Soil moisture monitoring is necessary to ensure that sites meet the guidelines established for seed orchards and early selection trial plantations. Soil fertility monitoring and additions of fertilizer can ensure that nutrition is adequate to meet tr~e improvement area needs.
Boyer, D. 1982. Conifer seed orchard management, some thoughts and suggestions about cultural practices.
Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Pacific Northwest Region.
Boyer, D. 1988. [Personal communication]. Soil Scientist
(Retired), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR.
Boyer, D. 1989. From a presentation given at Soil Management in Seed Orchards Workshop, Wenatchee, WA; 1989
October 31-November 2. U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR.
This file was created by scanning the printed publication.
Errors identified by the software have been corrected; however, some errors may remain.
Clayton, J. L.; Kellogg, G.; Forrester, N. 1987. Soil disturbance-tree growth relations in central Idaho clearcuts. Res. Note INT-372. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 6 p.
Froehlich, H. A.; McNabb, D. H. 1984. Minimizing soil compaction in Pacific Northwest Forests. In: Stone, Earl L., ed. Forest soils and treatment impacts: Proceedings of sixth North American forest soils conference; 1983 June;
Knoxville, TN: 159-192.
Mandzak, J. 1988. From a presentation given at the Inland
Empire Tree Nutrition Cooperative, Moscow, ID: Champion International.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1988. Tree improvement handbook 2409.26g. Missoula, MT: Northern Region.
Wert, S.; Thomas, B. R. 1981. Effects of skid roads on diameter, height and volume growth in Douglas-fir.
Soil Science Society of America Journal. 45: 629-632.
Land classification based on potential vegetation (for example, habitat types) has been applied in resource management in the Northern Rocky Mountains since the 1950's (Wellner 1989). Increasingly refined classes have provided managers with information on productivity, site limitations, and general vegetation trends after disturbance (Cooper and others 1987; Daubenmire 1952;
Daubenmire and Daubenmire 1968). Recent studies have characterized successional pathways within habitat types to describe plant community development and change over time after disturbance (Amo and others 1985).
In February 1987, the Vegetation Coordinating Committee of the Northern Region, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, recommended that a successional study be initiated in the grand fir/wild ginger habitat type
(Abies grandis/Asarum caudatum). High costs of timber management and apparent problems associated with conifer reforestation in a vegetation complex called the grand fir mosaic necessitated this recommendation. An estimated
130,000 hectares (325,000 acres) of this complex occur in the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests of northern
Idaho, which consists of closed and open stands of grand fir and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii). Forest openings within the complex are commonly occupied by Sitka
Pat Green is Soil Scientist, Nez Perce National Forest, Forest Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Route 2, Box 475, Grangeville, ID 83530.
Mark Jensen is Regional Soil Scientist, Northern Region, Forest Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 7669, Missoula, MT 59807. alder (Alnus sinuata), bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), and western coneflower (Rudbeckia occidentalis). These species may also be important understory components in timbered stands.
The grand fir mosaic occupies an ecological zone between climax western redcedar (Thuja plicata) and subalpine fir
(Abies lasiocarpa) at elevations between 1,370 and 1,675 meters (4,500 and 5,500 feet). Conifer regeneration is generally sparse and localized, establishing where conifers occurred before site disturbance and at approximately the same number of trees per hectare. Seral tree species (for example, Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii], western larch [Larix occidentalis]), common in other grand fir habitat types, are generally absent. Pocket gopher (Thomomys spp.) populations are high in many undisturbed stands and expand rapidly when the forest tree canopy is removed through timber harvest. Mosaic areas have high structural diversity, and commonly provide big-game hiding cover and summer habitat.
232
The primary objective of this study was to describe successional plant community development within the grand fir/wild ginger habitat type and associated sites where wild ginger is a common understory species (wild ginger union).
A secondary objective was to display range, wildlife, timber, and fire management resource values for each of the plant communities described.

The timber stands sampled in this study were identified with the help oflocal Forest Service personnel. Approximately 400 stands were sampled between 1986 and 1989 in the Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests of northern
Idaho. These stands represented different ages since treatment and different treatment types and intensities, and occurred across the geographic range of the wild ginger union.
Plots were paired so that both untreated stands and adjacent treated stands were sampled.
Plots were located subjectively without preconceived bias following Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg (1974).
Where vegetation response appeared highly variable within treated stands, additional sample plots were established to represent seral plant communities and correlated to type and intensity of disturbance. For example, a clearcut, tractor-skidded, and broadcast-burned stand will normally display differing patterns of machine compaction, scarification, and burn intensity, which results in differences in vegetation response. The 0.04-hectare (1fl0-acre) macroplots used in sampling were located to represent a uniform treatment type and associated vegetation expression (for example, one plot to represent each of the above disturbances).
Within each macroplot, foliar canopy cover for all herbaceous and woody plants was visually estimated. Canopy cover was recorded by 10 percent classes except for lowcover classes, which were denoted as T for less than 1 percent and P for 1 to 5 percent. Mean height of each species was estimated for animal hiding and thermal cover calculations. Understory species sampling methods utilized in this study follow those described in Chapter 4 of the
Ecosystem Classification Handbook of the Forest Service,
Northern Region (Hann and others 1988). Plant names and associated six-letter alphanumeric codes are shown in table 5.
A variable-radius plot (centered on the 0.04-ha macroplot) was established for measurement of all tree species
12.7 cm (5 inches) or more in diameter at breast height.
Species, diameter, crown class, tree class, and crown ratio were recorded by tree size class. Additionally, age, height, and radial growth were recorded for selected growth sample trees. Smaller trees were tallied by species and size class in five 0.001-ha (l/aoo-acre) microplots. Tree origin
(planted or natural) was noted and gopher mounds and cattle scat were tallied by microplot. The tree sampling methods utilized follow Forest Service, Northern Region stand exam procedures (USDA FS 1989).
Soil characteristics were described at each fixed plot using methods outlined in the Soil Survey Manual (USDA
SCS 1981). Soils were described to the family level of Soil
Taxonomy. Evidence of compaction, soil mixing, displacement, and the presence of charcoal was also noted.
Site features recorded at each macroplot included: elevation, landform, slope aspect, slope shape, slope gradient, slope position, and ground cover. Summary vegetation features included: tree basal area, canopy cover by lifeform, annual production by lifeform, and woody fuel loading.
Disturbance type, intensity, and date were recorded for the following types of disturbance: animal use, wildfire, timber harvest system, logging slash and site preparation method, regeneration system, and grazing. This information was
233 obtained from Forest Service stand-treatment records, which were modified where necesssary to correspond with observed plot conditions. Data analysis and resource value calculations were facilitated by ECOPAC software developed by the Ecosystem Management Group of the Forest
Service, Northern Region (Keane and others 1988).
The level of ecological classification (Hann and others
1988) appropriate for describing plant community successional response was determined by contrasting seral community floristics by treatment type and ecological classification grouping (habitat type, habitat type phase, and site type). Given that vegetation response is a function of both site and disturbance variables, it was considered necessary to isolate community type variability due to site variables
(for example, elevation,·aspect, plot position, ash cap depth, soil texture) first in this analysis. Once reasonably uniform site potentials were elucidated from the data, plant successional response to disturbance type and intensity was determined.
Successional plant community pathways were developed by site potential type based on stand structure and species composition following Arno and others (1985, 1986). Five structural stages were recognized: (1) herbaceous/seedling,
(2) shrub/sapling, (3) pole, (4) mature seral forest, and
(5) old-growth forest. Plots within each site potential type and structural stage were aggregated into community types based on floristic similarity using TWINSPAN (Hill 1979).
All plots in a group were examined for similarities in time since disturbance, treatment type or intensity, or additional site features that could improve vegetation response prediction.
Successional pathways were described for each site type by arraying sample plots with similar floristics and similar treatment types and intensities into developmental sequences. The resulting pathways were examined for consistency with known trends in canopy coverage of successional species. Posttreatment community types were contrasted with pretreatment stand composition, which assisted in clarifying successional relationships.
In most cases, analysis at the habitat type or habitat type phase level of ecological classification did not provide a site potential classification that could be used to predict plant community develop,ment after disturbance. Further stratification of the phase of the habitat type by various site factors (for example, aspect, elevation, substrate, and soil moisture) was required. This level of ecological classification (site type) proved most useful in predicting plant successional response following treatment. Site types of the grand fir/wild ginger habitat type identified in this study are presented in table 1. An example of successional pathways within a site type is presented in figure 1. Complete descriptions of site types and seral plant communities within the study area are available from the authors.
Each of the plant communities identified for a site type possesses unique values for a variety of resource uses
(table 2). Forage production, pocket gopher activity, fuel loadings, and big-game hiding cover are closely associated with the plant species composition of a site, which in turn changes with time since disturbance. Table 2 displays

how resource values change following clearcutting and low-intensity broadcast burning.
The ability to predict vegetation response to treatment allows the land manager to more fully determine the longterm effects of activities on the forest landscape. Once a timber stand has been assigned to an appropriate site type, vegetation response can be evaluated for alternative site treatments. Plant community composition and associated resource values may then be compared to choose a treatment that enhances values that best meet management objectives. These points are illustrated in table 3, which presents properties associated with two early seral plant communities of the grand fir/wild ginger/wild ginger-cold, dry site type. High-intensity mechanical scarification on
Table 1-Site types of the grand firlwild ginger habitat type (species names associated with the abbreviations shown are presented in table 5)
Habitat type phase
ABIGRAlASACAUlASACAU
ABIGRAlASACAUlMENFER
ABIGRAIASACAUIT AXBRE
Site type
1. Low elevation, dry
2. L1NBOR, sandy substrate
3. XERTEN, cold, dry
4. ACTRUB or ADEBIC, moist
1. L1NBOR, dry
2. XERTEN, cold
3. Moist
No site types defined this site type results in a strawberry (Frageria vesca)thistle (Cirsium spp.) dominated plant community, which takes over 10 years to develop desired tree stocking levels.
The high gopher activity associated with this community type requires that large expenditures of money be invested to obtain desired stocking levels (repeated gopher treatment and tree planting are required). Low-intensity mechanical scarification on this ecological type results in the development of a beargrass ()(erophyllum tenax)/thistle plant community, which requires less investment for tree establishment and, therefore, best meets management objectives.
The ability to predict vegetation response following treatment is a function of the level of ecological classification used in describing the treated area. In this study, different plant communities were associated with the same type of disturbance (table 4) when sites were described at the habitat type or phase of habitat type levels of ecological classification (Cooper and others 1987). Consequently, accurate predictions of vegetation response were not possible at higher levels of ecological classification. Defining the site type of a stand, however, facilitated reasonable prediction of vegetation response by type and intensity of silvicultural disturbance.
CONCLUSIONS
The habitat type classification of Daubenmire (1952) has been modified in recent years to describe 49 habitat types and 60 habitat type phases in northern Idaho (Cooper and others 1987). This level of ecological classification provides
Conditions or treatments
WF-LI
WF-MI
------------------------------------Strucrurrustage-----------------------------------
Herbaceous Sapling Pole Mature seral Old growth
? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > ABIG RA-PSEMEN
ASACAU-COPOCC
EPIANG-MERPAN - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >?
ABIGRA-ACEGLA
ASACAU-COPOCC
ABIGRA-ACEGLA
ASACAU-COPOCC
CC, DP-Ll, MI
CC,DP-MI
CC,SD,
DP-HI
CC, BB-LI
MERPAN-RUDOCC - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >?
RUDOCC-BROVUL- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > ABIGRA-PSEMEN - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >ABIGRA-ACEGLA
FRAVES ASACAU-ACTRUB ASACAU-COPOCC
RUMACE/PHAHET - - - -> RUBPAR-SYMALB- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ->ABIGRA-PSEMEN
ASACAU-PHAHET ASACAU-COPOCC
ABIGRA-ACEGLA
ASACAU-COPOCC
CC,BB-MI
SO, JP-MI
PTEAQU - - - - - - - - - - - > ACEGLA-RUBPAR- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ->ABIGRA-PSEMEN
ASACAU-COPOCC
ABIGRA-ACEGLA
ASACAU-COPOCC
CC, BB-HI EPIANG - - - - - - - - - - - -> CEAVEL-RIBVIS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ->ABIGRA-PICENG
FRAVES-MITSTA MITSTA RIBVIS-ASACAU
ABIGRA-ACEGLA
ASACAU-COPOCC
DISTURBANCE CODES:
WF, Wildfire; CC, Clearcut; SW, Shelterwood harvest; BB, Broadcast burn; JP, Jackpot bum; DP, Dozer-pile slash; LI, Low intensity; MI, Moderate intensity; HI, High intenSity.
Figure 1-Successional pathways within the ABIGRAlASACAUlASACAU-Moist site type. Species abbreviations are described in table 5.
234

, .-~-
"
Table 2-Resource value ratings associated with seral plant community development following clearcutting and low-intensity broadcast burning on the ABIGRAlASACAUlASACAU-Moist site type
Resource value rating
Structural stage sequence
Age (years)
ACEGLA-RUBPAR
Basal area (ft2/acre)
Tree cover (percent)
Shrub cover (percent)
Forb cover (percent)
Graminoid cover (percent)
Big-game hiding cover (percent)
Cattle forage (kg/ha)
Elk forage (kg/ha)
Gopher forage (kg/ha)
Gopher (mds/ha)
Fuels (t/ha of
> 1-inch material)
Fire spread (m/min during dry conditions)
Flame scorch height (m)
Exposed mineral soil (percent)
Shrub/sapling
15-20
2
2
30
57
8
29
805
1,042
856
1,151
108
8.4
2.3
10
Communltl ~~e
ABIGRA-PSEMEN
ASACAU-COPOCC
Pole
100-120
230
58
20
25
2
48
615
902
486
37
19
1.2
0.5
4
ABIGRA-ACEGLA
ASACAU-COPOCC
Mature seral
120-150
257
63
17
33
3
28
682
1,053
687
457
72
1.2
0.5
5
Table 3-Comparison of two early seral plant communities associated with different types of disturbance on the
ABIGRAlASACAUlASACAU-XETE-Cold, dry site type
Treatment
Plant community tl~e
XERTEN-CIRSIU FRAVES-CIRSIU
Clearcut or seed treei Clearcut or seed treei low to moderate Intensity high-Intensity scarification scarification
2-10
1,693
2-25
2,965
Age
Tree sIh a
Dominant tree age (years)
Exposed mineral soil (percent)
Cattle forage
(kg/ha)
Gopher forage
(kglha)
Gopher (mds/ha)
Species richness
Years to attain desired tree stocking
4
17
486
775
457
28-51
<10
5
24
423
785
1,150
48-51
>10 general information on productivity and climatic characteristics; however, it was not specific enough to predict vegetation response in this study.
The site type is a useful refinement of the habitat type when prediction of plant successional response is an objective of classification. Within a site type, plant community development after disturbance tends to proceed at rates and directions that can be predicted. Predictions of species composition and associated resource values assist land managers in evaluating whether proposed activities will result in desired interim and future conditions of the forest landscape.
The ability to predict plant community response is critical to understanding the effects of management practices on western wildlands. The site types and plant successional pathways described in this study of the grand fir! wild ginger habitat type of northern Idaho provide land managers an efficient method of assessing the cumulative effects associated with multiple-use management.
235
Arno, S.; Simmerman, D.; Keane, R. 1985. Forest succession on four habitat types in western Montana. Gen.
Tech. Rep. INT-177. Ogden, UT: U.S. Departmentof Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station. 74 p.

Table 4-Characteristics of two early seral plant communities following similar disturbance on two site types of the
ABIGRAlASACAUlASACAU habitat type phase.
The plant community descriptions presented represent 20 years of vegetation development following
~Iearcutting and high-intensity broadcast burning
Item
Dominant trees
Dominant shrubs
Dominant forbs
Ferns
Tree cover (percent)
Shrub cover (percent)
Grass cover (percent)
Forb cover (percent)
Fern cover (percent)
Tree s/h a
Tree basal area (m 2 /ha)
Gopher (mds/ha)
Elk hiding cover (percent)
Cattle forage (kg/ha)
Elk forage (kg/ha)
Gopher forage (kg/ha)
2
30
8
57
13
635
0.5
1,151
Moist
Site t~pe
Cold, dry
PSEMEN
ACEGLA
SYMALB
ARE MAC
CIRALP
MERPAN
SMISTE
THAOCC
PTEAOU
ABIGRA
VACGLO
CIRARV
CIRVUL
XERTEN
0
1,693
2.8
3,010
4
3
15
31
29
905
1,043
696
9
487
871
776
Table S-Plant names and associated alpha codes used in this paper
Plant name and authority
Forest Service, Northern
Region, alpha code
Abies grandis (Doug/. ex D. Don)
Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.
Acer glabrum Torr.
Actaea rubra (Ait.) Willd.
Adenocaulon bicolor Hook.
Alnus sinuata (Regel) Rydb.
Arenaria macrophylla Hook.
Asarum cauda tum Lind/.
Bromus vulgaris (Hook.) Shear
Ceanothus velutinus Doug/. ex Hook.
Circaea alpina L.
Cirsium spp.
Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.
Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Tenore
Copt is occidentaJis (Nutt.) Torr. & Gray
Epilobium angustifolium L.
Fragaria vesca L.
Mertensia paniculata (Ait.) G. Don
Mitella stauropetala Piper
Phacelia heterophylla Pursh.
Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.
Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco
Pteridium aqui/inum (L.) Kuhn
Ribes viscossimum Pursh.
Rubus parviflorus Nutt.
Rudbeckia occidenta/is Nutt.
Smilacina stellata (L.) Desf.
Symphoricarpos albus (L.) Blake
Taxus brevifo/ia Nutt.
Thalictrum occidentale Gray
Thuja p/icata Don ex D. Don
Vaccinium globu/are Rydb.
Xerophyllum tenax (Pursh.) Nutt.
MITSTA
PHAHET
PIC ENG
PSEMEN
PTEAOU
RIBVIS
RUBPAR
RUDOCC
SMISTE
SYMALB
TAXBRE
THAOCC
THUPLI
ABIGRA
ABILAS
ACEGLA
ACTRUB
ADEBIC
ALNSIN
ARE MAC
ASACAU
BROVUL
CEAVEL
CIRALP
CIRSIU
CIRARV
CIRVUL
COPOCC
EPIANG
FRAVES
MERPAN
VACGLO
XERTEN
Arno, S.; Simmerman, D.; Keane, R. 1986. Characterizing succession within a forest habitat type-an approach designed for resource managers. Res. Note INT-357.
Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Intermountain Research Station. 8 p.
Cooper, S. V.; Neiman, K. E.; Steele, R.; Roberts, D. W.
1987. Forest habitat types of northern Idaho: a second approximation. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT -236. Ogden, UT:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 135 p.
Daubenmire, R. 1952. Forest vegetation of northern Idaho and adjacent Washington, and its bearing on concepts of vegetation classification. Ecological Monographs. 22(3):
301-330.
Daubenmire, R.; Daubenmire, J. 1968. Forest vegetation of eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Tech. Bull.
60. Pullman, WA: Washington State University, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station. 104 p.
Hann, W. J.; Jensen, M. E.; Keane, R. E. 1988. Ecosystem classification handbook, chapter 4-ECODATA sampling methods. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Northern Region.
Hill, M. D. 1979. TWINSPAN-a FORTRAN program for arranging multivariate data in an ordered two-way table
236 by classification of the individuals and attributes.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Department of Ecology.
Keane, R. E.; Jensen, M. E.; Hann, W. J. 1988. Ecosystem classification handbook, chapter 5-ECOPAC data entry and analysis programs. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region.
Mueller-Dombois, D.; Ellenberg, H. 1974. Aims and methods of vegetation ecology. New York: John Wiley and
Sons. 547 p.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1989.
Timber management control handbook. Missoula, MT:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1981. Soil survey manual. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service.
107p.
Wellner, C. 1989. Classification of habitat types in the western United States. In: Ferguson, Dennis E.;
Morgan, Penelope; Johnson, Frederic D., compilers.
Proceedings-land classifications based on vegetation: applications for resource management; 1987 November
17-19; Moscow, ID. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-257. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Research Station: 7-21.