

F i g u r e 8 . 8 Fruiting bodies ("conks") of a stem weirii infection center of a 50-year-old stand of
decay fungus on white ash. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Douglas fir. (Courtesy of G. W. Wallis and Canadian
Forest Service.) Forest Service.)
158 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

sum continues to spread through roots of cut or

killed trees, infecting residual trees and natural or
planted regeneration that contact diseased roots.
Similarly, Phellinus weirii is especially damaging to
Douglas fir in the Pacific Northwest and British
Columbia, persists in decaying roots of the previ-
ous stand, and infects the roots of young trees
through root contact (18). Management of relatively
extensive areas occupied by root pathogens for
decades, or even centuries, is among the greatest
challenges facing foresters today.

Other Pathogens that Cause

Diseases of Trees
Viruses, Phytoplasmas, and Bacteria Viruses
are extremely small and simple infectious agents
visible only with the use of the electron micro-
scope. Composed of nucleic acid and proteins,
viruses utilize molecules produced by the living
cells of the plants they inhabit for their own repli-
cation. Although plant viruses cause many major
diseases of agricultural crops, the pathological
F i g u r e 8.10 Clump of mushroom fruiting bodies importance of virus diseases of forest trees such
of the root disease fungus in the genus Armillaria at as elm mosaic, birch line pattern, or locust witches'-
the base of a white pine sapling killed by the fungus. broom is much less certain (19). As the incidence
Notice the white mycelial fan on the stem and the and effects of the many characterized (and many
characteristic resin-infiltrated mass of soil around the more as yet unknown) viruses of trees become bet-
root collar. ter understood, perhaps they will be considered
of greater significance. Moreover, because vege-
tative propagation perpetuates viruses, trends
disease centers, but these fungi spread locally from toward plantation forestry and vegetative repro-
colonized dead tree or stump "food bases" by black, duction of some species (e.g., poplars) might
shoestringlike strands of mycelium. Called rhi- increase the threat and extent of virus diseases in
zomorphs, these strands penetrate the bark of liv- commercial forest plantings.
ing roots to colonize new substrate as far as several A few tree diseases are caused by phytoplasmas
meters from the original food base. Armillaria that colonize the phloem of tree roots, stems, and
species and Heterobasidion annosum (17), another leaves. These were previously referred to as
important root pathogen of conifers in much of mycoplasma-like organisms or MLOs. Phytoplasmas
North America and northern Europe, also can lack a cell wall, but possess a distinct flexible mem-
spread by root-to-root contact. Annosum root dis- brane and are often smaller than bacteria. Because
ease centers commonly begin when wind-borne chlorosis (yellowing) of foliage is a common symp-
spores germinate on freshly cut stump surfaces, tom, these are commonly referred to as "yellows"
such as those produced by thinning or other har- diseases. Ash yellows is characterized by slow dete-
vest of intensively managed plantations. H. anno- rioration and eventual death of affected trees many
Diseases a n d Insects Affecting Forest Trees 159

years after initial infection (20). In contrast, elm yel- by nematodes gradually decreases the water- and
lows has very rapidly killed many elms in the east- nutrient-absorbing area of feeder roots. Affected
ern and central United States. Susceptibility of seedlings may be stunted (Figure 8.11) or killed,
American elm to the elm yellows phytoplasma also and the growth rates and vigor of larger trees may
complicates efforts to control Dutch elm disease by gradually decrease.
breeding for resistance to the introduced fungi that Much more dramatic damage, including rapid
cause the latter. death, results from pine wilt disease caused by the
Bacteria are known to cause relatively few dis- pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus
eases of forest and shade trees, but some can be (22). This nematode is lethal to Japanese red pine
serious and result in a variety of symptoms (7). and black pine in East Asia and has been epidemic
Xylem-inhabiting bacteria can cause elm, oak, and in Japan for decades. Juvenile pine wood nema-
sycamore leaf scorches. The bacterial canker of todes are vectored by wood boring beetles in the
poplar is a serious disease in Europe, but so far is genus Monochamus, and enter trees through bee-
unknown in North America. No new poplar clones tle feeding wounds. The nematodes feed and com-
are released in European countries without inten- plete their development within tree stems. Since its
sive selection and testing for resistance to this dis- identification in the United States in 1979, the pine
ease. Presence of the bacterial canker pathogen in
Europe also has led to restrictions on importation
of poplars into the United States. In many species
of trees a water-soaked condition of the heartwood,
called "wetwood," along with discoloration and pro-
duction of gas (principally methane), is associated
with bacteria. The maintenance of an anaerobic sit-
uation and the presence of anaerobic bacteria, espe-
cially Clostridium spp. and Methanobacterium spp.,
are key factors in the production of wetwood rather
than normal heartwood. Ring shake (a crack formed
in the tree along an annual ring), lumber check-
ing, and the abnormally long time required to dry
lumber are problems associated with products from
trees with wetwood. Bacteria also are involved in
the processes causing discoloration and decay in
the wood of trees.

Nematodes Plant-parasitic nematodes are micro-

scopic roundworms of great importance as pests
of agricultural and ornamental crops, yet few nem-
atode diseases of forest trees have attracted great
attention or have been well studied. Severe dam-
age, however, has occurred in some seedling nurs-
eries and plantations established on abandoned
farmlands (21). Plant-parasitic nematodes feed by
piercing cells with a needlelike stylet. Their attacks
on fine feeder roots of trees can lead to browning, F i g u r e 8.11 Healthy sand pine on left and
deformity, and death of roots or the production of seedling injured by lance nematodes on right.
root galls. Repeated and prolonged injury caused (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
160 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

wood nematode has attracted much attention and

concern that it could be a serious menace to our
pines. Local epidemics have appeared on two exotic
pines, Austrian pine and Scots pine, and some
native pines in warm regions, but the nematode
does not appear to pose a threat to most conifer
forests of North America. Discovery of the pine
wood nematode in wood chips exported from the
southern United States has had an impact on inter-
national trade. Embargoes have been enacted to
prevent movement of some wood products, and
heat treatment to kill nematodes has been required
before shipment of lumber to countries where the
nematode is not present.

Mistletoes Mistletoes are perennial evergreen

seed plants that are parasitic on stems or branches F i g u r e 8.12 Shoots of dwarf mistletoe emerging
of trees or shrubs. Mistletoe seeds germinate on the from a colonized branch of ponderosa pine. (Courtesy
surfaces of their host plants. Rootlike structures of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
emerge and penetrate through bark and into vas-
cular tissues to obtain water and nutrients from their
hosts. The leafy, or so-called true, mistletoes are
well known for their ornamental and sentimental Insects that Damage Forest Trees
uses during the Christmas holidays. They occur Although often unnoticed, ignored, or unappreci-
chiefly on hardwoods, but some grow on a few ated, insects can be the most numerous, diverse,
conifer species, juniper, cypress, and incense cedar. and damaging animals inhabiting forests. As
They are most abundant in warmer regions and arthropods, insects have rigid, external exoskeletons
especially in the arid southwest. In general, the leafy and jointed appendages. The adult insect body is
mistletoes have not caused major economic dam- segmented, composed of a head, thorax (bearing
age in forest stands of the United States. three pairs of legs), and abdomen. Whether they
The numerous dwarf mistletoe species in the initially hatch from eggs or are borne live, insects
genus Arceuthobium, however, are recognized as must periodically shed their exoskeletons to allow
the single most important disease problem in conifer growth in size. Thus, as insects develop, they pass
forests of the western United States (23). The par- through several immature stages. These might be
asitic growth of these tiny plants (Figure 8.12) can nymphs, that resemble the adult insect they will ulti-
stunt growth of the host to an extreme extent. Host mately become, or larvae (such as caterpillars) that
tree responses to colonization include proliferation completely change in appearance while undergo-
of abnormal branches in clusters called "brooms," ing rather dramatic metamorphosis into adults.
dieback of branches, and eventual tree death. The Insects "breathe" through body openings called spir-
parasite spreads in the stand by sticky, forcibly acles and have decentralized, well-developed
ejected seeds that may "shoot" many meters through nervous systems. Their visual and chemical sensory
the air to land in the crowns of other trees. In this systems often are extremely sensitive and like other
way, large radially expanding "infection centers" animals, insects exhibit sophisticated behaviors. In I
develop, in which all susceptible trees may be dam- either immature or adult stages, various insects may
aged. New, distant infection centers are established be relatively sedentary or highly mobile. Some com-
when seeds are carried by birds. plete their entire life cycle on a single plant; oth-1
Diseases a n d Insects Affecting Forest Trees 161

ers are dispersed widely by wind or fly long dis-

tances in search of food or mates.
Insect damage to forest trees results directly from
ingestion or destruction of plant parts that are fed
upon, from colonization (such as tunneling or bor-
ing) of trees during feeding and reproduction, or
from toxins they egest. The degree of damage that
results from these activities vary widely among
insect species, their various immature and mature
stages, and the tree species and its stage of devel-
opment from seedling to mature tree. The size of
the insect population often strongly influences the
degree of damage that results. Because the part of
the tree that is damaged also influences whether
the damage is merely cosmetic or serious, the dif-
ferent locations of feeding and breeding on and in
trees is a convenient way to categorize groups of
insects that damage forest trees.

Defoliators Defoliators eat needles and leaves.

They include caterpillars, sawflies, leaf beetles, and
walkingsticks (Figures 8.13 and 8.14). Some defo-
liators consume entire needles or leaves; others
mine tunnels between the epidermal layers of the
tree's foliage. Skeletonizers feed on leaf tissue
between the veins. Leaf tiers attach portions of
leaves to each other with silk, thereby creating a F i g u r e 8.13 Red pine sawfly larvae are
curled effect. defoliators that must feed gregariously if they are to
Insect defoliators vary greatly in their seasonal grow and develop normally.
histories, biologies, and methods of feeding (1, 2,
4, 5). Some species, such as the gypsy moth are
polyphagous and include many tree species in their cypress, which can tolerate nearly complete defo-
host range. Others are oligophagous and feed only liation for several years with little or no mortality,
on a few hosts; examples include the European pine and several southern pines (shortleaf and longleaf
sawfly, which feeds on about half a dozen pine pines), which can be completely defoliated and
species. Defoliators that feed on a single host refoliate with only rare mortality.
species such as the larch casebearer, are A single defoliation, such as that resulting from
monophagous. feeding of gypsy moth larvae (24), rarely causes
Tree response to defoliation varies greatly, mortality among the broad-leaved trees. Exceptions
depending on the individual characteristics of the are hard maple and yellow birch, which may die
tree and insect species, time of year, intensity of if completely defoliated during mid-July to mid-
defoliation, and additional stresses prior to and after August (25). As a general rule, partial defoliation
the defoliation event. Among conifers, complete (50 to 90 percent) of broad-leaved and coniferous
defoliation in one growing season can cause imme- trees reduces terminal radial growth. Tree branches
diate tree death (Figure 8.15). Two exceptions rarely die until after several seasons of severe
include the annually deciduous larch and bald defoliation.
162 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

Defoliator outbreaks may cover many thousands

of hectares of forest. For example outbreaks of the
forest tent caterpillar have encompassed most of
the aspen type of north-central North America.
Likewise b u d w o r m outbreaks have occurred in
spruce-fir forests across the continent. Most defo-
liator outbreaks, however, are more locally dis-
tributed.

Bark Beetles Bark beetles are a m o n g the most

devastating forest insects in the world (26). They
have b e e n responsible for the stunting and killing
trees in vast areas of forests (Figure 8.16). Most
species attack and kill trees that are old, or under
environmental stress. However, some species
F i g u r e 8 . 1 4 The walkingstick belongs to the infest healthy, vigorously growing trees, and often
group of pests known as defoliators. inflict serious damage. Bark beetles also have
important interactions with fungi (26-28) as vec-
tors, in pathogen—insect complexes, and as factors
Defoliators often cause indirect damage by weak- in the development of decline diseases, which will
ening their hosts and rendering them susceptible be discussed later.
to invasions by other insects, such as bark beetles Bark beetle adults bore through the bark and
and borers, that can kill trees. For example, defo- produce tunnels called "galleries" in the relatively
liation by b u d w o r m s may predispose spruces and thin area c o m p o s e d of the vascular cambium and
pines to the attacks of Ips and Dendroctonus bark adjacent phloem and xylem. After mating, females
beetles. Cankerworms can weaken oaks so that the lay their eggs b e t w e e n the bark and the wood,
two-lined chestnut borer can colonize and kill these either along their galleries or in special niches (Fig-
otherwise resistant trees. ure 8.17). After hatching, larvae feed in this area,

F i g u r e 8 . 1 6 Tree mortality on a Colorado

F i g u r e 8 . 1 5 Jack pine mortality resulting from mountainside resulting from tunneling activity of the
defoliation by the pine tussock moth. Douglas fir beetle. (Courtesy of W. E. Waters.)
Diseases a n d Insects Affecting Forest Trees 163

eventually extending their tunnels throughout the

circumference of the trunk or branch. This girdling
interrupts the translocation of nutrients and mois-
ture, and the tree may soon wilt and die. Trees that
are growing vigorously often "pitch out" or intox-
ify the adult bark beetles in resin. Trees possess an
additional means of active defense, consisting of
very high levels of toxic compounds that accumu-
late at the attack site. However, decadent trees and
those weakened by drought or insect defoliators
may not be able to repel the mining adults or larvae.
Ambrosia beetles (Figure 8.18) infest their gal-
leries with fungi that serve as food for their larvae.
Although ambrosia beetles rarely attack healthy
trees, they are very significant pests of logs, stored F i g u r e 8.18 Adult stage of the ambrosia beetle,
Xyloterrinus politus. These individuals have recently
lumber, and wood products (29). In addition to the
emerged from their pupal cases and will soon disperse
galleries that may extend deep into the wood, eco- to infest other trees.
nomic value is reduced because of discoloration
produced by the associated fungi.
Still another group of bark beetle species infests
cones and seeds of pines. Many of these are in the tunnel deep into the sapwood (30). A variety of dif-
genus Conopthorus. Because the activity of cone ferent types of insects, including beetles, moths, and
and seed beetles can cause nearly complete wasps, comprise this group (1, 2, 4, 5). Many wood
destruction of seed crops, they can be major seed borers, such as the two-lined chestnut borer (31),
orchard pests. attack trees that are old, dying, or suffering from
environmental stress. They may also invade cut
Wood Borers Wood borers, like bark beetles, bore pulpwood, logs, and fire-scarred trees. A few
through the outer bark of trees, but these insects species attack healthy, vigorous trees. This is espe-
cially true of species that have been accidentally
introduced into new regions in which native trees
have not evolved appropriate defenses. Devastat-
ing losses have occurred in Japan (32) and New
Zealand (33) by introduced wood boring species
that are much less damaging in their native range.
The Asian long-horned beetle has recently been
introduced into North America, and is causing seri-
ous damage to highly valued urban trees. Its poten-
tial impact on North American forests is unknown.
Two major groups of wood-destroying beetles
include the long-horned or round-headed borers
(Figure 8.19), and the short-horned or flat-headed
borers. Females of both groups lay eggs in notches
Figure 8.17 Galleries excavated by larvae of the cut into the bark, and the new larvae mine for a
smaller European elm bark beetle. Not only does this period in the phloem. They then turn inward to feed
beetle inflict damage by its feeding activities, but it is in the wood, where they construct large and
also a vector of the Dutch elm disease fungus. damaging tunnels. Some examples of long-horned
164 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

F i g u r e 8.19 Larval (left) and pupal (right) stages

of the poplar borer.

beetles include the pine sawyer and the locust

borer. Examples of short-horned beetles include the
two-lined chestnut borer (which now primarily
attacks oaks) and the bronze birch borer (which
F i g u r e 8.20 Spittle masses formed by immature
can be a particularly damaging pest of ornamen- stages (nymphs) of the pine spittle bug help the insect
tal trees). maintain a high-humidity environment while feeding
on sap extracted from the tree.
Sucking Insects Sucking insects have modified
mouth parts that enable them to pierce the foliage,
tender twigs, or roots of trees and suck the sap or
resin as food. These pests drain the vitality of ation of superficial, nonparasitic fungi known as
healthy trees, and, if their numbers are great "sooty molds." Sooty mold, therefore, can be used
enough, can cause serious stunting or death of their as an indicator of the presence of sucking insects.
hosts. Both coniferous and deciduous trees are
attacked by sucking insects such as aphids, scales, Shoot and Bud Insects Insect feeding on the
and spittle bugs (Figure 8.20). Feeding by pine spit- growing meristem can lead to distortion and stunt-
tle bugs results in necrotic areas on stems or ing of shoots and even forking of the main bole.
branches, and can cause stunting or death of many The pine tip moths, the best known of these pests,
coniferous species in the eastern United States (34). occur throughout the world. They are especially
Sucking insects can also introduce pathogens into damaging in even-aged forests, in plantations, and
trees or cause hypersensitive reactions. Some of the in ornamental beautification plantings.
most damaging exotic insects pests in North Amer- The white pine weevil is the most injurious pest
ica are sucking insects, such as introduced beech of white pine in northeastern North America, and
scale, the balsam woolly adelgid, and the hemlock one of the most damaging pests of spruce in north-
woolly adelgid (35-37). western North America (Figure 8.21). Infestation
Aphids or plant lice usually attack a tree's tender may cause permanent forking of the main bole and
new foliage or twigs, withdrawing sap and producing render the tree less marketable. Although affected
sugary secretions commonly referred to as "honey- trees are not killed, the recoverable volume often
dew." Honeydew serves as a substrate for prolifer- is of low quality.
Tree, Pathogen, a n d Insect Interactions 165

Figure 8.21 A 13-year-old spruce tree with evidence of numerous white pine weevil attacks. The weevil
kills the terminal shoot, causing lateral shoots to assume dominance. The attack history is shown schematically on
the right. Dead leaders appear as black crooks.

The pine shoot beetle, a bark beetle introduced eral species of caterpillars, such as the swift moth
from Europe, can cause significant damage to Scots in spruce, exhibit similar behavior.
pine Christmas trees. Its discovery in the United White grubs, the larvae of May and June bee-
States led to imposition of quarantine restrictions tles, pose serious problems to forest nurseries and
that add to growers' costs and limit export new plantings. The adults feed mainly on broad-
opportunities. leaved trees nearby and lay eggs in areas of heavy
grass and sod. Larvae feed on the roots and stunt
Root Insects Root insects cause tree stunting and or kill seedlings.
death by infesting the roots and root collar regions
of trees, often of planted conifers. Habits of these
pests vary greatly, depending on the host species, Tree, Pathogen, and Insect
age, and mode of attack (1, 2, 4, 5).
Female pales weevils lay their eggs in stumps
Interactions
of harvested trees, and the emerging adults debark Microorganisms and insects interact in many inter-
newly replanted seedlings (38). Entire young plan- esting ways and participate in unique relationships
tations can be killed. The pine root collar weevil in the forest ecosystem. Some of these result in very
infests the trunks of living hard pines from 3 to 20 significant damage to the health of individual trees
years old. Feeding by the larvae causes stunting, and to forest stands that interfere with production
and severely injured trees often break off at the soil of a variety of forest values. Insects may be vectors,
surface or die suddenly during windy periods. Sev- responsible for dissemination of a variety of tree
166 Forest Trees: Disease and Insect Interactions

pathogens. Trees also may be affected by a acquire viruses, phytoplasmas, or bacteria as they
fungus-insect complex, in which partners each play penetrate and feed from the xylem or phloem of
important roles in development of damage. Finally, diseased trees. Infection of healthy trees occurs
both pathogens and insects, along with abiotic when these pathogens are deposited in vascular tis-
agents, can be among multiple interacting factors sues during feeding. In a very special relationship,
involved in initiation and progression of a particu- the insect vector of a tree-invading virus may also
lar syndrome recognized as a decline disease. become a "host" of that virus, supporting replica-
tion within its body. An insect vector of such a
"propagative virus" can remain a source of that
Vector-Pathogen Relationships pathogen for long periods and may even transmit
An insect that transfers or transmits a pathogen from the virus through its eggs to the next generation.
one plant to another is referred to as a vector.
Although some pathogens may grow through soil
or in roots from a diseased plant to a healthy neigh- Insect-Pathogen Complexes
bor, and many are disseminated in wind or water, Although the previous sections emphasize the effects
still other pathogens are typically carried by vec- that individual pathogens and insects can have on
tors. While other methods allow local spread, vec- trees, these agents often act in concert. In
tor transmission may facilitate long-distance insect-pathogen complexes each member contributes
dissemination. Vectors also may cause physical dam- directly and significantly to the development of dam-
age (such as the wounds created during feeding) age. Attempts to minimize the impacts of such com-
that pathogens exploit for entry into trees. plexes on trees are challenging, because the factors
Some vector-pathogen relationships are rela- influencing each member, and their interaction, must
tively accidental, with propagules of pathogens car- be carefully considered. A small sample of the many
ried externally on the bodies of the vectors. Nectar insect-pathogen complexes follows.
feeding and pollinating insects, such as bees, fre-
quent rosaceous hosts including trees in Prunus Red Pine Pocket Mortality One commonly
and Malus. During such visits they sometimes con- encountered complex that affects tree health
tact oozing cankers caused by the fire blight bac- includes bark beetles and/or root-feeding insects
terium, Erwinia amylovora. Bacteria contained in interacting with stain fungi. An example occurs in
the ooze will stick to insect bodies, and be car- plantations of red pines in the northcentral United
ried to sites of infection, including blossoms on States that sometimes exhibit mortality of trees in
new host trees. Similarly, fungus- and sapfeeding distinct clusters or "pockets" (27). Dead and dying
insects including beetles in the family Nitidulidae trees in the center of the pocket are surrounded
can vector the oak wilt fungus, Ceratocystis by a zone of slowly growing trees with thin crowns
fagacearum (15). Aromatic mats of C.fagacearum of chlorotic needles. Each year the affected area
mycelium and its fruiting bodies develop under the expands, as trees within this zone die and as pre-
bark of trees colonized and killed during the pre- viously healthy trees immediately surrounding the
vious year. Nitidulid beetles are attracted to these pocket develop symptoms. Death ultimately results
mats, and as they feed they also acquire spores of from effects of both insects and pathogens. Bark
the fungus that are carried on their bodies. These beetles, such as the pine engraver, infest and gir-
beetles subsequently may be attracted to fresh dle the main stems of these trees. Simultaneously,
wounds on oak trees where spores are deposited trees are colonized by beetle-associated blue-stain
and infection occurs. fungi in the genus Ophiostoma. Although metabo-
Other pathogens are internally borne by their lites of these fungi can interfere with the tree's abil-
insect vectors. Some sucking insects (including ity to respond to bark beetle attack, healthy red pine
species of aphids, leafhoppers, and spittlebugs) trees normally resist both the pine engravers and
Tree, Pathogen, a n d Insect Interactions 167

the stain fungi they vector. In these plantations, can kill nonadapted hosts, and the dead trees pro-
however, root weevils, other bark beetles, and their vide the breeding material for these normally sec-
associated fungi in the genus Leptographium often ondary beetles.
colonize the root collars and lateral roots of these
trees in advance of the stem colonizing bark bee- Sirex Wasps—Amylostereum Fungi Another inti-
tles and fungi. Red pines can normally tolerate col- mate association of insects and fungi is that of Sirex
onization by these root insects and black-staining wood wasps and their Amylostereum fungal sym-
fungi, but this root infestation reduces the ability bionts, which together cause damage and death of
of trees to mobilize defenses against the pine trees in the genus Pinus (33). In all species of Sirex
engraver-Ophiostoma complex. Expansion of the investigated, adult females carry a symbiotic fun-
pocket is perpetuated by maintenance of popula- gus, either Amylostereum areolatum or A. chailletii,
tions of the insect vectors of the Leptographium in a pair of intersegmental sacs. Spores of the fun-
fungi and growth of these pathogens through inter- gus are inserted into the wood when eggs are
connecting root grafts into trees surrounding the deposited by female wood wasps. The fungus pro-
pocket. The circumstances that most strongly affect liferates in tunnels produced by the feeding larvae.
root insect populations are not well understood, but Sirex wood wasp larvae also obtain some nutrition
appear to include factors such as very sandy soils from the fungus, and the fungus benefits from dis-
at sites where this complex occurs. persal by the insect and inoculation into its host.
Although wood wasps are known in many parts
Dutch Elm Disease The very close association of of the world, the Sirex—Amylostereum complex has
insects and fungal pathogens is illustrated by the caused major damage only to exotic plantations of
complex of bark beetles and the Dutch elm disease Monterey pine in New Zealand and Australia.
pathogen (14). The aggressive, exotic fungi Ophios- Attacks by Sirex noctilio in these plantations
toma ulmi and O. novo-ulmi quickly kill even vig- occurred most frequently on trees under stress.
orous American elms. These pathogens, however,
possess neither a means of long-distance dispersal Defoliating Insects—Opportunistic Pathogens and
nor can they penetrate intact trees. The European Insects Insects do not always act as vectors for
elm bark beetle undergoes maturation feeding in pathogens or provide a means of entry into trees,
elm twig crotches and native elm bark beetles bore but they also may be important in altering a tree's
into elm branches. This crown feeding does not interaction with a pathogen or other insects. Defo-
elicit strong defensive responses, and beetles can liation by insects such as the gypsy moth or forest
feed in healthy as well as stressed trees. During tent caterpillar often is tolerated by deciduous trees.
feeding, beetles introduce spores of the pathogens, Defoliation, however, may be followed by an
which germinate to colonize and proliferate in increase in root disease caused by fungi in the genus
xylem through which the tree transports water and Armillaria (16). Some Armillaria species are com-
nutrients. Rapid wilting is induced followed by monly found as rhizomorphs on root surfaces or in
death, usually in the same year as initial infection. restricted lesions in roots, but colonization of vig-
Dying and dead trees then provide the substrate orous trees may be limited. Defoliation causes chem-
for breeding and overwintering of the beetles. ical changes in root tissue, however, including
Because the fungi also overwinter in dead elms, col- alteration of the concentrations of carbohydrates and
onizing and sporulating in beetle galleries, contin- the relative abundance of certain amino acids. The
ued association of the beetles and the pathogens increased aggressiveness of Armillaria fungi has
is assured. A similar relationship occurs between been associated with these changes, and these
wood borers such as the white spotted sawyer and pathogens can rapidly invade and kill previously
the pine wilt nematodes introduced into healthy healthy trees that have been stressed by severe or
pines during maturation feeding. These nematodes repeated defoliation. Defoliation also reduces
168 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

resistance against normally "secondary" insects such that abiotic agents, pathogens, and insects may
as the two-lined chestnut borer, which typically does interact in the development of decline diseases (6).
not extensively infest healthy trees. Colonization of Decline disease does not merely refer to any grad-
defoliated or otherwise stressed trees can result in ual loss of tree health, or to any malady resulting
dieback of limbs and even whole trees. Similar rela- from interaction of an agent or pathogen and an
tions occur among defoliators and opportunistic insect. Rather, a particular tree decline disease is
wood-boring insects and pathogens in conifers. produced by interaction of multiple, interchange-
able, and ordered factors, which result in a grad-
The Beech Scale-Nectria Complex Another inter- ual, general, and progressive deterioration in tree
action in which insects alter the susceptibility of a condition, often ending in death. Although not uni-
tree to a fungal pathogen is the beech scale-Nectria versally accepted, the decline disease concept can
complex. Feeding of the introduced scale insect, be a useful model for the study of complicated or
Cryptococcus fagisuga, on the bark of beech trees incompletely understood phenomena affecting tree
results in cellular proliferation, hypertrophy and health.
bark cracking. This provides an infection court and Trees affected by different decline diseases often
reduces resistance of the bark tissues to Nectria develop similar symptoms. They display reduced
fungi. The principal pathogen is Nectria coccinea growth in diameter and by reduction of shoot elon-
var.faginata, although native species of Nectria also gation. Leaves may be chlorotic (yellow), reduced
can be involved. These fungi colonize large areas in size, and crowns may prematurely exhibit fall
of insect-altered bark on the trunks of some trees, coloration. Symptoms of roots may include reduced
quickly girdling and killing stems, whereas on other carbohydrate reserves, degeneration of fine roots
trees narrow strips of bark are infected, parts of and mycorrhizae, and root decay fungi are often
the crown become chlorotic and die, and the tree active. Twig and branch death results in crown
survives in a weakened state for many years. Lit- "dieback," and epicormic shoots are common.
tle injury is caused by each organism attacking Affected trees usually are randomly dispersed, and
separately. not aggregated (as might result from the spread of
This complex has caused massive mortality of a single agent). Characteristically, symptoms and
American beech in the maritime provinces of signs of pathogens and insect activity intensify over
Canada and in parts of the northeastern United many years.
States. The effects on forests last long after this com- The abiotic agents, pathogens, and insects that
plex is first observed, however. Beech root systems interact to produce a decline disease are catego-
are not killed by this complex and sprout to pro- rized as predisposing, inciting, and contributing fac-
duce new stems as susceptible to scale and Nec- tors (39). Predisposing factors diminish tree vigor
tria as those previously present. Highly defective from its potential optimum. Their effects may not
beech sprout thickets, therefore, can dominate be noticeable and they affect the tree over a long
stands that develop following the passage of an ini- period of time (many years). Predisposing factors
tial killing front. These interfere with attempts to may include inherent attributes of the tree or char-
regenerate other tree species. Beech stands in the acteristics of the physical environment. Inciting fac-
"aftermath forest" are neither economically valuable, tors are especially damaging to trees that are already
nor can they adequately support wildlife that predisposed. They are relatively short-term, acting
depend on beechnuts produced by healthy trees. quickly and often producing very noticeable
effects. Inciting factors include features of either the
physical or biotic environment. Contributing factors
Decline Diseases perpetuate deterioration of trees already altered by
In addition to acting alone or in particular com- predisposing and inciting factors. These last factors
plexes (as described earlier), it has been proposed to affect trees in a decline disease typically occur
Tree Disease a n d Insect M a n a g e m e n t 169

over many years, and effects are very noticeable. age appears to be the primary predisposing factor
Contributing factors often include "opportunistic" associated with birch dieback, but site factors also
insects and pathogens, including many described are suspected. Inciting factors include defoliation,
earlier in this chapter. Predisposing, inciting, and caused either by insects such as the birch leaf miner
contributing factors are incorporated into the or by late spring frosts. Stand opening and warmer
decline disease spiral proposed by Manion (6), one than usual summers also are inciting factors. Result-
model for the interaction of different abiotic agents, ing elevations in soil temperatures can lead to mas-
pathogens, and insects in tree decline. Though not sive birch rootlet mortality. The bronze birch borer,
common to all decline diseases, both insects and which invades and kills branches and stems of
pathogens are thought to play important roles in stressed trees, and Armillaria root rot fungi are
development of each of the three syndromes commonly observed contributing factors of birch
described below. dieback.

Maple Decline At least two different syndromes Oak Decline Oak forests in the eastern and south-
affecting sugar maples, in urban areas and in for- ern United States are periodically affected by
est stands, are considered to be examples of declines. Characteristics of the site including both
decline diseases. In cities and especially along poorly and excessively drained soils, and tree age
streets, maples may be predisposed by old age, are predisposing factors. Inciting factors that have
heat associated with the urban environment, and been important in the past include drought, frost,
soil factors such as compaction, poor aeration and and defoliating insects and diseases. As the range
drainage, and salt accumulation. Construction of gypsy moth extends farther and farther, it is gain-
damage, especially to roots, is a common incit- ing in importance as an inciting factor. A large num-
ing factor. Contributing factors may include ber of contributing factors have been associated
chronic effects of Verticillium wilt, opportunistic with oak decline. These include the two-lined chest-
canker fungi, sugar maple borer, and Armillaria nut borer, canker pathogens that become aggres-
root disease. Decline of sugar maples in forests sive on stressed trees, and several root and stem
has been observed since the early 1900s. There decay fungi.
this species also may be predisposed by site fac-
tors, such as shallow soils. Important inciting fac-
tors may include defoliation by moth species Tree Disease and Insect
including the saddled prominent, forest tent cater-
pillar, and loopers, root damage resulting from soil Management
freezing during winters lacking normal snow accu- Despite beneficial activities that include important
mulation, and intense droughts. A vascular roles in forest ecosystems, diseases and insects can
pathogen of forest maples, Ceratocystis coerul- interfere with achievement of objectives estab-
escens, and again, sugar maple borer, canker fungi, lished by forest landowners, resource managers,
and Armillaria species are the contributing fac- government agencies, and the public. These
tors that are often associated with visibly deteri- include production of the diversity of aesthetic,
orating and dying trees. recreational, environmental, or economic benefits
for which forests are valued. After careful con-
Birch Dieback The decline disease known as sideration of factors that influence disease and
"birch dieback" has occurred episodically across the insect occurrence and development, specialists in
northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Most forest health protection employ pest management
recently, forests of the northern Great Lakes region principles and select from a variety of diverse prac-
were affected, with mortality of millions of yellow tices to prevent or suppress damage caused by dis-
and white birch trees during the early 1990s. Tree eases and insects.
170 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

Influences on Disease and Insect tions, the age of the tree, and history of other pest
Occurrence and Development activity, and is closely correlated with the water bal-
ance in the tree. Trees with an impaired defense
Tree and Stand Attributes Attributes of both indi- system (including low OEP) may succumb to attack
vidual trees and the stands they comprise have by bark beetles, while those with more rapid and
important influences on frequency and intensity of extensive responses are more resistant. For this rea-
damage resulting from diseases and insects. Tree son, large and damaging infestations of conifer bark
species vary widely in their inherent resistance to beetles are associated with older trees or stands sub-
particular diseases and insects. Five-needled pines jected to drought or defoliation. It is important to
(e.g., eastern white pine) are rarely damaged by note, however, that many pathogens and insects
the pine shoot blight and canker pathogen require no assistance from stress-inducing factors
Sphaeropsis sapinea, which frequently and severely to successfully attack their hosts. Even the most vig-
damages several species of two- and three-needled orously growing trees are subject to damage by
pines (e.g., Austrian pine). Oaks and poplars are some pests.
highly favored feeding hosts of the gypsy moth, and Stand attributes, which can be strongly influ-
thus often are severely defoliated. Other tree enced by past forest management practices, also
species, including ashes and tulip tree are not influence development of diseases and the activ-
favored, and may suffer relatively little defoliation ity of insects. As a general rule, forests with the
during outbreaks of this insect. Considerable vari- greatest diversity of tree species are less frequently
ation in the damage among trees of a single species and less severely subjected to epidemics and out-
often is an indication of genetically controlled resist- breaks. Uniform age distribution functions much
ance, which has sometimes been exploited in like species composition, in that even-aged stands
attempts to manage pest impacts. Hosts also may may be more vulnerable to damage by some pests
vary widely in their ability to support both repro- than those composed of a mixture of ages. More
duction and survival of microorganisms and diverse stands of trees can host a greater diversity
insects. Thus, both maintenance and growth of pest of microorganisms and insects, but usually support
populations may be influenced strongly by tree fewer individuals of each of these species. Thus,
attributes. diversity often is associated with low levels of pest
Size and age, and a variety of factors that influ- activity and stability of forest ecosystems.
ence "vigor," may affect the relative susceptibility
of individual trees to pests. Young trees, such as Site and Weather Attributes Abiotic environ-
seedlings and saplings may be severely damaged mental factors associated with particular forested
by a disease or insect that is a relatively minor pest locations, including those of the weather or climate,
of mature trees. Some pests exploit smaller, sup- directly influence disease and insect development.
pressed understory trees and very old or slowly For example, hatch of insect eggs is influenced by
growing trees can be particularly damaged. Thus, temperature. These might occur earlier on warmer,
the ability of trees to express resistance to many south facing slopes or in areas where penetration
pests is diminished by environmental factors that of sunlight has increased because of opening of the
alter physiological processes of the host. An exam- stand. The generation time of insects can be
ple is provided by the integrated defense system reduced at higher temperatures, so that more gen-
of conifers, including oleoresin exudation (40). erations of some insects might occur during an
Sticky oleoresin, or "pitch," exudes from sapwood unusually warm summer. Conversely, extreme cold
and can flood wounds such as those produced by could adversely affect survival of overwintering
boring beetles. Oleoresin exudation pressure eggs, larvae, or adults.
(OEP), with other preformed and induced defenses, Dissemination of many pathogens, processes
varies by the season, time of day, weather condi- involved in infection, and the extent of subsequent
Tree Disease a n d Insect M a n a g e m e n t 171

colonization are strongly affected by conditions of include stages that alternate between host plants.
both temperature and moisture. The formation and For example, feeding of the Cooley spruce gall adel-
germination of basidiospores of the white pine blis- gid on needles can heavily damage Douglas fir.
ter rust fungus, for example, require a period of at Immature females of the Cooley spruce gall adel-
least 18 hours of high moisture and temperatures gid, however, overwinter on spruce. In spring they
above freezing but below 20°C. Hot, dry weather mature and oviposit. Eggs hatch to produce young
unfavorably affects development of the fungus, and insects that also initially utilize spruce, feeding
chances for pine to escape infection are increased. within galls formed on shoot tips. In midsummer,
White pines in valleys or depressions where cool, however, winged females migrate to Douglas fir,
moist air collects, on sites with north-facing slopes where they lay eggs to produce another genera-
where dew persists, and in proximity to bodies of tion. As mentioned previously, many rust fungi also
water providing high humidity, therefore, might be alternate between angiosperm and gymnosperms,
considered to be at a higher risk for development with presence of both hosts necessary to allow dis-
of white pine blister rust. ease development.
Other site attributes, especially soil factors, have Forest pests also vary in important aspects of pop-
strong indirect effects on susceptibility of trees to ulation biology, including the number of generations
damage by diseases or insects. Each tree species or cycles that can be produced each year. For organ-
is adapted to grow within a particular range in fer- isms that can only complete a single cycle each year,
tility, pH, and moisture-holding capacity. At the population growth may be relatively slower, build-
extremes or outside of these ranges, even native ing for many years until epidemic or outbreak lev-
tree species that are planted "off site" may be very els are achieved. In contrast, the Cottonwood leaf
susceptible to pests that exploit their less than opti- beetle (Chrysomela scripta) is multivoltine. In the
mal condition. southern United States, it can complete up to seven
cycles from adult to egg to adult per year. Even in
Pathogen and Insect Attributes Much of the the northern United States, especially during pro-
research undertaken by forest pathologists and for- longed warm summers when weather conditions are
est entomologists is directed toward gaining fun- conducive to beetle development, rapid population
damental knowledge of pest biology. The ability growth can lead to massive and repeated defolia-
of different pathogens and insects to cause dam- tion of intensively, managed poplar plantations. Sim-
age to trees is heavily dependent on inherent char- ilarly, fungi such as the dogwood anthracnose
acteristics of these organisms, expressed at different pathogen (Discula destructives) are capable of mul-
times during their life cycles while interacting with tiple cycles in a single growing season. New, sporu-
their hosts. Knowledge of how organisms that can lating lesions develop within just one to two weeks
be pests survive during periods unfavorable for their after infection. Particularly during moist weather,
growth, reproduce, disseminate, recognize their repeated cycles of spore dissemination, infection,
hosts, and of how their activities produce damage lesion development, and production of additional
are critical for selection of biologically rational strate- spores are responsible for defoliation and initiation
gies for their management (1-8, 41, 42). of cankers that eventually kill stems of flowering
Both pathogens and insects can vary greatly in dogwood.
their "host range," or the variety of different host
species that they exploit. Some are very host spe-
cific, and a single host species might be required Forest Pest Management Principles
for life cycle completion. Others are generalists, uti- and Practices
lizing a wide range of hosts, often in many differ- Knowledge of the biology of particular tree and
ent plant genera or even diverse plant families. insect or pathogen interactions may suggest one or
Particular insects and pathogens have life cycles that more appropriate pest management principles.
172 Forest Trees: Disease a n d Insect Interactions

These principles can be considered "strategies," or designed to be effective, practical, economical, and
general approaches to minimizing the effects of protective of human health and the environment.
damaging agents on trees and forests. Six strate- Both basic and applied forest research results sup-
gies that are employed in forest pest management, port development and refinement of integrated pest
including attempts to control pests of nursery management efforts that contribute to sustainable
seedlings and landscape trees, are: management of forests.
In the past, scientists in different disciplines—
Resistance: utilization of trees with inherent,
entomology, plant pathology, soils, forestry, and
genetically controlled characteristics that mini-
chemistry—often approached a pest problem with
mize pest impacts, or use of practices to increase
minimal communication with their colleagues in
the ability of trees to defend themselves;
other fields. Sometimes methods proposed to deal
Exclusion: prevention of the introduction of a
with one pest were in conflict with those used to
pathogen or insect to an area where it is not
manage another, or had other undesirable effects
already present;
on the forest community, including beneficial organ-
Protection: placement of a barrier or other mate- isms. For example, thinning lodgepole pine stands
rial (usually chemical) that interferes with inter- to improve vigor and resistance to bark beetle attack
action of the pest and the tree; favors spread of dwarf mistletoe and development
Eradication: removal or destruction of pathogen of epidemics by this pathogen. Use of broad spec-
or insect life stages to reduce or eliminate pest trum insecticides to kill defoliating insects also can
populations; diminish populations of parasites, parasitoids, and
Avoidance: utilization of locations, conditions, predators that help hold pest populations in check.
or practices that do not favor, or even suppress, It finally has been realized that it is not only fea-
development of disease and/or insect infesta- sible, but necessary to integrate pest control strate-
tions; gies and practices, and in so doing consider
Therapy: treatment to cure already diseased or simultaneously the effects on a multitude of other
infested trees (may involve employment of one factors, including other organisms, other forest man-
or more of the other strategies listed above). agement activities, and all benefits produced by the
For each of these strategies, a variety of practices forest ecosystem.
may be applied in managing forest pests. Differ- A key element of the IPM concept is pest pop-
ent types of practices can be categorized as regu- ulation monitoring. Information provided by sur-
latory, physical, chemical, cultural, or biological. veys to detect and quantify insect pests and
Selection of particular practices depends not just pathogen occurrence is used as a tool for decision
on availability, cost, and effectiveness, but on com- making. Based on previous population biology and
patibility of the practice with forest management forest ecology research, numbers of insect life stages
objectives, and environmental impacts, and socie- (such as egg masses) or the symptoms and signs
tal constraints. Examples of practices that might be of disease associated with unacceptable effects are
appropriate for each forest pest management strat- determined. These are used to establish a "dam-
egy are listed in Table 8.2. age threshold" representing the population level at
which attainment of desired forest values is com-
promised (Figure 8.22). The goal of the IPM pro-
Integrated Pest Management gram is to prevent pest activity from reaching this
Integrated pest management (IPM) refers to an damage threshold. Therefore, a lower population
approach to pest control that is based on an under- level, or "action threshold" is established. Successful
standing of host and pest biology, knowledge of implementation of an appropriate pest management
ecological principles, and integration of method- practice at the point when the action threshold is
ologies from several disciplines (43). IPM plans are reached leads to the eventual decline in insect num-
Concluding Statement 173

T a b l e 8.2 Examples of Practices A p p l i e d to I m p l e m e n t Different Pest M a n a g e m e n t

Strategies

Strategy Type of Practice Examples

Resistance Biological Plant loblolly pines bred for resistance to fusiform rust
Biological Maintain favorable moisture regime to enhance resistance to
bark beetles
Exclusion Regulatory Quarantine to prevent untreated wood products that could
harbor insects or fungal pathogens from entering the United
States
Regulatory Inspect nursery stock for insect egg masses before shipment
Protection Chemical Spray Christmas trees with fungicide to prevent infection and
subsequent defoliation by needlecast fungi
Biological Apply the fungus Phlebiopsis gigantea to freshly cut conifer
stumps to prevent infection by root rot pathogen Heterobasid-
ion annosum
Chemical Treat foliage with insect feeding deterrent to reduce defolia-
tion
Physical Cut root grafts to prevent spread of fungal pathogens to
healthy trees through interconnected root systems
Eradication Biological Release insect parasites, parasitoids, and predators in infested
areas
Physical Flood or heat treat nursery soils to reduce populations of
insects, nematodes, and fungal pathogens
Chemical Aerially apply insecticide to kill feeding larvae of eastern tent
caterpillar
Physical Pull gooseberry and current bushes (alternate host of white
pine blister rust) in white pine production areas
Avoidance Cultural Increase proportion of nonfavored hosts by manipulating
stands in areas subject to gypsy moth defoliation
Cultural Prevent logging injuries and shorten rotations to minimize
losses from decay
Cultural Maintain diversity of stand age structure to avoid population
explosions of spruce budworm
Cultural Utilize even-aged management in red pine to prevent dissemi-
nation of Sirococcus shoot blight fungus inoculum from over-
story to understory trees
Therapy Chemical Inject systemic insecticides to kill developing wood borers
Physical Prune cankered branches from trees

bers or pathogen occurrence, and unacceptable and managing these influences on trees and forests.
damage is prevented. By definition, integrated management of forest pests
brings together old knowledge, novel ideas, pol-
icy considerations, management strategies, treatment
practices, monitoring, and decision making in new
Concluding Statement ways. The characteristics of trees and forest stands,
Studies of diseases and insects continue to yield site and climatic factors, and the biology of
information that is fundamental to understanding pathogens and insects discussed in this chapter are
174 Forest Trees: Disease and Insect Interactions

7. W. A. SINCLAIR, H. H. LYON, AND W. T. JOHNSON, Dis-

eases of Trees and Shrubs, Comstock Pub. Associates,
Ithaca, N.Y., 1987.
8. F. H. TAINTER AND F. A. BAKER, Principles of Forest
Pathology, John Wiley, New York, 1996.
9. S. E. SMITH AND D. J.READ, Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, Aca-
demic Press, San Diego, Calif., 1997.
10. G.H. HEPTING AND G. M. JEMISON, "Forest protection."
In Timber Resources for America's Future, U.S.D.A.
For. Serv. Res. Rept. 14, 1958.
11. ANON., The Outlook for Timber in the United States,
U.S.D.A. For. Serv. Res. Rept. 20, 1973.
12. ANON., Forest Insect and Disease Conditions in the
F i g u r e 8 . 2 2 Relationship between insect
United States 1997, U.S.D.A. For. Serv., For. Health
population or disease occurrence, action threshold,
and damage threshold. Application of an appropriate Prot., 1998.
forest pest management practice at the action 13. W. H. SMITH, Tree Pathology: A Short Introduction,
threshold (arrow) should prevent development of Academic Press, New York, 1970.
unacceptable damage. 14. M. HUBBES, For. Chron., 75, 265 (1999).
15. D. N. APPEL, Ann. Rev. Phytopathol, 33, 103 (1995).
16. C. G. SHAW III AND G. A. KILE, EDS, Armillaria Root
Disease, U.S.D.A. Agric. Hdbk. 691, 1991.
all considered in evaluating forest pest management 17. S. WOODWARD, J. STENLID, R. KARJALAINEN, AND A. HUT-
needs. The challenge and opportunity of forest pest TERMANN, EDS., Heterobasidion annosum: Biology, Ecol-
managers is to employ strategies and practices so ogy, Impact, and Control, CAB International,
they work in concert, not in conflict, in maintain- Wallingford, Oxon, U.K., 1998.
ing and enhancing aesthetic, recreational, envi- 18. W. G. THIES AND R. N. STURROCK, Laminated Root Rot
ronmental, and economic benefits provided by in Western North America, U.S.D.A. For. Serv. Gen.
healthy trees and forests. Tech. Rpt. PNR-GTR-349, 1995.
19. NIENHAUS, F. AND J. D. CASTELLO, Ann. Rev. Phy-
topathol., 27, 165 (1989).
References 20. W. A. Sinclair, H. M. Griffiths, and R. E. Davis, Plant
Dis., 80, 468 (1996).
1. R. N. COULSON AND J. A. WITTER, Forest Entomology: 21. G. W. PETERSON AND R. S. SMITH, JR., tech. coordina-
Ecology and Management, Wiley & Sons, New York, tors, Forest Nursery Diseases in the United States.,
1984. U.S.DA. For. Serv. Agric. Hdbk. 470, 1975.
2. A. T. DROOZE, ED., Insects of Eastern Forests, U.S.D.A. 22. M. J. WINGFIELD, ED., Pathogenicity of the Pine Wood
For. Serv. Misc. Pub. 1426, 1985. Nematode, APS, St. Paul, Minn., 1987.
3. R. L. EDMUNDS, J. K. AGEE, AND R. I. GARA, Forest Health 23. F. G. HAWKSWORTH AND D. WIENS, Dwarf Mistletoes:
and Protection, McGraw-Hill, Boston, 2000. Biology, Pathology, and Systematics, U.S.D.A. For.
4. R. L. FURNISS AND V. M. CAROLIN, Western Forest Insects, Serv. Agric. Hdbk. 709, 1996.
U.S.D.A. For. Serv. Misc. Pub. 1339, 1977. 24. C. B. DAVIDSON, K. W. GOTTSCHALK, AND J. E. JOHNSON,
5. W. T. JOHNSON AND H. H. LYON, Insects that Feed on For. Sci., 45, 74 (1999).
Trees and Shrubs, Second Edition, Comstock Pub. 25. R. L. GIESE, J. E. KAPLER, AND D. M. BENJAMIN, Studies
Associates, Ithaca, N.Y., 1988. of maple blight. IV. Defoliation and the genesis of
6. P. D. MANION, Tree Disease Concepts, Second Edition, maple blight, Univ. Wisc. Agr. Expt. Sta. Res. Bull. 250,
Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1991. 1964.
References 175

26. T. O. SHOWALTER AND G. M. FILIP, EDS., Beetle-Pathogen 35. D. R. HOUSTON, Ann. Rev. Phytopathol., 32, 75 (1975).
Interactions in Conifer Forests, Academic Press, San 36. F. P. HAIN, "The balsam woolly adelgid in North Amer-
Diego, Calif., 1993. ica." In Dynamics of Forest Insect Populations, A. A.
27. K. D. KLEPZIG, K. F. RAFFA, AND E. B. SMAILEY, For. Sci., Berryman, ed., Plenum Press, New York, 1988.
37, 1119 (1991). 37. J. C. JENKINS, J. D. ABER, AND C. D. CANHAM, CAN, J.
28. T. D. PAINE, K. F. RAFFA, AND T. C. HARRINGTON, Annu. For. Res., 29, 630 (1999).
Rev. Entomol., 42, 179 (1997). 38. A. M. LYNCH, J. Ga. Entomol. Soc, 19 (issue 3, suppl.
29. J. A. MCLEAN, For. Chron., 61, 295 (1985). 1), 1 (1984).
30. J. D. SOLOMON, Guide to Insect Borers in North Amer- 39. W. A. SINCLAIR, The Cornell Plantations, 20, 62 (1985).
ican Broadleaf Trees and Shrubs, U.S.D.A. For. Serv. 40. K. F. RAFFA, "Induced defensive reactions in conifer-
Agric. Hdbk. 706, 1995. bark beetle systems." In Phytochemical Induction by
31. J. P. DUNN, T. W. KIMMERER, AND G. L. NORDIN, Oecolo- Herbivores, D. W. Tallamy and M. J. Raupp, eds., Aca-
gia, 70, 596 (1986). demic Press, New York, 1991.
32. F. K. KOBYASHI, "The Japanese pine sawyer." In 41. G. N. AGRIOS, Plant Pathology, Fourth edition, Aca-
Dynamics of Forest Insect Populations, A. A. Berry- demic Press, New York, 1997.
man, ed., Plenum Press, New York, 1988. 42. A. A. BERRYMAN, ED., Dynamics of Forest Insect Pop-
33. J. L. MADDEN, Sirex in Australia." In Dynamics of For- ulations, Plenum Press, New York, 1988.
est Insect Populations, A. A. Berryman, ed., Plenum 43. D. DENT, Integrated Pest Management, Chapman &
Press, New York, 1988. Hall, London, 1995.
34. L. F. WILSON, Saratoga spittlebug: Its ecology and man-
agement, U.S.D.A. Agric. Hdbk. 657, 1987.
 PART 3
Forest Management—
Multiple Uses
T he forests make up one of the earth's greatest
reservoirs of renewable natural resources. Man-
aged properly, they can provide us with essential
products indefinitely and at the same time can
remain a home for wildlife and a vital source of
water supplies (Figure P3.1). However, the man-
agement of the forests for each of the many prod-
ucts, services and benefits presents a complex
problem. This section presents the methods and
practices by which the successful forest manager
obtains these benefits from the forest without
adversely affecting the environment.
In Chapter 9 an overview of forest management
and stewardship is given; the approaches to man-
agement of public and private organizations, the
interests of ownership, and the planning of oper-
ations are discussed. This is followed in Chapter
10 by a more in-depth treatment of small nonin-
dustrial private forests because these forests hold
a major share of the future for forest derived ben-
efits. Almost 60 percent of commercial forestland
is owned by the private nonindustrial sector.
Specific procedures for assessment of forest and
timber resources are provided in Chapters 11 (Mea-
suring and Monitoring Forest Resources) and 12
(Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Sys-
tems for Natural Resource Management). The var-
F i g u r e P 3 . 1 Our forests make up one of the
ious methods available for determining individual earth's great reservoirs of renewable resources.
tree sizes and volumes and those for estimating the Properly managed, they can provide us with essential
volume of timber in forest stands are presented. The products indefinitely and at the same time remain a
chapter on remote sensing describes methods for home for wildlife and a vital source of water supplies.
evaluating stand composition, density, and the (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service)
health of forests from aerial photographs and satel-
lite data. of the forest—how forest regeneration, species
Chapter 13, Silviculture and Forest Ecosystem composition, and growth are regulated by biolog-
Management, describes the biological management ical means. Forests are used by wildlife and for

177
178 Forest Management—Multiple Uses

rangeland, watersheds, recreation, and timber.

Chapters 14 through 17 describe the important
aspects of forest management for nontimber uses
of the forest. Methods of integrating management
decisions for protection of all the natural resources
provided by the forest are described in these chap-
ters. Extraction of timber from forests does not nec-
essarily diminish the other benefits derived from the
forest. A moderate size clearcut, for example, pro-
vides additional habitats for wildlife, and selection
cutting in the forest creates areas suitable for aes-
thetics and recreational activities.
Although human beings cause most forest fires
today, fires have always occurred in the forest due
to lightning storms. The importance of fires in shap-
ing the forest landscape is discussed in Chapter 18, F i g u r e P 3 . 2 Log drivers wrestling Douglas fir
Behavior and Management of Forest Fires. The use logs on Oregon's Coos River, using long pike poles
of fire as a management tool (i.e., "prescribed and a short peavey. These logs will roar downstream
burns") is also described in this chapter. to be processed in a pulpwood mill. (Courtesy of Life
A primary product of great economic importance Picture Service.)
derived from the forest is wood, and to obtain
wood, the forest must be harvested. Chapter 19
shows the variety of approaches available for tim- for pulp production, the second growth timber in
ber harvesting. In Chapter 20 an overview is pro- the United States is very suitable for production of
vided of the many uses that are made of wood, these important commodities (Figure P3.2). Use of
from lumber and plywood to paper and chemicals. wood for paper and for energy and chemicals are
The unique characteristics and comparative abun- also described in Chapter 20.
dance of wood have made it a desirable natural The final chapter in this section, Chapter 21, pro-
material for homes and other structures, furniture, vides a valuable discussion of the economics and
tools, vehicles, and decorative objects. The struc- management of forests for both wood and amenity
ture and chief attributes that give wood these spe- values. A thought-provoking comparison is made
cial properties are discussed in this chapter. A large of the economics of forest products markets ver-
percentage of harvested wood is also used for pro- sus other forest amenities based on economic the-
duction of pulp and paper. Thousands of paper ories. The chapter demonstrates how economic
supplies are produced every year for household and reasoning can help in the wise management of for-
industrial use. Since smaller-size logs are suitable est resources.
 CHAPTER 9
Forest Management
and Stewardship
JAMES M. GULDIN AND
RICHARD W. GULDIN

Forest Management Stewardship of Private Lands

Multiple Uses Forest Industry
Interactions Among Competing Uses Nonindustrial Corporate Holdings
Sustainability and Ecosystem Management Private Conservation Groups
Ecosystem Management
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Stewardship Across Ownerships
Cooperative Forestry Programs
Forest Owners and Ownership Forest Protection Programs
Land Ownership and Distribution Research and Development Programs
Volume, Productivity, Growth, Mortality, Advocacy Programs
and Removals
Forestry at the National Level
Stewardship of Public Lands The Federal Government Role
Forest Service The Public Interest
National Park Service International Forestry
Bureau of Land Management The Role of Forestry Research
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Concluding Statement
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers References
State Agencies and Other Organizations

Why manage forests? Many reasons might come to used energy from the sun to convert water, atmos-
mind, but they all turn on one point—managed pheric carbon dioxide, and a handful of mineral
forests are better able to provide for the needs of resources into the sugars and metabolic by-products
society than unmanaged forests. Management of required for growth, and they have done so in a
forests becomes especially important as human way that collectively confers productivity to the for-
populations increase and forest lands decrease, and est ecosystem. Thus, it is perhaps arrogant to dis-
as society demands more and a wider variety of cuss the value of forest resources under human
forest resources. A common thread in the history administration. Forest ecosystems will be rich in nat-
of civilization is that the practice of forestry has ural resources even if human beings do not tamper
evolved in response to society's concerns about the with them. But they may not be the resources that
scarcity of forest resources (1). humans want, and they may not be produced in
Forests do not require management to maintain the length of time that humans want them to be.
their structure and function. For eons, trees have Also, there may be unacceptable ecological and

179
180 Forest Management and Stewardship

economic effects if humans use forest resources in

a careless and unregulated manner.
Society has had its greatest influences on the nat-
ural patterns and processes of forests since the
Industrial Revolution. One prominent influence has
been the suppression of natural processes that
humans find damaging or dangerous. For example,
in North America, lightning has historically been,
and still is, responsible for igniting wildfires annu-
ally. Before European settlement, those wildfires
would have run their natural course; today, they
are aggressively suppressed by firefighters. As a
result, many fire-dependent forest ecosystems no
longer burn as frequently as in the past. Without
fire, these ecosystems can become degraded or lost.
When fires do strike, the results can be catastrophic,
as happened during the great Yellowstone fires of
1988 (2). (A further discussion of the behavior and
management of forest fires is given in Chapter 18.)
A second prominent influence of society on
forests has been the introduction of exotic species
from other continents. Chestnut blight, a European
fungal disease, got its start in North America when
diseased chestnut logs were imported from Europe
to New York in 1904. In two decades, the blight
virtually wiped out the American chestnut and
thereby dramatically changed the species compo-
sition of hardwood forests across the East (3). The
gypsy moth, an Asian lepidopteran insect, was intro- F i g u r e 9.1 Agricultural fields taken from the
forest land base in post-European settlement in North
duced to North America to develop a domestic silk
America; view looking north from Hawk Mountain
trade. In 1898, a handful of moths escaped into a Sanctuary in eastern Pennsylvania. (James M. Guldin)
nearby forest. Today, gypsy moth causes millions
of dollars of loss in oak-hickory forests in the East
(3). Without advances in control technology to slow
its spread, it will be found in every state east of A century ago timber was unquestionably the
the 100th meridian early in this century (4). most valuable resource in the forest. Although
However, perhaps the single most prominent today's society still ascribes high monetary value
influence of society has been the deforestation of to timber resources, we increasingly find important
North America following European colonization. nontimber values in forest resources. For example,
Since 1630, about a third of the forest area in the a stand of black walnut trees growing along a
United States has been cut and converted to non- stream in northern Missouri has value on many lev-
forest uses, primarily agriculture (Figure 9.1). Nearly els. It can serve as a source of beautiful cabinet lum-
all the rest has supported some form of timber har- ber, as a prime squirrel habitat, and in a protective
vesting. Two hundred years ago, forests were con- capacity by helping to maintain water quality and
sidered a barrier to agriculture and an inhibition to reduce soil erosion. It is easy to ascribe a mone-
westward expansion. Today, forest resources are tary value to the lumber from a black walnut tree;
scarce relative to society's demand for them. it is more difficult to place a dollar value on each
Forest M a n a g e m e n t 181

squirrel, each cubic foot of uneroded soil, and each

unit of clarity in the stream water. Yet, society
desires all these resources, and no one can dispute
that maintaining squirrel habitat and water quality
would be difficult if all the black walnut trees were
harvested for lumber.
Moreover, the productivity and distribution of
resources in any ecosystem are variable and com-
plex. Some natural resources, such as wood fiber
in a Mississippi riverfront Cottonwood stand, are
produced very quickly (Figure 9.2). Others are pro-
duced in very small quantities over longer periods
of time. For example, the endangered red-cockaded
woodpecker in east Texas constructs its nest only
in the decayed heartwood of pine trees that are gen-
erally over 100 years old (5). Some natural resources
require such an extended period of development
that they might be considered essentially nonre-
newable. The awe that many feel toward a grove
of stately redwood trees in northern California is
heightened by the realization that the trees are over
a thousand years old.
This scarcity and complexity of forest resources,
coupled with society's demand for them, is what
confers value to the forests of today. Fundamental
economic concepts of supply and demand, and
noneconomic considerations, such as concern for
preserving endangered species and maintaining
environmental quality, affect the value of forest F i g u r e 9.2 A short-rotation cottonwood
resources. Sorting out these conflicting demands, plantation on forest industry land adjacent to the
resources, and values is the domain of forest Mississippi River in northwest Mississippi; the stand
will be harvested at age 11, by which time the trees
management.
exceed 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter and 25 m (80
feet) in height. (James M. Guldin)

Forest Management that they will always be available to meet the needs
Forest management is the process of organizing a of the landowner. The management techniques for
collection of forest stands so that they produce the accomplishing these purposes vary from the sim-
resources that the landowner wants from that for- ple to the exceedingly complex.
est. The landowner might be a forest industry, a Common goals for forest management are to pro-
private individual or family, or the public (repre- duce the resources demanded by the landowner and
sented by federal, state, county, or municipal gov- society, to maintain a sustainable supply of
ernments). The resources might be timber products, resources over time, and to minimize conflicting eco-
wildlife, awe-inspiring aesthetics, or any conceiv- logical, economic, or social demands in resource
able combination of these. The task of the forest use. Management typically begins with a forest man-
management specialist is to organize the produc- agement plan that identifies the objectives of the
tion of such resources in a sustainable manner so landowner, outlines the treatments and timetables
182 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

required for each stand over the entire forest, and uates the resources available to satisfy those objec-
describes a program of resource evaluation to ensure tives. The manager then reviews the options avail-
that the ownership objectives are attained. able for satisfying the owner's objectives. Each
Forest management would be simple if all for- option must be examined from a number of
est resources were readily renewable and if it were aspects, including the likely desirable and unde-
possible to use one resource without affecting other sirable effects, the financial cost compared to the
resources. However, nearly every practice that a budget available, and any regulatory conse-
forester uses to manage a particular resource also quences, such as permits needed and taxes
affects other resources in the forest. The more imposed. The manager then selects the options that
resources that are desired from a given area, the best fit the situation and summarizes them in a writ-
greater the likelihood that the management and use ten plan. The plan details the methodology and
of one resource will affect another. Also, there is treatment schedules needed to manage each stand,
often a fine line between careless exploitation of and demonstrates how all the stands, when com-
a resource and a conservation-based use that bined, will provide the resources needed to meet
ensures resource renewability. the owner's objectives. The manager and owner
Broadly speaking, the forest management plan then review the manager's recommendations, as
is implemented using the principles of forest admin- well as the options not chosen and reasons why.
istration. These actions include supervising per- Once accepted by the owner, the plan is finalized
sonnel, developing operational budgets, prescribing and becomes the basis for future action by the
and conducting stand-level treatments, and review- manager or owner.
ing treatments after they are completed to ensure A management plan prepared by a consulting
that the outcomes desired are attained. forester for 400 acres of family-owned land in south-
The degree of planning and the resources allo- ern Arkansas may be quite simple. A management
cated for administration often depend on the size plan for the Mountain Pine Division of Weyer-
of the forest being managed and the number of haeuser Company in west-central Arkansas will be
resources being managed. Plans are usually more more complicated because of the value of the wood
detailed if the resources of interest have high intrin- products involved, and the mills and jobs that the
sic or monetary value, because of the financial woodlands must support. A management plan for
incentive to ensure that management does not a national forest, such as the Amended Land and
adversely affect current resource quality or future Resource Management Plan for the Ozark National
resource availability. Plans also increase in com- Forest in northwest Arkansas, includes detailed pro-
plexity if a forest has multiple owners; the greater visions for managing all the multiple uses required
the number of owners of a particular forest, the by law, and reflects the diverse interests of the
more difficult it is to identify ownership objectives national forest's landowners—the citizens of the
and to manage for them. Federal agencies, forest United States.
industry companies, and other large organizations
have complicated management organizations that
reflect their complex objectives. Conversely, small Multiple Uses
entities such as a specialized wood products plant, A forest has an infinite variety of uses. Trees can
a cross-country ski resort, or a farm woodlot have be used for lumber, wooden baskets, split-bark
correspondingly smaller management infrastruc- hickory chairs, maple syrup, or supports for a ham-
tures. Regardless of size, forest management gen- mock. An outdoor enthusiast can enjoy forest fauna
erally consists of two stages, each of varying by hunting deer with a rifle, rainbow trout with a
complexity: planning and administration. fly rod, or butterflies with a camera. This inherent
To develop a forest management plan, the man- variety of forest resources and uses reveal the chal-
ager assesses the landowner's objectives and eval- lenge to modern forest management, both in choos-
Forest M a n a g e m e n t 183

ing which resources should be used and in giving

society access to them.
In the practical sense, however, the forestry pro-
fession recognizes a standard broad categorization
of resources. Easy, convenient, and commonly
accepted categories are those that appear in the
Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960.

The national forests are established and shall be

administered for outdoor recreation, range, tim-
ber, watershed, and wildlife and fish purposes.

The Act's five categories have come to be known

as multiple uses. The degree to which forestlands
are managed for any one or more of them depends F i g u r e 9.3 Redwood sawlogs await
manufacturing into lumber at a mill in northern
on the goals of ownership. However, because fed-
California. (James M. Guldin)
eral land is owned by the American people, the
multiple uses essentially constitute a statement of
the ownership objectives for the national forests.
Each national forest must expressly provide an ade-
quate supply of each of these multiple uses over or swamps. On some sites, management for tim-
a 50-year period of management. ber is at odds with management that requires an
The most dominant objective of ownership in undisturbed or unharvested ecosystem, such as
the past has been to manage forests for timber. Tim- wilderness areas, national recreational trails, or wild
ber management is often used to finance forest and scenic rivers.
ownership, to support other uses more difficult to Forest ecosystems provide an important water-
administer, or for which a financial value is more shed value by serving as living filters for precipi-
difficult to assess. In most regions of the country, tation. Many cities and towns throughout the United
trees of sawlog size bring a fairly high monetary States rely on forested watersheds for abundant,
return (Figure 9.3). Markets for smaller trees are clean surface waters for municipal water supplies
more variable and usually depend on the species (Figure 9.4). In many arid western states, the yield
and the distance to processing facilities. These mar- of water from high-altitude forests is increased by
kets, if they exist, provide an opportunity to con- forest management techniques that gather more
duct treatments in young stands that improve stand snow in the winter and prolong the snowmelt
condition. Finally, because trees are the dominant period into early summer (see also Chapter 16,
ecological component of a forest ecosystem, the Watershed Management).
value of nontimber resources can increase with the Federal laws require landowners to control non-
judicious manipulation of the timber component— point sources of water pollution, such as the nutri-
or decrease by injudicious operations. ent discharges and sedimentation associated with
In certain situations, of course, the values of forest management and harvesting. The most likely
other resources far outweigh the value of timber. source of water pollution in forestry, erosion from
For example, the annual gate receipts at a 100-unit roads, can be minimized by proper engineering
campground on nearly any national forest will practices. Erosion of soil can also occur from stream
exceed the value of the annual growth of the tim- banks or skid roads if harvesting equipment crosses
ber within the campground. Timber production is permanent or ephemeral streams. An effective way
not economically feasible on sites that have low to minimize streamside erosion is to retain a buffer
productivity or difficult access, such as ridge tops strip of trees (called a "streamside management
184 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

quail, and other species that prefer the brushy habi-

tat mosaic. As a result, the popularity of hunting
on forest industry lands has increased tremendously
in certain parts of the country. Some forest indus-
try landowners have taken advantage of this; the
hunting leases in the bottomland hardwood stands
along the Mississippi River in Tennessee and Mis-
sissippi provide higher annual returns per acre than
the timber. Even companies that lease their land
to hunters for a nominal fee can expect significant
nontimber income from their forest property. Game
management has always been a by-product of tim-
ber management, but these recent trends demon-
F i g u r e 9 . 4 The Quabbin Reservoir in central strate the increasing value of nontimber uses in the
Massachusetts, source of drinking water for the Boston marketplace.
metropolitan area. (James M. Guldin) Forest management can also favor nongame
species. It is common practice on industry and gov-
ernment forestlands to leave dead standing trees
zone") and to exclude forest operations from this (called "snags") on a harvested site. In addition to
zone. the nesting habitat provided by these snags, the
Virtually all timber management practices affect insect fauna that use them for food and shelter pro-
the wildlife and fish in forest ecosystems. Wildlife vide forage for nongame bird species.
species tend to be associated with certain succes- The protection of populations and habitat for
sional stages in the forest, and practices that favor species found on the federal list of endangered and
one stage of forest succession are likely to favor threatened species is common on public land, and
the wildlife that thrive in that particular stage (Fig- growing in importance on private lands. For exam-
ure 9.5). Forest industry landowners often manage ple, the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker,
early-successional forest ecosystems that are favor- which under natural conditions requires old pines
able to white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, bobwhite with heart rot for nesting, has not prospered under
intensive sawtimber management regimes. Such
regimes have a rotation age of 35 to 50 years, and
few sawmills can produce good lumber from old
pines with heart rot. A landowner who wants to
manage for woodpecker populations must be will-
ing to accept reduced timber income, or apply inno-
vative approaches such as artificial nest box cavities
in younger trees. Forest-wildlife management is
treated further in Chapter 14.
A productive fish resource is generally achieved
by promoting good water quality. Many of the prac-
tices that prevent turbidity, siltation, and excessive
eutrophication of a stream will obviously benefit
fish. An aquatic habitat can be quickly degraded
by sudden changes in stream temperature. If the
F i g u r e 9 . 5 Elk grazing in a mixed conifer stand trees adjacent to a stream are cut, direct solar radi-
in the Canadian Rockies. (James M. Guldin) ation on the water surface will increase stream tern-
Forest M a n a g e m e n t 185

perature significantly, and may be detrimental to animals allowed in specific areas during a given sea-
fish. For this reason, the use of streamside buffer son. Using these methods, the range manager can
strips of trees is beneficial for fish populations. balance the quality and quantity of forage with the
Range resources consist of the grasses commonly grazing intensity, both for a given area and forest-
found within forest ecosystems. Grazing for wide. Rangeland management is given further treat-
domestic livestock, the primary use of rangeland ment in Chapter 15.
resources, is prevalent in western forests (Figure A dramatically increasing use of forestland in the
9.6). For example, ponderosa pine forests in the United States is for outdoor recreation. Recreational
Southwest are sufficiently open for sunlight to reach use of forest resources varies, and requires differ-
the forest floor and promote development of ent kinds of facilities and resources (Figure 97).
grasses. The number of cattle that such forests can Examples range from organized bus tours of
support is determined by research and practical national parks to solo backpacking trips in the
experience. This number can be managed using wilderness, or from a three-week transcontinental
rangeland allotments, which specify the number of journey to a fifteen-minute stroll in the woods. For-
est recreation typically centers on the ecosystem-
based resources of the forest. The challenge to the

Figure 9.6 Livestock on a national forest grazing F i g u r e 9.7 Outdoor recreational activity on the
allotment in a New Mexico ponderosa pine stand. Buffalo National River in the Arkansas Ozarks. (James
(James M. Guldin) M. Guldin)
186 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

manager is simultaneously to maintain or enhance techniques such as zoning specific areas (8) and
the quality of the forest resource, and to promote instituting seasonal controls over resources and
conditions that satisfy the expectations of the users.
resource user. The factors involved in managing Some conflicts can occur when the techniques
recreation behavior are discussed in Chapter 17. used to manage a particular resource are different.
For example, a hiker who dislikes the visual impact
of a two-year-old clearcut may not even notice a
Interactions Among recent timber harvest in an uneven-aged stand.
Competing Uses Under these conditions the solution may be to eval-
The concept of multiple use implies that on any uate the range of alternative practices available for
given acre of forestland, the opportunity exists to the management of the resource. The forest man-
utilize more than one forest resource. Forest man- ager can refine or modify practices to create com-
agement would be simple if the owner of the for- patibility, such as by converting all trailside forests
est was interested in a single resource such as to an uneven-aged condition. Should this fail, it may
timber or recreation. Multiple use is the philoso- be necessary to partition resource uses either spa-
phy that a forest can support the socially desirable tially or temporally, such as by rerouting the trail
utilization of many different resources. This is an or temporarily withdrawing the area from timber
easy philosophy to espouse, but it can be difficult management.
to implement. As human populations increase, the demand for
A given pair of uses can interact in one of three the multiple-use resources available from the for-
ways. The interaction can be neutral, in that one est will also increase. The challenge to forest man-
use does not particularly affect another; a wild- agers is to provide a supply of forest resources that
flower enthusiast is not likely to be affected by a meet these projected demands and to increasingly
nearby fisherman. The interaction may be com- implement the multiple-use concept on lands not
patible, such as the beneficial effects of small restricted to a dominant or single use. Management
clearcuts on wildlife species that inhabit early-suc- in each of the three major ownership categories—
cessional ecosystems. Finally, the interaction may the public forests, industry forests, and forests of
be incompatible: a genuine wilderness experience the nonindustrial private landowner—must broaden
is impossible in an area under intensive timber man- its objectives. The private sector will play a key role
agement. Clawson (6) developed a qualitative in future resource supply, since the majority of for-
model to assess the degree of compatibility of a est land in the United States is in private hands.
variety of uses. The model requires specific infor-
mation about the resources being used, the man-
ner in which they will be used, and the specific Sustainability and Ecosystem
forest ecosystem constraints that apply. Management
Conflicts may result if multiple uses of the for- For most of the 20th century, forest management
est are incompatible. The conflict may be between emphasized the timber resource. The reason is sim-
the resources themselves, as between healthy pine ple—pulpwood and sawlogs have been generally
trees and red-cockaded woodpeckers. When the highest-value products a forest can produce.
incompatibility occurs, it is necessary to separate Only in unusual instances do other resources rival
directly conflicting resources either in space, allo- the value of timber on a per acre basis. As a result,
cating resources to different areas, or in time, allo- foresters in North America have been concerned
cating resources to a given area in different seasons, about sustainability of timber since the rise of the
years, or decades. The concept of dominant use profession at the turn of the century.
(7), in which one use of the forest is given rela- In the early 1900s, efforts to promote forest
tive priority over others, can be implemented with management were a response to concerns about
Forest M a n a g e m e n t 187

widespread misuse of timber resources—abusive . . . using an ecological approach to achieve the

timber cutting practices, inadequate or no refor- multiple-use management of national forests
and grasslands by blending the needs of people
estation, and uncontrolled wildfire. Early attempts and environmental values in such a way that
at forest management targeted those three issues national forests and grasslands represent
by establishing scientific methods of timber har- diverse, healthy, productive, and sustainable
vest, ensuring reforestation, and controlling ecosystems. (10)
wildfires.
However, early forest management only ensured By this statement, the Forest Service embraced a
the sustainability of the timber resource; they did new conceptual model for implementing the Mul-
not address sustainability of other forest resources. tiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 and the
Even if trees are properly cared for, other resources National Forest Management Act of 1976.
of the forests may suffer. For example, removing The key to Robertson's statement is the impor-
all the hollow trees in a stand managed for timber tance given to the ecological basis for management
production would affect only a few individuals of of National Forest System lands. Traditionally, eco-
a wildlife species that likes hollow trees; they would nomic measures such as present net value, bene-
just look for other hollow trees in nearby stands. fit/cost ratio, or return on investment guided forest
On the other hand, if removal of hollow trees were management decisions on federal lands. Under
the standard policy for all foresters working in a ecosystem management, decisions are based on the
large timber company or public agency, this pol- ecological value they produce or sustain. Such deci-
icy would affect the numbers and distribution of sions might have a secondary value economically,
the species on a much larger scale. but the economic value is less important than
Research is needed on how forest management whether the proposed action improves the eco-
can include both the sustainability of the timber logical condition of the area being managed.
resource and the sustainability of other major The most important change that underlies
resources that forests provide. However, far less is ecosystem management on national forest lands
known about the needs of nontimber forest involves how the forester views timber production.
resources, because their relative value has only Under ecosystem management, the focus is more
recently begun to be understood. This is an unfor- on what is retained in the forest stand than on what
tunate byproduct of the value of timber resources is removed (11). The primary goal is not produc-
relative to nontimber resources. tion of timber under optimal economic regimes, but
Many different organizations support changes in to produce conditions in the forested landscape
traditional approaches to forest management (9). through stand-level actions that will maintain or
Both public and private forestry interests have restore forest health, diversity, productivity, and sus-
responded to this call. The National Forest System tainability. Rather than harvesting simply to cut tim-
has adopted the concept of "ecosystem manage- ber, harvesting is designed to achieve specified
ment," and the American Forest and Paper Asso- attributes in the forest that remains. These stand-
ciation has established the "Sustainable Forestry level actions may produce timber as a byproduct,
Initiative" for managing forest industry lands. The but the intent that underlies a practice is an eco-
concepts differ in some fundamental ways, but both logical one.
reflect a commitment to enhance the scope of for- Forest health is a key aspect of ecosystem
est management beyond the usual concern with management. If the concept of ecosystem man-
commodity production. agement started anywhere, it was during the Yel-
lowstone National Park fires of 1988. More than
Ecosystem Management In 1992, the Chief of the any recent forest event, the Yellowstone fires
U.S.D.A. Forest Service, F. Dale Robertson, defined revealed that continued efforts to suppress fire in
ecosystem management as: fire-adapted ecosystems were doomed to fail, and
188 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

Sidebar 9.1

Ecosystem Management in Action

A good example of ecosystem management in

action is the restoration of shortleaf pine-bluestem
in the Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas.
Consider an 80-year-old shortleaf pine stand on
national forest land in west-central Arkansas. Tra-
ditional economic analyses would suggest the
stand is economically mature, and should be sub-
ject to reproduction cutting. However, under
ecosystem management, a district ranger might
consider a different decision—to restore the pine
savanna community described in early reports
from the region.
Silvicultural tactics for pine savanna restora-
tion include: 1) extending the rotation for pine
sawtimber to 120+ years, 2) thinning the stand
from below so as to reduce susceptibility to
southern pine beetle, 3) undertaking a program
of midstory hardwood control to eliminate the
understory hardwoods that have sprung up in
the 60-year period during which fires have been
excluded from these sites, 4) reintroducing peri-
odic prescribed fires to reestablish the native
prairie flora such as the big bluestem grass and
purple coneflower, and 5) installing artificial cav-
ities in some of the pines for use by the endan-
gered red-cockaded woodpecker. Through this
decision, the ecological goal of restoring the
pine-bluestem habitat, an underrepresented
plant community in the area, is achieved, while A typical stand of shortleaf pine in Arkansas, prior
to shortleaf pine-bluestem habitat restoration
still providing timber from the thinning to the
treatments.
local forest products economy, bobwhite quail
for local hunters, and red-cockaded wood-
peckers for local birdwatching enthusiasts.
The practice has the benefit of creating nest- the shortleaf pine overstory. The project has ele-
ing and foraging habitat ideal for the endangered ments of forest health, diversity, productivity, and
red-cockaded woodpecker. Yet, the area remains sustainability, and the implementation of creative
a place where an active program of timber pro- management tactics to achieve restoration.
duction can still have a place, through periodic However, even in such restoration work, the
thinning and, ultimately, reproduction cutting in immediate needs of habitat restoration and
Forest M a n a g e m e n t 189

recovery must include provisions to ensure a sus-

tainable supply of those habitats over the long
term. For example, the endangered woodpecker
requires an adequate area in stands of suitable
age and structure to provide nesting habitat,
roughly defined as from 90 to 120 years old. Suit-
able foraging habitat for the bird can be obtained
in stands from 30 to 120 years old. However,
these stands do not remain static in age; over
time, they will grow and mature. Young stands
between 0 and 30 years in age must be estab-
lished and managed as the replacement stands
to fulfill future foraging needs in three to nine
decades, and future nesting needs 9 to 12
decades down the road.
Thus, for long-term sustainability of the short-
leaf pine-bluestem habitat, plans must be made
to keep about 25 percent of the area in suitable
nesting habitat, and an additional 50 percent in
suitable foraging habitat. The last 25 percent in
stands must be managed as very young stands
between 0 and 30 years in age—a continuous
supply of replacement stands for future forag-
ing and nesting needs.

A different stand of shortleaf pine, which has been

treated by midstory removal and restoration of a
regular cycle of prescribed fire. (James M. Guldin)

in a spectacular manner. Today, considerable effort past management practices have a negative effect
is being made in the West and South to restore on current forest conditions. For example, some
fire to fire-adapted ecosystems, either by delib- managed forests in the West consist of dense, over-
erately setting understory burns (called "prescribed stocked young stands of pine. Trees in such stands
fires") or by allowing natural ignitions such as iso- have low vigor, and as a result are highly suscep-
lated lightning strikes to burn under controlled tible to attack by insects such as the mountain pine
conditions (Figure 9.8). In both instances, foresters beetle. Forest managers must choose either to
will limit fires to a specified area under manage- develop tactics to reduce overstocking, or to allow
able weather conditions. the mountain pine beetle to do so in a way that
Concerns about forest health in the context of may have unacceptable impacts within the given
ecosystem management include situations where watershed.
190 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

and age of stands, and the cumulative area occu-

pied by stands of different ages. These factors can
also define the desired ecological habitats and con-
ditions under ecosystem management. Thus,
development of a balance of habitat conditions is
as important a goal under ecosystem management
as it is when timber production is a primary goal
of management. Incorporating precise, quantitative
descriptions of forest conditions is necessary to
determine sustainability, whatever the goal of
management.
Foresters working under ecosystem management
are likely to face greater challenges than were faced
by traditional timber-oriented forest managers. Many
of these challenges are beyond the forester's con-
trol. The past 40 years have been marked by detailed
Congressional legislation and by the actions of dif-
ferent presidential administrations, as illustrated by
Robertson's ecosystem management letter in 1992
and the changes in national forest planning regula-
tions proposed by President Clinton in 1999. These
Congressional and administrative shifts in forest man-
agement policy and process reflect society's shift-
ing attitudes toward forest management. While 40
years constitutes a long professional career for a
human being and a period of 10 presidential admin-
F i g u r e 9.8 Prescribed fire in a loblolly pine stand istrations in our constitutional democracy, it is just
on forest industry land in southern Arkansas. (James a third of the time required to develop a regulated
M. Guldin) shortleaf pine-bluestem habitat over a large area.
As a result, it is best not to think of ecosystem
management as a replacement for more traditional
Ecosystem management is a framework for forms of timber-oriented forest management, but
emphasizing species diversity through habitat rather as the next step in the evolution of the over-
restoration, using methods such as thinning and pre- all theory of forest management on federal lands
scribed fire to restore patterns and processes that over time. Society, Congress, or some future admin-
have been absent in a given habitat. The target is istration may well come up with ways to refine or
not one specific habitat, but a spectrum of condi- replace ecosystem management. The most realis-
tions that would result from varying the intensity tic perspective may well be to consider ecosystem
and timing of prescribed fires and would reflect the management as the latest in a long line of philo-
range of naturally occurring variation in ecosystem sophical views that have been and will be devel-
structure and function. oped to better capture society's goals for the
Finally, sustainability is as important under an nation's forests.
ecosystem management scenario as it is under a
more traditional timber-oriented approach to for- Sustainable Forestry Initiative In the 1990s, for-
est management. Timber sustainability can be est industry landowners sought to play a leader-
defined as a function of the species composition ship role in forest conservation on the lands that
Forest O w n e r s a n d O w n e r s h i p 191

they own or manage. The result was a program who practice sustainable forestry, and working to
called the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which was help all private landowners manage forests in a sus-
established in 1994 by the American Forest and tainable manner.
Paper Association (AF&PA), the nation's most influ- It is difficult to say as yet how the Sustainable
ential forest industry trade association. Forestry Initiative will change the practice of sus-
Under the principles of sustainable forestry, tainable forestry on private lands. For example, one
AF&PA members agree to use responsible forestry specific objective of the Initiative is for loggers to
practices, maintain forest health and productivity, enroll in training courses on how to prevent ero-
protect special sites, and continuously improve the sion, stream sedimentation, and other adverse eco-
practice of forest management (Figure 9.9). The logical effects. However, it is not clear whether this
guidelines that member companies follow on their training actually leads to the desired on-the-ground
own lands, and encourage landowners from improvement in harvesting practices. Similarly,
whom they buy timber to follow on their lands as member companies can agree to independent mon-
well, include requirements for an independent itoring to ensure that company lands are being
expert review of compliance, public reporting of promptly reforested. Initiative guidelines cannot be
compliance, and support of public forest policy required on outside lands that a company harvests
goals for sustainable forestry but does not own; that decision must be made by
Central to the program are eight public policy the landowner. Like public forest managers,
goals for sustainable forestry on private and pub- AF&PA members face challenges that are beyond
lic lands. These goals include increasing growth their immediate control. Time will tell how much
and timber quality of forest lands, implementing of an influence the Sustainable Forestry Initiative
appropriate ecosystem management on federal and similar efforts will have on the management
lands, reducing the risk and occurrence of wild- practices of private landowners.
fires, practicing integrated pest management,
encouraging research on forest health and pro-
ductivity, promoting continuing education in for-
est resources, recognizing members and others Forest Owners and Ownership
The most fundamental tenet in the practice of
forestry is this: the landowner, not the forester,
determines the objectives of management. The task
of the forester is to implement the landowner's
objectives by developing and administering a for-
est management plan. Foresters can and should use
their professional expertise to suggest management
objectives and alternatives to the landowner. At
times, foresters may even be called upon to con-
vene and facilitate discussions among landowners
or with the public about land management objec-
tives. However, the ultimate decision-making
authority on forest management objectives gener-
ally rests with the landowner.
By no means does every forest landowner have
Figure 9.9 A streamside management zone or want every multiple use on his or her forest land.
separates pine plantations of different age classes on Owners of forest industry lands often accommodate
forest industry land in central Arkansas. 0ames M. hunting and other nontimber uses as long as they
Guldin) have no worse than a neutral effect on timber
192 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

production. Conversely, the nonindustrial private forestland were largely offset by suburban expan-
landowner may have objectives that are not clearly sion and other developments.
defined, and that may be oriented either to a spe- Forestland is subdivided into three categories.
cific single use or to a specific subset of the mul- Timberland is defined as forestland that is 1) capa-
tiple uses. Lands managed by the Forest Service are ble of producing more than 1.4 cubic meters per
expected to provide for multiple uses at the ranger hectare per year (20 cubic feet or 0.25 cords per
district level (generally between 50,000 and 200,000 acre per year) of industrial wood under natural-
acres) through land and resource management stand conditions, and 2) that is not allocated to non-
plans for each national forest. Thus, ownership pat- timber single uses. The land may or may not be
terns often define the uses of forests in each region under any program of forest management, but
of the country. would exceed the indicated volume growth if it
were. Today, about 204 million hectares (504 mil-
lion acres) are classified as timberland. The north-
Land Ownership and Distribution ern and southern regions contain about 69 percent
About a third of the United States is forest land— of the total forestland, and about 75 percent of the
302 million hectares (747 million acres) (Table 9.1). timberland in the United States (Table 9.2). Within
The rest is either rangeland or other land, which these regions timberland constitutes more than 90
includes farmland and urban and suburban areas. percent of the total forestland base.
The 302 million hectares of forest today is about Reserved forestland is sufficiently productive to
two-thirds of the land area that was forested in 1630, be timberland, but it has been allocated to specific
leaving some 123 million hectares (304 million nontimber uses such as wilderness areas, wildlife
acres) that has since been converted to agriculture sanctuaries, and national parks. About 21 million
and other uses. About 75 percent of the land con- hectares (52 million acres) of timberland (7 percent
version from forests to agriculture occurred in the of total forestland; 9 percent of total timberland)
19th century. Between 1850 and 1910, American are classified as reserved forestland, a significant
farmers cleared more forest than had been cleared resource legacy for future generations.
in the previous 250 years of settlement—about 77 Other forestlands consist of slow-growing forests
million hectares (190 million acres). By the 1920s, that are not capable of producing 1.4 cubic meters
the clearing of forests for agriculture had largely per hectare per year. Although these lands are not
ceased (12). The 1930s to 1950s saw a consider- productive for timber, they are valuable to society
able reversion of agricultural land to forestland, for many other uses, including watershed protec-
especially in the South. However, those gains in tion, wildlife habitat, grazing, and recreation. About

T a b l e 9.1 Land Area in the United States, 1997 (12)

Type of Land Total Area Proportion
(million hectares) (percent)
Timberland 204 22
Reserved Forestland 21 2
Other Forestland 77 8
Total Forestland 302 33
Other Land 614 67
Total Land Area in U.S. 916 100
Forest O w n e r s a n d O w n e r s h i p 193

Table 9.2 Land Area in the United States, by Section and Type of Land, 1997 (12)
Type of Land Total North South Rocky Mountains Pacific Coast
(million (million (million (million (million
hectares) hectares) hectares) hectares) hectares)

Timberland 204 64 81 29 29
Reserved Forestland 21 3 2 7 9
Other Forestland 77 1 4 22 51
All Forestland 302 69 87 58 89
Other Land 614 98 130 242 143
Total Land Area in U.S. 916 167 217 300 232

77 million hectares (26 percent of forestland) fall cent of the timberland in both the heavily popu-
in this category. More than half is in Alaska and lated North and the timber-dependent South.
most of the rest is west of the Great Plains, rang-
ing from arid lowland pinyon-juniper forests to
high-altitude, slow-growing coniferous forests. Volume, Productivity, Growth,
The National Forest System manages 19 percent Mortality, and Removals
of the nation's timberland, three-quarters of which In 1997, America's timberland contained an esti-
is located west of the Great Plains. When national mated 25.3 billion cubic meters (905 billion cubic
forests were created from unclaimed public lands feet) of timber, of which 92 percent is in growing
100 years ago, much of the lower elevation, more stock—live, sound trees suited for roundwood
accessible, and productive land had already been products (12). Coniferous softwoods account for 58
claimed by railroads, settlers, and sawmills. Con- percent of growing stock. Softwood volume is up
sequently, national forests tend to be on steeper 12 percent since 1953, 7 percent since 1987. West-
terrain, at higher elevations, and have lower pro- ern forests contain 68 percent of the nation's soft-
ductivity than private timberland (12). wood growing stock, primarily because conifers
Although timberland on national forests is impor- comprise 90 percent of the growing stock in west-
tant to the economies of many communities, the ern forests. Three-quarters of these western conif-
timberland in private ownership plays a much larger erous forests are on federal lands. In contrast, more
role in meeting America's wood and fiber needs. than 90 percent of the hardwood growing stock in
Only 13 percent of the nation's timberland and 12 the United States is found in the northern and south-
percent of the softwood growing stock is owned ern regions. Most of this volume is on nonindus-
by forest industry, while industry timberlands pro- trial private land, and it varies greatly in quality.
vided 30 percent of the volume harvested in 1996. Productivity is measured by the mean annual
More than half these industry timberlands—53 per- growth obtainable from fully stocked natural stands,
cent—are located in the South, an important region a definition that varies depending on the species
in the timber economy of the nation. Most of the and site condition. Of the 302 million hectares of
timberland in the United States—almost 60 per- forestland in the United States, 73 million hectares
cent—is owned by private individuals whose major (24 percent) are capable of producing in excess of
source of income is not from their forestland. These 5.95 cubic meters per hectare (85 cubic feet per
nonindustrial private forest owners, to whom spe- acre) annually. Half of this most productive land
cial attention is given in Chapter 10, own 71 per- is in the South. Another 131 million hectares (43
194 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

1.40 cubic meters per hectare annually. Over 90 per-

Sidebar 9.2 cent of these lands are west of the Great Plains and
comprise over half of western forests. Reserved
forestlands are not classified for productivity.
Forest Inventory and Analysis Growth has exceeded harvest in America since
Web Site the 1950s, so the volume of growing stock on U.S.
timberland has increased considerably the past 5
decades. Between 1953 and 1997, the net volume
The power of the Internet is increasingly appar- of hardwood growing stock increased 90 percent
ent in the federal forestry research program. to 9.9 billion cubic meters (350 billion cubic feet).
No better example can be given than the The hardwood volume in trees greater than 48 cen-
National Forest Inventory and Analysis web site timeters (19 inches) in diameter more than dou-
of the Forest Service. This web site (www. bled, from 74 million cubic meters to 158 million
srsfia.usfs.msstate.edu) gives access to the cubic meters. For softwoods, the net volume
national data base upon which Forest Inven- increased 35 percent to 13.7 billion cubic meters
tory and Analysis state reports are prepared. (484 billion cubic feet), but the softwood volume
The advantage of this web page is that it in trees larger than 48 centimeters in diameter
enables users to customize their requests for declined 6 percent. Combining both hardwoods
data. For example, suppose the user is inter- and softwoods, net per-hectare volume rose in the
ested in building a wood-processing facility, 1953-1997 period in all regions—doubling in the
and needs data on the availability of conifers North, increasing 76 percent in the South, rising
on private lands within a given radius of the 27 percent in the Rocky Mountains, and up 2 per-
proposed location. The data entry provisions cent in the Pacific Coast region. Western increases
on the web page would produce the stan- were lower than the East because much of the tim-
dard set of 25 tables typically found in a state berland stocked with high volumes of mature or
report, but the tables would contain only the overmature timber was either harvested and regen-
data specified in the parameters selected by erated with young stands, or it was shifted to the
the user. The summary tables are automati- reserved forestland category (12).
cally opened in the web browser and can Mortality is the growing stock volume that dies
then be printed locally by the user. annually from natural causes, such as insect and
An easier way to access inventory data— disease attacks, suppression beneath the forest
and to do so with ability to specify the area, canopy, forest fires, windthrow, and catastrophic
variables, and constraints in which the user events. Mortality is a part of every ecosystem. In
is interested—has long been a desired prod- otherwise healthy stands, mortality normally ranges
uct from Forest Service research. This web from 0.61 to 0.85 percent of growing stock volume.
page goes a long way toward fulfilling that Individual dead trees are usually left standing
promise. because they are widely scattered and cannot be
economically removed. Occasionally, hurricanes
and other catastrophic events result in a high mor-
tality in a localized area. In Table 9.3, mortality has
percent) of forestland are capable of producing already been subtracted from gross growth to obtain
between 1.40 and 5.95 cubic meters per hectare (20 net growth.
to 85 cubic feet per acre) annually. About 73 per- Removals, which measure the growing stock vol-
cent of this medium productivity land lies east of ume removed from timberland, include volume
the Great Plains. On the 77 million hectares clas- removed during forest operations such as pre-
sified as Other Forestland, productivity is less than commercial thinnings or commercial harvests, as
Forest O w n e r s and O w n e r s h i p 195

T a b l e 9.3 Net Annual Growth and Removals from Growing Stock in the United States,
1996 (12)
All Species Softwoods Hardwoods
Section and Item (million cubic meters) (million cubic meters) (million cubic meters)

North:
Net growth 152 33 118
Removals 79 19 60
Growth-removal ratio 1.93 1.75 1.99

South:
Net growth 303 167 137
Removals 288 183 105
Growth-removal ratio 1.05 0.91 1.30

Rocky Mountains:
Net growth 70 57 14
Removals 15 14 0.8
Growth-removal ratio 4.69 4.00 16.03

Pacific Coast:
Net growth 144 126 18
Removals 72 68 3
Growth-removal ratio 2.01 1.84 5.64

United States:
Net growth 670 383 287
Removals 454 285 167
Growth-removal ratio 1.48 1.34 1.70

well as wood removed during conversion from for- of any other agricultural crop. But the softwood
est to nonforest land uses. In 1996, timber resource in the South, where removals exceeded
removals in the United States totaled 454 million net growth by 10 percent in 1996, will not be sus-
cubic meters in comparison to total net growth of tainable unless productivity increases or harvesting
670 million cubic meters (Table 9.3). Put another decreases.
way, American forests grew 34 percent more soft- Timber harvest on nonindustrial private forest
wood volume and 70 percent more hardwood vol- lands increased by about 17 percent between 1986
ume than was harvested. and 1996, largely in response to continuing pres-
The South, with 64 percent of the total volume sure to reduce harvests on national forests and other
removed, has been the preeminent timber supply public lands (12). Nonindustrial private forest lands
region in the United States for the past two decades. provided 59 percent of all timber volume harvested
Its share has grown even larger with recent declines in 1996 compared to 30 percent from forest indus-
in harvesting on the public forests in the West. In try lands. The national forests accounted for only
several southern states, such as Louisiana, the eco- 5 percent of timber harvested in 1996, down from
nomic value of the timber harvest exceeds the value 13 percent in 1987. Other public lands—primarily
196 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

state and county forests and Bureau of Land Man- report by a committee of scientists who issued rec-
agement lands—accounted for the remaining 6 per- ommendations for stewardship of the national
cent of removals. forests and grasslands (14). The recommendations
As America's population grows in the 21st cen- in these two reports have helped define the forms
tury, the nation's ability to meet its increasing wood of stewardship that should be provided for Amer-
and fiber needs depends on increasing the pro- ica's forests in the 21st century.
ductivity of privately owned forestlands. Forest
industry firms are investing substantial sums in
increasing the productivity of their own lands and
managing them on a sustainable basis. Nonindus- Stewardship of Public Lands
trial private forestland owners usually need finan- Approximately 30 percent of the nation's 302 mil-
cial assistance to make equivalent investments, and lion hectares of timberland is controlled by public
professional advice on the latest scientific findings owners. Four federal agencies have land manage-
and technologies available for increasing produc- ment as their primary responsibility: the Forest Ser-
tivity and managing as sustainably as industrial for- vice of the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau
est enterprises. of Land Management (BLM), the Fish and Wildlife
These statistics illustrate the challenge to sus- Service, and the National Park Service of the Depart-
tainable forest management over the next several ment of the Interior. Of these four agencies, the For-
decades. Projections indicate that the forest est Service manages 25 percent of the federally
resources desired by society, including timber, will controlled forest and rangeland and the BLM 62 per-
surely increase as our country's population grows. cent. However, the Forest Service is responsible for
Despite making major increases in productivity and approximately 80 percent of the federal commer-
putting increased emphasis on sustainable forest cial timberland. All the BLM lands are located in
management, forest industry lands will be hard- the thirteen western states, mostly in the two states
pressed to meet projected increases in demand for of Alaska and Oregon. These agencies all have
softwoods two to three decades from now. Recent other responsibilities as part of their mission. These
declines in softwood harvests on public lands have may include educating the public about resource
increased the pressure on nonindustrial private management options, or assisting and encouraging
forestland owners to harvest available softwoods, good management practices on private lands.
and on forest industry to import softwoods from Two other federal agencies play a lesser role in
other countries. Further, access to nonindustrial pri- land management. The Natural Resources Conser-
vate forestlands, also home to two-thirds of the vation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Ser-
hardwood growing stock, is becoming more diffi- vice) within the Department of Agriculture is the
cult as the number of owners proliferates, and aver- lead federal conservation agency for private forest
age tract size shrinks. Also, the pressures for access land. The Department of Defense manages forest-
to forestlands for timber production are increasingly land on military reservations; although activities
in conflict with forest values that arise from non- such as grazing, timber production, and wildlife
timber forestland uses. management are permitted on some of these lands,
These are the conflicts facing American forests, they are primarily managed for defense purposes.
their owners, and their managers in the 21st cen- It also supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
tury. The challenges have spawned an intense which provides extremely important recreation
national debate over the future of both public and opportunities on the nation's inland waterways.
private forests. Two examples are the 1998 report Several other federal agencies directly adminis-
by the National Academy of Sciences on prospects ter forestlands and rangelands for various purposes,
and opportunities for sustainable management of depending on the agency's particular responsibil-
America's nonfederal forests (13) and the 1999 ities. Approximately 10 percent of the public forest-
Stewardship of Public Lands 197

land and rangeland is administered by federal agen-

cies for which forestry functions are generally minor
or incidental to their major responsibilities. They
include the Departments of Commerce and Trea-
sury, the State Department, the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, the U.S. Agency for International
Development, the Agriculture Research Service, the
Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the
Cooperative State Research Education and Exten-
sion Service.
Finally, at the state level, forest management is
generally coordinated through an appropriate
department or commission. At local levels, county
commissions or municipal authorities manage F i g u r e 9 . 1 0 A wilderness area overlook on the
forests within their jurisdiction, such as those affil- Ouachita National Forest in eastern Oklahoma.
iated with public schools. (U.S.D.A. Forest Service)

Forest Service agement of national forests and grasslands, to

The USDA Forest Service is the major forest man- ensure a sustainable supply of timber, wildlife,
agement agency within the federal government. Its water, recreation, and forage resources. This is done
origins lie in the Department of Agriculture, which by developing and implementing Land and
established a Division of Forestry in 1876, and the Resource Management Plans, which outline the
Department of the Interior, which managed the exact goals and means by which any given national
nation's system of forest reserves through its forest or grassland will be managed.
Forestry Division of the General Land Office. In The Forest Service has a number of other impor-
1905, under the administration of Theodore Roo- tant responsibilities. Its Research and Development
sevelt, these agencies were combined to form the program—the largest forestry research organization
Forest Service, within the Department of Agricul- in the world—conducts research in forest resource
ture. Gifford Pinchot—a professional forester, con- management and conservation. State and Private
servationist, and associate of Roosevelt—was Forestry is responsible for working with state
appointed to be the first Chief. forestry agencies and private landowners to
Today, the Forest Service manages 155 national enhance management of private forest lands in the
forests, 20 national grasslands, and a variety of nation, including support for forest health protec-
smaller holdings in the National Forest System, tion, rural economic development, and assistance
totaling over 77 million hectares (192 million acres) with improved management practices on nonin-
of land—roughly 8.4 percent of the land area of dustrial private forest lands. International Forestry
the United States, and 34 percent of the land area is responsible for working cooperatively with for-
in the United States managed by the federal eign governments to promote forest resource con-
government. servation in the United States and abroad.
The mission of the Forest Service is "Caring for The Forest Service has the most advanced sys-
the land and serving people," and reflects the long- tem of planning and administration of virtually any
standing commitment of the agency to conserve public or private forest management agency in the
natural resources while providing for the needs of United States. This is not surprising, given the fed-
society (Figure 9.10). To fulfill its mission, the For- eral mandate for multiple use and the varied
est Service takes an ecological approach to the man- clientele inherent in public ownership. Guidance
198 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

for current management of the National Forest Sys-

Sidebar 9.3 tem can be found in the Multiple Use-Sustained
Yield Act of 1960, the Renewable Resources Plan-
ning Act (RPA) of 1974, and the National Forest
Committee of Scientists Report Management Act (NFMA) of 1976. The RPA charges
the Forest Service to conduct an economically
based assessment that allocates forest resources
The National Forest Management Act of 1976
among their many conflicting uses (15), and the
(NFMA) requires the Secretary of Agriculture
NFMA ensures a scientific basis for management
to develop, maintain, and revise land and
and for both scientific and public input into the
resource management plans for the National
planning process (16).
Forest System. Acts like this are implemented
Planning within the Forest Service occurs at
through federal regulations and internal
national, regional, and local levels. The Chief of the
agency directives. The regulations and direc-
Forest Service develops long-term national goals,
tives provide guidance to planners and
programs, and production levels for management
decision makers. The original regulation
of the national forests based on data generated by
implementing NFMA was published in 1979
the RPA assessment. Regional contributions to
and revised in 1982. That regulation guided
national goals are based on regional supply of and
the first round of forest planning. In 1998, the
demand for resources. Within each region, stan-
Secretary of Agriculture decided to appoint
dards and guidelines are formulated on the basis
a Committee of Scientists to offer recom-
of regional RPA assessments; these standards and
mendations on how to revise and update the
guidelines are expressed as long-range program
federal regulation.
objectives and production levels for individual
The Committee spent a year reviewing
national forests within the region. At individual
innovative examples of natural resource
national forests, the planning team summarizes the
planning and management throughout the
management situation, establishes long-term goals
Forest Service and meeting with citizens, state
and objectives, specifies in detail a plan of activi-
and local government officials, leaders of
ties that will be conducted throughout the 10-year
Indian tribes, and employees of the Forest
planning horizon for each alternative proposed,
Service and other federal agencies. In their
selects the desired alternative through public input
report, the Committee recommended a new
and consideration of associated environmental
vision for the Forest Service. They called for
impacts, and establishes a program to monitor plan
making sustainability—ecological, social, and
implementation. The management plan for a
economic—the foundation for planning and
national forest typically provides general directions
decision making. They reaffirmed that only
for forestwide management and specific directions
through collaborative problem solving, where
for implementing the selected alternative.
all interests are at the table and all viewpoints
considered, could complex natural resource
issues be resolved. They proclaimed that the National Park Service
best available scientific information should be
National Park management is probably the oldest
used in the planning process, and they called
federal forest management program. In 1872, Con-
for more involvement of the scientific com-
gress established Yellowstone National Park by
munity. Finally, they envisioned forest plans
withdrawing it from the public-domain lands that
as "living" documents that are easy to amend
had been open to entry for homesteading. The early
and revise.
Parks were under the protection and administra-
tion of the Department of the Army. The National
Stewardship of Public Lands 199

Park Service (NPS) was established in 1916 within

the Department of the Interior, and was given
responsibility for management for the network of
National Parks and Monuments.
Today, the National Park System consists of 378
areas covering more than 32 million hectares (80
million acres) in the United States and its territories.
The mission of the National Park Service is to con-
serve the scenery and the natural and historic objects
and values of the lands under its administration, and
to ensure their conservation for future generations
(Figure 9.11). They are not used for production of
forest products, as are national forest lands. Lands
in the National Park System are of such national sig-
nificance as to justify special recognition and pro-
tection in accordance with various acts of Congress.
The system includes not only the large National
Parks such as Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, but
also National Monuments, Preserves, Historic Sites,
Historic Parks, Memorials, Battlefields, Cemeteries,
Recreation Areas, Seashores, Lakeshores, Rivers,
Parkways, and Trails.
Additions to the National Park System are
generally made through acts of Congress or by
executive order of the President. Under the Antiq-
uities Act of 1906, the President has the author-
ity to proclaim an area as a National Monument
without the support of Congress, and many areas
now famous within the National Park System were F i g u r e 9.11 The mission of the National Park
initially protected under this Act by Theodore Roo- Service includes conserving both the natural and
sevelt. In the last year of his administration, Pres- historic objects under its care, illustrated by this view
of Mount Rushmore and the surrounding forest.
ident Bill Clinton used this act to set aside many
0ames M. Guldin)
additional natural areas. However, the power to
establish a new National Park resides with Con-
gress, in collaboration with the Secretary of the
Interior. dynamics of forest stands—and thereby to main-
Lands in the National Park System are maintained tain the health, diversity, and beauty of forest
in an essentially intact condition. The challenge in ecosystems in the National Park System.
this approach is that forests do not remain static.
For example, the decision to suppress forest fires
in western forests results in the accumulation of Bureau of Land Management
woody debris on the forest floor, which can lead The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is respon-
to catastrophic wildfires. As a result, land managers sible for managing 107 million hectares (264 mil-
are increasingly using ecological practices such as lion acres) of land in the United States. Major BLM
prescribed burning, fuel reduction, and habitat holdings are in the extensive grasslands and non-
restoration to better manage the successional commercial forestland in the West. Management
200 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

practices on BLM lands include mineral exploration responsibilities for managing the remaining federal
and extraction, grazing and timber production, land base in the West.
recreation, wilderness, fish and wildlife habitat, and The BLM mission is to manage the lands it
heritage resources (Figure 9.12). administers under a multiple-use framework. This
The origins of the BLM lie in the Department of mission is complicated by the increasing value that
the Interior's General Land, which was established society places on recreation, conservation, and non-
in the early 1800s to oversee the transfer of lands consumptive resources. Mining, grazing, and tim-
from federal holdings into private hands during the ber production continue to be important, but these
westward expansion of the nation's population. The objectives must now be integrated with the other
BLM was established in 1946 by combining the multiple uses that do not involve extraction of
General Land Office with other agencies that had resources.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under the
Department of the Interior, is responsible for man-
aging and conserving fish and wildlife and their
habitats for the benefit of present and future gen-
erations. The agency has important program
responsibilities for migratory birds, endangered
species, some marine mammals, and both fresh-
water and anadromous fish species,1 either through
direct management or through leadership in inter-
national conservation programs for migratory
waterfowl and fish.
The agency manages a network of over 520
National Wildlife Refuges, encompassing over 37
million hectares (93 million acres). The majority of
these are located in Alaska, but there is at least one
National Wildlife Refuge in each of the 50 states.
The refuges provide critical habitat for native
species of plants, animals, and fish, especially for
endangered and threatened species. However, the
refuges are also important for recreation and con-
servation education, as shown by the 25 million
people who visit annually.
A major program of the agency is to identify, pro-
tect, and restore the roughly 700 plant and animal
species that have been identified as endangered or
F i g u r e 9.12 Buffalo on grasslands managed by threatened under the provisions of the Endangered
the Bureau of Land Management in western South Species Act. The listing or de-listing of a species is
Dakota. (James M. Guldin) conducted under rigorous scientific scrutiny, with

1
Anadromous fish species—those ascending upriver from the sea to spawn, such as salmon.
Stewardship of Public Lands 201

opportunities for public comment. When a species communicate the availability of program funds, to
is listed, the agency works with landowners to identify areas that would be of high priority for sup-
develop management plans for population and port, and to advise landowners on the conserva-
habitat conservation. tion practices that would benefit their land. Thus,
the agency best achieves its mission by providing
support to landowners who want to learn more
Natural Resources about the conservation of their land.
Conservation Service
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),
formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
is the primary federal agency responsible for con- It may seem unusual to include the U.S. Army Corps
servation leadership on private lands in the United of Engineers in the list of organizations responsi-
States. The NRCS has no land of its own to man- ble for forest management on federal lands.
age, but provides advice and program access for However, most forest recreation activities involve
use in managing forests on private and nonfederal water, and the Corps of Engineers manages over
government lands. The agency traces its roots back 450 manmade lakes covering nearly 5 million
to 1935, when the SCS was established to support hectares (12 million acres). Specific legislation
conservation on private lands during the difficult authorizes the Corps of Engineers to provide pub-
years of the Depression. lic outdoor recreation opportunities at these facil-
The NRCS is responsible for the Forestry Incen- ities (Figure 9.13).
tives Program (FIP), the Conservation Reserve Pro- The Corps of Engineers is the largest provider
gram (CRP), and the Wetland Reserve Program of water-based recreation in the nation. It supports
(WRP). Each of these programs is administered and over 4300 developed recreation sites, approximately
funded in slightly different ways, but they share a 30 percent of the total found on federal lands.
common goal—to assist private landowners in for- Annually, Corps recreation facilities support 350 mil-
est management and conservation through techni- lion visits; about 10 percent of the population of
cal advice and financial assistance. The technical the United States makes at least one visit per year
advice is usually in the form of guidance about to a Corps of Engineers recreation site.
forestry practices that qualify for federal support.
If a site qualifies for assistance, management plans
are prepared by foresters with NRCS or state forestry
and wildlife agencies; funds are then provided to
help support the financial costs of implementation,
usually through some form of cost-sharing.
For example, reforestation of erosion-prone agri-
cultural fields was a priority in the late 1990s. To
determine if a particular field or pasture qualifies
for assistance, a farmer might contact a county NRCS
employee, county forester or state extension
agent. That professional would check the site, pre-
pare the management plan, and submit it to the
NRCS for approval. If approved, federal funds will
be provided to support some percentage, typically
half, of the cost of the tree planting. F i g u r e 9 . 1 3 Lake Ouachita, a U.S. Army Corps
The NRCS works closely with state forestry and of Engineers impoundment in west-central Arkansas.
conservation agencies and private landowners to (U.S.D.A. Forest Service)
202 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

Nationally, there is growing awareness that the

Corps of Engineers serves a large user population
and makes a significant contribution to the U.S.
economy. Coupled with this is the awareness that
increased support is needed to improve facilities,
maintain the waterways, and manage forests adja-
cent to these bodies of water to enhance forest
health and watershed values.

State Agencies and

Other Organizations
State forestry and wildlife agencies are responsible
for managing state-owned forest resources such as
state parks, forests, and wildlife areas. The organ-
ization of state agencies depends largely on the
amount of forestland and the importance of forestry
within the individual state. States that have exten-
sive state forest lands, such as California, Oregon,
and Washington, have large forestry agencies and
comprehensive procedures for management of state
forest lands (Figure 9.14). In other states, activities
emphasize control of wildfires, which is a major
responsibility in the South. Most states also provide
advice on forest management to owners of nonin-
dustrial private forestlands.

F i g u r e 9 . 1 4 Redwoods in Humboldt Redwoods

Stewardship of Private Lands State Park, northern California. (James M. Guldin)
Forest ownership in the United States is dominated
by the private sector, which includes both forest of land to multinational, multiproduct conglomer-
industry and owners of nonindustrial private for- ates operating several dozen mills, employing thou-
est (NIPF) lands. Because of their importance, the sands of people, and owning millions of hectares
NIPF sector is discussed in a separate chapter of productive forestland. As a result, management
(Chapter 10). of lands owned by forest industry differs greatly
from that of public lands.
The organization of administrative efforts also
Forest Industry varies. Some companies employ a chief forester and
Forest industry lands are those lands owned by staff to implement production quotas and forest
companies or individuals that also operate wood management programs. Others are organized
processing plants (17). The mission of a typical for- within a woodlands division, generally headed by
est industry is to satisfy company goals and pro- a vice-president and subdivided into management
vide favorable economic returns to the company districts (about 20,000-50,000 hectares in size), each
owners or stockholders. Their size may range from managed by one or two foresters and a crew of
a small open sawmill with a few thousand hectares technicians.
Stewardship of Private Lands 203

Within the company the woodlands division may

exist as a separate profit center, required to show
acceptable returns on all its investments from stand
establishment through harvest, or the woodlands
division may be part of a vertically integrated profit
center, in which financial losses are acceptable if
they create profit-making opportunities elsewhere
or otherwise contribute to the company's goals.
A hallmark of management on forest industry
lands is keen attention to productivity and growth.
Practices commonly found on industry lands include
the establishment of plantations using genetically
improved seedlings that are bred for traits such as
rapid growth and disease resistance. Seedlings are
planted at precise spacing to optimize growth. The
use of fertilizers to enhance early seedling growth,
and herbicides to control competing vegetation (Fig-
ure 9.15), is also common. As stands mature, thin-
nings maintain proper spacing between trees and
optimize stand volume growth (Figure 9.16). Har-
vests are scheduled so that the size and volume of
harvested trees meet mill requirements.
A major goal of the woodlands division of the
typical forest industry is to provide an even flow
of wood products to the mill. Shutting down a mill
for want of raw material is enormously expensive,
so industry foresters develop detailed plans to

F i g u r e 9.16 A thinned stand of loblolly pine

sawtimber nearing its rotation age on forest industry
land in south Arkansas. (James M. Guldin)

ensure a continuous flow of timber from the for-

est to the mill. A company's mill managers and
foresters occasionally disagree about harvesting pri-
orities in the forest, if events such as unusually wet
weather or labor difficulties require logging during
marginal conditions of operability, access, or when
stands are not yet of optimal rotation age.
For the 21st century, managers of forest indus-
try lands are increasingly aware of the value of
Figure 9.15 Applying herbicides to control resources other than timber on their lands. In
competing vegetation in a loblolly pine plantation on response, they are pursuing opportunities to profit
forest industry land in central Arkansas. (James M. from managing wildlife, fish, or recreational facil-
Guldin) ities, as illustrated by the common practice of
 204 Forest M a n a g e m e n t and Stewardship

leasing forest industry lands for hunting. Nontim-

ber resource specialists increasingly find employ-
ment with forest products companies, and their
responsibilities range from encouraging hunting
strategies that reduce browsing damage on
seedlings to advocating for compliance with non-
point pollution standards. In addition, the public
goodwill that results from producing and accom-
modating nontimber resources is not lost on indus-
trial forest managers. Even the preservation of
endangered species and the protection of their habi-
tat are increasingly viewed as a mark of good cor-
porate stewardship.

Nonindustrial Corporate Holdings

It has become increasingly common for forest lands
to be held and managed by corporations that do
not own their own processing facilities but that nev-
ertheless practice intensive management. Common
examples of these are life insurance companies, real
estate trusts, and other firms that look on forest
management as an investment opportunity.
Similarly, a forest industry may divest its wood-
lands from its mills, and establish the woodlands
division as a separate real estate trust. In this
arrangement, the woodlands real estate trust
becomes independent of the mill and responsible
for making a profit. One effect of this is for the real F i g u r e 9.17 Cull tree removal in a sawtimber-
estate trust to sell timber on the open market, where sized stand of bottomland hardwoods on real estate
the high bidder may not necessarily be the mill that trust land in western Tennessee. (James M. Guldin)
it served exclusively before the divestiture.
Generally, land or real estate trusts manage their
holdings to ensure that the timber they put on the the principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative
market is in demand by the manufacturing facili- of the AF&PA. Doing so commits the investment
ties in the area. Since the investment companies do trust to manage its lands according to the manda-
not own their own processing facilities, they must tory guidelines of compliance stated in the Initia-
produce timber with attributes—species composi- tive's forest management principles.
tion, quality, volume, and operability—that are
highly desirable to the forest industries that will bid Private Conservation Groups
on the products when they are made available for
A relatively new player in the field of forest man-
sale (Figure 9.17).
agement is the private conservation group. The
Investment firms often seek to achieve the same most notable example is The Nature Conservancy,
standards of forest management as the major for- an organization dedicated to the preservation of
est industries. As a result, several of the largest and plants, animals, and natural communities repre-
most prominent investment firms also subscribe to sentative of the diversity of life on earth. The Nature
Stewardship of Private Lands 205

Sidebar 9.4

Private Conservation Groups in Action

The original forested wetland ecosystem of the

lower Mississippi River Valley covered 8.5 mil-
lion hectares (21 million acres) of bottomland
hardwood forests. By 1991, only 2 million
hectares (4.9 million acres) remained. The Big
Woods of Arkansas consists of 200,000 hectares
(500,000 acres) of bottomland hardwoods along
the Cache, White, and lower Arkansas Rivers in
eastern Arkansas, and is one of the largest
remaining contiguous blocks of this vanishing
forest type. Because of its rarity and the unique
conservation opportunity the area represents,
interest has been growing among federal and
state natural resource agencies, private conser-
vation groups, and others in developing a plan
to conserve and protect the ecological diversity
and promote compatible use of natural resources
in the Big Woods.
The Arkansas Field Office of The Nature Con-
servancy (TNC) is spearheading efforts to con-
serve the Big Woods as a functioning ecosystem
that preserves biologically significant areas.
Implicit in TNC goals are mandates to connect
and expand remaining forest patches and cor-
ridors, to restore natural patterns of hydrology
when possible, to promote compatible human
use, to conduct and encourage ecosystem
research, and to reach out to local communities.
Bald-cypress in a minor stream bottom in the Big
To achieve these goals, TNC has and will con- Woods of eastern Arkansas. (James M. Guldin)
tinue to acquire property in the area. It is work-
ing with existing landowners on afforestation
and reforestation projects, and with its own sci-
entists and others in academia to develop eco- Forestry Commission, Arkansas Game and Fish
logical research and monitoring in the region. Commission, Arkansas Natural Heritage Com-
Key partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife mission, Potlatch Corporation, Anderson-Tully
Service, the Arkansas Land and Development Company, Ducks Unlimited, the Arkansas
Corporation (a minority farm organization), the Wildlife Federation, and the Arkansas Audubon
Natural Resource Conservation Service, Arkansas Society.
(continues)
206 Forest M a n a g e m e n t and Stewardship

Sidebar 9.4 (continued)

Ecologically, the conservation actions taken significant areas through private action and
by the Conservancy represent a new direction development of coalitions of interested agencies,
in resource management—the conservation of forest industry, and private citizens.

Conservancy has extended conservation protection erships. It is not that public agencies, forest indus-
to more than 4.4 million hectares (11 million acres) try, and private nonindustrial forest landowners can-
in the United States and 24 million hectares (60 mil- not work alone or independently of one another;
lion acres) elsewhere in the world. they can, and will continue to do so. However,
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) achieves its increasingly, these three ownership sectors are find-
results through a nonconfrontational, apolitical ing more opportunities by working together across
approach in its activities, unlike many conservation ownership boundaries than they would by work-
groups. If TNC identifies property as having sig- ing alone.
nificance for a species or habitat of interest, it will The collaboration starts by sharing knowledge.
acquire it either through purchase on the open mar- Forest landowners do not operate in a vacuum.
ket, through donation, or through working with the They blend their personal knowledge and experi-
landowner for a permanent conservation easement. ence with information from many difference
All of these tactics have prominent tax advantages sources. Some of this information is scientific, such
to the landowner. as the latest research results. Some is market-driven,
After acquisition, TNC arranges for transfer of the such as the monthly stumpage price reports for local
property to the best available conservator, typically forest products. The local experience of forestry
a state or federal agency. In some properties, TNC professionals should not be overlooked, although
retains partial or complete ownership. The organ- it tends to be more value-laden, including personal
ization does not simply draw a line around its prop- preferences, opinions, and beliefs.
erties, though it will do so if dictated by the best Collaboration across sectors can extend to infor-
science for managing a given species or habitat. mal or formal cooperative relationships. A simple
However, it is common to see TNC crews engaged example occurs when a forest industry company
in active programs of forest or grassland manage- buys timber from a nonindustrial private landowner
ment, especially in an ecosystem restoration con- on the open market. However, this simple exam-
text. For example, the prescribed burning crews of ple can extend to a formal contract for long-term
TNC are equal to the best of any federal or state management services between the company, or a
agency, given their experience in burning prairie private consulting forester, and the landowner. It
and woodland habitats for ecological restoration. can include partnerships between government
agencies and private landowners for advice on man-
aging special sites, or for help in preserving habi-
tat for endangered and threatened species.
Stewardship Across Ownerships Over the past several decades, private nonin-
If one major advance in forest stewardship can be dustrial forest lands have been a special concern
identified in the early 21st century, it is the con- to professional foresters. Nearly 60 percent of the
cept of promoting forest stewardship across own- timberland in the United States is in farm and other
Stewardship Across O w n e r s h i p s 207

private nonindustrial ownership; these lands pro- Most cooperative programs are aimed at private
duce a significant share of the nation's timber, they lands, either by direct assistance to private
support livestock herds, they contain unique eco- landowners or by supporting programs of state
logical habitats, and they provide recreational forestry agencies. Cooperative programs provide
opportunities for many people. Most of these for- technical assistance and financial assistance, often
est owners hold small parcels under 400 hectares both simultaneously.
(1000 acres). Some give little thought to the man- The Department of Agriculture cooperates with
agement of their natural resources. Much is land grant colleges and universities to support the
known about the extent of private nonindustrial for- nationwide system of county extension agents.
est ownership and about the resource production Some county agents provide technical advice in
capabilities of their lands, but little is known about forestry, with the help of district or state forestry
the landowners themselves. extension specialists. They focus on sharing new
Four types of programs provide information to scientific information and technologies with
forest land managers and forest landowners. landowners, consultants, and land managers. They
Cooperative programs provide management and often organize demonstration projects, teach short
financial assistance. Forest protection programs deal courses, help develop land management plans,
with problems, such as wildfires or insect attacks, answer questions, and may even provide a day or
which commonly cross property boundaries and two of consulting to an individual private landowner
affect all lands irrespective of ownership. Research who seeks their assistance.
programs in various federal and state organizations Financial assistance includes cost-sharing incen-
exist to discover and develop new ways of apply- tives programs to assist nonindustrial private
ing scientific information. Advocacy programs exist landowners in implementing a variety of conser-
to foster interest in specific areas and mobilize pub- vation measures. It can take the form of special laws
lic and political support. providing favorable treatment for forests, such as
the capital gains provisions of the federal income
tax code that use lower tax rates for income from
Cooperative Forestry Programs forestry than for ordinary income. Some state prop-
Millions of hectares of forestlands are in the hands erty tax codes contain provisions to defer annual
of forest industries, states, local governments, and property taxes until the parcel generates income,
small landowners. In recent years state agencies usually through a timber harvest. Others require
have become stronger and federal funds have dwin- counties to assess private forest land based on its
dled. This situation has spawned a national effort current use value rather than its value if converted
to focus federal assistance on cooperative forestry to agricultural cropland, suburban housing devel-
activities that require a federal role, have multistate opment, or other "highest and best use" from a land
implications, and will provide for long-term value standpoint.
improvements (18). Finally, conservation education programs are an
Several formal programs under the cooperative effective way to translate technical expertise as well.
forestry umbrella facilitate forest management on The Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl programs are
nonfederal ownerships. Some programs provide cooperative programs between the Forest Service
forestry assistance to landowners, primarily non- and participating state and local agencies. Programs
industrial owners of small parcels of land. Others supported by forestry industry and state and fed-
coordinate the activities of managers of large land eral agencies include Project Learning Tree (empha-
parcels, primarily public agencies and forest indus- sizing forests), Project Wild (emphasizing wildlife),
tries. The underlying premise of these programs is and Project Wet (emphasizing aquatic ecology).
the need for additional financial or technical assis- These programs use the talents of resource pro-
tance to promote desirable stewardship activities. fessionals to train primary and secondary teachers,
208 Forest M a n a g e m e n t and Stewardship

who then use their own talents to bring environ- launched to bring the pest under control. Particu-
mental education to the classroom. larly vexing are outbreaks caused by invasive
species not indigenous to North America such as
the gypsy moth, Dutch elm disease, and Asian long-
Forest Protection Programs horned beetle.
For some landowners, concerns about forest man- Cooperative programs are also in place to
agement only begin when their property is threat- encourage land management practices that reduce
ened. Forest protection programs are special the risk of infestations. For example, research has
cooperative programs set up to help public and pri- demonstrated that thinning the basal area of south-
vate landowners deal with wildfires and pest ern pine stands to below 17 square meters per
outbreaks. hectare (75 square feet per acre) greatly reduces
Wildfire policies and practices have evolved sig- the likelihood of southern pine beetle outbreaks.
nificantly in the past decade. The aggressive sup- Cooperative research between the Forest Service
pression policies of the 1950s and 1960s were and land grant universities has led to innovative
encapsulated by the goal of extinguishing every methods for controlling pest outbreaks. Chemicals
wildfire fire by 10:00 a.m. the morning after the fire that confuse insect behavior, such as artificial sex
was detected. These policies dramatically reduced pheromones that disrupt mating, often can be used
the number of hectares burned each year. How- in lower doses and with fewer adverse ecologi-
ever, they had some unintended outcomes that have cal effects than pesticides. Biological controls, such
led to a rethinking about the role of fire in as growing and releasing sterile males or natural
ecosystems. predators of the invasive species have also been
For those fires where suppression is appropri- proven effective by researchers. Blending all these
ate, a well-coordinated initial attack framework has management tools together—silvicultural tech-
been established that involves federal and state niques, biological controls, effective chemicals,
forestland management agencies, Native American outreach activities providing technical assistance
tribal governments and forest industry landowners. and targeted financial assistance to those in need-
All participants have teams of employees who are is called integrated pest management (1PM).
trained in specific firefighting or support tasks and Because so many partners and cooperative ele-
can be called upon to fight fires anywhere on pub- ments are involved in integrated pest management,
lic or private lands. The Forest Service developed it is the epitome of a cooperative program for pro-
a management framework, called the "Incident tection of forests from pest outbreaks. IPM is dis-
Command Team," through which teams and indi- cussed in detail in Chapter 8 on forest diseases
viduals from all partner agencies can quickly, coop- and insects.
eratively, and cost-efficiently blend their skills and
resources to suppress the fire.
Pest outbreaks also call for cooperative action Research and Development
between federal, state, and private organizations. Programs
Like fires, pest outbreaks can occur suddenly and Research and development aims to discover new
threaten multiple landowners. The Forest Health knowledge about ecological, economic, and social
Monitoring Program is a joint effort by the Forest systems and to develop new ways of applying the
Service State and Private Forestry and participating knowledge to solve problems. In the United States,
state forestry agencies to track long-term trends in the primary research and development organiza-
forest conditions, identify changes in health status, tions are the Research and Development program
and evaluate causes. When pest outbreaks are iden- of the Forest Service, colleges and universities, for-
tified, cooperative programs involving federal est industry firms, and private institutes and inter-
agencies, states, and municipal governments are est groups.
Stewardship Across O w n e r s h i p s 209

The mission of the Research and Development recreation, range science, hydrology, forest pests,
program of the Forest Service is to "discover and and fire. Each unit has a charter that describes its
develop credible new knowledge and exciting new mission, and that lists three or four problem areas
technologies that help to sustain the health, pro- to achieve the mission. Frequently, the problem
ductivity, and diversity of America's forests and areas are so complex that they require a number
rangelands and meet the needs of present and of studies focused on specific elements of a prob-
future generations." Sustainable development— lem. The unit mission and assigned problems are
meeting the needs of the present generation with- reviewed every five years to assess progress and,
out compromising the ability of future generations if warranted, to adjust the mission and redirect the
to meet their needs—is a fundamental objective of resources into higher priority lines of research. Dur-
all agency activities. They focus on sustainable ing these periodic reviews, research collaborators,
development at multiple geographic scales—site, users of the research, and members of the public
landscape, regional, national, and global. at large are invited to comment on and influence
Research is conducted through six regional the priorities of the work assigned.
Research Stations located throughout the United Cooperation with others is a hallmark of Forest
States, and the national Forest Products Laboratory. Service research activities. Every research work unit
The core of the program is a network of 160 cooperates with researchers in other organizations.
research work units, each consisting of one or more This cooperation is formalized in over 1000 active
scientists holding advanced degrees as well as tech- agreements that provide funding to partners, typ-
nicians and support staff (Figure 9.18). Unit research ically university colleagues, for collaborative
specialties include the spectrum of multiple uses research. Many of these are cooperative agreements
and resources in the forest, such as silviculture, for- in which university colleagues and Forest Service
est ecology, wood products, economics, wildlife, scientists work together to complete the studies
described in the agreement.
One major Forest Service research program that
depends on cooperation for its success is the For-
est Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. The FIA
program has been collecting information about
America's forests since the 1930s. The program uses
a combination of images from remote sensing and
data collected by field crews on 13,000 field plots
annually to evaluate the status, condition, health,
and productivity of America's forests. Without the
cooperation of private landowners, state forestry
agencies, and advocacy groups, the FIA program
could not be successful.
Universities are the second major source of new
research and development activities supporting
public land managers and private landowners.
Figure 9.18 Classic uneven-aged structure in a Funding for university faculty involved in research
loblolly-shortleaf pine stand after 56 years of
management on the Good Farm Forestry Forty comes from many sources—endowments, federal
demonstration area. The stand is located on the and state appropriations, cooperative agreements,
Crossett Experimental Forest, which is managed by the and research grants from forest industry, private
Monticello-Crossett Research Work Unit of the foundations, and government agencies. The
Southern Research Station, U.S.D.A. Forest Service. U.S.D.A. Cooperative State Research, Education,
(U.S.D.A. Forest Service) and Extension Service provides funding to land
210 Forest M a n a g e m e n t and Stewardship

grant institutions through formula grant funds and Like their government and university counter-
competitive grants. Formula grant funds are allo- parts, industry researchers and industry grant recip-
cated according to a set of criteria, such as the ients usually submit nonproprietary research
acreage of forestland in a state, and support both findings for publication in professional journals,
land-grant university research (Mclntire-Stennis pro- which makes them available to the general public.
gram) and extension (Smith-Lever program) activ- Research funded by industry tends to be carefully
ities. Competitive grants are offered through the focused on industry objectives. Thus, it sometimes
National Research Initiative. tends to be of narrower scope and applicability than
The typical competitive grants process begins publicly funded research.
with the funding organization issuing a request for Advocacy groups also conduct limited forestry
proposals (RFP) that describes in detail the partic- research. Their research usually focuses very pre-
ular research problem to be addressed, and the cisely on the group's interests. It is often aimed at
requirements for eligibility. A group of scientific filling gaps in research results conducted by oth-
peers reviews the proposals that are submitted and ers, at tailoring previous results to specific sites, and
ranks them in order of merit. The highest ranked at corroborating or denying previous results. The
proposals are awarded funding. Generally, faculty Appalachian Mountain Club, The Nature Conser-
who obtain grant funding will be asked to submit vancy, and the Wilderness Society are examples of
progress reports to the funding organization as the advocacy groups that conduct research studies.
research is being conducted, and a final report
when the research is competed.
Forest industry funds research in three categories. Advocacy Programs
The first is research on the development of new Advocacy programs are run by groups of people
products and manufacturing methods. This work with common interests who pool their energy and
is usually proprietary, often conducted by company resources to create change or preserve a status quo
employees, and is intended for use inside the com- aligned with their shared values. Advocacy pro-
pany. A second category is for nonproprietary grams concentrate their efforts on communications
research available to any and all users. A few com- and representation activities. Working with print,
panies have their own internal research organiza- broadcast, and electronic media, they gather, pack-
tions that solve problems and develop improved age, and disseminate information that describes their
technology for application on the firm's lands and position management policies and options. They
lands of cooperating nonindustrial private forest also contact elected and appointed officials and
landowners. Others conduct research activities landowners to represent their members' interests
through grants to external research partners such and build support. Advocacy programs contribute
as Forest Service or university scientists. The third to stewardship by assuring that a broad range of
category is through alliances formed by companies options are considered and that minority viewpoints
to solve larger problems through industry associa- get aired in the political process of making natu-
tions or university cooperatives; member compa- ral resource policies and management decisions.
nies pool their contributions, award grants to Most of the positive changes in natural resource
research faculty and graduate students, and share management that occurred during the 20th century
the research results among the members. One owed their success, at least in part, to support from
example is Agenda 2020, a competitive grants pro- advocacy groups and their programs.
gram sponsored by the American Forest and Paper Advocacy groups can be classified into four gen-
Association; another is the Southern Forest Tree eral categories: 1) the commodity user group, 2)
Nursery Cooperative, organized by Auburn the noncommodity user group, 3) the professional
University. group, and 4) the special-issue group. It is impor-
Forestry at the National Level 211

tant to recognize that a specific advocacy group may cation, and practice of professional forestry in Amer-
have activities in more than one category. ica and of using the knowledge and skill of the pro-
The commodity and noncommodity groups are fession to benefit society. The SAF publishes the
both forest users. Both groups try to promote for- Journal of Forestry and a newsletter, The Forestry
est policies and budgets that favor their interests. Forum, each month; Forest Science, a quarterly
A commodity group is composed of businesses research journal; and three quarterly journals with
associated with an industry that produces a mar- regional focus—the Northern, Southern, and West-
ketable product such as paper, lumber, or beef. ern Journals of Applied Forestry. In addition to serv-
Examples are the American Forest and Paper Asso- ing as the voice of the forestry profession during
ciation and the National Cattleman's Association. A national and regional policy discussions, SAF also
noncommodity group is composed of businesses maintains a code of professional ethics for
or private individuals that also use the forest, but foresters, accredits schools providing undergradu-
their use does not involve a marketable forest prod- ate or graduate forestry education, promotes con-
uct. Rather, the primary focus of the use is enjoy- tinuing forestry education, strengthens international
ment of the forest. Examples of noncommodity relations with foresters and forestry organizations
advocacy groups are the National Wildlife Federa- in other countries, provides insurance for members,
tion, the Sierra Club, and the All-Terrain Vehicle and develops standard references for the profes-
Association. Other groups, such as the Sporting sion, such as a forestry dictionary and descriptions
Goods Manufacturing Association, bridge this of forest cover types.
distinction.
The third category is professional groups. They
consist of organizations whose primary purpose is
to maintain and advance the technical and scien-
Forestry at the National Level
tific practice and ethics of the forestry and related At first glance, the link between the practice of
professions and sciences. This group includes such forestry in the woods and the nation's capital seems
organizations as the Society of American Foresters, obscure. Other than the aesthetic appeal of the
Ecological Society of America, The Wildlife Soci- Japanese cherry blossoms during springtime on the
ety, and the Society for Range Management. National Mall, one does not usually think of Wash-
The final category is the special-issue group. ington when one thinks of forestry and trees. How-
These are organizations that formally support or ever, in the government buildings that line the
oppose a single issue. Their existence is usually lim- Mall—the White House, the Capitol, the Depart-
ited to the duration of the issue or focused on a ments of Agriculture and Interior, and others—more
place having extraordinary value to the group mem- key decisions are made about how forestry will be
bers. However, on occasion, they take on new practiced and financially supported than anywhere
issues and evolve into organizations with broader else in the nation.
interests. Examples of special-issue groups are Cit- The balance of power is shared among three sep-
izens Against Toxic Substances and Friends of the arate but equal branches of the U.S. government.
Boundary Waters Wilderness. Both Congress and the executive branch have active
All these advocacy groups contribute to the stew- roles in forestry, and the judicial branch is often
ardship of America's forests. However, the Society called upon for solutions to forestry issues and inter-
of American Foresters (SAF) plays an additional, ests. Moreover, many people and interest groups
very significant role as representing the forestry focus their demands on forestry at the national level.
profession. The international implications of forestry cannot be
The SAF was founded in 1900 with the objec- ignored in Washington; many of the forests in devel-
tives of advancing the science, technology, edu- oping nations are under public management, and
212 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

the management practices of the United States are most three or four). The examiner analyzes the
often used as the model for other countries. This agency's budget proposal for use in program-bal-
diversity of interests means that the nation's pol- ancing deliberations. The agency must provide its
icy on forestry is actually a collection of policies examiner with full information, including justifica-
addressing many concerns and springing from any tions, analyses, and assessments with each program
number of interests. request. If support seems inadequate, the examiner
may challenge or even recommend dropping a spe-
cific program. Effective interaction with its examiner
The Federal Government Role and support by the secretary and departmental staff
Leadership for establishing the debate on forestry are critical to an agency's ability to maintain its posi-
issues lies in the executive branch, and specifically tion within an administration budget.
in the Forest Service. Within an agency such as the Implementation of any part of the president's
Forest Service, many different staff units work budget must await congressional action to approve
together to formulate agency policy. When these the activity and its funding. Congress can of course
staff units have different concepts about what vote to increase, decrease, or otherwise change the
forestry policy should be, they must work together president's budget proposal. Congressional inter-
to hammer out a policy direction for the agency's est in forestry issues is evident both by members
management program and the budget allocations of Congress individually and by staff members of
needed to support that program. They are con- forestry-related committees or subcommittees. No
strained by the limitations of the resources to be single committee or subcommittee has overall juris-
managed, the laws and regulations in effect, agency diction over forestry matters. For example, com-
traditions, and executive orders from the president. mittees on foreign trade consider log export issues,
This process goes on within a legal framework and committees on energy issues may consider
established by Congress in a single charter act or wood fiber as an alternative energy source.
by a series of acts for different components of the A member of Congress or a congressional staff
agency's program. member may have expertise in forestry matters, or
However, the management program and budget may rely on an agency for such knowledge.
of an agency such as the Forest Service is just a Although most members of Congress have little
small part of the overall executive program and background in forestry, they still may take a strong
budget that the president seeks to enact. Forestry interest in particular forestry issues. The Forest Ser-
programs, and the budget to support them, must vice manages land in many states and congressional
be balanced with other national programs such as districts. As a result, it is not unusual for legislators
health care, transportation systems, and defense. to represent the interests of their constituents in spe-
The central issue is the amount of federal funding cific forestry issues during the annual congressional
to allocate to forestry programs in relation to other budget review process.
programs in a way that serves the American pub- The overall role of Congress in forestry issues
lic most effectively. is somewhat similar to that of a local forest man-
The unenviable task of recommending to the pres- ager. Congress tries to resolve disputes over con-
ident how to slice the pie falls to the Office of Man- flicting uses, but on a broader scale—that of forestry
agement and Budget (OMB). The OMB takes all in a national context. The role of Congress is three-
agency and department budget proposals and fits fold. First, Congress reviews and revises the pres-
them into one or more cohesive packages. This office ident's program budget requests, providing direction
operates under the president's direction and with no through its annual appropriation committee reports.
allegiance to any one agency or department. Gen- The budget review process provides an overview
erally, staff members at OMB referred to as "exam- of an agency's plans and policies as specified in
iners" are assigned responsibility for one agency (at existing laws.
Forestry at the National Level 213

Sidebar 9.5

Joint Roles in Action on the National Level

The role of the federal government, Congress, later, the former forest reserves became known
citizens, and the courts in establishing forest pol- as national forests. Throughout the 1900s the
icy can, in very general terms, be shown by the Forest Service managed the national forests and
evolution of forestry management policy for the set specific policy based primarily on the Organic
Forest Service. Act and the annual budget review.
In the 1860s and 1870s, public opinion grew In 1960, Congress stepped back into center
to favor federal management of forests. In 1879, stage by passing a new law, the Multiple
the American Forestry Association (AFA) and the Use-Sustained Yield Act, to ensure that national
American Association for the Advancement of Sci- forests would be managed for multiple uses at
ence (AAAS) petitioned Congress to reserve or levels providing a sustained yield for the future.
set aside forested lands from public entry or dis- This was a codification of policies already fol-
posal. In 1891, Congress passed a bill for gen- lowed by the Forest Service.
eral revision of the public land laws. When the In the early 1970s, several groups of people
bill emerged from House-Senate conference, a became concerned about how forestry was being
Section 24 had been added that provided author- practiced in some national forests. The citizens'
ity for a president to reserve forestlands for pub- groups petitioned the courts in 1975. The courts
lic ownership. A month later, President Harrison ruled that forestry practices were not in accor-
set aside the Yellowstone Park Forest Reserve, dance with the law of 1897. More or less con-
south of Yellowstone Park. He proclaimed it an currently, Congress reentered the scene in 1974
Executive Reserve but gave no specific direction with the Renewable Resources Planning Act
on how or for what purpose it was to be (RPA). This bill requires the Secretary of Agri-
managed. culture to assess natural resources periodically
In 1896, the president asked the National and to submit a five-year renewable-resources
Academy of Sciences to study what had program to Congress, based on this assessment
become known as the 'Forest Reserves." Con- of future supplies and demands. In 1976, Con-
gress incorporated the concepts of forestry man- gress amended the RPA legislation and enacted
agement resulting from the study into an the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), also
amendment to an appropriation bill. This 1897 in response to the 1975 court action. This bill pro-
action, called the Organic Act, laid the ground- vides general guidelines for the agency by estab-
work for how the reserved federal forestland lishing the general content and process to be
would be managed and used. followed in developing national forest plans.
In 1905, the president, with congressional Thus, from the 19th century to the present
approval, merged the Forestry Division of the day, forest policy has moved into the spotlight
General Land Office in the Department of the several times, and has been scrutinized and
Interior, which until that time had custody of the reshaped by public interest, the executive
forest reserves, with the Bureau of Forestry in branch, the legislature, and the judiciary. The
the Department of Agriculture. The new agency changes in forest policy that will occur in the
was named the Forest Service, and it was placed future will be no less representative of these
in the Department of Agriculture. Two years public deliberations.
214 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

Secondly, Congress affects national policy mat- of interested parties. Its role is to interpret and clar-
ters by enacting legislation. Laws define, redefine, ify actions and policies in terms of existing law and
or clarify the context within which agencies admin- to offer redress to petitioners. The courts can either
ister policy. Congress tends to legislate infrequently approve or prohibit specific activities and policies
on forestry issues (although the 1970s were an according to legal interpretation. They can only ini-
exception). Legislation usually sets broad guidelines tiate new direction if supported by an existing legal
or frameworks, but defers to the agencies for the basis, in which case an agency's operating policies
development and implementation of specific may need to be changed in order to comply with
forestry policy. More specific direction is inappro- the court's decision. If a law is overly broad or
priate for several reasons, including the diversity unclear or if controversy touches on constitutional
and changing demands on American forests, the matters, the courts may, in fact, provide consider-
size and diverse membership of Congress, and the able direction that the agency must follow. Each
reluctance of members to legislate on professional time a law is tested in court, new case law or prece-
forestry matters. The result is that Congress usually dent is established. If the law or action being tested
supports and relies on the agencies that are staffed is confirmed as being appropriate, the law or action
and run by professional resource managers. takes on new support or strength for similar future
A final but important role performed by Congress actions.
is monitoring and reviewing the day-to-day activ-
ities and occasional crises that occur during agency
operations. These tasks are performed by two leg- The Public Interest
islative branch offices, the General Accounting Among the most important influences on the role
Office and the Congressional Budget Office, and of the federal government are the diverse opinions
occasionally through congressional oversight hear- of the people of the United States. Forestry at the
ings. Their findings take the form of reports to or national level cannot be understood without con-
from Congress. sidering how people express their common inter-
The executive and legislative branches some- ests and how those interests become input for
times employ subtle methods of reaching an agree- forestry policy. People can make themselves heard
ment when establishing programs and setting by policymakers in many ways, from contacting
program direction. The executive branch may omit management agencies and their congressional rep-
from its budget recommendation programs that are resentatives, or engaging in some form of public
enthusiastically supported by members of Congress, expression.
because the executive branch considers them lower Concern with the integration of diverse public
priority. Then, in return for congressional com- interests into the formulation of public policy is not
promise on another issue, the executive branch will new to our political scene. In 1789, James Madi-
include a portion of or the entire omitted program. son discussed the role and importance of what we
This process may also work in reverse. Often, the call public interest or pressure groups in the Fed-
key national issues of compromise often are not eralist Papers (19), arguing that a major function
forestry matters, but other matters of domestic or of the governmental process is to integrate oppos-
foreign policy. Thus, professional foresters gener- ing interests and reconcile conflicting views.
ally participate at the fringes of this process. Their Almost 50 years later, Alexis de Tocqueville, the
role is to provide factual information on forestry eminent French publicist, commented on the ten-
opportunities and the consequences of various pro- dency of U.S. citizens to form and join organiza-
posals for the forest resources and for the people tions, that in turn often had agendas for political
who rely on these resources. action, in his book Democracy in America, (20).
The judicial branch of the federal government In more recent times political scientists have sug-
is concerned with forestry issues only at the request gested the "group basis of politics" as one funda-
Forestry at the National Level 215

mental characteristic of U.S. government. Econo- ity, friendship, and presence—as well as
mists have recognized "countervailing power" and preferences—may determine both the existence
interactive forces as important elements in public- and the degree of involvement. Getting involved
policy decision making. Matters of the environment, sometimes requires too much money, commitment,
natural resources, and forestry are presented by time, or understanding. Thus, it is important to rec-
interest groups for consideration in developing pub- ognize that less vocal citizens might be reluctant
lic policy. to offer their opinion before a decision is made—
Several related developments in recent years though they might not remain silent if a wrong
have intensified both individual and group involve- decision is reached. By exercising informed judg-
ment in questions of forestry policy and manage- ments on what they perceive are the interests of
ment. One of these is a widespread and growing the expressed and the silent publics, profession-
concern for the environment. Another is the intro- als and their agencies must begin to approximate
duction of new statutory requirements governing the overall public interest.
forestry practices, and their reinforcement by court In forest management, as in many resource and
decisions; agency responses to public views and environmental decisions, the articulation of the pub-
comments are the other development. lic interests is often complicated by the fact that
Numerous court challenges to government decisions made today have very long-term conse-
agency actions have been mounted by permanent quences. The responsible professional public ser-
or ad hoc groups. The National Environmental Pol- vant must attempt to consider the future. To be sure,
icy Act (NEPA) of 1969 provides the basis for legal the crystal ball is always clouded, and there is a
challenges by requiring federal agencies to prepare tendency to address the immediate crisis. Hence,
environmental impact statements assessing the con- analysis must substitute for prophecy and fore-
sequences of alternative actions. If dissatisfied with knowledge as much as possible. If public agencies
the content and rationale of such statements, citi- respond only to current public outcry, the real
zens and groups can file suits challenging findings potential public welfare may be overlooked.
and other aspects of agency decisions. The very multiplicity of interests in forestry at
Public involvement has considerably sharpened the national level ensures a high degree of conflict
the awareness of decision makers to the conse- and controversy. In many situations, one set of inter-
quences and alternatives of action and, in many ests will run counter to another. A major challenge
cases, has stopped or delayed actions. Many feel to Congress and agencies is conflict resolution, that
that these delays have contributed to wiser deci- is, seeking to reconcile and choose the appropri-
sions. Most would agree that this emphasis on ate solution from a wide range of possible out-
impact analysis has been helped by the willingness comes.
of federal courts to give "standing to sue" to a vari-
ety of interest groups. One result has been that fed-
eral agencies have taken the requirements of the International Forestry
NEPA and other statutes more seriously than they Washington, D.C., is not only a hub for national
might otherwise have done. forest policy, it is also one of the world's major
However, on any issue or set of issues, neither centers for international forestry. Headquartered in
the involved groups nor the individual participants Washington are a number of U.S. government agen-
represent all people or all possible interest con- cies, international organizations, and nongovern-
figurations. In part, the problem is one of span of mental entities with international programs in
attention. People cannot possibly get involved in forestry or natural resources.
all the issues that will affect them, nor is it clear Among the U.S. agencies, the largest interna-
that the decision to become involved is always tional forestry program is managed by the U.S.
rational or deliberate. Such variables as personal- Agency for International Development (USAID),
216 Forest M a n a g e m e n t and Stewardship

which contributes to forestry projects in some 36

tropical countries at an annual cost of about $135
million. Assistance projects sponsored by USAID
include training, disaster relief, and private-sector
development efforts. The largest U.S. employer of
foresters overseas, however, is the Peace Corps,
which now has 550 foresters in 46 countries. The
Forest Service also manages an active international
program that represents the U.S. government on
major world forestry issues, promotes scientific
exchange and cooperative research among coun-
tries, works directly with various countries on
mutually beneficial technical programs, and pro-
vides technical support to USAID (Figure 9.19).
Other government agencies with international
forestry or natural resource programs include the
State Department, National Park Service, Fish and
Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and the
Smithsonian Institution. On tropical matters, infor-
mal coordination of activities is achieved through
the Interagency Task Force on Tropical Forestry.
International organizations with home offices in
Washington are the World Bank, Inter-American
Development Bank, and the Organization of
American States (OAS). Each is active in interna-
tional forestry and natural resources. The World
Bank is the largest with annual forestry disburse-
ments of about $150 million in seven countries.
From 1985 to 2000, it invested approximately $1.5 F i g u r e 9.19 The main entrance to San Juan Tetla
billion in forestry development in 55 countries. The Experimental Forest, managed by the Central Region
of the National Institute of Forestry and Agriculture
World Bank's policy and lending strategy on forestry
Research (NIFAP), the federal forestry research branch
emphasizes a balanced program of small-scale tree of the Government of Mexico; here, as in many other
farming, institution building, and industrial projects. experimental forests around the globe, university and
Activities include village forestry, environmental government research scientists collaborate on studies
protection, and rural development. Some of these of mutual interest. (James M. Guldin).
activities are further described in Chapter 23, Social
Forestry. The Inter-American Development Bank
has a growing forestry portfolio limited to the West-
ern Hemisphere. The OAS supports forestry, agri- international forestry program. The FAO convenes
cultural research, information exchange, and ad hoc meetings to coordinate the activities of the
training in tropical America. world's major forestry donor agencies. Through tech-
Although headquartered in Rome, Italy, the Food nical meetings and publications, its Rome office
and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United facilitates the worldwide exchange of forestry infor-
Nations also maintains a Liaison Office for North mation and provides assistance to developing coun-
America in Washington. Since its creation in the early tries. Its office in Washington coordinates policy and
1940s, the FAO has directed the world's leading administrative ties to North America.
Forestry at the National Level 217

Nongovernmental organizations are playing an Forest management benefits from a blend of

increasingly important role in international forestry. basic and applied research investigations, as well
Many are located in Washington, such as the World as the experience of the professional tempered
Resources Institute, the International Institute for through trial and error. Research projects are initi-
Environment and Development, and the Pan Amer- ated to examine particular management questions,
ican Development Foundation. The World often at the request of resource administrators. Thus,
Resources Institute demonstrated leadership in trop- forestry research at the national level has three func-
ical forestry by publishing a major report entitled, tions: 1) to assist in identifying areas of major con-
"Tropical Forestry: A Call for Action," which out- cern that require research, 2) to establish and
lines problems, successful experiences, and finan- maintain continuity between research and evolv-
cial resources needed to stem the rampant ing management policy, and 3) to provide coordi-
deforestation of tropical forests (21). The Interna- nation and management of the nation's research
tional Institute for Environment and Development programs.
emphasizes natural-resources policy and planning National forestry policy and direction change
and often works closely with USAID on develop- with fluctuating social conditions and needs. Quite
ment projects. often, management policy options depend on new
Two major professional societies concerned with ways of monitoring uses and impacts, new meth-
international forestry issues, the Society of Amer- ods of doing old jobs, and new means of incor-
ican Foresters (SAF) and the International Society porating and balancing resource needs. National
of American Tropical Foresters (ISTF), are also forestry policy and the national research agenda are
headquartered in Washington. Through its Inter- closely related; national forestry policies must be
national Forestry Working Group and Committee based on sound scientific information, and on occa-
on World Forestry, the SAF keeps its members sion research findings indicate a need to change
abreast of international forestry concerns. Com- national policy.
munication among the world's tropical foresters is Representatives of different research communi-
facilitated by the ISTF, especially through its quar- ties at the national level maintain the links between
terly newsletter. needed research and current policy. The link to pol-
As can be seen, international forestry is a growth icy helps determine which areas of study have high
area for the profession. As awareness of world priority. High-priority research is not simply a mat-
forestry problems grows, so will opportunities and ter of which forest problem is the greatest, but
responsibilities for the professional forester. rather research that has applicability beyond a par-
ticular problem in a particular area. The other area
of national responsibility for research is coordina-
The Role of Forestry Research tion. It is often easiest to coordinate research across
Advocacy for research has long been a part of the agencies at the national level rather than regional
national concern for forest resource management. or state levels, which can help avoid duplication
The need for research is not a recent phenomenon. and research voids.
Before 1890, reports and recommendations on the Many agencies and groups have national inter-
nation's forests specifically called for national ests in forestry research. The Fish and Wildlife Ser-
research initiatives. The Reverend Frederick Starr, vice studies the protection and management of
Jr., called for "extensive, protracted, and scientific animal resources. The National Park Service stud-
experiments in the propagation and cultivation of ies how to protect and manage park resources. The
forest trees" in 1865. The "Report on Forestry" by Environmental Protection Agency sponsors research
Franklin B. Hough in 1882 called for research on on environmental protection and the conse-
the effect of forests on climate and for the estab- quences of forest activities on air and water qual-
lishment of experiment stations. ity. Forest Service research covers a wide spectrum
218 Forest M a n a g e m e n t a n d Stewardship

of ecological, economic, engineering, and social People use forest environments in many ways.
problems related to forest and rangeland manage- New knowledge is continually needed to manage
ment. They emphasize opportunities for taking the complex and changing relationships between
products from the forest; how to protect and people and forests. Research provides this knowl-
enhance noncommodity values; and how to edge.
improve forest products.
Several special-interest groups also support
research. They often do not have a national pro-
gram of study but concentrate on the interests of Concluding Statement
the organization. The National Wildlife Federation From the resource perspective, a forest ecosystem
has a program of grants to sponsor research by uni- can be viewed either as a valuable whole or as a
versity students. The National Forest Products Asso- sum of valuable parts. Multiple-use forestry is a phi-
ciation sponsors research of interest to its members. losophy of resource utilization that provides a the-
Organizations such as these study forest technol- oretical basis for developing qualitative and
ogy, the resource base, changing social needs, and quantitative predictions of resource interrelation-
interactions between social demands and renew- ships. Ecosystem management and the Sustainable
able resources. Several national organizations such Forestry Initiative provide blueprints for incorpo-
as Resources for the Future and the Society of Amer- rating those multiple uses into an ecological con-
ican Foresters seek to focus and direct research to text with sustainability as a goal.
specific areas of concern and, when appropriate, In some instances, the valuable whole receives
to develop a greater understanding of the present priority, such as in the preservation of wilderness
state of the art. areas and of the ecological habitats for rare or
University studies often depend more on an indi- endangered species. In other instances the valuable
vidual investigator's interests and funding sources components of a forest ecosystem, such as timber
than on overall department programs. Studies may or wildlife species, receive management emphasis.
range from social demands and needs to methods However, contemporary forestry on both public and
for improving product utilization. National research private lands must increasingly provide for the
coordination is much more difficult to achieve health, diversity, productivity, and sustainability of
among agencies, organizations, and universities than forest ecosystems.
within an agency or organization. Some umbrella The management of specific forest ownerships
groups formally link federal and state research depends on many factors. First and foremost are
organizations, and facilitate the communication the unique attributes of the ecosystem itself, which
needed to set national priorities. For example, the determine both the availability of specific resources
Joint Council on Food and Agriculture Sciences fos- and the degree to which management can develop
ters planning and coordination of research, exten- the resources for economical use. The methods by
sion, and higher education between U.S.D.A. which management is planned and administered
agencies and the private sector. A related U.S.D.A. affect the economic efficiency of resource utiliza-
organization, the User's Advisory Board for National tion, which may or may not be important in bring-
Agriculture Research and Extension, provides ing forest products into the market place. The
input into policy and program development by objectives of the owner of the forest land—whether
identifying research and extension priorities from an individual, a corporation, or society—are
the view of the citizen user. If formal connections another critical factor. It is the owner who decides
do not provide a national network between sci- the patterns of resource management, if any, that
entists, informal ones often spring up among indi- are implemented by the forest manager. As popu- j
vidual scientists. lations grow, demands for a diverse array of for-
References 219

est resources increase; but the area of timberland People will increasingly employ available means
will probably decline through the 21st century. The of influence, through all three branches of gov-
centennial of forestry in North America is charac- ernment, as they become more involved with
terized by both redoubtable management challenges national forestry issues. Competing interests and
and gratifying professional rewards. uses for forest resources will require new
Forestry at the national level is different from approaches to balance social needs and resource
that practiced at the field or technical level. It capabilities. This is the future realm of forestry at
focuses on forestry issues as components of many the national, regional, and local levels. The possi-
diverse national policies. Many groups, agencies, bilities are challenging and intriguing. To serve the
and individuals are involved in shaping national public in this future, foresters will need to:
policy; some groups are interested only in certain
• Grow more trees.
aspects of forestry. However, forestry is only a
small part of the national agenda, and it must be • Use more reconstituted wood products.
viewed in a context of larger, national concerns • Conserve more species and habitats at risk
such as employment, housing, energy, and inter- • Improve public understanding and management
national relations. Much effort goes into identify- of the ecosystem.
ing how forestry can address these major national • Learn to accommodate additional segments of
concerns. society in managing forests.
It might be helpful in concluding this chapter The future of forestry issues in national and inter-
to look ahead to the future of forestry from a national policies promises to be active and con-
national perspective. Because forests are renewable, troversial. The coming decades will be perplexing
they will increasingly provide some resources more and frustrating for professionals who continue to
economically than nonrenewable sources. The ways focus solely on the application of technical forestry
in which forestry issues are important to national
principles. On the other hand, the coming decades
policies will become even more complex and
can be a time of challenge and excitement for pro-
diverse in the coming decades as we increase our
fessionals who adopt a national perspective. For
knowledge of forest ecosystems.
them, the future offers opportunities to make valu-
The complexity of forestry issues and opportu- able contributions to forestry in the tradition of
nities will require agencies and other organizations Bernhard Fernow, Franklin Hough, and Gifford
to work more closely together. Such important sub- Pinchot.
jects, as acid rain, global warming, and tropical The following chapters in this section provide
deforestation require the formation of new and more detailed treatment of the different multiple
exciting partnerships.
uses made of the forests, including management
Increasing public interest in and access to approaches for different aspects of forestry
forestry issues will lead to questions about the roles endeavors.
of resource professionals and interested citizens.
Forestry professionals will need to develop better
ways of analyzing alternative actions and giving the
public access to the decision-making process. Peo-
ple with little forestry background whose interests References
may be narrowly defined must be able to under- 1. B. F. FERNOW, A Brief History of Forestry in Europe,
stand these processes. An increased awareness of the United States and Other Countries. Third Revised
international forestry will create new demands and Edition, University Press, Toronto and American
will result in a broader range of issues and prob- Forestry Association, Washington D.C., 1913.
lems for foresters to address. 2. W. H. ROMME, Scientific American, 261(5), 37 (1989).
220 Forest Management and Stewardship

3. G. H. HEPTING, Diseases of forest and shade trees of the National Research Council, National Academy
the United States. Agriculture H a n d b o o k 386, U.S. Press, Washington, D.C., 1998.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 1971. 14. Committee of Scientists, Sustaining the People's Lands:
4. A. M. LIEBHOLD, K. W. GOTTSCHALK, D. A. MASON and Recommendations for Stewardship of the National
R. R. BUSH, J. For., 95(5), 20 (1997). Forests and Grasslands into the Next Century.
5. ANON., "Red-cockaded woodpecker," In Wildlife Habi- U.S.D.A., Washington, D.C., March 15, 1999.
tat Management Handbook, Chap. 420, U.S.D.A. For. 15. V. KRUTILLA, M. D.BOWES, AND E. A. WILMAN, "National
Serv. Handbook, Region 8. Amendment 6, D e c , 1980. forest system planning a n d management: An analyt-
ical review and suggested approach." In Government
6. M. CLAWSON, Environ. Law, 8(2), 287 (1978).
Interventions, Social Needs, and the Management of
7. W. A. DUERR, D. E. TERGUARDEN, N. B. CHRISTIANSEN, U.S. Forests, R.A. Sedjo, ed., Resources for the Future,
AND S. GUTTENBERG, Forest Resource Management; Washington, D.C., 1981.
Decision-Making Principles and Cases, W. B. Saun-
16. S. T. DANA AND S. K. FAIRFAX, Forest and Range Pol-
ders, Philadelphia, 1979.
icy: Its Development in the United States, Second Edi-
8. C. F. BROCKMAN AND L. C. MERRIAM, JR., Recreational tion, McGraw-Hill, N e w York, 1980.
Use of Wild lands, Third Edition, McGraw-Hill, N e w
17. ANON., "An Analysis of the Timber Situation in the
York, 1979.
United States, 1952-2030," U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Res.
9. National Res. Council, Forestry research: a mandate Rept. 23, 1982.
for change. National Academy Press, Washington,
18. A. J. WEST, "Letter to Regional Foresters and Area
D.C., 1990.
Directors," U.S.D.A. For. Serv., June, 1986.
10. F. D. ROBERTSON, "Letter to U.S.D.A. Forest Service
19. J. MADISON, A. HAMILTON, AND J. JAY, The Federalist
employees," 4 J u n e 1992.
Papers, I. Kramnick, ed., Penguin Books, New York,
11. K. L. O'HARA, R. S. SEYMOUR, S. D. TESCH, AND J. M. 1987.
GULDIN, J. For., 92(1), 8 (1994).
20. A. DE TOCQUEVILLE, Democracy in America, Knopf Co.,
12. W. B. SMITH, J.L. VISSSAGE, R. SHEFFIELD, AND D. R. DARR, N e w York, 1993.
"Forest resources of the United States, 1997." Gen-
21. World Resources Institute, Tropical Forests: a Call for
eral Technical Report. U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Action. Report of an International Task Force Con-
Forest Service, North Central Research Station, 2000.
vened by the World Resources Institute, The World
13. ANON., Forested Landscapes in Perspective: Prospects Bank, and the United Nations Development Pro-
and Opportunities for Sustainable Management of gramme, World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C.,
America's Nonfederal Forests. Board of Agriculture of 1985.
 CHAPTER 10
Nonindustrial Private Forests
JOHN C. BLISS AND A. JEFF MARTIN

Introduction Contemporary Policies and Programs

Significance of NIPFs Financial Incentives
Economic Value Regulations
Environmental Value Education and Technical Assistance
Human Value Partnerships
Dynamics Underlying NIPF Issues Emerging Trends and Issues
Increasing Demand Rights and Responsibilities of NIPF
Dynamic Policy Environment Owners
The Forest Resource Nonregulatory Mechanisms for Environ-
Size and Distribution mental Protection
Forest Productivity, Growth, and Removal Changing Forest Ownership Patterns
Changing Markets
The Human Resource Emerging Forestry Paradigms
Who Are the NIPF Owners?
Why Do They Own Forest Land? Concluding Statement
NIPF Policies and Programs References
Historical Overview

The values that Frost's narrator enjoyed are pro-

Introduction vided by millions of forest owners all across the
Whose woods these are I think I know United States (Figure 10.1). A private forest whose
His house is in the village, though owner does not own or operate wood processing
He will not mind our stopping here facilities (such as saw, paper, or plywood mills) is
To watch his woods fill up with snow known as a nonindustrial private forest (NIPF).
—From "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy NIPF owners include individuals, families, farmers,
Evening" by Robert Frost (1) and retirees. Hunting clubs, churches, schools, and
other associations may also be NIPF owners. Even
Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a banks, insurance companies, real estate companies,
Snowy Evening," conjures up a wonderful image: pension fund companies, and other corporations
a quiet winter's night, the deep silence of a forest are classified as NIPF owners if they own forest land
under snow, the joy of a horse-drawn sleigh ride. but not wood-processing facilities. NIPFs range in
The writer draws from the snowy woods comfort, size from one wooded acre to many tens of thou-
solitude, and inspiration. sands of acres, and from sparsely vegetated tracts

221
222 Nonindustrial Private Forests

F i g u r e 10.1 The farm

woodlot, so common when Frost
penned his lines, is still common
but no longer the dominant NIPF
ownership type. As Frost hints in
his poem, absentee landowners
now control one-third of the
NIPF ownerships. White-collar
workers and retired individuals
now own 58% of the NIPF land.

to lush, productive forests. Some NIPFs are inten- vesting on National Forests has forced industry to
sively managed for production of forest products, increasingly look to NIPF sources of timber. The
some are held primarily for recreation and enjoy- economic importance of NIPFs is not limited to
ment. Many are models of forest stewardship, still the timber they supply to industry, however. Tim-
others are neglected or exploited. ber production employs people: loggers, truckers,
This chapter presents a brief overview of the tree planters, foresters, mill workers, gas station
nonindustrial private forest resource. We start by attendants, and grocery clerks. Moreover, the eco-
describing the significance of the resource and nomic importance of nontimber products such as
quantifying its dimensions. A section on the history recreation, floral greens, mushrooms, and maple
of NIPF forestry sets the stage for discussion of cur- syrup is growing. Thus, NIPFs are vital to the
rent policies and programs. The chapter closes with economies of forest-dependent communities and
a summary of emerging trends and issues affect- regions.
ing NIPF resources.
Environmental Value The environmental value
of NIPFs is gaining recognition as the United States
Significance of NIPFs becomes more urbanized, and clean air, clean water,
green landscapes, and open space become scarcer.
Economic Value Comprising almost 60 percent of In many parts of the heavily populated East, NIPFs
the United State's productive forestland, NIPFs are provide most of the available supply of such ameni-
of enormous economic, environmental, and social ties. In the South, small private woodlands add
significance to the United States. As key suppli- diversity to landscapes dominated by large indus-
ers of wood to the country's forest products indus- trial and nonindustrial forest plantations. In the
tries, NIPFs economic significance has long been West, NIPFs typically occupy riparian zones along-
recognized. Even in the American South, where side waterways, areas that are ecologically sensi-
the country's industrial forests are concentrated, tive and that provide significant environmental
NIPFs supply most of the wood used by indus- values. Because of the diverse objectives of their
try. In the West, the region with the least NIPF owners, NIPFs add ecological diversity to the land-
ownership, the dramatic decline of timber har- scape wherever they occur.
The Forest Resource 223

Human Value Less recognized than the economic management and investment decisions is one of
and environmental value of NIPFs are the associ- increasing flux. Public support continues to grow
ated human resources. The great diversity of NIPF for increasingly stringent management regulations
owners and the objectives they hold for their forests for all ownership categories. In addition to such fed-
lead to the existing diversity of forest types, ages, eral laws as the Endangered Species Act and the
and conditions. Many NIPF owners are vital mem- Clean Water Act, many states have forest practices
bers of rural neighborhoods and communities. Oth- acts which regulate how forests are managed. Even
ers are urban dwellers who retreat to their rural counties and municipalities in some states have
forestlands to work and recreate. They provide enacted controls over land use in their jurisdictions.
important links of experience and communication Policies are dynamic, not static, which adds to the
between urban and rural populations. As NIPF own- complexity of these layers of regulations. The result-
ers shape their forests through use and manage- ing regulatory uncertainty compounds the natural
ment, they humanize the landscape, imbuing it with and market uncertainty with which NIPF owners
human history, meaning, and values. must contend. Indeed, regulatory insecurity may be
more distressing to many NIPF owners than any
possible regulations.
Dynamics Underlying NIPF Issues Moreover, new and innovative policy instru-
Population growth, increasing urbanization, chang- ments, both governmental and nongovernmental,
ing social values, and changes in ethnic, age, and further complicate each forest owner's management
income distribution drive two dynamics influenc- decisions. Examples include local voluntary water-
ing NIPFs: increasing demands for forest products, shed councils, safe harbor agreements for protect-
values, and services, and an increasingly dynamic ing endangered species habitat, conservation
policy environment. easements for a wide range of conservation goals,
and forest certification programs for producing and
Increasing Demand NIPF lands are under increas- marketing forest products. Although many of these
ing pressure to produce an ever-widening array of changes may prove to be positive for NIPF own-
products, services, amenities, and values. Major pol- ers in the long run, they can be challenging, unset-
icy changes have led to steep declines in timber tling, and confusing in the short term.
harvest levels from public lands. This in turn has
resulted in increasing pressure on private forest
resources to meet growing demands for forest prod-
ucts. In many areas, population growth is creating The Forest Resource
growing pressure for residential and commercial
development of urban fringe areas, and recreational Size and Distribution
development of rural areas. Everywhere, the envi- About one-third of the total U.S. land area is forest-
ronmental, recreational, and spiritual values pro- land, and two-thirds of that is designated timberland,
vided by forests—including nonindustrial private that is, forestland capable of and available for pro-
forests—are in high demand. These increasing ducing commercial wood crops (Figure 10.2) (2).
demands occur at a time of unprecedented public Fifty-eight percent of all forestland and 73 percent
concern over the management and condition of for- of timberland is in private ownership. Forest prod-
est ecosystems. In other words, society is demand- ucts manufacturing companies own about 14 per-
ing more from private forests, and greater cent of the timberland. The majority of the country's
accountability from private forest owners. private timberland (59 percent) is owned by NIPF
owners, defined as private individuals, farmers, busi-
Dynamic Policy Environment The policy envi- nesses, and other private groups that do not own
ronment within which forest owners must make or operate wood processing facilities (Figure 10.3).
224 Nonindustrial Private Forests

NIPFs occur in every region of the country (Fig-

ure 10.4). About 88 percent of the NIPF timberland
is in the North and South, and 12 percent is in the
West. NIPFs comprise 70 percent of all timberland
in the North and South, and 28 percent in the West.
Total NIPF timberland declined 5.5 percent in the
forty-year period between 1952 and 1992, either as
a result of conversion of forest to other uses (such
as urban growth) or because of changing owner-
ship (i.e., purchase by forest industry).

Forest Productivity, Growth,

and Removal
Nonindustrial private forests are an indispensable
component of the nation's wood supply. NIPF lands
contain 72 percent of the nation's hardwood grow-
ing stock inventory (mostly in the North and South),
and 30 percent of the softwood inventory (mostly
in the south and West) (2). These inventories have
grown dramatically in the decades 1952 to 1992
F i g u r e 1 0 . 2 Land area and ownership of (Table 10.1). Hardwood growing stock volume on
timberland in the United States, 1992 (Powell et al., NIPF lands increased 81 percent during the
1993). period, less than the increase on national forests,
but more than that of industrial lands. Softwood
growing stock volume rose 51 percent on NIPF
lands in the 40 years, while other ownership groups
experienced a slight decline. NIPF growing stock
volume suitable for lumber manufacture increased
98 percent for hardwoods and 57 percent for soft- j
woods. As a result of these growing inventories,
NIPFs have become increasingly important as
sources of wood for the nation's forest products
industries.
In 1992, average net annual growth for all grow-
ing stock trees on NIPF timberland was 42 cubic
feet per acre. This was less than forest industry's
average of 61 cubic feet per acre but matched that
on national forests and other public lands, which
averaged 39 and 42 cubic feet per acre respectively, j
The percentage of the national annual harvest
taken from NIPF lands is about equal to the per-
centage of growing stock inventory that these lands
F i g u r e 1 0 . 3 Distribution of nonindustrial private contain. In 1992, for example, 67 percent of the
forestland ownership in the United States, 1994 (Birch, nation's hardwood harvest came from NIPF lands-
1996). lands that contained 72 percent of the hardwood
The Forest Resource 225

Figure 10.4 Distribution of NIPF timberland by region, 1992 (Powell et al., 1993).

Table 10.1 Net Volume of Growing Stock and Sawtimber on NIPF Timberland, 1952
and 1992
Growing Stock Sawtimber (1 million board feet,
(1 million cubic feet) Int. 1/4-inch Rule)

Region Year Softwood Hardwood Softwood Hardwood

North 1992 28,514 114,967 79,133 301,272

1952 16,048 57,054 34,163 128,880
South 1992 64,391 112,279 244,818 340,498
1952 36,360 69,985 111,823 197,853
West 1992 50,456 15,052 236,925 41,412
1952 42,341 6,649 211,955 18,812
U.S. 1992 143,361 242,298 560,876 683,181
1952 94,749 133,688 357,941 345,545

Source: Powell, et al., 1993 (2)

226 Nonindustrial Private Forests

inventory. In contrast, NIPF lands contained about than in 1978; the South experienced a 26 percent
32 percent of the softwood growing stock volume, increase, whereas the West saw a jump of nearly
yet supplied 40 percent of the softwood harvest. 67 percent.
One criterion often used to indicate the pro- The growing number of NIPF ownerships indi-
ductivity and condition of forestland is the ratio of cates that the NIPF resource is being divided
net growth (that is, growth less mortality) to between more and more owners. This is particu-
removals (harvests). With a growth/removal ratio larly true at the urban-rural interface, where land
greater than one, the forest adds volume to the parcelization and urbanization are formidable
existing inventory, even though harvests occur. trends. Fragmentation—large ownerships being
Over the 1952 to 1992 period, the growth/removal divided into smaller ones—is also taking place in
ratio for NIPF lands averaged 1.5, indicating they rural areas, as urbanites seek rural retreats. One esti-
were growing more wood volume than was being mate is that the number of NIPF tracts of 10 acres
harvested. The growth/removal rate for national or less increased 52 percent between 1978 and 1995
forests was also about 1.5, for other public lands (4). Fragmentation undoubtedly has contributed to
it was about 2.0, and forest industry lands it was the dramatic increase in numbers of NIPF owners
slightly below 1.0, indicating removals exceeded in the West over the past two decades.
growth. From the perspective of growth/removal In contrast to the national trend toward frag-
rates, then, NIPFs compared quite favorably with mentation of forest ownerships, some parts of the
other ownerships over the 40-year period. country are experiencing land concentration,
wherein large ownerships become even larger
through purchase of adjacent land. This is especially
evident in areas dominated by large industrial own-
The Human Resource erships, such as parts of the deep South (5).
What distinguishes NIPFs from industrial and pub- The demographic profile of NIPF owners is
lic forests is the diversity of NIPF owners, their man- changing. The proportion of older NIPF owners is
agement objectives, capabilities, and constraints. We increasing: about 45 percent of NIPF owners are 45
focus here on the 94 percent of private forest own- to 64 years of age, and about 20 percent are 65 years
erships that are held by individuals and families and or over. Farm ownership of NIPFs has declined from
that collectively account for 59 percent of all pri- 57 percent of the NIPF timberland in 1952 to 29 per-
vately owned forest land. Who are these people, cent in 1992. Today, white collar and retired wood-
and why do they own forest land? land owners are the most prevalent occupations,
together comprising over half of all private owner-
ships (Figure 10.5). New purchasers of NIPF land,
Who Are the NIPF Owners? however, tend to be younger, more highly educated,
There were 9-9 million owners of private forest land and have higher incomes than the NIPF owners of j
in 1994, up from 7.8 million in 1978, and their num- earlier decades (3).
ber is growing (3). Nearly 100 percent were NIPF Although 67 percent of woodland owners live
ownerships. Why? A relatively small number of on, or within one mile of, their woodlands, they
industry holders own a lot of land. Thus, although tend to own their forestland for less time than did
they own about 20 percent of the private forest earlier generations: 40 percent of the private
land, they comprise less than 1 percent of the num- landowners have owned their lands for 15 years
ber of ownerships. About 90 percent of the NIPF or less. Less than 10 percent of private forestland
ownerships are in the northern and southern has been in the same ownership for over 45 years.
regions of the United States. In 1994, the North had This presents serious obstacles to long-term
about 18 percent more private forest landowners management.
NIPF Policies and Programs 227

Why Do They Own Forest Land?

NIPF owners own forestland for many reasons.
Some inherit forestland, or acquire it incidentally
with farm or residential land. Others deliberately
purchase forestland for recreation or as an invest-
ment. Most NIPF owners have a variety of reasons
for owning forestland, only some of which may
dominate their management decisions at particu-
lar times. In surveys, most report the following as
primary reasons for owning forestland: 1) the for-
est is part of their residence or farm, 2) forest own-
ership provides aesthetic enjoyment, 3) forest
ownership is a good financial investment, and 4)
they enjoy forest recreation.
Relatively few NIPF owners—5 percent in a
recent survey (3)—report timber production as a
primary reason for owning forestland. Nonetheless,
over time, most commercial timber on NIPFs is har-
Figure 10.5 Distribution of private forestland by vested—46 percent of those surveyed in 1994 had
owner occupation, 1994 (Birch, 1996). harvested timber. This is particularly true of larger
NIPF ownerships, which typically receive more
intensive management for timber crops.
Several long-standing myths about NIPF owners In-depth interviews with NIPF owners (8) sug-
have only recently begun to be challenged by social gest that forest-related values and behaviors may
science research (7). Based upon generalizations that be components of forest owners' ethnic or cultural
may have had more validity in the 1950s, many heritage. Forest ownership and forest management
foresters have thought of NIPF owners as rural folks provide families with opportunities to be and work
with strong family ties to the land. As such, they were together, enhancing family cohesiveness and
assumed to be oriented toward timber production, strengthening ties between generations. For many
and somewhat antagonistic toward environmental- owners, forest ownership is key to personal iden-
ism. They were thought to value private property tity, and management gives expression to personal
rights above and beyond any other considerations, beliefs and values. The well-managed forest serves
including ecological health or the public good. These as a legacy of those who have been its steward.
truisms were thought to be especially true for own- While these values are less easily quantified than
ers of large tracts of forestland. income from timber sales or days spent hunting,
Recent research in the American South and else- they nevertheless help determine NIPF forest
where puts the lie to these myths. NIPF owners look conditions.
increasingly like the rest of the American popula-
tion and share the same values. They are more
urban, better off financially, and more educated
than in the past. They share the environmental val- NIPF Policies and Programs
ues of mainstream society in the same proportions
as do other U.S. citizens. And large tract owners Historical Overview
are not nearly as different from small tract owners Since the 1900s, NIPF owners have received
as formerly believed (see sidebars). assistance with forest management planning, tree
228 Nonindustrial Private Forests

Sidebar 10.1

A Few Own a Lot, Most Own Only a Little

The highly skewed distribution of private for- tract owners in their opinions regarding environ-
est acres among owners renders discussion of mental and forestry issues as has typically been
average ownerships quite misleading (see Fig- assumed. For example, majorities of both groups
ure). Most private owners hold relatively small agreed that "Private property rights should be lim-
tracts of forestland: 59 percent have fewer than ited if necessary to protect the environment."
10 acres, and 86 percent own less than 50 acres. The distribution of NIPF acreage among own-
On the other hand most of the forestland is held ers has significant implications for forest policy.
in very large tracts by industrial owners and NIPF Historically, tax-supported forestry assistance
owners. programs have favored large ownerships
Research shows that owners of large tracts are because contacts with only a few landowners
more likely than owners of small tracts to have could result in treatment of thousands of acres
management plans, be knowledgeable about of forestland. However, as a result, owners of
forestry, be amenable to forest management, and smaller tracts—many of whom may be unlikely
to harvest timber. A 1994 study estimated that to hire professional forestry assistance—have
fewer than 6 percent of NIPF landowners had a received less public assistance.
written forest management plan (1). These were
typically the owners of larger tracts; these 6 per- Sources:
cent of NIPF owners owned 28 percent of the 1. T. W. BIRCH, "Private Forest-land owners of the
NIPF forest land. A number of studies have United States, 1994." Resource Bulletin NE-134. Rad-
demonstrated that the intensity of forest man- nor, Penn. U.S.D.A. Forest Service NE Forest Exper-
agement is positively conelated to the size of for- iment Station, 1996.
est holding and the landowner's financial position. 2. J. C. Bliss, S. K. NEPAL, R. T. BROOKS, JR., AND M. D.
However, some recent research (2) suggests that LARSEN. Southern J. of Applied Forestry, 21(1), 37
large tract owners are not as different from small (1997).

Distribution of private forestland

among owners, 1994 (Birch, 1996).
NIPF Policies and Programs 229

Sidebar 10.2

Environmental Values of NIPF Owners

Since the late 1960s, environmentalism has approved on public land). The great majority of
increasingly become part of the American char- owners and non-owners alike favored a balance
acter. Pollsters have documented a steady rise between environmental protection and private
in the proportion of Americans reporting con- property rights that ensures environmental pro-
cern over dwindling supplies of clean air and tection. Three-quarters agreed with the state-
water, open space, and wildlife (1). A majority ment, "Private property rights should be limited
of Americans support greater efforts by gov- if necessary to protect the environment." Simi-
ernment to guard against environmental degra- larly, both forest owners and non-owners sought
dation and believe that protecting the a balance between environmental and economic
environment should take precedence over pre- values, but a balance that puts environmental
serving private property rights or fostering eco- protection first. In sum, the environmental val-
nomic growth (2). ues and opinions of private forest owners mir-
As owners of most of the country's forestland, rored those of the general public.
nonindustrial private forest owners have much
at stake in these policy debates. To what extent Source:
do NIPF owners share in the general public's 1. R. E. DUNLAP, "Trends in public opinion toward
environmental values? Research conducted over environmental issues, 1965-90." In American Envi-
the past decade demonstrates that, in their atti- ronmentalism: The UW Environmental Movement,
tudes toward forest management and environ- 1970-90, R. E. Dunlap and A. G. Mertig, eds., Tay-
mental protection, NIPF owners are similar to lor & Francis, New York, 1992.
the rest of the American public (3, 4). A 1992 2. Times Mirror Magazines Conservation Council, Nat-
survey in the mid-South compared the envi- ural resource conservation: Where environmen-
ronmental attitudes of NIPF owners with those talism is headed in the 1990s. Times Mirror
of the general public (3). The views of NIPF Magazine, 1992.
owners and non-owners were essentially iden- 3. J. C. BLISS, S. K. NEPAL, R. T. BROOKS, JR.,AND MAX
tical on the acceptability of prescribed burning D. LARSEN, J. For, 92(9), 6 (1994).
(both groups were evenly split), the use of her- 4. M. W. BRUNSON, D. T. YARROW, S. D. ROBERTS, D. C.
bicides (a majority disapproved), and the GUYN, JR. AND M. R. KUHNS, J. For, 94(6), 14 (1996).
practice of clearcut harvesting (a majority dis-

planting, fire control, and other forestry activities proponents of increased government involvement
from public agencies. Recognizing the crucial con- in private forest management have consistently felt
tribution NIPF lands make to U.S. timber produc- that regulation of harvesting on private lands is nec-
tion, the U.S. Forest Service early in its existence essary to protect the public interest, and that sub-
assigned a high priority to improving management sidies and tax incentives are needed to ensure
of these lands. Government programs in this area effective management. Critics have decried gov-
have always been controversial. Since the incep- ernmental interference in private-land management,
tion of public forestry assistance programs in 1898, arguing that the working of the free market will
230 Nonindustrial Private Forests

ensure responsible forest management in the long National Danger and H o w to Meet It," concluded
run. This ongoing debate has historically resulted that "[n]ational legislation to prevent forest devas-
in a mix of regulation, financial incentives, tax poli- tation should [provide] such control over private for-
cies, education and technical assistance programs. est lands . . . as may be necessary to insure the
The U.S. Forest Service role in private forest land continuous production of forest crops . . . and to
management began with Gifford Pinchot's 1898 place forest industries on a stable basis in harmony
publication of Circular 21. Pinchot believed that with public interest." Pinchot added some personal
proper management of private forests was in the comments to those of the committee as follows:
public interest. Circular 21 offered free forest man-
agement advice to farmers and other owners of Forest devastation will not be stopped through
large tracts of forestland. persuasion, a method which has been thor-
oughly tried for the past twenty years and has
The 1924 Clarke-McNary Act authorized a com- failed utterly. Since they will not otherwise do
prehensive study of state forest tax policy that was so, private owners of forestland must now be
expected to reveal means of counteracting the "cut- compelled to manage their properties in har-
and-get-out" pattern of forest exploitation and land mony w i t h the public good. The field is cleared
for action and the lines are plainly drawn. He
abandonment, which had left behind vast areas of
w h o is not for forestry is against it. The choice
tax-delinquent land. The Act provided the foun- lies between the convenience of the lumbermen
dation for all subsequent federal assistance to the and the public good (9).
states for private forest management and became
a focal point for debate on the federal role in pri- Despite Pinchot's concern, Congress ultimately
vate forestry. Forest industry leaders lobbied vig- shied away from regulation and opted for cooper-
orously against government regulation of harvesting ation between the federal government and the states
practices on private land. A Society of American in a number of programs designed to encourage
Foresters committee chaired by Pinchot argued that proper forest management (Figure 10.6). One his-
regulation was n e e d e d to protect the public inter- torian of the Forest Service, William G. Robbins,
est. The committee's report, "Forest Devastation: A stressed the influence of forest industries in shaping

F i g u r e 1 0 . 6 Service
foresters are the primary
source of forest management
information and assistance for
many landowners.
NIPF Policies and Programs 231

Sidebar 10.3

From "The Small Woodland Problem" to "Sustainable Forestry"

The nation's nonindustrial private forests have of ecosystem management, timber productivity
been a major concern and research focus of was viewed as one value among many to be
professional foresters since the publication of managed, including water quality, endangered
Gifford Pinchot's Circular 21 in 1898. The pro- species recovery, and forest health. Accordingly,
fession's dominant view toward private forests emphasis in NIPF research shifted from exam-
has evolved in several distinct, yet overlapping ining individual owner behavior to exploring
phases corresponding to the concerns of the day. how ownership patterns affect ecological
From the beginning, the profession has been processes and values, and how landowners
obsessed with NIPF timber productivity. The might cooperate to achieve conservation goals
Small Woodland Problem mentality arose from for entire landscapes.
the view that NIPF lands were being "devastated" This paradigm is, in turn, broadening to
by exploitation and were not producing timber include human and social values as well as for-
in volumes commensurate with their acreage. est and environmental values, and to concern
Low timber productivity was the "Problem." itself with social systems as well as ecological
From the 1950s into the 1980s this view systems. One expression of this emerging model
evolved into The Small Woodland Owner Prob- is that of sustainable forestry, which explicitly
lem, in which the perceived under-productivity considers the social, as well as the economic and
of NIPFs was attributed to the diversity of NIPF environmental impacts of forest management. In
owners' objectives, their lack of forestry knowl- this model, NIPF owners play key roles not only
edge, and their reluctance to practice what pro- as resource owners but as members of rural
fessional foresters considered to be sound forest neighborhoods, communities, and economies.
management. In other words, the NIPF owners Aspects of each of these paradigms prevail
themselves were the "Problem." Eventually some within the forestry profession. The dominant
within the profession began to realize that "The perspective continuously evolves in response to
Problem" was not the owners' problem at all, changes in science, social values, and the eco-
but the profession's: NIPF owners have what for- nomic and political climate.
est industry and the public wants—beautiful
forests full of timber and wildlife (1). If Source:
foresters wanted to influence NIPF management, 1. W. D. TICKNOR, "Gloria reminiscences." Unpublished
they first had to help achieve NIPF owners' remarks to American Forestry Association Confer-
goals. ence, Traverse City, Mich., October, 1985.
By the early 1990s, yet another perspective
on NIPFs was emerging in response to advances
made in forest science. As scientists began to rec-
ognize the environmental importance of scale,
ecological relationsips, and cummulative effects,
foresters began considering forest ownerships
within a landscape context. Under the paradigm
232 Nonindustrial Private Forests

public policy toward private forest lands, concluding ernment programs exist to assist owners of forest,
that "[industrial conditions have determined the kind range, or farmland protect environmental values
and quality of federal resource programs" (10). Until or increase productivity of forest and related
the 1990s, industry's need for low-cost wood fiber resources. Most of these programs involve a cost-
was the driving force behind most NIPF assistance share payment (the landowner typically pays 35-50
programs, resulting in their strong focus on timber percent, the government pays the balance) to pri-
productivity. More recently, environmental concerns vate landowners for conducting a variety of forest
(discussed later in this chapter) have dominated pub- management practices. In addition to federal assis-
lic policy initiatives in the NIPF arena. tance programs, some states administer assistance
The 1950s and 1960s were decades of tremen- programs aimed at enhancing management of NIPF
dous growth in federal and state cooperative lands (11).
forestry assistance programs. The Cooperative For- Forest Taxation: Traditional property taxes are
est Management Act of 1950 provided for direct based on "highest and best use" of the land and
technical forestry services to all classes of private assume production of an annual income. However,
forest ownership, including small, nonfarm tracts. unlike agricultural lands, few NIPF ownerships pro-
During the "Environmental Era" of the late 1960s duce annual income, putting forest owners at a dis-
and early 1970s, several states passed legislation to advantage relative to other landowners. Several
protect environmental quality on private lands from states now administer special property tax programs
poor timber harvesting practices. While many states designed to remove such destructive effects of tax-
relied upon forest taxation programs designed to ation for NIPF landowners. For those states having
encourage good stewardship of NIPF lands, other yield taxes, the land may be taxed annually, but
states enacted forest practices legislation to restrict the timber is not taxed until it is harvested.
and prescribe management activities. California's Federal and state income taxes have a big impact
1973 Forest Practice Act included the most com- on private forest ownership and management. Tax
prehensive timber harvest regulations. laws continually change, quickly rendering any
The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 summary out of date. However, rules for reporting
enabled the secretary of agriculture to establish timber sale income and deducting expenses for
requirements for state forest resource programs. As forestry activities are always important tax issues
a result of this and other legislation, the role of the for NIPF landowners. Over the years, various mod-
federal government in private forestry assistance ifications to the tax code have attempted to reduce
was largely reduced to an administrative one. In the financial impact of forest management activi-
contrast to the intensive federal involvement in ties on landowners' tax obligation. Generally, tim-
Depression era programs, primary responsibility for ber sale income can be considered a capital gain
private forestry assistance was, by the 1980s, on and is thus taxed at a rate different than that of ordi-
state shoulders (10). nary income. Forestry expenses are typically
deductible from income if the landowner can
demonstrate being actively involved in the man-
Contemporary Policies agement activities.
and Programs Taxes on estates, above an allowed exclusion,
Since Gifford Pinchot's 1898 publication of Circu- are high, between 37 and 55 percent of the value
lar 21, the public interest in healthy, productive pri- of the estate. Consequently, federal estate taxes are
vate forest lands has been pursued through a often blamed for causing landowners to break up
combination of financial incentives, regulations, and sell their forest lands, or to harvest their tim-
education, technical assistance, and partnerships. ber excessively and prematurely in order to meet
their tax obligation. Proposals to lessen the nega-
Financial Incentives Financial Assistance: At the tive impact of estate taxes on private forest own-
beginning of the 21st century a number of gov- ers include increasing the allowable exclusion and
NIPF Policies and Programs 233

Sidebar 10.4

Forest Products Certification

Green certification—third-party evaluation of tices such as clearcutting, plantation silviculture,

sustainable forest management and forest prod- and use of pesticides should be condoned.
ucts—is a rapidly growing market-based FSC-approved foresters inspect forest owners'
approach to improving stewardship on private management plans and lands for compliance
and public forest lands alike. Several organiza- with national and regional standards. Timber
tions are competing for primacy in forestry cer- products that are harvested from certified
tification. One of the most established is the forests can then be marketed as certified, or
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an interna- "green." The standards of several certifying
tional organization based in Mexico. FSC devel- organizations comply with those of the FSC,
oped broad principles and criteria for green including Smartwood, a nonprofit certifier, and
certification of forest management activities, Scientific Certification Systems, a for-profit cer-
including principles regarding compliance with tifier. It remains to be seen whether green-
existing laws, the rights of indigenous peoples, certified wood products will command a higher
workers, and local communities; environmental price in the marketplace and thereby become a
impacts; conservation of environmental and cul- real influence on NIPF management (1).
turally significant resources, and management
planning, monitoring, and evaluation. While Source:
most of the principles are widely accepted as 1. G. J. GRAY, M. J. ENZER, AND J. KUSEL, IDS., Under-
central to responsible forestry, acceptance is not standing Community-Based Forest Ecosystem Man-
universal. Debate continues over whether prac- agement, Food Products Press, New York, 2001.

excluding from taxation the value of forestland The Endangered Species Act of 1973 set out reg-
placed in a qualified conservation easement. ulations for conserving endangered and threatened
species and their habitat. In the landmark 1995
Regulations Although NIPF owners are affected Sweet Home case, the Supreme Court upheld the
by many federal regulations, none is of more con- government's authority to regulate endangered
sequence than those embodied in the Clean Water species habitat on private land. The Endangered
Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of Species Act has been invoked to restrain timber har-
1973. Under the Clean Water Act, states have vest activities in northern spotted owl habitat in the
responsibility to monitor and manage impacts of Pacific Northwest and in red-cockaded woodpecker
nonpoint sources of water pollution, including habitat in the Southeast. Lawsuits related to this use
forest-related sources. Many states' forest practices of the act raise the issue of whether such restraints
acts arose out of state efforts to meet the require- on forest management activity on private lands con-
ments of the Clean Water Act. Although normal sil- stitute an infringement of private property rights,
vicultural practices are exempt from this act, and if so, whether effected landowners should be
dredging or filling in wetlands (such as might be compensated.
required in forest road building) requires a permit Most states and a growing number of local units
from the Army Corps of Engineers. of government have passed regulations restricting
234 Nonindustrial Private Forests

the forest management practices of private forest practices are voluntary, contingent upon their
owners. In the 1940s, a first wave of regulations widespread application. Where established forest
covering forestry on private lands was prompted practice standards are not followed, the state may
by concern over future timber availability and hence levy penalties (12).
stressed regeneration standards. Subsequent regu- Recognizing the limitations of regulations to
lations have mandated that forest management achieve conservation goals, nongovernmental
activities not adversely affect environmental qual- organizations, state agencies, and others are work-
ity, by setting minimum standards for timber-har- ing together to develop innovative conservation
vesting, road construction and location, and the use incentives for private land owners. In some cases,
of herbicides and pesticides. Recent regulations agencies and conservation organizations purchase
have addressed long-term resource sustainability, land from private owners in order to protect the
biodiversity, improving water quality and resource special environmental value it contains. In other
conservation. cases, conservation easements are negotiated with
By 1997, about one-third of the nation's private landowners to allow some public uses or to disal-
timberland was covered by state forest practices low certain practices, such as the harvest of tree
acts, and a total of 38 states had at least one pro- species or forest types that are locally threatened.
gram regulating forest practices on private land Safe harbor agreements are designed to enhance
(12). State forest practices acts typically include protection of endangered species habitat without
standards for road and skid trail construction, preventing landowners from using their land.
stream crossings, timber harvesting, size of
clearcuts, slash disposal, reforestation, minimum Education and Technical Assistance Much of the
stocking levels, riparian zones, sensitive wildlife research on NIPF owners points to education as
habitat, and wetlands protection (Figure 10.7). Sev- the most effective means of influencing NIPF man-
eral states are experimenting with contingent or agement decisions. A major source of information
conditional regulations wherein best management and education for NIPF owners is the Cooperative

F i g u r e 10.7 Forest Practice

regulations covering private
forestlands are mandatory in
some states. Other states have
opted for voluntary best
management practices. Most
states are seeking a workable
balance between regulatory and
voluntary forest conservation
measures.
NIPF Policies and Programs 235

Extension Service. The CES provides educational

programs and materials to NIPF landowners, pro-
fessional resource managers, forest products
industry personnel, loggers, policymakers, and the
general public (Figure 10.8). Usually the educa-
tional service is provided through workshops, con-
ferences, field days, TV and radio programs,
"how-to" publications, the Internet, videotapes,
marketing bulletins, newspaper stories, and com-
puter programs.
As resources shrink, a number of states are
adapting a volunteer training model, called the Mas-
ter Woodland Manager Program, to extend their
educational outreach capabilities (13). This program
provides participants intensive forestry training, and,
in return, each Master Woodland Manager volun-
teers service to other forest owners. The program
aims to stimulate management activity among
landowners, provide leadership in woodland man-
agement, promote woodland management to non-
owners, and assist forestry extension agents in their
outreach activities.

Partnerships Some of the oldest partnerships are

among NIPF owners themselves, and between own-
ers and forest industry. As of 1998, state forest
owner associations existed in 31 states. Ten of these
states also had local associations. Total membership
in all known state and local forest owner associa- F i g u r e 10.8 Many woodland owners are eager
to learn more about managing their lands. Field days,
tions was estimated to be 48,000 (14). Although the
workshops, and conferences covering a wide range of
members of these associations represent a very topics are readily available, and publications abound
small portion of the 9.9 million private forest own- for those seeking up-to-date "how-to" information.
ers in the nation, their influence at local, state, and
national levels is growing. Through sponsorship of
conferences, tours, workshops, and field days, they Any NIPF landowner with a minimum of 10 acres
educate members and bring them into contact with of woodland and a commitment to forest man-
each other and with agency personnel, researchers, agement can become a member of the American
and other natural resource professionals. Some asso- Forest Foundation's Tree Farm program. As of 1998,
ciations sponsor environmental education activities the program boasted some 70,000 members (11).
for youth and the general public. Most publish Properties meeting program criteria are certified as
newsletters, magazines, and contribute articles and Tree Farms, and are re-inspected at regular inter-
editorials to local papers. Some provide timber price vals. Every year the program chooses state,
reporting, marketing, and insurance services to their regional, and national Outstanding Tree Farmer of
members. Many are politically active at the state and the Year recipients (Figure 10.9).
national levels, participate in policy development,
Many forest products companies provide forest
and support lobbyists.
owners free assistance with management planning,
236 Nonindustrial Private Forests

F i g u r e 10.9 The Tree Farm

Program provides recognition
and technical assistance to NIPF
owners who wish to manage
their woodlands.

tree planting, vegetation management, timber har- landscape-scale attention drives current forest man-
vesting, and marketing. In return for this assistance, agement planning and policy.
many companies develop written agreements with Achieving conservation goals is challenging in
landowners that guarantee the company first option landscapes of mixed ownership where owner objec-
on the timber crops as they become available for tives, capabilities, and constraints vary widely.
market. In 1994-95, nearly 11,000 landowners par- Developing partnerships between public and pri-
ticipated in landowner assistance programs, many vate landowners and land users is one of the dis-
in the Southeast (15). tinctive aspects of conservation at the beginning of
In the past, when the public interest in private the 21st century. Finding an effective mix of reg-
forest lands was primarily defined as one of pro- ulatory and nonregulatory instruments to encour-
moting timber production, programs focused on age cross-boundary, cooperative solutions to
improving the productivity of individual forest environmental problems will likely be among the
stands. As the public interest has become more most daunting forest conservation policies of the
broadly understood to include improvement of first decade of the new millenium.
environmental quality, reclamation of degraded
habitats, and restoration of endangered species pop-
ulations, the focus on individual ownerships has
become inadequate. Major conservation goals with
Emerging Trends and Issues
strong public support include restoring more nat- The beginning of the 21st century is both an excit-
ural insect, disease, and fire regimes; maintaining ing and frightening time for NIPF owners and for
healthy populations of aquatic and terrestrial the profession of forestry. The extent and rate of
species; and restoring endangered habitats such as change in every aspect of forestry—forest science,
the longleaf pine forests of the Southeast. Each goal social values and demands, forest policies—have
requires concerted effort over large landscapes. The never been greater. This rapid change makes it dif-
understanding that resource conservation requires ficult to predict with certainty what conditions will
Emerging Trends and Issues 237

Sidebar 10.5

Oregon's Salmon Plan: An Experiment in Public-Private Collaboration

To residents of the Pacific northwest, the salmon World Wide Web, thereby encouraging wide par-
symbolizes the region's ideal of living in touch ticipation in monitoring. An Independent Mul-
with nature. The dramatic decline in salmon tidisciplinary Science Team monitors
populations is seen as a threat not only to the achievements of watershed councils through an
species, but also to the region's very identity. The annual audit.
1995 proposal by the National Marine Fisheries This experiment in bottom-up, voluntary col-
Service to list coho salmon as threatened under laboration between state government and local
the Endangered Species Act triggered a major, stakeholders is not without controversy and risk.
innovative experiment to avoid listing and restore In 1998, a federal magistrate ruled that the
salmon habitat. In 1997, the Oregon state legis- National Marine Fisheries Service had violated
lature approved expenditure of $30 million— the Endangered Species Act by not listing the
$13.6 million from a tax on forest products coho, thereby forcing its listing. By prior agree-
volunteered by forest landowners and industry— ment, that action nullified the dedicated forest
to implement what has become known as The products tax, thus putting Plan funding in jeop-
Oregon Plan. In essence, the Plan aims to sup- ardy. It remains to be seen what effects the rul-
plement existing regulations (such as the state's ing will have on the thousands of volunteer
forest practices act) with voluntary measures participants in local watershed councils. Con-
designed not only to prevent "takings" of salmon, servation groups around the country are watch-
but also to restore salmon habitat and increase ing to see if watershed councils will survive this
salmon populations. The Plan made funding blow and achieve the potential of this experi-
available to some 60 existing or newly created ment in collaboration (3).
watershed councils—voluntary associations of
landowners, community residents, environmen- Sources:
tal organizations, and public agencies—to col- l. J. CHRISTENSEN, American Forests, 103(4), 17
laborate in restoration efforts (1). In the first year (1998).
of the Plan some 1200 restoration activity reports 2. Oregon Forest Resources Institute, "Saving the
were filed on projects including steam bank sta- Salmon: Oregonians Working Together to Manage
bilization, fencing, riparian habitat restoration, Environmental Change." Special report, Oregon
culvert replacement, and "putting to bed" Forest Resources Institute, Portland, Ore. (No date
unused logging roads (2). given).
Monitoring efforts have been a major com- 3. G. J. GRAY, M. J. ENZER, AND J. KUSEL, EDS., Under-
ponent of watershed council work. Volunteers standing Community-Based Forest Ecosystem Man-
have inventoried and mapped culverts, dams, agement, Food Products Press, New York, 2001.
stream crossings, forest roads, and other obstruc-
tions affecting fish passage. They have con-
ducted salmon spawning and stream tem-
perature surveys. Instructions for conducting and
reporting these surveys are available on the
238 Nonindustrial Private Forests

be like for NIPF owners even five years from now. mental, industry, and landowner organizations, and
Nonetheless, the following are trends and issues innovative market mechanisms such as green cer-
emerging at the birth of the new century that will tification.
likely affect ownership and management of NIPFs
over the coming decade.
Changing Forest
Ownership Patterns
Rights and Responsibilities of Forestland at the fringe of many metropolitan areas
NIPF Owners is being fragmented and converted to nonforest
Finding the appropriate balance between individ- uses at an alarming rate, with an accompanying
ual and public rights to private land continues to loss of green space and wildlife habitat. Urban res-
be the defining NIPF issue. Public interest in private idents decry the resulting erosion of environmen-
forest lands has grown with our new understand- tal quality, and rural NIPF owners fear they will
ing of the importance of these lands for environ- lose the right to manage their forests as residen-
mental health. NIPF owners find themselves called tial neighborhoods proliferate. Clashes between old
upon to produce more—more timber, more wildlife, and new residents and their contrasting forest val-
more beauty, more recreational opportunities—while ues are becoming more frequent. A new class of
at the same time being subjected to greater scrutiny. mini-forest owners is being created, with new
Owners in all states are subject to federal laws such needs for tree and forest information and man-
as the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water agement services.
Act. However, the level of state regulation varies from At the same time, smaller NIPF ownerships in
states with no state regulation whatsoever over for- some rural areas are being consolidated into large
est practices acts, to states in which most forest prac- tracts by corporate and industrial entities. Often, this
tices are regulated in great detail. Further change in ownership results in dramatic changes
complicating the regulatory scene is the profusion in forest composition, as the multiple objectives of
of municipal and county ordinances affecting man- NIPF owners are replaced by a stronger emphasis
agement of forests and related resources. Faced with on commercial timber production. Loss of owner-
confusing, sometimes conflicting, and continuously ship diversity also drains a landscape of the human
changing rules and regulations, NIPF owners are values NIPF owners provide. Changing ownership
anxious about their future ability to manage their patterns will present multiple challenges to sus-
forests. taining economic, social, and ecological health.

Nonregulatory Mechanisms for Changing Markets

Environmental Protection The economic climate within which NIPF owners
This regulatory maze, together with the growing operate has changed significantly in the past
need to address environmental problems at a land- decade, presenting new marketing and forest man-
scape scale, is driving a nationwide search for non- agement challenges. Once, locally owned mills
regulatory mechanisms for achieving environmental dominated local markets, determining what forest
objectives. It is a time of frustration with existing products were marketable and at what price. Such
policies, anxiety over the future, and optimistic market determinations are now increasingly made
experimentation with new approaches to forestry. in the global marketplace. Forest products produced
These include promotion of voluntary Best Man- in the United States compete with imports from
agement Practices, cross-boundary cooperative Canada, South America, Pacific Rim countries, and
management arrangements, conservation easements elsewhere. U.S. environmental policy influences
and leases, strategic alliances between environ- forestry investment decisions around the world. For
Concluding Statement 239

example, dramatic reductions in timber harvesting ecosystem management by explicitly recognizing

on U.S. National Forests has led both to increas- social and economic, as well as environmental,
ing harvest pressures on NIPF lands and increased goals for forestry. People involved in developing
imports of wood from Canada and elsewhere. In sustainable forestry include silviculturalists testing
retail markets, wood and nonwood building mate- timber harvesting schemes that mimic natural
rials compete for consumer recognition as being processes, community groups searching for mean-
environmentally friendly. Green certification advo- ingful participation in regional forest resource plan-
cates propose to label forest products derived from ning, and forestry companies evaluating markets for
sustainably managed forests, and achieve higher green-certified forest products.
prices for them. All these factors combine to cre-
ate dynamic and unpredictable wood markets. NIPF
owners will increasingly require marketing savvy
to effectively compete in complex global wood
Concluding Statement
markets. Nonindustrial private forests are of immense
social, economic, and environmental value. They
dominate the landscape of vast regions of the
Emerging Forestry Paradigms United States, are a vital component of the national
The profession of forestry, like all professions, economy, and play a growing role in international
evolves in response to societal changes. During the markets. The great diversity of NIPF owners results
last two decades of the 20th century, the profes- in a wide variety of objectives, constraints, and
sion of forestry experienced a period of intense capabilities, which in turn create diverse forest
introspection, reevaluation, and testing of new par- types, ages, and conditions. This social and envi-
adigms. First derided as a mere buzzword, ecosys- ronmental diversity is in itself an important contri-
tem management has become the dominant bution made by NIPFs to the landscape and
management paradigm for forestry on private as economy of America.
well as public lands. Ecosystem management NIPF owners operate in a rapidly changing envi-
focuses on very large geographic areas (watersheds ronment. Advances in forest science, growing
to eco-regions) and very long time frames (up to demands for the products and values produced by
several centuries), and emphasizes connections, NIPFs, and a dynamic policy environment all con-
processes, and desired future forest conditions. tribute to an atmosphere of instability, unpre-
Many of the alternative policy mechanisms dis- dictability, and risk. Over the coming years, NIPF
cussed above are attempts to find solutions to prob- owners will face changing markets, regulatory insta-
lems occurring at the ecosystem scale. Finding bility, and increasing demands that they cooperate
effective, equitable, and politically tenable means with their neighbors to achieve environmental pro-
to achieving ecosystem objectives in mixed-own- tection goals.
ership landscapes—especially landscapes domi- Each of these issues presents daunting challenges
nated by NIPFs—is likely to be among the greatest to the profession of forestry as well as to NIPF own-
challenge of natural resource managers and policy ers. Some will throw up their hands in frustration
makers in the next decade. and declare the end of the forestry profession. Oth-
Closely associated with ecosystem management, ers will see in these challenges limitless opportu-
sustainable forestry encompasses many of the con- nities to solve problems, serve people, improve the
cepts and principles that are currently emerging condition of the planet, and grow professionally.
within the forestry profession. Sustainable forestry Enterprising and determined persons of creativity,
goes beyond the traditional sustained yield model patience, and energy will find the coming decade
of production forestry to emphasize sustaining all to be a wonderful time to work in the field of non-
forest values, functions, and outputs. It adds to industrial private forestry.
240 Nonindustrial Private Forests

10. W. G. ROBBINS, American Forestry: A History of

References National, State, and Private Cooperation, Univ. of
Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1985.
1. ROBERT FROST, "Stopping by a woods on a snowy
evening." In Favorite Poems Old and New, Helen Fer- 11. National Research Council, "Forest Landscapes in Per-
ris, ed., Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden City, N.Y., spective: Prospects and Opportunities for Sustainable
1957. Management of America's Nonfederal Forests."
National Academy of Sciences, 1998.
2. D. S. POWELL, J. L. FAULKNER, D. R. DARR, Z. ZHU, AND
D. W. MACCLEERY. "Forest Resources of the United 12. P. V. ELLEFSON, A. S. CHENG, AND R. J. MOULTON. Envi-

States, 1992." General Technical Report RM-234, ronmental Management, 21(3), 42 (1997).
U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and 13. R. A. FLETCHER AND A. S. REED, "Extending forest man-
Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colo., 1993. agement with volunteers: the Master Woodland Man-
3. T. W. BIRCH, "Private Forest-land owners of the United ager Project." In Proceedings, Symposium on
States, 1994." Resource Bulletin NE-134. Radnor, Penn. Nonindustrial Private Forests: Learning from the Past,
U.S.D.A. Forest Service NE Forest Experiment Station, Prospects for the Future, Feb 18-20, 1996, Washing-
1996. ton, D. C, Melvin J. Baughman, Minnesota Extension
Service, Univ. Minnesota, St. Paul, 1998.
4. R. J. MOULTON AND T. W. BIRCH, Forest Farmer, 54(5),
44 (1995). 14. M. P. WASHBURN, "Forest Owner Associations in the
United States, Linking Forest Owners to Public Pol-
5. J. C. BLISS, M. L. SISOCK, AND T. W. BIRCH, Society and
icy." Unpub. Ph.D. Dissertation, School of Forest
Natural Resources, 11(4), 401 (1998).
Resources, Pennsylvania State University, December,
6. J. C. BLISS, S. K. NEPAL, R. T. BROOKS, JR., AND M. D. 1998.
LARSEN. Southern J. of Applied Forestry, 21(1), 37
15. J. HEISSENBUTTEL, "Forest Landscapes in Perspective:
(1997).
Prospects and Opportunities for Sustainable Man-
7. S. B. JONES, A. E. LULOFF, AND J. C. FINLEY, J. For, 93(9), agement of America's Nonfederal Forests." Commit-
41 (1993). tee correspondence, American Forest and Paper
8. J. C. BLISS AND A. JEFF MARTIN, For. Sci., 35(2), 601 Association. In National Research Council, National
(1989). Academy of Sciences. Washington, D.C. 1998.
9. S. T. DANA AND S. K. FAIRFAX, Forest and Range Pol-
icy: Its Development in the United States, Second Edi-
tion, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1980.
 CHAPTER 11
Measuring and Monitoring
Forest Resources
A L A N R. EK, GEORGE L. MARTIN,
AND DANIEL W. GILMORE

Measurements of Primary Forest Volume and Mass

Products Age and Radial Increment
Forest Sampling
Scaling
Grading Sampling Units
Sampling Methods
Land Surveying and Mapping Statistics
Distance Forest Growth and Yield
Direction Components of Forest Growth
Land Surveys Site Quality
Forest Type Mapping and Area Measure- Stocking and Density
ment Growth and Yield Projection
Measurement of Forest Resources Measurement of Nontimber
with a Focus on Timber Resources
Standing Trees Concluding Statement—Future of
Diameter at Breast Height
Basal Area
Measurement and Monitoring
Height References

There are as many reasons to measure forests as cultural and harvesting practices are also conducted
there are uses of forests, and each use has its own to understand the character, extent, and effective-
specific needs for information. A forest landowner ness of such activities, and particularly to assess
may want to sell some timber, and the determina- compliance with practices deemed best for various
tion of a fair price will require information about situations. These and more detailed surveys also
the species, size, quality, and number of trees to provide the data for forest scientists to develop an
be sold. Forest managers seek to monitor forest con- understanding of how forests grow and interact with
ditions and practices and develop long-range plans their environment and benefit society.
concerning protection, planting, thinning, harvest- These diverse information needs have led to
ing, and other treatments in their forests. These recognition of a specialized branch of forestry, for-
plans in turn require detailed information about the est measurements (also forest biometrics), which
type, size, density, and growth rates of the exist- focuses on techniques for the efficient measurement
ing stands, together with information about the loca- of forests, including their growth and response to
tion, accessibility, quality, and usage of the forest management practices. The word efficient means
sites. Increasingly, surveys of on-the-ground silvi- that the measurement techniques strive to provide

241
242 Measuring and Monitoring Forest Resources

accurate information in a short time period at low log rules had been devised to estimate the volume
cost. of logs in board feet, based on measurements of
This chapter presents an overview of some of the diameter inside bark on the small end of the
the measurement techniques used in forestry. Both log (Figure 11.1), and the length of the log. Most
English and metric units of measurement are in use of these log rules were very inaccurate and are no
today, so both systems are described in this chap- longer in use; however, a few managed to achieve
ter. To help the reader become familiar with both widespread acceptance and continue to be used
systems, measurements in some tables and exam- today: notably, the Doyle, Scribner, and Interna-
ples are in English units, and measurements in oth- tional log rules.
ers are in metric units. The emphasis is on timber The Doyle log rule was first published in 1825
resources, but the measurement of some nontim- by Edward Doyle of Rochester, New York. This rule
ber resources is also briefly described. Textbooks is based on the simple formula:
(1-3) are available for readers who want to learn
V = (D - 4)2L/16
more about forest measurements.
where V is the volume of the log in board feet, D
is the small-end scaling diameter in inches, and L
Measurement of Primary is the length of the log in feet (after allowing 3 to
4 inches for trim). The Doyle log rule grossly under-
Forest Products estimates the volumes of logs less than 20 inches
To appreciate how forests are measured, we first in diameter, but it continues to be used because
need to understand how we measure the primary of its simplicity and because it encourages the deliv-
products derived from forests. These primary prod- ery of large-diameter logs to mills.
ucts include sawlogs, bolts, and chips. Sawlogs are The Scribner log rule was published in 1846 by
logs of sufficient size and quality to produce lum- John Marston Scribner, an ordained clergyman and
ber or veneer. They must be 8 feet or more in length teacher of mathematics in a girls' school. Scribner
with a minimum small-end diameter of 6 to 8 estimated log volumes from diagrams of boards
inches. Bolts are short logs, less than 8 feet in drawn on circles of various sizes corresponding to
length, and used primarily for manufacture into pulp the small ends of logs. Boards were drawn with a
and paper. Chips are small pieces of wood obtained 1/4-inch allowance for saw kerf and with the
by cutting up logs and sawmill wastes. They are
used as a raw material for manufacturing a variety
of forest products and as a source of fuel.

Scaling
The process of measuring the physical quantity of
forest products is called scaling. During the nine-
teenth century the practice became established in
the United States to scale sawlogs in terms of their
board foot contents. Actually, the board foot is a
unit of sawn lumber equivalent to a plank 1 foot
long, 1 foot wide, and 1 inch thick. Estimates of
the board foot contents of a log must take into
account the portions of a log lost to saw kerf, the
saw cuts between the boards, and to slabs, the F i g u r e 11.1 First step in scaling: determining the
rounded edges of the log. By 1910, more than forty diameter inside the bark on the small end of the log.
Measurement of Primary Forest Products 243

assumptions that boards would be 1 inch thick and where V is the volume of solid wood (in cubic feet
not less than 8 inches wide. He further assumed or cubic meters), A1 and A2 are the cross-sectional
that the logs were cylinders, so no adjustments were areas inside bark on the two ends of the log (in
made for log taper. Scribner published his log rule square feet or square meters), and L is the length
in the form of a table, but the following formula of the log (in feet or meters). Despite numerous
has since been developed to describe his rule: attempts to promote cubic-volume scaling in the
United States, board foot scaling still prevails.
V = (0.79D2 - 2D - 4)1/16 The sawlog volume obtained with a log rule or
A variation of the Scribner rule is the Scribner dec- cubic-volume formula is called the gross scale. A
imal C rule, obtained by rounding the former rule net scale must then be calculated by deducting for
to the nearest 10 board feet and then dropping the scale defects that will reduce the usable volume of
rightmost zero. For example, a 16-foot log with an wood in the log. Scale defects include rot, worm-
18-inch scale diameter would have 216 board feet holes, ring shake (separation of wood along annual
according to the Scribner rule and would scale as rings), and splits. In addition, if the log is not suf-
22 by the Scribner decimal C rule. ficiently straight, a scale deduction is made accord-
The most accurate log rule in use today is the ing to the amount of sweep or crook in the log.
International log rule developed by Judson Clark Pulpwood and firewood are usually scaled by
in 1906. Clark was a professional forester who had measuring the dimensions of a stack rather than
been bothered by the inconsistent and radically dif- measuring individual bolts. A standard cord of
ferent estimates that he obtained from the Doyle, wood is a stack 4 by 4 by 8 feet and contains 128
Scribner, and other log rules. He concluded that cubic feet of wood, air, and bark. The number of
these rules grossly underestimated the volume of standard cords in any size stack can be calculated
long logs because they did not take into account by dividing the product of the stack's width, height,
the increased board foot yield caused by log taper. and length (in feet) by 128. Variations of the stan-
In its basic form, this rule assumes a 1/8-inch saw dard cord include the short cord or face cord, a stack
kerf and estimates the volume of a 4-foot section. 4 feet high and 8 feet wide with individual pieces
The volume of the entire log is estimated by adding cut to a length less than 4 feet. The dimensions of
the volumes of each 4-foot section and assuming various types of cords are illustrated in Figure 11.2.
a 1/2-inch increase in diameter for each section. The amount of solid wood in a standard cord
In this way, the International rule allows for an may range from 64 to 96 cubic feet, depending on
increase in log volume owing to taper. The basic several factors. Solid-wood content is reduced by
formula for the volume of a 4-foot section is thick bark, small-diameter bolts, crooked bolts, and
loose piling, so these variables must be assessed
V = 0.22D2 - 0.71D when estimating the actual amount of wood in a
For a quarter-inch saw kerf, this formula is multi- given stack.
plied by 0.905. In recent years, much of the pulp and paper
Table 11.1 shows that there are substantial dif- industry has adopted weight scaling for stacked
ferences between the estimates obtained with the pulpwood and wood chips. With this method, a
log rules just described, especially for smaller log truck carrying a full load of wood is weighed before
sizes. A wise buyer or seller will study the differ- and after it is unloaded. The difference is the weight
ences before completing any agreements. of the wood, which can then be converted to vol-
Sawlogs can be scaled more consistently by sim- ume or dry weight by taking into account the spe-
ply estimating the volume of solid wood in the log. cific gravity and moisture content of the wood.
Smalian's formula is often used for this purpose, Weight scaling is favored because it is fast and
objective, and it encourages delivery of freshly cut
V = (A1 + A2)L/2 wood to the mill.
244 Measuring and Monitoring Forest Resources

Table 11.1 Board-Foot Volume of 16-Foot Logs for International Rule and Other Rules in
Percentage of the International Rulea
Scaling Diameter Internationalb Scribner Scribner Decimal C Doyle
(in.) (bd ft) (percent) (percent) (percent)

6 20 90 100 20
8 40 80 75 40
10 65 83 92 55
12 95 83 84 67
14 135 84 81 74
16 180 88 89 80
18 230 93 91 85
20 290 97 97 88
22 355 94 93 91
24 425 95 94 94
26 500 100 100 97
28 585 99 99 98
30 675 97 98 100
32 770 96 96 102
34 875 91 91 103
36 980 94 94 104
38 1095 98 98 106
40 1220 99 98 106
D. L. Williams and W. C. Hopkins, "Converting factors for southern pine products," U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Tech. Bull. 626, South.
For. Expt. Sta., New Orleans, 1969.
a
Terms used in this table are defined in the text.
b
Quarter-inch kerf (width of cut made by saw).

F i g u r e 1 1 . 2 Examples of
stacked-wood units, from left to
right: standard cord, face cord
(pieces 16 inches long), split face
cord, and a split face cord piled
in a small truck.
Land Surveying a n d M a p p i n g 245

Grading locate roads, streams, and other features of impor-

The value of forest products, particularly sawlogs, tance within the forest. Surveying techniques are
can be greatly reduced by grade defects that lower also used for locating sample plots as described later
their strength, take away from their appearance, or in this chapter.
otherwise limit their utility. Defects that lower the Forest land surveys in the United States are usu-
grade of sawlogs include knots, spiral grain, and ally conducted with the English system of units. Dis-
stain. tance is measured in feet, chains (1 chain = 66 feet),
Rules for grading hardwood logs emphasize the and miles (1 mile = 80 chains); land area is meas-
number, size, and location of defects, such as knots, ured in acres (1 acre = 10 square chains) and square
that affect the amount of clear lumber that can be miles (1 square mile = 640 acres). In the metric sys-
sawn from the log. Four classes of log use have tem, distance is measured in meters (1 meter =
been defined for the grading of hardwood logs (4). 3.28084 feet) and kilometers (1 kilometer = 1000
meters), and land area is measured in hectares
1. Veneer Class. Logs of very high value as well as (1 hectare = 10,000 square meters) and square kilo-
some relatively low-value logs that can be uti- meters (1 square kilometer = 100 hectares). Acres
lized for veneer. Logs that qualify as factory lum- and hectares are both used to describe land areas
ber grade 1 can often be utilized as veneer logs. in the United States, so it is useful to remember that
2. Factory Class. Boards that later can be remanu- 1 hectare is equal to 2.471 acres or about 2.5 acres.
factured to remove most defects and obtain the Additional converting factors for units of distance
best yields of clear face and sound cuttings. Fac- and area can be found in Appendix III.
tory lumber is typically separated into grades 1,
2, and 3-
3. Construction Class. Logs suitable for sawing into Distance
ties, timbers, and other items to be used in one There are several methods for measuring distance
piece for structural purposes. in forest surveys, and the choice depends on the
4. Local-Use Class. In general, logs suitable for prod- accuracy required. Pacing is often used for locat-
ucts not usually covered by standard specifica- ing sample plots and in reconnaissance work where
tions. High strength, great durability, and fine great accuracy is not required. Foresters must first
appearance are not required for the following calibrate their individual pace by walking a
types of products: crating, pallet parts, industrial known distance—say, 10 chains—and counting the
blocking, and so on. number of paces. In forestry, a pace is considered
two steps, using a natural walking gait, and should
Rules for grading softwood logs emphasize
be calibrated for each type of terrain encountered.
strength and durability. The majority of softwood
Having determined the average number of paces
logs fall into the veneer class or the sawmill class,
per chain, the forester can then measure and keep
which includes logs suited to the production of yard
track of distances by counting paces while walk-
and structural lumber. The number, location, and
ing through the forest. An experienced pacer can
size of grade defects determine the grade of logs
achieve an accuracy of 1 part in 80; that is, for every
in these two classes.
80 chains traversed the error should be no more
than 1 chain.
When greater accuracy is required, steel tapes
Land Surveying and Mapping are used in a technique known as chaining. The
Land-surveying and land-mapping techniques are steel tapes may be 2 chains, 100 feet, or 30 meters
used in forestry to locate the boundaries of forest in length, depending on the units desired. Chain-
properties and stands of timber, to measure the land ing requires a minimum of two people to hold each
areas enclosed within these boundaries, and to end of the tape. The head chainer usually uses a
 246 Measuring and Monitoring Forest Resources

magnetic compass to determine the direction of the supplanting compass usage where the forest cover
course line while the rear chainer keeps a record allows links to satellites (Figure 11.3).
of the number of tape lengths traversed. Careful
chaining can achieve an accuracy of 1 part in 1000.
There are also a variety of electronic and opti- Land Surveys
cal instruments for measuring distances. Examples Much of the land subdivision in the world is based
of such tools include laser-based rangefinders. How- on the metes and bounds system. Under this sys-
ever, these instruments require a line of sight largely tem, property lines and corners are based on phys-
free of obstacles such as trees and shrubs. For this ical features such as streams, ridges, fences, and
reason, they are not well suited for timber surveys roads. Locating such legal boundaries is often dif-
in densely wooded areas, but they are used for road ficult, especially when descriptions are vague, cor-
and boundary surveys. Additionally, satellite linked ners that were once marked have been lost, and
global positioning system (GPS) units are increas- lines such as streams have moved over the years.
ingly used for establishing locations, travel routes, However, most of the United States west of the Mis-
and boundaries.
sissippi River and north of the Ohio River, plus
Alabama, Mississippi, and portions of Florida, have
been subdivided according to a rectangular sur-
Direction vey system. This system was conceived by Thomas
Many of the instruments available are more accu- Jefferson at the close of the Revolutionary War, and
rate for measuring direction, but the magnetic com- enacted as the Land Ordinance of 1785 "to survey j
pass is favored by foresters because of its speed, and sell these public lands in the Northwest
economy, and simplicity. With a magnetic compass, Territory"
directions are measured in degrees (0 to 360) clock- The rectangular survey system uses carefully I
wise from magnetic north, the direction pointed by established baselines and principal meridians as ref-
the compass needle. These direction angles are called erences for land location. The baselines run east-
magnetic azimuths and must be converted to true west, and the principal meridians run north-south.
azimuths by correcting for magnetic declination; that The intersection of a baseline and principal merid-
is, the angle between true north and magnetic north. ian is called an initial point and serves as the ori-
Many compasses allow this correction to be made gin of a survey system. More than thirty of these
automatically by the instrument. GPS units are also systems were established as land was acquired and

F i g u r e 11.3 Examples of GPS (with PDA) usage (left), and laser rangefinder usage (right), in the field.
Land Surveying and Mapping 247

development progressed westward in the United standard parallels, guide meridians are run north
States. to the next standard parallel. Because of the earth's
Figure 11.4 shows h o w land is subdivided under curvature, guide meridians converge to the north
the rectangular survey system. At intervals of 24 and the resulting 24-mile tracts are actually less than
miles north and south of the baseline, standard 24 miles wide at their northern boundaries.
parallels are established in east-west directions. At The 24-mile tracts are then subdivided into six-
24-mile intervals along the baseline and each of the teen townships, each approximately 6 miles square.

F i g u r e 1 1 . 4 Diagram of the U.S. rectangular survey system, (a) Township grid showing initial point,
baseline, principal meridian, standard parallels, and guide meridians, along with examples of township and range
designations. (b) Subdivision of township into sections and the system of numbering sections from 1 to 36. (c)
Subdivision of a section into quarter-sections and forties. (Adapted from the Bureau of Land Management, U.S.
Department of Interior.)
248 M e a s u r i n g a n d Monitoring Forest Resources

Townships are n u m b e r e d consecutively north a n d ilar species, size, a n d density of trees. These maps
south of the baseline. Township locations east and also show nonforested areas such as lakes, rivers,
west of the principal meridian are called ranges and and fields. Vertical aerial photographs are extremely
are also n u m b e r e d consecutively. For example, in useful for preparing forest type maps because they
Figure 11.4a the township labeled T3N, R2W can be viewed with a stereoscope (Figure 11.5) to
denotes a township that is three townships north provide a three-dimensional picture of the forest.
of the baseline and two ranges west of the princi- Trained interpreters are able to identify forest
pal meridian. stands on the photographs and outline their bound-
Townships are subdivided into thirty-six sections, aries (Figure 11.6). Chapter 12 describes the use of
each approximately 1 mile square and 640 acres aerial photographs and other forms of remote sens-
in area. Figure 11.4b illustrates h o w the sections ing in forestry.
are n u m b e r e d within a township. Each section is After the forest type maps have b e e n prepared,
subdivided into quarter-sections of approximately it is usually necessary to measure the land area
160 acres, which are further subdivided into 40-acre within each of the stand boundaries. Forest stands
parcels k n o w n as forties. Figure 11.4c illustrates normally have irregular boundaries, so their areas
h o w the subdivisions of a section are identified. are often determined with a dot grid, a sheet of clear
A legal description for a parcel of land begins plastic covered with uniformly spaced dots. The grid
with the smallest subdivision and progresses to the is laid over the m a p and all the dots falling within
township designation. For example, the forty in the the stand boundary are counted. Multiplying this
northwest corner of section 14 (Figure 11.4c) would dot count by an appropriate converting factor gives
be described as NW 1/4 NW 1/4 Sl4, T3N, R2W. the land area of the stand. For example, the con-
verting factor for a dot grid with sixty-four dots per
Forest Type Mapping and Area square inch and a photograph scale of 1:20,000 is
0.996 acres per dot. 1 Suppose the number of dots
Measurement
falling within a given stand boundary is forty-seven;
Forest type maps are very useful to forest managers
then the estimated area of the stand is
because they show the locations and boundaries
of individual forest stands, that is, areas with sim- 47 X 0.996 = 46.8 acres

F i g u r e 1 1 . 5 Parallax bar
oriented over overlapping
vertical aerial photographs under
a mirror stereoscope. The
stereoscope facilitates three-
dimensional study of the
photographed scene. The
parallax bar is used to determine
approximate tree heights and
terrain elevations. (Courtesy of
Wild Herrbrungg, Inc.)

1
At a photoscale of 1:20,000, one inch on the photograph represents 10,000/12 = 1,667 feet on the ground. Thus one square
inch = (1667 X 1667)/43,560 = 63.8 acres. Each of the sixty-four dots then represents 63.8/64 - 0.996 acres.
Measurement of Forest Resources w i t h a Focus on Timber 249

F i g u r e 11.6 Stereogram
illustrating cover-type mapping
of balsam fir (1) and black
spruce (2) stands in Ontario,
Canada. (From V. G. Zsilinszky,
"Photographic interpretation of
tree species in Ontario," Ontario
Department of Lands and
Forests, 1966.)

and conduct of forest wide and local site man-

Measurement of Forest agement. Timber appraisals are used to determine
Resources with a Focus the monetary value of a specific timber or land sale.
on Timber The objectives of these surveys differ considerably
as do the measurement procedures they employ.
There are many variations in the types of timber Additionally, a variety of surveys are used to mon-
focused surveys. They range from the precise meas- itor regeneration development, timber harvesting
urement of individual trees on a woodlot while practices, and so forth, to inform managers about
marking them for a timber sale, to the assessment the type, extent, and sometimes the effectiveness
of the timber supply in the United States, includ- of practices and needs as appropriate. These sur-
ing its rate of growth and consumption. There are veys, perhaps best labeled practices monitoring, are
several major types of surveys for timber. Strate- often part of ongoing management information
gic surveys are used primarily for identifying over- efforts. The following discussions provide an
all forest conditions and to establish broad overview of some of the more common tools and
protection, management, and use policy. These are techniques used in assessing the timber aspects of
also used to determine appropriate levels of invest- such surveys.
ment, both public and private, in forest manage-
ment. The major example is the state-by-state
nationwide Forest Inventory and Monitoring survey Standing Trees
led by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service. This survey also Most timber surveys require the measurement of
measures many nontimber aspects of the forest. individual trees. Standing-tree measurements may
Management-oriented surveys or inventories are be required to estimate the volume or mass (weight)
used for developing management plans for specific of various products obtainable from the trees, or
federal, state, private, and other forests. These own- they may be used to assess the relative sizes of trees
ership specific inventories are designed to provide to aid in the development of management pre-
details on the quantity, quality, and location of tim- scriptions for the forest.
ber and associate site and use considerations. Typ-
ically, these surveys involve the construction of Diameter at Breast Height One of the most use-
localized maps of individual stands and other ful tree measurements is the diameter at breast
important features via aerial photography and geo- height (dbh). This is the diameter, outside bark, of
graphic information systems usage. Such informa- the tree stem at a height of 4.5 feet (or 1.3 meters
tion is essential to forest managers in their planning when the metric system is used), above ground on
250 Measuring and Monitoring Forest Resources

the uphill side of the tree. The tree caliper (Figure

11.7) is one of the most accurate instruments for
obtaining this measurement. Another instrument,
the tree diameter tape, is a steel tape with special
calibrations that convert the circumference of the
tree to its corresponding diameter, assuming the
cross-section of the tree is a perfect circle. Since
trees are not usually circular, the diameter tape
tends to overestimate tree diameters and, hence, is
somewhat less accurate than the caliper. Even less
accurate, but very quick and easy to use, is the Bilt-
more stick (Figure 11.8). Invented in 1898 by Carl
Schenck for use on the Biltmore Forest in North
Carolina, this stick is held horizontally against the F i g u r e 11.8 Field crew in the process of
tree at arm's length (25 inches), with the left edge observing and recording species and tree diameters
in line with the left side of the tree. The diameter on a plot. Diameters are being measured with a
is then sighted on the stick in line with the right Biltmore stick held at a fixed distance from the eye.
Observations with this instrument are based on the
geometric principle of similar triangles.

side of the tree. The Biltmore stick is calibrated

according to the principle of similar triangles.

Basal Area The dbh measurement is frequently

converted to basal area, that is, the area (in square
feet or square meters) of the cross-section of a tree
at breast height. The formula for the area of a cir-
cle (pi times radius squared), together with appro-
priate unit-converting factors, is used to calculate
tree basal area. If dbh is measured in inches, tree
basal area, b, in square feet is given by
b = 0.005454 dbh 2
If dbh is measured in centimeters, tree basal area
in square meters is given by
b = 0.00007854 dbh 2
The basal area of a forest stand is expressed as the
sum of the tree basal areas divided by the area of
the stand, and is expressed in square feet per acre
or square meters per hectare. Stand basal area is
used by forest managers as a measure of the degree
F i g u r e 11.7 Forester using a caliper to measure of crowding of trees in a stand (see "Stocking and
a tree diameter at breast height (dbh). Density," later in this chapter).
Measurement of Forest Resources w i t h a Focus on Timber 251

Height There are a number of different instru- horizontal distance and the top and base of the tree.
ments for measuring tree height, and the required Most hypsometers employing the trigonometric
level of accuracy dictates the instrument of choice. principle are calibrated in terms of the tangents of
Height poles provide very accurate measurements the angles, so the observer can read tree heights
for trees that are not too high. A variety of sec- directly on the instrument's scale. Hypsometers
tioned, folding, and telescoping poles are available, employing the geometric principle must also be
and they are best suited to trees with branches that used at a fixed horizontal distance from the tree
allow the poles to pass readily between them but and, in addition, must be held a fixed distance from
also give the poles lateral support. Height poles the observer's eye (Figure 11.10). Laser rangefind-
become too cumbersome for trees taller than 60 ers are new tools for height measurement that allow
feet, and their use is primarily restricted to research for high accuracy and flexibility as to where the
plots for which great accuracy is required. observer may stand in observing the base and top
Tree heights can be measured indirectly with of the tree.
instruments called hypsometers. Many types of hyp- When trees are measured to assess the volume
someters have been devised over the years, but they or weight of merchantable products in the tree, the
all work on either trigonometric or geometric prin- merchantable height or length is often measured
ciples. Figure 11.9 illustrates the trigonometric prin- instead of the total height (Figure 11.11). Mer-
ciple, which requires knowledge of the horizontal chantable length is a measure of the usable por-
distance between the observer and the tree, and tion of the tree above stump height (usually 1 foot)
an instrument to measure the angles between this to a point on the stem where the diameter becomes
too small or too irregular to be utilized.

Volume and Mass There are at present no instru-

ments that allow the direct measurement of the
volume or mass (weight) of a standing tree. Instead,
volume and mass must be estimated from other

Figure 11.9 Three measurements are required

to determine the total height of a tree, using
trigonometric principles: the angle ql from horizontal
to the top of the tree, the angle q2 from horizontal to F i g u r e 11.10 Measurement of total tree height
the base of the tree, and the horizontal distance AB using geometric principles: ratios of distances are
from the observer to the tree. constructed using the principle of similar triangles.
252 Measuring and Monitoring Forest Resources

northern temperate region produce annual rings of

wood conesponding to light-colored earlywood and
darker latewood. This property makes it possible
to measure tree age by using an increment borer
to extract a core of wood and then counting the
number of annual rings (Figure 11.13). The age of
live trees can be determined through increment
cores taken at ground level; however, stem defor-
maties near the ground and/or decay make it dif-
ficult to obtain a core including the tree center and
all the annual rings. Consequently, cores are taken
at breast height and an estimate of the time to reach
that height is added to the core measure to obtain
total age. The number of years for a tree to reach
breast height is dependent upon the species, early
competition, and site quality and can vary from 2
to 17 years (5). Annual rings are easily discernible
in most conifers, but difficult to see in hardwoods
such as aspen and basswood.
With young conifers having determinate height
growth, age can also be estimated by counting the
number of growth whorls along the stem. For older,
larger trees that have lost their lower branches and
evidence of whorls, this method is no longer fea-
sible. Plantation records or records of natural dis-
turbances which have led to new stands are also
F i g u r e 1 1 . 1 1 Diagram of a tree stem showing used to estimate ages. When discernible annual
the total height of the tree and the length of
rings, growth whorls, or other records are missing,
merchantable sections.
determination of tree and thus stand age is very
difficult.
tree dimensions. Tree height and dbh are most Increment borers are also used to determine the
frequently used for this purpose, and many tree rate of tree growth by measuring the length of the
volume tables giving the average volume or mass last several rings in the core. This observation is
for trees of different diameters and heights have called a radial increment and can be multiplied by
been developed (Table 11.2). 2 to estimate the diameter growth during the period.
More accurate estimates of tree volume can be
obtained by measuring upper-stem diameters with
instruments called optical dendrometers (Figure Forest Sampling
11.12). With diameter measurements taken at var- It is seldom necessary or desirable to measure every
ious heights on the tree, volumes may be calcu- tree on a forest property. Sufficiently accurate esti-
lated for individual stem sections (see earlier section mates can be obtained from measurements of a
on "Scaling") and then summed. subset or sample of the trees in the forest. The
process of selecting a representative sample of trees
Age and Radial Increment Tree age is defined as and obtaining the required estimates is called for-
the time elapsed since the germination of a seed est sampling.
or initiation of a sprout. Many tree species in the
Measurement of Forest Resources w i t h a Focus on Timber 253

Table 11.2 Portion of a Tree Volume Table for Approximating Merchantable Volume of
Commercial Species in the Great Lakes States a
Total height (m)
Diameter 10 20 30
15 25 35
at Breast
b 3
Height (cm) Volume (m )

10 0.021 0.024 — — —
20 0.126 0.186 0.247 0.311 — —
30 0.292 0.429 0.570 0.718 0.853 —
40 0.524 0.767 1.017 1.281 1.523 —
50 — 1.200 1.592 2.005 2.384 2.783
60 — 1.728 2.294 2.887 3.436 4.010
Source: Adapted from S. R. Gevorkiantz and L. P. Olsen, "Composite volume tables for timber and their application in the Lake
States," U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Tech. Bull. 1104, 1955.
a
As an example of usage, a tree with a measured diameter of 30 centimeters at breast height and a total height of 25 meters
would have an estimated usable volume of 0.718 cubic meter).
b
Volume inside bark from 0.3-meter stump height to limit of merchantability—that is, to a point on the stem where the diame-
ter inside the bark is just equal to 8 centimeters.

Sampling Units Sample trees are usually selected

in groups at different locations throughout the for-
est. Each group of trees is called a sampling unit
and may be selected in a variety of ways. One
approach is to tally (count and measure) all the trees
on a plot of fixed area at each location. Sample plots
may be square, rectangular, or circular and are usu-
ally between 0.01 and 0.20 acre in area. Circular
plots are often preferred because of their ease of

F i g u r e 1 1 . 1 2 Observation of the upper-stem Figure 11.13 Tree age determination with an

diameter with a Wheeler optical caliper. increment borer.
254 Measuring a n d Monitoring Forest Resources

installation. All trees (or all trees of merchantable (0.10 acre in this example). The average basal area
size) with a midpoint at breast height lying within per acre (column 6) for each dbh class is given by
the plot boundary are tallied (Figure 11.14).
(number of trees tallied)b
Table 11.3 presents an example of a forest sam- average basal area =
nA
ple obtained from 0.10-acre plots at fifteen differ-
ent locations within a forest stand. Each sample tree where b is the basal area per tree, given in col-
was measured to determine its dbh to the nearest umn 4 of Table 11.3 (see earlier section, "Basal
inch and its merchantable volume in cubic feet. Area," for formulas). The average volume per acre
Columns 1, 2, and 3 in Table 11.3 summarize the (column 7) for each dbh class is given by
number of trees tallied and the total volume tal-
. total volume tallied
lied for each dbh class. These data can be used to average volume = --------------
nA
calculate estimates of the average number of trees,
basal area, and volume per acre. The average num- Another useful type of forest-sampling was devised
ber of trees per acre (column 5) for each dbh class in 1948 by Walter Bitterlich, an Austrian Forester.
is given by This method is known as the Bitterlich method,
average number of trees _ number of trees tallied horizontal point sampling, or variable plot sampling.
per acre nA Observers tally all trees with a dbh larger than the
angle projected by a gauge viewed from each sam-
where n is the number of sample plots (fifteen in ple point (see Figure 11.15).
this example) and A is the area of each sample plot A variety of angle gauges are available for use
with Bitterlich's method. Figure 11.16 illustrates the
use of a stick-type angle gauge; the observer's eye
corresponds to the sample point, and the stick is
rotated through a complete circle while the
observer views each tree at breast height to deter-
mine whether it is "in" or "out."
Instead of tallying every tree on a fixed-area plot,
Bitterlich's method is equivalent to tallying each tree
on a circular plot with an area proportional to the
basal area of the tree. Hence, large-diameter trees
are tallied on large plots and small-diameter trees
are tallied on small plots. One advantage of this
approach lies in the fact that large-diameter trees
contribute more to stand basal area and volume
than do small-diameter trees; therefore, by includ-
ing more of the large trees in the sample and fewer
of the small trees, more precise estimates of stand
basal area and volume can usually be obtained with
less effort. The geometry of Bitterlich's method gives
it another advantage. If the basal area of a tree is
divided by the area of its corresponding sample
plot, the result is a constant, BAF, called the basal-
area factor, and depends only on the angle pro-
F i g u r e 11.14 In fixed-area plot sampling, field jected by the gauge. Hence, each tree tallied
crews tally all trees with a midpoint at breast height represents the same basal area per acre regardless!
lying within the plot boundary. of the tree's area per acre and regardless of the!
Measurement of Forest Resources w i t h a Focus on Timber 255

Table 11.3 Example of a Tree Tally and Averages for a Sample of Fifteen 0.1-Acre Plots a
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Diameter
at Breast Total Volume Basal Area Average Average Average
Height Number of Tallied per Tree Number of Basal Area Volume
(in.) Trees Tallied (ft3) (ft2) Trees per Acre (ftVacre) (ft3/acre)

6 89 223 0.1963 59.3 11.6 149

7 54 216 0.2672 36.0 9.6 144
8 34 204 0.3491 22.7 7.9 136
9 21 195 0.4418 14.0 6.2 130
10 15 195 0.5454 10.0 5.5 130
11 12 204 0.6599 8.0 5.3 136
12 8 160 0.7854 5.3 4.2 107
13 6 162 0.9217 4.0 3.7 108
14 3 96 1.0690 2.0 2.1 64
Total 242 161.3 56.1 1104
a
A procedure for calculating the averages in columns 5, 6, and 7 is explained in the text.

tree's size. Thus, stand basal area can be estimated number of trees tallied and the total volume tal-
by simply multiplying the average number of trees lied for each dbh class. Again, these data can be
tallied per point by the basal-area factor. This result used to calculate stand averages, but the formulas
is illustrated in the following example. are different from those used for fixed-area plots.
Table 11.4 gives an example of a forest sample The average number of trees per acre (column 5)
obtained from Bitterlich points with a basal-area fac- for each dbh class is given by
tor of 10 square feet per acre, at fifteen different
average number of trees _ BAF (number of trees tallies)
locations within a forest stand. Each sample tree per acre nb
was measured as in the previous example.
Columns 1, 2, and 3 in Table 11.4 summarize the where BAF is the basal-area factor of the angle
gauge (10 square feet per acre in this example), n
is the number of sample points (fifteen in this
example), and b is the basal area per tree, given
in column 4 of the table (see earlier section, "Basal
Area," for formulas). The average basal area per acre
(column 6) for each dbh class is given by
BAF (number of trees tallied)
average basal area =
n
Notice that this formula can be used even if trees
are not tallied by dbh class. For example, if only
the total number of trees tallied is known (eighty-
five in this example), we can use the formula just
given to calculate the total basal area per acre:
F i g u r e 11.15 In Bitterlich horizontal point
sampling, field crews tally all trees with a dbh larger BAF (total number of trees tallied)
total basal area =
than the angle projected by a gauge. n
256 Measuring a n d Monitoring Forest Resources

F i g u r e 11.16
Use of stick-type angle
gauge to tally trees on
a Bitterlich horizontal
sample point.
Borderline trees are
checked with distance
tapes and careful
measurement of the
diameter to determine
whether they are "in"
or "out."

10 X 85 trees may be overlooked. A rule of thumb that

15 seems to work well is to use a plot size that gives
an average of 15 to 20 trees per plot. For exam-
= 56.7 ft2/acre
ple, a sawtimber stand may have 75 to 100 trees
This result is in close agreement with the total basal per acre, so a good plot size to use in this stand
area at the bottom of column 6 in Table 11.4. How- is 1/5 acre. A poletimber stand with 150 to 200
ever, the Bitterlich method required the tally and trees per acre would be sampled with a 1/10 acre
measurement of only one-third as many trees as plot.
were tallied on the 0.1 acre plot. Thus, it can be Bitterlich's method works best if an average of
seen that Bitterlich's method provides a very quick 5 to 10 trees are "in" at each sample point. The
and easy way to obtain basal-area estimates. All one important thing to remember here is that the larger
has to do is count the number of "in" trees. the basal-area factor of the angle gauge, the fewer
The average volume per acre (column 7) for the number of trees tallied at each point. If the aver-
each dbh class is given by age basal area of the stand is divided by 10, the
result is a good basal-area factor to use. For exam-
, BAF (total volume tallied)
average volume = ------------------ ple, if a large sawtimber stand has a basal area of
nb
200 square feet per acre, a good basal-area factor
One of the important decisions in a forest-sam- to use is 20. A poletimber or small sawtimber stand
pling design is the size of plot to use, or the basal- with 100 square feet per acre of basal area would
area factor of the angle gauge when using be sampled with a 10-factor angle gauge.
Bitterlich's method. Larger plots will include more
trees, will be less variable, and will yield more pre- Sampling Methods Once appropriate sampling
cise estimates. However, if there are too many trees units have been selected, it is necessary to decide
on the plot, the time and cost of tallying them may how many units to measure and how they will be
be excessive and there is a good chance that some located in the forest. The total number of sample
Measurement of Forest Resources w i t h a Focus on Timber 257

T a b l e 11.4 Example of a Tree Tally and Averages for a Sample of Fifteen Bitterlich Points
w i t h a Basal-Area Factor (BAF) of 10 Square Feet per Acre
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Diameter
at Breast Total Volume Basal Area Average Average Average
Height Number of Tallied per Tree Number of Basal Area Volume
(in.) Trees Tallied (ft3) (ft2) Trees per Acre (ft2/acre) (ft3/acre)

6 17 43 0.1963 57.7 11.3 146

7 14 56 0.2672 34.9 9.3 140
8 12 72 0.3491 22.9 8.0 137
9 10 93 0.4418 15.1 6.7 140
10 9 117 0.5454 11.0 6.0 143
11 8 136 0.6599 8.1 5.3 137
12 6 120 0.7854 5.1 4.0 102
13 6 162 0.9217 4.3 4.0 117
14 3 96 1.0690 1.9 2.0 60
Total 85 161.0 56.6 1122
a
A procedure for calculating the averages in columns 5, 6, and 7 is explained in the text.

units is called the sample size, and the manner in run cruise lines up and down slopes, since timber
which they are located is called the sampling conditions tend to vary, with changes in elevation.
method. The number of sample units located in a given
Random sampling is a method in which sample stand is usually determined by the maximum allow-
units are located completely at random within each able error that can be tolerated in the final estimates.
stand (Figure 11.17a). Random sampling ensures The more sample units measured, the smaller the
that estimates obtained from the sample are unbi- errors will be, on the average, in estimates obtained
ased; that is, on the average they will tend toward from the sample. Sampling errors are usually
the true stand values. Systematic sampling (Figure expressed as a percentage of the timber volumes
11.17b) is often preferred because it is easier to or values being estimated. For example, if the objec-
implement, the time it takes to walk between plots tive of sampling is to determine a fair price for a
is usually less, and sketching field maps and adjust- large, valuable stand of sawtimber, the maximum
ing type lines on aerial photographs is more eas- allowable error may be set at 3 to 5 percent. If, how-
ily done while cruising.2 In systematic sampling, ever, estimates are desired for the purpose of mak-
also called line-plot cruising, sample units are ing long-range management plans, less accuracy is
located at specific intervals along straight cruise lines required and allowable errors may be set at 10 to
running across the forest property. If appropriate 20 percent.
precautions are observed, systematic sampling will Foresters can use statistical formulas to determine
not introduce undue bias. In particular, it is impor- the minimum number of plots required to achieve
tant to ensure that cruise lines do not force plots a specified sampling error. The actual formula
along a line to be in some atypical forest condi- depends on the sampling method. For example, the
tion. One way, to prevent this type of bias is to following formula gives the number, n, of sample

2
To cruise a holding of forestland is to examine and estimate its yield of forest products.
 258 Measuring and Monitoring Forest Resources

F i g u r e 11.17 Portion of a forest tract illustrating (a) random and (b) systematic allocation of sample plots
for three cover types. Sampling intensity (number of plots per unit area) varies by cover type.

units required when using random sampling in a approximately 2. In this stand, our formula gives
single stand of timber, a required sample size of

where E is the allowable percentage of error, CV If the trees in the stand were clustered and the CV
is the coefficient of variation in the stand, and t is were, say, 40 percent, the required sample size
a value obtained from a table of Student's t distri- would be
bution.3 The CV is a measure of how variable the
size and density of timber are from place to place
in the stand. A very uniform stand, like a planta-
tion (Figure 11.18a), will have a relatively low CV. Because the required sample size varies with the
With clustering (Figure 11.18b), which can occur square of the CV, a doubling of the CV (as hap-
to varying degrees in naturally regenerated stands, pened in this example) means that four times as
CV values are higher. many sample units are required to achieve the same
The CV plays a major role in determining the sampling error. Careful selection of efficient types
required number of sample units in a given stand. and sizes of sampling units helps reduce the CVs
Suppose the CV in a relatively uniform stand is 20 in forest sampling designs, and can considerably
percent, the maximum allowable error for the tim- reduce the required sample size and cost of a for-
ber cruise is set at 5 percent, and the value of t is est inventory.

3
Procedures for calculating CV and determining t are explained in forest measurement textbooks (1-3).
Measurement of Forest Resources w i t h a Focus on Timber 259

F i g u r e 1 1 . 1 8 The circles in these diagrams illustrate the locations of tree stems in (a) uniform and (b)
clustered forest stands.

Forest sampling is generally performed by sur- ber in a stand by dbh class and species. They may
vey crews of two people each. The crew chief is also tabulate the volume of sawtimber by tree or
responsible for locating sample units and record- log grades. These important factors affect the value
ing data. The second crew member is responsible
for tree measurements such as dbh, height, age, and
quality or condition. Data are often recorded on
tally sheets and then entered into an office com-
puter for statistical processing. However, small
hand-held computers are increasingly replacing field
tally sheets. Such battery operated devices are often
quite rugged and may also be integrated (connected
to) GPS units and other electronic measuring
devices (Figure 11.19). These devices can also be
programmed to help reduce the chance of data
entry errors and speed subsequent data handling
and compilation of results.

Statistics Estimates obtained from forest sampling

are called statistics, and they will vary in detail
according to the type of timber survey. In general,
the most detailed statistics are required for timber
appraisals and for scientific research. This level of F i g u r e 1 1 . 1 9 Sample tree measurements are
detail may include stand and stock tables (Table entered directly into this small, battery-operated
11.5) for each timber stand in the forest, together computer, which is taken into the forest. The
with maps showing the boundaries, area, and computer is capable of performing all the statistical
topography of each stand. Stand and stock tables calculations necessary to prepare a stand and stock
show a breakdown of the trees and volume of tim- table (Table 11.5).
260 Measuring a n d Monitoring Forest Resources

T a b l e 11.5 Stand and Stock Table for a Red Oak Stand in the American Legion State For-
est, Oneida County, Wisconsin a

Diameter at
Breast Red Oak White Birch Sugar Maple Red Maple Total
Height
(in.) Trees Cords Trees Cords Trees Cords Trees Cords Trees Cords

6 76.5 2.2 76.5 2.1 153.0 4.3

8 14.3 1.2 14.3 1.5 28.6 2.7
10 82.5 12.0 18.3 2.2 100.8 14.2
12 6.4 1.3 6.4 1.3
14 4.7 1.3 4.7 1.3
Total 101.5 14.5 109.1 5.9 76.5 2.1 6.4 1.3 293.5 23.8
a
Values are averages per acre.

of timber, together with accessibility and distance on permanent sample plots that are carefully mon-
to mills. umented so they can be found and remeasured at
Inventories designed for management planning subsequent points in time, usually at intervals of
and operations usually do not require as much pre- five to ten years. Permanent sample plots also allow
cision and statistical detail as appraisals. Manage- the growth of a forest to be assessed in terms of
ment oriented inventories are more concerned with its basic components.
estimates of the species composition, average size
and age of the trees, and the density and site qual- Components of Forest Growth When a permanent
ity of timber stands. In addition, of particular impor- sample plot is remeasured, several distinct com-
tance to management planning are the rate of ponents of growth can be observed. There may
growth of timber and the rate of loss through nat- be new trees on the plot that were not present,
ural mortality, insects, disease, fire, weather, and or were too small to be tallied, at the previous
harvesting. measurement. The present volume of these new
trees is called ingrowth. Trees that are alive and
tallied at both measurements are called survivor
Forest Growth and Yield trees, and the difference in the volume of these
The volume of timber in a forest at a specific point trees at the two measurements is called survivor
in time is called forest yield, and the change in vol- growth. The volume of trees that were alive at the
ume that occurs over an interval of time is called first measurement but died during the growth
forest growth. The forests of North America and par- period is called mortality and is usually classified
ticularly those of Europe have been surveyed a according to the cause of death. Finally, any trees
number of times. Repeated surveys provide data for that were harvested during the period can be iden-
assessing the growth of a forest, changes in species tified by their stumps. The volume of harvested
composition, and the effectiveness of past man- trees is called cut.
agement. Such surveys are the basis for regulating The net change in the volume of a forest is equal
forests to provide a sustained, even flow of timber to ingrowth, plus survivor growth, minus mortal-
over long periods. ity, minus cut. Important factors that affect the rate
In order to reduce the effects of sampling errors of forest growth include site quality, stocking, and
on growth estimates, repeated surveys often rely density.
Measurement of Forest Resources w i t h a Focus on Timber 261

Site Quality Forest stands are commonly classi-

fied according to site quality, which indicates the
productive capacity of a specific area of forest land
for a particular species. Although many species may
grow on the same site, they may not grow equally
well. The site productivity measure most commonly
used is site index, the average height of dominant
and codominant trees at a specified index age, usu-
ally 50 years. The selection of an index age is based
on the potential rotation age or timing of harvest
for a given species. For example, an index age of
100 years is often used for the longer-lived West
Coast species while an index age of 25 years is com-
monly used for fast-growing southern plantations.
When height and age have been measured, they
are used as coordinates for determining site index
from a set of curves (Figure 11.20). Site index curves
and tables have been developed for most com-
mercial species. Suppose a white pine stand has
an average total height of 20 meters at an age of
70 years. Figure 11.20 shows that this point lies on
site index curve 15. This means that the expected
dominant tree height for this site is 15 meters at
the index age of 50 years.
Site index has been found to be correlated with F i g u r e 11.20 White pine site index curves.
soil factors and topography related to tree growth. (From P. R. Laidly, "Metric site index curves for aspen,
For example, when there is no forest stand, the site birch and conifers in the Lake States," U.S.D.A. For.
index can sometimes be predicted from such fac- Serv., Gen. Tech. Rept. NC-54, North Cent. For. Expt.
tors as the depth of surface soil, stone, silt and clay Sta., St. Paul, Minn., 1979.)
content, and slope steepness. However, the con-
cept of site index is not well suited to uneven-aged
stands and areas taken over by mixed species.
acceptable ranges of basal area for stands of dif-
Stocking and Density The terms forest stocking ferent average diameters. To use a stocking chart,
and density are often used interchangeably, but the forester must first determine the average basal
Avery and Burkhart (2) do not consider them to area and number of trees per acre in the stand, by
be synonymous. Stand density is a quantitative term using one of the forest-sampling procedures pre-
indicating the degree of stem crowding within a viously described. These values are used as coor-
stand, and stocking refers to the adequacy of a given dinates to locate a point in the stocking chart. If
stand density to meet some management objective, this point falls between the curves labeled A and
for example, maximizing the production of saw- B, the stand is fully stocked. If the point falls below
timber. Stands may be referred to as understocked, the B curve or above the A curve, the stand is
fully stocked, or overstocked. understocked or overstocked, respectively. For
Stand basal area is often used as a measure of example, a red pine stand with 500 trees per acre
stand density and stocking charts (Figure 11.21) and a basal area of 200 square feet per acre would
have been prepared for different species that show be overstocked (Figure 11.21), whereas another red
262 Measuring and Monitoring Forest Resources I

F i g u r e 11.21 Stocking chart

for managed red pine stands. (From
J. W. Benzie, "Manager's handbook
for red pine in the North Central
States," U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Gen.
Tech. Rept. NC-33, North Cent. For.
Expt. Sta., St. Paul, Minn., 1977.)

pine stand with the same basal area but only 150 els describe tree growth in relation to age, site
trees per acre would be fully stocked. index, and other easily observed variables or stand
It has been shown that height growth is not treatments such as site preparation and fertilization.
greatly affected by stand density. It has also been These models can be used to predict yields and to
determined in recent years that there is not as strong determine optimal thinning and rotation ages (typ-
a relationship as originally supposed between basal ically with the aid of simulation or mathematical
area and site quality. The main reason for the dif- programming techniques). Thus these models are
ferences in volume on good sites as against poor widely used in management. In recent decades,
sites is height. For many practical purposes, there- researchers have focused on building models that
fore, we can assume that basal area varies little with attempt to quantifying growth processes. Such
site quality except at the extremes. process models consider weather, site quality, the
physiology of tree growth, and sometimes regen-
Growth and Yield Projection Repeated surveys eration and disturbance in detail. These models are
together with site index assessments provide a basis used by scientists to understand tree and stand
for projecting future stand conditions and associ- response to potential climate change and increas-
ated yields. Growth projection models may also be ing atmospheric CO2, as described in Chapter 4.
used to predict stand yield for specific management
practices. Table 11.6 illustrates a yield table con-
structed for pine stands under a particular set of Measurement of
management alternatives—in this instance, stand
density alternatives. Notice that the model on which Nontimber Resources
this table is based provides estimates of both growth Measurements are also made on many other
and future product yields. It is important to stress resources for multiple-use management of forests.
that the growth and yield information for this par- It is not possible in an introductory text to cover
ticular forest type represents estimates based on a all the details for measurement of these resources.
sample of observations from various study plots. Brief descriptions of the rationale and the types of
A variety of models have been developed to measurements obtained for water, wildlife habitat.
characterize growth and dynamics at the individ- recreation, and other resources are given in other
ual-tree, stand, and landscape level. Empirical mod- chapters in this book addressing those specific i
Measurement of Nontimber Resources 263
Table 11.6 Variable-Density Growth and Yield Table for M a n a g e d Stands of Natural
Slash Pine a
Initial Site Index (m) b
Basal 20 25 30 Projected
Area Age (years) Projected Yield Basal Area
(m2) From To (m3/ha) (m2/ha)
20 73 106 136 16
16 20 30 134 194 248 22
40 181 262 336 25
50 217 315 403 28
30 102 147 189 16
30 40 147 213 273 20
50 184 267 341 23
40 40 120 174 222 16
50 156 226 289 19
20 89 129 166 20
20 20 30 153 222 284 25
40 200 290 371 28
50 235 341 436 30
30 124 180 230 20
30 40 171 248 318 24
50 207 301 385 26
40 40 146 212 272 20
50 183 265 340 23
20 105 152 195 24
24 20 30 171 247 316 28
40 217 315 403 31
50 251 364 466 33
30 146 212 271 24
30 40 193 280 359 27
50 229 332 425 29
40 40 172 250 320 24
50 209 302 387 27
Source: Adapted from equations given by F. A. Bennett, "Variable density yield tables for managed stands of natural slash pine,"
U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Res. Note SE-141, 1970.
a
Cubic-meter yields and basal area as projected from various initial ages and basal areas.
b
Base age of 50 years.

resources. Importantly, the statistical aspects of these istics affect water yield in terms of these variables.
sampling, measurement, and modeling processes Timber harvest operations are one example of a use
are fundamentally like those used in this chapter. that could increase water yield and affect stream sed-
With water, we are primarily interested in meas- iment load and temperature. There is also increas-
uring quantity, quality, and timing of the water ing interest in nonpoint pollution4 and how it might
resource for particular locations. Forest character- be controlled by forest management practices. In

4
Nonpoint pollution derives from a dispersed source such as agricultural activity, as compared with point pollution, for which a
single pollution source can be identified (e.g., a factory drainspout).
264 Measuring a n d Monitoring Forest Resources

this area we may be concerned with sampling and ronment to provide scenic forest types and oppor-
characterizing the forest resource in much the same tunities that contribute to user satisfaction. A fur-
way as we do the timber resource inventory, but ther discussion of forest recreation management is
with an emphasis on forest age and size class struc- given in Chapter 17.
ture and associated cover, and sampling and meas- Urban forests are receiving much more attention,
uring streamflow characteristics from a particular and many cities now have a forester assigned specif-
watershed. The statistical aspects of this sampling ically to this resource. Inventories of the forest in
and measurement process are fundamentally like small communities frequently take the form of a
those used for the timber resource. A discussion of complete census of all trees. Typical information
watersheds in forest ecosystems was given in Chap- collected for each tree includes species, diameter,
ter 6 and a further discussion of watershed man- location (perhaps by block or lot), position (such
agement is given in Chapter 16. as parkland, boulevard, or interior lot), ownership,
For measuring wildlife resources, management and condition—in terms of vigor and presence of
surveys usually employ census techniques to deter- insects, diseases, and hazards. The immediate site
mine animal population levels directly or to develop or growing conditions are particularly important to
indexes that are suggestive of relative population urban tree health. For larger cities, a 5 to 10 per-
levels. Examples of such indexes are pellet counts cent systematic sample of trees or city blocks may
or flush counts for deer and birds, respectively. be used. This is sometimes combined with classi-
There is also increasing interest in relating the for- fications of blocks into two or three tree density
est habitat conditions, often described in large part classes based on aerial photos (e.g., parkland, res-
by the timber inventory, to the population num- idential, and industrial areas). Because of the diver-
bers and the health of the wildlife populations sity of species in urban areas, the field crews need
inhabiting or potentially inhabiting the area. The considerable background in plant identification.
forest functions both as a food source and cover, Given this information, the urban forest manager
although different features of the forest may vary is in a good position to estimate future needs for
in importance for either function. For wildlife, data tree removal and replacement and to develop
on forest stand species and size class structure are annual plans for these activities. Urban forestry is
particularly important locally. Over landscapes, for- further treated in Chapter 22.
est cover type and age class distributions are fun-
damental habitat data. A further discussion of the
interactions of the forest with wildlife is given in
Chapter 14. Concluding Statement—Future
Management of recreation areas requires surveys of Measurement and
that are primarily concerned with the numbers of
users and the physical impact they have on par- Monitoring
ticular sites. Thus, we may be sampling a popula- Interest in measuring and monitoring forest
tion of users or a population of sites used by people resources and their use is increasing. Landowners
engaged in outdoor recreation. In sampling the are seeking the basic information for investments
resource users, we frequently use questionnaires in stewardship. Governments are seeking knowl-
intended to get at their attitudes and likely edge of resources available for economic devel-
responses to various kinds of recreation resource opment and ways to assure resource protection.
management. Such surveys may consider the for- Industry seeks information about timber supply,
est as a visual resource to be experienced by the Special interest groups ask about practices. Ques-
visitor. With such concepts it is possible to char- tions come from interests as diverse as utilization,
acterize and subsequently manage the forest envi- productivity, wildlife habitat, fire protection (fuel
References 265

load measurement), and outdoor recreation. Inven-

tories and monitoring are n o w conducted more fre- References
quently, and long-term predictions of future forest 1. B. HUSCH, C. I. MILLER, AND T. W. BEERS, Forest Men-
conditions are expected. At the same time we see suration, Third Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York,
rapid development in technologies that provide new 1982.
ways to measure the forest and to make those 2. T. E. AVERY AND H. E. BURKHART, Forest Measurements,
results readily available, such as n e w laser meas- Third Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1983.
urement tools, precise geographic positioning, satel- 3. B. E. SHIVER AND B. E. BORDERS, Sampling Techniques
lite based remote sensing tools, and the Internet. for Forest Resource Inventory, John Wiley & Sons, New
Researchers are also gathering detailed plant and York, 1996.
environmental data to allow for the construction and 4. E. D. RAST, D. L. SONDERMAN, AND G. L. GAMMON, "A
use of more sophisticated models for predicting for- Guide to Hardwood Log Grading," U.S.D.A. For. Serv.,
est conditions and use decades and even centuries Gen. Tech. Rept. NE-1, Upper Darby, Penn., 1973.
ahead. The measurement of forests increasingly 5. W. H. CARMEAN, J. T HAHN, AND R. D. JACOBS. "Site Index
demands technology, quantitative skills, and inte- Curves for Forest Tree Species in the Eastern United
gration capabilities and is likely to b e c o m e even States." U.S.D.A. Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-
more challenging. Professionals w h o specialize in 128, 1989.
this area are in high demand.
 C H A P T E R 12
Remote Sensing and Geographical Information
Systems for Natural Resource Management
PAUL V. BOLSTAD

Basic Concepts in Geographical Vegetation Types

Information Systems (GIS) Regeneration, Health, and Damage
Data Entry—Digitizing Assessment

Global Positioning System Filmless Imaging

Principles of Imaging Scanners
Spatial Analysis
Database Operations
Remote Sensing Systems
Geographic Operations Landsat
SPOT
Remote Sensing Radarsat
Radiant Energy and Spectral Reflectance Other Remote Sensing Systems
Patterns
Aerial Photography
Concluding Statement
Cameras and Films References
Photo Coverage, Scale, and Geometry
Photogrammetry and Photo
Measurements
Photointerpretation

Three spatial data technologies—Geographical ciency and profitability of wood production on pri-
Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Sys- vate forest lands. Spatial data technologies are found
tems (GPS), and remote sensing—are changing how in private and public resource management agen-
humans perceive, measure, and manage natural cies of all types and sizes (1-8).
resources. Global positioning systems and remote Geographical information systems consist of soft-
sensing are aimed at answering two fundamental ware, hardware, and protocols for collecting, man-
questions regarding natural resources: "where?" and aging, analyzing, and displaying spatial data. GIS
"how much?" GIS provides a framework for organ- are computerized systems wherein maps and tab-
izing and analyzing this information in efficient and ular data are stored in digital formats (3, 7). GIS
effective ways. These technologies are key in solv- provides the tools to enter, edit, combine, and out-
ing our most vexing natural resource problems, and put these digital maps in order to solve problems.
their effectiveness has frequently been demon- GPS is a space-based system that allows users to
strated in the preservation and recovery of endan- locate positions to within a few centimeters, almost
gered plants and animals, in improved planning and anywhere in the field with modest training and cost.
management of public lands, and by increased effi- Remote sensing tools provide natural resources

266
Basic Concepts in GIS 267

managers with aerial photographs and satellite- represent the real object (colony), and are an
based images, rapidly providing important data over abstraction of the real world. Typically, a single type
large areas. GPS and remotely sensed data are use- of object or phenomenon is represented in a data
ful in their own right, but their value is multiplied layer, with multiple layers used to represent vari-
many times when they are combined with other ous different types of data. Multiple data layers are
data in a GIS. often developed for an area, each layer corre-
The widespread adoption of GIS, GPS, and sponding to a different data theme (Figure 12.1).
remote sensing is the result of two phenomena. For example, forest managers may define layers rep-
First, a societal pull is driving their use, because resenting vegetation type, soils, elevation, slope,
many resource management questions require spa- and road location. These layers are then used singly
tial analysis. For example, best forest management or in combination to perform spatial analyses that
practices often require buffer zones around wet- aid in managing the forest.
lands and water bodies, National Forest plans must Each data layer typically contains two distinct
entertain alternatives regarding where and how types of data (Figure 12.2). Geographic coordinate
much land should be dedicated to competing uses, data are used to identify the location, size, and
and sawmills must be located near a timber sup- shapes of objects. Objects in a data layer are typ-
ply. Second, there is a technological push. Forest ically represented as points, lines, or areas. Points
resource managers and scientists have recognized are objects which are considered to have no
the potential for gains in efficiency and the breadth dimension (e.g., wells or feeding stations) while
and depth of analysis through the adoption of new lines are used to represent objects conceived as
technologies, and many companies and government one dimensional, for example, roads or streams,
agencies have been actively developing and fund- and areas are used to represent two-dimensional
ing the use of GIS, GPS, and remote sensing tech- objects, such as forest stands or counties. Attribute
nologies. Managers now have the tools to collect data that correspond to the geographic coordinate
and combine disparate and previously incompati-
ble data in novel ways to solve resource manage-
ment problems.

Basic Concepts in GIS

A GIS is based on a computer-stored representa-
tion of real-world entities or phenomena (3, 6, 7).
Typically, the GIS user is interested in studying or
managing an area or event, for example, a wildlife
refuge, forest landholdings, or the spread of inva-
sive exotic species. These entities are represented
in a GIS with cartographic objects, most often in
the form of points, lines, polygons, or an array of
cells. The objects are defined using a necessarily
limited set of variables that are entered and main-
tained in a GIS. A researcher monitoring colonial
nesting birds might define a bounding polygon that F i g u r e 12.1 Data layers in a GIS. Different
contains most of the colony, and count the num- themes—for example, roads, vegetation, or political
ber of breeding pairs and species. This polygon, boundaries—are stored in separate, spatially-
species identifier, and count are the variables that referenced data layers.
268 Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems for Natural Resource Management

F i g u r e 1 2 . 2 Data in a GIS
are often organized into linked
geographic and tabular
components.

data are maintained—for example, the well depth touching grid cells, and area features by a group
and age, road name and surface type, or forest veg- of adjacent grid cells.
etation type or age. Attribute data are usually stored An alternative, "vector" data structure, may be
as tables in a relational database. used for geographic data. Features are represented
There are two common methods of structuring by strings of coordinates. A point is represented as
geographic data (Figure 12.3). When a raster data a single X-Y coordinate pair, a line object repre-
structure is used, a grid, similar to a checkerboard, sented by a set of X-Y coordinate pairs, and an area
is defined. Each grid cell has fixed, uniform dimen- represented by a closed line or set of lines. Iden-
sions, which correspond to the resolution of the tifiers are assigned to each point, line, or area, and
data layer. Codes are assigned to each grid cell cor- linked to data in the attribute tables.
responding to the objects represented. Point Earth coordinates are used to tie spatial data to
objects are typically represented by a single grid earth locations. Latitude and longitude may be used
cell, line features represented by a sequence of to uniquely define locations on the surface of the

F i g u r e 1 2 . 3 Raster and
vector representations of point,
line, and area features.
Basic Concepts in GIS 269

earth. However, the latitude/longitude values are mapped. For example the State-Plane coordinate
unsuitable for many uses, particularly for produc- system is a standard set of projections defined for
ing planar maps. Therefore, map projections are each state or portions of states. As it is used for
used to convert from curved geographic coordinates many county-level and property line recording proj-
to right-angle Cartesian coordinate systems. These ects, the State-Plane coordinate system is used in
map projections are typically defined by mathe- GISs maintained by many county governments and
matical formulas that "project" points on the curved other civil authorities. The State-Plane system of
earth surface to points on a flat or "developable" map projections is defined such that distance meas-
surface. For example, a Mercator is a common pro- urements using the projected coordinates do not
jection type wherein points from the surface of the differ from measurements on the curved earth's sur-
earth are projected onto a cylinder encompassing face by more than one part in 10,000, or about 2
the earth (Figure 12.4). This surface is then "devel- feet in a mile.
oped," in that the mathematical equivalent of cut-
ting and unrolling the cylinder produces a flat map.
Cones and planes are also common projection sur- Data Entry—Digitizing
faces. Each projection introduces distortion by Digitizing is the process of converting data from
stretching or compressing the curved geographic paper maps or images into a digital data layer. Pub-
coordinates on the flat map; however, this distor- lished maps contain substantial information; how-
tion can be controlled by choosing the proper map ever, this information must be converted to digital
projection, and by limiting the size of the area formats to be used in a GIS. There are several meth-
ods to perform this conversion.
Manual digitizing is among the most common
techniques because the equipment is relatively inex-
pensive and easy to learn and use. Manual digi-
tizing requires a coordinate digitizer, typically a flat
table with an attached stylus or puck. A map is fixed
to the table, and the operator guides a pointer over
the feature to be digitized, indicating when to col-
lect coordinates. The coordinate information is
stored in the computer, and digitizing and editing
tools included in most GIS programs are used to
convert these digitized data into a digital data layer.
While the equipment can be quite accurate, meas-
uring position to within 0.001 inches, it may also
be quite slow and laborious, particularly when
recording data from detailed maps.
"Heads-up" digitizing is a variant of manual dig-
itizing. Satellite data or scanned aerial photographs
or maps are digital images that may be displayed
on a computer screen. Point, line, and area features
are identified and their locations recorded by guid-
ing a cursor on the screen. This method has become
quite common in recent years, as more image data
are provided in digital formats.
Automated scanning is another common digi-
Figure 12.4 Map projection surfaces. tizing method. While the equipment is typically
270 Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems for Natural Resource Management

more expensive than manual digitizers of similar nal, called the C/A code, allows positions to be
accuracy, it is also much faster, and requires less located to within one to a few meters. C/A code
human input. Maps are placed on a bed or drum receivers are often used for field digitizing, col-
of a scanning device, and transmitted or reflected lecting the feature locations to be entered into a
light is used to record the locations of map features. GIS data layer. C/A code receivers typically oper-
All features on the maps are recorded, including ate well under closed forest canopy, take the
legends, names, and any other annotation or sym- required measurements in minutes, and are small,
bols. These unwanted features must be removed, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive. The satel-
a process which is often aided by specialized lites also transmit a second, carrier phase signal that
software. allows more precise position determination, down
Once data are digitized, they must be edited, to sub-centimeter accuracies. However, because car-
error-checked, and have attributes added. All dig- rier-phase receivers often perform poorly under for-
itizing methods may result in errors, caused by oper- est canopies, require longer time periods for the
ator or equipment imprecision, errors in the source most accurate measurements, and are more expen-
materials, or blunders. Location, consistency, and sive, heavier and larger, carrier-phase receivers are
correctness must be checked, and attribute data used primarily where higher accuracies are
entered into the tabular database and referenced required, such as in property or geodetic surveys.
to the specific geographic objects. GPS is based on combined range measurements
(Figure 12.5). A range is a distance from the receiver
to the satellite. The code transmitted by the satel-
lite contains timing and satellite position informa-
Global Positioning System tion. The receiver decodes this information to
Global positioning system (GPS) technology is establish the satellite location and the distance to
another method by which data may be entered into the satellite. Measurement from one satellite places
a GIS. GPS provides rapid, accurate positional the receiver somewhere on a sphere, a fixed dis-
measurements and has many uses beyond GIS data tance away from the satellite. Measurements from
entry, including mapping, vehicle guidance, two satellites constrain the location to a circle where
pathfinding, automatic aircraft take-off and landing, the two spheres intersect, and measurements from
and precise scientific measurements. This inex-
pensive technology requires minimal training, and
will be used in most future efforts when field data
are collected for a GIS.
GPS is a satellite-based system operated by the
United States Department of Defense. It was
designed for military navigation and positioning, but
civilian uses quickly emerged. The system is based
on twenty-one satellites orbiting the globe, each
satellite transmitting encoded signals. A field
receiver measures signals from at least three satel-
lites to determine positions on the surface of the
earth. Since there are typically from six to ten satel-
lites above the horizon at any give time, GPS can
be used anywhere except under extreme terrain
conditions—for example, in deep canyons. F i g u r e 12.5 Satellite range measurements,
The satellites transmit two types of signals that d1 through d3, are the basis of GPS position
are commonly used by civilian receivers. One sig- determination.
Spatial Analysis 271

three satellites constrain the location to two points, ference applied to correct data collected by the rov-
one of which can be discarded after a few meas- ing field receiver to correct the errors. The errors
urements. Measurements from a fourth satellite are are similar when the roving and base station
usually used to reduce systematic error, and addi- receivers are using the same satellites, and are
tional satellites may be used to improve the posi- within a few hundred kilometers so that atmos-
tion measurement. Multiple position fixes are often pheric and ionospheric errors are similar. A radio
taken for several minutes, and averaged. can be used to transmit the differential corrections
Several sources of error affect GPS measure- from the base station receiver to the roving receiver,
ments and lead to positional uncertainties (Figure and accurate positions may be obtained in the field.
12.6), and the high accuracies mentioned earlier If a radio link is infeasible, then the data may be
are obtained only after these errors have been downloaded to a computer and post-processed.
removed. System delays, clock errors in range
measurements, uncertainty in the satellite location,
and ionospheric and atmospheric delays also add
uncertainty. These errors are reduced via differ-
Spatial Analysis
ential positioning, where two receivers collect data Much of the utility of geographic information sys-
simultaneously. One receiver, a base station, occu- tems comes from the rich array of spatial-analyti-
pies an accurately surveyed point. The difference cal tools they provide. These tools are applied to
between the GPS estimate and the known location spatial data layers to provide information and to
at the base station can be calculated, and this dif- help solve resource management problems. The

Figure 12.6 GPS signal triangulation and uncertainty caused by range error.
272 Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems for Natural Resource Management

tools may be viewed as functions that are applied mined from a measure of the change in elevation
to one or more data layers. Tools typically produce divided by a change in horizontal position in the
summary numbers, tables, or new data layers. neighborhood of each grid cell.
Buffering is one of the most common geographic
operations. A buffer layer identifies boundaries at
Database Operations set distances from features in a layer (Figure 12.7).
Attribute data in a GIS are usually stored in a data- Buffers distances may be defined for point, line,
base; database functions are often applied to the or area features in a data layer. For example, tim-
tabular data associated with a data layer. Each row ber harvesting Best Management Practices (BMPs)
in a database may contain several variables, and often exclude activities around streams or wetlands.
these variables are used to describe each object rep- A buffer operation in a GIS may be used to map
resented in the data layer. For example, forest stands these exclusion zones.
may be represented by polygons in a forest vege- Cartographic overlay is another common opera-
tation data layer. Each polygon is associated with tion. In an overlay, the geometric and tabular data
a row in the database that contains information are combined, and new points, lines, or regions
describing the forest stand; for example, tree defined that contain geometry and attributes from
species, age, average diameter, average tree height, both source data layers (Figure 12.8). Raster over-
health status, or stand area. Database operations lay involves comparisons, recoding, and sometimes
may be applied; for example, selecting all stands calculations based on grid cell values. Vector over-
over 40 years old. lay of line or area features involves the intersection
Sorting, searching, and selecting are among the
most common database functions. Database records
are selected based on attributes and their values.
Compound searches (or queries) are common, for
example, selecting all aspen stands that are also
greater then 80 acres in size and over 40 years old.
Arithmetic or statistical functions are also commonly
applied; for example, stand volume may be cal-
culated by multiplying the average diameter, height,
and area information contained in the database.

Geographic Operations
Geographic operations provide much of the
unique utility found in GIS. These operations use
the geometric information in a data layer or lay-
ers, and generate additional layers, tables, or sum-
mary numbers. These geographic operations may
be unary, involving only one input data layer, or
they may be binary or higher order, involving mul-
tiple data layers.
There are many unary geographic operators. For
example, a slope layer is typically derived from an
elevation data layer. The slope operation typically
uses raster data input, and calculates a slope value F i g u r e 12.7 A buffer layer derived from a line
for each output grid cell. Slope at each cell is deter- data layer.
F i g u r e 3 . 3 Global vegetation map showing the distribution of the forest types discussed in this
book. From Landsberg and Gower (4), with acknowledgements to D. Kicklighter and J. Melillo, who
provided the original version of the map.
F i g u r e 7 . 2 At top, a satellite image of a typical landscape pattern of a
meandering river system with oxbows of varying age; different shades of
green indicate different forest types. At bottom, a deforestation and
settlement pattern in the Amazon Basin; dark red areas represent remaining
rainforest, light red areas are clearings, and light blue areas are urban areas
and roads.
F i g u r e 7 . 7 Results from a LANDIS simulation model run of the northwest
Wisconsin Pine Barrens after 0, 50, 100, and 150 years.
F i g u r e 1 6 . 3 The global distribution of precipitation (top figure) and vegetation
(bottom figure). Green areas in the lower figure have the highest vegetation density.
Deserts and semi-arid areas are orange and yellow. Note the striking resemblance
between the patterns of precipitation and pattern of vegetation cover.
F i g u r e 1 6 . 6 Before (left) and during (right) the 1993 summer flooding of the Mississippi
river. The area flooded represents a high flood stage of the floodplain.
F i g u r e 1 6 . 1 2 The left image shows a near-infrared airborne scanner image over Lake Mendota,
Madison, Wis. The magenta colored areas indicated by arrows are algal blooms that show up because of the
high reflective properties of living plant cells in the near-infrared. The right image is thermal (energy emitted
by the surface). It shows a plume (warmer water) generated by a power plant. Boat wakes with overturned
and cooled surface water show as dark blue lines in the water. The brightly colored buildings indicate warm
rooftops.
F i g u r e 1 6 . 1 3 Geographical information
systems allow for the integration and visualization
of spatial data including remote sensing land cover
(top), watershed partitioning for input to models
(middle), and soils (bottom).
F i g u r e 1 6 . 1 4 Automated tools are becoming standard methods for preparing inputs to hydrologic
models. This plate illustrates some of the products (flow path analysis, segmentation of watersheds into hill-
slope partitions), as well as modeling tools for making predictions.
Spatial Analysis 273

lines and the creation of n e w polygons. Overlays

allow the combination of features from different
themes and often provide information key to the
solution of many natural resource measurement or
management problems. For example, land suitabil-
ity is often defined by criteria based on soils (will
support buildings), topography (flat), and current
zoning (residential, commercial, etc.). Layers repre-
senting these three themes may be overlain in a GIS,
and areas that satisfy all three criteria identified.
Geographic operations are often combined in a
sequence to construct a cartographic model (Fig-
ure 12.9). A cartographic model is designed to
answer a specific question, and often results in a
data layer providing the answer. Operations are per-
formed in sequence, incorporating single and mul-
tiple data layers. Intermediate data layers are
generated, and combined or used with additional
operations, eventually determining the n e e d e d
information.
There are many additional, specialized GIS oper-
ators designed to address specific geographic prob-
lems. Network analyses, three-dimensional GIS, and
geostatistics may used to optimize analyses for spe-
cific problems, and are not discussed here because
Figure 12.8 Vector data overlay.
of lack of space. These and many other spatial

F i g u r e 1 2 . 9 Flowchart
representation of a cartographic
model. Triangles and lines are
operations, and squares indicate
data layers (DEM = digital
elevation model).
2 7 4 Remote Sensing a n d Geographical Information Systems for Natural Resource Management

analyses are more thoroughly discussed in the ref­ T a b l e 12.1 Wavelength Regions of the
erences listed at the end of this chapter. Electromagnetic Spectrum that Are Used in
or Affect Remote Sensing
Region Wavelength (μm)
R e m o t e Sensing Ultraviolet < 0.4
Remote sensing is the measurement of character­
Visible—Blue 0.4-0.5
istics from a distance (5, 6). Practically defined for Visible—Green 0.5-0.6
forest science applications, remote sensing is the Visible—Red 0.6-0.7
use of airborne cameras, scanners, and satellite Near-Infrared 0.7-1.4
imaging devices to gather information about for­ Mid-Infrared 1.4-2.9
est resources. Aerial photographs have been used Thermal Infrared 2.9-100
in forest resource management since the 1930s, are Radar-Microwave 1,000-1,000,000
well developed, and widely applied. The use of
satellite and airborne scanner imagery in forestry
is more recent, having begun in 1972. Imaging sys­ energy in wavelengths just above red (700 to 900
tems overcome some of the limitations in aerial nanometers), thermal imaging systems sense longer
photographs; however, they also introduce some wavelengths (3,000 to 14,000 nanometers), and
limitations of their own, and so are unlikely to radar the longest wavelengths (1 millimeter to 1
replace film, at least for the next few decades. What­ meter). Different information may be obtained from
ever the medium, remotely sensed imagery are each different wavelength, so several spectral bands
unique and valuable data sources that are employed of remotely sensed imagery are often used.
worldwide. Differences in reflected electromagnetic energy
forms the basis for remote sensing. Sunlight falling
on the forest is either reflected or absorbed. Leaves
Radiant Energy and Spectral absorb much of the red and blue radiation, and
Reflectance Patterns reflect relatively more green light, and so appear
All remote sensing is based on the detection of elec­ green to the human eye and on true color film.
tromagnetic energy. Electromagnetic energy is Clean, deep water absorbs most of the light in the
defined by wavelengths, and may be conveniently visible wavelength regions, and so appears dark,
categorized into spectral regions (Table 12.1). A sin­ or perhaps slightly blue. Concrete reflects strongly
gle wavelength is the distance between successive throughout the visible region, and so appears light
peaks in the electromagnetic energy wave. Differ­ gray or white. Each of these materials have differ­
ent wavelengths have different energy intensities ent spectral reflectance patterns across the elec­
and are sensed as different colors. Humans sense tromagnetic spectrum (Figure 12.10), and these
light in the visible region (from 400 to 700 nanome­ different patterns lead to different colors, allowing
ters), with blue colors resulting from energy at the a photointerpreter to distinguish between different
shorter wavelengths (400 to 500 nanometers), green surface features.
in the middle (500 to 600 nanometers), and red at
the longest wavelengths (700 to 900 nanometers).
Intermediate colors are observed by combinations Aerial Photography
of these three wavelengths at varying intensity.
Remote sensing systems may coincide with this Cameras and Films A number of different cam-
range (true color and standard black-and-white pho­ era types are currently available. Small format cam-
tographs), or they may sense energy beyond the eras, with nominal film dimensions of 35 mm or
range of human vision. Infrared photographs sense 70 mm, are routinely used by private and public
Remote Sensing 275

types, thus infrared films are desirable when the

photographs are to be used primarily for vegeta-
tion mapping. True color photographs are sensi-
tive to the same wavelengths as the human eye,
with blue, green, and red dye layers used in the
film to reproduce the full range of visible colors.
Color infrared films are sensitive to approximately
500 to 1100 nanometers. These films also have three
dye layers; however, the blue layer is sensitive to
green light, the green dye layer is sensitive to red
light, and the red dye layer is sensitive to infrared
light. Because vegetation reflects infrared light much
F i g u r e 1 2 . 1 0 Typical spectral-reflectance curves
more strongly than visible light, color infrared pho-
for vegetation, soil, and water. From Lillesand and
Kiefer (6), adapted from Swain and Davis (9).
tographs are typically red in areas of dense
vegetation.

organizations over much of North America. Film and Photo Coverage, Scale, and
cameras systems are relatively inexpensive, easy to Geometry
operate, and familiar to many users. However, these The scale of an aerial photograph is the relation-
film types generally cover relatively small areas with ship between a distance on the photograph and a
each frame, and the camera systems typically are corresponding distance on the ground. For exam-
not designed specifically for precise mapping, so ple, the distance between two road intersections
geometric distortions are often unacceptably high might be one inch on the photograph and 2000 feet
for mapping applications. Nine-inch mapping on the ground. The scale is then one inch to 2000
cameras, with film sizes approximately 230 mm on feet. Scale is also commonly expressed as a unit-
a side, cover 10 to 40 times the area of the smaller less number. In our example above, the roads are
formats. Furthermore, these cameras are designed 24,000 inches apart on the ground (2000 ft X 12
specifically for mapping projects, with camera and in/ft), so the scale might also be expressed as
lens components optimized to reduce geometric dis- 1:24,000. Scale depends on the lens focal length and
tortion. These cameras also come with sophisticated flying height. Mapping cameras with a 230 mm film
control and mounting systems that enable them to size typically use a lens with a focal length near
take photographs in rapid succession, and films are 150 mm, so scale is most commonly adjusted via
available which capture extremely fine detail. How- aircraft flying height. Scale is inversely proportional
ever, these cameras are quite expensive relative to to flying height, because scale is determined by the
smaller formats, and are most often chosen when ratio of the focal length to flying height above
accurate mapping over large areas is required. terrain:
Four types of photographic films are commonly
Photo scale = focal length/height above terrain
used. Black-and-white panchromatic film is sensi-
tive to the visible portion of the electromagnetic Photographs taken with a six-inch (150 mm) lens
spectrum, approximately the same as human vision, from a flying height of 7,920 feet will have a scale
from 400 to 700 nanometers. Black-and-white of:
infrared film is sensitive to green through infrared
Photo scale = 6 in X 1 ft/12 in/7920 = 1/15,840
radiation, approximately 500 to 1100 nanometers.
There are large differences in the infrared This photo scale is commonly used in resource
reflectance characteristics among many vegetation mapping, with four inches equal to one mile.
276 Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems for Natural Resource Management

Scale is rarely constant within a photograph, Dimension = 9 in X 1 ft/12 in X 20,000 in/in

because although planes may fly at a nearly con-
stant height, the elevation of the earth surface varies = 15,000 ft
below the aircraft. Variation in terrain height within Increasing the flying height, and hence decreasing
an image leads to variation in scale, and differences scale, increases the area covered in each photo.
can be substantial. Scale often varies by 5 percent However, objects also appear smaller, and at some
or more for photos taken in mountainous areas of point it becomes difficult to identify features on the
North America, because height above terrain may photographs. Choosing the proper photographic
vary by that much within the image. scale involves tradeoffs between resolution and area
Photograph scale may also be affected by cam- coverage.
era tilt. If the film plane is not parallel with the earth The degree of overlap among adjacent photo-
surface when the photograph is taken, there will graphs is another factor which may affect the num-
be some perspective distortion in the photograph ber of photographs required to cover a given study
(Figure 12.11). This distortion also causes differ- area. Photographs are typically taken in parallel
ences in photo scale, and the distortion varies by flight lines (Figure 12.12). Sidelap is the overlap
tilt direction and amount. Mapping contracts typi- between adjacent flight lines, and is typically 5 to
cally specify vertical photographs, meaning tilt must 15 percent. The endlap specifies how much suc-
be less than three degrees from vertical. Because cessive photographs overlap. Endlap is typically 15
of variation in scale caused by terrain and tilt, the to 65 percent of the photo dimension. Higher end-
reported scale for a photograph should be con- lap is specified when stereoviews are required. In
sidered an average. a stereoview, the right eye views a photograph, and
Photographic coverage is related to scale and the left eye views the next photograph on the flight-
film format. The edge dimensions of the ground line. If the photographs are properly oriented, a
area covered by a photograph are approximately three-dimensional reconstruction of the imaged sur-
equal to the scale times the edge dimensions of the face can be perceived. This view is based on image
film. Thus, a 9-inch photograph at a scale of parallax, the relative horizontal shift in points based
1:20,000 has an edge dimension of approximately: on their differences in elevation. These parallax

F i g u r e 12.11 Geometric
distortion caused by photo tilt.
Photogrammetry and Photo Measurements 277

Figure 12.12
Photographic coverage along a
flight strip. From Lillesand and
Kiefer (6).

shifts result in mountains appearing higher and val- These methods were chosen because practical
leys lower in a stereoview. Slope, terrain shape, and experience indicated the data derived were of
relative heights may be perceived in a stereoview. acceptable quality, given cost/accuracy trade-offs.
The preceding discussion underscores that However, geometric accuracy assessments and
photographs are not maps. Most photographs, even cost/accuracy comparisons should be conducted on
those from the most precise mapping cameras, con- a routine basis, particularly when data derived from
tain geometric distortion in the relative positions the photographs will be entered into a GIS.
of features, often caused primarily by tilt and ter-
rain distortion. These geometric distortions must be
removed prior to the use of photographs in pre- Photogrammetry and Photo
cise mapping, before making distance or area meas-
urements from photographs, or before entering
Measurements
them in a GIS. The level of geometric error depends The science of photogrammetry is dedicated to pre-
on many factors, including the camera system, film cise mapping and measurements from photographs
format, photo scale, tilt, and terrain variation. In (1, 2, 8). Photogrammetric engineers have devel-
some instances, experience indicates uncorrected oped robust, well-known, reliable methods of
photographs will provide measurements within removing photographic distortion. Until the early
acceptable accuracy limits. The Natural Resource 1980s, most photogrammetric work was conducted
Conservation Service (formerly the U.S. Soil Con- on analog instruments such as a stereoplotter (a
servation Service) historically measured field areas device based on lenses, projection, and moveable
on uncorrected 35 mm aerial photographs because stages) to extract information from photographs and
they were flown at large scales, and experience indi- transfer the information to maps. Stereopairs of pho-
cated acceptable accuracies could be achieved. tographs are viewed together, and by recreating the
Many forestry organizations have mapped timber relative orientation of the photographs at the time
stands on uncorrected vertical 9-inch photographs. of exposure, and viewing the photographs through
278 Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems for Natural Resource Management

stereographic optical systems, a three-dimensional into information about the location and character-
view of the mapping area may be created. Infor- istics of important resources. Forest photointer-
mation may then be projected to a planar base for pretation is most often performed to produce a
mapping. vegetation type map. The boundaries of homoge-
Since the 1980s, there has been a rapid growth neous vegetation units are defined based on cues
in digital photogrammetry, in which the photo- in the photograph. Color, brightness, texture or pat-
graphs are passed through a scanner and converted tern, size, shape, topographic position, and prox-
to a digital image. Various methods have been imity to other features are all used to define the
devised to view digital stereopairs, and pho- boundaries between different vegetation types.
togrammetric techniques adapted to remove tilt, ter- Different cues may be most important for different
rain, and other distortions from the digital images. vegetation types, and there is an art to photoint-
The resulting digital photograph, called a digital erpretation gained through experience. Character-
orthophotograph (DOQ), has positive attributes of istics may change with the season, as when leaf
both maps and photographs. A DOQ is similar to colors for deciduous tree species change from sum-
a map because it has a uniform scale and can serve mer to fall.
as a base for area or distance measurements, yet Photo characteristics for a vegetation type may
the DOQ also contains the detailed information vis- vary within a single photograph. For example, col-
ible in photographs. DOQs are easily integrated ors are often brighter in the direction of the sun
with other spatial data in a GIS, and photo inter- and darker in the direction away from the sun. In
pretation may be done on-screen. DOQs are so use- a similar fashion, colors are often lighter on slopes
ful that a national program has been established facing the sun than on slopes facing away. Colors
with the goal of making them available for the entire may darken or change tone near the edge of the
United States. photo as a function of the camera/film/filter sys-
There are other photographic measurements in tem. All of this variation must be integrated if the
addition to area and distance. Photomensuration photointerpreter is to produce an accurate map.
is a set of techniques to estimate tree size and wood
volume. Tree heights may be measured on the pho-
tograph because trees not directly below the cam- Vegetation Types
era (at the nadir point) appear to lean outward away Forest managers and scientists are often interested
from the nadir. Measuring this form of parallax, from in mapping forest types by species, and sometimes
the base to the top of the tree, allows an estimate age classes (Table 12.2) (1, 2). Classifications are
of tree height. Crown diameters may also be meas- sometimes hierarchical, from less detailed to more
ured, and relationships between crown diameters detailed classes, and in some cases it is difficult or
and stem diameters may be used to estimate diam- impossible to accurately separate certain species or
eter and, hence, stem volume. Tree density may also species groups. For example, sugar maple {Acer
be measured, allowing estimates of total stand vol- saccharum) and black maple {Acer nigrum) are
ume. Relationships between photographic meas- indistinguishable from aerial photographs, and so
urements and measured tree and stand volumes are often grouped (on photointerpreted maps).
have been summarized in photo stand volume Figure 12.13 is a black-and-white stereopair that
tables, where stand area, species, crown closure, illustrates some of the principles of species identi-
tree height, and crown diameter are used to esti- fication using aerial photographs. A pure stand of
mate stand wood volume. black spruce (outlined areas) is shown, surrounded
by aspen. Black spruce is a needle-leaved evergreen
tree species with a slender, conical crown. Pure
Photointerpretation stands normally exhibit a regular pattern, with uni-
Photointerpretation involves converting the varia- form or gently changing tree heights. Closed-canopy
tion in color and tone evident on aerial photographs black spruce stands typcially show a smooth, car-
Photogrammetry a n d Photo Measurements 279

T a b l e 12.2 A portion of a forest classification system for Lakes States forests. Categories
become more specific from left to right. Categories are also hierarchical, in that finer cate-
gories collapse into common coarser categories.
Aspen < 10 years old

Upland Deciduous Forest Aspen > 10 years old

Red Oak
Sugar Maple
Deciduous Forest
Lowland Deciduous Forest Ash-Elm
Alder
Red Pine
Upland Coniferous White Pine
Jack Pine
Coniferous Forest
Lowland Coniferous Black Spruce

pet-like texture. Aspen is a deciduous broad-leaved are better for discriminating among certain types
species with rounded, widely-spaced crowns, and (e.g., among needle-leaved and broad-leaved tree
often a rougher texture. This difference in texture species). For the utmost in accuracy and discrimi-
between aspen and black spruce is illustrated clearly nating ability, photos of the same area but from
in Figure 12.13. multiple seasons are recommended.
Color infrared photographs usually allow for the
finest discrimination among vegetation types,
because of strong differences in the infrared Regeneration, Health, and Damage
reflectance properties among species. Scales Assessment
between 1:10,000 and 1:20,000 are usually chosen Aerial photographs are also extensively used for
for stand mapping, as these scales strike a balance regeneration surveys, for forest health monitoring,
between covering large areas with each photo, yet and to assess disease, insect, and storm or fire
still allowing adequate discrimination among veg- damage. Photographs for regeneration surveys are
etation types. Summer photographs are often typically very large scale, from 1:1,500 or larger,
acquired. However, fall photographs are superior and often use small-format cameras because geo-
when distinguishing among deciduous forest types metric accuracy is not of utmost importance. The
in eastern North America, and winter photographs costs of using these systems is considerably lower

F i g u r e 12.13 Black spruce (outlined

area) surrounded by aspen in Ontario, Canada.
Scale 1:15,840. Stereogram. From Zsilinszky
(10), courtesy of Victor G. Zsilinszky, Ontario
Centre for Remote Sensing.
280 Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems for Natural Resource Management

than alternative mapping cameras, and large area ogy, and will remain a valuable tool for resource
coverage in a single photo is typically not required. managers and scientists into the foreseeable future.
Living trees on a line or in a fixed area are
counted, and a proportion surviving is measured.
These data help determine if regeneration was suc-
cessful, or if additional treatments or plantings are Filmless Imaging
needed. The last two decades have seen the rapid devel-
Aerial photographs are also used extensively for opment of imaging systems that do not depend on
insect pest and disease damage assessment. Most film. One of the most amazing achievements of
pests visibly alter the forest canopy, either by modern remote sensing is the engineering of imag-
reducing vigor and changing leaf color, or by direct ing scanners that collect millions of observations
defoliation. These changes may be observed in a few seconds, reconstructed to form geometri-
directly on aerial photographs. Many defoliaters are cally accurate images. These sensors can detect
routinely monitored using aerial photographs. For wavelengths well beyond the capabilities of the
example, the Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is a human eye or film, and in wavelength ranges, or
serious pest in eastern deciduous forests of North bands, specifically chosen to provide the most infor-
America. A number of control strategies have been mation. Data are digitally quantized on collection,
applied to slow the spread and reduce the sever- so the images are easily transferred to computers
ity of defoliation by this introduced pest, and aer- for subsequent digital image processing. Ever-finer
ial photographs are used in detection, the tactical spatial resolutions and narrow spectral resolutions
planning of treatments, and assessment of effec- have led some to predict that these systems will
tiveness. Aerial photographs are also used for man- eventually replace aerial photography.
aging other species, including mountain pine beetle
(Dendroctonus ponderosae), spruce budworm
(Choristaneura fumiferand), the Douglas fir tus- Principles of Imaging Scanners
sock moth (Orgyia psueudotsugata), and the bal- Imaging devices typically use electronic detectors
sam wooly adelgid (Adelgespiceae). Management to measure reflected or emitted electromagnetic
and control of insects are discussed in detail in radiation. Detectors are typically made from semi-
Chapter 8.
conductor materials when designed for the visible
Aerial photographs are also quite useful in through thermal portions of the spectrum, while
assessing wind, ice, or fire damage. Wind damage microwave and longer radiation are detected with
can severely affect large areas, and access is often metal antenna. Visible and thermal detectors typi-
difficult because of treefall across roads. Aerial pho- cally change resistance or generate a voltage with
tographs, particularly three-dimensional views on the amount of electromagnetic energy striking them.
stereopairs, allow accurate identification of wind- The relative intensity of this energy may then be
fall gaps and canopy openings. Aerial photographs used to calculate incident energy and identify the
have also proven useful in assessing the extent and features observed. Detectors may be designed to
severity of fire damage (also see Chapter 18, Behav- sense energy in a number of arbitrarily narrow
ior and Management of Forest Fires). wavelength bands by changing the mix of semi-
There are many other uses of aerial photographs conducting materials, so that sensors may be
in forest resource management, including harvest designed to observed specific reflectance proper-
planning, property line surveys, timber and land ties; for example, differences among vegetation
appraisal, road design and layout, erosion evalua- types in the mid-infrared region.
tion, estimating wildlife populations, and recreation Most nonradar imaging systems are passive, in
planning. Aerial photography is a mature technol- that they sense reflected or emitted energy that
Remote Sensing Systems 281

originates from an external source. Much like film- wavelengths, radar systems often provide comple-
based systems, many passive systems detect mentary information.
reflected sunlight or emitted long-wave radiation.
Active systems, such as imaging radar, differ in that
they emit energy, and then detect the reflection of
that energy.
Remote Sensing Systems
Three different designs are most commonly found
in passive imaging scanners. Many older designs are Landsat
based on a small number of detectors for each wave The launch of the satellite Landsat-1 in July of 1972
band, and a moving mirror that focuses energy on inaugurated the civilian era of satellite-based,
the detectors. The mirror typically scans lines per- earth—surface remote sensing. The primary sensor
pendicular to the flight path, and forward motion of Landsat satellites 1 through 3 was the multi-
of the satellite or aircraft advances the scanner over spectral scanner (MSS), with an 80-meter pixel res-
the next line. Linear arrays operate in much the same olution and a 185-kilometer square image area. The
manner as moving mirror systems, except the detec- satellites had a repeat cycle of 18 days. The scan-
tors are forged in long rows, and each cell in the ner recorded four bands, one each in the blue,
image (picture elements, or "pixels") is sampled at green, red, and infrared portions of the electro-
once. These systems sometimes employ prisms or magnetic spectrum, so both visible and color infrared
mirrors to split the signal among various banks of images could be produced. Landsat satellites 4 and
detectors for different wavelengths. The final 5 retained the MSS and added a second imaging
design type extends this progression from zero scanner, the thematic mapper (TM). The TM incor-
dimensions (single pixel) through one dimension porated many improvements based on experiences
(row) into two dimensions. Square arrays of detec- gained in analyses of MSS imagery. Among these,
tors may be fabricated, usually on a single chip, band widths were modified somewhat, two mid-
called a charge-coupled device (CCD). The CCD infrared bands were included, the pixel size was
samples an entire image at once, although several reduced to 30 m, a thermal infrared band was added
CCDs may be in one scanner, either precisely and a 16-day return interval was implemented.
aligned to increase the sampling area, or each sam- While the MSS program was successful and
pling the same area but sensitive to different wave- pointed the way to future improvements, TM firmly
bands to yield a multispectral image. established the utility of land satellite remote sens-
Radar systems (RAdio Detection And Ranging) ing for a diverse array of users. Public and private
transmit and receive radio waves from an antenna. sector applications have been developed in agri-
A beam is directed at a surface, and the microwave cultural and forest management, disaster assess-
reflectance properties and orientation of the sur- ment, oil and mineral exploration, population
face govern the strength of the return. As with pas- estimation, wildlife management, urban and
sive scanners, the returns can be organized in their regional planning, and many other fields. MSS data
relative positions to produce an image. Radar sys- had two advantages relative to color infrared pho-
tem characteristics are quite different from con- tos. The first was a uniformly calibrated digital
temporary passive systems. Unlike passive systems image, providing data inherently amenable to dig-
for shorter wavelengths, radar data can be collected ital image processing. Some analysis and interpre-
at night because these systems provide the energy tation could be aided or performed by computers,
they sense. Radar wavelengths penetrate clouds, a in part automating image interpretation. Second, the
major advantage in many parts of the world. data were inexpensive relative to photographs
Because surface response to radar wavebands is when large areas were analyzed. Disadvantages
often unrelated to reflectance properties at shorter were a coarse spatial resolution (80 m versus
282 Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems for Natural Resource Management

sub-meter for most photo scales used), and infre- SPOT-1 through SPOT-3 satellites carried similar
quent repeat times. TM provided the same digital instrument packages. The main imaging system,
format, and included visible, near-infrared, thermal, known as the HRV, employed a linear array, CCD
and new mid-infrared bands that significantly design, a first for civilian satellite remote sensing
improved the utility of the data for discrimination systems. The HRV operates in two modes, a sin-
among vegetation types. The pixel size in TM was gle band panchromatic mode, with 10 m resolu-
improved to 30 m, an improvement over MSS but tion and 510 to 730 nanometer spectral range, and
still much coarser than the effective resolution of a three-band, 20 m resolution, multispectral mode,
most aerial photographs. TM data have been suc- with green, red, and near infrared bands (Figure
cessfully applied in many disciplines, including for- 12.14). The HRV is pointable off track, in effect
est type mapping, inventories, and damage reducing return times to every few days, rather than
assessment. more than every two weeks as with TM and MSS.
Pointable optics also allow the collection of satel-
lite stereopairs, and thus raster elevation data may
SPOT be collected. The imaged area for a single HRV
France has led a consortium of European countries scene is approximately 60 km on a side, so although
in the development and launch of four earth the image is significantly higher resolution than typ-
resource satellites known by the acronym SPOT ical aerial photographs, it is approximately one-
(Systeme Pour l'Observation de la Terre). The tenth the area of TM and MSS imagery.

F i g u r e 12.14 Example
SPOT HRV image, Popocatepetl
Volcano, Mexico. (Copyright
SPOT Image, 2000, used with
permission.)
Remote Sensing Systems 283

Comparison of the TM and HRV illustrates a com- applied to problems in agriculture, hydrology, car-
mon tradeoff in scanner system design: smaller pixel tography, and land use.
sizes typically come with a smaller imaged area.
Satellite images to date have pushed the limits of
data collection, storage, and transmission from Other Remote Sensing Systems
space to ground stations. Smaller pixel sizes are Several remote sensing systems are in orbit or will
desirable in many instances because they improve soon be launched that provide useful data for nat-
the spatial detail and type resolution available on ural resource management. The Advanced Very
digital images. However, each time pixel sizes High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) is a 1.1 km
decrease by a factor of two, data volumes increase resolution scanner providing global coverage on a
by a factor of four. Thus, systems increase resolu- daily basis. Versions of this scanner have been car-
tion at the expense of smaller images. Advances in ried aboard National Oceanic and Atmospheric
data compression and transmission are allowing Administration polar orbiting satellites since 1979,
increasing resolution while maintaining large and the scanners sense red, near-infrared, and ther-
images; however, the tradeoff still exists. mal wavelengths. Red and near-IR bands have been
SPOT-4 carries an improved HRV, as well as a used to measure global phenologies and vegeta-
new sensor named VEGETATION. The new HRV tion density and health, chiefly through spectral veg-
carries the three bands carried on previous SPOT etation indexes such as the normalized difference
satellites, and adds a mid-infrared band. The util- vegetation index (NDVI). The NDVI is the ratio of
ity of the mid-infrared band for vegetation mapping the near-IR minus red divided by the near-IR plus
was amply demonstrated with the Landsat TM, and red bands. Because water and soils absorb
is included in the HRV at a 20 m resolution. The infrared, and vegetation reflects infrared, high
VEGETATION sensing system operates independ- NDVIs indicate high vegetation density.
ently of the HRV, and is designed for global veg- A number of radar systems have been or will
etation productivity, health, and monitoring. The be launched. The ERS-1 and JERS-1 were radar sys-
sensor has a pixel size of 1 km and a swath width tems launched by the European and Japanese space
of 2,250 km, and images the entire globe once a agencies, respectively, and the Almaz-1 was
day. Four bands are recorded, a blue (430 to 470 launched by the former Soviet Union. These sys-
nm), red (610 to 680 nm), near-infrared (780 to 890 tems, taken together, sense across a range of radar
nm), and mid-infrared (1580 to 1750 nm). wavelengths, resolutions, and sensing modes. Expe-
rience to date indicates these systems have many
useful applications, among them in forest moni-
Radarsat toring, topographic surveys, landcover classification,
Radarsat is a side-looking satellite imaging radar sys- and change detection.
tem developed and operated by the Canadian Space Scanners associated with the NASA Earth
Agency. The imaging system collects data using a Observing System (EOS) will provide a wealth of
5.6 cm radar wavelength, with an effective resolu- research and data, much of which will prove use-
tion of from 10 to 100 m, depending on look angle. ful in forest resource measurement and manage-
The orbit is repeated once every 24 days, but areas ment. Landsat-7 will carry the Enhanced Thematic
up to 500 km to the side of the orbital track may Mapper (ETM), sensing in similar wavelengths as
be imaged. The repeat interval is approximately 6 TM, but adding a 15 m resolution panchromatic
days at the equator, and less towards the poles. band, and increasing the resolution of the thermal
Radarsat data have been used to monitor clearcut band to 60 m. The MODIS sensor will sample 36
extent, particularly in tropical regions where radar spectral bands at resolutions that vary from 250 m
penetration of cloud cover is essential to timely to 1 km and provide global coverage every two
measurements. Radarsat data have also been days. ASTER will sample 14 bands from visible
284 Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems for Natural Resource Management

through thermal infrared at resolutions from 15 to 2. W. BEFORT, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote
90 m. As ASTER is a pointable sensor, revisit times Sensing, 52, 101 (1986).
will be approximately 6 days. 3. P. A. BURROUGH AND R. A. MCDONNELL, Principles of
Geographical Information Systems, Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 1998.
4. N. GOBA, S. PALA, AND J. NARRAWAY, "An Instruction
Concluding Statement Manual on the Assessment of Regeneration Success
O u r abilities to collect, organize, and analyze spa- by Aerial Survey," Ministry of Natural Resources,
tial data have improved tremendously over the past Ontario, 1982.
two decades, and will continue to develop in the 5. R. C. HELLER AND J. J. ULLIMAN, "Forest resource assess-
foreseeable future. Remote sensing has provided ments." In Manual of Remote Sensing, R. N. Colwell,
n e w tools for rapid data collection over wide areas. ed., American Society of Photogrammetry, 1983.
GIS technologies allow us to organize and analyze 6. T, M. LILLESAND AND R. W. KIEFER, Remote Sensing and
these data with substantially improved speed and Image Interpretation, Third Edition. Wiley & Sons,
flexibility. Spatial data technologies serve our New York, 1994.
expanding spatial information needs. O u r planet 7. D. J. MAGUIRE, M. F. GOODCHILD, AND D. W. RHIND, Geo-
contains finite resources and an expanding h u m a n graphical Information Systems, Vol. 1, Longman,
population, and spatial data and analyses will be Green, N.Y, 1991.
part of intelligent identification, management, and 8. P. R. WOLF, Elements of Photogrammetry, Second Edi-
preservation of these resources. tion, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1983.
9. P. H. SWAIN AND S. M. DAVIS, EDS., Remote Sensing: The
Quantitative Approach, McGraw-Hill, New York,
1978.
References 10. V. G. ZSILINSZKY, Photographic Interpretation of Tree
1. T. E. AVERY AND H. E. BURKHART, Forest Measurements, Species in Ontario, Ontario Dept. of Lands and
Fourth Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1994. Forests, 1966.
 CHAPTER 13
Silviculture and
Ecosystem Management
CRAIG G. LORIMER

Evolution of Silvicultural Practice Salvage Cuts

European Origins Regeneration of Forest Stands
Silvicultural Practice in North America: The Role of Site Preparation
From Tree Farming to Ecosystem Man- Natural Regeneration
agement Artificial Regeneration
Natural Disturbance Patterns: Direct Seeding
A Blueprint for Ecosystem Planting
Management Silvicultural Systems
Frequent High-intensity Disturbance Even-aged Methods
Diffuse Small-scale Disturbance Clearcutting Method
Frequent Low-intensity Fire Seed-tree Method
Growth and Development of Forest Shelterwood Method
Coppice Method
Stands Two-aged Management
Even-aged Stands Uneven-aged Methods
Uneven-aged Stands
Pure Versus Mixed Stands Silvicutural Practices and
Ecosystem Integrity
Treatments to Improve Existing Maintaining Long-term Site Productivity
Stands Maintaining Biological Diversity
Release Treatments
Improvement Cuts Concluding Statement: Public
Thinnings Forests of the Future
Fertilization
Pruning
References

Silviculture can be defined as the use of sustain- stands and landscapes. The history of silvicultural
able management practices to establish or guide the practice, like that of forestry in general, has involved
development of forest stands in order to fulfill nat- a gradual broadening of objectives. A number of
ural resource objectives. These objectives can vary major "paradigm shifts" have occurred in the past
widely to include timber production, management six centuries in the western world, which have
for wildlife and biological diversity, management repeatedly redefined the scope and purpose of sil-
of aesthetics, modification of forest streamflow vol- vicultural treatments.
ume, and ecological restoration of degraded
285
286 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

Experimentation on methods of active forest

Evolution of Silvicultural management also began to develop, particularly in
Practice Germany. In 1368, the city of Nuremberg dabbled
with artificial seeding of pine, spruce, and fir. For-
est officials also learned that conifer species could
European Origins be regenerated naturally over large areas by leav-
Most of the basic silvicultural practices originated ing scattered seed trees. The "seed-tree method" of
in western Europe in the 14th to 19th centuries in harvesting was introduced in 1454, including pre-
response to fears of periodic timber famines. By scriptions for the minimum number of seed trees
the early Middle Ages, much of the European land- required for adequate stocking of seedlings. An
scape had already been cleared for agriculture. important lesson learned from these early trials was
England, for example, was probably not more than that biological traits of tree species (silvics)
10 percent forested in 1000 A.D. Population imposed certain constraints on how forests could
increases brought heavy pressure on the remain- be managed. German foresters discovered, for
ing fragments of woodland. These forests were example, that some species of trees could not be
heavily grazed by livestock, plundered by regenerated by selective or partial cutting because
exploitive cutting of the best remaining timber the seedlings could not tolerate shade. Books were
trees, and repeatedly coppiced for small-diameter written to summarize the accumulating knowledge
fuelwood. By the 13th century, there was sufficient on practical forest management and culture, such
alarm over the degraded condition of the wood- as one by John Evelyn called Sylva, or a Discourse
lands and the limited supply of wood that laws on Forest Trees, published in England in 1664.
were passed regulating the practice of grazing and Forestry began to be guided by scientific obser-
the types of trees that could be cut (1, 2). vations and economic principles in the early 19th
These early legal measures were largely pro- century. German texts covered such topics as plant-
tective, designed to slow the rate of exploitation ing and natural regeneration of new forests, thin-
and prevent continuing impoverishment of the for- ning and improvement of existing stands, control
est. The first major paradigm shift in human use of of wildfires and disease, and estimates of forest
the forest occurred as early as 1359, when man- growth and yield. The doctrine of sustained yield
agers of the city forest of Erfurt, Germany realized was modified to recognize a "financial maturity" of
that if the haphazard felling of trees were replaced timber that would determine the optimal age at
by a more orderly sequence of planned harvests, which trees should be harvested. As expressed in
a perpetual supply of timber could be assured. Wise an early English document of 1810, "if profit is con-
management, moreover, would actually improve the sidered, every tree of every kind ought to be cut
condition and productivity of the existing forest down and sold when the annual increase in value
rather than simply prevent further degradation. of the tree by its growth is less than the annual inter-
Statutes began to specify that harvesting should be est of the money it would sell for" (1).
concentrated in certain sections of the forest, and
subsequent regrowth protected from grazing until
the saplings or sprouts were tall enough to be out
Silvicultural Practice in North
of the reach of cattle (2). If an owner or govern- America: From Tree Farming
ment official desired to cut sprout hardwoods at to Ecosystem Management
an average age of 50 years, the tract could be The German model of forestry as it was practiced
divided into 50 sections and a different section har- in the mid to late 19th century, with its typically
vested each year. These ideas were the first rep- European view of the cultivated (as opposed to
resentation of what modern foresters would call wild) forest, and the view of forestry as a kind of
even-aged management for sustained yield. "tree farming," is the model that was imported from
Evolution of Silvicultural Practice 287

Germany by the first forestry leaders in America, managers underestimated the potential extent of
such as Bernhard Fernow and Gifford Pinchot (see public disapproval. Rather than being blended into
Chapter 1). This fact was to have great significance the terrain, clearcuts were often laid out as square
for the development of forestry in America and how or rectangular patches, and were sometimes exces-
it was practiced during most of the 20th century. sive in size. Keeping with the Germanic tradition,
Ironically, a more ecological view of forest man- natural mixed forests were often replaced by plan-
agement subsequently appeared in Germany, with tations of a single valuable species, such as Dou-
"a recognition of the fact that the forest is not merely glas fir in the Pacific Northwest. Finally, although
an aggregation of individual trees, but is an inte- the Forest Service was conducting research on
grated, organic entity . . . from the smallest soil management of nongame and endangered species,
microbe to the age-old tree veteran" (2). However, and this knowledge was gradually being incorpo-
this view appeared too late to have much influence rated into management plans, these changes did
on the founding fathers of American forestry. "Full not satisfy those who sought more comprehensive
utilization of the productive power of the Forests," protection for overall biological diversity.
wrote Pinchot, "does not take place until the land These concerns have prompted the latest major
has been cut over in accordance with the rules of paradigm shift in silvicultural practice on public
scientific forestry. The transformation from a wild lands. This new philosophy is generally known as
to a cultivated forest must be brought about by the ecosystem management. The purpose of forest
ax" (3). ecosystem management is to manage forests in such
Forest management in America never did a way that safeguards the ecological sustainability,
develop fully in line with the Germanic model of biological diversity, and productivity of the land-
the cultivated forest. There was a strong tradition scape (4). The U.S. Forest Service made a com-
in America of the wild and untamed "forest mitment to using an ecosystem management
primeval," as well as the recreational and spiritual approach in 1992.
values of "getting back to nature." These values, Compared to the older management philosophy
along with increasing accessibility of remote wild- of sustained timber yield, ecosystem management
land areas made possible by the automobile, fos- recognizes that true long-term sustainability can be
tered a great increase in the demands on use of assured only if the integrity of natural ecological
forestlands for recreation, hunting, and fishing, lead- processes—ranging from nutrient cycling to
ing to the doctrine of multiple use as the dominant predator-prey relations—are maintained. It is a
policy in the management of public forests in the holistic approach that evaluates sustainability of all
20th century. Furthermore, foresters in the early 20th ecosystem components over larger spatial scales
century were generally quite conservative in their and over longer time frames than traditional tim-
management, with a tendency to prefer selective ber management. Unlike the traditional multiple-
cutting methods over clearcutting, and favoring nat- use philosophy, where wildlife management
ural regeneration over planting whenever feasible. focused primarily on game species or on individ-
Ironically, the clearcutting controversies in the ual endangered species, ecosystem management
1960s and 70s boiled over in two sections of the seeks to maintain viable populations of all native
country—the Pacific Northwest and the southern and desirable non-native species, including such
Appalachian Mountains—where selective logging groups as herbaceous plants, lichens, fungi,
had originally been tried but given up as silvicul- amphibians, and arthropods. Silvicultural practices,
tural failures. Foresters then found that clearcut- when modified by ecosystem management princi-
ting was a more reliable way to regenerate the ples, typically result in forests and landscapes that
major species. However, several problems and con- are more structurally complex than those main-
troversies arose. Clearcutting often gave good tained under traditional systems. More attention is
regeneration and was economically efficient, but given to retention of older trees, standing and fallen
288 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

woody debris, soil organic matter, and other fea- Frequent High-intensity
tures. These are recognized as being important for Disturbance
maintaining ecosystem health and species diversity,
but represent a departure from more economically To many people, forests have an aura of timeless-
driven approaches to forest management (5, 6). ness and permanence. However, this appearance
Ecosystem management is considered to be a of stability, caused by the relatively long lifespans
"work in progress," and therefore is under contin- of trees compared to humans, is deceptive.
ual revision as new evidence and past experience "Forests appear stable because people who admire
suggest desirable changes. Managers and scientists them die," quipped one ecologist. Disturbances
will never have full knowledge of the forest ecosys- such as fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, insect epi-
tem and management effects, but must proceed cau- demics, and even ice storms and thunderstorms rou-
tiously with the best evidence available. Shutting tinely demolish forest canopies over thousands of
down forest management entirely on federal lands, hectares (Figure 13.1). U.S. land surveyors travers-
as favored by some groups, would simply shift the ing vast expanses of virgin forest in the 19th cen-
burden of timber production to many less devel- tury encountered thousands of extensive windfalls
oped countries where few environmental regula- in which the trees were "broken and blown in every
tions exist and where ecosystems are much less direction" (8). Catastrophic disturbances are com-
resilient. mon in nearly all temperate forest regions, but in
some regions they are clearly the dominant force
shaping the character of the forest landscape. Prior
to the onset of fire suppression in the 20th cen-
Natural Disturbance Patterns: tury, large crown fires (see Chapter 18) were so
A Blueprint for Ecosystem common in the vast boreal forest of Canada and
Alaska that the time interval between stand-killing
Management fires was only about 50 years on average, known
Even as early as 1905, Gifford Pinchot wrote that as the natural fire rotation (9). In Douglas fir forests
silvicultural treatments "are based on the nature of the Pacific Northwest, natural fire rotations
of the forest itself, and are chiefly imitations of ranged from about 150-400 years depending on
what men have seen happen in the forest with- local environmental conditions (10). Forests devel-
out their help" (7). Ecosystem management has oping after catastrophic disturbance are said to be
strengthened this principle. Harvest practices are even-aged, because all of the trees germinated over
most likely to maintain ecosystem health and a relatively short span of time and are approxi-
species diversity if these practices mimic the pat- mately the same age.
terns of natural disturbance to which organisms Forests in regions that experience frequent crown
are locally adapted. fires tend to have three characteristics important to
Natural disturbance regimes can be defined as silvicultural practice. First, they are usually domi-
the size, frequency, intensity, and pattern of natu- nated by early successional species such as pines,
ral disturbances in a region. Natural disturbance birch, aspen, or Douglas fir. These species are
regimes are highly variable among geographic adapted to disturbance and in most situations are
regions because of differences in precipitation pat- dependent on it. Seedlings of these species normally
terns, vegetation, soils, landforms, and storm fre- develop well only on open sites where the previ-
quency. Large variations may exist even within a ous stand has been killed by fire, partly because
region that has high environmental heterogeneity. the small seeds require contact with exposed min-
However, three common patterns can serve to illus- eral soil, and partly because the seedlings cannot
trate the impact of disturbance regimes on forest tolerate dense shade. Second, the presettlement
development. landscape in such regions was often a coarse
Natural Disturbance Patterns: A Blueprint for Ecosystem Management 289

F i g u r e 13.1 An example of
widespread forest destruction by
natural disturbance. This photo
shows pine forest in South
Carolina blown down by
Hurricane Hugo in 1989. This
hurricane cut a wide swath
across the center of the state,
causing heavy damage on
500,000 hectares (1.2 million
acres) of forestland. (Photo by
R. M. Sheffield, U.S.D.A. Forest
Service).

mosaic of large even-aged patches of different ages, at different times and places wherever old trees
with each patch dating to some past fire event (Fig- die and create canopy gaps. This pattern of dis-
ure 13.2). This pattern is the natural prototype for turbance leads to the development of uneven-aged
even-aged forests managed for sustained yield. stands, in which several or many age classes of
Because the interval between fires was usually trees are intermixed within a small area of forest.
shorter than the maximum lifespan of the trees, suc- This disturbance pattern is the natural prototype
cession often did not have a chance to proceed to for uneven-aged management or the selection sil-
the theoretical climax stage of shade-tolerant vicultural system.
species. A third feature of these regions is that many Because of the long intervals between cata-
animal species are also adapted to periodic severe strophic disturbance and the small sizes of canopy
disturbances and depend on them for suitable gaps, this type of disturbance regime favors the
habitat. development of late-successional, shade-tolerant
species. Examples include the beech-maple forests
of eastern North America, Japan, and central
Diffuse Small-scale Disturbance Europe, and the spruce-fir forests of many high
In areas with fine-textured soils and a moist cli- mountain ranges. These species germinate readily
mate year-round, fires may be relatively uncom- on the shaded forest floor, and grow slowly for long
mon. Catastrophic disturbance typically does occur periods beneath the forest canopy until a canopy
in these regions as well, but intervals between gap occurs.
such events are often long enough that trees can
live out their natural lifespans. Tree mortality in
these forests therefore does not usually occur syn- Frequent Low-intensity Fire
chronously in response to some cataclysmic event, The presettlement forest in some regions was dom-
but rather sporadically as scattered old trees or inated by early- or midsuccessional species, such
small patches of trees succumb to old age, wind, as pines or oaks, that experienced frequent light
drought, or disease. New regeneration develops surface fires (Chapter 18). With their thick bark,
290 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

F i g u r e 13.2 The occurrence of periodic severe fires in fire-prone ecosystems leads to a coarse mosaic of
large even-aged stands on the landscape. Map (a) shows the mosaic of stands created by wildfire since 1750 in
boreal forest of Ontario. Map (b) shows a much finer-grained mosaic produced by clearcuts since the 1930s.
(Courtesy of Dan Welsh, Natural Resources Canada.)

these species were usually able to survive these

fires, but much of the undergrowth was top-killed Growth and Development of
or eliminated, leading to relatively open stands of Forest Stands
mature trees that were sometimes even-aged and
Differences in the mode of origin of even-aged and
sometimes uneven-aged.
uneven-aged stands also lead to differences in their
This fire regime created a partial canopy of
structure, manner of development, and value as
mature trees that provided a dependable source of
wildlife habitat. An understanding of natural stand
seed, a favorable seedbed for early- and midsuc-
development is helpful in understanding and
cessional species, and partial shade to protect the
designing silvicultural treatments.
young seedlings from dessication. Invasion of stands
by the more shade-tolerant, fire-sensitive species
was hindered, however, by the periodic fires. Good Even-aged Stands
examples of forests with this type of disturbance Even-aged stands, in which all trees are approxi-
regime were the longleaf pine savannas of the mately the same age, are generated in response to
southeastern U.S., the ponderosa pine savannas of natural or human-caused disturbance that suddenly
the southwest, and oak woodlands of eastern North removed the previous stand. Even-aged stands are
America. This pattern of disturbance is the natural commonly classified by their stage of development,
prototype for the shelterwood silvicultural system as reflected by the age or average size of the trees.
as well as the group selection system. These depend on species and location, but for
Growth a n d Development of Forest Stands 291

many temperate forests we can recognize the fol-

lowing stages: seedling stands (1-5 years old),
sapling stands (5-15 years), pole stands (15-60
years), mature stands (60-150 years), and old
growth (> 150 years).
Young even-aged stands are often very dense,
with thousands of trees on a hectare (2.47 acres)
of land, but at stand maturity there will be space
only for a few hundred trees on the same area. As
individual trees become larger and older, compe-
tition becomes more severe. Crowns of the slower-
growing trees become increasingly crowded and
may finally be overtopped completely by adjacent,
faster-growing trees shooting up around them. The
stands therefore tend to show a certain amount of
vertical stratification, and individual trees in even-
aged stands are often classified by their relative
position in the canopy. These crown classes (Fig-
ure 13.3) are defined as follows:
Dominant: Trees that project somewhat above
the general level of the canopy, having crowns
that receive direct sunlight from above and partly
from the side. F i g u r e 13.3 Diagrammatic profiles of an even-
Codominant: Canopy trees of average size that aged and uneven-aged forest stand, (a) Mature even-
receive direct sunlight from above but relatively aged stand showing the various crown classes. (D =
dominant, C = codominant, I = intermediate, S =
little from the sides.
suppressed.) (b) Mature uneven-aged stand. Note the
Intermediate: Trees with crowns extending into irregular profile and the small openings in various
the canopy layer, but crowded on all sides so stages of regrowth.
that only the top of the crown receives direct
sunlight.
Suppressed: Trees with crowns completely over-
topped by surrounding trees so that they receive
as the self-thinning process (Figure 13.4). Older
no direct sunlight except from occasional "sun-
stands tend to be more open and spacious as a
flecks" that penetrate small gaps in the foliage
result of the natural self-thinning process.
above.
Trees vary in growth rates throughout their life-
Once a tree in an even-aged stand has become sup- span, often reaching a peak growth rate in early
pressed, its chance of regaining a dominant posi- maturity and then showing a gradual decline.
tion in the stand is slight, and the probability of Because trees in even-aged stands all go through
imminent death is greatly increased. High mortal- these different growth phases simultaneously, the
ity rates of trees in the lower crown classes result rate of wood production for the stand as a whole
in a steep decline in the number of trees per hectare is also constantly changing. The stand age at which
until the stand matures. In 40 years, the number mean annual growth rate reaches a maximum is
of trees might be reduced by 50 to 60 percent or often adopted as the optimal rotation age for most
more. This natural decrease in numbers of trees in efficient volume production. The most economically
even-aged stands because of competition is known efficient rotation age, however, often occurs
292 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

F i g u r e 13.4 Two even-aged hardwood stands showing the reduction in stand density and increase in
average tree size over time as a result of the natural competitive process, (a) A dense, young pole stand of oak,
birch, and maple. (Courtesy of Harvard Forest.) (b) A spacious 250-year-old hardwood stand.

before this point. Some stands may be managed size is beneficial to some species of animals, espe-
on extended rotations, far beyond the point of bio- cially songbirds.
logical maturity, in order to maintain old-growth If an uneven-aged stand contains many age
habitat. classes, and each age class occupies an equal pro-
portion of the stand, it is said to be a balanced all-
aged stand. An interesting feature of balanced
Uneven-aged Stands stands is that the volume of wood production is
Uneven-aged stands are usually defined as stands approximately constant from decade to decade,
in which at least three age classes are intermixed unlike even-aged stands where the volume pro-
(Figure 13.3). Uneven-aged stands are often diffi- duction is constantly changing. In principle, this
cult to distinguish visually from mature even-aged means that if scattered individual trees are harvested
stands without actual age determinations. However, in a way to maintain the balance of age classes,
the most reliable visible characteristic of uneven- uneven-aged management can provide a constant
aged stands is a patchy and irregular canopy of and perpetual supply of timber from a single stand.
uneven height, with many canopy gaps in various While this feature is not of great importance on
stages of regrowth. That is, some of the canopy large landholdings, where only the yield of the
gaps will be dominated by seedlings, others by tall entire property is normally of interest, it can be an
saplings, and others by clusters of pole trees (Fig- attractive feature of uneven-aged stands for small
ure 13.3b). This variation in canopy height and tree landowners.
Treatments to Improve Existing Stands 293

Pure Versus Mixed Stands plantation monocultures often have rather low bio-
The relative merits of pure versus mixed stands have logical diversity. These can be legitimate concerns
long been a subject of controversy. Increasing if plantation monocultures occupy a large propor-
worldwide demand for paper has spurred the estab- tion of a regional landscape.
lishment of many conifer stands in which a single The establishment of plantation monocultures on
species has been planted in rows (Figure 13.5). public land has greatly decreased in some coun-
These are frequently unpopular with the general tries such as the United States, Canada, and Britain
public because the stands look artificial, and per- in recent years in response to these concerns. How-
haps because they suggest that a forest ecosystem ever, there are also some countervailing arguments
is considered by the owners or managers to be that would suggest that the environmentally opti-
nothing more than a crop of trees to be planted in mal solution is not necessarily to discontinue inten-
rows and harvested like corn. More importantly, sive plantation management altogether. Intensively
managed plantations can usually produce much
more wood fiber in shorter periods of time than
natural forests. Some conservationists have recog-
nized that the higher wood yield on these planta-
tions can have the effect of reducing management
pressure on natural forests elsewhere. In effect, a
certain proportion of the land is dedicated to highly
efficient fiber production in the same way that we
designate certain lands for agricultural use.
The species diversity issue is also more com-
plicated than it may appear. Natural forest stands
strongly dominated by a single tree species are very
common in temperate regions of the world. Exam-
ples are the nearly pure stands of Douglas fir,
lodgepole pine, jack pine, aspen, or black spruce
that often spring up after natural fires. And despite
their generally lower plant and animal diversity, for-
est plantations still have greater biodiversity and
lower environmental impacts than the other inten-
sive human land uses such as urban/suburban
development and agriculture. A study of bird use
of conifer plantations in Wisconsin, for example,
revealed that they were utilized by 50 species of
breeding birds, not markedly lower than the 60
species found in the surrounding natural hardwood
forests (11).

Figure 13.5 Tree plantations are often Treatments to Improve

established in rows to reduce costs and simplify Existing Stands
management. Although plantations usually have lower
biological diversity than natural stands, their greater Silvicultural treatments applied between the time of
productivity can help reduce management pressures establishment and time of harvest are called inter-
on natural forests elsewhere. mediate treatments. The purpose of intermediate
294 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

treatments is to improve species composition, Release treatments often require the use of her-
growth rates, and tree quality. bicides, because most hardwood and shrub species
Intermediate treatments might or might not gen- resprout vigorously when the stem is cut, often
erate immediate revenue. Thinning a pole stand can regaining their former height in just a few years
often be done at a profit, since the trees cut may because of their well-developed root systems. If the
be marketable as pulpwood. However, in some competitor stems are not too numerous, herbicides
intermediate treatments, no products are removed can be injected in individual stems or applied to
from the stand (as in pruning or fertilization), or cut stumps. Otherwise, herbicides can be applied
else the trees being cut are too small or too poor as a spray treatment from the ground, or sometimes
in quality to have monetary value. Such treatments from the air.
are considered noncommercial, and are done with
the expectation that this investment in the stand will
pay off later in the form of increased value of the Improvement Cuts
final harvest. Improvement cuts are treatments in pole or mature
Controlling the species composition of trees can stands that remove defective, diseased, poorly
have some implications for biodiversity, but this formed trees, and other trees of low value. Improve-
varies with forest type and intensity of practice. ment cuts differ from release treatments in that they
Sometimes, discrimination against "weedy" species are done in older stands, and the crop trees are
such as red maple, blackgum, or scrub oaks can often in the main canopy and not in danger of
actually result in a forest type that more closely becoming suppressed. Removal of poor quality
resembles fire-maintained forests in presettlement trees frees up growing space for the more desir-
times. However, aggressive attempts to favor a sin- able trees and sometimes stimulates the develop-
gle valuable species are less common now than in ment of new saplings in gaps. Improvement cuts
previous decades. Recent policy on public lands has are especially important in stands that have had a
recognized the need to maintain natural species long history of exploitative logging in which only
mixtures, even if some low-value species are rep- the best trees were removed. Improvement cuts are
resented. therefore a valuable silvicultural tool in restoring
the ecological integrity of degraded stands.
On public lands, foresters must take care not to
Release Treatments eliminate all poor quality trees because these trees
Treatments to improve species composition in may contain cavities used by birds and mammals,
mixed stands are best done when the trees to be and may be more suitable substrate for lichens and
favored are still fairly young (not beyond the pole fungi than straight, vigorous crop trees. Both eco-
stage) and still capable of responding to release logically and economically, it makes sense to
from competition. Release treatments are per- remove only the undesirable trees that are clearly
formed to free desirable seedlings or saplings from interfering with promising crop trees that will be
trees of competing species that have already sup- carried to the end of a rotation.
pressed the crop trees or are likely to do so in
the near future. Release treatments are often
needed to ensure successful establishment of Thinnings
conifer stands, since hardwood species often grow Thinnings are treatments that reduce stand density
much faster than conifers at young ages. Without in order to accelerate the growth of the remaining
intervention, many conifer plantations would be trees. Trees to be cut are typically of the same
crowded out by aggressive hardwoods, or devel- species and age class as those that remain.
opment would be delayed for decades by shrub Thinning does not usually increase the total
dominance. amount of wood produced by a forest, and may
 Treatments to Improve Existing Stands 295

even cause a modest decrease. However, since the

available light, water, and nutrients are being used
by fewer trees, the remaining trees become larger
than they otherwise would have been. This is the
principal benefit of thinning, for large trees are more
valuable than an equal volume of small trees. At
the same time, less vigorous trees that would prob-
ably die anyway from competition can be salvaged
for usable material. The eventual result of thinning
is a more open, spacious stand of larger trees. Thus,
thinning basically hastens the natural outcome of
competition in even-aged stands and is a good
example of how silvicultural techniques often have
natural counterparts.
Several different methods of thinning are pos-
sible, but it is useful to recognize three basic
approaches. In low thinning or "thinning from
below," the trees to be cut are mostly from the
lower and middle crown classes. A light low thin-
ning would remove only suppressed and interme-
diate trees, while a heavier low thinning would
remove some codominants as well (Figure 13.6).
A heavier low thinning is usually more desirable F i g u r e 13.6 (a) Before and (b) two years after
because dominant crop trees often do not show any moderately heavy low thinning and pruning in a
measurable growth response to the removal of sup- twenty-five year old pine plantation, About 35% of the
pressed trees. Generally, a growth increase can stand basal area was removed. Nearly all the dominant
occur only if gaps are made in the canopy so that trees remain, but most of the suppressed and
adjacent trees can expand their crowns and increase intermediate trees were cut, along with 40% of the
their total exposed leaf surface area. Low thinning codominants. In addition to accelerating the growth of
is the method that most closely mimics the natu- the remaining trees, thinning has an immediate effect
of creating a more open and spacious forest.
ral self-thinning process, but some suppressed and
defective trees should be purposely retained for use
by birds and other organisms.
In high thinning or "thinning from above," the In the third basic approach, mechanical thin-
primary objective is to create sufficient numbers of ning, all trees are removed in rows or strips with-
small gaps in the canopy to stimulate the growth of out regard to crown class. The greatest response
the better crop trees. In most cases, this will involve therefore comes from trees whose crowns are adja-
removing intermediate and codominant trees of cent to the cleared strip. This method is relatively
smaller size or poorer quality to favor the growth quick and inexpensive and can be easily done in
of the better dominant and codominant trees. Note plantations by mechanical tree fellers, but individ-
that a high thinning may resemble a heavy low thin- ual tree growth is not likely to be as good as in
ning in certain respects, but the difference is that sup- other methods. In plantations, mechanical thinning
pressed trees are not ordinarily removed in a high is often accomplished simply by removing every
thinning. For this reason, a high-thinned stand may second or third row of trees (Figure 13.5).
not have as much of a spacious, park-like appear- Although a single thinning will usually increase
ance as a stand that has had a heavy low thinning. growth rates and upgrade the overall stand quality,
296 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

such improvements are likely to be short-lived, since Pruning

continued growth and competition will again ren- In a dense forest, lower branches of trees growing
der the stand crowded, usually within a decade or in deep shade eventually die and fall off. In some
two. For this reason, managed stands are usually species, however, dead branch stubs may persist
thinned at periodic intervals, such as once every for decades. New wood grows around the base of
10-15 years. the stub, producing blackened "dead knots" that
In addition to increasing timber value, thinning reduce the strength of the lumber and may fall out
also usually improves biological diversity by cre- when the lumber is dried. To avoid dead knots and
ating canopy gaps and down woody debris, and produce clear lumber, artificial pruning of dead
encouraging the development of understory vege- branches is sometimes done with pruning saws or
tation. Thinning improves aesthetics as well, by other equipment. Clear lumber is produced once
reducing the extremely high stem density, improv- the new growth covers the cut stub.
ing visibility, and creating a more park-like Pruning is an expensive operation and is usu-
appearance with larger and more widely-spaced ally economically justified only for select crop trees
trees. Private landowners who value their forests of high value species. When pruning is done, it is
primarily for recreation or wildlife are often under- usually limited to the best trees in a stand and lim-
standably reluctant to have any cutting done on ited to a height of about 17 feet.
their property, but careful thinning can actually has-
ten the development of a forest of large stately trees,
such as shown in Figure 13.4b. In fact, thinning has Salvage Cuts
great potential value as a tool of restoration ecol- Salvage operations remove trees that have been
ogy for hastening the development of old-growth killed or weakened by insects, disease, fire, drought,
structural features in younger stands, especially in ice storms, wind, and other natural disturbance
regions of the world where old growth is rare. One agents. When losses are minor, salvage cuts may
study indicated that thinning in 80-year-old maple be conducted as part of a thinning or improvement
stands could reduce the additional time needed for cut. When mortality is heavy, however, the salvage
trees to reach the size of old-growth canopy trees cut may have to be a final harvest operation in
from 90 to 45 years (12). which most of the original stand is removed and
a new stand regenerated by even-aged methods
(see Figure 13.9 in section on clearcutting).
Fertilization
Another method that can be used to stimulate
growth rates of trees is fertilization of the soil. Fer-
tilization is apt to be most successful in areas where Regeneration of Forest Stands
the soils are known to contain specific nutrient defi-
ciencies. In North America, for example, nitrogen A principal goal in silviculture is to ensure that
deficiencies are common in the Douglas fir region when a stand is harvested, most mature trees
and in boreal spruce-fir forests, whereas phos- removed are replaced by vigorous seedlings or
phorus is in short supply in many southeastern soils. saplings of desirable species. If a person is lucky,
Standard fertilizer applications may result in 15 to this might occur without any special effort. How-
100 percent increases in growth rate, which often ever, successful regeneration usually requires care-
make it an economically attractive operation. How- ful "up-front" planning. Foresters commonly have
ever, a decision to fertilize should be weighed care- several criteria that need to be met for successful
fully. Fertilizers are energy-expensive to produce stand regeneration:
and usually result in only a temporary increase in 1. The condition of the ground or seedbed must
site productivity. Some forest types, moreover, show be suitable for seedling germination and growth.
little or no response to fertilization. Seedlings of many species—especially those that
Regeneration of Forest Stands 297

are fire-adapted—have difficulty in penetrating hazard and physical obstacles to planting by chop-
the thick mat of leaves and partly decomposed ping or burning some of the treetops and woody
organic matter present in most forests. Reduc- debris, and 3) to prepare the seedbed by reducing
tion of this layer by fire or mechanical means is the depth of the litter and duff, or creating special
often needed for adequate seedling establish- microsites for planted seedlings.
ment. Site preparation can be accomplished by pre-
2. Openings created by tree harvest must be large scribed burning, mechanical treatments, herbicide
enough to provide sufficient light and moisture application, or a combination of these. Equipment
for long-term seedling survival. Minimum accept- such as the rolling brush cutter (Figure 13.7) breaks
able opening size varies among tree species and up residual wood debris, making the site easier to
is smallest for shade-tolerant species and largest plant, and tears up roots of shrubs and hardwood
for the very intolerant species. saplings which might otherwise overtop the
3. Seedlings must initially be established in suffi- planted seedlings. Other equipment such as the
cient numbers to provide for a well-stocked for- Bracke scarifier scalps small patches of ground to
est, but not too dense to inhibit individual tree provide a suitable microsite for planting. Prescribed
growth. A moderate density is usually ideal as burning is commonly used to accomplish all three
it promotes self-pruning and good tree form. objectives of site preparation, especially on steeper
Tree seedlings should also be well-distributed to slopes where use of mechanical equipment would
avoid large unstocked areas, although sometimes be impractical and too likely to cause soil erosion.
delayed occupancy by trees is desirable for bio- A very simple form of site preparation can be
diversity reasons. accomplished by having the logger drag logs across
the harvested site with the skidder equipment. This
4. Competition with other trees and shrubs already
causes some partial scarification and competition
on the site is frequently severe, and often needs
control.
to be controlled to ensure the success of desired
species.
5. Quality of the seed source must be considered Natural Regeneration
to ensure desirable genotypes. With natural Natural regeneration can be a desirable way to
regeneration, this usually involves retention of reestablish a forest stand for several reasons. The
high-quality mature seed trees. With artificial subsequent stand will usually have a more natural
regeneration, foresters need to know the loca- appearance and spacing than a plantation, it usu-
tion of the original seed source and its com- ally maintains a greater mixture of tree species, and
patibility with the environment of the site to be natural stands usually have greater biological diver-
reforested. sity. Natural regeneration is also usually much
If these principles are not understood or are cheaper than artificial regeneration.
ignored, the harvest operation may have much the The main disadvantages of natural regeneration
same effect as exploitive logging. are that it can be unreliable if all the influential fac-
tors such as seed production, weather, and
seedbed conditions are not favorable, and there is
The Role of Site Preparation less control over species composition, stand den-
Site preparation is treatment of the residual vege- sity, and genetic makeup.
tation and ground surface to improve the chances There are several pathways or modes of natu-
of successful seedling establishment. Site prepara- ral regeneration in a harvested area, and so foresters
tion is often done prior to natural seeding treatments relying on natural regeneration need to be aware
as well as before planting. The three main objec- which pathway is likely to provide the main source
tives of site preparation are 1) to reduce competi- of young trees in each case. One pathway is ger-
tion from residual vegetation, 2) to reduce the fire mination from seed carried by wind or animals into
298 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

Sidebar 13.1

''Partial Cutting" and Forest Degradation

Small private landowners usually prefer to do regeneration of valuable species. Even if some
"partial cutting" in their woodlots in order to seed trees of valuable species remain, recruit-
retain scenic values and wildlife habitat. As com- ment of new trees into the canopy is practically
monly practiced, however, partial cutting is a impossible because of the dense thickets of low-
major cause of forest degradation in privately value species that have been left to dominate
owned forests around the world, leading to the the site.
formation of vast areas of "junk woodlots." Woodlot degradation can be avoided or
Why does this seemingly conservative prac- reversed by having a forester develop a man-
tice cause so much harm? The reasons are agement plan, a service that is provided free of
twofold. First, unregulated partial cutting usu- charge in many states and provinces. The
ally involves the repeated and systematic min- forester will prescribe an improvement cut and
ing of only the best quality trees and most competition control treatment, and can reintro-
valuable species, leaving behind only low-quality duce good-quality genetic stock of the original
trees. Many once-impressive forests of oak have dominant species through planting. He or she
been converted into junk woodlots of non- will mark with paint trees that should be
commercial species by this process. Second, the removed, specifying in a contract with the tim-
owners and loggers usually do not realize that ber buyer or logger that only the marked trees
proper seed source, light environment, and can be cut.
seedbed conditions must be provided to ensure

A former stand of oak on

private land that has been
degraded by repeated
"partial cutting" of only the
best quality trees and
species. Although the stand
retains some visual appeal,
it now has little value
because of dominance by
defective trees and
noncommercial species.
Regeneration of Forest Stands 299

F i g u r e 13.7 Mechanical site

preparation reduces competition
from advance regeneration and
shrubs, and provides a more
favorable seedbed for
establishment of preferred
species. The rolling brush cutter
shown here can achieve these
results without scraping away or
displacing topsoil and nutrients.

the harvested area. This is generally the most unpre- among certain hardwoods. Sprouting often causes
dictable source because success is heavily depend- multiple stems to develop from a single parent tree,
ent on the vagaries of seed production, seed which is not always desirable, but sprouts of cer-
dispersal, damaging insects and fungi, weather pat- tain species such as aspen and oak are commer-
terns, and other factors. Nonetheless, in many sit- cially acceptable (Figure 13.8).
uations, foresters have to rely entirely on seed Finally, a few species of trees may regenerate
dissemination after the harvest because other from seed stored in the forest floor. This is not a
options are not present. Success is increased by tim- common trait among commercially valuable species,
ing the harvest to coincide with a good seed year but a few such as ash and yellow poplar may regen-
and paying careful attention to seedbed conditions erate partly by this pathway.
and competition control.
Another source of natural regeneration is
seedlings or saplings already in the forest under- Artificial Regeneration
story that survive the harvest operation and con- Artificial regeneration can be accomplished either
tinue to grow. These seedlings and saplings are by directly applying seeds to a harvested site or by
collectively called advance regeneration. This is planting nursery-grown seedlings. Planting gives the
often the principal source of regeneration in the forester greater control over stand establishment and
selection silvicultural system. Advance regeneration growth than artificial dispersal of seeds, but both
is not always abundant in forest stands, especially methods have the following advantages over nat-
on drier sites, and is often composed primarily of ural regeneration:
shade-tolerant species. However, when present and 1. Stand establishment may be more reliable
of desirable species, it is one of the more reliable because it does not depend on the occurrence
sources of natural regeneration. of a good seed year or the distance to which
Some tree species will resprout from dormant seeds are dispersed by wind. If large clearcuts
buds on the stumps or roots after cutting. Sprout- are made, artificial regeneration is often neces-
ing is rare among conifer species, but is a common sary to ensure adequate regeneration on the cen-
and dependable source of natural regeneration tral portion.
300 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

F i g u r e 13.8 Dense vegetative

regeneration of aspen from root sprouts one
year after clearcutting.

2. Artificial regeneration increases the chances of sites with some exposed mineral soil than on sites
prompt reforestation. This issue is most impor- with a thick covering of litter or logging debris.
tant to forest industries, because long delays in Despite its limitations, direct seeding from the
reforestation can reduce financial viability of their air can be very useful when extensive areas must
operations. be reforested quickly, as would be the case fol-
3. There is greater control over species composi- lowing a large forest fire. Direct seeding is also use-
tion. Among forest industries that must maximize ful on steep, irregular terrain where planting by
fiber production on a limited area of land, plant- machine would be impossible and hand planting
ing of the single most productive and valuable would be difficult.
species adapted to the site is often considered
the most economically efficient alternative. Planting High survival rates of planted seedlings
4. There is greater control over tree spacing and and the convenience of managing row plantations
subsequent growth. Plantations are often estab- has led to a great increase in plantation establish-
lished in rows at a predetermined spacing to ment in recent years, particularly among paper com-
optimize stand growth, reduce variability in panies. Most seedlings intended for outplanting in
growth rates, and allow easier access for mech- harvested areas are grown in either large outdoor
anized equipment (Figure 13.5). nurseries or greenhouses. Seedlings may be lifted
from the beds and packaged in a bare-root condi-
5. Seeds or seedlings can be derived from geneti-
tion or they may be grown in individual contain-
cally superior trees.
ers with a specially prepared potting medium. These
containerized seedlings are more expensive to grow
Direct Seeding Artificial dispersal of tree seed is than bare-root stock, but the root systems are less
known as direct seeding. It may be accomplished likely to be damaged during the lifting and trans-
on the ground by hand or machine, or from the porting process, and better survival of planted
air by helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft. Direct seed- seedlings results in some cases.
ing is usually cheaper than planting, but it offers Planting is often done in the spring season when
less control over spacing and usually has a lower soil moisture is high and root growth is most active,
success rate. As a minimal precaution, seeds may but it is possible at other times depending on geo-
be treated with chemical repellents to reduce pil- graphic location. If the site to be planted is exten-
ferage by rodents and birds. Germination and sur- sive, fairly level, and not excessively rocky,
vival of seedlings tend to be considerably better on planting can be done most quickly and cheaply
Silvicultural Systems 301

with mechanized equipment. Otherwise the tradi- under the categories of even-aged, two-aged, and
tional method of hand-planting crews may be used. uneven-aged methods.
Despite the higher success rate of plantations
compared to direct seeding, failures and losses
sometimes do occur. Mice and other rodents may Even-aged Methods
cause the loss of many seedlings, especially in In even-aged management the trees are harvested
grassy areas, and browsing by deer and other large over a relatively short period of time, creating open,
herbivores can be a problem. Planted seedlings may sunny conditions, and leading to the development
face stiff competition from shrubs and stump of even-aged stands. Many species can be managed
sprouts of other trees, which may necessitate appli- by even-aged methods, and for certain species intol-
cation of herbicides. Furthermore, harsh microcli- erant of shade the even-aged methods may be
mates on some sites may lead to planting failures, almost mandatory, since adequate regeneration
particularly on steep slopes facing south. would not occur under lightly cut stands. The even-
Planting often represents a sizable proportion of aged methods are clearcutting, seed tree, and shel-
the total cash investment in a forest stand. The cost terwood. They differ primarily in the span of time
of the seedlings reflects the expense of nursery over which the original canopy is removed.
establishment and maintenance. The planting
operation itself is a fairly labor-intensive operation, Clearcutting Method In clearcutting, all trees on
and to this must be added the costs of site prepa- the harvest unit are felled over a short period of
ration and other measures taken to enhance plant- time. Clearcutting is appropriate in forest types in
ing success. For these reasons, planting is likely to which the dominant species are intolerant of shade
be done primarily where the increased cost can be and dependent upon severe disturbances such as
justified economically by increased returns, where crown fire for their perpetuation. Regeneration by
natural regeneration has a low probability of suc- the clearcutting method is accomplished by natu-
cess, and in cases where the funds for plantation ral seeding, direct seeding, or planting. If reliance
investment are available. is placed on natural seeding, the feasible clearcut
width is limited by the effective dispersal distance
of the seeds. For most conifer species, the effec-
tive dispersal distance is only about five or six times
Silvicultural Systems the height of the mature border trees, or a distance
Silvicultural systems are long-range harvest and of about 150-230 meters (500-750 feet). For this
management schemes designed to optimize the reason, clearcuts that rely on natural seeding are
growth, regeneration, and administrative man- usually restricted to fairly small patches or long
agement of forest stands, usually with the goal of strips. Sometimes a forester can rely on advance
obtaining a perpetual and steady supply of tim- regeneration or stump sprouts to provide most of
ber. The use of silvicultural systems involves mak- the regeneration after clearcutting, in which case
ing a comprehensive prescription of stand larger harvest units are feasible. However, advance
treatments throughout the life of the stand, includ- regeneration is uncommon among the early suc-
ing the method of harvest, an evaluation of cessional species normally managed by clearcutting,
whether or not site preparation is necessary, the and many commercial species either do not sprout
use of seeding, planting, or natural regeneration, at all or have a low frequency of sprouting among
and a schedule of intermediate stand treatments mature trees. Because of these limitations with nat-
(Table 13.1). Silvicultural systems are generally ural regeneration, clearcutting is often followed by
classified by the method used to harvest and planting (Figure 13.9).
regenerate the stand. These methods vary in cut- While clearcutting mimics severe natural distur-
ting intensity but they may readily be grouped bance in some ways, some scientists have noted
302 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

T a b l e 13.1 Silvicultural Information for Some Major Forest Types of North America
Tolerancea Current Methods Ease
Forest (Major Successional Growth Commercial of of
Type Species) Status Rate Value Regenerationb Regenerationc
Western
Douglas-fir Inter Variable
(site-
dependent) d Rapid High C, SH (SP, P) M
Hemlock-Sitka
spruce Tol Climax Mod-rapid High SH, C, GS, S E
Coast redwood Tol Climax Rapid High GS, C, SH, S (SP) E
Ponderosa pine Intol Variable'1 Mod Mod-high SH, GS, S, ST, C (SP, P) M-D
Western larch Intol Successional Rapid Mod ST, C, SH (SP) E-M
Engelmann
spruce-fir Tol Climax Slow-mod Mod GS, S, SH, C (SP) M
Lodgepole pine Intol Successional Mod Low C, SH E

Eastern
Spruce-fir Tol Climax Slow-mod Mod GS, S, SH, C E-M
White pine Inter Successional Rapid Mod SH, GS (SP) M-D
Jack pine Intol Successional Rapid Mod C, ST, SH (SP) M
Red pine Intol Successional Rapid Mod C, SH (SP, P) D (Nat),
M (Art)
Northern
hardwoods Tol Climax Slow- Mod S, GS, SH E
Aspen-birch Intol Successional Rapid Low-mod C (SP) E
Oak-hickory Inter-Intol Variabled Rapid Mod-high SH, GS, C (SP, P) M-D
Southern pines Intol Successional Rapid High C, ST, GS (SP, P) M
a
Abbreviations: Tol = tolerant; Inter = intermediate, Intol = intolerant
b
Abbreviations: C = clearcutting; SH - shelterwood; ST = seed tree; GS = group selection; S = individual-tree selection; (SP, P)
site preparation and planting may be necessary
c
Abbreviations: E = easy; M = moderate; D = difficult; Nat = natural; Art = artificial
d
Forest types with a "variable" successional status are generally successional on moist or average sites and climax on dry sites.

that forest fires, windstorms, insect epidemics, and clearcuts on public lands frequently involve retain-
similar disturbances are often quite patchy in their ing scattered "green trees," patches of uncut trees,
occurrence, with scattered surviving trees and snags, and fallen logs to help maintain biodiver-
clumps of trees. Also, the logs and standing dead sity and productivity (Figure 13.10).
trees remain on the site. All these features help mit-
igate the impact of disturbance on animal and plant Seed-tree Method Other even-aged methods are
species that prefer late successional forests by pro- designed to overcome some of the problems inher-
viding refugia for these species and a source for ent in clearcutting with natural regeneration. In the
recolonization of the disturbed site when conditions seed-tree method, scattered mature trees are left on
permit. Persistence of dead wood on the site is also the site to serve as a seed source for the new stand
beneficial for maintaining site fertility. For these rea- and to provide a more uniform dispersal of seed.
sons, ecosystem management guidelines for Although this may seem like a good solution to the
Silvicultural Systems 303

F i g u r e 13.9 Clearcutting is
sometimes done to salvage trees
killed in an insect or disease
epidemic. Much of the mature
pine in this stand had been
killed by an outbreak of the jack
pine budworm. This photo was
taken several years after the
replanting of red and jack pine.

problem of seed dispersal, and some state laws used ground surface shaded by tree crowns may vary
to mandate retention of a certain number of seed from 30 to 80 percent, depending on species and
trees after harvesting, experience has shown that local conditions (Figure 13-11b). Once the seedlings
the seed-tree method may be unsuccessful in many are firmly established, after several years, the resid-
situations. Sometimes the site becomes rapidly ual trees are usually removed so that they do not
invaded by shrubs, and so few of the seeds dis- retard the growth of the new saplings (Figure
persed by the seed trees actually germinate and sur- 13.11c).
vive. In some cases, as with oaks, newly The shelterwood method is ideal for any species
germinating seedlings grow too slowly to compete or site where seedlings are not expected to ger-
with advance regeneration and sprouts of other minate well under open conditions. Even some of
species. The seed-tree method also does not work the more intolerant species may benefit from the
well with shallow-rooted species, since many of the protection of a shelterwood overstory during the
seed trees will be blown down by wind. The seed- first few years when seedlings are vulnerable to des-
tree method is best suited to situations in which iccation; this is especially true on harsh sites. For
intensive site preparation is feasible and the species example, the shelterwood method has been
are reasonably wind-firm. Western larch and the applied successfully on sites in California and Ore-
southern pines are examples of species well suited gon where clearcutting had failed (13, 14). The shel-
to the seed-tree method. terwood method also has the least visual impact
of any even-aged method, since by the time the
Shelterwood Method Seed trees are also retained last of the residual overstory trees are removed, the
in the shelterwood method, but in this case suffi- new stand is already sapling-sized. It therefore
cient numbers are left standing to provide some bypasses the typically devastated look of recent
shade and protection for the new seedlings (Fig- clearcuts. In many situations, it probably reduces
ure 13.11). In the most common variant of the shel- erosion hazard and nutrient loss as well.
terwood method, the first major cut leaves a Although the shelterwood method bears a super-
temporary partial overstory in which percentage of ficial resemblance to heavy partial cutting in
304 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

F i g u r e 1 3 . 1 1 An illustration of the shelterwood

method to regenerate an even-aged forest. (a) The
mature stand prior to treatment. (b) The first major
harvest leaves a temporary shelterwood overstory to
provide seed trees, partial shade, and a scarified
seedbed. (c) After saplings of the desired species are
well established, the shelterwood overstory is removed
F i g u r e 1 3 . 1 0 On many public forests, scattered to release a new even-aged sapling stand.
mature trees, snags, and logs are retained on clearcut
sites to help maintain biological diversity and provide
a more complex forest structure, as in this stand in
the Pacific Northwest. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest will generally accomplish just the opposite by
Service.) removing many of the larger a n d better trees and
releasing the smaller trees (which may not be of
desirable species or quality). A second major dif-
ference is that after the removal cut in a shelterwood,
unmanaged forest (see figure in Sidebar 13.1), there the resulting stand is young and even-aged and com-
are important differences. In the establishment phase posed entirely of saplings (Figure 13.11c). Such a
of a shelterwood cut (Figure 13.11b), the trees to stand will in fact differ little from a sapling stand
be retained are among the larger and better' qual- that might have developed after a successful clearcut.
ity trees in the stand in order to serve as a good
seed source. The overtopped, intermediate, and Coppice Method This method differs from all
smaller codominants are usually removed com- other reproduction methods in that dependence is
pletely. A heavy partial cutting, on the other hand, placed on vegetative regeneration by stump
Silvicultural Systems 305

sprouts or root sprouts instead of development of groups of trees are harvested at 10—20 year inter-
stands from seed. However, since coppice stands vals. This diffuse pattern of timber removal
are usually harvested by clearcutting, it may be con- ensures that many age classes of trees will be inter-
veniently discussed with other even-aged methods. mixed within a matrix of mature forest (Figure
The coppice method is restricted to species that typ- 13.13). This system can be used to perpetuate
ically sprout vigorously and have sprouts capable uneven-aged forests that occurred in regions with
of attaining commercial size. Good examples of diffuse natural disturbance (such as northern hard-
such species are aspen (Figure 13.8) and oak. Cop- woods) or in areas that had frequent light surface
pice stands are usually managed on short rotations, fires that maintained uneven-aged stands of intol-
and the products may be fuelwood or pulpwood. erant species (such as ponderosa pine).
Use of the coppice method declined in developed The selection method has some unique advan-
countries in the second half of the 20th century as tages. It is the only silvicultural system in which sus-
oil and gas became cheap and abundant fuels, but tained yield can be obtained from a single stand
increasing demands for energy have revived some of trees. Provided that cutting is not too intense,
interest in coppice systems. Genetically improved trees can be harvested in perpetuity, while the for-
species such as hybrid poplars have considerable est canopy remains largely intact with little evidence
potential as fast-growing plantations managed on of manipulation. There is often no need for expen-
short rotations. sive site preparation or planting. As in natural
uneven-aged stands, mature trees removed in the
harvest are replaced by saplings already in the
Two-aged Management understory. Erosion and disturbance to the site are
Two-aged management is a practice developed minimal. Fire hazard is relatively low because of
recently as a more aesthetically acceptable alter- the lack of extensive piles of logging debris.
native to clearcutting in stands of shade-intolerant There is, however, a serious limitation with the
species. The initial harvest in a two-aged system selection system. With the exception of certain fire-
leaves scattered mature trees, perhaps about 15 per- resistant species that can be maintained with fre-
cent of the original stand, similar to the density of quent prescribed burns, the selection system
trees on a seed-tree cut (Figure 13.12). Unlike a typically leads to nearly complete dominance of the
seed-tree cut, however, the mature trees are not forest by shade-tolerant species. The opening cre-
removed once the regeneration is established, but ated by the removal of a single mature tree usu-
are carried to the end of the next rotation. During ally does not allow enough light for adequate
this time, a two-aged stand is produced. When the survival and growth of intolerant or intermediate
younger age class is mature, the older cohort and species. The list of such species is considerable and
much of the younger cohort are harvested, setting includes some of the most economically important
in motion another two-aged forest. species such as Douglas fir, most of the pines,
Two-aged management is designed to provide larches, oaks, ashes, birches, and aspens (Table
sufficient light for successful regeneration of intol- 13.1). Light cutting in stands of these species will
erant species, while retaining some tree cover to not only fail to regenerate the species in most cases,
preserve scenic values. Retention of the mature trees but will actually tend to hasten the conversion to
also probably has some value for biodiversity by whatever shade-tolerant species happen to be in
creating a more complex forest structure. the understory. For example, use of the selection
system in Douglas fir causes a conversion to hem-
lock and cedar, and its use in oak forests often
Uneven-aged Methods causes conversion to maples. The shade-tolerant
Uneven-aged management is accomplished by the species often have less valuable wood than the
selection method, in which scattered trees or small species they displace, and are also slower-growing.
306 Silviculture and Ecosystem Management

F i g u r e 13.12 With two-

aged management, scattered
mature trees are retained until
the end of the next rotation,
helping to maintain scenic values
in stands of species that
otherwise require full sunlight.
This photo shows two-aged
management of southern
Appalachian hardwoods.
(U.S.D.A. Forest Service photo by
R. L. Rosier.)

Other disadvantages to the selection system have small trees. Some authors have suggested that the
been cited, but these have usually been minor or selection system requires a more extensive road
inconsistent problems. Logging costs are sometimes network than even-aged management, but it is not
20 to 30 percent higher in the selection system com- likely that the actual density of roads on each water-
pared to even-aged management because logs must shed would differ (16). Also, while selective log-
be skidded longer distances (15). However, for both ging can result in injury to the residual standing
western conifer and eastern hardwoods in North trees, most scientists have concluded that the prob-
America, logging costs are often not significantly lem is minor.
higher with the selection system when costs are Some of the disadvantages of the selection sys-
expressed per unit volume harvested. This is tem can be lessened by modification of the method
because a greater proportion of the harvest in the of harvest. By cutting small groups of trees instead
selection system is contributed by large trees, which of scattered individuals, the amount of direct sun-
can be handled more efficiently than numerous light can be increased to the point where some
Silvicultural Practices and Ecosystem Integrity 307

Figure 13.13 The

individual-tree selection method
of harvest removes scattered
trees at 10-20 year intervals.
Disturbance is often hardly
noticeable, and old-growth
features can be maintained.
This example shows a
hemlock-hardwood forest on the
Menominee Indian Reservation in
Wisconsin.

regeneration of shade-intolerant species can occur. tolerant species such as maples, hemlocks, cedars,
When combined with periodic prescribed burning spruces, and true firs, and a few intolerant species
to control shade-tolerant competitors, this group that can withstand periodic prescribed burning.
selection method can be used to maintain intoler- However, in many situations it is not biologically
ant species such as the southern pines and pon- feasible or ecologically desirable. The popular sen-
derosa pine in uneven-aged stands with timent against clearcutting is so strong, however,
comparatively small openings. Group selection is that some legislative bills have been introduced that
also being used in Appalachian oak forests as a would virtually mandate the selection system nearly
more publicly acceptable alternative to clearcutting everywhere on federal lands. One environmental
(Figure 13.14). However, the minimum opening size group drafted a platform that would seek to "end
needed for adequate regeneration of oaks and some clearcutting and all its variants (i.e., all forms of
other species is currently uncertain. In some loca- even-aged management) . . . in any national for-
tions, foresters are creating group selection open- est ever." If implemented, such a provision would
ings that are large enough to cause possible create extensive new landscapes of shade-tolerant
concerns about forest fragmentation. Especially after species in uneven-aged stands that were virtually
several consecutive entries, a patchwork of numer- unknown in those regions in presettlement times
ous large openings may become undesirable both and which have no natural precedent.
visually as well as for certain animal species such
as salamanders. Since use of group selection is likely
to increase as foresters search for alternatives to Silvicultural Practices and
clearcutting, a number of research projects have
been initiated to resolve some of these issues and
Ecosystem Integrity
provide better management guidelines. Two guiding principles of ecosystem management
Uneven-aged management is an important and are that current management practices should not
viable silvicultural system for a number of forest impair or degrade the long-term productivity of the
types—in particular, forests dominated by shade- site, and they should not jeopardize the diversity
308 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

F i g u r e 13.14 Aerial view

of group selection harvests (left
side of photo) in Appalachian
hardwood forests. (U.S.D.A.
Forest Service photo by J. N.
Kochenderfer.)

and viability of native plant and animal populations. etation are effective in protecting the soil. Thus, sci-
It is impossible to judge sustainability from casual entists are usually more concerned about road-
visual impressions of forest management practices. building and site preparation, since both activities
However, informed assessments can be made from can result in significant soil exposure. Many soil sci-
careful scientific measurements for each ecosystem entists agree that with proper road design and use
type- of "low-tillage" site preparation equipment (or light
Frequently, the question of whether a manage- prescribed burning), increases in soil loss over nat-
ment practice is sustainable depends not only on ural erosion rates will often be small, short-term,
local forest type, soil conditions, and topography, and within the recovery rate of the ecosystem (17,
but also on the intensity of the management prac- 18).
tice. Even clearcutting, for example, can span a Conventional harvest also removes some nutri-
wide range of management intensity depending on ents in the tree boles, but on reasonably fertile sites,
intensity of biomass removal from the site, inten- the amount removed is normally only a small frac-
sity of site preparation, and rotation length. The fol- tion (usually <10%) of the total nutrient capital on
lowing sections focus mostly on clearcutting the site. These amounts are often replaced within
practices because they are the most intensive and the span of one normal sawtimber rotation by nutri-
controversial form of silviculture, and have been ents added from precipitation, weathering of soil
the focus of a large body of research.
minerals, and nitrogen fixation.
For these reasons, conventional bole-only
clearcut harvests with low intensity site preparation
Maintaining Long-term Site appear to be sustainable in many temperate forests.
Productivity In the famous long-term clearcutting experiments
Soil erosion occurs when soil is disturbed and at Hubbard Brook in New Hampshire, for exam-
exposed to the direct impact of rain. Although there ple, the team of six scientists concluded: "our study
are some exceptions, timber harvesting by itself indicates that if care is taken during logging, and
often causes relatively little soil disturbance if sawtimber rotation lengths are followed, there
because the remaining litter layer and ground veg- should not be major adverse effects on site nutri-
Silvicultural Practices a n d Ecosystem Integrity 309

ent capital, stand regeneration, or productivity. By such as whole-tree harvesting on short rotations
the 10th year after harvest, hydrologic and nutri- (Figure 13.15) and intensive mechanical site prepa-
ent budgets had returned nearly to preharvest lev- ration such as disking and root-raking. A number
els" (17). Even in the highly erodible and relatively of studies do suggest that these practices might lead
infertile Piedmont soils of the southeastern United to unacceptably high rates of soil and nutrient loss
States, a soil scientist concluded after careful mon- on some sites (20). It is possible that industrial firms
itoring that "none of the effects of clearcutting, dou- using these practices will have to do routine fer-
ble roller-chopping, and machine planting appear tilization and use less intensive site preparation
serious enough to call for special regulation . . . methods in order to avoid future declines in yield.
Fears that clearcut silviculture is depauperating soils Likewise, all foresters need to be cautious about
and eutrophying streams appear unfounded in the conventional even-aged harvests on soils of inher-
Piedmont" (19). It is likely that the newer alterna- ently low fertility or on high-elevation sites where
tives to clearcutting, such as green-tree retention much of the nutrient capital may be sequestered
and two-aged management (Figure 13.12), will fur- in the tree biomass. In such cases, some form of
ther reduce impacts, although more research is partial harvest and careful retention of organic mat-
needed. ter may be required, and rotations may have to be
There is, however, much greater concern about lengthened depending on the expected rate of nutri-
environmental effects of certain intensive practices, ent replacement. Foresters must also be cautious

Figure 1 3 . 1 5 Mechanized whole-tree harvesting reduces costs and logging injuries, while at least
temporarily increasing yields. However, it also accelerates the rate of nutrient withdrawal and may not be a
sustainable practice on short rotations. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
310 Silviculture a n d Ecosystem Management

in planning harvests in certain portions of geolog- decades, foresters have kept clearcuts small and
ically young landscapes where road-building can scattered them on the landscape to minimize aes-
trigger landslides on steep, unstable slopes (20). thetic and environmental impacts. After several
decades of this approach, however, the landscape
becomes highly fragmented, and the remaining
Maintaining Biological Diversity patches of mature forest lose much of their "inte-
Timber harvesting does not have a uniformly pos- rior forest" environment because of exposure to
itive or negative effect on either the abundance of clearcut edges (Figure 13.16, top row). This may
individual species or on overall biodiversity. Many place some species requiring interior forest envi-
species of animals and plants have preferences for ronment at risk. One lichen species in the Pacific
certain stand ages or successional stages, reflect- Northwest, for example, may disappear from mature
ing their unique adaptations to the regional natu- forest patches if more than 50 percent of the land-
ral disturbance regime. A recent clearcut dominated scape has been clearcut in dispersed patches (5).
by low shrubby vegetation, for example, is ideal Natural disturbance processes were less disruptive
habitat for the chestnut-sided warbler and the indigo because extensive fires created a mosaic of larger
bunting. After a few years, their populations will stands with more interior and relatively less edge.
decline precipitously as their favored open habitat Clearly this creates a public policy dilemma. The
disappears beneath a canopy of tall saplings. At this public, if it is willing to tolerate clearcuts at all, will
point, the young sapling stand becomes suitable usually insist that they be small and scattered, and
habitat for the magnolia warbler and the American existing federal regulations mandate small clearcuts
redstart. In time, these species will in turn be on U.S. national forests. Yet in much of the Pacific
replaced by those that prefer mature forest, such Northwest and boreal regions of Canada, small dis-
as the black-throated green warbler and the Black- persed clearcuts clearly do not mimic the natural
burnian warbler. Thus, the harvest of mature for- disturbance processes to which most species are
est typically replaces one biotic community with adapted (Figure 13.2). An approach that has been
another. Maintenance of biological diversity requires suggested to overcome this dilemma is to keep
that all stages of forest development, including old- clearcuts small, but aggregate them in slowly
growth forest, be represented on the landscape. expanding clusters, rather than dispersing them
It is well known that even-aged management (Figure 13.16, bottom row). This will help preserve
favors populations of game animals as well as "habi- the forest interior characteristic of large blocks of
tat generalists." However, contrary to popular belief, forest, and more closely imitate the natural distur-
many nongame species of concern to conserva- bance regime.
tionists are also favored by even-aged management. Special consideration must be given to plant and
For example, 74 of the 126 species of "neotropical animal species having very specific habitat require-
migrant songbirds" in the northeastern United States ments that might not be satisfied under normal for-
require early successional stages and young forest est management practices in a region. Much
habitat, and are rare or absent in mature and old- publicity has surrounded the controversy over the
growth forest (21). Early evidence from scientific northern spotted owl and the marbled murrulet, two
studies suggests that green-tree and snag retention bird species in the Pacific Northwest that appear
in clearcuts, as well as two-aged management prac- to require old-growth forests for nesting. There are
tices, will further enhance species abundance and also other less conspicuous species, such as cer-
diversity over what would occur under simpler tain lichens, fungi, and mollusks, that also may be
clearcutting regimes (22, 23). common only in old growth ecosystems, and which
Some measures taken to reduce the effects of may be important for healthy ecosystem function-
clearcutting have had unintended negative effects ing. For such reasons, in 1993 President Clinton's
on biodiversity at the landscape scale. In recent scientific advisory panel recommended setting aside
Concluding Statement: Public Forests of the Future 311

what would the ideal landscape look like? There

won't be one answer for all public forests, espe-
cially under ecosystem management, since practices
will be attuned to the local biota and natural dis-
turbance regime. Thus, a national forest in west-
ern Oregon will be managed much differently from
a national forest in Vermont, with the selection sys-
tem being used much more widely in the north-
ern hardwoods of Vermont than in the Douglas fir
forests of Oregon.
Nonetheless, it is possible to make some gen-
eralizations about how silvicultural practices under
the ecosystem management paradigm will change
the fabric of the landscape in the 21st century com-
pared with what was produced under the multi-
ple-use paradigm in the 20th century. There will
be greater mixtures of tree species, representative
of natural species diversity in the region. Traditional
"block" clearcuts will probably be replaced largely
by two-aged stands, multicohort stands, shelter-
wood harvests, and modified clearcuts with reten-
Figure 13.16 Two alternative ways of dispersing tion of scattered green trees and small patches of
small clearcuts are shown above on maps of a forest. Stand edges will be irregular and blended
watershed. If clearcuts (shown as black patches) are with the topography. Aggregated patches may be
small and dispersed, they eventually cause forest preferred over dispersed harvests to more closely
fragmentation and loss of interior forest habitat as in the
mimic the natural disturbance regime and maintain
top row of maps. Aggregation of small clearcuts into
larger clusters over time (bottom row of maps) helps forest interior species. Rotation ages will be longer,
preserve large blocks of closed-canopy forest, shown as with many areas managed on 150-250-year rota-
the gray patches. White areas show streamside tions. Prescribed burning will be used more fre-
protection zones. From David Wallin; courtesy of quently to maintain historical patterns of species
Ecological Society of America (24). dominance and to maintain ecosystem health. There
will be more use of the selection system than at
present, and it will be used wherever it meets soci-
a number of large "late successional reserves" on etal goals and is ecologically appropriate. Nearly
national forest land to ensure the viability of these all stands will have greater structural complexity,
species. It is not yet known whether silvicultural with large living trees, dead snags, and fallen logs
practices designed to hasten or maintain old-growth for biodiversity. Old-growth stands will be more
features in younger stands will be successful in common in most regions than at present, both as
maintaining the viability of such species outside of large tracts and as small patches in a matrix of
formal reserves. younger forest.
Although this scenario will result in landscapes
Concluding Statement: Public with a high degree of naturalness, it will not please
everyone. It does not maximize wood production
Forests of the Future in the short run, as some industries might prefer.
How then, should silviculture be applied on large It does not maintain maximum populations of game
public landholdings such as national forests, and animals, as some hunters might prefer, and it does
312 Silviculture and Ecosystem Management

not restore the natural disturbance regime exactly 14. P. M. MCDONALD, "Shelterwood Cutting in a Young-
or maintain as m u c h old-growth forest, as some Growth, Mixed-Conifer Stand in North Central Cali-
environmental groups might prefer. However, it fornia," U.S.D.A. Forest Service Res. Pap. PSW-117,
does fulfill the goals of ecosystem management to 1976.
manage vital natural resources on a sustainable basis 15. KLUENDER, R. A. AND B. J. STOKES, So. J. Appl. For., 18,
for future generations, a n d to maintain the diver- 168 (1994).
sity and viability of native plant and animal 16. H. C. SMITH AND P. S. DEBALD, "Economics of even-
populations. aged and uneven-aged silviculture and management
in eastern hardwoods," in Uneven-Aged Silviculture
& Management in the United States, U.S.D.A. Forest
Service, Timber Management Research, Washington,
References D.C., 1978.
17. J. W. HORNBECK, C. W. MARTIN, R. S. PIERCE, ET AL., "The
1. N. D. G. JAMES, A History of English Forestry, Basil
Northern Hardwood Forest Ecosystem: Ten Years
Blackwell, Oxford, 1990.
After Recovery from Clearcutting," U.S.D.A. Forest
2. F. HESKE, German Forestry, Yale University Press, New Service Res. Pap. NE-RP-596, 1987.
Haven, 1938.
18. R. WORRELL AND A. HAMPSON, Forestry, 70, 61 (1997).
3. W. S. ALVERSON, W. KUHLMANN, AND D. M. WALLER, Wild
19. J. D. HEWLETT, "Forest Water Quality: An Experiment
Forests: Conservation Biology and Public Policy, Island
in Harvesting and Regenerating Piedmont Forest,"
Press, Washingon, D.C.,1994.
Georgia Forest Research Paper, 1979.
4. C. A. WOOD, Renew. Res. J., 12, 612 (1994).
20. D. A. PERRY, R. MEURISSE, B. THOMAS, ET AL., Maintaining
5. F. J. SWANSON AND J. F. FRANKLIN, Ecol. Applications, 2, the Long-Term Productivity of Pacific Northwest For-
262 (1992). est Ecosystems, Timber Press, Portland, Ore., 1989.
6. J. W. THOMAS, Ecol. Applications, 6, 703 (1996). 21. C. R. SMITH, D. M. PENCE, AND R. J. O'CONNOR, "Status
7. G. PINCHOT, A Primer of Forestry, U.S.D.A. Bureau of of neotropical migratory birds in the Northeast: A pre-
Forestry Bull. 24 (1905). liminary assessment," In Status and Management of
8. C. G. LORIMER AND L. E. FRELICH, J. For., 92 (1), 33, Neotropical Migratory Birds, U.S.D.A. Forest Service
(1994). Gen Tech. Rep. RM-229, 1993.
9. C. E. VAN WAGNER, Can. J. For. Res., 8, 220 (1978). 22. P. B. WOOD AND J. V. NICHOLS, "Effects of Two-age
Timber Management and Clearcutting on Songbird
10. J. K. AGEE, "The historical role of fire in Pacific North- Diversity and Reproductive Success," Div. of Forestry,
west forests", In Natural and Prescribed Fire in
West Virginia University, Morgantown, 1995.
Pacific Northwest Forests, Oregon State Univ. Press,
Corvallis, 1990. 23. C. L. CHAMBERS, W. C. MCCOMB, AND J. C. TAPPEINER,
Ecol. Applications, 9, 171 (1999).
11. J. BIELEFELDT AND R. N. ROSENFIELD, The Passenger
Pigeon, 56, 123 (1994). 24. D. O. WALLIN, F. J. SWANSON, AND B. MARKS. Ecol. Appli-
cations, 4, 569 (1994).
12. M. T. SINGER AND C. G. LORIMER, Can. J. For. Res., 27,
1222 (1997).
13. R. L. WILLIAMSON, "Results of Shelterwood Harvesting
of Douglas-fir in the Cascades of Western Oregon,"
U.S.D.A. Forest Service Res. Pap. PNW-161, 1973.
 CHAPTER 14
Forest- Wildlife
Management
MARK S. BOYCE

Wildlife Values Prescribed Burning

Timber Harvest
Ecological Interactions Forest Fragmentation
Wildlife as Components of Forest Pesticides and Herbicides

Ecosystems Wildlife Considerations in Ecosys-

Forest Habitats tem Management
Early Successional Species Managing for Biodiversity
Wildlife of Mixed-age Forests Threatened and Endangered Species
Wildlife of Old-Growth Forests Value of D o w n e d Woody Debris
Edge Habitats Ecosystem Structure and Function
Riparian Zones Streamside Protection
Wildlife Effects on Forests Habitat Manipulation
Seed Dispersal Population Control
Insect Predation
Herbivory Concluding Statement
Effects of Forest Management on References
Wildlife
Fire Suppression

More than 60 percent of the world's biodiversity is

associated with forests (1). From subarctic boreal Wildlife Values
forests to tropical rain forests, trees provide food Wildlife most often is viewed as an amenity in for-
and cover for many species of wildlife. Wildlife est management. This means that wildlife is viewed
includes aquatic species such as fish, and forests to be a bonus value to a forest that is not the pri-
may be important because they have a stabilizing mary reason for its management. With increasing
effect on streamflow that provides habitats for interest in biodiversity, this view toward wildlife is
aquatic species. Wildlife is an integral component changing and in some systems (e.g., the Pacific
of forest ecosystems. For example, wildlife may Northwest), wildlife are primary drivers in shaping
serve as crucial agents for seed dispersal or by selec- priorities for forest management.
tively foraging on certain plants, can alter patterns Wildlife is a source of recreational hunting and
of forest succession. Humans alter wildlife popu- fishing in forests throughout most of the world. With
lations to assist in forest management, or, alterna- careful stewardship, wildlife resources can be man-
tively, humans manage forests because of their aged sustainably, meaning that harvesting of wildlife
importance to desired wildlife species. populations can be continued indefinitely. Each

313
314 Forest-Wildlife Management

F i g u r e 14.1 Hunting
constitutes a renewable use of
the wildlife resource.

year many more individuals are born than can pos- Nonconsumptive use of wildlife has become
sibly survive. Human harvest or predation can increasingly important. The 1991 national survey
remove these animals with no long-term conse- showed that more than 76.1 million Americans par-
quences to population size (Figure 14.1). ticipated in wildlife-associated recreation (2). An esti-
In addition to harvest values, people around the mated $18.1 billion was spent in 1991 by persons
world also value wildlife for aesthetic values. Bird- engaged in "nonconsumptive wildlife-associated
watching and wildlife safaris are becoming impor- recreational activities." Perhaps most important,
tant sources of tourism revenue in many areas. however, is the recognition that maintaining the
Furthermore, most people who are actively diversity of wildlife is fundamental to ensuring the
engaged in resource extraction—for example, tim- sustainability of forest ecosystems. Wildlife con-
ber harvest, hunting, or fishing—enjoy opportuni- tributes to the very fabric of forest ecosystems and
ties to see bears, deer, bald eagles, songbirds and helps to ensure the availability of ecosystem serv-
other wildlife. Also, the appreciation for wildlife is ices on which humans depend.
what attracts people to pursue recreational activi-
ties in forested ecosystems.
A national survey of participants in wildlife-asso-
ciated recreation showed that about 14.1 million
Ecological Interactions
Americans hunted big and small game in 1991 (2). Just as trees compete with one another for space,
Expenditures for equipment, lodging, food, and food, water, and sunlight, wildlife living in the for-
transportation in pursuit of forest-associated game est interact with one another. These interactions
exceeded $12.3 billion in 1991. In the same year, occur at two levels, intraspecifically and inter-
approximately $3.8 billion was spent on wildlife in specifically, and may be described as competitive,
Canada (3). An estimated 35.6 million Americans consumptive, or commensal interactions.
spent $24 billion during 511 million days of fresh- Many species of wildlife require certain amounts
water fishing. An updated 2001 survey of wildlife of space or territory to meet their needs. Some
recreation has been undertaken and the results are species defend their territories aggressively; for
reported on the following website: http://fa.r9.fws. example, territory defense is an important function
gov/surveys/surveys.html#surv_2001. of most birdsong in the spring. Many mammals,
Wildlife as Components of Forest Ecosystems 315

as well as some reptiles and amphibians, maintain predators, available forage needed to maintain the
scent posts or other signs to mark territorial population of animals determines the carrying
boundaries. capacity. When abundant, such herbivores may
Consumptive interaction includes predation and change the vegetation through their grazing and
herbivory and can be either interspecific or browsing. For some species in the absence of effec-
intraspecific. Some predators may occasionally kill tive predation, territorial behavior may supplant for-
and eat their own kind. Cannibalism among sib- age availability as a factor limiting population size.
lings appears to be frequent in the nests of hawks Under these conditions the food and cover
and owls when the parents are unable to find resources may have the capacity to support a con-
enough prey to feed the nestlings. siderably higher population of a species than
The effect of predation on wildlife populations intraspecific aggression will permit.
has been controversial. For many years it was felt Predation is often opportunistic; that is, it most
that predators were "bad." Then various studies often occurs when the predator has an advantage.
began to suggest that predation was less impor- For some species, predation is markedly heavier
tant than some other factors in limiting wildlife along the edges between forests and openings, and
abundance (4). These studies reinforced the con- especially along trails and roadways. Young and
cept of carrying capacity put forward in 1933 by old-aged animals are usually more vulnerable than
Aldo Leopold, the founder of modern wildlife adults to predators (and hunters). Minnesota stud-
management (5). ies have shown that the percentage loss among
This particular notion of carrying capacity is the young ruffed grouse over a seven-month period
number of individuals of a species that can survive from the middle of September to the middle of April
in a given unit of habitat secure from predation. Car- is as great as the loss among adult grouse over a
rying capacity is a measure of the adequacy of food twelve-month period, and numerically is about 3.4-
and other resources in relation to secure cover. Once fold greater on a monthly basis (7).
a prey species has been reduced to carrying capac-
ity, it is no longer profitable for predators to continue
hunting these animals (4). However, rather than being Wildlife as Components of Forest
a fixed entity, carrying capacity varies from site-to-
site; on the same site it might vary from year-to-year
Ecosystems
depending on the food available, the quality of the
cover, and even snow conditions and depth. Forest Habitats
Predators enforce carrying capacity, and in the
absence of predators, some wildlife may become Early Successional Species Vegetation succession
abundant in habitats that otherwise would be mar- involves a slow transition from one community to
ginal. In the Cloquet Research Forest in northern another eventually leading to a relatively long-term
Minnesota, ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) state termed a climax. Associated with each veg-
reached a greater abundance in an aspen-pine for- etative state of succession is an entire assemblage
est when goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) were not of plants and animals (Figure 14.2). Early succes-
nesting in that forest, but then declined sharply sional species of wildlife thrive in the early stages
when these raptors returned. At the same time, of succession following a disturbance to the for-
grouse living in sapling aspen stands distant from est. For example, after fire or clearcutting, we often
coniferous cover remained relatively secure from see increased use by moose (Alces alces) or white-
raptor predation (6). tailed deer to feed on the herbaceous forage that
When large herbivorous mammals, like white- is stimulated by the removal of trees. Some species,
tailed deer (Qdocoileus virginianus) or elk (Cervus like the Kirtland's warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii),
elaphus), are living in the absence of their normal are restricted to early successional forests.
316 Forest-Wildlife Management

F i g u r e 1 4 . 2 Secondary succession in a Great Lakes northern hardwoods forest, showing the sequence of
dominant vegetation and the response of ruffed grouse as the forest composition changes. Also graphed is the
change in animal biomass and bird species diversity associated with this succession.

Several forest types are known to undergo nat- the landscape depends on the frequency and extent
ural disturbance by fire that resets succession. Else- of disturbance. Some natural systems with high fre-
where, windthrow may be an occasional event quency of disturbance include: (a) the chaparral
resulting in gaps in the forest where early succes- brushlands of California where mule deer
sional species would be found. Early successional (Odocoileus hemionus) are attracted after burning,
habitats are often short lived, rapidly reverting to (b) Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine (Pinus con-
forests. The amount of early successional types on torta) forests used by elk (Cervus canadensis) for
Wildlife as Components of Forest Ecosystems 317

foraging after fire or clearfelling (8), (c) the oak spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) that has
savanna of midwestern North America where the been responsible for restructuring the management
endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides of forest resources in the Pacific Northwest. There
melissa samuelis) depends on lupine (Lupinus are many species tied to mature forests and the
perennis) that is maintained by fire, mowing, or unique habitats found in such forests. An ungulate
grazing, and (d) eroded stream banks created by example is the woodland caribou (Rangifer taran-
periodic flooding required for nesting by wood tur- dus) of boreal forest regions of Canada and north-
tles (Clemmys insculpta). ern Idaho. During winter woodland caribou forage
on arboreal lichens—pale-green beard-like lichens
Wildlife of Mixed-age Forests Patterns of suc- that hang from tree branches. Clearcutting of the
cession on the landscape are often complex. Fires, forests has devastating consequences for the cari-
windthrow, insect outbreaks, and other disturbances bou because of their reliance on lichens in old trees.
are usually patchy, creating a vegetation mosaic of Selective logging might provide a creative solution,
early, mid-aged, and old growth forests. however, because some old trees are left standing,
Some forms of wildlife require an interspersion providing at least part of the lichen forage avail-
of trees of different ages or of different species. Pri- able before logging.
mary consumers or herbivores are the most depend-
ent on interspersion of forest resources because Edge Habitats Edges are attractive to some
they use forest vegetation in several ways. Condi- species because the forest provides cover and mast
tions favorable for the production of food resources (e.g., acorns), whereas clearings may have more for-
usually differ from those providing secure cover. age. Thus, by occupying the edge, individuals may
Additionally, forest-dwelling herbivores tend to be gain benefits from both habitats. Aldo Leopold (5)
nonmigratory, and therefore require year-round claimed that the amount of game was proportional
food and cover from the habitats they occupy. Some to the amount of edge, but this pattern appears to
herbivores in the Great Lakes region forests such apply primarily to selected species such as white-
as snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), ruffed tailed deer (Figure 14.3) and ruffed grouse.
grouse, and white-tailed deer require this diversity Although many species of wildlife prefer edge habi-
within comparatively small areas. But mule deer (O. tats, these can be dangerous places because pred-
hemionus) and elk in western mountainous ators often concentrate there. Several species of
regions find their requirements by being migratory, songbirds, for example, preferentially nest in edge
often moving many kilometers from summer to win- habitats that become mortality "sinks" because
ter ranges (8). crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), jays, raccoons
Moose require an interspersion of forest types, (Procyon lotor; Figure 14.4), skunks (Mephitis
with the addition of streams, ponds, or lakes to pro- mephitis), and foxes (Vulpes fulva) hunt the edges
vide aquatic vegetation for their summer diet. In of forest openings (10).
Minnesota the proper mixture for moose on an area
of 9,300 ha (21,000 acres) has been estimated to Riparian Zones Vegetation immediately sur-
be 40 to 50 percent open land less than 20 years rounding bodies of water, streams, rivers, lakes and
old, 5 to 15 percent in spruce fir, and 35 to 55 per- ponds, is known as the riparian zone. Waterfowl
cent aspen-birch stands over 20 years old, and nest in riparian vegetation. Some species including
pond, lakes, and streams (9). semi-aquatic mammals such as beavers (Castor
canadensis), muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus), otters
Wildlife of Old-Growth Forests At the opposite (Lontra canadensis), and mink (Mustela vison) are
extreme from early successional wildlife are found only in the riparian zone. These areas tend
species tied to late-successional or old-growth habi- to be highly productive because water and nutri-
tats. The most celebrated example is the northern ents are seldom limiting, and they host a high
318 Forest-Wildlife Management

Sidebar 14.1

Case Study: Northern Spotted Owl

Species adapted to old-growth forests are younger forests that yield woodrats that disperse
threatened by accelerated forest management. into the old-growth (1). Because of heavy tim-
Old-growth forests typically contain trees of large ber harvests in recent years, young-aged forests
size, vertical differentiation of vegetation struc- are not in short supply. Thus, most fundamen-
ture, and large standing dead trees and decay- tal for spotted owl habitats is the maintenance
ing logs. Old-growth Douglas fir and redwood of old-growth forests.
forests of the Pacific Northwest have these char- Old-growth forests have declined by approx-
acteristics and provide habitats for the northern imately 90 percent across the Pacific Northwest
spotted owl. Spotted owls forage on rodents in the past century, and if this rate of decline
under the forest canopy, and require an open were to continue the spotted owl would have
stand structure in which to hunt their prey. been at risk of extinction within a few years. In
Young forests have trees that are too dense to 1990, the spotted owl was listed in the United
permit the owls to fly. States as a threatened species under the Endan-
One of the most common prey species for gered Species Act. Subsequently large tracts of
spotted owls, especially in California and Ore- old-growth forests on public lands have been
gon, is the dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma protected, ensuring the future for the owl and
fuscipes). This rodent attained highest density in associated old-growth species.
young regenerating stands that are too dense for
hunting owls. Some of the best habitats for spot- Source:
ted owls are old-growth stands adjacent to 1. M. S. BOYCE, Wildl. Soc. Bull., 26, 391 (1998).

diversity of wildlife often containing complements formed near aspen (Populus tremuloides), willow
of both the terrestrial and aquatic fauna. Although (Salix spp.), or cottonwood (Populus spp.) stands.
riparian habitats occupy only 1 percent of land- Dams and channelization have altered riparian
scapes in North America, they contain over 80 per- forests and the disturbance processes associated
cent of our threatened and endangered species with the systems. Because water levels are con-
(11). trolled on the Platte River in Nebraska, sand and
Disturbance is a fundamental component of gravel bars are becoming extensively wooded,
riparian ecosystems. Periodic flooding of rivers and thereby eliminating nesting habitats for least terns
streams can be important in retarding succession (Sterna antillarum) and piping plovers (Charddrius
and altering the distribution of sediments. Periodic melodus). In other areas along the Platte River, cot-
flushing flows, to clean out gravel beds, are required tonwood (P. deltoides) stands are growing decadent
to maintain spawning habitats for trout and with no recruitment of young trees because of the
salmon. Beavers take advantage of stream-course absence of flooding that creates sites for germina-
changes following floods where new pools are tion. Solutions to the disruption of flooding cycles
Wildlife as Components of Forest Ecosystems 319

F i g u r e 1 4 . 3 White-tailed
deer. Because of wildlife
management efforts, this species
has become the most abundant
large mammal in North America.

are being found by manipulating flood-control gates

to create seasonal high-water-level conditions.

Wildlife Effects on Forests

Seed Dispersal Wildlife plays a role in the distri-
bution of seeds of many trees. Few of the birds that
feed on the fruits of cherries (Prunus spp.), moun-
tain ash, junipers (Juniperus spp.), and others, actu-
ally crush or damage the seeds. The seeds pass
through the bird's digestive systems intact and ready
to germinate if they are dropped in a suitable place.
Indeed, passing through the gut can serve to scar-
ify certain types of seeds enhancing their germi-
nation. The common growths of fruit-producing
shrubs and trees along fences and under telephone
wires or power lines attests to this function. If fruits
were eaten by birds during migration seeds might
be deposited many kilometers from where they
were consumed.
Birds commonly carry seeds for some time in a
storage pouch, or crop, before the food passes into
their gizzard to be ground and digested. Predators
F i g u r e 1 4 . 4 Raccoons frequent forest edges feeding on a bird usually consume the fleshy part
where they will opportunistically prey on bird nests. of the crop and leave the contents scattered where
 320 Forest-Wildlife Management

they eat the bird. Seeds from the crop may germi-
nate thereby achieving dispersal.
Turtles, tortoises, lizards, and fish also transport
seeds from one site to another, and if one of these
animals happens to be preyed on by a bird, seeds
may be moved a considerable distance. Even seeds
taken by granivorous mammals may become scat-
tered some distance from the point of origin when
they are the victims of predation.
The complexity of forest-wildlife ecology is illus-
trated by studies of mycophagous or fungus-eat-
ing small mammals. Rodents act as vectors in the
transmission of fungal spores from one site to
another and may promote the establishment of
conifers by distributing ectomycorrhizae important
to nutrient absorption by tree roots (12) (also see F i g u r e 14.5 The range of elk or wapiti has
Chapters 4 and 8). expanded extensively during the past 30 years and the
populations of the species are now established in
Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and
Insect Predation Birds and small mammals can Virginia in the United States, and Manitoba,
consume large quantities of insects, and sometimes Saskatchewan, and Ontario in Canada, as well as all
are known to reduce pest species. For example, net- Rocky Mountain states and provinces.
ting experimentally placed to prevent birds access
to trees has been shown to increase the abundance
of jack-pine budworm (Choristoneura pinus) and
western spruce budworm (C. occidentalis) (13). Yet,
during periods of population outbreaks, these
insects become so abundant that birds are unable
to check populations of these pests. Insecticides
may have relatively minor consequences to birds
during insect outbreaks because the insects are so
abundant that the birds still have plenty to eat.
However, at other times broadcast spraying of insec-
ticides can have serious consequences for birds that
depend on insects for food.

Herbivory Wildlife can be agents of disturbance

maintaining systems in an early successional F i g u r e 14.6 An exclosure on the northern range
stage. Browsing by moose, elk (Figure 14.5), and of Yellowstone National Park where native ungulate
herbivory has been prevented for approximately 40
deer can prevent woody plant establishment in
years. Few dense stands of willow can be found in
grasslands (Figure 14.6) and can reduce recruitment portions of the park due to feeding of elk, bison, deer,
of selected species, such as aspen, that are preferred and moose.
by ungulates. Beavers can have major influences
on riparian vegetation by selectively clearfelling pre-
ferred trees such as aspen and cottonwood. Rodents and rabbits also do a great deal of dam-
Such herbivory can be the source of frustration age to forest regeneration by feeding on the ten-
for foresters trying to establish young trees. der bark of young trees. During periods when mice
Effects of Forest M a n a g e m e n t on Wildlife 321

populations are large, stands of seedlings or sprouts and pine barrens of New Jersey and northwestern
may be almost completely destroyed by rodent Wisconsin were fire-maintained systems that grad-
girdling. Likewise, porcupines (Erithizon dorsatum) ually disappeared by succession to forests as a result
can be responsible for widespread destruction of of protection from burning. Again, species such as
merchantable aspen, red spruce (Picea rubens), bal- the endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides
sam fir (Abies balsamea), and red and white pine melissa samuelis) and its food plant the lupine are
(Pinus resinosa and P. strobus) by eating the bark dependent on disturbances such as fire. Ruffed
of these trees. grouse, woodcock (Scolopax minor), deer, moose,
and elk thrive on the food and cover available in
areas undergoing post-fire succession.
Effects of Forest Management on In contrast, for species dependent on old-growth
features of the forest such as spotted owls (Side-
Wildlife bar 14.1), marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus mar-
moratus), ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus), or the
Fire Suppression extinct ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus
The role of fire in forest management is contro- principalis), fire can be destructive.
versial. Fire can cause substantial damage to the
commercial value of a forest, but in many areas,
fire is a natural disturbance process. For example, Prescribed Burning
wildfire was responsible for maintaining the jack A number of ecosystems are maintained by dis-
pine on which the Kirtland's warbler depends. Like- turbances such as fire, and these along with asso-
wise, oak savannas of the midwestern United States ciated wildlife are becoming rare because fire is so

Sidebar 14.2

Case Study: Elk in Yellowstone National Park

Large herbivores can have substantial influence management practices would not allow such
on vegetation. Elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellow- heavy levels of livestock use. Others argue that
stone National Park were culled by park rangers we need protected places like national parks as
during the middle part of the 20th century to ecological baselines where we can document the
reduce their effect on vegetation. Since 1968, consequences of human activities outside the
however, the elk have been strictly protected parks (1).
inside the park resulting in substantial increases In 1995, wolves were reintroduced into Yel-
in the elk population, especially on the park's lowstone National Park, and appear to have
Northern Range. Clearly aspen (Populus tremu- caused a decline in the number of elk. Current
loides), willow (Salix spp.), and various shrubs research is attempting to document response by
are heavily browsed. Controlling herbivory by vegetation to reduced herbivory.
constructing fenced exclosures results in sub-
stantial changes in vegetation structure and com- Source:
position (see Figure 14.6). Some people find this 1. M. S. BOYCE, Wildl. Soc. Bull., 26, 391 (1998).
to be objectionable, noting that sound range
322 Forest-Wildlife Management

aggressively suppressed. The oak savannas and tall- of eastern North America. Much of the decline for
grass prairies of the midwest, heathlands of the these species can actually be attributed to habitat
eastern coast of North America, aspen parkland of loss (18), which is usually associated with frag-
western Canada, and pine barrens of northwestern mentation.
Wisconsin and New Jersey are a few examples. To Effects of landscape change can be complex and
ensure perpetuation of these fire-maintained fragmentation actually can benefit some species.
ecosystems, prescribed fire is a useful management Throughout eastern North America, forest cover has
tool. The behavior and management of forest fires increased during the past century. Associated with
are further discussed in Chapter 18. this afforestation has been a decline in many bird
species associated with shrublands and grasslands
(19). Also, a number of game species including
Timber Harvest white-tailed deer, elk, ruffed grouse, and bobwhite
Timber harvest can be a surrogate for fire that can (Colinus virginianus) are more abundant in areas
benefit early successional species. Florida sand pine with frequent forest disturbance and edge (5). For
scrub responds similarly to fire and mechnical dis- these species, forests provide cover for hiding and
turbance, and timber harvest may be an acceptable thermal refuge whereas open areas with greater
substitute for natural disturbance (14). Likewise, herbaceous vegetation provide more forage. Areas
savanna birds in the pine barrens of northwestern with a high degree of edge afford easy access to
Wisconsin readily use openings created by timber both cover types that provide both cover and
harvest (15). Yet vegetation structure and species forage.
composition differ in several ways between open-
ings created by fire versus those created by timber
harvest (16). Therefore, although timber harvest Pesticides and Herbicides
may simulate natural disturbances, there may be dif- Both pesticides and herbicides may be toxic to
ferences depending on the form of disturbance that wildlife, and many species have suffered with agri-
may require alternative forms of treatment, such as cultural intensification and the expanded use of
prescribed fire. these chemicals. Raptors including peregrine falcons
(Falcoperegrinus) and bald eagles (Haliaeetus leu-
cocephalus) suffered serious population declines in
Forest Fragmentation the middle of the 20th century from eggshell thin-
Associated with increased intensity of management ning caused by DDT, a pesticide developed dur-
of forests, generally we have seen increased frag- ing World War II. In the United States and Canada,
mentation of the landscape (see Chapter 7, Land- many raptors have made remarkable comebacks
scape Ecology). Harvest patterns, road construction, subsequent to the ban of DDT. Unfortunately, the
and residential housing have increasingly parti- pesticide is still being used in many developing
tioned forests into smaller and smaller units. In countries where environmental regulations are not
many areas, this has the consequence of lowering as strict.
species diversity, by eliminating those species that In addition to the direct toxicity of pesticides and
have the largest area requirements and species that herbicides, these chemicals can have serious indi-
require conditions characteristic of forest interior rect consequences for wildlife. Pesticides are
(17). Examples of species that decline with designed to kill insect pests, and herbicides are
increasing forest fragmentation include the north- designed to kill certain plants. Insects are often key ]
ern spotted owl (see Sidebar 14.1) in the Pacific foods for young birds, and most birds cannot live
Northwest and ovenbirds common to woodlands without them. Likewise, amphibians and reptiles are I
Wildlife Considerations in Ecosystem Management 323

often insectivorous and elimination of their primary small mammals and birds. Such woody debris is a
source of food may have devastating consequences. characteristic feature of old-growth forests and is
Plants provide cover and food for many animals, why such forests often possess high diversity. Man-
so herbicides eliminate habitats. agement of forests in ways that retain woody debris
is an effective way to enhance biodiversity.

Wildlife Considerations in
Ecosystem Structure and Function
Ecosystem Management
Streamside Protection Maintaining buffer zones
Managing for Biodiversity of protected forest adjacent to streams is a com-
mon management practice to protect streams from
Threatened and Endangered Species The ultimate sediment and nutrient runoff. This can be crucially
cause for at least 80 percent of known avian extinc- important for maintaining fish habitats and failure
tions has been habitat loss (20). Generally the most to protect streams in the Pacific Northwest has been
crucial management action to prevent future identified as one of the factors leading to the decline
extinctions is ensuring that sufficient habitats are in salmon fisheries. Road crossings associated with
maintained. Some species have huge area require- logging are especially troublesome because of the
ments; for example, grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and potential for large amounts of sediment to be
wolves (Canis lupus). Species with large area washed into the stream during heavy rains. Gen-
requirements are often called "umbrella" species, erally, the wider the streamside buffer, the more
because if we maintain large enough areas to pro- effective the protection of wildlife habitats, for
tect these species we will also ensure the persist- example, Swainson's warblers (Helmitheros swain-
ence of smaller species that occur in the same area sonii) were never detected in buffers less than 300
but have much smaller area requirements. m (984 ft) width and had higher densities in buffers
Protection of habitat may not be sufficient, espe- >1,000 m (3,280 ft) (21). Large trees falling into the
cially for species that require habitats maintained stream can be valuable components of fish habi-
by disturbance. The Kirtland's warbler, for exam- tat, so one guideline is to maintain buffers at least
ple, requires early successional jack pine stands for as wide as the height of the tallest trees (22).
nesting. The Karner blue butterfly requires lupine
that is maintained by fire, grazing, or mowing in Habitat Manipulation Habitats are often manip-
oak savanna habitats of the Midwest. The red-cock- ulated to enhance the value of an area for selected
aded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) thrives in wildlife. Clearcutting aspen is used to stimulate
long-leaf pine (Pinus palustris) stands of the south- shoot growth to enhance habitat for ruffed grouse,
eastern United States where frequent fire prevents woodcock, and deer. Burning is used to enhance
invasion of oaks. habitats for Karner blue butterflies, moose, elk, deer,
and red-cockaded woodpeckers. Planting of food
Value of Downed Woody Debris One of the most and cover crops is used to attract wildlife, some-
important features of a forest that increases species times to distract animals from agricultural crops or
diversity is the presence of coarse woody debris. forest plantations (8).
This takes the form of downed logs on the forest Selective cutting of trees can hasten the devel-
floor, dead branches, snags, and standing dead trees. opment of old-growth characteristics required by
Deadwood then is decayed by invertebrates, fungi, northern spotted owls. Similarly, selective logging has
and microorganisms that in turn provide food for been used in the Rocky Mountains to improve lichen
324 Forest-Wildlife Management

Sidebar 14.3

Case Study: Kirtland's Warbler

The Kirtland's warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) is agers began to trap cowbirds, and in 1976, they
an endangered species that breeds primarily in began to plant jack pine in clearcuts to repli-
the jack pine (Pinus banksiana) plains of north cate wildfire habitat. Habitat management and
central Lower Peninsula Michigan and winters cowbird removals have been successful at
mostly in the Bahama Island archipelago. The increasing the population. By 1999, the popu-
natural pine barren ecosystem was historically lation had increased to 903 pairs with 94 per-
maintained by frequent wildfires, but because cent of the birds occurring in jack pine
of modern fire suppression techniques and alter- plantations.
native land uses, the amount of this habitat has Large areas of low diversity are required to
decreased causing the decline of the Kirtland's sustain this endangered species. The current goal
warbler population. In addition, the warbler pop- for forest management is to maintain 10,340 ha
ulation was decreasing because of cowbird of habitat for the Kirtland's warbler. Stand sizes
(Molothrus ater) parasitism. In 1972, land man- must be greater than about 50 ha, with most

Male Kirtland's warbler.

Wildlife Considerations in Ecosystem M a n a g e m e n t 325

Counts of male Kirtland's warbler on their breeding range in Michigan.

birds nesting in stands greater than 100 ha. The 50 years with harvested trees used primarily for
nesting habitat for the Kirtland's warbler is almost paper pulp.
strictly dense young jack pine stands 8-20 yrs Habitat needs for this endangered species
old where the trees are 2-6 m tall. Natural habi- illustrate how biodiversity conservation must be
tats were typically post-fire succession, but viewed on a large geographic scale. Large areas
because of modern concerns about risks asso- with low diversity at a local scale are required
ciated with wildfires, current stands are typically within the forest matrix to ensure the mainte-
plantations following clearcutting. Rotations of nance of regional diversity.
jack pine in Kirtland's warbler habitat are about

on remaining trees with the intent of enhancing habi- of their habitats, and over time, populations will
tats for mountain caribou. Foresters practicing wood- fluctuate around this carrying capacity. However,
lot management may selectively remove maples with we often find that, when abundant, wildlife may
little wildlife value while favoring oaks and conifers come in conflict with human interests in forest man-
that offer greater benefits for wildlife. Another agement. Hunting and trapping are probably the
approach is manipulation of water levels, for exam- most common methods of population control for
ple, in green-tree reservoirs in the southern United game species and furbearers, but sometimes these
States, to enhance winter habitats for waterfowl (11). traditional methods are not practical, efficient, or
socially acceptable. Under these circumstances,
alternative methods of population control must be
Population Control explored.
Left undisturbed, natural populations of forest Beavers have become abundant in some areas
wildlife will eventually reach the carrying capacity of North America where they cut trees, dam streams
326 Forest-Wildlife Management

flooding roads, or flood lowland forests killing valu-

able timber trees. Beavers can be trapped and dams References
destroyed with dynamite. Creative alternatives exist; 1. W.J. SNAPE, III, Biodiversity and the Law, Island Press,
for example, driving corrugated PVC pipe through Washington D.C., 1996.
a beaver d a m to lower water levels.
2. ANON. "1990 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and
White-tailed deer have become remarkably abun- Wildlife-associated Recreation," U.S.D.I. Fish and
dant in many regions of North America. In one Wildlife Serv., Washington, D.C., 1991.
sense, this points to the success of wildlife man-
3. F. L. FILION, A. JACQUEMOT, E. DUWORS, ET AL. "The
agement during the latter half of the 20th century. Importance of Wildlife to Canadians," Canadian
However, deer can damage crops, browse nursery Wildlife Service, Ottawa, 1994.
trees, and alter forest succession by selective brows-
4. P. L. ERRINGTON, Predation and Life, Iowa State Univ.
ing. In populated areas, automobile collisions with
Press, Ames, 1971.
deer are a major concern. Although deer hunting
5. A. LEOPOLD, Game Management, Scribners, New York,
can be used for population management, in many
areas, hunter harvest has not b e e n sufficient to 1933.
achieve the desired population levels. This is espe- 6. G. W. GULLION AND A. A. ALM, J. For., 81, 528, 536

cially a problem in urban areas where hunting may (1983).

not be permitted. For example, the city of Mil- 7. G. W. GULLION AND W. H. MARSHALL, Living Bird, 7,
waukee, Wisconsin has implemented deer control 117 (1968).
using professional snipers, with silenced rifles, 8. M. S. BOYCE, The Jackson Elk Herd, Cambridge Univ.
shooting deer at bait stations. Other urban areas Press, 1989.
have trapped deer and transported them to areas 9. J. M. PEEK, D. L. URICH, AND R. J. MACKIE, Wild.
outside the city. Experimental programs are being Monogr. 48 (1976).
implemented in some areas using immunocontra- 10. N. D. NIEMUTH AND M. S. BOYCE, J. Wildl. Manage. 61,
ceptives. There are no easy solutions to these con- 1234 (1997).
trol issues, because each method requires persistent 11. M. S. BOYCE, AND A. HANEY, Ecosystem Management-
treatments year after year. Applications for Sustainable Forest and Wildlife
Resources. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, 1997.
12. J. TERWILLIGER AND J. PASTOR, Oikos, 85, 83 (1999).
Concluding Statement 13. T. R. TORGERSON AND R. W. CAMPBELL, Envir. Entomol.,
11, 429 (1982).
Wildlife adds e n o r m o u s value to the forests of the
14. C. H. GREENBERG, D. G. NEARY, L. D. HARRIS, AND S. P.
world; generally, p e o p l e enjoy wildlife. Managing
LINDA, Am. Midl. Nat., 133, 149 (1995).
forests to enhance wildlife habitats often can be
accomplished with little additional cost. In some 15. D. W. SAMPLE AND M. J. MOSSMAN, "Managing Habitat
instances, wildlife resources may be worth more for Grassland Birds: A Guide for Wisconsin." Wisc.
than the traditional timber values of the forest. In Dep. Nat. Resour. PUBL-SS-925-97. Madison, 1997.
other instances, wildlife can be viewed as pests by 16. N. D. NIEMUTH AND M. S. BOYCE, Trans. Wise. Acad.
forest managers because they damage trees or inter- Sci. Arts Lett., 86, 167 (1998).
fere with regeneration. In all forests, however, 17. S. K. ROBINSON, F. R. THOMPSON, T. M. DONOVAN, D.
wildlife contributes to ecosystem structure and func- WHITEHEAD, AND J. FAABORG, Science, 267, 1987 (1995).
tion and is a key c o m p o n e n t of biodiversity, and 18. L. FAHRIG, J. Wildl. Manage., 61, 603 (1997).
the world is a better place to live because of it. 19. R. A. ASKINS, Curr. Ornith., 11, 1 (1993).
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20. D. WILCOVE, D. ROTHSTEIN, J. DUBOW, A. PHILLIPS, AND 22. M. L. HUNTER, JR., Maintaining Biodiversity in Forest
E. Losos, BioScience, 48, 607 (1998). Ecosystems. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1999.
21. J. C. KILGO, R. A. SARGENT, K. V. MILLER, AND B. R. CHAP- 23. J. S. MEYER, L. L. IRWIN, AND M. S. BOYCE, Wildl.
MAN, "Effect of riparian zone width on Swainson's war- Monogr., 139, 1-51 (1998).
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 C H A P T E R 15
Rangeland Management
WAYNE C. LEININGER AND
JOHN D. STEDNICK

Rangeland Grazing Management Hydrologic Evaluation of Grazing

Forested Rangelands Systems
Nonforested Rangelands Concluding Statement
Rangeland Water Quality References

Rangelands are areas of the world that—by reasons Many livestock operations in the western United
of physical limitations: low and erratic precipitation, States depend heavily on forage produced in the
rough topography, poor drainage, and cold tem- forest for part of the grazing year (Figure 15.1). In
peratures—are unsuitable for cultivation (1). They Colorado, for example, approximately 45 and 50
are an important source of forage for free-ranging percent of the summer forage utilized by cattle and
native and domestic animals, as well as a source sheep, respectively, comes from national forests (6).
of wood products, water, and wildlife (2, 3). The number of livestock grazing in the National
Approximately 47 percent of the earth's land sur- Forests increased steadily until about 1915. By 1918,
face is classified as rangeland, and of the estimated the rising number of livestock, the long season of
385 million hectares of rangeland in the United use, and the huge increase during the war caused
States, a little over one-third is forested range (4, most of the forest range to decline in productivity.
5). The distribution of rangelands in the United This deterioration in the range prompted both a
States is given in Table 15.1. reduction in the number of livestock grazing in the
forest and a change in the manner in which live-
stock were grazed. Specialized grazing systems that
provided recurring systematic periods of grazing
Rangeland Grazing Management and deferment from grazing were adopted.
Typically, a ranch operation in the western United Deferred-rotation and rest-rotation grazing are
States is made up of deeded land (base property) two common grazing systems used in forested
where hay is produced and cattle are "wintered," rangelands. Under deferred rotation, grazing on a
and in addition, leased land, where the livestock portion of the range is delayed until after the most
graze in the summer. Summer grazing on federal important range plants have set seed. Then, by rota-
land is regulated by a permit system. The grazing tion of the deferment over a period of years, other
permit entitles the user to a grazing area, a decreed pastures are successively given the benefit of defer-
number of stock, and entrance and exit dates dur- ment until all pastures have been deferred (2).
ing the summer, demarking the period when the When this has been accomplished, the grazing cyde
animals can be present on the range. is repeated. In rest-rotation grazing, a portion of
328
 Forested Rangelands 329

Table 15.1 Distribution of Rangeland in

the United States Forested Rangelands
Region Percentage The ponderosa pine range is the most extensive
forested range in the western United States. It occu-
Rocky Mountains and Great Plains 50 pies the low elevations of the mountains and
Pacific Region (including Alaska foothills in many areas, but mixes with other tree
and Hawaii) 37 species at moderate elevations (8). This type is asso-
South Central 12
ciated with an understory of bunchgrasses and
Other 1
shrubs. Its value as rangeland is the highest of any
Source: U.S.D.A. Forest Service data. of the forested range types. About 560 to 675 kilo-
grams per hectare (dry-weight basis) of understory
herbage is produced in open stands of mature pine
the range is rested for a full year. Deferring other with 500 saplings per hectare (9). As the density
pastures from grazing is also a part of rest-rotation of pines increases, there is generally a curvilinear
grazing systems. The deferment and rest periods decrease in understory production (Figure 15.2).
are designed to allow plants to increase in vigor, This range commonly serves as summer range for
produce seeds, and establish new seedlings. The cattle, and spring and fall range for sheep that move
design and advantages of grazing systems have to higher elevation rangeland during summer. Both
been extensively reviewed (1, 3, 7). rest-rotation and deferred-rotation grazing systems,
A third grazing system, short-duration grazing, under proper stocking, have been reported to ben-
is gaining popularity in many regions of the United efit these forested ranges (10).
States. This system employs a large number of pas- The pinon-juniper range is a woodland com-
tures (frequently twelve or more) and short peri- posed of small trees, generally less than 4.5 meters
ods of grazing in each pasture (generally two days in height, growing in either open or dense stands.
to two weeks). Intensive livestock management is This range is located between the ponderosa pine
required with this system, because of its high stock- forest and desert shrub or grassland. The pinon-
ing density; that is, the large number of animals per juniper range generally occurs on rocky, poorly
area of land (7). developed soils, and in many locations it alternates
Major types of forests in which livestock graze with big sagebrush, which occupies deeper soils.
in the United States include ponderosa pine, pinon- Understory productivity ranges from near zero on
juniper, aspen, transitory, mountain meadows, and poorly developed soils to 900 kilograms per
riparian zones. hectare on favorable sites (9, 11). Cattle and sheep

F i g u r e 15.1 Sheep grazing

in Midway Valley, Dixie National
Forest, Utah. (Courtesy of
U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
330 Rangeland Management

type is the most productive of the forested ranges

and often produces more than 2000 kilograms per
hectare of understory vegetation. This amount is sim-
ilar to that of many grasslands. Frequently the aspen
range produces more than ten times the amount of
understory that associated conifer stands do (13).
Aspen is o n e of the most c o m m o n trees in the
interior West and grows along moist stream bottoms,
as well as on dry ridges and southerly exposures
(Figure 15.3), on sloping embankments, and on
shallow to d e e p soils of varied origin. The aspen
range extends from Alaska to northern Mexico.
Grazing by cattle and sheep has b e e n the pri-
mary consumptive use of the aspen range in the
West (14). Livestock grazing usually occurs during
summer and early autumn. Overgrazing by livestock
during the first half of the twentieth century caused
deleterious, long-term changes in much of this
ecosystem. Excessive grazing generally changes the
composition of understory species and frequently
reduces productivity.
Proper management of both the aspen trees and
F i g u r e 1 5 . 2 Production of understory herbage as the understory forage resource requires careful plan-
related to the density of a ponderosa pine canopy. ning. Timber management should produce a vari-
(After Pase [11].) ety of several aspen seral stages to maximize
quantity and quality of the forage and to produce
the diversity that is apparently necessary for uses
frequently graze this range in spring before mov- of this type. Grazing guidelines have been sum-
ing to higher-elevation summer ranges, and again marized for this range (14).
in fall as they return to their wintering areas. The
pinon-juniper type is also very important as the sea-
sonal habitat for migratory deer.
Fire suppression and overgrazing by livestock
have allowed woodland to expand both upslope and
downslope over the past 100+ years (12). Prescribed
burns and mechanical removal of pinon and juniper
trees by chaining—large tractors pulling anchor
chains or cables over the land—are frequently used
to reduce the invasion of this type. Desirable grasses
are also commonly seeded into recently treated areas
to increase forage for livestock and wildlife.
The aspen range has long been recognized for
its importance to livestock and wildlife, because it
creates diversity in otherwise homogeneous conifer F i g u r e 1 5 . 3 Summer grazing on an open
stands. The aspen range is valued for the diversity mountain meadow range with aspen stands in the
and productivity of its understory vegetation. This background. (Photograph by J. D\Stednick.)
Nonforested Rangelands 331

Transitory ranges are forested areas that are suit- hazard, preventing the suppression of seedling, and
able for grazing for only a temporary number of decreasing the habitat of rodents, which damage
years following complete or partial forest removal. seedlings. Another important advantage of inte-
After that, the overstory closes in and intercepts the grated timber and livestock management, called
light needed to produce understory forage. Major agroforestry, is that profits can be higher than with
areas of transitory range in the United States are single-resource management. Changing markets
found in the South and Northwest. These regions encourage flexibility in the overall operation,
have ample precipitation and long growing seasons. because diversification provides a means of sur-
Forage yields in these regions commonly exceed viving poor markets.
2000 kilograms per hectare in cutover forests or
under sparse tree canopies (15).
Tree overstory is the most influential factor deter-
mining forage yields in transitory ranges. For exam-
Nonforested Rangelands
ple, in the southern pine-hardwood range, forage The mountain meadows range ecosystem consists
yield in most clearcuts exceeds preharvesting yields of wet to intermittently wet sites in the forest zone
by six to twenty times (16). This substantial increase of the western United States. Typically, this range
in forage can in turn be allocated to livestock and occurs on nearly flat to gently sloping topography
wildlife populations. where surface or subsurface water accumulates in
In the past, foresters had little desire to integrate the rooting zone for at least a portion of the year
livestock with timber production. Their concern was (9). Grasses and grasslike plants are generally the
that livestock would damage seedling regeneration dominant vegetation in this type of range (Figure
through trampling and browsing and therefore 15.4).
reduce timber production. It has been well docu- Mountain meadows are extremely productive and
mented that when livestock numbers, distribution, often yield ten to twenty times more forage than
or season of grazing have not been controlled, dam- surrounding uplands (19). These meadows produce
age to timber reproduction has frequently been very high-quality forage which remains green and
unacceptable (17). nutritious late into the summer. Mountain meadows
In contrast, when livestock numbers and period support more livestock per hectare than any other
of grazing have been appropriate, damage to
conifer regeneration has been negligible (18).
Although cattle may browse or debark trees, the
majority of damage to regeneration done by cattle
is from trampling and rubbing. Sheep, on the other
hand, primarily damage seedlings by browsing their
foliage. Browsing of regeneration by livestock is
normally confined to current annual growth and
generally the early succulent growth (18). Recom-
mendations for the management of livestock graz-
ing in young timber plantations generally call for
the exclusion of livestock either until seedlings are
well established (two to three years) or until the
terminal leader of the seedlings are out of reach
of grazing livestock.
Controlled livestock grazing can potentially ben- F i g u r e 15.4 Cattle grazing on a meadow in Saint
efit timber regeneration in several ways. These Joe National Forest, Idaho. (Photograph by W. W.
include reducing competition, decreasing the fire Dresskell, U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
332 Rangeland Management

type of range in the United States. Because of these between 70 and 90 percent of its indigenous ripar-
advantages, mountain meadows are a very impor- ian resources and badly damaged much of the rest
tant link in year-round livestock production. (22). In 1977, the U.S.D.I. Bureau of Land Man-
In addition to their great value for the produc- agement concluded that 83 percent of the riparian
tion of livestock, mountain meadows are important systems under its control were in unsatisfactory con-
for the maintenance of wildlife populations, and dition and in need of improved management, largely
many act as a filter to catch sediments from water because of destruction caused by excessive livestock
flowing from surrounding slopes. Mountain mead- and grazing, road construction, and other damag-
ows also provide scenic vistas and are often pre- ing human activities. Many riparian zones have been
ferred by recreationists. ignored in the planning process because their lim-
Favorable grazing conditions, coupled with prox- ited extent made them "sacrifice areas."
imity to water and the steepness of slopes in adja- Cattle often concentrate in riparian zones and uti-
cent range types, often encourage high concen- lize the vegetation much more intensively than that
trations of livestock and wildlife in the meadows. in adjacent areas. This heavy livestock grazing has
This uneven distribution of grazing animals can frequently decreased plant vigor and production,
result in overgrazing and deterioration of mountain changed the composition of plant species, and
meadows. altered the streambank channel (20). Numerous
Because mountain meadows already have a great studies have reported the deleterious effects of
potential for productivity, improving them is fre- heavy livestock grazing on the regeneration of
quently cost-effective. Effective range management woody vegetation and the subsequent damage to
practices designed to improve livestock distribution the fisheries resource (23). Riparian ecosystems are
include the development of water, placing salt licks the most critical zones for multiple-use planning and
in upland ranges, and herding (drifting) stock away offer the greatest challenge to proper management
from meadows. Where meadows are sufficiently (20). Techniques of riparian zone management
large to be fenced separately from upland ranges, include:
it may be economical to separate the two to pro- 1. Improving livestock distribution, which increases
tect the meadows from constant use and to ensure animal use of upland range and decreases stock
utilization of the upland forage (19). Grazing sys- concentration in riparian zones.
tems that have been developed for upland ranges
2. Maintaining a minimum amount of residual veg-
have generally been ineffective in improving the
etation (stubble height) to help preserve plant
condition of overgrazed mountain meadows,
vigor, reduce browsing of willows and other
largely because they have failed to reduce livestock
woody plants, trap sediments, and limit stream-
concentrations in the meadow (20).
bank impact (24).
Riparian zones—areas near streams, lakes, and
wet areas whose plant communities are predomi- 3. Implementing a specialized grazing system to
nantly influenced by their association with water provide a deferment and rest from grazing.
(21)—have been estimated to occupy between 0.5 4. Changing the kind or class of animals grazing
and 2 percent of western rangelands. Although riparian zones. Sheep are generally less dam-
these zones constitute a relatively minor propor- aging than cattle to riparian zones because they
tion of any watershed area, their importance in pro- are more easily controlled and can be herded
viding places for livestock to.graze, fish and wildlife away from riparian zones.
habitats, and recreational opportunities is dispro- 5. Managing riparian zones as "special-use" pas-
portionately high. tures. This increases the flexibility of the oper-
Healthy riparian ecosystems have become a van- ation in regulating the level of grazing in riparian
ishing resource in the West, particularly in arid and zones and allows grazing during the least dam-
semiarid regions. Estimates are that America has lost aging period (Figure 15.5).
Rangeland Water Quality 333

6. Excluding the zones from livestock grazing. Raindrops striking bare soil may dislodge soil
Riparian zones are generally very resilient and particles and increase soil erosion. Dislodged soil
often improve in condition within five to seven particles may block soil pores, further reducing infil-
years after livestock have been removed. tration rates, while other dislodged particles may
7. Constructing in-stream structures. These are remain suspended and leave the site in overland
expensive but have generally been successful in flow. However, water yield from overland flow may
improving the condition of riparian zones when be increased by the decreased infiltration rates and
coupled with a change in grazing management capacities and the soil compaction (also see Chap-
(20). ter 16 on Watershed Management).
Soil compaction is the packing together of soil
particles, thus increasing the soil bulk density
(measured in grams per cubic centimeter). As use
Rangeland Water Quality of an area increases, the probability of soil com-
The most important deleterious effect of improper paction also increases. Animal bedding grounds,
range management on water quality is soil erosion stock trails, watering locations, and salt licks are
and the subsequent suspended sediment. Vegeta- areas of greatest compaction. Soil texture, moisture,
tive cover and soil properties determine the infil- and the amount of organic matter influence the
tration rates of precipitation water and the amount degree of compaction (see Chapter 5). Soil com-
of streamflow that occurs on grazed lands. Vege- paction may also reduce plant growth or range pro-
tative cover is the dominant factor in controlling ductivity through changes in soil aeration and soil
runoff and water erosion from agricultural lands and moisture. This reduction in vegetative cover may
rangelands (25). Livestock grazing may alter the nat- in turn increase the occurrence of overland flow
ural infiltration-runoff relationships by reducing the and contribute to the desertification of marginal
vegetative cover, by reducing and scattering the lit- rangelands.
ter, and by compacting the soil through trampling. Land uses that increase water yield by reducing
The magnitude of these changes is determined by infiltration may also increase soil erosion and the
the physiography, climate, vegetation, stocking rate, subsequent amount of suspended sediment. Veg-
and animal species. etative cover is important in minimizing overland
flow. Land uses that increase infiltration rates help

F i g u r e 15.5 Fenceline contrast between a

riparian pasture that has been lightly grazed
for twenty-five years (left of fence) and an
adjacent heavily grazed area. Notice the willow
regeneration in the lightly grazed pasture.
(Photograph by W. C. Leininger.)
334 Rangeland Management

to establish desired plant species and to increase water by fecal matter, however, increased signifi-
the plant biomass. cantly. After the cattle were removed, bacterial
Range management practices designed to counts quickly dropped to levels similar to those
increase the growth of desired plants and increase in the ungrazed pasture (29).
water infiltration include vegetation conversion by Changes in the chemical quality of water through
chaining, contour furrowing, or root plowing. Land grazing activities are generally not significant or
treatment by plowing and seeding generally low- long-lasting, unless animals and their waste prod-
ers water infiltration rates at first and increases ero- ucts are concentrated in one area. Specifically,
sion. However, after two years, less soil is usually nitrate-nitrogen concentrations may increase and
lost, because vegetative cover is greater than before change water quality, since the nitrate-nitrogen is
treatment. Treatment by spraying and seeding has a mobile anion (see Chapters 5 and 16). High
given similar results of lower magnitude. Treatment nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in groundwaters
by burning and seeding may create hydrophobic below feedlots are well known.
soils, reduce water infiltration, and increase soil loss
(26). The impact of erosion on site productivity has
not been quantified for any rangeland plant-soil Hydrologic Evaluation of
complex in the western United States.
Moderate continuous grazing or specialized graz-
Grazing Systems
ing systems that improve the production of vege- Most watershed studies have evaluated the impact
tation or herbage should reduce sediment yield. If of livestock grazing on hydrologic variables after
a watershed has been overgrazed, though, institu- grazing treatments have been in effect for several
tion of a grazing system will not necessarily reduce years. Treatment plots, areas, or watersheds are then
sediment. compared to a nongrazed counterpart and differ-
Riparian grazing systems may alter the mor- ences are attributed to grazing. The grazing is var-
phology of stream channels and cause associated ied in both duration and intensity. Few studies have
changes in channel hydraulics, water quality, and assessed seasonal or long-term hydraulic impacts
the accumulation of sediment. Livestock grazed of grazing systems, and additional studies, both
along Meadow Creek in northern Oregon did not intensive and extensive, are needed (30).
accelerate the degradation of the streambank. In this In general, the removal of plant cover by graz-
study, most streambank erosion occurred during ing may increase the impact of raindrops,
winter periods and was independent of livestock decrease the amount of organic matter in the soil,
activity during the grazing season (27). In another increase surface crusting (puddling), decrease infil-
study in northwestern Oregon, streambank erosion tration rates, and increase erosion. Increased over-
and disturbance were significantly greater in areas land flow, reduced soil moisture, and increased
grazed by cattle in late summer than in adjacent erosion translate into greater concentrations of sus-
ungrazed enclosures (28). pended sediment. A further discussion of the
Animal activity along stream channels or other hydrologic cycle is given in Chapter 16. Other
open waters may change the chemical and bacte- water quality impacts such as increased bacterial
rial quality of water. Specifically, animal feces may and nutrient concentrations do not appear to be
contaminate waters with bacteria or act as sources a problem with grazing systems, except perhaps
of nitrate and phosphate. Studies of two adjacent in riparian zones.
pastures along Trout Creek in central Colorado indi- The impact of livestock grazing on watersheds
cated only minor chemical effects of cattle grazing has recently become a resource management issue
on water quality. The bacterial contamination of the of national proportions. Research project data have
References 335

often b e e n evaluated emotionally or according to forested communities is critical to many ranching

the political advantages offered rather than by sci- operations in the western United States. These areas
entific and objective thinking. are managed with a permit system of grazing and
The advantages between light and moderate provide summer pasture for cattle and sheep.
grazing intensities for watershed protection are often Livestock grazing rangelands has the potential
not significantly different (2). Recent interest in to alter the natural infiltration-runoff relationships
federal grazing practices, particularly grazing allot- by reducing the vegetative cover, including litter
ments, may bring a reevaluation of the environ- cover on the soil surface, and compacting the soil
mental and economic implications of grazing through trampling. Animal bedding grounds, stock
systems on watershed resources (Figure 15.6). trails, watering locations, and salt licks are the areas
of greatest compaction and have the highest risk
to soil erosion. Other water quality impacts such
as increased bacterial and nutrient concentrations,
Concluding Statement do not appear to be a problem with grazing on
Rangelands occupy nearly half of the world's land rangelands, except perhaps in riparian zones. The
surface, and are an important source of forage for differences b e t w e e n light and moderate grazing
wildlife and domestic animals, as well as water, intensities for watershed protection are often not
wood products, and recreational opportunities. Dur- significantly different.
ing the late 1800s and early 1900s, many rangelands
were overgrazed by domestic livestock. A reduc-
tion in livestock numbers and the implementation
of grazing systems allowed many of these areas to References
recover. Understory forage that is produced in
1. J. L. HOLECHECK, R. D. PEIPER, AND C. H. HERBEL, Range
Management—Principles and Practices, Third Edition,
Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J., 1998.
2. L. A. STODDART, A. D. SMITH, AND T. W. Box, Range
Management, Third Edition, McGraw-Hill, New
York, 1975.
3. H. F. HEADY AND R. D. CHILD, Rangeland Ecology and
Management, Westview Press, Boulder, Colo., 1994.
4. R. E. WILLIAMS, B. W. ALFRED, R. M. DENIM, AND H. E.
PAULSEN, Jr., J. Range Manag., 21, 355 (1968).
5. W. L. DUTTON, J. For., 51, 248 (1953).
6. R. G. TAYLOR, E. T. BARTLETT, AND K. D. LAIR, J Range
Manag., 358, 634 (1982).
7. R. K. HEITSCHMIDT AND J. W. STUTH, EDS., Grazing Man-
agement—an Ecological Perspective, Timber Press,
Portland, Ore., 1991.
8. P. O. CURRIE, "Grazing in ponderosa pine forests." In
F i g u r e 1 5 . 6 Counting cattle on Bull Mountain Ponderosa Pine—The Species and Its Management,
Allotment, Deerlodge National Forest, Montana. Washington State Univ., Pullman, 1988.
(Photograph by G. R. Walstad, U.S.D.A. Forest 9. G. A. GARRISON, A. J. BJUGSTAD, D. A. DUNCAN, M. E.
Service.) LEWIS, AND D. R. SMITH, "Vegetation and Environmental
336 Rangeland Management

Features of Forest and Range Ecosystems," U.S.D.A. 21. L. R. ROATH AND W. C. KRUEGER, J. Range Manag., 35,
For. Serv., Agr. Handbook 475, 1977. 100 (1982).
10. W. P. CLARY, "Range Management and Its Ecological 22. ANON, The Ninth Annual Report of the Council on
Basis in the Ponderosa Pine Type" in Arizona: The Environmental Quality, U.S. Council on Environ-
Status of Our Knowledge, U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Res. Pap. mental Quality, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washing-
RM-158, 1975. ton, D.C, 1978.
11. C. P. PASE, J. Range Manag., 11, 238 (1958). 23. A. J. BELSKY, A. MATZKE, AND S. USELMAN, J. Soil and

12. G. E. GRUELL, "Historical and modern roles of fire in Water Cons., 54, 419 (1999).
pinyon-juniper." In Proceedings: Ecology and Man- 24. W. P. CLARY AND W. C. LEININGER, J. Range. Manag.,
agement of Pinyon-Juniper Communities Within the 53, 562 (2000).
Interior West, U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Proc. RMRS-P-9, 25. W. H. WISCHMEIER AND D. D. SMITH, "Predicting Rain-
1999. fall Erosion Losses From Cropland East of the Rocky
13. W. R. HOUSTON, "A Condition Guide for Aspen Ranges Mountains," U.S.D.A. Agr. Res. Serv, Agr. Handbook
of Utah, Nevada, Southern Idaho, and Western 282, Washington, D.C, 1965.
Wyoming," U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Intermountain For. 26. J. F. VALLENTINE, Range Development and Improve-
Range Expt. Sta. Pap. 32, 1954. ments, Third Edition, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego,
14. N. V. DEBYLE AND R. P. WINOKUR, EDS., "Aspen: Ecol- Calif, 1989.
ogy and Management in the Western United States," 27. J. C. BUCKHOUSE, J. M. SKOVLIN, AND R. W. KNIGHT, J.
U.S.D.A. For. Serv, Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-119, 1985. Range Manag., 34, 339 (1981).
15. W. C. LEININGER AND S. H. SHARROW, J. Range Manag., 28. J. B. KAUFFMAN AND W. C. KRUEGER, J. Range Manag.,
40, 551 (1987). 37, 430(1984).
16. P. N. SPREITZER, Rangelands, 7, 33 (1985). 29. S. R. JOHNSON, H. L. GARY, AND S. L. PONCE, "Range
17. K. E. SEVERSON, J. Range Manag., 35, 786 (1982). Cattle Impacts on Stream Water Quality in the Col-
18. W. C. LEININGER AND S. H. SHARROW, West. J. Appl. For., orado Front Range," U.S.D.A. For. Serv, Res. Note RM
73 (1989). 359, 1978.
19. J. M. SKOVLIN, "Impacts of grazing on wetlands and 30. W. H. BLACKBURN, "Impacts of grazing intensity and
riparian habitat: A review of our knowledge." In specialized grazing systems on watershed character-
Developing Strategies for Rangeland Management, istics and responses." In Developing Strategies for
Nat. Res. Council/Nat. Academy of Sciences, West- Rangeland Management, Nat. Res. Council/Nat. Acad-
view Press, Boulder, Colo, 1984. emy of Sciences, Westview Press, Boulder, Colo.,
1984.
20. W. S. PLATTS, "Livestock grazing and riparian stream
ecosystems." In Proc. Forum—Grazing and Ripar-
ian/Stream Ecosystem, Trout Unlimited, Inc., Denver,
Colo, 1979.
 CHAPTER 16
Watershed Management:
A Regional to Global Perspective
D. SCOTT MACKAY

The Watershed Cumulative Watershed Analysis

International Watershed Management: The
The Global Hydrologic Cycle Case of the Great Lakes Basin
New Technologies for Integrated Water-
Global Distribution of Terrestrial
shed Management
Water and Life
Precipitation Concluding Statement
Evaporation and Transpiration References
Soil Water
Ground Water Additional Reading
Runoff
Streamflow
Integrated View of the Watershed
and Its Management
Land Use

and transport of minerals, organic material, and other

The Watershed substances. Water in the earth system has remained,
John Wesley Powell, scientist, geographer, and on the whole, a constant for billions of years. It is
leader of the first expedition through the Grand moved within and between the atmosphere, litho-
Canyon, stated in 1869 (http://www.epa. sphere, and biosphere in a recirculatory system
gov/adopt): known as the hydrologic cycle. It may be thought
of as a limited resource, which, as a result of human
. . . that area of land, a bounded hydrologic influence on global change, must be properly man-
system, within which all living things are inex- aged. Management of water resources has the pri-
tricably linked by their common water course mary task of preserving a supply of water of sufficient
and where, as humans settled, simple logic
demanded that they become part of the quality to meet the demands of society. Water must
community also be managed, in the sense that too much water
may mean flooding, excessive erosion of land, and
Water plays a central role in most of earth's systems potentially loss of life. The proper management of
and is essential for all life. Water is the medium for water resources requires an understanding of how
biochemical reactions that sustain living organisms. water is circulated. It also requires an understand-
Water helps redistribute energy via the oceans and ing of how water resources interact with natural and
atmosphere. Water also contributes to the erosion anthropogenic processes. A framework for managing
337
338 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

water resources could consider any size system, from The natural evolution of a watershed begins
the entire earth down to an individual organism seek- either with the uplifting of land as a result of col-
ing water to survive. However, there is a need for lisions between moving plates of the earth's crust,
an integrating framework that can consider systems or with volcanic activity. Precipitation falling on
of all sizes and organize them. The watershed is such uplifted land tends to move, either on the surface
a framework and it represents the basic unit for or below, to the oceans with the force of gravity.
watershed management. Water traveling on the surface will tend to flow
A watershed is generally defined as an area of along preferential pathways depending upon
land that drains water, sediment, and dissolved irregularities in the surface. These preferential path-
materials to a common outlet at some point along ways channelize the flow of water in rills. Even-
a stream channel (1). Watersheds are nature's way tually, further erosion expands the rills to produce
of dividing up the landscape. Rivers, lakes, estuar- stream channels as the water erodes the surface.
ies, wetlands, streams, and even the oceans can As these channels are incised, their steep slopes
serve as catch basins for the land adjacent to them. become sites for further erosion. Eventually,
Ground water aquifers serve the same purpose for streams channels are formed. Sites nearest the chan-
the land above them. The actions of people who nels tend to erode the most and sites furthest away
live within a watershed affect the health of the from the channels erode the least. Thus, regions
waters that drain through it. The watershed can be intermediate between channels remain at relatively
defined in terms of some arbitrary spatial extent, high elevation and form divides. Figure 16.1 shows
such as 50 to 5,000 hectares (Table 16.1). More gen- the basic form of the erosional watershed. A region
erally, the watershed is a unit area of land with well- bounded by divides and a stream channel can be
defined boundaries that promotes the understanding viewed as a hillslope on which there are measur-
of how water enters an area of interest, is stored, able flow pathways. Surface water can infiltrate the
moved and modified within that area, and then may soil or run along the surface. Some of the infiltrated
be exported from the area of interest. water may be evaporated, and the rest enters a

T a b l e 16.1 Spatial scales of watersheds can be defined w i t h respect to other management

unit sizes.
Physical Area Spatial Scale (order of magnitude, in hectares) Management
-1 0
Microsite 10 to 10
Stand 100 to 101 Cutting unita
Watershed 101 to 103 Watershed
Landscape 102 to 104 Districtb
Multi-landscape 104 to 105 Timbershed c
Subregion 105 to 106 Forestd
Region 106 to 107 Pacific Northweste
Source: Brooks and Grant (2).
a
Timber harvest for stand replacement is generally smaller on public lands and larger on private lands.
b
A National Forest Ranger District, for example, representing a minimum area for which community issues, such as effects of
towns and groups of towns, can be usefully examined.
c
This classification is based on timber production and processing; a timbershed contains at least one major timber-processing
center, and the majority of the timber processed originates in that timbershed.
d
National Forests in Oregon and Washington range from 100,000 to 500,000 hectares.
e
All timberland in western Oregon is about 5 million hectares.
The Watershed 339

Figure 16.1 Shown are the basic components of the watershed. Stream orders are important in
understanding the size of area that influences a given stream reach. Watersheds are naturally nested features,
which means that smaller watersheds reside within larger watersheds. At some nesting level, it is possible to
distinguish hillslopes for which hydrologic flow paths can often be directly observed. The hillslope profile
indicates the major flow paths of water when precipitation falls on a vegetated slope.

groundwater flow. The surface and subsurface char- process of water movement on the surface results
acteristics of a hillslope determine the partitioning in sediment, organic material, and nutrients being
of flow as surface runoff, as groundwater flow, and carried with the water off the landscape and
as evaporation. Watershed outputs of water, sedi- through the channels. The watershed thus provides
ment, nutrients, and other pollutants represent the a framework within which other resources, such as
sum of these constituents generated on all hillslopes forests, agricultural crops, and urban landscapes can
within the watershed. be managed. The view of the watershed as a unit
It is desirable to limit the amount of surface for management with no implied spatial extent is
runoff, since runoff promotes soil erosion. The useful, since the land surfaces of the whole earth
340 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

can be divided up into watersheds with very large atmosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Most of the
areas. Each of these large watersheds can in turn components of the hydrologic cycle, except for per-
be divided into smaller watersheds, and so on. Fur- manent ice, are depicted in Figure 16.2. The vari-
thermore, at a detailed level it is possible to measure ous storage compartments for water include the
water, sediment, or nutrient budgets on individual oceans, permanent ice, ground water, soil water,
hillslopes and then combine them to predict water- fresh water bodies and rivers, the atmosphere, and
shed budgets. For instance, one might view the the biosphere (plants and animals). The transfor-
entire Mississippi River basin or the entire Amazon mations between the storage compartments for
River basin as defining multistate and multination water in the earth system include precipitation,
areas for management, respectively. Alternatively, evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, runoff, and
the watershed drained by a tributary of a large river groundwater flow. Precipitation is formed from the
could be a management area. For example, we condensation of water in the atmosphere as it cools.
might be interested in the watershed drained by the Evaporation is the transformation of liquid or solid
Wisconsin River, which is a tributary of the Mis- water to a gaseous form. It requires the input of
sissippi River. At a smaller scale, the Lake Mendota energy, primarily from the sun. Once evaporated
Watershed around Madison, Wisconsin, might be and released into the atmosphere, the water vapor
considered a management unit. moves with the atmospheric air circulation. Water
Once a watershed boundary is delineated, an evaporated from one location can then be trans-
understanding of the processes that determine the ported in the atmosphere to another location where
fate of water entering the watershed is needed. Since it may fall as precipitation. By altering surface prop-
the full extent of human activity and of natural sys- erties that affect evaporation, we are in effect alter-
tems is global, we will begin at this spatial extent ing precipitation patterns. For instance, large-scale
and work our way down to smaller watersheds. In removal of vegetation, such as is occurring in the
this chapter we shall consider the following: Amazon, may reduce evaporation rates and even-
• processes responsible for the hydrologic cycle; tually reduce precipitation amounts in other areas.
Climate warming associated with increased levels
• interrelationships between water and terrestrial
of atmospheric carbon dioxide may increase evap-
vegetation;
oration rates. This would in turn increase atmos-
• issues and approaches in the management of pheric moisture content, which would increase the
water resources within a watershed framework; intensity or frequency of storm events.
• recent approaches to watershed management, Transpiration is a specialized form of evapora-
including the transfer of responsibility from gov- tion involving the release of water from photosyn-
ernment to nongovernment organizations; and thesizing vegetation. Vegetation draws water from
• use of technology such as geographical infor- the soil through its roots, stores it within the plant
mation systems and remote sensing for water and releases it to the atmosphere as part of its need
resource studies and management. to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for
photosynthesis. On a global scale, the biosphere
stores at any given time less than 1 percent of the
amount of water that falls as precipitation, and yet
The Global Hydrologic Cycle over 60 percent of global annual average precipi-
Hydrology (Hydros, meaning "water," and ology, tation is cycled through the biosphere. Thus, tran-
meaning "study of") is the science that seeks to spiration and evaporation from vegetation form
understand the processes of storage, transformation, important links between surface water and the
and movement of water. These processes are col- atmosphere. Together they form an important con-
lectively referred to as the hydrologic cycle, a global tribution to atmospheric moisture levels and ulti-
scale recirculatory system that links water in the mately precipitation. It is not difficult to see that by
The Global Hydrologic Cycle 341

F i g u r e 16.2 The
major c o m p o n e n t s of the
global hydrologic cycle

altering the distribution of forests one can poten- At a global scale water can be considered con-
tially greatly change the global distribution of evap- served, which means that it is neither created nor
oration and transpiration, which can in turn result destroyed.1 This means that any part of the hydro-
in regional differences in precipitation patterns. logic cycle has a water budget that can be described
Infiltration and storage of water in soils helps us in terms of water inputs, outputs, and change in
to link surface water with ground water, to under- storage as follows:
stand spatial patterns of vegetation, to understand
inputs - outputs = change in storage
and predict flooding, and to trace the movement
of pollutants that are carried in surface water. Water For instance, the water balance equation for a vol-
infiltrates into a soil at a rate that depends on sur- ume of soil is given by:
face characteristics, soil texture, and the amount and
rate of water input (see Chapter 5, Forest Soils). Sur-
face water that does not infiltrate must either pond where is the change in water stored in the soil
at the surface or run along the surface. over a defined time period, I is the amount of water

1
Water can be released from volcanic activity. However, it is believed that the primary source of water on the earth's surface was
derived from comets and meteorites that bombarded the earth during the first billion years after its formation.
342 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

that infiltrates into soil, P is the amount of water pressure, which expands the air. When a parcel of
that percolates through the soil, E is evaporation air expands, it becomes less dense. If it is less dense
of water from the soil surface, and T is transpira- than the surrounding atmosphere, it is buoyant and
tion by plants drawing water out of the soil dur- rises. The warmed air generally continues to rise
ing this time period. An equation of this form is until it is cooled adiabatically to the same temper-
known as a water conservation equation. Conser- ature as the surrounding atmosphere. As the par-
vation equations can be used to describe the rate cel of air is cooled, its ability to hold water is
of change of water stored in any part of the earth reduced. If the parcel of air is cooled sufficiently,
system. We might use a conservation equation to it may reach a point where the amount of water it
determine groundwater storage for drinking water, holds exceeds the amount it can hold. The result
reservoir storage used for hydroelectric power is condensation, which is a source of water for
generation, water levels in the Great Lakes of North clouds and precipitation.
America, or water available for vegetation growth In order to understand regional differences in
in different areas of our planet. precipitation, we need to know something about
global climate and the ways in which precipitation
is produced. Figure 16.3 shows average annual dis-
Global Distribution of Terrestrial tribution of precipitation and vegetation (see Fig-
ure 16.3 in color insert). We will discuss the
Water and Life relationships between these later. Precipitation is
generally very high in the equatorial zone. This area
Precipitation is known as the inter-tropical convergence zone. It
The hydrologic cycle can be approached from any gets its name from the fact that it occurs where
one of the storage compartments and flows rep- southward-moving air masses from the northern
resented in Figure 16.2. We will start with precip- hemisphere and northward-moving air masses from
itation, because it is the primary source of water the southern hemisphere converge. The winds asso-
for terrestrial ecosystems. Precipitation occurs ciated with these air masses are commonly known
because atmospheric pressure affects air tempera- as the Trade Winds. As the Trade Winds move over
ture, which in turn determines how much water the tropical oceans, they collect water vapor that
vapor the air can hold. Like all gases, air can be was evaporated from the oceans. Where these
compressed. The weight of a column of atmosphere winds converge, they are forced to rise upward into
above a given parcel of air exerts pressure on the the atmosphere where they cool and release pre-
parcel, which tends to compress it. When air is cipitation. Other areas of large rainfall amounts
compressed, the molecules within it are confined include western sides of large mountains where
to a smaller volume, which means they are more warm, moist air is forced to rise over the moun-
likely to collide. These collisions produce heat that tains. As it rises up the mountain, the air is cooled,
warms the air parcel. The cooling (or warming) of which promotes precipitation. For example, the
air from a change in pressure is known as adia- Pacific Northwest receives a large amount of pre-
batic cooling (or warming). When air rises in the cipitation annually (2500 mm or more). In general,
atmosphere, it experiences a reduction in atmos- midlatitude areas receive much of their precipita-
pheric pressure and is cooled adiabatically. Simi- tion from extratropical cyclones. These are eastward-
larly, when air sinks, the atmospheric pressure on moving low-pressure cells that form where arctic
it increases and it warms adiabatically. Suppose a and subtropical air masses meet. Extratropical
parcel of air is warmed by solar energy absorbed cyclones act as heat engines by drawing warm, gen-
at the land surface. By warming the air, the erally moisture-laden air northward. At fronts sep-
increased energy will cause its molecules to move arating warm and cold air masses, this moist air is
more quickly. Their interactions in turn exert greater forced to cool and precipitation results. More local-
Global Distribution of Terrestrial Water and Life 343

ized precipitation occurs in thunderstorms, which

are the result of intense warming of moist air at the
ground surface. The warm, buoyant surface air rises
high in the atmosphere where it cools adiabatically
and forms thunder clouds. In all cases, precipita-
tion occurs where moisture-laden air is forced to
rise and lose its ability to hold the moisture.
Deserts and semi-arid areas occur in areas where
relatively dry air descends and warms adiabatically.
This occurs in subtropical regions, including north-
central Africa and central Australia. Arid and semi-
arid areas also occur on eastern sides of large
mountain ranges where air is descending after los-
ing its water to precipitation on the western side of
the mountain. Semi-arid areas are found in inter-
mountain areas of western North America, which
receive Pacific air masses that have released much
of their moisture on the western (or windward) sides
of the mountains. Midcontinental areas tend to be
drier than coastal because of their great distance
from oceanic sources of moisture. The eastern part
of the United States and southeastern Canada expe- F i g u r e 16.4 This figure shows how surfaces of
rience greater quantities of precipitation from mois- different vegetation types and moisture availability
ture evaporated from the Gulf of Mexico. partition solar radiation. In general, wet surfaces use
the energy to evaporate water and dry surfaces heat
up. Dense vegetation has an abundance of leaf
Evaporation and Transpiration surface area for both shedding evaporated water and
Air masses moving over water bodies and other heat. Bare soil has a minimal surface area exposed to
sources of water pick up some of this water through the atmosphere, so its heating depends much more on
energy partitioning.
evaporation. Evaporation is the process by which
solid or liquid water on the surface is converted
into vapor form and released into the atmosphere. land surface. Energy used for warming is referred
The conversion to water vapor uses energy, most to as sensible heat energy and energy used in evap-
of which is received from solar radiation. Energy orating water is latent heat energy. The ratio of
from the sun that enters the earth system and is latent to sensible heat energies is known as a
intercepted at the surface is used either to heat the Bowen ratio. Bowen ratios for the tropical oceans
surface or to evaporate water. For most surfaces, are about 10:1, and they are about 1:10 for deserts.
some of the energy goes into surface heating and Well-watered forests and other terrestrial vegetation
some goes into evaporating water. Wet surfaces tend have Bowen ratios that average about 1:1, which
to use most of the energy for evaporation, while means they use about half their absorbed energy
very dry surfaces heat up (Figure 16.4). For exam- to convert water from liquid to vapor.
ple, when a water body absorbs solar energy, it is The rate at which water converted into vapor
mostly used to evaporate water rather than warm- form is transferred from an evaporating surface to
ing the water. At the other extreme, deserts usu- the atmosphere depends on two factors. The first
ally have little moisture available for evaporation is how dry the air interacting with the surface is.
and so absorbed energy here is used to heat the The second is turbulent winds that promote the
344 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

uplift of water vapor into the atmosphere. As stated fall. Small, infrequent rainfall may never reach the
above, warm air can hold more moisture than cool soil surface in dense forests. However, most of the
air. Warm, dry air promotes a faster rate of evap- precipitation from large or frequent events will go
oration than cool, moist air. We will refer to this as to throughfall or stemflow. Given enough time
the evaporative demand of the atmosphere. Air between precipitation events and high enough
masses that have moved across dry land areas tend evaporation rates, interception can be a very impor-
to have low moisture contents and high evapora- tant part of the hydrologic cycle. Numerous stud-
tive demands. Alternatively, air masses that have ies have shown that the reduction in interception
moved through wet regions, such as over oceans, when forests are harvested results in higher rates
have relatively low evaporative demand. Winds trav- of soil recharge, greater runoff, and high potential
eling over rough surfaces, such as forests, tall build- for soil erosion. Interception can be as important
ings, and even grass, are forced to slow near the or more important than water plant transpiration.
surface. This results in turbulence in the lower Table 16.2 illustrates some typical amounts of inter-
atmosphere, which promotes greater mixing of air ception for different vegetation types. Clearly, the
near the surface. This mixing helps to remove evap- conversion of land cover from one form of vege-
orating water and promote further evaporation. The tation to another can have an impact on intercep-
rougher the surface, the more efficient it is at tion. For example, Law (3) found that a Sitka spruce
generating turbulence. For example, tall vegetation plantation produced 280 mm less soil recharge than
(e.g., a tree) creates a more efficient evaporative adjacent grasslands. Swank and Miner (4) found a
surface than shorter vegetation (e.g., grass), 33-94 mm reduction in groundwater recharge in
because they have more leaf surface in direct con- watersheds where deciduous cover was replaced
tact with the atmosphere. This increased exposed with white pine. Hibbert (5) showed a five-to-six-
surface area also allows forests to more quickly shed fold increase in annual runoff resulting from the
sensible heat, so they remain cooler than grass or removal of brush and replacement with grass. Some
bare soil. of these differences are attributable to transpiration
Interception (I) is the amount of precipitation rates, which we will discuss next.
that is trapped on leaves, branches, and surface A special form of evaporation known as tran-
organic matter and residues. Once intercepted, this spiration is the release of moisture from stomatal
water may evaporate and thus never infiltrate into openings on the leaf surfaces of terrestrial vegeta-
the soil. Forests have relatively large intercepting tion. Stomatal openings permit atmospheric carbon
surface areas (the leaves), and as described above, dioxide to mix with the water and be drawn into
these surface areas promote high rates of evapo- the leaf for photosynthesis (see also Chapter 4, For-
ration. The effect of interception is most evident est Ecophysiology). The water is drawn from the
when walking in a forest at the beginning of a rain soil through the roots, and through the xylem up
event. There is usually a short time in which you to the leaves. When stomatal cells are open to the
can remain dry under the forest canopy. Once the atmosphere, photosynthesis can occur. However,
canopy's capacity to store water has been the stomatal openings may be thought of as small
exceeded, further rainfall will either drip down to evaporating surfaces subject to the atmospheric
the ground from the leaves, a process known as demand for water. Water released from the stom-
throughfall, or it will travel along branches and atal cells to the atmosphere is called transpiration.
stems until it reaches the ground, a process known When the atmospheric demand is very high or the
as stemflow. availability of moisture in the soil is too low, the
The importance of interception in the water bal- stomatal openings are closed in an effort to regu-
ance of forests depends on the ability of the canopy late xylem water potential. Stomatal closure
to intercept water, the atmosphere to dry the reduces or shuts off transpiration and photosyn-
canopy, and the frequency and magnitude of rain- thesis. The physiologic controls on transpiration dis-
Global Distribution of Terrestrial Water and Life 345

Table 16.2 Estimates of the Percent of faces when soil moisture is high enough to keep
Precipitation that Is Intercepted by Differ- the leaf stomata open. In general, areas with high
ent Vegetation Types amounts of precipitation in relation to potential ET
Vegetation Type Percent Precipitation Intercepted
rates can support denser vegetation canopies. High
water use in areas of low precipitation will not
Forests allow this vegetation to grow and thrive (Figure
Deciduous 13 16.5). Deserts have low precipitation inputs and
Coniferous 28 high evaporative demand from high solar radiation
Crops inputs, high temperatures, and dry air masses. Only
Alfalfa 36 vegetation that is adapted to semi-arid and arid
Corn 16
Oats
conditions will survive in these areas. There is a
7
Grasses 10-20 tradeoff between moisture availability (precipita-
tion) and moisture demand (energy input or tem-
Source: Dunne and Leopold (1). perature). Areas with lower energy inputs have
lower potential ET rates. These areas can support
relatively denser vegetation with lower precipita-
tinguish it from other forms of evaporation, and yet tion than higher energy locations. In general, low
evaporation and transpiration are often combined latitude areas are warmer and so they require
in a single term known as evapotranspiration (ET). greater amounts of precipitation to support a given
However, it is important to remember that the two vegetation density than high latitude sites. Similarly,
forms of evaporation are different. Stomatal closure low altitude sites are warmer than high altitude
reduces both transpiration and photosynthesis. It sites, so they require higher precipitation rates to
is through stomatal control that primary production sustain the same amount of vegetation. These veg-
is linked to atmospheric demand and soil moisture etation-water relations are adequate for explaining
availability, both of which depend upon precipi-
tation. By understanding this relationship, we can
interpret the global distribution of terrestrial vege-
tation in terms of patterns of precipitation (see Fig-
ure 16.3 in color insert). The observant reader will
note that boundaries and transitions between veg-
etation densities and precipitation quantities cor-
respond. The global distribution of vegetation can
thus be partially related to the various controls on
the distribution of precipitation.
More directly, the density of vegetation sup-
ported should depend on a balance between pre-
cipitation and ET. This can be accounted for as soil
water storage. The amount of water available in
the soil depends on precipitation as a source of
water, ET, and hydraulic characteristics of the soils.
It is often useful to consider soil moisture content F i g u r e 16.5 A hydrologic equilibrium can exist
as more or less constant over a long period of time. in which a humid climate with a large storage of soil
It allows us to approximate water availability for water can support a dense vegetation cover. A dry
plant use using the relationship between precipi- climate will tend to require a greater amount of soil
tation and potential ET. Potential ET is considered water storage in order to support the same vegetation
to be the rate of evaporation from vegetated sur- cover supported in a humid climate.
346 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

regional to global scale patterns of vegetation, but standing body of water meet is said to be at atmos-
are incomplete for watershed scales. Within pheric pressure. Here the gravitational force
watersheds, the vegetation-water relations are com- exerted on a water molecule is the weight of the
plicated by the need to understand patterns of soil atmosphere that lies directly above the water mol-
water holding capacities and ground water flow ecule. Below the water surface, the pressure exerted
that can produce patterns of drying and wetting on a water molecule is higher, since it also has the
based on topographic control. These are consid- weight of the overlying water column. Capillary
ered next. forces act on water molecules in all directions, not
just downward. Capillary forces are caused by elec-
trical bonds that form between the sidewall of the
Soil Water soil pore space and water molecules. The tension
Soils are made up of minerals, organic matter, exerted by these electrical forces tends to get larger
water, and air. Natural field soils are porous. The as the pore spaces become smaller, and so clay soils
pore spaces are filled with air, water, or a combi- have greater capillarity than sandy soils. The great-
nation of air and water. Most soils have porosity est tension occurs where the moisture content on
between 45 and 55 percent of the soil volume. Soil the soil pore spaces is lowest. Upward tension
pore spaces are pathways for the movement of exerted on water that would otherwise drain freely
water. When these pathways are completely filled because of gravity allows the soil to retain water
with water, the soil is saturated; otherwise, it is against the force of gravity. Because the net down-
unsaturated. The rate of flow of water through a ward forces exerted on water molecules held under
saturated soil is called saturated hydraulic con- capillary tension are less than that of free-draining
ductivity, and depends on the texture of the soil. water molecules, unsaturated soils have less than
Soil texture refers to the size of the individual par- atmospheric pressure. By convention we usually
ticles that make up the soil. For mineral soils, these state that atmospheric pressure is our datum, which
particles include some combination of sand, silt, means that the pressure is given as zero. This means
and clay, which are respectively considered of that water in unsaturated soils is held under neg-
coarse, intermediate, and fine texture as described ative pressure and water in saturated soils has a pos-
in Chapter 5, Forest Soils. In general, soils with a itive pressure. This process of holding water at
high sand content have high hydraulic conductiv- negative pressure is known as soil water retention
ities at saturation, while clayey soils tend to have and the relationship between moisture content and
low saturated hydraulic conductivities. this negative pressure is known as a moisture reten-
When a saturated soil begins to drain, it becomes tion characteristic. When the upward tension on the
unsaturated. As it does so, its rate of hydraulic con- water equals the downward force of gravity on the
ductivity decreases because of a reduction in the water, drainage from the soil ceases and the soil is
number of connected draining pathways. Hydraulic said to have reached field capacity. The field capac-
conductivity rates fall rapidly as the soil becomes ity of a soil is very important because it defines an
less saturated, and at low moisture contents they upper limit normally associated with plant available
are negligibly small. Soils never drain completely water.
free of water, as there are forces that hold the water Plant available water is the difference between
against gravity. These forces, known as capillary field capacity and wilting point. In order to under-
forces, exert a tension on the water within the soil stand what the wilting point is, it is important to
pores. In order to understand the role of tension recognize that plant roots are able to draw water
on water movement in soils, it is important to from soils at higher negative pressures than field
understand a few conventions in the way in which capacity and that water moves from a location of
soil water tension is reported. The point where high pressure to a location of low pressure. Field
atmosphere and a saturated soil layer or free- capacity for most soils occurs at a pressure of about
Global Distribution of Terrestrial Water a n d Life 347

-340 millibars (mb). Capillary forces within most but an impermeable layer, such as bedrock or
plant roots can produce pressures much lower than highly compacted soil, or a water table, underlies
soil field capacity, and can go to -15,000 mb or the soil, then the soil may saturate from below.
lower depending on the species. At pressures much Once a soil is saturated, it can hold no more water
lower than this, plants are unable to maintain cell and further water input runs off.
turgor. Thus, at wilting point, many plant species
close their stomata and may eventually be damaged.
An important property of soils is their ability Ground Water
to absorb incoming water from above, such as pre- Ground water is water that completely fills the pore
cipitation or snow melt water. Water infiltrates soils spaces of permeable materials, or ground water
at a rate that depends on a number of properties aquifers, below the ground surface. It includes
of the soils. These include saturated hydraulic con- water stored below the water table in soils and in
ductivity, the moisture content of the soil prior to deeper aquifers in porous bedrock. Ground water
the input of water, and the intensity of the water is an important part of the hydrologic cycle. It rep-
input. Soils with higher hydraulic conductivities resents about 30 percent of the world's fresh water
have higher infiltration rates. Soils that are dry prior resources, and 99 percent, if permanent ice is
to a rainfall event have to be recharged, so they excluded. It is an important source of water for
tend to have longer periods of high infiltration domestic consumption, for irrigation, and for indus-
rates. As stated earlier, hydraulic conductivity trial uses. It is also a critical link in the terrestrial
depends on soil texture, such as whether the soil portion of the hydrologic cycle, because it links
is predominantly sand or clay. It also depends on water that infiltrates into soils to streams and other
how compacted the soil is. A loose soil has a surface water bodies. Ground water tends to move
higher porosity than a compacted soil, and in gen- from upland source areas to lowland discharge
eral, near-surface soils under vegetation have high areas. Through this lateral flow of water, ground-
porosity that is produced by roots and organisms water can help to sustain riparian forests and gallery
such as worms. Soils at greater depth tend to be forests in valleys even in semi-arid regions.
more compacted by the weight of the overlying Ground water is important both in terms of qual-
layers. At greater depth, there is also lower root ity and quantity. Streams, lakes, and other surface
and animal content. When soils are dry, incom- water bodies can be thought of as areas in the land-
ing water generally infiltrates at a rate above the scape where the ground water reaches the surface.
saturated hydraulic conductivity. This is caused by As such, water bodies can be important diagnos-
the combined drainage rate resulting from grav- tics of watershed health. For instance, lake acidity
ity and capillary forces that draw the water into is a good indicator of the acid-neutralizing ability
the soil. Eventually, the rate of infiltration slows of the watershed in response to acid rain. Also,
down to the rate of the saturated hydraulic con- human consumption of ground water from well
ductivity as the surface soil layers become satu- pumping frequently lowers regional water tables.
rated. Knowing something about the infiltration Excessive ground water pumping may result in the
capacity of a soil is key to understanding how the land subsiding, as is occurring in some coastal areas
soil will respond to precipitation events. If rate of of Texas.
precipitation onto a soil surface exceeds the rate
at which water can infiltrate then water will pond
on the surface and eventually run off. However, Runoff
if the soil has a very high infiltration capacity, as In the last thirty years, hydrologists have come to
occurs in most forests, then very few precipitation understand the mechanisms of runoff generation.
events will be intense enough to produce runoff. Prior to the 1960s, it was believed that runoff was
If the rate of water infiltration into a soil is high, produced over all areas of watersheds. This runoff
348 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

was believed to occur when precipitation rates importance for agriculture, rivers were historically
exceeded the infiltration capacity of the soils. Stud- a key for trade and commerce, transportation, as
ies have shown that most natural soils have infil- a source of food and water, and in the last century
tration capacities that exceed all but the highest as a source of hydroelectric power. The North
rates of precipitation. Usually runoff is limited to American fur trade relied heavily on rivers. Rivers
only parts of the watershed, and for most precip- became the focal point for the exploration and set-
itation events these areas remain unchanged for a tling of both the United States and Canada. One
given watershed. For instance, urban watersheds only has to consider the commerce, culture, and
have fixed, impermeable surfaces. Forested water- growth of cities along the Mississippi and St.
sheds with harvested areas may have low infiltra- Lawrence rivers as illustration of the role of large
tion capacities and high runoff rates if the soils have streams.
become compacted during a logging operation. The Streams store very little water when viewed in
low infiltration capacity sites are the most likely to terms of the world's total water budget, but they
produce runoff. are the link between terrestrial and aquatic ecosys-
Most runoff in undisturbed, well-drained water- tems. Water is moved in streams a great distance
sheds occurs where soils have become saturated from ground water aquifers, lakes, and glaciers to
from ground water that returns to the surface, such the oceans. Streamflow is the cheapest and easiest
as near streams and in concave areas on slopes. to monitor of all hydrologic fluxes. Stream gauges
Areas where ground water returns to the surface regularly monitor most major rivers in the conti-
are usually called seepage faces. They occur where nental United States, Canada, and most other coun-
soils are recharging at much higher rates than in tries. The United States Geological Survey (or USGS)
surrounding areas. This is called ground water maintains a network of stream gauges, which are
mounding. Seepage faces also occur where thin monitored regularly by people or by automated
soils are underlain with an impermeable layer, such recording instruments. Data from these monitoring
as bedrock. Water infiltrating into the soil hits this stations are routinely used by federal, state, and
impermeable barrier and travels down slope. In val- local regulatory agencies with a vested interest in
ley bottoms the water may slow down or converge, water resources. For example, the state of Califor-
which means a water table grows upwards to the nia has invested considerable resources in a net-
soil surface. The resultant breakout flow then runs work of monitoring stations and experimental
along the surface until it reaches a stream or until watersheds to improve the understanding and man-
it re-infiltrates in an area where the soil is not sat- agement of its scarce water resources.
urated. Also, precipitation that falls on a saturated Of concern with streamflow are low flows, which
soil directly runs off. Breakout flow and direct pre- occur between precipitation events, and peak flows,
cipitation runoff are collectively known as satura- which occur during or shortly after precipitation
tion excess runoff. events. Low flow, called base flow, is an impor-
tant source of water for human consumption and
for sustaining stream ecosystems. Peak flows are
Streamflow regularly studied because they have the greatest
Streams and streamflow are often the focus of potential of causing damage to ecosystems and
watershed management. Rivers have always played human structures. For instance, peak flows occur
a central role in human settlements. One of the ear- during rainfall events that promote a rapid melting
liest known human settlements, Mesopotamia (from of snow packs in the Cascade Range in the Pacific
the Greek mesos "middle" and potamos "river;" lit- Northwest of the United States. These events are
erally "land between the rivers"), developed on fer- associated with debris flows that severely damage
tile alluvial plains watered by the Euphrates, the near stream and in-stream ecosystems and wash out
Tigris, and their tributaries. In addition to their roads. Large streamflows may also result in stream
Global Distribution of Terrestrial Water a n d Life 349

Sidebar 16.1

Case Study: The 1993 Mississippi Floods

The Mississippi River experienced one of its to open the gates of the 29 regulation dams on
worst flooding events during late spring and the Mississippi in order to release as much water
summer of 1993, resulting from a combination as possible during the spring. However, longer
of eight months of high rainfall followed by high warning times and improved predictive models
amounts of snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains. were needed, according to the National Oceanic
From late June to late July the flood wave over- and Air Administration (NOAA). In addition,
topped the river banks in Minneapolis, Min- there has been increased questioning of policies
nesota, exceeded a 9.5 m levee built to contain of building levees, draining wetlands, clearing
the 500-year flood level, and reached 5.2 m the channels and building towns on floodplains.
above flood stage in St. Louis, Missouri. For the Over the last 200 years, half of the United States
first time since flow records were first collected wetlands have been drained, and yet these areas,
on Mississippi flooding, flood crests of the Mis- along with backwaters and the floodplain, pro-
sissippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers met simul- vide important storage areas for delaying
taneously. Many midwestern rivers remained at runoff. The national Wetlands Reserve Program
flood stage until September (see Figure 16.6 in was formed to pay farmers to restore 2.5 mil-
color insert). The floods resulted in 50 deaths, lion ha of wetlands by 1995, but as of 1994 they
property damage in excess of $7 billion, evac- had rehabilitated only 125,000 ha. The U.S.
uation of 37,000 people from their homes, flood- National Wildlife Foundation has been cam-
ing of 30 million ha of farmland and $3 billion paigning to stop subsidized insurance for land
in crop damage. owners in flood-prone areas (1).
Weather radar and a network of rainfall and
river stage gauges linked by satellite to the Army Source:
Corps of Engineers offices provided data for real- 1. J. A.JONES, Global Hydrology: Processes, Resources
time flood-routing models. Early warning of the and Environmental Management, Addison Wesley
flood was used by the Army Corps of Engineers Longman Limited, Edinburgh Gate, U.K., 1997.

water levels exceeding the heights of stream banks flood could happen in two consecutive years.
and overflowing into the surrounding flood plain. Recent examples of large floods are the 1993 flood-
Hydrologists use probabilistic terms to describe how ing of the Mississippi River valley (see Sidebar 16.1,
big a streamflow event is. The most common term and see Figure 16.6 in color insert), and the 1998
used is the recurrence interval. A recurrence inter- flooding of the Red River in North Dakota and
val of 10 years, which may also be called a "ten- southern Manitoba, Canada. 100-year floods result
year flood," refers to a streamflow event with a in great losses of life and property because human
magnitude that on average occurs once in ten years. development occurs most frequently in floodplains,
Longer recurrence intervals mean larger flood which are generally more fertile land with fewer
events. A 100-year flood is very damaging, but will irrigation costs.
on average occur only one time in 100 years. How- The measured flow, Q, at a stream gauge rep-
ever, hydrologists are keenly aware that a 100-year resents water that has been concentrated from an
350 Watershed M a n a g e m e n t : A Regional to Global Perspective

entire watershed area over a period of time. The

time taken by water as it travels from a recharge
area in the watershed to the stream gauge results
in a delay between the time of peak precipitation
and time of peak streamflow. Measurements of
streamflow over a period of time can be portrayed
in a graphical form known as a hydrograph. The
hydrograph can portray a single storm event or a
sequence of events over a long period of time. The
shape of the hydrograph for an event reveals much
about the physical characteristics of the watershed
that collects and moves water. For example, a large
watershed tends to have a larger hydrograph than
a small watershed. An elongated watershed tends
to have longer flow path lengths, giving it a less
pronounced hydrograph peak and a longer dura-
tion than a watershed with a more compact shape.
A steeper sloped watershed has a higher peak and
shorter storm flow duration than a shallow sloped
watershed because steep slopes promote a faster
acceleration of the watershed because of gravity. F i g u r e 16.7 This figure shows streamflow
In addition, land cover plays an important role in hydrographs (curves) and input precipitation (bars),
delaying and reducing peak runoff amounts. Fig- comparing a natural surface cover to an urbanized
cover. The effect of urbanizing watersheds is to
ure 16.7 illustrates the effects of urbanizing water-
reduce the lag to peak flow and increase the peak
sheds on storm runoff responses. In this case, flow, as a result of increased amounts of impervious
natural vegetated surfaces are replaced with surface within the watershed.
impervious surfaces, such as rooftops, roads, side-
walks, parking lots, and driveways. One conse-
quence is that a greater proportion of annual flow
in a stream comes from storm water runoff rather Integrated View of the
than base flow. In addition, as impervious cover Watershed and Its
replaces natural surfaces, there is a reduction in soil
infiltration capacities, which results in reduced Management
recharge of ground water. This can produce
reduced base flow levels during long dry periods Land Use
between rainfall events. Low flow amounts are con- It should be evident that human activity has altered
sidered important for aquatic ecosystems, fisheries, land cover, and this should have an impact on water
and municipal water supply. Storm runoff moves resources. On a global scale, the expansion of
more rapidly over relatively smooth urban surfaces deserts is an extreme illustration of how human land
than over natural vegetation. As a result, rising limbs use may be causing the spread of non-arable land
of storm hydrographs are steeper, have higher (see Sidebar 16.2—Land Use and the Global Expan-
peaks, and recession limbs decline more steeply in sion of Deserts). On a local to regional scale, the
urbanizing areas. The result is an overall increase primary concern of watershed management is the
in the amount of streamflow, a higher peak stream- sound use and protection of water resource quan-
flow, and a more rapid streamflow response to a tity and quality. However, the management of water
rainfall or snow melt event. resources cannot be entirely separated from the
Integrated V i e w of t h e W a t e r s h e d a n d Its M a n a g e m e n t 351

management of other resources. All forms of land ment. Runoff that occurs from infiltration excess
use activities influence and are influenced by water tends to travel long distances, with high velocity,
resources. For instance, forest harvesting has an as sheet flow d o w n slopes. This type of runoff pro-
immediate effect on water resources because motes the erosion of soil. In contrast, runoff that
removing the vegetation reduces interception and occurs as saturation excess tends to either begin
transpiration. However, if the forests are encour- flowing in regions close to streams w h e r e they
aged to grow back, then the increased water yield travel at low velocities and with little capacity for
is short lived (3—7 years) and may result in a eroding soil, or they are produced in isolated
medium-term reduction in water yield as young depressions, travel a short distance and re-infiltrate
forests grow to a closed canopy (Figure 16.8) (6). into drier surrounding soils. Soil compaction
Conversion of forests to agriculture or to other resulting from certain forest harvest practices may
types of vegetation cover can have profound result in reduced infiltration capacity with greater
impacts on water balance. More precipitation falls likelihood that the infiltration excess will result in
directly on the soil surface. This in turn may overland flow.
increase soil water content and potential for runoff. Water can also serve as a means of transferring
The mechanisms of runoff generation are an impor- the effects to another resource. For instance,
tant consideration in terms of watershed manage- removal of vegetation in riparian areas can result
in warming of streams, which can be detrimental
to aquatic resources such as fish. Agricultural prac-
tices result in increased surface runoff, which erodes
soil. Land cover and land use are important con-
cerns for determining the potential for soil erosion.
Energy from the impact of precipitation on bare soil
surface will loosen or excavate soil from the sur-
face, making it available for transport by runoff. By
having organic materials and residues on the sur-
face, there is less opportunity for rainfall impact to
promote soil erosion. In addition, plants reduce the
velocity of precipitation by intercepting and releas-
ing it through stemflow or throughfall. After veg-
etation is removed, burning, plowing, or surface
grading removes surface organic material. The soils
F i g u r e 1 6 . 8 This graph shows a cumulative total are then exposed to potential erosion from pre-
of the differences between streamflow in a clearcut cipitation impact and subsequent runoff. Erosion
watershed and a fully vegetated watershed. Prior to may occur in agricultural fields, in formerly
the forest harvesting (indicated), the watershed to be forested areas that have b e e n logged and where
dearcut has a lower streamflow. Shortly after the soils have b e e n compacted u n d e r logging equip-
harvest, there is a rapid increase in streamflow in the ment, and in overgrazed pastureland.
clearcut watershed. This increase gradually declines
Overgrazing is a classic example of h o w land
with time. After 20 years or so, the vegetation has
sufficiently recovered to show little difference between use can dramatically alter the balance between soil
the two watersheds. (Data courtesy of the Forest protection and soil erosion. Many so-called "bad-
Science Bank, a partnership between the Department lands" occur in areas w h e r e overgrazing triggers
of Forest Science, Oregon State University, and the rapid soil loss. The photos in Figure 16.9 are taken
U.S. Forest Service Northwest Research Station, from an area of badlands on the back slopes of the
Corvallis, Oregon. Significant funding for these data Niagara Escarpment in southern Ontario, Canada,
was provided by the National Science Foundation.) w h e r e a slope c o m p o s e d of weathered shale has
352 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

Sidebar 16.2

Land Use and the Global Expansion of Deserts

Deserts presently cover about 37 percent of the cracked soil is much more prone to have its top-
global land cover, 7 percent of which is because soil blown away. The bare soil surface reflects
of land use. The current total area amounts to much more solar energy than the former vege-
about 45 million square kilometers, and this is tated surface, which means the surface absorbs
increasing at a rate of about 60 thousand square less energy and heating is reduced. In addition,
kilometers per year (1). A key trigger appears some of the topsoil blown off the surface is car-
to be the reduction of soil fertility through ried into the atmosphere where it increases the
destruction of topsoil. One theory to explain amount of radiation reflected back to space. This
how this happens is that devegetation along the reduces the amount of energy that the atmos-
margins of subtropical deserts results in a reduc- phere can absorb, resulting in cooler air aloft.
tion of convective heating needed for the for- This cooling forces the air to sink, which means
mation of clouds. Several feedback mechanisms it warms adiabatically and forms an inversion.
can help to explain why this might happen. The The inversion suppresses strong convective uplift
destruction of vegetation, for instance through and cloud formation is reduced (2). This theory
harvesting, results in rain striking soil surfaces has been used to explain the expansion of the
with greater force. This seals the soil surface and Sahel Desert in Africa, although the actual influ-
may produce splashpans, which lowers the rate ence of land use is unsubstantiated.
of infiltration, and leads to greater runoff and
soil erosion. Increased runoff and erosion mean Sources:
reduced storage of water in the soil and reduced 1. J. A. JONES, Global Hydrology: Processes, Resources
soil fertility. The chances for vegetation to regen- and Environmental Management, Addison Wesley
erate are thus reduced. The soils are also more Longman Limited, Edinburgh Gate, U.K., 1997.
likely to crack as they dry. Soil surface cracks 2. R. A. BRYSON AND T. J. MURRAY, Climate of Hunger,
act as channels for water and promote acceler- University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 1977.
ated soil erosion rates. In addition, the dry,

been gullied by the removal of natural vegetation nectivity of different areas of the watershed because
by overgrazing. Once the erosion was initiated, the of pathways of movement of water, sediment,
soils were too nutrient-poor and compacted for veg- organic material, energy, and pollutants. Degrada-
etation to re-establish. Features such as this under- tion of the land can potentially follow a vicious cir-
score the importance of feedback between cle (Figure 16.10) (7), in which overuse of land and
hydrological processes and land use. removal of forests leads to reduced soil infiltration
rates, which promotes greater soil erosion, degra-
dation of site quality and increased susceptibility
Cumulative Watershed Analysis of streams to flooding.
Important considerations in watershed management Specifically within the context of forest har-
are the cumulative effects of land use activities. vesting, numerous examples of cumulative effects
Cumulative watershed effects stem from the con- can be identified. We will assume an order of oper-
Integrated View of the Watershed a n d Its M a n a g e m e n t 353

F i g u r e 1 6 . 1 0 A vicious cycle exists because land

use activities result in a degradation of soils, increased
erosion, and flooding. To compensate for lost arable
land, new land is sought and exploited, completing
the cycle. (Source: Doherty and MacDonald, 1992.)

ington catchments indicated that the effect of roads

and culverts was to increase the effective channel
network density by 64 percent and 52 percent,
respectively. Model estimates indicated that this
F i g u r e 1 6 . 9 Formation of badlands as a result of translated into about an 11 percent increase in mean
the removal of vegetation, most likely from annual floods (8).
overgrazing. The upper photo shows the transition Harvesting reduces transpiration, which increases
between the vegetation pasture and the badland
runoff. Skid trails channelize water, which promotes
formation. The lower photo provides a view of the
channel formation that prevents establishment of greater runoff. Site preparation reduces ground
ground-protecting vegetation. cover, which increases the transport of sediment.
These localized effects in turn accumulate down-
stream. During large storms, the increased peak
streamflows and sediment loads in managed areas
ations that includes 1) construction of logging roads, can accelerate channel erosion and sedimentation.
2) actual harvesting, 3) skid trail development fol- In mountainous watersheds, an important mani-
lowing harvesting, and 4) site preparation for sub- festation of localized increases in soil moisture are
sequent planting. Road construction bares and earth flows or landslides, which send debris flows
compacts soil, which reduces infiltration capacities through stream reaches. A debris flow can take out
and increases runoff. Road networks in mountain- much of the existing riparian vegetation and alter
ous forest watersheds may increase peak stream- the shape of the stream channel. Subsequently, new
flow by replacing subsurface flow paths with riparian vegetation establishes itself on the debris.
surface flow. This occurs because forest road inci- The p h o t o in Figure 16.11 shows a stream chan-
sions capture subsurface flow and also promote nel covered in debris from a flow that resulted from
greater infiltration excess runoff. Subsurface flow a large buildup of s n o w followed by rain on the
is captured by the road and channeled through cul- snow during the winter of 1996/1997 (see Sidebar
verts. A study conducted in two western Wash- 16.3). The resulting alteration to the channel sides
354 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

occurs either from point sources or nonpoint

sources. Point sources include municipal sewers and
industrial waste output. Nonpoint source pollution
represents by far the most significant source of pol-
lution. By definition, nonpoint source (NPS) pol-
lution occurs over a widespread area and is
concentrated in rivers, lakes, and estuaries. In the
United States, the primary source of NPS pollution
is agriculture. Nutrients applied on agricultural fields
are carried through streams and concentrated in
lakes and other water bodies. These nutrients pro-
mote accelerated aquatic vegetation growth, such
as algae blooms (see Figure 16.12 in color insert).
F i g u r e 16.11 Stream channels like this are When this vegetation dies, it remains in the water,
common in the Pacific Northwest. The stream bed is where it decays. The decomposition of this
dominated by the remnants of a debris flow that organic material consumes oxygen, that is then
swept through the stream channel in early 1996. It depleted from the water. This loss of oxygen in sur-
was the result of rapid melting of snow during a
rainfall event, combined with storage of weathered face water is called eutrophication. It is observable
material on an unstable slope. The effects of forest most immediately as a reduction in water clarity and
cover removal are to make slopes much more decline in fish and other aquatic organisms.
susceptible to debris flows such as this. A legal basis for a shift towards a more ecolog-
ically sound management of water resources began
with the United States Congress passing the National
Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Man-
and bottom can severely harm stream ecosystems agement Act, and the Clean Water Act (9). These
and domestic water supply. For example, spawn- laws respectively required federal agencies to pre-
ing fish require cold water, high levels of dissolved pare environmental impact statements for projects
oxygen, and well-aerated gravels that are free of having the potential to significantly affect the envi-
silt and clay. Fish also require deep pools, under- ronment, directed the Forest Service to guarantee
cut banks to protect juveniles, and overhanging protection for all water bodies, and established Best
riparian vegetation to provide shade for the stream Management Practices (BMPs) for controlling non-
ecosystem and for a source of decaying vegetation point source pollution. Section 319 of the Clean
to sustain lower levels of the aquatic food chain. Water Act of 1987 required states to identify and
Lack of consideration of these factors can cause submit BMPs for EPA approval to help control non-
damage to economically important fish stocks, such point source pollution. As of 1993, 41 of 50 states
as salmon. This has traditionally only been the con- had EPA-approved voluntary or regulatory silvi-
cern of fisheries personnel; other land uses includ- culture-based BMP programs. The state BMPs are
ing forestry were considered to be competing with all similar; the majority deal with roads. Montana,
fisheries. for example, has a total of 55 specifically addressed
The eroded soil causes sedimentation of streams forest practices. Of those 55 practices, 35 deal with
and other water bodies. In addition, pollutants road planning and location, road design, road main-
attached to the sediments are also moved from the tenance, road drainage, road construction, and
runoff-generating surface to water bodies. Pollutants stream crossings. (See Sidebar 16.4.)
include dissolved nutrients and chemicals. Pollu- Unified watershed assessments are directed at
tion is normally classified as increased concentra- integrating state, interstate, tribal, and federal
tions of these constituents over natural levels. It assessment programs. Priority watersheds from dif-
International Watershed Management: The Case of the Great Lakes Basin 355

ferent agencies can be overlaid on maps for com- International Watershed

parison. An advantage of this approach is that Management: The Case of the
watersheds can be evaluated at different scales,
Great Lakes Basin
ranging from small watersheds around single water
bodies up to a regional extent. Having nested water- Watersheds that are shared by two or more coun-
sheds, in which smaller monitored watersheds lie tries present unique challenges for managing water
within larger monitored watersheds, helps to tar- resources. High-profile examples include the Ama-
get activities identified in watershed restoration zon River basin and the Great Lakes river basin.
action strategies. To make these new approaches The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh sur-
feasible, there has been a shift of responsibility of face water on earth, containing roughly 18 percent
monitoring water resources from government of the world supply. Only the polar ice caps con-
agencies to nongovernment agencies. Monitoring tain more fresh surface water. The resources of the
consortiums that involve partnerships between gov- Great Lakes basin have been central to the history
ernment agencies, public and private organizations and development of the United States and Canada.
are becoming common (10). For the early European explorers and settlers, the

Sidebar 16.3

Case Study: Pacific Northwest Floods of 1996

Warm winds, intense rainfall, and rapid by relocating roads to areas outside of flood-
snowmelt during the winter of 1995-96 and plains. Table 16.3 summarizes the major buffer
again in the winter of 1996-97 caused major strip requirements for managing stream corridors
flooding, landslides, and other damage through- in Pacific Northwest states. These guidelines are
out the Pacific Northwest. Watershed damage in place for the protection of streambanks and
included large and damaging debris flows, which for maintaining the health of the aquatic
are fast-moving and carry large rocks eroded ecosystems. Examination of road crossings at
from high elevation sites, fallen trees, and other streams concluded with the design recommen-
debris through valley channels (see Figure dation to keep the water moving, align culverts
16.11). The hardest-hit areas had the worst flood- horizontally and longitudinally with the stream
ing in over 30 years. Damage to roads, trails, channel, and minimize changes in the stream
watersheds, and water resources was widespread channel cross-section at inlet basins to prevent
on National Forest Service lands. The events future debris plugs. Areas with stable, well-
offered an opportunity to study the effects of vegetated slopes and streambanks, as well as
severe weather, examine the influence and effec- fully functioning floodplains, buffer the effects
tiveness of forest management techniques, and of floods. Common restoration practices include
implement repairs that follow ecosystem man- streambank stabilization and riparian plantings
agement principles. Based on long-term access to aid the natural processes in these systems.
and travel requirements, road repairs were made
(continues)
356 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

Sidebar 16.3 (continued)

Table 16.3 Major buffer strip requirements for stream corridor maintenance in the
Pacific Northwest. The guidelines distinguish between fisheries and water supply as
primary protection areas and other impacts for secondary protection.
Protection Required Width Shade or Leave Trees
Areas of Buffer Strip Canopy Requirement Requirement
Idaho Water supply, fisheries Fixed minimum (75 feet) 75% current shade a Yes; number per
1000 feet, depend-
ent on stream
width b
Other influences Fixed minimum (5 feet) No requirement No requirement
Washington Water supply, fisheries Variable by stream 50% (75% required if Yes; number per
width (5-100 feet) temperature>60°F) 1000 feet,
dependent on
stream width and
bed material
Other influences No requirement No requirement 25 per l000 feet,
6 inches diameter
California Water supply, fisheries Variable by slope and 50% overstory and/or Yes; number to be
stream class (50- understory; dependent determined by
200 feet)c on slope and stream canopy density d
class
Sediment transporte No requirement 50% understory f No requirementf
Oregon Water supply, fisheries Variable, three times 50% existing canopy, Yes; number and
stream width (25- 75% existing shade basal area per
100 feet) l000 feet by
stream width
Significant impact No requirements g 75% existing shade No requirement
downstream
a
In Idaho, the shade requirement is designed to maintain stream temperatures.
b
In Idaho, the leave tree requirement is designed to provide for recruitment of large woody debris.
c
May range up to 300 feet for some types of timber harvest.
d
To be determined by field inspection.
e
In streams capable of sediment transport.
f
Residual vegetation must be sufficient to prevent degradation of downstream beneficial users.
g
In eastern Oregon, operators are required to "leave stabilization of undergrowth ...
sufficient to prevent washing of sediment into Class I streams below."

lakes and their tributaries were the avenues for pen- Great Lakes a fourth seacoast, and the Great Lakes
etrating the continent, extracting valued resources region is a dominant factor in the Canadian indus-
and carrying local products abroad. By the end of trial economy.
the twentieth century, the Great Lakes basin was The original logging operations in the Great
home to more than one-tenth of the population of Lakes basin cleared the land for agriculture. Some
the United States and one-quarter of the popula- of the wood was used in construction. Most of it
tion of Canada. The United States considers the was burned. By the 1830s, commercial logging
International Watershed Management: The Case of the Great Lakes Basin 357

Sidebar 16.4
Case Study: Best Management Practices in Wisconsin

Nearly half of Wisconsin is forested. Its forests avoiding equipment maintenance and fueling,
are critical to much of its nearly 20,000 kilo- avoiding construction, and keeping slash away
meters of rivers and streams and nearly 15,000 from open water.
lakes. The Wisconsin Department of Natural From 1995 to 1997, individual timber sales
Resources (DNR) Forestry Divison, began a Best were evaluated by teams consisting of individ-
Management Practices (BMP) program in 1995 uals from government agencies, professional
to determine the effects of timber harvesting on forestry organizations, environmental organiza-
water resources. The objectives were to iden- tions, and the forest products industry. Only tim-
tify where BMPs are being used, their effec- ber sales on wetlands or within 60 meters of a
tiveness, and to determine the effects of not lake or stream were monitored. The results of
applying BMPs. Although forestry practices con- the study indicated that BMPs were applied cor-
tribute only 3 percent to the state-wide nonpoint rectly 85 percent of the time when needed, and
source pollution, there are nevertheless impor- that only 6 percent of the time did the absence
tant local impacts on water quality. Three pri- of BMPs have a major impact on water
mary focus areas were riparian management resources. The results of the study called for
zones, forest roads, and wetlands. Riparian man- greater emphasis on BMPs for riparian man-
agement zones are areas within about 30 meters agement areas and forest roads. Riparian man-
of lakes and perennial streams. Within these agement is recommended for areas within about
zones, the highest priority BMPs designated no 30 meters of lakes and perennial streams. A key
construction of roads or landings, that soil expo- element of successful implementation will be
sure and compaction be minimized, that no slash education, because about two-thirds of the state
be placed within the zone, and that harvesting forests are owned by about 260,000 private land
be selective. Harvesting was specified to pro- owners. This includes encouraging land own-
mote long-lived species, including sugar and red ers to participate in BMP training. Another rec-
maple, white and black ash, oaks, eastern hem- ommendation of the study was to conduct
lock, white and red pine, and cedar. Recom- further research to determine whether steep ter-
mendations for road BMPs included planning to rain or soil type correlates with the effectiveness
minimize overall road area and to not exceed of BMPs in some areas. This is a study that could
road grades of 10 percent to minimize runoff. be conducted with the application of geographic
Recommendations for wetland BMPs include information systems and models.

began in Upper Canada (now southern Ontario), designed for log transport. The earliest loggers har-
followed by Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. vested mainly white pine. In virgin stands, these
Cutting was generally done in the winter months, trees reached 60 meters (200 feet) in height, and
by traveling up rivers and felling trees that were a single tree could contain 10 cubic meters (6,000
floated down to the lakes during the spring thaw. board feet) of lumber. As the forests were cleared,
Timber was eventually carried in ships specially loggers migrated farther west and north in search
358 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

of white pine. When this resource was exhausted Commission (IJC). The IJC has the authority to
other species were utilized. The hardwoods such resolve disputes over the use of water resources
as maple, walnut, and oak were cut to make fur- that cross the international boundary. Water pol-
niture and specialty products. Lower-grade pulp- lution was one of the first problems referred to the
wood would eventually support papermaking and IJC for study. Public and scientific concern about
the region became a major source of paper. With pollution of the lakes grew as accelerated eutroph-
the pulp and paper industry came a mercury pol- ication became more obvious through the 1950s.
lution problem on the Great Lakes until the early The IJC reported in 1970 that eutrophication was
1970s, when mercury was banned. the result of excessive phosphorus. The study pro-
The logging industry was exploitive during its posed basin-wide efforts to reduce phosphorus
early stages. Huge stands were lost in fires, often loadings from all sources. It was recognized that
because of poor management of litter from logging reduction of phosphorus depended on control of
operations. In Canada, lumbering was largely done local sources. Uniform effluent limits were urged
on crown lands with a small tax charged per tree. for all industries and municipal sewage treatment
In the United States, cutting was done on private systems in the basin. Research suggested that land
land, but when it was cleared, the owners often runoff could also be an important source of nutri-
stopped paying taxes and let the land revert to pub- ents and other pollutants entering the lakes. This
lic ownership. In both cases, clearcutting was the research resulted in the Great Lakes Water Quality
usual practice. Without proper rehabilitation of the Agreement in 1972. It was revised in 1978 to estab-
forest, soils were readily eroded and lost to local lish target phosphorous discharge levels, 1 part per
streams, rivers and lakes. In some areas of the Great million (ppm) (mg per liter), and for the virtual elim-
Lakes basin, reforestation has not been adequate ination of toxic chemicals. In 1987, the Agreement
and forests may be considered a diminishing was revised to emphasize ecosystem objectives,
resource. Pollution that had immediate local including nonpoint source pollution, airborne pol-
effects eventually spread throughout the basin. lution, pollution from contaminated groundwater,
An evolution in understanding how environ- and ecological indicators such as human and
mental damage has resulted from human use of nat- aquatic community health.
ural resources in the basin has arisen out of the In addition to government legislation, commu-
research, monitoring and commitment to Great nities, local groups and individuals play a key role
Lakes protection by both countries. Ecosystem man- in the management of the Great Lakes. The man-
agement requires the involvement of all levels of agement process starts with individuals and fami-
government, as well as industry and nongovern- lies taking action as consumers, recyclers,
ment organizations. Each has its own responsibil- neighborhood stewards and health promoters. Non-
ities and often work in partnership to protect the government organizations are taking responsibility
basin ecosystem. Originally, water pollution was for public education, citizen-directed projects, and
treated as a separate problem. Eventually the con- for providing direction to government. Businesses
nections between land, air, and water resources are key in managing their own operations in a sus-
were better appreciated. In 1905, the International tainable, ecological fashion, being partners with
Waterways Commission was created to advise the community and governments, and in complying
governments of both countries about levels and with regulations set by themselves and others. Most
flows in the Great Lakes, especially in relation to successful management requires partnership
the generation of electricity by hydropower. The arrangements among the various sectors in the pub-
Boundary Waters Treaty was signed in 1909 and lic. People are getting involved in local decision-
provided for the creation of the International Joint making processes, via groups such as Public
International Watershed Management: The Case of the Great Lakes Basin 359

Advisory Committees in Areas of Concern and local instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV) of the camera
community groups throughout the Great Lakes or scanner. A low flying height and small IFOV yield
basin that exert pressure toward change. the highest spatial resolution. However, a small
IFOV means the sensor receives reflected or emit-
ted energy summed from a small area on the sur-
N e w Technologies for Integrated face, potentially giving very little information. The
Watershed Management tradeoff between spatial resolution and spectral
Recent developments in computer-based tech- information content is sometimes balanced by
nologies are changing the way in which integrated simultaneously capturing energy over a range of
views of watersheds are being maintained. Geo- wavelengths. Spectral resolution refers to the range
graphic information systems (GIS) are computer- of wavelengths from the electromagnetic spectrum
based methods for the capture, storage, display, that is captured by one photo or image. Pho-
analysis, and output of geographically referenced tographs can capture visible wavelengths or both
information. GIS are integrative tools for spatial visible and near-infrared. These are wavelengths of
analysis and modeling (see also Chapter 12). A energy from the sun that are reflected off the earth's
GIS can combine information of different themes surface. Image scanners can also detect thermal
that is traditionally portrayed on paper maps. A infrared energy emitted by the surface. In addition,
theme could represent soils, topography, vege- there are microwave radar sensors that have shown
tation, hydrography, land use, or other data col- some promise for mapping topography, detecting
lected spatially. The GIS allows for these themes near surface soil moisture, and distinguishing
to be placed in a common geographic coordinate between vegetation canopy and ground.
system so that information from multiple themes The most common remote sensing technologies
can be addressed by location. Once in this form, that have been used in water resources manage-
it can be used for visualization (see Figure 16.13 ment are aerial photography: both visible and
in color insert), watershed modeling, and analy- near-infrared, and imaging scanners: visible, near-
sis. Watershed modeling tools increasingly rely on infrared, and thermal. Near-infrared energy is use-
geographic data preparation as inputs and to sup- ful for mapping vegetation, as healthy cells in leaves
port decision making (see Figure 16.14 in color are highly reflective in this part of the spectrum.
insert). In addition, chlorophyll is a good absorber of
Remote sensing is the art and science of collecting energy from the red part of the electromagnetic
information about the earth's surface without being spectrum. By combining these two properties,
in physical contact with the surface. Most of the researchers have developed numerous indexes of
time it refers to photographs or images acquired leaf quantity that correlate well with ground-based
by cameras or imaging scanners flown on aircraft measurements of leaf area. These indexes provide
or spacecraft. Information obtained using this tech- a spatially large inventory of vegetation canopy
nology is normally characterized by its spatial res- density, which can be incorporated into watershed
olution and spectral characteristics. Spatial models to make estimates of transpiration. Remote
resolution refers to the smallest discernable element sensing is increasingly being used for monitoring
of the picture. For photographs, this depends on water quality, particularly in lakes and estuaries.
photographic emulsions and processing. For digi- Figure 16.12 shows two images over Lake Mendota
tal imagery, it refers to the smallest picture element. in Madison, Wisconsin (see Figure 16.12 in color
The smallest identifiable object on the ground that insert). One shows near-infrared reflectance,
can be seen in a photo or image also depends on which highlights the presence of algal blooms. The
the height of the aircraft or spacecraft and the second shows thermal infrared emitted energy,
360 Watershed Management: A Regional to Global Perspective

which highlights the presence of a heat plume com- agement. In addition, there can be a vicious cycle
ing from a power generation plant. The dark lines as land use is expanded into new areas to com-
in the water are boat wakes. These appear darker pensate for lost soil fertility. This leads to increased
because they are cooler at the surface because of loss of fertile land, and increased runoff during
mixing of the surface and deeper waters as a boat storms leading to greater flooding and loss of life.
moves across the surface. An integrated view of the watershed recognizes
the role of all activities within a nested watershed
on water quality downstream. It requires govern-
ment agencies, nongovernment organizations, and
Concluding Statement individual landowners to take on joint responsibility
The watershed is the basic organizing framework for the management of water and related resources.
for water and related resources management. By In North America and other areas in the world, there
virtue of the nested structure of large watersheds is a shift from regulation by governments towards
containing smaller watersheds, a means is provided improved education of all resource users. Best Man-
to telescope from lesser detail to greater detail. From agement Practices (BMPs) are becoming widely
a global level, one can telescope down to regional adopted within the United States. They address the
level, and then to a management level, and ulti- management of stream corridors to limit develop-
mately down to the hillslope level where water flow ment in these areas that act as buffers to runoff,
pathways can be directly measured. This allows for and as shelter for aquatic life.
quantifying the storage and movement of water BMPs and other forms of watershed management
using conservation equations. Knowing where the are beginning to benefit from new technologies,
water goes then assists in understanding the fate such as GIS and remote sensing. These tools allow
of sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants. for the management of large amounts of geo-
The distribution of global vegetation can be graphically referenced data to gain a broader spa-
explained by an examination of the balance tial perspective on land management. By integrating
between precipitation and potential evapotranspi- these tools with models of flood prediction and
ration (ET). When potential ET exceeds precipita- nonpoint source pollution, it is possible to make
tion, there is generally not enough water to support better decisions for identifying priority watersheds
dense vegetation, including forests. Forests gener- and determining how to implement monitoring
ally occur in regions where precipitation greatly programs within limited budgets.
exceeds potential ET. However, for a smaller spa-
tial extent, the presence of ground water recharge
from upland to lowland sites can help offset an
average water deficit by locally providing a source
References
of soil water. 1. DUNNE, T. AND L. B. LEOPOLD, Water in Environmen-
An understanding of hydrologic flow pathways tal Planning, Freeman and Company, New York,
is important for understanding how land use will 1978.
affect the sustainability of the soils, soil erosion, and 2. D. J. BROOKS AND G. E. GRANT, New Perspectives in
cumulative impacts on aquatic life and human water Forest Management: Background, Science Issues, and
supply. Removal of vegetation can result in a decline Research Agenda, Research Paper PNW-RP-456,
in soil fertility, in part because of removal of nutri- Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forest Service,
ents and also because of a reduction in ET and soil United States Department of Agriculture, 1992.
water storage. More precipitation goes into surface 3. F. LAW, J. British Waterworks Association, 35, 489
runoff, which promotes the loss of soil. Pollutants (1956).
attached to the lost soil are then moved into stream 4. W. T. SWANK AND N. H. MINER, Water Resources Res.,
channels and carried out of the area of land man- 4, 947 (1968).
Additional Reading 361

5. A. R. HIBBERT, Water Resources Res., 7, 71 (1971). tainability and Environmental Change, R. Naiman, ed.,
6. G. KUCZERA, J. of Hydrology, 94, 215 (1987). 1992.
7. A. DOHERTY AND M. MCDONALD, RIVer Basin Man- K. FULLER, H. SHEAR AND J. WITTIG, The Great Lakes: An
agement, Hodder & Stoughton, East Kilbride, U.K., Environmental Atlas and Resource Book, Third Edition,
1992. Joint Publication of the Government of Canada, Toronto,
and the United States Environmental Protection Agency,
8. L. BOWLING AND D. LETTENMAIER, Evaluation of the
Chicago, 1995.
Effects of Forest Roads on Streamflow in Hard and
Ware Creeks, Washington, Timber-Fish-Wildlife Pub- G. E. GRANT AND F. J. SWANSON, "Morphology and processes
lication number TFW-SH20-97-001, Washington of valley floors in mountain streams, western Cascades,
Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, Wash., Oregon," In Natural and Anthropogenic Influences in
1997. Fluvial Geomorphology, Geophysical Monograph 89,
American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., 1995.
9. J. COBOURN, J. Soil and Water Conservation, July-
August, 267 (1989). WNDR, Wisconsin's Forestry Best Management Practices
for Water Quality, A Field Manual for Loggers, Landown-
10. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Monitoring
ers and Land Managers, Forest Resource Publication No.
Consortiums: A Cost-Effective Means to Enhancing
PUB-FR-093-95, Wisconsin Department of Natural
Watershed Data Collection and Analysis, EPA841-R-
Resources, Bureau of Forestry, Madison, 1995.
97-006, Office of Water (4503F), United States Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 1997. WDNR, Wisconsin's Forestry Best Management Practices
for Water Quality, Forest Resource Publication No. PUB-
FR-145-99, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,
Bureau of Forestry, Madison, 1999.
Additional Reading G. J. WELLS, J. FOGG, ET AL., Stream Corridor Restoration:
Principles, Processes, and Practices, Environmental Pro-
J. FRANKLIN, "Scientific basis for new perspective in forests tection Agency Report #EPA 841-R-98-900, Washington,
and streams," In Watershed Management: Balancing Sus- D.C, 1998.
 C H A P T E R 17
Managing Recreation
Behavior
ROBERT O. RAY

Perceptions of Forest Use Technology

Section Summary
Some Background on Management
of Recreation User Conflict
Forest-Based Recreation Social Succession
Management The Recreational Opportunity
What Is This Recreation Stuff Spectrum (ROS)
Anyway? Management by Design
Recreation Is Personal
Recreation Can Be Seen as an Activity Free Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC)
of Obligations Management by Objectives
Recreation Is Multifaceted
Recreation Is a Multiphasic Activity Some Notes on Management
Pursuing Recreation Planning
Education Fees as a Recreation Management
Age Structure Tool
Gender
Minority Populations Concluding Statement
Immigration
Affluence References
Urbanization

It would be relatively easy to manage natural While forested public lands were initially set
resources if it weren't for all the people. People are aside for timber production and strategic reserve
both the problem and the solution to environmental in a younger and more agrarian society, major
management issues. Recreational demand manifests changes in the structure, values, and policies of the
itself as a need for participation opportunities in country have had a serious impact on the man-
natural settings that hold interesting, challenging, agement philosophy for those lands. Over time,
and complex experiences for consumers. This expe- recreation has emerged as one of the principal rea-
rience-seeking behavior creates equally interesting, sons people visit these sylvan areas. This often pres-
challenging, and complex issues that managers of ents a major conflict between those who advocate
natural resources must address. wise use of resources encouraged by individuals
362
Perceptions of Forest Use 363

like Gifford Pinchot and the aesthetic value of yield consumable products only or should they add
preservation fostered by Muir, Thoreau, Jensen, and more aesthetic and spiritual value to living? How
others who introduced nature as an entity with should we manage the land, water, air, and history
value that transcends that of resource extraction (1). of the people in ways that help them respect what
In more recent history, the concept of nature as a managers do? If we are unable to accomplish this,
place and agent to refresh the soul and restore and will the people cease to believe in us such that we
cleanse the spirit, mind, and body has captured the will no longer be useful?
fancy of the American public (2, 3).
This century-long trend began at a time where
we moved to a more urbanized industrial base that
began to separate us from the land. It was further
Perceptions of Forest Use
influenced by a growth in economic affluence Nature has always offered an extraordinary appeal
that permitted us the luxury of improving infra- to people for countless reasons: the romance of
structure (roads, airports, hotels, resorts, restau- adventure, the promise of the unexpected, the
rants, etc.) that, in turn, enhanced access to chance to find beauty, the chance to secure one's
formerly remote natural areas. Current techno- religious faith, or perhaps to find something for din-
logical advances in recreational equipment allow ner. The forests in particular have offered a wide
a greater number and variety of people access and range of opportunities and challenges for people
opportunities for recreation that were not previ- that have proven strongly seductive over the course
ously available. This affluence also permits the of human history. It is fair to note, however, that
public to set aside large areas of land, water, our love affair with the deep woods and its
forests, and historical and cultural sites for the denizens is relatively recent in origin. Many of our
greater benefit of society. ancestors carried a serious respect, distrust, and
With these changes, it is not surprising that many even deep fear of the forests they encountered. Evil
controversies have risen over how to best use and was known to live in the form of fierce creatures
manage the forest resource base. For example, are and embodied in the trees, along with the prom-
the forests more useful for recreation than for tim- ises of useful resources, cool temperatures in the
ber harvest, or should the forest be managed as an summer, and fresh clean water. There were many
integral part of global environmental enhancement who would not set foot in the woods without seri-
(clean air, water conservation, etc.)? The evolution ous reason, good company, and something to
of legislation and litigation over resource use issues defend against the creatures and spirits of nature.
has been enormous over the last century. What is The fear of nature began to shift in the settle-
more amazing is that it appears to have a good ment of the New World as our founders began the
prospect for a vigorous and healthy (if not all enjoy- chants of "manifest destiny" with the seemingly lim-
able) political and judicial future. itless natural resources for exploitation in the New
Those who manage forest-based resources World. This perspective, too, changed over time,
have the blessings and best wishes of many as the and people gradually awakened to the limits of the
good and faithful stewards of natural resources in resources and increasingly realized that human
some quarters. Others vilify them as demons to be activities could easily and quickly threaten the most
feared and exorcised either because they allow abundant and desirable attributes of natural places.
exploitation and destruction of nature or because Along with recognition came questions that con-
they are overly restrictive of land use. People's per- tinue to arise.
spectives on management and managers are This chapter begins with a short description of
important and critical pieces of this chapter. How recreation concepts, identifies typical recreation
do we best determine the use of the lands we have? behaviors, and discusses them in the context of
What should they yield and to whom? Should they recreation resources management. Sketches of social
364 M a n a g i n g Recreation Behavior

change are used to present key current issues, con- aster. In 1960, they passed the Multiple-Use and Sus-
cerns, and management strategies and their effects. tained Yield Act, which first changed the manage-
Finally, the future of recreation management is ment priorities of U.S. Forest Service Lands from
addressed in light of changes in technology, social timber and natural resource management to
structure, user demands, population shifts, and include recreation as an equally important activity.
global changes. The present National Forest Service is the largest
Throughout the chapter, readers are faced with provider of outdoor recreation opportunities
the most difficult question faced by managers that among all federal agencies. Information in Table
almost never has a single, enduring answer, "What 17.1 illustrates the breadth and expanse of their
is the right thing to do?" This is followed by an responsibilities.
almost equally difficult question, "Who says so?" The momentum built by these landmark pieces
This is addressed at the end of the chapter in a dis- of legislation prompted a cascade of actions that
cussion on the evolution of new strategies for recre- crested in the late 1960s but have never ceased being
ation management. important legislative considerations over the last four
decades. While space to describe in detail the ele-
ments of all legislation is not possible here, it is
Some Background on important to call attention to a few significant actions.
In 1963, the Outdoor Recreation Act explicitly
Management of Recreation recognized the need and desirability to assure con-
Why do people pursue recreation in the out-of- tinued access and opportunities for recreation by
doors? This is often a question that people look at, asking all levels of government to participate in an
and conclude: why bother asking? However, it has assessment of available recreation resources and to
evolved into probably the most important question estimate what it would take to meet future needs.
that an area manager will face. Why? Knowing why Knowing the available resources and understand-
people show up and participate allows the man- ing their potential to meet public demand for access
ager to do everything from designing an area to and quality by current and future populations is
addressing consumer preferences and aims to man- absolutely essential. It is critical for developing and
aging their behavior and deciding on the most implementing appropriate management policies and
appropriate placement of amenities like rest practices that respond to population dynamics and
rooms, concessions, and trash disposal sites. resource needs. To foster participation by varied lev-
Historically, inventories of recreation behavior els of government, the Land and Water Conserva-
were of only marginal interest to land and tion Fund Act was passed in 1965. This act was one
resource management agencies. This changed of the most significant pieces of legislation of the
around late 1950s and early 1960s. It was in this time, because it provided incentive in the form of
time frame that the first systematic study of outdoor funds for states and local governments to plan,
recreation in America was conducted by the Out- develop, and maintain outdoor recreation areas that
door Recreation Resources Review Commission fit into a nationwide perspective.
(ORRRC), which made its final report to Congress The '60s were quite an active period for outdoor
in 1962. The report was instrumental in reshaping recreation legislation. Growing from the momen-
the policies and approaches made to managing tum created by the ORRRC report and riding
public lands for outdoor recreation use (also see public sentiment, other significant acts were
Chapter 1). Simultaneously, legislators recognized passed. The National Wilderness Preservation Sys-
that increased demand with a lack of systematic tem, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System,
planning to satisfy future use and demand for out- the National Trails System and the National Recre-
door recreation could be a political and natural dis- ation Areas creation were all products of this period.
Some Background on Management of Recreation 365

Table 17.1 Recreation Facts, U.S.D.A. Forest Service

Information

Land Area

Number of National Forests and Grasslands: 177 (155 forests, 22 grasslands),

192 million acres
States, Territories, Commonwealths having National Forests and
National Grasslands: 42
Wilderness Areas: 399 (34.7 million acres)
Percent of National Wilderness Preservation System Managed by Forest
Service in lower 48 states: 63%
Percent of National Wilderness Preservation System Managed by Forest
Service in total U.S.: 34%
Number of National Recreation Areas (NRA) (includes Land Between the
Lakes NRA): 20
Number of National Scenic Areas (NSA): 9
Number of National Monuments and Volcanic Monuments (NM): 4
Total acreage of NRA, NSA, and NM (includes Land Between the Lakes NRA): 6.7 million

Recreation Roads, Trails, and Rivers

National Forest Scenic Byways: 136 (9,126 miles)

Wild and Scenic Rivers: 95 (4,418 miles)
Trails: 133,087 miles
Scenic and Historic Trails: 6,709 miles

Sites, Facilities, and Services

Heritage Sites: 277,000

Campgrounds: 4,300
Developed Recreation Sites: 23,000
Alpine Ski Areas: 135
Picnic Sites: 1,496
Boating Sites: 1,222
Swimming Areas: 140
Recreation Facilities: 18,000
Recreation Residences: 14,900
Resorts: 480
Outfitter/Guide Permits: 5,700

Miscellaneous Information

Employees in Forest Service: 32,000

Total people-at-one-time capacity: 157 million
Developed sites people-at-one-time capacity: 1.8 million
Amount of recreation-deferred maintenance: $812 million
Recreation facilities backlog: $664 million
Trails backlog (trails and trail bridges): $148 million
Source: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/recinfo/facts_sheet.shtml
366 Managing Recreation Behavior

The legislation slowed in the 1970s and new time. This may or may not happen since each part-
interests began to emerge. Among them was an ner may need to change or respond to different
effort to more closely examine the role of private goals or situations that retain or conflict with ini-
landholders as participants in the recreation system. tial understandings. Does this mean they should not
Ways to entice the landholder into participation vary be pursued? Absolutely not. Managers simply need
but one of the more critical aspects was liability for to know that these changes are possible and try to
user well-being. This is an important idea for man- find ways to either anticipate their appearance and
agers to understand, since private land holdings that impact or adapt to the situation by continuous dia-
could be used for recreation are often held in close logue with partners.
proximity to public recreation lands. If proper
agreements for landowner protection are reached,
the lands available for recreational use could be sig-
nificantly expanded. This problem has been
Forest-Based Recreation
addressed in many ways, but the primary and least Management
expensive enticement has been legislation that Forests and other natural resource-based recreation
allows landowners who open their lands for pubic management is applicable from small public
access at no charge to be relatively free of respon- resource-based recreation areas near urban centers
sibilities for user liability. For the last 30 years, this to large, commercial forest lands. It is also appro-
has been a major concern for public land managers. priate for massive public land management agen-
The changes in liability laws effectively increased cies of the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land
the lands accessible to participants. Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
Other ways to increase the access to lands for the National Park Service. The management
recreation continue to emerge and should be closely emphasis is on the resource base and guided by
examined by managers. For example, gaining use decisions on the best recreation opportunities pos-
of rights of way from varied utilities and services sible given the limitation of the resource, budget,
has been used for many years with considerable and context.
success. More recently, new tools have emerged. A significant difference between the management
Among them include the purchase of development of public and private lands lies in their authority
rights from landowners (e.g., farm and range lands). and locus of control in making decisions about the
In brief, this process allows government to enter use of the land. In private holding, those who own
an agreement with the landowner that the land will the land are able to make their own decision on
not be developed for an activity like housing or what actions will be permitted (e.g., who can hunt,
industry in exchange for money based on the value camp, hike, fish, or swim) on their property,
of the profit from development. Another emergent whether there is a fee for use, and what the rules
tool has to do with collaborations between and of use and behavior might be. As one might guess,
among Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) there is quite a range of management objectives and
and public agencies. For example, an NGO like the styles among and between land owners in accom-
Nature Conservancy might enter into an agreement modating public use. The critical point is that a pri-
with the Forest Service for cooperative recreational vate owner does not need public input on how to
use of an adjoining land for restricted purposes manage the recreation needs of the consumer.
(e.g., birding or hiking). Those charged with management of public lands
As might be expected, there are always prob- have quite a different set of needs and expectations.
lems in new approaches to management. One A brief examination of the U.S. Forest Service's doc-
recently raised by Fairfax (4) is that partnerships ument "The Recreation Agenda" (Sidebar 17.1) pro-
are often based on the assumption that partners will vides some important clues on how public
always have common goals that do not change over agencies are trying to accommodate the continued
Forest-Based Recreation M a n a g e m e n t 367

Sidebar 17.1

The Recreation Agenda—U.S.D.A. Forest Service

Americans cherish the national forests and grass- management of urban sprawl, and new appli-
lands for the values they provide—clean water, cations of agroforestry.
clean air, natural scenic beauty, important nat- As one of the multiple benefits from these
ural resources, protection of rare species, resources, the national forests and grasslands
majestic forests, wilderness, a connection with contribute $134 billion to the gross domestic
their history, and opportunities for unparalleled product, with the lion's share associated with
outdoor adventure. Recreation visitors want a outdoor recreation. Resource-based travel and
great deal from the Forest Service in terms of tourism provide a window through which an
settings, experiences, facilities and services, and increasingly urban society can enjoy and appre-
they will expect even more in the future. Recre- ciate the natural world. The Forest Service has
ation is the fastest-growing use of the national a unique "niche" or brand of nature-based recre-
forests and grasslands. ation to offer. This brand of recreation includes
The national forests and grasslands offer a an undeveloped setting, a built environment that
diversity of opportunities across the Recreation reinforces this natural character, and an array of
Opportunity Spectrum. The Forest Service man- services that complement enjoyment of these
ages 63% of the wilderness system in the lower special wild places.
forty-eight states, and a much larger percentage The Forest Service has the opportunity to
of backcountry experiences. It also cares for open that window to special places and expe-
4,268 miles of the wild and scenic rivers system; riences even wider to reflect changes in demo-
399 wilderness areas in the National Wilderness graphic trends and recreation visitor preferences.
Preservation System; 133,087 miles of trails; The Forest Service serves as a catalyst among
383,000 miles of authorized roads, more than tourism professionals in working together in
277,000 heritage sites; over 4,300 campgrounds; travel and tourism opportunities. It seeks out
and 31 national recreation, scenic areas, and tourism professionals that can represent the
monuments. As outstanding as these assets are, diversity of existing and potential customers.
the Forest Service is more than a custodian of Both the deteriorating infrastructure, estimated
a recreation infrastructure. at $812 million dollars, and the recreation cus-
As Americans increasingly rely on non-federal tomers are demanding more. This agenda is
forestlands for a variety of goods and services, aimed at meeting as much of that demand as
the federal and non-federal sectors must work possible with the highest quality experiences and
together to plan for the future. About 60% of the within ecological and social limits. These limits
nation's forests are in non-federal ownership. As include impacts on the resource, impacts on
on federal lands, the future use of these forests experiences of other visitors, and capacity lim-
is moving from product use to an anesthetic its of the recreation infrastructure.
and ecological management. State and private Management of these cherished resources
forestry programs, state foresters, private requires a long-term viewpoint and investment
foresters, and communities are developing an strategies. Years of declining budgets and a
ever-increasing set of knowledge, skills, and dwindling recreation workforce have made the
tools to meet society's desire for open space,
(continues)
368 Managing Recreation Behavior

Sidebar 17.1 (continued)

challenges even more formidable. The Agency increase service satisfaction and education of
has responded with innovative efforts such as Americans about their public lands, build com-
the fee demonstration program, permit stream- munity connections to expand available
lining, nongovernmental partnerships, and help resources, and improve relationships to get the
from volunteers. The Forest Service must find job done.
even more innovative ways to accomplish the
work to be done. Source:
This agenda is a guide to four goals: protect 1. Adapted from U.S.D.A. Forest Service, "The
the ecosystem to guarantee that special natural Recreation Agenda," 1999, http://www.fs.fed.us/
settings are available for future generations, recreation/Recstrategy/recStratV70.shtml.

public demand for recreation on U.S. forest lands

(5). What Is This Recreation Stuff
In response to increased public awareness and Anyway?
demand, there are enormous numbers of recre-
The question is not new and neither are the
ational services that are programmed into certain
answers. There are many ways to think about recre-
agencies and businesses. It is rather easy to assume
ation and there have been a number of books writ-
if recreation is simply a set of leader-led activities,
ten on the topic. However, even though the answers
all an agency needs to do to satisfy recreational
are not crystal clear or uniform in their conclusions,
need is to hire a program designer and leader to
organize and conduct recreation activities for users. the question has importance for management.
In many community-based recreation agencies this
is the dominant way that recreation activities and Recreation Is Personal
services evolve. However, once examined, recre- One of the most agreed-upon elements that char-
ation activities take on a more complicated view acterize recreation is rejuvenation, or, literally, the
heavily influenced by individual choice and self- re-creation of oneself. It implies a significant and
direction. It is interesting to note that in an e-mail refreshing change or departure from the activities
discussion among professors of recreation (through done in the normal course of life. An assumption
SPRENET), researchers pointed out the paradox that is that such a change is necessary for one to live
what people say they like to do for recreation is a pleasant existence, and a further assumption is
usually not organized by an agency. They prefer that what we do in the course of life has a stag-
to pursue recreation activities outside the pro- nating effect on our quality of life. In short, we need
grammed service arena (e.g., driving for pleasure, a change to refresh us for a return to the ordinary
walking, and hiking). This is reflected repeatedly activities of the world. Pieper (6) wrote of this need
in recreation activity surveys. It is also important in his classical essay on Leisure: The Basis of Cul-
to note which are recurrent when discussing the ture. People head to the great outdoors expecting
reasons for managing an area to maximize recre- (and usually getting) a change from the ordinary
ation opportunity. What is it that people are look- day-to-day experiences of life. Neulinger (7)
ing for in recreation? added to this concept in the 1970s by identifying
What Is This Recreation Stuff A n y w a y ? 369

recreation as a psychological phenomenon char- you really would like to leave behind? Or, more
acterized by the individual's perception of freedom commonly, if one's spouse comes along and is
and intrinsic motivation in pursuing an activity. expected to continue household responsibilities for
Recreation is also commonly conceived as a set of cooking, childcare, and so forth, would the expe-
usually pleasurable activities that one does as a way rience fit the description of recreation as a restora-
to counter the drudgery of day-to-day routines. tive activity? How much can recreation management
There are at least three common elements that run make the experience more pleasant by assuring a
throughout all these ideas of recreation: 1) it is indi- change from the activities of daily living?
vidually focused; 2) it is a departure from the nor-
mal routines of life; and 3) it is a personally
worthwhile experience. How can the recreation Recreation Is Multifaceted
manager work to promote personal satisfaction for There is more to hiking than a walk in the woods.
participants? Consider hiking and look at it carefully. It is easy
to see there are a number of ways to understand
its appeal to different people on the same day (Fig-
Recreation Can Be Seen as an ure 17.1). There are people who take hiking very
Activity Free of Obligations seriously and spend enormous amounts of time
This concept of recreation tries to make a distinct planning, obtaining the best equipment, studying
difference between the ordinary day-to-day activ- the route, and anticipating the probability of
ities, like work, that may be seen as drudgery for extraordinary things happening. There are others
many people. Going fishing is a good change of who simply pass by an interesting trail or open-
pace for many and the restorative powers are ing and decide to take a walk on a spur of the
extolled by its participants. However, what happens moment with no planning or strong expectations
if you need to take with you the boss or a colleague for a predictable outcome. One person may be

F i g u r e 17.1 Hiking in
the Cascade Mountains near
Mount Shuksan in northwest
Washington. (Photo by R. A.
Young.)
370 Managing Recreation Behavior

interested in the physical challenge of a difficult between occurrences that are both planned and
climb, while another might be more interested in unplanned.
a gentle walk to a beautiful vista. Others may seek Phase IV is the recollection and reflection phase
both in the same outing. Using more of this sort of the experience. After the activity, memories begin
of probing, you can easily see that hiking is more to take hold. Reflection and reinterpretation of the
that just a singular activity. The same reasoning can events are likely to persevere long periods of time
apply to most outdoor recreation activities (e.g., into the future. One of the ways people enhance
fishing, boating, and camping). The real trick for the experience is by obtaining souvenirs, like pho-
recreation management is to determine the range tographs, which carry much symbolic meaning.
of services to offer for a single activity that might They tend to invoke sensations apparent only to
satisfy a range of reasons for participating (e.g., the participant. That is why it may be hard to under-
how many different types of fishing experiences stand why your friends are enthralled with pictures
can a particular site offer?). of their trip while you may be a captive audience
wondering what all the excitement is about.
This multiphasic understanding is a useful way
Recreation Is a Multiphasic Activity to understand recreation experience for a single per-
Another common understanding of the recreation son. However, it is more complex when more than
experience is that it is a multiphasic activity as noted one person is involved. Each person will have a
by Clawson and Knetsch (8) and Clawson (9). This unique interpretation of the experience. This makes
means that there are different stages and phases to the recollection phase far more interesting than a
any recreational activity: anticipation and planning, singular report.
travel to the site, on-site activity, return travel from An even more interesting phenomenon is the cry
the site, and recollection of the trip. "Let's do it again!" It is interesting because the
Knudson (10) has reduced the original five chance of replicating a peak experience for a recre-
phases of the experience to four. Phase I is the ation participant is very small. Recapturing the exact
anticipatory stage where flights of fancy begin to pleasure and excitement of a previous time is almost
take shape in the mind of the participant. The actual impossible to replicate. Participants often experi-
event may or may not take place and the romance ence the same event and obtain pleasure but it is
may change as realism begins to assert its presence somehow different from the previous time. The
(e.g., the constraints to the activity become more place and people may be the same but they are
real). However, there is often a great personal or not in the same time element. As an ancient philoso-
group satisfaction that may come from imagining pher is often quoted, "you can never step in the
possibilities even when the activity never takes same stream twice." Using these elements as a start-
place. Similarly, there is the potential for disap- ing point for understanding recreation, it seems rea-
pointment if the ideal does not occur. sonable to examine the recreation activities people
Phase II is the planning stage. It is in this phase pursue in the out-of-doors.
that the plans are taken from imagination to real-
ity through preparation for the event. Gathering
information, determining feasibility, assembling sup-
plies and equipment, questioning those who have
Pursuing Recreation
been there before, and developing the skills nec- The outdoors has always offered an attractive array
essary for the event are all included as a part of of opportunities and experiences for people. Only
this phase. relatively recently has it become important to under-
Phase III is the participation stage. It is in this stand what people do and why as noted in the sec-
phase where the activity actually takes place. It tion on legislative interests. Much of this interest
includes all elements from start to finish and in- evolved in response to a recognition that what peo-
Pursuing Recreation 371

ple do affects the natural environment incremen- T a b l e 17.3 Most Popular Outdoor Recre-
tally over time (and vice versa). Knowing the ation Activities
resources and appropriately managing them for use
Activity %of People Reporting
by people will accomplish a number of goals.
Among the most important is offering people high Walking 66.7
quality opportunities for a variety of experiences Viewing a beach 62.1
while keeping the natural environment healthy for Family gatherings 61.8
current and future generations. Sightseeing 56.6
or waterside
Outdoor recreation is highly valued for many Source: National Survey on Recreation and the Environment
outdoors
people. In 1994, the Roper Starch Survey reported (40)
that at least two-thirds of all American adults (18
years of age or older) participate in outdoor recre-
ation every year and at least half participate dents were at least 16 years of age at the time of
monthly. Table 17.2 shows the "important" or "very the survey.
important" reasons that the respondents gave for Outdoor recreation is important to and pursued
participating in outdoor recreation. by a large number of individuals. It is apparent that
Clearly people participate in outdoor recreation the trend for participation in outdoor recreation is
for many personally important reasons. The survey increasing. Cordell et al. (11) compared outdoor
also revealed that those who were more active in recreation data from 1982/83 and 1994/95 and
outdoor recreation rated their quality of life higher reported increases in participation for 29 outdoor
than those who participated less frequently. Such recreation activities among individuals 16 years of
benefits make outdoor recreation an important part age or older. Some examples of the percentage
of American culture. In 1995, the National Survey increases in a few selected activities are given in
on Recreation and the Environment reported which Table 17.4. The increases points to a more active
outdoor recreation activities were the most popu- population as noted in the visitation records from
lar (of 13 listed in the survey) (Table 17.3). Respon- the U.S. Forest Service over a four-year period start-
ing in 1993. The number of visits on national For-
est Service lands grew from 729,474,200 093), to
Table 17.2 Why People Participate in 839,238,900 094), 829,757,100 095) and 859,282,800
Outdoor Recreation
096). However, a few outdoor recreation activities
% Responding declined in participation over this time period. They
Either "Important included horseback riding, hunting, fishing, sailing,
Reason or Very Important"
To have fun 76
For relaxation 71 T a b l e 17.4 Change in Participation for
For health and exercise 70 Selected Outdoor Recreation Activities
For family to be together 69 % Change from
To reduce stress 66 Activity 1982/83 to 1994/95
To teach good values to children 64
To experience nature 64 Bird Watching 155.2
To be with friends 60 Hiking 93.5
For excitement 53 Backpacking 72.7
To learn new skills 48 Boating (power) 39.9
To be alone 39 Swimming 38.2
For competition 24 Downhill Skiing 58.5
Source: Roper Starch Survey (39) Source: Cordell (11; p. 239)
372 Managing Recreation Behavior

ice skating, and tennis. This decline poses man- people often get new ideas for outdoor recreation
agement issues, because even though they have which they pursue well beyond the formal school
declined, there are still participants. The question years. It is clear that more education also leads to
is how to manage the recreation resource base for greater sophistication in demand and greater expec-
a smaller number of participants. tations for the quality of the recreation experience.
These participation trends are likely to continue There is also a consistently strong link between edu-
and are influenced by many of the changes in pop- cation and economic success (i.e., the more formal
ulation dynamics and related trends in economy education one has, the greater the level of income
and technology. It is useful to take some time to throughout the life span). With affluence, people
look at how these factors relate to outdoor recre- have greater means to pursue activities in outdoor
ation experiences and think about the implications recreation experiences that would not be possible
they hold for managers. otherwise.
The patterns of recreation use are always reflec-
tive of a greater set of population factors. It is useful
to look at a few population characteristics to address Age Structure
and understand their effects on recreation behav- There is always an age influence in outdoor recre-
iors. They include education, age, gender, minori- ation, but it is sometimes difficult to draw defini-
ties, immigration, wealth, and technology. Although tive relationships with specific activities. However,
these are presented separately, they are very there is a clear age-related trend in participation pat-
interrelated. terns represented in selected results from the
1994-95 National Survey on Recreation and the
Environment shown in Table 17.5.
Education At the youthful end of the age spectrum there
The average level of education in the United States is a clear impact on outdoor recreation for higher
has been steadily increasing since the turn of the risk, adventure, and "extreme" sports influenced by
century. According to data from the National Cen- media coverage and advanced technology. These
ter for Educational Statistics (NCES), Americans had activities make management of outdoor recreation
more years of education in 1998 than 1990. In 1998 more interesting. For instance, how does one cre-
among adults over 25, 83 percent had completed ate policies for rock or cliff climbing that are com-
high school and 24 percent had completed 4 or patible with public management plans and agency
more years of college (12). Education affects par- responsibility?
ticipation in outdoor recreation in many ways. At the other end of the age continuum, vigorous
Among them is the exposure to new activities and and demanding physical activities tend to decline
introduction to ideas and possibilities that might in intensity and number with advancing age. The
enhance the quality of life. Through education, reasons for this trend are numerous, but among

T a b l e 17.5 Participation in Recreation Activities by Age (% of Respondents)

Activity/Age 16-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
Fitness 77.2 74.7 76.1 72.0 64.0 49.7
Running 50.4 33.2 28.3 23.3 17.4 8.1
Biking 37.9 36.2 37.4 30.7 21.9 10.6
Walking 68.1 72.4 74.6 71.9 64.0 49.7
Source: National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (40)
Pursuing Recreation 373

them are the lack of time to maintain a level of fit- thoughtful of policies and practices that are inclu-
ness appropriate to the activity demand. This is often sive across gender lines. The most recent outdoor
related to increased demands of adult responsibil- recreation survey data show that women partici-
ity. This lack of time also encourages people to pate in almost equal numbers and types of recre-
make more deliberate choices in their activities, ation as men for many categories of activities (NSRE
which means greater selectivity and the sacrifice of 1994/95). For those who want to know more about
those deemed of lesser value or feasibility. gender issues related to outdoor recreation and
Activities may be pursued with adaptation across leisure, see Henderson et al. (13, 14), Freysinger
the years as well. For example, one who enjoys (15, 16), and Bialeschki and Walbert (17), among
wilderness camping may redefine wilderness over others.
time and pursue the adventure in areas with greater
ease of access and better amenities in later years
of life. Other adaptations that may be made include Minority Populations
the use of technological advances in equipment that Minority populations in the United States are most
make continued participation possible. For exam- commonly represented by those of African, His-
ple, the advances in technology for canoe con- panic/Latin, Native American, or Asian ancestry.
struction have reduced the weight significantly and The most recent census data indicate that approx-
therefore the need for heroic body strength has imately 25 percent of the population is represented
been reduced. This one change has opened the by one of these groups (U.S Census Bureau, 1994).
canoe experience to many individuals who were New data from the 2000 census reflect an even
once prohibited by the physical demands of the larger proportion of the population, since minor-
activity. It is important to understand, however, that ity populations are growing at a faster rate than
this improved technology comes at a higher price the majority population. Each of these categories
that may result in restricted access just as much as represents an ever greater diversity when closely
age and strength. examined. For instance, Hispanic/ Latin ancestry
Before leaving the issue of age, there should be is used to designate those who may be Cuban,
a bit of warning. While there are a number of age- Puerto Rican, European, Mexican, or any number
related effects on the physical abilities of recre- of other cultural or ethnic groups within the
ationists, it is absolutely imperative to remember broader category. The growth in minority popu-
that Americans are in better condition now than in lations also means that they are likely to pursue
previous generations. Jogging, wilderness back- recreation in forested areas in greater numbers
packing, Whitewater canoeing, and many other (Table 17.6).
physically demanding activities are pursued suc- Managers need to understand that they will need
cessfully into very old age by many. The good man- to think about the implications of ethnically and
ager will not assume that age is a deterrent to racially diverse users. For example, in some areas
participation. of the southwestern U.S., it is becoming a common
practice (and a necessity) to hire bilingual staff and
produce signs, brochures, and other communication
Gender tools in both Spanish and English. In the West, Asian
The movement toward gender equity has initiated languages (e.g., Japanese, Korean, Chinese) are
many changes in how management functions. important to help other cultural groups learn about
Gaining momentum from the 1960s, these changes the area's opportunities, rules, and regulations.
have increased access and opportunities for Some understanding of ethnic traditions and pre-
women in many areas of life and outdoor recre- ferred use patterns are also helpful to managers
ation participation shows significant increases for wanting to be more accommodating to these users.
women. Outdoor recreation managers need to be Equally important might be a better understanding
374 Managing Recreation Behavior

T a b l e 17.6 Outdoor Recreation Participation Patterns Among Minority Groups (% of

Respondents)
Activity/Group Hispanic Native American Asian

Camping 21.1 27.7 18.6

Hunting 6.4 21.1 4.6
Fishing 24.9 43.1 29.2
Hiking 27.0 30.0 24.3
Picnicking 50.8 61.2 60.0
Source: National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (40)

of cultural history to avoid potential conflicts among dominant culture's perspective. Sometimes these
a diverse set of users. policies are in direct conflict with the values, tra-
Most minority populations reflect settlement pat- ditions, and understandings of a minority or newly
terns of the dominant culture, in that they are highly arrived culture, and the educational responsibilities
urbanized. Many do not (or cannot) take advan- of an agency require much more serious attention.
tage of the more remote or non-urban outdoor It quickly becomes important to develop an under-
recreation environments, although their numbers standing of new visitor groups and design respon-
are showing a slight increase. Urbanized areas pres- sive education and information programs for staff
ent an interesting area of outreach work for man- as well as visitors.
agers of recreation areas. These populations can be One of the first natural resource management
a powerful political force in future generations. If texts to address these issues was written by Ewert,
they understand and appreciate the value of Chavez, and Magill (18) and it is still an excellent
resources for recreation, they can help preserve resource for understanding many of the cross-
these lands by political action. If they do not value cultural issues facing recreation area managers.
the resource, it could prove troublesome. Chavez (19), Floyd and Shinew (20), Floyd (21),
and others continue to increase our understanding
of improved management strategies that accom-
Immigration modate multicultural understandings of recreation
The United States has been shaped and directed participation and the natural environment. Cordell
in many ways by the immigration patterns of the et al. (11) also present useful data on outdoor recre-
most recent Americans. The first major waves of ation participation patterns by cultural, ethnic, racial,
immigration were mostly from Europe who came and disability categories.
seeking land and freedom and those who were These trends lead to yet another caution for
brought here under less-than-voluntary circum- recreation resource managers. Even though we
stances (the Africans); however, both are now inte- need to group information on people by some
gral parts of our longer-tenured demography. common factor, remember that this is an admin-
Subsequent waves of immigration at the turn of the istrative convenience and not an accurate portrayal
century again were heavily European and looked of culture or behavior. There is enormous varia-
much like those who were already here. The newest tion between groups and their specific cultural
surges of immigrants are of Latin and Asian ances- beliefs that can and sometimes does lead to seri-
try. All groups bring unique contributions to the cul- ous user conflicts if not well understood by the
ture and all participate in outdoor recreation manager. Further, as multiple cultures share the
activities. One of the most intriguing problems same space, it is simultaneously an opportunity
recreation managers face is how policies reflect the to promote understanding and appreciation of
Pursuing Recreation 375

diversity, but which could quickly become a sit- ture is in demand). These situations also change
uation promoting conflict. recreation demands and sometimes bring conflict
over use. Hunting is often disliked by those from
urban areas who see all animals as desirable for non-
Affluence consumptive recreation activity (e.g., bird watching),
It is important to be cautious with the proclama- but is seen as a way of life among those who have
tion that individual wealth has increased dramati- long tenure in rural areas. The manager of a natu-
cally. While it is true for a large sector of the ral recreation area is likely to be found right in the
population, there are still others who remain low middle of the debates over the proper use of a recre-
income and live at the margins of society. How- ation site (like a national or state forest) which is
ever, it is true that on a national scale, personal often the reason people move to an area.
wealth has increased dramatically and created a It is important for managers to recognize that the
unique out-migration of people from urban areas boundaries of a recreation area are paper agree-
to be near nature. This growing divide between ments. The borders are quite permeable, present-
affluence and poverty has had a significant impact ing a series of concerns by residents. The protected
on recreation policy. As agencies increase fees to area is actually part of an ecological region where
offset declining budgets, how will access by the plants, animals, and people interact with unpre-
poor be maintained? Data from the NSRE 1994-95 dictable and often uncomfortable results. Managers
survey show the direct effect of income on partic- are required to involve the general public in design
ipation in outdoor recreation activities like boating, and implementation of management policies.
sailing, canoeing, water skiing, and motor boating. Cases where readers might look for these issues
Where price of participation equipment is high, include the Buffalo/Cattle conflict in Yellowstone
affluence plays a predictably prominent role. (24), or user rights and control in the Boundary
Waters Canoe Wilderness Area of the Superior
National Forest (25).
Urbanization Access to these areas is an additional result of
From agrarian roots, we moved into the cities at societal affluence. Airports and superhighways now
the turn of the century, and over the years, became exist that allow easier access to once rural and
a very urbanized society. The attachment to the land remote areas that were at one time considered inac-
became quite distant (22). Most people experience cessible. Increased accessibility promotes a change
the out-of-doors in urbanized areas where some in the context for management. No longer is the
vestiges of nature continue in the forms of parks, job of the manager one of simply managing a des-
arboretums, and urban forests. The conceptualiza- ignated area. It is now the task of the manager to
tion of nature is then colored by these settings. see the recreation site as a part of the larger region
Media, museums, and other exhibitions have and to promote policies, procedures, and plans that
shaped an idealized and romantic concept of reflect that view.
nature. Paired with new affluence, this has made
for interesting changes to the once rural and rela-
tively inaccessible wilderness. Technology
Rural and small-town communities have been This is one of the more interesting factors that has
dramatically changed as a result of the in-migrations changed outdoor recreation participation in many
from urban areas (23). For example, small towns ways, resulting in improved communications
in northern Wisconsin have changed their charac- among and between employees, better record keep-
ter to serve urban tastes (e.g., fine wine and din- ing, easier data base management and access to
ing have replaced the bait and burger shop; four-star information. Conversely, each of these assumes that
hotels instead of rustic cabins; and upscale furni- all the innovations are good for management. The
376 M a n a g i n g Recreation Behavior

cost of capitalization is often high, continuous train- in society have been outlined. It is impossible to
ing is usually needed to use the equipment prop- separate these issues in reality, because they are
erly, and maintenance is a requisite for proper all interactive. Managers need to understand the
function. Office management technology can also effects of complex systemic interactions like these
become outdated quickly and there is a continual have on achieving good management practice.
need to upgrade. In short, it can be very expen- What happens when managers impose selected
sive, but at the same time, it is much more effec- regimes on areas? What responses of users may be
tive and efficient, making the investment worthwhile. forthcoming? We turn now to a brief discussion of
On the user side, interesting consequences these issues.
appear as a result of technological advances. I have
had the opportunity to be in the Boundary Waters
Wilderness Canoe Area on a portage where another
party was passing and one member was talking
User Conflict
away on a cell phone. Is this a proper technology Inevitably one of the stickiest problems facing
for the wilderness experience? On the other hand, recreation managers is the conflict that occurs
a cell phone or beeper could be a life-saver in cases between and among users of a recreation area. It
where wilderness overwhelms the recreation par- often seems that one of the daily tasks of man-
ticipant. Should these communication technologies agement is to resolve some complaint where one
be encouraged, banished, or controlled in some group or person has infringed on the experience
way? How does the manager decide? Is it the man- of another group or individual. Sometimes these are
ager's decision to make? minor nuisance complaints (e.g., playing music
Similarly, equipment technologies have made loudly into the night) but others are quite serious
management strategies even more interesting. (e.g., assault or other criminal behavior).
Equipment like aluminum canoes that were once Let me address the most serious of conflicts in a
heavy and difficult to manage have given way to brief manner. Outdoor recreation areas are not
lightweight durable products like those made from immune to illegal activities. Some sites have reported
Kevlar. Superhuman strength is no longer a the most serious of predatory of criminal behaviors
requirement for wilderness canoe experiences. The (e.g., kidnapping, drug trafficking, theft, sexual
same can be said for a wide array of recreation assault, and murder). These are clearly not minor con-
equipment. Off-road bicycle advances in technol- flicts and must involve authorities with police pow-
ogy permit a new access to wilderness that was ers. In some recreation areas, staff will have some
impossible a few years ago. There are new versions police powers and in others there may be none.
of in-line roller skates that are designed to go across Regardless, managers have policies and plans in place
rugged terrain in addition to smooth, hard surfaces. to confront these possibilities through joint agree-
The list of advances goes on for some length and ments with local authorities (or with federal agen-
the management implications get more intriguing. cies such as the FBI and DEA) where warranted.
Questions for management include how to address More frequently, managers will need to face par-
these changes as a part of recreation policy. Is it ticipants who come to a site for one reason only
fair to assume that all the changes are bad or that to be confronted by other participants who have
changes should be considered a fact of life? More a different use of the resource in mind. For exam-
realistically, what criteria would one invoke to make ple, snowmobile operators and cross-country ski
such a distinction? participants may share a common space (a trail) for
very different and noncompatible purposes. There
are numerous reports of encounters between the
Section Summary two groups with each complaining about the other.
In this section, some of the large issues for recre- Similarly, runners, mountain bikers, hikers, and
ation managers related to innovations and change horseback riders may all have a common trail with
Social Succession 377

multiple purposes and expectations for the expe- preventing unpleasant interactions. These groups
rience. Lakes are also primary areas where multi- do take time and energy on part of the manager
ples users with multiple expectations might but ultimately result in better management and
encounter each other at close range (e.g., fishers, experience outcomes.
swimmers, sail boarders, power boaters, canoeists, An example of how this process might work
and sail boaters). effectively can be found with some Lake Home-
Often, users resolve their diverse expectations owners Associations members, who meet to deter-
without intervention. As noted elsewhere in this mine use patterns for the lake they surround. The
chapter, one way to resolve the conflict is to change net effect of their deliberations results in the zon-
the experience by arriving at different times to avoid ing of the lake by area, activity, and time of day.
or minimize undesirable interactions. Another is to For example, power boats are not allowed on the
relocate to another site for the experience. Finally, lake before 8 A.M. and must be off by 7 P.M. Swim-
sometimes users can decide mutually that some ming is confined to a certain area where boats are
modification to experience and behavior is in the forbidden. Jet skis are banned altogether. These
best interest of all. rules are communicated to users and respected with
However, in many cases managers will need to the force of law, but mostly by assent of the users.
come forward with policies, rules, and regulations Where people feel they are a part of the resolu-
that attempt to minimize conflicts among and tion of conflict, greater adherence and respect for
between users. One of the first places the managers the experiences of others increases.
must look is into the laws and legislation creating This method of conflict resolution by participa-
the recreation area. Here is the place to discover tion is in widespread use with federal and state land
what powers the agency has for making policies management agencies. It is a very powerful tool,
and rules as well as what abilities they have to but requires some special talent and ability to make
enforce them. it work well.
Second, the manager needs to examine his or
her personal abilities to confront and address the
parties and move toward resolution. Sometimes the
skills of a negotiator or arbitrator are useful when
Social Succession
dealing with human interaction problems. Often When a management plan is implemented on an
issues of conflict arise as an exception to daily rou- area that has been either unmanaged or managed
tines. For instance, a group of people playing catch for different experiences in prior plans, any num-
with a Frisbee in an area designated for picnick- ber of outcomes are likely. The shift in manage-
ing may result in a conflict where simply speaking ment strategies may create a social succession of
with the parties involved might be sufficient. In sit- users and behaviors.
uations where conflict is recurrent, it is important The net effect of succession is often displace-
to reexamine existing policies and rules for appli- ment of one group of users by another. If the pri-
cability and enforceability. It might be possible for mary objective is to maintain a particular
the manager to create and enforce a new guide- experience, the manager may change the use pat-
line, but this also runs the risk of alienating at least tern by widening the road, improving the trail, or
one of the user groups and may lead to some legal putting in a footbridge. Often these minor modifi-
or personal challenge. cations of existing developments are sufficient (par-
One of the more recent evolutions in man- ticularly their cumulative effect) to shift the
agement is to create a users' advisory committee experience enough that it appeals to a new type
or a "Friends" group to help guide policy devel- of user and not the traditional user. The former
opment and implementation. In these groups, the users are displaced by users whose expectations
conflicting users must sit and discuss their con- more closely fit the new context. Displacement is
cerns and develop rules that might be useful in a move away from an unacceptable situation, not
378 M a n a g i n g Recreation Behavior

a move toward a desired one. This distinction is to examine and categorize landscapes on a con-
useful in differentiating displacement, a form of tinuum from highly developed (e.g., lots of struc-
reactive movement, from other forms of movement tural development) to totally undeveloped (i.e.,
which include the following: primitive) areas. At the extremes, and between these
1. Active Migration. People seek a suitable desti- polar ends, landscapes were categorized by
nation according to their values—for example, descriptors that allowed a visitor and manager to
white-water canoeists seek a variety of risk and better understand the types of experiences and
skill testing. activities available. Conceptually, the experience
offered by the totally pristine environment without
2. Passive Migration. People select a location
development would be the antithesis of the expe-
because it is convenient, such as visiting areas
rience offered by the urban environment. While this
to meet friends for picnics, or because other
may be a reasonable assumption of the expected
members of the participation group desire that
outcome, it is not without argument. Indeed, for
location.
some individuals, an urbanized recreation area
3. Movements for Diurnal Requirements of an might prove quite an exotic and satisfying "wilder-
Activity. People move to different locations on ness" experience where for others even the vast
a lake to fish at various times of day. open spaces of large reserves may seem too "urban-
Movement is then a general term, whereas dis- ized." The point is that the ROS is a useful tool for
placement is a negative reactive movement (26). managers to assess, describe, design, and develop
However, as a manager, it is possible to envision the resource base; however, predicting the expe-
situations when one wishes to encourage dis- riential outcome remains a speculative venture (27,
placement of one set of users who may be destruc- 28). A simplified description of the ROS can be
tive of the environment (physical or social) by found in Figure 17.2 and a description of its appli-
intentionally contriving the context to be less cation to the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail is
appealing for them. To effectively manage an area found in Figure 17.3.
that facilitates user satisfaction is a serious challenge
to recreation managers. It is important to examine
some of the tools and practices available to man-
agers. Management by Design
Realizing there is great variation in the recreational
experiences of individuals, it is impossible to guar-
The Recreational Opportunity antee an expected outcome for any one person.
Therefore, managers must use the best tools they
Spectrum (ROS) have available to design and develop areas that
Since the types of recreational experiences desired enhance the probability of a positive experience
by participants varies widely, it is difficult to pro- outcome for a class of users.
vide opportunities that meet the needs of every- Obviously, it is impossible to design a site to ful-
one. In fulfilling the mandate for multipurpose use fill every user's expectations. As indicated earlier,
of the forests, the managers had to think more sys- it is very important to establish a plan for area
tematically about the interaction of users with the design that is compatible with the purposes of the
resource base. If participants of varied interests, abil- area. The master plan needs to accommodate
ities, needs, and purposes were to derive some indi- appropriate uses of the land based on the best avail-
vidual benefit from use of a common base, a tool able knowledge of the ecosystem (e.g., topography,
was needed to help organize how the resource soils structure, hydrology, etc.). It then needs to
could do this (27). The solution was the Recreation address the expectations of certain classes of con-
Opportunity Spectrum (ROS), which was developed sumers (e.g., campers, canoeists, hikers).
Management by Design 379

F i g u r e 17.2
The Recreation
Opportunity Spectrum
(ROS), using the
Forest Service
terminology to
describe specific
opportunities.

For example, the design and placement of a can be dispersed across the land on a continuum
campground can greatly affect the recreational of use as noted in the section on the ROS. The
experience of a camper or campers. The design degree of development to address certain expe-
might accommodate the landform and consumer riences is important to consider in advance of use
by its placement in an area sufficiently isolated from when possible. Anticipating the use intensity of
hazards and nuisances like busy roads, parking lots, an area clarifies the degree of site hardening
or garbage drop areas, screened by select native required. Hardening refers to the degree of devel-
trees and shrubs so a feeling of privacy exists; thus, opment for a particular site. Generally, hardening
the context is set for a pleasant experience by the an area facilitates a greater intensity of use with
visitor while the ecological integrity of the site is less environmental damage and a greater ease of
maintained. maintenance. For example, if a site is developed
Observing human behavior preferences can be for high use (e.g., a public beach area with mul-
helpful in other design applications. For example, tiple activities like swimming, boating, fishing, hik-
most people like ease of access to recreation areas. ing, camping, picnicking, open space for physical
The more challenging the access, the numbers of activities), it will likely have asphalt surfaces,
users declines and the characteristics of the users grasses that tolerate heavy traffic, concessions, and
change. People who use the Boundary Waters so forth, with a concentration of human services
Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) are likely to be for continuous maintenance and upkeep. Dam-
younger, more fit, stronger, and looking for privacy aged portions can more quickly and easily be
and an experience of relative isolation. Those with repaired and litter and waste are more easily and
younger children, those who are less physically efficiently removed than in more remote and wild
capable, or those who like or need to have serv- areas. More remote areas, where little or no hard-
ice amenities close by (e.g., concessions, rest ening has occurred, are much more susceptible
rooms) are not likely to choose the BWCAW (or to damage and abuse that cannot be easily cor-
any other wilderness) as their destination. In plan- rected. When wilderness areas are maintained, the
ning, it is possible to create levels of challenge as cost is relatively high and the repair by nature
well as development to address the variations in could take many years (Figure 17.5).
need among participants (Figure 17.4). Just how much development should take place?
One of the major purposes of a master plan- Who decides? These questions have emerged as
ning process for recreation areas is determining critical points for management in a new era of for-
the appropriate uses of the land and how the users est use planning. If it is assumed that we can and
380 Managing Recreation Behavior

ROS Descriptions
Many believe chat the Pacific Crest National Scenic and used by very few people. Recreation managers
Trail (PCNST) passes for the most part through wild use this Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) to
and beautiful country. In fact, it passes through a judge the appropriateness of public facilities, roads,
wide variety of environments offering a range of rec- trails, sanitation, and so forth, within particular set-
reational experiences. The kinds of surroundings and tings, and to gauge the appropriate design for roads
experiences can be viewed as a spectrum of recre- and timber harvest operations in areas where they are
ational opportunities, from urban, highly developed allowed. Hikers can also use the ROS to find areas
and used by many people; to primitive, undeveloped that offer the hiking environment they seek.

Urban The urban setting biking and camping prevail. The PCNST trail traverses
may be where you live! There such areas as it passes near many trailheads and road
are many buildings, paved crossings.
roads, and a great many peo-
ple. You will not experience
Roaded Modified Along
the urban setting along the
less-used forest roads you will
PCNST in Oregon. Hiking and biking trails through city likely find large clearcuts, skid
parks and residential areas would provide an urban roads, and landings dominant
recreation experience.
to the view. You will encoun-
ter more chances to get away
Rural The land between from other recreationists, but logging operations may be
the cities and the forest pro- dominant. No facilities are provided. You are on your
vides a rural setting. It includes own.
pastoral farmland, small com-
munities, and commercial fa-
cilities, or large campgrounds Semiprimitive Leaving
and trailheads along paved highways in the forest. Expect roads behind you, you be-
to find many other people along these parts of the trail. come more isolated from the
These areas offer convenient day hikes and sites for sights and sounds of human
off-road vehicle travel throughout the year. activity. The degree of risk and
isolation increases, and recre-
Roaded Natural Along ational activities become dependent on the natural
or near main forest roads and scene. No picnic tables and other improvements are
highways, you will find subtle provided; human comfort and satisfactions will be
modifications of the natural gained through your personal initiatives.
environment. Improvements
are limited to roads, trails, and Primitive Primitive set-
a few scattered structures. The natural environment still tings are the most remote parts
dominates, but timber harvest and preparations for the of the forest and are little influ-
next generation of trees are visible. Posted regulations as enced by the works of people.
well as contacts with others are likely. In fact, there are The natural environment
limited opportunities to get away from others. You are dominates the setting and dic-
farther from towns and their conveniences, so you must tates the kinds of recreational challenges: beauty, isola-
be self-reliant in supplying your personal needs. Sub- tion, uncertainty, risk, and discovery. Woodsmanship
stantial day hikes and opportunities for more relaxed skills are important in providing safety and comfort.

F i g u r e 1 7 . 3 Recreation Opportunity Spectrum: an example. Source: From the southern Oregon portion of
the Pacific Crest Scenic Trail map.
 M a n a g e m e n t by Objectives 381

Limits of Acceptable Change

(LAC)
The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum previously
addressed is not a rigid tool for managers to impose
behavior limits. It is instead a guide or index of the
relationships between site constraints and visitor
options. Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) is a
planning procedure that enumerates changes to the
physical environment that will cause little harm to
the recreational visitor's experience opportunities.
An integrative procedure, LAC brings together the
F i g u r e 17.4 The Boundary Waters Canoe work of researchers on visitor expectations and the
Wilderness Area in the Superior National Forest efforts of managers to understand site resource con-
provides unmatched beauty, challenge, and renewal straints. It assists managers in arriving at site man-
for recreationists. (Photo by Robert O. Ray.) agement judgments by specifying the products and
recreational opportunities that specific resources
provide and by clarifying what would threaten their
should provide a spectrum of opportunities for quality. However, to be successful, the process
recreational use and experience based upon the depends on a clear enunciation of management
intersection of good ecosystem science, finite man- objectives.
agement resources, and human behavior, which
seems to have an unlimited demand for experience,
how far can and should we go in modifying the
landform? This moves the discussion into a very Management by Objectives
interesting and challenging area of management. Management by Objectives (MBO) is still an impor-
tant tool in administering outdoor recreation if we
are to maintain a specific identifiable recreation
opportunity on the basis of resource capabilities.
Simply put, management by objectives means estab-
lishing goals or outputs that are agreed on by the
members of an organization. It is an effort to focus
attention and resources toward a common end. An
MBO exercise helps participants first to sort out a
desired option from among the wide range of alter-
natives and then to direct their energies at provid-
ing the desired objective or product. A modification
of the MBO model has the following inputs for
recreation program objectives (29).

Figure 17.5 Nature also poses interesting

questions for managers. The damage from the 1999 Resource Capability
storm in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Institutional Constraints Recreation Program
Area introduced challenging questions related to Existing Situation Objectives
recreational use, fire potential, and natural renewal. User Preferences
(Photo by Robert O. Ray.) Coordination
382 Managing Recreation Behavior

In this model, resource capability describes the over this time. Whereas timber production was the
overall limitations on programs, but typically agen- main reason for existence earlier in the 1900s (and
cies are more institutionally constrained by laws, continuing), there is now a much greater empha-
regulations, or policies that effectively constrict the sis on managing the forests for the environmental
scope of operations for a specific agency. If the services they render (e.g., water conservation, flood
recreation pattern on a specific path has never been control, conservation of natural resources, and
managed using program objectives, a certain clien- recreational use) (5, 30). Furthermore, as affluence
tele has usually developed over time. The existing has grown in the United States and access to these
situation (the norms of the existing clientele) will natural resources has improved, there is a grow-
probably dictate the direction of the initial man- ing recognition that protected areas like U.S.F.S.
agement planning. If other user preferences can be lands are a part of the larger communities where
accommodated in the resource base, they should they are found.
be included. The need and opportunity for coor- As Field (3D notes,
dination of efforts typically occurs when two or
more land management authorities overlap or The traditional philosophy of resource managers and
land management agencies is that people are clients,
adjoin an area and the desire to provide continu- guests, or visitors to the system. As a result, the ten-
ity for the recreation experience is mutual. Inter- dency has been to consider people and their resultant
agency agreements must then be negotiated to behavior as a problem to solve. . . . These [parks or
assure that continuity is maintained. forests] are the places where cultural and institutional
practices of the agency meet the cultural and institu-
tional practices of the population occupying the
resource on either a temporary or permanent basis.
Some Notes on Management
In recognition of these changes in philosophy and
Planning culture, there is now a larger mandate to land man-
The preceding discussion of the Recreational agement agencies. As each of the sites develops a
Opportunity Spectrum (ROS), Limits of Acceptable required management plan, there is a further
Change (LAC), and Management by Objectives required element for public participation in the deci-
(MBO) make the management planning process sion making. While this is an interesting and nec-
seem very straightforward and linear. It also implies essary way to function successfully in a new
that those who are the leaders in the management century, it is often a confusing and challenging
organization are the ones who get to set the man- process that requires a set of management skills that
agement plans in place based upon their author- transcends scientific knowledge of both the ecosys-
ity, knowledge of the ecosystem, and a belief that tem and the science of recreational behavior. There
they know what the recreation participant prefers. is a need to understand sociopolitical processes,
There is also the implicit concept that the recre- group dynamics, and collaborative processes with
ation area under consideration is a world separate new partners. These considerations have until very
from the local residents. This conceptualization of recently been beyond the need of managers and
recreation area management is too narrow and planners and have resulted in the new classifica-
needs to be revisited in light of several emerging tion of Social Forestry further discussed in Chap-
understandings. ter 23.
The multiple-use philosophy of forest manage- It is interesting and challenging to determine first
ment that has emerged over the last decade or more how to involve the public (e.g., whom to invite,
has placed a new emphasis on planning and has how far to reach, what is the best format for input)
significantly increased the role of the public in the and then determine what to do with their advice
planning process. Forested lands in the United (e.g., does it make sense, how exclusive will the
States have experienced a marked change in use land become). Finally, how does one create a mean-
Fees as a Recreation M a n a g e m e n t Tool 383
ingful management plan with input from varied per- understand by the average user. Furthermore, lead-
spectives (e.g., ATV users who want no restriction ership changes in all agencies and new leaders may
on their movement, birders who want all vehicles bring an agenda for use that challenges the assump-
banned from the area). tions of an existing agreement. Being understand-
There are a number of models that presently ing, adaptable, and strong are important
exist to involve the public in planning for natural characteristics that recreation managers must main-
resource management. The space and focus of this tain. Some of these "new" partners in recreation
chapter limits discussion of those processes but could include Lake Home Owners Associations, pri-
readers who are interested are encouraged to look vate timber companies, NGOs (e.g., The Nature
at some recent works on collaborative planning Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, Sierra Club),
(32-35). Native American Tribal Councils, or private land
All the management elements discussed (ROS, holders. It is an interesting task to keep these organ-
LAC, MBO) are no longer the singular product of izations working cooperatively and simultaneously
the scientific manager. They are elements largely holding the public concerns at the forefront in
defined and determined by consumers. They are recreation management.
far more politically charged than one might first be For many years, various agencies have addressed
led to believe. Creating management plans in coop- services by concessionaires in recreation areas. As
eration with these new inputs is an essential, and recreation area managers begin implementing busi-
not always easy, part of successful land manage- ness practices to improve service, there are some
ment for recreation uses. lessons to be learned. For example, the state of Wis-
Partnerships deserve a bit more attention here. consin moved to a centralized reservation system
This is a relatively new phenomenon in recreation for campgrounds in 1999. While eventually work-
management, but there are vestiges that go back ing well, Sidebar 17.2 has warnings for new ven-
into history. Newer partnerships have evolved tures that go beyond the simple rationale of decision
between governments (federal, state, and local) and making.
organizations that were at one time distinctly sep- Often agencies like the Forest Service or
arate, critical, and even hostile toward each other. National Park Service seek bids for specific vendors
Over the last decade, there has been a deliberate to provide a service in an area (e.g., garbage
approach to work more collaboratively for common removal, food services, equipment rental). These
goals, since much of the land and water resources are long-tested relationships at many levels of gov-
controlled by government, nongovernment, and pri- ernment where both parties contractually agree to
vate groups is in close proximity or adjacent to pub- a service or product and share in the revenue. As
lic lands. resources for local operating budgets decrease, this
Obviously, joining resources increases the eco- fee revenue idea has broadened. The next section
logical integrity of a region and can provide wider addresses the evolution of fees and charges as a
ranges of recreation opportunities for participants. management tool, which are increasingly important
The trick for managers is to understand how to sources of operating revenue for recreation area
approach these groups (or understand that how to managers.
interpret an approach from them), to arrive at com-
mon goals, monitor the processes, and help the
public understand how these agreements function. Fees as a Recreation
It is also important to understand that these can
be complex agreements with organizations that may Management Tool
have very different management objectives and While fees are not new to recreation on public
practices. These practices may not be replicas of lands, they have changed in the way they have
those endorsed by any one agency and difficult to been presented to the public and used by various
384 M a n a g i n g Recreation Behavior

Sidebar 17.2

Public Relations and Parks Management—Change is a Challenge!

The State of Wisconsin Parks System imple- to tell tented sites from those with motor home
mented a telephone reservation system for those facilities. They mispronounced the park names
wishing to reserve a campsite in any of the state and had accents that were clearly not familiar
parks. A request for vendor applications was to those in the Midwest. Interestingly, one of the
issued and a company outside the state was biggest problems that distressed local residents
awarded the contract. In the days following most was the mispronunciation of the state
implementation, complaints began to mount. name. "Wes-consin" rang across the lines to the
Some of the complaints were about the great irritation of already testy consumers.
changes in the process. The phone reservation The problem was given partial remedy when
system replaced a mail-in reservation system that the reservation system calls were redirected to
had been used for many years. A further pub- a local site that had been opened with new
lic relations issue was created by a major change employees hired from a local phone-based
in the cost of reserving a campsite. The fee was retailer that had gone-out of business. Having
increased from $4.00 to $9.50 per reservation and people well trained in phone service and knowl-
a cancellation fee of $8.50 was added. These edgeable about the locale was critical to mak-
were serious changes to the relatively inexpen- ing an effective change in a large and outdated
sive and traditional process; however, people system.
came to understand the need for the cost The major lesson here is that managers must
increase to improve and maintain facilities for think beyond the simple logic of improved effi-
their service. ciency when implementing change. Public
The more interesting and least anticipated reactions are key to success in making change.
reactions were to the manner in which reser-
vations were being taken. Many of the reserva- Source:
tion center representatives were based in 1. M. BALOUSEK, "Reserving a Campsite in "Wes-
California. They could not read the maps and consin," Wisconsin State Journal, Sunday, July 25,
were not familiar with the state or the parks 1999, p. 1C
within the system. Some also found it difficult

agencies like the U.S.F.S. In general, the practice fees are a double tax on the user. Users pay into
of charging fees for the recreational use of public the federal general revenue fund for a wide array
lands is almost a century old. Auto permit fees were of goods and services. To pay a fee on top of those
issued as early as 1908 to help pay for a roadway taxes is to pay twice. A second argument is that
at Mt. Rainier National Park (36). However, the fees change the concept of public land to one that
debate over the use of fees for use of public spaces says the land is a commodity available to those who
has been controversial over the same period of time can most afford it. In this argument, it is possible
(probably longer). to raise the issue that users will be treated differ-
The general concerns that people have about ently based on the ability to pay. Those with more
fees can be expressed in several ways. One is that might get the campsites on the water and those who
Fees as a Recreation M a n a g e m e n t Tool 385

have less might find their tent pad next to the a majority of the revenue to supplement funds allo-
garbage drop where bears tend to gather in the cated from the general fund (38).
night. A final argument is that a fee discourages the This change obviously gives considerable incen-
participation of those who are economically dis- tive to local sites for generating extra income to do
advantaged, promoting a gap between the "haves" things they may never have been able to do oth-
and "have nots" of society. erwise. It is at this point where cautions again
Until recently, these arguments have been very become appropriate. Some sites are so popular that
effective in preventing the significant use of fees affluent users are willing to pay relatively large fees
in parks and forest recreation management. Very to gain exclusive use of the area. The balancing act
low and no fees were the way of life for most agen- is to instill equitable access into a framework of pric-
cies until the concept was revisited in 1996 with ing that is more market-oriented. This is a program
the implementation of the Recreation Fee Demon- in evolution among Forest Recreation managers.
stration Program (PL 104-134) for the U.S. Forest Most are not well trained in economic pricing and
Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Man- its effects on user patterns, so it is logical to assume
agement, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The that there is a steep learning curve to find the right
Forest Service describes the evolution of this pro- way to establish, assess, collect, and use fees. Cur-
gram in the following way (37): rently the fees retained on site are used in ways
that make good sense for the site. Table 17.7 shows
More and more people recreate on national forests eachbreakdown of uses of fee revenues for 1999 accord-
year. As more and more people recreate, keeping up ing to the Forest Service (37).
with the needs of those visitors and of the natural
resource becomes more and more difficult. Seeing that As of September 30,1999, the Forest Service spent $42
national forests, parks, and other federal lands were million of the $56.6 million collected since the Forest
suffering from the lack of funding to care for these Service began collecting these fees in 1996. Planning
lands. Congress passed a law to test bringing more and time requirements for accounting and issuing con-
funds to these lands in a new way. tracts explains the unspent balance.

This quotation indicates a very important change As managers become more comfortable with the
in the way that fees have been conceived, used, mechanisms and as the public becomes more accus-
and desired by the agency. First there is the recog- tomed to paying for use, it is logical to assume that
nition that general revenue funds are increasingly new applications with specific purposes might come
hard to obtain from Congress for many reasons. into use. Presently, fees are rather uniform over an
Prior to the fee demonstration program, the site
managers were given very little incentive to raise
funds. Fundraising was discouraged and the
T a b l e 17.7 Revenue Spending by the
assumption was that a site manager would receive U.S. Forest Service in Fiscal Year 1999
an allocation from a central source. Funds might
be more equally distributed, but for high-demand, 30.8% of fees on general operations, like garbage
high-use areas, the needs for management funds pickup and cleaning toilets
are likely higher than those in smaller, less-used 18.8% on cost of collection
18.3% on repairs and maintenance
areas. This placed an intense and often unpleas-
10.3% on interpretation and signs
ant internal competition for funds among the var-
6.2% on upgrading facilities
ious site managers. Revenue created by a particular 6.0% on health and safety
site was not permitted to stay at the generating site. 3.5% on law enforcement
Rather, the money was returned to the general fund 3.1% on resource preservation
of the Treasury and never returned. Under the Fee 2.6% on other costs
Demonstration program, a site is allowed to retain 0.4% on habitat improvement
386 Managing Recreation Behavior

area. For instance, there might be one common fee current and future managers to keep focused on
for entry regardless of the length of stay, or size of fair and appropriate uses to benefit the entire pop-
vehicle, or need for services (e.g., a sanitary dump ulation through creative and imaginative application.
station). Similarly, there might be a single fee for
campsite regardless of its location (e.g., waterfront
costs the same as a fringe site near a traveled road-
way). It is likely that different prices will be attached
Concluding Statement
to sites as ways to reflect value and need. Those Recreation in the out-of-doors is a passion show-
who need more services and those who want to ing no sign of decline into the future. More peo-
use prime sites will pay more. Furthermore, man- ple than ever are seeking the possibilities of
agers might use differential pricing to get users into pleasure and personal renewal through activities in
other locations. For example, a nice site that is dif- natural settings. Forest and range lands, wilderness,
ficult to approach might be priced lower than an and parks are all areas where user demand is
equally nice site that has easier access. Thus, fees increasing at such a rate that serious and thought-
become a way to redistribute users. Similarly peak ful management is needed to make sure that sub-
demand use may incur a higher fee than use in less sequent generations of citizens have an opportunity
popular times. to enjoy the wildness of land that current genera-
It is clear that one lesson has already been tions might find. Resource managers then need to
learned and shows the public is generally favor- have some understanding of reasons why people
able to the use of fees in recreation sites. That les- come to nature and the experiences they seek.
son is that fees without explanation provoke the Managing human behavior requires careful and
anger and political wrath of people. However, when imaginative thinking along with innovative and
people learn what the fees are for and see their adaptable management strategies.
use in a place they personally know (and know The most critical thought to take from this chap-
needs attention), their approval increases dramat- ter is that managing recreation is less about man-
ically. The data in Table 17.8 illustrate the public aging the natural resource base and more about
sentiment over fees in selected recreation areas. managing human behavior. Increasing intensity and
While it is clear that fees as a management tool volume of use is a serious threat to natural settings,
will always have sharp edges and pointed debate, yet people need to have access for many reasons.
their use is likely to increase. It is incumbent on Preserving the resource with intelligence and wis-

T a b l e 17.8 General Opinions About Fees for Use of Recreational Resources in Percent (by
Survey Locations)
Location % Positive % Negative
Boundary Waters Canoe Area 87 13
Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area 46 22
Desolation Wilderness 64-78 22-36
White Mountain National Forest 68-72 15-16
Cataract Lake Fee Area 64 14
Tonto National Forest 55-64 22-26
National Comment Cards 77 19
News Article Analysis 65 35
Source: U.S.D.A. Forest Service. Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness Resources web site,
http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/fee_demo/fee_intro.shtml.
References 387

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12. National Center for Educational Statistics, 1999, Water Company." Public lecture at the University of
http://nces.ed.gov/. Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, March 28, 2000.
388 Managing Recreation Behavior

31. D. FIELD, In Natural Resource Management: The 37. U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Recreation, Heritage and
Human Dimension, A. Ewert, ed., Westview Press, Wilderness Resources web site, http://www.fs.fed.us/
Boulder, Colo., 1996. recreation/fee_demo/fee_intro.shtml, April 4, 2000.
32. S. LEARNER, Environmental Stewardship: Studies in 38. C. PRATT, "Impact of Recreational Fees on Backcountry
Active Earthkeeping, University of Waterloo, Depart- Use: The Case of Sleeping Bear Dunes National
ment of Geography, Waterloo, Ontario, 1992. Lakeshore." Master's Thesis, University of Wisconsin,
33. D. PORTER AND D. SALVESEN, EDS., Collaborative Plan- Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development,
ning for Wetlands and Wildlife: Issues and Examples, Madison Wis., 1999.
Island Press, Washington, D.C., 1995. 39. The Recreation Roundtable, Outdoor Recreation in
34. R. CHAMBERS, Whose Reality Counts? Putting the First America: A 1994 Survey for the Recreation Round-
Last, Intermediate Technology Publication, London, table, Roper Starch Worldwide, Orlando, Florida
U.K., 1997. (1994).
35. R. MARGOLIS AND N. SOLAFSKY, Measures of Success: 40. National Survey on Recreation and the Environment,
Designing, Managing, and Monitoring Conservation U.S.D.A. Forest Service and the University of Geor-
and Development Projects, Island Press, Washington, gia, 1994-95 National Survey on Recreation and the
D.C., 1998. Environment, Athens, Georgia (1995).
36. C. HARRIS AND B. L. DRIVER, J. For., 25 (1987).
 CHAPTER 18
Behavior and Management
of Forest Fires
CRAIG G. LORIMER

Natural Fire Regimes The Urban-Wildland Interface

The Natural Role of Fire Fire Control
Influence on the Landscape Detection
Human Influence and Fire Policy Suppression of Wildfires

Fire Behavior Prescribed Burning

Fuel Conditions and Fire Types Environmental Impacts of Forest
Surface Fires
Fires
Ground Fires
Crown Fires Fire in the Wilderness
Weather Conditions The Approach
Topography Thirty Years of Natural Fire Management
Erratic Behavior
Prediction of Fire Behavior Concluding Statement—The
Challenge of Fire Management
Fire Prevention
Unhealthy Forests and Wildfire Risk References

In many areas of the world, humans have histori-

cally been the principal cause of forest fires, both
in the actual number of fires and in the total area
burned. Yet lightning fires have probably occurred
for as long as there have been regions of dense
vegetation and occasional periods of dry weather
(Figure 18.1). In some regions, bits of charcoal
embedded in lake sediments testify to the periodic
occurrence of fires over thousands of years, and it
is likely that some of these were caused by light-
ning. Evidence of fires in the distant past can also
sometimes be found on the forest site itself. Long-
lived and relatively fire-resistant trees such as coast
redwood and ponderosa pine often bear visible
F i g u r e 18.1 Several minutes of lightning during
external wounds caused by fire (Figure 18.2). When
a thunderstorm in the mountains of western North
the trunks of such trees are examined in cross- America. In this region, lightning causes 30-60% of all
section, scars of fires that occurred centuries ago fires. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
389
390 Behavior a n d M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

in tropical rain forests, and they are relatively

uncommon in moist temperate areas such as west-
ern Europe and much of eastern North America.
However, in some regions, such as the mountains
of western North America, lightning is the single
leading fire cause, accounting for 30-60% of all
fires. A single storm can generate a "blitzkrieg" of
lightning strikes as it passes across a mountain
range (Figure 18.1), igniting more than 50 fires in
a few hours. It is estimated that lightning causes
about 10,000 wildland fires in the United States each
year (2).
Much of the variability in lightning fire frequency
can be attributed to climate and topography. Light-
ning fires are more common in regions with a pro-
nounced dry season and in mountainous country
that is subject to more thunderstorms. However, the
nature of the vegetation seems to exert consider-
able influence as well. Fires are usually more com-
mon in conifer forests than in stands of
broad-leaved deciduous trees, probably in part
because of differences in the chemical composition,
moisture content, and porosity of the fuels.
F i g u r e 18.2 Multiple fire scars visible on a cross-
section of an old ponderosa pine tree (inset) in the Many lightning strikes are accompanied by rain
Bitterroot National Forest, in western Montana, reveal or humid weather, which can initially cause slug-
that twenty-one fires occurred on this site between gish fire behavior. However, it would be incorrect
1659 and 1915. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.) to assume that lightning fires never or seldom
become conflagrations. "Dry" lightning strikes in the
absence of rain are common events, and even
may be evident. Even in forests that show no obvi- under damp conditions, a fire can smolder in leaf
ous indication of recent fire, careful examination litter or a dead tree for days or even weeks until
of the lower layers of the forest floor will often dry conditions return. For example, the lightning-
reveal fragments of charcoal from fires that caused Sundance Fire of 1967 in Idaho smoldered
occurred hundreds of years ago. undetected for 12 days until dry, windy weather
turned it into a roaring crown fire that traveled 26
km (16 miles) in only 9 hours (3). Assessment of
the possibilities of lightning fires reaching a large
Natural Fire Regimes size has become increasingly important in recent
On a worldwide basis, it is estimated that approx- years as greater attention has been given to restora-
imately 500,000 cloud-to-ground lightning dis- tion of natural fire regimes in parks and wilderness.
charges occur in forested regions each day (1). Most
of these discharges probably strike trees, although
only about 10 percent of them actually result in The Natural Role of Fire
fires. The frequency of lightning fires is highly vari- Given that lightning fires are common events in
able in different parts of the world, even over rel- some regions, it is not surprising that a number of
atively short distances. Lightning fires are infrequent species show evidence of adaptations to periodic
H u m a n Influence a n d Fire Policy 391

fire. Although the nature of this adaptation varies (Figure 18.2). These frequent low-intensity fires kept
among species, most fire-adapted species possess the forests open and "park-like," helped maintain the
characteristics that enable them to colonize rapidly grasses and pines, and discouraged invasion by
and dominate severely burned areas. Some of the shade-tolerant species. By keeping fuel accumula-
birches and aspens have abundant light seeds that tions low, these low-intensity fires also reduced the
can be transported considerable distances by wind, chances of large conflagrations.
thus increasing the chances that seeds will reach a Forests with high-severity fire regimes are usu-
recently burned site. Other species, such as jack ally made up of trees with flammable foliage (such
pine, lodgepole pine, and black spruce, have seeds as conifers or Australian eucalyptus) that occur on
that are held in tightly closed serotinous cones. somewhat moister sites. Weather conditions may not
Unlike the cones of most gymnosperms, serotinous be conducive to fire spread in most years, but the
cones are sealed by resin, and seeds are not released great buildup of fuels may make these forests sus-
until high temperatures melt the resin and allow the ceptible to widespread conflagrations during occa-
cones to open. The seeds can then be dispersed sional episodes of severe drought and high winds.
even if the parent trees are killed by the fire. Natural fire rotations can vary from 50 to 400 years
Seeds of fire-adapted species germinate rapidly or more (4). Landscapes in such areas are often
on charred surfaces or exposed soil, and the dominated by even-aged stands of fire-adapted
seedlings tend to be tolerant of the dry surface con- species (see Chapter 13), but because some fires
ditions and extremes of temperature common to may be variable in their intensity, two- or three-
exposed sites. As is typical of shade-intolerant aged stands are sometimes present.
species, they grow rapidly and usually outcompete Although regions of the world with moist year-
other species that may arrive on the site. Many of round climates often have a low fire frequency, fire
these species are also able to produce seed at a can still have a significant impact on the landscape.
relatively young age, which increases their chance For example, in the northern hardwood forests of
of persisting on a landscape subject to frequent fires. North America, severe fire may occur at intervals
In regions prone to repeated surface fires, some fire- much longer than the life span of the trees, lead-
adapted tree species also develop thick bark at ing to dominance of the landscape by shade-tolerant
maturity that makes them fairly resistant to injury species not highly adapted to fire. However, fire
from light fires. may still be common on locally dry sites (such as
Fire may also have subtle beneficial effects on ridgetops and sandy soils), and conflagrations can
ecosystems. In cold, dry climates, forest litter and still occur on moist sites where the trees have been
woody debris have a tendency to build up faster blown down by wind or killed by insect epidemics
than they can be decomposed. Occasional light fires (5). Such episodes were historically important in
can reduce this accumulation of fuel, converting maintaining a component of early successional
nutrients that were previously locked up in species on the landscape.
organic matter into a form that is available for
uptake by plants.
Human Influence and Fire Policy
Influence on the Landscape Human modification of the natural fire regime is
A regime of frequent low-severity fires is common not a recent development. Primitive societies com-
in regions of the world with savanna or tree-grassland monly used fire to improve hunting and overland
ecosystems and dry climates. In the ponderosa pine travel, to aid in land clearance, and to reduce insect
savannas of western North America, fire scars on old and snake populations. The shifting pattern of
trees show that the average length of time between slash-and-burn agriculture has been widely prac-
successive fires was only 6-20 years in most stands ticed by native peoples of the tropics. Intentional
392 Behavior a n d M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

burning was also a common practice among native of 1924, which for the first time provided federal
American tribes. For example, in 1632, a Massa- funding to assist the states in developing a coop-
chusetts colonist named Thomas Morton wrote (6): erative forest fire control program (see Chapters 1,
9, and 10). Although the actual amount of money
The [natives] are accustomed, to set fire of the provided was small at first, it did allow the con-
Country in all places where they come; and to struction of fire towers, hiring of fire wardens, and
burne it, twize a yeare.... And this custome of
firing the Country is the meanes to make it pass- purchase of equipment. Fire control on publicly
able, and by that meanes the trees grow here, owned lands underwent several major changes in
and there as in our parks, and makes the Coun- the 20th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, a policy
try very beautifull, and commodius. of fire exclusion was attempted, in which all wild-
fires were suppressed as quickly as possible. In
Early European settlers continued to use fire, 1935, the "10 A.M. fire-control policy" was formu-
especially as an aid to clearing land for agriculture. lated, setting the objective of rapid and thorough
So many settlers used this method that occasion- suppression of all fires during potentially danger-
ally the amount of smoke and particulates in the ous fire weather by ten o'clock the next morning.
atmosphere was sufficient to cast semidarkness over Some modification of the 10 A.M. policy was
the land. One such "dark day" in 1780, caused by required in certain areas. In parts of the western
fires raging in Vermont and New York, was United States, labor and equipment were not always
described as follows. sufficient to suppress all fires, and it was recognized
The legislature of Connecticut was in session at that such attempts had probably passed a point of
Hartford on that day. The deepening gloom diminishing returns in terms of costs and benefits.
enwrapped the city, and the rooms of the state Fire suppression was therefore handled on a pri-
house grew dark. The journal of the house of ority basis from about 1940 to 1960. On federal
representatives reads "None could see to read lands, fires burning in areas of highest resource val-
or write in the house, or even at a window, or
distinguish persons at a small distance" (7). ues were attacked first. Remote areas of noncom-
mercial forest with low-hazard fuels were attended
Settlers often let these fires smolder for weeks to last.
or even months, creating a potentially explosive sit- Furthermore, as early as the 1920s and '30s, a
uation. With hundreds of these fires smoldering few pioneering resource managers began to redis-
across the landscape, it only required a worsening cover the beneficial effects of certain fires and real-
drought and a strong wind to turn them into a rag- ized the potential disadvantages of trying to exclude
ing inferno. This indeed happened repeatedly fire from ecosystems that were historically fire-
throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries from dependent. The planned use of fire under speci-
New England to the Pacific Northwest, with mas- fied conditions, known as prescribed burning, was
sive conflagrations ranging in size from 100,000 to gradually acknowledged to be useful in achieving
a million hectares. In at least five of these confla- certain objectives such as reducing hazardous fuel
grations, there was also a great loss of human life, accumulations after logging, and preparing the for-
ranging from 200 to 1,500 people killed. est floor as a seedbed. Initially, prescribed fires were
These repeated disasters set the stage for a pol- always set by resource managers under predeter-
icy of vigorous fire suppression. It is therefore not mined conditions.
surprising that one of the top priorities of the Amer- Beginning in the 1970s, forest fire policy on fed-
ican Forestry Association when it convened in 1875 eral lands in the United States was broadened fur-
was the "protection of the existing forests of the ther to an overall policy of fire management, not
country from unnecessary waste," of which fire was simply fire control. This policy takes advantage of
the leading cause. These efforts led to passage of the beneficial effects of some unplanned forest fires
the Weeks Law of 1911 and the Clarke-McNary Act while still continuing suppression of fires expected
Fire Behavior 393

to have undesirable effects. Several features of this prescribed burning depends largely on how the fire
policy represent a bold departure from previous is expected to behave—its rate of spread, direction
policies. First, it is recognized that the decision on of travel, and intensity. The prerequisites for the
how to handle a particular fire on federal lands start and spread of a forest fire are 1) flammable
should be based not only on the anticipated behav- fuels, 2) sufficient heat energy to bring the fuels to
ior and effects of the fire, but also on the long-range the ignition temperature, and 3) adequate oxygen.
management objectives for each unit of land, and These three factors are often referred to as the fire
the potential costs and benefits of control. In some triangle, because all three factors are necessary for
national forests, foresters write a management plan combustion, and further combustion can be
for each homogeneous unit of vegetation and fuels, stopped by removing any one of the three elements.
and the degree to which fire is necessary to accom- Virtually all the phenomena influencing the behav-
plish the objectives of the plan is clearly stated. ior of a fire, including those related to weather and
Second, there is a provision for allowing certain topography, can ultimately be attributed to one or
unscheduled ignitions to burn under supervision more of these three factors. Thus the size, total
if the predictions of fire behavior indicate that the weight, and moisture content of fuel elements partly
fire will help achieve the management objectives. determine the amount of heat required for ignition
For example, a lightning fire or other unplanned and the heat released by combustion. Their spa-
ignition may be allowed to burn under surveillance tial arrangement influences the availability of oxy-
if fuel reduction is needed on that unit of land, and gen. Variations in these factors are ultimately
the current and forecasted weather conditions indi- reflected in the rate at which the fire spreads and
cate that fire behavior and intensity would be man- its intensity. Grass fires, for example, spread rap-
ageable. Fires that threaten human life or property, idly but are of relatively low intensity, whereas fires
or which have the potential to become uncontrol- in heavy logging debris spread slowly but burn
lable, are still vigorously suppressed. However, intensely.
choice of the method and equipment to be used
in suppressing the fire may be determined in part
by weighing the cost of these various options Fuel Conditions and Fire Types
against the value of the resource and the potential Fuels are often classified in a general manner by
for damage. their spatial location in the forest. Surface fuels con-
Finally, fire in the new policy is acknowledged stitute a large, heterogeneous group of fuels found
to be more than simply a management tool. It is on or close to the surface of the ground. Included
considered to be an environmental factor that may are undecomposed leaf litter, fallen twigs and
serve a necessary function not easily accomplished branches, logs, grass, herbs, tree seedlings, and low
by other methods. Thus, although understory hard- shrubs. Ground fuels are found beneath the loose
woods in southern pine forests can be controlled layer of surface litter. They include partly decom-
by cutting down the hardwood stems and apply- posed organic matter or duff, roots, and muck or
ing herbicides to the stumps, it is recognized that peat in wet areas. Aerial fuels include all flamma-
other beneficial effects of fire cannot feasibly be ble material in the subcanopy layers of the forest
duplicated by mechanical means. and in the tree crowns. Fuels are classified in this
manner partly because of the three distinctive types
of fires associated with them: surface fires, ground
fires, and crown fires.
Fire Behavior
Anticipating the behavior of a fire is one of the most Surface Fires The most readily available fuels for
critical aspects of fire management. The choice of a forest fire are the dry surface layers of litter on the
strategy in suppressing wildfires and carrying out forest floor, interspersed small dead branchwood,
 394 Behavior a n d M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

and the cured grass in some forests. This is the mate- is to cause a more intense fire. For this reason, the
rial consumed in most surface fires (Figure 18.3). most intense fires are usually those that start in log-
Green herbs and understory vegetation are usually ging slash or other areas of heavy fuel accumula-
a deterrent to the spread of fire in the spring because tions. In general, the higher the total weight of fuels,
of the high moisture content of the foliage, but they the more difficult the fire will be to control.
may contribute significantly to fire intensity and rate
of spread when in a cured condition. Ground Fires In finely divided ground fuels such
Although the larger fuels, such as fallen logs, may as peat or duff, oxygen is often limited to the point
be partly or wholly consumed by the time a sur- that only glowing combustion is possible. As a
face fire has died out, such material is too large and result, ground fires are often of low intensity and
often too damp to influence the forward momen- spread slowly. They are, however, remarkably per-
tum of the fire. Thus, research indicates that the sistent, often smoldering for days or weeks. For this
effect of fuels on the forward rate of spread of a reason, they present an especially serious problem,
surface fire is largely determined by the amount, and it is often difficult to judge whether suppres-
arrangement, and moisture content of the fine fuels. sion activities have been successful in completely
The effect of larger surface fuels, such as fallen logs, extinguishing the fire. Ironically, extinguishing
ground fires that burn in bogs may require great
quantities of water, much more than might be
required on upland sites. One peat fire in Michi-
gan took 36 days for containment at a size of 80
hectares, but attempts to extinguish it were not suc-
cessful until a small river was diverted by bulldozers
20 days later to drown the fire completely (8).

Crown Fires Fires that sweep through the canopy

of a forest are known as crown fires (Figure 18.4).
The susceptibility of tree crowns to ignition varies
among species. Crown fires are much more com-
mon in coniferous forests than in hardwoods,
because of lower foliar moisture content, flamma-
ble organic compounds, greater amounts of dead
twigs, and a conical shape that allows easier access
of flames to the crown. Yet even in conifer forests,
the probability of a crown fire is low if the under-
story is sparse and the trees are mature. When they
occur, crown fires often cause heavy or complete
mortality of the tree canopy (Figure 18.5). Although
crown fires are relatively uncommon and account
for only a small percentage of all fires, they account
for most of the area burned annually because of
their large size.
Most crown fires start as surface fires, and the
reasons why a fire may make the transition in par-
ticular cases are still not well known. The surface
F i g u r e 18.3 Surface fire. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. fire must reach a rather high intensity in order to
Forest Service.) dessicate and consume live foliage in the crown,
Fire Behavior 395

probability of ignition and fire intensity are closely

related to relative humidity and fuel moisture (Table
18.1).
The rapidity of fuel response to atmospheric
humidity depends on the size of the fuel elements.
The "flashy" fine fuels, which normally determine
the rate of fire spread, respond quickly to changes
in relative humidity. As a result, fires may alternately
flare up during midday when humidity is low and
die down again at night when humidity is high.
Fire behavior is also affected by atmospheric sta-
bility, which is defined as the resistance of the
atmosphere to vertical motion. An unstable atmos-
phere is characterized by gusty, turbulent winds,
vertical air motion, and towering cumulus clouds.
Crowning and erratic fires are more likely when the
atmosphere is unstable, for the vertical air move-
ment encourages the development of a strong con-
vection column of smoke and burning debris
fragments. However, if fuel moisture is at a mod-
erate level, indicating little potential for severe fires,
days with an unstable atmosphere may be prefer-
able for prescribed burning, because smoke dis-
perses better.
F i g u r e 18.4 Crown fire. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Wind has a dramatic effect on the rate of fire
Forest Service.) spread and intensity. It has long been a rule of

especially in mature forests where the lowest limbs

are high above the ground. However, if conifer
saplings are present in the understory, these can
act as "ladder fuels," enabling a surface fire to climb
into the crowns of the mature trees.

Weather Conditions
Within a given fuel type, fire behavior is regulated
largely by the state of the weather. Particularly
important are the effects of atmospheric moisture
and wind. Fuel moisture is determined not only by
the amount and duration of precipitation, but also
by relative humidity during rainless periods, As
humidity increases, fuels take up moisture from the
air, and more of the fire's energy is used to drive F i g u r e 18.5 Aftermath of a blowup fire, showing
off this moisture prior to combustion. As humidity the numerous dead trees that can act as a fuel source
decreases, fuels lose moisture to the air. Both the for subsequent fires.
396 Behavior and M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

T a b l e 18.1 Effect of Relative Humidity and Fuel Moisture on Fire Behavior

Moisture Content (percent)

Relative Forest Small

Humidity (percent) Litter Branchwood Fire Behavior

>95 >25 Little or no ignition.

>60 >20 >15 Very little ignition; fire smolders and spreads slowly.
45-60 15-19 12-15 Low ignition hazard, but campfires become
dangerous; glowing brands cause ignition when
relative humidity <50%. Fire spreads slowly but
readily; prescribed burning may be feasible.
35-45 11-14 10-12 Medium ignitibility; matches become dangerous,
"easy" burning conditions. Many prescribed
burns are conducted in this range.
25-35 8-10 7-10 High ignition hazard; matches always dangerous.
Occasional crowning, spotting caused by gusty
winds. "Moderate" burning conditions.
15-25 5-7 5-7 Quick ignition, rapid buildup, extensive crowning;
any increase in wind causes increased spotting,
crowning, loss of control. Fire moves up bark of
trees igniting aerial fuels; long-distance spotting
in pine stands. Dangerous burning conditions.
<15 <5 <5 All sources of ignition dangerous. Aggressive
burning; spot fires occur often and spread rap-
idly, and extreme fire behavior is probable. Criti-
cal burning conditions.
Source: Adapted from Albini, 1979 (9).

thumb among fire control officials that the rate of front, which is one reason why cold fronts are often
spread is approximately proportional to the square dreaded by fire control personnel (see Sidebar 18.1).
of the wind speed; hence, a doubling of wind speed
will quadruple the rate of spread.
The effect of wind on the pattern or shape of Topography
fires is illustrated in Figure 18.6. Under conditions Fires burn more quickly up steep slopes, largely
of steady moderate or strong winds, fires tend to because heat generated by the fire front is directed
burn in elliptical patterns with the long axis in the more closely to the surface of the ground, thereby
direction of the wind. The strategy of fire sup- decreasing the moisture and increasing the tem-
pression is partly based on estimates of the increase perature of the fuels ahead of the fire. Topography
in perimeter of this elliptical zone of flames per unit also has many effects on the microclimate of a par-
time. The pattern of spread, however, can be greatly ticular site. Slopes facing toward the south and
changed by abrupt wind shifts, which can turn the southwest, for example, tend to be the warmest and
flank of a fire into a much expanded burning head. driest slopes because they are exposed to the direct
This greatly increases the area burned by the fire rays of the sun during the hottest part of the day.
and is often a major contributing factor to the large As a result, fires are more frequent and spread more
final size of conflagration fires. Abrupt wind shifts quickly on southern slopes. Topography also mod-
are especially common during the passage of a cold ifies and channels airflow patterns. Rugged, moun-
Fire Behavior 397

can start many new fires. Most blowup fires can be

extinguished only by rain or snow, and human con-
trol efforts are usually restricted to attempts at block-
ing further lateral spread along the flanks.

Prediction of Fire Behavior

A fire researcher named H. T. Gisborne remarked
at a conference in the 1940s, "I doubt that anyone
will ever be able to sit down to a machine, punch
a key for every factor of the situation, and have
the machine tell him what to do." Be that as it may,
the advent of computer simulation techniques in
recent years has proved to be very useful to fire
managers. Clearly it is desirable at least to have an
estimate of the rate of spread and intensity of a fire,
F i g u r e 18.6 Approximate fire shapes created by
given certain weather and fuel conditions.
winds blowing in a constant direction at different
velocities. The various fire shapes are drawn to The quantitative study of fire behavior and pre-
different scales. [From Albini (9).] diction has been intensively pursued for several
decades in research labs such as the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice's Northern Forest Fire Lab in Missoula, Montana.
tainous topography often induces turbulent winds A basic aim of this research has been to use phys-
that increase fire intensity and the possibility of ical laws, such as the law of conservation of energy,
erratic behavior. to describe the process of combustion and fire spread
in mathematical terms (11, 12). The use of basic prin-
ciples of physics to predict fire behavior has advan-
Erratic Behavior tages over statistical approaches to studying factors
Fires sometimes undergo a rather abrupt transition influencing past fire behavior, because theoretical
from a low-intensity to a high-intensity fire, which models are more universal in their applicability. That
may be visibly apparent from the development of is, they can be used to predict fire behavior in a wide
a violent convection column of rapidly rising smoke variety of forest and fuel types. Developing these
and hot gases. Such fires are often called blowup equations required elaborate experimentation with
fires and represent an unfavorable turn of events fire behavior in a laboratory environment because
for firefighters because they are often uncontrol- some of the mechanisms of heat transfer and com-
lable by conventional fire-fighting techniques (Fig- bustion were not known, and carefully controlled
ure 18.5). Blowup fires may be caused by a sudden experiments were the only way to determine empir-
increase in windspeed (see Sidebar 18.1) or by the ically the required factors.
start of crowning. The convection column tends to This type of research has had handsome pay-
create its own "draft," which helps maintain fire offs in practical application, one of the most use-
intensity at a high level. ful of which has been the development of a revised
The behavior of blowup fires is frequently erratic. National Fire-Danger Rating System. Various sys-
They may spawn tornado-like winds in excess of 300 tems for rating fire danger had long been used to
kilometers per hour (185 mi/hr), further increasing indicate the relative severity of fire-weather con-
fire intensity, as well as whirlwinds of hot air and ditions, probable suppression forces needed, and
flames that may hurl burning debris far ahead of the other information. With the new system, more
main fire front. Such behavior, known as spotting, specific and accurate predictions are possible.
398 Behavior and M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

Sidebar 18.1
Firefighting Fatalities at Storm King Mountain

On July 2, 1994, dry lightning ignited a blaze winds of 48-72 kilometers per hour. Propelled
on a ridgetop of Storm King Mountain in west- by the strong canyon winds, fire engulfed the
ern Colorado. The "South Canyon Fire," as it entire west slope of the mountain in only 10
came to be known, would not ordinarily be minutes, shooting flames 30-100 meters into the
included even as a footnote in the annals of his- air. With the fire traveling 2-3 times as fast as
toric forest fires, attaining a final size of only 856 the firefighters could scramble uphill, 14 of the
hectares (2100 acres). However, the South 49 firefighters were overtaken by smoke and
Canyon Fire will long be remembered for the searing heat before they could even deploy their
loss of 14 elite young firefighters who were killed portable fire shelters.
during the suppression attempt. Although not all tragedies of this type can
Typical of ridgetop fires, the South Canyon be foreseen or avoided, investigators raised sev-
fire behaved sluggishly for the first several days, eral concerns about safety procedures during
creeping slowly downhill through shrubby oak the suppression attempt. The out-of-state fire-
and pine toward the base of the canyon. There fighting crew had not been briefed on the local
was little sense of danger. However, on the after- fuels, the approaching cold front, or fire weather
noon of July 6th, a dry cold front roared through forecasts before being sent to the fire. The
the Colorado mountains, causing sustained extreme fire behavior on July 6th could have

Aftermath of the South Canyon Fire of July 1994 on Storm King Mountain,
Colorado. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
Fire Behavior 399

been anticipated given existing fire models. disaster were not unusual in the region, which
Twelve of the 18 standard federal safety pre- is precisely why cases such as this should be
cautions had not been followed. The investi- studied carefully by firefighting crews and nat-
gators concluded that the combination of fuel, ural resource managers.
weather, and topographic conditions behind the

Included are predictions of the number of fires

expected per unit area, ease of ignition, rate of
spread, and fire intensity. A current limitation of the
system is that it applies only to surface fires. How-
ever, it is possible to infer the likelihood of crown
fire and spotting from the surface fire ratings.
As with all theoretical models of natural phe-
nomena, these predications must be compared with
the observed behavior of many fires before
proper interpretation can be made.
Ratings of fire danger are computed daily by uti-
lizing measurements of such variables as wind
speed, fuel moisture, amount and duration of pre-
cipitation, lightning activity, and the condition of
the herbaceous vegetation. Although some of the
needed measurements can be obtained from sta-
tions maintained by the Weather Service, such sta-
tions do not ordinarily make measurements of
important fire variables as fuel moisture or vege-
tative conditions, and the locations of ordinary
weather stations (usually in valleys) are often not
representative of vast tracts of forestland. A network
of fire-weather stations in forested areas has been
established in recent years to meet these needs.
There has also been a trend toward replacing man- F i g u r e 18.7 Fire danger in the United States is
ually operated fire-weather stations with a ground calculated daily from weather and fuel observations at
network of small, remote automated weather sta- weather stations. Automated weather stations, such as
tions (RAWS) that transmit data on weather and the one shown here, transmit data to computers via
lightning conditions to central computing facilities satellite signal and are gradually replacing manually
via satellite signal (Figure 18.7). operated stations. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest
Information generated by the National Fire- Service.)
Danger Rating System is now readily available to
the general public as well as resource managers weather stations (Figure 18.8). This large-scale
through the Wildland Fire Assessment System web- regional view of fire danger helps managers coor-
site (http://www.fs.fed.us/land/wfas). National dinate fire prevention and suppression activities on
maps showing zones of fire danger are updated a state or regional level, including how best to allo-
daily based on data provided by a network of 1,500 cate fire suppression personnel and equipment.
400 Behavior and Management of Forest Fires

F i g u r e 18.8 A national map showing zones of low to extreme fire danger for a specific day as predicted by
the National Fire-Danger Rating System. This map is updated daily and is available on the Wildland Fire
Assessment System webpage (http://www.fs.fed.us/land/wfas) The ratings are based on data from a network of
1,500 weather stations and show fire danger for the dominant fuel type at each station.

Other advances in fire modeling have enabled campaigns via conventional media—radio mes-
fire managers to obtain predictions about the shape sages, signs, magazine articles, news releases, and
and spread pattern of individual fires. A computer so on. Such efforts as Smokey the Bear and Keep
program known as BEHAVE, for example, forecasts America Green programs have relied heavily on
the perimeter location of individual fires at various public education.
intervals of time (13) and forthcoming versions of A recent statistical compilation of fire reports (14)
the BEHAVE model will have the capability for pre- indicates that in the United States, the leading cause
dicting crown fire spread. has been arson, which has accounted for 29 per-
cent of all fires. Other major causes have been
debris burning, 25 percent; lightning, 11 percent;
machine use, 7 percent; smoking, 6%; children, 5%;
Fire Prevention and campfires, 3 percent. There are some impor-
Because humans are the leading cause of forest fires tant regional variations. While arson and debris
in most areas, fire prevention campaigns have been burning are important causes in all regions, light-
vigorously promoted to reduce the number of these ning is usually the leading cause of fires in west-
fires. The most visible efforts are public-education ern states by a large margin.
Fire Prevention 401

This information about specific causes helps Unhealthy Forests and

indicate where the thrust of prevention campaigns Wildfire Risk
should be directed. Escaped fires from debris burn-
ing can be reduced by notifying the public of peri- A particularly dramatic example of the need for haz-
ods of high fire danger and by regulation through ard reduction is a fuel accumulation problem caused
use of burning permits. Arson is a more difficult by decades of fire suppression in forests of pon-
problem to tackle, although it is probable that edu- derosa pine and larch in western North America.
cation and legal action have some deterrent effect. These once park-like forests have become invaded
Fires caused by sparks from mechanized equipment by dense thickets of firs and other species. Stressed
can be reduced by strict enforcement of regulations by drought, blitzed by insect epidemics, and
pertaining to the installation of spark arresters. A plagued by diseases such as dwarf mistletoes, mil-
high frequency of fires attributable to escaped lions of trees from eastern Washington state to New
campfires in some locations may indicate the need Mexico have been killed, creating what has been
to install outdoor fireplaces in popular but unde- called a "forest health crisis of unprecedented pro-
veloped recreation areas. Fires caused by smoking portions" (15).
can be reduced by regular public reminders to crush The tremendous quantity of understory ladder
cigarettes and use ashtrays, especially along high- fuels and standing dead trees have greatly
ways where most cigarette fires occur. increased the risk of high intensity wildfires over
Fire prevention can also be accomplished by historic norms. Figure 18.9 shows that despite
hazard reduction, commonly by reducing accu- greater expenditures for fire control, the annual
mulations of particularly hazardous fuels or by con- area burned has in fact markedly increased since
structing barriers to the spread of fire. Controlled the 1970s.
burning in areas of heavy logging slash, along rail- The suggested remedy for the forest health cri-
road tracks, and even in some forests can reduce sis is a combination of mechanical thinning, salvage
particularly serious accumulations of fuel. cutting, and extensive prescribed burning. Current

Figure 18.9
Historical trend in
annual area burned by
wildfires in eleven
states of the western
United States from
1916-1994. Despite
costly expenditures for
fire control, annual
area burned has
generally increased
since the 1970s, in part
because of increased
fuel accumulations
from fire suppression.
(Courtesy of the
National Interagency
Fire Center.)
402 Behavior a n d M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

plans call for prescribed burning on 3 million acres responsibility in these cases is usually in the hands
annually, or five times current levels. of the local fire department, which is better trained
Politically, this is not an easy program to imple- than wildland firefighters to control structural fires.
ment. Congress is usually more willing to appro- Dispersed development, however, is much more
priate money for emergency fire suppression than difficult to protect:
for preventive measures like prescribed burning.
There are also environmental objections to pre- Instead of one defense perimeter to develop
scribed burning ranging from endangered species ... there may now be hundreds. Instead of rely-
protection to air pollution. However, the annual ing on a community group or local fire company,
costs of widespread prescribed burning are mod- now there may be virtually no organized pro-
tection other than the wildland agency itself.
est compared to the billion dollars typically spent Access is scattered . . . and the costs of fire pro-
on wildfire suppression in a bad year, when sup- tection skyrocket while its effectiveness goes
pression is often unsuccessful anyway (16), and down.
environmental effects of prescribed burning are triv- In the most frustrating paradox, the people
ial compared to those of conflagrations. It is becom- who live in the [dispersed development pattern]
still want fire protection, but they also want to
ing increasingly clear that it is futile to attempt to spend less on public services, while their living
exclude fire from fire-dependent ecosystems. Such patterns impose far higher costs on the com-
areas will eventually burn anyway, despite vigilant munity. They want to live with nature, but they
fire control—but will occur with much higher eco- don't want to pay for the real costs of that life-
style. Not surprisingly, nobody else wants to pay
nomic and ecological costs. it on their behalf either (17).

The Urban-Wildland Interface Efforts toward reducing the urban-wildland inter-

A social problem of even wider scope is the increas- face problem initially focused on teaching landown-
ing trend toward rural housing to be built in a scat- ers how to use more suitable building materials and
tered or haphazard fashion within an extensive how to reduce fire hazards in a wide zone around
matrix of highly flammable wildland vegetation. their homes. More recently, the federal wildland
This pattern of development, called the urban- agencies have taken a more "hard-line" stance on
wildland interface, couldn't be more poorly their responsibility in protecting homes. While
designed from a fire protection viewpoint. As one human life is still accepted as the highest protec-
analyst remarked: tion priority of agencies such as the Forest Service,
second priority is to "protect resources and prop-
You could go into just about any state and find erty, based on the relative values to be protected."
houses with wood shingle roofs, open eaves to Decisions on the relative value of homes versus for-
suck fire into the attic, and firewood piled est resources may be left up to the local incident
against the back wall, sitting in the midst of commander.
dense flammable vegetation, backed up against
a wildland ecosystem so overloaded with fuel
that it would burn with uncontrollable fury (17).

The urban-wildland interface also creates strategic Fire Control

problems for firefighting agencies, and places severe Wildland fire control in the United States is admin-
strains on their budgets. When protecting a com- istered as a cooperative venture by the Forest Ser-
pact village in a rural area, a coherent strategy for vice, the Bureau of Land Management, the National
protecting the community can be developed that Park Service, and the various state governments.
relies on building a defense perimeter. Firefighting In some areas, private owners and industrial firms
Fire Control 403

also participate in the suppression of fires. Fire con- quarters. The dispatcher plots the location of the
trol activities on large fires are usually very tightly fire on a map, estimates the probable size of the
organized, and the suppression activity itself may attack force needed to contain the fire, and sends
resemble a military campaign. the needed people and equipment to the fire site.
Fire suppression can be accomplished by
removing any one of the three essential "ingredi-
Detection ents" of fire: fuel, oxygen, and heat. Fuels are
In the early 20th century, lookout towers formed removed by digging, scraping, or plowing a strip
the backbone of the fire detection system. Sufficient of earth known as a fire line in advance of the fire
numbers of lookouts were placed on higher points to halt its progress (Figure 18.10). The application
of land in the area to provide reasonably thorough of dirt, water, or fire-retardant chemicals serves to
coverage of the landscape. Aerial detection of for-
est fires by systematic airplane flights, however, has
gradually overshadowed fixed-point lookouts,
partly because it is cheaper and allows for more
complete and detailed coverage. Most agencies con-
tinue to use a skeletal system of lookouts, however.
An important advantage of fire towers is that they
provide continuous surveillance, so fires during dry
spells are more likely to be spotted at an early stage,
before they can become large and potentially
uncontrollable.
Conventional aerial detection has also been sup-
plemented with the use of airborne infrared scan-
ners. These electronic devices can detect infrared
radiation produced by small, smoldering fires that
do not produce enough smoke to be seen by the
unaided eye. Although infrared detection is not very
effective through clouds, it works well at night and
can detect the presence of spot fires even when
obscured by a blanket of smoke. Following a major
lightning storm, airplanes equipped with infrared
scanners can be used even at night to plot the loca-
tions of incipient fires while they are still small. On
large fires, a thermal map of the fire can be cre-
ated showing the current locations of fire fronts and
hot spots. Such information is useful for the fire boss
in determining and updating the overall fire sup-
pression strategy.

Suppression of Wildfires F i g u r e 1 8 . 1 0 Construction of a fire line (a) by

When a fire has been spotted by a lookout or aer- hand tools in a western conifer forest, and (b) by a
ial observer, its location is reported by two-way tractor and plow unit in a southern pine forest.
radio to the dispatcher at the fire control head- (Courtesy of U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
404 Behavior a n d M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

reduce both the fuel temperature and the supply

of oxygen.
If the fire is not too intense, the preferred method
of control is direct attack. The fire line is con-
structed near the fire edge and the flames are
knocked down by water, dirt, or other means (Fig-
ure 18.10). If the fire cannot be safety approached
at close range, the fire line must be constructed at
a distance. In such cases, controlled burns will usu-
ally be set just inside the line and allowed to spread
toward the flanks of the wildfire in order to rob
F i g u r e 18.11 Careful surveillance is necessary to
the fire of fuel. This is known as indirect attack.
control spot fires caused by burning embers hurled
As a last resort, controlled burns known as back- across the fire line. (Reproduced from Wildfires with
fires may be set ahead of the main fire and induced permission of the Robert J. Brady Company.)
to burn backwards toward the head in order to
remove fuels in the path of the advancing fire front.
Although the suppression of large forest fires dom restricted by the location of firebreaks. Con-
generally requires the use of hand tools, bulldoz- flagration fires can easily leap over rivers, bogs, and
ers, and water pumps over a period of many hours even lakes. Under extreme conditions, spot fires can
or days, significant contributions to the overall sup- flare up several miles ahead of the main fire front,
pression effort can be made by aerial techniques. and humans usually can do little to stop the fire's
Airplanes and helicopters are used to apply water progress.
or fire-retardant chemicals to active forest fires. The When the fire line around the perimeter of the
usual effects of water on a fire can be augmented fire has been completed and the fire is no longer
by adding flame-inhibiting chemicals or other addi- spreading, it is said to be contained. There remains,
tives that enhance the "wettability" of water or however, the often long and tedious process of
increase its smothering effect on the combustion "mop-up"; all smoldering fires and firebrands near
of fuels. Fine clays are often mixed with water to the inside edge of the fire line must be extinguished.
increase the cohesiveness of the mixture and pre- Mop-up is necessary to ensure that the fire will not
vent excessive dissipation during its descent from flare up again and cross the line—a quite common
fixed-wing aircraft. These mixtures of clay and liq- occurrence. Fires can even creep beneath a fire line
uids are known as slurries. The application of slur- by burning underground along root channels and
ries from the air is particularly helpful as a delaying then suddenly resurface on the other side of the
tactic that allows time for people and equipment line. Burning stumps and roots near the line may
to arrive on the scene, especially when the fire therefore have to be excavated and soaked with
occurs in a remote location. However, aerial retar- water. Successful mop-up will make the line safe,
dants and slurries are not usually sufficient to extin- but the interior section of a large burned area might
guish a forest fire, and follow-up work by ground not be officially declared extinguished until much
crews is almost always necessary. later, sometimes not until the arrival of winter rains
The more intense the fire, the more problem- or snows.
atic spotting is likely to be for the ground crews.
Because spotting may cause the fire to jump the
line in many places (Figure 18.11), constant sur-
veillance for spot fires by the suppression crew is
Prescribed Burning
necessary. Experienced fire fighters realize that The controlled use of fire to accomplish specific
under blowup conditions, the spread of a fire is sel- objectives is known as prescribed burning (Figure
Prescribed Burning 405

18.12). There can be many reasons for controlled 5) control of certain diseases such as brown spot
burning in different situations, including: 1) reduc- needle blight in the southern United States and
tion of logging debris or "slash fuels" following dwarf mistletoes in the western United States; 5)
clearcutting, thereby reducing the risk of intense improvement of wildlife habitat, especially for fire-
wildfires; 2) preparation of a seedbed for tree dependent species; 6) range improvement for live-
species that require exposed mineral soil; 3) reduc- stock grazing in some areas; and 7) restoration of
tion of fuel accumulations in standing forests to prairie habitat.
lessen the probability of a crown fire; 4) control of Prescribed burning requires careful planning to
understory vegetation in certain forest types, such minimize risk and to enhance the likelihood that
as hardwood saplings in southern pine stands; objectives will be accomplished. Topography and
fuel conditions on the treatment area should be
assessed in terms of probable effects on fire behav-
ior and desirable location of fire breaks. Fire lines
should be established in advance of any burning.
Fuel weights and fuel moisture are normally
assessed using standard sampling or monitoring
techniques. The chances for adequate smoke dis-
persal must also be evaluated. This information can
then be used to write the fire prescription, which
outlines the specific objectives of the burn, the
range of weather conditions under which burning
would be effective and safe, the method and
sequence of ignitions, and the personnel and equip-
ment needed. A good fire prescription is very spe-
cific and includes such information as the actual
amount of fuels to be reduced, the flame length
and intensity needed to accomplish the objectives,
and the range of acceptable windspeed, relative
humidity, and fuel moisture. The National Fire-
Danger Rating System can provide valuable help
in deciding whether a particular day is acceptable
since it gives estimates of fire spread rate and inten-
sity under various combinations of weather and fuel
conditions. Before proceeding, it is also a good idea
to conduct a test burn on a small area within pre-
pared lines where there is no chance of escape, in
order to see whether the behavior of the fire is sim-
ilar to what was expected.
Prescribed fires may be set by ground crews
using a device such as a drip torch (Figure 18.13),
Figure 18.12 Before (a) and after (b) prescribed
or they may be ignited from the air by delayed-
burning in a sequoia-mixed conifer forest in
California. In addition to reducing the amount of litter, ignition devices ejected from aircraft or by a drip
dead branches, and logs, the fire killed most of the torch attached to a helicopter. Risk may be further
pole-sized white fir trees shown in these photographs. reduced by burning the area in consecutive strips,
(National Park Service photographs [a] by Bruce M. sometimes with each delimited by a fire line. Reg-
Kilgore and [b] by Don Taylor.) ulation of fire intensity is achieved not only by
406 Behavior a n d M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

operation is never entirely free of risk. In May 2000,

a prescribed burn on national park land in New
Mexico escaped and destroyed 235 homes in the
nearby town of Los Alamos, even at one point
threatening the nuclear lab facilities there. Although
a 30-page burning plan with detailed maps had been
prepared prior to the burn, a subsequent inves-
tigative team considered the plan to be inadequate
and faulted the practitioners for violating some of
the standard procedures. The crew believed unpre-
dictable weather patterns were to blame. Regard-
less of who or what is at fault in such situations, it
is clear that even a single disastrous "escape" can
be very damaging to any long-term prescribed burn
program. An escaped burn in Michigan, known as
F i g u r e 18.13 Prescribed burning with a drip the Mack Lake Fire (1980), largely shut down a pro-
torch to reduce the fuel accumulated on the ground gram of prescribed burning for the endangered Kirt-
and to prepare the forest floor as a seedbed. (National land's warbler for the following 20 years. The young
Park Service photograph by Bruce M. Kilgore.) jack pine habitat required by the warbler is now
largely recreated through use of clearcutting and
planting instead of fire.
selecting days with desired weather conditions but
also by planning the sequence of ignitions and the
direction of spread. Fires allowed to burn in the Environmental Impacts of
direction of the wind are known as headfires and
have relatively fast rates of spread and high tem- Forest Fires
peratures. Fires can be induced to burn against the In the 19th and early 20th centuries, observers of
wind by igniting the fuels on the inside edge of a burned over lands frequently commented on the
fire line. Spread in the direction of the wind is there- seemingly destructive effects of fire on the forest
fore prevented by the fire line, and the flames move and site. Careful scientific measurements in recent
slowly against the wind. Such backburns are some- decades, however, have resulted in a more
what easier to control and may be preferable to nuanced assessment of fire impacts. The effects of
head fires on days of relatively high fire hazard. fire on site productivity, for example, are so vari-
Although some of the common objectives of pre- able that generalizations are difficult to make. Some
scribed burning can be accomplished by other authors have noted that almost any effects of fire-
means—for example, seedbed preparation by positive, negative, or neutral—can be documented
mechanical scarification—prescribed burning is by the results of reputable researchers (18). Clearly
often the most economical option available and the the intensity of the fire, characteristics of the site,
one least demanding of petrochemical energy. The and weather conditions after the fire have much
principal disadvantages of prescribed burning are bearing on the outcome.
the risks involved, the problem of air pollution from Most erosion following fires can be traced to
the smoke, and the fact that the number of days either or both of the following causes: 1) exposure
per year suitable for burning may be few in some of bare soil through burning of the protective lit-
regions. ter layer; 2) reduction of soil porosity (and hence
The chances of a prescribed burn escaping con- increased runoff of water) through intense heating
trol can be minimized by careful planning, but the or clogging of soil pores by fine particles carried
Fire in the Wilderness 407

in runoff. Light or moderate fires such as most pre- of burning forest fuel releases approximately 1 ton
scribed burns usually do not expose enough soil of CO2, 25 kilograms of carbon monoxide, 5 kilo-
to cause serious erosion. Similarly, soil temperatures grams of hydrocarbons, 5 kilograms of particulates,
during prescribed burning are rarely hot enough and small amounts of nitrogen oxides. Forest fires
to cause structural changes in the soil. are responsible for about 8 percent by weight of
Crown fires or fires burning in logging slash, on all atmospheric pollutants in the United States (21).
the other hand, may be intense enough to alter soil Although open burning is restricted in many states
structure, as well as leave bare patches of unpro- and counties, exceptions are often granted for pre-
tected soil. Erosion will usually be more severe on scribed burning, partly because it does not consti-
steep slopes than on gently sloping or level sites. tute a major source of pollutants. It is probable that
Following a severe wildfire in Idaho, about 30 per- prescribed burning will be more closely regulated
cent of the sample plots on gently sloping sites in the future; even now, air quality is often con-
showed significant erosion, compared to over 80 sidered in selecting days suitable for burning.
percent on steep slopes (19). A burned area is usu-
ally revegetated by shrubs and tree seedlings within
a few years, so the critical period of susceptibility
to erosion does not last long. Fire in the Wilderness
The influence of fire on soil fertility also depends In 1968, without much fanfare and on an experi-
on fire intensity and location. Significant quantities mental basis, the National Park Service began to
of some nutrients, particularly nitrogen, can be lost allow certain lightning fires to burn unhindered in
to the atmosphere during the combustion of organic parts of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
matter, with losses proportional to fire intensity. in California. This marked the beginning of an offi-
These losses, on the other hand, may be partly or cial policy to restore natural fire to certain wilder-
fully compensated by an increase in available nutri- ness areas. This alteration of the long-established
ents and processes such as nitrogen fixation. For policy of suppressing all forest fires came about
example, thirty years of annual or periodic pre- partly in response to the obvious changes that were
scribed burns in South Carolina had little effect on occurring in the national parks as a result of over-
the total amount of nutrients in the forest floor and protecting them from fire. Like many western
soil layers (20). forests, 19th century forests in the Sierra Nevada
Fires influence animal populations primarily by were often park-like with little undergrowth
modifying habitat. Most fires cause little direct mor- because of frequent surface fires. By 1963, the
tality to mobile animals, which usually can move Leopold Committee, assigned by the Department
away from the fire or escape beneath the ground of the Interior to make recommendations on elk
in soil burrows. Prescribed burns may improve habitat and management in the parks, noted that
habitat for some animals by increasing the pro- much of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada was
tein and nutrient content of forage, but they may a "dog-hair thicket" of young trees and brush. The
decrease habitat suitability for others that prefer committee wondered:
the presence of dense undergrowth and woody
debris. Crown fires that kill most of the canopy Is it possible that the primitive open forest could
trees often cause a major shift in animal species be restored, at least on a local scale? And if so,
how? We cannot offer an answer. But we are
composition from those that prefer mature forest posing a question to which there should be an
to those that prefer open, shrubby habitat and answer of immense concern to the National
early successional forests. Park Service.
Smoke from forest fires has come under
scrutiny in recent years as a significant contribu- Other pressing problems dictated a prompt
tion to the overall air pollution problem. One ton response. The giant sequoias, whose preservation
408 Behavior a n d M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

was entrusted to the Park Service, were not regen- vegetation types, fuels, projected fire weather, and
erating, because they lacked a suitable seedbed and location of the fire in relation to human develop-
because of competition with the dense understory ment or private property (Figure 18.14). Most fires
of white fir. Moreover, understory fuels were accu- caused by human beings continue to be sup-
mulating to the point that conflagrations were likely. pressed. Prescribed burning is sometimes used in
In 1965, prescribed burning was initiated in some zones where management of natural fires is not fea-
sequoia groves to correct this situation. sible or where heavy, unnatural accumulations of
If the goal of park and wilderness management fuels must be reduced artificially in preparation for
were merely to maintain certain desirable forest natural-fire management.
environments, it is likely that the policy of fire sup-
pression would have merely been modified to allow
for an active program of prescribed burning. How-
ever, such action would seem to violate the spirit
and intent of wilderness preservation. The con-
gressional act of 1916 that created the National Park
Service, to be sure, emphasized mainly protection
of parklands in order to leave them "unimpaired"
for future generations. However, the Wilderness Act
of 1964 was much more explicit in defining wilder-
ness to be an area that retains its "primeval char-
acter and influence," where "man himself is a visitor
who does not remain," and that is managed to pre-
serve natural conditions.
Neither prescribed burning by itself nor total fire
suppression seems appropriate under this concept
of wilderness—the former because it is manipula-
tive and somewhat arbitrary and the latter because
it constitutes major indirect human modification of
the vegetation in naturally fire-prone environments.

The Approach
Full restoration of the natural fire regime in wilder-
ness areas is usually not feasible, because some fires
would inevitably threaten to burn beyond the park
boundaries onto private land, or endanger human
life inside or outside the park. The current intent
of the natural-fire management policy is to allow
fire to "more nearly play its natural role" whenever
possible. In most wilderness areas, several man-
F i g u r e 18.14 Decision flowchart for evaluating
agement zones corresponding to different vegeta- fires occurring in high-elevation areas of a wilderness
tion types and fuel conditions have been tract in the Kootenai National Forest of Montana.
established. Each lightning fire is monitored, and "ERC" refers to the Energy Release Component, an
a particular fire may be allowed to burn, or its index from the National Fire-Danger Rating System
spread may be blocked in one direction, or it may that indicates potential fire intensity. (Courtesy of the
be totally suppressed. The decision is based on the U.S.D.A. Forest Service.)
Fire in the Wilderness 409

Thirty Years of Natural Fire

Management
Wilderness fire restoration programs have been estab-
lished primarily in the high-elevation zones of some
major western wilderness areas, such as Yellowstone,
Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Grand Teton
National Parks, and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness
Area in Idaho. Everglades National Park in Florida
is an example of an eastern park firmly committed
to natural-fire management.
Experience with the policy in a number of dif-
ferent wilderness areas has shown that most light- F i g u r e 18.15 A lightning fire allowed to burn in
ning fires in high mountainous terrain never burn Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, as part of a
more than a small area before they die out natu- program to restore the natural occurrence and effects
rally. In Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, of fires in wilderness areas. (Denver Post photograph
for example, 80 percent of lightning fires allowed by Bill Wuensch.)
to burn never reached more than 0.1 hectare (one-
quarter acre) in size, and only 5 percent exceed 120
hectares (300 acres) (22). Yet some large and dra- The most difficult test of the natural-fire policy
matic fires have also occurred since 1968. Perhaps occurred in the summer of 1988 in Yellowstone
the most difficult and controversial aspect of man- National Park. A natural-fire policy had already been
aging natural fires is that in certain forest types, fire in effect at Yellowstone for seventeen years, but
cannot be harnessed to burn a small percentage of fires of significant size (greater than 20 hectares)
the forest at regular intervals, analogous to a for- had occurred in only four of these years. Before
est placed under sustained even-aged management. 1988, none of the fires had ever burned more than
If 1 or 2 percent of a park were to be burned in a tiny fraction of the park's 890,000 hectares (2.2
isolated patches every few years, the policy might million acres). Weather conditions in the late spring
not attract more than mild curiosity from the media of 1988 were fairly close to normal, and a few light-
and most of the general public. However, occa- ning fires at that time were burning under surveil-
sional large and dramatic blazes can understand- lance. However, by midsummer it became apparent
ably provoke opposition to the policy from some that drought conditions, carrying over from the pre-
citizens and government officials, even though most vious year, were approaching a very hazardous
conservationists have accepted natural fire man- level. In mid-July park officials shifted to a policy
agement as the best way to maintain biotic diver- of vigorous suppression of all fires, regardless of
sity and wildlife habitat in wilderness areas. origin. Because of the severe drought and high
The first major test of the policy occurred in 1974, winds, however, suppression of existing and sub-
when a lightning fire in a dry year burned 1,400 sequent fires was virtually impossible.
hectares (3,500 acres) in Grand Teton National Park By the end of the season, eight separate fires had
(Figure 18.15). This event attracted widespread engulfed about 45 percent of the park, although
media attention, and for most people it was the first nearly half of this total area was affected by sur-
time that they had heard of the policy. The fire, face fires that did not kill the trees. Three of the
although sizable, was not troublesome to manage fires, totaling 276,000 hectares (690,000 acres) were
and left a desirable mosaic of mature forest and started by humans and had been fought vigorously
younger vegetation. It also affected only a small per- from the time of their discovery. Park biologists
centage of the park. pointed out that even if the natural-fire policy had
410 Behavior a n d M a n a g e m e n t of Forest Fires

not been in place, at least 25 to 30 percent of the ment have put into sharp relief some challenges that
park would have burned anyway. fire managers will face in the coming years. First,
There is little doubt that in naturally fire-prone it is becoming increasingly apparent that true
environments—which include most of the western restoration of natural fire frequency on a large scale
national parks—occasional large fires are inevitable, may be impractical for many public lands because
even with a policy of total suppression. However, staff size, time, and funds are too limited for such
a panel appointed to review federal policy was very a vast undertaking (24), and there are many con-
critical of Yellowstone Park for not having experi- straints imposed by weather and private property.
enced fire managers on its staff, for not having a Second, despite careful planning, it is likely that
detailed written fire management plan (such as the some prescribed fires and natural lightning fires will
one summarized in Figure 18.14), and for minimal continue to escape beyond intended bounds. This
efforts at public education and public input into the is especially likely for lightning fires in wilderness
plans. Other agencies in the Rocky Mountain region areas, since such fires often burn for months and
recognized the extraordinary drought conditions in can potentially reach an unmanageable size.
1988 and aggressively fought fires that season (23). Blowups and uncontrollable behavior become
Since 1988, regulations for allowing natural fires increasingly likely along some point of a sprawl-
have been tightened, resulting in fewer and smaller ing fire perimeter if weather conditions suddenly
fires. change. Third, in less remote areas, continued
The Yellowstone experience has also raised the development of vacation homes and tourist-
question of whether even our largest parks are nec- related businesses dispersed within the patchwork
essarily viable microcosms of wilderness ecosys- mosaic pattern of public and private land owner-
tems. Most ecologists have assumed that in order ship may compromise the ability of agencies to
to sustain viable populations of plants and animals, implement a large-scale program of prescribed
a park needs to be large enough that individual dis- burning.
turbances cannot alter the balance of the overall Solving these problems may require a funda-
park ecosystem. The 1988 fires demonstrated that mental rethinking of land-use zoning policies in
Yellowstone is probably not an "equilibrium land- wildland areas, as well as a willingness of resource
scape," despite its vast size. Thus, while manage- managers to set more modest goals in restoring the
ment of lightning fires and prescribed burning are natural role of fire. In areas outside of parks and
likely to remain a prominent aspect of wilderness near human development, fire use may have to be
management, the details of how managers might more limited and supplemented by other methods
deal with the wildly erratic fluctuations in natural of fuel reduction such as mechanical thinning. While
fire occurrence have yet to be determined. such measures may not be ideal in the ecological
sense, they may be the only practical solution to
maintaining diversity and resilience in a landscape
Concluding Statement—The that is no longer governed largely by natural forces.
Challenge of Fire Management
There is a strong consensus among ecologists and
resource managers that fire should not, and ulti- References
mately cannot, be excluded from those ecosystems 1. A. R. TAYLOR, J For., 68, 476 (1971).
that were historically adapted to fire. In such ecosys- 2. B. L. GRAHAM, R. L. HOLLE, AND R. E. LOPEZ, Fire Man-
tems, exclusion of fire will lead to a buildup of fuels agement Notes, 57 (2), 4, (1997).
and unhealthy trees that will increase the risk of 3. H. E. ANDERSON, "Sundance Fire: An Analysis of Fire
widespread conflagrations. However, several Phenomena," U.S.D.A. For. Serv. Res. Pap. INT-56,
decades of experiments with natural fire manage- 1968.
References 411

4. J. K. AGEE, Fire Ecology of Pacific Northwest Forests, Wilderness Fire, U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Gen. Tech. Rep.
Island Press, Washington, D.C., 1993. INT-182, 1985.
5. C. G. LORIMER AND L. E. FRELICH, J. For, 92 (1), 33 14. U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Wildfire Statistics, 1984-1990,
(1994). Washington, D.C., 1992.
6. T. MORTON, New English Canaan, or New Canaan, 15. R. W. MUTCH, J. For, 92(11) 31 (1994).
Containing an Abstract of New England (1632), 16. S. F. ARNO, "The concept: restoring ecological struc-
reprinted in New English Canaan of Thomas Morton, ture and process in ponderosa pine forests." In The
C. F. Adams. Jr., ed., Prince Society Publications, Vol. Use of Fire in Forest Restoration, U.S.D.A. For. Serv.,
14. Burt Franklin, New York (1967). Gen Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-341, 1996.
7. S. PERLEY, Historic Storms of New England, Salem Press 17. N. SAMPSON, Wildfire News and Notes, 10(2), 1 (1996).
and Printing Co., Salem, Mass., 1891.
18. C. CHANDLER, ET AL., Fire in Forestry, Volume 1: For-
8. R. K. MILLER, "The Keetch-Byram Drought Index and est Fire Behavior and Effects, Wiley, New York, 1983.
three fires in upper Michigan, 1976," In Fifth National
19. C. A. CONAUGHTON, J. For. ,33, 751 (1935).
Conf. on Fire and Forest Meteorology, Am. Meteorol.
Soc, Boston, 1978. 20. T. A. WALDROP ET AL., "Long-term Studies of Prescribed
Burning of Loblolly Pine Forests of the Southeastern
9. F. A. ALBINI, "Spot Fire Distance from Burning Trees—
Coastal Plain," U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Gen. Tech. Rep.
a Predictive Model." U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Gen. Tech.
SE-45, 1987.
Rep. INT-56, 1979.
21. J. H. DIETERICH, "Prescribed burning and air quality."
10. F. A. Albini, "Estimating Wildfire Behavior and Effects."
In Southern Pine Management—Today and Tomor-
U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-30, 1976.
row, 20th Ann. For. Symp., Louisiana State Univ., Divi-
11. R. C. ROTHERMEL, "A Mathematical Model for Predict- sion of Continuing Education, Baton Rouge, 1971.
ing Fire Spread in Wildland Fuels," U.S.D.A. For. Serv.,
22. B. M. KILGORE, Western Wildlands, 10 (3), 2 (1984).
Res. Pap. INT-115, 1972.
23. R. H. WAKIMOTO, J. For, 88 , 22 (1990).
12. R. C. ROTHERMEL ET AL., "Modeling Moisture Content
of Fine Dead Wildland Fuels: Input to the BEHAVE 24. D. J. PARSONS AND S. J. Botti, "Restoration of fire in
Fire Prediction System," U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Res. Pap national parks." In The Use of Fire in Forest Restora-
INT-359, 1986. tion, U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Gen Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-
341, 1996.
13. P. L. ANDREWS AND R. E. BURGAN, " 'BEHAVE' in the
wilderness." In Proc. Symp. and Workshop on
 C H A P T E R 19
Timber Harvesting
ROBERT M. SHAFFER AND
THOMAS A. WALBRIDGE, JR.

Timber Harvesting Operations Helicopter Logging System

Common Timber Harvesting Logging Aesthetics

Systems Logging in the 21st Century
Manual Chainsaw/Cable Skidder System
Feller-Buncher/Grapple Skidder System Concluding Statement
Harvester/Forwarder (Cut-to-Length) References
System
Cable Yarder (Skyline) System

The United States is the world's largest producer employ other family members in their operation.
and consumer of forest products. Each American Logging contractors are generally paid on a pro-
uses an average of 749 pounds of paper products duction basis, and are heavily impacted financially
and 18 cubic feet of solid wood products annually by factors that affect their production, like
(1). As the world's economies grow, so does the inclement weather, absentee workers, equipment
global demand for paper and forest products. The breakdowns, and temporary wood inventory sur-
U.S.D.A. Forest Service estimates that worldwide plus at the mill they supply. Today's typical log-
annual consumption of forest products, currently ging firm is characterized by high fixed costs,
at 18 billion cubic feet, will continue to increase, including substantial equipment payments, high
reaching a total of 25 billion cubic feet by 2050 (2). labor turnover, high insurance costs, and a relatively
America's logging industry performs the critical low profit margin.
process of supplying the raw wood necessary to Today's loggers operate under intense public
meet the growing demand for manufactured for- scrutiny. They must plan and conduct their oper-
est products. There are approximately 35,000 inde- ation so as to meet federally mandated forest water
pendent logging firms operating in the United States quality protection standards and minimize site
today (3). These small businesses typically employ impacts to ensure long-term sustainability of the for-
5-15 workers and have anywhere from $500,000 est resource. At the same time, logging contractors
to $1.5 million invested in logging equipment. Many must operate efficiently and productively and sat-
independent logging companies contract with for- isfy their customers, both forest landowner and for-
est industry firms to provide timber harvesting serv- est industry, to remain in business. Finally, they
ices. Other logging firms purchase stumpage, or must have a high awareness and comittment for
standing timber, directly from forest landowners, safety, since logging is one of the nation's most haz-
then harvest and sell the processed logs or pulp- ardous occupations, with an injury rate 2.5 times
wood to consuming forest products mills. Many log- the average for all other industries (4). To suc-
gers are third and fourth generation—they often cessfully meet these challenges, many loggers reg-

412
Timber Harvesting Operations 413

ularly participate in professional education and

training opportunities sponsored through state
forestry associations, the Cooperative Extension Ser-
vice, or forest industry firms. National and state
logger associations also provide educational oppor-
tunities, as well as a voice for loggers on issues
affecting their business. Additional general and
technical information on the logging industry can
be obtained through the websites of the Forest
Resources Association [http://www.forestresources.
org] and the American Loggers Council [http://
www.americanloggers.org].

F i g u r e 1 9 . 2 This track-mounted feller-buncher

Timber Harvesting Operations generates low ground pressure and minimizes soil
compaction and rutting.
The common functions of a timber harvesting oper-
ation are: 1) felling the tree; 2) delimbing and top-
ping the tree; 3) moving (skidding, forwarding, ure 1 9 1 ) or track-mounted (Figure 19.2) feller-
yarding, flying) the tree from the stump to the land- buncher or a multifunction machine called a har-
ing or log deck (a centralized location w h e r e the vester (Figure 19.3). Mechanical felling machines
trees are gathered, processed, and loaded onto a eliminate much of the safety risk involved with man-
truck); 4) bucking the tree into specified mer- ual chainsaw felling, the most dangerous part of a
chantable lengths; 5) loading the logs onto a truck; logging operation.
and 6) hauling the logs to a forest products mill. Delimbing and topping (removing the limbs and
Felling can be acomplished manually with a unmerchantable top of the tree) can be accomplished
chainsaw or mechanically with a rubber-tired (Fig- manually with a chainsaw or mechanically with a

F i g u r e 1 9 . 1 Rubber-tired feller-bunchers are F i g u r e 1 9 . 3 A harvester is a multifunction

productive—this highly maneuverable three-wheeled machine that fells, delimbs, tops, measures, and bucks
model is well-suited for thinning. the tree at the stump.
 414 Timber Harvesting

stroke (Figure 19.4) or pull-through delimber or

with a multifunction harvester. Loggers can reduce
the likelihood of injury by incorporating mechan-
ical delimbing and further reducing their use of a
chainsaw. Delimbing and topping may be per-
formed at the stump or at the log landing, depend-
ing on the logging system employed.
Skidding (dragging the tree with one end sus-
pended) the trees from the stump to the landing
or log deck can be accomplished with a rubber-
tired (Figure 19.5) or track-mounted skidder. Skid-
ders are equipped with a hydraulic grapple or a
winch and set of wire rope cables to support the
ends of the trees above the ground. Skidders gen-
erally transport tree-length stems. A small number F i g u r e 19.5 A rubber-tired grapple skidder,
of loggers continue to use draft horses or mules to combined with a feller-buncher, forms a productive
drag cut-to-length logs from the stump to the and cost-efficient logging system.
landing.
Forwarding (carrying the logs on the back of a
machine) the trees from the stump to the landing stationary cable yarder (Figure 19.7) equipped with
is accomplished with a rubber-tired (Figure 19.6) a drum winch set and tower. Yarders come in many
or track-mounted forwarder. Forwarders generally sizes and the cable system can be set up in many
transport log-length stems, which must be delimbed, different configurations. Yarders can move fully or
topped, and bucked at the stump. partially suspended trees or logs either uphill or
Cable yarding (lifting and moving suspended downhill along a preselected corridor.
trees attached to an overhead cable) the trees from Flying (lifting and moving fully suspended trees
the stump to the landing is accomplished with a attached to a helicopter cable) the trees from the

F i g u r e 19.4 A stroke delimber is a safe and

effective mechanical delimbing machine for most F i g u r e 19.6 A forwarder loads and transports
softwood species. cut-to-length logs from the stump to a roadside
landing.
Timber Harvesting Operations 415

F i g u r e 1 9 . 7 A skyline cable
yarder system can harvest timber
on steep mountain slopes with
minimum soil disturbance.

stump to the landing requires a specially designed niques, location and layout of log landings, provi-
and equipped helicopter (Figure 198). sions for water quality and riparian zone protec-
Bucking (cutting the tree into merchantable tion measures (commonly called Best Management
lengths) can be accomplished manually with a Practices or BMPs) (6), safe operating considera-
chainsaw or mechanically with a slasher saw or tions, stream crossing locations and structures,
multipurpose harvester. wildlife considerations (if applicable), protection of
Loading the tree-length stems or cut-to-length residual timber, mitigation of site impacts, and post-
logs onto a truck can be accomplished by a trailer- harvest soil stabilization procedures.
mounted (Figure 19-9) or track-mounted hydraulic
knuckleboom loader or by a rubber-tired front-end
loader.
Hauling the tree-length stems or cut-to-length
logs to the forest products mill can be accomplished
with a tractor-trailer log truck equipped with either
a pole trailer or double-bunk log trailer (Figure
19.10), or a tandem-axle, straight-frame log truck.
Planning is a critical part of every timber har-
vesting operation (5). Good planning is necessary
to meet production goals, comply with environ-
mental and water quality protection standards,
operate safely, minimize site disturbance, and meet
silvicultural objectives. In several states, loggers are
required to submit a timber harvesting plan to the
state for review and approval before logging can F i g u r e 1 9 . 8 A helicopter logging system can
begin. A typical timber harvest plan contains infor- greatly reduce the need for logging road construction
mation on haul road location and construction tech- in environmentally sensitive areas.
416 Timber Harvesting

F i g u r e 19.9 A hydraulic
knuckleboom loader is a
common sight on most logging
operations in the United States
today.

local mill requirements, environmental considera-

C o m m o n Timber tions, and safety concerns. The system that is best
Harvesting Systems for logging a group-selection timber sale in an oak-
hickory forest on 40% slopes in the Appalachian
A number of timber harvesting systems operate
mountains may not be the best system for har-
throughout the various forested regions of the
vesting a pine plantation thinning in the coastal
United States. A particular logging system is cho-
plain region of Georgia. Professional logging engi-
sen on the basis of topography, timber stand char-
neers, logging contractors, and industrial foresters
acteristics, silvicultural considerations, accessibility,
have the training and expertise to develop and
match the proper logging system to each timber har-
vesting site to accomplish the production, safety,
economic and environmental goals that will make
the operation a success. The more common tim-
ber harvesting systems operating in various regions
of the United States today are described in the fol-
lowing sections.

Manual Chainsaw/Cable
Skidder System
Trees are felled, delimbed, and topped manually,
skidded with a rubber-tired cable skidder to the
landing where they are manually or mechanically
bucked, and loaded onto a log truck with a
Figure 19.10 A truck with a double-bunk log trailer hydraulic knuckleboom loader. This system typi-
can haul either tree-length stems or cut-to-length logs. cally produces 200-300 tons of cut-to-length logs
Common Timber Harvesting Systems 417

and pulpwood per week. It requires 3-5 employ- system. The feller-buncher/grapple skidder system
ees, a moderate capital investment, and can be used can be combined with a large wood chipping
in a wide variety of operating conditions and har- machine (Figure 19.11) to produce in-woods chips
vesting applications. This versatile logging system from pulpwood, which can be efficiently hauled in
is most common in the Northeast, Appalachian chip vans (modified box trailers) from the logging
region, Lake States and Midwest, but can be found site to a paper mill.
in every forested region of the country. In some
areas of the mountainous West, a tracked skidder
is more commonly used in this system.
Harvester/Forwarder (Cut-to-
Length) System
Trees are mechanically felled, topped, delimbed and
Feller-Buncher/Grapple bucked at the stump with a rubber-tired or track-
Skidder System mounted harvester equipped with a multifunction
Trees are mechanically felled and bunched in mul- processing head. The cut-to-length logs or pulp-
tiple-stem piles, the bunches are skidded with grap- wood are then self-loaded onto a forwarder and
ple skidders, mechanically topped and delimbed at transported to roadside where they are off-loaded
the landing with a stroke or pull-through delimber, onto double-bunk log trailers. This two-worker,
and loaded tree-length onto log trailers with a two-machine logging system (not counting log truck
knuckleboom loader. This highly productive and drivers) is "soft" on the environment and can pro-
cost-efficient system can produce 700-1000 tons per duce 400-600 tons per week on gentle topography.
week with 8-10 workers. It is restricted to moder- Capital investment for this system exceeds $600,000.
ate slopes and requires a capital investment exceed- The harvester/forwarder logging system originated
ing $500,000. Nearly 70 percent of the wood in Scandinavia, and is beginning to find a niche in
harvested in the South is produced by this logging all regions of the United States.

F i g u r e 19.11 An in-woods
chipper can fully utilize the
woody biomass on the site and
reduce subsequent reforestation
costs.
418 Timber Harvesting

Cable Yarder (Skyline) System tional ground-based or cable logging systems, it

Trees are manually felled, delimbed, topped, and offers a viable alternative. Helicopter logging sys-
bucked at the stump, attached by wire-rope chok- tems can be found operating in challenging har-
ers (cable fasteners) to a moveable carriage sus- vesting sites from the mountains of Alaska to the
pended from a large overhead skyline cable strung coastal plains of Florida.
1,000-2,000 feet or more along a corridor between Logging machines and systems are constantly
the stationary yarder tower and a tail-hold stump evolving to meet the needs of society. Where high
or tree in the woods. Large mechanical drum productivity was once the paramount criteria, min-
winches in the yarder are powered to lift and reel imizing environmental impact is now an equally
in the carriage and attached logs along the highly important consideration in the development or
tensioned skyline cable to the landing, where they application of new or modified timber harvesting
are loaded onto trailers with a track-mounted machines or systems. For example, skidders can be
hydraulic loader. Cable yarding systems are highly equipped with super-wide, high-flotation tires to
technical and can be configured to move logs uphill reduce ground pressure and eliminate soil rutting.
or downhill. This system is ideal for steep moun- Temporary bridge mats can be used in lieu of earth-
tain terrain and is the predominate logging system filled culverts for temporary stream crossings on
in the Pacific Northwest. A typical operation sites where water quality protection is critical. Cable
employs 8-10 workers, has more than $1 million yarding systems can be configured to provide full
invested in equipment, and produces 1000+ tons suspension to move logs cleanly over the tops of
of logs per week. trees retained in a forested riparian buffer zone. Spe-
cial underlayment fabric can be used with crushed
rock surfacing to protect sensitive soils during haul
Helicopter Logging System road construction and usage.
Trees are manually felled, delimbed, topped, and Safety is also a major consideration in logging
bucked at the stump. Logs are attached with short machine and system development. Because of its
wire-rope chokers to a coupling device at the end historically high injury rate, logging industry firms
of a long, high-strength cable hanging from a hel- must pay Workers' Compensation Insurance (WCI)
icopter hovering above. The specially designed hel- premium rates that are among the highest for any
icopter lifts a pre-measured, precisely weighted industry (7). Studies have shown that replacing a
bundle of logs and flies them quickly to the land- worker on the ground using a chainsaw with a
ing. At the landing, the helicopter pilot carefully worker in the enclosed, protected cab of a machine
lowers the logs to the ground and releases them will dramatically reduce the incidence of accidents,
electronically from the coupling device. The logs injuries, and fatalities. For example, a logging con-
are moved a short distance from the landing's drop tractor who replaces a worker performing manual
zone to the truck loading area with a grapple skid- chainsaw delimbing with a stroke delimbing
der, then loaded onto trailers with a hydraulic machine can expect to see the firm's annual injury
knuckleboom loader. Helicopter logging crews can rate fall by nearly 50 percent (8). Accordingly, the
produce as much as 2,500 tons of logs per week firm's WCI premium rates will eventually decline
with a crew of 10-15 workers. A helicopter as well, thus reducing overhead costs.
equipped for logging can cost well over $1.5 mil-
lion. Helicopter logging is expensive and may not
be economically feasible for accessible timber har-
vesting sites with average timber values. However, Logging Aesthetics
for high timber-value sites where accessibility is dif-
Modern timber harvesting has a public image prob-
ficult and road building costs are excessive, or
lem. Overwhelming scientific evidence confirms the
where environmental constraints prohibit conven-
fact that logging, when well planned and per-
Logging in the 21st Century 419

formed properly, has little or no detrimental effect • Minimize the amount of logging debris by max-
on water quality (9), site productivity, soil erosion, imizing the utilization of each tree.
wildlife populations, biological diversity, endan- While judicious use of these and other techniques
gered species, or forest resource sustainability. may somewhat reduce the negative aesthetics of a
Forestry experts agree that timber harvesting is a recent timber harvest, many people will continue
critical tool to achieve silvicultural objectives such to express concern any time they see an area where
as forest regeneration, species or stocking control, trees have been cut. Educating them that forests are
or timber stand improvement. A timely and well- truly a renewable and sustainable resource may be
managed timber harvest can protect or improve for- the most effective way to influence public opinion.
est health by surgically removing a source of insect
or disease infestation, recover value through the
salvage of dead and dying timber, and manage the
threat of wildfire through strategic woody fuels Logging in the 21st Century
reduction. A number of emerging technologies will likely have
However, the general public often views a tim- an impact on timber harvesting machine and sys-
ber harvest as something akin to environmental dev- tem development into the 21st century (11). Among
astation, simply because an unattractive landscape them are:
now exists where a mature forest of beautiful trees
1. Machine control systems. Timber harvesting
recently grew. To many people, it only seems log-
machines may be equipped with intelligent con-
ical that any operation that would create such an
trol systems that will enable the machine to adapt
unattractive scene must be harmful to the envi-
to the surrounding environment. For example,
ronment, even if the area is quickly reforested. It
sensors will signal the machine when it is on wet
is this line of uninformed reasoning that sometimes
or steep ground or when the wheels are begin-
drives individuals to petition their local and state
ning to lose traction. The machine will then auto-
officials to prohibit or unduly restrict timber har-
matically adapt to its working conditions in a way
vesting in their area.
that will optimize performance and minimize
In response to this issue of timber harvesting aes-
environmental impact.
thetics, many logging contractors, forest industry
firms, and forest landowners have voluntarily 2. Robotics. Machines may accomplish systematic
adopted techniques that can soften the initial neg- and repetitive functions robotically. These func-
ative visual response to a recently harvested site tions could include placing logs in a pile, acquir-
(10). A few of these techniques include: ing a tree for delimbing, or moving ahead to the
next tree. In such a system, the operator may
• Retain a visual buffer of trees along public road simply point a control lever in the desired direc-
corridors adjacent to the harvested area. tion, and onboard computers will control the
• Shield log landings from public view by using hydraulic valves and cylinders to achieve the
topography or vegetative buffers; clear landings desired function.
of all woody debris, level and smooth the 3. Positioning systems. Timber harvesting machines
ground, and "green-up" the area with grass seed may be equipped with satellite-linked navigation
and mulch. controls based on global positioning system
• Avoid leaving rutted haul roads or skid trails. Lop (GPS) technology. (See Chapter 12 for a
and scatter large, unmerchantable tree tops and description of GPS). The operator would deploy
limbs in highly visible areas. the machine using a map displayed on a com-
• When clearcutting, create a natural-appearing, puter screen in the cab.
uneven edge, and leave small clumps of trees 4. Machine vision. Timber harvesting equipment in
irregularly placed across the harvested area. the 21st century may incorporate a form of
420 Timber Harvesting

machine vision that will recognize and evaluate market at a competitive cost. In addition, they must
trees or logs to be handled or processed and will protect the environment and do their part to ensure
automatically respond accordingly. For example, the long-term sustainability of the forest resource.
an intelligent camera system will measure and
select trees by diameter and form for an auto-
mated felling machine to cut.
References
5. Lightweight machine components. Lighter,
stronger logging machine components con- 1. ANON., "U.S. Forest Facts and Figures," American For-
structed with aerospace materials like kevlar, est & Paper Association, Washington, D.C., 1995.
aluminum, a n d carbon fiber will help to 2. ANON., "An Analysis of the Timber Situation in the
increase logging machine capacity and reduce United States, 1952-2030," U.S.D.A. Forest Service
environmental impacts. For example, telescop- Research Report 23, 1982.
ing booms made of lightweight composites could 3. ANON., "Census Classification of Industries and
be extended on felling machines to allow oper- Occupations," U.S. Commerce Department, Wash-
ators to reach further into a timberstand to fell ington, D.C., 1990.
a tree without moving the machine, thus mini- 4. ANON., "Injuries in the Logging Industry," U.S. Dept.
mizing ground disturbance. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C.,
1984.
6. Enhanced communications. In the years ahead,
5. G. STENZEL, T. A. WALBRIDGE, AND J. K. PEARCE, Log-
a logging manager will be able to use a portable
ging and Pulpwood Production, Second Edition, John
computer to check on the exact location of a log
Wiley & Sons, New York, 1985.
truck, monitor the fuel level in a skidder, or
determine the up-to-the-minute production from 6. ANON., "Forestry Best Management Practices for Water
several harvesting sites. A customer in France will Quality in Virginia, Technical Guide," Third Edition,
Virginia Department of Forestry, Charlottesville, 1997.
be able to instantaneously send a lumber order
to a sawmill in North Carolina, w h o will com- 7. G. E. WILSON, "Worker's Compensation Insurance
municate the log species and size specifications Primer for the Logging Industry," Technical Report
n e e d e d to produce the lumber to a logging con- No. 90-A-3, American Pulpwood Association,
Rockville, Md., 1990.
tractor at a harvest site in the forest, w h o will
program the harvester's on-board computer to 8. R. M. SHAFFER AND J. S. MILBURN, Forest Products Jour-
fill the order, all in the same day. nal, 49 (7/8), 4 (1999).
9. N. S. YOHO, Southern J. Applied Forestry, 4 (1), 27.
10. ANON., "Forestry aesthetics guide," American Pulp-
wood Association, Rockville, Md., 1998.
Concluding Statement 11. D. Y. GUIMIER, "Forestry operations in the next cen-
tury." In Forest Operations for Sustainable Forests and
As long as there is a d e m a n d for p a p e r a n d w o o d
Healthy Economies, Proceedings of the 20th Annual
products, the professional logging contractors w h o meeting of the Council on Forest Engineering, Rapid
o w n and operate the high-tech logging machines City, S.D., 1997.
and systems will continue to face the challenges
of efficiently and safely producing w o o d for a global
 C H A P T E R 20
Wood Products
EUGENE M. WENGERT AND
RAYMOND A. YOUNG

Importance of Wood Products Biotechnology—Biopulping and

Wood Properties Biobleaching

What Is Wood? Paper and Paperboard

Stock Preparation
Moisture and Wood Papermaking
Finishing and Converting of Paper
North American Wood
Consumption Recycled Paper
Conversion of Wood into Primary Environmental Protection
Wood Products Cellulose Derivatives
Raw Material Requirements Fibers and Films
Lumber Manufacturing Chemical Commodities
Extending the Service Life of Wood
Products Conversions of Wood to Energy,
Plywood Manufacturing Fuels, and Chemicals
Particleboard Manufacturing Direct Combustion
Oriented Strandboard (OSB) Manufactur- Fireplaces
ing Stoves and Furnaces
Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF) Saccharification-Fermentation
Manufacturing Thermal Decomposition
Charcoal and Other Chemicals
Chemical Nature of Wood Thermochemical Liquefaction
Microscopic Structure of Wood and Wood
Fibers Wood Extractives
Extractives Soluble in Organic Solvents
History of Pulp and Papermaking Water-Soluble Extractives
Pulping of Wood Biotechnology Chemicals

Bleaching and Brightening of Pulp Concluding Statement

References

421
422 Wood Products

F i g u r e 2 0 . 1 Early European
settlers to North America used
the plentiful wood supply for
housing, fencing, and a myriad
of other essential purposes.

billion kilograms) annually. It is estimated that the

Importance of Wood Products weight of wood used in the United States is equal
Trees produce many benefits, including watershed to the weight of applications of all metals, plastics,
protection, wildlife habitat, and recreation oppor- and Portland cement. In fact, this large amount cer-
tunities. However, of all the benefits of trees, the tainly indicates that the potential for significantly
greatest is probably from the wood they produce. reduced reliance on wood would be difficult to
Wood is nature's nearly perfect composite material, achieve by substitution of metal, plastics, or Port-
and it is also renewable (1). land cement.
Wood provides the fuel for cooking and heat- The general term for the various uses of wood
ing; the material for shelters (Figure 20.1); the mate- is either wood products, or the more general term,
rial for furniture, cabinets, and other "essentials" for forest products, which includes nonwood items such
living; and wood is the raw material for fiber-based as pine cones, nuts, Christmas trees, mushrooms,
panels, paper, and paper products (2). For millen-
niums, the primary use for wood has been for
fuel—cooking and heating—worldwide. It is only T a b l e 2 0 . 1 H o w We Use Timber in the
in the so-called "developed countries" that oil and United States
coal have replaced wood-based fuels. As a result,
uses of wood in developed countries are at about Major Uses Volume (%)
the same level for both solid wood products and Sawlogs for lumber 30
pulp-derived products (Table 20.1). Pulp is used to Pulpwood for papermaking 29
make paper and paper-related products, such as Energy and other products 27
fiberboard, and chemical commodities, while Composite boards (MDF, OSB, etc.) 9
sawlogs are used for lumber, which in turn is used Veneer and plywood 5
for housing construction, cabinets, furniture, and
MDF—Medium-Density Fiberboard;
the like (Figure 20.2). OSB—Oriented Strandboard
The amount of wood used annually in the United Source: Forest Products Laboratory, U.S.D.A., Forest Service,
States is tremendous—over 500 billion pounds (227 based on 1997 data.
What Is Wood? 423

Figure 20.2
Summary of uses for
wood.

and so on. Certainly in North America, as well as • anisotropic (different properties in different
other developed countries, it is the monetary value directions)
received from harvesting, manufacturing and sell- • hygroscopic (continually absorbs or desorbs
ing wood products (often called value-added pro- moisture from the surrounding air in order to
cessing) that allows for many timber stand achieve moisture equilibrium)
improvement activities. Forest products activities • shrinks with loss of moisture and swells with gain
result in the generation of substantial value-added in moisture
income, especially in rural economies, thereby cre-
• combustible (over 400°F [200°C])
ating and generating an important source of indi-
vidual and community economic viability. For • relatively inert to most chemicals
example, in Wisconsin in 1998, forest products • durable, if protected from moisture
industries employed nearly 100,000 people and • good insulator of sound, heat, and electricity,
ranked as the #1 manufacturing industry in nearly especially when dry
1/3 of the counties in the state. Forest products gen- • easily cut to size required with simple tools and
erated 17 percent of the value-added manufactur- with little energy
ing income in the state. • easily fastened with nails, screws and adhesives
• high strength-to-weight ratio

Wood Properties
Wood is a composite product that has distinct prop- What Is Wood?
erties, both advantages and disadvantages such as:
Wood is made of cells, which are typically long,
• renewable, complex, cellular biological material slender (100 times longer than their diameter), hol-
• biodegradable—most species are easily decom- low tubes (Figure 20.3). The role of the cells in the
posed by fungi (and bacteria) back into carbon, living tree is to conduct fluids from the roots to the
hydrogen, and oxygen when the moisture con- leaves. In softwoods, the major cells runs vertically
tent is over 20 percent (oven-dry basis) in the tree (called the longitudinal direction) and
424 Wood Products

F i g u r e 2 0 . 3 Wood is
made of long, hollow tubes
called cells. In a softwood,
more than 85% of the cells run
vertically in the tree, with the
remainder of the cells running
horizontally from the bark
toward the center of the tree.
This is a resinous softwood,
shown schematically.

are called tracheitis. Their length is 0.1 to 0.2 inches called ray parenchyma cells. These are short,
(3 to 5 mm). In hardwoods, the major cells are ves- stubby cells that are involved in the storage of
sels, running longitudinally. Their length are typi- starches and sugars. Parenchyma cells that ran lon-
cally 0.04 to 0.08 inches (1 to 2 mm). In addition gitudinally can also be found frequently in hard-
to the longitudinal cells, 5 to 15 percent of the cells woods. Occasionally, there may be an opening
run radially (from the bark toward the center of the between the cells. Softwoods also contain resin
tree) in both softwoods and hardwoods and are ducts or resin canals and hardwoods may have gum
What Is Wood? 425

ducts. Various resins and other c o m p o u n d s are sinkers and may be found on the bottom of lakes
secreted into these ducts (3). and streams where logging was a past activity.
There are no cells that run tangent to the annual Sometimes, various chemicals will be deposited
growth rings, called the tangential direction. How- in the lumens or pores. These chemicals, called
ever, each cell has numerous small openings, called extractives, will give w o o d color, odor, and certain
pits, which connect the cells both longitudinally and other properties including natural decay and insect
radially, and provide a multitude of flow paths for resistance. These depositions are in cells that are
water and nutrients to flow from the roots to the usually several years old or older. Such cells are
leaves. no longer participating in the life processes of the
The hollow spaces in the cells, called lumens in tree and so are called heartwood (Figure 20.4). The
softwoods and pores in hardwoods, are filled with younger cells, which start at the cambium (bark)
water, various chemicals including starches and sug- and proceed inward, and which eventually will
ars, and air bubbles. In fact, because the predomi- become heartwood cells as they age, are called sap-
nant component of wood, cellulose (discussed later wood. Sapwood is usually white-colored, may have
in the chapter), is 1.5 times heavier than water, if the a higher moisture content than the heartwood, has
air bubbles were not present in wood, it would not a higher porosity, and has no natural decay resist-
float. Hemlock is one species that at times has very ance. Some species have only a few years of sap-
few air bubbles and will not float; these logs are called w o o d cells, such as northern-grown red oak

F i g u r e 2 0 . 4 Cross-section
of a white oak tree trunk: A, the
cambium layer (microscopic),
forms new wood and bark cells;
B, the inner bark, contains living
tissue and carries nutrients from
the leaves to the growing parts
of the tree; C, the outer bark,
provides protection for the tree
against physical damage,
pathological damage, and drying;
D, the sapwood, containing both
living and dead tissue, carries
sap from the roots to the leaves;
E, the heartwood, containing
dead tissue, is age-altered
sapwood and usually contains
chemicals that provide distinctive
color, odor, low permeability,
and decay and insect resistance;
F, the pith, is the central
nonwood core of the stem; G,
the wood rays, running
horizontally in the stem between
the bark and the pith, transport
liquids and chemicals, as well as
store various nutrients.
426 Wood Products

Sidebar 20.1
Dendrochronology

Dendrochronology is the study of annual tree size. Defoliating insects could also reduce the
rings and is of value to scientists in a wide vari- size of the annual rings.
ety of disciplines. For example, climatic condi- In 1937, Andrew Douglas founded the Lab-
tions can be evaluated according to the size of oratory of Tree Ring Research at the University
the rings. Narrow rings would be indicative of of Arizona to promote the use of this approach.
low rainfall or drought, while wide rings may He utilized dendrochronology to date ancient
indicate extensive rainfall (see Figure 20.4). pueblos in the Southwest by matching ring pat-
Through the study of annual rings of very old terns from living trees, remains of fallen trees
trees, it is possible to reconstruct major climatic and wood samples from the ruins of the Pueb-
changes in the past. This area of emphasis is los. The dry conditions in the Southwest make
termed dendroclimatology and can provide this approach more viable, whereas in other,
information on such things as drought cycles. moister climates, the size of the rings are more
Of course there are other factors that influence consistent and there is greater decay of fallen
the size of the annual rings, such as crowding and stored timber. However, dendrochronology
by growth of other vegetation, which would continues to find new applications by scientists
reduce ring size, or harvesting and thinning studying such things as the effects of pollution,
operations, which would result in increased ring forest fires, volcanoes, pests and earthquakes.

(perhaps 0.5 inch [1.3 cm] wide). Other species may

have considerable amounts of sapwood, such as
southern-grown red oak (perhaps 4 [10 cm] inches
wide); yet other species, such as hard maple, are
almost all sapwood, unless injured. For lumber and other solid wood products, the
moisture content is:

Moisture and Wood

In the living tree, there is about 60 percent wood
and 40 percent water by weight, although there
can be considerable variation from species to The oven-dry (O-D) weight is obtained by drying
species, heartwood to sapwood, and tree to tree. the wood in an oven at 2l6°F (102°C) until weight
For most uses of wood, much of this water must loss stops. Both moisture content measuring sys-
be removed (4). tems agree at 0 percent MC, but the difference
Moisture content (MC) of wood is calculated and between them increases as the MC increases. Con-
expressed in two different ways—the oven-dry basis sidering a living Southern yellow pine tree with 50
and the wet-weight basis. The units are always in percent oven-dry wood and 50 percent water—the
percent. For wood chips, particles, and pulpwood, MC is 50 percent MC (wet basis), but 100 percent
the moisture content is: MC (O-D basis).
North AmericanWood Consumption 427

Wood is a hygroscopic material, meaning that it T a b l e 2 0 . 2 Key Values of RH and MC

will absorb or desorb moisture to obtain an equi- (Oven-dry Basis) for Wood
librium with the moisture in the air surrounding the
RH% MC% EMC%
wood. The relationship between the relative
humidity of air (RH) and the MC varies little from 0 0 0
species to species for most North American woods 30 6 6
(Table 20.2). Some tropical species differ—they 50 9 9
have lower MCs for the given RH than North Amer- 65 12 12
ican species. Wood that has been heated above 80 16 16
100 28 28
250°F (120°C), chemically treated, or inadiated with
gamma rays may also have lower MC. The MC that RH—relative humidity; MC—moisture content; EMC—equilib-
wood achieves at a given RH is called the equi- rium moisture content
librium moisture content (EMC) of the air.
The RH/EMC values (Table 20.2) are important
values in that most houses and offices in North wood for heating, cooking, and shelter, as well as
America range from 30 percent RH (winter) to 50 for implements and tools, including arrows. Early
percent RH (summer). Most unheated buildings and European settlers used wood for construction of
most exterior climates in North America average 65 commercial buildings (such as the windmill that has
percent RH, while most coastal climates and most been reconstructed at Colonial Williamsburg), as
island climates average 80 percent RH. well as for homes, implements, tools, fences, roads,
If wood changes MC, then the wood will shrink piers and wharves, ships and other watercraft, and
(moisture loss) or swell (moisture gain) about 1/4 a myriad of other uses. "Wood was indeed the mate-
percent for every 1 percent MC change. MC change rial that built America during the last three centuries.
problems account for the vast majority of problems When wood is kept dry (under 20 percent MC), it
and poor performance with wood. However, if does not deteriorate, so it will last for centuries
wood is dried to a MC close to the EMC in use, unless attacked by termites or other dry wood
then little MC change and, therefore, little shrink- insects.
age or swelling will occur in use. Today, annual wood use per capita continues
to grow (Table 20.3). The uses for wood in the
United States are over 60 billion board feet of lum-
North American Wood ber annually—about 75 percent of which is soft-
wood lumber. About 1/3 of the lumber is used for
Consumption new housing construction, 1/6 used for remodel-
Wood has been an important material in the recent ing homes, 1/12 used for new nonresidential con-
history of the United States. Native Americans used struction, 1/12 for manufacturing, and 1/12 for

Table 20.3 Per Capita Consumption of Several Wood Products in the United States over
Past Years
Consumption, per capita per year

Product 1962 1970 1976 1986

Lumber (board feet) 210 194 205 237

Structural boards, including plywood & OSB (sq. ft—3/8") 51 69 82 107
Paper & fiberboards (pounds) 434 566 587 677
OSB—oriented strandboard
428 W o o d Products

shipping (mainly pallets—over 600 million w o o d e n

pallets every year—Figure 20.5). The remaining is
used for miscellaneous purposes including railroad
ties, bridge timbers, and the like.
H o m e building is the bellwether of the U. S.
economy. Although in 1991 we built only 1.0 mil-
lion n e w homes, which is the lowest since WWII,
in 1993 nearly 1.3 million h o m e s w e r e built in the
United States. In the late 1990s, n e w housing con-
struction was about 1.7 million annually, with over
1 million of these as single family units. A n e w
h o m e will use over 13,000 board feet of lumber
(Figure 20.6) and 7,000 square feet of structural pan-
els. This recent level of n e w housing growth is ade-
quate to provide for the number of n e w households F i g u r e 2 0 . 6 Wood frame construction is the
in the United States—in 2000 there were about 110 typical construction method for homes in the United
million households in the United States and by 2010, States.
there will be about 121 million. In addition to strong
housing, n e w houses today are larger and use more
w o o d than in the previous decades—1,150 square
feet in the '50s, 1,500 in the 70s, and 2,000 in the
'90s. Many construction techniques today provide
for more efficient use of w o o d (Figure 20.7).
Accompanying housing growth is growth in allied
products such as cabinets and furniture.

F i g u r e 2 0 . 7 Roof trusses are commonly used to

speed construction and conserve natural resources.
Similar truss systems are used for floors.

Conversion of Wood into

Primary Wood Products
F i g u r e 2 0 . 5 Wooden platforms, called pallets, Wood products are divided into two main cate-
are typically 40" X 48" and permit easy access by gories—primary products a n d secondary products.
forklifts, so that large volumes of goods can be Primary products are those w o o d products made
handled easily. from a log. Primary products include lumber, poles,
Conversion of Wood into Primary Wood Products 429

and pulp. Secondary products are those wood 6 to 8 inch (15-20 cm) logs. Logs should be as
products made from a primary product. Secondary straight as possible, with no decay. Knots or knot
products include furniture, cabinets, and paper. scars, especially for large branches, are not
The procedures for converting logs into primary desired. Certain species are not highly desired, for
wood products vary depending on the product. example, eastern hemlock, because of poor lum-
Although the conversion efficiency also varies, it ber markets, while other species are quite desirable,
is not unusual to find that about 50 to 60 percent including Southern pine, Douglas fir, and cedars.
of the log's volume will end up in the primary wood Shake (separation of the wood within the log run-
product. Each product has certain raw material ning parallel to the rings), bad odors, and fungal
requirements as well. The following sections con- activity of any sort is usually undesirable because
sider five products—lumber, plywood, particle- of the high risk of strength loss in such logs. Due
board, OSB (oriented strandboard), and MDF to low profit margins in softwood lumber manu-
(medium-density fiberboard). Use of wood as a fuel facturing, softwood timber should be within 50
is considered later in the chapter. miles of the mill (25 miles is better yet).
Hardwood logs typically are 8 inches (20 cm)
and larger, up to the optimum capacity of the mill,
Raw Material Requirements which typically is around 24 inches (6l cm) in diam-
Each of the forest products that are produced from eter. Log lengths are 8 to 16 feet (2.4 to 4.9 m), but
trees have certain quality specifications that are enu- the typical length in eastern mills is 12 feet (3.7 m);
merated in the following paragraphs—straightness southern mills, 16 feet (4.9 m); and midwestern
and diameter are usually paramount. Often, these mills, 8 or 10 feet (2.4 or 3 m). Logs should be as
specifications are dictated by economics, rather than straight as possible, but most logs are fairly crooked,
by the physical properties of the wood itself. Nev- with several inches of sweep being common. As
ertheless, it is important to consider these specifi- most hardwood lumber is sold based on the amount
cations when considering the potential uses and of clear area in the lumber, any branches, knots or
management for forests and forest lands. The fol- knot scars should be well spaced apart. Some
lowing are generalizations. species, including sweetgum, aspen, and cotton-
Pulp, used primarily for papermaking, and fiber wood, have very poor lumber markets, with low
logs, used for MDF, and hardboard, can use just lumber prices even for higher grade material; log
about any inexpensive source of wood fiber, but prices are low and profits are also usually low. On
the fibers must be intact. Sawdust and some (recy- the other hand, some species, such as cherry, wal-
cled) papers, because of the damage to the fibers nut, hard maple, and red oak have very high prices
in milling, cannot always be used. Likewise, and demand, with high log prices and high demand
decayed wood fibers are unsuitable. The longer and profits. Shake, bad odors, and fungal activity
fibers from softwoods are often preferred for of any sort are usually undesirable because of the
strength, but the shorter hardwood fibers can be high risk of color loss and strength loss in such logs.
used in many cases, especially for fine papers. Eco- Hardwood timber should be within 75 miles of the
nomics (specifically, transportation costs) dictate that mill, although 25 to 40 miles is better.
the pulpwood sources be close to the manufac- Logs used for particleboards and flake boards,
turing facility—a 50-mile radius would be ideal. including OSB, can be small diameter (as small as
Most pulpwood logs, called roundwood, will be 4 inches [10.2 cm]), no larger than 12 inches (30.5
under 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter and 4 to 8 feet cm) in diameter typically, crooked or straight, knotty
(1.2 X 2.4 m) long. or clear, and short or long (typically length is 8 feet
Softwood lumber, used for construction, requires [2.4 m] long). Although almost any species can and
that logs typically be between 8 to 24 inches (20-61 will be used, the lighter weight species, such as
cm) in diameter, although a few mills can process aspen and yellow poplar, are preferred, as they will
430 Wood Products

press together better than a denser species; nev-

ertheless, Southern pine is also often used for OSB.
Logs with decay are not acceptable. Timber should
be within 25 to 50 miles of the mill in most cases
to avoid excessive transportation costs.
Because of the high capital costs of pulp and
fiber plants and particle board manufacturing facil-
ities (including OSB plants), these facilities will
obtain the required timber no matter what the cost,
size, or distance. In short, these facilities cannot
afford to run out of raw material, so they will be,
at times, rather ruthless in wood procurement, even
using sawlogs, or going further than 50 miles from
the plant. Their critical need for raw material must
be considered by a land planner that is within or
near the plant's procurement area.

Lumber Manufacturing
Early sawmills used human power to move the saw F l g u r e 2 0 . 8 A sawmill can be an important
through the log. However, in North America, the source of value-added income in rural economies.
availability of water power led to development of
water-power mills throughout the early European
settlements. Lumber, especially for ship building, inal thickness (which would be sold as 2" [5.1 cm]
but also for shipping containers including barrels by a specified width), although the actual thickness
(called cooperage), was a critical commodity for is 1.5 inches (0.6 cm). Lengths are usually 8 to 20
ocean-based shipping economies during the 18th feet (2.4-6.1 cm); widths would typically be 4, 6,
and 19th centuries. Although these historic sawmills 8, or 10 inches (10.2, 15.2, 20.3, or 25.4 cm) nom-
would seem primitive without fancy computers and inal size, or 3-1/2, 5-1/2, 7-1/2, and 9-1/4 inches
powerful motors, many mills produced as much or (8.9, 14, 19.1, and 23.5 cm) actual size. Most soft-
more lumber annually than an individual mill does wood lumber will be dried, planed, and graded,
today. and then used "as is" without additional manufac-
Today, there are two different mills—hardwood turing, except cutting to length at times.
and softwood. A hardwood sawmill typically has A modern softwood sawmill producing lumber
1 to 15 million board feet of annual production. for construction is highly automated, with high man-
Most of the lumber produced is 4/4 thick (4/4, pro- ufacturing efficiency and high production, thereby
nounced "four quarter," is the number of quarter assuring good profitability and good stewardship
inches of thickness; 8/4 would be 2 inches (5.1 cm) of the natural resource. In a typical mill (Figure
thick). Lengths run from 4 feet to 16 feet (1.2-4.9 20.9), logs are debarked, scanned for metal,
m); width is random. The primary quality factor is scanned for size to determine the best sawing pat-
the amount of large clear areas, as hardwood lum- tern, and sawn into lumber and cants at the head-
ber is seldom used "as is" but will be dried and rig. Then cants are resawn into lumber. Any pieces
then sawn into smaller pieces for furniture, mill- with wane (wane is the absence of wood) are
work and cabinets. A softwood sawmill (Figure edged. Lumber is then trimmed and sorted by size.
20.8) typically produces in excess of 200 million Most of these processing procedures are computer-
board feet annually. Most of the lumber is 8/4 nom- controlled with manual override possible. Volume
Conversion of Wood into Primary Wood Products 431

Computerized Bucking The long log (perhaps 40 feet long) is cut into shorter lengths, called sawlogs, based
on log diameter, crookedness, and market demand for particular lengths.

Debarking The bark is removed from the sawlogs so that the logs do not have any imbedded grit
that would rapidly dull saws and other cutting equipment. It also ensures that any
nonlumber byproducts are free of bark (required for pulp chips) and grit.

Scanning The sawlog is scanned for length, diameter, and straightness in order to determine the
best (most profitable) sawing procedures. The results of this analysis include the
finished lumber size, probable value and market demand, as well as the best position
for the log when it enters the headsaw.

Headsawing The headsaw is a multiple-saw machine that is usually computer-controlled. It uses

the results from scanning to cut the sawlog into several flat pieces of wood of a
desired thickness; these pieces are called cants. The cant usually has two flat, wide
faces and two rounded edges, due to the log's round shape. The outermost piece of
wood is called a slab; a slab has only one flat face, and the oppostie side is rounded.

Gang-sawing Large, thick cants are cut into several pieces of lumber in a multiple-saw machine
called a gang-saw. Often, the cant is approximately 4 inches thick and the gang-saws
are 2 inches apart; the end-products are 2" x 4" lumber, often referred to as studs.

Resawing The slabs that are thick enough to be sawn into lumber are put through a resaw,
producing a piece of lumber and a thinner slab. The resaw is also used to saw
double-thickness cants into two thinner pieces.

Edging The edger saw makes the edges of the lumber flat by removing the round edges, and
also makes the two edges parallel to each other. Cants can be routed to the edger
from the headsaw, gang-saw, or resaw.

Trimming Trimming squares the ends of the lumber and removes any excess length, necessary
since almost all softwood lumber is manufactured and sold in 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18, or
20 foot lengths. As both ends are typically trimmed, this process is also called double-
end trimming.

Green-chain and Sorting Lumber is sorted by grade, length, width, and thickness. Each size is accumulated
separately. The system that conveys the lumber from the trim saw to the sorter is
called the green-chain; the sorter, which typically has 30 or more bins for each size
into which the lumber is dropped, is called a bin sorter or drop sorter.

F i g u r e 2 0 . 9 The typical wood flow pattern for a softwood sawmill includes nine basic processes. It begins
with a long log that has been brought in from the woods and ends with lumber that is ready to be stacked and
kiln-dried, and eventually planed, graded, and packaged.

conversion efficiencies can exceed 65 percent—the Extending the Service Life of

35 percent of the log not converted into lumber is Wood Products
used for pulp and for fuel. After the green lumber
is produced, the lumber is kiln, dried, planed, and Wood products are subject to deterioration when
graded according to the rules of the American Lum- they are exposed to the elements. Furniture, mill-
ber Standard. work, cabinets and other products are often coated
432 Wood Products

with paints, lacquers, varnishes, and the like to chemicals, and impregnating the wood with the
retard the effects of moisture changes in the envi- chemicals using a combination of heat, vacuum, and
ronment and the resultant shrinkage. Wood siding pressure in a large cylinder. The wood is sometimes
is often stained and coated to prevent erosion dried again before being put into use. The type and
(although such deterioration is very slow) from air- amount of chemical used varies depending on the
borne particles, water, and ultraviolet light, as well expected risk of damage; for example, wood in con-
as to enhance the beauty. Poles, posts, railroad ties tact with the ground (such as a post or pole) would
(also called sleepers), decks, and other wood prod- receive more chemical than wood exposed above
ucts exposed outdoors are often treated with chem- the ground (such as a deck). Untreated wood of
icals that are poisonous to fungi and insects. many species exposed to a wet environment may
Sometimes wood is also treated with chemicals to last only a few years, compared to more than 50
retard or prevent ignition from fire. years for treated wood.
In all these cases, there are tradeoffs between
many factors, including the cost of the protection
versus the benefit, the environmental risks or dam- Plywood Manufacturing
age from applying the protection (and the risk from Plywood panels consist of several large thin wood
the ultimate disposal of the wood product), safety veneer-type layers joined with adhesive. Some or
risks from poor performance (such as a broken elec- all of the layers are sheets of veneer. Other layers,
trical pole or tower, or the loss of lives in a fire), particularly in the core, may be particleboard, hard-
the cost of using nonwood materials, and the poten- board, lumber strips, and special materials. The fiber
tial savings in wood harvested because of the longer direction of each layer is at right angles to that of
life. The evaluation of the use of various wood treat- the adjoining layer. This cross-banding makes ply-
ments to prolong or enhance performance are soci- wood more uniform and less anisotropic than lum-
etal issues; there is no one correct, easy answer. ber; its properties in the direction of panel length
In fact, the answer will vary as societies change and resemble those in the direction of panel width.
as more knowledge is obtained. Cross-banding affects strength in a logical way
One of the most widespread, yet controversial in both directions of the plane, the transverse lay-
treatments used to prolong the service life of wood ers contribute practically no strength; plywood is
products is the use of pesticides (called wood roughly one-half as strong as lumber is lengthwise.
preservatives) that are impregnated into the wood. But by the same principle, plywood is stronger than
The application and use of such chemicals is strictly lumber in the direction of width and can therefore
controlled by the Environmental Protection Agency be thinner. Moreover, it does not split like solid-
(EPA); quality assurance for the consumer is pro- wood products. Plywood and lumber properties
vided by the American Wood Preservers Associa- naturally are the same in the thickness direction,
tion (AWPA). provided that the layers are adequately bonded
Wood preservatives used today can be divided together.
into two classes: 1) oilborne preservatives such as Cross-banding gives plywood dimensional sta-
creosote (a coal-tar product; used for heavy timbers, bility. To understand this effect, consider first the
ties, poles, and pilings) and petroleum solutions of fiber direction of the surface veneers. Both surface
pentachlorophenol; and 2) waterborne preservatives veneers and the core veneer tend to swell and
such as CCA (chromated copper arsenate; widely shrink (move) very little, whereas the two trans-
used for treating Southern pine, imparting a green verse veneers or cross-bands have a very strong ten-
color to the wood) and new treatments that often dency to move. The adhesive bonds compel all five
include copper compounds. Treatment of wood usu- veneers to move by the same amount, somewhere
ally involves drying the wood partially to remove between the small longitudinal shrinkage and the
water so that there is room for the preservative large transverse shrinkage of lumber. However,
Conversion of Wood into Primary Wood Products 433

since wood is many times stiffer in the fiber direc- inch (6.3 mm) cubes, that are glued together. Often
tion than in the transverse direction, longitudinal the chips are sawmill residue, so the raw material
movement dominates and the panel remains fairly cost is quite low. Initially considered to be a cheap
stable. Similarly, in the other direction of the plane, substitute for lumber when manufacturing furniture,
the cross-bands dominate and restrain the move- cabinets and shelves, the product was improved and
ments. According to a rule of thumb, plywood is now highly respected as an excellent building
shrinks and swells in directions of length and width material (especially for subfloors and for counter
about twice as much as lumber moves lengthwise, tops) and for furniture (especially for knocked-
which is still very little. For most practical purposes, down, ready-to-assemble cabinets and case-goods).
plywood can be considered to be dimensionally sta- In most cases, however, particleboards cannot with-
ble. Of course, the cross-banding does not affect stand prolonged exposure to liquid water without
movements in the direction of the panel thickness, developing excessive swelling and loss of integrity.
which are large in terms of percentages but small Special fasteners are required to develop good
in absolute terms and unimportant. joints.
Many plywood panels are 6 millimeters (1/4 The typical manufacturing flow for particleboard
inch) thick; the thinnest measure about 1 millime- is sorting of the chips and breaking larger chips into
ter, and the thickest several centimeters. In addi- smaller sizes, drying in drum dryers, spreading
tion to house sheathing and siding, plywood is used adhesive and waxes on the particles, spreading the
in cabinets, billboards, furniture, bookshelves, con- particles on a conveyor in a thick layer (called a
crete forms, skins of flush doors, paneling, boxes, mat), compressing the mat, using heat, to activate
in mobile homes, and for trailers. the adhesive. After cooling, the panels are cut into
the required sizes and may be sanded if required.
Properties of particleboards are controlled by the
Particleboard Manufacturing amount of adhesive used and the density of the
Particleboard, also called chipboard and chipcore board. However, particleboard is not as strong and
(Figure 20.10), is a product that was developed stiff as an equal thickness of lumber, plywood, or
about 50 years ago. It uses chips, as small as 1/4 OSB.

Oriented Strandboard (OSB)

Manufacturing
OSB (Figure 20.10) is a newer product, less than
20 years old. However, because small trees and
crooked stems can be effectively utilized, the raw
material cost, compared to product cost, is about
38 percent ($53 out of $141 per cubic meter). Ply-
wood requires more than double the raw material
cost ($117 out of $206 per cubic meter). Lumber
requires even more ($133 out of $191 per cubic
meter). As a result, OSB has rapidly gained accept-
ance in the construction market. OSB plant capac-
ities exceed 20 million cubic meters annually; more
new plants are being constructed each year. If lum-
F i g u r e 2 0 . 1 0 Manufactured wood products ber were used to do to the same job as OSB, we
include flakeboard (at top of stack), OSB (at middle of would need in excess of 8 billion more board feet
stack), and particleboard (at bottom of stack). of lumber annually, and this lumber would have
434 Wood Products

Figure 20.11 Typical material flow in an OSB facility.

to come from larger, higher-quality, more expen- paper, or plastic can be easily laminated. The sur-
sive trees. It is easy to understand why OSB is con- face can be directly printed on as well. Special fas-
sidered the wood product of the future in the teners are required to develop high joint strength.
construction business.
The typical material flow in an OSB plant (Fig-
ure 20.11) provides very high conversion efficien-
cies. Any "waste" is used for fuel for the
Chemical Nature of Wood
manufacturing process. Logs are debarked, heated Although the relative value of wood as a source of
in hot water, cut into short lengths, and flaked into energy and chemicals has varied considerably
wafers or strands using knives. The strands are dried through the decades, wood continues to be an
in large drum driers, coated with adhesive, and important source of specialty chemicals and
assembled into a thick mat. The strands in the mat renewable energy, and may be even more impor-
are oriented to provide parallel strands in the var- tant in the future. Here we discuss the chemical
ious layers in the mat. The mat is compressed and
heated, and cut to size. By controlling the panel
density, the amount of adhesive, and the strand ori-
entation, a panel can be designed and produced
with properties that meet the engineering needs of
the building designer and engineer.

Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF)

Manufacturing
As the name implies, MDF (Figure 20.12) is a fiber
product. To obtain fibers, the log is broken down
in the same manner as when wood is disintegrated
for paper. However, for MDF, synthetic adhesives
are added to the fibers before heating and press-
ing. This adhesive sets MDF apart from paper, low-
density fiberboards (commonly used for ceiling F i g u r e 2 0 . 1 2 Medium-density fiberboard (MDF)
tiles) and high-density boards (commonly used for panels, which can be printed or covered with thin
pegboards and the backs of cabinets). MDF has a films and made to look like solid wood, are widely
very smooth finished surface to which wood veneer, used in furniture manufacturing.
Chemical Nature of Wood 435

nature of wood and in the following sections pro- saccharide, a mixed polymer is formed, usually
vide a description of the technology for conversion named for its predominant sugars. Thus, if glucose
of wood to pulp fibers for papermaking, to fuels and mannose are present, the polysaccharide is a
for energy, and to chemicals for industry and con- glucomannan; if arabinose and galactose are pres-
sumers. ent, a arabinogalactan; and so on.
As described in Chapter 4, wood is like all other Polysaccharides are of paramount importance in
plant material, in that it begins with the basic pho- wood and to the uses of chemically processed
tosynthetic equation in which carbon dioxide and wood. Cellulose is the common term used for the
water are combined by means of the sun's energy glucan present in wood; it constitutes about 42 per-
to produce glucose and oxygen. To understand the cent of wood's dry weight. Cellulose is the primary
chemical nature of wood, we need to trace the component of the walls of cells making up wood
developments in the plant starting with glucose, a fibers and is the main structural material of wood
basic sugar. Glucose is only one of a series of sug- and other plants. Paper, paperboard, and other
ars that occur in nature. The sugars are generally wood fiber products are therefore also composed
classified according to the number of carbon (C) mostly of cellulose. The chemical structure of the
atoms in their structure; thus, sugars with six car- cellulose macromolecule is shown in Figure 20.13.
bons are referred to as hexoses, and those with five In the plant, the DP of cellulose is approximately
carbons are referred to as pentoses. The sugars 14,000.
important in wood structure are the hexoses (glu- Closely associated with cellulose in the wood
cose, mannose, and galactose) and the pentoses structure and in paper products are other poly-
(xylose and arabinose). Because sugars are so saccharides termed hemicelluloses. The hemicel-
important in our lives, a separate field of chemistry, luloses have often been labeled as the matrix
termed carbohydrate chemistry, is devoted com- material of wood. In hardwoods, the primary hemi-
pletely to sugar derivatives. cellulose is a xylan (polymer of xylose), whereas
Sugars generally do not occur as simple com- in softwoods, the primary hemicellulose is a glu-
pounds in wood but as higher-molecular-weight comannan, although both of these polysaccharides
structures known generally as polymers. The con- occur to some extent in both types of wood. The
cept of a polymer can be visualized by consider- DP of the hemicelluloses is much less than that of
ing one sugar unit as one link, the monomer, in a cellulose, in the range of 100 to 200.
long chain, the polymer. Thus, with each link an Table 20.4 gives a comparison of the chemical
identical sugar, a chain of sugar units is formed— composition of extractive-free hardwoods and soft-
a polymer of sugars known commonly as poly- woods. (The nature of wood extractives is treated
saccharides. This linking is depicted schematically in a later section.) (5, 6) Since cellulose and the
as follows:
o o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Monomer Polymer
(sugar) (polysaccharide)
Polysaccharides are characterized by the number
of sugars in the chain or the degree of polymer-
ization (DP).
Because there are many different sugars, many
different polysaccharides can be formed. A poly-
saccharide formed from glucose is a glucan, from F i g u r e 2 0 . 1 3 The chemical structure of
xylose a xylan, from mannose a mannan, and so cellulose; the cellulose repeat unit is shown in
on. If combinations of sugars occur in one poly- brackets.
436 Wood Products

Table 20.4 Chemical Composition and Fiber Length of Extractive-free Wood (by percent)
Component Hardwood (Red Maple) Softwood (Balsam Fir)
Cellulose 44 42
Hemicelluloses
Xylan 25 9
Glucomannan 4 18
Lignin 25 29
Pectin, starch 2 2
Average fiber length (mm) 0.8-1.5 2.5-6.0

hemicelluloses are both polysaccharides, it is obvi- rials (starch, pectin, and inorganic salts) are not
ous that the polysaccharide component of wood extractable.
is by far the dominant one, making up approxi-
mately 70 percent of both hardwoods and soft-
woods. Additional polysaccharides may occur as Microscopic Structure of Wood and
extraneous components of wood, components that Wood Fibers
are not part of the cell wall; for example, the heart- In the tree, the cellulose polymers are laid down
wood of species of larch can contain up to 25 per- uniformly, the chains paralleling one another, and
cent (dry weight) of arabinogalactan, a water- the long-chain molecules associate strongly through
soluble polysaccharide that occurs only in trace hydrogen bonds that develop between hydroxyl
quantities in other wood species. groups. These bonds create very strong associations
The third major component of wood shown in between the cellulose macromolecules. These asso-
Table 20.4 is lignin. Although lignin is also a poly- ciations between the cellulose chains give a very
mer, it has a different chemical structure compared uniform crystalline (ordered) structure known as
to that of the polysaccharides. The monomeric units micelles or microcrystallites, shown in Figure 20.14.
in lignin are phenolic-type compounds. The The micelles are also associated in the tree to
spaces between fibers in wood are almost pure give long threadlike structures termed microfibrils
lignin and are termed the middle lamella (5, 6). (Figure 20.14). The structure of the microfibrils is
Lignin is also considered the gluing or encrusting not completely uniform throughout. There are
substance of wood and adds mechanical strength regions of non-uniformity between the micelles in
or stiffness to the tree and to wood. Higher plants the microfibrils called amorphous (disordered)
are commonly referred to as lignocellulosic regions; the cellulose microfibril therefore has a
because of the typical joint occurrence in them of crystalline-amorphous character. Water molecules
lignin and cellulose. The spaces between fibers are enter the amorphous regions and swell the
filled with lignin and make up the middle lamella. microfibrils; ultimately, this is the mechanism by
A fourth class of wood components is known which fibers and wood swell in moist or wet envi-
as extraneous material and is present in wood in ronments.
amounts of 1 to 10 percent. These materials com- The final fiber cell wall structure is essentially
prise a vast array of chemical compounds that are layers of the microfibrils or macrofibrils aligned in
not constituents of the cell wall. Most of these com- several different directions. The entity holding the
pounds, because they can be extracted with water fibers together, the middle lamella, is almost pure
or organic solvents or volatilized with steam, are lignin (90 percent), as mentioned earlier. For the
called extractives. They are considered in detail sub- cellulose fibers to be separated, the middle lamella
sequently. A small portion of the extraneous mate- lignin must be chemically removed, a process that
Chemical Nature of Wood 437

also removes most of the hemicelluloses, or

mechanically degraded to free the fibers for paper-
making (Figure 20.15). A paper sheet can then be
formed from the separated cellulose fibers by
depositing them from a water slurry onto a wire
screen. The water drains away and the fibers col-
lapse, leaving a fiber mat that derives its main
strength from re-association of the fibers through
many hydrogen bonds, the same type of b o n d that
gives mechanical integrity to the fibers (Figure
20.16)
The long fibers from softwoods (Table 20.4) are
usually preferred in papermaking for products that
must resist tearing, such as grocery bags, whereas
the shorter h a r d w o o d fibers give improved opac-
ity, or covering power, and printability to the final
paper sheet. The type of pulping process also

F i g u r e 2 0 . 1 4 Detailed structure of cell walls. A,

strand of fiber cells. B, cross-section of fiber cells
showing gross layering: a layer of primary wall and
three layers of secondary wall. C, fragment from the
middle layer of a secondary wall showing macrofibrils
(white) of cellulose and interfibrillar spaces (black),
which are filled with noncellulosic materials. D,
fragment of macrofibril showing microfibrils (white),
which may be seen in the electron micrographs. The
spaces among microfibrils (black) are filled with
noncellulosic materials. E, structure of microfibrils:
chainlike molecules of cellulose, which in some parts
of microfibrils are orderly arranged. These parts are
the micelles. F, fragment of a micelle showing parts of
chainlike cellulose molecules arranged in a space
lattice. G, two glucose residues connected by an F i g u r e 2 0 . 1 5 Scanning electron micrograph of a
oxygen atom—a fragment of a cellulose molecule. cluster of eastern white pine elements after pulping or
(From K. Esau, Anatomy of Seed Plants, Second maceration of a small wood cube. (Courtesy of
Edition, 1997, courtesy of John Wiley & Sons.) Wilfred Cote and Syracuse University Press.)
438 Wood Products

fiber several centuries later. The rags were macer-

ated into a pulp in water with a mortar and pestle;
then, after dilution in a vat, the pulp was formed
into a wet mat on a bamboo frame equipped with
a cloth screen to drain the free water. The mat was
dried in the sun. The invention was based on the
need for a writing material to replace the expen-
sive silk and inconvenient bamboo strips. The inven-
tion was a closely guarded secret for many centuries
but filtered to the West at Samarkand in western
China early in the eighth century. Papermaking was
introduced to the United States in 1690 with the first
mill near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Paper was made by hand essentially as just
described above, spurred by development of the
Gutenberg printing press (1455), until the inven-
tion of the long, continuous wire screen machine
by Louis Robert in France in 1798. The machine
was subsequently developed commercially in
England by the Fourdrinier brothers, whose name
is associated with it to this day (see Figure 20.19
in the section on Papermaking).
Wood became a source of fiber in the mid-1840s,
F i g u r e 2 0 . 1 6 Scanning electron micrograph of when a groundwood pulp grinder was manufac-
paper surface showing random arrangement of tured in Germany. The wood was defibered by
coniferous tracheid fibers in the sheet. Note the pressing against a grindstone. After 1850, several
flattened or collapsed nature of the fibers in this cross- chemical methods were developed to produce
section cut with a razor blade. (Courtesy of Wilfred
chemical pulps, which will be described later. The
Cote and Syracuse University Press.)
major sources of fiber in the United States for
papermaking are pulpwood (roundwood), byprod-
affects the pulp properties, as described in a later uct sawmill chips, and recycled paper.
section. Although wood is the dominant raw material for
pulp and paper in the developed world, a wide
range of fibers are utilized for papermaking in other
History of Pulp and parts of the world. In many countries, pulp pro-
duction is based entirely on agro-based fibers and
Papermaking over 25 countries depend on agro-based fibers for
The concept of making paper from the fibers from over 50 percent of their pulp production. The lead-
lignocellulosic materials, an integrated system of ing countries for production of pulp and paper
fiber separation (pulping) and reforming of the fibers from agro-based fibers are China and India, with
into a mat (papermaking), is attributed to T'sai Lun, China having over 73 percent of the world's agro-
a court official in southeast China in 105 A.D. The, based pulping capacity. China mainly utilizes straw
first fibers were obtained from old hemp rags and for papermaking, while India and Mexico utilize
ramie fishnets, but shortly thereafter, the inner bark large quantities of sugar cane bagasse (fiber waste
fibers from paper mulberry trees were also utilized from sugar production). India also incorporates
for papermaking. Bamboo was used as a source of some jute fiber and large quantities of bamboo,
Pulping of Wood 439

although the supply of bamboo is not sufficient to of the developed and less-developed countries is
meet demands for paper production (7). There has shown in the accompanying tabulation by the wide
been considerable interest in the use of kenaf as range of relative per capita consumption of paper
an alternate fiber source in the United States and and paperboard (9):
a number of successful press runs of kenaf-based
United States 323
paper (82-95%) were carried out in the pressrooms
Japan 249
of the Bakersfield Californian, the Houston
Germany 192
Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News and the St.
China 27
Petersburg Times (7). 14
Russia
Practically any natural plant can be utilized as 10
Egypt
a source of papermaking fibers, but there is con-
India 4
siderable variation in the quality of paper realized <1
Afghanistan
from alternate plant sources. Factors such as fiber
length, content of nonfibrous components such as
parenchyma tissue, contaminants such as silica, and
so forth greatly influence the quality of the final
Pulping of Wood
sheet. Procurement of sufficient quantities of the To prepare the wood for pulping, the standing tree
raw material and seasonal fluctuations in supply can in the forest is felled, delimbed, bucked to length,
also pose problems. It is also necessary to use alter- and conveyed to the pulp mill or sawmill (Fig-
nate pulping equipment to handle the plant mate- ure 20.17). At the pulp mills the logs are usually
rials, since the material tends to mat down in the debarked by tumbling against one another in large
digester, making it difficult to get uniform circula- rotating drums, which removes the bark by impact
tion of the cooking chemicals (7, 8). and abrasion. The debarked logs are next taken to
Production of paper and paperboard in the the groundwood mill (5 percent) or to the chipper
United States constitutes about 35 percent of the (95 percent). After chipping, the chips are screened
world's total; papermaking in North America and to remove oversize chips and fines.
Europe together made up about 75 percent of the Three major methods are used to pulp wood;
world production. The difference in the economies namely, mechanical, semi-chemical, and chemical.

F i g u r e 2 0 . 1 7 Unloading at
a pulp mill in Kingsport,
Tennessee. (Courtesy of U.S.D.A.
Forest Service.)
440 Wood Products

Each process produces pulps with different prop- wood are pressed against a revolving grindstone,
erties for different applications. The major pulping and refiner mechanical pulping (RMP), in which
processes in use are classified in Table 20.5. chips are passed between single or double rotat-
Modern mechanical pulping includes stone ing plates of a vertical-disk attrition mill (Figure
groundwood pulping (SGW), in which bolts of 20.18). Recent developments in stone grinding are

Table 20.5 Wood P u l p i n g by Process a n d Yield

Treatment

Process Acronym Chemical Mechanical Pulp Yield(percent)

Mechanical Processes
Stone groundwood SGW None Grinder 93-95
Pressure groundwood PGW None Grinder 93-95
Refiner mechanical RMP None Disk refiner (pressure) 93-95
Thermomechanical TMP Steam Disk refiner (pressure) 80-90
Chemi-thermomechanical CTMP Sodium sulfite or
sodium hydroxide 1 Disk refiner (pressure) 80-90
Chemi-mechanical2 CMP Sodium sulfite or
sodium hydroxide Disk refiner 80-90
Semi-Chemical Processes
Neutral sulfite NSSC Sodium sulfite +
sodium carbonate Disk refiner 70-85
Green liquor GLSC Sodium hydroxide +
sodium carbonate Disk refiner 70-35
Nonsulfur — Sodium carbonate +
sodium hydroxide Disk refiner 70-85
Chemical Processes
Kraft — Sodium hydroxide +
sodium sulfide None 45-55
Sulfite — Calcium bisulfite in
sulfurous acid 3 None 40-50
Magnefite — Magnesium bisulfite in
sulfurous acid 4 None 45-55
Soda — Sodium hydroxide None 40-50
Soda-oxygen — Sodium hydroxide +
oxygen None 45-55
Soda-anthraquinone SAq Sodium hydroxide +
anthraquinone None 45-55
Dissolving Processes
Prehydrolysis kraft — Steaming and kraft
(two-step process) None 35
Acid sulfite — Acid sulfite (Ca, Na) None 35
1
Sodium sulfite or sodium hydroxide, 2-7% of wood,
2
Also chemical treatment after fiberizing.
3
Also sodium, magnesium, and ammonia; pH 2.
4
pH 5.
Pulping of Wood 441

F i g u r e 2 0 . 1 8 Schematic of (a) a stone grinder that pulverizes wood bolts for groundwood pulp and (b) a
disk refiner that grinds wood chips for refiner and thermomechanical (TMP) pulps. Showers provide water for
both methods.

applying pressure to the grinder (PGW) and con- duced by the printing press. Modern mills, how-
trolling temperature (Table 20.5). ever, now use 100 percent TMP or CTMP to pro-
Basic changes in mechanical pulping technology duce newsprint with sufficient strength. Mechanical
are to pretreat chips with chemicals, steam, or both. pulps are also an important component of publi-
These developments started forty years ago when cation paper grades, which are generally coated
chips were pretreated with caustic soda, termed magazine papers. Obviously, printability is impor-
chemi-mechanical pulping (CMP). Presteaming and tant in this application as well.
pressure refining of chips gives a thermomechan- Semi-chemical pulping combines a mild chem-
ical pulp (TMP); and when chemical pretreatment ical treatment with mechanical action for final lib-
and pressure steaming are combined, the pulp is eration of the fibers. The major semi-chemical
referred to as chemi-thermomechanical pulp process is neutral sulfite semi-chemical (NSSC). The
(CTMP). There are many variations of these semi-chemical processes were developed to
processes. These treatments are employed to improve the economic return. These processes give
improve pulp quality. The steam and chemicals aid higher yields (75 to 80 percent) than full chemical
fiberizing by giving a less-damaged fiber, which pulping and better strength than mechanical
makes the final paper stronger. pulps. The semi-chemical pulps are very suitable
Mechanical pulps are a major component of for the stiff corrugating medium in cardboard boxes.
newsprint. The mechanical pulp imparts valuable The recovery of chemicals and heat value from the
properties to the newsprint, all of which are related semi-chemical spent liquors is well developed.
to printability. These are absorbency, bulk, com- Chemical pulping is conducted on wood chips
pressibility, opacity, and uniformity. However, using lignin-dissolving reagents in vessels, called
because mechanical pulps are weak, up to 30 per- digesters, under elevated temperature and pressure
cent of a chemical pulp (described later) is blended (10). The major chemical pulping processes were
into the pulp mixture, called a furnish, to provide developed about a century ago and are the soda
greater strength. Sufficient strength is required of (1855 in England), sulfite (1867 in the United States),
the newsprint to withstand the tension forces pro- and kraft or sulfate (1884 in Germany) processes.
442 Wood Products

The word "kraft" comes from the German word ery is based on a liquid-liquid phase separation after
meaning strong. The ability to utilize all wood pulping. The two liquids do not mix, similar to the
species, especially pines, and the excellent strength way water and gasoline do not mix. Since it is nec-
of the resulting pulp have contributed to the growth essary to recover the solvent from all organosolv
of the kraft process. Kraft pulping dominates, systems for economic reasons, the pollution haz-
accounting for almost 80 percent of the total pulp ards are considerably reduced. However solvent
production in the United States. pulping systems have not been commercially suc-
The mechanisms for removing lignin and sepa- cessful to date (11).
rating fibers in chemical pulping are hydrolysis,
which cleaves the lignin bond, and conversion of
the lignin to water-soluble fractions through reac- Bleaching and Brightening
tions with sulfur compounds. Recovery of spent
pulping reagents is economically necessary with the of Pulp
kraft process and involves a series of cyclic steps. Although pulpwood is generally light-colored and
Although the kraft process has an efficient chem- can retain its brightness in the acid and neutral sul-
ical recovery system, many older sulfite mills around fite processes, pulps from the dominant alkaline
the world have closed because of poor chemical kraft process are dark-colored. This color is evident
recovery schemes for this process. in unbleached kraft packaging paper and boards.
Chemical pulps, such as kraft and sulfite, and About one-half of chemical pulps are bleached
in particular, softwood kraft pulps, are generally to different degrees of brightness (whiteness). Sub-
used when considerable strength is required. Bags, stantial amounts of mechanical and chemi-mechan-
stationery, and ledger and bond papers contain high ical pulps are also brightened to intermediate
percentages of chemical pulp. Sanitary tissues such brightness levels. In bleaching, the residual colored
as facial and toilet tissues also contain large amounts lignin in pulp is dissolved chemically, whereas in
of chemical and recycled pulps. For them, a com- brightening, the lignin is altered to a lighter-colored
bination of softness and absorbency are sought, compound without removal (11).
along with sufficient strength. Kraft pulps of high brightness (90 percent) are
Solvent pulping is another method that has generally produced in a multistage sequence. In a
received renewed interest; organic solvents rather series of bleaching towers, the pulp is treated with
than the traditional aqueous sulfur pulping are used chlorine (C) or oxygen (O), caustic extraction (E),
for what is called organosolv pulping. Since lignin and chlorine dioxide (D), generally in a sequence
is an organic polymer, it is naturally soluble in of C(O)EDED. Multistage bleaching has the serious
organic solvents once some of the lignin bonds disadvantage of requiring a considerable capital
have been broken by an acid, usually, or by a base investment in large, corrosion-resistant equipment
included with the aqueous organic solvent. Thus, with high maintenance costs. In addition, the
a sulfur derivative of lignin is not necessary to sol- bleaching process produces chlorinated lignin phe-
ubilize and solvate the lignin, and the severe envi- nols, which can pose serious toxicity pollution prob-
ronmental hazards of sulfur are eliminated from lems. In recent years, oxygen bleaching has been
pulping and chemical recovery (11). substituted for chlorine in the first stage to reduce
A variety of organic solvents have been evalu- such hazards.
ated for organosolv pulping. Two systems are alco- Regulatory agencies in Europe, and particularly
hol pulping (50:50, ethanol/water) and "ester in Scandinavia, have imposed even greater restric-
pulping." Ester pulping is based on three chemi- tions on emissions from pulp mill bleach plants and
cals, in roughly equal proportions: acetic acid, ethyl several new approaches have been developed.
acetate, and water. Energy costs are reduced with These are Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) bleach-
the ester pulping process because chemical recov- ing and Totally Chorine Free (TCF) bleaching of
Paper a n d Paperboard 443

pulps. Generally for ECF, oxygen (O) treatment is the surrounding polysaccharides that protect the
substituted for chlorine (C) in the first stage. For lignin. Another exciting application would be to
TCF more radical changes are necessary with sub- use these and other enzymes for removal of lignin
stitution of both (C) and (D) stages with ozone (O), pollutants from waste effluents. Biotechnology
peroxide (P), and enzyme (X) stages in a sequence should lead to safer and cleaner methods for pulp-
such as OXZP. The use of enzymes is the newest ing and bleaching.
development in bleaching technology as further
described below (11).
Paper and Paperboard
Biotechnology—Biopulping The production of pulp of paper and paperboard
for the market proceeds in three successive steps:
and Biobleaching stock preparation, papermaking, and converting to
The pulping of wood is at present based on either the enormous number of paper products.
mechanical or chemical methods or combinations
thereof, as described in this chapter. The interfiber
lignin bond is broken down by the mechanical and Stock Preparation
chemical treatments to free the cellulose fibers for The separated fibers from the pulping operation,
papermaking. In the forest, white rot fungi perform except those in mechanical pulps, are generally not
a similar task on wood left behind. The enzymes suitable for papermaking. To obtain the optimum
of the fungi do the work of lignin degradation. This paper properties, the fiber bonding must be
is the basis of new biopulping approaches which improved by supplemental mechanical treatment of
have been under development for more than ten the fiber surface, and by imparting special prop-
years. Wood chips or agricultural materials are erties through blending of additives and other pulps.
treated with a white rot fungus and nutrients for Beating or refining, a basic step in the transition
about two weeks which breaks down and alters the from pulp to paper, is accomplished by cutting and
lignin gluing substance in the lignocellulosic shortening, rubbing and abrading, and crushing and
material. The biomass then can be much more eas- bruising the pulp fibers as they pass between the
ily disintegrated by mechanical treatment in a disk rotating and stationary bars of a beater or the disks
refiner (Figure 20.18b). Since some mechanical treat- of a refiner (Figure 20.18b). These actions promote
ment is required, the method is more properly fiber flexibility and the area of contact between the
termed biomechanical pulping. Investigators at the wet fibers by exposing the fibrils and microfibrils
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Products Lab- on external and internal surfaces. The close con-
oratory in Madison, Wisconsin evaluated hundreds tact enables hydrogen bonds to form between the
of fungi for this purpose and found that treatment adjacent fibers on drying, as explained earlier in
with the white rot fungus, Ceriporiopsis subver- this chapter.
mispora, resulted in the greatest reduction in energy Paper is rarely made from pure fibers. The color
reqirements for mechanical disintegration and the is altered by dyes; the writing and printing capac-
best strength properties from the resulting paper. ity is improved by internal and surface sizing agents
Biobleaching is also possible for brightening or (rosin and starch, respectively); the wet strength is
whitening pulp fibers in lieu of the toxic chlorine enhanced with resins; opacity is increased with pig-
compounds utilized at present by the industry as ments such as clay and titanium dioxide; and alum
described above. At least one enzyme based (aluminum sulfate) is added for flocculation.
process developed in Finland has been applied These additives can be introduced during the beat-
commercially. The process uses xylanase to make ing operation or in blending chests before the fibers
lignin more vulnerable to oxidation by attacking go to the paper machine.
444 Wood Products

Seldom is paper made from any one kind of from 15 percent after drainage, to 40 percent after
fiber. In addition, the pulp can enter the stock presses, to 95 percent after the drum dryers.
preparation system either as a pulp slurry (slush
pulp) from an adjoining pulp mill integrated with
the paper mill or as bales of dried pulp which need Finishing and Converting of Paper
to be repulped in a beater or hydrapulper. Other The objectives in the final stage of the total paper-
functions of the stock preparation stage are con- making system are to improve the paper surface,
trol of the fiber length for sheet uniformity, removal to reduce rolls and sheets in size, and to modify
of unwanted dirt, specks, and particles, and dis- paper for special properties, by coating or emboss-
persal of the fibers. ing, for example. Paper must also be converted into
finished products, such as bags and corrugated
boxes, and packaged for shipping. Paper is gen-
Papermaking erally coated to improve printing properties. A sur-
The cleaned and dispersed fibers are formed or face coating of a pigment, usually kaolin or china
combined into a fibrous mat in the papermaking clay, calcium carbonate, or titanium dioxide; and
stage of the system by deposition from a dilute an adhesive, starch, or casein are applied to the par-
headbox suspension (0.5 percent solids) onto the tially dried web by brush, blade, spray, or other
traveling continuous wire screen of the Fourdrinier method, and dried during the papermaking (on-
paper machine mentioned earlier (Figure 20.19). machine) operation or in a separate operation. The
The surplus water is removed by drainage from this paper surface is brought to a high finish by pass-
wire screen aided by vacuum boxes, foils, and a ing through calenders or supercalenders. Super-
vacuum "couch" roll, by pressing between rolls, and calenders are stacks of alternate steel and densified
by drying on steam-heated drums or in a hot-air fiber rolls that create a rubbing action on the sheet,
chamber. imparting an extra gloss to the sheet surface.
Other functions of the papermaking stage are to
control the sheet density and surface smoothness
through application of pressure and some friction
in the calender (Figure 20.19). Another function is
Recycled Paper
the application of a surface coating. The solids con- Wastepaper fibers can be turned back into paper,
tent of the paper during papermaking progresses depending on the price and supply of new pulp.

Figure 20.19 Schematic of a modern Fourdrinier paper machine.

 Environmental Protection 445

The amount of the total recycled fiber for paper- bleached pulp and paper mill may use 100 cubic
making in the United States was 47.3 million tons meters (26,400 gallons) of fresh water per metric ton
in 2000, for a recovery rate of 45 percent. The of product and 50,000 cubic meter (13.2 million gal-
United States is a major exporter of wastepaper— lons) daily for a plant producing 500 metric tons of
over 4 million metric tons per year. products. In addition to this aqueous effluent that
The majority of the wastepaper exported from the mill must clean up, it must also contend with
the United States goes to "fiber-poor" countries. polluted air and solid and toxic wastes. Pulp and
These countries have much less virgin fiber and paper mills are considered to be minor toxic waste
therefore recycle greater quantities of paper. offenders. In this connection, the paper industry has
> Countries that recycle over 50 percent of their paper generally been in good compliance with govern-
include the Netherlands, Japan, Mexico, South mental environmental regulations, although at con-
Korea, Argentina, Hungary and Switzerland. A vari- siderable capital expense, which amounts to about
ety of problems are associated with paper recycling, 10 percent of the cost of the mill.
such as collection, distribution, and wild cyclic In the 1970s, procedures for removal of the fibers
swings in the market. However, with landfill sites and clay from the paper mill effluents were incor-
at a premium and paper representing about 40 per- porated through settling or clarification or primary
cent of municipal solid waste, it makes good sense effluent treatment. About the same time secondary
in the long run to promote paper recycling, which effluent treatment (biochemical treatment) of the
reduces both landfill needs and the consumption pulp mill effluent was necessary to remove pulp-
of virgin timber (9). ing residuals. The purpose of this treatment is to
Pulp is produced from sorted wastepaper reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD) of the
(paper stock) by separating the bonded fibers in effluent, which, if untreated, reduces the oxygen
the recovered paper and paperboard through content of the stream to a level incapable of sup-
mechanical action. This is done in water in a hydra- porting aquatic life. The most common method uses
pulper, which is a tub equipped with a powerful microorganisms that react with the wood sugars and
propeller rotor and auxiliary equipment to separate other oxygen-consuming compounds in the spent
rags, wire, and other coarse contaminants. During liquors; this is called the activated-sludge method.
the repulping operation, sodium hydroxide loosens The products of primary and secondary treatments
the ink, called de-inking. The coarse contaminants are sludges.
are first removed by screening and cleaning equip- Solid wastes represent the ultimate in mill
ment; then the pulp is given an extra fiberizing treat- residues and include the accumulated refuse of the
ment and finally subjected to fine screening and mill and the sludges from primary and secondary
cleaning. For use in newsprint, tissue, fine and tow- effluent treatment. There is difficulty in removing
eling grades, the de-inked pulp requires bleaching water from the secondary sludge; the primary and
in single and multistage processes (9). secondary sludges are often mixed to aid in water
removal, which is important if the sludge is to be
incinerated for disposal. The sludges from pulp and
paper mills are handled mostly as landfill, and
Environmental Protection sometimes, if not toxic, they are spread for agri-
The manufacture of pulp and paper is a chemical cultural purposes.
process industry and produces air emissions, efflu- Most mill solids are slightly toxic, predominantly
ents, and solid and toxic wastes that are potential from chlorination compounds in the wash waters
hazards. The paper industry uses large volumes of from bleaching. This toxicity can be reduced with
water as a fiber carrier and as a chemical solvent. lime pretreatment and biological treatment. Toxic-
An increasing volume of water is recycled, but ity has been the main concern of governmental reg-
makeup water is still required to cover losses. A ulating bodies.
446 Wood Products

Two objectionable air emissions have charac- anhydride using sulfuric acid as a catalyst. The cel-
terized pulp mills for years: the sulfur dioxide of lulose acetate is then soluble in organic solvents
the sulfite pulping mill and the malodorous reduced such as acetone and can also be spun into fibers
sulfur compounds (TRS) (mercaptans and hydro- and cast to films. The cellulose is not regenerated
gen sulfide) of the kraft mill. Still another less nox- but remains as cellulose acetate. The "acetate" fibers
ious air emission is the particulate matter from steam are used for textile fabrics and cigarette filters. The
boilers. Coal-burning boilers also emit sulfur diox- films are used in photographic products and as
ide, as is well known. excellent osmotic membranes (13).

Chemical Commodities
Cellulose Derivatives Cellulose nitrate is one of the oldest cellulose deriv-
Although most wood pulp fibers are produced for atives and today is most widely used as an explo-
papermaking as described in the previous section, sive (gun cotton) and as an ingredient in "smokeless
a small percentage (3 percent) are produced as dis- powder." Alfred Nobel, who bequeathed the Nobel
solving pulp for the production of other cellulose prizes, combined gun cotton with nitroglycerin to
based commodities. As shown in Table 20.5, the form a jellylike substance (blasting jelly) that was
yield from dissolving pulp processes is only 35 per- more powerful than dynamite. Nitrocellulose is also
cent. The percentage is low because all the hemi- used as a lacquer coating material.
celluloses, in addition to the lignin (and some Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is a large com-
low-molecular-weight cellulose), are removed in the mercial-volume cellulose ether. The nontoxic
pulping process to give an almost pure cellulose nature of CMC makes it very useful in the food,
fiber pulp. This pulp is then the raw material for pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. It is used
the chemical and textile industries (12, 13). as a sizing agent, an emulsion stabilizer, a paint
thickener, an oil-well-drilling mud, and a super-
absorbent material (in the fibrous form). Methyl-
Fibers and Films cellulose and ethylcellulose are also cellulose
Rayon and cellophane are produced from dis- ethers, but with quite different properties. Ethyl-
solving pulps and cotton linters by modifying the cellulose provides exceptionally durable films and
cellulose with carbon disulfide in caustic solution is used where extreme stress is encountered, such
to give a cellulose derivative, namely, cellulose xan- as in bowling pin coatings. Other uses include
thate. The cellulose xanthate is then soluble in paper coatings, lacquers, and adhesives. Hydrox-
dilute alkaline solution, and when dissolved, the yethylcellulose became a commercial product in the
pulp fiber structure is lost. The resulting viscous 1960s and is chiefly used as a component of latex
solution of cellulose xanthate is termed viscose. paints (13).
This viscose can be "spun" into fibers by extrusion
of the solution through tiny-holed spinnerets or cast
into films by forming a thin sheet of the viscose.
The original cellulose is regenerated by contact of
Conversions of Wood to Energy,
the viscose with an aqueous acid bath, which splits Fuels, and Chemicals
off the carbon disulfide to give regenerated rayon The net photosynthetic productivity (NPP) of the
fibers or cellophane films. The first textile fibers earth has been estimated at 140 X 109 metric tons
were produced from cellulose and were termed of dry matter per year. Forests account for about
"artificial silk." 42 percent or 59 billion metric tons of the NPP,
Cellulose acetate is formed from dissolving pulp which is equivalent to more than the annual world
or cotton linters by reacting the fibers with acetic consumption of fossil fuels. In the United States,
Conversions of Wood to Energy, Fuels, a n d Chemicals 447

the equivalent of 80 quads of energy is produced categories: direct combustion, saccharification-

each year as total plant biomass; however, much fermentation (SF), thermal decomposition, and ther-
of this is inaccessible, uneconomical to collect, or mochemical liquefaction (9). Each of these methods
already utilized for agricultural crops or forest prod- is discussed in more detail in the following sections.
ucts. It has been estimated that there are approx-
imately 200 quads of standing timber in the nation's
forests today. Thus, if an attempt were made to have Direct Combustion
wood as the sole source of energy in the United The concept of using wood as a source of energy
States, the country would be totally depleted of this through direct combustion dates back to the very
reserve in two years. Woody biomass will therefore beginning of human existence. As soon as early
never be a panacea to an energy crisis, but certainly people learned to use fire, wood became the major
a greater contribution to the overall energy diet can source of energy. It is important to note that even
be supplied by this important resource. now approximately one-half of all the wood har-
Probably the most significant advantage of bio- vested worldwide is used for fuel by direct com-
mass is the renewability. The U.S. Department of bustion. Thus, direct combustion is probably the
Energy has estimated that the equivalent of about most important method for deriving energy from
8 quads of energy in the form of biomass is pro- wood.
duced annually in the nation's forests, but roughly Wood has certain advantages over fossil fuels,
one-half or the equivalent of 4 quads is already har- the most important of which is that it is a renew-
vested annually for lumber and paper products. able resource. In addition, it has a low ash content
Much of the forest that is not harvested is inac- which is easily and usefully disposed of on land
cessible or under harvesting restrictions. Thus, the as mineral constituents essential for plant growth.
major contribution from woody biomass will prob- The sulfur content of wood is low, usually less than
ably be in the form of more efficient use of residues 0.1 percent, so that air pollution from this source
and waste. is negligible, although particulates may cause a seri-
If all types of waste are included in the scenario ous problem. Generally, wood fuel is used close
of biomass utilization, including urban and agri- to where it is grown; thus the need for energy in
cultural wastes in addition to wood wastes, these long distance transport is reduced. The use of fos-
wastes and residues represent close to 1 billion met- sil fuels unlocks the carbon that has been stored
ric tons or the equivalent fuel value of approxi- in them for ages and increases the carbon dioxide
mately 15 percent of the total energy needs of the content of the atmosphere. In contrast, wood fuel
United States. Wood, in the form of logging and releases the same amount of carbon dioxide that
manufacturing residues, accounts for about 25 per- the forest has recently fixed.
cent of this figure. In addition, roughly 40 percent Wood does have disadvantages as a fuel. It is a
of most municipal waste is composed of wastepa- bulky material, and in contrast to other fuels, it has
per, which represents the wood cellulose ultimately a low heat of combustion. The gaseous and liquid
derived from the forest. Thus, a significant energy fuels, from methane to petroleum have a higher
contribution could be made by efficient utilization potential heat content because they do not contain
of waste material. The use of wood as a primary oxygen.
source of industrial chemicals decreased dramati- All wood species consist of essentially the same
cally in the 1940s when oil became the preferred chemical compounds; therefore, the various woods
raw material. The term silvichemicals is sometimes differ little in heat content per pound. The differ-
used to refer to wood-derived chemicals analogous ences noted in the fuel value of different woods
to petrochemicals. when compared by volume are caused by differ-
The use of wood for energy, fuels, and chemi- ences in density. One cord of hickory, a dense
cals can be conveniently divided into four major commercial wood, for example, gives two times
448 Wood Products

more heat than one cord of low-density species chamber, and a much larger (6 to 8 feet) flue sec-
such as aspen or spruce. The heat values and den- tion with an immense, flat top surface, which pro-
sities of important woods grown in the United States vided warm sleeping quarters for the whole family.
are shown in Table 20.6 (4, 14). An exception to The German Kachelofen or tile stove was a
the density rule of thumb are coniferous woods, showpiece in the living room; many small tile stoves
which contain energy-rich resin. These species can still heat rooms of homes, particularly farmhouses
contain up to 12 percent more heat potential. throughout Europe. All stoves store some heat, but
Green wood at 50 percent moisture content has modern types lack the storage capacity and versa-
only about one-half the fuel value of dry wood. The tility of the old brick monsters.
amount of energy released in a fire depends on the Many Americans have become more interested
wood moisture content more than on any other fac- in burning wood in their homes to reduce heating
tor. Moisture affects the energy release in two ways, costs. Household wood burning varies considerably
by consuming heat for moisture evaporation, and with the region of the country; roughly 50 percent
by causing incomplete combustion (2). of the residents of Maine, Vermont, and Oregon
Incomplete combustion has several other bad burn more than one-third of a cord of wood annu-
effects in addition to wasting fuel. Gases from burn- ally, but fewer than 10 percent of the residents of
ing wood contain formic and acetic acids; these most southern states burn this much wood.
acids, when condensed, corrode stovepipes. The Many hundreds of different types of stoves, fur-
corrosion can be so severe that the pipes may need naces, fireplaces, and accessories for heating with
to be replaced after only one year of operation. wood have appeared on the market as a result of
Other condensed vapors form creosote, a brown or the increased interest in wood burning. A few of
black stenchy liquid that may leak out of stovepipe these are discussed further in the following para-
joints and cause unsightly stains. Prolonged expo- graphs.
sure to heat converts the creosote to a flaky layer
of carbon known as soot. Carbon particles in the Fireplaces The open built-in fireplace is the least
fire effluents tend to aggregate and adhere to the efficient heating device. Warm air bypasses the fire,
inside surfaces of stoves, stovepipes, and chimney as shown in Figure 20.20a, and escapes through the
flues, augmenting the accumulation of soot. These chimney. This draft pulls equal amounts of cold out-
deposits insulate and hinder flow of gases; with side air through joints at doors and other openings
unusually hot fires, these deposits can ignite as chim- into the house so that, in very cold weather, the
ney fires, which can crack the chimney and ignite use of the fireplace may actually cool rather than
the house. For this reason, chimneys should be heat the house. A fireplace door obstructs the
cleaned periodically depending on the amount of bypass of the air and, with the help of a baffle
use and completeness of combustion. Hot, oxygen- between the grate and door (Figure 20.20b), can
rich fires reduce chimney deposits, but hot efflu- eliminate the bypass of air so that the fireplace will
ents also carry heat out of the chimney (2). heat more efficiently. Whatever the design, watch-
Wood-burning units have evolved over centuries ing and hearing a crackling fire has a gratification
of use in homes around the world (2). Many old- not to be matched, and people have enjoyed it since
time stoves in Europe relied on immense heat- the dawn of humanity.
storing masses of fireclay, firebrick, and other
masonry. Hot, oxygen-rich fires facilitated complete Stoves and Furnaces In stoves and furnaces, the
combustion, and the fire effluents passed through air takes various paths through the wood fuel. In
a long labyrinth of flues to deliver the heat to the all these variations, the intent is to have the air pass
solid mass. The Russian-Ukrainian type of stove, still through the burning wood pile to promote com-
in use today in rural areas, was constructed with bustion, heat the air, and then pass to the outlet at
a low cooking section containing the combustion the top or back of the stove. There is no intrinsic
Conversions of Wood to Energy, Fuels, and Chemicals 449

Table 20.6 Densities and Heat Values at 12% Moisture Contenta of Important Wood
Grown in the United States
Tree Name Density(g/cm3) Heat Valueb (million kj/m3) Heat Valueb (million Btu/cordc)

Hardwoods
Live oak 0.99 17.60 40.32
Shagbark hickory 0.81 14.40 32.99
White oak 0.76 13.60 31.16
Honeylocust 0.72 12.80 29.32
American beech 0.72 12.80 29.32
Sugar maple 0.71 12.60 28.86
Northern red oak 0.71 12.60 28.86
Yellow birch 0.69 12.40 28.40
White ash 0.67 12.00 27.49
Black walnut 0.62 11.00 25.20
Sweetgum 0.58 10.40 23.82
Black cherry 0.56 10.00 22.91
American elm 0.56 10.00 22.91
Southern magnolia 0.56 10.00 22.91
Black tupelo 0.56 10.00 22.91
Sycamore 0.55 9.80 22.50
Sassafras 0.52 9.20 21.08
Yellow poplar 0.47 8.40 19.24
Red alder 0.46 8.20 18.79
Eastern cottonwood 0.45 8.00 18.33
Quaking aspen 0.43 7.60 17.41
American basswood 0.41 7.40 16.95

Softwoods
Longleaf pine 0.66 12.63 28.92
Western larch 0.58 11.13 25.49
Loblolly pine 0.57 10.92 25.00
Shortleaf pine 0.57 10.92 25.00
Douglas fir 0.54 10.27 23.53
Bald cypress 0.52 9.85 22.55
Western hemlock 0.50 9.00 20.62
Ponderosa pine 0.45 8.56 19.61
White fir 0.44 7.80 17.87
Redwood 0.43 7.60 17.41
Eastern white pine 0.39 7.49 17.16
Engelmann spruce 0.39 7.49 17.16
Western red cedar 0.36 6.40 14.66
Source: Densities from reference 4, heat values from P. J. Ince, U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Gen. Tech. Rept. FPL 29, Forest Products
Laboratory, Madison, Wis., 1979.
a
Moisture content based on weight of ovendry wood.
b
Heat values include heat in fire effluents. Calculated on the basis of British thermal units (Btu) per pound of ovendry wood,
9200 Btu for resinous-wood species.
c
One cord equals 128 cubic feet or 3.6246 cubic meters; it is assumed that the pile is two-thirds wood and one-third air
(between the pieces); hence, one cord contains 2.4164 cubic meters of solid wood.
450 Wood Products

Figure 20.20
Movement of air (a)
through an open built-in
fireplace and (b)
through a fireplace with
a door to obstruct
bypass of air.

reason why one type is better than another as long ethyl alcohol (ethanol or grain alcohol, C2H5OH) by
as the air passes through the burning wood in an yeast fermentation in the same way that ethanol is
efficient manner. Hot air streams naturally upward, produced from grains or fruits. Obviously the con-
but the air velocity depends mainly on the chim- cept is not a new one; the polysaccharide charac-
ney draft and can be regulated with vents and ter of wood has been known for over 100 years.
dampers. Modern "airtight" stoves provide the best
air control and thus more efficient heating.
A completely different heating appliance, the
stick wood furnace, was developed at the Univer-
sity of Maine (Figure 20.21). In this stove, long sticks
or logs stand in a tight jacket. Air enters only at
the bottom where burning of the sticks takes place.
To confine the burning to just the bottom end of
the stove, water cools the jacket and can then be
used for hot water in the home. The sticks burn
slowly at the bottom and are self-feeding because
of their own weight. Theoretically, the stick wood
furnace can be used to burn whole-tree stems.

Saccharification-Fermentation
The saccharification-fermentation (SF) method is .
based on the breakdown or hydrolysis of the poly-
saccharides in wood to the constituent monomeric
sugars. The six-carbon or hexose sugars (glucose,
galactose, and mannose) are then fermentable to Figure 20.21 A stick wood furnace.
Conversions of Wood to Energy, Fuels, and Chemicals 451

The limitations to the use of wood for ethanol pro- decomposition of wood, and research is active
duction have been primarily the difficulty in sepa- today on more efficient gasification of wood.
rating and hydrolyzing the crystalline cellulose Destructive distillation has been used throughout
component in wood. Both acids and enzymes can most of recorded history to obtain turpentine from
be used to hydrolyze the cellulose to glucose, but pinewood; this is discussed further in the section
only acids have been utilized commercially for wood on wood extractives. The range of chemicals deriv-
hydrolysis to sugars, and only in foreign countries. able from thermal decomposition of wood is sum-
Interest in producing alcohols from wood was marized in Figure 20.22.
revitalized by the dramatic increase in the price of
petroleum in the 1970s and the push to decrease Charcoal and Other Chemicals Production of
oil imports by substituting gasohol, which is one charcoal and tars by destructive distillation is the
part alcohol in nine parts gasoline, for 100 percent oldest of all chemical wood-processing methods.
gasoline at gas pumps. Both ethanol and methanol Charcoal was probably first discovered when the
can be used in gasohol blends. Because of the high black material left over from a previous fire burned
oil prices, the country of Brazil took the dramatic with intense heat and little smoke and flame. For
step of shifting to much greater use of fuel alco- centuries, charcoal has been used in braziers for
hol. Most of their sugars are produced from sugar- heating purposes. Destructive distillation of hard-
cane. One wood hydrolysis plant was constructed, woods has been performed seeking charcoal as the
but it was uneconomical to operate and was shut desired product, with volatiles as byproducts; for
down. However, their experience demonstrates that softwoods (pines), volatiles were the principal prod-
fermentation ethanol (95 percent ethanol and 5 per- ucts (naval stores, discussed later), with charcoal
cent water) is a perfectly satisfactory motor fuel. considered a byproduct.
At least 500,000 Brazilian automobiles operated on Basic techniques for producing charcoal have not
undried alcohol continuously, and most of the rest changed over the years, although the equipment
of their fleet operated on this fuel on weekends has. Charcoal is produced when wood is burned
when only alcohol was available at the gas stations under conditions in which the supply of oxygen is
(9). A number of methods can be used for pro- severely limited (15). Carbonization is a term that
duction of ethanol from wood. aptly describes the thermal decomposition of wood
for this application. Decomposition of carbon com-
pounds takes place as the temperature rises, lead-
Thermal Decomposition ing to a solid residue that is richer in carbon than
A number of terms are used interchangeably for the original material. Wood has a carbon content
thermal decomposition of wood and generally refer of about 50 percent, whereas charcoal of a qual-
to similar processing methods: carbonization, ity suitable for general market acceptance can be
pyrolysis, gasification, wood distillation, destructive analyzed as follows: fixed carbon, 74-81 percent;
distillation, and dry distillation. All result in the ther- volatiles, 18-23 percent; moisture, 2-4 percent; ash,
mal breakdown of the wood polymers to smaller 1-4 percent. Charcoal with a volatiles content over
molecules in the form of char, tar (a condensible 24 percent will cause smoking and is undesirable
liquid), and gaseous products. A liquid fuel deriv- for recreational uses.
able from wood by this method is methyl alcohol
(methanol or wood alcohol, CH3OH). A wide vari-
ety of other chemicals are also derivable from wood Thermochemical Liquefaction
by thermal decomposition, a method with a long Although a reasonable amount of research effort
history of applications. has been expended on thermochemical liquefac-
During World War II in Germany, automobiles tion of wood, extensive commercialization of this
were fueled by the gases produced from thermal process is not anticipated in the near future. The
452 Wood Products

Figure 20.22 Products obtained from the thermal decomposition of wood.

basis of the method is a high-pressure and high- this class. The extractives embrace a very large num-
temperature treatment of wood chips in the pres- ber of individual compounds that often influence
ence of hydrogen gas or syngas to produce an oil the physical properties of wood and play an impor-
instead of a gas. The low-grade oil produced could tant role in its utilization. Colored and volatile con-
potentially be substituted for some present petro- stituents provide visual and olfactory aesthetic
leum uses. values. Certain phenolic compounds lend resistance
to fungal and insect attack with resulting durabil-
ity, and silica imparts resistance to the wood-
destroying marine borers (16).
Wood Extractives Extractives can also have a detrimental effect on
All species of wood and other plants contain small the use of wood. Alkaloids and some other phys-
(mostly) to large quantities of substances that are iologically active materials may present health haz-
not constituents of the cell wall, as pointed out pre- ards. Certain phenols present in pine heartwood
viously. The entire class is called extraneous com- inhibit the calcium-based sulfite pulping process
ponents. Extractives are the largest group by far of and cause pitch problems. The loss of water
Wood Extractives 453

absorbency properties of wood pulps can also result

from extractives. Extractives from cedarwood and
the woods of a number of other species can cause
severe corrosion problems in the pulping opera-
tion (16). A wide variety of extractives are utilized
commercially, as will be described.
Two broad classes of extractives occur in wood
1) those soluble in organic solvents, such as wood
resins including turpentine, rosin, fat, and fatty
acids; and 2) those soluble in water, mostly
polyphenolic material including tannins and lignans
and the polysaccharide arabinogalactan.

Extractives Soluble in
Organic Solvents
The largest aggregate volume and value of indus-
trial extractives are those derived from pinewoods.
These materials, which include turpentine, rosin,
and fatty acids, are also often referred to as naval
stores. This term derives from the use of pitch and
tars from pine extractives as caulking and water-
proofing agents for wooden ships in early Ameri-
can history. The term naval stores has remained in
use and now mainly refers to the turpentine and
rosin derived from pine trees.
There are three sources of naval stores: gum,
wood, and sulfate. Gum naval stores are produced
by wounding pine trees and collecting the oleo-
resin. The oleoresin is a sticky substance composed
of an essential oil, turpentine, and a resin, rosin.
F i g u r e 2 0 . 2 3 Scarification of pine trees for
Since turpentine is a low-boiling, volatile material,
collections of oleoresin. (a) View of stand, (b) Close-
the two products can be separated by a distillation up of tree wound. (Courtesy of University of Georgia,
process (9, 17). College of Agriculture.)
In this country, the gum naval stores industry is
based on two Southern pine species, slash and lon-
gleaf, and is centered in the state of Georgia.
Though very important in the past, this method oleoresin-content wood, then contains up to 40 per-
today accounts for only a few percent of U.S. rosin cent resin (17).
and turpentine production. Typically the oleoresin Wood naval stores are obtained by organic-
is collected in containers by cutting grooves in the solvent extraction of chipped or shredded old pine
tree so that the wound opens the resin ducts (Fig- stumps. The old pine stumps have lost most of the
ure 20.23). Various means have been used to stim- outer sapwood through decay and are made up pri-
ulate oleoresin production such as repeated marily of the oleoresin-rich heartwood where the
wounding and spraying with sulfuric acid or the extractives are mainly deposited. Turpentine and
herbicide paraquat. The so-called lightwood, high- crude resin fractions are obtained by this method.
454 Wood Products

Sidebar 20.2

Cholesterol-Lowering Margarine

Benecol margarines and spreads are based on

stanol esters, a class of sterols that are obtained
from waste-pulping liquors from kraft pulping
of pine species. Recent studies have shown that
by regular use of these products, the so-called
"bad cholesterol" can be reduced by up to 14
percent. Raisio, a Finnish company, built plants
in Finland and Charleston, S.C., to make the ester
from sterols extracted from tall oil pitch supplied
by such firms as Arizona Chemicals. The Raisio
company has also embarked on a $50 million
project with a tall oil refiner in Chile to build
the world's largest sterol extraction plant.
The product has been a large commercial suc- the risk of heart disease, which may increase
cess in Finland; however, the American market sales. This is an excellent example of how con-
has been much more subdued. The Food and tinued research on plant and waste materials can
Drug Administration has allowed labeling of lead to new important medicinal products in the
Benecol foods with a statement that they have market.
been proven to lower cholesterol and may lower

Sulfate naval stores are derived as byproduct Rosins are usually used in a form modified by
streams from the kraft pulping process. As pine further chemical reaction. Rosin found considerable
chips are treated in the digester to produce pulp, use at one time in laundry soap (38 percent in
the volatilized gases are released and condensed 1938), but this use is negligible today. Rosin soaps
to yield a sulfate turpentine. are at present important as emulsifying agents in
Turpentine was used as a solvent in its early his- synthetic rubber and chemical manufacture and for
tory, particularly as a paint solvent. Today this use paper sizing. The sizing is used to reduce water
is small, and turpentine is used for the most part absorptivity of paper. Rosin is also used in surface
as a feedstock for manufacture of many products, coatings, printing oils, and adhesives. Typically pres-
including synthetic pine oil, resins, insecticides, and sure-sensitive tapes such as "scotch" tape contain
a variety of flavor and fragrance chemicals. Flavors considerable quantities of rosin (17).
and fragrances derived from turpentine include
lemon, lime, spearmint, peppermint, menthol, and
lilac. The synthetic pine oil is further converted to Water-Soluble Extractives
terpin hydrate, a cough expectorant. Obviously, tur- The most important group of water-extractable com-
pentine has become a valuable byproduct of the pounds are the polyphenolics. These substances are
forest and pulp-and-paper industry (17). generally extractable with water at 80-120°C from
References 455

the heartwood and bark of many trees. Of the Many other chemicals can be obtained from both
polyphenolics, only the tannins have s h o w n com- yeast and bacteria fermentation of sugars and pulp
mercial value. The traditional source of tannins in mill effluents. Potential fermentation products from
the United States was chestnut w o o d and bark, but w o o d hydrolysates include acetone, organic acids
this source was removed w h e n the chestnut blight (acetic, butyric, lactic), glycerol, butanediol, and oth-
of the 1930s devastated the chestnut tree in North ers (18).
America. The South American tree, quebracho, is
n o w the major source of tannins. Acacia bark
extracts, called wattle or mimosa, are also an impor- Concluding Statement
tant source of tannins, and together with quebra-
The unique properties and the renewable nature
cho extractives, amount to a production of 250,000
of w o o d make it a very desirable material for a great
tons per year (5, 18).
variety of uses. Even with the advent of n e w poly-
The primary use of tannins is for manufacture
mers, plastics, and high technology materials, wood
of leather from hides. The natural tanning agents
products are still pervasive in our life. The ready
continue to dominate the market, even though syn-
availability and workable properties of w o o d make
thetic tanning agents are available. The extractives
it valuable for building materials and furniture.
from each different w o o d species provide their own
Mechanical a n d chemical disintegration allows us
unique color a n d properties to the leather.
to convert w o o d into a myriad of paper products
Wattle tannins have also b e e n successfully sub-
so important to communication and packaging.
stituted for phenol in phenol-formaldehyde adhe-
Finally, a wide variety of chemical commodities are
sives in South Africa. The phenol-formaldehyde
derivable from w o o d from cellulose superab-
adhesives are used in the production of plywood,
sorbents to flavors, fragrances and fuel alcohols.
particleboard, and laminated beams.
Truly, w o o d is o n e of nature's most attractive and,
useful products.
Biotechnology Chemicals
As with pulping and bleaching, biotechnology could
also have a considerable impact on the production References
of chemicals from w o o d and other forms of plant 1. W. M. HARLOW, Inside Wood—Masterpiece of Nature,
biomass. The effects of biotechnology will proba- American Forestry Assoc, Washington, D.C., 1970.
bly first be noticed in areas of enzymatic hydroly- 2. H. KUBLER, Wood as a Building and Hobby Material,
sis of polysaccharides and fermentation technology. Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1980.
It should be possible to improve the efficiency 3. A. J. PASHIN AND C. DE ZEEUW, Textbook of Wood Tech-
of the cellulose enzyme complex for hydrolyzing nology, Vol. 1, Structure, Identification, Uses and
cellulose to glucose. The enzyme complex contains Properties of the Commercial Woods of the United
decrystallizing and hydrolysis enzymes that work States and Canada, Fourth Edition, McGraw-Hill, New
together to convert cellulose to glucose. Isolation York, 1980.
of the specific enzymes and genetic engineering 4. ANON., Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering
could provide a more efficient complex. Material, U.S.D.A. For. Serv., Forest Products Labo-
As discussed earlier in this chapter, enzymes are ratory, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C.,
also the basis for yeast conversion of hexose (six 1999.
carbon) sugars, such as glucose and mannose, to 5. D. FENGEL AND G. WEGENER, Wood: Chemistry, Ultra-
ethanol. These enzymes could also be genetically structure, Reactions, Walter de Gruyter Publisher, New
engineered to improve the efficiency of alcohol pro- York, 1984.
duction, and several biotechnology firms are explor- 6. E. SJOSTROM, Wood Chemistry: Fundamentals and
ing this possibility. Applications, Academic Press, New York, 1993.
456 Wood Products

7. R. A. YOUNG, "Processing of agro-based resources into 13. R. M. ROWELL AND R. A. YOUNG, EDS., Modified Cellu-
pulp and paper," In Paper and Composites from Agro- losics, Academic Press, New York, 1978.
based Materials, R. Rowell and R.A. Young, eds., 14. P. J. INCE, "HOW to Estimate Recoverable Heat Energy
Lewis Pub., CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., 1997. in Wood or Bark Fuels," U.S.D.A. Agr. Handbook 605,
8. R. A. YOUNG, "Vegetable fibers," In Encyclopedia of South For. Expt. Sta., U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Wash-
Chemical Technology, Vol. 10, Kirk, ed., John Wiley ington, D.C., 1985.
& Sons, Pub., New York, 1994; 2003. 15. ANON., "Charcoal Production, Marketing and Use,"
9. R. A. YOUNG, "Wood and wood products," In Riegel's U.S.D.A. For. Serv. Rept. 2213, Forest Products Lab-
Handbook of Industrial Chemistry, J. A. Kent, ed., Van oratory, Madison, Wis., 1961.
Nostrand Reinhold, New York, p. 207-272, 1992; 2003. 16. B. L. BROWNING, ED., The Chemistry of Wood, Robert
10. J. D. CASEY, ED., Pulp and Paper, Chemistry and Chem- E. Krieger Pub., Huntington, N.Y, 1975.
ical Technology, Third Edition, Wiley-Interscience, 17. D. F. ZINKEL, J. Appl. Polymer Symp., 28, 309 (1975).
New York, 1980.
18. G. J. HAJNY, "Biological Utilization of Wood for Pro-
11. R. A. YOUNG AND M. AKHTAR, EDS., Environmentally duction of Chemicals and Foodstuffs," U.S.D.A. For.
Friendly Technologies for the Pulp and Paper Indus- Serv. Rept. 385, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison,
try, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1998. Wis., 1981.
12. R. A. YOUNG AND R. M. ROWELL, EDS., Cellulose: Struc-
ture, Modification and Hydrolysis, Wiley-Interscience,
New York, 1986.
 CHAPTER 21
Economics and the Management of
Forests for Wood and Amenity Values
JOSEPH BUONGIORNO AND
RONALD RAUNIKAR

Economics of Timber Production Non-Timber Values and Benefit-

The Value of Forestland and Faustmann's Cost Analysis
Formula Forest Externalities
Economic Comparison of Alternative Land Benefit-Cost Analysis of Forestry Projects
Uses Measuring Social Welfare
Dealing w i t h Risk Assessing the Value of Forest Amenities
Economics of Forest Product Opportunity Cost of Non-Timber
Objectives
Markets
Demand and Supply Concluding Statement
Market Equilibrium and Price
Forecasting and Policy Analysis References

Foresters, be they practitioners or students, often citizen implicitly takes a stand upon essential eco-
accept only reluctantly that economics has any role nomic theories" (1). More specifically, Nobel prize
to play in their profession. They chose this career economist Paul A. Samuelson defines economics as
for their love of the woods. The counting of money "the study of how people and society end up choos-
seems foreign, indeed contrary, to the powerfully ing, with or without the use of money, to employ
romantic attraction of the wild forest. Yet, the cur- scarce productive resources that could have alter-
rent forest endowment of nations is to a large extent native uses, to produce various commodities and
the result of past economic forces. Among them, distribute them for consumption, now or in the
the industrial revolution of Europe and the settle- future, among various persons and groups in soci-
ment of America's New England are economic ety. It analyzes the costs and benefits of improv-
watersheds that have changed forever the nature ing patterns of resource allocation" (2).
and extent of forests. Presently, the economic devel- In this spirit, this chapter considers the wide array
opment of Latin America and Africa are largely of goods and services that are provided directly or
deciding how much forest, if any, will remain in indirectly by forests. They include wood products
the Amazon and the Congo basin. that we use in our daily lives: lumber, plywood,
Furthermore, economics deals with much more particleboard, and other panels for houses and fur-
than money, and contrary to common opinion, it niture; paper for newsprint, books, and stationery,
does have something to say about value. In the fuelwood for heating, and many chemical deriva-
words of Ludwig Von Mises: "Everybody thinks of tives. Services from forests include their protective
economics whether he is aware of it or not. In join- role against erosion and avalanches in mountain
ing a political party and in casting his ballot, the areas, the aesthetic and other pleasures that one

457
458 Economics and the M a n a g e m e n t of Forests for Wood a n d Amenity Values

derives from hiking through them, and their role gle economic writer on interest and capital," gave a
as biodiversity preserves and carbon sinks. The pur- poor solution to Faustmann's problem (5).
pose of this chapter is to review briefly how eco-
nomic reasoning can help in the wise management
of forest resources. The Value of Forestland and
Faustmann's Formula
In seeking the value of forestland, Faustmann rec-
ognized that it must be equal to the value of the
Economics of Timber Production net returns that one could expect from that land,
Because wood has been throughout human history if it were used in forestry. However, much of these
an essential element of civilization, for fuel, con- returns would occur only very far into the future,
struction, transport, and defense (3), the art of for- so that they would be worth less now; that is, they
est management has long been organized in a set must be discounted at a suitable interest rate. Thus,
of general principles founded on the scientific the land value had to be equal to the net present
method. Over time, this has led to elaborate rules value of the full future stream of costs incurred and
to optimize forest harvests in sustainable fashion. benefits derived from the forest. This insight seems
In the process, some foresters realized early on that ordinary now with the common use of benefit-cost
economic principles were more important to analysis to evaluate projects and policies, but it was
forestry than to perhaps any other production activ- remarkable at the time. It defines unambiguously
ity. Few other ventures require as much time the general principle to follow in choosing
between initiation of production and sale of the between forest management alternatives and dif-
product. Instead, much of the rest of the economy ferent land uses: maximize the land expectation
evolves in a groping process with inefficient firms value.
losing to more efficient firms. In relatively short By simplifying the forest management problem
order, firms know whether they have a positive cash to only the value of wood harvested from a stand
flow given the prices consumers are willing to pay. of trees, Faustmann showed that the economic opti-
The firms either learn to operate efficiently enough mal rotation is less than the rotation that produces
to stay in business or they quickly disappear. They the maximum average annual biological yield. This
learn by internally developing insights or by using conclusion seems to contradict the intuition that
the example of more successful firms. Although higher average annual production must also mean
forestry enterprises do also partake of this economic higher income. Faustmann's insight was to recog-
selection process, the results are generally slower, nize that, besides the magnitude of the harvests over
and simply doing the same as others is not always the rotation, their timing also matters.
the best. Thus, for forest managers, well-considered Cutting and selling early gives income to either
economic reasoning is of paramount importance. consume or to reinvest in forestry or alternative
This importance has been long recognized, and investments. The interest rate reflects this oppor-
solutions of some forest economic problems predate tunity cost of postponing a harvest. One elegant
the discovery of similar principles in general eco- aspect of Faustmann's method is that it recognizes
nomics. The most famous example is probably Mar- the opportunity to plant a new stand of trees ear-
tin Faustmann's rigorous derivation of the value of lier when the rotation age is shortened. By sum-
forestland (4). General economists largely missed ming the costs and revenues of an infinite series
Faustmann's insight, and it was not until the 1930s of replanted stands, Faustmann accounts for the
that, extending beyond the work of Irving Fisher and opportunity cost of these future stands. Alterna-
others, the general theory of investment was for- tively, he could have maximized the present dis-
mulated as soundly as Faustmann's forestry formula. counted value of a single rotation, and included the
Interestingly, Fisher, though possibly "the greatest sin- land rental value of the bare land left at the end
Economics of Timber Production 459

of the rotation. However, the calculation of the the second term is the cost, c, of establishing the
appropriate market land rental rate is fraught with initial plantation, at time 0. The result is the land
difficulties. It is one of the notable advantages of expectation value, LEV; that is, value of bare land
Faustmann's approach that the land rental value is used in this kind of forestry. This result, is, in a very
not needed, but that instead it results directly from simplified form, Faustmann's great finding, a fun-
his formula. damental contribution to forestry economics, and
In its simplest form, the Faustmann model can also a precursory insight into the general theory of
be symbolized as in Figure 21.1. We begin at time investments (5). Faustmann also gave an extension
0, with a piece of bare land, we plant trees and let of formula 1 to calculate the value of a stand with
them grow for R years, the rotation. All the trees trees younger than the best rotation.
are harvested at rotation age. Immediately after the
harvest, we establish a new plantation, identical to
that of time 0. The trees then grow exactly as in Economic Comparison of
the first rotation, and they are harvested at the same Alternative Land Uses
rotation age. This sequence is assumed to continue Equation 1 has numerous applications, to compare
indefinitely. different land uses, or to compare different forest
In this simple model, let VR be the volume of management strategies. For that purpose, it usually
timber per unit area at age R, c the reforestation includes much more detail such as density in plan-
cost per unit area, p the price of timber per unit tations, commercial and pre-commercial thinning,
of volume net of harvesting cost, and i the inter- and so forth. As an illustration, equation 1 can be
est rate per year. The volume VR depends only on used to find the best economic rotation, R; that is,
the age of the trees, and the parameters R, c, p, the rotation that maximizes the land value, LEV. This
and i are assumed to be constant over time, for economic rotation can be determined with simple
example, equal to their current value. calculations in a spreadsheet, along the lines illus-
It can be shown that the discounted value of all trated in Table 21.1.
future returns, net of all costs is: In Table 21.1, the first column is tree age, from
20 to 100 years. The second column shows the vol-
ume per unit area. It is largest for 100-year-old trees.
The third and fourth column show the gross and
where the first term on the right is the present value net return, respectively, from harvesting the trees
of all future harvests net of reforestation cost at different ages. The fifth column shows the pres-
(pVR - c) recurring every R years, indefinitely, and ent value of $1 paid every R year, indefinitely. The
interest rate is 2.5% yr-1. For example, the present
value of a perpetual series of $1 paid every 20 years
is $1.57. However, if the same $1 is paid every 40
years, the present value is only $0.59.
The land expectation value, in column 6 is the
product of columns 4 and 5 minus c. It is negative
for R = 20 years. Thus, if the trees were cut when
they were 20 years old, the present value of the
returns would be less than that of the present value
of the costs, so that this would be a bad policy
indeed. A rotation of 60 years is best from a purely
F i g u r e 2 1 . 1 Stand growth and harvest in simple financial viewpoint because for that age, the land
Faustmann model; V is the stand volume, per unit expectation value is highest, at $1387 ha-1. Note that
area, and R is the rotation age. this is not the age at which the trees are largest or
460 Economics a n d the M a n a g e m e n t of Forests for Wood and Amenity Values

T a b l e 2 1 . 1 The best economic rotation leads to the highest land expectation value, LEV; it
is shorter than the best biological rotation.

p=13 $/m3, c=$494/ha, i=2.5%/yr, *=economic rotation, **=biological rotation

most valuable, nor is it the age of highest physical been generalized to the case of uneven-aged or
productivity. As shown in the last column, the high- selection forests, forests where some trees are
est physical productivity, in m3 ha-1 yr-1 occurs at always left standing. In such a stand, the land
age 80. Indeed, the economic rotation age is always expectation value is equal to the net present value
shorter than the biological rotation age set by phys- of future returns minus the value of the remaining
ical productivity alone. T i s is because financially, trees. Again, the sequence of harvests that leads to
$1 next year is worth only 1/(1+i) now. the greatest land value (i.e., the greatest return to
The land expectation value obtained by Faust- the fixed input) is best, from a purely economic
mann's formula, $1,387 ha-1 in this example, is the viewpoint. Faustmann's formula can also be gen-
highest possible return from land used in this kind eralized to include benefits in addition to harvested
of silviculture. It is, therefore, the price a buyer wood. The difficulty, of course, is in determining
would pay for this kind of land, and it is also the this nontimber value of forests, a question to which
price at which an owner would be willing to sell. we shall return, below. Another difficulty not
This land expectation value can then be compared addressed here, lies in choosing a proper interest
with the land expectation value for alternative land rate (6, 7).
uses (obtained with the equivalent of Faustmann's
formula, regardless of the land use). A necessary
condition for sustainable forestry in a free market Dealing with Risk
economy is that the land expectation value Risk of natural catastrophe and other uncertainties
obtained with a crop of trees be at least as large are ignored in the simplifying assumptions of the
as the highest land expectation value obtainable by Faustmann analysis, but dealing with biological and
other land uses, such as agriculture, cattle grazing, economic risk and uncertainty are important in prac-
or urban development. It is because the land expec- tical forest economics (8). The simplest way to han-
tation value for forestry is much lower than for agri- dle risk is to increase the interest rate, i, in equation
culture or ranching that large areas of the tropical (1) when the risk is high, and to lower it other-
forests are currently being converted to those other wise. This is essentially what banks do when they
uses. lend money. They protect themselves against pos-
Faustmann extended his approach to compute sible losses by charging higher interest for loans in
the value of immature forest stands, that is, stands risky ventures. In forestry, other things being equal,
younger than rotation age. The method has also a higher interest rate will lead to a shorter economic
Economics of Forest Product Markets 461

rotation. This is consistent with the intuition that Demand and Supply
would suggest to cut trees earlier if there is a def- The simplest abstraction, or model, of a market con-
inite risk of a natural catastrophe, such as torna- sists of two equations: one representing demand,
does or fires. the other supply. For economists, demand is a rela-
The problem with handling risk by changing the tion, not a quantity. Figure 21.2 shows such a rela-
interest rate is that it is hard to know by how much tion. Assume that it represents the demand for
to change the rate. For that reason, other timber in the United States. On the horizontal axis
approaches use the same interest rate, regardless is the quantity of timber consumed, Qd (m3yr_1); on
of risk level, but recognize risk explicitly in the pro- the vertical axis is the price of timber, P ($nr 3 ). A
duction function, that is, in the second column of downward-sloping line, such as D, represents the
Table 21.1, and in the price level, p. One approach, demand for timber. It shows that other things being
called simulation, consists in calculating LEV many equal, the higher the price, the lower the con-
times, each time with a different production func- sumption. Of the two demand lines in Figure 21.2,
tion or price, in a pattern similar to what might hap- the one farther from the origin, D2, corresponds to
pen in reality. The economic rotation is then the the higher demand, since it leads to higher con-
one that gives the highest LEV on average, or the sumption at a given price. For example, in the
one that insures the lowest variation in LEV, and United States, much lumber goes into houses.
thus the lowest probability of a major loss. Another Therefore, as the number of houses built increases,
approach is the Markov decision process model the demand for lumber increases, and the demand
(MDP). It describes changes in the forest stand and line in Figure 21.2 shifts to the right. Another way
other variables (especially prices) with a table of to represent the United States demand for timber
probabilities: each being the probability of a future is with an equation:
stand and market state given the current state. Hool
(9) first proposed such a model for even-aged Qd=a-bP+cH (2)
forests, but the first operational application was Lem-
bersky and Johnson's work with Douglas fir plan-
tations (10). Other applications of MDPs to forestry
have shown that they are adaptable to uneven-aged
forests. With them it is possible to investigate man-
agement strategies with economic and ecological
criteria as objective functions or constraints, while
taking full account of risk (11).

Economics of Forest
Product Markets
Key to the evaluation of the economics of timber
production with Faustmann's formula and its deriv-
atives is a correct assessment of interest rates, prices,
and costs. In particular, future prices depend on the
demand and supply conditions in the wood prod- F i g u r e 2 1 . 2 Every point on a demand line
ucts markets. Here again, economics gives foresters represents the quantity demanded at a given price.
useful tools to better understand what causes prices The lines slope downward because demand decreases
to change, and help predict their future direction, as price increases. Lines that are farther from the
if not their exact level. origin correspond to higher demand.
462 Economics a n d the M a n a g e m e n t of Forests for Wood a n d Amenity Values

where P stands for the price of timber, and //stands where the positive coefficient d means that private
for the number of houses started in a given year, timber production increases as price increases.
and a, b, c are parameters that can be estimated Instead, the negative coefficient -e implies that pri-
with statistical methods. The equation shows that vate supply decreases as i, the interest rate
demand for lumber is a derived demand. We do decreases. Both of those facts derive from the Faust-
not consume lumber directly like food, but instead mann's formula 1, which shows that at a higher
we use it to build houses. Thus, the demand for price, timber production becomes more profitable
lumber and most of the other wood products (LEV increases), while at a higher interest rate, tim-
derives from the demand for housing. ber production becomes less profitable {LEV
Like demand, the term "supply" for economists decreases). The cumulative effect of all those
also means a relation rather than a quantity. For changes in each private property leads to the aggre-
example, Figure 21.3 symbolizes the supply of tim- gate national supply response symbolized by equa-
ber in the United States. The private supply is an tion 3. Qg is the government supply, independent
upward sloping line, S1, indicating that as the price of interest rate or price.
increases, private producers have an incentive to
produce more timber. However, a good part of the
timber is produced in the United States by gov- Market Equilibrium and Price
ernment from federal and state forests. Government By overlapping Figures 21.2 and 21.3, one gets a
supply is set by policy and is usually independent picture of a market equilibrium, as in Figure 21.4.
of price. In Figure 21.3, the distance Qg represents At the intersection of the demand and supply lines,
government supply. the quantity of timber demanded in the United
We can express the total supply with the fol- States is just equal to the quantity supplied, that is,
lowing equation: Qd = Qs = Q*, and the price paid by demanders of
Qs=dP-ei+Qg (3)

F i g u r e 2 1 . 3 Every point on a supply line F i g u r e 2 1 . 4 The market for timber is in

represents the quantity of timber supplied at a given equilibrium when demand is equal to supply. This is
price. The lines slope upward because production the quantity Q* where the supply and demand lines
rises as price increases. Lines that are farther right intersect. A single equilibrium price, P* corresponds to
correspond to higher supply. the equilibrium quantity.
Non-Timber Values a n d Benefit-Cost Analysis 463

timber is just equal to the price received by sup- by macroeconomists and demographers, and in that
pliers, P*. We say that the market is in equilibrium. way the forest sector is linked to the rest of the
The equilibrium can also be computed by solv- economy. The public supply variable, Qg, instead,
ing the demand equation 2 simultaneously with the is a policy variable, since the government can
supply equation 3, under the condition that quan- choose how much timber to produce from public
tity demanded be equal to quantity supplied. Since, forests. Equation 4 can be used to predict the effect
at equilibrium, Qs = Qd, we get: of this government policy on timber prices. Such
a price projection is important for benefit-cost analy-
dP - ei + Qg = a - bP+ cH
sis, including calculations with Faustmann's formula
which gives the equilibrium price: to decide whether to begin, continue, or stop for-
est production activities on private as well as pub-
P* = f + hi - kQg + mH (4)
lic lands.
And, by substituting the equilibrium price in the Economic forest sector modeling of this kind has
demand equation 2, we get the equilibrium progressed greatly during the past thirty years. The
quantity: models are used extensively to help set national for-
est policy (13). Even at the international level, multi-
Q* = u - vi + wQg + zH (5)
country models of production, consumption, trade,
The parameters in equations 4 and 5 are defined and prices of wood products now help to study pol-
completely by the parameters of equations 3 and icy issues (14). These models are based typically on
4. The price equation 4 shows that the price of tim- the equilibrium theory sketched above, whereby at
ber in the United States increases with the interest every point in time there exists a unique set of prices
rate and the number of houses started, while it that equilibrate markets for all products in all coun-
decreases with the amount of timber produced from tries. Their implementation often involves a combi-
public forests. The quantity equation 5 shows that nation of statistical and mathematical techniques (12).
the quantity of timber consumed (and produced) Forest sector models represent a significant
decreases with the interest rate, and increases with advance in how forest policy is decided, and for-
public timber production, and it also increases with est decisions are made. This is because the meth-
the number of housing starts. ods and assumptions are transparent, facilitating
greatly the communication of ideas, their critique,
and ultimate progress. Still, current forest sector
Forecasting and Policy Analysis models lack accuracy. At best, they give an indi-
Forest economists estimate the parameters in cation of possible direction of changes, given an
demand-and-supply equations like 2 and 3 by sta- internally consistent set of assumptions, but the
tistical methods with regional, national, or inter- future may turn out quite differently from what the
national data, depending on the context. models predict. Thus, in the foreseeable future, the
Econometric models of this kind have a long his- timber prices that foresters should use even in the
tory (12). After calibration, the model can be used simplest Faustmann's formula will always be greatly
for forecasting and policy analysis. For example, uncertain. In addition, foresters must deal with the
above, given the equilibrium condition of demand- rising importance of the complex nontimber val-
supply equality, the two-equation demand-supply ues of forests.
system 2, 3 has been solved for price as a function
of the demand and supply shifters (interest rate,
housing starts, government supply). This price equa- Non-Timber Values and
tion 4 can then be applied to predict price, con-
ditional on the future values of interest rate, public
Benefit-Cost Analysis
timber supply, and housing starts. Presumably, inter- As the ecological value of forestland is increasingly
est rate and housing starts are themselves predicted recognized and understood by foresters and by the
464 Economics a n d the M a n a g e m e n t of Forests for Wood and Amenity Values

public, the nontimber value of forests that stems attempt to force cedar owners to bear the cost of
from their variety of life forms and functions is of the damage they inflicted on orchards.
growing interest. Economic theory can help define Another approach is taxation. For example, to
these values in monetary terms, and econometric control erosion, a tax could be waged on the for-
techniques can be used to measure them. Hartman est owner for each ton of silt in the runoff. If the
(15) reanalyzed Faustmann's optimal harvest age tax is set at the right level, the forest owner will
problem after including nontimber values of a choose the socially optimal degree of erosion pre-
mature forest such as flood control, recreation, and vention. Discovering the correct tax rate is the main
wildlife. He showed that if the services of the difficulty in this approach.
mature forest are valued more than the services of A third approach is to establish clear property
a newly planted forest, then it is best to extend the rights. To pursue the water pollution example, if
harvest age beyond the Faustmann rotation com- the water plant had the right to silt-free water then
puted with timber prices only. Strang (16) showed the forest owners must pay the water plant for
that it might be preferable never to cut an existing adding silt to the water. In this way, the forest own-
old growth forest, even if it is optimal to eventu- ers incur an added expense for each ton of silt they
ally harvest the same land if initially barren. This add to the water, so they consider that cost in their
is because of the considerable nontimber values management decision. The cost of enforcing the
embedded in the old-growth forest. property right can make this approach impractical.
Monitoring erosion on all the watersheds and esti-
mating how much purification costs increase for
Forest Externalities each incident of erosion might be more costly than
Often, values that derive from the presence of for- ignoring the right.
est cover, such as flood and erosion control, may In some cases, property rights are impossible to
benefit others than the forest owners, so the own- establish. The beauty of the forest and the protec-
ers do not include such benefits in the LEV calcu- tion of threatened species are public goods that
lation. These values are externalities for the firm anyone can enjoy freely without preventing others
making the economic decision. Since, by definition, from doing the same. A public nontimber forest
externalities do not profit the owners, the amount good, such as its beauty, may be valuable to the
of the externality is incidental to their decisions. If owners, yet it tends to be underprovided compared
the externality is good, like erosion control, then to the social optimum. The combined value of a
society at large might desire more than the private public good for all citizens is greater than the value
owners will provide spontaneously. The private to each, so as forest owners make the best deci-
owners may guard against excessive erosion dur- sions for themselves, they provide less than what
ing harvest to a degree because they want to pre- all citizens desire.
serve the land fertility, but a municipal water
processing plant downstream will want more effec-
tive erosion control so they have less silt to remove. Benefit-Cost Analysis of
One approach to achieving the socially best level Forestry Projects
of erosion control is direct regulation, that is, While externalities are common for private forests,
decreeing and enforcing standards to control ero- nothing is external for a public forest. Thus, man-
sion. As another example, cedar rust is a disease agers of public forests must consider many con-
that is incubated in red cedar and that attacks the stituencies in setting policy. Benefit-cost analysis
leaves and fruit of apple trees. A 1914 law of the (BCA) helps in this process by including all known
state of Virginia gave apple orchards the right to costs and benefits with a project or policy change.
remove all red cedar trees within two miles of an In the United States, ideas about a quantitative
orchard (17). Though draconian, the law was an approach to policy formation began to emerge in
Non-Timber Values a n d Benefit-Cost Analysis 465

the 1930s. In particular, the Flood Control Act of National Forests, have led to attempts to replace
1936 required BCA for all flood-control projects. them with multidimensional decision methods. For
The introduction of quantitative methods into man- example, Niemi and Whitelaw divided forest
agement was accelerated by the logistical needs "clients" into four interest groups. They cataloged
of World War II. BCA was at first limited to gov- all effects of a change on each group, without try-
ernmental projects, but was later increasingly ing to convert them in money. They formalized a
applied to evaluate policies and regulations. Cur- process by which balanced policy decisions could
rently, BCA has many champions who believe that be made and they illustrated its application in south-
it is a rigorous approach that will become adopted ern Appalachia (22). However, such methods are
internationally (18). In particular, the transparency still experimental, and far from being as institu-
of the BCA process leaves less room for corrupt- tionalized as BCA is. The attractiveness of BCA is
ing influences in countries with weak democratic that it deals with monetary value, a dimension that
institutions (19). every decision maker would like to have, and that
In the United States, BCA is required on federal lawyers covet.
lands. Both the Bureau of Land Management The crucial step in BCA is assigning a monetary
through the Federal Land Policy and Management value to all costs and benefits. To bring some order
Act of 1976 and the Forest Service through the to this complicated issue, benefit-cost analysts clas-
National Forest Management Act of 1976 must use sify the value of the many qualities or output of
BCA to set policy. The Forest Service's procedures forests as use-value, option-value, bequest-value,
include U.S.D.A. Forest Service directives, which or existence-value. Use-value derives from a par-
require that lands be managed to maximize net pub- ticular use of the forest or its products. For exam-
lic benefits (20). This public BCA includes not only ple, timber has a use-value, and so do hunting,
financial flows but also any benefit or cost accru- grazing, and nonconsumptive uses such as recre-
ing to all U.S. citizens. Therefore, as applied to ation and flood control. Option-values pertain to
forestry, BCA is essentially a generalization of forest resources that might have value in the future.
Faustmann's reasoning, to include all the goods and A pharmaceutical use for a biochemical compound
services that derive from the land and the trees that produced by an understory species might be dis-
it carries. covered in the future. We maintain the option of
Nevertheless, an emerging school of thought collecting this value as long as forest conditions
questions the use of BCA in policy formation. For allow the species to survive.
example, Vatn and Bromley argue that rather than Bequest-value is the value of maintaining a
trying to maximize anything, policy formation resource to pass on to future generations. The sat-
should deal with how to achieve a desirable future isfaction we gain from the idea of passing a forest
state (21). In this view, BCA is useful only to deter- intact to future generations is its bequest-value to
mine if that future state is achievable. Indeed, a us. Last, the value that individuals and society derive
most difficult part of BCA is to quantify how much from the forest merely being there now is its exis-
we value particular outcomes. If instead we imple- tence-value. Existence-value may be, but is not nec-
ment a process to set as a goal the future state we essarily related to, some use values. An individual
most value, then one of the main objects of BCA who greatly values the beauty of a forest is using
is achieved, by definition. Determining the socially the forest while viewing it, yet the greater part of
desired future state is not a simple process, but it the value of sightseeing might be confirming the
could at least be more transparent than the con- existence of the forest. Others might value the exis-
voluted valuation methods of BCA. tence of rare animal species harbored by the for-
In public forest management, the limitations of est even though they might never see or in any other
BCA, revealed by the numerous lawsuits brought way use them. As suggested by the subtlety of their
by interest groups to stop management plans on definitions, quantifying their value is no easy task.
466 Economics a n d the M a n a g e m e n t of Forests for Wood a n d Amenity Values

Measuring Social Welfare mate the necessary demand and supply relations,
Economists have developed many techniques to do and it is not possible without a market.
benefit-cost analysis. The easiest use-values to esti-
mate in monetary terms are those that are bought
and sold at a "market price." Suppose the good is Assessing the Value of
timber, traded in a region where there are many Forest Amenities
small private forests, and a large public forest. Under It appears, then, that for public goods, even those
the current policy, the public forest produces noth- with use-value, such as forest scenery, the assess-
ing, so that the upward sloping line, S1, in Figure ment of value in monetary terms is difficult. If we
21.5 represents supply (all private), while the down- knew the demand schedule for the good, we would
ward sloping line, D, represents demand. calculate the value of, say, a change in supply as
Demand and supply cross at B, the quantity of we did above, but there are usually no market data
private timber sold and bought is F(m 3 yr -1 ), and to estimate the demand schedule. We can count the
the equilibrium price is A ($m-3). Suppose that the number of sightseers and tabulate the time they
managers of the public forest consider producing spend viewing forest scenery, but short of a wall
timber independently of price level. This policy hiding the forest and a tollbooth, we can neither
would result in a shift in the total regional supply limit sightseers nor charge them a fee. In this exam-
line from supply S1 to supply S2. The new equi- ple, the ability to limit access to or charge for the
librium would them be at a lower price, C, for a public good is difficult or impossible; so most con-
larger volume bought and sold, G. However, the sumers will "free ride," that is, benefit without pay-
amount sold by private forests would decrease from ing to view the scenery. One can observe the
F to J. Consequently, there would be an increase quantity of a public good that free riders use at zero
in the welfare of timber buyers, measured by the cost, but construction of the full demand equation
area of the polygon ABEC, but a decrease in the requires the methods described later.
welfare of private sellers, equal to the area ABHC. In another example, the absorption of air pol-
There would then be an increase in total welfare lution by forests provides clean air that anyone can
of consumers and producers, equal to the area BEH. use without paying. Without a way of charging for
This is an example of complete welfare account- the use of that clean air, we cannot observe how
ing, with a full evaluation of benefits and costs, and use of clean air changes with price. As private
of winners and losers. It still demands work to esti- forests purify the air, owners rarely consider the

F i g u r e 21.5 As public timber supply

increases, the welfare of society increases
by the amount measured by the area of
the triangle BEH.
Non-Timber Values a n d Benefit-Cost Analysis 467

value of the clean air to others. In choosing to build existence values from the total price paid for the
houses where there was forest, the air cleaning complex bundle of goods represented by the for-
capacity of the forest is typically not considered by est is not a simple task. Furthermore, if the price
the builders, so we cannot directly infer the value data come from private transactions, to obtain the
of air cleaning by observing the behavior of land total value of the forestland, we must add its value
developers. to the rest of society to the private value.
For resources with option-value, such as the Economists use three kinds of methods to esti-
unknown medicinal value of forest flora, we might mate the value of forest goods that are not traded
observe a value in an options market. Since the directly and unambiguously: travel cost, hedonic
option-value exists because of a potential future pricing, and contingent valuation. In the travel cost
market good, rights to that resource could be traded approach, the cost of travel to the forest is used to
and a market value observed. For example, the infer the value of visiting the forest for an individ-
pharmaceutical company Merck bought the right ual, and also the value of different forests for dif-
to bioprospect in Costa Rica for $1 million plus roy- ferent people. Hanley and Ruffell used the travel
alties (23). The biotech company Diversa paid the cost method to determine the value of the physi-
U.S. National Park Service $175,000 plus a per- cal characteristics of forests in Canada (26). Fix and
centage of profits to do the same in the Yellow- Loomis found that a mountain bike trip to Moab,
stone hot springs (24). To the extent that those deals Utah was worth $205 (27).
were competitive, they should represent the In the hedonic pricing method, a market good
expected value of patentable biological discover- is viewed as a bundle of attributes. The value of
ies over costs for the companies. However, these each attribute is inferred from price differences
two companies are searching for short-term value between goods with various amounts of attributes.
in the genetic material, which we as a society have For example, the price of houses can be used to
retained the option to use by maintaining the estimate the amenity value of a neighboring for-
ecosystems with those life forms. The uncertainties est. Along with pure housing attributes such as
Merck and Diversa face in finding valuable bio- square footage, number of bedrooms, and so forth
logical material are small compared to the difficulty is access to the forest, measured for example by
of evaluating longer-term option values. its distance from the house. Given a sufficient num-
Effective markets for long-term option-value are ber of houses bought and sold, we calculate by sta-
hard to envision with the short profit horizon typ- tistical methods the best equation to relate house
ically important to businesses. The option-value of price to the attributes. We can then infer how much
future nonconsumptive goods is also not subject more an otherwise equivalent house is worth just
to market valuation. In the Midwest of the United for being near the forest. From this hedonic price
States, the existence value and recreational value analysis, we have inferred the amenity value of the
of traditional tall grass prairie ecosystems has been forest as the amount a household is willing to pay
discovered in the last few decades after the destruc- for being close to it. With this technique, Li and
tion of all but small remnants. The option of re- Brown found that a house is worth $250 more near
creating prairies was preserved in the plants left in a conservation area and $2800 more next to a recre-
those areas. Since not so long ago few would have ation area (28). Examples of application of hedo-
predicted that the prairie would some day have a nic pricing in forestry include Turner, et al. (29),
nonconsumptive value, they would have had a hard and Roos (30) who inferred the value of particu-
time guessing its option-value. lar characteristics of forest estates, such as their loca-
The bequest-value and existence-value of forest- tion. Scarpa and Buongiorno estimated the amenity
lands are in part revealed when forestlands are value of a stand of trees as the difference between
bought and sold. These non-use values are part of what the owners could have gotten had they tried
the price paid. But separating bequest values and to maximize profits (according to Faustmann's rule),
468 Economics and the Management of Forests for Wood and Amenity Values

and what they actually cut. By then comparing the pler example, refer again to Table 21.1, and assume
amenity value of many different stands, they that instead of cutting trees at their economic age
inferred the amenity value of trees of different of 60 years we wanted to keep them growing for
species and size. They found that for most own- one century, possibly because of the aesthetic and
ers, the amenity value of trees was much larger than ecological superiority of stands of old trees. Then,
their timber value (31). Table 21.1 shows that the land expectation value
The travel cost approach and hedonic pricing use for a rotation of 100 years would be $504 ha-1 only.
market prices; for example, the cost of gasoline or This would be $1,387 ha-1 - $504 ha-1 = $883 ha-1
the price of a house, to infer the nonmarket value less than the land expectation value of the purely
of forest amenities. These methods are based on economic policy.
actual choices of people who reveal their prefer- The opportunity cost of the "big tree" policy
ences by their actions. In the contingent valuation would then be $883 ha-1. If the forest were pub-
method (CVM), instead we ask individuals about lic, this is what citizens would have to be willing
how much they are willing to pay for a particular to give up in order to enjoy the bigger trees. In the
nonmarket good or service supplied by a forest. case of a private forest, the opportunity cost gives
One advantage of contingent valuation is that it can an estimate of what would have to be paid to pri-
deal with non-use values such as the existence of vate owners to induce them to keep trees grow-
a healthy forest, as well as use-values such as view- ing beyond the age of financial maturity.
ing that healthy forest (32). As a result CVM is used Knowledge of such opportunity costs is precious
extensively in benefit-cost analysis. For example, for objective policy making, and it is well within
Crocker asked forest visitors their willingness to pay the capacity of standard economic tools.
for a visit to a forest if the trees showed slight, mod-
erate, or severe damage from air pollution (33).
With these data he estimated the public willingness
to pay to prevent damage to trees. Mattson and Li
Concluding Statement
used the CVM to quantify the value of on-site con- From Faustmann's classic valuation of forestland to
sumptive use (berry and mushroom picking), on- the complex multidimensional choices in modern
site nonconsumptive use (hiking, and camping), forest policy, economic principles and methods have
and off-site visual experience (34). Still, there is contributed much to forest management decisions.
much controversy concerning the theory and tech- Economics help foresters grapple with the funda-
niques of CVM, such as how to design surveys for mental issue of opportunity cost, as it applies to time,
public opinion polling, and the magnitude of biases alternative land uses, and conservation. It also gives
in the assessment of willingness to pay for a non- us the framework and tools to handle risk objec-
market good (35). tively. Applied to the timber sector, economics is
essential to predict the demand, supply, and prices
of wood products. In the more difficult realm of
Opportunity Cost of Non-Timber amenity values, the methods of benefit-cost analy-
Objectives sis are put to work constantly to measure the full
While measuring the economic value of forest social value of forests. As economic theory and
amenities is difficult, determining the opportunity methods continue to develop, new opportunities
cost of a decision to preserve or enhance some open for their application to the management of
amenities values is much more straightforward. For forests. The amenity value of forests is likely to grow
example, it is hard to tell how much the spotted in importance, and to take more time in the day-
owl is worth, but it is much easier, and yet useful, to-day concerns of forest managers. Economics is
to determine the cost of protecting the spotted owl, helping in the assessment of these values.
in terms of revenue foregone by curtailing timber Nevertheless, there are definite limits to eco-
production in the Pacific Northwest. To take a sim- nomics. Some forest policy issues, such as the
References 469

preservation of species, far transcend the purely 15. R. HARTMAN, Econ. Inquiry, 14, 52 (1976).
economic dimension, and reach into the realm of 16. W. J. STRANG, Econ. Inquiry, 21, 576 (1983).
ethics and religion. O n e may, then, question 17. W. J. SAMUELS, The George Washington Law Review,
whether economic methodology can truly give a 57, 1556 (1989).
definitive measure of value in those circumstances. 18. D. W. PEARCE, Environ. and Dev. Econ., 2, 210 (1997).
Conservation goals will most likely be set on more
19. A. RAY, Environ. and Dev. Econ., 2, 215 (1997).
grounds than purely economic considerations. Nev-
20. C. S. SWANSON AND J. B. LOOMLS, "Role of Nonmarket
ertheless, the means to achieve conservation will
Economic Values in Benefit-Cost Analysis of Public
certainly have an important economic dimension.
Forest Management." General Technical Report
They involve budgets, reallocation of resources, and PNW-GTR-361, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 1996.
sacrifices in current consumption. In sum, there is
21. A. VATN AND D. W. BROMLEY, J. of Environ. Econ. and
a very real opportunity cost to any forestry deci-
Management, 26, 129 (1993).
sion. It is the role of economics, and its p o w e r to
22. E. NIEMI AND E. WHITELAW, "Assessing Economic Trade-
determine this cost exhaustively and accurately.
offs in Forest Management," General Technical Report
PNW-GTR-403, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, 1997.
23. FT Asia Intelligence Wire, "Basmati—biodiversity and
References Germ Plasm Issues," THE HINDU, May 6, 1998.
1. L. E. VON MISES, Human Action: A Treatise on Eco- 24. T KUPPER, "Diversa's Studies in National Park are
nomics, Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn., 1949. Halted," San Diego Union-Tribune, March 27, 1999,
p. C-l.
2. P. A. SAMUELSON, Economics, McGraw-Hill, New-York,
25. J. B. BRADEN, C. D. KOLSTAD, AND D. MILTZ, "Intro-
1976.
duction," In Measuring the Demand for Environ-
3. R. K. WINTERS, The Forest and Man, Vantage Press, mental Quality, North-Holland, New York, 1991.
New York, 1970.
26. N. HANLEY AND R. RUFFELL, "The Valuation of Forest
4. M. FAUSTMANN, Allgemaine forst-un jagd-zeitung, 15, Characteristics," Queen's Institute for Economic
441 (1849). Research, Discussion Paper: 849, 1992.
5. P. A. SAMUELSON, Econ. Inquiry, 14, 466 (1976). 27. P. Fix AND J. LOOMIS, J. of Environ. Planning and Man-
6. A. C. FISHER AND J. V. KRUTILLA, Quarterly J. of Econ., agement, 41(2), 227 (1998).
893), 358(1975). 28. M. M. Li AND H. J. BROWN, Land Econ., 56(2), 125
7. A. LESLIE, Unasylva, 39(1), 46 (1987). (1980).
8. D. A. PERRY AND J. MAGHEMBE, For. Ecol. and Man- 29. R. TURNER, C. M. NEWTON, AND D. F. DENNIS, For. Sci.,
agement, 26, 123 (1989). 37(4), 1150 (1991).
9. J. N. HOOL, For. Sci. Monograph, 12, 1 (1966). 30. A. Roos, Scand. J. of For. Res., 10, 204 (1995).
10. M. R. LEMBERSKY AND K. N. JOHNSON, For. Sci., 21(2), 31. R. SCARPA, AND J. BUONGIORNO, "Assessing the Non-
109 (1975). timber Value of Forests: A Revealed-Preference, Hedo-
11. C. R. LIN AND J. BUONGIORNO, Management Sci., 44(10), nic Model." Unpublished paper, Department of Forest
1351 (1998). Ecology and Management, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, 1999.
12. J. BUONGIORNO, International J. of Forecasting, 12, 329
(1996). 32. P. H. PEASE AND T P. HOLMES, So.f Applied For., 17(2),
84 (1993).
13. D. M. ADAMS, R. J. AUG, B. A. MCCARL, ET AL., For. Sci.,
19, 343 (1996). 33. T. D. CROCKER, Land Econ., 61(3), 244 (1985).
14. S. ZHU, D. TOMBERLIN, AND J. BUONGIORNO, "Global For- 34. L. MATTSON AND C. LI, Scand. J. of For. Res., 8, 426
est Products Consumption, Production, Trade and (1993).
Prices: Global Forest Products Model Projections to 35. R. T. CARSON, "Constructed markets," In Measuring
2010." Working paper GFPOS/WP/01, Forest Policy the Demand for Environmental Quality, North-
and Planning Division, FAO, Rome, 1998. Holland, New York, 1991.
 PART 4
Forests and
Society
Specialization in this area includes studies of for-
S ocial forestry seeks to understand the relation-
ships among human behavior, social systems,
natural resources, and the environment. Because
est-dependent communities, sociology of natural
resources, forest and environmental history, forest
natural resource issues are embedded in social and and resource policy, park and protected area man-
cultural contexts, future forest managers must con- agement, sustainable forestry, human dimensions
sider the changing relationships between the bio- in ecosystem management, urban forestry, inter-
physical and social environments that shape forest national forestry, and economic development of
communities and the people who depend on them forests, including nontimber forest products and
(Figure P4.1). agroforestry.

F i g u r e P 4 . 1 Community
forestry project in Algeria.
(United Nations Photo.)

471
472 Forests a n d Society

Underlying all areas of social forestry is the on urban forestry treats the unique situation of man-
understanding of how people shape and are shaped agement of trees and forests located in urban envi-
by natural resource systems through their social ronments. Finally, Chapter 23 provides a description
institutions and cultures. Central to social forestry of community-based management of natural
is the recognition that people and human behav- resources, which has applications both domestically
ior are natural components of ecosystems. We have and internationally. The many issues and challenges
already been introduced to some of the manage- of this complex subject are described in detail based
ment issues in social forestry in Chapter 17, Man- on global experiences.
aging Recreation Behavior.
The two chapters in this section deal with addi-
tional various aspects of social forestry. Chapter 22
 CHAPTER 22
Urban Forestry
GENE GREY

The Urban Forestry Environment Plant Health Management

Physical Environment Tree Quality Improvement
Socioeconomic Environment Removal and Utilization
Legal Environment
Political Environment Other Management Considerations
Management Structure Trees and Construction
Fire Protection
The Office of City Forester
Urban Wildlife
Tree Boards
Urban Forest Valuation
Determining What the Urban Information Management
Forest Needs Program Needs Analysis
Surveys
Inventories Indirect Management
Information Dissemination
Planning and Budgeting of Urban Working with Those Who Service the
Forestry Urban Forest
Program Implementation Program Support
Tree Establishment Volunteers
Location and Selection Technical Support
Planting Financing
Aftercare
Evaluation Concluding Statement
Maintenance References
Hazard Management

Urban forestry concerns the care of trees and related structures and activities of human life. In simplest
organisms within the environs of cities, towns, and terms, "urban" areas are made up of trees and other
other developed areas, and is a specialized appli- vegetable and animal organisms, structures, and
cation of forest science (and art) to the dynamic people (Figure 22.1). It is the challenge of urban
physical, social, and political environments in which forestry to make trees and other organisms com-
people live and work. Totaling an estimated 69 mil- patible and serviceable within and to this
lion acres, the nation's urban forests are complex environment (1-7).
mixtures of planted and naturally occurring trees Urban forestry merges the knowledge and skills
and related vegetation in close proximity to the of traditional forestry—of working with natural forest

473
 474
U r b a n Forestry

F i g u r e 2 2 . 1 The urban
forest is a dynamic environment
of manmade structures, such as
buildings and streets, and
organisms, such as plants and
trees.

ecosystems and planted forests—with disciplines thermore, the term urban forest manager is used
involving landscape plant materials and design, except w h e n referring to the specific public office
arboriculture, urban wildlife, engineering, planning, of the person responsible for urban forestry within
legal matters, and social and political science. The a city. In such cases, the term "city forester" is used.
complexity of the urban forestry environment Although, in any given city, many individuals are
requires no less. involved in urban forestry as professionals or vol-
The language of urban forestry can sometimes unteers, overall responsibility is usually vested in
be confusing. For example, the very w o r d "urban" the office of city forester. Operating under ordi-
can give the impression that only large metropol- nances specific to the urban forest, the city forester
itan areas are involved, even though the principles is responsible for coordination of activities relating
and practices are equally applicable to tiny ham- to the needs of the entire forest. 1 To be effective,
lets. To counter this impression, the term "com- the city forester and other urban forest managers
munity forestry" is often used. Also, the title of must have a thorough working knowledge of the
urban forester often goes by other names, such as urban forestry environment—of what the urban for-
city forester, city arborist, or even city horticultur- est needs, h o w to plan and budget for necessary
ist. To avoid confusion, the term "urban forestry" management programs, and h o w to implement
is used throughout this chapter, as is the w o r d city, them successfully. The following sections discuss
being generic to all h u m a n habitat situations. Fur- each in more detail.

1
Please note that the following approach from the perspective of the city forester does not ignore or diminish the role in and con-
tribution to urban forestry of countless other professionals and volunteers in public agencies and private business; nor does it fail
to recognize that the function of city forester is often carried out by volunteer boards or committees and that some programs are
successfully conducted without formal ordinances.
The Urban Forestry Environment 475

The Urban Forestry

Environment
The total urban forestry environment (the envi-
ronment in which urban forestry must operate)
includes all the physical (including biological), insti-
tutional, social, legal, and political factors that either
facilitate or inhibit care of the urban forest.

Physical Environment
To understand the physical environment of the
urban forest, one first needs an overall vertical per-
spective, as from an aircraft or aerial photograph.
Below is an extremely complex mixture of land-
use situations—streets, roads, highways, railways,
utility corridors, business and industrial areas, park-
ing lots, athletic fields, parks, residential areas, ripar-
ian areas, and other natural forests—most having
trees and related vegetation in varying degrees. A
further look at the ground reveals how trees and
other vegetation serve and relate to each situation,
particularly in context with buildings, utilities, and
other structures. As noted above, trees make up an
integral element in cities and are thus a part of the
urban infrastructure, providing aesthetic and other
environmental benefits (Figure 22.2). The totality F i g u r e 2 2 . 2 Design of streetside landscapes is an
of trees and other vegetation in all areas within a important component of urban forest management.
city is properly the urban forest.
The physical environment also involves the
nature of the forest itself, its composition (by agement. As suggested by the aerial overview, there
species, age, and size), condition, and distribution, are myriad owners, both public and private—city
over all land use situations. In a later section, Deter- and other government, business, institutions, indus-
mining What the Urban Forest Needs, we will try, and homeowners—each influencing the state of
explore composition and distribution in more detail. the urban forest within its area of responsibility.
It is important to understand also that the urban Ownership is not absolute, however, in that rights
forest is extremely dynamic, and that expansion into for the greater society must be given. In the case
natural woodlands, construction within the city, and of the urban forest, such rights are manifested by
the simple fact of vegetation growth and death easements for public utilities, giving electrical, tele-
cause continual changes in composition, condition, phone and other utility providers authority for treat-
and distribution. ment of trees on such areas. Thus, there are four
general categories of "managers" of the urban for-
est: 1) city government, generally with direct author-
Socioeconomic Environment ity for parks and streetsides; 2) other government
Perhaps the most important aspect of the urban agencies, particularly state highway departments;
forestry environment is who is responsible for man- 3) private owners, especially homeowners; and
476 Urban Forestry

4) public utilities. From the perspective of the city 5. Planting regulations (permits, official species,
forester, responsible for coordination of management spacing, location)
of the total urban forest, these categories represent 6. Maintenance standards
the four principal audiences for his or her efforts. 7. Tree removal requirements and standards
Critical also within the urban forestry environ- 8. Catastrophic authority on private property
ment are those individuals and organizations that (condemnation and treatment)
influence or have the potential to influence man-
9. Requirements for private contractors
agement of the urban forest: neighborhood asso-
ciations, advocacy and volunteer groups, civic clubs, 10. Violations and penalties
the media, and service individuals such as arborists Tree protection ordinances concern special trees
and nursery people. This is, in part, related to the and groves (because of size, species, scarcity, his-
political environment, which will be discussed later. torical or cultural significance, or environmental
A final factor in the socioeconomic environment contribution) and allow them to be set aside and
concerns attitudes of people regarding trees and maintained. Landscape ordinances generally relate
other vegetation. Attitudes, obviously, vary greatly to development and construction, and concern
by individuals, having been formulated by past maintenance of tree cover and protection of indi-
experiences—physical, cultural, and economic. Of vidual trees. Tree cover requirements for develop-
these, economics is perhaps the most important, as ers are normally expressed as a percent of total land
care of trees may be an unaffordable luxury to area, stems per acre, or percentage of crown cover.
some, or may be the ultimate expression of own- Critical drainage areas, wetlands, special wildlife
ership pride by others. Economics may also effect habitat, and other ecosystems may also be delin-
community pride, with resulting influences on eated.
budgets for public urban forestry programs. In addition to city ordinances, the legal envi-
ronment of urban forestry is extended by state and
federal regulations concerning rare, threatened, or
Legal Environment endangered species; wetlands or critical habitats;
The legal environment of urban forestry has three point and nonpoint source pollution; pesticides; and
major aspects: management responsibility and workplace safety. Also, many subdivisions have spe-
authority; tree protection and landscape matters; cific regulations concerning establishment and care
and safety and liability. Management responsibil- of trees and other vegetation. Generally, such reg-
ity and authority is normally established by city ordi- ulations are based on concerns for maintenance of
nances that establish and define the office of city property values, public safety, and protection of the
forester, outline responsibilities, and grant author- environment.
ity for operations. In most cities, ordinances give Safety is of utmost concern within the urban for-
city foresters responsibility for streetside and park est. Trees can be threats to life and property. Acci-
trees and for vegetation on other city-owned areas. dents because of fallen trees or limbs, slippery
Commonly called management ordinances, such leaves and fruit, and obstructed views often leave
statutes typically have the following elements, property owners and those responsible for man-
although items 5, 6, and 7 may be included in a agement liable for damages. Liability is based on
separate "Standards" section: the tort law principle of prudent and reasonable
care; thus property owners and their agents have
1. Definitions
a responsibility to exercise due care concerning
2. Designation of City Forester trees and related vegetation. With the trend of
3. Establishment of citizen tree board increasing litigation and higher damage awards by
4. Responsibility for trees on city property and the courts, the issue of liability is extremely impor-
easements tant in urban forestry, calling for increased empha-
Determining What the Urban Forest Needs 477

sis on hazard prevention (discussed in a later boards are independent commissions with full pro-
section). gram responsibilities and independent funding,
often from specific tax levies. The city forester is
directly responsible to the administrative board,
Political Environment whose duties include long-range planning, policy
The political environment of a city has to do with development, budget approval, and program eval-
those who influence decisions. Budget decisions are uation. Operational boards usually function in tiny
of particular importance, as there is generally inten- communities lacking the resources to support a
sive competition for funds, and those programs and municipal program. Such boards assume the func-
services having key political support are usually well tion of city forester, doing it all, from program plan-
funded. Every city has its political structure, within ning to actually caring for trees.
city government, but also made up of influential In addition their various duties as indicated
citizens and leaders of civic, service, and business above, tree boards provide invaluable service as
organizations. Identifying and working with such advocates for trees and by giving strong program
people is essential to successful urban forestry pro- support. Normally made up of respected, public-
grams, since, ultimately, political support is a man- spirited citizens, tree boards give added importance
ifestation of the public's concern for trees. to urban forestry, by their presence and through
special activities aimed at building support for trees.

Management Structure
Determining What t h e Urban
The Office of City Forester Forest Needs
As indicated, responsibility for coordination of over- Fundamental to planning and implementing a suc-
all urban forest management is legally vested in the cessful urban forestry program is knowledge of the
city forester. Varying by cities, the function of city urban forest—its distribution, composition, and con-
forester may be in a separate department or may dition—and ultimately what is needed to set it in
be included in other governmental units such as order. Called structural information, this knowledge
Public Works, Parks and Recreation, or Land Man- includes health, vigor, safety, diversity, stocking,
agement. In larger cities, forestry departments may functionality, and aesthetics. All this must be trans-
be divided into divisions according to responsibil- lated into quantifiable needs for the future—num-
ity, such as streetside trees and park trees. bers of trees to be established, pruned, removed,
or otherwise treated—within the context of ensur-
ing safely, diversity, functionality, and aesthetics.
Tree Boards While general information about what the urban
Many cities have tree boards, a generic title for cit- forest needs can be gained by observation, from
izen's groups with official support or administra- past work records and other documents, and by
tive responsibilities for urban forestry programs. simply listening to complaints, comprehensive infor-
Known variously as commissions, committees, or mation can be obtained only by formal surveys or
boards, such groups have official roles which may inventories. The beginning point is with aerial pho-
be advisory, policy making, administrative, or oper- tographs to develop cover type maps, identifying
ational. Advisory boards are charged with giving general vegetative situations such as riparian areas
counsel on urban forestry matters—to study, inves- and other natural woodlands, park lands, homo-
tigate, and make recommendations. Policy-making geneous residential areas, and tree cover in busi-
boards have broader responsibilities, including pro- ness and industrial areas. Ground checks can
gram planning and even budgeting. Administrative confirm or refine type identification. If cost-effective
478 Urban Forestry

and otherwise practical, this process may be facil- tinction: surveys are non-site-specific and are gen-
itated by use of Geographic Information Systems erally for long-range planning purposes; and inven-
(GIS) and computer technology to scan visual tories are site-specific and are for intensive
images from photographs and maps, allowing cover management purposes. There are, of course,
types and other features to be featured as layers degrees of need within both, but the distinction is
(see also Chapter 12). important, because both, especially inventories, are
For many areas, such as natural woodlands and expensive and time-consuming.
passive parks, such cover type information, cou-
pled with ground observations, will be sufficient
to develop prescriptions for management. For other Surveys
situations, however, such as streetsides, active parks, Cover type maps from aerial photographs are essen-
and other areas where intensive management is tial to urban forest surveys, in that they allow areas
needed, more detailed information must be of homogeneity to be identified. Once identified,
obtained (Figure 22.3). selective sampling systems can then be developed.
The amount of information to be gathered by One such system that works extremely well for
surveys or inventories must be determined by the streetside trees is to drive sample streets, record-
need and the capability to use the information. For ing trees by species, size, and condition class. From
example, if the need is for information sufficient a slowly moving vehicle, trees on both sides of the
to develop a long-range plan in the hopes of estab- street are recorded by species, estimated diameter
lishing a city forestry program, which has been the (DBH), and condition class. Condition classes are
case in countless small cities in recent years as as follows.
urban forestry has expanded, more general, non- • Good. Healthy, vigorous tree. No apparent signs
site-specific information is needed. If, however, the of disease or mechanical injury. Little or no cor-
need is for information to enable an established city rective work needed. Form representative of
forestry department to more intensively manage species.
streetside and park trees, a detailed site-specific
• Fair. Average condition and vigor for area. May
inventory—that is, where individual trees are
be in need of some corrective pruning or repair.
located on the ground—is necessary. Thus, the dis-
May lack desirable form characteristic of species.
May show minor insect injury, disease, or phys-
iological problem.
• Poor. General state of decline. May show severe
mechanical, insect, or disease damage, but death
not imminent. May require major repair or ren-
ovation.
• Dead or dying. Dead, or death imminent from
mechanical, disease, or other causes. Removal
needed.
Vacant spaces in need of planting are also iden-
tified. Compiled data allows species and size diver-
sity, stocking, and condition to be determined. From
this information, reasonable conclusions may be
made as what is needed to set the streetside urban
F i g u r e 2 2 . 3 Urban forests of residential areas forest in order: number of trees to be removed,
often include natural woodlands, riparian zones, pruned and planted; and species to be favored or
church yards, cemeteries, parks, and golf courses. avoided in future planting. Such information is
Planning a n d Budgeting for Urban Forestry 479

absolutely essential to long- range planning, as will coming of inventories is that they are not contin-
be discussed in a following section. uous and quickly become obsolete, with life spans
rarely exceeding 5 to 7 years. Hence, a system for
information feedback and an allowance for tree
Inventories growth is necessary. Effective information feedback
Inventories serve the need of intensive management ensures that everything that changes a tree—
and thus must be more precise, identifiable to indi- prescribed treatments, construction disturbance,
vidual trees. Consequently, inventories are more accidents, storm damage, other—is recorded.
costly, requiring on-site decisions as to tree loca- In addition to streetside tree management, inven-
tion and condition. Only that information which is tories may be for other special purposes, such as
directly applicable to future management should be land condemnation, wildlife habitat evaluation,
collected, since too much (or too little) informa- species or ecosystem preservation, and tree haz-
tion can be excessively costly. The information ard evaluation. In such cases, objectives must be
needed may be summarized as: what the tree is; clearly defined and systems designed to meet spe-
what it needs; and where it is. Data collected con- cific needs. Inventories of park trees normally
cerning each tree then becomes: involve a grid system for locating individual trees
(Figure 22.4). GPS can also be a valuable aid in park
What it is: Species, diameter, crown
tree inventories.
spread
What it needs: Pruning (by type), mechanical
work (cabling or bracing),
insect or disease treatment, Planning and Budgeting for
soil treatment, removal of phys- Urban Forestry
ical impediment, tree removal
Planning, no matter how detailed, has five basic ele-
Where it is: Street name, lot number or
ments: 1) an assessment of what you have; 2) a
other location method
vision of what you want it to be; 3) how to get
Decisions as to what the tree needs can either there; 4) what it will take to get there; and 5) an
be made on site, or indicators of need recorded: "occasional" look at how you are doing. Applied
trunk, branch, crown, and leaf condition; and envi- to urban forestry planning, this simply means that
ronmental factors such as proximity to overhead planning must start with an assessment of the for-
wires, root-zone restrictions, apparent soil problems, est situation from surveys, as discussed in the pre-
and other inhibitors of growth and vigor. Gener- ceding section. A vision of what the urban forest
ally it is best to record such factors, since on-site should be—safe, healthy, fully stocked, diverse,
judgments of need are for a single point in time functional, and aesthetically pleasing—should next
and do not indicate the causes of need. Knowing be developed, with each visionary element becom-
where trees are is critical to management. Work ing an objective of a long-range plan. Strategies can
crews must be able to unfailingly locate individual then be developed for each objective, priorities
trees, as the wrong tree treated or removed can determined, estimates made of costs, and a
have unfortunate consequences. Trees (and tree timetable developed to carry out each strategy.
spaces) may be located by lot number or by Evaluation is ongoing, allowing adjustments to be
sequential numbering within city blocks. made as necessary, according to the factors of
Most inventories are computerized, including change within the urban forestry environment.
automatic data entry from the field. Multiple cross Thus, urban forestry planning must be ongoing.
tabulations allow near-instant retrieval of informa- Urban forestry planning must begin with a long-
tion, including virtual reality displays of streetside range plan. As indicated above, the long-range plan
situations and individual trees. A common short- states the vision, identifies objectives, determines
480 Urban Forestry

F i g u r e 2 2 . 4 Parks may be
designated for either active or
passive uses.

priorities, estimates costs, and provides for evalu- to achieve objectives. A function of tree board
ation, thus providing the framework within which and city forester.
operational plans and budgets are developed. Oper- • Operational plans. Usually annual. Based on
ational plans which are normally annual, depend- long-range plan. Set incremental goals, establish
ing on a city's fiscal cycle, are expressions of what procedures, and identify resources for meeting
must be done within a given year to achieve the goals. A function of city forester.
objectives of the long-range plan. In such plans, • Budgets. Based in items in operational plans and
annual goals are set—number of new trees to be reflect resources needed to accomplish goals.
established, amount and kind of pruning to be • Plans of work. Internal documents, giving tasks
accomplished, number of trees to be removed, and and timetables.
other activities—and budgets developed to meet the • Evaluation. Ongoing, often with emphasis on
goals. Budgets so developed thus have a solid plan- end-of-year review.
ning basis, rather than being simply annual adjust- Long-range planning, as indicated above, is nor-
ments for inflation, as is unfortunately the case with mally conducted by tree boards in conjunction with
many urban forestry programs. Plans of work are the city forester, and often with other involved cit-
then developed, listing activities and timetables by izens. Such planning must utilize accurate infor-
various personnel. Finally, a system of evaluation mation, from surveys and other sources, and must
is implemented, involving monitoring and end-of- consider all other urban forestry environmental fac-
the-year program evaluation. Thus, the long-range tors, particularly the rights and needs of people.
plan provides the framework, operational plans fol- Such planning is fundamental to urban forestry, as
low, budgets are derived from operational plans, it is the basis for all that follows.
plans of work facilitate annual goals, and evalua- In addition to planning as discussed, there is a
tion is both ongoing and retrospective. The plan- need for emergency planning. No city is immune
ning "flow" is summarized as follows. to natural disasters, such as severe storms, fires,
• Long-range plan. States the mission and defines floods, or even earthquakes. Such planning, coor-
objectives. Identifies strategies and sets priorities dinated with other city departments, should con-
Program Implementation 481

sider the role of the city forester, tree board, and must be in context with long-range objectives for
other urban forest managers concerning such dis- the urban forest, as summarized by the following
asters, giving first priority to public safety, followed, four "rules."
in order, by clean up, repair, and replacement of 1. Tree establishment must be in accordance with
trees. Obviously, if a disaster happens, the strate- the needs (numbers and locations) as identified
gies and priorities of long-range plans may have in urban forestry plans.
to be revised.
2. Tree establishment must maintain or enhance
diversity of the urban forest.
3. Trees selected must be consistent with the lim-
Program Implementation iting factors of planting sites (soil, space, climate,
Fundamental to urban forestry program imple- other).
mentation is a working knowledge of the techni- 4. Trees selected must meet the remaining criteria
cal aspects of arboriculture—how to correctly as identified by objectives in long-range plans
establish, prune, and do whatever else is necessary (safe, healthy, diverse, functional, other).
to maintain trees and related vegetation. This Three factors are paramount in tree selection: the
knowledge, coupled with the working concept of tree's purpose in the landscape; what the site will
the urban forest as a complex ecosystem, allows allow; and how much care will be needed.
each operation to be in context with overall Although most trees will also have secondary pur-
objectives. poses, such as shade, wind protection, screening,
The urban forest has four basic and interrelated enframement, accent, contrast, or wildlife attraction,
management needs: establishment; maintenance; the primary purpose is the first factor in narrow-
protection; and removal. Each need, with its vari- ing the choices. In most urban forest situations, the
ous elements, must be addressed in meeting long- precise planting spot will largely determine the pri-
range objectives as identified in the planning mary purpose.
process. Virtually all planting sites will impose constraints,
primarily because of soils and space, both above
and below ground. In many urban forest situations,
Tree Establishment particularly streetsides and building sites, soils are
Tree establishment is a continuing need in the urban less than ideal for tree establishment because of
forest: to replace mortality; to enhance existing compaction, lack of depth, pollution, low fertility,
stands of trees; and to landscape new developments. alkalinity, or acidity. In some situations, depend-
Although most often referred to as tree planting, tree ing on costs, it is necessary to amend the soil,
establishment is a more accurate term, as it reflects replace it entirely, or build special drains or other
the broader need—to ensure that trees are prop- structures (Figure 22.5).
erly selected, located, planted, and given adequate Restricted space is perhaps the largest (and
care until they are able to thrive on their own. Thus, costliest) single problem with urban trees. There
planting is but one of five steps (evaluation should is often a proliferation of overhead wires, under-
also be included) in tree establishment. ground utilities, buildings, and pavement. There
may also be constraints because of sun, shade,
wind exposure, and air pollution. The challenge
Location and Selection of urban forest tree establishment is to match trees
"The right tree in the right spot" is a common, and by purpose to their planting sites. Fortunately,
accurate, expression concerning the urban forest, nature, with help by scientists, has designed trees
and means simply that all factors of site and species with enough characteristics to provide choices in
adaptability must be considered. Tree establishment nearly every situation.
482 Urban Forestry

shapes allow trees to be fitted to specific situations.

For example, vase-shaped trees are generally best
for streetsides, as their ascending branches allow
for lateral clearance. Conversely, pyramid-shaped
trees do not serve well as streetside trees, as exces-
sive pruning of lower branches is necessary to allow
for pedestrian and vehicle passage.
Negative characteristics must also be considered:
excessive fruiting, bad odors, heavy leaf fall, sur-
face rooting and suckering, attraction to nuisance
wildlife and insects, dense foliage that shades out
grass, and excessive production of pollen.
Finally, but not least, cost of planting stock, relat-
F i g u r e 22.5 In central business areas where ing to size, type, and planting sites must be con-
paving is common, trees are often located in special sidered. Planting stock varies by size and type. Sizes
planters. are usually expressed by height in feet or trunk
caliper in inches. Stock types are bareroot, balled
and burlapped, containerized, container-grown, or
Trees must be adaptable to local climates, with machine transplanted; hence, costs vary greatly.
the primary limiting factor being cold hardiness. Generally, bareroot planting stock is least expen-
Plant hardiness zone maps should be consulted, sive; however, not all species can be successfully
with the understanding that such zones are based transplanted in bareroot condition.
on average minimum temperatures and do not take
into account extremes, nor do they allow for local
microclimates because of terrain or other factors. Planting
Additionally, as indicated above, trees must be tol- Planting should be considered as a process fol-
erant to site-specific factors of sun, shade, wind, lowing selection and location, and involves qual-
air pollution, and soil. ity assurance, contracting for plant materials and
To fit space restrictions, trees may be grouped for implementation, site designation, and imple-
into three general mature size classes: small (30 mentation. Quality assurance begins with the abil-
feet); medium (60 feet); and large (100 feet). Addi- ity to recognize good planting stock. Standards for
tionally, landscape trees have characteristic forms, planting stock have been published by the Amer-
or shapes, created by branch structure and growth ican Association of Nurserymen and should be the
habit: irregular, vase, oval, pyramid, fastigiate (nar- criteria for contracting for plant materials. Quality
row), round, and weeping (Figure 22.6). Such can be further assured by proper handling of stock

F i g u r e 2 2 . 6 Typical shapes of landscape trees.

Program Implementation 483

during delivery and during storage prior to Maintenance

planting. Maintenance involves everything necessary between
Precise spots where individual trees will be establishment and removal to ensure the optimum
planted must be designated, with assurance that the quality of the urban forest. While all are interre-
correct tree will be planted in each spot. Under- lated, there are three basic areas of maintenance:
ground utilities must first be checked. In many hazard management, plant health management, and
cities, excavators, including tree planters, are tree quality improvement (primarily pruning).
required by law to give notification of planned exca-
vations. Planting spots can be marked on the
ground with stakes, flags, or by spray paint with Hazard Management
species code designations identifiable to planting Safety must take top priority as a management activ-
crews. ity in the urban forest. Trees, by their very nature,
From a management perspective, implementa- can be dangerous. Branches may fall or entire trees
tion of tree planting involves logistics of plant mate- may topple during storms, leaves and fruit are dis-
rials, equipment, supplies, and labor. Also involved carded, roots may heave sidewalks, and trunks and
is quality control, proper handling of planting stock, branches may pose physical or sight barriers. Con-
hole digging, back filling, mulching, and other sequences can be disastrous in terms of human suf-
details. Implementation also involves internal and fering and because of liability obligations of urban
external public relations. Internal coordination with forest managers. Thus, tree hazard management
other agencies of city government (as is necessary requires a continuing commitment in urban forest
in all other urban forestry activities) helps ensure management. Two elements are necessary for haz-
safety and minimizes public inconvenience. Exter- ards: trees predisposed to any of the preceding, and
nal public relations are directed primarily toward the presence of someone or something of value (tar-
making people, particularly nearby residents, gets) (Figure 22.7). Thus, hazard management
aware that trees are being planted and to gain sup- involves prevention and correction of tree "prob-
port in protecting "their" trees. lems" and removal of targets.
Hazard prevention is integrated with all other
management activities and involves the following:
Aftercare
Aftercare involves treatments after planting to • Species selection: avoiding species with inherent
ensure health and vigor: corrective pruning, water- problems that may make them unsafe; and selec-
ing, mulching, removing staking materials (needed tion of high-quality planting stock to ensure
only in special cases), monitoring insects and dis- strong future branching structure and tree vigor.
eases, and repairing wounds. An established tree • Planting location: judicious location of planting
is one that will thrive on its own after a given period sites to avoid making trees, by their presence,
of time, generally two to four years. hazards.
• Health care: insect and disease management,
correction of soil problems, water management.
Evaluation
Tree establishment evaluation is quite important in • Pruning: to develop strong scaffold branches,
making future decisions, allowing comparisons to to discourage decay entry to wounds, and to pro-
be made between species, by size and type of plant- vide physical and visual clearance for pedestri-
ing stock, among nursery sources, by planting sites, ans and vehicles.
and by management activities. Timely and accurate • Protection during construction: root-zone pro-
monitoring is necessary. Of particular importance tection, and prevention of trunk and branch
is determining the causes of mortality. wounding.
484 Urban Forestry

get" removal may be required, by fencing, signing,

or otherwise prohibiting public access.

Plant Health Management

Plant health management requires an understand-
ing of the interrelationships of the biological envi-
ronment of the urban forest, with emphasis on soils,
sites, physiological needs of plants, and life cycles
of insect and disease pathogens. A major objective
is maintenance of health and vigor, so that insect
and disease impacts will be minimized, thus reduc-
ing the necessity of direct treatments, particularly
chemical pesticides (see Chapter 8). Plant health
management is integrated with other management
and includes such activities as plant selection and
location, enhancement of the growing environment,
pruning, wound prevention and repair, direct and
indirect insect and disease control, public educa-
tion, and monitoring and recording.

Tree Quality Improvement

Quality improvement applies to individual trees and
primarily involves pruning, although site enhance-
ment by fertilization, soil amendments, and other
F i g u r e 2 2 . 7 For a tree hazard to exist, there methods is sometimes done. Few landscape trees in
must be a potential for tree failure (i.e., the possibility the urban forest go without the need for pruning
of a limb falling off), as well as a target (i.e., a during their life spans—for hazard prevention, for
playground). health and vigor, and for physical and visual clear-
ance. Pruning is, in fact, the largest single item in
most city forestry budgets, and is also a major cost
Hazard correction is also a major need, partic- item for utility providers. Ideally, pruning should be
ularly in urban areas with substantial populations a part of programmed or cycled maintenance,
of older trees. Correction requires recognition and according to varying needs of the total tree popu-
anticipation of potential hazards—recognition of lation, depending on growth characteristics of indi-
current unsafe situations, and anticipation of pre- vidual species and other factors. Emergency pruning,
dictable events such as fallen leaves, fruit, and other however, will also be needed as hazards are iden-
materials potentially hazardous to people and prop- tified, or in the aftermath of storms or accidents.
erty. Effective recognition requires periodic inspec- Programmed pruning requires a pruning cycle,
tions, identifying indicators and signs of potential or the number of years required to prune all trees
tree failure, followed by timely treatment, gener- in a particular area—a 5-year pruning cycle mean-
ally by pruning or other arboricultural measures. ing, for example, that one fifth of the trees will be
In some instances, particularly in cases of large, pruned every year and each tree will be pruned
decadent trees of historic or other value where every 5 years. Optimum pruning cycles are deter-
pruning or other practices cannot ensure safety, "tar- mined by marginal cost and return analysis, accord-
Program Implementation 485

Sidebar 22.1

Florida Citrus Canker Program

Urban foresters can encounter many political as

well as technical problems when managing trees
in urban settings. An example of a very con-
troversial approach was the plan developed by
the Florida Department of Agriculture and Con-
sumer Services for eradication of the citrus
canker of citrus trees in south Florida in the late
1990s. The citrus canker is a bacterial disease
that is harmless to humans but scars fruit and
causes it to drop prematurely, although the fruit
remains edible. This highly contagious disease
threatened the state's $8.5 billion citrus indus-
try, so the decision was made to eradicate all
infected trees, as well as all healthy trees within
1,900 feet of the infected trees. The tree removal
was mandated for both citrus plantations and all
residential areas. Thus, many homeowners were
very disturbed when healthy trees were removed
from their yards, often without prior notification.
Some south Florida residents brandished guns,
padlocked gates and let guard dogs run free
around their citrus trees. Citizens of several coun-
ties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm mated that it cost the state $80 million to reim-
Beach, filed a lawsuit to stop the eradication pro- burse homeowners for the estimated 800,000
gram. To placate homeowners who lost trees, trees removed in residential areas at the end of
a $100 voucher was offered, regardless of how the eradication program. However, the small
many trees were removed, which could be monetary reimbursement did not quell the anger
redeemed for replacement trees or garden sup- of many homeowners some of whom lost
plies. However, the canker program prohibits orange and grapefruit trees that were with fam-
replanting citrus trees for two years. It is esti- ilies for generations.

ing to separate situations of age, species, and other on economics. Most cities find contracting the prefer-
factors within the total tree population. able alternative. Pruning standards have been devel-
Pruning of city-owned trees may be accomplished oped by the National Arborists Association and are
by city forestry department crews or by contract with used in most contract situations. In some cities, usu-
private arboricultural firms, with decisions whether ally those with smaller populations, streetside tree
to prune with city crews or by contract based largely pruning and other maintenance is the responsibility
486 Urban Forestry

of adjacent property owners. In such cases, the role ment, maintenance, protection, and removal needs
of the city forester or tree board is largely educa- of the urban forest. There are, however, other inter-
tional, directed toward helping property owners bet- related considerations, each quite important to the
ter care for their trees. well-being of the forest.

Trees and Construction

Removal and Utilization Construction is a near-continuous activity in most
Trees, by nature, discard various things—leaves, urban forests: erection of buildings and other struc-
fruit, dead branches, and such—and ultimately die. tures, street widening, and trenching for utilities.
In natural forests, such materials decay on the for- Such activities may cause wounds to trunks and
est floor and are a part of nature's continuing branches, but the main concern is for root-zones
process. In urban forests, however, much of what of trees, by severing of roots, soil compaction,
is discarded, and dead trees themselves, must be changes in grade, and alterations of water tables.
removed. Some of what is removed can be used— Coordination with construction planners and
fuelwood, for example—but such utilization is developers by urban forest managers is necessary.
minor when all that must be removed is consid- Alternative locations for construction may be found
ered: dead trees, hazardous trees, oversize or com- in cases of historic or other extremely valuable trees,
peting trees, trees in the way of construction, but the largest need is for on-site protection meas-
stumps, and occasionally roots, hazardous branches, ures, particularly for tree root-zones (Figure 22.8).
other branches removed during pruning, leaves, In addition to protecting individual trees, the
obnoxious or hazardous fruit, seeds and seed car- impact of long-term development on the urban for-
riers, and sometimes even flower petals. est must be considered: watershed values, wetlands,
Except in cases of storms or other disasters, most critical wildlife habitat, and threatened or endan-
removal can be anticipated and removal work can gered species. Concerning such, there are three
be scheduled according to season and proximity basic considerations: 1) How may the values of nat-
to people. As suggested, some material can be uti- ural forests be protected and enhanced during
lized: trunks and branches for fuelwood; leaves for development? 2) Are such values recognized and
compost; and occasionally, seeds and seed carri-
ers for ornaments and novelties. Timber products
may also be produced, but utilization is limited
because of volume, inconsistency of supply, and
metal and other foreign objects in logs.
Removal and utilization can also be difficult
because of public sensitivity to trees being cut down
and because of noise and disruption. Thus, there
is the need for effective public relations explain-
ing the necessity of such work in context with long-
range objectives for the urban forest.

Other Management
Considerations
The preceding discussion has concerned the pri- F i g u r e 2 2 . 8 Construction activity can have
mary things necessary to meet the basic establish- severe negative impacts on root-zones of trees.
Information M a n a g e m e n t 487

provided for by planners, administrators, develop- trolling damage or nuisances by exclusion, less-
ers, and other decision makers? and 3) If such val- ening attractions, or reducing populations.
ues are not recognized, what measures are
necessary to ensure them? By addressing these
questions, urban forest managers can play an impor- Urban Forest Valuation
tant role in comprehensive city planning and Because of casualty losses or condemnation of
development. properties to be developed, valuation of individ-
ual trees and urban woodlands is often necessary.
Generally, woody plants in the landscape have no
Fire Protection real value unto themselves; their only value being
Except in areas where subdivisions have been in their influence on real estate values. The appro-
developed in natural forests, particularly in the arid priate method for assigning monetary values to
West, fire protection is of relatively lesser concern woody plants depends on plant size, species, con-
to urban forest managers. The primary focus of fire dition, function, location in the landscape, and other
protection in urban areas is on structures, and situational factors. Valuation can be subjective, and
"forests," if considered, are looked upon as "carri- the urban forest manager must offer his or her best
ers" of fire. Fire protection in urban forests is usu- professional judgement in determining the method
ally the responsibility of city or other local fire to use and in the appraisal process. Methods of
departments. The urban forest manager's role is appraisal are: direct replacement cost; com-
often cooperative with such agencies, providing pounded replacement cost; present value of future
input in protection planning and disaster recovery. returns; cost of repair; cost of cure; forest product
value; crop value; and trunk formula.
Of the above methods of appraisal, trunk for-
Urban Wildlife mula is most commonly used with larger, specimen
While some urban forestry management practices trees. This method, developed by the Council of
(particularly removal of dead branches and trees) Tree and Landscape Appraisers, begins with a base
are detrimental to urban wildlife, many wildlife value derived from the cost per square inch of trunk
species abound in cities, some existing in even diameter of the largest locally available trans-
greater numbers than in natural habitats. For exam- plantable tree of the same species of the tree being
ple, most large cities in the nation now have res- appraised. This value is applied to the total square
ident populations of Canada geese and abundant inch trunk area of the appraisal tree and then
raccoons. People generally value urban wildlife reduced by species class, condition, and location
highly, delighting in feeding and watching birds in the landscape.
and observing other creatures (Figure 22.1).
Wildlife can cause problems, however, by being
dangerous to traffic, having annoying habits (noisy,
destructive, messy), and occasionally carrying dis-
Information Management
eases. Urban wildlife management has three gen- The importance of information management can-
eral aspects: 1) providing and enhancing habitat; not be overemphasized. Keeping accurate records
for example, by establishing wildlife-friendly and being able to retrieve information is absolutely
plants, protecting natural vegetation in new devel- essential to effective urban forest management.
opments, providing travel lanes, and leaving dead Records: reveal what has been done to trees and
trees and branches in nonhazard areas; 2) pro- serve as the basis for future care; allow program
viding for viewing or consumptive opportunities, evaluation; are essential to planning and budget-
through such methods as construction of trails, ing; and furnish proof of care in disputes involv-
viewing platforms, and boat ramps; and 3) con- ing liability. Modern computer technology allows
488 Urban Forestry

massive amounts of information to be efficiently

handled. The key, however, is information entry,
reasonably recording everything that happens to
the urban forest—planting, pruning, insect and dis-
ease infestations and control, construction dis-
ruptions, fire, accidents, storm damage, tree
removal, and such. Without such information, the
basis for making reasonable judgements is greatly
reduced.
Information management is not limited to inter-
nal records. Computers allow Internet access to vir-
tually all topics concerning urban forestry. Many
urban forest managers have their own websites, and
communication with contemporaries worldwide is F i g u r e 2 2 . 9 The urban forest often includes
commonplace. Computer software is available for areas of mature natural forests.
tree inventories, planning, budgeting, cost account-
ing, program analysis, tree selection, and other man-
agement applications.
Indirect Management
The preceding text was concerned primarily with
Program Needs Analysis urban forestry activities on streetsides, parks, and
Information management is the basis for program other areas where trees and other vegetation are
analysis. Program analysis begins with the simple managed directly by the city forester. A major por-
question: Is the program as effective as it should tion of the urban forest, however, from private yards
be in meeting the needs of the urban forest? Pro- to business and industrial sites, is not the direct
gram analysis must be done at both the macro and responsibility of the city forester. While the arbori-
micro levels. Macro-analysis is an administrative cultural and landscaping practices discussed are
function, and addresses the six elements necessary applicable to these areas, the city forester can influ-
for comprehensive management of the urban for- ence their enactment only indirectly. The objective
est: a central organization with responsibility and of indirect management is for other owners to bet-
authority; knowledge of the total urban forestry ter care for their parts of the urban forest. Thus, there
environment; knowledge of what the urban forest are two approaches: information dissemination; and
needs; plans for meeting the needs; adequate budg- working with those who service the urban forest.
ets; and effective implementation (Figure 22.9). If
any element is missing completely, comprehensive
management cannot occur. If any element is par- Information Dissemination
tially missing, management cannot be as effective The objective of information dissemination is edu-
as possible. As missing parts are identified, the ques- cation, in the hope that new knowledge will be
tions then become: Why is it missing? What are the applied to the urban forest. Information may be
barriers to putting it in place? and how may the bar- addressed to the generic needs of the urban for-
riers be overcome? The answers identify what est, as identified in the long-range plan (safety,
should be the highest priorities for urban forestry diversity, health, function), or may be specific, as
program administrators. Micro-analysis looks within related to storm damage, insect or disease infesta-
the program to identify strengths and weaknesses, tions, poor arboricultural practices, or other situa-
and must be ongoing. The basic questions involve tions. Each need can be addressed according to the
what is wrong and how it might be fixed, and what following principles and practices of information
works well and whether more of it should be done. dissemination:
Program Support 489

• Principles: identify specific audiences; use meth- cial resources. Volunteers are generally from local
ods appropriate to audiences; take advantage of sources, while technical support may come from
the teachable moment; be specific as to what state or national organizations. Financing is largely
should be done; keep the message simple; use from local sources, but other opportunities are
others to tell your story; and repeat, repeat, repeat. sometimes available.
• Practices: public meetings; tours and demon-
strations; flyers, door-hangers, and posters;
newsletters; inserts in newspapers and utility Volunteers
statements; newspaper special editions; news- Volunteers provide valuable services to the urban
paper articles; telephone hotlines; television and forest and are utilized in virtually every successful
radio through programs or public service city forestry program in the nation. Volunteers may
announcements; and direct mail. be unaffiliated individuals or may be members of
a group. Volunteer groups may be advocacy-,
Of the above principles, getting others to tell your project-, or program-oriented.
story is especially important, as many credible "oth-
ers" have the ready capability to extend informa- • Advocacy-oriented groups: generally focused on
tion. Cooperative Extension Service agents, state specific causes or single issues; strong empha-
forestry agency personnel, garden editors of news- sis on fundraising and lobbying.
papers, arboricultural and nursery firms, and even • Project-oriented groups: often part of a larger
the clergy are examples. organization (civic or service club, business,
youth organization); focused on individual proj-
ects, such as tree planting or environmental
Working with Those Who Service improvement.
the Urban Forest
• Program-oriented groups: focused on broader,
Those who service the urban forest have a direct long-range concerns (tree boards are an
positive or negative influence on its well-being. No example).
one is in a better position to do good or harm to
Volunteers are a valuable resource for urban for-
the urban forest than the person with a saw in his
est managers. Not only do volunteers provide labor,
or her hand, or the person who supplies and plants
but they can also, particularly in the case of advo-
trees. Hence, upgrading the knowledge and skills
cacy and program-oriented groups, be a source of
of such individuals must be of high priority for
involved program support. It is especially impor-
urban forest managers. An additional goal should
tant for urban forest managers to consider the role
be to have each service individual and firm (com-
of volunteers during annual program planning, with
mercial and utility arborist, and nursery people)
a "plan" for recruitment and utilization. Recruitment
dedicated to the long-term objectives for the urban
can be facilitated by working through various com-
forest. Approaches involve: sharing of long-range
munity organizations such as project-oriented
plan information; sponsoring pruning schools and
groups, as above.
other training sessions; publishing newsletters;
encouraging arborists to become members of pro-
fessional associations; and aiding nurseries in fur- Technical Support
nishing diverse planting stock.
Technical support for local urban forestry programs,
in the form of information and direct assistance, is
available from a number of governmental and pri-
vate sources. A primary source is the State Forestry
Program Support Agency. Supported by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service,
Urban forestry programs at the city level are sup- each state has an urban forestry coordinator with
ported by various volunteer, technical, and finan- responsibility for facilitating development and better
490 U r b a n Forestry

implementation of local programs. Specific activi-

ties include consultation, guidance in developing Concluding Statement
n e w programs, coordination of conferences and It is the challenge of urban forestry to make trees
training events, administration of special projects, and other organisms compatible a n d serviceable
and direct assistance with application of n e w tech- within an environment largely dominated by peo-
nologies. The Cooperative Extension Service is also ple and structures. In so doing, urban forestry
a valuable resource. Backed by university special- merges the knowledge and skills of traditional
ists in areas pertaining to urban forestry, extension forestry with disciplines such as landscape plant
agents sponsor educational events such as work- materials and design, arboriculture, engineering,
shops, field days, demonstrations, provide publi- planning, legal matters, and social and political sci-
cations, and access research findings on special ence. The urban forest manager must have a work-
topics. Other sources of assistance are materials sup- ing knowledge of the physical, social, legal, and
pliers, arboricultural firms, nurseries, state arborists' political environment of the urban forest, of how
associations, and national organizations such as the to plan and budget for necessary management pro-
International Society of Arboriculture, the National grams, and h o w to successfully implement them.
Arborists Association, the American Association of The urban forest has four basic and interrelated
Nurserymen, The National Arbor Day Foundation, needs: vegetation establishment; maintenance;
and American Forests. protection; and removal—each to be met in an
extremely dynamic natural and human-influenced
environment. From the perspective of the city
Financing forester, management is both direct and indirect;
The majority of local urban forestry program funds the former requiring physical attention to the four
are from public monies allocated through the plan- basic needs of the urban forest, and the latter
ning a n d budgeting process. Such monies are usu- directed toward various public audiences in an
ally from the city's general fund, but may come from attempt to influence better management.
specific tax levies. Occasionally there are also spe-
cial (usually one-time) assessments for special proj-
ects, most generally tree establishment in a
specified area. Opportunities for additional funds
References
for general operations are rare. Funds provided 1. D. J. NOWAK, J. For., 92 (10), 42 (1994).
through recurring budget cycles provide for conti- 2. L. WESTPHAL AND G. CHILDS. J. For., 92(10), 31 (1994).
nuity consistent with planned long-range objectives. 3- G. W. GREY, The Urban Forest—Comprehensive Man-
Although often useful, funds from other sources, agement, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1996.
particularly those earmarked for tree planting, can 4. G. W. GREY AND F. J. DENEKE, Urban Forestry, Second
result in more trees than can be established and Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1986.
maintained by regular program funds. There are, 5. R. W. HARRIS, Arboriculture—Integrated Management
however, special needs that will not result in addi- of Landscape Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, Second Edition,
tional unfundable costs over time, such as tree Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1992.
inventories, systems for processing information, n e w 6. R. W. MILLER, Urban Forestry—Planning and Manag-
technologies, and staff or tree board training. There ing Urban Green Space, Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood
may also be need of special funding for insect, dis- Cliffs, N.J., 1988.
ease, or storm emergencies. Sources of special fund- 7. A. L. SHIGO, Modern Arboriculture—A Systems
ing are state and federal agencies, and grants by Approach to the Care of Trees, Shigo and Trees Asso-
various philanthropic organizations. ciates, Durham, N.H., 1991.
 CHAPTER 23
Social Forestry: The Community-Based
Management of Natural Resources
J. LIN COMPTON AND JOHN W. BRUCE

Global Experience in Social Reforestation and Ecological Restoration

Forestry Biodiversity Conservation
Sociocultural Context
Issues and Challenges Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)
Participation and Local Initiative Gender and Poverty
Community Control Migration and Settlement
Program Planning and Development Economic Change
Legal and Policy Environment Interorganizational Collaboration
Ecological Settings and Processes Conflict Resolution
Watershed Management Extension
Land and Tree Tenure Measurement and Evaluation
Land Use Patterns
Concluding Statement
Agroforestry
Forest and Woodland Management References
Wood Industry

Social forestry is rapidly gaining the attention of resulting land degradation. Much has been tried
those concerned about the continuing degradation and much has been learned about the require-
of the environment around the world. The need ments of an effective response to this environ-
to find solutions to the global environmental cri- mental crisis. The purpose of this chapter is to
sis becomes more critical daily. Scientists, legis- present a selection of those experiences and the
lators and policy makers, development program lessons learned from them and to highlight some
administrators, and enforcers of laws do not have of the issues and challenges ahead.
all the answers to the complex problems and Social forestry revolves around a complex set of
issues confronting that segment of the world's pop- concepts and propositions concerning the com-
ulation that lives in close proximity to or that is munity-based management of natural resources.
in some manner or degree dependent upon for- Social forestry as an action strategy is seen as one
est resources. Neither do impoverished rural peo- means to promote rural development and maintain
ple who, caught up in the struggle to survive, forest biodiversity and forest health (Figure 23.1).
sometimes pursue practices of forest and forest The major proposition is that this can be done by
product use that work to diminish the very simultaneously producing income and empowering
resource upon which their continued survival may people while promoting sound forestry practices.
depend. During the past two decades, many efforts In some settings, forest user groups, having rights
have been launched in a variety of locations to trees but not to the land, have taken an active
around the globe to deal with deforestation and role in protecting, harvesting, and regenerating

491
492 Social Forestry: The Community-Based M a n a g e m e n t of Natural Resources

F i g u r e 2 3 . 1 The tropical
forest in the heavily populated
city-state of Singapore is under
many competing utilization
pressures. (Photo by R. A.
Young.)

forests. Specific collective activities range from estab- Foundation funding. A month later, a community
lishing home gardens, carrying out alley cropping, organizer from Orissa State followed him. They
setting up tree nurseries, and operating woodlots were consulting with the Watershed Research and
to meet wood needs, to practicing contour farming Training Center in this forest-dependent commu-
by integrating trees into hedgerows to prevent soil nity in Trinity National Forest, sharing experiences
erosion and campaigning for local natural heritage of community forestry.
development. Such activities may be integrated with There is less old growth forest in Trinity now,
efforts to improve animal production and the prop- and environmental legislation has also constricted
agation of improved varieties of crops and species production. Hayfork residents set up the Center to
of trees. Strategies to support local social forestry help them explore ways to diversify and to think
efforts range from legislative activities, to oversee- through ways to get more of the existing revenue
ing quality control, to fostering effective relationships from forestry for local people. India has pioneered
among participating institutions. In the following sec- a program of joint forestry management (JFM) in
tions, examples drawn from world-wide experience which local communities manage areas of state for-
in social forestry will be given and concepts and est for the Forestry Department, and the people in
principles imbedded within these experiences Hayfork were interested (1).
highlighted. Finally, some of the continuing and Hayfork is not alone. American forestry was
major issues and challenges will be discussed. wasteful of forest resources for generations, but in
recent decades there has been a broad recognition
of the need for sustainable production and the sus-
Global Experience in tainable livelihoods that this can bring with it (2).
The boom and bust progression historically asso-
Social Forestry ciated with forestry-dependent communities has
In April 1995, Prabinder Das, the Chief Forest Con- been too costly in human terms. Because of mill
servator for West Bengal State in India, visited Hay- closures, these communities have found themselves
fork, a town in northern California, under Ford thrust from rugged self-sufficiency into a life on
Global Experience in Social Forestry 493

remittances. The results are devastating, with the limited to forest-dependent communities, but
ideology and images of forestry long outliving its applies to natural resource-dependent communi-
economic viability (3). ties more generally, such as communities that rely
Even where bust is averted, scholars have noted on tourism for their major income (6).
that forestry-dependent communities that have This is why Hayfork is interested in joint forestry
moved out of the boom stage exhibit persistent management in India and other models of forestry
poverty. Sociological studies of poverty in forest- in which local communities assume control over
dependent communities have identified root causes forest resources, and there is a large body of expe-
and suggested solutions. Current thinking suggests rience from the Third World to be consulted. Begin-
that stability is a vain hope, and that sustainability ning in the early 1980s, a series of experiments in
means something different: an acceptance of the village forestry in India led to a national program
inevitability of change by these communities and that gives village forestry committees access to state
a lively and creative response by them to the chal- forests, mostly small areas of degraded state forest
lenges and the opportunities posed by change. in need of reforestation. An agreement between the
There is a renewed interest in social capital issues Forestry Department and the village forestry com-
in these communities. Scholars are asking exactly mittee sets out a co-management scheme, in which
what that capital consists of, and how best to build the Forestry Department assists the community in
it (4, 5). replanting the area and the community undertakes
Where communities can respond effectively, to exploit it in accordance with an appended For-
what are some of the strategies for social forestry est Management Plan. Communities own the trees
that have been identified as promising? One strat- they grow, but market them through the Forestry
egy is to assure greater diversity of species and Department, which recovers its own costs of pro-
products within the timber industry, thus decreas- duction from the sales before passing along the
ing vulnerability to change. More processing locally community's share. The purpose of the program is
and more exploitation of nontimber forest products to turn around communities whose members had
reduce risks. The development of complementary sometimes been engaged in degrading these
enterprises when timber is still booming can make resources, and create incentives in those commu-
things easier later. Scaling up of operations may be nities for the conservation and good husbandry of
important. Large enterprises may be better able to the resource (7, 8).
make the investments that will enable them to sur- Many programs in developing countries aim to
vive in a harsh competitive environment. Strong increase community participation in forestry and pro-
local markets and diversified production may pro- vide new incentives for sustainable forestry. All have
vide insulation from major ups and downs of as an essential component a reduction of empha-
national markets for timber. Investment is more sis on enforcement and a new stress on creating
likely where there is local ownership of forests and incentives for local communities to support sus-
forest product industries and when less money from tainable resource use by giving those communities
forestry flows out of the community. more direct control of forest resources and
This last point brings to thinking about Ameri- improved income opportunities generated by
can forestry a radical critique developed in recent access to those resources. In the Philippines, a com-
years in the Third World. Forest-dependent com- munity stewardship program gives long-term lease-
munities exist in the midst of a rich endowment of holds of large areas of land with forests to local
natural resources, and yet often they are subject to foundations, often ethnic territories of minority
persistent poverty. There is little capital accumula- groups represented by those foundations (9). In
tion and investment in those communities, because Thailand, the government has been experimenting
the resource belongs to government or to large pri- with "forest villages." Villagers reafforest areas of state
vate forest landholders. This phenomenon is not plantations around villages within the plantation,
494 Social Forestry: The Community-Based M a n a g e m e n t of Natural Resources

but also have fields for family agricultural produc- from the five villages meet to discuss and resolve
tion around the village. In China, villages now hold problems of mutual concern (12).
the ownership of substantial areas of mountain land In mountainous Yunnan, China, an innovative
and have initiated tree planting under a variety of project is underway for the testing of two models
institutional patterns including village (local gov- for sustainable management of upland forest-based
ernment) forestry, village shareholder associations, ecosystems: 1) a model for the adaptive co-
and long-term leases to family partnerships (10). management of the buffer and development zones
In Africa, an innovative management program surrounding nature reserves by villagers and gov-
for Niger's Guesselbodi National Forest organized ernment reserve staff, and 2) a model for multi-
local users bordering the forest into cutters coop- village watershed ecosystem management councils
eratives and licensed them to cut in the forest (11) and interwatershed forest ecosystem management
(Figure 23.2). In the Mgori Forest of central Tan- councils. Mountain dwellers depend upon the tim-
zania, five communities have become the active ber, nontimber forest products, and the headwa-
guardians of a large miombo woodland; which was ters of streams located within the forests of such
in danger of disappearing because of uncontrolled upland areas to sustain their livelihoods. Addi-
wood extraction, shifting cultivation, and settlement. tionally, as the lives of lowland dwellers have been
Through a collaborative arrangement with gov- increasingly affected by the soil erosion, river sil-
ernment, the villagers are recognized not only as tation, and flooding caused by deteriorating
the prime users, but as the controlling managers upland ecosystems, the government has become
and potentially, owners of the forest, for as long more inclined to mobilize and support the ecosys-
as they protect the forest from damaging use or tem management efforts of local mountain com-
diminishment. Their main tools of management munities (13) (Figure 23.3).
include village forest management plans, detailed In South America, there are a variety of new insti-
rules concerning forest use, vigiliant patrolling of tutional models being used to provide forest-
the forest by forest "watchers," and the establish- dwelling peoples with more control over the forest
ment of a monthly forum in which representatives resource or at least to protect their access to it (14).
Mexico's ejidos have in the past decade taken over
direct management of the forests they have long
owned from concessionaires. In Canada, the
Kedgewick Loggers Co-op, New Brunswick, is now
exploiting a former private forest whose exploita-
tion had come to be regarded as uneconomic by
the owner (15). In Quebec, the provincial forest
department began leasing out large holdings of
provincial forest to individuals under a forestry
sharecropping program (16).
Many of these programs have yet to prove them-
selves economically. The JFM program in India is
still awaiting an adequate economic evaluation of
benefits to villagers. Mexico's ejidos need to restruc-
ture for greater efficiency in the face of stiff com-
petition from cheap lumber coming into Mexico
F i g u r e 2 3 . 2 Felling of okoume in Gabon, W. under the liberalized trade regime of NAFTA. How-
Africa. Okoume is a major raw material for plywood ever, the response in the local communities to these
in Europe. (Photo by Neuhoff, Center for Tropical opportunities has engendered an intense interest in
Forestry, France.) such programs and motivated the Ford Foundation
 Global Experience in Social Forestry 495

Figure 23.3 Hillside

reforestation in Vietnam. (F.
Mattioli, World Food Program,
UN-FAO.)

to sponsor a research program to explore the poten- "allotments" of land to individuals that broke up
tials of community forestry in the United States. so many reservations in the region in the early and
The new interest has led to new assessments of mid-1900s. MTE operates its own sawmill and
the potential of community forestry (17) and has grows a diversity of species that both reflect tra-
focused attention on previously unsung cases of ditional values and allow it to access specialized
community forestry at home. Wisconsin, Michigan, market niches (19).
and Minnesota boast county forestry programs. In Managers of federal forests in the west are seek-
Wisconsin, the counties are the largest forest ing to respond to demands for new modes of col-
landowners in the state, with 2.3 million hectares laboration with local communities (20), and urban
in 28 counties (also see Chapter 10, Nonindustrial forestry is receiving new attention, not only for
Private Forests). The county forest ownership orig- ornamental and recreational purposes, but also for
inated in Depression-era tax defaults that caused reservoir and watershed management around
the land to revert to the counties, providing the legal cities (21). These programs seem to have a poten-
basis for local government forestry (18). tial for engendering new enthusiasm for forestry in
Also, in Wisconsin, 25 miles west of Green Bay, these communities (see Chapter 22, Urban Forestry).
there is an important example of Native American Social forestry programs draw upon strengths in
community forestry. Menominee Tribal Enterprises the community itself. One of those strengths that
(MTE) has a forest of 220,000 acres on its reser- has been recognized in many Third World com-
vation of 235,000 acres. The Menominee have been munity forestry programs is the indigenous knowl-
engaged in commercial timbering since before the edge of the sustainable use and management of
turn of the last century, and managed to avoid the both timber and nontimber forest products within
496 Social Forestry: The Community-Based M a n a g e m e n t of Natural Resources

local ecosystems that local people possess. In north- or groups to decide courses of action; 4) indige-
ern Thailand, the traditional watershed ecosystem nous knowledge about innovations and experi-
management practices of the Karen ethnic minor- mentation, how knowledge is developed and
ity have been carefully studied and highly refined; 5) indigenous knowledge as manifested in
acclaimed for the soundness of underlying scien- values and beliefs systems, how people feel about
tific principles, principles that have been worked their knowledge; and 6) indigenous knowledge
out through centuries of discovery learning within about teaching-learning transactions and commu-
the micro-environments inhabited by the Karen nication, how people share or exchange their
(22). Tree, crop, soil, water, animal, and wildlife knowledge. Such local, experience-based indige-
relationships are managed to promote sustainabil- nous knowledge about biological or natural phe-
ity of the ecosystem (Figure 23.4). nomena may often contain scientific principles or,
The indigenous or local experiential knowledge through careful scrutiny, yield new insights into
of such groups as the Karen, as well as all such important relationships specific to a particular loca-
indigenous knowledge everywhere, can be con- tion or ecosystem or perhaps generalizable to other
ceptualized as falling into six categories or levels: similar settings or contexts.
1) indigenous technical knowledge (ITK), the cog- Sometimes indigenous knowledge may be the
nitive structure of indigenous knowledge and its only knowledge which exists about such phe-
language forms; 2) indigenous knowledge about nomena, as particular insect-plant interactive rela-
local social organization, how people organize tionships. Just as important, if not more so, is the
themselves to use ITK in relation to, for example, improved communication that can occur between
the conservation and use of resources; 3) indige- the lay population and scientists when the language
nous knowledge about decision-making processes for expressing the local knowledge is known. Sci-
and patterns, how knowledge regarding resource entific information can then be translated into the
conservation and use is employed by individuals local language forms. Such communication is

Figure 23.4 A newly

planted hillside in Thailand. (UN-
FAO photo.)
Global Experience in Social Forestry 497

needed to close the current gap between scientist- growth of a variety of tree crops within the same
derived knowledge and indigenous, experience- plots, taking advantage of the photosynthesis,
based knowledge, to facilitate the functioning of shade requirements and tolerance, and soil nutri-
an additional laboratory for scientific investigation, ent needs of such trees and plants as coconut,
to identify and correct weaknesses or errors in either banana, papaya, and pineapple. Many combina-
knowledge system, and to facilitate further dis- tions of such intercropping have been tested and
covery. The sustainable management of community found effective by the local farmers through their
forests in the future may depend upon the progress own experiments and the intergenerational trans-
made in closing this gap (22). mission of the resulting and gradually accumulat-
Indigenous knowledge of how to sustainably ing knowledge. Other farmers have developed
manage natural resources exists wherever people ways to reinforce hillside terraces, where agricul-
have been actively engaged for decades in meet- tural crops are produced, by planting deep-rooting
ing the challenge. The Menominee of Wisconsin, trees along the edge of terraces to hold soil in
mentioned above, practice logging by starting at one place, thereby preventing or reducing soil erosion
end of the reservation and, over a period of sev- (Figure 23.5). The trees selected (e.g., calliandra)
eral years, progressively moving toward the oppo- also provide a steady supply of fuelwood and
site boundary of the reservation, selectively cutting leaves for fodder for animals (23).
only mature trees before returning to the initial start- In many areas of the world, cooperation among
ing point to restart the process. The Menominee government organizations in the delivery of serv-
have found that this procedure enables them to take ices to community-based social forestry programs
mature trees for timber, maintain the integrity and is still rare or weak. In some areas, progress is being
quality of the forest ecosystem, and provide a con- made in strengthening such interagency coopera-
tinuous source of livelihood for the community. tion. In Thailand, the Royal Forestry Department
In the Philippines, farmers in mountain com- and Department of Community Development, rec-
munities have joined together to develop multi- ognizing each other's respective strengths, have
story systems of agroforestry, which allow the joined forces in a pilot experiment for supporting

F i g u r e 2 3 . 5 Palm trees
incorporated in terraced hillside
planting in Indonesia. (Photo by
K. L. Young.)
498 Social Forestry: The Community-Based M a n a g e m e n t of Natural Resources

local participation in community forestry and nat- Efforts to alleviate rural poverty through the pro-
ural resource conservation. The two government motion of community-based agroforestry programs
units, with advisory inputs from faculty at two uni- have had mixed degrees of success. The Forestry
versities, aim to establish a model to guide the pro- Bureau of Yunnan, China, discovered that the
vision of the technical expertise of the 400 forestry increased apple production stemming from Bureau
staff members and the social organization expert- provision of tree saplings to mountain communities
ise of 6,000 community development workers to resulted in a flood of apples into the market and
the country's 60,000 village communities in the pro- the lowering of prices so drastically that farmers
motion of the sustainable management of com- became disinclined to further expand production.
munity forests. Using a participatory land-use The basic problem seems to have been an insuffi-
planning strategy and raised topographical maps as cient range of agroforestry crops that would allow
a tactile device for fostering visual clarity, villagers farmers to adjust to changing market demands (Fig-
are encouraged to identify, agree upon, and imple- ure 23.6). A subsidiary issue is the singular control
ment needed changes in the conservation and use of tree nurseries by the Forestry Bureau, a policy
of the natural resources in the surrounding area. that inhibits possibilities for diversification and pro-
The work thus far has resulted in significant changes vision of tree stocks that are in line with farmer pref-
and improvements in both agricultural practices and erences. Field studies of villager interests in the
forest resource management in the pilot villages. cultivation of various types of trees and their pref-
Improved patterns of cooperation also are erences for planting trees in different locations within
needed among communities having access to the their farm area, showed clear choices of specific
same resource base. For example, forest conser- trees for different locations (near family dwelling,
vation efforts are often located within watersheds at edge of fields, near streams, on a hilltop) and pur-
containing a number of village communities, requir- poses (shade, windbreaks, soil conservation, wildlife
ing cooperation in the management of common- habitat). Yet the Bureau was not able to respond
pool forest and water resources. Laos, with to these choices and preferences (25).
assistance from the UNDP, has begun the piloting Community-owned and -operated tree nurseries
of watershed ecosystem-based development can sometimes provide an answer to the diversity
emphasizing technical analysis of watershed of needs and preferences for tree stocks. Commu-
resources, constraints, and potential; the decen-
tralization of governmental authority; local partic-
ipation in intervillage watershed ecosystem
management councils; and mobile district man-
agement teams that include training and monitor-
ing and evaluation specialists. The rules governing
the sustainable use and management of forest
resources are determined locally and enforced by
the communities themselves. The major issue
encountered in the project to date has been fail-
ures in the devolution of power from government
bureaucracies to local communities, even though
the project objectives previously agreed upon were
to do exactly that. It seems that entrenched bureau-
cracies are difficult to change and are frequently
an obstacle to the achievement of community-
based management of natural resources in many F i g u r e 2 3 . 6 Agroforestry development in
settings (24). Amazonia. (UN-FAO photo.)
Issues a n d Challenges 499

nity forestry programs in Costa Rica have empha- established and govern the redistribution back to
sized the establishment and control of tree nurs- the villagers of all income earned from timber and
eries by the communities themselves. The saplings bamboo (26).
nurtured are those desired by the community. In
some communities, a deliberate effort has been
made to turn the responsibility for the management
of the nurseries over to the most impoverished
Issues and Challenges
segment of the community's inhabitants. Oftentimes In addition to the lessons, principles, strategies,
the managers are women who find nursery man- problems, needs, questions, issues, and challenges
agement work and sales correspond conveniently described thus far, there are several others that war-
with other family or household responsibilities. The rant mentioning, because they will be the focus of
income earned from the sale of the saplings also scientific endeavors and development work during
goes directly to meeting family needs. the decades ahead.
In Andhra Pradesh State of India, one joint for-
est management 0FM) project has enabled villagers
to become self-sufficient with money earned from Participation and Local Initiative
timber and bamboo (Figure 23.7). "Poverty was Local citizen participation in social forestry programs
caused by environmental degradation. So we made and schemes seems to be critical to success. Yet
poverty alleviation our primary target through envi- considerable disagreement exists over the nature
ronmental regeneration," says one spokesman for and amount of participation that is desirable, obtain-
the project. The project was implemented in an able, and sustainable. Creating a participative envi-
area under the control of the Naxalite movement, ronment, one that contains an appropriate
which started as a revolt against the inequitable incentives structure and works to positively affect
distribution of land and water. Vana Suraksha Samiti and sustain interest and active participation,
(VSS) or Forest Protection Committees were appears to remain an elusive goal in most programs

F i g u r e 2 3 . 7 Fuelwood
supply and collection is a critical
problem in many developing
countries, shown here in India.
(Photo by R. A. Young.)
500 Social Forestry: The Community-Based M a n a g e m e n t of Natural Resources

and projects. How to stimulate local initiative and behavior. The training of citizens for administrative
a sense of ownership for a social forestry program tasks, the local provision of technical assistance and
among local groups from the very inception of an economic advice, and for forestry-related business
activity, how to assure participation in an equitable roles to promote independence, self-reliance, and
distribution of benefits, and how to assure co- sustainability remain important challenges that war-
learning by both local citizens and project facilita- rant much attention.
tors remain challenges for the developers of the
science and practice art. Failure to set the right tone
in participation can lead local people to misun- Program Planning and
derstand and react negatively to the whole enter- Development
prise, and at worst, can lead local people to feel The achievement of success in social forestry pro-
that government is asking them "to plant govern- grams and in the advancement of the science and
ment trees on their land." The design and testing art of the field of practice calls for much reflection,
of mechanisms for facilitating empowerment, theory building, skills development, planning,
autonomy, self-realization, and community-based implementation, and evaluation. Community-based
management seem to be in an early stage of design management of forests entails participatory land-
and testing and will need to be developed or use planning and management, the development
refined in the years ahead. of land stewardship, a continual reinvestment of
benefits derived, and an ensuing strengthening of
the social dimension of local communities. Many
Community Control issues, questions, and propositions concern the
Another key to effective social forestry is commu- nature of such local natural resource planning: 1)
nity control of forest resources, related money flow, the necessity of decentralization of decision-
and local capacity for money management. Reports making and responsibility in support of commu-
on social forestry programs around the world sug- nity-based management of forests, 2) the nature and
gest these are some of the most critical factors in degree of top-down and bottom-up interactions in
determining success. Often little information exists program planning and implementation, 3) ways and
regarding either the land and forest resources avail- means of arriving at appropriate site-specific rec-
able or the nature of the conditions of the sur- ommendations, 4) the nature of formats and
rounding human population. Community forest processes for comprehensive planning of social
resource assessments have sometimes been carried forestry programs, and 5) the problems of and
out to help secure tenure and rights to forest prospects for co-management of social forestry and
resources, seek compensation for lost or threatened for mediating system incompatibilities. One choice
resources, provide an information base for use in seems to be that of finding common ground
managing forests sustainably, and monitor bio- between state and local management in the bene-
diversity for conservation. Securing tenure, creat- fit distribution of collective forest resources, on the
ing appropriate economic incentives, and one hand, as against having a local state-sponsored
strengthening institutional capacity for social entity managing forestry activities. A question seems
forestry programs require considerable managerial to be whether this is the best course for local social
ability and mutual understanding and cooperation, and ecosystems. The design and testing of more
that is, a modus cooperandi writ large, between peo- site-specific management plans based on consid-
ple and their governments. Yet many local groups erations of indigenous knowledge systems and
seem to lack, for one reason or another, the req- defined in terms of local needs and benefits must
uisite skills needed to effectively manage, especially go forward. In this regard, China's contract respon-
within collective arrangements, valuable and scarce sibility system may be a model with potential for
natural resources and related organized human worldwide applicability.
Issues and Challenges 501

Legal and Policy Environment agement will frequently involve the conservation
A people's approach to social forestry also requires and protection of forests by multicommunity groups
the formation of supportive policies. Social forestry that reside within the same watershed. A better
can only occur within a supportive legal and pol- understanding of how such groups can work
icy environment. Such policy must be blended with together to protect and sustain the watershed ecol-
both culture and legislation. There needs to be clar- ogy is needed in many areas. How to approach and
ity in terms of access to resources, contractual work effectively with such groups remains a major
accountability, and regulatory responsibility. When challenge for most government and nongovernment
local communities and their members are asked to organizations.
make forestry a more important part of their liveli-
hood strategies, they need to be provided with clear
terms on which to do so and assurance that gov-
Land and Tree Tenure
ernment is committed to those terms. In parts of People's social forestry-related behavior is affected
Africa, social forestry has been discouraged when by their real or perceived security of ownership or
national governments grant tree-cutting concessions user rights to land and land-based natural resources.
to urban elites, who so empowered show up to cut A sense of security influences human motivation
forest resources which communities have been hus- and ability to protect forests from exploitation by
banding. More studies of the range of factors and outside forces. Tenure itself is a broad concept. In
forces that hinder or enhance policy implementa- reality, it may include a variety of tenure "niches":
tion are needed. state-controlled lands, trees in communal areas,
sacred sites, resettlement areas, or individual lands,
for example. Other tenurial contexts such as pri-
Ecological Settings and Processes vate timber lands, collective tree tenure, and pri-
Social forestry is practiced in a wide variety of geo- vate tree tenure will also influence the nature of
physical landscapes such as hillsides, mountain social forestry activities. Tenurial processes within
tops, river valleys, watersheds, arid plains, wetlands, changing forest use patterns need to be clearly
buffer zones around protected areas, and degraded understood. Often land or tree tenure is based on
lands. Each of these provides unique features and gender, and the stability of such rights, especially
parameters that influence if not dictate the nature those of women, varies from one area or culture
of social forestry activities which take place. Some- to another. The length of time for which tenure is
times the major concerns are forest disturbance, awarded also affects the motivational base of land
transformation, or recovery, while at other times the husbandry and forest stewardship and the type of
major concern is with the nature of practices and practices of agriculture and forest protection and
rates of utilization of forest resources that are sus- use. In some locations, it has become necessary to
tainable within each context. Because of insuffi- award long-term stewardship certificates to local
ciency in laws and regulations for governing forest communities as a basis for encouraging desired
use and in forestry personnel to enforce them, behaviors.
locally organized community-based groups for
supervising forest use are essential in many loca-
tions if forest-based ecosystems are to be restored Land Use Patterns
and sustained. Changes in landscapes frequently result from large-
scale infrastructural developments such as hydro-
electric dams of major streams, vast irrigation and
Watershed Management electricity networks, new roads or other trans-
There are many locations around the world where portation systems, oil or gas pipelines and storage
an ecosystem approach to natural resource man- facilities, and the setting aside of lands as biosphere
502 Social Forestry: The Community-Based M a n a g e m e n t of Natural Resources

reserves or natural parks and recreation sites. How resolve such issues as the conversion of forests to
such developments affect land use patterns and the pasture, of preventing soil erosion in hilly regions
practice of social forestry by local populations or with tree reinforced contours, or preventing wind
the adaptations they make to these large macrospec- erosion through strip planting, and which type of
tive infrastructural changes that are beyond their tree crops to use in which locations as a means of
control is a subject that warrants much study. nitrogen fixation.

Agroforestry Forest and Woodland Management

As stated by the previous Director-General of the More frequently today, local communities or
International Center for Research in Agroforestry social groups are formed to manage forests and
(ICRAF) in Kenya, the world's farmers are far ahead woodlands, quite often because there are not suf-
of the scientists in regard to knowledge of and ficient government personnel to do such work,
experience with crop/soil/tree/animal/water rela- sometimes because of the realization that local peo-
tionships because they have been doing it for thou- ple may be highly motivated to do the work well.
sands of years. One strategy for efficiently Thinking and action regarding forest management
advancing our scientific understanding of such rela- ranges from scientific certification systems for sus-
tionships is to study what farmers are already doing tainable forest management to indigenously derived
and then testing and measuring observed concepts systems for managing the sustainable extraction of
and relationships for validity and utility under vary- renewable wood and nonwood resources. Issues
ing conditions. In much of the world, the "agro- exist concerning whether to practice selective, or
forestry" of fuelwood, food, fiber, livestock, soil partial, or clearcutting of trees, and under what con-
fertility, water, and income generation is central to ditions and why; the feasibility of compartmental
social forestry concerns (Figure 23-8). Working with management of forests; the solving of differences
groups of farmers or even whole communities, it in ideal choice of tree species and type of forest
may become possible to find acceptable ways to cover versus local preference; whether local peo-

Figure 23.8 Roadside

fuelwood plantation in Tanzania.
(Photo by B. K. Kaale, World
Food Program, UN-FAO.)
Issues and Challenges 503

pie (especially the rural poor) can be sufficiently be addressed and ways and means must be sought
trained and entrusted with the tasks of managing to help local forest-dependent communities find
tree nurseries and tree planting; and the validity of economic opportunities that will enable them to sur-
indigenous methods and locally created "appro- vive while protecting their forest resources. Much
priate" technologies. Social forestry provides a con- community forestry work is based on the failure
text for the search for answers to such questions by weak governments to enforce negative sanctions
and resolution of such issues. effectively, and the hope that providing an inter-
est in the preservation of the forest to local peo-
ple will give them the necessary incentive to help
Wood Industry police the resource. An integrated set of actions may
In many parts of the world, the ups and downs of be needed: from improving logging practices, to
the wood industry are tied inextricably to local com- diversifying local economies, to identifying incen-
munity acceptance of or resistance to the extrac- tives so that local people will feel that they have
tion rates and patterns practiced by timber a "stake" in the restoration efforts, to strengthen-
companies. Controversy over the nature and ing local governance, to formulating and enforc-
length of timber leases has pitted local communi- ing policy reforms. Social forestry will be of central
ties concerned with the ecological basis of their own importance to success in these actions.
economic survival against the voracious appetites
of timber companies and sometimes corrupt
forestry officials. The mobilization of community Biodiversity Conservation
protests against destructive wood industry practices Much current social forestry focus is on the ration-
is a major theme in many parts of the world. These ale for and means of creating effective buffer zones
problems are so pervasive that during the last four around biosphere reserves. Buffer zones are envi-
years of the 1990s, the World Bank has refused to sioned as means to resist land speculation, reduce
fund any projects involving commercial logging. A negative forest edge effects, increase biodiversity,
recent evaluation of the Bank's policy pointed out, deflect forest pressures, and improve community
however, that this had simply left a lucrative area conditions. The conceptual and programmatic links
of lending open to private lenders who lack the to community development are potentially strong
Bank's compunctions. but require the formulation of means to promote
a wise use of nontimber forest products (NTFP),
to alleviate fuelwood pressures, reduce environ-
Reforestation and mentally destructive and, therefore, unsustainable
Ecological Restoration agricultural practices, and optimize community
Invigorating the biophysical and socioeconomic participation in the protection of the nature
landscape of severely denuded and impoverished reserves. Prospects for the establishment of effec-
regions becomes a more realistic and necessary tive buffer zone programs will also depend on the
proposition as the human population continues to extent to which appropriate and locally accepted
expand and the number of suitable alternative forms of economic and legal freedom are
placements decrease. The challenge of restoring achieved because capacity for direct enforcement
degraded areas to ecologically desired states by government authorities is too limited. Cultural
requires the cooperation of governments and local factors must also be considered. In Africa and Asia,
communities. Certainly, in many locations, current "sacred forests" are proving an important source
policies of removing inhabitants from areas under of biological diversity, preserved by indigenous
restoration represents a debatable issue. The root systems of sanctioning including religious prohi-
causes of ecosystem degradation, whether social, bitions. Obviously, social forestry must encompass
political, economic, or natural/environmental, must such considerations.
504 Social Forestry: The Community-Based M a n a g e m e n t of Natural Resources

Sociocultural Context Gender and Poverty

Various sociocultural factors affect the prospects for Women comprise the majority of the world's pop-
sustained health of forest resources. Some progress ulation and suffer the effects of gender-based biases
is now being made in understanding the differences and inequalities. The importance of integrating
between Western property laws and indigenous women into decision-making processes concerning
tenure systems, of how local life is often intertwined the management and use of natural resources is
with various aspects of a forest, and the percep- undeniable. In social forestry, a major need today
tions of different ethnic groups regarding forest- is understanding the differentiation of gender-
people reciprocity. Studies that have explored the specific tasks based on tree species, products, and
cultural basis of human interaction with natural local culture. In Africa, there are some cultural prac-
resources should be assessed for insight into the tices that interfere with women participating in
cultural basis of social forestry. social forestry, such as prohibitions of tree plant-
ing by women, tree planting being treated as a
men's activity, or taboos that will not allow women
Indigenous Knowledge to deal with certain tree species. On the other hand,
Systems (IKS) the example of rural poor women in Costa Rica tak-
The prospects for designing site-specific social ing on the task of operating tree nurseries as a
forestry plans that will be implemented on a sus- means of earning income while simultaneously pro-
tained basis by the people inhabiting a target area viding a service essential to the restoration or refor-
will largely hinge upon the extent to which local, estation of degraded areas suggests a potentially
indigenous knowledge is studied, understood, and fruitful direction. It is also an example of the type
taken into account. Such knowledge may often of social forestry activities that need to be designed
become the foundation from which sustainable and tested. The alleviation of rural poverty in
programs can be built. They can be the curricu- degraded resource areas constitutes a major chal-
lum from which a "conscientization" or awareness- lenge for many governments, many having already
building process can be launched. In some experienced significant difficulty in finding effec-
locations, this may be the only way, outside of tive means of improving the quality of life of the
external economic or legal inducements, that sus- weaker sections of their population.
tained local participation can be achieved. The
process whereby local communities or groups
adapt to changes taking place around them in order Migration and Settlement
to survive calls for a dynamic interaction between Of increasing concern to environmentalists is the
indigenous, experience-based knowledge systems shifting and resettlement of human populations, as
and scientist-derived knowledge systems. This a part of nomadic traditions, as a result of natural
proposition poses as much of a challenge to sci- disasters, as a result of the overcrowding of urban
entists today as it does to local people because the areas, or just because of formal government plans
process and methods for learning from indigenous to occupy or create more favorable human envi-
experience require a considerable investment of
ronments (Figure 23.9). It is likely that the pressure
valuable time and energy. Hope for blending the
for this will become larger in years ahead as the
traditional governance of local societies and cul-
world's base population expands. Much work needs
tures with the functioning of an international econ-
to be done in designing and testing the nature and
omy in a mutually beneficial manner may rest, at
extent of services required by new settlements in
least in part, upon the extent to which IKS is
forested areas and in finding ways and means of
brought into the equation.
working effectively in partnership arrangements
Issues and Challenges 505

of forest assessments (labor, capital, maintenance,

professional expertise); 11) managing for the mar-
ket versus managing for biodiversity and main-
taining a choice among species; 12) the clash of
interests between community forest enterprises
(CFE) and world trade efficiencies; and 13) the
nature and amount of compensation required for
"ecological" services delivered by the poorer seg-
ments of the population, for example, community
tree nurseries run by women in impoverished rural
villages in Costa Rica. What types of socioeconomic
alternatives exist to thwart the excessive use of for-
est and forest products or what alternatives might
be developed? What incentives are necessary for
individuals to become willing to consider such alter-
F i g u r e 2 3 . 9 Creation of logging roads, such as natives?
this one shown in Papua, New Guinea, opens access
for migration and settlement in forest regions leading
to further decline of tropical forests. Interorganizational Collaboration
Integrated service delivery remains an elusive goal
for many government and nongovernment organ-
with such new communities to promote a viable ization-sponsored social forestry projects. Appro-
form and level of human existence while sustain- priate and timely response to local needs and
ing the surrounding forests. perceptions of the same is not easily achieved.
Social forestry programs are not immune from this
aspect of programming failure. Some success has
Economic Change been experienced when agencies or organizations
Several key economic questions and issues sur- move from acting as patrons of local efforts to
round social forestry: 1) the design and conduct becoming encouragers and facilitators of local ini-
of cost-benefit analyses of programs and activities; tiative and responsibility. The big challenge in the
2) the determination of rates of return for social community-based management of natural resources
investments; 3) the distribution of benefits from col- continues to be the acceptance and use of adap-
lective endeavors; 4) the efficiency of community- tive and facilitative styles for dealing with diverse
based forest enterprises; 5) the economic viability forests and the human users of the same. Ways and
of state monopolies versus farmers responding to means of achieving and maintaining inter-
free markets; 6) the required nature and degree of organizational collaboration in such responsive pro-
reinvestment of derived benefits at the local level gramming need to be sought, tested, and adapted
to maintain sustainability; 7) the balancing of com- to fit varying local circumstances.
munity economic development with forest sus-
tainability; 8) the formation and functioning of
forestry cooperatives as a means to protect the envi- Conflict Resolution
ronment and improve the local economy; 9) the Disputes over access to and the control and man-
division of profits for reinvestment and for indi- agement of natural resources occur; 1) within com-
vidual and group benefits; 10) estimating the costs munities; 2) between communities; 3) in contests
506 Social Forestry: The Community-Based M a n a g e m e n t of Natural Resources

between public versus private property rights; and monitoring and evaluation methods by different
4) between individual rights and the community organizations and agencies working in the same
good. In many cases, organizational structures and service area, resulting in varying kinds and levels
dispute settlement mechanisms for "mediating" of data being collected and, therefore, different
democratic processes of conflict resolution often interpretations being given to local conditions and
exist for categories 1 and 4, but not for 2 or 3. needs. This situation often seriously reduces the
chances for effective interorganizational response
to local community forestry efforts. Additionally,
Extension most measurement science assumes the involve-
Key concepts and issues regarding the role of exten- ment of local citizens, yet ways need to be designed
sion in social forestry programs are: 1) forester cred- and tested for properly introducing it to them and
ibility; 2) prospects for fostering farmer-to-farmer effectively developing their abilities and willingness
exchanges regarding agroforestry practices; 3) estab- to employ it themselves.
lishing and working effectively with farmer asso-
ciations to arrive at group decisions on policies and
practices; 4) achieving accuracy in target grouping;
5) the willingness to revamp strategies in a con- Concluding Statement
tinuing quest to increase relevance, effectiveness, Social forestry as a science and practice art is evolv-
and efficiency in program actions; 6) improving ing rapidly in response to increasing pressures on
communications with clientele; 7) improving rural forest resources and forest-based ecosystems
people's understanding of the limits on forest use; around the globe. A recognition of the necessity
and 8) extension staff willingness to serve as cat- to mobilize human communities to assume a greater
alysts and facilitators working among the ranks of responsibility and role in conserving the earth's nat-
(and not trying to serve as representatives for) the ural resources has gradually emerged. Yet the con-
people they serve. solidation of the principles and lessons from
decades of experience in diverse settings and sit-
uations remains an unfinished task.
Measurement and Evaluation An ecosystem approach to local management of
There are serious social, ecological, and economic natural resources will require collaboration at all
implications attached to the types of evaluation and levels, but community responsibility will remain the
measurement methods and techniques used in key to success. It has been and will continue to be
social forestry programs. The results of using or a challenge to combine an ecosystem approach and
emphasizing one method or approach over another community management because communities may
may influence the balance of ecological parame- not be organized for natural resource management
ters with the marketplace or the balance between at the ecosystem scale. It will continue to be nec-
promoting income generation and maintaining essary to: 1) raise levels of public awareness, under-
resource base integrity. Assessment methodology standing, and appreciation of the need for and
has advanced rapidly in recent years as a result of nature of community-based natural resource man-
the development of: 1) remote sensing capacities; agement; 2) create capacities for intercommunity
2) pairing geographic information systems (GIS) collaboration in ecosystems occupied by several
with thematic mapping using participatory rapid communities; 3) develop the forestry science that
appraisal (PRA) or participatory land-use planning must undergird such work, 4) identify the policy
(PLP) techniques; 3) conducting continuous forest frameworks necessary to support community con-
or timber inventories; 4) mapping resource bound- trol and initiative; and 5) empower local groups
aries; and 5) inventorying nontimber forest prod- with a wide variety of skills critical for getting the
ucts (NTFP). A related issue is the use of different job done well. Much of what will be needed has
References 507

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13. M. R. TEUKE. AND S. PIGORSCH, On Wisconsin. 97(1),
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Field and W. R. Burch, Jr., eds., Westview Press, Boul- 17. J. C. BLISS, S. K. NEPAL, R. T. BROOKS, JR., AND M. D.
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3. E. C. Weeks, "Mill closures in the Pacific Northwest: 18. R. D. LINDBERG AND H. J. HOVIND, "Wisconsin Forests,
The consequences of economic decline in rural indus- an Assessment," Bureau of Forestry, Department of
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tinuities in the Sociology of Natural Resources, R. G. 19. P. HUFF, "Menominee tribal enterprises: A case study"
Lee, D. R. Field and W. R. Burch, Jr., eds., Westview In Case Studies of Community-Based Forestry Enter-
Press, Boulder, Colo., 1990. prises in the Americas, Land Tenure Center and Insti-
4. L. FORTMANN, J. KUSEL, C. DANKS, L. MOODY, AND S.
tute for Environmental Studies, University of
SESHAN, "A comparative rapid rural assessment of Wisconsin-Madison, 1994.
seven forest communities," In Well-Being in Forest- 20. R. BARKER, "Forestry in the Next West," In The Next
Dependent Communities, Vol. 1, Kusel and Fortmann, West; Public Lands, Community and Economy in the
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agement, UC-Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif., 1991. latin Institute, Island Press, Covelo, Wash., 1997.
5. T. M. BECKLEY, Society and Natural Resources, 8, 261 21. R. W. MILLER, "The urban forest," In Urban Forestry:
(1995). Planning and Managing Urban Greenspaces, Second
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 APPENDIX I
Common and Scientific Names
of Tree Species Mentioned
in the Text

Acacia Acacia spp. Birch, gray or field Betula populifolia

Achin Pistacia mexicana river Betula nigra
Ailanthus or tree of Ailanthus altissima silver Betula verrucosa
heaven sweet or black Betula lenta
Alder, common or Alnus glutinosa white or paper Betula papyrifera
European yellow Betula alleghaniensis
red Alnus rubra (Betula lutea)
Aliso Alnus jorullensis Blackgum (see Gum)
American hornbeam (see Blue beech (see Beech)
Beech) Box elder (see Elder)
Ash, American mountain Sorbus americana Buckeye, Georgia Aesculus georgiana
common Fraxinus excelsior yellow Aesculus octandra
flowering Fraxinus ornus Butternut Juglans cinerea
green or red Fraxinus pennsylvanica Camaron Alvaradoa amorphoides
mountain Eucalyptus regnans Caoba Swietenia humilis
Oregon Fraxinus latifolia Carob tree Ceratonia siliqua
white Fraxinus americana Castano bellota Sterculia mexicana
Aspen (European) Populus tremula Catalpa, northern or hard Catalpa speciosa
largetooth or bigtooth Populus grandidentata southern Catalpa bignonioides
quaking or trembling Populus tremuloides Cedar, Alaska yellow Chamaecyparis
Bald cypress (see Cypress) nootkatensis
Balsa Ochroma pyramidale Alantic white Chamaecyparis thyoides
Bamboo Cephalostachyum eastern redcedar Juniperus virginiana
pergracile incense Libocedrus decurrens
Basswood, American or Tilia americana Japanese Cryptomeria japonica
American linden northern white, or Thuja occidentalis
small-leaved linden Tilia cordata eastern arborvitae
white Tilia heterophylla Port Orford Chamaecyparis
Beech, American Fagus grandifolia lawsoniana
blue, or American Carpinus caroliniana prickly juniper Juniperus oxycedrus
hornbeam (Carpinus betulus western juniper Juniperus occidentalis
virginiana) western red cedar Thuja plicata
common or European Fagus sylvatica Cherry, black Prunus serotina
eastern hornbeam Carpinus orientalis cornelian Cornus mas
European hornbeam Carpinus betulus pin Prunus pensylvanica
southern Nothofagus spp. Chestnut, American Castanea dentata
Bigcone Douglas fir (see Spanish Castanea sativa
Fir) Chinatree or chinaberry Melia azedarach
509
510 Appendix I

Chinkapin, golden Castanopsis chrysophylla Hemlock, eastern Tsuga canadensis

Chokeberry Aronia spp. mountain Tsuga mertensiana
Coffeetree, Kentucky Gymnocladus dioicus western Tsuga heterophylla
Cottonwood (see Poplar) Hickory, bitternut Carya cordiformis
Crape myrtle Lagerstroemia indica mockernut Carya tomentosa
Cucumbertree or Magnolia acuminata pignut Carya glabra
cucumber magnolia shagbark Carya ovata
Cypress, bald cypress Taxodium distichum Holly, American Ilex opaca
Monterey Cupressus macrocarpa Honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos
Montezuma Taxodium mucronatum Hoja fresca Gilbertia arborea
Dogwood, flowering Cornus florida Hophornbeam, eastern Ostrya virginiana
Douglas fir (see Fir) European Ostrya carpinifolia
Doveplum Coccoloba diversifolia Hornbeam (see Beech)
Elder, box Acer negundo Horsechestnut (Buckeye) Aesculus hippocastanum
Elm, American or white Ulmus americana Huisache Acacia farnesiana
English Ulmus procera Ironwood Dialium guianense
Japanese Ulmus japonica Judas tree Cercis siliquastrum
rock or cork Ulmus thomasii Juniper (see Cedar)
Siberian Ulmus pumila Karri Eucalyptus diversicolor
winged Ulmus alata Kentucky coffeetree (see
Eucalyptus Eucalyptus spp. Coffeetree)
False mastic Sideroxylon foetidissimum Larch, American, eastern, Larix laricina
Filbert (see Hazel) or Tamarack
Fir, alpine, or subalpine Abies lasiocarpa European Larix decidua (Larix
balsam Abies balsamea europaca)
bigcone Douglas fir Pseudotsuga macrocarpa subalpine Larix lyallii
California red Abies magnifica western Larix occidentalis
Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii Laurel, bay Laurus notilis
Fraser Abies fraseri California, Oregon- Umbellularia californica
grand or lowland white Abies grandis myrtle
noble Abies procera (Abies Leadwood Krugiodendron ferreum
nobilis) Lemonwood Psychotria capensis
Pacific silver Abies amabilis Lignum vitae Guaiacum sanctum
silver Abies alba Linden (see Basswood)
white Abies concolor Locust, black or yellow Robinia pseudoacacia
Fish poison tree, Florida Piscidia piscipula Madrone, Pacific Arbutus menziesii
Ginkgo tree Ginkgo biloba Magnolia, cucumber (see
Gmelina Gmelina arborea Cucumbertree)
Goldenrain tree Koelreuteria paniculata southern Magnolia grandiflora
Gum, black or black Nyssa sylvatica Mahogany, West Indies Swietenia mahagoni
tupelo Mangrove, black Avicennia nitida
red or sweetgum Liquidambar stryaciflua red Rhizophora mangle
swamp tupelo Nyssa sylvatica biflora Maple, bigleaf Acer macrophyllum
tupelo or water tupelo Nyssa aquatica Norway Acer platanoides
Gumbo-limbo Bursera simaruba red (including trident) Acer rubrum
Hackberry Celtis occidentalis silver Acer saccharinum
Hazel, European or filbert Corylus avellana sugar Acer saccharum
Common and Scientific Names of Tree Species Mentioned in the Text 511

sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus Paulownia Paulownia tomentosa

vine Acer circinatum Pecan Carya illinoensis
Melina Gmelina arborea Persimmon, common Diospyros virginiana
Metasequoia Metasequoia Pine, aleppo Pinus halepensis
glyptostroboides apache Pinus engelmannii
Monkey pod, monkey Araucaria araucana bishop Pinus muricata
puzzle black or Austrian Pinus nigra
Mulberry, red Morus rubra bristlecone Pinus aristata
white Morus alba Caribbean Pinus caribaea
Nettle tree, European Celtis australis Chihuahua or piño Pinus leiophylla var.
Oak, black Quercus velutina chino chihuahuana
blackjack Quercus marilandica Coulter Pinus coulteri
bur Quercus macrocarpa Digger Pinus sabiniana
California black Quercus kelloggii eastern white Pinus strobus
California live Quercus agrifolia foxtail Pinus balfouriana
California white Quercus lobata jack Pinus banksiana
canyon live Quercus chrysolepis Jeffrey Pinus jeffreyi
cherrybark Quercus falcata Khasia Pinus kesiya
pagodaefolia knobcone Pinus attenuata
chestnut Quercus prinus limber Pinus flexilis
cork Quercus suber loblolly Pinus taeda
durmast Quercus petraea lodgepole Pinus contorta
English Quercus robur longleaf Pinus palustris
holm Quercus ilex maritime Pinus pinaster
Hungarian Quercus frainetto Merkus Pinus merkusii
live Quercus virginiana Mexican weeping Pinus patula
northern red or eastern Quercus rubra (Quercus Monterey Pinus radiata
red borealis) Norfolk Island Araucaria heterophylla
Oregon white Quercus garryana pinabete Pinus ayacahuite
overcup Quercus lyrata piño Colorado Pinus teocote
pin Quercus palustris piño de Montezuma Pinus montezumae
post Quercus stellata Pinus oocarpa
piño prieto
Quercus pubescens Pinus edulis
pubescent pinyon
Quercus coccinea Pinus rigida
scarlet pitch
Grevillea robusta Pinus serotina
silky pond
Quercus falcata Pinus ponderosa
southern red ponderosa or western
swamp chestnut Quercus michauxii yellow
turkey (United States) Quercus laevis (Quercus (Rocky Mountain form) Pinus ponderosa var.
catesbaei scopulorum
turkey (Europe) Quercus cerris red or Norway Pinus resinosa
water Quercus nigra sand Pinus clausa
white Quercus alba Scotch or Scots Pinus sylvestris
willow Quercus phellos shortleaf Pinus echinata
Olive Olea europaea slash Pinus elliotti
Oriental plane Platanus orientalis southwestern white Pinus strobiformis
Osage-orange Maclura pomifera spruce Pinus glabra
Oyamel Abies religiosa stone Pinus pinea
512 Appendix I

sugar Pinus lambertiana Norway Picea abies

Virginia or scrub Pinus virginiana red Picea rubens
western white Pinus monticola Sitka Picea sitchensis
whitebark Pinus albicaulis white Picea glauca
Poplar, California or black Populus trichocarpa St. Johns bread (see Carob
cottonwood tree)
eastern or eastern Populus deltoides Strangler fig, Florida Ficus aurea
cottonwood Strawberry tree Arbutus unedo
swamp cottonwood Populus heterophylla Sugarberry Celtis laevigata
yellow, or tuliptree Liriodendron tulipifera Sugi (see Cedar, Japanese)
Prickly ash, lime Zanthoxylon fagara Sumac, winged Rhus copallina var.
Quebracho Schinopsis spp. copallina
Redberry eugenia Eugenia confusa Sweetbay, southern Magnolia virginiana
Red cedar (see Cedar) Sycamore, American Platanus occidentalis
Redwood Sequoia sempervirens Tamarack (see Larch)
Rompezapato or saffron- Bumelia celastrina Tamarind, wild Lysiloma bahamensis
plum Tanoak Lithocarpus densiflorus
Rosewood Dalbergia spp. Teak Tectona grandis
Royal palm, Florida Roystonea elata Torreya, California Torreya californica
Sassafras Sassafras albidum Tree of heaven, see
Sequoia, giant Sequoiadendron Ailanthus
giganteum Trumpet wood Cecropia mexicana
Silk-cotton tree Ceiba pentandra Tupelo (see Gum)
Silktree Albizzia julibrissin Walnut, black Juglans nigra
Soapberry, wingleaf Sapindus saponaria Willow, black Salix nigra
Sourwood Oxydendron arboreum Yellow-poplar or tuliptree Liriodendron tulipifera
Spruce, black Picea mariana Yew, common Taxus baccata
blue Picea pungens Pacific Taxus brevifolia
Engelmann Picea engelmannii
 A P P E N D I X II
Common and Scientific Names
of Animal Species Mentioned
in the Text

Insectivores Even-Toed Ungulates

Mole, eastern Scalopus aquaticus Caribou, woodland Rangifer spp.
Shrew Sorex spp. Deer, mule Odocoileus hemionus
white-tailed Odocoileus virginianus
Hares and Rabbits Elk (wapiti) Cervus canadensis
Hare, snowshoe Lepus americanus Moose Alces alces
Cottontail, eastern Sylvilagus floridanus
Birds
Rodents Bluebird, eastern Sialia sialis
Beaver Castor canadensis Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
Gopher, pocket Thomomys spp. Chickadee, black-capped Parus atricapillus
Mouse, white-footed deer Peromyscus maniculatus Cranes Grus spp.
Porcupine Erethizon dorsatum Creeper, brown tree Certhia familiaris
Squirrel, flying (southern) Galucomys volans Crossbill Loxia spp.
Squirrel, ground Spermophilus spp. Dove, mourning Zenaida macroura
chipmunk least Eutamias minimus Duck, American golden- Glaucionetta clangula
(western) eye
Squirrel, tree Barrow's golden-eye Bucephala islandica
gray, eastern Sciurus carolinensis black Anas rubripes
pine or chickaree Tamiasciurus douglasi buffle-head Bucephala albeola
red Tamiasciurus hudsonicus hooded merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
Voles Microtus spp. mallard, common Anas platyrhynchos
wood Aix sponsa
Carnivores Eagle, bald Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Bear, black Ursus americanus Falcon, peregrine Falco peregrinus
grizzly Ursus horribilis Finch Carpodacus spp.
Coyote Canis latrans Flycatcher, least Empidonax minimus
Fisher Maries pennanti Grosbeak, evening Coccothraustes vespertinus
Fox, gray Vulpes fulva Goose, Canada Branta canadensis
red Urocyon cinereoargenteus Grouse, blue Dendragapus obscurus
Lynx Lynx canadensis prairie chicken or Tympamuchus cupido
Mink Mustela vison pinnated
Mountain lion Felis concolor ruffed Bonasa umbellus
Otter Lutra canadensis sharp-tailed Pedioecetes phasianellus
Raccoon Procyon lotor spruce Dendragapus canadensis
Wolf, gray or timber Canis lupus Hawk, broad-winged Buteo platypterus
Wolverine Gulo luscus goshawk Accipiter gentilis

513
514 Appendix II

red-shouldered Buteo lineatus mountain pine Dendroctonus ponderosae

Heron Ardea spp. native elm bark Hylurgopinus rufipes
Jay, pinyon Gymnorhinus smaller European elm Scolytus multistriatus
cyanocephalus bark
Kestrel Falco sparverius southern pine Dendroctonus frontalis
Kingbird Tyrannus spp. western pine Dendroctonus brevicomis
Magpie Pica pica Borer, bronze birch Agrilus anxius
Martin, purple Progne subis hemlock Melanophila fulvoguttata
Merganser, hooded Lophodytes cucullatus poplar Saperda calcarta
Nuthatch, white-breasted Sitta carolinensis two-lined chestnut Agrilus bilineatus
Oriole, Baltimore Icterus galbula Budworm, jack pine Choristoneura pinus
Osprey Pandion haliaetus spruce Choristoneura fumiferana
Ovenbird Seiurus aurocopillus Casebearer, larch Coleophora laricella
Owl, barred Strix varia Engraver, fir Scolytus ventralis
horned Bubo virginianus pine Ips pini
saw-whet Aegolius acadicus Looper, hemlock Lambdina fiscellaria
Quail, bobwhite Colinus virginianus linden Erannis tiliaria
Raven Corvus corax Moth, gypsy Lymantria dispar
Redpoll Carduelis spp. shoot, European pine Rhyacionia buoliana
Siskin Carduelis pinus Douglas-fir tussock Orgyia pseudotsugata
Swallow, tree Iridoprocne bicolor pine tussock Dasychira plagiata
Swift, chimney Chaetura pelagica white-marked tussock Hemerocampa
Thrush Hylocichla spp. leucostigma
Turkey, eastern Meleagris gallopavo Pitch nodule maker Petrova albicapitana
silvestrii Sawfly, European pine Neodiprion sertifer
Vireo, red-eyed Vireo olivaceus European spruce Diprion hercyniae
Warbler, black-and-white Mniotilta varia jack pine Neodiprion pratti
blackburnian Dendroica fusca banksianae
Kirtland's Dendroica kirtlandii larch Pristiphora erichsonii
Waxwing Bombycilla spp. red-headed pine Neodiprion lecontei
Woodcock Philohela minor red pine Neodiprion nanulus
Woodpecker, downy Dendrocopus pubescens nanulus
flicker Colaptes auratus Swaine jack pine Neodiprion swainei
hairy Dendrocopus villosus Sawyer, southern pine Monochamas titillator
ivory-billed Campephilus principalis white spotted Monochamus scutellatus
pileated Dryocopus pileatus Scale, pine tortoise Toumeyella numismatica
red-cockaded Dendrocopus borealis Spanworm, elm Ennomos subsignarius
yellow-bellied Sphyrapicus varius Spittlebug, pine Aphrophora parallela
sapsucker Saratoga Aphrophora saratogensis
Wren Thyrothorus spp. Tent caterpillar, eastern Malacosoma americanum
forest Malacosoma disstria
Insects Walkingstick Diapheromera femorata
Aphid, balsam woolly Adelges piceae Wasp, wood Sirex spp.
Beetle, Douglas-fir Dendroctonus Weevil, pales Hylobius pales
pseudotsugae pine root collar Hylobius radicis
Japanese Popillia japon ica white pine Pissodes strobi
 A P P E N D I X III
Unit Conversion Table

Linear Measure

Mass Measure

Area Measure

Volume Measure

515
 A P P E N D I X IV
Taxonomy of Selected
Forest Trees

MAGNOLIOPHYTA (angiosperms) Locusts (Robinia)

Magnoliopsida (dicots)
Olive family (Oleaceae)
Willow family (Salicaceae) Ashes (Fraxinus)
Poplars, aspens (Populus)
Willows (Salix) Walnut family (Juglandaceae)
Hickories, pecan (Carya)
Birch family (Betulaceae) Walnuts (Juglans)
Alders (Alnus)
Birches (Betula) . Buckeye family (Hippocastanaceae)
Buckeye, horsechestnut (Aesculus)
Beech family (Fagaceae)
Chestnut, chinkapins (Castanea) Rose family (Rosaceae)
Beeches (Fagus) Hawthorns (Crataegus)
Oaks (Quercus) Mountain ashes (Sorbus)

Elm family (Ulmaceae) Liliopsida (monocots)

Hackberries (Celtis)
Elms (Ulmus) Palms and palmettos family (Arecaceae)

Magnolia family (Magnoliaceae) Lily family (Liliaceae)

Tuliptree (Liriodendron) Yucca (Yucca)
Magnolia (Magnolia)
CONIFEROPHYTA (gymnosperms)
Laurel family (Lauraceae) Pine family (Pinaceae)
Sassafras (Sassafras) Pines (Pinus)
Firs (Abies)
Witch-hazel family (Hamamelidaceae) Spruces (Picea)
Sweetgum (Liquidambar) Hemlocks (Tsuga)
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga)
Sycamore family (Platanaceae) Larches (Larix)
Sycamore (Platanus) True cedars (Cedrus)

Mulberry family (Moraceae) Bald cypress family (Taxodiaceae)

Mulberry (Morus) Bald cypress (Taxodium)
Redwood (Sequoia)
Maple family (Aceraceae)
Maple (Acer) Cypress family (Cupressaceae)
Junipers (Juniperus)
Basswood (linden) family (Tiliaceae) Cypresses (Cupressus)
Basswood (Tilia) Cedars (Chamaecyparis, Thuja)

Legume family (Fabaceae) Yew family (Taxaceae)

Honeylocust (Gleditsia) Yew (Taxus)
516
 APPENDIX V
Glossary

Adventitious. Plant part that develops outside of

A the usual position or time or both.
Abiotic factors. Nonliving elements (factors) of
Aerial film. A specially designed roll film sup-
the environment—that is, soil, climate, phys-
plied in many lengths and widths to fit aerial
iography.
cameras. See Color, Color infrared film, Infrared,
Abscission. Dropping leaves, flowers, fruits, or and Panchromatic.
other plant parts following the formation of a
Aerial photograph, oblique. An aerial photo-
separation zone at the base of the plant part.
graph taken with the camera axis directed
Absorbance. A measure of the ability of a sur- between the horizontal and the vertical.
face to absorb incident energy, often at specific
Aerial photograph, vertical. An aerial photo-
wavelengths.
graph made with the optical axis of the camera
Absorbed light. Light rays that are neither approximately perpendicular to the earth's sur-
reflected nor transmitted when directed toward face and with the film as nearly horizontal as is
opaque or transparent materials. practical.
Absorption. A process of attenuation through Aerial photographs, composite. Aerial photo-
which radiant energy is intercepted and con- graphs made with a camera having one princi-
verted into other forms of energy as it passes pal lens and two or more sunounding and oblique
through the atmosphere or other media. lenses symmetrically placed; the several resulting
photographs may be rectified in printing to per-
Absorption band. A range of wavelengths over
mit assembly as verticals with the same scale.
which radiant energy is intercepted by a specific
material that may be present on the earth's sur- Agrisilviculture. System of cultivation combin-
face or in the atmosphere. ing agriculture and forestry whereby tree plan-
tations are interplanted with agricultural crops
Adaptation. Genetically determined character or
(the crops can yield a fast return while trees
feature of an organism that serves to increase
slowly mature).
reproductive potential or chance of survival.
Agroforestry. A system of planting agricultural
Adsorption. Adhesion of the molecules of a gas,
crops in a compatible fashion with tree species,
liquid, or dissolved substance to a surface, par-
often in the forms of plantations.
ticularly of water molecules to the internal sur-
face within the porous walls of wood and bark Air-dry. Of timber or wood dried to equilibrium
cells. with the surrounding atmosphere.
Advance regeneration. Young trees that have Albedo. The percentage of the total illumination
become established naturally before a clearcut of a planet or satellite that is reflected from its
is made. surface.
517
518 Appendix V

Albuminous cells. Certain ray and axial Apical meristem. Growing point at the tip of the
parenchyma cells in gymnosperm phloem; root or stem. Gives rise to primary tissues.
associated with sieve cells.
Autecology. Study of the relationship between an
Alkaloid. Nitrogen-containing toxins produced by individual organism and its environment.
plants that serve as defense compounds.
Autogenic. Involving or resulting from a reaction
Allelopathy. Suppression of germination, growth, between or in living organisms.
or the limiting of the occurrence of plants when
Autotrophic. Referring to green plants that
chemical inhibitors are released by some plants.
make their own food by photosynthesis, and of
Allogenic succession. Ecological succession bacteria that can grow without organic carbon
resulting from factors (such as prolonged and nitrogen. Self-nourishing.
drought) that arise external to a natural com-
Auxin. A plant growth-regulating substance.
munity and alter its habitat (i.e., changes the veg-
Among other effects, it controls cell elongation.
etation).
Avifauna. Bird life of a given region.
Amorphous. Formless.
Axil. Angle between the upper side of a leaf or
Anadromous. Ascending upriver from the sea
twig and the supporting stem.
to spawn; relating to such fishes as salmon.
Axis. Longitudinal support on which organs or
Analog. A form of data display in which values
parts are arranged; the stem and root; the cen-
are shown in graphic form, such as curves. Also,
tral line of the body. Axial, adjective.
a form of computing in which values are rep-
resented by directly measurable quantities, Azimuth. The geographic orientation of a line
such as voltages or resistances. Analog com- given as an angle measured clockwise from
puting methods contrast with digital methods in north.
which values are treated numerically.
Angiosperm. Vascular flowering plants that pro-
duce seeds enclosed in an ovary. Include mono-
B
cotyledons (grasses and palms) and dicotyledons Backfire. Fire set along the inner edge of a fire
(herbaceous and woody plants). line to consume the fuel in the path of a forest
fire, to change the direction of the fire, or both.
Angle of incidence. The angle formed by a
straight line, ray of light, or the like, meeting a Bark. All tissue outside the cambium.
surface and a normal to the surface at the point Basal area. Area of the cross-section of a tree
of meeting. stem, generally at breast height (1.3 meters or
Anisotropic. Of a material whose properties vary 4.5 feet) and inclusive of bark.
according to the direction of measurement. The Bast fiber. Any of several strong, ligneous fibers
anisotropy of wood corresponds to the main fea- obtained from phloem tissue and used in the
tures of wood structure and the marked manufacture of woven goods and cordage.
anisotropy of the cellulose long-chain molecules.
Bedrock. Bottom layer, lowest stratum; unbroken
Annual ring. One growth layer as seen in cross- solid rock, overlaid in most places by soil or rock
section of a woody plant stem. Formed by con- fragments.
trast of springwood and summerwood.
Bilateral aid. Aid based on a formal agreement
Apical dominance. Influence exerted by a ter- between a single donor country and the recip-
minal bud in suppressing the growth of the lat- ient; in contrast to multilateral aid, which orig-
eral buds.
Glossary 519

inates from several countries, usually through an Browse. Leaves, small twigs, and shoots of
international agency. shrubs, seedling, and sapling trees, and vines
available for forage for livestock and wildlife.
Biltmore stick. A graduated stick used to esti-
mate tree diameters. Bryophyte. Any plant of the division Bryophyta,
a division containing the liverworts and mosses.
Binder. Extraneous bonding agent, organic or
These plants do not possess a vascular system.
inorganic, used to bind particles together—for
example, to produce particleboard. Buck. To cut a tree into proper lengths after it
has been felled.
Biological control. Regulation of pest species
through the use of other organisms. Bud primordium. Embryonic shoot formed in
the axil of a leaf.
Biomass. Quantity of biological matter of one or
more species present on a unit area.
Biome. Usually terrestrial ecological communi-
ties of very wide extent often defined by botan-
c
ical habitat and characterized by soil and climate; Calender. Machine in which cloth, paper, or the
the largest ecological unit. like is smoothed, glazed, or otherwise manipu-
lated by pressing between revolving cylinders.
Biosphere. Part of the earth's crust, water, and
atmosphere where living organisms can subsist. Caliper. An instrument for directly measuring tree
diameters.
Biotic factors. Relation of living organisms to one
another from an ecological view (as opposed to Canopy. More-or-less continuous cover of
abiotic or nonliving elements). branches and leaves formed collectively by the
crowns of adjacent trees or shrubs. See
Black liquor. Liquor resulting from the manu-
Understory.
facture of pulp by alkaline processes and con-
taining, in a modified form, the greater part of Capillary water. Water that fills the smaller pores
the extracted lignin and sugar degradation prod- less than 0.05 millimeter in diameter and that by
ucts. adhesion to the soil particles can resist the force
of gravity and remain suspended in the soil. This
Blowup fire. Sudden increase in intensity and
water constitutes the major source of water for
rate of flame spread, often accompanied by a
tree growth, except in soils having a high water
violent convection column of smoke and hot
table.
gases.
Carbonization. Decomposition by heat of
Board foot. Unit of measurement represented by
organic substances in a limited supply of air
a board 1 foot long, 1 foot wide, and 1 inch thick
accompanied by the formation of carbon. See
(144 cubic inches), measured before surfacing
Destructive distillation.
or other finishing. Abbreviations: b.f., bd ft,
ft.b.m. Carnivore. Organism that consumes mostly
flesh.
Bole. Tree stem of merchantable thickness.
Carrying capacity. Number of organisms of a
Bolt. Any short log, as a pulpwood or veneer bolt.
given species and quality that can survive in a
Boreal. Of or pertaining to the north. given ecosystem without causing its deterioration.
Brightness. Blue reflectance of a sheet of paper, Cation. Positively charged atom or group of
a measure of the maximum whiteness that can atoms. Cation exchange capacity is the total
be achieved with proper tinting. capacity of soil colloids for holding cations.
520 Appendix V

Chain. A unit of linear measurement equal to 66 Collenchyma. Supporting tissue containing elon-
feet. gated living cells with irregularly thickened pri-
mary cell walls; often found in regions of primary
Chaining. Using a surveyor's chain or tape for
growth in stems and leaves.
linear measurements along the ground.
Color. The property of an object that is depend-
Charge-coupled device (CCD). A solid-state sen- ent on the wavelength of the light it reflects or,
sor that detects light; a microelectronic silicon in the case of a luminescent body, the wave-
chip. length of light that it emits.
Chipper. Machine for cutting logs or pieces of Color-composite image. A color image prepared
logs into chips. by projecting individual black-and-white multi-
Chlorophyll. The green pigment of plant cells, spectral images in color.
necessary for photosynthesis. Color infrared film. A color film consisting of
Chloroplasts. A plastid in algal and green plant three layers in which the red-imaging layer
cells in which chlorophylls are contained; site responds to photographic infrared radiation rang-
of photosynthesis. ing in wavelength from 0.7 to 0.9 micrometer. The
green-imaging layer responds to red light and the
Chlorosis. Abnormal yellowing of foliage, often blue-imaging layer responds to green light.
a symptom of mineral deficiency, infection, root
or stem girdling, or extremely reduced light. Combustion. Consumption by oxidation, evolv-
ing heat, and generally also flame and incan-
Chlorotic. Leaf tissue that has yellowed because descence.
of chlorosis.
Community. Unit of vegetation that is homoge-
Chromosome. Body in the cell nucleus con- neous with respect to species composition and
taining genes in a linear order. structure and occupies a unit area of ground.
Clearcutting. Silvicultural system in which the Companion cell. Specialized parenchyma cell in
entire timber stand is cut. See Seed-tree method, angiosperm phloem; associated with sieve tube
Shelterwood method. members.
Climatic release. Relaxation of environmental Conifer. Division of gymnosperm; plant pro-
resistance factors and the recurrence of favor- ducing naked seeds in cones, mostly evergreen,
able weather for several successive years. with timber known commercially as softwood.
Together, these conditions allow a pest species
to approach its reproductive potential. Coppice system. Silvicultural system in which
crops regenerate vegetatively by stump sprouts
Climax community. Community that has and the rotation is comparatively short.
achieved the maximum possible development.
Cord. Volume measure of stacked wood. A stan-
The end point of a sere.
dard cord is 4 X 4 X 8 feet and contains 128
Clinal variation. Variation occurring in a con- cubic feet of space. Actual wood volume varies
tinuous fashion along a geographic or environ- between 70 and 90 cubic feet per cord. A face
mental gradient. cord is a short cord in which the length of the
pieces is shorter than 8 feet (Figure 11.2).
Clone. All the plants produced by asexual
means (e.g., grafting, layering, budding) from a Cordillera. Entire chain of mountain ranges par-
common ancestor and having identical genetic allel to the Pacific Coast, extending from Cape
constitutions. Horn to Alaska.
Glossary 521

Cork cambium. Lateral meristem that produces Dendrology. Branch of botany dealing with clas-
cork toward the outside of the plant and phel- sification, nomenclature, and identification of
loderm to the inside. trees and shrubs.
Cortex. Ground tissue of the shoot or root that Dendrometer. Instrument for measuring the
is located between the epidermis and the vas- dimensions of trees or logs.
cular system; a primary-tissue region.
Denitrification. Process by which nitrogen is
Cotyledon. Embryonic leaf, characteristic of released from the soil (as a gas) to the atmos-
seed plants; generally stores food in dicotyledons phere by denitrifying bacteria.
and absorbs food in monocotyledons.
Density. Proportion of cell wall volume to total
Crown fire. Fire that burns the tops of trees and volume of wood. The number of individuals
brush. (trees, animals) per unit area at a given time.
Cruise (timber). Survey of forestlands to locate Derived demand. Demand for a good coming
and estimate volumes and grades of standing from its use in the production of some other
timber. good; for example, timber is demanded not by
consumers but by firms that manufacture wood
Cutting cycle. Period of time between major cuts
products.
in an uneven-aged stand. See Rotation age.
Desertification. Exhaustion of the soil, often
Cytoplasm. Term commonly used to refer to
because of removal of vegetative cover in semi-
the protoplasm of the cell exclusive of the
arid regions, leading irreversibly to an unpro-
nucleus.
ductive desert.
Dessicated. Dehydrated.
Destructive distillation. Decomposition of wood
D by heating out of contact with air, producing pri-
dbh (diameter at breast height). Tree diame- marily charcoal, tarry distillates, and pyroligneous
ter at breast height, 1.3 meters (4.5 feet) above acid.
the ground as measured from the uphill side of
Detritus. Any organic debris.
the tree.
Diameter tape. A tape measure specially cali-
Deciduous. Perennial plants that are normally
brated to convert circumference of the tree to
leafless for some time during the year.
its corresponding diameter, assuming the cross-
Decurrent. Having a leaf base elongated down section of the tree to be a perfect circle.
the stem. See Excurrent.
Diapause. State of arrested physiological devel-
Deferred-rotation grazing. A system of range opment of an insect.
management whereby grazing is delayed on a
Dicotyledons. One of two classes of angio-
portion of the land until after the most impor-
sperms; a plant whose embryo has two seed
tant range plants have gone to seed. Then graz-
leaves.
ing is deferred on adjacent portions in rotation
over a period of years so that all pastures receive Differentiation. A process by which a relatively
the benefit of deferment. unspecialized cell undergoes a progressive
change to a more specialized cell; the special-
Defoliation. Loss of a plant's leaves or needles.
ization of cells and tissues for particular func-
Deleterious. Harmful, injurious, or destructive. tions during development.
522 Appendix V

Diffuse-porous wood. Wood (xylem) of hard- tistical technique for large masses of assembled
woods in which the vessels are small in diam- data.
eter; vessels in springwood do not have much
Ecosystem. Any complex of living organisms with
greater diameters than those in summerwood.
their environment considered as a unit for pur-
See Ring-porous wood.
poses of study.
Digital computer. A computer that operates on
Ecotone. Transition zone between two adjoining
the principle of counting as opposed to meas-
communities.
uring. See Analog.
Edaphic. Pertaining to soil conditions that influ-
Digital elevation model. Model resulting from
ence plant growth.
the matrix of elevation data obtained by sys-
tematically scanning a stereomodel. Edge. Boundary between two or more elements
of the environment, for example, field-woodland.
Digital image. An image having numeric values
representing gray tones; each numeric value rep- Elasticity. Relationship, expressed mathemati-
resents a different gray tone. cally, between a percentage change in one vari-
able and the resulting percentage change in an
Digital image processing. Computer manipu-
other variable, when all other things are held
lation of the digital values for picture elements
constant. The price elasticity of demand (sup-
of an image.
ply) is the percentage change in quantity
Digitize. Using numeric values to represent data. demanded (supplied) when price changes by 1
percent, with all other variables such as income
Dioecious. A condition in which staminate and
and population held constant.
pistillate flowers (or pollen and seed cones of
conifers) are borne on different individuals of Electromagnetic energy. Energy propagated
the same species. See Monoecious. through space or through material media in the
form of an advancing interaction between elec-
Dominant. Pertaining to trees that project some-
tric and magnetic fields; also more simply termed
what above the general level of the canopy, hav-
radiation.
ing crowns that receive direct sunlight from
above and partly from the side. See Suppressed. Electromagnetic spectrum. The ordered array
of known electromagnetic radiations, extending
Dormancy. A special condition of arrested
from the shortest cosmic rays, through gamma
growth in which the plant and such plant parts
rays, X-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible radia-
as buds and seeds do not begin to grow with-
tion, infrared radiation, and including microwave
out special environmental cues.
and all other wavelengths of radio energy.
Duff. Organic matter in various stages of decom-
Emulsion. A suspension of photosensitive silver
position on the forest floor.
halide grains in gelatin that constitutes the image
forming layer on photographic materials.
E Endemic population. Natural low population
Ecology. Science that deals with the relation of level of most species native to an area.
plants and animals to their environment and to
Energy exchange. Flow of energy through the
the site factors that operate in controlling their
ecosystem beginning with the capture of radi-
distribution and growth.
ant solar energy by photosynthesis and ending
Econometric. Pertaining to a system of analy- when the energy is lost back to the environment
sis of economic affairs using a specialized sta- as heat through metabolism.
Glossary 523

Entomology. Study of insects. Fecal coliform. Colon bacilli, or forms that

resemble or are related to them.
Entomophagous. Feeding on insects.
Fermentation. Change brought about by an
Environmental resistance. Physical and bio-
agent such as yeast enzymes, which convert sug-
logical factors that inhibit the reproductive poten-
ars to ethyl alcohol.
tial of a species.
Fiber. Narrow cell of wood (xylem) or bast
Ephemeral. Short-lived; completing the life
(phloem), other than vessel elements and
cycle within a brief period.
parenchyma; includes tracheids. Or a cell mate-
Epicormic growth. Growth of lateral buds after rial with a length-to-diameter (1/d) ratio greater
the apical bud is damaged. than 20:1.
Epidermis. Outermost layer(s) of cells on the pri- Fiberizing. Separation of wood and other plant
mary plant body. material into fibers or fiber bundles by mechan-
ical (sometimes assisted by chemical) means.
Ericaceous. Belonging to the heath family of
plants, including the heath, arbutus, azalea, rho- Field moisture capacity. The greatest amount of
dodendron, and American laurel. water it is possible for a soil to hold in its pore
spaces after excess water has drained away.
Ethanol. Ethyl alcohol, C2H5OH; a colorless,
volatile liquid manufactured from starchy or sug- Filter, optical. A material that, by absorption or
ary materials by fermentation; also synthetically reflection, selectively modifies the radiation
produced. transmitted through an optical system.
Eutrophication. Aquatic succession characterized Fines. Pulp fractions having very short or frag-
by gradual nutrient enrichment and subsequent mented fibers.
depletion of dissolved oxygen.
Fire line. Strip of plowed or cleared land made
Evapotranspiration. Combined loss of water to check the spread of a fire.
through evaporation and transpiration from the
Fluvial. Pertaining to or formed by a river.
soil and vegetal cover on an area of land surface.
Food chain, food web. Chain of organisms exist-
Even-aged stand. Stand in which relatively
ing in any natural community such that each link
small age differences exist between individual
in the chain feeds in the one below and is eaten
trees, usually a maximum of 10 to 20 years.
by the one above; at the base are autotrophic
Excurrent. Tree with the axis prolonged to form (green) plants, eaten by heterotrophic organisms
an undivided stem or trunk (as in spruces and including plants (fungi), plant-eating animals
other conifers). (herbivores), plant and animal eaters (omni-
vores), and animal eaters (carnivores).
Exotic. Not native; foreign; introduced from other
climates or countries. Forb. Any herbaceous plant that is not a grass or
grass-like—such plants as geranium, buttercup,
Extractive. In wood, any part that is not an inte-
or sunflower.
gral part of the cellular structure and can be dis-
solved out with solvents. Forest yield. The volume of timber in a forest
at a specific point in time.
Forties. Term applied to 40-acre parcels of land,
F equal to one-sixteenth of a township in the stan-
False color. See Color infrared. dard rectangular survey system.
524 Appendix V

Fourdrinier. Name associated with the wire- geographically referenced data to support the
forming section or the entire papermaking decision-making processes of an organization.
machine. Originally developed by the Fourdrinier
Girdle. To destroy tissue, especially the bark and
brothers in England (1804).
cambium, in a rough ring around a stem, branch,
Fruit. In angiosperms, a matured, ripened ovary or root. Girdling often kills the tree.
containing the seeds.
Globose. Pertaining to a tree having the shape
Furfural. Oily liquid aldehyde, C5H4O2, with an of a globe or globule; approximately spherical.
aromatic odor, obtained by distilling wood, corn-
Grade. Established quality or use classification of
cobs, bran, sugar, and other ingredients with
trees, timber, and wood products; to classify
dilute sulfuric acid.
according to grade.
Fusiform initials. The vertically elongated cells
Gross national product (GNP). Total value at
in the vascular cambium that give rise to the cells
current market prices of all final goods and serv-
of the axial system in the secondary xylem and
ices produced by a nation's economy, before
secondary phloem.
deduction of depreciation and other allowances
for consumption of durable capital goods.
G Ground fire. Fire that not only consumes all the
organic materials of the forest floor, but also
Gall. Pronounced, localized, tumor-like swelling
burns into the underlying soil itself—for exam-
of greatly modified structure; occurs on plants
ple, a peat fire. See Surface fire.
from irritation by a foreign organism.
Ground tissue. Tissues other than the epidermis
Gamete. Male pollen cell or a female egg cell,
or periderm and vascular tissue; conjunctive
typically the result of meiosis, capable of unit-
parenchyma, fundamental tissue.
ing in the process of fertilization with a repro-
ductive cell of the opposite sex. Growth impact. Pervasive, ongoing destruction
of forests because of growth loss and mortality.
Gasification. Conversion of a solid or liquid sub-
See Growth loss, Mortality.
stance to a gas.
Growth loss. Difference between potential and
Gene. Unit of heredity; portion of the DNA of a
actual tree growth, caused by destructive agents
chromosome.
such as insects, diseases, or weather. See Growth
Gene flow. Migration of genes from one popu- impact, Mortality.
lation to another via the dispersal of individu-
Gymnosperm. Vascular plants that produce
als, or of propagules such as seed or pollen.
seeds not enclosed in an ovary.
Gene pool. Sum total of genetic information dis-
tributed among the members of an interbreed-
ing population. H
Genetic drift. Change in gene frequency in small Habitat. Immediate environment occupied by an
breeding populations because of chance, in con- organism. In forestry, habitat usually refers to ani-
trast to a similar change under selection. mal habitat.
Genotype. Total amount of genetic information Habitat type. Unit of land capable of support-
that an individual possesses. See Phenotype. ing a single climax community type.
Geographic information system. An information Hardpan. Indurated (hardened) or cemented soil
system that can input, manipulate, and analyze horizon. The soil may have any texture and is
Glossary 525

compacted or cemented by iron oxide, organic Hogged wood. Wood reduced to coarse chips—
matter, silica, calcium carbonate, or other for example, for fuel or manufacture of wood
substances. pulp or chipboard.
Headbox. Final holding container of pulp slur- Horizon, soil. Layer of soil roughly parallel to
ries for regulation of flow onto the moving the land surface, distinguished from adjacent lay-
papermaking-machine wire. ers by different physical, chemical, or biologi-
Head fire. Fire spreading, or set to spread, with cal characteristics.
the wind. Hue. The attribute of a color that differentiates it
Heartrot. Decay in the central core of a tree, usu- from gray of the same brilliance and that allows
ally caused by fungus. it to be classed as blue, green, red, or interme-
diate shades of these colors.
Heartwood. Inner core of a woody stem, wholly
composed of nonliving cells and usually differ- Humus. Decomposed lower part of the soil
entiated from the outer enveloping layer (sap- organic layer, generally amorphous, colloidal,
wood) by its darker color. See Sapwood. and dark-colored.
Height poles. Sectioned, telescoping poles used Hydrarch succession. Primary succession begin-
to measure the height of trees. ning on a substrate of water, usually a pond or
lake.
Hemicellulose. Any of the noncellulosic poly-
saccharides of the intercellular layer and of the Hydration. Chemical combination of water with
cell wall that can be extracted with aqueous alka- cellulose or hemicelluloses (usually in fibers) to
line solutions and are readily hydrolyzable by give a swollen structure; endowing fibers with
acids to give sugars. an increased capacity for water retention
through mechanical beating.
Hemocoel. General insects' body cavity in which
blood flows. Hydrolysis. Conversion, by reaction with water,
Herb. Any seed-producing plant that does not of a complex substance into two or more smaller
develop persistent woody tissue above ground. molecules.
Includes both forbs and grasses. May be peren- Hypertrophy. The excessive growth or devel-
nial. Herbaceous, adjective. opment of an organ or tissue.
Herbivore. Organism that consumes living plants Hypha. A single tubular filament of fungus; the
or their parts. hyphae together constitute the mycelium.
Heritability. Proportion of any observed vari- Hypsometer. Device for measuring tree height.
ability that is caused by genetic effects, the
remainder being attributed to environment.
Heterotrophic. Referring to organisms depend- I
ent on the environment for obtaining organic
Improvement cutting. Silvicultural treatment in
food because they are unable to synthesize
which diseased or poorly formed trees or trees
organic material. All animals, fungi, and many
of undesirable species are removed.
bacteria are heterotrophs. The obtain almost all
their organic material either directly or indirectly Inbreeding depression. Loss of vigor that fre-
from the activity of autotrophs. quently results from mating closely related
individuals.
High grading. Type of exploitation cutting that
removes only trees of a certain species, or of high Incident energy. Electromagnetic radiation
value. impinging on a surface.
526 Appendix V

Increment. Increase in girth, diameter, basal area, Intercellular space. Space between the cells of
height, volume, quality, or value of individual a tissue.
trees or crops.
Interception. (1) The process by which rainwater
Increment borer. Auger-like instrument with a is caught and held on the leaves of trees and
hollow bit, used to extract cores from trees for vegetation and is returned to the air by evapo-
the determination of growth and age. ration without reaching the ground. (2) The part
of precipitation caught by vegetation.
Infection court. Site of infection by a pathogen.
Internode. Portion of a stem or branch that is
Infiltration. The amount of water that penetrates
between two successive nodes.
the soil, governed by the texture of the soil, veg-
etation cover, and the slope of the ground. Intolerance, shade. See Shade tolerance.
Infrared. Energy in the 0.7- to 15-micrometer Ion. Electrically charged atom or group of atoms.
wavelength region of the electromagnetic
spectrum; for remote sensing the infrared wave-
lengths are often subdivided into near-infrared
(0.7 to 1.3 micrometers), middle-infrared (1.3 to
J
3.0 micrometers), and far-infrared (7.0 to 15.0 Juvenile wood. Wood formed close to the cen-
micrometers); far-infrared is sometimes referred tral core of the tree that contains a high per-
to as thermal or emissive infrared. centage of thin-walled cells.

Ingrowth. The increase in timber volume of a

given stand owing to new trees that were not
measured in previous surveys. See Survivor
K
growth. Kerf. The narrow slot cut by a saw advancing
through the wood.
Inhibition. Prohibition, or checking, of an
action or process. Kiln-dry. Dried in a kiln to a specified range of
moisture content.
Initial. Undifferentiated cell that remains within
the meristem indefinitely and adds cells to the Knot. Portion of a branch enclosed in the xylem
plant body by division. by the natural growth of the tree.

Initial point. The origin point of the standard rec- Kraft p u l p . Chemical wood pulp obtained by
tangular survey system, the intersection of a base- cooking—that is, digesting wood chips in a solu-
line and a principal meridian. tion of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and
sodium sulfide.
Inland Empire. Area lying between the crests of
the Cascade Mountains and Bitterroot Mountains,
and extending from the Okanogan Highlands to
the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. Tim-
L
ber production is very important in this region. Lammas shoot. Abnormal shoot formed late in
the summer from expansion of a bud that was
Integration (economics). Expansion of a firm
not expected to open until the following year.
into production of other, often closely related,
types of products (horizontal integration) or into Landsat. An unmanned, earth-orbiting satellite of
prior or later stages of the production of a given the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
product (vertical integration). tration that transmits images to earth receiving
Glossary 527

stations; designed primarily for collection of earth Lithosphere. Crust of the earth.
resources data.
Littoral. Of vegetation growing along a seashore
Larva. Immature, wingless, feeding stage of an or very large lake. See Riparian.
insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis.
Loam. Rich friable soil containing a relatively
Lateral meristems. Meristems that give rise to equal mixture of sand and silt and somewhat
secondary tissue; the vascular cambium and cork smaller proportion of clay.
cambium. Loess. Particles, mostly silt-sized, transported and
Lattice. Crossed strips with open spaces between deposited by wind.
to give the appearance of a screen-like structure. Log rule. Table showing the estimated or calcu-
Leaching. Removal of soluble substances (e.g., lated amount of lumber that can be sawed from
from soil or timber) by percolating water. logs of given length and diameter.

Leaf primordium. Lateral outgrowth from the Lumen. Cell cavity (often hollow).
apical meristem that will become a leaf.
Lenticel. Small breathing pore in the bark of trees M
and shrubs; a corky aerating organ that permits
Macerate. To soften, or separate the parts of a
gases to diffuse between the plant and the
substance by steeping in a liquid, with or with-
atmosphere.
out heat.
Lesion. Circumscribed diseased area.
Mast. Nuts and seeds of trees, serving as food for
Lignification. Impregnation with lignin, as in sec- livestock and wildlife.
ondary walls of xylem cells. See Lignin. Mature. Stage of tree growth when height
Lignin. Noncarbohydrate (phenolic), structural growth slows and crown expansion and diam-
constituent of wood and some other plant tis- eter increase and become marked. See Seedling,
sues; encrusts the cell walls and cements the cells Sapling, Pole, Senescent.
together. Megasporangium. The ovule-bearing structure
Lignocellulosic. Of materials containing both in gymnosperms.
lignin and cellulose; a characteristic of higher Mensuration, forest. Science dealing with the
forms of terrestrial plants. measurement of volume, growth, and develop-
Lignosulfonic acid. Soluble derivative of lignin ment of individual trees and stands and the deter-
produced in the sulfite pulping process and pres- mination of various products obtainable from
ent—in the form of salts (lignosulfonates)—in the them.
waste liquor. Merchantable height. The height above the
Limiting factor. Environmental factor needed by ground, or in some cases above stump height,
an organism but in shortest supply. to which the tree stem is salable.
Meristem. Undifferentiated plant tissue from
Linear programming. A mathematical pro-
which new cells arise. See Apical meristem, Lat-
gramming technique that either maximizes or
eral meristems.
minimizes a single, linear objective function. The
objective function may be subjected to sets of Mesarch succession. Primary succession begin-
linear equalities or inequalities, called constraints. ning on an intermediate substrate that is neither
528 Appendix V

open water nor solid rock, such as a recent mud- Multispectral scanner. A scanner system that
flow or glacial moraine. See Hydrarch, Xerarch simultaneously acquires images in various
succession. wavelength regions of the same scene.
Mesophyll. Parenchyma tissue in a leaf between Mutagen. Substance known to induce mutations.
the upper and lower epidermis.
Mutation. Sudden, heritable change in the struc-
Methanol. Methyl alcohol, CH3OH; a colorless, ture of a gene or chromosome or some set
volatile liquid, a product of the destructive dis- thereof.
tillation of wood, derived mainly from the lignin; Mycelium. The mass of interwoven filaments or
also manufactured synthetically. hypae making up the vegetative part of a fun-
Microclimate. Climate of small areas, especially gus, as distinct from the fruiting body.
insofar as this differs significantly from the gen- Mycoplasmas. Smallest of free-living organisms,
eral climate of the region. lacking a cell wall, but possessing a distinct flex-
Microsporangium. The pollen sac of a staminate ible membrane.
cone in gymnosperms. Mycorrhizae. Symbiotic association between
Microwave. A very short electromagnetic radia- nonpathogenic or weakly pathogenic fungi and
tion wave between 1 meter and 1 millimeter in living cortical cells of a plant root.
wavelength or 300 to 0.3 gigahertz in frequency.
Middle lamella. Layer of intercellular material, N
rich in lignin and pectic compounds, cementing
Naval stores. Historical term for resin products,
together the primary walls of adjacent cells.
particularly turpentine and rosin from pine trees,
Mineralization. Breakdown of organic com- previously also pine tars and pitch.
pounds in soil releasing inorganic constituents
Necrosis. The localized death of plant or animal
that can be taken up by plant roots.
tissue; for example, the response of a leaf to
Monocotyledones. One of the two classes of invasion of a pathogen. An affected area is
angiosperms; a plant whose embryo has one described as being necrotic.
seed leaf.
Necrotic. An area of dead plant tissue from
Monoculture. Crop of a single species, generally necrosis.
even-aged. See Even-aged stand. Nematodes. Parasitic or free-living, elongated
Monoecious. A condition in which both stami- smooth worms of cylindrical shape; round-
nate and pistillate flowers (or pollen and seed worms.
cones of conifers) are borne on the same plant. Niche. Status of a plant or animal in its commu-
See Dioecious. nity—that is, its biotic, trophic, and abiotic rela-
Monophagous. Feeding on a single host species. tionships. All the components of the environment
with which an organism or population interacts,
Morphology. Study of form and its development. especially those necessary to its existence: its
habitat.
Mortality. Volume of trees killed by natural
causes in a given time or a given forest, exclu- Nitrification. Process whereby protein, amino
sive of catastrophes. acids, and other nitrogen compounds in the soil
Glossary 529

are oxidized by microorganisms, with the pro- Orthographic projection. Projection in which
duction of nitrates. the lines are perpendicular to the plane of
projection.
Nitrogen cycle. Worldwide circulation of nitro-
gen atoms in which certain microorganisms take Orthophotograph. A photographic copy pre-
up atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into other pared from a perspective photograph in which
forms that may be assimilated into the bodies the displacements of images caused by a tilt and
of other organisms. Excretion, burning, and bac- relief have been removed.
terial and fungal action in dead organisms return Osmoregulation. Regulation of the osmotic
nitrogen atoms to the atmosphere. pressure in the body by controlling the amount
Nitrogen fixation. Conversion of elemental of water and salts in the body.
nitrogen (N2) from the atmosphere to organic Osmosis. The diffusion of water, or any solvent,
combinations or to forms readily utilizable in bio- across a differentially permeable membrane. In
logical processes. the absence of other forces, movement of water
Node. Part of a stem or branch where one or during osmosis will always be from a region of
more leaves or branches are attached. greater water potential to one of lesser water
potential.
Nodules. Enlargements or swellings on the roots
Oven-dry. Of wood dried to constant weight in
of legumes and certain other plants inhabited by
a ventilated oven at a temperature above the
symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
boiling point of water.
Overgrazing. Grazing above and beyond the
level that a given range can sustain without
o change.
Oblique photograph. A photograph acquired Oviposit. To lay eggs or deposit eggs by means
with the camera axis intentionally directed of an ovipositor.
between the horizontal and vertical orientations.
Ovipositor. The tubular organ at the extremity
Oleoresin. Group of "soft" natural resins, con- of the abdomen in many insects by which the
sisting of a viscous mixture of essential oil (e.g., egg are deposited.
turpentine) and nonvolatile solids (e.g., rosin)
secreted by the resin-forming cells of the pines
and certain other trees.
Optical dendrometer. An instrument for meas-
P
uring the upper stem diameters of trees to aid Pacing. A simple method for measuring linear dis-
in accurate product scaling. tance for surveys, when great accuracy is not
required, whereby a person's individual pre-
Organ. Structure composed of different tissues, measured pace is used as the measuring tool.
such as root, stem, leaf, or flower.
Panchromatic. Pertaining to films that are sen-
Organic compounds. The compounds contain- sitive to a broad band of electromagnetic
ing carbon that pertain to living organisms in radiation, such as the entire visible part of
general, and those compounds formed by liv- the spectrum, and are used for broadband
ing organisms. photographs.
530 Appendix V

Parallax. The apparent displacement of the posi- The value 7 pH is neutral; the values above are
tion of an observed body with respect to a ref- alkaline; and the values below are acid.
erence point or system, caused by a shift in point
Phelloderm. Tissue formed toward the inside of
of observation.
the plant by the cork cambium.
Parallax wedge. A simplified stereometer for Phenol. Hydroxyl derivative of benzene, C6H5OH.
measuring object heights on stereoscopic pairs
of photographs. Phenology. Study of biological events as related
to climate.
Parasite. Organism that lives in or on another liv-
ing organism of a different kind and derives sub- Phenotype. Outward appearance or physical
sistence from it without returning any benefit. attributes of an individual. See Genotype.
See Predator, Saprophyte. Pheromone. Hormonal substance secreted by an
Parenchyma. Tissue composed of living, thin individual and stimulating a physiological or
walled, brick-shaped cells; primarily concerned behavioral response from an individual of the
with the storage and distribution of food mate- same species.
rials. Axial parenchyma cells are vertically ori- Phloem. Tissue of the inner bark; contains sieve
ented; ray parenchyma are laterally oriented. elements through which carbohydrates are
Pathogen. Organism directly capable of causing transported.
disease in living material. See Saprogen. Photogrammetry. The art or science of obtain-
ing reliable measurements by means of pho-
Pectin. Complex organic compound (polysac-
tography.
charide) present in the intercellular layer and pri-
mary wall of plant cells; the basis of fruit jellies. Photograph. A representation of targets formed
by the action of light on silver halide grains of
Ped. Visible structural soil aggregate—for exam-
an emulsion.
ple, crumb, block, or prism.
Photographic scale. An expression or ratio stat-
Perforation. Gap in the cell wall lacking a pit ing that one unit of distance on a photograph
membrane; occurs in vessel members of represents a specific number of units of actual
angiosperms. ground distance.
Pericycle. Root tissue located between the epi- Photoperiod. Duration of daily exposure to light;
dermis and phloem. length of day favoring optimum functioning of
Periderm. Outer protective tissue that replaces an organism.
the epidermis; includes cork, cork cambium, and Photosynthesis. Synthesis of carbohydrates from
phelloderm. carbon dioxide and water by green plant cells
in the presence of light, with oxygen as a
Perspective projection. Projection in which the
lines converge at an arbitrarily chosen station byproduct.
point, to represent on a plane the space rela- Phototropism. Growth movement in which the
tionships of natural objects as they appear to the direction of the light is the determining factor,
eye. The perspective projection of the camera as the growth of a plant toward a light source;
lens causes scale variations and displaces image turning or bending response to light.
positions.
Physiography. A general description of nature
pH. A measure of acidity; the logarithm of the or natural phenomena; the science of physical
reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. geography.
Glossary 531

Physiology. Study of the vital functions of living Present net worth. Single amount measuring the
organisms. Note: Differences in physiological net current value of a stream of future revenues
character may not always be accompanied by and costs.
morphological differences.
Price index. Price of a good or group of goods
Phytochrome. Chemical compound used by in any vear divided by the price of the same
plants to detect daylength. good or group of goods in a base year. See Rel-
Piedmont. Plateau between the coastal plain and ative price index.
the Appalachian Mountains. Price leadership. Determination of prices by one
Pioneer community. First stage in the ecologi- or a few firms, with other producers in the indus-
cal development of a community. try tacitly accepting the prices thus determined.

Pit. Gap or recess in the secondary cell wall that Primary growth. Growth originating in the api-
facilitates the interchange of materials between cal meristem of shoots and roots. See Secondary
cells. growth.
Pith. Ground tissue occupying the center of the Primary succession. Succession beginning on a
plant stem or root, within the vascular cylinder; substrate that did not previously support vege-
usually consists of parenchyma. tation, such as open water, fresh glacial moraine,
Pixel. A picture element or cell within a spatially or bare rock. See Secondary succession.
ordered matrix of numbers. Primordial. A cell or organ in its earliest stage
Planer. Machine for surfacing sawed timber. of differentiation.

Plasmolysis. Contraction of the cytoplasm Profile, soil. Vertical section of the soil through
because of removal of water from the protoplast all its horizons and extending into the parent
by osmosis. material.
Pole. Still-young tree larger than 4 inches (10 cen- Progeny. Offspring produced from any mating.
timeters) dbh, up to about 8 inches (20 to 23
centimeters) dbh; during this stage, height Progeny test. Evaluation procedure in which par-
growth predominates and economic bole length ents are rated based on the performance of their
is attained. See Seedling, Sapling, Mature, offspring.
Senescent. Protoplasm. Living substance of all cells.
Polymerization. Transformation of various low
Protoplast. Entire contents of the cell, not includ-
molecular-weight compounds (monomers) into
ing the cell wall.
large molecules—that is, polymers.
Polyphagous. Feeding on many different host Provenance. Natural origin of seeds or trees, usu-
species. ally synonymous with "geographic origin," or a
plant material having a specific place or origin.
Predator. Any animal which preys externally on
others; that is, hunts, kills, and feeds on a suc- Pulp. Fibers separated by mechanical or chemi-
cession of hosts. See Parasite. cal means; the primary raw material from which
paper is made.
Prescribed burning. Controlled use of fire to fur-
ther certain planned objectives of silviculture, Pupa. Insect in the nonfeeding, usually immobile,
wildlife management, fire hazard reduction, and transformation stage between larva and the adult.
so forth. Pupae (plural).
532 Appendix V

Pyric climax. An ecosytem that never reaches Recurrence interval. Frequency of fires in a
its potential climax vegetation because of fre- given stand.
quent fires.
Reflectance. The ratio of the radiant energy
Pyroligneous acid. Aqueous portion, after sep- reflected by a body to that incident upon it.
aration of the tar, of the liquor obtained during
Reflectance, spectral. Reflectance measured at
the destructive distillation of wood; a complex
a specific wavelength interval.
mixture of water (80 to 90 percent) and organic
compounds. See Destructive distillation. Refugia. Areas that have escaped alteration dur-
ing glaciation.
Pyrolysis. Subjection of wood or organic com-
pounds to very high temperatures and the result- Regeneration. Renewal of a tree crop, by natu-
ing decomposition. See Destructive distillation. ral or artificial means.
Regulated forest. Forest that produces a con-
tinuous flow of products of about the same size,
Q quality, and quantity over time.
Quad. Unit of energy measure; 1 X 1015 British Relative price index. Price index for one good
thermal units (Btu). divided by the price index for another good or
group of goods. The divisor is usually the whole-
sale or consumer price index.
R Release cutting. Silvicultural treatment in which
Radar. Acronym for radio detection and ranging, larger trees of competing species are removed
an active form of remote sensing that operates from competition with desired crop trees.
at wavelengths from 1 millimeter to 1 meter.
Relief. The vertical irregularities of a surface.
Radial increment. The diameter growth over a
Relief displacement. The geometric distortion on
given period obtained by measuring the length
vertical aerial photographs. The tops of objects
of the last several annual rings in a core sam-
are located on the photograph radially outward
ple.
from the base.
Radiation. The propagation of energy in the form
Remote sensing. Collection of data by a device
of electromagnetic waves.
that is not in physical contact with the object,
Rangeland. Areas unsuitable for cultivation, area, or phenomenon under investigation—for
which are a source of forage for free-ranging example, aerial photography or satellite imagery.
native and domestic animals.
Reproductive potential. Ability of a species to
Ray. Laterally oriented, ribbon-shaped tissue multiply in the absence of countervailing forces.
extending radially in the xylem and phloem;
Resin. Pitch; the secretions of certain trees, oxi-
functions in the lateral transport of water and
dation or polymerization products of the ter-
nutrients.
penes, consisting of mixtures of aromatic acids
Ray initial. An initial in the vascular cambium that and esters insoluble in water but soluble in
gives rise to the ray cells of secondary xylem and organic solvents; often exuding from wounds.
secondary phloem.
Rest-rotation grazing. A system of range man-
Recombination. Formation of new combinations agement whereby one portion of the land is left
of genes as a result of segregation in crosses ungrazed (rested) for a full year; the next year
between genetically different parents. another portion is rested.
Glossary 533

Rhizome. Horizontal underground stem, usually Sahel. Semi-arid region of Africa between the
containing stored food. Savannas and the Sahara extending through
Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan, north-
Rhizomorph. A densely packed strand of fun-
ern Nigeria, and Ethiopia. Since the late 1960s,
gal tissue with the appearance of a root that is
this region has been afflicted by devastating
produced by some higher fungi such as Armil-
drought leading to the starvation of hundreds of
laria. Rhizomorphs enable fungi to spread.
thousands of people.
Rickettsia. Bacteria-like microorganisms of the
Sapling. Young tree at least 1 meter (3 feet) high,
genus Rickettsia, parasitic on arthropods and
but not larger than 10 centimeters (4 inches) dbh;
pathogenic for human beings and animals.
crowns are well elevated and usually many lower
Ring-porous wood. Wood (xylem) of hardwoods branches have started to die. See Seedling, Pole,
in which the earlywood vessels are much larger Mature, Senescent.
in diameter than vessels in the latewood; the ves-
Saprogen. Organism capable of producing decay
sels generally appear as a ring in a stem cross
in nonliving organic material. See Pathogen.
section. See Diffuse-porous wood.
Saprophyte. Plant organism which is incapable
Riparian. Of vegetation growing in close prox-
of synthesizing its nutrient requirements from
imity to a watercourse, small lake, swamp, or
purely inorganic sources and feeds on dead
spring. See Littoral.
organic material. See Parasite.
Root cap. Thimble-shaped mass of cells cover-
Sapwood. Predominantly living, physiologically
ing and protecting the growing root tip.
active wood; includes the more recent annual
Root hairs. Tubular outgrowths of epidermal cells layers of xylem that are active in translocation
of the young plant. of water and minerals. See Heartwood.
Rosin. Solid residue after evaporation and distil- Savanna. Any large area of tropical or subtrop-
lation of the turpentine from the oleoresin of var- ical grassland, covered in part with trees and
ious pines, consisting mostly of rosin acids. spiny shrubs.
Rotation age. Period of years required to estab- Sawlog. A log considered suitable in size and
lish and grow timber crops to a specific condi- quality for sawn timber.
tion of maturity. Applies only to even-aged
Scale. Estimated solid (sound) contents of a log
management. See Cutting cycle.
or group of logs.
Roundwood. Timber or firewood prepared in the
Scanner. An optical-mechanical imaging system
round state—from felled trees to material
in which a rotating or oscillating mirror sweeps
trimmed, barked, and crosscut.
the instantaneous field of view of the detector.
Ruderal. Plant that occupies a niche with high The two basic types of scanners are airborne and
resource availability (water, nutrients, and light) stationary.
and frequent disturbances. Also a plant living on
Scarification. Wearing down, by abrasion or
wasteland in built-up areas.
chemical treatment, of the bark or outer coat.
Scion. Detached living portion of a plant grafted
s onto another plant.
Saccharification. Conversion of the polysac- Sclerenchyma. Supporting tissue composed of
charides in wood or other plant material into sug- cells with thick, often lignified secondary walls;
ars by hydrolysis with acids or enzymes. may include fiber cells or sclereid cells.
534 Appendix V

Sclereid. Sclerenchyma cell with a thick, lignified may exceed additions in volume. See Seedling,
secondary wall. Sapling, Pole, Mature.
Sclerophyll. A term that describes the thick, Sensor. A device that receives electromagnetic
tough foliage of many tree species of the radiation and converts it into a signal that can
Mediterranean area and parts of the United States be displayed as data or an image.
and Australia (i.e., eucalyptus).
Serotinous cones. Cones of some species of
Secondary growth. Growth derived from lateral gymnosperms that are sealed by resin, requir-
meristem; results in increase in girth. See Pri- ing high temperatures to open the cones and
mary growth. release seeds.

Secondary succession. Succession starting after Serpentine. Common mineral, hydrous magne-
the disturbance of a previously existing plant sium silicate, H2Mg3Si2O2.
community. See Primary succession. Shade tolerance. Capacity of trees to reproduce
Sedimentation. Deposition or accumulation of and grow in the shade of and in competition
mineral or organic matter. with other trees.

Seedling. Youngest trees from the time of ger- Shelterwood method. Silvicultural system in
mination until they reach a height of 1 meter (3 which the mature timber is removed, leaving suf-
feet). See Sapling, Pole, Mature, Senescent. ficient numbers of trees standing to provide
shade and protection for new seedlings. See
Seed orchard. Plantation of trees established to Clearcutting, Seed-tree method.
provide for the production of seeds of improved
quality. Shifting cultivation. Itinerant forms of agricul-
ture, common in tropical regions, whereby the
Seed-tree method. Silvicultural system in which farmers clear a parcel of the forest and cultivate
the mature timber is removed in one cut, except the soil until it becomes unproductive, then
for a small number of seed trees left to provide move onto another area where the process is
a source of seed for the next crop. See Clearcut- started anew.
ting, Shelterwood method.
Shoot. Aboveground portion of a vascular plant.
Selection. Any discrimination by natural or arti-
ficial means that results in some individuals leav- Short-duration grazing. A system of range man-
ing more offspring than others. agement employing a large number of separate
pastures grazed individually for short periods of
Selection cutting. Silvicultural system in which time, generally two days to two weeks.
scattered trees or small groups of trees are cut,
providing sustained yield from an uneven-aged Shrub. Woody perennial plant, seldom exceed-
stand. ing 10 feet in height, usually having several per-
sistent woody stems branching from the ground.
Selection differential. Difference between the
Side-looking radar. An all-weather, day/night
value of a selected individual (or mean value of
remote sensor that is particularly effective in
a selected population) and the mean value of
imaging large areas of terrain; it generates energy
the original unselected population.
that is transmitted and received to produce a
Senescent. Growing old; aging stands at this stage photo-like picture of the ground. Also called
are over-mature; losses from mortality and decay side-looking airborne radar.
Glossary 535

Sieve element. Cell of the phloem concerned Spectral reflectance. The reflectance of electro-
with the long-distance transport of food sub- magnetic energy at specified wavelength intervals.
stances. Classified into sieve cells (gymnosperms)
Spectral-reflectance curve. A plot of the
and sieve tube members (angiosperms).
reflectance of electromagnetic energy for a series
Silvichemicals. Chemicals derived from wood of wavelengths.
and trees.
Spectral response. The response of a material
Silviculture. Manipulation of forest vegetation to as a function of wavelength to incident electro-
accomplish a specified set of objectives; con- magnetic energy, particularly in terms of the
trolling forest establishment, composition, and measurable energy reflected from and emitted
growth. by the material.
Site index. A particular measure of site quality Spectral-response envelope. The range of fre-
based on the height of the dominant trees in a quencies in which the spectral response is
stand at an arbitrarily chosen age. greatest.
Site quality. A loose term denoting the relative Spectrum. A continuous sequence of energy
productivity of a site for a particular tree species. arranged according to wavelength or frequency.
Size, sizing. Additive introduced to modify the Sporangium. A hollow unicellular or multicellular
surface properties of manufactured board or structure in which spores are produced.
paper.
Spot fire, spotting. Fire set outside the perime-
Skidding. Loose term for hauling logs by sliding, ter of the main fire by flying sparks or embers.
not on wheels.
Stand density. The average total basal area per
Slash. Open area strewn with debris of trees from acre of a given stand.
felling or from wind or fire; the debris itself.
Stand table. A table showing the number of trees
Slurry. Watery suspension of insoluble matter— by species and diameter (or girth) classes, gen-
that is, pulp slurry. erally per unit area of a stand.
Snag. Standing dead tree from which the leaves Stenotopic. Organisms limited to a very specific
and most of the branches have fallen. habitat.
Soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. The con- Stereogram. A stereopair of photographs or
tinuous column of water that begins in the soil, drawings correctly oriented and permanently
travels across the roots, up the xylem within the mounted for stereoscopic examination.
roots and stem, through the xylem in leaf vas-
Stereomodel. A three-dimensional mental
cular bundles, to the wet surfaces of the meso-
impression produced by viewing the left and
phyll cells, and continues by evaporating into
right images of an overlapping pair with the left
the atmosphere, all of which results in a close
and right eye, respectively.
coupling of evaporation and uptake of water by
a siphonlike action. Stereopair. A pair of photographs which over-
lap in area and are suitable for stereoscopic
Specific gravity. As applied to wood, the ratio
examination.
of the oven dry weight of a sample to the weight
of a volume of water equal to the volume of the Stereoplotter. A device that will plot as a
sample at some specific moisture content. contour map data obtained from aerial
536 Appendix V

photographs; operates by means of a stereo- they receive almost no direct sunlight. See
scopic instrument. Dominant.
Stereoscope. A binocular optical device for view- Surface fire. Fire that burns only surface litter,
ing overlapping images or diagrams to obtain the loose debris of the forest floor, and small veg-
mental impression of a three-dimensional model. etation. See Groundfire.
Stereoscopic image. The mental impression of Survivor growth. The increase in timber volume
a three-dimensional object that results from of a given stand owing to the continuing growth
stereoscopic vision. of previously measured trees. See Ingrowth.
Stereoscopy. The science or art which deals with Sustained yield. Yield a forest can produce con-
three-dimensional effects and the methods by tinuously, such as timber.
which these effects are produced.
Sweep. Curve in stem or log as distinct from an
Stomata. Openings in the surface of a leaf abrupt bend, generally as a reaction to envi-
through which water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ronmental conditions.
oxygen pass.
Symbiosis. Mutually beneficial relationship
Stratification. Placing dormant seeds between between two dissimilar living organisms, called
layers of moist material, usually a sand and symbionts. In some cases, the symbionts form a
peat mixture, and exposing them to low tem- single body or organ, as in mycorrhizae or
peratures to satisfy the pre-germination chilling lichens.
requirements.
Synecology. Study of the community and its envi-
Structure, soil. Combination or arrangement of ronment.
primary soil particles (e.g., sand, silt, clay) into
secondary particles called peds. See Ped. Syngas. Synthesis gas; a synthetically produced
gas containing two parts hydrogen (H2) and one
Stumpage. Value of timber as it stands uncut; part carbon monoxide (CO).
uncut marketable timber.
Systemic. Of a pathogen, capable of spreading
Suberin. Fatty material in cell walls of corky bark throughout its host. Of a pesticide, absorbed by
tissue. a plant so as to be lethal to agents that feed
Subsoil. Bed or stratum of earth or earthy mate- on it.
rial immediately under the surface soil. Systems analysis. Method of analysis which
Substrate. Underlying material; the soil beneath deals with the movement of energy or materi-
plants or animals; the material on which an als to different parts or components of a com-
en2yme or fermenting agent acts, on which adhe- plex system.
sive is spread, or on which a fungus grows or
is attached.
Succession. Change in community composition T
and structure through time.
Tall oil. Byproduct of the kraft pulping of resinous
Sulfite pulp. Chemical wood pulp obtained by woods (e.g., pine), consisting mainly of resin
cooking—that is, digesting wood chips in a solu- acids and fatty acids.
tion of bisulfites and sulfurous acid.
Tannins. Complex extracellular water-soluble
Suppressed. Pertaining to trees with crowns com- substances, generally formed from a variety of
pletely overtopped by surrounding trees so that simpler polyphenols; part of wood extractives.
Glossary 537

Terpenes. Class of hydrocarbons, with their deriv- Tissue system. Tissue or group of tissues organ-
atives, commonly occurring in many species of ized into a structural and functional unit in a
wood and generally having a fragrant odor; char- plant or plant organ.
acteristically noted with pine trees.
Tone. Each distinguishable shade of gray from
Texture, photo image. The frequency of change white to black on an image.
and arrangement of tones; descriptive adjectives
Tracheary element. Tracheid or vessel member.
for textures are fine, medium, or coarse, and stip-
pled or mottled. Tracheid. Elongated, thick-walled conducting and
supporting cell of xylem. Has tapering ends and
Texture, soil. Relative proportion of the various
pitted walls without perforations. Found in nearly
mineral particles such as sand, silt, and clay,
all vascular plants; the main fibrous component
expressed as a textural class—for example, sandy
of wood. See Vessel member.
loam, clay loam.
Tree. Woody perennial plant, typically large and
Thermal band. A general term for middle-
with a single well-defined stem and a more or
infrared wavelengths that are transmitted
less definite crown.
through the atmosphere window at 8 to 13
micrometers; also used for the windows around Triploid. Individual having one set of chromo-
3 to 6 micrometers. somes more than the typical number for the
species.
Thermal radiation. The electromagnetic radia-
tion emitted by a hot blackbody, such as the fil- Trophic, -troph, tropho-. Pertaining to nutrition,
ament of a lamp. feeding.
Thermal scanner. A detector which sweeps the Trophic levels. Steps in the movement of
instantaneous field of radiant energy across the energy through an ecosystem.
terrain in either the 3- to 5-micrometer or 8- to
Turgor. Normal distention or rigidity of plant
14-micrometer region of the spectrum.
cells, resulting from the pressure exerted from
Thermochemical liquefaction. Decomposition within against the cell walls by the cell contents.
of organic compounds to smaller molecules often
Turpentine. Essential oil that can be obtained by
in the form of an oil. The reaction is usually car-
distilling the oleoresin of conifers, particularly
ried out in the presence of a catalyst and hydro-
pines, consisting of a mixture of terpenes. Most
gen or synthesis gas at high pressure and
turpentine is now obtained as a byproduct of the
temperature.
kraft pulping of pines.
Thinning. Silvicultural treatment in which stand
density is reduced to accelerate diameter growth
in remaining trees. u
Threshold dosage. The minimum dose necessary Understory. Any plants growing under the
to produce a measurable effect in a given canopy formed by others. See Canopy.
organism.
Uneven-aged stand. Stand in which more than
Throughfall. All the precipitation eventually two distinct age classes and a range of size
reaching the forest floor—that is, direct precip- classes (seedling, sapling, pole, etc.) are present.
itation plus canopy drip.
Ultraviolet radiation. Electromagnetic radiation
Tissue. Group of similar cells organized into a of shorter wavelength than visible radiation but
structural and functional unit. longer than X-rays; roughly, radiation in the
538 Appendix V

wavelength interval between 10 and 4000 Water stress. Stress or negative pressure exerted
angstroms. on a water column in a plant owing to
transpiration.
Uptake. Amount of water and nutrients absorbed
by vegetation. Water table. Upper surface of the groundwater.
A perched water table is one separated by rel-
atively impermeable material from an underly-
V ing body of groundwater; may be seasonally
impermanent.
Vascular cambium. Cylindrical sheath of meris-
tematic cells, the division of which produces sec- Wavelength. The distance between successive
ondary xylem and secondary phloem. wave crests, or other equivalent points, in a har-
monic wave. The symbol is X.
Vascular tissue. Specialized conducting tissue in
plants forming a vascular system—in woody Weathering. The physical and geothermal
plants making up the whole of the xylem and processes by which rock minerals are broken up
phloem. and decomposed.
Vector. Any agent capable of transporting a Wholesale price index (WPI). Weighed average
pathogen or saprogen to a host. of wholesale prices of a representative bundle
of goods and services produced by the economy.
Veneer. Thin sheet of wood of uniform thickness,
The rate of increase (decrease) in the WPI is one
produced by rotary cutting or by slicing.
measure of the rate of inflation (deflation) in the
Vessel member. Elongated cell of the xylem char- economy.
acterized by perforations. Its function is to con-
Wood. Secondary xylem.
duct water and minerals through the plant body.
Found in nearly all angiosperms and a few other Woody plants. Trees or shrubs exhibiting sec-
vascular plants. See Tracheid. ondary growth.
Visible radiation. Energy at wavelengths from 0.4
to 0.7 micrometer that is detectable by the eye.
Volatiles. Essential oil distilled from plant tissues, X
generally characterized by a low boiling point. Xerarch succession. Primary succession begin-
Volume table. Table showing the average cubic ning on a substrate that is solid rock and there-
contents of trees or logs by diameter and mer- fore has minimal water-storing capacity.
chantable length in a specified unit of volume. Xeric. Of, pertaining to, or adapted to a dry
environment.

w Xylem. Tissue containing tracheary elements

through which water and minerals are trans-
Watershed. Total area above a given point on a ported; wood is secondary xylem.
river, stream, or other waterway, that contributes
water to the flow at that point.
Watershed management. The analysis, protec-
tion, repair, utilization, and maintenance of
Y
drainage basins for optimum control and con- Yard. To haul logs to a central spot to prepare
servation of water with regard to other resources. them for transport.
 Index

24-mile tracts, 247 Airborne infrared scanners, 403 Analog, definition, 518
Albedo Analysis. See Spatial analysis; Urban
AAAS. See American Association for the definition, 517 forestry program
Advancement of Science reduction, 129 definition. See Systems analysis
Abiotic agents, 150-151 Albuminous cells, definition, 518 web site. See Forests
Abiotic factors, definition, 517 Alcohol pulping, 442 Anderson-Tully Company, 205
Aboveground net primary production Alfisols, 66, 68, 71, 109 Angiosperm, 78
(ANPP), 64 Algae blooms, 354 classes, 3
Abscission, definition, 517 Alkaloid, definition, 518 definition, 518
Absorbance, definition, 517 All-aged stand. See Balanced all-aged trees, seeds, 84
Absorbed light, definition, 517 stand Angle gauges, 254, 256
Absorption Allelopathy, definition, 518 Animals
band, definition, 517 Allogenic succession, definition, 518 effects. See Landscape patterns
definition, 517 All-Terrain Vehicle Association, 211 species, common/scientific names,
Active migration, 378 Almaz-1, 283 513-514
Activity, diurnal requirements, 378 Alternative land uses, economic Annual ring, definition, 518
Adaptation, definition, 517 comparison, 459-460 ANPP. See Aboveground net primary
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), 88 Amazon rainforests, 69 production
production, 90 Amazon River Basin, 340, 355 Anthocyanins, 86
Administrative boards, 477 Amenity values, Anticipatory stage, 370
Adsorption, definition, 517 economics/management. See Apical dominance, definition, 518
Advance regeneration, definition, 299, Forests Apical meristem, 81
517 American Antiquities Act (1906), 16, definition, 518
Advanced Very High Resolution 199 Appalachian Mountain Club, 210
Radiometer (AVHRR), 283 American Association for the Applegate Partnership, 34-35
Adventitious, definition, 517 Advancement of Science (AAAS), Arboricultural practices, 48
Advisory boards, 477 12, 213 Arboriculture, 481
Advocacy American Association of Nurserymen, Arctic woodland, 61
groups, 489 482, 490 Area measurement. See Forests
programs, 207, 210-211 American Forest and Paper Association Arid-zone reclamation, 46
Aerial film, definition, 517 (AF&PA), 45, 48, 187, 191, 210 Arizona Chemicals, 454
Aerial fuels, 393 commodity group, 211 Arkansas Audubon Society, 205
Aerial photographs, 267, 280 Sustainable Forestry Initiative, 204 Arkansas Forestry Commission, 205
composite/oblique/vertical, American Forest Foundation, 48 Arkansas Game and Fish Commission,
definitions, 517 American forestry, 17-18 205
Aerial photography, 274-275 American Forestry Association (AFA), Arkansas Land and Development
AFA. See American Forestry Association 213 Corporation, 205
Affluence. See Recreation convening (1875), 392 Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission,
AF&PA. See American Forest and Paper American Forests, 490 205
Association American Indians, 6, 7 Arkansas Wildlife Federation, 205
Aftermath forest, 168 American Loggers Council, 413 Arson, impact, 400-401
Age. See Standing trees American Pulpwood Association, 48 Articles of Confederation, 9-10
Agricultural Research Service, 197 American Wood Preservers Association Artificial regeneration, 299-301
Agrisilviculture, definition, 517 (AWPA), 432 planting, 300-301
Agro-based fibers, 438 Ammonia volatilization, 106 ASTER, 283-284
Agroforestry, 46, 502 Ammonium (NH4+), 82-83 Atmospheric chemistry, changes
definition, 517 Amylostereum fungi, 167 (effect), 92-94

539
540 Index

Atmospheric moisture, effect, 395 Wisconsin, case study, 357 Bole, definition, 519
Atmospheric nitrogen deposition, 73 Big tree policy, opportunity cost, 468 Bolt, 242
Atmospheric pollution, impacts, 95-96 Big Woods (Arkansas), 205 definition, 519
Atmospheric stability, 395 Bilateral aid, definition, 518-519 Boreal forests, 61-65, 83
ATP. See Adenosine triphosphate Biltmore stick climate, 61
Auburn University, 210 definition, 519 management, 64-65
Autecology, definition, 114, 528 usage, 250 soils, 61-64
Automated scanning, 269-270 Binder, definition, 519 species composition, 64
Autotrophic respiration, 118, 122 Biobleaching, 443 structure/function, 64
Autotrophs, 118. See also Biodiversity, 66, 310 Borers. See Wood borers
Photoautotrophs conservation, 503 definition. See Increment
Auxin, definition, 518 management, 323 Boundary Waters Canoe Area
AVHRR. See Advanced Very High Biological control, 208 Wilderness (BWCAW), usage. See
Resolution Radiometer definition, 519 Superior National Forest
Avifauna, definition, 518 Biological diversity, maintenance, Boundary Waters Treaty (1909), 358
Avoidance, 172 310-311 Bowen ratio, 343
AWPA. See American Wood Preservers Biological nitrogen fixation, 125 Breakout flow, 348
Association Biological science, 41 Breast height, diameter. See Standing
Axil, definition, 518 Biology. See Forests trees
Axis, definition, 518 curricula, 41 Brightening. See Pulp
Azimuth. See Magnetic azimuth Biomass Brightness, definition, 519
Azimuth, definition, 246, 518 accumulation, 92 Broad Arrow policy, 10
allocation, 118 Broad-leaved deciduous forests, 61
Backburns, 406 definition, 519 Broad-leaved evergreen forests, 68
Backfire, definition, 404, 518 removal, 308 Broad-leaved evergreen species, 59
Bacteria, 158-159. See also Xylem- trees, 64 Broad-leaved hardwoods, 67
inhabiting bacteria Biome, 2, 115. See also Forests Broad-leaved sclerophyll forests, 68
BAF. See Basal area factor definition, 519 Broad-leaved trees, 161
Balanced all-aged stand, 292 Biometrics. See Forests Brooms, 160
Ballinger, Richard A., 16 Biometry, 47 Browse, definition, 519
Bare-root condition, 300 Biopulping, 443 Browsing. See Livestock browsing
Bark, 102 Biosphere, definition, 519 Bryophyte, definition, 519
definition, 518 Biotechnology, 43, 443 Buck, definition, 519
Bark beetles, 162-163 chemicals, 455 Bucking, 415
Basal area. See Standing trees Biotic agents, 151. See also Abiotic Bud insects, 164-165
definition, 518 agents Bud primordium, definition, 519
estimates, 256 Biotic diversity, 409 Buffer zones, 503
ranges, 261 Biotic factors, definition, 519 Buffering, 272
Basal area factor (BAF), 254-256 Biotic pathogens, 150 Buffers, 323
Base cations, 69 Birch dieback, 169 Bureau of Indian Affairs, 44
Base flow, 348 Bitterlich method, 254-256 Bureau of Labor Statistics, 43
Baselines, usage, 246 Bitterlich, Walter, 254 Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
Basidiospores, 153 Bitterroot National Forest, forest 23, 33, 196, 332, 366
Bast fiber, definition, 518 management policy modification, foresters, 44
BCA. See Benefit-cost analysis 29 land management mission, defining,
Bedrock, definition, 518 Bitterroot Valley, 29 28
Beech scale-nectria complex Black liquor, definition, 519 lands, 27
interaction, 168 Bleaching. See Biobleaching; Elemental Project 2012, 25
Beetles, 188. See also Bark beetles Chlorine Free; Pulp; Totally responsibility, 199-200
BEHAVE, 400 Chlorine Free Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, 44
Benefit-cost analysis (BCA), 465. See BLM. See Bureau of Land Management Burning. See Prescribed burning
also Forestry; Non-timber values Blowup fire, definition, 397, 519 BWCAW. See Superior National Forest
Bequest-value, 465, 467 Blue-green algae, 82
Best Management Practices (BMPs), Blue-stain fungi, 166 C/A code, 270
272, 415 BMPs. See Best Management Practices Cable
silviculture-based programs, 354 Board foot, definition, 242, 519 fasteners, 418
Index 541

yarder system, 418 nitrate, 446 leaved deciduous forests; Tropical

yarding, 414, 418 xanthate, 446 broad-leaved evergreen forests
Calendar, definition, 519 CFEs. See Community forest enterprises change, 72-73
Caliper, definition, 519 Chain/chaining, 245-246, 330 seasonal variation, effect, 85-87
Callus tissue, 155 definitions, 520 warming, 340
Canker Change detection, 283 Climatic release, definition, 520
diseases, 155 Charcoal, usage, 451 Climax
program. See Citrus canker program Charge-coupled device (CCD), community, definition, 520
Canopy, 68-71. See also Trees definition, 281, 520 definition, 315
definition, 519 Chemical commodities, 446 Clinal variation, definition, 520
gaps, 292 Chemical pulping, 441-442 Clinton, Bill, 310-311
removal. See Forests Chemical soil properties, 104-105 Clonal plantations, 154
structure, environmental constraints, Chemicals. See Biotechnology; Wood- Clone, definition, 520
120-122 derived chemicals Cloquet Research Forest, 315
trees, 407 wood conversion, 446-452 Clustering, 258
Capillary forces, 346 Chemi-thermomechanical pulp (CTMP), CMC. See Carboxymethylcellulose
Capillary water, definition, 519 441 Codominant trees, 291, 295
Carbohydrate reserves, 88 Chestnut blight, 180 C(O)EDED sequence, 442
Carbon cycle, 118-119 Chipper, definition, 520 Cold War, 24
forest growth, relationship, 118-122 Chips, 242 Collenchyma, definition, 520
Carbon dioxide (CO2), 72, 77, 91, 118 Chloroflorocarbons (CFCs), 72 Colonial policy-making, 8
concentrations, 96 Chlorophyll, 76-77, 86, 359 Colonial settlers, forests (relationship),
conversion, 119 Chlorosis. See Foliage 6-8
emissions, 92 definition, 520 Color, definition, 520
quantity, 94 Cholesterol-lowering margarine, 454 Color infrared film, definition, 275, 520
uptake, 120 Chromated copper arsenate (CCA), 432 Color infrared photographs, 279
Carbonization, definition, 519 Chromosome, definition, 520 Color-composite image, definition, 520
Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), 446 Chronic resource shortages, effect, Combustion. See Direct combustion
CARE, 46 87-88 definition, 520
Carnivore, definition, 519 Church, Frank, 29 Commercial wood crops, 223
Carotenoids, 86 Circular 21. See Pinchot Committee of Scientists, report, 198
Carrier phase signal, 270 Citrus canker program (Florida), 485 Commodities. See Chemical
Carrying capacity, definition, 315, 519 City Forester, designation, 476 commodities
Carson, Rachel, 13 Civil War, 11 Commodity
Carter, Jimmy, 32 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), group, 211
Cartesian coordinate systems, 269 21-22, 24 user group, 210-211. See also
Cartographic overlay, 272 Clark, Judson, 243 Noncommodity user group
Cascade Mountains, 122, 129 Clarke-McNary Act (1924), 22, 34, 392 Communications. See Enhanced
Cascade Range, 348 Class. See Construction class; Factory communications
Catastrophe, 149 class; Local-use class; Veneer curricula, 41
Catastrophic authority. See Private Clean Air Act (1970), 32 Community. See Forestry-dependent
property Clean Water Act (1977), 32, 233, 238, communities
Catastrophic change, resistance, 110 354 control. See Social forestry
Catastrophic disturbances, 288 Clearcuts, allocation, 137-138 definition, 520. See also Climax;
Cation. See Base cations Clearcutting. See Monongahela National Pioneer community
definition, 519 Forest forestry, 46, 474
Cation-exchange capacity (CEC), 104 controversy, 287 stewardship program (Philippines),
Catlin, George, 13 definition, 520 493
CCA. See Chromated copper arsenate issues, 28-31 Community forest enterprises (CFEs),
CCC. See Civilian Conservation Corps method, 301-302 505
CCD. See Charge-coupled device Cleveland, Grover, 15 Community-based agroforestry
CEC. See Cation-exchange capacity Climate. See Boreal forests; Temperate programs, 498
Cellulose, 425, 451 broad-leaved deciduous forests; Companion cell, definition, 520
acetate, 446 Temperate broad-leaved evergreen Competitors, 116-117
derivatives, 446 forests; Temperate needle-leaved Computer literacy (curricula), 41
macromolecules, 436 evergreen forests; Tropical broad- Conflict resolution, 32, 34, 505-506
542 Index

Conifer, 3. See also Needle-leaved CRP. See Conservation Reserve Program Dendrochronology, 426
conifers Cruise (timber), definition, 521 Dendroclimatology, 426
definition, 520 Cruising, 257. See also Line-plot Dendrology, definition, 521
forests, 66 cruising Dendrometer, definition, 521. See also
species, 301. See also Needle-leaved Crusting, 334 Optical dendrometer
temperate conifer species CTMP. See Chemi-thermomechanical Denitrification, 106
Conservation. See Biodiversity pulp definition, 521
goals, 236 Cumulative watershed analysis, Density. See Forests
groups. See Private conservation 352-355 definition, 521. See also Stands
groups Cut, definition, 260 Department of Community
preservation, contrast, 19 Cutting. See Partial cutting Development (Thailand), 497-498
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), cycle, definition, 521 Derived demand, definition, 521
201 definition. See Improvement; Release Desertification, definition, 521
Construction cutting; Selection Deserts, global expansion, 352
class, 245 issues/method. See Clearcutting Desiccation. See Winter
impact. See Trees Cut-to-length logs, 414 Destructive distillation, definition, 521
Consulting forestry, 47-48 Cut-to-length system, 417 Detritus, definition, 521
Containerized seedlings, 300 CVM. See Contingent valuation method Developed countries, 422
Contingent valuation method (CVM), Cytoplasm, 151 Diameter at breast height (dbh), 250,
467-468 definition, 521 259, 478
Convection column, 397 class, 255, 259
Cooperative Agricultural Extension Damage, 150 definition, 521
Service, 44 assessment, 279-280 Diameter tape, definition, 521
Cooperative Extension Service, Damping off, 104 Diapause, definition, 521
234-235, 413, 490 Dark respiration, 92 Dicotyledons, 3
Cooperative Forest Management Act Das, Prabinder, 492 definition, 521
(1950), 232 Data entry, digitizing, 269-270 Dieback, 160, 168. See also Birch
Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act Data structure, usage. See Raster data dieback
(1978), 232 structure Differentiation, definition, 521
Cooperative forestry programs, Database operations. See Geographical Diffuse-porous wood, definition, 522
207-208 information systems Digesters, 441
Cooperative programs, 207, 208 dbh. See Diameter at breast height Digital computer, definition, 522
Cooperative State Research Education DDT, development, 322 Digital elevation model, definition, 522
and Extension Service, 197, 209 Deadwood, 323 Digital image
Coppice method, 304-305 Deciduous forests. See Temperate definition, 522
Coppice system, definition, 520 broad-leaved deciduous forests; processing, definition, 522
Cord. See Face cord; Short cord; Tropical broad-leaved deciduous Digital orthophotograph (DOQ), 278
Standard cord forests Digital photogrammetry, 278
definition, 520 Decline. See Maples; Oaks Digitizing. See Data entry; Heads-up
Cordillera, definition, 520 diseases, 168-169 digitizing; Manual digitizing
Cork cambium, 81 Decomposition. See Thermal Dipterocarps, 70
definition, 521 decomposition Direct attack, 404
Corporate holdings. See Nonindustrial Deferred-rotation grazing, definition, Direct combustion, 447-450
corporate holdings 328521 Direct seeding, 300
Cortex, definition, 521 Defoliating insects, 167-168 Direction, measurement, 246
Cotyledon, definition, 521 Defoliation, 161-162, 167-169 Diseases. See Canker diseases; Decline;
Couch roll, 444 definition, 521 Dutch elm disease; Foliage
Council of Tree and Landscape Defoliators, 161-162 diseases; Forest tree diseases;
Appraisers, 487 Deforestation, cause, 22 Fungi; Roots; Rust diseases;
Crafts, Edward C, 23, 25 Delimbing, 413-414 Vascular wilt diseases
Creosote, 448 Demand influences, 170-172
Cross-banding, 432-433 definition. See Derived demand pathogens
Crown classes, 291 increase. See Nonindustrial private attributes, 171
Crown fire, 394-395, 407 forests impact. See Trees
definition, 521 supply, 466. See also Forest products site/weather attributes, 170-171
Index 543

tree/stand attributes, 170 Ecophysiology, 58, 66. See also Energy. See Latent heat energy;
Distance, measurement, 245-246 Forests Sensible heat energy
Disturbance, 302. See also Catastrophic Ecosystem. See Terrestrial ecosystems definition. See Incident energy
disturbances; Low human change, 142 exchange, definition, 522
disturbance; Small-scale cycling. See Forest ecosystems source, 8
disturbance; Wind definition, 522 wood conversion, 446-452
frequency. See High-intensity ecology. See Forest ecosystems Enhanced communications, 420
disturbance integrity, relationship. See Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM),
intensity, 60 Silvicultural practices 283
patterns. See Natural disturbance knowledge, 382 Entomology, 172. See also Forests
regimes, 135. See also Natural nutrient distribution. See Forest definition, 523
disturbance ecosystems Environment. See Legal environment;
Diversa, 467 preservation, 479 Physical environment; Political
Diversity, maintenance. See Biological structure/function, 323-325 environment; Social forestry;
diversity Ecosystem management, 110, 187-190, Socioeconomic environment;
Division of Recreation and Lands. See 285-288 Urban forestry
United States Department of answers, 311 Environmental constraints. See Canopy;
Agriculture blueprint, 288-290 Forest growth; Leaves
Dominant trees, 291, 295. See also concept, 26 Environmental protection, 445-446
Codominant trees example, 188-189 nonregulatory mechanisms. See
DOQ. See Digital orthophotograph relationship. See Sustainability Nonindustrial private forests
Dormancy, 90. See also Winter wildlife considerations, 323-326 Environmental Protection Agency
definition, 522 Ecotone, definition, 522 (EPA), 44, 197, 432
proteins, 86 Ectomycorrhizae, 82 Environmental quality. See Forest soils
Dot grid, usage, 248 Edge Environmental resistance, definition,
Douglas, Andrew, 426 definition, 522 523
Downed woody debris, value, 323 habitats, 317 Environmental stress, coping, 85-90
Doyle log rule, 242 Education. See General education; EOS. See Earth Observing System
Drought, avoidance, 68 Professional education EPA. See Environmental Protection
Drought-prone soils, 65 Eisenhower, Dwight D., 23, 25 Agency
Dry lightning strikes, 390 Ejidos, 494 Epicormic growth, definition, 523
Ducks Unlimited, 205 Elasticity, definition, 522 Epicormic shoots, 168
Duff, definition, 522 Electromagnetic energy, definition, 274, Epidermis, 77
Dutch elm disease, 154, 167 522 definition, 523
Electromagnetic spectrum, definition, Equilibrium moisture content (EMC),
Early successional species, 87, 315-317 522 427
Early-successional forest ecosystems, Electronic detectors, 280 Eradication, 172
184 Electronic/optical instruments, 246 Erosion. See Soils
Earth Observing System (EOS), 283 Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) control, 1
Eastern Wilderness Act (1975), 28 bleaching, 442-443 monitoring, 464
ECF. See Elemental Chlorine Free Elk, case study. See Yellowstone ERS-1, 283
Ecological interactions, 314-315 National Park ESA. See Endangered Species Act
Ecological niche, 116 EMC. See Equilibrium moisture content Ester pulping, 442
Ecological restoration, 503 Empirical models, 262 ET. See Evapotranspiration
Ecological settings/processes, 501 Employers, expectations, 48-49 Ethanol, 90
Ecology. See Fire; Forest ecosystems; Employment, 48-50 definition, 523
Forests; Forests/wildlife; seeking, 49-50 Ethics, 48
Landscape ecology sources, 45-48 ETM. See Enhanced Thematic Mapper
curricula, 41 Emulsion, definition, 522 Eutrophication, definition, 523
definition, 522 Endangered species, 323 Evaporation, 343-346
Economic change, 505 Endangered Species Act (ESA) (1973), Evapotranspiration (ET), definition,
Economic forest sector modeling, 463 32-33, 200, 233, 237-238 345, 523
Economics. See Forest products; listings, 318 Evelyn, John, 286
Forests Endemic population, definition, 522 Even-aged forests, 289
definition, 457 Endomycorrhizae, 82 Even-aged management, 66, 286, 310
544 Index

Even-aged methods, 301-305 Field moisture capacity, definition, 523 Flying, 414-415
Even-aged stand, 295 Filmless imaging, 280-281 Foliage
definition, 523 Films, 446 chlorosis, 158
Even-aged stands, 290-292 Filter, definition. See Optical filter diseases, 152
Everglades (Florida), 145 Financial maturity, recognition, 286 production, 121
Evergreen forests. See Temperate Fines, definition, 523 Food bases, 158
broad-leaved evergreen forests; FIP. See Forestry Incentives Program Food chain/web, definition, 523
Temperate needle-leaved Fire. See Frequent low-severity fires; Forb, definition, 523
evergreen forests; Tropical broad- High-severity fires; Lightning; Ford Foundation, 492, 494-495
leaved evergreen forests Wilderness Forecasting. See Forest products
Exclusion, 172 behavior, 393-400. See also Forests Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Existence-value, 465, 467 prediction, 397-400 Resources Planning Act (RPA)
Extractive-free wood, 435-436 containment, 404 (1974), 30-32, 38, 198, 213
Extractives. See Water-soluble control, 402-404 Forest ecosystems, 89, 123, 179. See
extractives; Wood definition. See Backfire; Blowup fire; also Fire-dependent forest
definition, 523 Crown fire; Ground fire; Head fire; ecosystems
solubility. See Organic solvents Spot fire; Surface fire advantages, 183
Extraneous material, 436 detection, 403 cycling, 105-108
ecology, 41 ecology, 53, 114
FACE. See Free-air CO2 enrichment environmental impacts. See Forests landscape patterns, impact, 138-142
Face cord, 243 erratic behavior, 397 nutrient distribution, 105-108
Factory class, 245 exclusion, 392 nutrient transfers, 126-127
FAO. See United Nations Food and frequency, 64. See also Low-intensity timber harvesting, effects, 128-130
Agriculture Organization fire wildlife, components, 315-321
Faustmann, formula, 463-464. See also fuel conditions, 393-395 Forest Foundation, Tree Farm program,
Forestland influence. See Landscape; Soils 235
Feathermoss, 64 line, definition, 403, 523 Forest growth, 193-196, 260-262
Fecal colioform, definition, 523 management, 392. See also Forests; components, 260
Federal agencies, public forestry, 43-44 Natural fire environmental constraints, 120-122
Federal Environmental Pesticide challenge, 410 relationship. See Carbon cycle
Control Act (1922), 32 natural role, 390-391 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA)
Federal Land Policy and Management policy, human influence, 391-393 program, 209
Act (1976), 27, 38 prescription, 405 Forest management, 111, 141-142,
Federal Water Pollution Control Act prevention, 400-402 179-191, 502-503
(1972), 32 protection, 487 complications, 215
Federal Water Quality Act (1972), 32 regimes. See Natural fire effects. See Wildlife
Feeder roots, 157 suppression, 60, 321, 330 goals, 181
Fees, recreation management tool, triangle, 393 multiple uses, 177, 182-186
383-386 types, 393-395 plan, 181-182
Feller-Buncher/Grapple skidder system, Fire-adapted species, 391 Forest products, 422
417 Fire-dependent forest ecosystems, 180 certification, 233
Felling, 413 Firefighting fatalities. See Storm King demand/supply, 461-462
Fermentation. See Mountain forecasting, 463
Saccharification/fermentation Fireplaces, 448 industry, 108
definition, 523 Fish-bone patterns, 136 market
Fertilization, 296. See also Forests; Flake boards, 429 economics, 461-A6}
Stands Flocculation, 443 equilibrium, price (contrast),
FIA. See Forest Inventory and Analysis Flood Control Act (1936), 465 462-463
Fiber, 446. See also Agro-based fibers; Flooding measurement. See Primary forest
Wastepaper fibers control, 1 products
definition, 523 cycles, disruption, 318-319 policy analysis, 463
Fiberboard, 422. See also Medium Floods (1993), case study. See Forest Products Laboratory, 21, 44
density fiberboard Mississippi floods; Pacific Forest Protection Committees (India),
Fiberizing, definition, 523 Northwest floods 499
Fiber-poor countries, 445 Flowers, 83-85 Forest Reserve Act (Section 24), 14-16
Index 545

Forest resources national level, 211-218 microorganisms, origins/roles, 148

management, 41-42 joint roles, 213 mortality, 193-196
measurement, 41 paradigms, emergence, 239 multiple uses, 24-26
policy/administration, 42 profession, 38 needs, determination. See Urban
Forest Service. See United States paths, 39-43 forests
Department of Agriculture programs, 50. See also Cooperative nurseries, 105
Forest soils, 98 forestry programs owners, 191-196
concept, 98 projects, benefit-cost analysis (BCA), ownership, 191-196
environmental quality, 110-111 464-465 patterns, change. See Nonindustrial
properties, 99-105 research, 20-21 private forests
tree nutrition, relationship, 108-109 role, 217-218 pathology, 148
Forest stands Forestry Bureau (China), 498 pest management
decay, 156 Forestry Incentives Program (FIP), 201 principles/practices, 171-172
growth/development, 290-293 Forestry-dependent communities, 493 philosophy, crystallization, 13-18
regeneration, 296-301 Forests. See Aftermath forest; Boreal policy development, 2. See also
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), 233 forests; Nonindustrial private United States
Forest tree diseases forests; Temperate mixed forests profile, 6-36
causes, 150-158 amenities, value assessment, 466-468 preserve, creation, 12
impact, 150-165 area measurement, 248-249 productivity, 193-196. See also
interactions, 147 biology, 47, 53 Nonindustrial private forests
losses, 148-149 biomes, 57, 60-72 protection programs, 207-208
Forest tree insects biometrics, 241 questions, 7-8
impact, 150-165 canopy, 157, 318 recreation, 20
interactions, 147 removal, 129 regulation/control, 22-23
losses, 148-149 complexity, adjustment, 24-36 relationship. See Colonial settlers;
Forest trees conservation/preservation, 12-13 Global change; Great Depression;
damage, insects (impact), 160-165 conversion, 351 Native Americans; New
life history patterns, 116-118 definition, 2. See also Regulated Democracy; United States; World
species distribution, 115-118 forest Wars
taxonomy, 516 degradation, 298 removals, 193-196
tolerance/competition, 115-116 density, 261-262 reserves, creation, 13-16
Forest-associated game, pursuit, 314 ecology, 53 resources. See Nonindustrial private
Forest-based industries, 46 economics, 460 forests
Forest-based recreation management, ecophysiology, 75 measurement (timber focus),
366-368 directions, 96 249-262
Forested rangelands, 329-331 global issues, 90-96 measurement/monitoring, 241
Forestland, 192-193. See also Reserved engineering, 47 restoration, 7
forestland entomology, 148 sampling, 252-260
productivity, measurement, 226 exploitation, 11-12 site quality, 261
value, Faustmann's formula, 458-459 externalities, 464 society, relationship, 471-472
Forest-people reciprocity, 504 fertilization, 108 sociocultural context, 504
Forest-related values, 227 fires, 302 state agencies, 202
Forestry. See Agroforestry; American behavior/management, 389 stewardship, 179
forestry; Community; Consulting environmental impacts, 406-407 stocking, 261—262
forestry; International forestry; fragmentation, 136, 322 succession, 127-128, 184
Multiple-product forestry; Private habitats, 315-319 sustainability, 110
industry; Small private forestry; harvesting, 115, 352 taxation, 232-233
Small-scale forestry; Social forestry; health, 110 type mapping, 248-249
Sustainable forestry; Urban forestry hydrology, 47 use, perceptions, 363-364
career industry, 202-204 villages (Thailand), 493-494
decisions, 39-43 insects, origins/roles, 136, 148 volume, 193-196
opportunities, 38, 43 inventory/analysis web site, 194 water supply, trees (interaction),
curricula, 41-43 land, ownership (question), 227 89
definition, 41 landowners, 169 wood/amenity values,
federal government, role, 212-214 measurements, 241 economics/management, 457
546 Index

Forests (continued) Geographical information system (GIS), Great Plains, 193-194

yield, 260-262 133, 143-144, 478. See also Natural Greeley, William B., 19, 21, 22
definition, 523 resources; Three-dimensional GIS Green certification advocates, 239
projection, 262 concepts, 267-269 Green wood, 448
Forests/wildlife. See Mixed-age forests; database operations, 272 Grid system, 10
Old-growth forests definition, 524 Gross scale, 243
ecology, 320 geographic operations, 272-274 Ground condition, 296-297
effects, 319-321 usage, 359 Ground fire, 394
management, 313 Geometric distortions, 277 definition, 524
risk. See Unhealthy forests Geomorphological processes, effects. Ground fuels, 393
Forties. See Round forties; Rubber See Landscape patterns Ground tissue, definition, 524
forties Geostatistics, 273 Ground water, 347
definition, 523 Gila Wilderness plan, 20 Groundwater, storage, 342
Forwarding, 414 Girdle, definition, 524 Group selection system/method, 290,
Founder tree, 86 GIS. See Geographical information 307
Fourdrinier, definition, 524 system Growth. See Height; Nonindustrial
Fragmentation, 226 Gisborne, H.T., 397 private forests
Free Timber Act, 11 Glacial landscapes, 135 components. See Forest growth
Free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE), 94 Global change, forests (relationship), definition. See Epicormic growth;
Frequent low-severity fires, 391 71-72 Ingrowth; Primary growth;
Fruit, 83-85 Global circulation models (GCMs), 91, Secondary growth; Survivor
definition, 524 94 growth
FSC. See Forest Stewardship Council Global distribution. See Terrestrial environmental constraints. See Forest
Fuel. See Aerial fuels; Ground fuels; water/life growth
Ladder fuels; Slash; Surface fuels Global hydrologic cycle, 340-342 impact, 149
conditions. See Fire Global positioning system (GPS), 246, impact/loss, definitions, 524
wood conversion, 446-452 266-267, 270-271, 479 inhibitors, 479
Fungi. See Amylostereum fungi; Blue- Global warming loss, 149
stain fungi; Stain fungi broad-scale prediction, 92 relationship. See Carbon cycle
diseases, 151 effect, 90-92 soil-site factors. See Trees
species, 154-156 God Squad, 33 Grubs, 165
Fungus root, 103 GPS. See Global positioning system Guard cells, 77
Fungus-insect complex, impact, 166 Grade, definition, 524 Guessebodi National Forest (Niger),
Furfural, definition, 524 Grading, 245 494
Furnaces, 448-450 definition. See High grading Guide meridians, usage, 247
Fusiform initials, definition, 524 Grand Canyon National Park, 16, 198 Gum
Grand Teton National Park, 409 naval stores, 453
Gall, definition, 524 Grant, Ulysses S., 12 usage, 453
Gamete, definition, 524 Graves, Henry S., 19, 22 Gutenberg printing press, 438
Gaseous oxidants, tree species Grazing. See Livestock Gymnosperm, 3, 78
(tolerance, difference), 95 conditions, 332 definition, 524
Gasification, definition, 524 definition. See Overgrazing; Rest-
GCMs. See Global circulation models rotation grazing; Short-duration Habitat. See Edge; Successional habitats
Gender, poverty (relationship), 504 grazing definition, 524
Gene management. See Rangeland generalists, 310
definition, 524 system. See Riparian grazing systems management, 324
flow/pool, definitions, 524 hydrologic evaluation, 334-335 manipulation, 323, 325
General education, 41 implementation, 332 protection, land use changes, 72
General Land Office, 10-12, 15, 25, 197 Great Depression, forests type, definition, 524
Forestry Division, merger, 213 (relationship), 18-24 Hand-planting crews, 301
Genetic drift, definition, 524 Great Fire (1871), 11 Hardpan, definition, 524-525
Genetic engineering, 43 Great Lakes Basin, case study, 355-359 Hardwoods, 86, 100, 111, 425
Genotype, definition, 524 Great Lakes region forests, 317 advantages/disadvantages, 429
Geodetic surveys, 270 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement ecosystem, 107
Geographic operations, 273 (1972), 358 impact, 155
Index 547

stands, 184 Hue, definition, 525 Infection court, definition, 526

stock volume, 224 Human Infectious agents, 151. See also
Harrison, Benjamin, 15 populations, 70 Noninfectious agents
Harvester/Forwarder system, 417 Humanities (curricula), 41 Infiltration, 341
Harvesting. See Timber harvesting Humans capacity, 347, 348
effects. See Forest ecosystems activities, effects. See Landscape reduction, 353
Hauling, 415 patterns Infiltration-runoff relationships, 333
Hazard influence. See Fires Information. See Structural information
correction, 484 resource. See Nonindustrial private dissemination, 488-489
management. See Urban forestry forests management, 487-488
prevention, 484 value. See Nonindustrial private systems. See Natural resources
Headbox, definition, 525 forests Infrared
Headfire, definition, 406, 525 Humus, 102 definition, 526
Heads-up digitizing, 269 definition, 525 film, definition. See Color infrared
Health assessment, 279-280 Hydrarch succession, definition, 525 film
Health care, 483 Hydration, definition, 525 photographs, 274
Heartrot Hydrograph, usage, 349-350 scanners. See Airborne infrared
definition, 525 Hydrologic cycle. See Global scanners
effect, 156 hydrologic cycle Ingrowth, definition, 260, 526
Heartwood, 425 Hydrologic evaluation. See Grazing Inhibition, definition, 526
decay, 155 Hydrology. See Forests Initial point, definition, 246, 526
definition, 525 Hydrolysis, definition, 525 Injury, impact, 150
Heat energy. See Latent heat energy; Hypertrophy, definition, 525 Inland Empire, definition, 526
Sensible heat energy Hypha, definition, 525 Insect-pathogen complexes, 166-168
Hedonic pricing, 467-468 Hypsometer, definition, 251, 525 Insects. See Bud insects; Defoliating
Height. See Standing trees insects; Forest tree insects;
growth, 262 ICRAF. See International Center for Opportunistic insects; Root;
poles, definition, 251, 525 Research in Agroforestry Secondary insects; Shoot insects;
Helicopter logging, 128 IJC. See International Joint Commission Sucking insects
system, 418 IKS. See Indigenous Knowledge attributes, 171
Hemocoel, definition, 525 Systems epidemics, 302
Herb, definition, 525 Imaging. See Filmless imaging impact. See Forest trees
Herbicides, usage, 301, 322-323 scanners. See Passive imaging infestation, 48
Herbivore, definition, 525 scanner interactions. See Trees
Herbivory, 320-321 principles, 280-281 management, 169-173
Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group systems, 274. See also Non-radar monitoring, 483
Forest Recovery Act (1999), 33, 35 imaging systems occurrence/development, influences,
Heritability, definition, 525 Immigration. See Recreation 170-172
Heterotrophic respiration, 118 Improvement pathogens, attributes, 171
High grading, definition, 525 cuts. See Stands predation, 320
High thinning, 295 cutting, definition, 525 site/weather attributes, 170-171
High-intensity disturbance, frequency, Inbreeding depression, definition, 525 tree/site attributes, 170
288-289 Inceptisols, 66, 68, 71 vectors, 166
High-severity fires, 391 Incidence, angle (definition), 518 Institute of Tropical Forestry, 44
Hi-lead cable logging, 128 Incident energy, definition, 525 In-stream structures, construction, 333
Hogged wood, definition, 525 Increment Integrated pest management (IPM),
Holland Classification, 40 borer, definition, 252, 526 172-173, 208
Holland Code. See Occupations definition, 526 Integrated watershed management,
Horizon Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), new technologies, 359-360
definition, 525 504 Integration (economics), definition, 526
types, 99-100 Indigenous Technical Knowledge Inter-American Development Bank, 216
Horizontal point sampling, 254 (ITK), 496-497 Intercellular space, definition, 526
Host range, 171 Indirect attack, 404 Interception, definition, 344, 526
Hough, Franklin B., 12 Indirect management, 488-489 Interior forest, 310
HRV imaging system, 282-283 Industry. See Forests; Private industry Intermediate treatments, 293-294
548 Index

Intermediate trees, 291, 295 LAC. See Limits of Acceptable Change landscape processes, interaction,
International Center for Research in Ladder fuels, 395 134, 141-142
Agroforestry (ICRAF), 502 LAI. See Leaf area index natural disturbance processes,
International forestry, 46-47, 215-217 Lammas shoot, definition, 526 effects, 134-135
International Institute for Environment Land processes, temporal/spatial scales,
and Development, 217 allotments, 495 139
International Joint Commission (IJC), distribution, 192-193 surface geology, effects, 133-134
creation, 358 holdings. See Nonindustrial private topography, effects, 133-134
International log rule, 243 forests Landscape-level changes. See
International Society of American mapping, 245-249 Vegetation
Tropical Foresters (ISTF), 217 ownership, 192-193 Larva, definition, 527
International Society of Arboriculture, question. See Forests Lassen Volcanic National Park, 16
490 stewardship. See Private lands; Public Latent heat energy, 343
International Union of Forestry lands Lateral meristems, definition, 527
Research Organizations (IUFRO), surveying, 245-249 Lattice, definition, 527
47 surveys, 246-248 LCP. See Light compensation point
International watershed management, tenure, 501 Leaching, 106. See also Nutrients
355-359 use, 350-352 definition, 527
Internode, definition, 526 changes. See Habitat protection Leaf, 76-78
Interorganizational collaboration, 505 economic comparison. See abandonment, 86
Inventories. See Management; Timber; Alternative land uses cell, 76
Urban forests patterns, 501-502 cuticles, 93
Inventory web site. See Forests Land and Water Conservation Fund Act photosynthesis, environmental
IPM. See Integrated pest management (1965), 364 constraints, 119-120
ISTF. See International Society of Land expectation value (LEV), 459-461 primordium, definition, 527
American Tropical Foresters calculation, 464 transpiration, 80
ITK. See Indigenous Technical increase, 462 Leaf area index (LAI), 64, 121
Knowledge Land Ordinance (1785), 10, 246 Legal environment, 476-477. See also
IUFRO. See International Union of Landcover classification, 283 Social forestry
Forestry Research Organizations Landsat, 281-283 Legislation, 31-34
Izaak Walton League of America, 30 definition, 526-527 Lenticel, definition, 527
images, 281 Leopold, Aldo, 20, 133, 315
Jackson, Andrew, 10-11 Landscape. See Glacial landscapes Lesion, definition, 527
JERS-1, 283 fires, influence, 391 LEV. See Land expectation value
Joint Council on Food and Agriculture heterogeneity, 141 Lichens, 64
Sciences, 218 indexes, 144 Life, global distribution. See Terrestrial
Joint Forest Management (JFM), 499 processes, interactions. See water/life
Joint forestry management, 493 Landscape patterns Light compensation point (LCP), 116
Judicial involvement. See Policy simulation models, 144 Light saturation point (LSP), 116
Junk woodlots, 298 trees, 482 Lightning
Juvenile wood, definition, 526 Landscape ecology, 53, 132 fire, 409
concepts, 134 strikes, 390. See also Dry lightning
Kachelofen, 448 data collection/analysis, 143-144 strikes
Karner blue butterfly, 317, 321, 323 definition, 132-133 Lightweight machine components,
Kedgewick Loggers Co-op, 494 history, 132-133 420
Kerf, 242 management rules, 145-146 Lignification, definition, 527
definition, 526 methods, 142-145 Lignin, 102, 436
Kings Canyon National Park, 13, 407 Landscape patterns definition, 527
Kirtland's Warbler, case study, 324-325 animals, effects, 135-136 derivative, 442
Knot, definition, 526 critical thresholds, 143 Lignosulfonic acid, definition, 527
Knuckleboom loader, 417 effects, 140-141 Limiting factor, definition, 527
Korean War, 24 generation, 133-138 Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC),
Kraft pulp, definition, 442, 526 geomorphological processes, effects, 381-383
133-134 Linear arrays, 281
Laboratory of Tree Ring Research. See human activities, effects, 136-138 Linear programming, definition, 527
University of Arizona impact. See Forest ecosystems Line-plot cruising, 257
Index 549

Liquefaction. See Thermochemical Management. See Ecosystem Photography; Primary forest

liquefaction management; Forest management; products
Lithosphere, definition, 527 Indirect management; Information future, 264-265
Litter, 102-104 challenge. See Fire Mechanical thinning, 295
Livestock geographical information systems. Medium density fiberboard (MDF),
browsing, 331 See Natural resources 429
distribution, improvement, 332 oriented surveys/inventories, 249, manufacturing, 434
grazing, 333 260 Megasporangium, definition, 527
impact. See Watershed planning, 382-383 Menominee Tribal Enterprises (MTE),
Loading, 415 practices (Wisconsin), case study. 495
Loam, definition, 527 See Best management practices Mensuration, definition, 527
Local community, rediscovering, 34 remote sensing systems. See Natural Merchantable height, definition, 251,
Local-use class, 245 resources 527
Loess, definition, 527 structure. See Urban forestry Merchantable volume, 254
Log rule. See Doyle log rule; Management by Objectives (MBO), Merck (company), 467
International log rule; Scribner log 381-383 Meridians, usage. See Guide meridians;
rule Manifest destiny, 363 Standard meridians
definition, 242, 527 Manual chainsaw/cable skidder system, Meristem, 164
Logging. See Helicopter logging; Hi- 416-417 definition, 527. See also Apical
lead cable logging; Selective Manual digitizing, 269 meristem; Lateral meristems
logging Maples, decline, 169 Mesarch succession, definition,
21st century, 419-420 Mapper. See Thematic mapper 527-528
aesthetics, 418-419 Mapping. See Forests; Land Mesophyll, 76
costs, 306 cameras, 275 definition, 528
debris, 305 contracts, 276 Metcalf, Lee, 29
reduction, 405 Margarine. See Cholesterol-lowering Metes/bounds system, 246
removal, 419 margarine Methane (CH4), 72, 91, 159
industry, exploitativeness, 358 Mariposa Big Tree Grove, 13 Methanol, definition, 451, 528
system, 414, 417 Market equilibrium. See Forest products Micelles, 436
trails, 128 Markov decision process (MDP) model, Microclimate, definition, 528
Long-horned beetles, 163-164 461 Micronutrients, 104
Long-range plans, 480 Marsh, George Perkins, 12 Microorganisms, origins/roles. See
Long-term site productivity, legacy, 14 Forests
maintenance, 308-310 Mass. See Standing trees Microsporangium, definition, 528
Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP), Mass recreation, 24 Microwave, definition, 528
110-111 Mast, definition, 527 Middle lamella, definition, 528
Louisiana Purchase, 10 Master Woodland Manager Program, Mid-successional forests, 67
Low human disturbance, 72 235 Migration. See Active migration; Passive
Low-intensity fire, frequency, Mathematics (curricula), 41 migration
289-290 Mather, Steven T, 19 settlement, relationship, 504-505
LSP. See Light saturation point Matter. See Organic matter Mineralization, definition, 528
LTSP. See Long-Term Soil Productivity Maxwell, Robert, 30 Minority populations. See Recreation
Lumber manufacturing, 430-431 MBO. See Management by Objectives Mission 66. See National Park Service
Lumen, definition, 425, 527 MC. See Moisture content Mississippi floods (1993), case study,
McArdle, Richard E., 23 349
Machine McIntire-Stennis program, 210 Mississippi River Basin, 340
components. See Lightweight McKinley, William (assassination), 15 Mistletoes, 160
machine components McRae, Thomas C, 15 Mixed forests, 67. See also Temperate
control systems, 419 McSweeney-McNary Act, 21 mixed forests
vision, 419-420 MDF. See Medium density fiberboard Mixed stands, contrast. See Pure stands
Mack Lake Fire (1980), 406 MDP. See Markov decision process Mixed-age forests, wildlife, 317
Macronutrients, 104 Mean patch area index, 144 Mixed-species coastal forests, 68
Madison, James, 214 Mean perimeter-area ratio, 144 MLOs. See Mycoplasma-like organisms
Magnetic azimuth, 246 Measurement. See Direction; Distance; Model Forests Program (1992),
Magnetic compass, 246 Forest resources; Forests; creation, 33-35
Magnetic declination, 246 Nontimber resources; MODIS sensor, 283
550 Index

Moisture. See Soils National Conservation Association, 19 Natural Resource Conservation Service,
effect. See Atmospheric moisture National Environmental Policy Act 205
wood, interaction, 426-427 (NEPA) (1969), 31-32, 215, 354 Natural resources
Moisture content (MC), 426-427. See National Fire-Danger Rating System, community-based management, 491
also Equilibrium moisture content 397, 399 conservation, 382
Moisture-saturated trade winds, 59 National Forest Inventory and Analysis issues/challenges, 499-506
Monitoring. See Forests web site. See United States management, 177
future, 264-265 Department of Agriculture geographical information system,
Monocotyledones, 3 National Forest Management Act 266
definition, 528 (NFMA), 30-32, 38, 187, 198, 213, remote sensing systems, 266
Monoculture, definition, 528 354 Natural Resources Conservation Service
Monongahela National Forest National Forest Products Association, (NRCS), 197, 201
clearcutting, 29, 38 218 Nature Conservancy. See The Nature
decision, 29-31 National Forest System Conservancy
Montane forests, 70 holdings, 197 Naval stores. See Gum; Sulfate naval
Morphology, definition, 528 lands, 187 stores; Wood
Mortality, 149, 169, 260. See also management, 193 definition, 528
Forests; Red pine pocket mortality National Hardwood Lumber sources, 453
definition, 528 Association, 48 NCES. See National Center for
MSS. See Multispectral scanner National Marine Fisheries Service, Educational Statistics
MTE. See Menominee Tribal Enterprises proposal (1995), 237 NDVI. See Normalized difference
Multifaceted recreation, 369-370 National Oceanic and Atmospheric vegetation index
Multilayer canopies, 66 Administration (NOAA), polar Necrosis, definition, 528
Multiphasic activity. See Recreation orbiting satellites, 283 Nectria complex, interaction. See
Multiple use, 25. See also Forests National Park Act (1916), 19 Beech scale-nectria complex
competition, interactions, 186 National Park Service. See United States interaction
management, 35 National Park Service Needle-leaved conifers, 65
Multiple Use-Sustained Yield (MUSY) National Recreation Areas, 364 Needle-leaved temperate conifer
Act of 1960, 2, 25-26, 183, 187, National Research Initiative, 210 species, 67
198, 364 National Resources Conservation Needs analysis. See Urban forestry
Multiple-product forestry, 46 Service, 44 program
Multispectral scanner (MSS), definition, National Survey on Recreation and the Nematodes, 159-160, 167. See also
281-282, 528 Environment (NSRE) survey Plant-parasite nematodes
MUSY. See Multiple Use-Sustained (1994-1995), 375 definition, 528
Yield National Trails System, 364 NEPA. See National Environmental
Mutagen, definition, 528 National Wild and Scenic Rivers Policy Act
Mutation, definition, 528 System, 364 Net photosynthetic productivity (NPP),
Mycelium, definition, 528 National Wilderness Preservation 446-447
Mycoplasma-like organisms (MLOs), System, 364 Net scale, 243
158 National Wildlife Federation, 211, Network analyses, 273
Mycoplasmas, definition, 528 218 Neutral sulfite semi-chemical (NSSC),
Mycorrhizae, 61, 82, 103, 148. See also National Wildlife Refuges, 200 441
Ectomycorrhizae; National Woodland Owners New Democracy, forests (relationship),
Endomycorrhizae Association, 48 10-13
definition, 528 Native Americans, forests New York Stock Exchange, 12
(relationship), 6 NFMA. See National Forest
NAFTA, impact, 494-495 Natural disturbance Management Act
National Arbor Day Foundation, 490 patterns, 288-290 NGOs. See Nongovernment
National Arborists Association, 485, 490 processes, effects. See Landscape Organizations
National Association of Professional patterns Niche. See Ecological niche;
Forestry Schools and Colleges, 47 regimes, 288 Physiological niche
National Association of State Foresters, Natural fire definition, 116, 528
45 management, 409-410 NIPFs. See Nonindustrial private forests
National Cattleman's Association, 211 regimes, 390-391 Nitric acid (HNO3), 93
National Center for Educational rotation, 288 Nitrification, definition, 528-529. See
Statistics (NCES), 372 Natural regeneration, 297-299 also Denitrification
Index 551

Nitrogen Noninfectious agents, 150-151 Office of International Programs. See

cycle, definition, 529 Nonpoint pollution, 263 United States Department of
deposition. See Atmospheric nitrogen Non-radar imaging systems, 280 Agriculture
deposition Nontimber forest products (NTFP), 503 Office of Management and Budget
fixation, 82, 124, 407. See also Non-timber objectives, opportunity (OMB), 31-32, 44, 212
Biological nitrogen fixation cost, 468 Old-growth forests, 318
release, 108 Nontimber resources, measurement, wildlife, 317
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), 93 262-264 Old-growth structural features, 296
Nitrogen-fixing nodules, 83 Non-timber values, benefit-cost analysis Oleoresin, definition, 529
Nitrous oxide (N2Ox), 72 (BCA), 465-A68 Olympic National Park, 16, 22
NOAA. See National Oceanic and Normalized difference vegetation index OMB. See Office of Management and
Atmospheric Administration (NDVI), 283 Budget
Node, definition, 529 North America, silvicultural practice, Operation Outdoors. See United States
Nodules, definition, 529 286-288 Department of Agriculture
Noncommodity user group, 210-211 North American wood consumption, Operational plans, 480
Nonconsumptive wildlife-associated 427-428 Opportunistic pathogens, 167-168
recreational activities, 314 Northern Forest Fire Lab. See United Opportunity cost. See Big tree policy;
Non-farm tracts, 232 States Department of Agriculture Non-timber objectives
Nonforested rangelands, 331-333 Northern spotted owl, 233 Optical dendrometer, definition, 252,
Nongovernment Organizations (NGOs), case study, 318 529
366 NPP. See Net photosynthetic Optical filter, definition, 523
Nonindustrial corporate holdings, 204 productivity Optimal rotation age, 291
Nonindustrial private forests (NIPFs), NPS. See United States National Park Option-value, 465, 467
177, 202, 221 Service Oregon. See Salmon Plan
demand, increase, 223 NRCS. See Natural Resources Oregon Forest Conservation Act (1941),
dynamic policy environment, 223 Conservation Service 22
economic value, 222 NSRE. See National Survey on Organ, definition, 529
education/technical assistance, Recreation and the Environment Organic Administration Act (1897), 25,
234-235 NSSC. See Neutral sulfite semi-chemical 31, 213
environmental protection, NTFP. See Nontimber forest products Organic compounds, definition, 529
nonregulatory mechanisms, 238 Nursery-grown seedlings, 299 Organic matter, 102
environmental value, 222 Nutrients. See Macronutrients; Organic solvents, extractives
financial incentives, 232-233 Micronutrients; Soils (solubility), 453-454
forest resource, 223-226 accumulation, 123 Organisms. See Soils
growth, 224-226 acquisition, 82-85 Organization of American States (OAS),
historical overview, 227-232 budgets, 111 216
human resource, 226-227 cycle, 122-127 Oriented strandboard (OSB), 429, 430
human value, 223 deficiencies, diagnosis/correction, manufacturing, 433-434
issues, dynamics, 223 108-109 ORRRC. See Outdoor Recreation
landowners, 34, 228, 232-235 distribution, 123. See also Forest Resources Review Commission
markets, change, 238-239 ecosystems Orthographic projection, definition,
ownership patterns, change, 238 inputs, 123-125 529
partnerships, 235-236 leaching, 93, 126, 129 Orthophotograph. See Digital
policies/programs, 227-236 losses, 125-126 orthophotograph
productivity, 224-226 mean residence time, 126 definition, 529
regulations, 233-234 mineralization, 125 OSB. See Oriented strandboard
removal, 224-226 transfers, 107. See also Forest Osmoregulation, definition, 529
significance, 222-223 ecosystems Osmosis, definition, 529
size/distribution, 223-224 Osmotic adjustment, 89
trends/issues, 236-239 Oaks, decline, 169 Ouachita Mountains, 188
Nonindustrial private forests (NIPFs) OAS. See Organization of American Outdoor Recreation Act (1963), 364
owners States Outdoor recreation, participation,
environmental values, 229 Oblique photograph, definition, 529 371-373
identification, 226-227 Occupations, Holland Code, 40 Outdoor Recreation Resources Review
land holdings, 228 O-D. See Oven-dry Commission (ORRRC), 364
rights/responsibilities, 238 Office of City Forester, 477 Oven-dry (O-D) weight, 426
552 Index

Overgrazing Parenchyma Phloem, 78-82, 158

definition, 330, 529 cells. See Ray cells, 80
impact, 351 definition, 424, 530 definition, 530
Oviposit/ovipositor, definitions, 529 Parks and Forest Recreation Photoautotrophs, 118
Owners. See Forests Management, 385 Photogrammetry, 277-280. See also
environmental values. See Parks management, public relations, Digital photogrammetry
Nonindustrial private forests 384 definition, 530
owners Partial cutting, 298 Photographic scale, definition, 276, 530
identification. See Nonindustrial Participation stage, 370 Photography. See Aerial photography
private forests owners Particleboard, 429 coverage/scale/geometry, 275-277
rights/responsibilities. See manufacturing, 433 measurements, 277-280
Nonindustrial private forests Partnerships, 383. See also Photointerpretation, 278
owners Nonindustrial private forests Photomensuration, 278
Ownership. See Forests; Land Passive imaging scanner, 281 Photoperiod, definition, 530
patterns, change. See Nonindustrial Passive migration, 378 Photosynthesis, 77, 92
private forests Patch area index. See Mean patch area definition, 530
question. See Forests index environmental constraints. See Leaf
relationship. See Stewardship Patch size/shape, effects, 139-140 inhibiting effects, 94
Oxbows, 134 Pathogen, 157, 164, 484. See also Biotic rate, 119
Oxisols, 69, 71, 109-110, 123 pathogen; Opportunistic Photosynthetic active radiation (PAR),
OXZP sequence, 443 pathogens 116
Ozark National Forest, Amended Land aggressive, 155 Phototropism, definition, 530
and Resource Management Plan, attributes. See Diseases; Insects Physical environment, 475
182 complexes. See Insect-pathogen Physical sciences, 41
Ozone (O 3 ), 93 complexes Physical soil properties, 100-102
damage, 151 definition, 530 Physiognomy, 58
impact, 72-73 dissemination, 170-171 Physiography, definition, 530
production, 94 impact. See Trees Physiological niche, 116
interactions. See Trees Physiology, definition, 531
Pacific Northwest floods (1996), case relationship. See Vector-pathogen Phytochrome, definition, 531
study, 355-356 relationships Phytoplasmas, 158-159
Pacific Northwest, precipitation, 342 Pathology. See Forests Piedmont (plateau), definition, 531
Pacing, 245 Peace Corps, 46 Pinchot, Gifford, 15-18, 21, 22, 197
definition, 529 Pectin, definition, 530 Circular 21, 230-232
Pallets, usage, 428 Ped, definition, 530 Pine forests, 64
Pan American Development Perforation, definition, 530 Pine Tree Riot, 8
Foundation, 217 Pericycle, definition, 530 Pine-bluestem habitat, 188-189
Pando, 79 Periderm, definition, 530 Pioneer community, definition, 531
Paper, 445-444. See Recycled paper Perspective projection, definition, 530 Pit, definition, 531
finishing/converting, 444 Pesticides, usage, 322-323 Pith, definition, 531
products, 422 Pests, 149 Pixel
stock preparation, 443-444 biology, 171 definition, 281, 531
Paperboard, 443-444 management. See Integrated pest sizes, 283
stock preparation, 443-444 management Planer, definition, 531
Papermaking, 444 principles/practices. See Forests Planning stage, 370
history, 438-439 outbreaks, 208 Plant. See Resurrection plants
Paper-related products, 422 Pettigrew, Richard, 15 cells, protein metabolism, 96
PAR. See Photosynthetic active PGW. See Pressure groundwood disease, definition, 150
radiation pulping geographers, 58
Parallax Phelloderm, definition, 530 health management. See Urban
definition, 530 Phellogen, 81 forestry
wedge, definition, 530 Phenol, definition, 530 Plant available water, 346
Parasite, 151 Phenology, definition, 530 Planting
definition, 530 Phenotype, definition, 530 location, 483
population, 172 Pheromone, definition, 530 regulations, 476
Index 553

sites, 481 leadership, definition, 531 Public-private collaboration,

Plant-parasite nematodes, 159 Primary forest products, measurement, experiment. See Salmon Plan
Plasma membrane, 80 242-245 Puddling, 334
Plasmolysis, definition, 531 Primary growth, definition, 531 Pulp. See Chemi-thermomechanical
Plot sampling. See Variable plot Primary succession, definition, 531 pulp; Thermomechanical pulp
sampling Primary wood products, wood bleaching/brightening, 442-443
Plymouth Colony, 8 conversion, 428-434 definition, 531. See also Kraft pulp;
Plywood manufacturing, 432-433 Primordium, definition. See Leaf Sulfite pulp
Point sampling. See Horizontal point Principal meridians, usage, 246 history, 438-439
sampling Private conservation groups, 204-206 usage, 429
Pole, definition, 531 example, 205-206 Pulping, 438. See also Alcohol pulping;
Policy Private forests. See Nonindustrial Biopulping; Chemical pulping;
administration. See Forest resources private forests Ester pulping; Pressure
analysis. See Forest products Private industry, forestry, 45-46 groundwood pulping; Refiner
development. See Forests Private lands, stewardship, 202-206 mechanical pulping; Solvent
environment. See Social forestry Private property pulping; Stone groundwood
human influence. See Fire catastrophic authority, 476 pulping; Wood
making rights, 229 Pulpwood logs, 429
boards, 477 Production, economics. See Timber Pupa, definition, 531
judicial involvement. See production Pure stands, mixed stands (contrast),
Resources Productivity. See Forests; Nonindustrial 293
Political environment, 477 private forests Pycniospores, 153
Pollen dispersal, 83 Products Pyric climax, definition, 532
Pollination. See Wind certification. See Forest products Pyroligneous acid, definition, 532
Pollution. See Nonpoint pollution markets, economics. See Forest Pyrolysis, definition, 532
classification, 354 products
Polymerization Professional education, 41-42 Quad, definition, 532
definition, 531 Professional group, 210-211 Quarter-sections, 248
degree, 435 Progeny Quincy Library Group, 33-35
Polysaccharides, 435, 436 definition, 531
Population control, 325-326 test, definition, 531 Radar. See RAdio Detection And
Positioning systems, 419 Program-oriented groups, 489 Ranging
Potlatch Corporation, 205 Project 2012. See Bureau of Land Radarsat, 283
Poverty, relationship. See Gender Management Radial increment. See Standing trees
Practices monitoring, 249 Project-oriented groups, 489 definition, 532
Precipitation, 342-343 Property Radiant energy patterns, 274
acidity, 93 rights. See Private property Radiation. See Photosynthetic active
global patterns, 121 surveys, 270 radiation; Solar radiation
pattern, 66 Protection, 172 definition, 532. See also Ultraviolet
runoff, 348 nonregulatory mechanisms. See radiation; Visible radiation
Predator, definition, 531 Nonindustrial private forests RAdio Detection And Ranging (Radar)
Preemption Act (1841), 14 programs. See Forests definition, 532. See also Side-looking
Prescribed burning, 321-322, 392, Protoplasm, definition, 531 radar
404-408 Protoplast, definition, 531 systems, 281
definition, 531 Provenance, definition, 531 Rainforests. See Amazon rainforests
Preservation. See Ecosystem Pruning, 296, 483-485. See also Stands Raisio, 454
contrast. See Conservation Public forestry. See Federal agencies; Random sampling, 257
Pressure groundwood pulping (PGW), State settings Range management practices, 334
441 Public forests (future), 311-312 Range resources, 185
Pressure groups, 214 Public interest, 214-215 Rangeland. See Forested rangelands;
Price groups, 214 Nonforested rangelands
contrast. See Forest products Public lands definition, 532
index, definition, 531. See also commission, 45 grazing management, 328-329
Relative price index; Wholesale stewardship, 196-202 management, 328
price index Public relations. See Parks management water quality, 333-334
554 Index

Ranges, 248 Regeneration, 307. See also Artificial RH. See Relative humidity
RARE. See Roadless Area Review and regeneration; Forest stands; Rhizome, definition, 533
Evaluation Natural regeneration; Stands Rhizomorph, definition, 533
Raster data structure, usage, 268 assessment, 279-280 Rhizospheric organisms, 106
RAWS. See Remote automated weather definition, 532. See also Advance Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-
station regeneration oxygenase (rubisco), 77
Ray Regulated forest, definition, 532 Rickettsia, definition, 533
definition, 532 Relative humidity (RH), 427 Ring-porous wood, definition, 533
parenchyma cells, 424 Relative price index, definition, 532 Rio Mimbres, decision, 31
RCW. See Red-cockaded woodpecker Release cutting, definition, 532 Riparian forests, 61
Reaction (pH). See Soils Release treatments. See Stands Riparian grazing systems, 334
Recollection/reflection phase, 370 Relief Riparian management zones, 357
Recombination, definition, 532 definition, 532 Riparian zones, 317-319, 332-333
Recreation, 368-370. See also Forests; displacement, definition, 532 protection, 415
Mass recreation; Multifaceted Remote automated weather station Risk. See Unhealthy forests
recreation (RAWS), 399 interaction, 460-461
activity, 369 Remote sensing, 274, 280 RMP. See Refiner mechanical pulping
affluence, 375 definition, 532 Roadless Area Review and Evaluation
age structure, 372-373 systems, 281-284. See also Natural (RARE), 28
agenda (USDA Forest Service), resources Robbins, William G., 230
367-368 Removals. See Forests; Nonindustrial Robert, Louis, 438
behavior, management, 362 private forests Robertson, F. Dale, 187
education, 372 Reproductive potential, definition, 532 Robotics, 419
gender, 373 Republic, building/defending. See Rocky Mountains, 129, 133, 323
immigration, 374-375 United States Roosevelt, Franklin D., 21
management, 264. See also Forest- Research work units, 209 Roosevelt, Theodore, 15-16
based recreation management Research/development programs, Root, 81-82. See also Feeder roots;
background, 364-366 208-210 Fungus root; Taproot
tool. See Fees Research/teaching, 47 cap, 81
management by design, 378-381 Reserved forestland, 192 definition, 533
minority populations, 373-374 Residual vegetation, maintenance, 332 contact, 158
multiphasic activity, 370 Resin, definition, 532 diseases, 157-158
obligations, 369 Resistance, 172. See also Catastrophic hairs, 81
patterns, 372 change definition, 533
personal element, 368-369 definition. See Environmental insects, 165
pursuit, 370-376 resistance symbioses, 82-85
social succession, 377—378 Resolution, 134 system, 81, 294
stages, 370 Resources. See Forest resources Root-fungus association, 61
technology, 375-376 availability, variation (effect), 88-90 Rooting zone, 106
urbanization, 375 management. See Natural resource Root-zone, 486
user conflict, 376-377 management protection, 483
Recreational Opportunity Spectrum measurement. See Forests; restrictions, 479
(ROS), 378, 382-383 Nontimber resources Roper Starch Survey (1994), 371
Rectangular survey system, 246 monitoring. See Forests ROS. See Recreational Opportunity
Recurrence interval, definition, 532 policy making, judicial involvement, Spectrum
Recycled paper, 444-445 31 Rosin, definition, 454, 533
Red pine pocket mortality, 166-167 shortages, effect. See Chronic Rotation, 292. See also Short
Red River, flooding (1998), 349 resource shortages rotations
Red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW), 33, Resources for the Future, 218 age. See Optimal rotation age
184-189, 233, 323 Respiration. See Autotrophic definition, 533
Refiner mechanical pulping (RMP), respiration; Dark respiration; length, 137, 308, 309
440 Heterotrophic respiration Round forties, 12
Reflectance, definition, 532. See also Rest-rotation grazing, definition, Round-headed borers, 163-164
Spectral reflectance 328-329, 532 Roundwood, definition, 533
Reforestation, 503 Resurrection plants, 90 Royal Forestry Department (Thailand),
Refugia, definition, 532 Revolutionary War, 10, 246 497-498
Index 555

RPA. See Forest and Rangeland Sclerophyll, definition, 534 Short-duration grazing, definition, 329,
Renewable Resources Planning Act Sclerotia, 154 534
Rubber forties, 12 Scribner decimal C rule, 243 Shrub
rubisco. See Ribulose bisphosphate Scribner log rule, 242 competition, 297
carboxylase-oxygenase Seasonal variation, effect. See Climate definition, 534
Ruderals, 116-117 Secondary growth, definition, 534 invasion, 303
Runoff, 347-348. See also Precipitation Secondary insects, 168 Side-looking radar, definition, 534
Rust diseases, 152-154 Section 24. See Forest Reserve Act Sierra Club, 1, 25, 211
Sedimentation, definition, 534 Sieve element, definition, 535
Saccharification, definition, 533 Seed, 83-85 Silvichemicals, definition, 535
Saccharification/fermentation, 450-451 dispersal, 319-320 Silvicultural practices, 288
SAF. See Society of American Foresters dispersers, 136 ecosystem integrity, relationship,
Safe Harbor (remedy), 33 germination, 85 307-311
Sahel, definition, 533 enhancement, 319 Silvicultural systems, 301-307. See also
Salmon Plan, public-private orchard, definition, 534 Selection; Shelterwood silvicultural
collaboration (Oregon), 237 plants, 3 system
Salmon, takings, 237 source, quality, 297 Silvicultural tactics, 188-189
Salvage cuts, 296. See also Stands Seedbed Silvicultural techniques, 208
Sample plots, 253 condition, 296-297 Silvicultural treatments, 109
Sample size, 257 preparation, 405 Silviculture, 41, 285
Sampling. See Forests; Random Seeding. See Direct seeding definition, 535. See also
sampling; Systematic sampling Seedling, 87, 203, 292. See also Agrisilviculture
methods, 256-259 Containerized seedlings; Nursery- European origins, 286
statistics, 259-260 grown seedlings practice. See North America
units, 253-256 definition, 534 evolution, 286-288
Sapling, definition, 533 establishment, 297, 329 Silvi-pastoral systems, 46
Saprogen, definition, 533 Seed-tree method, 286, 302-303 Simulation models, 144-145
Saprophyte, definition, 533 definition, 534 Single-factor systems, 109
Saprophytes, 151 Selection Single-use advocates, 26
Sapwood, 78, 425 cutting, definition, 534 Sirex wasps, 167
definition, 533 definition, 534 Site
Satellite-based images, 267 differential, definition, 534 attributes. See Diseases; Insects
Savanna, definition, 533 silvicultural system, 289 index, definition, 261, 535
Sawlog, 242 system. See Group selection preparation, role, 297
definition, 533 system/method productivity, maintenance. See Long-
Sawmills, 430 Selective logging, 317 term site productivity
class, 245 Self-thinning process, 291 quality. See Forests
Scale. See Gross scale; Net scale Sensible heat energy, 343 definition, 535
defects, 243 Sensor, definition, 534 Skidder system, 416-418. See also
definition, 533 Sequoia National Park, 407 Feller-Buncher/Grapple skidder
Scaling, 242-244 Serotinous cones, definition, 534 system; Manual chainsaw/cable
Scanner. See Airborne infrared Serpentine, definition, 534 skidder system
scanners; Passive imaging scanner Settlement, relationship. See Migration Skidding, definition, 414, 535
definition, 533. See also Multispectral SGW. See Stone groundwood pulping Skyline system, 418
scanner; Thermal scanner Shade tolerance, 87, 289 Slash
imagery, 274 definition, 534 definition, 535
principles. See Imaging Shannon Weaver Diversity Index, 144 fuels, 405
system, 283 Shelterwood method, 303-304 Slash-and-burn agriculture, 391
Scanning. See Automated scanning definition, 534 Slope operation, 272
Scarification, definition, 533 Shelterwood silvicultural system, 290 Sloping embankments, 330
Schenck, Carl, 250 Shifting cultivation, definition, 534 Slurry, definition, 404, 535
Science (curricula), 41 Shifting mosaic, 135 Smalian's formula, 243
Scientific Certification Systems, 233 Shoot, definition, 534 Small private forestry, 34-36
Scion, definition, 533 Shoot insects, 164-165 Small woodland problem, 231
Sclereid, definition, 534 Short cord, 243 Small-scale disturbance, 289
Sclerenchyma, definition, 533 Short rotations, 305 Small-scale forestry, 46
556 Index

Smartwood, 233 morphology, 99-100 Sporting Goods Manufacturing

Smith, Hoke, 15 nutrients, 104-105 Association, 211
Smith-Lever program, 210 organisms, 103-104 SPOT. See Systeme Pour l'Observation
Snag, definition, 184, 535 problems, 479 de la Terre
Social forestry, 491 productivity. See Long-term soil Spot fire, definition, 535
community control, 500 productivity Spotted owl, case study. See Northern
extension, 506 profile, 93, 99 spotted owl
global experience, 492-499 properties. See Chemical soil SPRENET, 368
issues/challenges, 499-506 properties; Forest soils; Physical Stain fungi, 154-155. See also Blue-
legal environment, 501 soil properties stain fungi
measurement/evaluation, 506 reaction (pH), 104 Standard cord, 243
policy environment, 501 resources, trees (anchorage/access), Standard parallels, 247
programs 81-82 Standing trees, 249-252
participation/local initiative, structure, 102 age, 252
499-500 survey/classification, 109-110 basal area, 250
planning/development, 500 testing, 108 breast height, diameter, 249-250
Social sciences (curricula), 41 texture, 101 height, 251
Social succession. See Recreation water, 102-103, 346-347 radial increment, 252
Social welfare, measurement, 466 Soil-site factors. See Trees volume/mass, 251-252
Society for Range Management, 211 Solar radiation, 58-59, 121 Stands. See Balanced all-aged stand;
Society for the Protection of New Solid wastes, 445 Even-aged stands; Uneven-aged
Hampshire Forests, 20 Solvent pulping, 442 stands
Society of American Foresters (SAF), Southern Forest Tree Nursery attributes. See Diseases; Insects
18, 39, 41, 211, 218 Cooperative, 210 contrast. See Pure stands
accrediting agency, 42 Spatial analysis, 271-277 definition. See Even-aged stand;
concern, 217 Spatial data Uneven-aged stand
members/membership, 45, 48 layers, 271 density, definition, 261, 535
Society, relationship. See Forests technologies, 266 development, 127-128
Sociocultural context. See Forests Spatial scales. See Landscape patterns fertilization, 296
Socioeconomic environment, 475-476 Special-issue group, 210-211, 218 growth/development. See Forest
Softwoods, 424 Special-use pastures, 332 stands
advantages/disadvantages, 429 Species. See Fire-adapted species; improvement
harvests, 196 Umbrella species cuts, 294
long fibers, 437 composition. See Boreal forests; treatments, 293-296
Soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, Temperate broad-leaved invasion, 290
definition, 535 deciduous forests; Temperate pruning, 296
Soils. See Boreal forests; Forests; broad-leaved evergreen forests; regeneration, 309. See also Forest
Temperate broad-leaved Temperate needle-leaved stands
deciduous forests; Temperate evergreen forests; Tropical broad- release treatments, 294
broad-leaved evergreen forests; leaved deciduous forests; salvage cuts, 296
Temperate needle-leaved Tropical broad-leaved evergreen table, definition, 259, 535
evergreen forests; Tropical broad- forests thinnings, 294-296
leaved deciduous forests; Tropical distribution. See Forest trees State Forestry Agency, 489-490
broad-leaved evergreen forests diversity, 293 State settings, public forestry, 44-45
amendments, 484 selection, 483 State-Plane coordinate system, 269
bacteria, 82 Specific gravity, definition, 535 Statistics. See Sampling
carbon (total), 71 Spectral reflectance Stem. See Woody stem
color, 100-101 curve, definition, 535 decay, 155-157
compaction, 333 definition, 535 galls, 153
consistency, 103 patterns, 274 Stemflow, 107
definition. See Subsoil Spectral response Stereogram/stereomodel, definitions,
erosion, 71, 333, 354 curve, definition, 535
535
prevention, 21, 351 definition, 535
Stereopair
fertility, 46, 60, 122, 352 Spectrum, definition, 535
definition, 277-278, 535
Spodosols, 64, 66, 109-110, 123
fire, influence, 407 three-dimensional views, 280
Sporangium, definition, 535
moisture, 120, 359 Stereoplotter, definition, 535-536
Index 557

Stereoscope Surveys. See Geodetic surveys; Temporal scales. See Landscape patterns
definition, 536 Management; Property surveys; Tennessee Valley Authority, 44
usage, 248 Urban forests Tenure. See Trees
Stewardship. See Forests; Private lands; system. See Rectangular survey Terpenes, definition, 537
Public lands system Terrestrial ecosystems, 72
ownership, relationship, 206-211 Survivor growth, definition, 260, 536 Terrestrial water/life, global
Stewardship Incentives Program, 35 Survivor trees, 260 distribution, 342-350
Stick wood furnace, 450 Sustainability, ecosystem management Test burn, 405
Stock tables, 259 (relationship), 186-191 Texture, 101, 333
Stocking. See Forests Sustainable forestry, 190-191, 231, 239 definition, 537
charts, 261 Sustained yield, 286, 289 The Nature Conservancy (TNC),
Stomata, definition, 536 definition, 536 205-206, 210
Stone groundwood pulping (SGW), Sustained Yield Forest Management Act Arkansas Field Office, 205
440 (1944), 23 Thematic mapper (TM), 281-283. See
Storm King Mountain, firefighting Sweep, definition, 536 also Enhanced Thematic Mapper
fatalities, 398-399 Symbiosis, definition, 536 Therapy, 172
Stoves, 448-450 Symbiotic organisms, 106 Thermal band, definition, 537
Stratification, definition, 536 Synecology, definition, 114, 536 Thermal decomposition, 451
Streamflow, 348-350 Syngas, definition, 536 Thermal radiation, definition, 537
characteristics, 264 Systematic sampling, 257 Thermal scanner, definition, 537
Streamside protection, 323 Systeme Pour l'Observation de la Terre Thermochemical liquefaction, 451-452
Stress-inducing factors, 170 (SPOT), 282-283 definition, 537
Stress-tolerants, 116-118 Systems analysis, definition, 536 Thermomechanical pulp (TMP), 441
Structural information, 477 Thinning. See High thinning;
Stumpage, definition, 536 Taft, William Howard, 16 Mechanical thinning; Stands
Suberin, definition, 536 Tall oil, definition, 536 definition, 537
Subsoil, definition, 536 Tannins, definition, 536 process. See Self-thinning process
Substrate, definition, 536 Taproot, 89 Thoreau, Henry David, 13
Subsurface flow, 353 TCF. See Totally Chlorine Free Threatened species, 323
Succession. See Vegetation Teaching. See Research/teaching Three-dimensional GIS, 273
definition, 127, 536. See also Primary Teliospores, 153 Threshold dosage, definition, 537
succession; Xerarch succession Temperate broad-leaved deciduous Throughfall, definition, 537
Successional habitats, 316 forests, 65-66 Timber
Successional species. See Early climate, 65 appraisals, 249
successional species distribution/extent, 65 definition. See Cruise
Sucking insects, 164 management, 66 famine, perception, 13
Sugars, 435 soils, 65 harvest, 186, 195, 263, 322
Sulfate naval stores, 454 species composition, 65 harvesting, injunction, 30
Sulfite pulp, definition, 453, 536 structure/function, 65-66 inventory, 47
Sulfur dioxide (SO2), 105 Temperate broad-leaved evergreen objectives, opportunity cost. See
damage, 150 forests, 68-69 Non-timber objectives
Sulfuric acid (H2SO4), 93 climate, 68 production, 227
Sundry Civil Appropriations Bill (1876), distribution/extent, 68 economics, 458-461
12, 15 management, 69 productivity, 231
Sunshine provisions, usage, 31 soils, 68 products, usage, 72
Superior National Forest, Boundary species composition, 68 value, 183
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness structure/function, 68 benefit-cost analysis. See Non-
(BWCAW), 375-376 Temperate mixed forests, 67-68 timber values
usage, 379 Temperate needle-leaved evergreen increase, 296
Suppressed trees, 291 forests, 66-67 Timber and Stone Act, 11
Surface fire, 393-394 climate, 66 Timber Culture Act (1873), 11
definition, 536 distribution/extent, 66 Timber Culture Act (1878), 14
Surface fuels, 393 management, 67 Timber harvesting, 110-111, 322, 412
Surface geology, effects. See Landscape soils, 66 effects. See Forest ecosystems
patterns species composition, 66-67 operations, 413-416
Surveying. See Land structure/function, 67 systems, 416-418
558 Index

Timberland, 192-193 nutrition, relationship. See Forest Uneven-aged method, 305-307

Timber-oriented forest managers, 190 soils Uneven-aged stand, 292
Tissue. See Callus tissue pathogen interactions, 165-169 definition, 537
definition, 537. See also Vascular protection ordinances, 476 Unhealthy forests, wildlife risk,
tissue quality, improvement. See Urban 401-402
system, definition, 537 forestry Unit conversion table, 515
TM. See Thematic mapper removal requirements/standards, 476 United Nations Food and Agriculture
TMP. See Thermomechanical pulp sex, 86 Organization (FAO), 46, 47, 216
TNC. See The Nature Conservancy solar panels, 76-78 United States
Tone, definition, 537 species 1607-1783, 6-8
Topographic surveys, 283 common/scientific names, 509-512 1783-1830, 8-10
Topography, 70, 98, 396, 405 distribution. See Forest trees 1830-1891, 10-13
effects. See Landscape patterns tolerance, effect. See Gaseous 1891-1911, 13-18
mapping, 359 oxidants 1911-1952, 18-24
Topping, 413-414 structure/function, coupling, 76-82 forest policy development, 5
Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) bleaching, taxonomy. See Forest trees republic building/defending, forests
442-443 tenure, 501 (relationship), 8-10
Townships, divisions, 247-248 visual buffer, 419 United States Agency for International
Toxic Substances Control Act (1976), Trinity National Forest, 492 Development (USAID), 47, 197,
32 Triploid, definition, 537 215-217
Tracheary element, definition, 537 Troll, Carl, 133 United States Army Corps of Engineers,
Tracheid, definition, 424, 537 Trophic levels, definition, 537 196, 201-202, 233, 349
Transfer Act (1905), 16, 22 Tropical broad-leaved deciduous United States Department of
Transpiration, 343-346 forests, 70-71 Agriculture (USDA), 12-13
ratio, 103 climate, 71 classification system, development,
Travel cost, 467-468 distribution/extent, 70-71 101
Trees. See Biomass; Codominant trees; management, 71 United States Department of
Dominant trees; Founder tree; soils, 71 Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service,
Intermediate trees; Standing trees; species composition, 71 24-33, 196-198, 384. See also
Suppressed trees structure/function, 71 Recreation
anchorage/access. See Soils Tropical broad-leaved evergreen Division of Recreation and Lands, 24
attributes. See Diseases; Insects forests, 69-70 forecasts, publication, 91-92
boards, 477 climate, 69 Forest Inventory and Monitoring
caliper, 250 distribution/extent, 69 survey, 249
canopies, 331 management, 70 National Forest Inventory and
characteristics, 79 soils, 69 Analysis web site, 194
classification, 2-4 species composition, 69-70 Northern Forest Fire Lab, 397
competition, 297 structure/function, 70 Office of International Programs, 47
construction, impact, 486-487 Tropical forests, 46 Operation Outdoors, 25
decomposition, 148 disturbances, 70 planning regulations, 38
definition, 537 Tropics of Cancer/Capricorn, 60 Research and Development program,
diameter tape, 250 Truman, Harry S., 23 209
diseases. See Forest tree diseases Turgor, definition, 537 work force, 43
management, 169-173 Turpentine, definition, 454, 537 United States Department of Defense,
pathogens, impact, 158-160 Two-aged management, 305 270
establishment. See Urban forestry United States Department of Energy,
farm, 45 Ultisols, 66, 69, 71 447
farming, 286-288 Ultraviolet radiation, 93 United States Department of Interior,
features, 78-81 definition, 537-538 23,44
growth, soil-site factors, 108 Umbrella species, 323 United States Department of the Navy,
harvest openings, 297 Understory establishment, 10
insects. See Forest tree insects definition, 537 United States Department of the Army,
interaction, 165-169 herbage, 329 198
interaction. See Forests UNDP, assistance, 498 United States Fish and Wildlife Service,
life history patterns. See Forest Unemployment relief, 21 32, 44, 196, 200-201, 205, 366
trees Uneven-aged management, 289 United States Forest Service, 230
Index 559

United States Geological Survey User conflict. See Recreation chemical quality, changes, 334
(USGS), 348 Use-value, 465-466 definition. See Capillary water
United States National Forests, 239 USGS. See United States Geological global distribution. See Terrestrial
United States National Park Service Survey water/life
(NPS), 19, 44, 198-199, 366 infiltration, 125
bids, 383 Value. See Bequest-value; Existence- management, 483
establishment (1916), 198-199, 408 value; Forests; Option-value; Use- quality. See Rangeland
lands, 27 value provisions, 415
Mission 66, 25 Vana Suraksha Samiti (VSS), 499 storage, 341
payments, 467 Variable plot sampling, 254 stress, definition, 538
United States Office of Personnel Variation, effect. See Resources supply, trees (interaction). See
Management, 44 Vascular cambium, 80-81 Forests
United States Supreme Court, 31, 33 definition, 538 table, definition, 538
University of Arizona, Laboratory of Vascular tissue, definition, 538 wettability, enhancement, 404
Tree Ring Research, 426 Vascular wilt diseases, 154-155, 159 Water-holding capacity, 110
University of Maine, 450 Vector, 165-166. See also Insects Watershed, 264, 337-340
University of Montana, 29 definition, 538 analysis. See Cumulative watershed
Uptake, definition, 538 Vector-pathogen relationships, 166 analysis
Urban forestry, 47, 473 Vegetation contamination, 73
aftercare, 483 classifications systems, 60 council work, 237
environment, 475-477 distribution, factors, 58-60 definition, 338, 538
evaluation, 483 index. See Normalized difference evolution, 338-340
hazard management, 483-484 vegetation index livestock grazing, impact, 334-335
location/selection, 481-482 maintenance. See Residual vegetation management, 46, 338, 340, 501. See
maintenance, 483 succession, 315 also International watershed
management type, 278-279 management
considerations, 486-487 map, 278 definition, 538
structure, 477 water use, landscape-level changes, integrated view, 350-360
planning/budgeting, 479-481 75 regional/global perspective, 337
plant health management, 484 VEGETATION sensor, 283 restoration activities, 355
planting, 482-483 Veneer value, 183
removal/utilization, 486 class, 245 Watershed Research and Training
trees definition, 538 Center, 492
establishment, 481 Vessel member, definition, 538 Water-soluble extractives, 454-455
quality, improvement, 484-486 Vietnam War, 24 Watt, Alexander, 133
Urban forestry program Vigor, 171, 189, 483 WCI. See Workers' Compensation
implementation, 481-486 improvement, 172 Insurance
needs analysis, 488 inhibitors, 479 Weather
support, 489-490 Virginia Company of London, 6 attributes. See Diseases; Insects
Urban forests, 264 Viruses, 158-159 conditions, 395-396
financing, 490 Visible radiation, definition, 538 Weathering, definition, 538
inventories, 479 Volatiles, definition, 538 Weeks Act (1911), 20, 22
needs determination, 477-479 Volatilization, 126. See also Ammonia Weeks Law (1911), 392
servicers, 489 volatilization Weevils, 164-165
surveys, 478-479 Volume. See Forests; Standing trees Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), 201
technical support, 489-490 table, definition, 252, 538 Weyerhaeuser Company, Mountain
valuation, 487 Von Mises, Ludwig, 457 Pine Division, 182
volunteers, 489 VSS. See Vana Suraksha Samiti Wholesale price index, definition, 538
Urban wildlife, 487 Wilderness
Urbanization. See Recreation War of 1812, 10 fires, 407-410
Urban-wildland interface, 402 Warbler, case study. See Kirtland's system, 26-28
Urediniospores, 153 Warbler Wilderness Act (1964), 27, 28
USAID. See United States Agency for Wasps. See Sirex wasps Wilderness Society, 210
International Development Wastepaper fibers, 444-445 Wildfires
USDA. See United States Department of Water, 263. See also Ground water; risk, reduction, 191
Agriculture Plant available water; Soils suppression, 403-404
560 Index

Wildland interface. See Urban-wildland conversion. See Chemicals; Energy; Woody debris, value. See Downed
interface Fuel; Primary wood products woody debris
Wildlife. See Mixed-age forests; Old- crops. See Commercial wood crops Woody plants, definition, 538
growth forests; Urban wildlife definition, 423-426, 538. See also Woody stem, 78-81
accidents, 138 Diffuse-porous wood; Heartwood; Workers' Compensation Insurance
components. See Forest ecosystems Hogged wood; Juvenile wood; (WCI), 418
considerations. See Ecosystem Ring-porous wood; Roundwood; World Bank, 216, 503
management Sapwood World Resources Institute, 217
effects. See Forests/wildlife extractives, 452-455 World War I, 23
forest management, effects, 321-323 fibers, microscopic structure, World War II, 21-25, 322, 451
habitat, 262, 298 436-438 logistical needs, 465
evaluation, 479 harvests. See Softwood harvests World Wars, forests (relationship),
management. See Forests/wildlife industry, 503 18-24
refuges, 67 interaction. See Moisture WRP. See Wetland Reserve Program
risk. See Unhealthy forests manufacturing. See Plywood
values, 313-314 manufacturing Xerarch succession, definition, 538
Wildlife Society, 211 microscopic structures, 436-438 Xylem, 78-82
Wilson, Joseph S., 11 naval stores, 453 definition, 538
Wilt diseases. See Vascular wilt products, 160, 421-422 Xylem-inhabiting bacteria, 159
diseases service life, extending, 431-432
Wilting point, 347 properties, 423 Yard, definition, 538
Wind pulping, 439-442 Yarding. See Cable
disturbance, 135 raw material requirements, 429-430 Yellowstone National Park
effect, 395-396 rots, 156 buffalo/cattle, conflict, 375
pollination, 83 science/technology, 43, 47 elk (case study), 321
Windfall, 2 shortages, development, 28-29 establishment (1872), 198
Windstorms, 302 siding, 432 fires (1988), 180, 187
Windthrow, 148 values, economics/management. See Forest Reserve, 213
Winter Forests natural-fire policy (1988), 409-410
desiccation, 61 Wood-derived chemicals, 447 Yield
dormancy, 87 Woodland. See Arctic woodland definition. See Sustained yield
Wood management, 502-503 projection. See Forests
borers, 163-164, 167 problem. See Small woodland Yosemite Valley, 13
chemical nature, 434-438 problem
consumption. See North American Woodlots. See Junk woodlots Zon, Raphael, 21
wood consumption Woodruff-McNary Act (1928), 20