We have gathered additional information about the study area here. Try the links at left or browse below!
MapsClick links for a larger view.
Study area in which vegetation was classified and mapped by environmental variables (larger). Produced by Eric Pfaff.
Medford District BLM land ownership and Resource Areas (Southwest Oregon) (larger). Originally at http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/medford/overview.php
Research related to that described on this website is also being carried out through the Applegate Adaptive Management Area Research and Monitoring program, sponsored by the USDA Forest Service, the USDI Fish and Wildlife Service, and the USDI BLM.
Researchers at the Klamath Bird Observatory, in collaboration with the Forest Service, BLM, National Park Service, and others, are investigating the ecological effects of wildfire and fire management by implementing a comprehensive study of bird distribution as it relates to fire suppression, fuels treatment, and wildfire rehabilitation in the Klamath Ecoregion of southern Oregon and northern California (or check out the publication, "Using conservation plans and bird monitoring to evaluate ecological effects of management: An example with fuels reduction activities in southwest Oregon").
You might also be interested in learning about the Applegate River Watershed Council, a community-based non-profit organization involving industry, conservation groups, natural resource agencies, and residents cooperating to encourage and facilitate the use of natural resource principles that promote ecosystem health and diversity.
Level IV Ecoregions of Oregon (larger view, PDF). (Source: US EPA.). Also check out the EPA's ecoregion mapping projects.
Downloadable GIS data for the entire state is also publically available through the Oregon Geospatial Data Clearinghouse, a project of the Oregon Geospatial Enterprise Office.
Use the Natural Resource Conservation Service's interactive process to access Oregon Soil Survey Data (statewide database).
Check out the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS), a searchable database of the USDA Forest Service that summarizes and synthesizes research about the biological and ecological relationships of living organisms to fire.
Results from several of the research projects hightlighted in this website were presented at the Third International Fire Congress (San Diego 2006). Click for the abstracts for all posters presented (alphabetical by presenter as it was listed in the Congress proceedings, but please note corrections to authorship). Or, search presentations by topic.
See the California Chaparral Institute webpage for much more information and many more resources on this vegetation type.
For a veritable library of oak-related information sources, see the USDA Forest Service's Bibliography for Oregon White oak (Quercus garryana) and Other Geographically Associated and Botanically Related Oaks.
More!
See also the Atlas of maps (covering historical vegetation, physical-climate, ecological-biological, and political-social themes for the entire state) from the Oregon Department of Forestry.
GIS was used to investigate patterns of vegetation distribution on the landscape in relation to site conditions and disturbance history within the Applegate Adaptive Management Area. These mapping and analysis efforts produced several new or geoprocessed GIS layers, listed below. Contact Eric Pfaff or Dr. Paul Hosten for access to these data. For more information on this research project click here.
Basic Metadata
Extent: -123.2577° Left, -122.7600° Right, 42.4018° Top, 42.0817° Bottom (located within the Applegate Adaptive Management Area. Also see a map of the study area.)
Projection: NAD27 CONUS zone 10 Universal Transverse Mercator
Data Available
Vegetation Associations.
Vegetation associations were defined and characterized based on species composition data gathered through extensive field surveys. Multivariate analysis techniques were used to group vegetation into 13 associations and named according to dominant or unique species. Each association listed below is mapped as a polygon feature.
Grasslands/balds
Fescue grassland
Oat grass grassland
Rabbitbrush/buckwheat bald
Shrublands
Buckbrush chaparral
Mountain mahogany/Brewer's oak
Manzantia chaparral
Shrublands/Woodlands
Manzanita/white oak
Open oak/chaparral
Disturbance-mediated woodland/chaparral
Woodlands
Oregon white oak woodland
Black oak woodland
Madrone woodland
Canyon live oak woodland
Environmental Variables
The environmental variables were collected from various sources and standardized into raster format (30m by 30m resolution) by resampling with ArcGIS ArcToolbox (ESRI 2006) using bilinear interpolation.
Topographic
Slope shape
Elevation (in meters)
Sixth field watershed
Topographical position index
Heat load
Climatic
Actual annual evapotranspiration
Summer actual annual evapotranspiration
Annual precipitation
Edaphic
Cation exchange capacity
Total clay
Total silt
Total sand
Drainage class
Parent material
Upper soil horizon depth
pH
Disturbance Variables
Spatial extent of management or natural disturbance was mapped from BLM records.
Wildfire
Fire frequency
Maximum fire interval
Years since a wildfire
Management
Broadcast burn
Mechanical mastication
Slash (hand cut)
Slash hand pile burn (hand cut pile burn)
Underburn
Scarification
Click for a complete plant species list for the geographic extent defined by the GIS mapping and analysis research (see map). Data collected and compiled by Eric Pfaff.
Above: Washington lily photographed in the study area by D. Coen.
Above: Landscape view of vegetation diversity within the Applegate Adaptive Management Area. Photo by K. Perchemlides.
Map of BLM fuels reduction projects in the Ashland Resource Area (larger). Current as of 10/2006.
Mason, Alan. “Fuel reduction treatments: Treatment types and a landscape strategy to achieve restoration and a fire-safe landscape in the Applegate Valley of Southwest Oregon.”
Correct Authors: Al Mason, Paul Hosten, Greg Chandler, Jerry Serabia.
Mazzu, Linda. “Plant community response to wildfire and post-fire seeding across an elevation gradient in Southwest Oregon.”
Correct Authors: Linda Mazzu and Paul Hosten.
Moir, Patricia. “Impacts of fuel-reduction thinning treatments on oak and chaparral vegetation communities of Southwestern Oregon.”
Correct spelling is ‘Muir, Patricia.’ Correct authors are Keith Perchemlides and Patricia Muir.
Pfaff, Eric. “Grassland, shrubland, and woodland plant assemblages in relation to landscape-scale environmental and disturbance variables, Applegate watershed, Southern Oregon.”
Correct Authors: Eric Pfaff and Paul Hosten.
Southworth, Darlene. “Effect of grass seeding on native and exotic vegetation following fuel-reduction treatments by mastication and burning.”
Correct authors are Celeste Coulter, Darlene Southworth, and Paul Hosten.
Posters presented at the Third International Fire Congress:
Hosten, Paul. “Interaction of the Squires Fire with the Buncom Bowl Fuel-reduction Project of the Applegate Valley, Southwest Oregon.”
Correct Authors: Paul Hosten and Eric Pfaff.
Right: Fire history overlay on an aerial photograph taken near Ruch, OR. This image shows fires that burned from 3 to at least 110 years ago.
Above: Applegate Valley double rainbow. Photo by Chris Duren.
Page by Olivia Duren. Updated 1/2008.
Responses of chaparral and oak woodland plant communities to fuel reduction thinning treatments in SW Oregon
Dr. Pat Muir and Dr. Paul Hosten, Principal Investigators
Responses of chaparral and oak woodland plant communities to fuel reduction thinning treatments in SW Oregon
Dr. Pat Muir and Dr. Paul Hosten, Principal Investigators
Responses of chaparral and oak woodland plant communities to fuel reduction thinning treatments in SW Oregon
Dr. Pat Muir and Dr. Paul Hosten, Principal Investigators
Responses of chaparral and oak woodland plant communities to fuel reduction thinning treatments in SW Oregon
Dr. Pat Muir and Dr. Paul Hosten, Principal Investigators
Responses of chaparral and oak woodland plant communities to fuel reduction thinning treatments in SW Oregon
Dr. Pat Muir and Dr. Paul Hosten, Principal Investigators
Responses of chaparral and oak woodland plant communities to fuel reduction thinning treatments in SW Oregon
Dr. Pat Muir and Dr. Paul Hosten, Principal Investigators