The line mapping method of Piteau and Martin (1977) was tested on two different rock type road cuts in the Siskiyou National Forest, and was found to be an efficient means of collecting geological data for rock slope stability analysis. The unbiased approach of this method calls for close scrutiny of the outcrops in question, covering more ground than other methods in less time. In turn, this close attention to every crack in the outcrop reveals more about the stability of the slope, and can reveal hidden hazards of rock fall. The supportive systems for analyzing the data - stereonets and computer program packages of Watts (1986) - led to the discoveries of several potential plane and wedge failures which were not initially visible. Also revealed was the fairly stable condition of the massive wedge at Elk River, which appeared to be extremely hazardous. Each potential failure was analyzed for its Factor of Safety under dry and water saturated conditions, and the cohesion necessary to maintain stability was reported.

Advances in computer technology have made it possible for designers to manipulate realistic images on a computer screen. Previously, most computer generated images consisted of line drawings or distorted grid perspectives. A program known as PC/NewPerspectives, which generated distorted grid perspectives, has been in use by US Forest Service Landscape Architects who use it to determine the visual impact of a proposed harvest unit and manipulate the layout to reduce the impact. New programs in video imagery offer the opportunity to design harvest layouts on a more realistic format, which may also be used as a communication tool to relay to members of the public what the proposed alteration would look like. This study compares the two media in terms of landscape preference and acceptability of activity to determine the difference in the two media as communication tools and how this would influence their effectiveness. / M.L.A.

Climate exerts considerable control on wildfire regimes, and climate and wildfire are both major drivers of forest growth and succession in interior Northwest forests. Estimating potential response of these landscapes to anticipated changes in climate helps researchers and land managers understand and mitigate impacts of climate change on important ecological and economic resources. Spatially explicit, mechanistic computer simulation models are powerful tools that permit researchers to incorporate climate and disturbance events along with vegetation physiology and phenology to explore complex potential effects of climate change over wide spatial and temporal scales. In this thesis, I used the simulation model FireBGCv2 to characterize potential response of fire, vegetation, and landscape dynamics to a range of possible future climate and fire management scenarios. The simulation landscape (~43,000 hectares) is part of Deschutes National Forest, which is located at the interface of maritime and continental climates and is known for its beauty and ecological diversity. Simulation scenarios included all combinations of +0��C, +3��C, and +6��C of warming; +10%, ��0%, and -10% historical precipitation; and 10% and 90% fire suppression, and were run for 500 years. To characterize fire dynamics, I investigated how mean fire frequency, intensity, and fuel loadings changed over time in all scenarios, and how fire and tree mortality interacted over time. To explore vegetation and landscape dynamics, I described the distribution and spatial arrangement of vegetation types and forest successional stages on the landscape, and used a nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS) ordination to holistically evaluate overall similarity of composition, structure, and landscape pattern among all simulation scenarios over time. Changes in precipitation had little effect on fire characteristics or vegetation and landscape characteristics, indicating that simulated precipitation changes were not sufficient to significantly affect vegetation moisture stress or fire behavior on this landscape. Current heavy fuel loads controlled early fire dynamics, with high mean fire intensities occurring early in all simulations. Increases in fire frequency accompanied all temperature increases, leading to decreasing fuel loads and fire intensities over time in warming scenarios. With no increase in temperature or in fire frequency, high fire intensities and heavier fuel loads were sustained. Over time, more fire associated with warming or less fire suppression increased the percentage of the landscape occupied by non-forest and fire-sensitive early seral forest successional stages, which tended to increase the percentage of fire area burning at high severity (in terms of tree mortality). This fire-vegetation relationship may reflect a return to a more historical range of conditions on this landscape. Higher temperatures and fire frequency led to significant spatial migration of forest types across the landscape, with communities at the highest and lowest elevations particularly affected. Warming led to an upslope shift of warm mixed conifer and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests, severely contracting (under 3�� of warming) or eliminating (under 6�� of warming) area dominated by mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) and cool, wet conifer forest in the high western portion of the landscape. In lower elevations, warming and fire together contributed to significant expansion of open (<10% tree canopy cover) forest and grass- and shrubland. The compositional changes and spatial shifts simulated in the warming scenarios suggest that climate change is likely to significantly affect forests on this landscape. Warming and associated fire also tended to increase heterogeneity of forest structural stages and landscape pattern, resulting in a more diverse distribution of structural stages, especially in lower elevations, and a more divided landscape of smaller forest stands. The NMS ordination emphasized the dissimilarity between the severe +6�� scenarios and the other two temperature scenarios. The +0�� and +3�� scenarios differed from each other in composition (mainly because cool forest was lost in the +3�� scenarios), but within a given level of fire suppression they remained remarkably similar in terms of overall composition, structure, and landscape pattern, while the +6�� scenarios separated noticeably from them. Such decisive differences suggest that under the simulated ranges of precipitation and fire suppression, the interval between 3 and 6 degrees of warming on this landscape may capture an ecological threshold, or tipping point. Additional simulation research that incorporates (for example) management actions, insects and pathogens, and a wider array of precipitation scenarios could help illuminate more clearly the possible range of future landscape conditions. Still, these results provide a glimpse of potential divergent outcomes on this important landscape under possible future climates, and suggest that these forests will undergo considerable changes from both historical and current conditions in response to higher temperatures expected in this area. Some changes may be inevitable with warming, such as the upslope shift of warm forest types, but careful planning for fire and fuels management might allow land managers to modulate fire behavior and steer vegetation dynamics toward the most desirable outcome possible. / Graduation date: 2013

Climate change and anthropogenic effects have vastly reduced Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi, WCT) habitat throughout their range, including the Colville National Forest in northeastern Washington where this study was conducted. Many native salmonid populations have declined in abundance since the early 1900s due to a variety of climate- and human-driven forces. Westslope Cutthroat Trout are especially sensitive to habitat loss or degradation and to climate change. Together, climate change, habitat degradation, and non-native salmonid invasions are contributing to increasingly fragmented WCT populations. Ongoing and predicted future warming trends are expected to further fragment these populations and isolate them in headwater stream reaches, with populations in the spatial margins of their distributions facing greater risk. Native salmonid populations are often separated or isolated by natural or artificial upstream migration barriers (i.e., waterfalls, culverts, etc.). Prior to continuing conservation and management actions targeting WCT, it is imperative to understand habitat requirements of this keystone species in fragmented areas. Field survey data were collected in the summer of 2015 on channel geomorphic characteristics and WCT presence/absence in 26 streams located in the Colville National Forest. A clear spatial separation was observed between Eastern Brook Trout (Salvenius fontinalis, EBT) and WCT above four culvert road crossings and the habitat in both of these areas was compared statistically to identify explicit differences. This dataset was also analyzed using logistic regression modeling to determine the best habitat predictors of the presence of isolated WCT populations existing upstream of these crossing. In general, stream habitat in the Middle and South Forks of Mill Creek had low large substrate, high fine sediments, and exhibited pool-riffle channel morphology. Pool habitat supporting isolated WCT was significantly smaller, in terms of volume and surface area, than pool habitat supporting sympatric populations of WCT and EBT, largely due to the headwater nature of channel units supporting isolated WCT populations. Additionally, due to the extreme drought conditions during 2015, stream flow was substantially diminished in the study area causing these reaches to be highly fragmented and largely disconnected from the rest of the stream channel. Fine sediments were generally higher in headwater reaches supporting isolated WCT, including in pools and riffles, which was unexpected, mainly because they exist above sediment delivery points in the longitudinal extent of the system. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the presence of isolated WCT populations was primarily positively associated with an increase in large wood and boulders, and negatively associated with increasing gravel, bedrock, habitat unit length, depth, and width (Significant x2, R2=0.174, misclassification rate = 14.9%, α=0.05). The final model correctly predicted 37.5% of isolated WCT presence observations and 96.5% of the WCT/EBT presence observations significantly better than by chance alone (k=0.81). This model, in fact, may be useful in identifying limited habitat due to the fragmented nature of the channel units supporting IWCT. Large wood and boulders were positively correlated to WCT presence, likely because both are important in the formation of pools and cascades. Channel unit length, width, depth, active channel width as well as gravel and bedrock substrates, were all negatively associated with WCT presence. This suggests that isolated WCT are primarily associated with small headwater cascades with complex shelter, which may provide greater thermal and predation refuge compared to shallow glide or large pool habitats. Future model analysis should include additional habitat variables such as water temperature, stream gradient, and species interactions to strengthen the prediction of Westslope Cutthroat Trout presence. Overall, I concluded that differences in stream habitat above and below blocking culverts are not driving Westslope Cutthroat Trout distributions in the study area due to confounding factors such as the presence of problematic barriers and small sample size. I also conclude that future conservation and management decisions specific to WCT should prioritize complex cascade habitat in headwater stream reaches because of the type and quantity of habitat they may provide, especially during severe drought or low flow conditions.

As pessoas do senso comum repetem os equívocos dos primeiros exploradores europeus quanto ao número de animais visíveis na Amazônia. Induzidas no passado pela grandeza do próprio bioma e incertezas do que existia além das matas ciliares, ou modernamente por programas televisivos, pressupõem a existência de grandes concentrações de animais selvagens neste bioma, semelhantes às encontradas nas planícies africanas ou no pantanal mato-grossense. No entanto, reza à lenda, que a Amazônia é ciumenta com seus bichos. Vê-los exige sacrifício e paciência do pesquisador. No presente estudo foi necessário percorrer 1.600 km, distribuídos em 17 meses entre 2005 e 2006, oitocentos quilômetros na Floresta Nacional do Tapajós (FNT) e 800 km na Floresta Nacional de Saracá-Taquera (FNS-T), ambas no estado do Pará (Brasil), para reunir detecções sobre os primatas nelas contidas que permitissem um robusto tratamento estatístico. Mesmo assim, para algumas espécies naturalmente raras, como por exemplo, Pithecia p. chrysocephala da região do Rio Trombetas, ou Ateles marginatus na região do Rio Tapajós, a freqüência de detecção ao redor de 10, para ambas as espécies, foi muito baixa para permitir inferências seguras. Considerando 40 detecções como o ideal, seria necessário então quadruplicar o esforço amostral, o que por limitações de tempo e recursos é inviável. Outras espécies descritas e observadas por residentes na região do Rio Trombetas, como Saguinus midas e Saimiri sciureus, sequer foram detectadas na floresta de terra firme. Provavelmente não suportando a competição com os primatas simpátricos do interior das florestas intactas foram compelidas a ocuparem e especializarem-se na exploração de florestas periféricas, onde seus alimentos preferidos, os insetos e frutos menores são mais abundantes. Por meio do programa SAS, foi calculado a ANOVA para testar a hipótese nula, de que não existiam diferenças populacionais entre as duas comunidades de primatas, uma vez que ambas ocorrem dentro de um mesmo bioma: floresta de terra firme do oeste da Amazônia e não estão a mais de 240 km uma da outra. Esta hipótese foi rejeitada em favor da hipótese alternativa de que as comunidades diferem entre si. Os 397 grupos de primatas detectados foram desigualmente distribuídos (130 x 267 em favor da FNS-T). Ou dito de outra forma: 1 grupo detectado a cada 6 km de caminhada no Tapajós contra 1 grupo detectado a cada 3 km no Trombetas. Os testes de Tukey e G de Sokal e Hohlf foram importantes auxiliares para facilitar o entendimento de como as duas comunidades de primatas diferiram, respondiam e se adaptavam a estrutura das respectivas florestas. Das 200 árvores amostradas em cada uma das flonas, a FNS-T apresentou 92 espécies diferentes, contra 74 na FNT. Assim o índice de Shannon e Wiener foi mais alto na região do Rio Trombetas do que na do Rio Tapajós (6,17 x 5,74 respectivamente). A cobertura do dossel também foi maior na região do Rio Trombetas quando comparado com a do Rio Tapajós (96% na FNS-T contra 88% na FNT). Estes dois índices reforçam-se mutuamente e sua interpretação sugere que a FNT vem sofrendo maiores perturbações do que a FNS-T. Considerando a colonização mais antiga e maior da população de entorno da Cuiabá-Santarém (BR-163) e o maior número de residentes dentro da FNT (10.500 pessoas), do que dentro da FNS-T (2.500 pessoas), é provável que o número tão discrepante de grupos de primatas em favor da FNS-T, reflita a maior pressão antrópica sofrida pela comunidade de primatas do Rio Tapajós. Interpretamos que as diferenças antrópicas entre as flonas (embora um epifenômeno), foram mais importantes na discrepante abundância de primatas do que as especificidades locais (na estrutura da floresta e oferta de recursos alimentares). (Figura 94, apêndice). / Common sense people have repeated the mistakes of early European explorers as to the number of observable animals in the Amazon region. In the past based, on the greatness of the biome itself and uncertainties as to what existed beyond the riparian forests, or nowadays, through television shows, they assume the existence of great concentrations of wild animals in such biome, likewise those found in African plains or in the Mato Grosso pantanal. However, the Amazon region is said to be \'jealous\' about its animals. Observing them requires the researcher\'s sacrifice and patience. At this study, one had to traverse 1,600 km in 17 months between 2005 and 2006, eight hundred kilometers within the Tapajós National Forest (FNT) and 800 km within the Saracá-Taquera National Forest (FNS-T), both in the state of Pará (Brazil), to gather detections of the primates therein allowing a solid statistical treatment. Even so, for some naturally rare species, such as Pithecia p. chrysocephala of the Trombetas river region, or Ateles marginatus, at the Tapajós river region, the frequency of detection nearing 10 for both species was too low for accurate inferences. Considering 40 detections as the ideal number, the sampling effort would be four-fold, which is not viable due to time and resource limitations. Other species described and observed for the Trombetas river region, as Saguinus midas and Saimiri sciureus, were not even detected at the upland forest. Probably succumbing to the competition with sympatric primates of inner intact forests, they were compelled to occupying and specializing in exploring peripheral forests, where their favorite foods - insects and small fruit - are abundant. By means of SAS software, the ANOVA was calculated to test the null hypothesis, that there were no population differences between both primate communities, since both occur within the same biome - upland forest of western Amazon and are no more than 240 km apart. This hypothesis was rejected in favor of an alternative hypothesis that the communities differ from one another. The 397 primate groups detected were unequally distributed (130 x 267 favoring the FNS-T). In other words, 1 group detected every 6 km of trekking at the Tapajós region versus 1 group detected every 3 km at the Trombetas region. The Tukey\'s test and G-test of Sokal and Hohlf were important tools in facilitating the understanding of how the two primate communities differed, responded and adapted to the structure of the respective forests. Out of 200 trees sampled in each forest, the FNS-T presented 92 different species, versus 74 at the FNT. This way, the Shannon-Wiener index was higher at the Trobetas river region than at the Tapajós river region (6.17 x 5.74 respectively). Also the canopy was higher at the Trombetas river region in comparison with that of the Tapajós river region (96% at the FNS-T versus 88% at the FNT). Both indexes are mutually reinforced, suggesting that the FNT has undergone more disturbances than the FNS-T. Considering the older and larger colonization of the population neighboring the Cuiabá-Santarém highway (BR-163) and the larger number of residents within the FNT (10,500 people), than within the FNS-T (2,500 people), such discrepant number of primate groups in the FNS-T is likely to reflect the higher anthropic pressure suffered by the primate community of the Tapajós river region. The anthropic differences between the forests, although an epiphenomenon, are interpreted as more important at the discrepant abundance of primates than the local specificities (on the forest structures and food resource supply).

Bird-vegetation associations are a base for bird conservation and management, as well as for predictions of the effects of resource management and climate change on wildlife populations. A recent shift in forest management priorities from timber production to native species' habitat conservation on federal lands has emphasized the need to understand the mechanisms underlying the effects of vegetation management on wildlife. The assumption of strong bird-vegetation relationships is rarely tested for forest birds, especially at large temporal extents, which are more likely to reveal instabilities in bird-vegetation relationships than short-term studies. This study aimed to quantify bird-vegetation relationships and investigate their strength in young thinned and unthinned Douglas-fir forest stands over ten to years post thinning. Additionally, this study investigated whether disturbance associated with forest thinning decoupled bird-vegetation relationships in the thinned and unthinned stands. I used abundance or occurrence data for eight bird species collected at 58 point count surveys, conducted during six breeding seasons over ten years following forest thinning. I obtained detailed local-scale vegetation characteristics associated with bird sampling points and modeled bird occurrence or abundance as a function of vegetation characteristics. Vegetation characteristics explaining individual species occurrence or abundance varied among species and among years for any given species. Six out of eight species showed responses to examined vegetation characteristics. For three out of six species, the effects of vegetation characteristics on bird occurrence or abundance remained consistently positive or negative over time. For the other three species the absolute effect of vegetation decreased over time to that of not statistically different from zero. The estimates of vegetation effects on bird response varied in size among years, though they were not statistically different among years. Magnitude of vegetation effect on bird occurrence or abundance did not increase with time, nor was it related to species prevalence or abundance. I found evidence of a response threshold for one species, Swainson's thrush. I suggest that changing abundance of resources, associated with thinning disturbance, demographic stochasticity associated with small population sizes, as well as large-scale demographic processes and possibly life history traits of examined species, mediate the strength of local-level bird-vegetation associations. Variability of vegetation effects on bird occurrence or abundance over time suggests a greater uncertainty of results of vegetation-related wildlife management efforts than has previously been suggested by short-term studies. Therefore, incorporation of the uncertainty of bird-vegetation relationships into predictive models and continued long-term monitoring of species response to management may be crucial for future successful and effective management decisions. / Graduation date: 2012

Forage availability, diets, distribution, and productivity were compared for Roosevelt elk, Cervus elaphus roosevelti, using improved (i.e. seeded, fertilized, and grazed) and untreated areas of the Oregon Coast Range. Seasonal forage availability was substantially different on 1-year-old improved and untreated clearcuts, but the differences diminished by clearcut age 4 and essentially disappeared by clearcut age 7. Elk diets, as evaluated by fecal analysis, were similar in plant species composition and DAPA concentrations on both areas. There was no significant difference in estimated calf birth weights or survival, or in pregnancy and lactation rates, kidney and metatarsal marrow fat concentrations, or breeding dates of adult cows using improved and untreated areas. Summer and winter calf ratios were similar in 7 of 8 seasons sampled. There was no significant difference in home range or core area size, and distances traveled were similar on both areas in all seasons except winter. Elk exposed to summer sheep grazing were displaced an average of 1211 m (SD = 28 m) for an average of 14 weeks (SD = 5 weeks). Elk using improved areas stayed closer to forage areas in spring, but otherwise there was no significant difference in proximity to forage. Elk from both areas demonstrated preferential use of meadows, and used other forage areas in proportion to their availability. The combined results indicated that the forage improvement practices were ineffective in producing any measurable benefits for elk. / Graduation date: 1994

As pessoas do senso comum repetem os equívocos dos primeiros exploradores europeus quanto ao número de animais visíveis na Amazônia. Induzidas no passado pela grandeza do próprio bioma e incertezas do que existia além das matas ciliares, ou modernamente por programas televisivos, pressupõem a existência de grandes concentrações de animais selvagens neste bioma, semelhantes às encontradas nas planícies africanas ou no pantanal mato-grossense. No entanto, reza à lenda, que a Amazônia é ciumenta com seus bichos. Vê-los exige sacrifício e paciência do pesquisador. No presente estudo foi necessário percorrer 1.600 km, distribuídos em 17 meses entre 2005 e 2006, oitocentos quilômetros na Floresta Nacional do Tapajós (FNT) e 800 km na Floresta Nacional de Saracá-Taquera (FNS-T), ambas no estado do Pará (Brasil), para reunir detecções sobre os primatas nelas contidas que permitissem um robusto tratamento estatístico. Mesmo assim, para algumas espécies naturalmente raras, como por exemplo, Pithecia p. chrysocephala da região do Rio Trombetas, ou Ateles marginatus na região do Rio Tapajós, a freqüência de detecção ao redor de 10, para ambas as espécies, foi muito baixa para permitir inferências seguras. Considerando 40 detecções como o ideal, seria necessário então quadruplicar o esforço amostral, o que por limitações de tempo e recursos é inviável. Outras espécies descritas e observadas por residentes na região do Rio Trombetas, como Saguinus midas e Saimiri sciureus, sequer foram detectadas na floresta de terra firme. Provavelmente não suportando a competição com os primatas simpátricos do interior das florestas intactas foram compelidas a ocuparem e especializarem-se na exploração de florestas periféricas, onde seus alimentos preferidos, os insetos e frutos menores são mais abundantes. Por meio do programa SAS, foi calculado a ANOVA para testar a hipótese nula, de que não existiam diferenças populacionais entre as duas comunidades de primatas, uma vez que ambas ocorrem dentro de um mesmo bioma: floresta de terra firme do oeste da Amazônia e não estão a mais de 240 km uma da outra. Esta hipótese foi rejeitada em favor da hipótese alternativa de que as comunidades diferem entre si. Os 397 grupos de primatas detectados foram desigualmente distribuídos (130 x 267 em favor da FNS-T). Ou dito de outra forma: 1 grupo detectado a cada 6 km de caminhada no Tapajós contra 1 grupo detectado a cada 3 km no Trombetas. Os testes de Tukey e G de Sokal e Hohlf foram importantes auxiliares para facilitar o entendimento de como as duas comunidades de primatas diferiram, respondiam e se adaptavam a estrutura das respectivas florestas. Das 200 árvores amostradas em cada uma das flonas, a FNS-T apresentou 92 espécies diferentes, contra 74 na FNT. Assim o índice de Shannon e Wiener foi mais alto na região do Rio Trombetas do que na do Rio Tapajós (6,17 x 5,74 respectivamente). A cobertura do dossel também foi maior na região do Rio Trombetas quando comparado com a do Rio Tapajós (96% na FNS-T contra 88% na FNT). Estes dois índices reforçam-se mutuamente e sua interpretação sugere que a FNT vem sofrendo maiores perturbações do que a FNS-T. Considerando a colonização mais antiga e maior da população de entorno da Cuiabá-Santarém (BR-163) e o maior número de residentes dentro da FNT (10.500 pessoas), do que dentro da FNS-T (2.500 pessoas), é provável que o número tão discrepante de grupos de primatas em favor da FNS-T, reflita a maior pressão antrópica sofrida pela comunidade de primatas do Rio Tapajós. Interpretamos que as diferenças antrópicas entre as flonas (embora um epifenômeno), foram mais importantes na discrepante abundância de primatas do que as especificidades locais (na estrutura da floresta e oferta de recursos alimentares). (Figura 94, apêndice). / Common sense people have repeated the mistakes of early European explorers as to the number of observable animals in the Amazon region. In the past based, on the greatness of the biome itself and uncertainties as to what existed beyond the riparian forests, or nowadays, through television shows, they assume the existence of great concentrations of wild animals in such biome, likewise those found in African plains or in the Mato Grosso pantanal. However, the Amazon region is said to be \'jealous\' about its animals. Observing them requires the researcher\'s sacrifice and patience. At this study, one had to traverse 1,600 km in 17 months between 2005 and 2006, eight hundred kilometers within the Tapajós National Forest (FNT) and 800 km within the Saracá-Taquera National Forest (FNS-T), both in the state of Pará (Brazil), to gather detections of the primates therein allowing a solid statistical treatment. Even so, for some naturally rare species, such as Pithecia p. chrysocephala of the Trombetas river region, or Ateles marginatus, at the Tapajós river region, the frequency of detection nearing 10 for both species was too low for accurate inferences. Considering 40 detections as the ideal number, the sampling effort would be four-fold, which is not viable due to time and resource limitations. Other species described and observed for the Trombetas river region, as Saguinus midas and Saimiri sciureus, were not even detected at the upland forest. Probably succumbing to the competition with sympatric primates of inner intact forests, they were compelled to occupying and specializing in exploring peripheral forests, where their favorite foods - insects and small fruit - are abundant. By means of SAS software, the ANOVA was calculated to test the null hypothesis, that there were no population differences between both primate communities, since both occur within the same biome - upland forest of western Amazon and are no more than 240 km apart. This hypothesis was rejected in favor of an alternative hypothesis that the communities differ from one another. The 397 primate groups detected were unequally distributed (130 x 267 favoring the FNS-T). In other words, 1 group detected every 6 km of trekking at the Tapajós region versus 1 group detected every 3 km at the Trombetas region. The Tukey\'s test and G-test of Sokal and Hohlf were important tools in facilitating the understanding of how the two primate communities differed, responded and adapted to the structure of the respective forests. Out of 200 trees sampled in each forest, the FNS-T presented 92 different species, versus 74 at the FNT. This way, the Shannon-Wiener index was higher at the Trobetas river region than at the Tapajós river region (6.17 x 5.74 respectively). Also the canopy was higher at the Trombetas river region in comparison with that of the Tapajós river region (96% at the FNS-T versus 88% at the FNT). Both indexes are mutually reinforced, suggesting that the FNT has undergone more disturbances than the FNS-T. Considering the older and larger colonization of the population neighboring the Cuiabá-Santarém highway (BR-163) and the larger number of residents within the FNT (10,500 people), than within the FNS-T (2,500 people), such discrepant number of primate groups in the FNS-T is likely to reflect the higher anthropic pressure suffered by the primate community of the Tapajós river region. The anthropic differences between the forests, although an epiphenomenon, are interpreted as more important at the discrepant abundance of primates than the local specificities (on the forest structures and food resource supply).

Geographic information systems (GIS) technology was used to analyze factors influencing habitat use by an endangered species, the red-cockaded woodpecker. The study area was the western part of the Raven Ranger District of the Sam Houston National Forest, Texas. The factors considered included both structural characteristics and spatial relationships among stands of trees in the habitat.

During the past fifteen years, non-timber or special forest products have become an important economic resource in the Pacific Northwest. These products are primarily derived from understory species and contribute approximately $200 million to the regional economy. Medicinal plants are a little researched component of the non-timber forest product industry that relies on cultivated and wildcrafted (or wild-collected) medicinal plant species. This study examines the commercial extraction of wildcrafted medicinal plants from Mount Hood National Forest. Specifically, this study documents the medicinal plant species extracted from Mount Hood National Forest, their annual yield amounts, harvesting methods, and the changes in cover of target species after harvest. This research uses survey data obtained from employees of two herbal companies and representatives of the U.S. Forest Service to describe medicinal plant extraction and administration as it pertains to the commercial extraction of plant species from Mount Hood National Forest. Field data were also used to examine changes in plant cover for four medicinal plant species (kinnikinnick, yarrow, Oregon grape and valerian) following harvest. Field results indicate that medicinal plant cover decreased significantly in all but one harvested sampling unit. Permanent unit markers were established at all the study sites to provide opportunities for long-term monitoring of target species responses to harvest. Eleven medicinal plant species are commonly collected for commercial purposes from Mount Hood National Forest. The general lack of regulation and enforcement of commercial medicinal plant extraction coupled with an increasing demand for wildcrafted medicinal plants warrant a need for increased collaboration between regulatory agencies, herbal companies, and the general public. Additional management and research recommendations regarding the ecological impacts of medicinal plant removal are also presented.