Public land agencies are mandated to incorporate Ecosystem Management practices into forest planning and management. The human dimensions of Ecosystem Management, including recreation and amenity uses of forest lands constitute a critical component associated with management decisions. Recently, research has extended the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) concept of experience based management, to one of Benefits Based Management (BBM). This Research presents results of a study on the Dixie National Forest to examine and test some components of the BBM concept as a means of improving recreation planning and management. This study utilized an on-site survey targeted to capture visitors knowledge about beneficial outcomes: expectations, desirability, acquisition and maintenance. Results of this study reveal that visitors could articulate these types of beneficial outcomes; indicating this type of research can assist in formulating design and management strategies for forest lands through the objectives incorporated in the human dimension of Ecosystem Management.

The intent of this thesis is to apply policy design analysis to federal forest policy in the United States. This thesis describes alternative policy analysis frameworks and argues that a policy design approach is the most useful for analyzing federal forest policy and for understanding the intense social conflict which surrounds forest policy today. This paper will argue that present conflicts stem from the inability of past forest policy designs to simultaneously pursue the important social goals of economic development, ecological sustainability and social democracy. What is needed is an approach to forest policy which can address and ameliorate these conflicts. This will require several changes in the underlying assumptions of natural resource management. Ecosystem management, as an alternative approach to forest policy, will be discussed and analyzed in order to identify in what ways forest policy may change and to speculate about the implications of these changes.

Water chemistry (carbon dioxide, pH, alkalinity, hardness, and turbidity) and physical habitat (depth, velocity and substrate) change gradually on the Little Colorado River, Arizona, downstream from Blue Springs (river kilometer 11.40 to 21.06). Fish distribution is correlated with changes in water chemistry and physical habitat. Monthly trends in water chemistry and physical habitat depended upon seasonal conditions: summer rain runoff (July and September 1992), spring runoff (April 1993), and base flow (June and July 1993).

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The uneven success of tropical forest product marketing initiatives over the past decade has illuminated our poor understanding of forest peasant livelihood systems. This dissertation explores how , when and why peoples living within biodiverse tropical forests turn to the sale of forest products to meet their needs over time, through a detailed examination of commercial forest extraction by the Tawahka Sumu (pop. 1,000) of the Mosquitia region, eastern Honduras. The study uses a multi-method, multi-scalar approach that incorporates conceptual insights from cultural ecology, agricultural economics, and peasant studies. / A detailed household census (n = 116, or 88% of Tawahka households in 1998) was used to establish patterns of reliance on commercial extraction. As a group, the Tawahka were found to manage a diverse market income portfolio in which commercial extraction contributed some 18% in 1997--98 (US$23/capita). At the household level, however, reliance on the extractive sector varied from 0--93%. Analysis of multi-year income data suggests that households move easily into, and out of, the sector. Statistical analysis indicates that the most important determinants of this sporadic engagement are unanticipated household-level calamities (illness, crop shortfall). / This ex post insurance function of commercial extraction was also demonstrated over longer time scales by a detailed historical analysis of the Mosquitia's dugout canoe trade, which revealed that the sale of dugout canoes has provided local peoples with an important fall-back during periods of economic recession. Discussion highlights the dynamism of peasant livelihoods, in which forest product sale is seen as only one response to householders' changing needs over both the lifecycle of the household and larger economic cycles in the region. / The modern dynamics of the canoe trade appear to have changed little over two centuries, emphasizing the little-recognized continuity within native exchange systems despite market penetration and monetization. During the 1990s, the Tawahka sold half of the approximately 500 canoes they made, mainly to Miskito buyers. The future of canoe commerce is threatened by pressures on the forests of the newly-created Tawahka Asangni Biosphere Reserve, including high internal growth rates, ladino colonization, and agricultural reorganization in the wake of Hurricane Mitch. The implications of the study's findings to conservation and development initiatives in the neotropics are discussed.

A modified Faustmann equation is used to evaluate the comparative social welfare implications of a set of forestry policies in British Columbia. A one-hectare timber stand is modeled with a timber firm as the licensee and the provincial government as the resource owner and policy-maker. Rotation time and silvicultural investment decisions are the firm’s main inputs while revenue, government expenditure, and the values of carbon sequestered and biodiversity accumulated are the components of the social welfare function. The policies include subsidized silviculture, imposed rotation times and compensation for the forest stand’s environmental outputs. The social welfare generated from each policy is compared to determine the best policy for a BC forest stand. Heterogeneity is modeled through individual stands’ infrastructure costs and unprofitable stands are assumed to accumulate environmental social welfare. Finally, a timber supply area (TSA) in BC’s southern interior is used as a case study to explore the model’s policy implications in a real-world forestry context. Social welfare was found to be highest under an environmental subsidy policy that compensates the firm for all carbon sequestered in timber biomass and a fraction of the value of biodiversity, soil carbon and wildlife habitat accumulated over the rotation. The BC government’s current policy of limited funding for incremental silvicultural activities generated less social welfare than the environmental subsidy policy. When heterogeneity was introduced, the general results held. The unprofitable stands generated very little social welfare compared to the harvested stands. In the case study, if timber quality premiums exist, social welfare is highest when stands are managed under the subsidy policy for timber quality, generating moderate levels of short-term wildlife habitat supply. Where this premium does not exist, all stands should be managed for timber supply. To meet the TSA’s stated objectives, timber supply could be managed alongside old growth if only profit and biodiversity matter or in the case where there is a downward-sloping demand for old growth forests.

<p> Landscape-scale forest restoration treatments are planned for four national forests in Northern Arizona: the Coconino, Kaibab, Tonto, and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. The first analysis area comprises 900,000 acres on the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests where the U.S. Forest Service is proposing restoration activities on approximately 600,000 acres over a ten year period pending acceptance of an Environmental Impact Statement. These forest restoration treatments are intended to accomplish a number of objectives including reducing the threat of catastrophic wild fire and subsequent flooding and to restore forest health, function, and resiliency. Previous studies suggest that in semi-arid, ponderosa pine watersheds there was a possibility to increase surface water yields 15-40% when basal area was reduced by 30-100%. Because of these results, there is considerable interest in the amount of increased water yield that may recharge from these activities. </p><p> The objectives of this study were to 1) examine the state of knowledge of forest restoration thinning and its hydrological responses and to evaluate the quality and type of related references that exist within the literature and 2) simulate possible changes in recharge and aquifer response following forest restoration treatments and climate change. A systematic review process following the guidelines suggested by the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence was conducted to examine literature relevant to this topic. The Northern Arizona Regional Groundwater-Flow Model was used to simulate the changes expected from forest restoration treatments and climate change. </p><p> The systematic review returned 37 references that were used to answer questions regarding tree removal and the associated hydrological responses. Data from individual studies suggest that forest treatments that reduce tree density tend to increase surface water yield and groundwater recharge while reducing evapotranspiration. On average, there was a 0-50% increase in surface water yield when 5-100% of a watershed was treated. Groundwater results were less conclusive and there was no overall correlation for all studies between percent area treated and groundwater recharge. A majority of studies (33 of 37) reported statistically significant results, either as increases in water yield, decreases in evapotranspiration, or increases in groundwater table elevation. Results are highly variable, and diminish within five to ten years for water yield increases and even quicker (&lt; 4 years) for groundwater table heights. </p><p> Using a groundwater-flow model, it was estimated that over the ten-year period of forest restoration treatment there was a 2.8% increase in annual recharge to aquifers in the Verde Valley compared to conditions that existed in 2000-2005. However, these increases were assumed to quickly decline after treatment due to regrowth of vegetation and forest underbrush. Furthermore, estimated increases in groundwater recharge were masked by decreases in water levels, stream baseflow, and groundwater storage resulting from surface water diversions and groundwater pumping. These results should be used in conjunction with other data such as those recovered from paired-watershed studies to help guide decision-making with respect to groundwater supply and demand issues, operations, and balancing the needs of both natural and human communities. </p>

<p> Six transgenic events (TEv) of <i>Castanea dentata,</i> each containing four to five transgenes with varying insertion numbers, were field-tested for non-target impacts on root symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF). Also included was the cloned plant used to create the TEv as a control, and a variety of seed-grown <i>C. dentata</i> and other <i>Castanea</i> species or hybrids to test natural variation and the effect of micropropagation procedures. The field sites included two open-field and two shelterwood sites. Two of the six TEv, both containing the transgene encoding the antimicrobial peptide ESF39, formed significantly less ectomycorrhizas than the control in their first season in the field; no differences were detected in the next season. No other differences in receptivity to EMF or between EMF communities were detected among the various experimental plants. No significant impacts on EMF of the transgenes encoding oxalate oxidase, GFP, BAR and NPTII were detected. Nor were impacts due to differences in insert copy number, insert position or micropropagation procedures. The shelterwood sites had significantly higher colonization than both of the open-field sites. Both open sites had relatively low diversity and communities composed of EMF typically found in pioneer communities. One of the shelterwood sites had significantly higher diversity and EMF typical of mature forest communities. The other did not; possible reasons for this are discussed. This study compared experimental plants with high numbers of gene inserts, differences found did not correlate with the number of insertion events or genes used, indicating that pleiotropic effects are rare in this species. Differences in colonization were temporally dependent which should be considered in future studies. Site characteristics affected both colonization by and community composition of EMF.</p>

<p> The accurate estimation of forest attributes at many different spatial scales is a critical problem. Forest landowners may be interested in estimating timber volume, forest biomass, and forest structure to determine their forest's condition and value. Counties and states may be interested to learn about their forests to develop sustainable management plans and policies related to forests, wildlife, and climate change. Countries and consortiums of countries need information about their forests to set global and national targets to deal with issues of climate change and deforestation as well as to set national targets and understand the state of their forest at a given point in time. </p><p> This dissertation approaches these questions from two perspectives. The first perspective uses the process model Biome-BGC paired with inventory and remote sensing data to make inferences about a current forest state given known climate and site variables. Using a model of this type, future climate data can be used to make predictions about future forest states as well. An example of this work applied to a forest in northern California is presented. The second perspective of estimating forest attributes uses high resolution aerial imagery paired with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) remote sensing data to develop statistical estimates of forest structure. Two approaches within this perspective are presented: a pixel based approach and an object based approach. Both approaches can serve as the platform on which models (either empirical growth and yield models or process models) can be run to generate inferences about future forest state and current forest biogeochemical cycling.</p>