Ecological Research at the Goosenest Adaptive Management Area in Northeastern California

摘要

This paper describes the establishment of an interdisciplinary, large-scale ecological research project on the Goosenest Adaptive Management Area of the Klamath National Forest in northeastern California. This project is a companion to the Blacks Mountain Ecological Research Project described by Oliver (2000).The genesis for this project was the Northwest Forest Plan (USDA and USDI 1994a). As a part of the Northwest Forest Plan, a network of Adaptive Management Areas was created in Oregon, Washington, and northern California. One of the primary goals of the Goosenest Adaptive Management Area was to investigate means of accelerating the development of late-successional forest properties. Led by researchers from the Pacific Southwest Research Station in Redding, California, an interdisciplinary team of scientists designed an experiment to evaluate the use of mechanical treatments and prescribed fire to accelerate late-successional conditions in the Goosenest Adaptive Management Area. The experimental design features four treatments, each replicated five times. The treatment units are 100 acres (40.5 hectares), plus a buffer area of varying size, but generally close to 328 feet (100 meters) in width. The first of the four treatments features a thinning favoring the reestablishment of pine dominance in the forest (Pine-Emphasis Treatment). In this treatment the prescription favors the retention of dominant and codominant pine trees. The second treatment employs the same mechanical treatment as the Pine Emphasis, with the additional application of prescribed fire (Pine-Emphasis With Fire). A third treatment is a mechanical treatment intended to redistribute growth to the largest diameter trees without regard for species distribution (Large Tree Treatment). The fourth, and final, treatment is a control of no active management (Control Treatment), permitting the vegetation to continue along its current trajectory.The last of the mechanical treatments were completed in 2000. The initial prescribed burn treatment was completed on the five Pine-Emphasis-with-Fire Treatments in fall 2001; these same five units will be reburned 5-10 years after the initial burn. The first post-treatment measurements of vegetation and wildlife were taken in summer 2002. Remeasurements are planned for a 5-year cycle for most forest attributes. Currently, however, birds and small mammals are observed yearly due to year-to-year variation in abundance common to these species.