Adaptive Management & Monitoring
Regions 1 and 4, Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS)
FY01 Progress Report and FY02 Plans- October 1, 2001
Project Category: Watershed Soils and Riparian
Project Title: Streamside Forest and Large Woody Debris Patterns in Ponderosa Pine/Douglas Fir Forests under Fire-excluded and Fire-existing Conditions
Project Leader: Sherry Wolrab
Participating Research Contacts: Kerry Overton
Participating Forests/Grassland Contacts: Krassel R.D., Payette N.F.
Total Project Cost and Timeframe:
2001: $82.45 Carryover: $197,078.55
2002: $56,018.55
2003-2005: $141,060
Progress in 2001: Work accomplished in FY 2001 included field reconnaissance for potential study sites; literature accumulation and review; initiation of study plan; meetings with Forest personnel to update them and obtain feedback on the project objectives, design, and sites; and meetings with Research personnel to review study design and statistics. Additionally, a trip was made to Montana to observe a similar study in progress.
We received a great deal of cooperation and input from Forest and Research personnel, which facilitated project progress. A major difficulty has been the lack of data coverages for riparian forest types, necessitating more field reconnaissance and aerial photo work, and compromising the random selection of study sites.
Plans for 2002: Work will be continued on the study plan and facilitating contacts during the winter months. Field season work will include hiring of seasonals to initiate data collection, and continuation of study site visits and selection. Specific work is anticipated as follows:
- Characterize streamside forest and large woody debris (LWD) patterns in five fire-excluded ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir sites in the South Fork Salmon River drainage (West Fork Buckhorn Creek, Camp Creek, Fourmile Creek, Reegan Creek, and Parks Creek).
- Collect streamside forest fire history data at established sample sites to determine the historic fire frequency, time since last fire, and age structure of the stand.
- Evaluate the use of an Impulse Laser for recording tree height, tree distance from stream, slope, and channel gradient.
- Evaluate LWD parameters in terms of precision, accuracy, and feasibility.
- Explore potential sites in the Frank Church Wilderness for future data collection in fire-existing streamside areas.
Products and/or tech transfer expected in 2002: We are in the process of developing a World Wide Web (WWW) site that will aid in the timely dissemination of information related to this study. A student trainee is inputting relevant literature into a Procite database, which will eventually be tied to the WWW in order to allow access of the literature citations to management and research personnel. Progress reports will also be written and added to the WWW. We will also participate in any workshops organized for the purpose of information dissemination. Other products will include a completed study plan and preliminary analyses from past work that is tied to this project.
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