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Managing Forests for Birds Video Series
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A new video series by the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative highlights the importance of proper forest management in improving a diversity of habitat for birds and other wildlife.
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Missouri Department of Conservation-Forest Care
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MDC manages nearly one million Missouri acres for conservation and public use.
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New Jersey Forest Fire Service
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The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is the agency responsible for protecting life and property, as well as the state's natural resources from wildfire.
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Ohio Department of Natural Resources: Division of Forestry
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The Division of Forestry is responsible for the management, sustainable use, and protection of Ohio’s forests.
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Poster Presentation: Seeing Past the Green: Quantifying the Characteristics of High-graded Forests
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Download the Poster Presentation for "Seeing Past the Green: Quantifying the Characteristics of HIgh-Graded Forests
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WLFW Outcomes: Funded Research
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Predicting a change in the order of spring phenology in temperate forests
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The rise in spring temperatures over the past half-century has led to advances in the phenology of many nontropical plants and animals. As species and populations differ in their phenological responses to temperature, an increase in temperatures has the potential to alter timing-dependent species interactions. One species-interaction that may be affected is the competition for light in deciduous forests, where early vernal species have a narrow window of opportunity for growth before late spring species cast shade. Here we consider the Marsham phenology time series of first leafing dates of thirteen tree species and flowering dates of one ground flora species, which spans two centuries. The exceptional length of this time series permits a rare comparison of the statistical support for parameter-rich regression and mechanistic thermal sensitivity phenology models. While mechanistic models perform best in the majority of cases, both they and the regression models provide remarkably consistent insights into the relative sensitivity of each species to forcing and chilling effects. All species are sensitive to spring forcing, but we also find that vernal and
northern European species are responsive to cold temperatures in the previous autumn. Whether this sensitivity reflects a chilling requirement or a delaying of dormancy remains to be tested. We then apply the models to projected future temperature data under a fossil fuel intensive emissions scenario and predict that while some species will advance substantially others will advance by less and may even be delayed due to a rise in autumn and winter temperatures. Considering the projected responses of all fourteen species, we anticipate a change in the order of spring events, which may lead to changes in competitive advantage for light with potential implications for the composition of temperate forests.
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Climate Science Documents
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Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment Webinar: U.S. Forest Fragmentation and Land Cover Patterns
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Forest fragmentation continues even as total forestland area remains relatively stable.
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Events
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Seeing past the green: Structure, composition, and biomass differences in high graded and silviculture-managed forests of similar stand density
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Forests of the eastern United States (US) mostly comprise a mix of stands managed following silvicultural
principles and stands managed with exploitative timber harvesting practices. These stands can have similar stand
densities (e.g., basal area per hectare) but vary vastly in structure, composition, and biomass and carbon storage.
High grading, a prevalent exploitative timber harvesting practice in the eastern US, is of particular concern
because it can negatively affect future forest health and productivity. This study quantifies differences in forest
structure, composition, and biomass and carbon storage between high graded stands and stands that received a
seed/establishment cut of a uniform shelterwood regeneration sequence treatment, which is a comparable and
well-established silvicultural method used to regenerate mixed-oak forests. It focuses on mixed-oak forests
(mixed-Quercus), where the effects of high grading have been understudied, and uses a sample with broader
spatial coverage than previous studies. The sample comprised nine stands that were known to have been high
graded 8–15 years ago and nine stands that received the seed/establishment cut of a uniform shelterwood
regeneration sequence. Stand were systematically sampled using fixed-area plots. Field measurements were
collected and used to calculate metrics describing forest structure and function. The structure of high graded
stands was characterized by a higher proportion of trees with poor health and/or form compared to shelterwood
stands, with 18.3 % less acceptable growing stock and trees with lower crown compaction. Diameter distributions
of high graded stands were characterized by numerous small trees and few large-diameter trees. Spatial
variability of overstory trees was contingent on the tree size range evaluated, with a larger variability of
sawtimber-sized trees (trees ≥ 29.2 cm in diameter at breast height) in high graded stands. High graded stands
also had 2.2 times fewer oak trees (Quercus spp.) in the overstory canopy, 17,897 fewer seedlings per hectare
(ha), and 45 Mg/ha less biomass than shelterwood stands. These results indicate that high grading generally
degrades mixed-oak forests and impairs their long-term capacity to supply vital ecosystem services such as
habitat for specific wildlife species, carbon storage, and high-quality wood products.
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WLFW Outcomes: Funded Research
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Southern Group of State Foresters
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We provide leadership in sustaining the economic, environmental and social benefits of the South's forests, and work to identify and address existing and emerging issues and challenges that are important to southern forests and citizens.
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Southwest Georgia PBA
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Our Mission is to provide and support a platform for landowners to share, educate and implement a sound forest and land management practices regarding prescribed burning within Georgia.
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