Proceedings of the Symposium on the Ecology and Management of Dead Wood in Western Forests: Characteristics of Log Resources in Northeastern Oregon: Case Studies of Four Management Treatments

Logs have complex physical， biological， and functional attributes. The body of literature with detailed empirical data on log resources in diverse habitats in the Interior Columbia River Basin is sparse. Sampling schemes developed by the USDA Forest Service for assessing logs as woody fuel usually have translated amounts of logs into weight or volume per unit area (tons or ft3 per acre). To depict amounts of logs in a more descriptive way—to assess wildlife habitat， for example—log resources may be more adequately described in terms of density， percentage cover， mean length， and combined length of logs per unit area， in addition to weight and volume. Sampling data are presented on log resources in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon， which are compared to the standards set forth in the Pacific Northwest Regional Forester's Eastside Forest Plan Amendment No. 2， Alternative 2， for establishing riparian， ecosystem， and wildlife standards for timber sales. Data from four case studies are presented that characterize log resources in harvested and unharvested mid- and late-structure mixed conifer and ponderosa pine stands. Two case studies describe log resources in three stands before and after salvage harvest to reduce fuels， but maintain large-diameter logs. Postsalvage numbers of logs (≥15 cm large-end diameter) per ha were 58 to 80 percent higher than pre-salvage densities. The proportion of large logs (≥30 cm large-end diameter) among all logs remaining after salvage declined by 3 and 10 percent in two stands and increased 6 percent in one stand. Tonnage of logs increased by 4， 7， and 54 percent in the salvaged stands. Breakage of logs from felling and heavy equipment resulted in reductions in log lengths from about 8 m pre-salvage to 5 m post-salvage. Post-salvage amounts of log resources observed in all the harvested stands were generally higher than prescribed by the Eastside Forest Plan Amendment No. 2.