Floodplain Forests Along the Tanana River: Interior Alaska Terrestrial Ecosystem Dynamics and Management Considerations
Dates
Year
2000
Citation
Magoun, A. J., and Dean, F. C., 2000, Floodplain Forests Along the Tanana River: Interior Alaska Terrestrial Ecosystem Dynamics and Management Considerations: Agricultural & Forestry Experiment Station, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Alaska Boreal Forest Council, 139 pages.
Summary
SUMMARY Despite some confusion over the objectives and methods of ecosystem management (Yaffee 1999), there is increasing interest on the part of resource managers, scientists, and the public in moving toward ecosystem management of forest resources (Calhoun 1998). The Society of American Foresters (SAF) defined ecosystem management as an ecological approach to forest resources management that “attempts to maintain the complex processes, pathways and interdependencies of forest ecosystems and keep them functioning well over long periods of time, in order to provide resilience to short-term stress and adaptation to long-term change. Thus, the condition of the forest landscape is the dominant focus, and the sustained yield of products [...]
Summary
SUMMARY Despite some confusion over the objectives and methods of ecosystem management (Yaffee 1999), there is increasing interest on the part of resource managers, scientists, and the public in moving toward ecosystem management of forest resources (Calhoun 1998). The Society of American Foresters (SAF) defined ecosystem management as an ecological approach to forest resources management that “attempts to maintain the complex processes, pathways and interdependencies of forest ecosystems and keep them functioning well over long periods of time, in order to provide resilience to short-term stress and adaptation to long-term change. Thus, the condition of the forest landscape is the dominant focus, and the sustained yield of products and services is provided within this context ” (Society of American Foresters’ Task Force on Sustaining Long-term Forest Health and Productivity 1993). Ecosystem management should be based on 1) consideration of all ecosystem components, 2) sound scientific information, and 3) inclusive processes that involve members of the general public. Full incorporation of all components of ecosystem management should include biological and physical components, economic components, and social and political components. The term “ecosystem management” does not explicitly appear in current documents setting policy and guidelines for management of forests in the Tanana Valley. However, maintaining a sustained yield of all natural resources (as mandated by the State Constitution), requires an approach to natural resource management that includes the principles of ecosystem management. In order for forest managers and the general public to know whether we are accomplishing ecosystem management in the Tanana Valley, the Alaska Boreal Forest Council (ABFC) believes a regionally specific set of guidelines for addressing ecosystem management is necessary. Forest management guidelines are frequently incorporated in regulations embodying “Best Management Practices” (BMPs) or in sets of criteria which serve as performance yardsticks in forest certification programs. Much of the policy on, and regulation of, forestry and timber harvesting in interior Alaska is governed by the Alaska Forest Resources and Practices Act (AFRPA) and its associated BMPs, the Tanana Valley State Forest (TVSF) Forest Management Plan, and the Tanana Basin Area Plan (TBAP). The TVSF Forest Management Plan is currently under revision. The AFRPA is also under revision for interior Alaska (Region III). However, the policy guidelines and regulations that currently pertain to forest management in the Tanana Basin do not specifically address how timber sales are designed. The ABFC is interested in forest management certification (Society of American Foresters’ Task Force on Forest Management Certification Programs 1999) as one of many tools that might provide specific guidelines that result in timber harvests patterned after natural disturbance events in interior Alaska. At this time, there is no forest certification program for interior Alaska. Even if forest certification programs are not implemented in interior Alaska, the ABFC is committed to helping develop ecosystem-based approaches to forest management in the Tanana Valley. The first step toward ecosystem management is learning how interior Alaska boreal forests function as ecological units. Commercially valuable forests in interior Alaska occur on south-facing slopes and along the major rivers and their tributaries. This report deals primarily with the biological and physical components of forests that grow along the Tanana River, referred to as “riparian forests” or “floodplain forests.” We did not address the economic and sociological aspects of ecosystem management in this report, though we recognize these aspects are integral components of a successful ecosystem management approach. Why did we focus this report on floodplain forests along the Tanana River? White spruce is the primary commercial timber species in interior Alaska. The white spruce that occurs n relatively narrow bands along the Tanana River and its tributaries are attractive to loggers and forest managers because the floodplains of the Tanana Valley are some of the most productive sites for white spruce in the region. Moreover, because the road system in the valley parallels the Tanana River from Tok to Nenana, there is better access to timber on the floodplain than to much of the commercially-forested state land in more remote upland areas. The floodplain forests are also a top concern of many recreationists, tour operators, and others primarily focused on aesthetics and the value of the river for recreation. Biologically, the white spruce along the rivers may be important to the distribution of some species of plants and animals, and movements of some species may be influenced by the long, narrow landscape patterns and limited habitat types in these forests. Certain species of plants and animals may actually reach their greatest densities in, or be restricted to, floodplain forests. Finally, from the political standpoint, logging white spruce along the rivers in the Tanana Valley has been one of the most controversial topics on the agenda Division of Forestry (DOF) in the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR) and its Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC). There have been over 20 years of research on floodplain forests along the Tanana River conducted by scientists with the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program at the University of Alaska (http://www.lter.uaf.edu) and others. However, most of this research has been conducted in the Fairbanks area and deals primarily with successional patterns, soil development, and nutrient cycling. Comparatively little is known about the upper and lower reaches of the river or about other ecosystem components. In this report, we summarize much of the scientific information regarding floodplain forests in the Tanana Valley, including plant and animal communities as well as forest processes and functions. We consider all community types on the floodplain because white spruce stands do not function separately from the successional stages that precede or succeed them, or from the adjacent habitat types that also occur on the floodplain. It will become readily apparent that little information is included on plants other than trees and shrubs. Until there is a good map of the floodplain that can be overlayed on appropriate databases, there is no feasible way to develop even species lists specifically for floodplain sites. There is a striking absence of detailed ecological information on most plants.