Abstract
Down wood plays many functional roles in aquatic and riparian ecosystems. Simplifi cation of forest structure and low abundance of down wood in stream channels and riparian areas is a common legacy of historical management in headwater forests west of the Cascade Range in the US northwest. Contemporary management practices emphasize the implementation of vegetation buffers adjacent to streams, and on federal lands thinning has become a predominant form of timber harvest. Th e combined effects of thinning and riparian buff er width on the down wood dynamics in stream channels and riparian areas are being assessed in young, managed headwater forests of the Density Management Study of western Oregon.
Parent Publication
Keywords
riparian buff ers,
thinning,
down wood,
headwater streams,
forest structure.
Citation
Anderson, Paul D.; Olson, Deanna H.; Ares, Adrian. 2013. Initial riparian down wood dynamics in relation to thinning and buffer width. In: Anderson, P.D.; Ronnenberg, K.L., eds. Density management in the 21st century: west side story. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-880. Portland, OR: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station: 208-209.
