Maintaining and restoring diversity in upland hardwood systems of the Appalachian- Cumberland region Tara L. Keyser, Research Forester, Southern Research Station – Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management, USDA FS, 1577 Brevard Rd., Asheville, NC 28806. [email protected].
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Wood utilization associated with subsistence living
Maintaining and restoring diversity in upland hardwood systems of the Appalachian-Cumberland region. Tara L. Keyser, Research Forester, Southern Research Station – Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management, USDA FS, 1577 Brevard Rd., Asheville, NC 28806. [email protected]. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Maintaining and restoring diversity in upland hardwood systems of the
Appalachian-Cumberland region
Tara L. Keyser, Research Forester, Southern Research Station – Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management, USDA FS, 1577 Brevard Rd., Asheville, NC 28806. [email protected].
Wood utilization associated with subsistence living
Land abandonment
Purposeful burning by Native Peoples
Exploitive logging/wildfires
European settlement - land clearing for pasture & agriculture, continued use of fire
Domestic grazing
Photo: Southern Appalachian brook trout foundation
Source: American Memory online photographic collection, Library of Congress
Fire suppression
Relatively short time
period
Fraser fir; balsam fir; red cedar; shortleaf pine; spruce pine; table mountain pine; pitch pine; white pine; Virginia pine; eastern hemlock; Carolina hemlock; boxelder; red maple; striped maple; sugar maple; buckeye; mountain ash; mountain maple; sweet birch; yellow birch; musclewood; pignut hickory; mockernut hickory; bitternut hickory; red hickory; shagbark hickory; catalpa; hackberry; redbud; pawpaw; flowering dogwood; alternate-leaf dogwood; persimmon; beech; white ash; black ash; green ash; sweetgum; honeylocust; American holly; Carolina holly; butternut; black walnut; yellow-poplar; cucumber tree; Fraser magnolia; mulberry; blackgum; ironwood; sourwood; sycamore; black cherry; white oak; scarlet oak; southern red oak; blackjack oak; chinkapin oak; chestnut oak; northern red oak; post oak; black oak; black locust; sassafras; basswood; elm species; fire cherry; silverbell
Why is regenerating ‘desirable’ species problematic?
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Current RWU-4157 research Quantify the effects of disturbance, both natural
and silvicultural, across environmental gradientsDevelop methods/tools for predicting and
controlling changes in the structure and composition of upland hardwood forests
Two primary studies:1. Regional Oak Study
Treatments developed for species composition2. Femelschlag
Treatments developed for both structure and composition
Regional Oak StudyTesting 3 recommended, but largely untested
methods (even-aged) to regenerate mixed-species stands (oaks, in particular)Repeated prescribed fireMidstory control prior to regenerationHarvest – burn
Addresses ecological integrityground layer flora; entire suite of tree species;
small mammals; bird community; bats; fuels; herptofauna
FemelschlagSilvicultural system being
tested to regenerate mixed-species stands, AND to restore structural diversity
Emulate natural disturbance patterns (Ecological Forestry; Disturbance-based silviculture; Ecosystem management; New Forestry)Biological legacies are retainedMulti-aged Vertical & horizontal
heterogeneityStructural and compositional complexity