Forest reference conditions for ecosystem management in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico

Characteristics of snags containing excavated cavities in northern Arizona mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine forests

“…All three of these species are relatively shadeintolerant seral species that historically were maintained in southwestern mixed-conifer stands by disturbance events, especially fire (e.g., Dieterich, 1983;Covington et al, 1994;Johnson, 1994;Dahms and Geils, 1997;Kaufmann et al, 1998). All three are apparently declining in mixed-conifer stands due to fire suppression and resultant patterns of ecological succession (Dieterich, 1983;Johnson, 1994;Dahms and Geils, 1997;Kaufmann et al, 1998). Until we can safely return fire to these areas as a natural disturbance agent, maintaining these species in mixed-conifer stands may require selective harvest and/or creation of canopy gaps.…”

Herbivory of sympatric elk and cattle on Lincoln National Forest, south-central New Mexico

“…Lack of browse (as well as herbaceous understory) may also contribute to elk use of mountain meadows, because forested stands, particularly conifer stands, provided little food for elk, deer, or cattle (Tables 3 and 6). Lack of browse (and forest encroachment of meadows) is a result of altered historical disturbance (especially fire) regimes and decreased timber harvest, which has increased stand densities and decreased the quantity of open habitats on LNF (Kaufmann et al 1998;Frost et al 2007). Increasing quantity (by overstory thinning or removal [McConnell and Smith 1970;Wallmo et al 1972;Woods et al 1982;Dahms and Geils 1997;Halbritter and Bender 2011a]) and quality (by prescribed burning in conjunction with harvesting [Covington et al 1997;Dahms and Geils 1997;Halbritter and Bender 2011a]) of palatable browse could potentially alter elk distribution in LNF and lower use of other habitat types such as mountain meadows (Halbritter and Bender 2011a, b).…”

“…Desert scrub-grassland habitat covers the lower foothills from 1380 to 1830 m (Kaufmann et al 1998). Pinus edulis-Juniperus monosperma woodland occurs along with areas of dense Quercus gambelii above 1700-1800 m, usually along canyons and ridges.…”

“…Mountain meadows are numerous at high elevations and comprise < 5 % of the landscape. Mountain meadows and other open habitats are much reduced in LNF as compared to historical coverage primarily because of altered fire regimes and reduced timber harvest (Kaufmann et al 1998;Frost et al 2007). Similarly, stem densities in forested stands are generally much higher than historically again because of altered natural disturbance regimes and reduced timber harvest (Kaufmann et al 1998;Frost et al 2007).…”

Did you say reference conditions? Ecological and socio-economic perspectives on the European Water Framework Directive

“…Such reconstructions have driven the evolution of a new academic field, "applied historical ecology," which explicitly uses the concept of reference conditions to guide restoration actions and the management of natural systems (Egan and Howell, 2001). In forest ecology, historical reference conditions are viewed as reflecting the long term variability of the structure, composition and process of ecosystems over time (Fulé et al, 1997), providing insights to natural disturbance 6 regimes (Kaufmann et al, 1998). Reference conditions are reconstructed from multiple sources depending of the spatial and temporal scale considered (documentary archives, dendrochronology, palynology, remote sensing…).…”