Doctoral Dissertation Research: Forest Ecosystem Recovery After Catastrophic Wind Disturbance

本研究将探讨抢救采伐和控制燃烧对龙卷风过后生态系统恢复的影响。管理自然干扰森林的战略对于支持生态系统商品和服务的持续供应至关重要。打捞伐木通常在自然干扰后使用，以部分恢复受损或枯死树木的木制品的经济价值，并降低未来干扰对环境的风险和严重程度。尽管抢救伐木具有广泛的社会和经济重要性，但人们对抢救伐木对非木本植物群落的影响或继续使用规定的火的情况知之甚少。保护生物多样性和提供社会所需的天然、可再生木材产品的战略需要在进行抢救伐木和受控燃烧的地区收集和分析数据。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该项目将提供支持，使研究生能够建立独立的研究生涯。自然干扰的频率和严重性的增加促使人们对改变森林恢复速度和轨迹的多种相互作用的干扰的研究越来越感兴趣。本项目研究(1)打捞采伐在风灾后如何改变木本植物和草本植物的组合，以及(2)在受风扰和打捞采伐不同影响的地点，规定的火灾如何影响森林生态系统的恢复。通过在永久地块上收集五个季节的实地数据，能够全面评估多个森林地层和抽样单位大小的生物物理场地条件的变化。这项研究的结果可以用来指导其他受干扰森林的管理，特别是火灾适应森林的管理。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This study will investigate the impact of salvage logging and controlled burning on ecosystem recovery after tornados. Strategies to manage naturally disturbed forests are critical to support the sustained supply of ecosystem goods and services. Salvage logging is commonly applied after natural disturbances to partially reclaim the economic value of wood products in damaged or dead trees, and to reduce risk and severity of future disturbances to the environment. Despite its widespread social and economic importance, little is known about how salvage logging impacts non-woody plant communities or the continued application of prescribed fire. Strategies to conserve biodiversity and provide the natural, renewable wood products that society needs requires data collection and analysis in areas where salvage logging and controlled burning take place. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this project will provide support to enable a graduate student to establish an independent research career.Increasing frequencies and severity of natural disturbances has motivated increasing interest in research on multiple interacting disturbances that alter rates and trajectories of forest recovery. This project investigates (1) how salvage logging alters woody and herbaceous plant assemblages after catastrophic wind disturbance, and (2) how prescribed fires influence forest ecosystem recovery in sites differentially impacted by wind disturbance and salvage logging. Five seasons of field data collection on permanent plots enable a comprehensive assessment of changes in biophysical site conditions across multiple forest strata and sampling unit sizes. Results of this study can be used to guide the management of other disturbed forests, especially fire-adapted forests.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.