Fire catalyzed rapid ecological change in lowland coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest over the past 14,000 years

Two introduced windgrass species have become crop weeds in North America. Common windgrass is a major weed of winter cereals in Europe and was first documented in North America in the early 1800s. It is a weed of roadsides and waste areas in the northeastern United States and in winter grain fields of southern Ontario and Michigan. Interrupted windgrass was first reported in North America approximately 90 yr ago; it is adapted to more arid sites than common windgrass and is distributed predominantly in the northwestern U.S.A. During the past 10 to 15 yr, interrupted windgrass has adversely affected winter grain and grass seed producers in the Pacific Northwest due to additional control costs.

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Spatial distribution of ectomycorrhizal mats in coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, USA

Plant and Soil ◽

10.1007/bf00015421 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 180 (1) ◽

pp. 147-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Robert P. Griffiths ◽

Gay A. Bradshaw ◽

Barbara Marks ◽

George W. Lienkaemper

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Pacific Northwest ◽

Coniferous Forests ◽

The Pacific

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Evergreen Coniferous Forests of the Pacific Northwest

Science ◽

10.1126/science.204.4400.1380 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 204 (4400) ◽

pp. 1380-1386 ◽

Cited By ~ 356

Author(s):

R. H. Waring ◽

J. F. Franklin

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Coniferous Forests ◽

The Pacific

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Toward a better understanding of climate and human impacts on late Holocene fire regimes in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment ◽

10.1177/0309133318783144 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 478-512 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Megan K Walsh ◽

Haley J Duke ◽

Kevin C Haydon

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Late Holocene ◽

Human Impacts ◽

Fire Severity ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

The Past ◽

The Pacific ◽

Clackamas County ◽

Study Sites

In order to fully appreciate the role that fire, both natural and anthropogenic, had in shaping pre-Euro-American settlement landscapes in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), it is necessary to develop a more robust method of evaluating paleofire reconstructions. Here we demonstrate an approach that includes the identification of charcoal morphotypes (i.e. visually distinct charcoal particles), and incorporates both paleoecological and archaeological data sets, to more specifically determine both the nature of past fire regimes (i.e. fuel type and fire severity) and the likely ignition source of those fires. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by reconstructing the late Holocene fire and vegetation histories of Lake Oswego (Clackamas County), Oregon, and Fish Lake (Okanogan County), Washington, using macroscopic charcoal and pollen analysis of sediment cores. The histories were compared with climatic records from the PNW as well as archaeological, ethnographic, and historical records from the Lower Columbia River Valley and Southern Columbia Plateau cultural regions. Our results indicate that while centennial-to-millennial-scale climate change had limited influence on the fire regimes at the study sites during the past ∼3800 years, the use of fire by Native Americans for a variety of reasons, particularly after ca. 1200 calendar years before present (AD 750), had a far greater impact. Charcoal morphotype ratios also indicate that fires in the two watersheds were fundamentally different in their severity and impact, and led to major shifts in the forests and woodlands surrounding Lake Oswego, but helped maintain the ponderosa pine-dominated forest at Fish Lake. The elimination of fire from the two study sites during the past 100–300 years is likely the combined result of Euro-American contact and the arrival of disease in the PNW, as well as 20th-century fire suppression and grazing effects on fuel continuity, which has implications for future forest management and restoration efforts in the PNW.

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Seeing Themselves: Jean Barman’s French Canadians, Furs, and Indigenous Women in the Making of the Pacific Northwest as a Resource for the Region’s People

Journal of the Canadian Historical Association ◽

10.7202/1040567ar ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 130-135

Author(s):

Stacy Nation-Knapper

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Indigenous Women ◽

French Canadians ◽

Cultural Encounters ◽

The Past ◽

Award Winning ◽

The Pacific ◽

Columbia River Plateau ◽

Complicated Nature

Dr. Barman’s award-winning study is a resource to the Indigenous and non-Indigenous people of the Columbia River Plateau and the Pacific Northwest, an environmentally and culturally diverse region that now encompasses two countries, two provinces, three states, and many Indigenous communities. For Indigenous communities of the region, French Canadians, Furs, and Indigenous Women in the Making of the Pacific Northwest provides an important context of colonialism, global economics, and the complicated nature of cross-cultural encounters. For non-Indigenous communities, the book also encourages an appreciation for the complexities of history often overlooked by celebratory histories of colonization. French Canadians, Furs, and Indigenous Women in the Making of the Pacific Northwest is a resource in which people see themselves and their families in a complicated, accessible, and inspiring story of the past.

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Fishing Vessels of the Pacific Northwest: The Past 30 Years

Marine Technology and SNAME News ◽

10.5957/mt1.1988.25.2.105 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 25 (02) ◽

pp. 105-117

Author(s):

James A. Cole

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Carrying Capacity ◽

Principal Characteristics ◽

Stability Problems ◽

The Past ◽

Fishing Vessels ◽

Technological Advances ◽

The Pacific ◽

Different Types ◽

Hull Design

This paper reviews the evolution of the design of fishing vessels of the Pacific Northwest over the past three decades. Since the vessels are designed to suit their particular fishery or fisheries, five different types are reviewed: gillnet boat, trollers, combination fishing vessels over a range of several sizes, tuna seiners, and stern trawlers. The paper shows how evolution has brought bigger vessels with increased carrying capacity, range, and endurance. Stability problems that have arisen with some of the types are also discussed. A section is devoted to each type summarizing its origins, its evolution, the fishery, fishing method, etc. This is followed by comparisons in hull design of the types reviewed with drawings of the vessels accompanied by their principal characteristics. The conclusion covers the technological advances in design and construction of the vessels and the increased sophistication of their machinery and equipment. An Appendix illustrates the operating areas and seasons of the Pacific Northwest fisheries and includes photographs of typical vessels of the region.

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The Effects of Exogenous Bioregulators and Environment on Regular Cropping of Apple

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.33.3.554e ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 554e-555

Author(s):

Kathleen M. Williams

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Fruit Size ◽

Physiological Status ◽

Naphthalene Acetic Acid ◽

Crop Load ◽

The Past ◽

The Pacific ◽

Return Bloom

Use of exogenous bioregulators (“hormones”) to adjust crop load in apple remains challenging to both researchers and producers. These hormones are sensitive to the rate and timing of application, to the physiological status of the tree, the choice of orchard system, variety and rootstock, and a myriad of cultural practices and environmental factors. All classes of plant bioregulators have been used over the past 30 to 40 years as chemical thinning materials. Most of the standard postbloom thinning programs involve application of a synthetic auxin, such as naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) in combination with carbaryl, a commonly used insecticide. The mode of action of these two compounds is not clearly understood. Gibberellins generally have not been effective thinning materials because of the negative impact on return bloom. Ethylene-releasing compounds have been used successfully as postbloom thinning materials. And cytokinins, particularly synthetic sources such as 6-BA, have been shown to effectively thin fruit and to enhance fruit size on many commercial varieties. The rate and timing of 6-BA applications are particularly critical to obtain the desirable thinning and size responses. Overall, these bioregulators are sensitive to temperature. The use of bloom thinning compounds and their efficacy in the Pacific Northwest will be discussed in the context of return bloom.

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Tardigrades in the Canopy: Associations with Tree Vole Nests in Southwest Oregon

10.32942/osf.io/xvcuf ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

John Villella ◽

Jesse E. D. Miller ◽

Alexander Young ◽

Greg Carey ◽

Andrew Emanuels ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Forest Canopy ◽

Coniferous Forests ◽

Forest Canopies ◽

Species Numbers ◽

The Pacific ◽

Southwest Oregon ◽

East West ◽

Local Dispersal

Tardigrades live in many ecosystems, but local dispersal mechanisms and the influence of ecological gradients on tardigrade communities are not fully understood. Here we examine tardigrade communities in nests of the red tree vole (Arborimus longicaudus True), an arboreal mammal occupying the canopy of coniferous forests in western Oregon and northwestern California. We found 12 species of tardigrades from resin ducts sampled from 43 nests along a transect that spanned the east-west range of the tree vole in southern Oregon. Tardigrade occurrence was more likely in larger trees and species numbers were significantly higher in areas that received more precipitation. At sites where they occurred, tardigrades were more abundant in tree vole nests at greater heights within the forest canopy. Of the 12 species of tardigrades that were found, seven have not been previously reported in Oregon. Our results suggest that tardigrades in forest canopies in the Pacific Northwest are impacted by regional precipitation gradients as well as local environmental variables, and that nest building by small mammals may facilitate dispersal of tardigrades within the forest canopy.

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