Context

1. A Scientific Basis for Ecological Restoration and Management of Ponderosa Pine and Dry Mixed-Conifer Forests of the Colorado Front Range • Context • Need for more information on range of variability in forest structure based on environmental variability and interactions with disturbance regimes • Groupy/clumpy structure is an important difference between restoration and fuel reduction treatments, but what are the mechanisms leading to groupy/clumpy structures and where most or least likely to be present on the landscape • Desire to see restoration treatments create structural variability in site-appropriate ways in order to enhance forest resilience/sustainability • Assist managers in developing site-specific desired conditions by describing “elements” of a restored forest and expected ranges of variation based on site conditions • Guidance for implementation – how to incorporate concepts into treatment designs and marking practices

2. Purpose To provide a scientific basis for restoration management and to facilitate consistent application of restoration guidelines for ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests along Colorado’s Front Range

3. Description of Historical Forest Conditions and Disturbance Regimes Ecologically Important Changes for Front Range PP and DMC Forests • Fire is less prevalent on the Front Range currently than it was historically • The current forest is more dense than historical forest • There are fewer openings currently • There are fewer old, large trees on the landscape currently… less old-growth • Fire sensitive species such as Douglas-fir have increased relative to fire tolerant species such as ponderosa pine • Even-aged condition more common currently • Surface fuel loads and ladder fuels are more abundant currently • Wildlife associated with open forest conditions (e.g. Pawnee skipper) has declined • Understory vegetation – loss of diversity and fire-dependent species • Invasive species such as cheatgrass are present in many cases currently • Current forest less complex and more homogenous Historical complexity and heterogeneity in forest structure and composition conferred resilience…

4. Restoration Goals To create forest conditions that are sustainable in the face of inevitable disturbance events and climate change • Resilience not only to wildfire but also to insect and disease epidemics • Habitat for sensitive wildlife and game species • Clean air and drinking water and other ecosystem services • Recreational opportunities • Sustainable resource extraction for human uses and to support local economies • Resilience to climate change

5. Begin with general concepts based on ecological forestry principles and forests as “complex adaptive systems” • Natural disturbance processes – fire, insects/disease, lightning, etc… think about the way in which these processes influence forest developmental processes • Forest developmental processes – tree mortality and regeneration dynamics in particular • Environmental gradients – how disturbance phenomena and forest developmental processes are shaped by environmental factors such as moisture availability

6. Restoration Guidelines • Develop desired conditions that are site-specific and forward-looking • Importance of place, working with variation in environmental gradients, avoid one-size fits all • Informed by historic range of variation but not constrained by them – importance of anticipating climate change impacts and use of climate analogues • Use natural patterns of tree mortality as a guide for restoration treatments • Low severity fire kills primarily younger trees – “bottom up” disturbance • Mixed severity fire may create openings • Insects often attack large trees – “top down” disturbance • Consider natural distribution of forest composition and structure along environmental gradients • Providing descriptions of forest change across gradients in: • Elevation • Aspect • Slope position • “Shape of the land” • Soil characteristics • Latitude Visualization tools….

7. Questions/Discussion

8. Questions/Discussion TRMI from Jonas…

9. Accept a range of forest structural possibilities for any given site Structure described according to density and dispersion… Forest Structural Archetypes at the 1/10 Acre Scale Uniform 9 8 7 Dispersion 6 5 10 4 Clumpy 3 2 1 High Low Tree Density

10. Accept a range of forest structural possibilities for any given site Possibility of “stand-level self-organizing aspects in which certain structures tend to perpetuate themselves and maintain a semi-static mosaic…” (Perry et al. 2011) Table depiction of what we think were the most common structures by physiographic setting with narrative description; also illustrates range of conditions can be present

11. Manage for desired “elements” of forest structure across multiple scales • Tree groups/clumps, scattered individual trees, openings (grass/forb/shrub interspace)

12. Consider landscape scale pattern-process linkages and context… • How decisions at stand and project scales should be influenced by landscape scale, i.e. the landscape context • Why important – wildlife, landscape functionality, etc. • Drivers of landscape pattern – physiographic template plus fire • Focus on restoring processes and meeting functional objectives • Prescribed fire • Understory restoration • Food web based approach, trophic interactions • Wildlife discussion Maintain treatments Monitor and compare to dynamic (not static) reference conditions Acknowledge uncertainty

13. Restoration Strategies/Actions Translating general guidelines into actions Create openings – variable size and spatial arrangement Favor fire tolerant species – ponderosa pine, especially on dry sites. Douglas-fir occurs more naturally on moist sites such as north-facing slopes, so leave there… Leave large, old trees – but no age/diameter cap Leave “defect” trees – important for wildlife and structural heterogeneity Target age and size classes that are overrepresented for removal – based on inventory data – ensure balance of age and size classes… Leave trees in groups Minimize edge – natural disturbances do not usually result in sharp edges but more often represent a continuum of effect whereby higher-density areas grade into lower-density areas which grade into openings. Favor aspen Maintain treatments

14. Implementation Guidance How can guidelines/principles be operationalized? • Use the density v. dispersion diagram and table showing historical distribution of archetypes to get an idea of range structural variation for a given physiographic setting • Use knowledge of environmental variation and local landform variation to guide site-specific prescriptions and marking • Discussion of photo guide of commonly encountered restoration situations, possibly including actual data • Example prescriptions

15. GIS Technologies and Tools Binning/Parsing the landscape according to physiographic settings based on digital elevation models Visualization tools

16. Next steps • Continue development of implementation guidance section, working with land managers • Reach out to individuals with specialized experience • Workshop with larger Front Range restoration community, summer 2013 • Finish writing/editing • Publish late summer/early fall 2013 • Possible follow-on documents with case-studies Questions?