Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Nicholas School of the Environment
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Nicholas School of the Environment
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

AN ASSESSMENT OF ECOLOGICAL THINNING FOR STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY IN COASTAL FORESTS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, USA

View / Download
8.7 Mb
Date
2013-12-06
Author
Bubel, Ansel
Advisor
Palmroth, Sari
Repository Usage Stats
234
views
184
downloads
Abstract
Restoration for increased structural integrity is a relatively new strategy that is being applied to protected areas in the Pacific Northwest. Not enough data has been collected to determine how best to approach restoration, so the current projects have made educated guesses about what the best approach might be to increase structural diversity. My analysis seeks to determine the most effective thinning regime to increase structural diversity. The current stands which are undergoing restoration are young even aged plantations which have been acquired by conservation organizations and government agencies. Ecologically, these forests differ from the historical forests both in structure and species composition. Restoration seeks to remove a portion of the overstory trees to allow the recruitment of a new cohort of trees and increase the growth rate of the remaining overstory trees. This approach essentially involves tunneling through the classic development curve laid out by Odum (Odum, 1969). I used a version of FVS ported into the R language to model the background forest growth in the face of windthrow against 25 possible thinning types. I compared thinnings across a range of intensity of tree removal (10-50% of trees removed per cycle) and cycle length (10 to 50 years). I compared these results to a background scenario consisting of windthrow disturbance with a 1% probability of occurring each year and lognormally distributed impacts with low intensity damage more common than high intensity damage. My work has shown that removing 30 – 50 % of basal area every 30 to 50 years can help forests achieve structural complexity before it would develop on its own accord. Without restoration, natural forests achieve structure similar to old growth between 100 and 200 years of age depending on the frequency and intensity of windthrow. After 100 years of restoration, forests will achieve higher levels of structural complexity and tree growth.
Type
Master's project
Department
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Subject
Forest restoration, forestry, forest structure, ecological restoration
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/8175
Citation
Bubel, Ansel (2013). AN ASSESSMENT OF ECOLOGICAL THINNING FOR STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY IN COASTAL FORESTS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, USA. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/8175.
Collections
  • Nicholas School of the Environment
More Info
Show full item record
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Rights for Collection: Nicholas School of the Environment


Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University