Forest spatial pattern is a primary interest of landscape ecology due to the relationships between spatial configuration of biotic components and ecological processes. The spatial pattern must be measured in meaningful ways so that relationships between forests and their environment can be analyzed. Aerial and satellite imageries provide ecologists a...
Across western Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, forest management practices over the past century reduced the amount of late-successional forest while
simultaneously increasing the amount of young (less than 80 years old), managed
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) dominated forests. Recently, concerns over loss of late-successional habitat pushed management objectives on public...
Forest management requires classification of forest stands into groupings or types based on structural similarities, even when structure varies continuously along gradients. Managed, mixed-species, multi-aged forest stands often display complex structures containing extreme variation in trees size, density, and species composition, and as a result have diverse canopy structures. A...
Analysis of the long-term spatial pattern and dynamics of hardwood patches in the Coast Range of Oregon provides numerous ecological insights. Natural and anthropogenic disturbances have contributed to the development of a patchy mosaic of vegetation types in the area. Some hardwood patches in the Coast Range may be the...
Using the historical range of forest conditions as a reference for managing landscapes has been proposed as a "coarse-filter" approach to biodiversity conservation. By emulating historical disturbance processes, it is thought that forest management can produce forest composition and structure similar to the conditions that once supported the native biota....
................................................................................................. 31
CHAPTER 3: Historical Disturbance Regimes as a Reference for Forest Policy in
the Oregon Coast
A plant's immediate neighborhood reflects its realized level of competitive stress, since competition and natural selection act at the individual level. In stands with continuous canopies competition for light is the dominant spatial interaction. Over 100 spatially explicit indices have been used to characterize the local competitive environment in models...
Equations for predicting the probability of a tree's dying in the
next 5 years are presented for eight conifer and eight hardwood
tree species from southwest Oregon. A logistic equation form was
used to characterize the probability of mortality. The parameters
of the equation were estimated using weighted, maximum likelihood...
Montane meadows comprise a small area of the predominantly forested landscape
of the Oregon Cascade Range. Tree encroachment in the last century in these areas has
threatened a loss of biodiversity and habitat. Climate change in the coming century may
accelerate tree encroachment into meadows, and exacerbate biodiversity loss. Multiple...
