Postfire Management on Forested Public Lands of the Western United States

Abstract:  Forest ecosystems in the western United States evolved over many millennia in response to disturbances such as wildfires. Land use and management practices have altered these ecosystems, however, including fire regimes in some areas. Forest ecosystems are especially vulnerable to postfire management practices because such practices may influence forest dynamics and aquatic systems for decades to centuries. Thus, there is an increasing need to evaluate the effect of postfire treatments from the perspective of ecosystem recovery. We examined, via the published literature and our collective experience, the ecological effects of some common postfire treatments. Based on this examination, promising postfire restoration measures include retention of large trees, rehabilitation of firelines and roads, and, in some cases, planting of native species. The following practices are generally inconsistent with efforts to restore ecosystem functions after fire: seeding exotic species, livestock grazing, placement of physical structures in and near stream channels, ground-based postfire logging, removal of large trees, and road construction. Practices that adversely affect soil integrity, persistence or recovery of native species, riparian functions, or water quality generally impede ecological recovery after fire. Although research provides a basis for evaluating the efficacy of postfire treatments, there is a continuing need to increase our understanding of the effects of such treatments within the context of societal and ecological goals for forested public lands of the western United States.     

Conservation Threat of Increasing Fire Frequencies in the Western Ghats, India

Abstract:  The acceleration of processes such as forest fragmentation and forest fires in landscapes under intense human pressures makes it imperative to quantify and understand the effects of these processes on the conservation of biodiversity in these landscapes. We combined information from remote-sensing imagery and ground maps of all fires in the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary (MWLS) in the Western Ghats of India over 14 years (1989–2002). These spatial data on fire occurrence were integrated with maps of vegetation types found in the MWLS to examine fire conditions in each. We calculated the average fire-return interval for each of the vegetation types individually and for the MWLS as a whole. Using vegetation data from the larger Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the entire Western Ghats region, we conservatively estimated fire-frequency information for these larger regions. Because the MWLS does not contain tropical evergreen or montane forests, we were unable to estimate fire conditions in these forest types, which represent 31% of all Western Ghats vegetation cover. For the MWLS, all vegetation types had average fire-return intervals of <7 years, and the sanctuary as a whole had a fire-return interval of 3.3 years. Compared with a 13-year MWLS fire data set from 1909–1921, this represents a threefold increase in fire frequency over the last 80 years. We estimated average fire-return intervals of roughly 5 years for both the larger Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the entire Western Ghats region. Given other recent reports, the estimated fire frequencies for the Western Ghats forests outside protected reserves are conservative. We conclude that the current fire regime of the Western Ghats poses a severe and persistent conservation threat to forests both within and outside protected reserves.     

Changes in Forest Use Value through Ecological Succession and Their Implications for Land Management in the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract:  Research on local use values of forests across an ecological succession informs land-use decisions and conservation planning. I evaluated use values of three age classes of secondary forest: fallow fields (<5 years old, $8.20/ha/year), young secondary forest (5–20 years old, $20.60/ha/year), and old secondary forest (>20 years old, $6.80/ha/year). I quantified daily forest product use and calculated use values in dollars per hectare per year for three communities in the northern Peruvian Amazon. I made three comparisons between forest types: number of useful species, value based on different use categories, and overall use values. Old secondary forest had the greatest number of total species present and species collected. Wood, food, and medicine were the three most valuable use categories. The value different families extracted from local forests varied enormously, but median forest values were lower for all forest types than potential gains from agricultural land use (e.g., coffee $167/ha/year). Values of different-aged stands on privately owned lands in two communities did not differ significantly, whereas in the third community, young secondary forest had a significantly greater value than other forest types. Old secondary forests were the most valuable source of wood products, and wood was the only use category in which there was any difference in the value of products extracted from different-aged forest stands. The value of all three forest types on open-access (nonprivate) lands was minimal (mean in each forest type, $0/ha/year). Local people can utilize the valuation results to develop land-use strategies that balance forest product use, agricultural productivity, and biodiversity conservation.     

Preemptive and Salvage Harvesting of New England Forests: When Doing Nothing Is a Viable Alternative

Abstract:  One unexpected consequence of natural disturbances in forested areas is that managers often initiate activities that may impose greater ecosystem impacts than the disturbances themselves. By salvage logging areas affected by windstorms or other impacts, by harvesting host trees in advance of insect infestation or disease, or by preemptively harvesting forests in an attempt to improve their resilience to future disturbances and stresses, managers initiate substantial changes in the ecosystem structure and function. Much of this activity is undertaken in the absence of information on the qualitative and quantitative differences between disturbance impacts and harvesting. To provide insight for such decisions we evaluated the ecosystem consequences of two major disturbance processes in New England (U.S.A.)—intense windstorms and invasive pests and pathogens—and contrasted them with impacts from preemptive and salvage harvesting. Despite dramatic physical changes in forest structure resulting from hurricane impacts and insect infestation, little disruption of biogeochemical processes or other ecosystem functions typically follows these disturbances. Indeed, the physical and organic structures produced by these disturbances are important natural features providing habitat and landscape heterogeneity that are often missing due to centuries of land use. From an ecosystem perspective there are strong arguments against preemptive and salvage logging or the attempt through silvicultural means to improve the resistance or resilience of forests to disturbance and stress. There are often valid motivations for salvage or preemptive logging including financial considerations, human safety, and a desire to shape the long-term composition and resource-production characteristics of forests. Nonetheless, there are many ecological benefits derived from leaving forests alone when they are affected or threatened by disturbances and pest and pathogen outbreaks.     

Forest Restoration and Fire: Principles in the Context of Place

Abstract:  There is broad consensus that active management through thinning and fire is urgently needed in many forests of the western United States. This consensus stems from physically based models of fire behavior and substantial empirical evidence. But the types of thinning and fire and where they are applied are the subjects of much debate. We propose that low thinning is the most appropriate type of thinning practice. Treating surface fuels, reducing ladder fuels, and opening overstory canopies generally produce fire-safe forest conditions, but large, fire-resistant trees are also important components of fire-safe forests. The context of place is critical in assigning priority for the limited resources that will be available for restoration treatments. Historical low-severity fire regimes, because of their current high hazards and dominance by fire-resistant species, are the highest priority for treatment. Mixed-severity fire regimes are of intermediate priority, and high-severity fire regimes are of lowest priority. Classification systems based on potential vegetation will help identify these fire regimes at a local scale.     

湖滨带生态系统恢复与重建的理论、技术及其应用

从湖滨带的基本概念入手,简述了湖滨带生态系统恢复与重建的基本内涵、恢复与重建的目标、原则及对健康生态系统的判定方法。介绍了湖滨带生态系统恢复与重建的理论。文中还对湖滨带生态恢复与重建的过程进行了论述,对主要应用的技术进行了详细的对比分析。文章最后对未来技术研究的方向和思路进行了展望。     

海岸带生态恢复技术研究现状及存在问题

气候及其潜在的全球性变化所带来的影响,使海岸带受到严重威胁,人口的增加以及人类活动强度的增大给海岸带环境带来的负面影响越来越严重,对目前国内外海岸带生态恢复技术的现状作了较系统地介绍,并阐述了当前海岸带生态恢复中存在的主要问题。     

Reassessment of the Use of Fire as a Management Tool in Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America

Prescribed burning is increasingly being used in the deciduous forests of eastern North America. Recent work suggests that historical fire frequency has been overestimated east of the prairie–woodland transition zone, and its introduction could potentially reduce forest herb and shrub diversity. Fire‐history recreations derived from sedimentary charcoal, tree fire scars, and estimates of Native American burning suggest point‐return times ranging from 5–10 years to centuries and millennia. Actual return times were probably longer because such records suffer from selective sampling, small sample sizes, and a probable publication bias toward frequent fire. Archeological evidence shows the environmental effect of fire could be severe in the immediate neighborhood of a Native American village. Population density appears to have been low through most of the Holocene, however, and villages were strongly clustered at a regional scale. Thus, it appears that the majority of forests of the eastern United States were little affected by burning before European settlement. Use of prescribed burning assumes that most forest species are tolerant of fire and that burning will have only a minimal effect on diversity. However, common adaptations such as serotiny, epicormic sprouting, resprouting from rhizomes, and smoke‐cued germination are unknown across most of the deciduous region. Experimental studies of burning show vegetation responses similar to other forms of disturbance that remove stems and litter and do not necessarily imply adaptation to fire. The general lack of adaptation could potentially cause a reduction in diversity if burning were introduced. These observations suggest a need for a fine‐grained examination of fire history with systematic sampling in which all subregions, landscape positions, and community types are represented. Responses to burning need to be examined in noncommercial and nonwoody species in rigorous manipulative experiments. Until such information is available, it seems prudent to limit the use of prescribed burning east of the prairie–woodland transition zone. Reevaluación del Uso de Fuego como Herramienta de Manejo en Bosques Deciduos de América del Norte     

Evaluation of Central North American Prairie Management Based on Species Diversity, Life Form, and Individual Species Metrics

Abstract:  Reintroduction of fire and grazing, alone or in combination, has increasingly been recognized as central to the restoration of North American mixed-grass and tallgrass prairies. Although ecological studies of these systems are abundant, they have generally been observational, or if experimental, have focused on plant species diversity. Species diversity measures alone are not sufficient to inform management, which often has goals associated with life-form groups and individual species. We examined the effects of prescribed fire, light cattle grazing, and a combination of fire and grazing on three vegetation components: species diversity, groups of species categorized by life-form, and individual species. We evaluated how successful these three treatments were in achieving specific management goals for prairies in the Iowa Loess Hills (U.S.A.). The grazing treatment promoted the greatest overall species richness, whereas grazing and burning and grazing treatments resulted in the lowest cover by woody species. Burning alone best achieved the management goals of increasing the cover and diversity of native species and reducing exotic forb and (predominantly exotic) cool-season grass cover. Species-specific responses to treatments appeared idiosyncratic (i.e., within each treatment there existed a set of species attaining their highest frequency) and nearly half of uncommon species were present in only one treatment. Because all management goals were not achieved by any one treatment, we conclude that management in this region may need refining. We suggest that a mosaic of burning and grazing (alone and in combination) may provide the greatest landscape-level species richness; however, this strategy would also likely promote the persistence of exotic species. Our results support the need to consider multiple measures, including species-specific responses, when planning and evaluating management .     

永定河(北京段)生态修复工程运行管理机制研究

在充分调查永定河生态修复运行管理现状的基础上,以阈值跃迁、适应性管理为指导,对现有运行管理现状及存在问题进行深入分析。研究发现目前运行管理存在缺乏理论指导,管理权责不明晰,资金来源不明确以及生态监测体系、原水买卖平台缺失等问题。为实现运行管理目标,研究提出从构建基于适应性管理的流域委员会管理模式、确定管理机构权责、管理资金配置及建立生态修复管理评估体系4个方面完善运行管理机制,为永定河生态修复工程的运行管理及北方缺水城市的水生态修复工程运行管理提供参考与借鉴。     

川西亚高山森林土壤有机层碳、氮、磷储量特征

同步研究了川西亚高山云杉林、冷杉林和白桦林生态系统土壤有机层(OL)和矿质层(MS)的有机碳、全氮及全磷储量特征.所有土壤剖面上的有机碳和易氧化有机碳含量均随土壤深度增加而降低,即未分解层<半分解层<完全分解层<腐殖质层<淀积层<母质层.云杉林、冷杉林和白桦林土壤有机层的有机碳储量分别为29.38(±1.28)thm-2、22.70(±1.20)thm-2和8.63(±0.95)thm-2,矿质土壤中分别为17.84(±1.92)thm-2、19.74(±1.76)thm-2和14.92(±1.64)thm-2.冷杉林和白桦林土壤剖面上的全氮和全磷含量大小顺序为半分解层<完全分解层<腐殖质层,但腐殖质层>淀积层>母质层.云杉林、冷杉林、白桦林土壤有机层的全氮储量分别为0.85(±0.11)thm-2、0.68(±0.06)thm-2和(0.36±0.03)thm-2,全磷储量分别为0.29(±0.03)thm-2、0.22(±0.03)thm-2和0.06(±0.02)thm-2.图2表2参22     

川西亚高山针叶林土壤硝化作用及其影响因素

采用BarometricProcessSeparation(BaPS)技术对川西亚高山针叶林土壤总硝化作用速率的季节动态进行了研究,并分析了各影响因素与总硝化速率的关系.通过土壤温度和水分含量的控制实验,对温度和水分含量与总硝化速率之间的关系进行了一次线性和曲线模拟.结果表明,6至10月各月份之间的总硝化速率存在显著差异(P<0.01),在7月总硝化速率达到最大值;土壤温度和水分含量与总硝化速率显著正相关(P<0.05),对总硝化速率的影响存在明显的交互作用,水分含量可能对总硝化速率的影响更大,在季节变化中温度和水分含量可能对硝化过程产生直接和间接两种作用;pH值与总硝化速率之间的相关性不明显;森林凋落量与总硝化速率间没有显著相关性,但若仅考虑6至9月,森林凋落量与总硝化速率极显著相关(P<0.01).总之,土壤温度和水分含量很可能是影响总硝化速率的两个最主要的因素.图6表2参31     

Negative Off‐Site Impacts of Ecological Restoration: Understanding and Addressing the Conflict

Abstract: Ecological restoration is a key component of biological conservation. Nevertheless, unlike protection of existing areas, restoration changes existing land use and can therefore be more controversial. Some restoration projects negatively affect surrounding landowners, creating social constraints to restoration success. Just as negative off‐site impacts (i.e., negative externalities) flow from industrial areas to natural areas, restoration projects can generate negative externalities for commercial land uses, such as agriculture. Negative externalities from industry have led to government regulation to prevent human health and environmental impacts. Negative externalities from restoration projects have elicited similar legal constraint on at least one large‐scale conservation project, riparian restoration in the Sacramento River Conservation Area. The negative externalities of restoration that are perceived to be the direct result of specific goals, such as endangered species management, are likely to be more contentious than externalities arising from unintended phenomena such as weed invasion. Restoration planners should give equal consideration to off‐site characteristics as to on‐site characteristics when choosing sites for restoration and designing projects. Efforts to control externalities can lead to off‐site ecological benefits.     

川西亚高山、高山森林土壤微生物生物量和酶活性动态特征

为深入了解川西亚高山/高山森林冬季生态学过程,于2008年11月─2009年10月,在土壤冻结初期、冻结期和融化期及植被生长季节,研究了不同海拔岷江冷杉林（Abies faxoniana）土壤微生物生物量和酶活性动态。各海拔森林土壤在冬季维持着较高的微生物生物量含量和酶活性,并随土壤冻融过程不断变化。土壤有机层和矿质土壤层冬季微生物生物量碳和氮含量及转化酶和尿酶活性均表现出受冻结初期土壤冻融循环影响显著降低,在冻结期变化不明显,在融化期急剧增加至融化后显著降低的趋势,且土壤有机层微生物生物量含量和酶活性在融化期具有一个明显的年高峰值。海拔变化显著影响了土壤酶活性,但对土壤微生物生物量不显著。土壤温度与土壤微生物生物量含量相关显著。这表明季节性冻融期是土壤生态过程的重要时期,土壤冻融格局显著影响川西亚高山/高山森林土壤微生物生物量和酶活性动态。     

Interacting Effects of Landownership, Land Use, and Endangered Species on Conservation of Southwestern U.S. Rangelands

Abstract:  The contemporary southwestern United States is characterized by fire-adapted ecosystems; large numbers of federally listed threatened and endangered species; a patchwork of federal, state, and private landownership; and a long history of livestock grazing as the predominant land use. I compared eight sites in southern Arizona and New Mexico to assess the interacting effects of these characteristics on conservation practices and outcomes. There was widespread interest and private-sector leadership in restoring fire to southwestern rangelands, and there is a shortage of predictive scientific knowledge about the effects of fire and livestock grazing on threatened and endangered species. It was easier to restore fire to lands that were either privately owned or not grazed, in part because of obstacles created by threatened and endangered species on grazed public lands. Collaborative management facilitated conservation practices and outcomes, and periodic removal of livestock may be necessary for conservation, but permanent livestock exclusion may be counterproductive because of interactions with land-use and landownership patterns.     

Public Timber Supply, Market Adjustments, and Local Economies: Economic Assumptions of the Northwest Forest Plan

Abstract:  The Northwest Forest Plan in the Pacific Northwest sought to stabilize local economies, including local employment and income, by stabilizing the flow of wood fiber from public forests. This is also a common forest management objective in other regions and countries. Because this economic strategy ignores basic market adjustments, it is likely to fail and to unnecessarily damage forest ecosystems. Application of basic economic principles on how markets operate significantly changes the apparent efficacy of efforts to manage local economies by managing timber supply. The emphasis on timber supply tends to ignore the dominant role that the demand for wood fiber and wood products, rather than wood-fiber supply, plays in determining levels of harvest and production. Contemporary economics indicates that markets tend to operate to offset reductions in wood-fiber supply. This significantly moderates the economic cost of reducing commercial timber harvest in the pursuit of environmental objectives. In addition, contemporary economic analysis indicates that the economic links between natural forests and local communities are much broader than simply the flow of commercially valuable logs to manufacturing facilities. At least in the United States, the flow of environmental services from natural forests has increasingly become an amenity that has drawn people and economic activity to forested areas. Attractive site-specific qualities, including those supported by natural forests, can potentially support local economic development even in the face of reduced timber harvests. These market-related adjustments partially explain the Northwest Forest Plan's overestimation of the expected regional impacts associated with reduced federal timber supply and the ineffectiveness of the plan's efforts to protect communities by stabilizing federal timber supply.     

山地小微湿地生态修复探讨 ——以梁平区猎神村梯塘小微湿地为例

小微湿地是乡村景观的组成部分,是乡村重要的水土基础设施.湿地的功能已经得到广泛认同,但过去多关注大面积成片分布的沼泽、湖泊、滨海湿地及大型河流湿地等,而对于那些数量众多、分散分布的小型和微型湿地却缺少关注.2018年10月,《湿地公约》第十三届缔约方大会通过了中国政府提交的《小微湿地保护与管理决议草案》,小微湿地的保护...     

Pyric Herbivory: Rewilding Landscapes through the Recoupling of Fire and Grazing

Abstract:  Our understanding of fire and grazing is largely based on small-scale experimental studies in which treatments are uniformly applied to experimental units that are considered homogenous. Any discussion of an interaction between fire and grazing is usually based on a statistical approach that ignores the spatial and temporal interactions on complex landscapes. We propose a new focus on the ecological interaction of fire and grazing in which each disturbance is spatially and temporally dependent on the other and results in a landscape where disturbance is best described as a shifting mosaic (a landscape with patches that vary with time since disturbance) that is critical to ecological structure and function of many ecosystems. We call this spatiotemporal interaction pyric herbivory (literal interpretation means grazing driven by fire). Pyric herbivory is the spatial and temporal interaction of fire and grazing, where positive and negative feedbacks promote a shifting pattern of disturbance across the landscape. We present data we collected from the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in the southern Great Plains of North America that demonstrates that the interaction between free-roaming bison ( Bison bison ) and random fires promotes heterogeneity and provides the foundation for biological diversity and ecosystem function of North American and African grasslands. This study is different from other studies of fire and grazing because the fires we examined were random and grazing animals were free to roam and select from burned and unburned patches. For ecosystems across the globe with a long history of fire and grazing, pyric herbivory with any grazing herbivore is likely more effective at restoring evolutionary disturbance patterns than a focus on restoring any large vertebrate while ignoring the interaction with fire and other disturbances .