Journal of Forestry

Merry, Krista; Bettinger, Pete; Siry, Jacek; McNulty, Steve; Gavazzi, Michael

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab042pmid: N/A

Silvics of North America (SNA) is a widely used silvicultural manual. However, the last SNA was published in 1990. Therefore, 2,589 registered foresters were surveyed across four US states to answer two broad questions: (1) Should SNA be updated? And (2) would an updated SNA still be a useful tool for forest management? Most respondents indicated that the type and extent of content contained in the previous version of SNA was still desirable today. Aside from updating all sections with recent research findings, expansion was suggested for ecosystem services provided by species. An update to maps provided in SNA, through changes to natural ranges of tree species and other aesthetic improvement, was suggested by most survey respondents. These findings support the conclusion that the SNA would still be an essential source of information if 21st-century issues such as climate change impacts and adaptation measures were included in the update.Study ImplicationsThere have been major changes in the environment and forest science over the past 30 years, but SNA has not been revised to reflect these changes. The results of this survey indicate that an update to SNA is warranted. The results presented here can serve as a guide for a future update of SNA.

Sarmiento, Irene G; Van Swol, Lyn M; Shaw, Bret R; Chung, Jennifer H; Koshollek, Alanna

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab045pmid: N/A

Advising landowners can be difficult for foresters. Landowners’ motivations towards behavior change should be considered prior to giving advice. The Stages of Change Model, also known as the Transtheoretical Model, assesses whether individuals are ready to perform new behaviors. This model was used to understand how landowner’s motivations towards behavior change affect future reforestation efforts, which could help foresters better advise landowners. Landowners from Wisconsin were recruited, reported current behaviors, and separated into either predecisional or postdecisional stages, based on self-reported stage of behavior. They received advice, reported future reforestation intentions, and provided comments. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and language analyses, predecisional stage perceived more barriers towards reforestation efforts and used more negative emotion words, whereas postdecisional stage reported more past habits of reforestation efforts and used more positive emotion words. Foresters should provide advice that reduces barriers for the predecisional stage and build on positive aspects of reforestation for the postdecisional stage.Study ImplicationsReforestation is crucial for land management and ecosystem maintenance. Private landowners are encouraged by professional foresters to plant more trees for reforestation. However, landowners vary in reforestation efforts, and foresters must understand individual differences when advising. Results show that it is important to separate landowners into groups, using the Stages of Change Model, to determine previous behaviors affecting future reforestation and understand how language-use provides insights into what stage they are in and perceived barriers. Foresters should provide advice that reduces barriers for those with less reforestation experience and build on positive aspects of reforestation for those with more experience. These recommendations can empower more effective outreach.

Jain, Theresa B; Nelson, Andrew S; Bright, Benjamin C; Byrne, John C; Hudak, Andrew T

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab036pmid: N/A

Fire suppression and the loss of western white pine (WWP) have made northern Rocky Mountain moist mixed-conifer forests less disturbance resilient. Although managers are installing hundreds of plantations, most of these plantations have not experienced wildfire since establishment. In 2015, wildfires burned through 100 WWP plantations in this region, providing an opportunity to evaluate the effects of wildfires on sapling survival. A Weibull distribution approach was used to characterize the variation of fire severity pixels, as indicated by the differenced normalized burn ratio. The distribution parameters provided a method to identify the biophysical setting and plantation characteristics influencing fire severity and sapling survival. Plantations located on lower slope positions were more resistant to wildfires than plantations located midslope or close to the ridges. Snow water equivalent was positively correlated with wildfire resistance and resilience. Results will help focus reforestation efforts and identify locations where future plantations can potentially survive wildfires.Study ImplicationsThis study examined wildfire effects on western white pine plantations, with the intention to inform managers where to locate plantations that will be more resistant to wildfires and determine which plantations may require postfire reforestation. Plantations were more resilient and resistant to wildfires when they occurred on lower slopes, even when steep, indicating these places may be better suited for future plantations. Plantations located on upper slopes and ridges are vulnerable to wildfire even when located on moist habitat types and will likely need reforestation.

Beeles, Katie L; Tourville, Jordon C; Dovciak, Martin

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab046pmid: N/A

Canopy openness is an important forest characteristic related to understory light environment and productivity. Although many methods exist to estimate canopy openness, comparisons of their performance tend to focus on relatively narrow ranges of canopy conditions and forest types. To address this gap, we compared two popular approaches for estimating canopy openness, traditional spherical densiometer and modern smartphone hemispherical photography, across a large range of canopy conditions (from closed canopy to large gaps) and forest types (from low-elevation broadleaf to high-elevation conifer forests) across four states in the northeastern United States. We took 988 field canopy openness measurements (494 per instrument) and compared them across canopy conditions using linear regression and t-tests. The extensive replication allowed us to quantify differences between the methods that may otherwise go unnoticed. Relative to the densiometer, smartphone photography overestimated low canopy openness (<10%) but it underestimated higher canopy openness (>10%), regardless of forest type.Study ImplicationsWe compared two popular ways of measuring canopy openness (smartphone hemispherical photography and spherical densiometer) across a large range of forest structures encountered in the northeastern United States. We found that, when carefully applied, the traditional spherical densiometer can characterize canopy openness across diverse canopy conditions (including closed canopies) as effectively as modern smartphone canopy photography. Although smartphone photography reduced field measurement time and complexity, it was more susceptible to weather than the densiometer. Although selection of the right method depends on study objectives, we provide a calibration for these two popular methods across diverse canopies.

Fleischman, Forrest; Schmitz, Marissa; Poljacik, Kelsey

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab040pmid: N/A

There are frequently calls to increase local government control over forests in the US. Minnesota’s county forests contain approximately 30% of all local-government-managed forests in the United States. These forests are managed in ways that protect public access while providing a stable timber supply to mills. This happens because of the intersection of law, markets, and local politics. County forests are legally obligated to provide revenue to local tax districts while paying for management from money earned from timber sales. This pushes counties towards managing with the goal of providing a stable revenue stream from their lands, a goal that is supported by local politics in timber-dependent counties. The result is that counties are more production-oriented than other public forestland managers; however, they provide more consistent public access than private forest owners.Study ImplicationsThere are frequent discussions in the US on whether to either turn over public lands to local governments or purchase private land to be managed by local governments for public benefits. We show that local governments can manage forests professionally, providing a consistent timber supply to local mills while maintaining recreational benefits to the public. Other benefits and costs of local management are difficult to evaluate. This outcome is dependent on the availability of robust timber markets, which may not exist in other parts of the country, and makes county land management dependent on fluctuating commodity prices.

Kooistra, Chad; Sinkular, Emily; Schultz, Courtney

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab044pmid: N/A

The US Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) was a major policy innovation for supporting collaborative, landscape-scale forest restoration. Twenty-three CFLRP projects were funded following requests for proposals in fiscal years (FY) 2010 and 2011. Congress appropriated the fully authorized amount of $40 million to the program in FY 2012. In 2018, Congress reauthorized the CFLRP, and soon thereafter the Forest Service issued a request for new CFLRP proposals. In this article, we provide background on the reauthorization of the CFLRP and the updated proposal process. We present findings from a document analysis of the final 22 CFLRP proposals submitted in FY 2020 to characterize current demand for CFLRP and the nature of the proposed projects. We discuss our findings in the context of the CFLRP Advisory Committee’s recommendations, funding uncertainty, and broader efforts to support cross-boundary, collaborative wildfire mitigation and forest restoration.Study ImplicationsReviewing the broader context of the CFLRP and the FY 2020 proposals highlights the importance of the program in pursuing collaborative, cross-boundary wildfire mitigation and restoration across the US. There is high demand for the program, as illustrated by more than $600 million requested over 10 years and more than $400 million in planned partner contributions for projects across diverse ecosystems involving locally driven partnerships. Ensuring consistent funding and leadership commitment, aligning policies across scales, supporting collaboration, encouraging innovation to support restoration and local economies, and using adaptive monitoring approaches are needed to facilitate the success of programs like CFLRP.

Steen-Adams, M M; Abrams, J B; Huber-Stearns, H R; Bone, C; Moseley, C

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab043pmid: N/A

Public land management agencies, such as the USDA Forest Service (USFS), confront challenges in leveraging limited administrative capacity to effectively manage landscape-scale, cross-boundary disturbances. Using case study methods, we investigated the ~1996–2016 outbreak of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) in the Black Hills, a 1.5 million acre region in South Dakota and Wyoming. We identified four practices that can promote the leveraging of administrative capacity: (1) establishing multilevel governance networks; (2) performing both distinct and shared (“redundant”) partner roles; (3) maximizing the collaborative toolbox: drawing upon the variety of policy tools (older, newer) and modes of use (conventional, experimental); and (4) engaging a multilevel, multiorganizational network, with attention to the ways that a variety of network linkages can deploy a variety of policy tool types. This case demonstrates how the government-led model of network governance can be applied to leverage administrative capacity. These findings point to strategies to promote landscape-scale, cross-boundary management.Study ImplicationsPublic land managers, partners, and scientists can learn from the case of the Black Hills about practices to leverage administrative capacity to manage landscape-level, cross-boundary disturbances. Such practices involve governance networks, partner roles, and use of a collaborative toolbox from which policy tools are selected. Convening overlapping, multilevel networks (national forest, ranger district) can maximize consideration of various partner roles and collaborative toolbox options, including both tool type (older, newer) and mode of use (conventional, experimental). Attention to the variety of network linkages (federal, state, local, industry, NGO) can promote opportunities to deploy a variety of policy tools, thereby leveraging capacity.

Homyack, Jessica; Sucre, Eric; Magalska, Lauren; Fox, Thomas

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab039pmid: N/A

The private forestry sector faces enormous challenges from complex environmental issues concurrent with societal concerns about intensive forest management and application of silvicultural tools. At the same time, research and development spending and the scientific workforce in the forestry sector has declined. However, the forestry sector has a long history of strategic deployment of science and technology to manage timberlands for many uses, including ecological services. To address science and societal needs from future forests, we describe past successes and potential future innovations of the forestry sector across (1) genetics, (2) silviculture and productivity, (3) harvesting and logging technology, (4) environmental sustainability, and (5) remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicles. Developing technology is only one component, however; progressing towards sector goals of diversifying the workforce, explicitly valuing research collaborations, and integrating big data across ownerships to guide management decisions will hasten innovation. With the growing complexity of social-ecological-economic challenges, the private forestry sector must enact a tactical approach to addressing stressors with evolving research structures. We offer a vision of a vibrant private forestry sector poised to integrate technological innovation to continue meeting society’s needs through the intersecting effects of climate change and other challenges.Study ImplicationsThe complexity of challenges facing private forest managers is growing as stressors from climate change interact with social and economic pressures on forests. Further, spending on forestry research and development and student enrollment in forestry degree programs has declined. In this article, we describe significant technological improvements in regenerating, growing, and sustainably harvesting intensively managed forest through a changing research landscape. We review key past examples of production and sustainability improvements and describe future innovation space across the intensively managed conifer stands through the life cycle of seed-to-saw. We envision that technological improvements in forest genetics, remotely operated harvesting equipment, high-resolution information about vegetation and the earth’s surface, and analysis of big data will increase the private sector’s ability to make precise management decisions. A more developed and broader technological tool set will ensure the private forest sector is poised to supply ecosystem services and demand for wood products. To realize the gains from future innovation, the forest sector needs to support initiatives that explicitly value an inclusive and diverse workforce, cross-disciplinary problem-solving, and improved communication with external stakeholders.

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab066pmid: N/A

Steen-Adams, M M; Abrams, J B; Huber-Stearns, H R; Bone, C; Moseley, C

doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvab051pmid: N/A

In the advance publication of this article, author J.B. Abrams was incorrectly credited as “J.A. Abrams.” This has now been corrected. © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of American Foresters. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected]. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)