Pacific Southwest Research Station

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Title: Silviculture and multi-resource management case studies for southwestern pinyon-juniper woodlands

Authors: Gottfried, Gerald J.

Date: 2008

Publication In: Gottfried, Gerald J.; Shaw, John D.; Ford, Paulette L., compilers. 2008. Ecology, management, and restoration of pinon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems: combined proceedings of the 2005 St. George, Utah and 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico workshops. Proceedings RMRS-P-51. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 90-103

Abstract: Southwestern pinyon-juniper and juniper woodlands cover large areas of the Western United States. The woodlands are heterogeneous, consisting of numerous combinations of tree, shrub, and herbaceous species and stand densities that are representative of the wide range of sites and habitat types they occupy. Silvicultural methods can be employed on better sites to meet multi-resource objectives and maintain the health and sustainability of the woodlands. Even-aged, uneven-aged, and coppice regeneration methods can be used in pinyon-juniper woodlands. Thinning operations may have a variety of objectives. Silvicultural prescriptions cannot be applied blindly, but must be based on stand conditions, an understanding of the silvics of the woodlands and their major species, and the biological and economic goals of land managers and owners. Several case studies of silvicultural prescriptions are discussed in detail in this document. These include the single-tree selection and diameter-limit regeneration methods and thinning (an intermediate method). Thinning is used where regeneration is not a primary objective. It is applied to reduce stand cover to improve understory development, improve wildlife habitats, and reduce fuels in wildland-urban-interface areas. Silvopastoral prescriptions, common in agroforestry, are designed to maintain the tree component and provide for increased forage production and improved wildlife habitats, are also discussed in this document.

Keywords: Piñ, on-juniper and juniper woodlands ponderosa pine forests ecology management restoration southwestern United States

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Citation

Gottfried, Gerald J. 2008. Silviculture and multi-resource management case studies for southwestern pinyon-juniper woodlands. In: Gottfried, Gerald J.; Shaw, John D.; Ford, Paulette L., compilers. 2008. Ecology, management, and restoration of pinon-juniper and ponderosa pine ecosystems: combined proceedings of the 2005 St. George, Utah and 2006 Albuquerque, New Mexico workshops. Proceedings RMRS-P-51. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 90-103