Graduate Take-Home Exam

This exam is open-book, open-notes. Properly attribute words or ideas of other people (published or not). Please do not collaborate on your responses; let me know if you require clarification or additional information. Submit your response, using an alias, by 12 May 2003 at 11:00 a.m. Type your response (double-spaced), and adhere strictly to the indicated length limit.

1. Imagine that you have just been hired by the USDA Forest Service as a vegetation management specialist in western Oregon. You start your job in one month. Since you know virtually nothing about ecology and management in this region, what will you do within the next month to prepare for your new job (i.e., what specific steps will you do to prepare yourself for your new job)? [300 words or fewer; 20 points]

2. Vegetation management decisions used to be based on biological criteria. Within the last few decades, they have been based largely on economic criteria. More recently, vegetation management decisions have been based on social and political criteria. We seem to be moving away from management based on biology and ecology, at least on federally managed lands. Vegetation managers are essentially applied ecologists; they are not political or social scientists. Can they remain true to their education as applied ecologists and still contribute to decision-making in today's society? How? [200 words or fewer; 20 points]

3. This course attempts to reach seniors and graduate students, and graduate students are expected to complete additional work in exchange for graduate credit. However, it is difficult to reach both audiences simultaneously. We have been largely dissatisfied with our numerous and varied attempts to offer a meaningful graduate experience in this course. Thus, we seek your input on how to do so, within the constraints of a 4-credit course (i.e., completely separate class meetings for the two target audiences is unacceptable). How can we elevate RAM 546 to a level that is meaningful for graduate students? [No length limit; 10 points]

In-Class Exam

1. Determine the habitat type of the following site [8 points]: Stand is located on a northeastern aspect (5% slope) at 2,000 m (6,560 ft) on the Mogollon Rim. Soil is a relatively deep Alfisol. The overstory is dominated by Abies concolor and Pseudotsuga menziesii, with abundant Quercus gambelii in the subcanopy. Many shrub species are present, with a total cover of about 15%. Herbaceous vegetation covers about 50% of the ground, and includes a wide variety of graminoids (e.g., Carex sp., Panicum bulbosum) and herbaceous dicots (e.g., Geranium richardsonii, Thalictrum fendleri, Solidago sp.). There is no evidence of recent fire, and the management history of the stand is unknown.

2. What species of Poa would you most expect to find in this habitat type? [2 points]

3. Assume that you are responsible for management of 1,000 contiguous hectares of this habitat type. Further assume that an extract from wings of bark beetles cures cancer. Your goal is to create as much habitat as possible for bark beetles in this stand (and quickly), and you know that bark beetle populations typically grow rapidly when dead wood is available. How would you create and maintain a large population of bark beetles on this site for the next 100 years? [10 points]

4. Forest stands on Mt. Lemmon are in terrible condition from a timber production standpoint: trees have poor form and spacing. The only viable option for genetic improvement of these stands is clearcutting. Why isn't the Forest Service administering extensive clearcuts on the mountain? [5 points]

5. Differentiate between clearcutting and deforestation. [4 points]

6. List 3 different reasons the Forest Service removed trees on Mt. Lemmon in the late 1980s. [6 points]

7. Determine site index of the following two sites, each of which has height of ponderosa pine (feet) shown at age 20 years, 40 years, 60 years, 80 years, 100 years, 120 years, and 140 years, respectively. [6 points]

   Site 1: 16, 26, 36, 48, 60, 66, 72

   Site 2: 16, 25, 34, 45, 56, 61, 66

   
   

8. Select one animal species with which you are familiar. Can you determine which of the above two sites (1, 2) is capable of producing more of the species? Why or why not? [6 points]

9. Whose model of succession (i.e., vegetation dynamics) is implied by the use of habitat types and range sites? [3 points]

10. Describe a realistic scenario in which use of this model of succession could contribute to inappropriate decision-making in vegetation management. [10 points]

11. Resource managers recognize that the ponderosa pine forests in the Santa Catalina Mountains developed with frequent low-intensity fires. They would like to reestablish this level and frequency of fire in these forests. Why don't they simply burn their ponderosa pine forests approximately every 10 years? Please provide a general rationale, not a list of specific factors. [5 points]

12. Biological invasion represents an important aspect of global change that has many ecological and economic impacts. Most importantly, biological invasions are exacerbating the biodiversity crisis. Explain the rationale behind this statement. [8 points]

13. Approximately how many people occupy earth? [3 points]

14. List 6 steps that can be used to increase biological diversity in communities managed for multiple use. [6 points]

15. List and briefly describe the "four spikes" discussed by Ed Ayres in "God's Last Offer." [8 points]

16. List and briefly describe the three most important items or concepts you learned in this class. In your response, indicate why these items are particularly important for management of natural resources. [10 points]