|
Items in cart [0] |
Questions? Call 888-624-8373 |
PAPERBACK PDF BOOK Free Resources |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 63
APPENDIX
B
Research Needs
BIOLOGY OF FOREST ORGANISMS
Physiological and Genetic Bases of the Mechanisms Underlying Forest
Health, Productivity, and Adaptability
· ~ determine the physiological and genetic mechanisms involved in
the growth and development of important tree species and other key forest
organisms, especially their responses to stress and changing environments.
· ~ determine the ecological functions of all forest organisms that
are critical to the maintenance of forest ecosystems and sustainable forestry.
· 1b determine the factors that limit population viability of aquatic
.
and terrestrial organisms.
· ~ understand the genetic basis for the unique biology of forest
organisms, many of which are perennial woody plants or microorganisms
that cannot yet be cultured in the laboratory.
1b develop new model systems that allow forest organisms to be
investigated in the laboratory or in controlled environments to facilitate
studies of forest biology and forest ecosystems.
1b define genetic and environmental factors that determine the
characteristics of a forest environment, particularly nutrient uptake, water
uptake, and the effects of these on the physiology of forest organisms.
· ~ use molecular techniques to modify or select improved organ-
isms that will be increasingly specialized for specific uses. Examples include
trees modified for faster growth or improved wood properties.
63
OCR for page 64
64
APPENDIX
· ~ understand the genomic structure of key forest organisms to fa-
cilitate identification of valuable genes or to learn how genetic modification
could improve specific characteristics.
· 1b understand the genetic structure of the populations of important
forest organisms and to determine the optimal strategy for conservation or
utilization of the forest resource on the basis of the potential effects on the
genetic structure of the population.
.
~ utilize the technology of molecular biology to understand the
basis for the properties and behavior of cells and tissues in culture.
· ~ develop molecular markers that can monitor environmental
stresses in forest organisms and provide early information for evaluating
potential threats to the health of a forest ecosystem.
· 1b examine the genetics of adaptability and productivity of currently
and potentially important tree species or hybrids.
· 1b identify key organisms (including insects and microorganisms-
for example, mycorrhizal fungi) that play important roles in forest ecosys-
tems and to obtain basic information regarding the genetics and physiology
of these organisms and the underlying mechanisms by which they interact
with and contribute to other important forest components.
· ~ obtain basic genetic and physiological information on key or-
ganisms, including tree pathogens, that stress plants, with a view to either
managing the populations of those organisms or reducing their pathogenic
effects.
Long-Term Site Productivity
· 1b understand the factors that regulate site productivity.
· 1b determine the effects of even-aged management and rotation
age on long-term site productivity.
· ~ determine the effects of various harvesting and intensive man-
agement practices on long-term site productivity.
· ~ increase information on fundamental forest biology, carbon
assimilation and allocation, water uptake and nutrient relations, and disease
resistance relevant to maintaining and increasing forest productivity.
Pest Management
· 1b understand more fully the basic biology and ecology of forest
pest organisms.
· 1b determine modes of action for host-plant resistance.
· 1b establish methods of controlling pests while minimizing the
development of resistant pest biotypes.
· 1b establish risk-assessment data for the introduction of genetically
engineered biological control agents.
OCR for page 65
APPENDIX B
ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION AND MANAGEMENT
Forest Ecosystem Research
65
· To expand knowledge of the structure and dynamics of below-
ground portions of forest systems, including the roles played by fungi and
other soil organisms in controlling productivity and nutrient cycling.
· 1b expand knowledge of the structure and dynamics of forest
canopies, including their roles as habitat for other organisms and as con-
densing and precipitating surfaces for atmospheric materials, including
water and particulates.
· To expand knowledge of long-term changes in the composition,
structure, and function of forest ecosystems as they are associated with
natural succession and with silvicultural manipulations.
· 1b examine relationships between forest structure and types and
levels of ecological processes (such as productivity) and of organismal
diversity, including greatly expanded consideration of organisms other than
higher plants and vertebrates.
~ compare the structure and function of natural forest ecosystems
and their long-term responses to natural catastrophes and disturbances
created by human activities.
· 1b develop predictive models (including habitat classification) that
allow comparison on a range of scales from fine resolution (tree or stand)
to forest, biome, and interbiome.
~ develop methods for early diagnosis of stressed ecosystems.
Landscape Ecology
· Tb develop models and other analytic tools for assessing effects of
various landscape patterns on resource values over long periods of time.
· 1b expand information on the effects of forest patch sizes and
configurations on such forest attributes as biological diversity. Special
attention should be given to the extent and importance of edge or boundary
effects on organismal diversity and on catastrophic forest disturbance.
· 1b develop information and analytic tools for analyzing cumulative
effects of forest harvests on hydrologic phenomena and wildlife habitats.
· 1b expand information on the importance of connectiveness in
forest and riverine landscapes, including the use of both corridors and
altered matrices in the movement of organisms and materials.
OCR for page 66
66
APPENDIX B
Global Change
· ~ analyze the effects of the extent, magnitude, rate, and timing of
global change on different forest ecosystems and to identity which forest
ecosystems are at greatest risk from changes in climate, ozone, acid rain,
and deforestation.
· ~ determine how the eRects of global change interact with manage-
ment practices, such as intensively managed timberlands, parks, watersheds,
and timber production.
~ develop methods to proportionally allocate forest stresses to
natural and anthropogenic causes.
· ~ determine how global change is affecting the release of carbon
from forest vegetation and soils.
· ~ determine stress-induced changes in natural emissions of volatile
organic compounds by vegetation.
· 1b investigate the ecological, economic, social, and operational
constraints on large-scale reforestation and other silvicultural practices that
could be implemented as mitigation or adaptation strategies for global
change.
.
lb determine the effects of global change on the natural distur-
bances (fire, wind, drought, and so forth) experienced by different regional
forests.
~ To analyze the effects of global change on the amount, timing, and
chemistry of water yields from forested watersheds.
· ~ establish sites along climatic and pollution gradients at which
to monitor and evaluate environmental stress and to study manipulated
ecosystems over the long term.
Biological Diversity
.
Lb analyze interactions between management practices and bio-
logical diversity across levels, from the genetic to species and regional
systems.
· To determine the relationship between biological diversity and for-
est health.
· ~ document and monitor the status and distribution of species,
vegetation types, and other levels of biological diversity within forest re-
gions.
· 1b define the relationship between components of biological diver-
sity (for example, species richness and threatened and endangered species)
and-species distribution in relation to changing climatic conditions.
· To define the importance and ecological significance of native,
convolved elements of biological diversity versus those that are alien.
OCR for page 67
APPENDIX B
Alternative Silvicultural Systems
67
· 1b develop silvicultural and agroforestry systems that provide for
integrated production of commodities and for maintenance of ecological
values.
systems.
1b develop silvicultural systems for management of forests for
maintenance or enhancement of biological diversity.
· 1b develop silvicultural systems that will ensure a high level of
sustainable productivity by conserving key site resources, including physical
and nutritional properties of soil.
· ~ investigate the relationship between forest structure and the
silvicultural systems that provide for greater degrees of structural diversity
and ecological values.
~ determine the implications of alternative silvicultural systems
for disease, insect, animal damage, brush invasion, wildfire, and logging
safety.
· 1b examine silvicultural patterns, including size of areas selected for
treatment and contrasting effects of dispersing versus aggregating harvesting
activities.
· 1b determine the costs associated with alternative silvicultural sys-
tems, including values foregone when marketable wood is not harvested.
· ~ develop methodology for drastically improved and expanded
monitoring systems (including habitat classification) necessary to assess
performance of new silvicultural systems. This need includes the identifi-
cation of suitable variables and the development of sampling and analytic
procedures for assessing whether systems are achieving predicted manage-
ment goals.
1b investigate impacts on future yields from alternative silvicultural
Intensive Management for Wood Production
· ~ define sites that are especially well suited for efficient wood
production through the use of habitat classification and other analytic
tools.
· 1b investigate modifications in forestry practices that will enhance
wildlife, water, scenery, and recreational values, and still allow efficient
wood production.
~ develop technologies for harvesting, site preparation, regen-
eration, early plantation management, and protection of the forest from
fire, insects, and disease that minimize the use of potentially dangerous or
otherwise unacceptable forestry practices.
OCR for page 68
68
APPENDIX B
· ~ develop techniques of efficient and safe harvest of timber under
complex silvicultural systems involving multiple entries, multilayer stands,
partial cuts, and the leaving of woody debris on site.
· 1b determine the silvicultural regimes needed to grow wood of
specified quality.
· ~ determine how genetic improvement of trees will modify silvi-
cultural treatments and future growth and yields.
HUMAN-FOREST INTERACTIONS
Sociology and Forestry
forests to thrive.
· ~ undertake a systematic study of "human capital" for the twenty-
first century with special attention to encouraging women and members of
minority groups to conduct research and to manage forest systems.
~ establish the human and biological conditions required for urban
· ~ assess the impact of urbanization at the forest edge.
· 1b examine the forest industry and dependent communities in
transition, since the industry and its workers will continue to change.
· ~ broaden forest sociology research. Sociological research has
been more heavily oriented toward management problems than toward
understanding what motivates people to participate in recreational activities,
patterns and cycles of use, and recreational trends.
· ~ expand research that deals with forest regions and forest com-
munities. Demographic change, problems of fire, and residential locations
on the fringes of USDA Forest Service areas merit research attention.
· 1b facilitate studies of private and public forest organizations un-
dergoing change to better understand forest management practices, policy
formation, and technology development.
· 1b develop educational programs for extension specialists on the
utilization of sociological knowledge within extension programming; at the
same time to encourage forest social scientists to seek careers in forestry
extension.
WOOD AS A RAW MATERIAL
The Need for a Major and Sustained Commitment to Forest Products
Research in the United States
· 1b understand certain tree species groups since U.S. industries
will either use them or meet them in the marketplace. Worldwide, the
man-made forests are increasingly growing certain staple forest crops, for
example, the pines, eucalyptuses, teaks, and legumes.
OCR for page 69
APPENDIX B
69
· ~ develop essential technologies for adapting to changes in raw
material. Roundwood from U.S. forests is increasingly of smaller size and
higher in juvenile wood content.
· ~ utilize engineered raw material to improve future manufacturing
, _
efficiency. For example, the pulp and paper sector of the forest products
industry has evolved from a "user of residuals" decades ago to a dominating
role today.
· ~ gather knowledge of the structure and properties physical and
chemical-of wood, which is an essential base for improved product design,
manufacture, and innovative applications.
· 1b employ biotechnology in developing new methods for converting
existing low-value or residue products from existing wood-processing meth-
ods into products of high value. Of particular utility may be microorganisms
that can convert low-value products into usable and economically feasible
products; genetic engineering may improve the efficiency of these organ-
isms. Microorganisms may also provide an improved means of cleaning up
waste products of the industry.
.
~ improve understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of de-
cay, formulate new approaches to decay control, and develop multifunc-
tional chemical treatments that simultaneously contribute durability, weath-
ering stability, decay resistance, and fire protection to wood products.
· 1b pursue manufacturing and process optimization research to
increase product yield and manufacturing efficiency through computer-
based technology, robotics, defect scanners, mechanized grading devices,
and automated drying procedures.
· ~ develop and improve new pulping processes to mitigate en-
vironmental problems from pollutants such as dioxins and chlorofo~.
Necessary, too, is the development of nonchlorine bleaching processes,
high-value papers using polymeric additives, newsprint from hardwoods
and waste paper, and methods to improve the performance of high-yield
pulp.
~ improve methods to control costs and production so that labor
and equipment can be used with maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness.
· ~ develop new and improved methods of quality control, which
are essential if U.S. products are to be competitive in the marketplace.
1b increase the use of wood in nonresidential construction through
new engineering design aides, streamlined engineering calculations, and
simplified building code requirements.
· ~ develop new structural wooden assembly products and associated
novel connector systems.
· ~ improve the recycling of discarded wood products, particularly
paper, and to include solutions to subcomponent problems of paper recy-
cling, such as de-inking.
OCR for page 70
70
APPENDIX B
· 1b enhance market analysis for wood and wood fiber products in
order to create new and expanded opportunities in both domestic and
international markets.
Timber Harvesting Research
· To understand relationships among engineering design, silviculture,
environment, logger safety, and operating characteristics of the individual
machine and the raw material production system (full rotation).
· fib invent new systems, machines, and technologies to harvest tim-
ber under alternative silvicultural systems, safely, at acceptable costs, and
with minimal environmental damage.
· 1b design harvesting systems that are integrated with silvicultural
systems and that enhance ail outputs from the forest.
· 1b develop measurement, sensor, and data-handling technology
that will allow data to be more effectively used in engineering design and
forestry operations.
· ~ develop ways of providing information feedback to managers of
operations and operators of machines so that environmental, production,
and safety goals can be met.
· ~ develop logger training curricula and materials, to test systems
used to teach loggers, and to develop equipment that will be safer for
loggers to use.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE, COMPETITION, AND COOPERATION
Information, Supply, and Demand
· To develop economic models that incorporate supply and demand
information concerning natural resources; these models should project the
resource consequences of national and international market strategies and
. .
po 1cles.
· ~ collect, analyze, monitor, and disseminate data on domestic and
worldwide natural resource inventories and international trade.
· ~ develop economic models that explore how international trade
and debt policies can foster equity among nations in both benefits and costs
of environmentally sound management of natural resources coupled with
sustainable economic growth.
· ~ determine the true value of natural resources, focusing on both
commodity and noncommodity outputs of the forest environment.
· Th develop accounting systems for natural resources that accurately
resect the value of forest resources and the products thereof.
OCR for page 71
APPENDIX B
71
· ~ relate forest resources and their management to global warming.
This research should investigate both effect of deforestation on global
warming and the effects of global warming on forest resources.
· To identify nations or forest resource conditions that promise com-
parative economic advantage for expanded trade.
· To explore and analyze U.S. and international natural resource
policies that will encourage sound land use, integrating forest manage-
ment with watershed management to reduce erosion, lessen stream flow
alterations, and reduce water pollution.
· To establish regional International Made and Development Centers
(ITDCs) in forest products to overcome the lack of information and analysis
that hinders promotion of exports.
· To address the issue of diminishing fuel wood supplies for growing
segments of the world's population.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
biological diversity
