Soil food webs process the majority of terrestrial carbon, and influence overall ecosystem function. A primary distinction among soil food webs is based on fungal versus bacterial pathways of decomposition; these lead to fundamentally different soil function, and are expected to differ in dominance between meadows and forests. This assumption...
Headwater streams and their riparian zones are a common, yet poorly understood,
component of Pacific Northwest landscapes. I sought to describe the ecological significance of
headwater stream riparian zones as habitat for forest-floor invertebrate communities, and to
assess how alternative management strategies for riparian zones may impact these communities.
I...
The process of silvicultural thinning has become very controversial recently with regards to fire protection and management for old-growth conditions and biodiversity. Therefore, an unthinned control stand and 3 different thinning intensities were examined for their effects on the abundance, species richness, and diversity of arthropods in thinning treatments of...
In the past 10 years we have witnessed the beginnings of the study of soil ecology as a unified science, and the general realization by soil scientists, farmers, and land managers that many of the most important economic aspects of soil health are controlled by biological factors. This research focuses...
Despite the recognized role of soil arthropod fauna on nutrient cycling
and decomposition processes, many aspects of the effects of sylvicultural
methods in forest ecosystems upon their biology remain poorly understood.
The long term effects of prescribed fires on soil arthropods in forest
ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest have never...
The "old-growth controversy" in the Pacific Northwest recognized thinning as the
primary silvicultural practice for land managers to produce wildlife habitat while
continuing to produce timber. For the foreseeable future, forest stands will be harvested to
produce forest gaps and a patchwork of trees of different ages. In order to...
Adaptive ecosystem management is a new paradigm for managing federal forests which requires regular monitoring of ecosystem function and diversity to measure the effects of management. Managers need new strategies and tools to help them assess their progress in maintaining healthy, productive and biologically diverse forests. Biomonitoring of select forest...
