North Central Research Station

Ecology and Silviculture of Northern Lake States Forests Research

Management approaches for sustaining ecological and production objectives

Riparian forest management Ecological forestry Forest productivity impacts Invasive shrubs

One goal of silviculture is manipulation of forests to produce woody biomass, while sustaining the ecological systems that drive this production. Silvicultural prescriptions vary widely in frequency and intensity of management activities and, presumably, in the ability to differentially affect growth and yield of fiber and the ecosystem functions that sustain productivity. We have only rudimentary understanding of tradeoffs that may occur if wood production or utilization is emphasized at the expense of ecosystem function, or visa versa. In particular, we know little about tradeoff responses between fiber production and soil physical properties governing productivity, across gradients of silvicultural intensity or activity. This information is needed to make rational decisions about sustainability of silvicultural practices. Our research in this area focuses on the following two studies.

For more information on forest productivity impacts, see:

LTSP - The Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP) project is an international cooperative endeavor that is designed to develop and validate monitoring techniques and soil quality standards for evaluating the long-term effects of management practices on soil productivity, and moreover, to understand how disturbance to the site and soil due to management affects the fundamental processes controlling productivity.

We also have ongoing research on...

Linking fiber production and soil productivity to intensity of silviculture