FOREST PROGRAM
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Annual Review of ONRC Research

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ONRC Research
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1997
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1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

External Research
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

External Research 2001

Title:
River Food Web Response to Riparian Zone Management

Principal investigator(s); affiliations(s):
Dr. J. Timothy Wootten; University of Chicago

Award:
$34,764

Project description:
This project will focus on the effects of changing the energy base of river food webs, particularly the effects of changing algal production associated with increased light. The study will increase our understanding of how logging activity influences aquatic ecosystems, of the interplay between the energy base and food web structure in rivers, and of the degree to which small- scale experiments can be extended to anticipate large-scale effects. The study will also provide baseline information for understanding effects of conifer verses alder dominated riparian zones on food webs supporting salmon for future comparisons when conifers dominate the experimental riparian areas. The objectives of the study are:
(1) To examine the food web impacts of large-scale experimental manipulation of the riparian zone.
(2) To explore the concordance of food web changes associated with small scale light manipulation experiments and large scale riparian zone manipulations.
(3) To investigate the interplay between nutrient and light limitation in relation to riparian zone manipulation.
(4) To compare food web patterns of rivers flowing through different land use regimes with largescale riparian manipulations.

Project deliverable(s):

Title:
Developing a Long-term Spartina Control Strategy Using the Landscape Management System

Principal investigator(s); affiliations(s):
Miranda Wecker; University of Washington,

Award:
$50,000

Project description:
The Landscape Management System (LMS) – a rational iterative decision making process supported by GIS tools – is now being applied to forest ecosystems where multiple participants, numerous objectives and diverse values complicate long-term decision-making. This tested and formalized decision-making process appears well suited for application to the equally complex problem of eradication of the invasive weed Spartina. ONRC staff will demonstrate and test the suitability of the LMS decision process for formulation alternate long-term strategies to eradicate Spartina alterniflora in Willapa Bay. This project will test the hypothesis that the Landscape Management System is well suited for developing plausible pragmatic, long-range, multi- criteria strategies for the eradication of the invasive weed Spartina.

Project deliverable(s):

Title:
Response of Coarse Woody Debris Invertebrates in Managed 50-70 year-old Stands on the Olympic Peninsula, Thinned to Create Late Successional Habitat

Principal investigator(s); affiliations(s):
Dr. Robert Edmonds; University of Washington
Dr. Jim Marra; University of Washington

Award:
$7,000

Project description:
An increasing body of literature has identified coarse woody debris (CWD) as a critical component of forest ecosystems. Although forest managers are being directed to maintain or restore CWD through management activities, little is known about what characteristics of CWD are most essential to ecosystem function and biodiversity and in what configuration. How CWD influences tree productivity is also not well understood. The specific objectives of this study are to:
(1) Determine the species of invertebrates in CWD of different tree species, diameters, and decay classes.
(2) Determine fungal macro species and types of decay (brown rot and white rot) occurring on CWD of different tree species, diameters and decay classes in the study stands before and after treatment.
The results of Berlese arthropod extraction will be used to compare the effects of various treatments of thinning, clumped versus dispersed slash, understory plantings, and CWD removal. The results of this study can be used to identify characteristics of CWD most essential to the maintenance of CWD and forest floor inhabiting invertebrates. Further studies sample early USDA Forest Service Habitat Development Study installations of variable density thinning in the Soleduck ranger district, comparing CWD invertebrates in thinned versus unthinned plots. In addition, the project compares CWD invertebrates in clumped versus dispersed CWD treatments at a site in the Hood Canal ranger district. Results of this study will be used to evaluate alternative methods of harvesting that attempt to combine timer harvesting with the creation of late successional wildlife habitat.

Project deliverable(s):
Edmonds, R.L. and J. L. Marra. 1999. Decomposition of woody material: Nutrient dynamics, invertebrate/fungi relationships and management of Northwest Forests, p 68-79 In R. T. Meurisse, W G. Ypsilantis, and C. Seybold (eds.). .Proceedings Pacific Northwest Forest and Rangeland Symposium. USDA Forest, Pacific Northwest Research Station, General Technical Report, PNW -GTR-461, Portland, OR.

Marra, J. L. and R. L. Edmonds. Creation of invertebrate habitat in coarse woody debris in managed 60-70 year-old western hemlock/Douglas-fir stands on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Can. J. For. Res. (in preparation).

Habitat Development Project: Pre- and Post- Treatment Sampling of Coarse Woody Debris Invertebrates in 50-70 Year-Old Douglas-Fir/Western Hemlock Stands on the Olympic Peninsula - March 2000 Report

Title:
Understanding the Risk of Nest Predation to Marbled Murrelets in Managed Landscapes.

Principal investigator(s); affiliations(s):
Dr. John Marzluff; University of Washington

Award:
$25,890

Project description:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified three possible threats to the continued survival of the Marbled Murrelet: habitat loss, gill- net mortality, and increased predation following fragmentation due to forestry. The main management solution directed at reducing nest predation has been the creation of forest buffers around areas used by murrelets. However, no data currently exist to test the effectiveness of such buffers as predation deterrents. Creation of buffers creates an economic loss to landowners. This project builds upon data collected during the 1995-1997 to assess the effectiveness and necessity of buffers around nesting habitat to determine the conditions under which conservation is and is not enhanced. The approach is to identify the mechanisms responsible for correlations between buffer width and the viability of a rare species. This enables managers to understand how their actions influence wildlife and increases the likelihood that effective management strategies can be developed. If buffers are found to be effective in some settings but ineffective in others, managers can adjust their timber harvest strategies to satisfy the nesting requirements in some areas while maximizing timber production in other areas. This is a cooperative project involving private, state, and federal land managers to assure research is relevant to their management needs and facilitate implementation of results.

Project deliverable(s):
Marzluff, J.M. and 9 others. 1999. “The influence of stand structure, proximity to human activity, and forest fragmentation on the risk of predation to nests of marbled murrelets on the Olympic Peninsula.” Olympic Natural Resources Center, University of Washington.

1998 Report

Title:
Effect of Marine Derived Nutrients on Insect Production in Salmon Spawning Streams.

Principal investigator(s); affiliations(s):
Dr. Robert Gara; University of Washington

Award:
$45,728

Project description:
A primary trophic interaction of anadromous salmonids appears to involve the release of marine-derived nutrients (MDN) from spawning adults and later from their spawned-out carcasses. Other research has found that many types of organisms inhabiting or visiting streams and riparian areas utilize MDN. This MDN fertilization, repeated with each spawning, benefits juvenile salmonids that may remain in streams for up to three years after hatching, depending on species. To discover how macroinvertebrates facilitate the transfer of MDN from adult to juvenile salmonids, this project will quantify the pathways of MDN to macroinvertebrates by monitoring the response of aquatic macroinvertebrate production to salmon carcass decomposition. These production estimates will provide a measure of the total energy available to higher consumers, including juvenile salmon. In addition, the project will evaluate the relative importance of the different pathways of MDN to aquatic macroinvertebrates by monitoring changes in production in each of the major trophic categories of aquatic macroinvertebrates. Finally, the project will determine if juvenile salmon benefit from MDN at the study sites, as has been shown elsewhere.

Project deliverable(s):