Effects of Timber Harvest Following Wildfire in Western North America
Timber harvest following wildfire leads to different outcomes depending on the biophysical setting of the forest, pattern of burn severity, operational aspects of tree removal, and other management activities. Removal of snags reduces long-term fuel loads but generally results in increased amounts of fire fuels for the first few years after logging unless surface fuels are effectively treated.
Effects on aquatic systems of removing trees are mostly negative, and logging and transportation systems that disturb the soil surface or accelerate road-related erosion can be particularly harmful unless disturbances are mitigated. Cavity-nesting birds, small mammals, and amphibians may be affected by harvest of standing dead and live trees, with negative effects on most species.
Uncertainty about the effects of postfire logging can be reduced by implementing management experiments to document long-term changes in natural resources at different spatial scales.
Authors: David L. Peterson, James K. Agee, Gregory H. Aplet, Dennis P. Dykstra, Russell T. Graham, John F. Lehmkuhl, David S. Pilliod, Donald F. Potts, Robert F. Powers, and John D. Stuart
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Sam Goldman
Sam has been with The Wilderness Society since Fall 2007. He came most recently from M+R Strategic Services in Washington, DC where he worked with national environmental groups to improve their online campaign work and field organizing capacity. Before that, Sam was the Assistant National Field Director for U.S. PIRG where he covered a variety of issues including the fight to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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