TV069
Live tree and tree-ring records to reconstruct the structural development of an old-growth Douglas-fir/western hemlock stand in the western Washington Cascades

CREATOR(S): Linda Ellen Winter

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S): Linda Ellen Winter

ORIGINATOR(S): Linda Ellen Winter

OTHER RESEARCHER(S): Linda B. Brubaker, Donald Q. DeWitt, Eric A. Miller

DATA SET CONTACT PERSON: Linda Ellen Winter, Jerry F. Franklin

METADATA CONTACT: Linda Ellen Winter

DATA SET CREDIT:

The research for which this database was developed received funding from the U.S. Forest Service, the Mazamas, the American Philosophical Society, Sigma Xi and the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington.

METADATA CREATION DATE:

29 Mar 2005

MOST RECENT METADATA REVIEW DATE:

19 Dec 2012

KEYWORDS:

dendrochronology, old growth forests

PURPOSE:

This database was developed as part of a study that used tree-ring records to reconstruct the structural development of an old-growth Douglas-fir/western hemlock stand in the western Cascade Range of southern Washington (Winter 2000; Winter et al. 2002a,b). A major purpose of this study was to provide information that might be useful where management policies emphasize the development of old- growth structures. At the time of the study, decades of logging in the Pacific Northwest had transformed once extensive tracts of old-growth Douglas- fir/western hemlock forests to landscapes dominated by younger forests intermixed with scattered remnants of old stands. This conversion from old to young forests caused widespread changes in habitats, in the abundance of many terrestrial and aquatic species, and in a variety of ecological functions such as nutrient and water cycling. The ecological, social and economic consequences of this large-scale forest transformation generated intense controversy, leading to management policies with increased emphasis on maintaining and developing old-growth ecosystems across the current and future landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. It was in this context that the study, with this database, developed.

METHODS:

Field Methods - TV069: Before harvest :

Description: Data were gathered from a plot in the studied old-growth Douglas-fir/western hemlock stand in the summer of 1992, just prior to its harvest (autumn of 1992). The plot was 3.3 ha in size Within this plot, all live Douglas-fir, and all live western hemlock 40 cm DBH were tagged and mapped and are listed in entity 1. Douglas-fir and western hemlock were the major tree species in the stand and were the main focus of the study for which the database was constructed. However we also tagged and mapped all western redcedar and Pacific yew that were in the plot and of tree stature (no specific lower size limit). Additionally we tagged and mapped many trees that were snags at that time. Information from the tagged and mapped western redcedar, yew and snags is included in entity 1, although these trees (except for a few snags) were not part of the study, and so are not part of subsequent entities. I include them here to give a complete accounting of the tree population of the plot prior to harvest. Entity 1 has 878 records, with each record containing information about 1 tree or snag Entity 1 provides a base reference for the Douglas-fir and western hemlock that were in the plot and that are referred to in the subsequent entities.

Citation:

Winter, L. E. 2000. Five centuries of structural development in an old-growth Douglas-fir stand in the Pacific Northwest: a reconstruction from tree-ring records. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

Winter, L.E., L.B. Brubaker, D.Q. DeWitt, J.F. Franklin and E.A. Miller. 2002 a. Initiation of an old-growth Douglas-fir stand in the Pacific Northwest: a reconstruction from tree-ring records. Can. J. For. Res. 32: 1039-1056.

Winter, L.E., L.B. Brubaker, D.Q. DeWitt, J.F. Franklin and E.A. Miller. Canopy disturbances over the five-century lifetime of an old-growth Douglas- fir stand in the Pacific Northwest. 2002 b. Can. J. For. Res. 32: 1057-1070.

Field Methods - TV069: Sampling after harvest:

Description: Samples were collected after harvest from the mapped trees in the study plot, then prepared and evaluated. For information about the collection, preparation and evaluation of these samples, see publications listed above (Winter et al. 2002a,b; Winter 2000) under "Related Materials". Not all trees that were mapped and listed in entity 1 were sampled and evaluated. Douglas-fir and western hemlock were the focus of the study for which the database was constructed and are the only sampled species that are listed in entity 2. Of trees of these species that were in the study plot, one live (just prior to harvest) Douglas-fir was not sampled because it was not felled and 30 live western hemlocks greater than 40 cm DBH were not sampled and evaluated due to post-logging conditions or due to tree rot. Snags were sampled only if they had a sufficient amount of sound wood. A total of 61 Douglas-fir and 228 western hemlock were sampled and are listed in entity 2. Most samples were collected from stump-height, but some were collected from heights that would have been above the stump. For some trees and sample heights, multiple samples were collected. Each sample is uniquely identified in this and all subsequent entities by 3 attributes together: tag, height, and sample. Each record in entity 2 records information about one sample.

Citation:

Winter, L. E. 2000. Five centuries of structural development in an old-growth Douglas-fir stand in the Pacific Northwest: a reconstruction from tree-ring records. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

Winter, L.E., L.B. Brubaker, D.Q. DeWitt, J.F. Franklin and E.A. Miller. 2002 a. Initiation of an old-growth Douglas-fir stand in the Pacific Northwest: a reconstruction from tree-ring records. Can. J. For. Res. 32: 1039-1056.

Winter, L.E., L.B. Brubaker, D.Q. DeWitt, J.F. Franklin and E.A. Miller. Canopy disturbances over the five-century lifetime of an old-growth Douglas- fir stand in the Pacific Northwest. 2002 b. Can. J. For. Res. 32: 1057-1070.

SITE DESCRIPTION:

See publications under 'Related Materials' for site description.

TAXONOMIC SYSTEM:

None

GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT:

Western Cascade Range of southern Washington state, USA. Coordinates: 4621.7'N, 12151.5'W Elevation Minimum: 670 m Elevation Maximum: 730 m

ELEVATION_MINIMUM (meters):

670

ELEVATION_MAXIMUM (meters):

730

MEASUREMENT FREQUENCY:

one time

PROGRESS DESCRIPTION:

Complete

UPDATE FREQUENCY DESCRIPTION:

notPlanned

CURRENTNESS REFERENCE:

Ground condition