Disturbances and Stand Dynamics

Forest Management: Disturbances and Stand Dynamics

Natural disturbances in upland hardwood forests are many and range in scale and intensity from one to several trees killed by lightning, to landscapes of uprooted or snapped trees caused by a hurricane or ice storm.

The response of vegetation to each type of disturbance varies from increased growth of existing seedlings, to sprouting of residual stumps, or establishment of a new cohort of seedlings.

Scientists within the Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management Research Work Unit 4157, along with many collaborators and partners, use methods including tree-ring analysis, landscape modeling, studies of natural disturbances, and experimental manipulation of forest stands to develop methods and applied information on forest stand dynamics that forest managers can use to meet ecosystem restoration and forest management goals.

Forest Management: Disturbances and Stand Dynamics Research Topics:

Forest Management: Fire Ecology

Prescribed burning is a common, but relatively recent land management tool in upland hardwood forests, with fuel reduction, oak regeneration, ecosystem restoration, and wildlife habitat improvement often cited as primary goals.

Yet, the effectiveness of prescribed fire in attaining these goals is not fully understood, particularly across moisture gradients associated with mountainous topography in upland hardwood forest.

Fire management for multiple forest management goals requires understanding how plant and animal species respond to burning at different frequencies, severities, and over time.

Scientists within the Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management Research Work Unit 4157, along with many collaborators and partners, are studying several aspects of fire ecology within the upland hardwood ecosystem.

Forest Management: Fire Ecology Research Topics:

Wildlife: Fire and Other Disturbances

Understanding how natural disturbances affect vertebrate communities is key to developing and gauging the success of ecosystem restoration and forest management activities.

Disturbances across the landscape and through time create habitat heterogeneity and affect the spatial and temporal availability of food resources in a forest matrix.

Different disturbance types, frequencies, and severities shape the size, structure, and distribution of early successional habitat patches, which may be key factors for maintaining populations of wildlife species that depend on them.

Scientists within the Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management RWU 4157, along with many collaborators and partners, are studying wildlife response to disturbances including prescribed fire, wind disturbance, and forest management practices.

Wildlife: Fire and Other Disturbances Research Topics: