Criterion – U: Incidence of disturbance and stress

Consultant's Initials:

CKW

Source:

CCFM

Identification No. in source:

2.1

 

Final Identification No. (as reported in final list):

U

Class:

Ecological/

biophysical

Recommendation (after field testing)

Yes

Box A:

Enter the selected criterion as stated in the source document in this space:

Incidence of disturbance and stress.

Box B: Attributes

Rated on a scale of 1-5, where 1=no/bad/unimportant and 5=yes/good/important

original revised original

revised

(a)

(j)

(a)

(j)

Precisely defined? (clear)

3

Will it produce replicable results? (reliable)

5

Diagnostically specific ? (valid)

5

Is it applicable for all landowners?

5

Sensitive?

5

Is it applicable to other areas/ecosystems? (robust)

5

Easy to detect, record and interpret?

4

How relevant is this criterion?

5

Useable?

5

Box C:

Justify your selection of the Criterion in Box A. Please ensure you discuss its relationship to theory:

Incidence of disturbance and stress is essential in evaluating the state or condition of ecosystems, biomes or communities. The type, amount, timing and intensity of disturbance and stress are important considerations that vary according to the area being evaluated. Ecosystems are dynamic and as such disturbances and stresses are part of them. It is important to note those disturbances and stresses that are either foreign to or outside of the range of the disturbances and stresses the ecosystem evolved with. Such disturbances and stresses pose a serious threat to the sustainability of a given ecosystem because they may exceed the ability of the ecosystem to accommodate them without major changes in structure, composition and function.

Box D:

Provide bibliographic references (if any) which support your selection of this Criterion for evaluation:

Hunter, M.L. jr. 1990. Wildlife, Forests, and Forestry: Principles of Managing Forests for Biological Diversity. Regents/Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 370 p.

Kaufmann and others,1994. An Ecological Basis for Ecosystem Management. United States Department of Agriculture. General Technical Report RM-246. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Fort Collins, Colorado. 22 p.

Kohm, K.A. and J.F. Franklin, (eds.). 1997. Creating a Forestry for the 21st Century: the science of ecosystem management. Island Press, Washington D.C. 475 p.

McNeely, J.A. and others. 1990. Strategies for Conserving Biodiversity. Environment, Vol. 32, No. 3 (April, 1990): p. 16-40.

O’Laughlin J. and others. 1994. Defining and Measuring Forest Health. In: Sampson, R.N.; Adams, D. (eds.) 1994. Assessing Forest Ecosystem Health in the Inland West. Haworth Press: Binghamton, NY.

Perry, D. A. and M.P. Amaranthus. 1997. Disturbance, Recovery, and Stability. In: Kohm, K.A. and J.F. Franklin, (eds.). 1997. Creating a Forestry for the 21st Century: the science of ecosystem management. Island Press, Washington D.C. 475 p.

Quigley, T.M., R.W. Haynes, and R.T. Graham (tech. eds.). 1996. Integrated Scientific Assessment for Ecosystem Management in the Interior Columbia River Basin. General Technical Report, PNW-GTR-382. USDA, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, Oregon. 303 p.

Rowe, J.S. 1992. The Ecosystem Approach to Forestland Management. The Forestry Chronicle. Vol. 68, No. 2.

Sample, V.A. 1991. Land Stewardship in the Next Era of Conservation. Society of American Foresters. 43 p.

Sampson, R.N. and L.A. DeCoster. 1998. Forest Health in the United States. American Forests. Washington D.C. Allen Press, Lawrence, KS. 76 p.

Sampson, R.N.; Adams, D. (eds.) 1994. Assessing Forest Ecosystem Health in the Inland West. Haworth Press: Binghamton, NY. 461 p.

Box E:

Please name (give the reference of) the Criterion that overlap (come closest) to the Criterion that has been selected for evaluation:

CIFOR: 1.2 2.4.1

CIFOR – BAG: -

CCFM: 2.2 2.3

Idaho: -

GFE: -

Box F:

Please record your notes on evaluating the Criterion (Box A) here:

The wording "Incidence of disturbance and stress" seems awkward but the concept is discussed well in the CCFM material. I would prefer the term "perturbations"; especially when referring to the processes characteristic of a given ecosystem. Disturbance and stress seems to better apply to perturbations that are not characteristic of the evolutionary history of a system.

Box G: Geo-Political

Evaluate the geo-political scale on which the Criterion operates. Multiple-entries are

possible but care should be taken to determine the primary thrust of the criterion.

Justify: original revised

(a)

(j)

Global

North America

Intermountain

West

Study area

X

Tenure

X

Site

X

Box H: Function
Classify Criterion according to whether it refers to the structure of the system biophysical, social or management), function of the system, describes its composition or describes perturbations to the system.

Justify:

 original revised

(a)

(j)

Structure

Function

Composition

Perturbation

X

Box I: Linkages

Identify linkages between Criterion, to ensure that the same or similar information is not collected twice and to ascertain whether the necessary feedback loops exist between Criterion.

The Principle has information value for the following areas/principles:

Ecological /

Biophysical: X

Social: -

Economic: X

Forest Mngt: X

Yield & harvest: X

Does not fit: -

Box J:

Final version of Criterion, state only if different to definition in Box A:

N/A