Doctoral Dissertation Research: Forest Ecosystem Recovery After Catastrophic Wind Disturbance

这项研究将调查抢救性伐木和控制燃烧对龙卷风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货物和服务的持续供应至关重要。抢救性采伐通常在自然干扰后采用，以部分回收受损或死亡树木的木材产品的经济价值，并减少未来对环境干扰的风险和严重程度。 尽管其广泛的社会和经济的重要性，很少有人知道如何抢救伐木影响非木本植物群落或继续适用规定的火灾。 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发生抢救性伐木和控制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，使研究生能够建立一个独立的研究career.Increasing频率和严重性的自然干扰，激发了越来越多的兴趣，研究多种相互作用的干扰，改变率和轨迹的森林恢复。 本项目调查（1）灾难性的风干扰后，抢救性采伐如何改变木本和草本植物组合，以及（2）规定的火灾如何影响森林生态系统恢复的风干扰和抢救性采伐的影响不同的网站。 在永久性地块上收集五个季节的实地数据，能够全面评估多个森林层和取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干扰森林的管理，特别是防火forest.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得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的支持。

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.