Forest ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest represent a dynamic convergence of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems within a shifting mosaic of natural and anthropogenic influences. Because forested landscapes are spatially complex and temporally variable, it is difficult to interpret scientific results and make management decisions based on site-specific analysis without considering the spatial and temporal context of potential future management activities and ecosystem patterns and processes, such as forest succession and landscape disturbance. Recognizing the need to understand pathways of forest succession under different management scenarios across a patchwork of forest types (riparian and upslope), researchers and managers have begun to use spatially explicit tools for visualizing and understanding the impacts of human and natural disturbances on forest ecosystems at a landscape scale. Spatial modeling with alternative management scenarios can be an effective tool for understanding landscape dynamics and balancing multiple land uses (e.g., timber harvest, recreation, and aquatic conservation) in a complex matrix of public and private lands.
The primary goals of this project were to develop a landscape scenario modeling and analysis capability within the CFER program and to provide science support to initial BLM landscape scenario analyses. Landscape scenarios were developed in coordination with the BLM Coos Bay District,
which is currently engaged in landscape analysis for an environmental
assessment of activities designed to enhance late-successional
reserves in the Brummit Creek study area in the East Fork
Coquille watershed. The objectives of the project were to
1) facilitate integration and synthesis of CFER data, models,
and expertise in a landscape context, 2) provide a vehicle
for ongoing interaction with BLM districts regarding the
implications of alternative landscape management approaches,
and 3) explore the capability of landscape modeling for evaluating
broad-scale impacts of management actions on forest ecosystems.
For more information on this project, the final report titled "Modeling responses of forest landscapes to alternative management scenarios in the East Fork Coquille watershed, Oregon" can be downloaded from http://oregonstate.edu/
~torgersc/pub/LSAP_
Torgersen_etal_2004.pdf.
For additional information about this research study see
the 2004 CFER
Annual Report.
