| Publisher | USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station |
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| Pages | 259-261 |
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| PDF Link | https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/gtr/gtr_nrs-p-102.pdf |
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| Editor(s) | Daniel C. Dey, Michael C. Stambaugh, Stacy L. Clark, Callie J. Schweitzer |
| Conference / Book Title | Proceedings of the 4th Fire in Eastern Oak Forests Conference |
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| Other | Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-102, Springfield, Missouri |
| Conference Title | 4th Fire in Eastern Oak Forests Conference |
| Conference Date | 17 May - 19 May 2011 |
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| Abstract | Effective land management decisionmaking depends on scientifically sound analyses of management alternatives relative to desired future conditions and environmental effects. We used a state-and-transition model to evaluate likely future landscape conditions in a pine-oak forest on the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas based on current and potential future alternative management actions. Our objectives were to: (1) demonstrate the use of state-and-transition models in project planning, and (2) create simple ñwhat ifî scenarios to supplement the project environmental impact assessment and facilitate more informed decisionmaking through relative comparisons. We used the model to simulate and compare the effects of several management alternatives: A. Current Management B. Regeneration Harvest/Thinning C. Woodland Management D. Regeneration Harvest/Thinning + Climate Change E. Woodland Management + Climate Change The effects of these alternatives were also compared against modeled ecological reference conditions. At the time of the study, a national forest interdisciplinary team was completing a project-level environmental assessment of alternative management scenarios across the 16,700 acre Lower Irons Fork/Johnson Creek watershed. The watershed is located within the Ouachita National Forest near the town of Mena in western Arkansas. It is comprised primarily of pine-oak forest and woodland and has a history of active fire management. The watershed is a drinking water source for the town of Mena, Arkansas, offers recreational opportunities including hunting and fishing, and is home to two federally-endangered species: the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) and the harperella plant (Ptilimnium nodosumis). We modified the LANDFIRE Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland model (USDA FS and USDI 2009) using stand exam and other forest data to represent current landscape structure and disturbance probabilities. Timber harvest volume per acre coefficients were estimated from a similar nearby project, and smoke production values for particulate matter (PM 10 and 2.5) were estimated from the First Order Fire Effects Model. Forest colleagues and U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station scientists provided peer review. We used the Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool and the Path Landscape Model, a state-and-transition modeling framework and platform, to simulate the effects of the various alternatives after 10 years. 260 GTR-NRS-P-102 Proceedings of the 4th Fire in Eastern Oak Forests Conference Our results indicate that a woodland management emphasis generally yielded landscape structure and fire frequencies closer to the desired future condition specified in the 2005 Ouachita National Forest Revised Forest Plan (USDA FS 2005) compared to a regeneration harvest/thinning emphasis (Figs. 1 and 2). When potential climate effects were considered, the woodland management emphasis also yielded greater smoke (Fig. 3) and woody biomass harvest outputs (Fig. 4) than the regeneration harvest/thinning emphasis. These findings suggest that Forest Plan revisions should reevaluate the desired future conditions for pine-oak forest in light of the fact that it does not currently include a standard for mid-seral forest structure, and that the existing desired future condition standard for late seral open woodland is lower than LANDFIRE reference conditions. While the model outputs have proven to be useful, the process forced the team to test assumptions and document knowledge, two intangible but valuable outcomes. |
Created: 12/14/2017 10:30 AM (ET)
Modified: 12/21/2018 1:23 PM (ET)