**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE VAST MAJORITY OF TIMBERLAND IN EASTERN OREGON IS OWNED AND MANAGED BY THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE.CONSERVATION OF OLD-GROWTH TREES IS THE KEY TO ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE, SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE, AND LEGALLY DEFENSIBLE UTILIZATION OF FOREST BIOMASS ACROSS THESE FEDERAL LANDS.THE FOREST SERVICE RECENTLY CRAFTED NEW POLICY THAT AIMS TO PROTECT OLD TREES (DEFINED AS >150 YEARS OLD) WHILE FACILITATING REMOVAL OF YOUNG TREES THAT ESTABLISHED AS A RESULT OF FIRE EXCLUSION AND NOW COMPETE WITH OLD TREES FOR RESOURCES.THE NEW POLICY RELIES ON AN ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH THAT MONITORS THE EFFECTS OF THINNING ON CONSERVATION OF OLD TREES.HOWEVER, THERE IS ALMOST NO RELIABLE DATA ABOUT MORTALITY OF OLD TREES IN EASTERN OREGON AND LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW COMPETITION, THINNING, AND DISTURBANCE INFLUENCES MORTALITY OF OLD TREES ACROSS DIVERSE LANDSCAPES.THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL FILL THIS KNOWLEDGE GAP BY QUANTIFYING MORTALITY OF OLD TREES AND DETERMINING THE ENVIRONMENTAL, DISTURBANCE, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONTROLS UNDERLYING TREE DEATH ACROSS A NETWORK OF MORE THAN 2,000 OLD TREES THAT WERE MEASURED MORE THAN 10 YEARS AGO.THIS DATASET IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT ENCOMPASSES A WIDE RANGE OF SPECIES, TREE AGES (150-700 YEARS OF AGE), AND INCLUDES OLD TREES DISTRIBUTED ACROSS A BROAD ENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENT IN EASTERN OREGON.RADIAL GROWTH AND THE AGE OF EACH TREE WAS PRECISELY ESTIMATED WHEN THE TREES WERE FIRST MEASURED BETWEEN 2008-2012.WE WILL COLLECT ADDITIONAL DATA ACROSS THIS OLD-GROWTH NETWORK INCLUDING MEASUREMENTS OF COMPETITION AND ADDITIONAL WOOD SAMPLES FOR CARBON AND OXYGEN ISOTOPE ANALYSIS.THESE DATA WILL ALLOW SCIENTISTS AND MANAGERS TO: 1) ESTABLISH A BASELINE FOR OLD-GROWTH MORTALITY THAT ANCHORS ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT, 2) CHARACTERIZE THE AGES, SPECIES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH VULNERABILITY OF OLD TREES TO MORTALITY, AND 3) DESCRIBE PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF TREE DEATH.RESEARCH WILL BE CO-PRODUCED WITHIN A WELL-ESTABLISHED COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK THAT INCLUDES UNIVERSITY INVESTIGATORS, FEDERAL LAND MANAGERS, TRIBES, FOREST PRODUCTS COMPANIES, CONSERVATIONISTS, AND LOCAL COMMUNITY LEADERS.THE RESULTS WILL BE AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP IN DEVELOPING AN ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR CONSERVATION OF EASTERN OREGON OLD GROWTH.DEVELOPMENT OF A ROBUST ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK WILL PROVIDE SOCIAL AND LEGAL SUPPORT FOR UTILIZATION OF WOOD BIOMASS.WOOD PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING REPRESENTS AT LEAST 50% OF MANUFACTURING EMPLOYMENT IN THE MAJORITY OF COUNTIES IN EASTERN OREGON.EVEN BEFORE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, RURAL COMMUNITIES IN EASTERN OREGON FACED CHRONIC DOUBLE-DIGIT UNEMPLOYMENT.DEVELOPING DURABLE ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS THAT PROTECT OLD GROWTH WHILE FACILITATING EXTENSIVE REMOVAL OF YOUNG TREES IS CRITICAL FOR MAINTAINING EXISTING MILL INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROVIDING CERTAINTY FOR INVESTMENTS TO DEVELOP NEW INDUSTRIES AND MARKETS THAT UTILIZE FOREST BIOMASS.RESEARCH WILL ALSO PROVIDE VARIETY OF INFORMATION NECESSARY FOR MANAGING A VARIETY OF ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES, CARBON STOCKS, AND RESILIENT FOREST CONDITIONS IN THE FACE OF FUTURE CLIMATE AND DISTURBANCE REGIMES.

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators