This thesis is an observational study that examines relationships between disturbance, forest stand development, and big huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) fruit productivity and growth by combining ecological methods with the traditional ecological knowledge of Warm Springs ceremonial huckleberry pickers. Shrub fields of fruiting big huckleberry develop in early seral subalpine environments...
Trees that survive disturbances can form a prominent legacy which may influence
post-disturbance successional pathways. The effects of biological legacies on community
dynamics is a critical question in ecology. In the present study, I examined two mapped
stands in which old-growth remnant trees, survivors of partial fires, emerge above a...
Soil organic matter (SOM) is the terrestrial biosphere's largest pool of organic carbon (C) and is an integral part of C cycling globally. Soil organic matter composition typically can be traced directly back to the type of detrital inputs; however, the stabilization of SOM results as a combination of chemical...
Soil organic carbon (SOC, kg C m-2) is an important component in evaluating global C stores. The nitrogen (TN, kg N m"2) cycle is closely linked to C and understanding its role is also important. Contents and distributions of SOC and TN in soil profiles, to 1-meter depth, were estimated...
Riparian zones provide habitat for breeding birds in the semiarid western United States; however, there are few data available that address the effects of livestock grazing strategies on riparian habitats and avian communities. Documenting avian community composition in different riparian vegetation communities and relating vegetation communities to livestock grazing strategies...
Little is known about Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) because of their elusive nature and the logistical difficulty of studying them in densely forested and mountainous terrain. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has identified fawn survival as an important gap in the current knowledge of demography and...
Following high-severity fire, forest succession may take alternate pathways depending on the pattern of the fire and any secondary disturbances during early stand development, with lasting consequences for ecosystem function. The objectives of this research were to quantify: (1) early postfire regeneration as influenced by the spatial pattern of a...
The forest ecosystem is a mosaic of environments, each having a particular set of characteristics and processes that shape the communities of animals and plants that occur there, and circumscribe the opportunities and limitations for land management. In the Cascades of southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon, environments can be stratified...