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Effects of fire and fire surrogate treatmentson leaf litter arthropods: initial posttreatment resultsKYLE APIGIAN AND DONALD L. DAHLSTENLeaf litter arthropods are importantone of four treatments: prescribedcomponents of all forest ecosystems,burning, mechanical treatments (timberservingdetritivores,harvesting and mastication), mechanicalherbivores, as well as food for higherfollowed by burning treatments, ortrophic levels.control. Five traps were placed withingroundaspredators,Some groups, such asbeetles(Carabidae),spiderseach of5 randomly selected plots in(Araneae), and ants (Formicidae) haveeach of the 12 compartments. Insectsbeen studied extensively and have beenwere collected in propylene glycol overshown to have variable responses tothe course of five days each month, fromdisturbances such as fire and timberJune through September.harvesting. The abundance and diversityspecies list formed based on three yearsof these taxa make them valuable asof trapping shows very high diversity ofindicators of forest health. The effectsground active beetles ( 250 species inof fire and harvesting on these groups46 families) and ants (23 species) ire/FireoftheA completeWe will present the initialSurrogateresults of the effects of the FFSThree-treatments on these groups, as well ashundred pitfall traps were placed in 12discuss the ongoing and future analysisforest compartments that experiencedof these data.Study from 2001 to 2003.Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and ManagementUniversity of California, Berkeley201 Wellman Hall #3112Berkeley, CA, 94720BLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 2

The Blodgett Fire and Fire Surrogate StudyWildlife, Camera Trap ResultsREGINALD H. BARRETT AND ANDREW J. AMACHERwere analyzed using four metrics: totaldetections, latency to detection, meanfrequency of occurrence on stations, andfrequency of occurrence on plots.Results are presented as "responseindices" to facilitate comparisons amongspecies. No results were statisticallyThis work is a portion of the wildlifestudy associated with the Blodgettportion of the national Fire and FireSurrogates Study funded by the esignsignificant. We discuss the responsespredicted by the California WildlifeHabitatRelationshipsSystemandcompare them with our response indicesfor seven species of mammals.threetreatments and a control. Treatmentsinclude prescribed burning, mechanicalthinning and the two combined. Cameratraps were operated annually for ten daysat each of six stations within eachreplicate (plot, compartment). Peanutbutter and raw chicken baits wereprovided. Results by species detectedADDRESS OF LEAD AUTHOR:Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and ManagementUniversity of California, Berkeley151 Hilgard HallBerkeley, CA uBLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 3

Effects of prescribed fire on channelmorphology and instream large woodydebris at Blodgett Forest Research StationL.A. Beche, S.L. Stephens, and V.H. ReshPrescribed fire can be an efficient forestchange in LWD biomass, nor was theremanagement tool for fuel reduction andany significant difference in WD(p 0.05),asconcerns about the effects of fire oncompared to control reaches. Outside ofsensitive habitats, such as streams andthe intensively studied reach, LWD wasriparian areas, have often limited theirrecruited as a result of burned snagsuse in management.In late Octoberfalling into or over the stream channel.2002, an upland and riparian plotThis generally occurred in the most(approx. 50 acres) was prescribed burnedseverely burnt areas. There was a slightin the central Sierra Nevada, CA atincreaseBlodgett Forest Research Station. Onesediment in the study reach; however,year post-fire, we re-surveyed riparianfine sediment made up 90% of thevegetation, instream large woody debrissubstrate prior to the fire. These results,(LWD) and channel morphology (inone-year post-fire, indicate that althoughaddition to documenting changes inthe fire resulted in dramatic changes towateraquaticground cover in many areas, the effectmacroinvertebrates, algal biomass). Thison LWD and channel morphology wasstudy is employing a beyond-BACIminimal. In some cases (as with channelexperimental design, with one burned 1stmorphology), the documented effectsorder watershed (Dark Canyon Creek)cannot be attributed to the fire.quality,hydrology,andredistributionoffineand four unburned 1st order catchments.The fire itself was patchy, particularly inthe riparian areas, which resulted in amosaic of fire severity. In the primarystudy reach (200 m), there was no201 Wellman HallDepartment of Environmental Science,Policy and ManagementUniversity of California, BerkeleyCalifornia 94720-3112BLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 4

A Pro-Active Approach to RoadAbandonment: Stream Restoration AfterCulvert RemovalCHET BEHLINGIn an effort to protect watersheds,Streams develop a specific widthseveral road abandonment and streamand gradient in response to debris,restoration projects have been designedsediment and water produced in theand implemented at Blodgett Forestsurrounding watershed.Research Station.The Mutton Creekwidth is restricted by culverts, a series ofheadwaters stream restoration projectadjustments are made by the streamrepresents a pro-active approach to roaditself.abandonment.maintained, the risk of culvert failureundertakingA road abandonmentnearlyalwaysWhen streamIf culverts are not regularlyincludessignificantly increases. By restoring theremoval of culverts and the restorationnatural stream channel after culvertof any associated watercourses. Often,removal, in both orientation and slope,when forest roads are abandoned theytheare simply left to the mercy of physicaleffectively disconnect the old roadprocesses. This inaction often results insystem from the natural stream network.abandonmentprojectswilldetrimental outcomes. Since abandonedRoad abandonment includes sub-roads and culverts are not usuallysoiling road surfaces, planting an erosionmaintained, often sediment movementcontroloccursinletsplacement on erosion prone areas todevelop blockage from debris or beddivert water and potential soil movementrock, and soils may become saturated.and artificially planting native coniferThe latter is often the determining factorseedlings in abandoned aeas.in culvert failure. Improperly abandonedstream restoration techniques will beroads with failed drainage structuresdiscussed, including culvert and filloften become barriers to migration ofremoval, log placement in stream banks,aquatic life.the use of rip-rap and bio-degradablealongroadsurfaces,nativeAspen Mat.BLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004mix,loggingslashSeveralAs a result of thesePage 5

lwithsignificantly lower erosion potential willbe created.ADDRESS OF LEAD AUTHOR:University of California, BerkeleyCenter for Forestry4501 Blodgett Forest RoadGeorgetown, CA :An undersized culvert on aspur road, scheduled to bepulled and abandoned.RIGHT:The spur road, no longer inuse, will be abandoned andbarricaded to vehiculartraffic.BLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 6

ABA: Debris removalafter a backhoe haspulled theabandoned culvert.CB: Gary Roller andJessica Range layingAspen-Mat. Themat will be securedto the stream bankwith biodegradablestakes to preventsoil movement.C: Chet Behlingdoing somehandwork inpreparation forgravel layering.DD: Weed-free strawis spread on newlyplanted areas toprevent erosion.BLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 7

ABOVE: Personnel from CDF/Tahoe and Center staff Gary Roller look at the completedabandonment project.BLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 8

THE INFLUENCE OF SPATIAL CROWN VARIATION ONSCALED ESTIMATES OF CARBON AND WATER FLUX INTHREE SIERRAN CONIFERS.RALPH BONIELLO, IV, AND JOE R. MCBRIDEIt is well accepted that physiologicalMorphological measurements of needlesand morphological variability exists withinfromthe crowns of trees. For example, sun leavescompartmentalize their crowns according toand shade leaves often differ in leaf area,statistically significant differences amongleaf mass, and photosynthetic capacity. Incategories of height, needle age, andaddition, nitrogen gradients have beenazimuth. Nitrogen analysis of these needlesmeasured in tree crowns that correlate wellwill allow us to identify more detailedwith light gradients.gradients within the crowns.These strategiespresumably exist to maximize the efficiencythesetreesallowedusPreliminary results of physiologicalof leaves with respect to carbon gain, andmeasurements will be presented.water and nutrient c responses to light and CO2generally accepted, physiological variabilityconcentration, for future input into thehas rarely been measured systematicallyMAESTRA model. MAESTRA is an openwithin tree crowns. In addition, it is notsource array model that scales leaf levelwellphotosynthetic parameters to the variouscrowncompartments contribute to the overalllevel.carbon and water fluxes of an individualmeasurements were taken approximatelytree.Quantification of the physiologicalonce a month. The curves developed fromvariability within tree crowns will allow forthese measurements provide an independentmore accurate scaling of leaf level responsesmeasure of needle transpiration and leafto whole tree or canopy performance.temperature, and allow for verification ofDuring the growing season of 2003,Diurnalmodel output.stomatalconductanceIn addition, leaf watervarious measures of leaf level physiologypotential measurements may be used towere made on an individual of each of aexamine whether differential water stressponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and white fir.BLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 9

occurs within the crown, as well as itsinfluence on crown physiology.Ralph Boniello using an Li-1600 steady-state porometer to measure stomatalconductance. An Li-6400 gas exchange system, in the background, is measuring CO2and water exchange. Photo by Joe McBrideUniversity of California, BerkeleyDepartment of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management151 Hilgard HallBerkeley, CA 94720-3110BLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 10

Blodgett FFS Site Productivity And CostAnalysis For Mechanical Treatment andBurningERIK S. DREWS AND BRUCE R. HARTSOUGHThe Blodgett research forest hasworker/operator and for each machine. Aone of the test sites for the nationwideFire/Fire Surrogate (FFS) study. As part ofthis interdisciplinary study the cost andproductivity was evaluated for performingthree different treatments (replicated threetimes): mechanical thinning, mechanicalthinning combined with a controlled burn,and controlled burn. These three treatmentswere intended to leave the stands in thesame 80/80 condition, where a fire under the80th percentile conditions would leave 80percent of the stand living.For the productivity analysis of themechanicaltreatmentsinformationwascollected on the number of person-hoursworked, the number of machine-hours foreach machine, and the amount of materialremoved measured in tons.Using the productivity information aproduction rate was calculated for eachoperation step: felling, skidding, loading,and masticating. The production rate wasexpressed in terms of tons per hour, stemsof-average-size per hour, acres per hour. AcostperhourwascalculatedforBELOW: Masticator used for mechanicalthinning in the burn treatment compartments.Photo by Chris Hipkincost for each operation was calculated bymultiplying hours and cost-per-hour for eachperson and machine. The cost results wereexpressed in cost per ton, cost per stem-ofaverage-size, and cost per acre. A similaranalysis was performed for the burns bytracking person-hours and equipment-hours.Preliminary results for the mechanicaltreatments were presented at last year’ssymposium.BLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 11

The controlled burn productivityNo information was available onresults were expressed as person-hours permaterial removed by the burns so no resultsacre, and equipment-hours per acre for eachwere calculated on a per-ton-removed, ormachine. After determining a cost-per-hourper-stem-of-average-sizefor each worker and piece of equipment aThe results from the Blodgett FFS site weretotal-cost per hour and a total-cost per acrecompared with results from several otherwas calculated.FFS sites.ADDRESS OF LEAD AUTHOR:Biological and Agricultural Engineering Dept.University of California, DavisOne Shields Ave.Davis, CA 95616530-752-7890drews4of7@yahoo.comBLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004removedbasis.ABOVE:The Licensed Timer Operator (LTO)moves logs in a landing, utilizing a rubbertired skidder.Photo by Sheryl RambeauPage 12

First measurements of reactive nitrogenoxide fluxes over a ponderosa pineplantationDELPHINE K. FARMER, PAUL J. WOOLDRIDGE, AND RONALD C. COHENThe reactive nitrogen oxidesin creating instrumentation that meets(NOy NO NO2 peroxy nitrates the criteria for eddy covariance fluxes.alkyl nitrates HNO3 ) play a keyThe thermal-dissociation laser inducedroleandfluorescence (TD-LIF) technique (Day etatmospheric chemistry. Deposition ofal. 2002) provides an accurate methodthese species, in particular nitric acidfor measurements of fluxes of HNO3,(HNO3), is a major loss process from theperoxy nitrates (ΣPNs), alkyl nitratesatmospheric NOy reservoir, but also(ΣANs), and NO2. We describe the firstpotentially provides a key nitrogenmeasurements of these fluxes taken insource to forest ecosystems. Despite the2003 above a ponderosa pine plantationimportanceat the University of California gen fluxes, few measurements haveForest Research Station tower site.been made due to the technical difficultyDepartment of Chemistry,University of California, BerkeleyBerkeley, CA TT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 13

Controls of Canopy Activities on Roots andSoil Carbon Dynamics in a Young PonderosaPine Forest: Preliminary Root ObservationsALEXANDER GERSHENSON AND WEIXIN CHENGGlobally, belowground inirhizotronusingobservationthemethod,betweenwhich will continue for the next year andatmospheric C and the soil C pools.a half. Preliminary data, using rootHowever, a gap in our understanding ofcounts, show that the main peak in rootbelowground carbon fluxes in forestproduction occurs between May15 andecosystems in general, and specificallyJuly 15, with the bulk of growththe role that roots play in belowground Chappeningdynamics, is one of the primary factorscoincides with the increase of dailylimitingtheminimum temperatures, which remainedcontribution of forests as global Cbelow 5 C until mid-May. Root deathprocessors. This project is part of awas observed primarily in the firstlarger effort which aims to investigatemonth after emergence, if at all. The netthe role of aboveground controls on rootnumber of roots was the highest duringturnover and soil carbon sequestration inthe period between June and July, aftera mid-elevation, young ponderosa pinewhichplantation with a shrub understorycontinuous decline. Overwintering of(Arctostaphylos sp. and Ceanothus sp.)fine roots appears to be minimal,ourmajorecosystemsbelowgroundability toassessinweJune.observedThisatimingslowbutThis poster represents the firstalthough a second year of observationlook at the belowground activity in anwill be necessary for confirmation.experimental plot at the Blodgett ForestFurther implications and connectionsAmeriflux site in the Sierra Nevadawith research that includes canopy fluxMountains of California, USA.measurements and soil respiration willconductedthefirstseasonWeofbe discussed.UC Santa CruzDept. of Environmental Studiesagersh@ucsc.eduBLODGETT FOREST RESERCH WORKSHOP 2004Page 14

Developing A Hybrid Growth Model ForMultiaged Sierra NevadaMixed-Conifer ForestsROLF F. GERSONDE AND KEVIN L. O’HARAA growth model was developed formodel parameters were simplified formultiaged mixed-conifer forests in theuse of the model with inventory data.Sierra Nevada of California. The modelThe model calculates light at any pointincorporatesprocess-orientedwithin the canopy and can estimate meancomponents that predict tree growth as aincident and absorbed light of larger treefunction of leaf area and absorbed light,crowns. Boundary line analysis showedas well as empirical information on sitethat the maximum amount of leaf area aquality. Leaf area prediction equationstree maintained depended upon the meanwere developed from sapwood area –light rec

Sequoia National Park. Current research on this impressive site includes all-terrestrial vertebrate inventories and permanent vegetation and stream resource inventories. University of California, Berkeley College of Natural Resources Center for Forestry The Center for Forestryy provides leadership in the development of basic scientific