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

Traditional approaches to forest management, while often achieving desired, short-term timber objectives, may inadvertently predispose stands to invasion by exotic plants. Longer-term outcomes of invasion could include reduced establishment, survival, and growth of desired timber species, as well as broader negative impacts to native plant communities.

The potential for stand-scale management to predispose forest for invasion must be addressed in a landscape context. Certain landscape factors, such as adjacent landuse, road densities, patch sizes and shape, may have an equal or greater influence as within stand management on probability of invasion.

We are addressing these issues in the context of oak management and invasion by exotic shrubs in south eastern Minnesota.

We have ongoing research on...

Invasibility and Restoration of Oak Ecosystems in the Midwest Driftless Area