Riparian areas used as livestock pasture need special care to remain healthy and productive. This brochure describes what a riparian area is, why it is important, and what you as a rancher can do to take care of your land. A healthy riparian pasture benefits you, your livestock, wildlife, and...
Coastal blue carbon ecosystems offer a variety of important ecosystem services, including exceptional rates of carbon sequestration and long-term carbon storage. Because these ecosystems disproportionately influence global carbon cycling, understanding their soil characteristics may help guide long-term climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Recently, Kauffman et al. (2020) observed the...
Forest vegetation management (FVM) is an important component of reforestation in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Several studies have demonstrated the benefits of vegetation management on planted conifer growth and survival. However, few reports have been published on the long-term effects of FVM treatments on total ecosystem biomass accumulation and aboveground...
Published March 1965. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Revised June 1982. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Published August 1989. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Selling timber by the tree or by the thousand board feet is a
business proposition. Both the seller and the buyer must know the
quality and the quantity of the products being sold.
Understanding sandbar dynamics and variability is integral to developing a predictive
capacity for nearshore flows, sediment transport, morphological change, and
ultimately for determining coastline exposure to damaging storm waves. Along the
high-energy U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) coast, sandbars typically dominate the
bathymetry of the active zone. Here we report on...
Understanding sandbar dynamics and variability is integral to developing a predictive capacity for nearshore flows, sediment transport, morphological change, and ultimately for determining coastline exposure to damaging storm waves. Here we report on a nearshore bathymetric data set from the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) that stretches from Point Grenville, Washington...
This research is concerned with the current debate among Oregonians on how to improve the standard of living and accelerate economic development in Oregon. The main question is what economic activities make Oregon, and regions within Oregon grow? To find out where Oregon's economic strength and weaknesses lie, first we...
Both the structure and composition of naturally generated early-seral forests in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) can be profoundly different than that of more developed forest seres, especially in the period after a major disturbance but before conifers re-develop a closed canopy. While it is reasonable to suggest that the unique...
The root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus (hornet is one of the most important pests restricting productivity of wheat in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). It is laborious and difficult to use microscopy to count and identify the nematodes in soils. A SYBR Green I-based real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed to...
In recent years we have seen increasing debate over
the allocation of PNW water resources. In particular there
are conflicts over using the river system for irrigation
vs. electricity production. Denying the hydroelectric
system water implies higher costs to electricity consumers
as producers substitute more expensive nonhydro resources.
This research...
Climate change and the increase in meteorological drought have generated global concern over the persistence of ecosystems already in decline from decreased moisture. Evidence suggests dryland ecosystems have been more impacted by drought because of their tightly coupled growth-water relationships and high sensitivity to environmental shift. Removal of competing vegetation...
During the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, numerous bridge structures were damage or destroyed. The damage to bridge systems was caused by long duration strong ground shaking, tsunami inundation forces, or both. Long duration strong ground shaking from subduction zone earthquakes and the multi-hazard scenario of combined earthquake...
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has been cultivated for human consumption for thousands of years. However, most North Americans do not consume barley on a regular basis. In the last decade, there has been a renewed interest in barley production for human consumption. A number of quality traits estimate nutritional value...
In 1970, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) produced approximately 145,332,000 bushels of wheat (all types) with an average harvest value of over $220,000,000. White wheat comprised about 126,234,000 bushels of that total, about 87 percent. In recent years the financial circumstances, for several reasons, have deteriorated for many farmers and grain...
Interest is expanding for the potential role of estuaries, particularly seagrass and salt marsh habitats, to sequester carbon, mitigate ocean acidification, and support abundant fisheries. The important functions of estuaries are part of a broader set of ecosystem services, or benefits to humans, which are regulated by ocean and watershed...
This study represents an internship, as a requirement of the Professional Science Masters program at Oregon State University, performed with Western Ag Innovations Inc. The study consisted of two aspects -- one business and one science oriented. The two objectives of this internship were to: 1) qualitatively evaluate how two...
Douglas-fir provides social, economic, and ecological benefits in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). In addition to timber, forests support abundant plant and animal biodiversity and provide socioeconomic viability for many rural communities. Products derived from Douglas-fir account for approximately 17% of the U.S. lumber output with an estimated value of $1.9...
Estimates of potential carbon (C) storage can be used to constrain predictions of future carbon sequestration and to understand the degree to which disturbances, both natural aid anthropogenic, affect C storage. An upper bound on C storage in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States was estimated using field...
The management of federal forest lands in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region changed in early 1990s when the
Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) was adopted with the primary goal to protect old-growth forest and associated
species. A major decline in timber harvest followed, extending an earlier downward trend. The historic and...
Coastal sand dunes and beaches offer a variety of ecosystem services such as coastal protection, sand stabilization, species conservation, and recreation. However, the management and balance of ecosystem services offered by dunes and beaches is challenging when ecosystem services interact across the landscape. Management focusing only on one ecosystem service...
Native populations of forest trees are specifically adapted to the climates they inhabit. The farther trees are moved from their local climates (i.e., as the climatic transfer distance increases), the more growth and survival tend to decrease. The transfer limit is the climatic transfer distance beyond which plantation performance is...
Relative to other systems in the PNW, the rain-dominated, coastal watersheds of western Oregon have shallow aquifers. Given the seasonality of streamflow and storage limitations in coastal, rain-dominated watersheds, changes in the temporal patterns of precipitation have the potential to magnify the risk of extreme streamflow conditions during both high-...
Agricultural practices influence the nutrient dynamics of soil and plants, which may take more than a decade to be expressed in the drylands. The nutrient supplying capacity of soil is a crucial component of sustainable agriculture, and hence, this study can play an important role in policy making for the...
Some of the world's most productive timberland lies on the slopes of the coastal range in Oregon and Washington. More than one-half of the commercial forest land in that area is estimated as high site quality for Douglas-fir, with a site index of 140 or better. But much of this...
Wheat (Tritium aestivum) is an extremely important crop worldwide. It accounts for almost one quarter of the calories consumed each day by more than one third of the world’s population, and is grown over more land area than any other crop. Wheat breeding programs constantly strive to increase or maintain...
Forest Vegetation Management (VM) is an important tool used in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) for reforestation. It has been well documented that VM increases seedling survival and crop tree volume growth. What is less understood, is how altering the plant community and successional trajectory affects the way the ecosystem uses...
Published December 1990. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Published January 1990. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Forest management planning is critical for the sustainability of natural systems on a site. Managing public ground is a complicated process, and usually involves many stakeholders with a variety of opinions. One such public property is the Evitts Creek Water Company (ECWC) property, owned by the city of Cumberland, Maryland....
Published November 1991. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Published March 1981. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Aerial surveys of the Nezperce National Forest in Idaho revealed 138,692 acres of aerially visible top kill and tree mortality due to repeated defoliation by western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman.
A small ground sample indicates that up to 47 percent of the grand fir volume was affected by top...
We measured activity levels of cesium radioisotopes ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs in wild edible fungi, mineral soil, and surface litter of the west coast of North America from southern California to northern Vancouver Island after the Fukushima nuclear accident. All activity measurements were below governmental limits for human health. ¹³⁷Cs activity...
Published March 1977. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
The PATH algorithm, which is the efficient dynamic
programming algorithm developed by Paredes and Brodie
(1987) was interpreted from a different point of view.
This modification of the PATH algorithm by the calculus of
variations vastly diminished the calculation task and
memory required to store optimal stands at each stage....
Snags and hardwoods contribute to biological, structural, and functional diversity in old-growth forests. In the US Pacific Northwest, only general knowledge about regional patterns is available to determine target density of snags and hardwood trees. To investigate their variability at relevant scales for silviculture, we examined snag and hardwood densities...
A 20-year-old Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] stand in the Oregon Coast Range was thinned from about 1,700 to about 350 trees/ac. Subsequent thinnings, under eight different regimes, occurred at ages 23, 27, 30, and 32. Average net periodic cubic-volume growth was strongly influenced by thinning regime, varying from about...
This dissertation consists of three essays on private landowners' response to incentives for carbon sequestration in forests. The first essay examines private landowner response to incentives for carbon sequestration through various combinations of intermediate management practices. The second essay focuses on agricultural landowners' willingness to participate in an incentive program...
Basal area and height growth were analyzed for individual trees in uneven-aged ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa
Dougl. ex Laws.) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex. Loud.) stands in central Oregon. Basal area
growth was modeled as a function of other stand and tree variables to address three general objectives:...
Shallow, rapid soil mass movements are common events and primary sources
of sediment in steep terrain of the Pacific Northwest.
Poorly vegetated debris deposits and scars resulting from landslides
remove land from the productive timber base, and are subject to
continuing erosion. To examine the impact of these events on...
Changes in climate caused by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the Earth’s atmosphere have led land and ocean surface temperatures to increase by 0.85°C and sea level to increase by 19 cm relative to preindustrial times. Global climate change will lead to further alterations in mean temperature and...
Quantification of contemporary sediment and carbon accumulation within Oregon tidal saline wetlands will: (1) fill a critical knowledge gap, and (2) naturally test without complicating variables whether sea level rise or sediment supply primarily control wetland growth. Here we measure vertical accretion rates and carbon burial rates in three Oregon...
Forest ecosystems are removing significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Both abiotic resource availability and biotic interactions during forest succession affect C accumulation rates and maximum C stocks. However, the timing and controls on the peak and decline in C accumulation rates as stands age, trees increase in size,...
Full Text:
of forested federal land ad-
ministered by the Pacific Northwest (PNW)
Region of the National Forest
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of forest fuels reduction on diet quality, botanical composition, relative preference, and foraging efficiency of beef cattle grazing at different stocking rates. A split plot factorial design was used, with whole plots (3 ha) being fuel reduced or no treatment (control), and...
The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), which aims to conserve late-successional and old-growth forests (older forests) and associated species, established new policies on federal lands in the Pacific Northwest USA. As part of monitoring for the NWFP, we tested nearest-neighbor imputation for mapping change in older forest, defined by threshold values...
The ski areas of Oregon and Washington are similar in
many [respects], especially in that they are predominately local day
areas and are located on United States Forest Service lands. The
demand for more ski facilities is apparent yet the number of new
areas opening has decreased over the years....
Published February 2002. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
During summer and fall of 1981 to 1983, mark-recapture was
conducted in riparian and upland habitats within old-growth and
mature forests in the Cascade Range of Oregon. Number of
individuals and species richness were greater in riparian than
upland habitat. For most species, the mean adult weights and
the percentages...
Most sweet cherries produced in the US Pacific Northwest and shipped to distant markets are often in storage and transit for over 3 weeks. The objectives of this research were to study the effects of sweet cherry storage O2 and CO2 concentrations on the respiratory physiology and the efficacy of...
The U.S Pacific Northwest contains a wide variety of ecosystems, all subject to relatively dry summers and wet winters. As has been shown with paleoclimatic and paleoecological data, the region is vulnerable to changes in climate. We assessed the sensitivities of vegetation distributions, carbon stocks, and fire regimes to 21st...
Large organic debris has important biological and physical
roles within the stream ecosystem. In order to determine the source
area of large organic debris in streams, thirty-nine streams in the
Cascade and Coast Ranges of Oregon and Washington were sampled. The
distance from point-of-origin to channel was measured for thirty...
Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata (Pursh) DC.) is one of the most widely distributed shrubs in western North America. Its value as a browse species has been recognized for more than half a century. Recent concern for the ecological significance of shrubs in natural ecosystems and the serious depletion of many big...
Sediment cores were retrieved from a landslide-dammed lake, recording events back to the 5th century AD in a forested, mountainous catchment. These cores provide an opportunity to compare the impacts of known recent perturbations, including floods and timber harvesting with those of the early period of the core, flood, fire,...
Summaries from 49 published articles on tree volume and taper equations are presented for 39 tree species found in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, southeast Alaska, Idaho, and western Montana. The summaries are organized by species and then by type of equation (volume or taper). Each summary describes the types...
Published June 2004. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Knowledge about the relationship between habitat structure and abundance of a target species
facilitates biodiversity conservation in managed forests. However, modeling the relationship
for infrequent small mammal species in silvicultural experiments introduces the challenge of
excessive zero counts and complex hierarchical sampling. A common solution has been to
ignore infrequent...
This paper illustrates the status of wave energy development in Pacific Rim countries by characterizing the available resource and introducing the region‟s current and potential future leaders in wave energy converter development. It also describes the existing licensing and permitting process as well as potential environmental concerns. Capabilities of Pacific...
The intensity and scale of wildfires has increased throughout the Pacific Northwest in recent decades, especially within the last decade, destroying vast amounts of valuable resources and assets. This trend is predicted to remain or even magnify due climate change, growing population, increased housing density. Furthermore, the associated stress of...
Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is a commonly applied silvicultural treatment in intensively managed Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] plantations. When attempting to maximize average growth responses through fertilization, landowners experience difficulty prioritizing stands for treatment based on the likely magnitude of response and return on the operational investment. Field trials were...
In 1967, Lophodermella morbida Staley and Bynum, a recently described
hypodermataceous needle-cast fungus, became destructively
epidemic in a knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata Lemm.) plantation in
Del Norte County, California, and in several ponderosa pine (P.
ponderosa Laws.) plantations in western and southwestern Oregon.
This thesis presents information on this currently...
Anecdotal evidence suggests many Pacific Northwest estuaries are filling with sediment due to historical logging activities in upstream watersheds. Using the Siletz River estuary as a case study, this research began by analyzing timber harvest and discharge records of the Siletz River watershed, and found that increased timber harvest coincides...
Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) is a “native invasive” tree species in Eastern Oregon. It is extremely good at finding and consuming water in arid climates, which makes it difficult for other plant species, especially sagebrush and grasses to survive. Sagebrush and grasses are necessary for the survival of the sage...
Prices paid for sweet corn are low relative to the cost of producing the crop, and every strategy possible must be used to maximize net return. Two strategies used to enhance profitability but that have received little research attention under Western Oregon conditions are the use of pop-up fertilizers and...
Conceptually, the dynamics of wood in streams can be viewed in terms of input and in-channel processes. Input processes are associated with both the riparian (tree fall, bank cutting, windthrow) and upslope forests (mass failures). In-channel processes include log breakage, movement, and decomposition. A mechanistic view of these processes is...
Internal browning (IB) can be a serious problem with the use of modified atmosphere packaging
(MAP) for 'Bartlett' pears (Pyrus communis L.) grown in the Pacific Northwest during storage
and transit to distant markets. To investigate this disorder, 'Bartlett' pears harvested at
commercial maturity were packed in a commercial MAP...
Published May 1971. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Published June 2004. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Knowledge of stand structure, stand dynamics, and production ecology of species mixtures lags well behind that of single-species, even-aged stands. Two mixed-species spacing trials in central Oregon allowed investigation of mixed-species dynamics in a controlled experimental setting. The first site, Pringle Butte, is a mixture of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa...
Two studies were conducted to determine the factors influencing distribution of cattle on northeastern Oregon mixed-conifer forested rangelands. The objective of the first study was the quantification of differences in distribution of cattle of different ages. Beginning in 1991, and continuing through 2001, radio telemetry collars were placed on a...
Surface Canopy Water (SCW) is the intercepted rain water that resides within the tree canopy and plays a significant role in the hydrological cycle. Challenges arise in measuring SCW in remote areas using traditional ground based techniques. Remote sensing in the radio spectrum has the potential to overcome the challenges...
This report was prepared for the 2009 Range Field Day held at the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center in Pendleton, Oregon. It contains research reports on molecular identification of cyst nematodes in wheat and barley; hard red winter wheat production; club wheat breeding in Oregon; growing canola on wide row...
Studies were conducted in the vicinity of Mount Tolman
on the Colville Indian Reservation in eastern Washington in
order to identify vegetation habitat types of the area.
After field studies were completed, Daubenmire's keys to
habitat types of eastern Washington (1968, 1970) were used
to determine habitat types of the...
This report summarizes published information on Oregon hardwoods. Discussions of the trees and their woods include strength properties; appearance; gluability; machinability; steam bending; seasoning; treatability and durability; and special products.
Published May 2001. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program conducts an annual inventory throughout the United States. In the western United States, 10% of all plots (one panel) are measured annually, and a moving average is used for estimating current condition and change of forest attributes while alternative methods are sought in...
This publication brings together in one place information on the general characteristics, biology and management, harvesting and utilization, wood characteristics, and related literature of Pacific Northwest hardwoods. Species included are bigleaf maple, black cottonwood, California black oak, California-laurel, giant chinkapin, Oregon ash, Oregon white oak, Pacific madrone, red alder, and...
As human impacts and demands for ocean space increase (fisheries, aquaculture, marine reserves, renewable energy), identification of marine habitats hosting sensitive biological assemblages has become a priority. Epifaunal invertebrates, especially the structure-forming species, are an increasing conservation concern as many traditional (bottom-contact fishing) and novel (marine renewable energy) ocean uses...
Published June 2003. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EmF) form symbioses with trees. These symbioses profoundly influence forest ecology. Certain EmF form specialized profusions of hyphae, known as ectomycorrhizal fungal mats (mats) which are visible to the naked eye, alter forest soil biogeochemistry, substantially contribute to soil microbial biomass/respiration and support unique microbial communities. Piloderma and...
Nearly all birds communicate through sound, and there has been much study of avian populations and communities using song and other vocalizations. Owls are no exception as they defend territories, advertise for mates, and defend against threats using various vocalizations. However, due to their generally nocturnal habits, some owl species...
As managers of agricultural and natural resources are confronted with uncertainties in global change impacts, the complexities associated with the interconnected cycling of nitrogen, carbon, and water present daunting management challenges. Existing models provide detailed information on specific sub-systems (e.g., land, air, water, and economics). An increasing awareness of the...
In coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest, young coniferous plantations typically contain a mixture of planted and natural Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). Swiss needle cast (SNC) disease inhibits the growth of Douglas-fir to varying degrees in these stands, depending on SNC severity. In addition to the...
A process-based forest growth model, 3-PG (Physiological Principles Predicting
Growth), parameterized with values of soil properties constrained by satellite-derived
estimates of maximum leaf area index (LAI[subscript max]), was run for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii) to contrast the extent to which site growth potential might vary across western
North America between a...
Euro-American settlement and organized fire suppression have been associated with structural and compositional changes in many upland forests of the western United States, but little is known about the impacts on riparian forests, portions of the landscape protected for habitat and water quality. In this study, we used dendro-ecological methods...
Mixed conifer and hardwood stands in southwestern Oregon were studied to explore the hypothesis that competition effects on individual-tree growth and survival will differ according to the species comprising the competition measure. Likewise, it was hypothesized that competition measures should extrapolate best if crown-based surrogates are given preference over diameter-based...
Hydrologic processes within mineral flat wetlands, along with their
connections to groundwater and downstream surface water in lowland agricultural
catchments are poorly understood, particularly under different land uses. In the three
field studies included in this thesis, we examined infiltration, wetland hydroperiod,
groundwater recharge dynamics, surface runoff generation, and water...