What Does The Science Say?
Study Reveals How Forest Productivity Affects Bird and Plant Diversity After Disturbance
A recent study tested Huston’s Dynamic Equilibrium Hypothesis to understand how forest productivity affects how biodiversity responds to disturbances like logging. This hypothesis suggests that biodiversity increases when disturbances, such as fires or logging, break...
Study Explores How to Balance Timber Growth and Forest Ecosystem Health
Forests provide more than just timber—they support wildlife, pollinators, and culturally important plants. A recent study explored how different levels of herbicide use in young forest stands impact both timber production and these vital ecosystem services. The...
Study Concludes Balanced Forest Management Boosts Tree Growth While Supporting Bird Diversity
A recent study looked at how different forest management strategies affect bird populations and wood production. Researchers compared three intensive forest management treatments (Light, Moderate, and Intensive) created with levels of herbicide application used to...
Intensive Forest Management: Meeting Wood Production Needs While Considering Wildlife Conservation
Approximately 9 percent of forests in the United States are categorized as intensively managed forests. These forests are proactively managed using methods like planting, weed control, thinning, and clearcutting to maximize wood production and meet growing resource...
How Energy and Forest Structure Affect Bird Diversity in Northwestern Forests
A new study reveals how energy levels and forest structure influence bird diversity in forests across the northwestern United States. Scientists looked at forests from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains and found that both the amount of available energy (like...
Balanced Forest Management Can Support Moth Diversity
Intensive forest management (IFM) practices increase wood production but concerns regarding the impacts of these practices on biodiversity remain. A recent study used moths as an indicator of biodiversity to better understand how (IFM practices, such as using...
How Forests Can Help Fight Climate Change
A 2016 study looked at how managing forests in Sweden can help reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. While the research focused on Swedish boreal forests, it was noted that the conclusions are applicable to other forested biomes with a large proportion...
Forests, Wood, and Climate: How Forest Products Help Cut Carbon Emissions
A 2006 study published in Wood and Fiber Science explored how forest products play a critical role in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. The research examined how carbon moves through three key areas: forests, wood products, and the fossil fuels...
Study Shows Growing Forests Help Fight Climate Change
A recent study revealed the significant impact of forest management on reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. Researchers found that while growing forests initially absorb CO2, simply allowing forests to grow without harvesting them is not a sustainable...
New Research Highlights Importance of Wood Products in Carbon Mitigation Efforts
A recent study conducted by the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) sheds light on the significant role that wood products play in mitigating carbon emissions. Over the course of 22 years, researchers from CORRIM, a collaboration of 22...
Researchers Conclude Younger Forests Play a More Crucial Role in Carbon Capture than Older Forests
A recent study looking at the dynamics of carbon accumulation and loss in forest ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States concluded that young forests accumulate the most carbon before canopy closure and old-growth trees play a minor role in...
Research Concludes Prescribed Burns Can Reduce Smoke Impacts to Communities
In a study published at the end of 2023, researchers looked at the intricate relationship between forest management practices, wildfire risk, air quality, and public health in fire-prone regions like California. With wildfires increasing in frequency and intensity due...
Study Confirms Roadless Areas More Prone to Wildfire
A recent study examining wildfire patterns in national forests across the western United States found that while roadless areas experience fewer fire ignitions, they are associated with significantly greater wildfire extent compared to roaded areas. The study focused...
New Study Shows Forest Treatments Reduce Wildfire Severity
A 2024 U.S. Forest Service study has revealed that while the effectiveness of forest fuel treatments in mitigating wildfires is dependent on weather conditions, the state of the forest fuel during burning can significantly impact fire severity. Despite the importance...
Climate or Forest Management: Which has a Bigger Impact on Fire Behavior and Carbon?
As we look to the future of forestry - particularly when it comes to the wildfire crisis - one big question looms: does climate change or forest management have a greater impact on fire? In 2022 a group of scientists analyzed and modeled how how various factors, such...
Researchers Find Post-Fire Logging Significantly Reduces Future Wildfire Fuel
As wildfires burn more and more acres, what happens to those lands after the fires are extinguished has become increasingly important. In 2018, researchers with the U.S. Forest Service assessed the long-term effects of post-fire logging in 255 coniferous forest stands...
State Data Again Confirms Forests Produce The Highest Quality Water In Oregon
Recently the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) released its annual Oregon Water Quality Index Data Summary which evaluates water quality status and trends across Oregon’s rivers, lakes, streams and other water bodies. The report details results from...
Study Shows Wood Products Help Fight Climate Change
A 2014 study revealed that wood products offer significant environmental advantages over materials like concrete, metals, and plastics. Researchers in the study emphasize that understanding these benefits is crucial for ensuring the competitiveness of wood in the face...
Growing Body of Research Confirms Forestry Pesticide Use Not a Concern for Water Quality
Industrial forestry operations commonly utilize pesticide applications (primarily, if not exclusively, herbicide applications that hinder growth of noxious and invasive weeds like Himalayan blackberry) to ensure the success of newly replanted forests. Even though data...
What is the Difference Between Fire Severity and Fire Intensity?
Often used interchangeably, the terms fire severity and fire intensity are actually different and convey different information. Given the increase in attention on wildfire, it's worth understanding the definitions of the terms and the limitations of their use. Fire...
Berkely research concludes aggressive vegetation management and firefighting techniques decrease the risk of wildfire
Researchers from UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, along with the Center for Fire Research and Outreach, highlighted the critical role of vegetation management and firefighting in determining wildfire risk in California in a...
Eugene Water and Electric Board Report Concludes McKenzie Watershed Meets or Exceeds All State and Federal Drinking Water Health Standards
For more than twenty years, the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) – which provides water for more than 60,000 customers in Oregon’s second largest city – has utilized technicians and independent laboratories to collect and test more than 85,000 samples from the...
Do Older Forests Sequester More Carbon?
Dr. Steve Prisley, Principal Research Scientist for the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) has run modeling scenarios based on published studies in order to compare the net impact on carbon sequestration of reducing or eliminating timber harvest...
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Led by OFIC, Oregon Forests Forever supports the active, sustainable management of Oregon’s forests.