Mixed Conifer Forest Ecology: Emerging Science

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 12pm MST
This will be a panel presentation followed by a question/answer and discussion, approximately 90 minutes in length

1. Assessing and analyzing mixed conifer spatial patterns of northern Arizona (Kyle Rodman)
2. Effects of tree cutting and fire on understory vegetation in mixed conifer forests (Judy Springer)
3. Treatement effectiveness of mixed conifer treatments in the Wallow Fire (Amy Waltz)
4. Overview of the mixed conifer LEARN project on Mogollon Rim Ranger District (Andrew Sanchez Meador)

This webinar is co-sponsored by the SWFSC and the Ecological Restoration Institute

“The Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University will present 4 studies from on-going research in mixed conifer habitat across northern and eastern Arizona. The mixed conifer forests studied evolved with frequent fire, and have seen changes in tree densities, tree composition, and spatial patterns since widespread exclusion of fire in the Southwest as early as the 1870s (Rodman presentation). Treatments that thin trees and select for fire-resilient species impact the understory (Springer presentation) and influence stand resiliency to uncharacteristic fire (Waltz presentation). On-going studies on the federal landscape will test effects of multiple treatment types in mixed conifer forests, including restoration treatments and Mexican Spotted Owl recovery plan habitat treatments (Sanchez Meador presentation).”