Forests are dynamic

Post by Clemson undergraduate Erin Doege

A forest is an ecosystem and a habitat. A forest is a public resource for leisure, wellness and health, and a tool. A forest is also dynamic, it is constantly changing. Sometimes it changes in response to natural events and sometimes it may be in response to animals or humans. There are many different types of forest that are all comprised of many unique components. To me, I think of a forest as similar to a strand of DNA. All DNA has the same four nitrogenous bases. But unless you are a monozygous twin, no two strands are alike, which gives us a variety of people, ethnicities, and cultures. A forest is the same. Forest all have the same bases, vegetation, soil, and water just to name a few. But all of these bases are arranged in different combinations to give us a variety of forest types.

If I had to define management, I would say it something you do, such as overseeing a project and ensuring desired end results are achieved. It is also a responsibility to others, wildlife, and/or the environment depending on your career field. The largest part of management to me though is not just dictating and giving orders, its teaching. You as a manager are responsible for teaching others how to put practices to work and the why. You are also tasked with the responsibility of helping craft the future of the resource you are working with. Putting these two terms together is what I believe Jeff Hermanns, a forester for Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, was telling us forest management meant.

The people of Montana are very attached to their trees. You can drive across the state and encounter the prairie which does not have trees. Then on the other end of the spectrum you have part of the Rocky Mountains which does have forest. In between those contrasting landscapes trees and forest are found in small patches. Montana gets very little rain and has pretty low humidity level as well. Overall Montana has a pretty dry disposition and this can be scary for residents when you start talking about forest management and prescribed burns as a tool. Also if you have a limited amount of a resource and you have someone come in and tell you they are going take away part of it, it can be pretty off-putting. People do not want to thin their forest because majority of them do not under the science behind it. And to be fair neither did I until Jeff came and spoke to us.

Unmanaged forest are a big liability for state governments, property owners, and business. Forest that are unmanaged can become very dense, providing a vast amount of fuel for fires. Also when forest become very dense species diversity decreases. If forest are left unmanaged you cannot conserve species diversity when you have one type out competing all of the others.

Also, when forest are left unmanaged they can become very dense. When forest become dense less light reaches the forest floor, which does not allow much vegetation to grow below the canopy level. Another issue with very dense forest is that the trees are competing against each other for resources. When this happens the overall health and quality of trees decline leaving you with small trees and very little species diversity. In another class I had at Clemson, we went to the experimental forest to do habitat assessments for ground dwelling birds. The forest composition was very similar to the forests in Montana, predominately pine. One half of the forest had been managed by the university and the other half had not. There was a stark difference between the two. The side that had been managed had large pines, a variety of shrub layer plants, and suitable habitat for many types of animals. The side that was unmanaged had none of this. Jeff told us about a crown fire that broke out in 1984 in the Roundup area and 100,000 acres was destroyed. It was a stand replacement fire so all of the trees were gone. After the fire there was a 70% decrease in mule deer since there was no habitat or food source for them. When forest are managed properly on rangelands there can actually be a drastic increase in the amount of forage available for grazing animals. Animals are able to graze longer into the year thus decreasing the amount of supplement feed needed.

Climate fluctuations, drought conditions, human intervention and more can bring about the rise and fall of plants, animals, and landscape characteristics on a rangeland. Climates and fires have and will continue to be forces that have shaped the landscape. Jeff Hermanns told us that Montana is going on 100 years of no active fire suppression.  He told us that he has been on properties before where land owners have said they do not want to cut down their trees, but he found evidence of three different prescribed fire treatments. The biggest disconnect between foresters and the public seems to be education about rangeland management practices. Also Montana seems to have very tight-knit communities and knowledge passed down through generations. Sometimes in that tight knit communities change can be hard to bring about. If I lived in an area that had little forest and a really dry environment I would be skeptical as well. But when equipped with knowledge it only takes one person to help bring about changes that can or will have positive impacts on the future. Rangeland management is multifaceted. Everything plays a role with each other and can have a positive or negative affect depending on what type of management practices you put to work.