Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessment and Dynamics of Complex Forest Structure and Understory Plant Diversity to Develop Sustainable Forest Management Options in Alaska

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Forests as Complex Social and Ecological Systems

Part of the book series: Managing Forest Ecosystems ((MAFE,volume 41))

  • 453 Accesses

Abstract

This paper synthesizes information on management options in older forests that have never been actively managed, and in younger even-aged forests in Alaska and their associated effects on biodiversity and sustainable forest management. Partial cutting was evaluated in older spruce-hemlock stands that were harvested 12–96 years ago in southeast Alaska. Cutting occurred without a planned silvicultural system with little consideration for spruce regeneration, stand growth or the maintenance of stand structures found in old-growth forests. Stand structural diversity and plant diversity and abundance were all much greater in partially cut stands than in young even-aged stands developing after clearcutting. These results indicate that uneven-age silvicultural systems using partial cutting could alleviate some of the problems associated with conventional even-aged stands developing after clearcutting and increase stand structural diversity and enhance sustainable forest management in the region. Forty-year-old mixed red alder conifer stands were evaluated to assess stand structure and understory plant diversity and abundance. These red alder-conifer stands contained more heterogeneous structures than pure conifer stands that typically develop in even-aged forests following clearcutting. Altering the composition of even-aged young-growth forests with the inclusion of red alder greatly improved habitat for deer and other wildlife, and thereby offsets some of the negative consequences of typical even-aged management. Well planned even-aged silvicultural systems that include a mixture of red alder-conifer compositions could provide trees for timber production and also provide multiple forest ecosystem services including songbirds, fish and aquatic resources that are often compromised in pure conifer young-growth forests in the region.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alaback PB (1982) Dynamics of understory biomass in Sitka spruce-western hemlock forests of Southeast Alaska. Ecology 63:1932–1948

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alaback PB (1984) Plant succession following logging in the Sitka spruce-western hemlock forests of southeast Alaska: implications for management, Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-173. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, 26 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Alaback PB, Herman FR (1988) Long-term response of understory vegetation to stand density in Picea-Tsuga forests. Can J For Res 18:1522–1530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allan JD, Wipfli MS, Caouette JP, Prussian A, Rodgers J (2003) Influence of streamside vegetation on terrestrial invertebrate subsidies to salmonid food webs. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 60:309–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anglestam PK (1998) Maintaining and restoring biodiversity in European boreal forests by developing natural disturbance regimes. J Veg Sci 9(4):593–602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Attiwell (1994) Ecological disturbance and the conservative management of eucalypt forest in Australia. For Ecol Manage 63:301–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benda LE, Dunne T (1997) Stochastic forcing of sediment routing and storage in channel networks. Water Resour Res 33:2865–2880

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisson PA, Bilby RE, Bryant MD, Dollof CA, Grette GB, House RA, Murphy ML, Koski KV, Sedell JR (1987) Large woody debris in the Pacific Northwest: past, present, and future. In: Salo EO, Cundy TW (eds) Streamside management: forestry and fishery interactions. Contribution 57, Institute of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, pp 143–190

    Google Scholar 

  • Bormann FH, Likens GE (1979) Catastrophic disturbance and the steady state in northern hardwood forests: a new look at the role of disturbance in the development of forest ecosystems suggests important implications for land-use policies. Am Sci 67:660–669

    Google Scholar 

  • Bormann BT, Cromack K, Russell WO (1994) Influences of red alder on soils and long-term ecosystem productivity. In: Hibbs DE, DeBell DS, Tarrant RF (eds) The biology and management of red alder. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, pp 47–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer WD (1990) Pinus palustris Mill. Longleaf pine. In: Silvics of North America, USDA For. Serv. Hdbk. 654. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, DC, pp 405–412

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant MD (1985) Changes thirty years after logging in large woody debris, and its use by salmonids. In: Johnson RR, Ziebell CD, Patton DR, Folliott PF, Hamre RH (eds) Riparian ecosystems and their management: Reconciling conflicting uses. First North American Riparian conference, Tucson, Arizona, USDA For. Serv., Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-120. Rocky Mountain, For. and Range Exp. Stn., Fort Collins

    Google Scholar 

  • Crotteau JS, Rue-Johns AZ, Barnard JC (2020) Effects on understory biomass and forage 8–10 years after precommercial thinning of Sitka spruce–western hemlock stands in Southeast Alaska. Can J For Res 50:215–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins KW, Wilzbach MA, Gates DM, Taliaferri JB, Perry WB (1989) Shredders and riparian vegetation: leaf litter that falls into streams influences communities of stream invertebrates. Bioscience 39:24–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis LS, Johnson KN (1987) Forest management. McGraw-Hill Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL (1997) Understory plant diversity in riparian alder-conifer stands after logging in Southeast Alaska, vol 523. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL (1999) The effects of partial cutting on stand structure and growth, and forest plant communities of western hemlock-sitka spruce stands in Southeast Alaska. Ph.D. thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, pp 191

    Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL (2001) The effects of partial cutting on forest plant communities of western hemlock-Sitka spruce stands of Southeast Alaska. Can J For Res 31:2067–2079

    Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL (2007) Management strategies to increase stand structural diversity and enhance biodiversity in coastal rainforests of Alaska. Biol Conserv 137:520–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL, Farr WA (1994) Composition and development of conifer regeneration in thinned and unthinned natural stands of western hemlock and Sitka spruce in Southeast Alaska. Can J For Res 24:976–984

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL, Tappeiner JC (2002) The effects of partial cutting on stand structure and growth of western hemlock–Sitka spruce stands in Southeast Alaska. For Ecol Manage 159(3):173–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL, Oliver CD, Bormann BT (1991) Reconstruction of mixed hemlock-spruce stands in coastal Southeast Alaska. Can J For Res 21:643–654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL, Hennon PE, Orlikowska EH, D’Amore DV (2004) Stand dynamics of mixed red alder-conifer forests of Southeast Alaska. Can J For Res 34:969–980

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL, Heithecker T, Zenner E (2010) Comparison of tree size structure and growth for partially harvested and even-aged hemlock spruce stands in Southeast Alaska. J For Res 15:31–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL, Hennon P, O’Hanlon R, D’Amore D (2014) Lessons from native spruce forests in Alaska: managing Sitka spruce plantations worldwide to benefit biodiversity and ecosystem services. Forestry 87(2):193–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL, Smith NM, Gates J (2017) Ecosystem services to enhance sustainable Forest management in the USA: moving from Forest Service National Programs to local projects in the Pacific Northwest. Forestry 90:632–639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeMars D (2000) Stand density study of spruce-hemlock stands in southeastern Alaska, USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNWGTR-496. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon G, Johnson RR, Schroeder D (1992) Southeast Alaska/coastal British Columbia (SEAPROG) prognosis variant of the forest vegetation simulator. WO-TM Serv. Cent. USDA For. Serv., 75 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Doerr JG, Sandburg NH (1986) Effects of precommercial thinning on understory vegetation and deer habitat utilization on Big Level Island in Southeast Alaska. For Sci 32:1092–1095

    Google Scholar 

  • Egler FE (1954) Vegetation science concept: I. Initial floristic composition A factor in old-field vegetation development. Vegetatio 4:412–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans J, Turnbull J (2004) Plantation forestry in the tropics, 3rd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Fevold K (1998) Sub-surface controls on the distribution of benthic algae in floodplain back channel habitats of the Queets River. M.S. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 72 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox TR, Jokela EJ, Allen HL (2007) The development of pine plantation silviculture in the southern United States. J For 105(7):337–347

    Google Scholar 

  • Franklin JF (1989) Toward a new forestry. Am For 95(11/12):37–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomi T, Sidle RC, Richardson JS (2002) Understanding processes and downstream linkages of headwater systems. Bioscience 2002(52):905–916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomi T, Johnson AC, Deal RL, Hennon PE, Orlikowska EH, Wipfli MS (2006) Factors affecting distribution of wood, detritus, and sediment in headwater streams draining managed young-growth red alder-conifer forests in Southeast Alaska. Can J For Res 36:725–737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregory SV, Swanson FJ, McKee WA, Cummins KW (1991) An ecosystem perspective of riparian zones. Bioscience 1991(41):540–551

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grilli G, Jonkisz J, Ciolli M, Lesinski J (2016) Mixed forests and ecosystem services: investigating stakeholders’ perceptions in a case study in the Polish Carpathians. For Policy Econ 66:11–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern CB (1989) Early successional patterns of forest species: interactions of life history traits and disturbance. Ecology 70(3):704–720

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanley TA (1993) Balancing economic development, biological conservation, and human culture: the Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) as an ecological indicator. Biol Conserv 66:61–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanley TA, Barnard JC (1998) Red alder, Alnus rubra, as a potential mitigating factor for wildlife habitat following clearcut logging in southeastern Alaska. Can Field Nat 112:647–652

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanley TA, Barnard JC (2014) Variation in nutritional quality of plants for deer in relation to sunny versus shady environments, USDA For. Serv. Res. Pap. PNW-602. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hanley TA, Hoel T (1996) Species composition of old-growth and riparian Sitka spruce-western hemlock forests in southeastern Alaska. Can J For Res 26(9):1703–1708

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanley TA, McKendrick JD (1983) Seasonal changes in chemical composition and nutritive value of native forages in a spruce-hemlock forest, southeastern Alaska, USDA For Serv Res Pap PNW-312. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hanley TA, Deal RL, Orlikowska EW (2006) Relations between red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) and understory vegetation in a gradient of mixed hardwood-conifer, young-growth forest. Can J For Res 36:738–748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanley TA, McClellan MH, Barnard JC, Friberg MA (2013) Precommercial thinning: implications of early results from the Tongass-Wide Young-Growth Studies experiments for deer habitat in southeast Alaska, USDA For. Serv Res Pap PNW-593. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris AS (1989) Wind in the forests of Southeast Alaska and guides for reducing damage, Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-244. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, p 63

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris AS, Farr WA (1974) The forest ecosystem of Southeast Alaska, Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-25. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, 109 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Larsen JB (1995) Ecological stability of forests and sustainable silviculture. For Ecol Manag 73:85–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lertzman KP, Sutherland GD, Inselberg A, Saunders SC (1996) Canopy gaps and the landscape mosaic in a coastal temperate rain forest. Ecology 77:1254–1270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luken JO, Fonda RW (1983) Nitrogen accumulation in a chronosequence of red alder communities along the Hoh River, Olympic National Park. Washington Can J For Res 1983(13):1228–1237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason CF, Macdonald SM (1982) The input of terrestrial invertebrates from tree canopies to a stream. Freshw Biol 12:305–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClellan MH, Swanston DN, Hennon PE, Deal RL, De Santo TL, Wipfli MS (2000) Alternatives to clearcutting in the old-growth forests of southeast Alaska: study plan and establishment report, USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-494. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McCune B, Mefford MJ (1997) PC-ORD multivariate analysis of ecological data, version 3 edition. MJM Software Design, Gleneden Beach

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller RE, Murray MD (1978) The effect of red alder on growth of Douglas-fir. In: Briggs DG, DeBell DS, Atkinson WA (eds) Utilization and management of alder, USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-70. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland

    Google Scholar 

  • Minore D, Weatherly HG (1994) Riparian trees, shrubs and forest regeneration in the coastal mountains of Oregon. New For 8:249–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newton M, El Hassan BA, Zavitkovski J (1968) Role of red alder in western Oregon forest succession. In: Trappe JM, Franklin JE, Tarrant RE, Hansen GM (eds) Biology of alder. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, pp 73–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Nierenberg TR, Hibbs DE (2000) A characterization of unmanaged riparian areas in the central coast range of western Oregon. For Ecol Manag 129:195–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Notaro S, Paletto A, Raffaelli R (2008) The economic valuation of non-productive forest functions as an instrument towards integrated forest management. The multifunctional role of forests–policies, methods and case studies. EFI Proceedings 55:380

    Google Scholar 

  • Nowacki GJ, Kramer MG (1998) The effects of wind disturbance on temperate rain forest structure and dynamics of southeast Alaska. In: Shaw CG III, Julin KR (eds) Conservation and resource assessments for the Tongass land management plan revision, USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-421. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliver CD (1981) Forest development in North America following major disturbances. For Ecol Manag 3:153–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver CD, Larson BC (1990) Forest stand dynamics. McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, 467 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Orlikowska EW, Deal RL, Hennon PE, Wipfli MS (2004) The role of red alder in riparian forest structure along headwater streams in southeastern Alaska. Northwest Sci 78:111–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Pabst RJ, Spies TA (1999) Structure and composition of unmanaged riparian forests in the coastal mountains of Oregon. USA Can J For Res 29:1557–1573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker KL, Gillingham MP, Hanley TA, Robbins CT (1999) Energy and protein balance of free-ranging black-tailed deer in a natural forest environment. Wildl Monogr 143:1–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Piccolo JJ, Wipfli MS (2002) Does red alder (Alnus rubra) in upland riparian forests elevate macroinvertebrate and detritus export from headwater streams to downstream habitats in southeastern Alaska? Can J Fish Aquat Sci 59:503–513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickett STA, White PS (1985) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoen JW, Kirchhoff MD, Hughes JH (1988) Wildlife and old-growth forests in southeastern Alaska. Nat Areas J 8:138–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Swanson FJ, Johnson SL, Gregory SV, Acker SA (1998) Flood disturbance in a forested mountain landscape. Bioscience 48:681–689

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tappeiner JC II, Alaback PB (1989) Early establishment and vegetative growth of understory species in the western hemlock – Sitka spruce forests in Southeast Alaska. Can J Bot 67:318–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thedinga JF, Murphy ML, Heifetz J et al (1989) Effects of logging on size and age composition of juvenile Coho salmon (Oncorhynchyus kisutch) and density of pre-smolts in Southeast Alaska streams. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 46:1383–1391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallmo OC, Schoen JW (1980) Response of deer to secondary forest succession in Southeast Alaska. Ecology 26(3):448–462

    Google Scholar 

  • White PS (1979) Pattern, process, and natural disturbance in vegetation. Bot Rev 45:229–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker RH (1953) A consideration of climax theory: the climax as a population and pattern. Ecol Monogr 23(1):41–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wipfli MS (1997) Terrestrial invertebrates as salmonid prey and nitrogen sources in streams: contrasting old-growth and young-growth riparian forests in southeastern Alaska, U.S.A. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 54:1259–1269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wipfli MS, Gregovich DP (2002) Export of invertebrates and detritus from fishless headwater streams in southeastern Alaska: implications for downstream salmonid production. Freshw Biol 2002(47):957–969

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wipfli M, Musslewhite J (2004) Density of red alder (Alnus rubra) in headwaters influences invertebrate and detritus subsidies to downstream fish habitats in Alaska. Hydrobiologia 520:153–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wipfli MS, Deal RL, Hennon PE, and others (2002) Managing young upland forest in Southeast Alaska for wood products, wildlife, aquatic resources, and fishes: problem analysis and study plan, USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-558. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR, USA

    Robert L. Deal

Authors
  1. Robert L. Deal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Patrick J. Baker

  2. Forestry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

    David R. Larsen

  3. School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Alark Saxena

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Deal, R.L. (2022). Assessment and Dynamics of Complex Forest Structure and Understory Plant Diversity to Develop Sustainable Forest Management Options in Alaska. In: Baker, P.J., Larsen, D.R., Saxena, A. (eds) Forests as Complex Social and Ecological Systems. Managing Forest Ecosystems, vol 41. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88555-7_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation