Three decades of forest harvesting along a suburban–rural continuum

Abstract

Abstract. Timber harvest is an important ecological disturbance that influences species composition, understory conditions, stand structure and growth, and carbon dynamics. Regional variation in harvest regimes and the associated ecological consequences are linked to social and biophysical attributes of the landscape. We analyzed three decades of change in commercial timber harvesting on all private and public forest throughout 328 towns in Massachusetts (USA). We quantified changes in harvest activity over time and estimated probability of harvest occurrence and proportion of a town's harvest as functions of biophysical and social settings. We found little evidence of any temporal trends in harvest activity at the state or town scale. Across the suburban-rural interface, the probability of harvest occurrence on private land was consistently a function of the proportion of a town's land in forest and the distance to the urban center (Boston). The proportion of private land in a town subject to harvest was negatively related to a town's median household income. There was a significant difference in the proportion of private forest harvested in suburban vs. rural towns. The proportion of public forest subject to harvests was not related to any of the variables we examined. Total statewide estimates of commercial timber that fail to account for the suburban-rural transition may overestimate available or potential volume. Ecologically, the timber harvest disturbance regime in landscapes dominated by private ownership is strongly influenced by socioeconomic factors such as affluence and proximity to urban development, unlike other forms of natural disturbance typical of the region (e.g., wind).

Emerald ash borer intensifies harvest regimes on private land

“…Aboveground tree biomass, species, and diameter are correlated with the probability and intensity of harvest (Canham et al, 2013; Silver et al, 2015). The demographic attributes population density and median household income are negatively correlated with harvest intensity (Kittredge et al, 2017). Ownership type has also been shown to affect harvest regimes, with private woodland owners generally removing more trees than public entities (Thompson et al, 2017).…”

Cascading effects: insights from the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network

“…The ownership mosaic explains much of the variation in regional scale land use (Foster et al 2017, Thompson et al 2017 a , b ). Forest loss to development is concentrated around urban areas while timber harvesting remains the dominant ecological disturbance in the rural landscape (Kittredge et al 2017). A continuation of the recent land‐use trends will result in a large and spatially heterogeneous difference between the potential and realized C stocks.…”

Future forest composition under a changing climate and adaptive forest management in southeastern Vermont, USA

“…Social and biophysical factors have been shown to influence harvesting regimes in the region (Kittredge et al 2017) and Thompson et al (2017) Through an assessment of annual harvest reports (Table 3) annually within our study area (Table 4). We calculated the average reported harvest volumes for the county in which our study area is located and calculated a proportional harvest volume based on the forest land area the study area compared to the forested area of the entire county.…”