Using forest knowledge: how silviculture can benefit from ecological knowledge systems about beargrass harvesting sites

U.S. Pacific Northwest Research Station Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-912
2015

Sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of national forests and grasslands is the mission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. Yet managing these lands is challenging because people hold different expectations for them. Public uses can include:
• Recreation (scenery, trails, bicycle and snowmobile routes)
• Timber (structural, decorative, manufactured wood products) and wood-based energy (biomass)
• Nontimber forest products (foods, fibers, medicines)
• Sustaining or restoring natural processes (water, nutrient cycles)
• Preserving cultural and natural history (archaeological or other sites)

This booklet describes how knowledge gained from a tri-state study of good harvesting sites of a popular forest understory plant can contribute to local silvicultural decisions about tree density and levels of down wood. Read more…