In order to fully understand the magnitude of the benefits that forests provide, it is crucial to understand the full suite of ecosystem services that they offer. A southern Appalachian red spruce-Fraser fir forest was intensively analyzed using a variety of methodologies to determine the nature and quantity of some of these services. Many hypotheses exist regarding the future of these spruce-fir forests, which were heavily disturbed by the non-native balsam wooly adelgid during the 1980s. Direct measurements over the course of a decade assessed these hypotheses and indicate that this forest is recovering structure and function. The forest is accruing overstory biomass, with vegetation composition on a trajectory towards historic conditions. By using a total forest inventory of all vegetation from overstory trees to understory mosses, rates of productivity and nutrient cycling were determined. Productivity of this forest at low elevations has returned to pre-adelgid levels, while at high elevations productivity is approaching these levels. In the absence of an intact overstory, forest understory vegetation can compensate by disproportionately cycling and retaining nutrients such as nitrogen that would otherwise leach offsite. The understory of this forest provides an important service in nutrient cycling. Our ability to actively manage forests in order to manipulate levels and rates of carbon sequestration was assessed using stand data and the Forest Vegetation Simulator Growth and Yield Model. Silvicultural intervention proved effective at sequestering additional carbon over a no action alternative by the end of our simulation period. This forest provides a variety of ecosystem services and has retained its ability to recover their function after catastrophic disturbance.

In order to fully understand the magnitude of the benefits that forests provide, it is crucial to understand the full suite of ecosystem services that they offer. A southern Appalachian red spruce-Fraser fir forest was intensively analyzed using a variety of methodologies to determine the nature and quantity of some of these services. Many hypotheses exist regarding the future of these spruce-fir forests, which were heavily disturbed by the non-native balsam wooly adelgid during the 1980s. Direct measurements over the course of a decade assessed these hypotheses and indicate that this forest is recovering structure and function. The forest is accruing overstory biomass, with vegetation composition on a trajectory towards historic conditions. By using a total forest inventory of all vegetation from overstory trees to understory mosses, rates of productivity and nutrient cycling were determined. Productivity of this forest at low elevations has returned to pre-adelgid levels, while at high elevations productivity is approaching these levels. In the absence of an intact overstory, forest understory vegetation can compensate by disproportionately cycling and retaining nutrients such as nitrogen that would otherwise leach offsite. The understory of this forest provides an important service in nutrient cycling. Our ability to actively manage forests in order to manipulate levels and rates of carbon sequestration was assessed using stand data and the Forest Vegetation Simulator Growth and Yield Model. Silvicultural intervention proved effective at sequestering additional carbon over a no action alternative by the end of our simulation period. This forest provides a variety of ecosystem services and has retained its ability to recover their function after catastrophic disturbance.

Beginning in the late 1930s, fire exclusion has drastically altered the vegetation dynamics of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Extremely low fire frequency has allowed for more shade-tolerant species to invade once predominantly open forests and has made it almost impossible for fire-dependent species to establish on a site. One such species is the endangered Peters Mountain mallow (Iliamna corei Sherff.) located on Peters Mountain in The Nature Conservancy s Narrows Preserve in Giles County, Virginia. This paper focuses on the fire history and stand dynamics of Peters Mountain and how fire exclusion has altered the forest composition. The historic fire frequency and successional changes discovered here may provide an insight into management strategies for the mallow. Seventy-nine fire scarred cross-sections were taken and aged to determine fire history dates and frequencies. Three 50x20 meter plots were set up on opposing aspects: northwest and southeast. The aspects were chosen at the direction of The Nature Conservancy personnel. All trees within were identified, cored and aged to determine species composition and the establishment dates of all trees. Fire history analysis revealed a mean fire interval of 2.48 years, a Weibull median fire interval of 2.18 years and a 25 percent scarred class mean fire interval of 12.5 years. Stand dynamic results show that Quercus montana has established on Peters Mountain prior to fire exclusion and remains the dominate species on the landscape. An increased number of fire intolerant species (including Acer rubrum, Sassfras albidum, Nyssa sylvatica) have been establishing on Peters Mountain during the decades of decreased fire frequency, suggesting a shift in forest composition. Frequent fires are suggested for mallow management and oak forest maintenance.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(農学) / 乙第13181号 / 論農博第2860号 / 新制||農||1061(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H30||N5103(農学部図書室) / (主査)教授 小杉 緑子, 教授 北山 兼弘, 教授 舟川 晋也 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

With a growing desire to generate structural characteristics of late-successional conifer forests, managers are commonly seeking an approach to increase structural heterogeneity in otherwise simple second-growth stands. This study examined understory response to experimental thinning on the Olympic Peninsula of Western Washington. Variable-density thinning within the Olympic Habitat Development Study was found to have significant effects on both the density of seedling recruitment as well as early growth of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.). In additional analysis, pre-commercial understory thinning, implemented by the Olympic National Forest, produced no observable acceleration in basal area growth. Results suggest that understory development is sensitive to previous management history as well as post-treatment stand structure. Better understanding the sources of variability in understory tree response to non-uniform thinning and understory density management will be principle in evaluating the efficacy of these treatments relative to traditional methods.