FWE 875: Great Lakes Forest Change

Readings for Dec. 3

2008-11-20T10:14:00.001-08:00

Hi-
The readings for Dec. 3 are:

1. For climate change and its effects on WI forests:
a. Your Scheller and Mladenoff 2008 article: Scheller, R.M. and D.J. Mladenoff. 2008. Simulated effects of climate change, fragmentation, and inter-specific competition on tree species migration in northern Wisconsin, USA. Climate Research 36: 191-202. Copyright issues prevent me from adding the pdf to the folder, but you can click on it directly at: http://landscape.forest.wisc.edu/pdf/SchellerMladenoff%20ClimRes%202008.pdf

b. Optional: Madeline Fisher's nice UW news essay on this article: http://www.news.wisc.edu/15386

2. For restoration in the face of climate change:
a. Harris, J.A., R.J. Hobbs, E. Higgs, and J. Aronson. 2006. Ecological restoration and global climate change. Restoration Ecology 14(2):170-176. (in the readings folder as Harrisetal2006.pdf)

b. Optional: Seastedt, T.R., R.J. Hobbs, and K.N. Suding. 2008. Management of novel ecosystems: are novel approaches required? Frontiers in Ecology & the Environment 6, doi:10.1890/070046.(in the readings folder as Seastedtetal2008.pdf)

Readings Nov 12 and 19th; no class Nov 26

2008-11-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

Hi-
Here are the readings for the next two weeks. We won't meet on Nov. 26th, the afternoon before Thanksgiving, to give us all more time to make pumpkin pies and roast turkeys (or whatever your Thanksgiving traditions might be).

Nov 12 (Tricia and possibly Jon)
Robert Gough, Farming the Cutover, introduction and Chapter 1.

Optional: Steen-Adams, M.M., N.E. Langston, and D.J. Mladenoff. 2007. “White pine in the northern forests: An ecological and management history of white pine on the Bad River Reservation of Wisconsin,” Environmental History 12: 624-648.

Nov 19 (Bob and possibly Tricia)

Jeanine M. Rhemtulla and David J. Mladenoff, “Why history matters in landscape ecology,” Landscape Ecology 22 (2007): 1-3.

Rhemtulla, J.M., D.J. Mladenoff and M.K. Clayton. 2007. Regional land-cover conversion in the U.S. upper Midwest: magnitude of change and limited recovery (1850-1935-1993). Landscape Ecology 22: 57 -75. link: http://landscape.forest.wisc.edu/PDF/Rhemtulla_LE2007.pdf

Optional: Rhemtulla, J. M., D. J. Mladenoff, and M. K. Clayton. 2008. Legacies of historical land use on regional composition and structure in Wisconsin (USA): (Mid-1800s—1930s—2000s).

Readings for Nov 5

2008-11-02T06:53:00.000-08:00

Hi-
For this Wednesday, we'll be discussing:

Steen-Adams et al 2008 (NOT Steen-Adams et al 2007--that's for later this fall): “Indian history of the Great Lakes Lumber Era: The Case of the Bad River Band of Ojibwe,” manuscript in prep.

White and Mladenoff 2004: Old-growth forest landscape transitions from pre-European settlement to present.” Landscape Ecology 9 (2004): 191-205.

OPTIONAL (and not yet loaded onto the website): Gates et al 1983: ,“Wildlife in a Changing Environment,” 52-82 in Susan Flader, ed. The Great Lakes Forest: An Environmental and Social History (U of MN: 1983)

Value of Old Growth

2008-10-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

All,

Here are two new items that are ancillary to our discussions and I thought some of you might be interested in. The Lussaert et al. just out in Nature is important for the discussion of the role of old forests and carbon sequestration. There has been a lot of argument about this, with some suggesting that "forest" carbon is best sequestered as 2x4s, and that old forests do not have any net gain of C. This assessment of a broad group of studies shows the opposite.

The second news piece on Bialowieza forest in Poland is interesting, and give some prespective on discussions similar to ours taking place elsewhere, with much longer intensive land use histories.

David

Note from Nancy: these two readings are now in the readings box.

Field Trip Details

2008-10-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

Two vans will be going up to Sylvania, one leaving at 9 am on Friday and one at 4:30 pm on Friday, after the ecology symposium. (I'm assuming that you'll be in the 4:30 van, but email me if you'd like to go in the 9 am van). Please meet behind Russell Labs about 10 minutes before the van is due to depart. We will return Sunday evening, getting back to Russell Labs around 6-7 ish, depending on traffic.

Phone #s:
Nancy 608 214 5196
David 608 843 4332
Bob 608 852 4218
Sara 808 895 0442
Mike 715 304 7390

Things to bring:
Hiking boots (we'll hike 5 to 7 miles on Saturday, rain or shine, on trails in the wilderness area)
Spare dry shoes
Rain gear
WARM clothes--fleece, especially.
Flashlight or head lamp
Water bottle, small day pack for your lunch while hiking
Bath towels (the cabins provide sheets and blankets, but not bath towels. I may need a couple of you to bring sleeping bags and pads, in case we have more people than beds in the two cabins we have rented).
A little cash for snacks on the drive--we'll figure out costs for groceries and cabins next week

We are staying at the Sylvania Wilderness Cabins, just outside the Sylvania WIlderness.
Here's the website: http://www.sylvaniawildernesscabins.com/
For directions and a map: http://www.sylvaniawildernesscabins.com/contact.html

For more info about the wilderness area and a useful map (please print this out), see
http://www.sylvaniawildernesscabins.com/page04.html

Sylvania Wilderness Cabins
E21831 Crooked Lake Road, Watersmeet, MI 49969

Readings for Oct 22 and Nov 5

2008-10-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

Part 3 The Lumber Era 1860s to 1910s
October 22

Michael Williams, chapter 7 from Americans and their Forests.

Increase Lapham et al 1867, "Report on the Disastrous Effects of the Destruction of Forest Trees, Now Going on so Rapidly in the State of Wisconsin."

Filbert Roth, on logging.

OCT 29--no class; David is out of town

Nov. 5

Steen-Adams, M.M., N.E. Langston, and D.J. Mladenoff. “Indian history of the Great Lakes Lumber Era: The Case of the Bad River Band of Ojibwe,” manuscript in prep.

White, Mark and David Mladenoff. “Old-growth forest landscape transitions from pre-European settlement to present.” Landscape Ecology 9 (2004): 191-205.

Gates, D. M., C. H. D Clarke, and James T. Harris, “Wildlife in a Changing Environment,” 52-82 in Susan Flader, ed. The Great Lakes Forest: An Environmental and Social History (U of MN: 1983)

Readings for Sept 24-Oct. 19

2008-09-17T13:24:00.001-07:00

Sept 24: Old Growth and retrospective studies
Frelich, Lee, Meredith Cornett, and Mark White. “Controls and reference conditions in forestry: the role of old-growth and retrospective studies.” Journal of Forestry (2005): 339-344.

Frelich, Lee and Peter Reich, “Old Growth in the Great Lakes Region,” in Eastern Old Growth Forests, ed. Mary Byrd Davis, Washington, DC: Island Press, 1996.

Part 2 Cultural Contact and Natural Disturbance Regimes: 1650s to 1850s
Oct 1 (no class meeting)

Oct 8,
Charles Cleland, pp. 1-34 of Rites of Conquest (1992)

Tyrrell, Lucy and Thomas Crow. “Structural characteristics of old-growth hemlock-hardwood forests in relation to age.” Ecology 75 (1994): 370-386.

Oct 15
Richard White, The Middle Ground, introduction and Refugees chapters.

Jesuit readings and fur traders’ diaries from Up Country

Schulte, Lisa and David Mladenoff, “Severe wind and fire regimes in northern forests: historical variability at the regional scale.” Ecology 86 (2005): 431-445.

Frelich, Lee and Craig Lorimer, “Natural disturbance regimes in hemlock-hardwood forests of the upper Great Lakes region,” Ecological Monographs 61 (1991): 145-164.

FIELD TRIP READINGS
Margaret B. Davis, Randy R. Calcote, Shinya Sugita, and Hikaru Takaharab, “Patchy Invasion and the Origin of a Hemlock–Hardwoods Forest Mosaic,” Ecology: 79 (1998): 2641–2659. (needs uploading)

Mladenoff, D. J., M. A. White, J. Pastor, and T. R. Crow 1993. Comparing spatial pattern in unaltered old-growth and disturbed forest landscapes. Ecological Applications 3:294-306.

Charlie Rasmussen, thesis on Sylvania

Readings for Sept 10 to 24

2008-09-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
The readings for next week are now uploaded. See you on Wednesday!
Nancy

Sept 10 Overview essays:
Mladenoff, David. “A Tale of Two Forests: The History of the Northern Forest and a Tribute to Forest Stearns.” Edited 2001 transcript of a keynote address given to open the Northern Forest Restoration Workshop at Northland College, Ashland WI October 2000.

Lisa A. Schulte, David J. Mladenoff, Thomas R. Crow, Laura C. Merrick, David T. Cleland, “Homogenization of northern U.S. Great Lakes forests due to land use,” Landscape Ecology 22 (2007) 1089-1103.

Sept 17 After the Ice: 11000 bp to 1650s
Cole, K. L. et al, “Historical landcover changes in the Great Lakes region,” Land Use History of North America (USGS 2003):
http://biology.usgs.gov/luhna/chap6.html

Hotchkiss, S. C., R. Calcote, and E. A. Lynch. 2007. Response of vegetation and fire to Little Ice Age climate change: regional continuity and landscape heterogeneity. Landscape Ecology 22 Supl. 1: 25-41.

Margaret Davis, “Quaternary history and the stability of forest communities,” Ch. 10, pp 132-153 in D. C. West et al, eds, Forest Succession: Concepts and Application (Springer-Verlag, 1981).

Tom Webb III, E J Cushing and H. E, Wright Jr, “Holocene Changes in the Vegetation of the Midwest,” pp 142-165 in Late-Quaternary Environments of the United States, ed H E Wright, Jr, vol 2, The Holocene (U of MN Press, 1983). Optional background reading.

Sept 24: Old Growth and retrospective studies
Frelich, Lee, Meredith Cornett, and Mark White. “Controls and reference conditions in forestry: the role of old-growth and retrospective studies.” Journal of Forestry (2005): 339-344.

Frelich, Lee and Peter Reich. “Perspectives on development of definitions and values related to old-growth forests.” Environ. Rev. 11 (2003): s9-s22.

Frelich, Lee and Peter Reich, “Old Growth in the Great Lakes Region,” in Eastern Old Growth Forests, ed. Mary Byrd Davis, Washington, DC: Island Press, 1996.

schedule for weekly meetings

2008-09-08T11:03:00.001-07:00

Here's the schedule for weekly discussion questions/snacks:
Sept 10: Jane, Bob
Sept 17: Julia, Feng
Sept. 24: Erika and Mike
Oct 8: Trish and Stacy
Oct 15: Brian and Mike
Oct 22: Jon and Erika
Nov. 5: Brian and Kristen
Nov. 12: Tricia Knoof and Jane
Nov. 19: Julia and Bob
Nov 26: Trish and Feng
Dec. 3: Stacy and Kristen

Great Lakes Forest Change Readings

2008-09-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Forest and Wildlife Ecology 875

Special Topics: Great Lakes Forest Change
Forest and Wildlife Ecology 875
Fall 2008 Professors Nancy Langston and David Mladenoff
1 credit
Wednesdays, 3:30 to 4:30 pm, A121 Russell Labs
Emails:
Nancy Langston: nelangst @ wisc.edu
David Mladenoff: djmladen @ wisc.edu
Classlist (all the emails of students and faculty enrolled): fwecol875-16-f08 @ lists.wisc.edu

Web address: http://greatlakesforests.blogspot.com/

In this one credit seminar, we will explore the historical and ecological processes shaping forest change in the Great Lakes region. Our overall goal will be to ask: what can environmental historians and historical ecologists add to each other's work? Are there certain kinds of questions about Great Lakes forests that we couldn't answer from within a single discipline?

No writing will be required; students will be expected to participate in discussions, complete readings, and lead a discussion.

We will have one field trip to Sylvania Wilderness October 17-19.

Themes/Periods

A. After the Ice: 11000 bp to 350 bp
B. Contact Era: Fur-traders, migrations of tribes, war, conflict, epidemics (the so-called pre-settlement reference period), establishment of what are now old growth forests 1650-1850
C. Lumber Era 1860s to 1910s
D. Twentieth Century: farming the cutover region, forest recovery, parks and protected areas, intensive forest management
E. What now? Consequences of change, climate change, insect epidemics, restoration, and the future