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Research Natural Areas are examples of typical and distinctive natural ecosystems and habitats reserved for scientific and educational use. This outline of the minimal Research Natural Area system needed to provide adequate field laboratories for ecological, environmental, and land management research was developed by an interinstitutional, interdisciplinary working group. Natural area needs were first described on the basis of individual organisms, habitats, or ecosystems which should be represented. These "cells," the basic building blocks in defining the total scope of the system, considered terrestrial and aquatic environments as well as rare and endangered species. Identified cells were matched against existing Research Natural Areas to determine which were already filled. The remaining, unfilled cells were then tentatively grouped as units which were listed as Research Natural Area needs. A minimal Research Natural Area system for Oregon and Washington requires approximately 360 tracts which, in turn, incorporate over 770 individual cells (ecosystems, habitats, or organisms). Since 60 Research Natural Areas are already established, about 300 additional areas are needed. These remaining needs were assigned a priority (low, medium, or high) based on importance and degree to which they are endangered, as well as identified as to the Federal, State, or private agency or institution most likely to be able to provide a tract of that type. The purpose of Research Natural Areas, their place in land planning, history of Research Natural Area activities in the Pacific Northwest, and general observations and recommendations on unresolved problems are also outlined.
That is what this book is about. It is a framework for planning, in which habitat is the key to managing wildlife and making forest managers accountable for their actions. This book is based on the collective knowledge of one group of resource professionals and their understanding about how wildlife relate to forest habitats. And it provides a longoverdue system for considering the impacts of changes in forest structure on all resident wildlife.
This guidebook describes Camas Swale Research Natural Area, a 127-ha (314-ac) area that supports dry site, old-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest. Major plant associations present within the area include the Douglas-fir/salal/ western swordfern (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Gaultheria shallon/Polystichum munitum) plant association, Douglas-fir/Oregongrape (Pseudotsuga menziesii/ Berberis nervosa) plant association, Douglas-fir/poison oak (Pseudotsuga menziesii/ Toxicodendron diversilobum) plant association, and Douglas-fir/hazelnut-trailing snowberry/western swordfern (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Corylus cornuta var. californica-Symphoricarpos mollis/Polystichum munitum) plant association. Keywords: Research natural area, Area of Critical Environmental Concern, old-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Douglas-fir/salal/western swordfern (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Gaultheria shallon/Polystichum munitum) plant association, Douglas-fir/Oregongrape (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Berberis nervosa) plant association, Douglas-fir/poison oak (Pseudotsuga menziesii/ Toxicodendron diversilobum) plant association, and Douglas-fir/hazelnut- trailing snowberry/ western swordfern (Pseudotsuga menziesii/Corylus cornuta var. californica- Symphoricarpos mollis/Polystichum munitum) plant association.
A representativeness assessment of National Forest System (N FS) Research Natural Areas in ldaho summarizes information on the status of the natural area network and priorities for identification of new Research Natural Areas. Natural distribution and abundance of plant associations is compared to the representation of plant associations within natural areas. Natural distribution and abundance is estimated using modeled potential natural vegetation, published classification and inventory data, and Heritage plant community element occurrence data. Minimum criteria are applied to select only viable, high quality plant association occurrences. In assigning natural area selection priorities, decision rules are applied to encompass consideration of the adequacy and viability of representation. Selected for analysis were 1,024 plant association occurrences within 214 natural areas (including 115 NFS Research Natural Areas). Of the 1,566 combinations of association within ecological sections, 28 percent require additional data for further analysis; 8, 40, and 12 percent, respectively, are ranked from high to low conservation priority; 13 percent are fully represented. Patterns in natural area needs vary between ecological section. The result provides an operational prioritization of Research Natural Area needs at landscape and subregional scales. Objective ranking criteria provide clear accounting of priority assignments that are easily updated to reflect changing information or conditions.