Dissertation Research: Forest Fire Mitigation and Understory Invasion

论文研究：减轻森林火灾和林下入侵Timothy Seastedt和ELISAMillerProposal#：0508871摘要本论文项目的目的是测试与森林间伐相关的活动是否能有效地抑制间伐科罗拉多州森林中的杂草形成。如果有效，这样的管理工具将比广泛使用除草剂更具成本效益和生态效益。一种常见的火灾缓解做法是在现场将变薄的木材切碎并铺展开来。其他研究发现，木屑改良剂会降低土壤氮素的有效性，从而改变植物群落的物种组成。由于科罗拉多州本土植物很好地适应了土壤氮素的低有效性，木屑改良剂可能会选择性地抑制非本土杂草。因此，该项目验证了木屑改良剂影响土壤的化学和物理性质以抑制杂草形成的假设。这项工作解决了科学/管理界面上对两个关键问题的关切：减轻森林火灾和控制外来物种。结果将确定火灾缓解程序如何在物理和化学干扰共存的情况下影响生态系统抵抗杂草入侵的能力。除了直接适用于当地管理问题(美国林务局、博尔德县开放空间和落基山国家公园)外，该项目还包括针对城市学童和当地公民的教育推广部分。

Dissertation Research: Forest Fire Mitigation and Understory InvasionTimothy Seastedt and Elisa MillerProposal #: 0508871 ABSTRACT The purpose of this dissertation project is to test if activities associated with forest thinning operations can effectively inhibit weed establishment in thinned Colorado forests. If effective, such a management tool would be significantly more cost-effective and ecologically sound than widespread application of herbicides. A common fire mitigation practice is to chip and spread the thinned wood on-site. Other studies have found that sawdust amendments can reduce soil nitrogen availability and thereby alter the species composition of the plant community. As native Colorado plants are well adapted to low availability of soil nitrogen, wood chip amendments may selectively inhibit non-native weeds. Thus, this project tests the hypothesis that wood chip amendments affect the chemical and physical properties of soil to inhibit the establishment of weeds. This work addresses a concern at the science/management interface of two critical issues: forest fire mitigation and exotic species control. The results will identify how fire mitigation procedures affect the ability of an ecosystem to resist weed invasions in the context of co-occurring physical and chemical disturbances. In addition to its direct applicability to local management concerns (US Forest Service, Boulder County Open Space, and Rocky Mountain National Park), this project also incorporates an educational outreach component for urban schoolchildren and local citizens.