1. Natural Variability as a Management Paradigm
Paleo-Landscape Ecology: Reconstructing the Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Pacific Northwest Forests

5. Natural Resources Management Paradigms
Commodity Production
Species Preservation
Natural Variability

6. Commodity Production
Maximize the production of one or more commodities
Minimize impacts on other resources

7. Species Preservation
“…maintain viable populations of all native and desirable non-native species well distributed throughout their range.” (NFMA)
Economic and social consequences are secondary
Essentially, this represents reversal of priorities of Commodity Production Paradigm

8. Natural Variability: The Precautionary Principle of Ecosystem Management
Describe the range of stand and landscape-level conditions that existed in these forests prior to Euro-American settlement
Design management plans that maintain the system somewhere within this range

9. Natural Resources Management Paradigms
Commodity Production
1950’s
1980’s
1990’s
Species Preservation
Natural Variability

13. “New” Forestry: circa mid 1990’s
“Old” Forestry: circa 1950’s – 1980’s

14. Return Interval
Swanson et al

15. Implementing the Natural Variability Concept
How do you quantify
“The Range of Natural Variability”

16. Reconstructing Fire History

19. Number of fires

20. Fire Frequency and Size

21. Fire vs. Timber Harvest: Impact on disturbance rate

24. 100 yr disp rotation
50 yr agg rotation
100 yr disp rotation
50 yr agg rotation

25. 50 and 100 yr rotations
50 and 100 yr rotations