Oak Woodland Restoration Strategies

This projection created with EnVision software shows management alternatives in oak-conifer stands. Stands were projected without any management (left), with periodic conifer thinning (center), and complete conifer removal (right).
Source: USDA Forest Service

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Communities of Oregon white oak were once widespread in the Pacific Northwest, but today are in decline. Aggressive management practices are capable of saving the threatened woodlands, however. Illustrations generated with EnVision software show the results of different plans and actions.

Fire suppression, conifer and invasive plant encroachment, and land use change have resulted in the loss of as much as 99 percent of the oak communities historically present in some areas of the region.

Study Offers Plan

A new technical report titled “Evaluation of Landscape Alternatives for Managing Oak at Tenalquot Prairie, Washington” outlines the findings of a study aimed at determining the success of different management scenarios in restoring the region’s oak communities. The study’s findings indicated that if oaks are to be successfully restored, more aggressive management is needed within the next several decades.

“In areas where conifers have encroached into oak woodlands and savannas, about two-thirds of the remaining oaks were predicted to die over a 50-year period unless the conifers are removed,” said Peter Gould, a research forester and lead author of the report.

Once Mighty Stands

Gould and his colleagues conducted a landscape-level analysis of a portion of Fort Lewis, Wash., that is the site of many of the Puget Sound’s last remaining oak communities. Using geographic information system technology, a forest growth model, and landscape visualization software, the researchers simulated the effects of five different management scenarios on the extent and condition of oaks. The scenarios ranged from no management at all to restoration of the historical extent of oak prairies typical of 1853.

“Oaks were predicted to benefit most under the scenarios that included widespread conifer removal in stands where oak was already present,” Gould said.

A complete copy of the report is available online at https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr745.pdf.

Excerpt from the Report

“Although the scenarios presented in this study were applied to the specific conditions within the Tenalquot Planning Area, a similar approach may be useful in other situations where oak restoration is a goal. Oak are often found in changing landscapes that include areas that are in different stages of transitions. The landscape-level analysis used in this study provides a good platform for evaluating management alternatives in areas that include a wide range of initial conditions. Evaluating alternatives on a landscape can also be useful for efficiently allocating areas to different land uses, such as conservation of oak and prairies, development of old-forest conditions, and timber production. Landscape visualizations created with EnVision can be used to create a better understanding of how management decisions for individual stands can shape the larger landscape. Landscape visualizations are especially useful for explaining management alternatives to nontechnical audiences (Roth and Finley 2007, Roth et al. 2006).”

Source: USDA Forest Service