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• 1. [Article] Focus on Forestry ; Winter 1999

  Magazine of the OSU College of Forestry

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Focus on Forestry ; Winter 1999 Author: Wells, Gail, Brown, George, Oregon State University. College of Forestry Magazine of the OSU College of Forestry Title: Focus on Forestry ; Winter 1999 Author: Wells, Gail, Brown, George, Oregon State University. College of Forestry Magazine of the OSU College of Forestry Close

• 2. [Article] Culvert assessment

  The Lower Nehalem Watershed Council utilized information from several sources to identify culverts in the watershed that are most likely to block migration of Coho. Our approach builds upon the GIS data ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Culvert assessment The Lower Nehalem Watershed Council utilized information from several sources to identify culverts in the watershed that are most likely to block migration of Coho. Our approach builds upon the GIS data layers provided by Portland State as part of their assessment of the watershed. Additional data layers were obtained from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Coastal Landscape Analysis Modeling Study (CLAMS). Title: Culvert assessment The Lower Nehalem Watershed Council utilized information from several sources to identify culverts in the watershed that are most likely to block migration of Coho. Our approach builds upon the GIS data layers provided by Portland State as part of their assessment of the watershed. Additional data layers were obtained from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Coastal Landscape Analysis Modeling Study (CLAMS). Close

• 3. [Article] Landscape Management Policy Simulator (LAMPS) : version 1.1 : user guide

  The LAndscape Management Policy Simulator (LAMPS) model, version 1.1, is a spatial simulation model developed to provide forest landscape planning simulations for the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Landscape Management Policy Simulator (LAMPS) : version 1.1 : user guide Author: Lennette, Marie, Oregon State University. Forest Research Laboratory, Bettinger, Pete, 1962- The LAndscape Management Policy Simulator (LAMPS) model, version 1.1, is a spatial simulation model developed to provide forest landscape planning simulations for the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS). It is designed to help policymakers, managers, and planners think through alternative management scenarios and their potential effects on the ecological and economic resources of Oregon's Coast Range forests. LAMPS simulates changes to landscape structure over time, incorporating the management intentions of the four major landowner groups and vegetation dynamics. Socioeconomic and ecological information is used to track and allocate activities across the landscape. LAMPS projects, with relatively high resolution, forest conditions across broad areas, all ownership groups, and a planning horizon of 100 yr. This user guide provides instructions on how to use LAMPS for forest landscape simulations of alternative forest policies for the Coast Range of Oregon. Title: Landscape Management Policy Simulator (LAMPS) : version 1.1 : user guide Author: Lennette, Marie, Oregon State University. Forest Research Laboratory, Bettinger, Pete, 1962- The LAndscape Management Policy Simulator (LAMPS) model, version 1.1, is a spatial simulation model developed to provide forest landscape planning simulations for the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS). It is designed to help policymakers, managers, and planners think through alternative management scenarios and their potential effects on the ecological and economic resources of Oregon's Coast Range forests. LAMPS simulates changes to landscape structure over time, incorporating the management intentions of the four major landowner groups and vegetation dynamics. Socioeconomic and ecological information is used to track and allocate activities across the landscape. LAMPS projects, with relatively high resolution, forest conditions across broad areas, all ownership groups, and a planning horizon of 100 yr. This user guide provides instructions on how to use LAMPS for forest landscape simulations of alternative forest policies for the Coast Range of Oregon. Close

• 4. [Article] Searching for early archaeological sites along the central Oregon coast : a case study from Neptune State Park (35LA3), Lane County, Oregon

  Locating archaeological sites that predate the arrival of modern sea level has been difficult along the Oregon coast. This is in part believed to be the result of geologic processes that have influenced ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Searching for early archaeological sites along the central Oregon coast : a case study from Neptune State Park (35LA3), Lane County, Oregon Author: Jenevein, Steve Locating archaeological sites that predate the arrival of modern sea level has been difficult along the Oregon coast. This is in part believed to be the result of geologic processes that have influenced the preservation, distribution, and visibility of sites within the Oregon coastal landscape. Because of these changes, researchers have a poor understanding of where sites that predate modern sea level are located within the modern landscape. Geoarchaeological techniques and concepts are well suited to address these types of questions and can help place the fragments of a once much larger paleocoastal landscape into a modern context. In this thesis I use a Geographic Information System (GIS) and geoarchaeological field and laboratory techniques and concepts to conceptualize, locate, and evaluate landforms located within both the paleo and modern central Oregon coastal landscapes. Geoarchaeological investigations conducted as part of this project at the Neptune Site (35LA3) identified mid to late Holocene aged archaeological materials in addition to an erosional contact located between late Pleistocene and Holocene-aged deposits representing the loss of up to 11,400 years of stratigraphic time. To account for this loss of time, a model of landscape change that is occurring at 35LA3 is presented. Depositional sequences such as truncated late Pleistocene aged deposits that underlie mid to late Holocene sediment that are observed at the Neptune Site are similar to, and have been associated with other early sites along the Oregon coast. The identification of these types of deposits and their associated erosional features may serve as key target horizons for future coastal researchers looking for landforms and archaeological deposits and date to the late Pleistocene to mid Holocene. Title: Searching for early archaeological sites along the central Oregon coast : a case study from Neptune State Park (35LA3), Lane County, Oregon Author: Jenevein, Steve Locating archaeological sites that predate the arrival of modern sea level has been difficult along the Oregon coast. This is in part believed to be the result of geologic processes that have influenced the preservation, distribution, and visibility of sites within the Oregon coastal landscape. Because of these changes, researchers have a poor understanding of where sites that predate modern sea level are located within the modern landscape. Geoarchaeological techniques and concepts are well suited to address these types of questions and can help place the fragments of a once much larger paleocoastal landscape into a modern context. In this thesis I use a Geographic Information System (GIS) and geoarchaeological field and laboratory techniques and concepts to conceptualize, locate, and evaluate landforms located within both the paleo and modern central Oregon coastal landscapes. Geoarchaeological investigations conducted as part of this project at the Neptune Site (35LA3) identified mid to late Holocene aged archaeological materials in addition to an erosional contact located between late Pleistocene and Holocene-aged deposits representing the loss of up to 11,400 years of stratigraphic time. To account for this loss of time, a model of landscape change that is occurring at 35LA3 is presented. Depositional sequences such as truncated late Pleistocene aged deposits that underlie mid to late Holocene sediment that are observed at the Neptune Site are similar to, and have been associated with other early sites along the Oregon coast. The identification of these types of deposits and their associated erosional features may serve as key target horizons for future coastal researchers looking for landforms and archaeological deposits and date to the late Pleistocene to mid Holocene. Close

• 5. [Article] Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of an active margin coast from the Pleistocene to the present : examples from southwestern Oregon

  This study illustrates geoarchaeological and paleoenvironmental approaches to the investigation of an active margin coastal setting and provides examples of how information gleaned through examination ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of an active margin coast from the Pleistocene to the present : examples from southwestern Oregon Author: Punke, Michele Leigh This study illustrates geoarchaeological and paleoenvironmental approaches to the investigation of an active margin coastal setting and provides examples of how information gleaned through examination of the stratigraphic record can reveal depositional signatures that provide insights into the geomorphic and tectonic forces active within coastal river basins. Three case studies from the southern Oregon coast illustrate the complex relationship between tectonics and geomorphic processes along an active margin coast such as Oregon's Cascadia subduction zone. This work illustrates that the differential preservation of late Pleistocene-age terrestrial deposits in Oregon's coastal landscape, and the early cultural sites they may contain, is not random but can be closely related to larger tectonogeomorphic processes operating at local and regional scales. Detailed subsurface investigation of one case study site, the lower Sixes River valley, reveals a complex history of depositional environment evolution in relation to geomorphic and tectonic forces. Litho- and biostratigraphic data sets are used to develop a depositional environment reconstruction for the lower Sixes River site through time. This reconstruction of the depositional environment from the late Pleistocene to the present indicates a transgressive evolution that differs from models of transgressive coastal facies and from other studied Northwest coast estuarine life histories. Factors such as eustatic sea level rise, regional and local tectonic alteration of the landscape, sediment supply, or valley morphology may have played roles in the creation and preservation of this atypical depositional sequence. Litho- and biostratigraphic evidence of six Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes younger than 6200 cal yr BP is recorded in a long sediment core from the Sixes River valley. All six of these events correlate with events previously reported for the area by Kelsey et al. (2002). At least five additional plate boundary earthquakes lowered tidal marshes and freshwater wetlands prior to 6200 cal yr BP. The presence within the lower Sixes River valley of an intertidal environment capable of recording Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes dating to the late Pleistocene and early Holocene has not been found at any other location on the Northwest coast. Title: Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of an active margin coast from the Pleistocene to the present : examples from southwestern Oregon Author: Punke, Michele Leigh This study illustrates geoarchaeological and paleoenvironmental approaches to the investigation of an active margin coastal setting and provides examples of how information gleaned through examination of the stratigraphic record can reveal depositional signatures that provide insights into the geomorphic and tectonic forces active within coastal river basins. Three case studies from the southern Oregon coast illustrate the complex relationship between tectonics and geomorphic processes along an active margin coast such as Oregon's Cascadia subduction zone. This work illustrates that the differential preservation of late Pleistocene-age terrestrial deposits in Oregon's coastal landscape, and the early cultural sites they may contain, is not random but can be closely related to larger tectonogeomorphic processes operating at local and regional scales. Detailed subsurface investigation of one case study site, the lower Sixes River valley, reveals a complex history of depositional environment evolution in relation to geomorphic and tectonic forces. Litho- and biostratigraphic data sets are used to develop a depositional environment reconstruction for the lower Sixes River site through time. This reconstruction of the depositional environment from the late Pleistocene to the present indicates a transgressive evolution that differs from models of transgressive coastal facies and from other studied Northwest coast estuarine life histories. Factors such as eustatic sea level rise, regional and local tectonic alteration of the landscape, sediment supply, or valley morphology may have played roles in the creation and preservation of this atypical depositional sequence. Litho- and biostratigraphic evidence of six Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes younger than 6200 cal yr BP is recorded in a long sediment core from the Sixes River valley. All six of these events correlate with events previously reported for the area by Kelsey et al. (2002). At least five additional plate boundary earthquakes lowered tidal marshes and freshwater wetlands prior to 6200 cal yr BP. The presence within the lower Sixes River valley of an intertidal environment capable of recording Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes dating to the late Pleistocene and early Holocene has not been found at any other location on the Northwest coast. Close

• 6. [Article] Technology and meaning in natural resource management : the story-making role of GIS in the CLAMS project

  The working hypothesis for this study is that the introduction of GIS technology into the ancient procedures of map-making has changed the map-making context sufficiently to require a revision of the way ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Technology and meaning in natural resource management : the story-making role of GIS in the CLAMS project Author: Duncan, Sally The working hypothesis for this study is that the introduction of GIS technology into the ancient procedures of map-making has changed the map-making context sufficiently to require a revision of the way we think about, learn from, and use maps, specifically in the public involvement process in natural resource management. The assumption that we jointly know what maps mean, and how to use them, has been carried unchallenged into the vastly changed arena of digital, information-dense, and highly technical map-making, courtesy of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It has remained unchallenged even as the social context for environmental policy-making is undergoing historic upheaval. GIS fundamentally changes how information is viewed, literally, by many different groups, for its maps and databases contain varying levels of uncertainty, multiple embedded assumptions, potentially privileged knowledge, and considerable power as story-makers, along with unintended and unexplored social consequences. GIS maps/databases are used here as the central refractor of ideas about relationships between scientists and lay audiences; between the post-modern understanding of privilege and social change; and ultimately between technology and meaning, where changing expectations about the role of science in natural resource management resonate most profoundly. Key research questions are: (1) How can GIS maps contribute to mutual learning in the natural resource management arena?, and (2) Which consequences of GIS development could change approaches to natural resource management? The exploratory case study used to address these questions examines GIS maps from the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS), a landscape-scale bioregional assessment in western Oregon that draws heavily on GIS technology to illustrate ecological and socioeconomic dynamics and interactions. Findings suggest that use of GIS through time may change the realm of designing and structuring decision problems, adjusting it from a largely science-driven exercise in natural resource management to a more collaborative story-making one. While epistemological differences between scientists and lay audiences remain, they can be offset through such collaboration, with concomitant shifts in power structures that could affect a range of conditions including rates of technology diffusion, and management of a broad transition in how natural resources are perceived and utilized. Title: Technology and meaning in natural resource management : the story-making role of GIS in the CLAMS project Author: Duncan, Sally The working hypothesis for this study is that the introduction of GIS technology into the ancient procedures of map-making has changed the map-making context sufficiently to require a revision of the way we think about, learn from, and use maps, specifically in the public involvement process in natural resource management. The assumption that we jointly know what maps mean, and how to use them, has been carried unchallenged into the vastly changed arena of digital, information-dense, and highly technical map-making, courtesy of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It has remained unchallenged even as the social context for environmental policy-making is undergoing historic upheaval. GIS fundamentally changes how information is viewed, literally, by many different groups, for its maps and databases contain varying levels of uncertainty, multiple embedded assumptions, potentially privileged knowledge, and considerable power as story-makers, along with unintended and unexplored social consequences. GIS maps/databases are used here as the central refractor of ideas about relationships between scientists and lay audiences; between the post-modern understanding of privilege and social change; and ultimately between technology and meaning, where changing expectations about the role of science in natural resource management resonate most profoundly. Key research questions are: (1) How can GIS maps contribute to mutual learning in the natural resource management arena?, and (2) Which consequences of GIS development could change approaches to natural resource management? The exploratory case study used to address these questions examines GIS maps from the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS), a landscape-scale bioregional assessment in western Oregon that draws heavily on GIS technology to illustrate ecological and socioeconomic dynamics and interactions. Findings suggest that use of GIS through time may change the realm of designing and structuring decision problems, adjusting it from a largely science-driven exercise in natural resource management to a more collaborative story-making one. While epistemological differences between scientists and lay audiences remain, they can be offset through such collaboration, with concomitant shifts in power structures that could affect a range of conditions including rates of technology diffusion, and management of a broad transition in how natural resources are perceived and utilized. Close

• 7. [Article] Combining the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess current and future recreation conditions in Oregon's coast range

  Conflict over the best way to manage Oregon's public lands makes a land planner's job extremely challenging. Multiple uses, federal mandates, and constantly evolving knowledge all contribute to the difficulty ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Combining the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess current and future recreation conditions in Oregon's coast range Author: Rogan, Lael M. (Lael Michaela), 1970- Conflict over the best way to manage Oregon's public lands makes a land planner's job extremely challenging. Multiple uses, federal mandates, and constantly evolving knowledge all contribute to the difficulty of determining how to best use the land. The Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS) was developed in 1994 to help policy makers better evaluate potential land management plans and to examine the effects and interactions of ecological, economic, and social models on a regional scale. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used in CLAMS to simulate and demonstrate the spatial effects of alternative policies. The dynamic nature of land use and planning lends itself well to GIS, a powerful computer-based tool that can expediently illustrate different management scenarios. One component of CLAMS focuses on social aspects, including recreational use of forestlands. In 1997, a prototype model for assessing the amount of recreation habitat was developed in the Coos Bay (Oregon) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) District. The study served as an inventory for recreation planners to identify the existing recreation opportunities. Geographic Information Systems and the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) were combined in order to determine acreage of different recreation habitat types, or ROS classes. My project incorporates many features of the Coos Bay study (combining GIS and ROS) but extends the geographic boundaries to include most of the Oregon coast range. It also extends the analysis by integrating the recreation model with a landscape change model7 to show how recreation opportunities would change over a 100 year simulation of landscape conditions. It will provide land planners and recreationists with information about the scope of recreational experiences that they can expect to find in this geographic area. Results illustrate that the greatest proportion of land falls into the recreation category with the most developed or modified landscapes, and th.e smallest quantity of land is at the primitive end of the spectrum. This holds true for current and future conditions. These results are not surprising, given the large degree of human modification in the CLAMS study area. Collecting and generating spatial data offer immediate and long-term benefits. They not only provide an inventory to land managers, but also help fulfill CLAMS goals by examining the effects of land change over time. Title: Combining the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess current and future recreation conditions in Oregon's coast range Author: Rogan, Lael M. (Lael Michaela), 1970- Conflict over the best way to manage Oregon's public lands makes a land planner's job extremely challenging. Multiple uses, federal mandates, and constantly evolving knowledge all contribute to the difficulty of determining how to best use the land. The Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS) was developed in 1994 to help policy makers better evaluate potential land management plans and to examine the effects and interactions of ecological, economic, and social models on a regional scale. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used in CLAMS to simulate and demonstrate the spatial effects of alternative policies. The dynamic nature of land use and planning lends itself well to GIS, a powerful computer-based tool that can expediently illustrate different management scenarios. One component of CLAMS focuses on social aspects, including recreational use of forestlands. In 1997, a prototype model for assessing the amount of recreation habitat was developed in the Coos Bay (Oregon) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) District. The study served as an inventory for recreation planners to identify the existing recreation opportunities. Geographic Information Systems and the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) were combined in order to determine acreage of different recreation habitat types, or ROS classes. My project incorporates many features of the Coos Bay study (combining GIS and ROS) but extends the geographic boundaries to include most of the Oregon coast range. It also extends the analysis by integrating the recreation model with a landscape change model7 to show how recreation opportunities would change over a 100 year simulation of landscape conditions. It will provide land planners and recreationists with information about the scope of recreational experiences that they can expect to find in this geographic area. Results illustrate that the greatest proportion of land falls into the recreation category with the most developed or modified landscapes, and th.e smallest quantity of land is at the primitive end of the spectrum. This holds true for current and future conditions. These results are not surprising, given the large degree of human modification in the CLAMS study area. Collecting and generating spatial data offer immediate and long-term benefits. They not only provide an inventory to land managers, but also help fulfill CLAMS goals by examining the effects of land change over time. Close

• 8. [Article] Historical disturbance regimes as a reference for forest policy

  Using the historical range of forest conditions as a reference for managing landscapes has been proposed as a "coarse-filter" approach to biodiversity conservation. By emulating historical disturbance ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Historical disturbance regimes as a reference for forest policy Author: Thompson, Jonathan R. Using the historical range of forest conditions as a reference for managing landscapes has been proposed as a "coarse-filter" approach to biodiversity conservation. By emulating historical disturbance processes, it is thought that forest management can produce forest composition and structure similar to the conditions that once supported the native biota. Although several examples of disturbance-based management exist, only recently has this concept been incorporated into policy. This thesis explored hypotheses related to disturbance-based forest policy through a literature review, policy analyses, and simulation experiments. The primary objective of chapter 2 was to examine several examples disturbance-based forest management and evaluate their potential to transition into policy within North America. The review highlighted two Canadian provinces British Columbia and Ontario--that have codified disturbance-based management but used distinct methodologies. Nearly all of the forests in these provinces are government owned, which assisted policy development. In addition, both policy-structures focused on emulating stand-replacing fires that are characteristic in boreal forests; this minimized the costs and the degree of departure from conventional forest management. In much of the U.S., land tenure is complex and disturbance regimes vary widely; this presents difficult challenges for disturbance-based policy development. In the third chapter, disturbance-based policies were developed that attempted to address these challenges. Using datasets from the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS) and the Landscape Management and Policy Simulation model (LAMPS), the economic costs and ecological benefits of several policy structures were explored. The policies included two variants of the current policy structure and three policies reflecting various aspects of the natural disturbance regime. The study area was the 3-million hectare Oregon Coast Range. Four owner groups were recognized--forest industry, nonindustrial private, state, and federal. The management intentions of each group guided the application of policies. Disturbance-based policies were primarily addressed to clearcutting on private lands because it constituted the preponderance of harvesting in the region. Information on the Coast Range's historical fire regime was used as a reference to develop disturbance-based policies. Fire severity was emulated with green-tree retention standards; fire frequency was emulated with annual harvestable area restrictions; and fire extent was emulated with harvest-unit size regulations. LAMPS projected landscape conditions, forest dynamics, management activities (clearcutting, thinning), and harvest volumes over the next century. Simulated disturbance-based policies produced age-class distributions more similar to the historical range than those created by the current policy structure. The proportions of early seral and young forest were within the historical range within 100 yrs; within this timeframe, older forests moved closer to but were still below historical conditions. In contrast, patch size distributions were less similar to historical conditions. This was because, even after a ten-fold increase in the average harvest size, the clearcut size limit remained well below the average historical fire size. Also, this was due to the scale of the analysis, which treated multiple proximate harvest-units as individual disturbance events. Therefore, regions with a high density of clearcuts, which were ubiquitous in the current policy scenarios, more closely resembled the large historical fire size. In the near term, annual revenue produced by the disturbance-based policies was estimated to be 20 to 60 percent lower than the current policy. However, relative costs were reduced significantly through time. This reflected the degree of departure between the modem and historical disturbance regimes. This simulation experiment suggested that policies attempting to reproduce historical conditions in the Coast Range would require federal forests to provide large patches of old forest that were conmon in the historical landscape. Employing public lands for this purpose would dampen costs to private landowners who would continue harvesting and provide young and early seral forest structure, which were also historically abundant. In addition, this experiment illustrated the difficultly of meeting regional-scale conservation goals across multiple private landowners and suggested that distributing costs and benefits equitably across large landscapes could be a significant challenge. Title: Historical disturbance regimes as a reference for forest policy Author: Thompson, Jonathan R. Using the historical range of forest conditions as a reference for managing landscapes has been proposed as a "coarse-filter" approach to biodiversity conservation. By emulating historical disturbance processes, it is thought that forest management can produce forest composition and structure similar to the conditions that once supported the native biota. Although several examples of disturbance-based management exist, only recently has this concept been incorporated into policy. This thesis explored hypotheses related to disturbance-based forest policy through a literature review, policy analyses, and simulation experiments. The primary objective of chapter 2 was to examine several examples disturbance-based forest management and evaluate their potential to transition into policy within North America. The review highlighted two Canadian provinces British Columbia and Ontario--that have codified disturbance-based management but used distinct methodologies. Nearly all of the forests in these provinces are government owned, which assisted policy development. In addition, both policy-structures focused on emulating stand-replacing fires that are characteristic in boreal forests; this minimized the costs and the degree of departure from conventional forest management. In much of the U.S., land tenure is complex and disturbance regimes vary widely; this presents difficult challenges for disturbance-based policy development. In the third chapter, disturbance-based policies were developed that attempted to address these challenges. Using datasets from the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS) and the Landscape Management and Policy Simulation model (LAMPS), the economic costs and ecological benefits of several policy structures were explored. The policies included two variants of the current policy structure and three policies reflecting various aspects of the natural disturbance regime. The study area was the 3-million hectare Oregon Coast Range. Four owner groups were recognized--forest industry, nonindustrial private, state, and federal. The management intentions of each group guided the application of policies. Disturbance-based policies were primarily addressed to clearcutting on private lands because it constituted the preponderance of harvesting in the region. Information on the Coast Range's historical fire regime was used as a reference to develop disturbance-based policies. Fire severity was emulated with green-tree retention standards; fire frequency was emulated with annual harvestable area restrictions; and fire extent was emulated with harvest-unit size regulations. LAMPS projected landscape conditions, forest dynamics, management activities (clearcutting, thinning), and harvest volumes over the next century. Simulated disturbance-based policies produced age-class distributions more similar to the historical range than those created by the current policy structure. The proportions of early seral and young forest were within the historical range within 100 yrs; within this timeframe, older forests moved closer to but were still below historical conditions. In contrast, patch size distributions were less similar to historical conditions. This was because, even after a ten-fold increase in the average harvest size, the clearcut size limit remained well below the average historical fire size. Also, this was due to the scale of the analysis, which treated multiple proximate harvest-units as individual disturbance events. Therefore, regions with a high density of clearcuts, which were ubiquitous in the current policy scenarios, more closely resembled the large historical fire size. In the near term, annual revenue produced by the disturbance-based policies was estimated to be 20 to 60 percent lower than the current policy. However, relative costs were reduced significantly through time. This reflected the degree of departure between the modem and historical disturbance regimes. This simulation experiment suggested that policies attempting to reproduce historical conditions in the Coast Range would require federal forests to provide large patches of old forest that were conmon in the historical landscape. Employing public lands for this purpose would dampen costs to private landowners who would continue harvesting and provide young and early seral forest structure, which were also historically abundant. In addition, this experiment illustrated the difficultly of meeting regional-scale conservation goals across multiple private landowners and suggested that distributing costs and benefits equitably across large landscapes could be a significant challenge. Close

• 9. [Article] Landscape-scale evaluation of genetic structure among barrier-isolated populations of coastal cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki clarki

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Landscape-scale evaluation of genetic structure among barrier-isolated populations of coastal cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki clarki Author: Guy, Troy J. Title: Landscape-scale evaluation of genetic structure among barrier-isolated populations of coastal cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarki clarki Author: Guy, Troy J. Close

• 10. [Article] Exploring the Impacts of Climate and Management on Coastal Community Vulnerability through Alternative Future Scenarios

  Coastal communities throughout the U.S. Pacific Northwest face heightened risk due to sea level rise and increasing storminess resulting in coastal flooding and erosion hazards. Incorporating uncertainty ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Exploring the Impacts of Climate and Management on Coastal Community Vulnerability through Alternative Future Scenarios Author: Mills, Alexis K. Coastal communities throughout the U.S. Pacific Northwest face heightened risk due to sea level rise and increasing storminess resulting in coastal flooding and erosion hazards. Incorporating uncertainty with respect to both climate change and policy decisions is essential to project the evolving probability of coastal inundation and erosion, and the associated community vulnerability through time. Coupled models of coastal hazards, ecosystems, development, and socioeconomics allow decision-makers to explore the effects of policy decisions in conjunction with climate forcing, land use change, and economic disturbances and can provide a means of examining the feedbacks between climate change and adaptation under uncertain climatologic and socioeconomic futures. Envision, a spatially explicit multi‐agent modelling platform that provides a scenario-based, policy centric framework for examining interactions between human and natural systems across a landscape, is used within the two papers herebelow to explore strategies that may reduce vulnerability to coastal hazards within the context of uncertainty and climate change. Probabilistic simulations of total water levels allow for representation of variability of sea level rise, wave climate, and the El Niño Southern Oscillation both as individual climate drivers and under a range of climate change scenarios through the end of the century. Additionally, stakeholder generated policy scenarios capture variability in human response. The approaches described here provide a foundation through which to explore alternative management scenarios related to coastal hazards and can be transferred to other coastal systems to further assess how hazards may be affected by both climate change and management decisions.   Title: Exploring the Impacts of Climate and Management on Coastal Community Vulnerability through Alternative Future Scenarios Author: Mills, Alexis K. Coastal communities throughout the U.S. Pacific Northwest face heightened risk due to sea level rise and increasing storminess resulting in coastal flooding and erosion hazards. Incorporating uncertainty with respect to both climate change and policy decisions is essential to project the evolving probability of coastal inundation and erosion, and the associated community vulnerability through time. Coupled models of coastal hazards, ecosystems, development, and socioeconomics allow decision-makers to explore the effects of policy decisions in conjunction with climate forcing, land use change, and economic disturbances and can provide a means of examining the feedbacks between climate change and adaptation under uncertain climatologic and socioeconomic futures. Envision, a spatially explicit multi‐agent modelling platform that provides a scenario-based, policy centric framework for examining interactions between human and natural systems across a landscape, is used within the two papers herebelow to explore strategies that may reduce vulnerability to coastal hazards within the context of uncertainty and climate change. Probabilistic simulations of total water levels allow for representation of variability of sea level rise, wave climate, and the El Niño Southern Oscillation both as individual climate drivers and under a range of climate change scenarios through the end of the century. Additionally, stakeholder generated policy scenarios capture variability in human response. The approaches described here provide a foundation through which to explore alternative management scenarios related to coastal hazards and can be transferred to other coastal systems to further assess how hazards may be affected by both climate change and management decisions.   Close

• 11. [Article] Carbon Stocks of Tropical Coastal Wetlands within the Karstic Landscape of the Mexican Caribbean

  This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Public Library of Science and can be found at: http://www.plos.org/.

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Carbon Stocks of Tropical Coastal Wetlands within the Karstic Landscape of the Mexican Caribbean Author: Kauffman, J. Boone, Adame, Maria Fernanda, Reza, Miriam, Torres, Olmo, Gamboa, Julieta N., Herrera-Silveira, Jorge A., Medina, Israel, Caamal, Juan P. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Public Library of Science and can be found at: http://www.plos.org/. Title: Carbon Stocks of Tropical Coastal Wetlands within the Karstic Landscape of the Mexican Caribbean Author: Kauffman, J. Boone, Adame, Maria Fernanda, Reza, Miriam, Torres, Olmo, Gamboa, Julieta N., Herrera-Silveira, Jorge A., Medina, Israel, Caamal, Juan P. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Public Library of Science and can be found at: http://www.plos.org/. Close

• 12. [Article] Early retreat of the Alaska Peninsula Glacier Complex and the implications for coastal migrations of First Americans

  This is the author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/quaternary-science-reviews/. ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Early retreat of the Alaska Peninsula Glacier Complex and the implications for coastal migrations of First Americans Author: Shapley, Mark D., Maschner, Herbert D. G., Addison, Jason A., Beget, James E., Jordan, James W., Misarti, Nicole, Finney, Bruce P., Krumhardt, Andrea This is the author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/quaternary-science-reviews/. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. Title: Early retreat of the Alaska Peninsula Glacier Complex and the implications for coastal migrations of First Americans Author: Shapley, Mark D., Maschner, Herbert D. G., Addison, Jason A., Beget, James E., Jordan, James W., Misarti, Nicole, Finney, Bruce P., Krumhardt, Andrea This is the author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/quaternary-science-reviews/. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. Close

• 13. [Article] Influence of landscape-scale variables on the age and growth of coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii in headwater streams

  This thesis provides the first general description of the natural variation in age structure, growth rates, and survival in headwater populations of coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Influence of landscape-scale variables on the age and growth of coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii in headwater streams Author: Rehe, William G. This thesis provides the first general description of the natural variation in age structure, growth rates, and survival in headwater populations of coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii from western Oregon, and a subsequent synthesis of these life-history characteristics across the range of the subspecies. Age, growth, and survival were estimated by analyzing scales from 4,250 fish collected from 37 headwater watersheds in western Oregon from 1999 to 2001. Age was validated for 234 marked and recaptured coastal cutthroat trout from two watersheds, and >94% of the scales exhibited the expected number of annuli between capture dates. Variation among readings was low (< 9%), and there was only a slight bias between readings for older fish (primarily age-5 fish). Missing first-year annuli, often observed in cutthroat trout subspecies, were not observed for these populations. Mean relative growth rates decreased with age and size. In three populations maximum age was 3 years, but in the majority, maximum age was 4 (24 populations) or 5 years (8 populations). Annual survival rates of age-3 coastal cutthroat trout (i.e., between age-2 and age-3) ranged from 23% to 65%. Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) was used to select multiple regression models that "best" described biological response (i.e., length at age-1, mean length, and survival) to physical habitat variables. The model with January water temperature and calcium ions as predictor variables was the "best approximating model" for predicting mean length at age 1. The model with maximum pool depth and stream channel connectivity was most useful for predicting mean fish length in a watershed, and mean survival was best predicted by a model with mean July water temperature and maximum pool depth as predictor variables. Summary of range-wide life-history data for coastal cutthroat trout suggests that patterns in growth, age, and length do not follow a generalized geographic trend from north to south, and at least some differences appear to be related to life-history type. Title: Influence of landscape-scale variables on the age and growth of coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii in headwater streams Author: Rehe, William G. This thesis provides the first general description of the natural variation in age structure, growth rates, and survival in headwater populations of coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii from western Oregon, and a subsequent synthesis of these life-history characteristics across the range of the subspecies. Age, growth, and survival were estimated by analyzing scales from 4,250 fish collected from 37 headwater watersheds in western Oregon from 1999 to 2001. Age was validated for 234 marked and recaptured coastal cutthroat trout from two watersheds, and >94% of the scales exhibited the expected number of annuli between capture dates. Variation among readings was low (< 9%), and there was only a slight bias between readings for older fish (primarily age-5 fish). Missing first-year annuli, often observed in cutthroat trout subspecies, were not observed for these populations. Mean relative growth rates decreased with age and size. In three populations maximum age was 3 years, but in the majority, maximum age was 4 (24 populations) or 5 years (8 populations). Annual survival rates of age-3 coastal cutthroat trout (i.e., between age-2 and age-3) ranged from 23% to 65%. Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) was used to select multiple regression models that "best" described biological response (i.e., length at age-1, mean length, and survival) to physical habitat variables. The model with January water temperature and calcium ions as predictor variables was the "best approximating model" for predicting mean length at age 1. The model with maximum pool depth and stream channel connectivity was most useful for predicting mean fish length in a watershed, and mean survival was best predicted by a model with mean July water temperature and maximum pool depth as predictor variables. Summary of range-wide life-history data for coastal cutthroat trout suggests that patterns in growth, age, and length do not follow a generalized geographic trend from north to south, and at least some differences appear to be related to life-history type. Close

• 14. [Article] Recovery of Wild Salmonids in Western Oregon Lowlands

  This report was prepared by the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team to the Oregon Plan for Salmon and watersheds.

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Recovery of Wild Salmonids in Western Oregon Lowlands Author: Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (Or.) This report was prepared by the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team to the Oregon Plan for Salmon and watersheds. Title: Recovery of Wild Salmonids in Western Oregon Lowlands Author: Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (Or.) This report was prepared by the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team to the Oregon Plan for Salmon and watersheds. Close

• 15. [Article] Mapping the Political Landscape of Wave Energy Development Off the Oregon Coast

  Since 2006 Oregon has promoted the development of wave energy off its coast. While the state may be well suited for the technology because of an abundant wave resource and supporting coastal infrastructure ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Mapping the Political Landscape of Wave Energy Development Off the Oregon Coast Author: Stevenson, John Since 2006 Oregon has promoted the development of wave energy off its coast. While the state may be well suited for the technology because of an abundant wave resource and supporting coastal infrastructure there remain potential barriers to implementing this policy, including uncertainties about the technology and concerns for impacts to the local environment and existing ocean users. Among many studies commissioned to address these uncertainties, this study conducts a stakeholder analysis using an Advocacy Coalition Framework to map the political landscape and identify areas of census and potential barriers among key policy actors. Key findings in this study indicate general support for testing wave energy, but that inflexibility in project location and efforts to develop commercial scale wave parks are areas of division among policy actors. Title: Mapping the Political Landscape of Wave Energy Development Off the Oregon Coast Author: Stevenson, John Since 2006 Oregon has promoted the development of wave energy off its coast. While the state may be well suited for the technology because of an abundant wave resource and supporting coastal infrastructure there remain potential barriers to implementing this policy, including uncertainties about the technology and concerns for impacts to the local environment and existing ocean users. Among many studies commissioned to address these uncertainties, this study conducts a stakeholder analysis using an Advocacy Coalition Framework to map the political landscape and identify areas of census and potential barriers among key policy actors. Key findings in this study indicate general support for testing wave energy, but that inflexibility in project location and efforts to develop commercial scale wave parks are areas of division among policy actors. Close

• 16. [Article] Contributions to the plant ecology of the Oregon coastal sand dunes

  Sand dunes are found along the coasts of most of the large land masses of the world. Because of their proximity to man and his activities, the maritime sand dunes of Europe, particularly Germany, France, ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Contributions to the plant ecology of the Oregon coastal sand dunes Author: Wiedemann, Alfred M. Sand dunes are found along the coasts of most of the large land masses of the world. Because of their proximity to man and his activities, the maritime sand dunes of Europe, particularly Germany, France, Holland and Scandinavia, have the longest history of stabilization activities and botanical investigation. There are coastal dune areas, some of great extent, in Africa, tropical Asia, Australia, and South America. In general, little published information is available concerning these areas. Ecological studies of coastal dune vegetation and environment have been most extensive in Great Britain, and to a lesser extent, in North America. Of the North American coastal dunes, those of the east coast have received considerable attention while those of the west coast have been largely neglected. Along the Oregon coast are found some of the most extensive and best developed coastal sand dune areas in North America. Occurring on some 225 km. of the state's 500 km. of ocean facing coastline, these areas are made up of a great variety of dune landscape features and present unique conditions for the development and maintenance of vegetation. There are many places in this dune area where the strong, constant winds have eroded the sand surface to or near the water table resulting in a stabilized surface - the deflation plain - which provides an excellent starting point for the development of vegetation. After preliminary ground and air reconnaissance, 11 deflation plains were selected for detailed study, ranging in location from Sand Lake on the north to Tahkenitch Creek on the south. These deflation plains and their location are described in detail. Vegetation data (species and cover) were taken on a total of 134 sampling stands, each consisting of five meter-square quadrats for herbaceous vegetation, and one 6 x 6 meter quadrat for shrub and forest vegetation. The species and stand data we arranged on comparative charts so as to bring together stands with mutually occurring species. This resulted in the delineation of seven communities with definite successional relationships. Primary succession begins with one of four herbaceous communities: dry meadow, meadow, rush meadow or marsh. Succession then proceeds to low shrub, tall shrub and finally forest. The dry meadow is dominated by three species: Lupinus littoralis, Ammophila arenaria and Poa macrantha. The site is dry with no standing water at any time. Sand deposition and deflation occur in varying degrees. The important species of the meadow are Festuca rubra, Aira praecox, Hypochaeris radicata and Fragaria chiloensis. The surface is dry except for short periods of standing water during the winter months. There is no sand deposition. The rush meadow is characterized by its dense growth of Trifolium willdenovii and Juncus phaeocephalus. The site is low and moist, with water standing on the surface during the winter months. The marsh is found on areas which are quite damp-water stands on the surface for around six months of the year, and is just below the surface for the remainder of the time. It is made up of dense stands of Carex obnupta and Potentilla anserina. The low shrub community is an open stand of Salix hookeriana, Gaultheria shallon, Vaccinium ovatum and Myrica californica. This develops into a tall shrub stage which is frequently an impenetrable thicket with increasing dominance of seedlings of Pinus contorta and Picea sitchensis. Development of a forest of Pinus and Picea is very rapid. If the area is free from disturbance long enough, the shorter lived Pinus dies out, leaving a forest of Picea. The deflation plains represent only part of the many aspects of the total dune landscape still awaiting investigation. The increasing importance of the Oregon coastal dunes to industry and recreation make imperative the initiation of long term ecological studies. Title: Contributions to the plant ecology of the Oregon coastal sand dunes Author: Wiedemann, Alfred M. Sand dunes are found along the coasts of most of the large land masses of the world. Because of their proximity to man and his activities, the maritime sand dunes of Europe, particularly Germany, France, Holland and Scandinavia, have the longest history of stabilization activities and botanical investigation. There are coastal dune areas, some of great extent, in Africa, tropical Asia, Australia, and South America. In general, little published information is available concerning these areas. Ecological studies of coastal dune vegetation and environment have been most extensive in Great Britain, and to a lesser extent, in North America. Of the North American coastal dunes, those of the east coast have received considerable attention while those of the west coast have been largely neglected. Along the Oregon coast are found some of the most extensive and best developed coastal sand dune areas in North America. Occurring on some 225 km. of the state's 500 km. of ocean facing coastline, these areas are made up of a great variety of dune landscape features and present unique conditions for the development and maintenance of vegetation. There are many places in this dune area where the strong, constant winds have eroded the sand surface to or near the water table resulting in a stabilized surface - the deflation plain - which provides an excellent starting point for the development of vegetation. After preliminary ground and air reconnaissance, 11 deflation plains were selected for detailed study, ranging in location from Sand Lake on the north to Tahkenitch Creek on the south. These deflation plains and their location are described in detail. Vegetation data (species and cover) were taken on a total of 134 sampling stands, each consisting of five meter-square quadrats for herbaceous vegetation, and one 6 x 6 meter quadrat for shrub and forest vegetation. The species and stand data we arranged on comparative charts so as to bring together stands with mutually occurring species. This resulted in the delineation of seven communities with definite successional relationships. Primary succession begins with one of four herbaceous communities: dry meadow, meadow, rush meadow or marsh. Succession then proceeds to low shrub, tall shrub and finally forest. The dry meadow is dominated by three species: Lupinus littoralis, Ammophila arenaria and Poa macrantha. The site is dry with no standing water at any time. Sand deposition and deflation occur in varying degrees. The important species of the meadow are Festuca rubra, Aira praecox, Hypochaeris radicata and Fragaria chiloensis. The surface is dry except for short periods of standing water during the winter months. There is no sand deposition. The rush meadow is characterized by its dense growth of Trifolium willdenovii and Juncus phaeocephalus. The site is low and moist, with water standing on the surface during the winter months. The marsh is found on areas which are quite damp-water stands on the surface for around six months of the year, and is just below the surface for the remainder of the time. It is made up of dense stands of Carex obnupta and Potentilla anserina. The low shrub community is an open stand of Salix hookeriana, Gaultheria shallon, Vaccinium ovatum and Myrica californica. This develops into a tall shrub stage which is frequently an impenetrable thicket with increasing dominance of seedlings of Pinus contorta and Picea sitchensis. Development of a forest of Pinus and Picea is very rapid. If the area is free from disturbance long enough, the shorter lived Pinus dies out, leaving a forest of Picea. The deflation plains represent only part of the many aspects of the total dune landscape still awaiting investigation. The increasing importance of the Oregon coastal dunes to industry and recreation make imperative the initiation of long term ecological studies. Close

• 17. [Article] The interactive effects of excess reactive nitrogen and climate change on aquatic ecosystems and water resources of the United States

  To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Springer ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The interactive effects of excess reactive nitrogen and climate change on aquatic ecosystems and water resources of the United States Author: Baron, J. S., Hall, E. K., Harrison, J. A., Bernhardt, E. S., Nolan, B. T., Finlay, J. C., Chan, F., Boyer, E. W. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Springer and can be found at: http://www.springer.com/?SGWID=0-102-0-0-0. Title: The interactive effects of excess reactive nitrogen and climate change on aquatic ecosystems and water resources of the United States Author: Baron, J. S., Hall, E. K., Harrison, J. A., Bernhardt, E. S., Nolan, B. T., Finlay, J. C., Chan, F., Boyer, E. W. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Springer and can be found at: http://www.springer.com/?SGWID=0-102-0-0-0. Close

• 18. [Article] Patterns in coastal marsh vegetation of the Juneau area, Alaska

  A vegetation study was made of four coastal marshes near Juneau, Alaska. Results confirmed earlier studies' findings in southeast Alaska that communities or assemblages of species can be identified but ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Patterns in coastal marsh vegetation of the Juneau area, Alaska Author: Stone, Catherine S. A vegetation study was made of four coastal marshes near Juneau, Alaska. Results confirmed earlier studies' findings in southeast Alaska that communities or assemblages of species can be identified but from marsh to marsh these assemblages appear to have no consistent relationship to each other or to environmental "factors" such as elevation and salinity. Further, marshes of the Juneau area vary in assemblage composition and assemblages vary in species composition within and among marshes. This variability apparently results from individualistic behavior of plant species. An individualistic interpretation of these results may explain plant populations behaviors but not the behavior of vegetation as a collective unit. Also, it makes comparison of marshes impossible because the comparison must be based on inconsistent species composition and inconsistent spatial arrangement of species and vegetation units. The explanation of the behavior of coastal marsh vegetation in the Juneau area lies in the integration of behaviors of physiography, species, and assemblages of species. Physiography is the integration of "site factors," species are the integration of populations, and vegetation is the integration of species' interactions. Site physiography thus defines the habitat, and the integration of plants and habitat at a site is the habitat-vegetation complex. The collection of complexes in a landscape forms a pattern of patches in which the complexes serve as species and materials pools for each other and for the surrounding patterns. The composition and structure (spatial arrangement) of the present complexes are its realized capacity, the result of site history and species-and-vegetation history. The nature of future habitat-vegetation complexes will be the outcome of site processes and species-and-vegetation processes. This future incorporates all possible outcomes of all possible combinations of processes and represents the potential capacities of the habitat-vegetation complex. This scheme makes possible the explanation of the history and future of vegetation and comparison of coastal marsh sites and vegetation in terms of history and process without requiring specification of species composition or endpoint of vegetation development. Title: Patterns in coastal marsh vegetation of the Juneau area, Alaska Author: Stone, Catherine S. A vegetation study was made of four coastal marshes near Juneau, Alaska. Results confirmed earlier studies' findings in southeast Alaska that communities or assemblages of species can be identified but from marsh to marsh these assemblages appear to have no consistent relationship to each other or to environmental "factors" such as elevation and salinity. Further, marshes of the Juneau area vary in assemblage composition and assemblages vary in species composition within and among marshes. This variability apparently results from individualistic behavior of plant species. An individualistic interpretation of these results may explain plant populations behaviors but not the behavior of vegetation as a collective unit. Also, it makes comparison of marshes impossible because the comparison must be based on inconsistent species composition and inconsistent spatial arrangement of species and vegetation units. The explanation of the behavior of coastal marsh vegetation in the Juneau area lies in the integration of behaviors of physiography, species, and assemblages of species. Physiography is the integration of "site factors," species are the integration of populations, and vegetation is the integration of species' interactions. Site physiography thus defines the habitat, and the integration of plants and habitat at a site is the habitat-vegetation complex. The collection of complexes in a landscape forms a pattern of patches in which the complexes serve as species and materials pools for each other and for the surrounding patterns. The composition and structure (spatial arrangement) of the present complexes are its realized capacity, the result of site history and species-and-vegetation history. The nature of future habitat-vegetation complexes will be the outcome of site processes and species-and-vegetation processes. This future incorporates all possible outcomes of all possible combinations of processes and represents the potential capacities of the habitat-vegetation complex. This scheme makes possible the explanation of the history and future of vegetation and comparison of coastal marsh sites and vegetation in terms of history and process without requiring specification of species composition or endpoint of vegetation development. Close

• 19. [Article] New insights on an old topic : understanding the effects of forest harvest on trout in the context of climate

  Studies of the effects of forest harvest on streams and fish have a long history in the Pacific Northwest. Results of this work have prompted development of new forest harvest practices that are more protective ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: New insights on an old topic : understanding the effects of forest harvest on trout in the context of climate Author: Penaluna, Brooke E. Studies of the effects of forest harvest on streams and fish have a long history in the Pacific Northwest. Results of this work have prompted development of new forest harvest practices that are more protective of these resources, but the effectiveness of these new practices has not been fully evaluated. Furthermore, the effects of contemporary forest harvest in the context of climate change are poorly understood. To address these issues, my overall research goal was to understand how water quality, water quantity, and instream habitat influence individuals and corresponding population dynamics of coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii). My work was designed to complement field results from a new generation of watershed studies currently underway in western Oregon. I combined semi-natural experiments with modeling based on field observations to understand fundamental causes and processes influencing trout. This multifaceted approach provided a novel process-based perspective on issues related to forest harvest and climate. In Chapter 2, I evaluated individual- and population-level responses of coastal cutthroat trout to instream cover. Although the influences of forest harvest on stream flow, temperature, and turbidity are often the focus, instream cover may be strongly influenced by forest harvest. In addition, restoration of instream cover is now a common practice, but the importance of cover itself to stream-living fishes is still a major question. To address this issue, I conducted large-scale manipulative experiments in outdoor semi-natural stream units to approximate conditions experienced by trout in headwater streams in western Oregon. I determined that infrequent cover use by trout leads to emigration. Next, I built upon key ideas within stream ecology related to the importance of location within a landscape to aquatic biota, which have been explored and debated extensively. The variability in population responses across similar locations within a landscape is less understood. My objective in Chapter 3 was to understand the variability in population biomass of coastal cutthroat trout across headwater streams by understanding of the relative roles of two general classes of variables that occur in headwater streams: dynamic environmental regimes and relatively fixed habitat structure. I provided evidence that environmental regimes contribute to biomass variability while also being constrained by the habitat structure, given the range of conditions that I was able to simulate. Although the effects of contemporary forest harvest and climate change occur simultaneously, they are not typically considered together, as they are in Chapter 4. Here, I tracked population responses of trout, including biomass, survival, growth, and timing of emergence during six decades across four modeled headwater streams using the same individual-based trout model as in Chapter 3. I modeled four scenarios: 1) baseline conditions (simulation of existing conditions); 2) effects of contemporary forest harvest; 3) effects of climate change; and 4) the combined effects of forest harvest and climate change. Differences among scenarios were tied to changes in flow and temperature regimes. Here, I found that there was a high degree of local variability in the responses that I simulated. Whereas localized responses to forest harvest have been observed, my findings contrast with the vast majority of work on species responses to climate change, most of which reports relatively synchronous or uniform responses. I highlighted the role of individual variability of trout and local variability of streams, which ultimately suggest that some individuals and populations of trout may be more vulnerable than others to the effects of forest harvest, climate change, or both processes together. Title: New insights on an old topic : understanding the effects of forest harvest on trout in the context of climate Author: Penaluna, Brooke E. Studies of the effects of forest harvest on streams and fish have a long history in the Pacific Northwest. Results of this work have prompted development of new forest harvest practices that are more protective of these resources, but the effectiveness of these new practices has not been fully evaluated. Furthermore, the effects of contemporary forest harvest in the context of climate change are poorly understood. To address these issues, my overall research goal was to understand how water quality, water quantity, and instream habitat influence individuals and corresponding population dynamics of coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii). My work was designed to complement field results from a new generation of watershed studies currently underway in western Oregon. I combined semi-natural experiments with modeling based on field observations to understand fundamental causes and processes influencing trout. This multifaceted approach provided a novel process-based perspective on issues related to forest harvest and climate. In Chapter 2, I evaluated individual- and population-level responses of coastal cutthroat trout to instream cover. Although the influences of forest harvest on stream flow, temperature, and turbidity are often the focus, instream cover may be strongly influenced by forest harvest. In addition, restoration of instream cover is now a common practice, but the importance of cover itself to stream-living fishes is still a major question. To address this issue, I conducted large-scale manipulative experiments in outdoor semi-natural stream units to approximate conditions experienced by trout in headwater streams in western Oregon. I determined that infrequent cover use by trout leads to emigration. Next, I built upon key ideas within stream ecology related to the importance of location within a landscape to aquatic biota, which have been explored and debated extensively. The variability in population responses across similar locations within a landscape is less understood. My objective in Chapter 3 was to understand the variability in population biomass of coastal cutthroat trout across headwater streams by understanding of the relative roles of two general classes of variables that occur in headwater streams: dynamic environmental regimes and relatively fixed habitat structure. I provided evidence that environmental regimes contribute to biomass variability while also being constrained by the habitat structure, given the range of conditions that I was able to simulate. Although the effects of contemporary forest harvest and climate change occur simultaneously, they are not typically considered together, as they are in Chapter 4. Here, I tracked population responses of trout, including biomass, survival, growth, and timing of emergence during six decades across four modeled headwater streams using the same individual-based trout model as in Chapter 3. I modeled four scenarios: 1) baseline conditions (simulation of existing conditions); 2) effects of contemporary forest harvest; 3) effects of climate change; and 4) the combined effects of forest harvest and climate change. Differences among scenarios were tied to changes in flow and temperature regimes. Here, I found that there was a high degree of local variability in the responses that I simulated. Whereas localized responses to forest harvest have been observed, my findings contrast with the vast majority of work on species responses to climate change, most of which reports relatively synchronous or uniform responses. I highlighted the role of individual variability of trout and local variability of streams, which ultimately suggest that some individuals and populations of trout may be more vulnerable than others to the effects of forest harvest, climate change, or both processes together. Close

• 20. [Article] Quaternary marine terraces on Cyprus : constraints on uplift and pedogenesis, and the geoarchaeology of Palaipafos

  Numerous flights of Quaternary marine terraces are present around the island of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean. These terraces are a result of the global eustatic sea-level curve and local tectonism. ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Quaternary marine terraces on Cyprus : constraints on uplift and pedogenesis, and the geoarchaeology of Palaipafos Author: Zomeni, Zomenia Numerous flights of Quaternary marine terraces are present around the island of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean. These terraces are a result of the global eustatic sea-level curve and local tectonism. Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 through MIS 13 terraces are identified, mapped and dated. Palaeoshoreline elevation, an excellent indicator for a past sea–level, and new numerical geochronology are used to calculate an Upper Pleistocene uplift rate for various coastal sectors. Southwestern Cyprus presents the highest uplift rates of 0.35-0.65 mm/year with other sections suggesting uplift of 0.07-0.15 mm/year. This Upper Pleistocene tectonic signal is attributed to an active offshore subduction/collision system to the southwest of Cyprus, evidenced from the seismic activity offshore and the surface expression of a blind thrust fault in the Pafos region. Soil chronosequences and geology in southwestern Cyprus are studied in order to understand the Quaternary development on this uplifting landscape. Soil profile properties are used to calculate a profile development index (PDI), a method often applied to geomorphic surfaces as a relative dating method. Well-developed red and clayey soils occur in the coastal sector, on broad and low-angle surfaces, specifically on marine terraces and alluvial fans. Higher elevations of steep slopes consisting of carbonate and ophiolite lithologies host poorly developed soils. Results show variable PDI's on uplifted terraces, obscured by transported materials, active alluvial fan buildup and hillslope erosion. Calcium carbonate build-up in soil profiles in the form of nodular and laminar accumulations are used as another relative dating method. Geochronology of marine terraces is used as an age range approximation for carbonate stages. Geomorphologic mapping focuses on the southeastern part of the Pafos thrust fault, the only point on the landscape where this otherwise blind fault is exposed on the surface. This is the location of Palaipafos, an important Ancient polity, today the site of the village of Kouklia. Geoarchaeological study suggests little landscape change over the last 4000 years in the vicinity of the urban core of Palaipafos, this being attributed to bedrock and landscape resistance of its location, a plateau at 80 m amsl. Copper deposits in the Palaipafos hinterland had provided a valuable resource at one time. Soil and water resources continue to sustain agriculture.Tectonic uplift in this part of the Pafos thrust fault is estimated to be 2.1mm/year, considered, together with Late Holocene sea-level change responsible for the shifting locations and eventual abandonment of the Palaipafos harbor in the coastal lowlands. Title: Quaternary marine terraces on Cyprus : constraints on uplift and pedogenesis, and the geoarchaeology of Palaipafos Author: Zomeni, Zomenia Numerous flights of Quaternary marine terraces are present around the island of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean. These terraces are a result of the global eustatic sea-level curve and local tectonism. Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 through MIS 13 terraces are identified, mapped and dated. Palaeoshoreline elevation, an excellent indicator for a past sea–level, and new numerical geochronology are used to calculate an Upper Pleistocene uplift rate for various coastal sectors. Southwestern Cyprus presents the highest uplift rates of 0.35-0.65 mm/year with other sections suggesting uplift of 0.07-0.15 mm/year. This Upper Pleistocene tectonic signal is attributed to an active offshore subduction/collision system to the southwest of Cyprus, evidenced from the seismic activity offshore and the surface expression of a blind thrust fault in the Pafos region. Soil chronosequences and geology in southwestern Cyprus are studied in order to understand the Quaternary development on this uplifting landscape. Soil profile properties are used to calculate a profile development index (PDI), a method often applied to geomorphic surfaces as a relative dating method. Well-developed red and clayey soils occur in the coastal sector, on broad and low-angle surfaces, specifically on marine terraces and alluvial fans. Higher elevations of steep slopes consisting of carbonate and ophiolite lithologies host poorly developed soils. Results show variable PDI's on uplifted terraces, obscured by transported materials, active alluvial fan buildup and hillslope erosion. Calcium carbonate build-up in soil profiles in the form of nodular and laminar accumulations are used as another relative dating method. Geochronology of marine terraces is used as an age range approximation for carbonate stages. Geomorphologic mapping focuses on the southeastern part of the Pafos thrust fault, the only point on the landscape where this otherwise blind fault is exposed on the surface. This is the location of Palaipafos, an important Ancient polity, today the site of the village of Kouklia. Geoarchaeological study suggests little landscape change over the last 4000 years in the vicinity of the urban core of Palaipafos, this being attributed to bedrock and landscape resistance of its location, a plateau at 80 m amsl. Copper deposits in the Palaipafos hinterland had provided a valuable resource at one time. Soil and water resources continue to sustain agriculture.Tectonic uplift in this part of the Pafos thrust fault is estimated to be 2.1mm/year, considered, together with Late Holocene sea-level change responsible for the shifting locations and eventual abandonment of the Palaipafos harbor in the coastal lowlands. Close

• 21. [Article] Predictive mapping of forest composition and structure with direct gradient analysis and nearest-neighbor imputation in coastal Oregon, U.S.A.

  Spatially explicit information on the species composition and structure of forest vegetation is needed at broad spatial scales for natural resource policy analysis and ecological research. We present a ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Predictive mapping of forest composition and structure with direct gradient analysis and nearest-neighbor imputation in coastal Oregon, U.S.A. Author: Ohmann, Janet L., Gregory, Matthew Jay Spatially explicit information on the species composition and structure of forest vegetation is needed at broad spatial scales for natural resource policy analysis and ecological research. We present a method for predictive vegetation mapping that applies direct gradient analysis and nearest-neighbor imputation to ascribe detailed ground attributes of vegetation to each pixel in a digital landscape map. The gradient nearest neighbor method integrates vegetation measurements from regional grids of field plots, mapped environmental data, and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery. In the Oregon coastal province, species gradients were most strongly associated with regional climate and geographic location, whereas variation in forest structure was best explained by Landsat TM variables. At the regional level, mapped predictions represented the range of variability in the sample data, and predicted area by vegetation type closely matched sample-based estimates. At the site level, mapped predictions maintained the covariance structure among multiple response variables. Prediction accuracy for tree species occurrence and several measures of vegetation structure and composition was good to moderate. Vegetation maps produced with the gradient nearest neighbor method are appropriately used for regional-level planning, policy analysis, and research, not to guide local management decisions. Title: Predictive mapping of forest composition and structure with direct gradient analysis and nearest-neighbor imputation in coastal Oregon, U.S.A. Author: Ohmann, Janet L., Gregory, Matthew Jay Spatially explicit information on the species composition and structure of forest vegetation is needed at broad spatial scales for natural resource policy analysis and ecological research. We present a method for predictive vegetation mapping that applies direct gradient analysis and nearest-neighbor imputation to ascribe detailed ground attributes of vegetation to each pixel in a digital landscape map. The gradient nearest neighbor method integrates vegetation measurements from regional grids of field plots, mapped environmental data, and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery. In the Oregon coastal province, species gradients were most strongly associated with regional climate and geographic location, whereas variation in forest structure was best explained by Landsat TM variables. At the regional level, mapped predictions represented the range of variability in the sample data, and predicted area by vegetation type closely matched sample-based estimates. At the site level, mapped predictions maintained the covariance structure among multiple response variables. Prediction accuracy for tree species occurrence and several measures of vegetation structure and composition was good to moderate. Vegetation maps produced with the gradient nearest neighbor method are appropriately used for regional-level planning, policy analysis, and research, not to guide local management decisions. Close

• 22. [Article] Interrelationships of spodosols, andepts, and ultisols on coastal terraces in Curry County, Oregon

  Distribution and characteristics of soils were determined across a series of six coastal terraces in Curry Co., Oregon. Classification of soils and interrelationships of properties were determined. Soil-landscape ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Interrelationships of spodosols, andepts, and ultisols on coastal terraces in Curry County, Oregon Author: Hoppe, Diane A. S. Distribution and characteristics of soils were determined across a series of six coastal terraces in Curry Co., Oregon. Classification of soils and interrelationships of properties were determined. Soil-landscape relationships were examined and soil profile development related to relative ages of terraces. Ten pedons were sampled from five terraces of Pleistocene age. All profiles were analyzed for particle size distribution; bulk density; water retention, -1.5 MPa; aluminum and iron extracted with oxalate, citrate-dithionite and sodium pyrophosphate; pH; phosphate retention; exchangeable aluminum; organic carbon; and cation exchange capacity. Andeptic Humitropepts occur on intermediate terraces, in close proximity to the coast. Andeptic Haplohumults occur on the better drained areas of the intermediate terrace, but further inland. Soils in less well drained areas of the intermediate and higher terraces classify as Spodosols, based on morphological features. Ultisols occur on the highest terraces. Profile morphology, particle size and iron extracts are compared between terraces to derive age relationships. Title: Interrelationships of spodosols, andepts, and ultisols on coastal terraces in Curry County, Oregon Author: Hoppe, Diane A. S. Distribution and characteristics of soils were determined across a series of six coastal terraces in Curry Co., Oregon. Classification of soils and interrelationships of properties were determined. Soil-landscape relationships were examined and soil profile development related to relative ages of terraces. Ten pedons were sampled from five terraces of Pleistocene age. All profiles were analyzed for particle size distribution; bulk density; water retention, -1.5 MPa; aluminum and iron extracted with oxalate, citrate-dithionite and sodium pyrophosphate; pH; phosphate retention; exchangeable aluminum; organic carbon; and cation exchange capacity. Andeptic Humitropepts occur on intermediate terraces, in close proximity to the coast. Andeptic Haplohumults occur on the better drained areas of the intermediate terrace, but further inland. Soils in less well drained areas of the intermediate and higher terraces classify as Spodosols, based on morphological features. Ultisols occur on the highest terraces. Profile morphology, particle size and iron extracts are compared between terraces to derive age relationships. Close

• 23. [Article] Evaluating Coastal Protection Services Associated with Restoration Management of an Endangered Shorebird in Oregon, U.S.A.

  Coastal sand dunes and beaches offer a variety of ecosystem services such as coastal protection, sand stabilization, species conservation, and recreation. However, the management and balance of ecosystem ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Evaluating Coastal Protection Services Associated with Restoration Management of an Endangered Shorebird in Oregon, U.S.A. Author: Carroll, Lindsay J. Coastal sand dunes and beaches offer a variety of ecosystem services such as coastal protection, sand stabilization, species conservation, and recreation. However, the management and balance of ecosystem services offered by dunes and beaches is challenging when ecosystem services interact across the landscape. Management focusing only on one ecosystem service may result in unintended consequences and trade-offs between other key services. Understanding the magnitude of the trade-offs and linkages between services provides a more holistic approach for reducing unintended consequences and maximizing function. The degradation of habitats and land use changes associated with expanding human populations has resulted in the need for species conservation. However, species conservation techniques can sometimes have unintended consequences for other services. Given the mandate of the Endangered Species Act to restore habitat structure and function essential to endangered or threatened species, it becomes critical to evaluate the implications of species conservation management initiatives to reduce negative implications to other key services. The coastal dune systems of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) are a prime example of how ecosystem services, such as species conservation and coastal protection, can interact with one another. Over the last 125 years in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), the intentional introduction of two non-native congeneric beach grasses (Ammophila arenaria and A. breviligulata) has increased coastal protection through the creation of foredunes, but also dramatically altered the dune ecosystem. Both invasive grasses build taller dunes that range from 3 - 18 m in height compared to the native grass, Elymus mollis. Increased foredune elevations generate greater coastal protection services that are increasingly important given sea level rise and extreme storm events on the PNW coast. However, the beach grasses have dramatically changed the beach/dune community, resulting in the decline of several native dune plants and animals. One species that is negatively affected by the grass invasion is the Western snowy plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus), an endemic shorebird living on beaches and dunes in the Pacific Northwest. This shorebird was listed threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1993 and a recovery plan was established that employed multiple recovery techniques. The most important part of the plan involves establishing habitat restoration areas (HRAs) where dunes are bulldozed, reducing dune elevations, burying the grass, and returning the dunes to an open shifting sand environment, historically preferred by the plover. Recent coastal hazards modeling revealed that the changes in beach and dune shape associated with plover restoration increases coastal exposure to flooding and erosion at certain locations along the Oregon coast, particularly under projected climate change scenarios of sea level rise and extreme storms. As part of future plover management, four critical habitat areas were proposed for Tillamook County, Oregon: Nehalem River Spit, Bayocean Spit, Netarts Spit, and Sand Lake South. Given the interest in plover habitat restoration in Tillamook County, this research project addresses the following questions: (1) What is the present day dune geomorphology and exposure to coastal hazards at four proposed critical habitat (PCH) areas in Tillamook County, Oregon; and (2) how do changes in beach geomorphology associated with different restoration scenarios alter coastal exposure today, under projected sea level rise and storm scenarios? To address the coastal geomorphological impacts of HRA installation on the four proposed areas, multiple restoration scenarios that reduce foredune elevation were evaluated under present day sea level and potential future sea level rise and extreme storminess scenarios, using coastal exposure modeling techniques. The model projections provide site-specific information on the exposure of HRAs to overtopping under different restoration conditions. We determined that exposure to flooding was dependent on proposed HRA site and restoration scenario, and was exacerbated by sea level rise and extreme storms. Empirical models projected the greatest flooding exposure would occur at Nehalem River Spit, followed by Netarts Spit, and then Bayocean Spit and Sand Lake South, which did not differ. Exposure to flooding at present day dunes was low across all sites, but with increasing exposure to flooding as foredune elevations were reduced to 6.0 m or below, as could happen with plover habitat restoration. Under present day water levels, restoring foredune elevations to 6.0 m or below would likely result in roughly 5 days of overtopping per year at Nehalem River Spit, Bayocean Spit, and Netarts Spit, and 4 days of overtopping at Sand Lake South. Flooding under various foredune restoration scenarios increased under higher sea level rise scenarios. Flooding exposure for the 6.0 m restoration scenario exceeded 10 days per year at Nehalem River Spit and 5 days per year at Bayocean Spit, Netarts Spit, and Sand Lake South. Overall exposure to flooding under the extreme storm scenarios was dependent on proposed HRA site, restoration scenario, and increased wave conditions, such as wave height, period, and water level. Similar to the empirical model, flooding exposure under extreme storm scenarios increased when foredune elevations were reduced to 6.0 m or below, across all sites. The site with the greatest overall flooding exposure during extreme storms was Bayocean Spit. Flooding distance was dependent on restoration scenario and site while flooding duration was only dependent on restoration scenario. The 5.5 m restoration scenario under higher storm water levels resulted in one hour or more of flooding exposure at least one day per year at Nehalem River Spit, Netarts Spit, and Bayocean Spit. The overall likelihood of overwash extending to 150 m or more into the dune field during extreme storms was at least 5 days when selecting to reduce foredune to restoration elevations of 7.0 m or below across all sites. The effect of higher wave heights and greater wave periods was more important to overtopping distance than restoration scenario. Learning from current plover management, combined with the coastal exposure analysis we conducted here, could enable managers to develop site-specific restoration plans that maximize plover recovery while minimizing coastal exposure. This research will give resource managers information on the coastal exposure associated with proposed HRAs and the foredune reduction scenarios they might want to employ at the different sites. It will allow them to identify the best restoration scenarios to maximum habitat restoration without compromising coastal protection, and thus balance some important services of dunes and beaches. Regardless of management objective, identifying the unintended consequences of restoration to key ecosystem services is necessary for the holistic management of our dynamic coasts, especially with projected sea level rise and the uncertainty of frequent and extreme storms. Title: Evaluating Coastal Protection Services Associated with Restoration Management of an Endangered Shorebird in Oregon, U.S.A. Author: Carroll, Lindsay J. Coastal sand dunes and beaches offer a variety of ecosystem services such as coastal protection, sand stabilization, species conservation, and recreation. However, the management and balance of ecosystem services offered by dunes and beaches is challenging when ecosystem services interact across the landscape. Management focusing only on one ecosystem service may result in unintended consequences and trade-offs between other key services. Understanding the magnitude of the trade-offs and linkages between services provides a more holistic approach for reducing unintended consequences and maximizing function. The degradation of habitats and land use changes associated with expanding human populations has resulted in the need for species conservation. However, species conservation techniques can sometimes have unintended consequences for other services. Given the mandate of the Endangered Species Act to restore habitat structure and function essential to endangered or threatened species, it becomes critical to evaluate the implications of species conservation management initiatives to reduce negative implications to other key services. The coastal dune systems of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) are a prime example of how ecosystem services, such as species conservation and coastal protection, can interact with one another. Over the last 125 years in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), the intentional introduction of two non-native congeneric beach grasses (Ammophila arenaria and A. breviligulata) has increased coastal protection through the creation of foredunes, but also dramatically altered the dune ecosystem. Both invasive grasses build taller dunes that range from 3 - 18 m in height compared to the native grass, Elymus mollis. Increased foredune elevations generate greater coastal protection services that are increasingly important given sea level rise and extreme storm events on the PNW coast. However, the beach grasses have dramatically changed the beach/dune community, resulting in the decline of several native dune plants and animals. One species that is negatively affected by the grass invasion is the Western snowy plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus), an endemic shorebird living on beaches and dunes in the Pacific Northwest. This shorebird was listed threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1993 and a recovery plan was established that employed multiple recovery techniques. The most important part of the plan involves establishing habitat restoration areas (HRAs) where dunes are bulldozed, reducing dune elevations, burying the grass, and returning the dunes to an open shifting sand environment, historically preferred by the plover. Recent coastal hazards modeling revealed that the changes in beach and dune shape associated with plover restoration increases coastal exposure to flooding and erosion at certain locations along the Oregon coast, particularly under projected climate change scenarios of sea level rise and extreme storms. As part of future plover management, four critical habitat areas were proposed for Tillamook County, Oregon: Nehalem River Spit, Bayocean Spit, Netarts Spit, and Sand Lake South. Given the interest in plover habitat restoration in Tillamook County, this research project addresses the following questions: (1) What is the present day dune geomorphology and exposure to coastal hazards at four proposed critical habitat (PCH) areas in Tillamook County, Oregon; and (2) how do changes in beach geomorphology associated with different restoration scenarios alter coastal exposure today, under projected sea level rise and storm scenarios? To address the coastal geomorphological impacts of HRA installation on the four proposed areas, multiple restoration scenarios that reduce foredune elevation were evaluated under present day sea level and potential future sea level rise and extreme storminess scenarios, using coastal exposure modeling techniques. The model projections provide site-specific information on the exposure of HRAs to overtopping under different restoration conditions. We determined that exposure to flooding was dependent on proposed HRA site and restoration scenario, and was exacerbated by sea level rise and extreme storms. Empirical models projected the greatest flooding exposure would occur at Nehalem River Spit, followed by Netarts Spit, and then Bayocean Spit and Sand Lake South, which did not differ. Exposure to flooding at present day dunes was low across all sites, but with increasing exposure to flooding as foredune elevations were reduced to 6.0 m or below, as could happen with plover habitat restoration. Under present day water levels, restoring foredune elevations to 6.0 m or below would likely result in roughly 5 days of overtopping per year at Nehalem River Spit, Bayocean Spit, and Netarts Spit, and 4 days of overtopping at Sand Lake South. Flooding under various foredune restoration scenarios increased under higher sea level rise scenarios. Flooding exposure for the 6.0 m restoration scenario exceeded 10 days per year at Nehalem River Spit and 5 days per year at Bayocean Spit, Netarts Spit, and Sand Lake South. Overall exposure to flooding under the extreme storm scenarios was dependent on proposed HRA site, restoration scenario, and increased wave conditions, such as wave height, period, and water level. Similar to the empirical model, flooding exposure under extreme storm scenarios increased when foredune elevations were reduced to 6.0 m or below, across all sites. The site with the greatest overall flooding exposure during extreme storms was Bayocean Spit. Flooding distance was dependent on restoration scenario and site while flooding duration was only dependent on restoration scenario. The 5.5 m restoration scenario under higher storm water levels resulted in one hour or more of flooding exposure at least one day per year at Nehalem River Spit, Netarts Spit, and Bayocean Spit. The overall likelihood of overwash extending to 150 m or more into the dune field during extreme storms was at least 5 days when selecting to reduce foredune to restoration elevations of 7.0 m or below across all sites. The effect of higher wave heights and greater wave periods was more important to overtopping distance than restoration scenario. Learning from current plover management, combined with the coastal exposure analysis we conducted here, could enable managers to develop site-specific restoration plans that maximize plover recovery while minimizing coastal exposure. This research will give resource managers information on the coastal exposure associated with proposed HRAs and the foredune reduction scenarios they might want to employ at the different sites. It will allow them to identify the best restoration scenarios to maximum habitat restoration without compromising coastal protection, and thus balance some important services of dunes and beaches. Regardless of management objective, identifying the unintended consequences of restoration to key ecosystem services is necessary for the holistic management of our dynamic coasts, especially with projected sea level rise and the uncertainty of frequent and extreme storms. Close

• 24. [Article] Evaluating spatial patterns of drought-induced tree mortality in a coastal California pine forest

  This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/forest-ecology-a...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Evaluating spatial patterns of drought-induced tree mortality in a coastal California pine forest Author: Baguskas, Sara A., Still, Christopher J., Bookhagen, Bodo, Peterson, Seth H. This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/forest-ecology-and-management/. Title: Evaluating spatial patterns of drought-induced tree mortality in a coastal California pine forest Author: Baguskas, Sara A., Still, Christopher J., Bookhagen, Bodo, Peterson, Seth H. This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/forest-ecology-and-management/. Close

• 25. [Article] A SNP resource for Douglas-fir: de novo transcriptome assembly and SNP detection and validation

  To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by BioMed ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: A SNP resource for Douglas-fir: de novo transcriptome assembly and SNP detection and validation Author: Cronn, Richard, Dean, Jeffrey F. D., Knaus, Brian, Howe, Glenn T., Lorenz, W. Walter, Yu, Jianbin, Kolpak, Scott, Dolan, Peter To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by BioMed Central Ltd. and can be found at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/. Title: A SNP resource for Douglas-fir: de novo transcriptome assembly and SNP detection and validation Author: Cronn, Richard, Dean, Jeffrey F. D., Knaus, Brian, Howe, Glenn T., Lorenz, W. Walter, Yu, Jianbin, Kolpak, Scott, Dolan, Peter To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by BioMed Central Ltd. and can be found at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/. Close

• 26. [Article] Biophysical feedback mediates effects of invasive grasses on coastal dune shape

  This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Ecological Society of America and can be found at: http://www.esajournals.org/loi/ecol.

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Biophysical feedback mediates effects of invasive grasses on coastal dune shape Author: Zarnetske, Phoebe L., Seabloom, Eric W., Hacker, Sally D., Killian, Jason R., Maddux, Timothy B., Cox, Daniel, Ruggiero, Peter This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Ecological Society of America and can be found at: http://www.esajournals.org/loi/ecol. Title: Biophysical feedback mediates effects of invasive grasses on coastal dune shape Author: Zarnetske, Phoebe L., Seabloom, Eric W., Hacker, Sally D., Killian, Jason R., Maddux, Timothy B., Cox, Daniel, Ruggiero, Peter This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Ecological Society of America and can be found at: http://www.esajournals.org/loi/ecol. Close

• 27. [Article] Dead wood dynamics and relationships to biophysical factors, forest history, ownership, and management practices in the Coastal Province of Oregon, USA

  Dead wood patterns and dynamics vary with biophysical factors, disturbance history, ownership, and management practices. Through field and modeling studies, I examined the current and potential future ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Dead wood dynamics and relationships to biophysical factors, forest history, ownership, and management practices in the Coastal Province of Oregon, USA Author: Kennedy, Rebecca S.H. Dead wood patterns and dynamics vary with biophysical factors, disturbance history, ownership, and management practices. Through field and modeling studies, I examined the current and potential future amounts of dead wood in two landscapes and region-wide in the Coastal Province of Oregon. The objectives of the first study were to (1) determine whether two landscapes with different recent disturbance histories differ in the amount and characteristics of dead wood; and (2) explore relationships between patterns of dead wood in each landscape to potentially related factors including topography. The objectives of the second study were to (1) describe current regional amounts of dead wood; (2) compare dead wood amounts across ownerships; (3) determine relationships between current dead wood amounts and ownership, current and past vegetation conditions, climate, topography, and soils; and (4) evaluate whether the factors related to dead wood patterns differed according to the scale of analysis. The objectives of the third study were to (1) characterize the projected future change in dead wood amounts in a multi-ownership Province; (2) determine the longevity of present-day dead wood of different types and sizes in relation to amendments from management and stand development; and (3) evaluate differences in management approaches in transitional dynamics and long-term patterns of dead wood. In the first study, I sampled logs and snags at four topographic positions (streams, lower slopes, middle slopes, upper slopes) in the Tillamook State Forest and the Siuslaw National Forest. These two landscapes experienced catastrophic fire at different points in recent history. I developed statistical models relating various attributes of dead wood abundance to biophysical variables related to climate, topography, historical vegetation, current vegetation, soils, and ecoregion. I found that the type and timing of disturbance was important to dead wood amounts and characteristics, and that potential source and sink areas for dead wood were related to topographic position. In particular, lower slopes had higher amounts of logs, and upper slopes had higher basal areas of potential source wood, in the form of snags and legacy (pre-fire) stumps. Climatic factors were of greater relative importance to overall gradients of dead wood in the landscape in which fire occurred less recently. In the second study, I analyzed dead wood data from a region-wide systematic grid of field plots according to ownership and biophysical variables at multiple scales of resolution including plots, subwatersheds. Dead wood abundance and types varied greatly among ownerships, with public lands (Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, State of Oregon) typically having higher amounts of dead wood and more dead wood in the larger size classes than the private lands (forest industry, non-industrial private). I found that the relative influence of ownership, topography, current and historical vegetation, and climate varied with scale of resolution. Current vegetation was of greater relative importance at finer scales of plots and subwatersheds, whereas climate, topography, and historical vegetation were of greater relative importance at coarser scales of watersheds and subbasins. Ownership was important to overall dead wood gradients at all scales considered. In the third study, by simulating stand development and dead wood dynamics under various forest management scenarios over a 300-year period, I was able to examine the long-term effects of management on dead wood abundance in the Coastal Province. I estimated potential upper bounds for future dead wood amounts. Dead wood amounts increased over time on average across the Province, mainly because of policies on public lands, especially the federal lands under the Northwest Forest Plan. Forest industry, under the Oregon Forest Practices Act and assuming retention of all snags at harvest and thinning, maintained amounts of dead wood that were similar to present-day levels, but size classes shifted toward the smaller sizes as existing large legacy dead wood decomposed. Non-industrial private lands showed increases from very low present-day amounts of dead wood. Across the Province, legacy logs and snags remained present for over a century of the simulation period, and buffered effects of intensive management to dead wood amounts. Variation across landscapes in starting conditions meant that contrasting management approaches had differential effects on long-term dead wood dynamics depending on where they were applied. Current amounts of dead wood and live vegetation patterns in the Province resulted from historical fire and logging. Results of this simulation study indicate that recently established policies oriented toward dead wood production and retention, in the absence of fire or other large- or mid-scale disturbances, are likely to result in increases in dead wood amounts that greatly exceed present-day levels. My results suggest that dead wood patterns of abundance will continue to diverge according to land ownership and that management practices that foster dead wood creation are of increasing importance to the long-term abundance of large dead wood as legacy dead wood is lost through decomposition. Title: Dead wood dynamics and relationships to biophysical factors, forest history, ownership, and management practices in the Coastal Province of Oregon, USA Author: Kennedy, Rebecca S.H. Dead wood patterns and dynamics vary with biophysical factors, disturbance history, ownership, and management practices. Through field and modeling studies, I examined the current and potential future amounts of dead wood in two landscapes and region-wide in the Coastal Province of Oregon. The objectives of the first study were to (1) determine whether two landscapes with different recent disturbance histories differ in the amount and characteristics of dead wood; and (2) explore relationships between patterns of dead wood in each landscape to potentially related factors including topography. The objectives of the second study were to (1) describe current regional amounts of dead wood; (2) compare dead wood amounts across ownerships; (3) determine relationships between current dead wood amounts and ownership, current and past vegetation conditions, climate, topography, and soils; and (4) evaluate whether the factors related to dead wood patterns differed according to the scale of analysis. The objectives of the third study were to (1) characterize the projected future change in dead wood amounts in a multi-ownership Province; (2) determine the longevity of present-day dead wood of different types and sizes in relation to amendments from management and stand development; and (3) evaluate differences in management approaches in transitional dynamics and long-term patterns of dead wood. In the first study, I sampled logs and snags at four topographic positions (streams, lower slopes, middle slopes, upper slopes) in the Tillamook State Forest and the Siuslaw National Forest. These two landscapes experienced catastrophic fire at different points in recent history. I developed statistical models relating various attributes of dead wood abundance to biophysical variables related to climate, topography, historical vegetation, current vegetation, soils, and ecoregion. I found that the type and timing of disturbance was important to dead wood amounts and characteristics, and that potential source and sink areas for dead wood were related to topographic position. In particular, lower slopes had higher amounts of logs, and upper slopes had higher basal areas of potential source wood, in the form of snags and legacy (pre-fire) stumps. Climatic factors were of greater relative importance to overall gradients of dead wood in the landscape in which fire occurred less recently. In the second study, I analyzed dead wood data from a region-wide systematic grid of field plots according to ownership and biophysical variables at multiple scales of resolution including plots, subwatersheds. Dead wood abundance and types varied greatly among ownerships, with public lands (Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, State of Oregon) typically having higher amounts of dead wood and more dead wood in the larger size classes than the private lands (forest industry, non-industrial private). I found that the relative influence of ownership, topography, current and historical vegetation, and climate varied with scale of resolution. Current vegetation was of greater relative importance at finer scales of plots and subwatersheds, whereas climate, topography, and historical vegetation were of greater relative importance at coarser scales of watersheds and subbasins. Ownership was important to overall dead wood gradients at all scales considered. In the third study, by simulating stand development and dead wood dynamics under various forest management scenarios over a 300-year period, I was able to examine the long-term effects of management on dead wood abundance in the Coastal Province. I estimated potential upper bounds for future dead wood amounts. Dead wood amounts increased over time on average across the Province, mainly because of policies on public lands, especially the federal lands under the Northwest Forest Plan. Forest industry, under the Oregon Forest Practices Act and assuming retention of all snags at harvest and thinning, maintained amounts of dead wood that were similar to present-day levels, but size classes shifted toward the smaller sizes as existing large legacy dead wood decomposed. Non-industrial private lands showed increases from very low present-day amounts of dead wood. Across the Province, legacy logs and snags remained present for over a century of the simulation period, and buffered effects of intensive management to dead wood amounts. Variation across landscapes in starting conditions meant that contrasting management approaches had differential effects on long-term dead wood dynamics depending on where they were applied. Current amounts of dead wood and live vegetation patterns in the Province resulted from historical fire and logging. Results of this simulation study indicate that recently established policies oriented toward dead wood production and retention, in the absence of fire or other large- or mid-scale disturbances, are likely to result in increases in dead wood amounts that greatly exceed present-day levels. My results suggest that dead wood patterns of abundance will continue to diverge according to land ownership and that management practices that foster dead wood creation are of increasing importance to the long-term abundance of large dead wood as legacy dead wood is lost through decomposition. Close

• 28. [Article] Ecological thresholds, climate extremes, and tree species' distributions across the Pacific coastal United States

  Species' distributions across the landscape are perhaps the least understood yet most conspicuous features of life on earth. Ecologists have long studied species' distributions; yet, many questions remain ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Ecological thresholds, climate extremes, and tree species' distributions across the Pacific coastal United States Author: Lintz, Heather E. Species' distributions across the landscape are perhaps the least understood yet most conspicuous features of life on earth. Ecologists have long studied species' distributions; yet, many questions remain about why species occur where they do. Such questions persist largely because species' distributions are complex systems with challenging properties like non-linearity, high dimensionality, and strong interactions. One impediment to our understanding of species' distributions is the use of standard quantitative approaches, which have limitations when applied to data from complex systems. The objective of this work is to develop tools that can be used to improve our understanding of natural complexity, in particular, factors relating to species’ distributions at large scales. Our study systems are tree species’ distributions from Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) sites across the Pacific coastal USA. This work advances the detection and measurement of thresholds in response surfaces (e.g. representing tree species’ niches), the evaluation of the consequences of a major change in sampling and measurement methodology associated with the FIA program, and the relationship of climatic extremes and means to tree species’ distributions. For more detailed abstract information, please see the pdf. Title: Ecological thresholds, climate extremes, and tree species' distributions across the Pacific coastal United States Author: Lintz, Heather E. Species' distributions across the landscape are perhaps the least understood yet most conspicuous features of life on earth. Ecologists have long studied species' distributions; yet, many questions remain about why species occur where they do. Such questions persist largely because species' distributions are complex systems with challenging properties like non-linearity, high dimensionality, and strong interactions. One impediment to our understanding of species' distributions is the use of standard quantitative approaches, which have limitations when applied to data from complex systems. The objective of this work is to develop tools that can be used to improve our understanding of natural complexity, in particular, factors relating to species’ distributions at large scales. Our study systems are tree species’ distributions from Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) sites across the Pacific coastal USA. This work advances the detection and measurement of thresholds in response surfaces (e.g. representing tree species’ niches), the evaluation of the consequences of a major change in sampling and measurement methodology associated with the FIA program, and the relationship of climatic extremes and means to tree species’ distributions. For more detailed abstract information, please see the pdf. Close

• 29. [Article] Geoarchaeological Investigations at the Devils Kitchen Site (35CS9), Southern Oregon Coast

  A geoarchaeological investigation was conducted at the Devils Kitchen archaeological site, located in the Devils Kitchen State Park along the southern Oregon coast. In this thesis research, the author ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Geoarchaeological Investigations at the Devils Kitchen Site (35CS9), Southern Oregon Coast Author: Curteman, Jessica Ann A geoarchaeological investigation was conducted at the Devils Kitchen archaeological site, located in the Devils Kitchen State Park along the southern Oregon coast. In this thesis research, the author paired previous and recent excavated stratigraphy profiles to define culturally significant deposits. These stratigraphic units were defined further geochemically using a multivariate statistical analysis from data gathered by a portable x-ray fluorescence. Radiocarbon dates from excavated charcoal samples associated with cultural artifacts show an intact deposit dating from 10,638±35 to 11,596±37 RCYBP. The author used textural analysis from Ro-Tap sieve shaker data and Munsell color identification extracted from 33 bucket auger units to subsurface test the Devils Kitchen State Park area. The auger samples portray an uplifted aeolian landscape once influenced by alluvial deposition, commonly observed along coastal environments altered by rising sea levels. This research applied a geoarchaeological method to identify deposits of the right age (DORA) that have the potential to contain intact, early evidence of prehistoric people. The identification of DORA can serve as a marker for future coastal research searching for rare, intact paleolandscapes and archaeological deposits dating to the late Pleistocene to mid Holocene. Title: Geoarchaeological Investigations at the Devils Kitchen Site (35CS9), Southern Oregon Coast Author: Curteman, Jessica Ann A geoarchaeological investigation was conducted at the Devils Kitchen archaeological site, located in the Devils Kitchen State Park along the southern Oregon coast. In this thesis research, the author paired previous and recent excavated stratigraphy profiles to define culturally significant deposits. These stratigraphic units were defined further geochemically using a multivariate statistical analysis from data gathered by a portable x-ray fluorescence. Radiocarbon dates from excavated charcoal samples associated with cultural artifacts show an intact deposit dating from 10,638±35 to 11,596±37 RCYBP. The author used textural analysis from Ro-Tap sieve shaker data and Munsell color identification extracted from 33 bucket auger units to subsurface test the Devils Kitchen State Park area. The auger samples portray an uplifted aeolian landscape once influenced by alluvial deposition, commonly observed along coastal environments altered by rising sea levels. This research applied a geoarchaeological method to identify deposits of the right age (DORA) that have the potential to contain intact, early evidence of prehistoric people. The identification of DORA can serve as a marker for future coastal research searching for rare, intact paleolandscapes and archaeological deposits dating to the late Pleistocene to mid Holocene. Close

• 30. [Article] Monitoring design for riparian forests in the Pacific Northwest : research plan

  The goal of this project is to recommend a broadly-acceptale efficient and effective methodology for characterizing streamside riparian attributes in forested settings at the site grain for regional monitoring. ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Monitoring design for riparian forests in the Pacific Northwest : research plan Author: Bollman, Mike, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory., Oregon State University, Stepp, Jennifer, United States. Environmental Protection Agency. ǂb Office of Research and Development, United States. Forest Service, Barker, Jerry R., Bradshaw, Gay, Ringold, Paul L., Cline, Steven Paul, Carson, Ward, Dynamac Corporation, Fiorella, Maria R. The goal of this project is to recommend a broadly-acceptale efficient and effective methodology for characterizing streamside riparian attributes in forested settings at the site grain for regional monitoring. The authors consider monitoring design in the context of three interacting constraints: ecological functions, capabilities of technologies, and user needs. The focus is on fine grained remote methods. Comparison between candidate selected monitoring systems provides for an initial formulation of a monitoring design. A series of evaluations of these initial formulations provides for an initial recommendation. With the state's interest in the status of coastal fishes, and the programmatic interest of EPA's Western Ecology Division, the areas selected for study are in the Oregon coastal province and the Willamette basin. Title: Monitoring design for riparian forests in the Pacific Northwest : research plan Author: Bollman, Mike, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory., Oregon State University, Stepp, Jennifer, United States. Environmental Protection Agency. ǂb Office of Research and Development, United States. Forest Service, Barker, Jerry R., Bradshaw, Gay, Ringold, Paul L., Cline, Steven Paul, Carson, Ward, Dynamac Corporation, Fiorella, Maria R. The goal of this project is to recommend a broadly-acceptale efficient and effective methodology for characterizing streamside riparian attributes in forested settings at the site grain for regional monitoring. The authors consider monitoring design in the context of three interacting constraints: ecological functions, capabilities of technologies, and user needs. The focus is on fine grained remote methods. Comparison between candidate selected monitoring systems provides for an initial formulation of a monitoring design. A series of evaluations of these initial formulations provides for an initial recommendation. With the state's interest in the status of coastal fishes, and the programmatic interest of EPA's Western Ecology Division, the areas selected for study are in the Oregon coastal province and the Willamette basin. Close

• 31. [Article] The Impact of Disturbance on Carbon Stores and Dynamics in Forests of Coastal Alaska

  Changes in climate caused by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the Earth’s atmosphere have led land and ocean surface temperatures to increase by 0.85°C and sea level to increase by 19 ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Impact of Disturbance on Carbon Stores and Dynamics in Forests of Coastal Alaska Author: Yatskov, Mikhail A. Changes in climate caused by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the Earth’s atmosphere have led land and ocean surface temperatures to increase by 0.85°C and sea level to increase by 19 cm relative to preindustrial times. Global climate change will lead to further alterations in mean temperature and precipitation, as well as their extremes that are likely to influence disturbance regimes. Disturbance play an important role in forest dynamics and succession, by influencing forest ecosystems structure and function, reorganizing forests by reducing live and increasing dead matter, and thus affecting ecosystem carbon (C) balances. Under a changing climate disturbances are likely to cause widespread tree mortality across forested landscapes, creating vast amounts of coarse woody debris (CWD) that will emit C to the atmosphere to a degree that regional C balances and future C dynamics are likely to change. C balance of forested regions depends on inputs in form of C sequestered by live components during growth and outputs in form of C emitted from dead components through decomposition and combustion. Live trees in many forest ecosystems represent the largest aboveground C pool and the dynamics of this pool, as controlled by growth and mortality, have been extensively studied. In contrast, few have examined either the post-disturbance fate of CWD C or assessed C storage potential of salvaged biomass despite the occurrence of multiple recent large-scale disturbance events. Biomass and C stores and their uncertainty were estimated in the Temperate and the Boreal ecoregions of Coastal Alaska using the empirical data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, literature data, and modeling using standard methods employed by the FIA program. The average aboveground woody live (218.9±4.6 Mg/ha) and log (28.1±1.8 Mg/ha) biomass in the Temperate ecoregion were among the lowest in the Pacific Northwest, whereas snag biomass (30.5±1.0 Mg/ha) was among the highest. In the Boreal ecoregion, CWD biomass comprised almost 50% of the regional aboveground woody store (76.7±3.8 Mg/ha) with bark beetle damaged stands containing 82% of the total CWD biomass. In contrast, in the Temperate ecoregion, CWD comprised 20% of the regional aboveground woody store (277.5 ±5.4 Mg/ha) with 76% of total CWD biomass in undisturbed stands. Total C stores estimates in Coastal Alaska ranged between 1523.6 and 1892.8 Tg with the highest contribution from soils and the largest potential reductions in uncertainty related to the tree and soils C pools. The impact of a large-scale spruce bark beetle (SBB) outbreak on aboveground dead wood C dynamics on the Kenai Peninsula was modeled utilizing data from the FIA program and CWD decomposition rate-constants from a chronosequence and decomposition-vectors analysis. Decomposition rate-constants from the chronosequence ranged between -0.015 yr⁻¹ and -0.022 yr⁻¹ for logs and -0.003 yr⁻¹ and +0.002 yr⁻¹ for snags. Decomposition rate-constants from the decomposition-vectors ranged between -0.045 yr⁻¹ and +0.003 yr⁻¹ among decomposition phases and -0.048 yr⁻¹ and +0.006 yr⁻¹ among decay classes. Relative to log generating disturbances those creating snags delayed C flux from CWD to the atmosphere, produced a smaller magnitude C flux, and had the potential to store 10% to 66% more C in a disturbed system over time. The effect of several management strategies ranging from "leave-as-is" to "salvage-and-utilization" on C stores and emissions following SBB outbreak on Kenai Peninsula, Alaska was evaluated. A forest with immediate post-disturbance regeneration reached pre-disturbance C stores faster than one with delayed regeneration. Lack of regeneration, representing a loss of tree cover on the disturbed portion of the landscape, caused a permanent decrease in wood C stores. Among the "salvage-and-utilization" scenarios considered, biomass fuel production with substitution for fossil fuels created the largest long-term C storage assuming the substitution was permanent. Given that reduction in near-term emissions may be a more robust strategy than long-term ones, the "leave-as-is" scenarios may represent the most feasible way to mitigate global climate change following disturbance. Title: The Impact of Disturbance on Carbon Stores and Dynamics in Forests of Coastal Alaska Author: Yatskov, Mikhail A. Changes in climate caused by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the Earth’s atmosphere have led land and ocean surface temperatures to increase by 0.85°C and sea level to increase by 19 cm relative to preindustrial times. Global climate change will lead to further alterations in mean temperature and precipitation, as well as their extremes that are likely to influence disturbance regimes. Disturbance play an important role in forest dynamics and succession, by influencing forest ecosystems structure and function, reorganizing forests by reducing live and increasing dead matter, and thus affecting ecosystem carbon (C) balances. Under a changing climate disturbances are likely to cause widespread tree mortality across forested landscapes, creating vast amounts of coarse woody debris (CWD) that will emit C to the atmosphere to a degree that regional C balances and future C dynamics are likely to change. C balance of forested regions depends on inputs in form of C sequestered by live components during growth and outputs in form of C emitted from dead components through decomposition and combustion. Live trees in many forest ecosystems represent the largest aboveground C pool and the dynamics of this pool, as controlled by growth and mortality, have been extensively studied. In contrast, few have examined either the post-disturbance fate of CWD C or assessed C storage potential of salvaged biomass despite the occurrence of multiple recent large-scale disturbance events. Biomass and C stores and their uncertainty were estimated in the Temperate and the Boreal ecoregions of Coastal Alaska using the empirical data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, literature data, and modeling using standard methods employed by the FIA program. The average aboveground woody live (218.9±4.6 Mg/ha) and log (28.1±1.8 Mg/ha) biomass in the Temperate ecoregion were among the lowest in the Pacific Northwest, whereas snag biomass (30.5±1.0 Mg/ha) was among the highest. In the Boreal ecoregion, CWD biomass comprised almost 50% of the regional aboveground woody store (76.7±3.8 Mg/ha) with bark beetle damaged stands containing 82% of the total CWD biomass. In contrast, in the Temperate ecoregion, CWD comprised 20% of the regional aboveground woody store (277.5 ±5.4 Mg/ha) with 76% of total CWD biomass in undisturbed stands. Total C stores estimates in Coastal Alaska ranged between 1523.6 and 1892.8 Tg with the highest contribution from soils and the largest potential reductions in uncertainty related to the tree and soils C pools. The impact of a large-scale spruce bark beetle (SBB) outbreak on aboveground dead wood C dynamics on the Kenai Peninsula was modeled utilizing data from the FIA program and CWD decomposition rate-constants from a chronosequence and decomposition-vectors analysis. Decomposition rate-constants from the chronosequence ranged between -0.015 yr⁻¹ and -0.022 yr⁻¹ for logs and -0.003 yr⁻¹ and +0.002 yr⁻¹ for snags. Decomposition rate-constants from the decomposition-vectors ranged between -0.045 yr⁻¹ and +0.003 yr⁻¹ among decomposition phases and -0.048 yr⁻¹ and +0.006 yr⁻¹ among decay classes. Relative to log generating disturbances those creating snags delayed C flux from CWD to the atmosphere, produced a smaller magnitude C flux, and had the potential to store 10% to 66% more C in a disturbed system over time. The effect of several management strategies ranging from "leave-as-is" to "salvage-and-utilization" on C stores and emissions following SBB outbreak on Kenai Peninsula, Alaska was evaluated. A forest with immediate post-disturbance regeneration reached pre-disturbance C stores faster than one with delayed regeneration. Lack of regeneration, representing a loss of tree cover on the disturbed portion of the landscape, caused a permanent decrease in wood C stores. Among the "salvage-and-utilization" scenarios considered, biomass fuel production with substitution for fossil fuels created the largest long-term C storage assuming the substitution was permanent. Given that reduction in near-term emissions may be a more robust strategy than long-term ones, the "leave-as-is" scenarios may represent the most feasible way to mitigate global climate change following disturbance. Close

• 32. [Article] Relationships among juvenile anadromous salmonids, their freshwater habitat, and landscape characteristics over multiple years and spatial scales in the Elk River, Oregon

  Research on the distribution of juvenile salmonids in streams has been dominated by studies examining small areas over short periods. However, information relevant to freshwater influences on population ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Relationships among juvenile anadromous salmonids, their freshwater habitat, and landscape characteristics over multiple years and spatial scales in the Elk River, Oregon Author: Burnett, Kelly M. Research on the distribution of juvenile salmonids in streams has been dominated by studies examining small areas over short periods. However, information relevant to freshwater influences on population persistence is likely to derive from longer-term, multi-scale studies. Relationships were examined among juvenile anadromous salmonids, their freshwater habitat, and landscape characteristics throughout the Elk River, Oregon over 7 years at multiple spatial scales. Ocean-type chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (0. kisutch), coastal cutthroat trout (0. clarki) and winter-run steelhead (0. mykiss) comprised the salmonid assemblage. Habitat selection was quantified at stream system, valley segment, and channel unit scales by selection ratios estimated with bootstrapping methods. Unconstrained valleys in tributaries and pools in the mainstem were typically selected by each species except steelhead, which often avoided these. Valley segment types generally did not differ for characteristics routinely assessed in stream surveys. Thus, fish probably perceived other biotic or abiotic differences among valley segment types. Evidence suggested competition may have influenced selection by coho and chinook salmon. Discriminant analysis indicated that level of use by juvenile chinook salmon appeared related to valley segment type and spatial position. Unconstrained valleys, nearby valley segments, and valley segments with larger, deeper pools, containing more wood were most highly used by chinook salmon. Mean volume and maximum depth of pools were each directly related to catchment area, which explained more variation than landscape characteristics summarized at any of five spatial scales. At each scale except the most spatially extensive, wood density in valley segments was negatively related to the percent area in resistant rock types and positively related to the percent area in mature to old forests. The most variation was explained with these landscape variables summarized at an intermediate spatial scale (i.e., sub-catchment). Although spatial scales appeared similar in processes affecting wood density, finer scales omitted key source areas for wood delivery, and coarser scales included source areas less tightly coupled to wood dynamics in surveyed channels. If only 1 or 2 years of data or one spatial scale had been examined, as commonly occurs, conclusions may have differed substantially from those in this study. Title: Relationships among juvenile anadromous salmonids, their freshwater habitat, and landscape characteristics over multiple years and spatial scales in the Elk River, Oregon Author: Burnett, Kelly M. Research on the distribution of juvenile salmonids in streams has been dominated by studies examining small areas over short periods. However, information relevant to freshwater influences on population persistence is likely to derive from longer-term, multi-scale studies. Relationships were examined among juvenile anadromous salmonids, their freshwater habitat, and landscape characteristics throughout the Elk River, Oregon over 7 years at multiple spatial scales. Ocean-type chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (0. kisutch), coastal cutthroat trout (0. clarki) and winter-run steelhead (0. mykiss) comprised the salmonid assemblage. Habitat selection was quantified at stream system, valley segment, and channel unit scales by selection ratios estimated with bootstrapping methods. Unconstrained valleys in tributaries and pools in the mainstem were typically selected by each species except steelhead, which often avoided these. Valley segment types generally did not differ for characteristics routinely assessed in stream surveys. Thus, fish probably perceived other biotic or abiotic differences among valley segment types. Evidence suggested competition may have influenced selection by coho and chinook salmon. Discriminant analysis indicated that level of use by juvenile chinook salmon appeared related to valley segment type and spatial position. Unconstrained valleys, nearby valley segments, and valley segments with larger, deeper pools, containing more wood were most highly used by chinook salmon. Mean volume and maximum depth of pools were each directly related to catchment area, which explained more variation than landscape characteristics summarized at any of five spatial scales. At each scale except the most spatially extensive, wood density in valley segments was negatively related to the percent area in resistant rock types and positively related to the percent area in mature to old forests. The most variation was explained with these landscape variables summarized at an intermediate spatial scale (i.e., sub-catchment). Although spatial scales appeared similar in processes affecting wood density, finer scales omitted key source areas for wood delivery, and coarser scales included source areas less tightly coupled to wood dynamics in surveyed channels. If only 1 or 2 years of data or one spatial scale had been examined, as commonly occurs, conclusions may have differed substantially from those in this study. Close

• 33. [Article] Simulated response of ecosystem processes to climate change in northern California and western Nevada

  In order to investigate potential climate impacts on landscape-scale ecosystem processes, I implemented a dynamic general vegetation model (DGVM) over a large domain in northern California and western ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Simulated response of ecosystem processes to climate change in northern California and western Nevada Author: McGlinchy, Maureen C. In order to investigate potential climate impacts on landscape-scale ecosystem processes, I implemented a dynamic general vegetation model (DGVM) over a large domain in northern California and western Nevada on a rectangular grid of ca. 800-meter spatial resolution. I used 100 years of observed, monthly climate and nine future climate projections in an attempt to explore the range of possible climate futures in the region. I selected three general circulation models (MIROC3.2(medres), UKMO-HadCM3 and CSIRO-Mk3.0), incorporating a range of 2xCO₂ temperature sensitivity. Each GCM was run through three carbon dioxide emissions scenarios (SRES A2, A1B and B1). For this analysis, I focused the study on the simulated ecological impacts under the three A2 scenarios. Historical observations and future climate scenarios were interpolated to the 800-meter grid by the PRISM model. MC1, a systems-based DGVM, compared favorably to observed data for simulations of vegetation distribution and annual streamflow. MC1 slightly overestimated annual production in the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains and underestimated it in the Coast Range and Eastern Cascades. MC1 displayed a low bias for annual area burned and high bias for pyrogenic emissions. Validation of simulated model output was complicated because MC1 does not consider the effects of land management on ecosystems and the study region is heavily-impacted by development, logging, fire suppression, grazing and pre-European, indigenous land-use and burning. Under all future climate projections, an increase in growing season length and temperature led to the replacement of tundra and subalpine vegetation types with temperate conifer forest. Increased winter minimum temperatures promoted the expansion of mixed needleleaf-broadleaf forest, particularly in the mid-elevations of the Sierra Nevada and in coastal forests. In the MIROC3.2 and HadCM3 scenarios, ecosystem-level net primary productivity (NPP) did not increase with enhanced CO₂ fertilization because production remained limited by water, even though both NPP and water-use-efficiency were increased at the leaf level in proportion to CO₂ concentration. Increases in NPP were projected in CSIRO-Mk3, but increased precipitation and warmer temperatures also increased rates of heterotrophic respiration for no net gain in net ecosystem productivity (NEP). Fire extent and severity increased in all scenarios, mostly driven by significant decreases in mountainous snowpack and earlier snowmelt. Thus, a relatively constant NEP and increased fire emissions produced decreases in total ecosystem carbon across all future scenarios. Projected annual streamflow varied between future climate scenarios and was highly influenced by projected precipitation. In all future simulations, high-elevation mountainous landscapes were highly sensitive to projected changes in climate, largely attributable to an increased growing season and temperature, decreased snowpack and reduced fire return interval. Coastal forests were also highly susceptible to changes in vegetation type and increases in fire. Several sources contribute to uncertainty in MC1, including input datasets, model assumptions, uncertainties in ecosystem science, and questions of scale. Therefore, these results should be considered preliminary, but useful in suggesting a range of plausible ecological futures as we continue to refine model capabilities. Title: Simulated response of ecosystem processes to climate change in northern California and western Nevada Author: McGlinchy, Maureen C. In order to investigate potential climate impacts on landscape-scale ecosystem processes, I implemented a dynamic general vegetation model (DGVM) over a large domain in northern California and western Nevada on a rectangular grid of ca. 800-meter spatial resolution. I used 100 years of observed, monthly climate and nine future climate projections in an attempt to explore the range of possible climate futures in the region. I selected three general circulation models (MIROC3.2(medres), UKMO-HadCM3 and CSIRO-Mk3.0), incorporating a range of 2xCO₂ temperature sensitivity. Each GCM was run through three carbon dioxide emissions scenarios (SRES A2, A1B and B1). For this analysis, I focused the study on the simulated ecological impacts under the three A2 scenarios. Historical observations and future climate scenarios were interpolated to the 800-meter grid by the PRISM model. MC1, a systems-based DGVM, compared favorably to observed data for simulations of vegetation distribution and annual streamflow. MC1 slightly overestimated annual production in the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains and underestimated it in the Coast Range and Eastern Cascades. MC1 displayed a low bias for annual area burned and high bias for pyrogenic emissions. Validation of simulated model output was complicated because MC1 does not consider the effects of land management on ecosystems and the study region is heavily-impacted by development, logging, fire suppression, grazing and pre-European, indigenous land-use and burning. Under all future climate projections, an increase in growing season length and temperature led to the replacement of tundra and subalpine vegetation types with temperate conifer forest. Increased winter minimum temperatures promoted the expansion of mixed needleleaf-broadleaf forest, particularly in the mid-elevations of the Sierra Nevada and in coastal forests. In the MIROC3.2 and HadCM3 scenarios, ecosystem-level net primary productivity (NPP) did not increase with enhanced CO₂ fertilization because production remained limited by water, even though both NPP and water-use-efficiency were increased at the leaf level in proportion to CO₂ concentration. Increases in NPP were projected in CSIRO-Mk3, but increased precipitation and warmer temperatures also increased rates of heterotrophic respiration for no net gain in net ecosystem productivity (NEP). Fire extent and severity increased in all scenarios, mostly driven by significant decreases in mountainous snowpack and earlier snowmelt. Thus, a relatively constant NEP and increased fire emissions produced decreases in total ecosystem carbon across all future scenarios. Projected annual streamflow varied between future climate scenarios and was highly influenced by projected precipitation. In all future simulations, high-elevation mountainous landscapes were highly sensitive to projected changes in climate, largely attributable to an increased growing season and temperature, decreased snowpack and reduced fire return interval. Coastal forests were also highly susceptible to changes in vegetation type and increases in fire. Several sources contribute to uncertainty in MC1, including input datasets, model assumptions, uncertainties in ecosystem science, and questions of scale. Therefore, these results should be considered preliminary, but useful in suggesting a range of plausible ecological futures as we continue to refine model capabilities. Close

• 34. [Article] Where's the ground surface? Elevation bias in LIDAR-derived digital elevation models due to dense vegetation in Oregon tidal marshes

  Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is a powerful resource for coastal and wetland managers and its use is increasing. Vegetation density and other land cover characteristics influence the accuracy of ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Where's the ground surface? Elevation bias in LIDAR-derived digital elevation models due to dense vegetation in Oregon tidal marshes Author: Ewald, Michael J. Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is a powerful resource for coastal and wetland managers and its use is increasing. Vegetation density and other land cover characteristics influence the accuracy of LIDAR-derived ground surface digital elevation models; however, the degree to which wetland land cover biases LIDAR estimates of the ground surface is largely unknown. The minimum-bin LIDAR gridding technique has been proposed as a way to mitigate dense vegetation interference to generate LIDAR-derived digital elevation models (DEM). Past research has focused on the ability to resolve the marsh plain elevation and only limited research has investigated the overall DEM accuracy across the landscape using a wide range of cell sizes and land cover classes. I compared LIDAR-derived DEM accuracy across a 174 ha tidal wetland restoration site with a mix of native wetland and non-native agricultural pasture species. I found an optimum cell size of 1.4 m (1.96 m²) with a mean positive bias of 4.5 cm and a mean absolute error of 24.3 cm. At cell sizes smaller than the optimum, vegetation interferes with the LIDAR sensor and positively biases DEM models. At cell sizes larger than 1.4 m, the DEM captures and favors low features within the landscape, such as channels and ditches, which thereby degrade overall DEM performance. In addition, I investigated LIDAR interference by twelve common tidal wetland vegetation associations across six Oregon estuaries, using survey-grade Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of the wetland surface and quantitative vegetation data (percent cover by species) for each measurement location. The fundamental vertical accuracy (FVA) of the LIDAR datasets was 4.5 cm root mean square error (RMSE) and had no consistent positive or negative bias in open landcover. Within wetland vegetation communities, my results suggest that LIDAR estimates of the ground surface in tidal wetlands are typically 10 cm to 30 cm above GPS measurements. Plant associations dominated by Carex obnupta and Carex lyngbyei exhibited the largest discrepancy between LIDAR and GPS measurements (mean discrepancies 36.6 cm and 48.8 cm respectively). The smallest errors observed in the study were about 10 cm to 11 cm and occurred in several different plant associations, including two low tidal marsh associations dominated by a mixture of Deschampsia cespitosa, Distichlis spicata, Sarcocornia perennis and Jaumea carnosa. These results suggest that the minimum-bin gridding technique for LIDAR may mitigate vegetation interference by densely vegetated land covers within LIDAR-derived DEM. However, care should be taken to select an appropriate cell size and validate the results before relying on the DEM for analysis. My research yields new information for coastal LIDAR users and increases our understanding of uncertainty in LIDAR-derived datasets to improve the ability to accurately evaluate and manage coastal environments. Title: Where's the ground surface? Elevation bias in LIDAR-derived digital elevation models due to dense vegetation in Oregon tidal marshes Author: Ewald, Michael J. Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is a powerful resource for coastal and wetland managers and its use is increasing. Vegetation density and other land cover characteristics influence the accuracy of LIDAR-derived ground surface digital elevation models; however, the degree to which wetland land cover biases LIDAR estimates of the ground surface is largely unknown. The minimum-bin LIDAR gridding technique has been proposed as a way to mitigate dense vegetation interference to generate LIDAR-derived digital elevation models (DEM). Past research has focused on the ability to resolve the marsh plain elevation and only limited research has investigated the overall DEM accuracy across the landscape using a wide range of cell sizes and land cover classes. I compared LIDAR-derived DEM accuracy across a 174 ha tidal wetland restoration site with a mix of native wetland and non-native agricultural pasture species. I found an optimum cell size of 1.4 m (1.96 m²) with a mean positive bias of 4.5 cm and a mean absolute error of 24.3 cm. At cell sizes smaller than the optimum, vegetation interferes with the LIDAR sensor and positively biases DEM models. At cell sizes larger than 1.4 m, the DEM captures and favors low features within the landscape, such as channels and ditches, which thereby degrade overall DEM performance. In addition, I investigated LIDAR interference by twelve common tidal wetland vegetation associations across six Oregon estuaries, using survey-grade Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of the wetland surface and quantitative vegetation data (percent cover by species) for each measurement location. The fundamental vertical accuracy (FVA) of the LIDAR datasets was 4.5 cm root mean square error (RMSE) and had no consistent positive or negative bias in open landcover. Within wetland vegetation communities, my results suggest that LIDAR estimates of the ground surface in tidal wetlands are typically 10 cm to 30 cm above GPS measurements. Plant associations dominated by Carex obnupta and Carex lyngbyei exhibited the largest discrepancy between LIDAR and GPS measurements (mean discrepancies 36.6 cm and 48.8 cm respectively). The smallest errors observed in the study were about 10 cm to 11 cm and occurred in several different plant associations, including two low tidal marsh associations dominated by a mixture of Deschampsia cespitosa, Distichlis spicata, Sarcocornia perennis and Jaumea carnosa. These results suggest that the minimum-bin gridding technique for LIDAR may mitigate vegetation interference by densely vegetated land covers within LIDAR-derived DEM. However, care should be taken to select an appropriate cell size and validate the results before relying on the DEM for analysis. My research yields new information for coastal LIDAR users and increases our understanding of uncertainty in LIDAR-derived datasets to improve the ability to accurately evaluate and manage coastal environments. Close

• 35. [Article] Resource Selection by the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) Relative to Terrestrial-Based Habitats and Meteorological Conditions

  This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article was published by the Public Library of Science and is in the public domain.

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Resource Selection by the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) Relative to Terrestrial-Based Habitats and Meteorological Conditions Author: Schwarz, Carl J., George, Daniel, Burnett, L. Joseph, Rivers, James W., Johnson, J. Matthew, Haig, Susan M., Glendening, John W., Grantham, Jesse This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article was published by the Public Library of Science and is in the public domain. Title: Resource Selection by the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) Relative to Terrestrial-Based Habitats and Meteorological Conditions Author: Schwarz, Carl J., George, Daniel, Burnett, L. Joseph, Rivers, James W., Johnson, J. Matthew, Haig, Susan M., Glendening, John W., Grantham, Jesse This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article was published by the Public Library of Science and is in the public domain. Close

• 36. [Article] Forecasting the response of Earth's surface to future climatic and land use changes: A review of methods and research needs

  To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Forecasting the response of Earth's surface to future climatic and land use changes: A review of methods and research needs Author: Pelletier, Jon D., Ruggiero, Peter, Murray, A. Brad, Pierce, Jennifer L., et al. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. on behalf of the American Geophysical Union. The published article can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%292328-4277/issues Title: Forecasting the response of Earth's surface to future climatic and land use changes: A review of methods and research needs Author: Pelletier, Jon D., Ruggiero, Peter, Murray, A. Brad, Pierce, Jennifer L., et al. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. on behalf of the American Geophysical Union. The published article can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%292328-4277/issues Close

• 37. [Article] The role of rock resistance and rock uplift on topographic relief and river longitudinal profiles in the coastal mountains of Oregon and a landscape-scale test for steady-state conditions

  Analysis of topographic and river morphometric parameters was conducted using digital elevation models (DEMs) and field observations in order to determine the role of variable rock resistance on topographic ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The role of rock resistance and rock uplift on topographic relief and river longitudinal profiles in the coastal mountains of Oregon and a landscape-scale test for steady-state conditions Author: VanLaningham, Sam J. Analysis of topographic and river morphometric parameters was conducted using digital elevation models (DEMs) and field observations in order to determine the role of variable rock resistance on topographic relief, to examine how spatially and temporally variable rock uplift rates relate to river morphology, and to address the degree to which uplift and erosion are in steady-state in the actively uplifting region of the Coast Ranges and Klamath Mountains in Oregon. Four domains were differentiated based on mapped geology and topography - the northern (~45° - 46° N), central (-44° - 45° N), south-central (-43° - 44° N) and southern regions (-42° - 43° N). Bedrock control, on the range scale, is indicated through the association of higher topography with exposures of more resistant volcanic and metamorphic rocks. Lithologic changes coincide with knickpoints on river longitudinal profiles between the latitudes of 43° - 45° N, where rock uplift appears to be low. Rock type seems to be a strong control on topographic relief in these regions. However, in the southern region and less somewhat in the north, where rock uplift rates are highest, changes in lithology along river profiles do not display significant knickpoints. Uplift likely controls river profile form in the northern and southern regions. Basin hypsometric integrals and drainage density values are relatively constant in the study area except in the central region. Rivers in this region are almost exclusively alluvial - whereas most rivers in the Coast Ranges are bedrock or mixed bedrock-alluvial types. These low values in the central region, coupled with the presence of alluvial channels, suggests that the topography is expressing signals of low to no rock uplift in this region. The correspondence seen between low uplift rates and bedrock control and high uplift rates and a transparent bedrock signal suggests that an uplift rate threshold may exist. This has implications for modeling topographic evolution in tectonically-active mountain belts. Title: The role of rock resistance and rock uplift on topographic relief and river longitudinal profiles in the coastal mountains of Oregon and a landscape-scale test for steady-state conditions Author: VanLaningham, Sam J. Analysis of topographic and river morphometric parameters was conducted using digital elevation models (DEMs) and field observations in order to determine the role of variable rock resistance on topographic relief, to examine how spatially and temporally variable rock uplift rates relate to river morphology, and to address the degree to which uplift and erosion are in steady-state in the actively uplifting region of the Coast Ranges and Klamath Mountains in Oregon. Four domains were differentiated based on mapped geology and topography - the northern (~45° - 46° N), central (-44° - 45° N), south-central (-43° - 44° N) and southern regions (-42° - 43° N). Bedrock control, on the range scale, is indicated through the association of higher topography with exposures of more resistant volcanic and metamorphic rocks. Lithologic changes coincide with knickpoints on river longitudinal profiles between the latitudes of 43° - 45° N, where rock uplift appears to be low. Rock type seems to be a strong control on topographic relief in these regions. However, in the southern region and less somewhat in the north, where rock uplift rates are highest, changes in lithology along river profiles do not display significant knickpoints. Uplift likely controls river profile form in the northern and southern regions. Basin hypsometric integrals and drainage density values are relatively constant in the study area except in the central region. Rivers in this region are almost exclusively alluvial - whereas most rivers in the Coast Ranges are bedrock or mixed bedrock-alluvial types. These low values in the central region, coupled with the presence of alluvial channels, suggests that the topography is expressing signals of low to no rock uplift in this region. The correspondence seen between low uplift rates and bedrock control and high uplift rates and a transparent bedrock signal suggests that an uplift rate threshold may exist. This has implications for modeling topographic evolution in tectonically-active mountain belts. Close

• 38. [Article] Beaver ecology on the west Copper River Delta, Alaska

  Since the 1964 earthquake and geologic uplift, beavers (Castor canadensis) have expanded their historic range from the inland (outwash plain) Copper River Delta, Alaska to the once tidally influenced ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Beaver ecology on the west Copper River Delta, Alaska Author: Cooper, Erin E. Since the 1964 earthquake and geologic uplift, beavers (Castor canadensis) have expanded their historic range from the inland (outwash plain) Copper River Delta, Alaska to the once tidally influenced areas of the outer area (uplifted marsh). The uplift presents a unique opportunity to observe beaver expansion, habitat selection and influence on hydrologic structure of a coastal wetland ecosystem after a major disturbance. First, I examined the relationship between the sites of active beaver lodges and associated water and vegetative features (Chapter 2). I hypothesized that active lodge sites would be associated with distinct water features and woody vegetation types in each landscape. I used aerial photographic and ground survey methods to compare sightability and to determine habitat associations. I developed an a priori set of models to determine active beaver lodge occurrence using logistic regression with presence and absence as the response variables and water features and vegetation cover as the dependent variables. My results were similar between survey methods but differed between the two major landscape types. In the uplifted marsh, odds of an active lodge occurrance increased with the presence of former tidal sloughs and an increase in mixed shrub coverage. The odds of an active lodge occurrence increased with the presence of streams and decreased with increasing closed cottonwood-alder-willow coverage in the outwash plain. Post earthquake uplift, beaver now exploit a unique topographic setting through the use and modification of former tidal sloughs and a transitioning mixed shrub vegetation community. Second, I quantified the influence of beaver on the surface water of the West Copper River Delta using remote sensing (Chapter 3). Water features were documented from digitized aerial photographs from 1959, 1974, 1986, 1992/1993, and 1996. My results showed that surface water area in beaver influenced water impoundments increased from 0 to 20% from 1959 to 1996, concurrent with beaver colonization of the uplifted marsh. These results suggest that beavers may have altered the trajectory of wetland change on the West Copper River Delta by raising the water table within open water basins and flooding those areas that would have otherwise drained. Beaver may be used an effective management tool in wetland restoration where key habitat features are available. Title: Beaver ecology on the west Copper River Delta, Alaska Author: Cooper, Erin E. Since the 1964 earthquake and geologic uplift, beavers (Castor canadensis) have expanded their historic range from the inland (outwash plain) Copper River Delta, Alaska to the once tidally influenced areas of the outer area (uplifted marsh). The uplift presents a unique opportunity to observe beaver expansion, habitat selection and influence on hydrologic structure of a coastal wetland ecosystem after a major disturbance. First, I examined the relationship between the sites of active beaver lodges and associated water and vegetative features (Chapter 2). I hypothesized that active lodge sites would be associated with distinct water features and woody vegetation types in each landscape. I used aerial photographic and ground survey methods to compare sightability and to determine habitat associations. I developed an a priori set of models to determine active beaver lodge occurrence using logistic regression with presence and absence as the response variables and water features and vegetation cover as the dependent variables. My results were similar between survey methods but differed between the two major landscape types. In the uplifted marsh, odds of an active lodge occurrance increased with the presence of former tidal sloughs and an increase in mixed shrub coverage. The odds of an active lodge occurrence increased with the presence of streams and decreased with increasing closed cottonwood-alder-willow coverage in the outwash plain. Post earthquake uplift, beaver now exploit a unique topographic setting through the use and modification of former tidal sloughs and a transitioning mixed shrub vegetation community. Second, I quantified the influence of beaver on the surface water of the West Copper River Delta using remote sensing (Chapter 3). Water features were documented from digitized aerial photographs from 1959, 1974, 1986, 1992/1993, and 1996. My results showed that surface water area in beaver influenced water impoundments increased from 0 to 20% from 1959 to 1996, concurrent with beaver colonization of the uplifted marsh. These results suggest that beavers may have altered the trajectory of wetland change on the West Copper River Delta by raising the water table within open water basins and flooding those areas that would have otherwise drained. Beaver may be used an effective management tool in wetland restoration where key habitat features are available. Close

• 39. [Article] Cumulative effects of land use on salmon habitat in southwest Oregon coastal streams

  As part of a hierarchical approach to classifying watersheds and stream habitats based on geomorphic and geologic criteria, we defined ten classes of fluvial and lacustrine habitats at the scale of valley ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Cumulative effects of land use on salmon habitat in southwest Oregon coastal streams Author: Frissell, Christopher Andrew, 1960- As part of a hierarchical approach to classifying watersheds and stream habitats based on geomorphic and geologic criteria, we defined ten classes of fluvial and lacustrine habitats at the scale of valley segments. Valley segments are landscape units which encompass surface waters and the adjacent floodplains and hillslopes with which they interact over time frames of thousands of years. They form a large-scale template that constrains the character of aquatic habitat, controls the effects of disturbances in riparian areas, and mediates responses of streams to upland and upstream events. The regional distribution of valley segment types in southwest Oregon reflects bedrock geology and tectonic history of the landscape. Fluvial segment types differ in stream adjacent landforms, slope erosion processes, floodplain and valley morphology, channel slope, riparian vegetation, streambank texture, gravel bar morphology, and pool-forming features. Studies that do not carefully account for inherent differences between valley segment types could fail to detect critical changes in stream habitat caused by human disturbance. Alluvial valley and alluviated canyon segment types, which have extensive floodplains, low channel slopes, abundant woody debris, and ample gravel beds, are of greatest direct importance for salmon and other native fishes. Virtually all alluvial valleys in the study area have been heavily disturbed by logging, agriculture, and residential development. Alluviated canyon segments located in the few drainage basins where human activity has been limited probably serve as habitat refugia for the last diverse assemblages and productive populations of salmon in the region. Alluviated canyons in extensively-fogged basins exhibit increased abundance of large woody debris, fewer cross-channel debris jams, more extensive bank erosion, reduced pool area and increased riffle area, shallower riffles, and increased surface concentration of fine sediments in pools and other habitats, compared to similar segments in lesser-disturbed basins. These changes in channel morphology and stability appear to be driven by increased sediment load, caused by logging-related landslides and other erosion sources. Field studies in Sixes River basin indicated that abundance and diversity of salmonid fishes declines as maximum stream temperature increases. Changes in summer distribution of juvenile chinook and coho salmon since 1970 are related to changes In water temperature. Although some tributaries have cooled, a decline in rearing distribution in mainstem areas could be caused by long-term loss of channel complexity and associated coolwater refugia. Analysis of fish habitat structures constructed by federal and state agencies indicated that failure rates are high. Recovery of anadromous fish runs in southwest Oregon will require protection of remaining habitat refugia and reduction of sediment yield from disturbed watersheds. Title: Cumulative effects of land use on salmon habitat in southwest Oregon coastal streams Author: Frissell, Christopher Andrew, 1960- As part of a hierarchical approach to classifying watersheds and stream habitats based on geomorphic and geologic criteria, we defined ten classes of fluvial and lacustrine habitats at the scale of valley segments. Valley segments are landscape units which encompass surface waters and the adjacent floodplains and hillslopes with which they interact over time frames of thousands of years. They form a large-scale template that constrains the character of aquatic habitat, controls the effects of disturbances in riparian areas, and mediates responses of streams to upland and upstream events. The regional distribution of valley segment types in southwest Oregon reflects bedrock geology and tectonic history of the landscape. Fluvial segment types differ in stream adjacent landforms, slope erosion processes, floodplain and valley morphology, channel slope, riparian vegetation, streambank texture, gravel bar morphology, and pool-forming features. Studies that do not carefully account for inherent differences between valley segment types could fail to detect critical changes in stream habitat caused by human disturbance. Alluvial valley and alluviated canyon segment types, which have extensive floodplains, low channel slopes, abundant woody debris, and ample gravel beds, are of greatest direct importance for salmon and other native fishes. Virtually all alluvial valleys in the study area have been heavily disturbed by logging, agriculture, and residential development. Alluviated canyon segments located in the few drainage basins where human activity has been limited probably serve as habitat refugia for the last diverse assemblages and productive populations of salmon in the region. Alluviated canyons in extensively-fogged basins exhibit increased abundance of large woody debris, fewer cross-channel debris jams, more extensive bank erosion, reduced pool area and increased riffle area, shallower riffles, and increased surface concentration of fine sediments in pools and other habitats, compared to similar segments in lesser-disturbed basins. These changes in channel morphology and stability appear to be driven by increased sediment load, caused by logging-related landslides and other erosion sources. Field studies in Sixes River basin indicated that abundance and diversity of salmonid fishes declines as maximum stream temperature increases. Changes in summer distribution of juvenile chinook and coho salmon since 1970 are related to changes In water temperature. Although some tributaries have cooled, a decline in rearing distribution in mainstem areas could be caused by long-term loss of channel complexity and associated coolwater refugia. Analysis of fish habitat structures constructed by federal and state agencies indicated that failure rates are high. Recovery of anadromous fish runs in southwest Oregon will require protection of remaining habitat refugia and reduction of sediment yield from disturbed watersheds. Close

• 40. [Article] Road networks, timber harvest, and the spread of Phytophthora root rot infestations of Port-Orford-­cedar in southwest Oregon

  Phytophthora lateralis is the causal agent of cedar root rot, a fatal forest pathogen whose principal host is Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Port-Orford-cedar), a predominantly riparian-restricted endemic tree ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Road networks, timber harvest, and the spread of Phytophthora root rot infestations of Port-Orford-­cedar in southwest Oregon Author: Clark, William C. Phytophthora lateralis is the causal agent of cedar root rot, a fatal forest pathogen whose principal host is Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Port-Orford-cedar), a predominantly riparian-restricted endemic tree species of ecological, economical, and cultural importance to coastal Oregon and California. Local scale distribution of P. lateralis is thought to be associated with timber harvest and road-building disturbances. However, knowledge of the landscape-scale factors that contribute to successful invasions of P. lateralis is also important for effective land management of Port-Orford-cedar. P. lateralis is able to infest in wet conditions via stream networks (zoospore) and dry conditions via road networks (resting spore). This study tested the hypothesis that vehicles spread P. lateralis by relating its distribution to traffic intensive, anthropogenic disturbances (i.e. a road network, timber harvest) over a 31-yr period in a 3,910-km² portion of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon. Indices of road disturbance (presence/absence, configuration, length, density, road-stream network connectivity) and timber harvest (presence/absence, area, density, frequency) were related to locations of infested cedar populations from a USFS survey dataset using a geographic information system (GIS). About 40% of 934 7th-field catchments were infested with the pathogen. Total road length of the study site was 5,070 km; maximum road density was 8.2 km/km2 and averaged 1.6 km/km² in roaded catchments (n = 766). Timber activities extracted 17,370 ha (2,338 cutting units) of forest across 509 catchments; 345 catchments were cut ≥ twice. Maximum harvest density was 0.92 km²/km² ([mean] = 0.04). Both road networks and timber harvest patchworks were significantly related to cedar root rot heterogeneity. Chi-squared contingency tables showed that infestation rates were 2.2 times higher in catchments with roads compared to roadless catchments and 1.4 times higher in catchments with road-stream intersections compared to those that were unconnected. Infestation was twice as likely in catchments with both harvest and road presence than road presence alone. Single-variable logistic regression showed that a one percent increase in harvest density increased infestation odds 25% and a one-unit (km/km²) increase in road density increased infestation odds 80%. Road and stream network configuration was also important to pathogen distribution: 1) uninfested catchments are most likely to be spatially removed from infested, roaded catchments, 2) only 11% of 287 roaded catchments downstream of infested, roaded catchments were uninfested, and 3) only 12% of 319 catchments downstream of infested catchments were uninfested. Road networks and timber harvest patchworks appear to reduce landscape heterogeneity by providing up-catchment and down-catchment access to host populations by linking pathogenic materials to the stream network. Timber harvest data suggest that while infestation risk to Port-Orford-cedar populations remains high, management policies may have curbed infestation risk in timber-harvested catchments; if this is a result of specific P. lateralis mitigation policies adopted in the late 1980's or broader, region-wide conservation policies (i.e. the Northwest Forest Plan) is yet unclear. Title: Road networks, timber harvest, and the spread of Phytophthora root rot infestations of Port-Orford-­cedar in southwest Oregon Author: Clark, William C. Phytophthora lateralis is the causal agent of cedar root rot, a fatal forest pathogen whose principal host is Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Port-Orford-cedar), a predominantly riparian-restricted endemic tree species of ecological, economical, and cultural importance to coastal Oregon and California. Local scale distribution of P. lateralis is thought to be associated with timber harvest and road-building disturbances. However, knowledge of the landscape-scale factors that contribute to successful invasions of P. lateralis is also important for effective land management of Port-Orford-cedar. P. lateralis is able to infest in wet conditions via stream networks (zoospore) and dry conditions via road networks (resting spore). This study tested the hypothesis that vehicles spread P. lateralis by relating its distribution to traffic intensive, anthropogenic disturbances (i.e. a road network, timber harvest) over a 31-yr period in a 3,910-km² portion of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon. Indices of road disturbance (presence/absence, configuration, length, density, road-stream network connectivity) and timber harvest (presence/absence, area, density, frequency) were related to locations of infested cedar populations from a USFS survey dataset using a geographic information system (GIS). About 40% of 934 7th-field catchments were infested with the pathogen. Total road length of the study site was 5,070 km; maximum road density was 8.2 km/km2 and averaged 1.6 km/km² in roaded catchments (n = 766). Timber activities extracted 17,370 ha (2,338 cutting units) of forest across 509 catchments; 345 catchments were cut ≥ twice. Maximum harvest density was 0.92 km²/km² ([mean] = 0.04). Both road networks and timber harvest patchworks were significantly related to cedar root rot heterogeneity. Chi-squared contingency tables showed that infestation rates were 2.2 times higher in catchments with roads compared to roadless catchments and 1.4 times higher in catchments with road-stream intersections compared to those that were unconnected. Infestation was twice as likely in catchments with both harvest and road presence than road presence alone. Single-variable logistic regression showed that a one percent increase in harvest density increased infestation odds 25% and a one-unit (km/km²) increase in road density increased infestation odds 80%. Road and stream network configuration was also important to pathogen distribution: 1) uninfested catchments are most likely to be spatially removed from infested, roaded catchments, 2) only 11% of 287 roaded catchments downstream of infested, roaded catchments were uninfested, and 3) only 12% of 319 catchments downstream of infested catchments were uninfested. Road networks and timber harvest patchworks appear to reduce landscape heterogeneity by providing up-catchment and down-catchment access to host populations by linking pathogenic materials to the stream network. Timber harvest data suggest that while infestation risk to Port-Orford-cedar populations remains high, management policies may have curbed infestation risk in timber-harvested catchments; if this is a result of specific P. lateralis mitigation policies adopted in the late 1980's or broader, region-wide conservation policies (i.e. the Northwest Forest Plan) is yet unclear. Close

• 41. [Article] Aspects of the early life history of juvenile salmonids in the Dungeness River Estuary

  The decline of many Pacific salmon stocks has stimulated interest in the early life history and habitat requirements of juvenile salmon. Although estuarine habitat associations of juvenile salmon have ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Aspects of the early life history of juvenile salmonids in the Dungeness River Estuary Author: Sather, Nichole K. The decline of many Pacific salmon stocks has stimulated interest in the early life history and habitat requirements of juvenile salmon. Although estuarine habitat associations of juvenile salmon have been investigated in many coastal areas of the eastern Pacific Ocean, until recently, little was known about juvenile salmonid ecology within the Straits of Juan de Fuca. During the Spring/Summer outmigration period in 2006 and 2007, I examined the early life history of the five species of anadromous salmon in the Dungeness River estuary on the north Olympic Peninsula, Washington. I sampled multiple spatial scales within several habitat types to characterize salmon distribution and habitat use. My results presented in this thesis are segregated into two components: 1) tidal marsh ecology of juvenile salmonids in the Dungeness River estuary, and 2) the landscape-scale distribution of juvenile salmonids within the Dungeness River estuary. I examined the population of juvenile salmonids within blind tidal sloughs near the vicinity of the Dungeness River delta. Salmonids were present within the tidal marshes throughout the entire outmigration period (e.g., March through July). Juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were the most abundant salmonid species within the marshes. Based on the temporal distribution and size structure of juvenile Chinook salmon in the estuary I identified at least four life history types: 1) a fry strategy included a large pulse of fish emigrating from the river at a small size (e.g., 35-45mm FL) during late winter and early spring months; 2) the second group of fish was the least abundant group emigrating from the river from April through mid May at sizes ranging from 50-75mm FL; 3) the third group of migrants entered the estuary between from late spring through the summer months at larger sizes than the initial groups (e.g., 60-90mm FL); and 4) the final group of Chinook salmon included a stream-type yearling strategy. In addition to the four life history strategies identified for Chinook salmon, I detected at least three groups of chum salmon migrating into the estuary. These groups were distinguished by their size and timing of migration and are further described according to different rearing strategies. The distribution of juvenile salmonids was most strongly influenced by the degree of connectivity (i.e., distance) between the tidal marshes and the mouth of the Dungeness River. Habitat complexity and opportunity also governed the distribution of juvenile salmonids within the tidal marshes. I also sampled three regions of the estuary with a beach seine to investigate the nearshore distribution of juvenile salmonids within the Dungeness River estuary: the delta face, inner Bay, and outer Bay. Among the three regions, species composition was highly variable between 2006 and 2007. The most common salmonids encountered within the beach seine sites included Chinook salmon, chum salmon (O. kisutch), and pink salmon (O. gorbuscha). The relative abundance of salmonids was highest near the delta face and lowest within the outer bay area. The landscape-scale distribution and habitat use of juvenile salmonids within the Dungeness River estuary is largely influenced by ecosystem connectivity, but is also linked to biotic characteristics of the fish (e.g., life history type and fish size). Although the Dungeness includes hydrogeomorphic characteristics (e.g., steep river gradient, composition of sand spits in the estuary) unique to other Pacific Northwest watersheds, this system produces a variety of life history types comparable to other estuaries. Understanding the mechanisms that drive the distribution of juvenile salmonids within the Dungeness will supply local resource managers with a baseline with which to establish ecosystem restoration goals. Title: Aspects of the early life history of juvenile salmonids in the Dungeness River Estuary Author: Sather, Nichole K. The decline of many Pacific salmon stocks has stimulated interest in the early life history and habitat requirements of juvenile salmon. Although estuarine habitat associations of juvenile salmon have been investigated in many coastal areas of the eastern Pacific Ocean, until recently, little was known about juvenile salmonid ecology within the Straits of Juan de Fuca. During the Spring/Summer outmigration period in 2006 and 2007, I examined the early life history of the five species of anadromous salmon in the Dungeness River estuary on the north Olympic Peninsula, Washington. I sampled multiple spatial scales within several habitat types to characterize salmon distribution and habitat use. My results presented in this thesis are segregated into two components: 1) tidal marsh ecology of juvenile salmonids in the Dungeness River estuary, and 2) the landscape-scale distribution of juvenile salmonids within the Dungeness River estuary. I examined the population of juvenile salmonids within blind tidal sloughs near the vicinity of the Dungeness River delta. Salmonids were present within the tidal marshes throughout the entire outmigration period (e.g., March through July). Juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were the most abundant salmonid species within the marshes. Based on the temporal distribution and size structure of juvenile Chinook salmon in the estuary I identified at least four life history types: 1) a fry strategy included a large pulse of fish emigrating from the river at a small size (e.g., 35-45mm FL) during late winter and early spring months; 2) the second group of fish was the least abundant group emigrating from the river from April through mid May at sizes ranging from 50-75mm FL; 3) the third group of migrants entered the estuary between from late spring through the summer months at larger sizes than the initial groups (e.g., 60-90mm FL); and 4) the final group of Chinook salmon included a stream-type yearling strategy. In addition to the four life history strategies identified for Chinook salmon, I detected at least three groups of chum salmon migrating into the estuary. These groups were distinguished by their size and timing of migration and are further described according to different rearing strategies. The distribution of juvenile salmonids was most strongly influenced by the degree of connectivity (i.e., distance) between the tidal marshes and the mouth of the Dungeness River. Habitat complexity and opportunity also governed the distribution of juvenile salmonids within the tidal marshes. I also sampled three regions of the estuary with a beach seine to investigate the nearshore distribution of juvenile salmonids within the Dungeness River estuary: the delta face, inner Bay, and outer Bay. Among the three regions, species composition was highly variable between 2006 and 2007. The most common salmonids encountered within the beach seine sites included Chinook salmon, chum salmon (O. kisutch), and pink salmon (O. gorbuscha). The relative abundance of salmonids was highest near the delta face and lowest within the outer bay area. The landscape-scale distribution and habitat use of juvenile salmonids within the Dungeness River estuary is largely influenced by ecosystem connectivity, but is also linked to biotic characteristics of the fish (e.g., life history type and fish size). Although the Dungeness includes hydrogeomorphic characteristics (e.g., steep river gradient, composition of sand spits in the estuary) unique to other Pacific Northwest watersheds, this system produces a variety of life history types comparable to other estuaries. Understanding the mechanisms that drive the distribution of juvenile salmonids within the Dungeness will supply local resource managers with a baseline with which to establish ecosystem restoration goals. Close

• 42. [Article] Assessment of the potential for conflict between existing ocean space use and renewable energy development off the coast of Oregon

  Oregon's ocean waters are a potential source of wind, wave, and tidal energy; of interest to renewable energy entrepreneurs and to the U.S. government as it seeks to bolster energy security. In order to ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Assessment of the potential for conflict between existing ocean space use and renewable energy development off the coast of Oregon Author: Sullivan, Colleen M. (Colleen Marie) Oregon's ocean waters are a potential source of wind, wave, and tidal energy; of interest to renewable energy entrepreneurs and to the U.S. government as it seeks to bolster energy security. In order to install technology to capture this energy, however, it may be necessary to mitigate conflict with existing ocean space users. The objective of this research was to construct a conflict analysis model in a GIS to answer the following research questions: (1) Within the study area off the coast of Oregon, where are stakeholders currently using ocean space and how many uses overlap? (2) To what extent might existing ocean space use present potential for conflict with renewable energy development? (3) How do various types of uncertainty affect analysis results? (4) What are the implications of these findings for ecosystem based management of the ocean? All available spatial information on ocean space usage by commercial fishing, commercial non-fishing, recreational, Native American, and scientific communities was gathered. Stakeholder outreach with these communities was used to vet the collected data and allow each to contribute knowledge not previously available through GIS data clearinghouses maintained by government or interest groups. The resulting data were used as inputs to a conflict visualization model written in Python and imported to an ArcGIS tool. Results showed extensive coverage and overlap of existing ocean space uses; specifically that 99.7% of the 1-nm² grid cells of the study area are occupied by at least 6 different categories of ocean space use. The six uses with the greatest coverage were: Fishing – Trolling, Habitat, Military, Fishing - Closure Areas, Protected, and Marine Transportation - Low Intensity. An uncertainty analysis was also completed to illustrate the margin for error and therefore the necessity of appropriate stakeholder outreach during the renewable energy siting process, as opposed to relying only on a GIS. Ranking of each category by its potential for conflict with renewable energy development demonstrated which areas of the ocean may be particularly contentious. Because rankings are subjective, a tool was created to allow users to input their own rankings. For the purpose of this report, default rankings were assigned to each as justified by the literature. Results under these assumptions showed that space use and potential for conflict were highest between the coast and approximately 30 nm at sea. This is likely because certain space use is limited by depth (e.g., recreational use); there is increased shipping density as vessels approach and depart major ports; and increased fuel costs associated with traveling further from shore. Two potential applications of model results were demonstrated. First, comparison with existing wave energy permit sites highlighted relative potential for conflict among the sites and the input data detailed the specific uses present. Second, comparison with areas determined most suitable for development by the wave energy industry illustrated that areas of high suitability often also had high rankings for potential for conflict. It appeared that the factors that determined development suitability were often the same factors that drew current ocean space users to those locations. Current support at the state, regional and federal level under the National Ocean Policy for the use of marine spatial planning as a tool to implement ecosystem based management of the oceans requires that tools such as the one developed in this research are used, to ensure that all components of the marine ecosystem are considered prior to implementation of a management plan. The addition of renewable energy to the current social landscape of the ocean will reduce the resource base for many categories of ocean space use. Model results demonstrated that mitigation of conflict between development and existing space use is not merely a best practice supported by current policy, but a necessity. Results presented a visualization of the social landscape of the ocean that could help managers determine which stakeholders to engage during the initial stage of choosing a site for development. Title: Assessment of the potential for conflict between existing ocean space use and renewable energy development off the coast of Oregon Author: Sullivan, Colleen M. (Colleen Marie) Oregon's ocean waters are a potential source of wind, wave, and tidal energy; of interest to renewable energy entrepreneurs and to the U.S. government as it seeks to bolster energy security. In order to install technology to capture this energy, however, it may be necessary to mitigate conflict with existing ocean space users. The objective of this research was to construct a conflict analysis model in a GIS to answer the following research questions: (1) Within the study area off the coast of Oregon, where are stakeholders currently using ocean space and how many uses overlap? (2) To what extent might existing ocean space use present potential for conflict with renewable energy development? (3) How do various types of uncertainty affect analysis results? (4) What are the implications of these findings for ecosystem based management of the ocean? All available spatial information on ocean space usage by commercial fishing, commercial non-fishing, recreational, Native American, and scientific communities was gathered. Stakeholder outreach with these communities was used to vet the collected data and allow each to contribute knowledge not previously available through GIS data clearinghouses maintained by government or interest groups. The resulting data were used as inputs to a conflict visualization model written in Python and imported to an ArcGIS tool. Results showed extensive coverage and overlap of existing ocean space uses; specifically that 99.7% of the 1-nm² grid cells of the study area are occupied by at least 6 different categories of ocean space use. The six uses with the greatest coverage were: Fishing – Trolling, Habitat, Military, Fishing - Closure Areas, Protected, and Marine Transportation - Low Intensity. An uncertainty analysis was also completed to illustrate the margin for error and therefore the necessity of appropriate stakeholder outreach during the renewable energy siting process, as opposed to relying only on a GIS. Ranking of each category by its potential for conflict with renewable energy development demonstrated which areas of the ocean may be particularly contentious. Because rankings are subjective, a tool was created to allow users to input their own rankings. For the purpose of this report, default rankings were assigned to each as justified by the literature. Results under these assumptions showed that space use and potential for conflict were highest between the coast and approximately 30 nm at sea. This is likely because certain space use is limited by depth (e.g., recreational use); there is increased shipping density as vessels approach and depart major ports; and increased fuel costs associated with traveling further from shore. Two potential applications of model results were demonstrated. First, comparison with existing wave energy permit sites highlighted relative potential for conflict among the sites and the input data detailed the specific uses present. Second, comparison with areas determined most suitable for development by the wave energy industry illustrated that areas of high suitability often also had high rankings for potential for conflict. It appeared that the factors that determined development suitability were often the same factors that drew current ocean space users to those locations. Current support at the state, regional and federal level under the National Ocean Policy for the use of marine spatial planning as a tool to implement ecosystem based management of the oceans requires that tools such as the one developed in this research are used, to ensure that all components of the marine ecosystem are considered prior to implementation of a management plan. The addition of renewable energy to the current social landscape of the ocean will reduce the resource base for many categories of ocean space use. Model results demonstrated that mitigation of conflict between development and existing space use is not merely a best practice supported by current policy, but a necessity. Results presented a visualization of the social landscape of the ocean that could help managers determine which stakeholders to engage during the initial stage of choosing a site for development. Close

• 43. [Article] The epidemiology of sudden oak death in Oregon forests

  The phytopathogen Phytophthora ramorum (Werres, DeCock & Man in't Veld), causal agent of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) of oaks (Quercus spp.) and tanoaks (Notholithocarpus densiflorus syn. Lithocarpus densiflorus), ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The epidemiology of sudden oak death in Oregon forests Author: Peterson, Ebba K. The phytopathogen Phytophthora ramorum (Werres, DeCock & Man in't Veld), causal agent of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) of oaks (Quercus spp.) and tanoaks (Notholithocarpus densiflorus syn. Lithocarpus densiflorus), is established in coastal forests of the western United States. Since the discovery of SOD in the Douglas-fir / tanoak forests of southwest Oregon in 2001, a multiagency effort has ensued with the goal of fully eliminating P. ramorum from this originally small and isolated area. In this study we investigated the epidemiology of SOD in Oregon, particularly as it affects the success of the eradication program. Two approaches were taken to discern the mechanism of long distance dispersal: first, a landscape analysis of the spatial relationship between SOD sites and roads or streams, features associated with movement of infested soils, and, second, a local analysis to discern if understory infection is originating from soil or stream-borne inoculum. Using a restricted randomization test we concluded that SOD sites were no closer to roads than expected by chance, which is inconsistent with soil dispersal by people. While we found evidence that SOD sites were preferentially closer to waterways, inoculum had not moved away from streams into adjacent understory foliage. The local distribution of understory infection around SOD positive trees indicated that primary inoculum is infecting overstory canopies first, suggesting that P. ramorum is dispersing in air currents. Regression modeling indicated that weather conditions two years before detection could explain variation in the maximum distance inoculum moved each year of the epidemic between 2001 and 2010. This two year delay between infection and detection has allowed ample time for infested sites to contribute to further spread. Model results were consistent with observations made the summer of 2011, when trees likely infected by secondary inoculum at non-eradicated sites developed symptoms but were still undetectable by aerial surveys. Due to the prevalence of infection on tanoak, opportunities for sporulation and infection occur more often in Oregon than in California. These data can explain the failure to eliminate P. ramorum. Nevertheless, we did find evidence that the eradication program has significantly reduced the potential size of the SOD epidemic in Oregon. Title: The epidemiology of sudden oak death in Oregon forests Author: Peterson, Ebba K. The phytopathogen Phytophthora ramorum (Werres, DeCock & Man in't Veld), causal agent of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) of oaks (Quercus spp.) and tanoaks (Notholithocarpus densiflorus syn. Lithocarpus densiflorus), is established in coastal forests of the western United States. Since the discovery of SOD in the Douglas-fir / tanoak forests of southwest Oregon in 2001, a multiagency effort has ensued with the goal of fully eliminating P. ramorum from this originally small and isolated area. In this study we investigated the epidemiology of SOD in Oregon, particularly as it affects the success of the eradication program. Two approaches were taken to discern the mechanism of long distance dispersal: first, a landscape analysis of the spatial relationship between SOD sites and roads or streams, features associated with movement of infested soils, and, second, a local analysis to discern if understory infection is originating from soil or stream-borne inoculum. Using a restricted randomization test we concluded that SOD sites were no closer to roads than expected by chance, which is inconsistent with soil dispersal by people. While we found evidence that SOD sites were preferentially closer to waterways, inoculum had not moved away from streams into adjacent understory foliage. The local distribution of understory infection around SOD positive trees indicated that primary inoculum is infecting overstory canopies first, suggesting that P. ramorum is dispersing in air currents. Regression modeling indicated that weather conditions two years before detection could explain variation in the maximum distance inoculum moved each year of the epidemic between 2001 and 2010. This two year delay between infection and detection has allowed ample time for infested sites to contribute to further spread. Model results were consistent with observations made the summer of 2011, when trees likely infected by secondary inoculum at non-eradicated sites developed symptoms but were still undetectable by aerial surveys. Due to the prevalence of infection on tanoak, opportunities for sporulation and infection occur more often in Oregon than in California. These data can explain the failure to eliminate P. ramorum. Nevertheless, we did find evidence that the eradication program has significantly reduced the potential size of the SOD epidemic in Oregon. Close

• 44. [Article] Geomorphic and Climatic Controls on Water Temperature and Streambed Scour, Copper River Delta, Alaska : Implications for Understanding Climate Change Impacts to the Pacific Salmon Egg Incubation Environment

  Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) face numerous challenges associated with climate change. Most research has emphasized the potential effects of elevated summer water temperatures; however, climatic changes ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Geomorphic and Climatic Controls on Water Temperature and Streambed Scour, Copper River Delta, Alaska : Implications for Understanding Climate Change Impacts to the Pacific Salmon Egg Incubation Environment Author: Adelfio, Luca A. Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) face numerous challenges associated with climate change. Most research has emphasized the potential effects of elevated summer water temperatures; however, climatic changes are also projected to significantly alter incubation and rearing habitats during the late autumn, winter, and spring months ("the incubation period"). Along the southern coast of Alaska, projected climatic changes include increases in the frequency of above freezing winter temperatures and reductions in low elevation snowpack. These changes are expected to impact the hydrology of salmon streams by increasing both water temperatures and the magnitude and frequency of winter floods. Projected increases in water temperature may accelerate embryo development, impacting juvenile viability. More powerful and more frequent winter floods could reduce the survival of salmon eggs by increasing streambed scour. Here, I investigate climatic and geomorphic controls of water temperature and potential scour depth at salmon spawning and rearing sites on the Copper River Delta, a large coastal foreland in Southcentral Alaska. In chapter 2, I utilized surface water temperature data collected at 18 sites to test the abilities of regression models to project year-round water temperature metrics based on catchment characteristics (elevation, slope, area, percent lake area) and air-water temperature correlations. Considerable variability in water temperature was observed on spatial and temporal scales. Both temperature maxima and the frequency of freezing conditions were positively correlated with percent lake area and negatively correlated with catchment elevation and slope. Sites with upwelling groundwater and sites with high-relief, high elevation catchments exhibited lower thermal sensitivity and water temperatures are anticipated to be less impacted by projected climatic changes. In chapter 3, I utilized surface and streambed water temperature data collected at 8 spawning sites to compare water temperatures during incubation periods under climatological mean ("severe winter") and anomalously warm ("mild winter") conditions. I also collected stream stage and channel geometry data at a subset of 3 sites and calculated streambed scour at bankfull discharge. The magnitude and seasonality of accumulated thermal units (°C/day) (ATU) within spawning gravels varied significantly between severe and mild winters at shallow flowpath sites, but not at upwelling groundwater sites. When seasonal snow and ice was absent, increases in spring ATU at shallow flowpath sites were particularly significant. Modelled mean scour depths varied from 3 to 72 cm, suggesting the impacts of scour on egg mortality will be variable across the landscape. I conclude that the impacts of projected climatic changes are likely to vary in magnitude across the Copper River Delta, even at small spatial scales, due to heterogeneity in climatic and geomorphic controls. Title: Geomorphic and Climatic Controls on Water Temperature and Streambed Scour, Copper River Delta, Alaska : Implications for Understanding Climate Change Impacts to the Pacific Salmon Egg Incubation Environment Author: Adelfio, Luca A. Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) face numerous challenges associated with climate change. Most research has emphasized the potential effects of elevated summer water temperatures; however, climatic changes are also projected to significantly alter incubation and rearing habitats during the late autumn, winter, and spring months ("the incubation period"). Along the southern coast of Alaska, projected climatic changes include increases in the frequency of above freezing winter temperatures and reductions in low elevation snowpack. These changes are expected to impact the hydrology of salmon streams by increasing both water temperatures and the magnitude and frequency of winter floods. Projected increases in water temperature may accelerate embryo development, impacting juvenile viability. More powerful and more frequent winter floods could reduce the survival of salmon eggs by increasing streambed scour. Here, I investigate climatic and geomorphic controls of water temperature and potential scour depth at salmon spawning and rearing sites on the Copper River Delta, a large coastal foreland in Southcentral Alaska. In chapter 2, I utilized surface water temperature data collected at 18 sites to test the abilities of regression models to project year-round water temperature metrics based on catchment characteristics (elevation, slope, area, percent lake area) and air-water temperature correlations. Considerable variability in water temperature was observed on spatial and temporal scales. Both temperature maxima and the frequency of freezing conditions were positively correlated with percent lake area and negatively correlated with catchment elevation and slope. Sites with upwelling groundwater and sites with high-relief, high elevation catchments exhibited lower thermal sensitivity and water temperatures are anticipated to be less impacted by projected climatic changes. In chapter 3, I utilized surface and streambed water temperature data collected at 8 spawning sites to compare water temperatures during incubation periods under climatological mean ("severe winter") and anomalously warm ("mild winter") conditions. I also collected stream stage and channel geometry data at a subset of 3 sites and calculated streambed scour at bankfull discharge. The magnitude and seasonality of accumulated thermal units (°C/day) (ATU) within spawning gravels varied significantly between severe and mild winters at shallow flowpath sites, but not at upwelling groundwater sites. When seasonal snow and ice was absent, increases in spring ATU at shallow flowpath sites were particularly significant. Modelled mean scour depths varied from 3 to 72 cm, suggesting the impacts of scour on egg mortality will be variable across the landscape. I conclude that the impacts of projected climatic changes are likely to vary in magnitude across the Copper River Delta, even at small spatial scales, due to heterogeneity in climatic and geomorphic controls. Close

• 45. [Article] On the estimation and application of spatial and temporal autocorrelation in headwater streams

  This collection of three manuscripts serves to improve methods for collecting, interpreting, and utilizing autocorrelated data from headwater stream networks. Each stream network is comprised of linear ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: On the estimation and application of spatial and temporal autocorrelation in headwater streams Author: Som, Nicholas A. This collection of three manuscripts serves to improve methods for collecting, interpreting, and utilizing autocorrelated data from headwater stream networks. Each stream network is comprised of linear segments. These segments lie within a unique branching structure that connects the segments via flowing water, and the connectivity provided by water varies seasonally. These aspects separate stream networks from other landscapes, and provide unique challenges to the statistical analysis of stream-based phenomenon. Two chapters of this work relied on a unique and comprehensive set of data. These data constitute a complete census of habitat unit fish counts from 40 randomly selected headwater basins in western Oregon. The first objective of this work was to evaluate how different sampling designs captured spatial autocorrelation, given the samples were drawn from a population of spatially autocorrelated observations. Spatially distributed clusters of sampling locations were more apt to capture spatial autocorrelation than samples without clusters or small clusters located at tributary junctions. A similar investigation was made concerning sampling design performance in relation to estimating autocorrelation function values. All sampling designs lead generally to negatively biased estimates, and practical differences among the sampling designs were not observed. The second objective was to investigate spatial autocorrelation model range parameters as measures of patch sizes. It is common practice to use range parameters to infer the size of patches within spatially autocorrelated data, but this methodology lacks sufficient justification. The census data were used to compute range parameter values, and another proposed autocorrelative measure of patch size: the integral scale. The same data were used to compute patch sizes under several patch definitions, and the relationship of range parameters and integral scale values with patch sizes was explored. Range parameter values did not equal and were not strongly correlated with average patch sizes, though range parameter values were more correlated with maximum patch and gap sizes. Integral scale values matched the magnitude of, but were not strongly correlated with, average patch sizes. The third objective was to refine the analysis of temporally autocorrelated hydrology data from paired watershed studies. Paired watershed studies are used to evaluate forest harvesting effects on stream biota and hydrology (i.e. fish, amphibians, insects, stream flow, and sediment yield). Traditionally, treatment effects are discerned using prediction intervals. This work provided an improved method for constructing prediction intervals for use in change detection in paired watershed studies. The improved prediction intervals included variation associated with estimating linear and autocorrelation model parameters. Title: On the estimation and application of spatial and temporal autocorrelation in headwater streams Author: Som, Nicholas A. This collection of three manuscripts serves to improve methods for collecting, interpreting, and utilizing autocorrelated data from headwater stream networks. Each stream network is comprised of linear segments. These segments lie within a unique branching structure that connects the segments via flowing water, and the connectivity provided by water varies seasonally. These aspects separate stream networks from other landscapes, and provide unique challenges to the statistical analysis of stream-based phenomenon. Two chapters of this work relied on a unique and comprehensive set of data. These data constitute a complete census of habitat unit fish counts from 40 randomly selected headwater basins in western Oregon. The first objective of this work was to evaluate how different sampling designs captured spatial autocorrelation, given the samples were drawn from a population of spatially autocorrelated observations. Spatially distributed clusters of sampling locations were more apt to capture spatial autocorrelation than samples without clusters or small clusters located at tributary junctions. A similar investigation was made concerning sampling design performance in relation to estimating autocorrelation function values. All sampling designs lead generally to negatively biased estimates, and practical differences among the sampling designs were not observed. The second objective was to investigate spatial autocorrelation model range parameters as measures of patch sizes. It is common practice to use range parameters to infer the size of patches within spatially autocorrelated data, but this methodology lacks sufficient justification. The census data were used to compute range parameter values, and another proposed autocorrelative measure of patch size: the integral scale. The same data were used to compute patch sizes under several patch definitions, and the relationship of range parameters and integral scale values with patch sizes was explored. Range parameter values did not equal and were not strongly correlated with average patch sizes, though range parameter values were more correlated with maximum patch and gap sizes. Integral scale values matched the magnitude of, but were not strongly correlated with, average patch sizes. The third objective was to refine the analysis of temporally autocorrelated hydrology data from paired watershed studies. Paired watershed studies are used to evaluate forest harvesting effects on stream biota and hydrology (i.e. fish, amphibians, insects, stream flow, and sediment yield). Traditionally, treatment effects are discerned using prediction intervals. This work provided an improved method for constructing prediction intervals for use in change detection in paired watershed studies. The improved prediction intervals included variation associated with estimating linear and autocorrelation model parameters. Close

• 46. [Article] Geographic factors as retardants to the development of Alaska's mineral industries

  The various elements of physical geography are commonly entertained as factors retarding the mineral industries of Alaska. It has been shown by numerous writers that the mineral industries of Alaska are, ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Geographic factors as retardants to the development of Alaska's mineral industries Author: Francis, Karl Earvil The various elements of physical geography are commonly entertained as factors retarding the mineral industries of Alaska. It has been shown by numerous writers that the mineral industries of Alaska are, indeed, in a difficult situation. Only the petroleum industry and sand and gravel for construction are of much significance to the Alaskan economy. Alaska's location makes it difficult to use domestic markets and turns the attention of all the resource-based primary industry toward the Orient. Though close to Europe, Alaskan trade across the Arctic Ocean yet awaits future transportation developments. The strategic position of Alaska has very significantly affected Alaska's primary industries by imposing stifling inflation on the state through emergency military activity little concerned with economics. Statehood and increased concern with the economy of Alaska by the Federal government promises to improve Alaska's locational problems. Alaska's size to some extent limits accessibility to the interior, but it also provides Alaska with a high mineral resource potential of great diversity and a very diverse landscape. The diversity of the land is a retardant to the extent that complexity of environment is a characteristic of Alaskan operations requiring a wide range of field experience and field equipment. Experience in all Alaskan terrain is quite rare. The topography of Alaska limits the development of new transportational routes to the interior from the south coast. It does not appreciably affect operational costs on existing roads and rails. Low terrain subject to frost action is a greater operational problem. As an underdeveloped land, Alaska is not unusually disadvantaged by topography; it does, in fact, have some advantages. A great hydroelectric potential exists in Alaska, but there is little chance that it will be of any great value to the mineral industries at this stage. Alaska has many diverse climates. South coastal Alaska has a climate similar enough to southern climates to be considered insignificant as a retardant to the mineral industries. In providing frozen coasts to western and northern Alaska, climate seriously retards development in these areas. Permafrost is a climatic resultant offering some considerable but yet largely undetermined effect on the mineral industries. The colder parts of Alaska have their biggest effect on the mineral industries in being different and, consequently, foreign and discouraging to southern people. The inherent disadvantage of cold is still largely obscured by blundering and inefficiency. Alaska has a considerable and diverse mineral resource that can, at this time, only be inferred. The unknown of Alaskan geology is its most striking feature. Exploration in all aspects is seriously discouraged by the economy and the obscuration of bed rock. Geophysical and geochemical prospecting has met with little success. It is felt that the lack of knowledge of and experience with the land is the biggest retardant to Alaska's mineral industries. The land is not inherently hostile, but rather it is different from that familiar to most of the people on it. A two-pronged attack on ignorance of the land is suggested, one to disseminate present knowledge and the other to seek out the unknown. When Alaska acquires a people familiar with and fully oriented toward the land, the effect of the geographic factors presently retarding the mineral industries will be greatly reduced. Title: Geographic factors as retardants to the development of Alaska's mineral industries Author: Francis, Karl Earvil The various elements of physical geography are commonly entertained as factors retarding the mineral industries of Alaska. It has been shown by numerous writers that the mineral industries of Alaska are, indeed, in a difficult situation. Only the petroleum industry and sand and gravel for construction are of much significance to the Alaskan economy. Alaska's location makes it difficult to use domestic markets and turns the attention of all the resource-based primary industry toward the Orient. Though close to Europe, Alaskan trade across the Arctic Ocean yet awaits future transportation developments. The strategic position of Alaska has very significantly affected Alaska's primary industries by imposing stifling inflation on the state through emergency military activity little concerned with economics. Statehood and increased concern with the economy of Alaska by the Federal government promises to improve Alaska's locational problems. Alaska's size to some extent limits accessibility to the interior, but it also provides Alaska with a high mineral resource potential of great diversity and a very diverse landscape. The diversity of the land is a retardant to the extent that complexity of environment is a characteristic of Alaskan operations requiring a wide range of field experience and field equipment. Experience in all Alaskan terrain is quite rare. The topography of Alaska limits the development of new transportational routes to the interior from the south coast. It does not appreciably affect operational costs on existing roads and rails. Low terrain subject to frost action is a greater operational problem. As an underdeveloped land, Alaska is not unusually disadvantaged by topography; it does, in fact, have some advantages. A great hydroelectric potential exists in Alaska, but there is little chance that it will be of any great value to the mineral industries at this stage. Alaska has many diverse climates. South coastal Alaska has a climate similar enough to southern climates to be considered insignificant as a retardant to the mineral industries. In providing frozen coasts to western and northern Alaska, climate seriously retards development in these areas. Permafrost is a climatic resultant offering some considerable but yet largely undetermined effect on the mineral industries. The colder parts of Alaska have their biggest effect on the mineral industries in being different and, consequently, foreign and discouraging to southern people. The inherent disadvantage of cold is still largely obscured by blundering and inefficiency. Alaska has a considerable and diverse mineral resource that can, at this time, only be inferred. The unknown of Alaskan geology is its most striking feature. Exploration in all aspects is seriously discouraged by the economy and the obscuration of bed rock. Geophysical and geochemical prospecting has met with little success. It is felt that the lack of knowledge of and experience with the land is the biggest retardant to Alaska's mineral industries. The land is not inherently hostile, but rather it is different from that familiar to most of the people on it. A two-pronged attack on ignorance of the land is suggested, one to disseminate present knowledge and the other to seek out the unknown. When Alaska acquires a people familiar with and fully oriented toward the land, the effect of the geographic factors presently retarding the mineral industries will be greatly reduced. Close

• 47. [Article] Influences of island characteristics on community structure and species incidence of desert bats in a near-shore archipelago, Baja California, Mexico

  Island biogeography has strongly influenced the study of biodiversity because archipelagos provide natural model systems for investigating patterns of diversity and the processes that shape ecological ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Influences of island characteristics on community structure and species incidence of desert bats in a near-shore archipelago, Baja California, Mexico Author: Frick, Winifred F. Island biogeography has strongly influenced the study of biodiversity because archipelagos provide natural model systems for investigating patterns of diversity and the processes that shape ecological communities. I investigated the influence of area and isolation of islands (n = 32) in the Gulf of California, Mexico on patterns of richness, nestedness, and incidence of desert bats to determine factors important in shaping community structure and patterns of occurrence of bats in a naturally insular landscape. Species richness of bats was positively influenced by island size and declined with isolation from the Baja peninsula in two distinct subarchipelagos. Southern islands, which are associated with greater density of vegetation from summer rainfall, supported more species than dry, barren islands in the northern subarchipelago, suggesting that both area and habitat characteristics contribute to species richness of bats. Community composition of bats was nested by area and isolation, such that species found on smaller and more isolated islands were subsets of communities found on large, less isolated islands that harbored higher richness. The influences of area and isolation on community nestedness suggest species differ in immigration and persistence rates on islands. Bat communities were also nested at 27 sites in coastal habitat on the Baja peninsula, indicating that nestedness may occur in contiguous habitats that lack immigration and extinction filters. Probability of species occurrence on islands was influenced by area for five species of insectivorous bat (Pipistrellus hesperus, Myotis californicus, Macrotus californicus, Antrozous pallidus, and Mormoops megalophylla), suggesting occupancy of islands by these species is limited by resource requirements. The threshold of island size for occupancy of most species was ca. 100 ha, which is similar to area thresholds of incidence for many landbirds in the same archipelago. Isolation also influenced incidence of insectivorous bat species. My research shows that area and isolation influence both community structure and occupancy of bat species in a near-shore archipelago. My results raise important questions about connectivity and persistence of populations of bats in isolated habitats, especially when patch size is small. Title: Influences of island characteristics on community structure and species incidence of desert bats in a near-shore archipelago, Baja California, Mexico Author: Frick, Winifred F. Island biogeography has strongly influenced the study of biodiversity because archipelagos provide natural model systems for investigating patterns of diversity and the processes that shape ecological communities. I investigated the influence of area and isolation of islands (n = 32) in the Gulf of California, Mexico on patterns of richness, nestedness, and incidence of desert bats to determine factors important in shaping community structure and patterns of occurrence of bats in a naturally insular landscape. Species richness of bats was positively influenced by island size and declined with isolation from the Baja peninsula in two distinct subarchipelagos. Southern islands, which are associated with greater density of vegetation from summer rainfall, supported more species than dry, barren islands in the northern subarchipelago, suggesting that both area and habitat characteristics contribute to species richness of bats. Community composition of bats was nested by area and isolation, such that species found on smaller and more isolated islands were subsets of communities found on large, less isolated islands that harbored higher richness. The influences of area and isolation on community nestedness suggest species differ in immigration and persistence rates on islands. Bat communities were also nested at 27 sites in coastal habitat on the Baja peninsula, indicating that nestedness may occur in contiguous habitats that lack immigration and extinction filters. Probability of species occurrence on islands was influenced by area for five species of insectivorous bat (Pipistrellus hesperus, Myotis californicus, Macrotus californicus, Antrozous pallidus, and Mormoops megalophylla), suggesting occupancy of islands by these species is limited by resource requirements. The threshold of island size for occupancy of most species was ca. 100 ha, which is similar to area thresholds of incidence for many landbirds in the same archipelago. Isolation also influenced incidence of insectivorous bat species. My research shows that area and isolation influence both community structure and occupancy of bat species in a near-shore archipelago. My results raise important questions about connectivity and persistence of populations of bats in isolated habitats, especially when patch size is small. Close

• 48. [Article] The Role of Plant-soil Feedback in the Invasion of Brachypodium sylvaticum in Douglas-fir Forests

  Invasive plants have the capacity to transform landscapes and alter ecosystem function, causing significant economic and ecological damage. These effects include displacement and reduction of native flora ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Role of Plant-soil Feedback in the Invasion of Brachypodium sylvaticum in Douglas-fir Forests Author: Esterson, Andrew Invasive plants have the capacity to transform landscapes and alter ecosystem function, causing significant economic and ecological damage. These effects include displacement and reduction of native flora and fauna, altered fire regimes, modification of biotic and abiotic soil properties, as well as local, regional, and global economic impacts. With such large impacts it is important that we better understand invasion dynamics to help with prevention, control and mitigation of invasive species. One process that has been associated with plant invasion is plant-soil feedback (PSF). A PSF occurs when plants alter biotic and abiotic soil properties through a variety of root exudates and litter decomposition such that subsequent plant growth is either positively or negatively affected. Positive conspecific and negative heterospecific responses have been theorized to be invasive species traits that promote invasion. Once an invasive species is removed from a system, there is a chance that PSFs generated by that species will persist in the soil, which is often referred to as 'plant legacies' or 'legacy effects' and may negatively influence restoration efforts. In the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW), Brachypodium sylvaticum (slender false brome), a perennial bunch grass native to Eurasia, is listed as a quarantined invasive species in California, Oregon, and Washington. Currently, B. sylvaticum is in the midst of rapid population growth and range expansion with populations in New York, Virginia, and Ontario, Canada. With a quickly expanding range research is critical for successful efforts to reduce the spread of B. sylvaticum. We developed two experiments to determine if PSF is a contributing factor to B. sylvaticum invasion in PNW forests. We hypothesized that 1) B. sylvaticum has positive conspecific and negative heterospecific PSF, 2) native species PSF has no effect on B. sylvaticum, and 3) PSF generated by B. sylvaticum will persist in the soil once removed, but over time, response of native species, soil nutrients and bacterial community composition will change from the invaded conditioned. To test our first two hypotheses, B. sylvaticum and five common native plants from the Oregon Coastal range, including the economically important tree, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir), were grown in a greenhouse on wild forest soils that had either been sterilized or kept live to condition the soil biotic community to the invader and the native species. Brachypodium sylvaticum was then grown on soil conditioned by itself and soil conditioned by natives; each of the five native species was grown on soil conditioned by B. sylvaticum and on their own conditioned soils. Plant biomass along with species specific measurements (number of leaves, stems, tillers, stem diameter and height) were recorded and a relative response (RR) index was used to determine the direction of PSF for the invader and native species. To test our third hypothesis, in March, 2015, ten plots were established in the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest located in Corvallis, OR where B. sylvaticum had at least 75% cover. Herbicide was applied to half of each plot to make two soil treatments: soil with B. sylvaticum and soil without B. sylvaticum. Over a nine-month period three soil collections took place where soil was collected from all plots and treatments. Plant response was evaluated by growing four native species and B. sylvaticum on both soil treatments and evaluating total biomass with a RR index; plant response (via growth), soil nutrients and bacterial communities were measured for each collection period. Bacterial communities were measured with phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and high throughput 16s rRNA amplicon sequencing. Contrary to our hypotheses, the RR to PSF generated by B. sylvaticum was negative for the invader and P. menziesii and neutral for all other natives. Soils conditioned by Bromus vulgaris inhibited B. sylvaticum growth whereas soils conditioned by Prunella vulgaris and P. menziesii promoted B. sylvaticum growth. When testing for legacy effects, the RR of P. menziesii was negative when grown on soils where B. sylvaticum had been removed for six-months (six-month soils) but when grown on soils where B. sylvaticum had been removed for nine-months (nine-month soil) the RR of P. menziesii was neutral. The RR of P. vulgaris to six-month soils was positive while its RR to nine-month soils was negative. Nutrient and bacterial communities did not change in response to B. sylvaticum removal suggesting that the biotic and abiotic legacy requires longer than nine-months to be observed or B. sylvaticum does not affect the response variables measured. Overall, our data suggest that PSF generated by B. sylvaticum does not facilitate the invasion process but does differentially affect native species growth over time. PSF generated by native grasses may be a useful restoration tool to help prevent B. sylvaticum invasion and we suggest planting native species at least nine-months after B. sylvaticum removal. Title: The Role of Plant-soil Feedback in the Invasion of Brachypodium sylvaticum in Douglas-fir Forests Author: Esterson, Andrew Invasive plants have the capacity to transform landscapes and alter ecosystem function, causing significant economic and ecological damage. These effects include displacement and reduction of native flora and fauna, altered fire regimes, modification of biotic and abiotic soil properties, as well as local, regional, and global economic impacts. With such large impacts it is important that we better understand invasion dynamics to help with prevention, control and mitigation of invasive species. One process that has been associated with plant invasion is plant-soil feedback (PSF). A PSF occurs when plants alter biotic and abiotic soil properties through a variety of root exudates and litter decomposition such that subsequent plant growth is either positively or negatively affected. Positive conspecific and negative heterospecific responses have been theorized to be invasive species traits that promote invasion. Once an invasive species is removed from a system, there is a chance that PSFs generated by that species will persist in the soil, which is often referred to as 'plant legacies' or 'legacy effects' and may negatively influence restoration efforts. In the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW), Brachypodium sylvaticum (slender false brome), a perennial bunch grass native to Eurasia, is listed as a quarantined invasive species in California, Oregon, and Washington. Currently, B. sylvaticum is in the midst of rapid population growth and range expansion with populations in New York, Virginia, and Ontario, Canada. With a quickly expanding range research is critical for successful efforts to reduce the spread of B. sylvaticum. We developed two experiments to determine if PSF is a contributing factor to B. sylvaticum invasion in PNW forests. We hypothesized that 1) B. sylvaticum has positive conspecific and negative heterospecific PSF, 2) native species PSF has no effect on B. sylvaticum, and 3) PSF generated by B. sylvaticum will persist in the soil once removed, but over time, response of native species, soil nutrients and bacterial community composition will change from the invaded conditioned. To test our first two hypotheses, B. sylvaticum and five common native plants from the Oregon Coastal range, including the economically important tree, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir), were grown in a greenhouse on wild forest soils that had either been sterilized or kept live to condition the soil biotic community to the invader and the native species. Brachypodium sylvaticum was then grown on soil conditioned by itself and soil conditioned by natives; each of the five native species was grown on soil conditioned by B. sylvaticum and on their own conditioned soils. Plant biomass along with species specific measurements (number of leaves, stems, tillers, stem diameter and height) were recorded and a relative response (RR) index was used to determine the direction of PSF for the invader and native species. To test our third hypothesis, in March, 2015, ten plots were established in the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest located in Corvallis, OR where B. sylvaticum had at least 75% cover. Herbicide was applied to half of each plot to make two soil treatments: soil with B. sylvaticum and soil without B. sylvaticum. Over a nine-month period three soil collections took place where soil was collected from all plots and treatments. Plant response was evaluated by growing four native species and B. sylvaticum on both soil treatments and evaluating total biomass with a RR index; plant response (via growth), soil nutrients and bacterial communities were measured for each collection period. Bacterial communities were measured with phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and high throughput 16s rRNA amplicon sequencing. Contrary to our hypotheses, the RR to PSF generated by B. sylvaticum was negative for the invader and P. menziesii and neutral for all other natives. Soils conditioned by Bromus vulgaris inhibited B. sylvaticum growth whereas soils conditioned by Prunella vulgaris and P. menziesii promoted B. sylvaticum growth. When testing for legacy effects, the RR of P. menziesii was negative when grown on soils where B. sylvaticum had been removed for six-months (six-month soils) but when grown on soils where B. sylvaticum had been removed for nine-months (nine-month soil) the RR of P. menziesii was neutral. The RR of P. vulgaris to six-month soils was positive while its RR to nine-month soils was negative. Nutrient and bacterial communities did not change in response to B. sylvaticum removal suggesting that the biotic and abiotic legacy requires longer than nine-months to be observed or B. sylvaticum does not affect the response variables measured. Overall, our data suggest that PSF generated by B. sylvaticum does not facilitate the invasion process but does differentially affect native species growth over time. PSF generated by native grasses may be a useful restoration tool to help prevent B. sylvaticum invasion and we suggest planting native species at least nine-months after B. sylvaticum removal. Close