Characteristics of Old-Growth Forests Associated with Northern Spotted Owls in Olympic National Park

1993 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 315 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Scott Mills ◽  
Richard J. Fredrickson ◽  
Bruce B. Moorhead
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Olympic National Park ◽  
Spotted Owls ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Northern Spotted Owls

Understory patch dynamics and ungulate herbivory in old-growth forests of Olympic National Park, Washington

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward G. Schreiner ◽  
Kirsten A. Krueger ◽  
Douglas B. Houston ◽  
Patricia J. Happe
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Standing Crop ◽  
National Park ◽  
Patch Dynamics ◽  
Percent Cover ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Patch Type ◽  
Ungulate Herbivory ◽  
Olympic National Park ◽  
Old Growth Forests

The relationship between native ungulates (mainly Roosevelt elk, Cervuselaphus L.) and the occurrence of three patch types in an old-growth (220- to 260-year-old) Sitka spruce (Piceasitchensis (Bong.) Carrière)–western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) temperate coniferous rain forest was investigated on the South Fork Hoh River in Olympic National Park. The distribution, frequency, and size of two understory patches (grass, moss) and patches where shrubs had escaped herbivory (refugia) were sampled along transects. Vegetation standing crop, percent cover, species richness, and equitability along transects were compared with conditions in two 8-year-old 0.5-ha ungulate exclosures. Ungulate herbivory profoundly affected the distribution and abundance of understory patch types. Grass-dominated patches disappeared following 8 years of protection from ungulate herbivory. Ungulates maintained a reduced standing crop, increased forb species richness, and determined the distribution, morphology, and reproductive performance of several shrub species. There is clearly a dynamic relationship between patch type, tree fall, and ungulate herbivory in these old-growth forests. Our results show that ungulate herbivory is a driving force shaping vegetation patterns in coastal coniferous forests.

Decomposition and nutrient release from green needles of western hemlock and Pacific silver fir in an old-growth temperate rain forest9 Olympic National Park, Washington

1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1049-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Edmonds ◽  
Ted B. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
National Park ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Silver Fir ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Olympic National Park ◽  
Significant Difference

Decomposition rates and nutrient dynamics (for N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, and Na) were determined for green needles of western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) and Pacific silver fir (Abiesamabilis (Dougl.) Forb.) in an old-growth forested watershed (58 ha West Twin Creek) in the Hoh River valley, Olympic National Park, Washington. The influence of temperature and substrate chemistry on decomposition was determined. Temperature was the dominant factor controlling decomposition rates in the first year in this watershed, with the fastest decomposition at an elevation of 275 m (lower watershed) and the slowest decomposition at 725 m (upper watershed). After 12 months mass loss averaged 36% in the lower watershed and 28% in the upper watershed. There was no significant difference in decomposition rates between species. Substrate chemistry, i.e., the lignin/N ratio, became a more important factor than temperature as decomposition proceeded. After 37 months mass loss for needles averaged 61% for western hemlock and 50% for Pacific silver fir, with no difference by watershed location. After 61 months both types of substrates appeared to be approaching similar substrate chemistry and similar decomposition rates and there were no significant differences by species or watershed location. Decomposition constants (k values) after 61 months were 0.26 and 0.20 year−1 for western hemlock needles in the lower and upper watershed, respectively, and 0.22 and 0.19 year−1 for Pacific silver fir needles in the lower and upper watershed, respectively. Nitrogen was immobilized during the first 12 months of decomposition in needles of both species and then released. No other elements were immobilized during the initial (0- to 12-month) decomposition period, except for Ca in Pacific silver fir needles. However, in the 37- to 61-month period there was a considerable immobilization of Mg and Na in both species in the upper and lower watershed and K and Mn in both species in the upper watershed.

Overstory litter inputs and nutrient returns in an old-growth temperate forest ecosystem, Olympic National Park, Washington

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 742-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L Edmonds ◽  
Georgia LD Murray
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Olympic National Park ◽  
Shade Tolerant Species ◽  
Woody Litter ◽  
Fine Wood ◽  
Temperate Forest Ecosystem

Overstory litterfall rates and nutrient returns were determined in an old-growth temperate rainforest watershed in the Hoh River valley, Olympic National Park, Washington. Litter was sorted into green needles, senescent needles, fine wood, reproductive, and miscellaneous litter (mostly arboreal lichens and mosses). Understory and coarse woody debris inputs were not determined. Total annual overstory litterfall averaged 3594 kg·ha–1 and varied among the six plant communities in the watershed. There was a trend for litterfall to be higher in the upper watershed; elevations ranged from 180 to 850 m. Needles provided the greatest amount of litterfall (60%) with woody litter and other material averaging 18 and 22%, respectively. Highest senescent needle litterfall occurred from July to October, but highest woody litterfall was from January to April. Green needles provided only 3% of annual needle litterfall. Green and senescent needle litterfall were related to western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) basal area, suggesting that this shade-tolerant species was the greatest contributor to needle litterfall. The following quantities (kg·ha–1) of nutrients were returned to the forest floor annually: Ca, 26.8; N, 24.6; K, 4.0; Mg, 3.0; P, 2.9; Mn, 1.7; and Na, 1.2.

Diversity, production, and nutrient dynamics of fungal sporocarps on logs in an old-growth temperate rain forest, Olympic National Park, Washington

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 665-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L Edmonds ◽  
David S Lebo
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
National Park ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Picea Sitchensis ◽  
Common Type ◽  
Fruiting Bodies ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Olympic National Park ◽  
Temperate Rain Forest

Fungal sporocarps were sampled on 47 logs in six 0.1-ha plots in an old-growth Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) - western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) forest in the Hoh River Valley, Olympic National Park, Washington, from October 1993 to May 1994. Log biomass averaged 205 Mg/ha and the surface area of plots occupied by logs was 9.8%. Most fungal fruiting occurred on decay class 3 logs, the most common type on a scale from 1 (least decayed) to 5 (most decayed). Eighty-two taxa of fleshy fungi (63 saprophytic, 18 mycorrhizal, and one pathogenic) and six taxa of large annual or perennial fungi occurred on logs. Most fungi were basidiomycetes. Highest fleshy sporocarp production occurred in fall (456 g/ha) rather than spring (40 g/ha). Ischnoderma resinosum had the highest annual production (88 g/ha). Concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Na, Fe, Zn, Al, B, and Cu in fruiting bodies were determined. Lower N concentrations occurred in perennial fungi (0.45%) than mycorrhizal (4.33%) and fleshy saprophytic species (3.30%). Only a small fraction of the nutrient capital in the logs was exported to the forest floor in fungal sporophores.

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