Keyword: aspen

Comparison of historical and current forest surveys for detection of homogenization and mesophication of Minnesota forests

Everyone in: A road map for science-based, collaborative restoration of western quaking aspen

With concern over the health of aspen in the Intermountain West, public and private land managers need better guidance for evaluating aspen condition and selecting and implementing actions that will be effective in restoring aspen health. The Utah Forest Restoration Group collaboratively synthesized a step-by-step approach for aspen restoration that was applicable to western U.S. forests.

Risk assessment in the face of a changing environment: Gypsy moth and climate change in Utah

The importance of efficaciously assessing the risk for introduction and establishment of pest species is an increasingly important ecological and economic issue. Evaluation of climate is fundamental to determining the potential success of an introduced or invasive insect pest. However, evaluating climatic suitability poses substantial difficulties; climate can be measured and assessed in a bewildering array of ways.

Example SDI-based prescriptions: Treatment prescriptions for commercial harvest units, Trout West Fuels Reduction Project, Manitou Experimental Forest

The sites described below are located in Ponderosa pine Forest Type on the Manitou Experimental Forest. The sites are bounded by meadows along Trout Creek on the west, Hotel Gulch, on the south, Missouri Gulch on the north, and the Ridgewood subdivision on the east. The area consists of gentle west-sloping terrain intersected by a series of small east-west ridges. No live streams exist in the area. Elevations range from 7,700 to 8,000 ft.

Stable or seral? Fire-driven alternative states in aspen forests of western North America

As important centres for biological diversity, aspen forests are essential to the function and aesthetics of montane ecosystems in western North America. Aspen stands are maintained by a nuanced relationship with wildfire, although in recent decades aspen mortality has increased.

Historic range of variability for upland vegetation in the Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming

An approach for synthesizing the results of ecological research pertinent to land management is the analysis of the historic range of variability (HRV) for key ecosystem variables that are affected by management activities. This report provides an HRV analysis for the upland vegetation of the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern Wyoming.

Historic range of variability for upland vegetation in the Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming

An approach for synthesizing the results of ecological research pertinent to land management is the analysis of the historic range of variability (HRV) for key ecosystem variables that are affected by management activities. This report provides an HRV analysis for the upland vegetation of the Bighorn National Forest in northcentral Wyoming.

Can aspen persist in conifer dominated forests?

In 1998 we measured a large, old aspen in a mixed spruce-fir-aspen forest on the Utah State University T.W. Daniel Experimental Forest in northern Utah. The tree was 297 years old - about the same age as the oldest spruce in the stand.

Climate variability and fire effects on quaking aspen in the central Rocky Mountains, USA

Our understanding of how climate and fire have impacted quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) communities prior to the 20th century is fairly limited. This study analysed the period between 4500 and 2000 cal. yr BP to assess the pre-historic role of climate and fire on an aspen community during an aspen-dominated period.

Influence of climate on the growth of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Colorado and southern Wyoming

We analyzed a series of increment cores collected from 260 adult dominant or co-dominant quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) trees from national forests across Colorado and southern Wyoming in 2009 and 2010. Half of the cores were collected from trees in stands with a high amount of crown dieback, and half were from lightly damaged stands.