James R. Habeck,Dvison of Boogica Scences The []nversty of [4ontana.Missoua Vlontana598]2
Using GeneralLand Office Recordsto Assess ForestSuccession
ir Forestsin WesternMontana
in PonderosaPine/Douglas-f
Abstract
0rignrd{190|
\Pnfspan.lef|nir'seud|'szgdnPn.ieji;]it.stSinwesliJnN1onLanafol]osin8nl1l]nii.k]gines.(]I()
lhe Deus L0 .rdDstru.t p
ln PatL(j. (lanton nelr \l
rhr GLO surrer nores anrl (1'npared ro lbresr ,hrr (dl.aled in Mgz ro:rss.ss successiona trerds. Ihe tesulrs shoil rlirr{ith
n'dn.ed
lia'ilfuence.Doug|rs.1irinFI'ITRhrsmrr1c|najo|ganiSinS|Uddofirlanceorerponrlr'rosapine.ndiLes|i]0lar(]1.4r;1o.
rirlzrraln). especidtv on n
lntroduction
Gaining an understandingoflomg lerm lcgclalion
history ancJsLrccessionalchangcs linked to lnman
l . r r r , rl r - ep r . r c t i , s, h a . I ' e " " m " o f i r r ,r . . r ' i n g i m
portancc(Habeck I990. Xlonnigand Bvler 1992.
Kaufmann ei a1. 1992). Tn westem North America.
lor examplc" lr,ildfir'e served as ln important Process in shaping pre-1900 r,egetationpatlern-qon
Rockv Xlountainlandscapcs.Post-I900 alttration
ol presettlernentfire regimes.as tcll as log;fng.
tri:i
donestic grazing,mining. and land c,ultivation
g . r e J - i g n i f i ,r n t , l r a r r p " -i r r l h , \ c e . l . l l i o n. l f u , turc and composition ofthis region. Somc ecologists
hare linked modcln c hangesin ftrrcsl struclure :rnd
compositionlo potential for ser,erefircs. as $ell
as to reduccd forest health (Xlutch el a!. 1993).
In lrestern frlonlana. Euroamcrican setllement
intcnsified and expandcd in Lhe I870's. Prior to
I900 liequcnt. low intensit-vfircs in the Douglasfir zonc, originatingfrom lightning or liom native
Arnericanignitions(Arno 1980, Cruell 1985. Bar'
rett and Arno 1982). maintainedpondelosapinevestern larch cornrnunitie-"as optn, park likc
forcsts (Habeck 1990). This specilic iirc-vegetation
relationship in Nestern llontana was evidcnt to
earlr area litncsses (Arles 1900, T,eiberg1899)r
cilca-1900 photographs takcrr ;n westem Nlontana
often rer'ealgrasslandsand open pondcr-osapine
u'oodlandsoccupringmuch ofthc brrer halfofthc
trrca's rnoultain slopes (Leiberg 1899. Cruell
r 9 8 3) .
WiLh the onsct of a n:rlionalpolic,vof lile exclusion in the earll' I900's, alongwith accelcratcd
logging ol old gro$th foresLs.$,estern N{ontana's
rnontanepinr:-lar-chiorest-shavc crper-ienceda reia-
tivcl,v rapid successional change tot'ard I)oLrglaslir dominlncc {Arno et al. 1985. Ilabeck I985.
1990). Pacilic North*esL ecologistsha\e been
seeking rnor-edetailecl. quantitative inlormation orr
inclutling
forestchangcslinked to human actirit-"-,
reduccd fire (Kaufinannef ol. 1992. Mutch el nl.
J99ii). As resource managers consider hot to
makc historically important processes.such as fire.
a part oflandscapc management,thcv ncccl lo r'onand composili()nopsidcr variouslbrest slfufLLLre
tions.'l'cxr,arrlsthese eflbrts. they ale helpcd bl
having historic baseline data points lo pre-1900
\.eEietation
struclure serr.ingas reletences:CT,O
sur-vevrecordsprovide such an opportunitl_(Noss
r9B5).
General Land Office Survey Records
Rclativell- detailecl. quanlilati\e descriptions of
l , r . - p t l l c m n, l i , r r - l - l n r c l r r , r n , l , . , r n l , n - i l i o'rrrr n
bc derired from intcrprelalionsol Ccncral T,ancl
Oilice (GLO) surlcv recordsdating bacL. in teste m f r l o n l a n e t. o t h e 1 8 7 0 - 1 9 I 0 e l a . ' [ h c C T , O
notes. r'hich proviclc data on hearing lrees selected
section corner )ocations.pro"ide a
to docLrrnenL
means to rcq)nslruct presettlcmenLforests (Stcarns
19,tr9.Bourdo l956. Shite 1976).
In practice.a sectioncorner locationrtas ficldthe
rnarkedbv :r lroodcn stakeor rock morrrrnrent;
position of this corner \{as tvpicalll-describcrl b"
using ibur bearing lrees. one in cucfi of Lhe lour
cluadrantssurrolrnding the .orner. 1hc bcaring
trees \rcrc to be'bnl,v thc soundestand thrifticst
ol the trees, and o[ the size ancl kind which experiencc lraches lill be thc mosl permantnl and
h s t i n g - t S l e s r r tl q 3 5 t . { l - n . l h e h , . r r i r r ;t :r - ' selectedvcrc lo be within 300 links (l98 1t/60 m)
Norlhwest Sciencc. Vol. 68. N"o.2. l994
69
o l q 9 1 l i r h c \ , ) d h t r r s rS c i c . t i l n A . s o , i r r n ) n . . \ l l r i g h t s . r s c ^ , d
oflhc corner being clcscribed.-Serlioncorners localeci in savannasor grasslands.often rlid not hale
foul lrees near cnough Losen'c iu cor.nerritrrcsscs.
an{l thc note-qreflcttccl this in spcciiic languagr:.
lith onlv I-3 trees recor-dcd.or none. Trcr spe,
cics, hee diarnclcr, hee distancclrom the corncr.
ancl compa-"sbcaring are r-ecordcdin the notcs.
Thr hcightat rhidr diameter-s
olbearing treeslerc
b bc taken tas nol specilieclin thc guidelines.
lt r- rr-c--.rrr f"r e,ol"gi-t- l,' ffr, li,F , ir.rtion in c\tractinS infrrrmationfrom CLO survev
n , , l l - . .i u r \ , \ , , r < . u r , t r r t, F , l l , r ( i L r r t , , l l , , s , . . l
lrrcscribedinstructionsin tlaversing surve1 lines
and clcscribirrgbearing trees;Sterlalt (1935) Lrnd
Dodds (19,1,1)proridc dctails ol thc opcrational
rules and rcguladons in cflict circa -[900. Tn a particulal lot,alitv.such as rrrvcrcdin thi-qrep(|d, con
sidcrationmusLbc givcn to the possibleexisLencc
ol indir iclualsunevor bias in applvingor interprering OLO guidtlines, or thr prcsenceof cr-rorsin
( l T { ) r , ' t e . t n r '. r - p , . i t i e r n s r r - h i p, , r - e , r i , , r r .
A sunelor- might practice cliffctcnti:rl seler,rivitr,
in herring tree selecLion.partly baserlon the flexi L i l i t r l " . i l t i n t u t l r g r r ' , 1l i,r r e -t ; , r l * J r i n : t r - selection.and partiallv on pcrsonal bias. Ihite
(1976). torking in lestern frlontana (Lubrcchr
School l orest. flnivclsir"- of N{onlana).derertuJ occa-qional
sunevor hias agaiDstsmall-didmcrerlrees
as $ell :rs vcrv large diamrlcf trees in OI-0 notes
covcring his slud;- arca; the ert lusion of r.erv srnall
c n , l r . r r I . r r ' Btef e F - r - \ i t n e . - t r F c - \ 1 m - t , ' f i l
the grriclclinccriteria for bcaring h.eepcr.manentr
u r l o r r ; - ri t r . I n r p r ' l i r n i r r . r r-ri . r g "" f r l r , 1 , n- " n r
studv, copicsolthe originalCT,Onotes$erc laken
into the lield (Lrppcrl)atteeCanvon,Fi€{ureI )anrl
matt.hedrlith the lrees on the modern landscape.
t-.\l .,{
-'--\
;r.uu
^^^.
34
qq'i""
.$r' sz
(J'/
€)'
2
";'"-'l*4
"-r\'\ TIMBER
I"
l.ig|l|elL0|!rjonso|Prltee1]an'()nanrltlll{ornlerForr\lisslju|uTin]lle|R(\.|l|(F]'ITR)in\.51ern
drainaglboundarrissho*rlindoldashllle'alr1r|ccllrol.snainatcessIoart|'\',]:ts|rPJ|il,.
anrl Ir\'lTR boundarr nrarkrr,.cmplolerl n this "trrrli [e shorrr hr l, rcr s'mbols- S : rourh !str! l sirc! 1i = I 1r.
anrl \" lor rorth lstrtt und rrline siler lr : l5).
70
llabcck
been the lcast alte|ed bv posFsdtlenrenl distllrbanccs ((rtherlhan firc control) *ere includccl in
the nnalvsis.
Based on thc presence and abscnce of lir'ing trccs
ancl thc rernains of ca icr exi-stingtrtcs near
ferisited srction cofners, it lras assessedthat bias
in sLlrvevorwitncsstree selectionwas trncomrnon.
Methods
Bv revisiting the oliginal scction <orners. and
re-rnrasuring existing trccs at each slrn'e,vcorner.
it is possibleto cstimalethe diredion of loresl suc
cessional change. Such an cffcrrt rras undertaken
in a rnilit:rn lood arrd timber lcserrali{)n. the
lbrmcr Fort IIissoula'limbcr Resene (l'XITR). established in lB79 and locatcd in PaLtee(lanvon
(t.SDA Forest Scn'icr. I-olo NationalForest)near
Xlissoula,\lontana (Lat. 46' 46' N. Long. 1 l4o
'
50 W, Figure 1): thc area is nol' callcd the Pattee Canvon Rccr-eation,A.rea(I'CRA). Photo copics
ofthc original CLO notcs, dated I90l or carlier,
are availablc l'crrPatlee (lanvon and the FNI'IR in
thc MissoulaCount,vSur,'eyor'sOfficc, l\Iissoula.
Slontana.
Historyof FortMissoulaTimberBeserve
"wood rescrraIn 1879. a 6,18 ha (1600 acre)
t;on" !,rasset aside by Firecrrtive Ordcr in the up
per rcachesofPattee Canvon (Figure 1)to lill lhe
needsofForL N{issoula,
lLrelwoodand crrnstrLrction
a militar;- facilitv located 8 krn (5 milcs) uest of
PatteeCanvon (llSDA !'orcst Service I99l). Thc
star-shapedboundur oi FLTR (l igure 1) appears
to ha,'ebeen laid oLrlto encompuss:l specilicconcentration of large. (?5-150 cmi 110-60" in diameler) pondcrosa pines and $'eslern larchcs
oc,curringin uppcr Pattee Canvon.
Selection ol Fort Missoula Timber
Reserve
Fort l'lissoula Tirnbel ltescrvc was selected lo
sttrdvhistoricfbrcst changeslbl the frrllowingrea'
-qons:(a) thc variely oflbrest and bunchgrasscomof the lot'cr
munilies it supporls is r-eprescntative
montane zone foresFgrasslandtypes commonLv
[i-,und clsewhere in t'estcrn Montana: (b] the
FllTR's irregularboundarr. and its nume'rousrn
tersectionsrrith torvnshipand scclion lines. pror.idcs an unusually high loncentration of GLO
survev corncrs l"sample points''). and thus an
abLrndanr:eoI bc.rring tree data from relatilel,v
landscapcunits;and (c)the rclativell
honrogcneous
in thost porLionsof Plrtlight loggingrJistLrrbance
tcc Canvon and !'NITR r,;heremodern dala needecl
lo be laken. Whcn FNITR's sur"rcvcclcorners tt'erc
rer.isilcclin 1992. onl-vthosc that appeared lo ha'ie
Proccduresused to exlrac{ phylosociologicinformation liom GT,0 strrvev notcs are $ell
docurncnlcd(Cottam19.19.Botrrdo 1956. Hahck
1961. Noss 1985, and Calatowitschl990). The
Cencral T,and Ollice bcgan contracting survcvors
to subdiviclcpublic lands in wcslcrn Nlontanain
11367,lbllowing ficld techniques standarclized in
the GLO's 1855 Manual o[ Instrr.rctions(I]oclcls
1944). CLO surlcving parliescreatcclsctsof field
notes for thc tornships subdividcd. Section corn , r l u r ' . r t i , r nr '-e r , J , s , r i l ' e d u - i r r gl u . r r i n r t r ' - . .
At the end ofcacfi suneyed milc. and after a tornship was subdividcd. descriptionsrtcrc provided
that rncrrtiondominant lr-eespeciesprc-.cnt.qLralitv of timber. ancl assessmentol agricLrlttlralpotent i . r l .S L , r n r t i n r et h- e n u l ,- i r r ,L r d e di r r f o r m r t i , , n , " '
general topographl. soil qualitv and timher.
As sectionlines $ere being run. the suNevols
mddc noLeoI the linc cnlcring or leaving lirrcst
cover: thc laller. in turn. Inight be lurtlreI describccl
"heaw opcn l;mber" or
as "heavilv timbcrcd."
"scattefing timber." Based on my 1992 re"he:r1,'' as uscd ln the sur'e\emination,thc lerm
ve,vnotcs. is lrelieved to bccn used to charrctclizc
"large-sizcd"trees, not
lhe presenceof scaltefed
neccssarilv'tlensely stocked" for-ests.Asccnts and
descentsof slopc's.inlersectionsof gul<'hes.ridf(es.
roads. or fence lincs rvere recorded. as $'ere diamctcN and species of trtts lound directlv on the
line.
Bearing trccs in quadrants surfo(rnding the
corncrs \!erc chosen llnd described in thc CT,O
notes.T,vpically.foLrrbearinpltrees (thr: ncaresl one
i r re r , h , l , r a d r e r r t t r . eJr ., - , r i h " , l . r t- e e t i " n , , r r nr, .
(mile marks), whiLe two trccs were recordcd at
quarler section (hall mile) corncrs. An excerpt
takcn from the SeptembcrI B. 1901 surcv notes
fol LheThird Xlilc along FMTII's boundarl on Pat
tee Can,von'snorth aspect is as folloss:
Chains
l ( ' . o o i c ' . ' n J - ,r , 2 2 , 1 2 . ; , - .
16 ins. lr th, grourd,for 2 l/2 Nlil ru.
mrrkrrl 2 1i2 M. on Il.
T . R . o r r\ . a n d
t ' - L . o n S . f t c e s ri r o n r r h n : h
d p i r r ' . 2 1 n r s . i n d i a r r . .t t a r s \ . 1 0 " l i . . i l 8 l l ' .
, l i s t . i n r a r l e dF r . M . T . R . - 2 l r 2 t r ' I . .B . T .
lorcst Change
t.sr: of (lLO Recolds lo A-s-sess
7l
.\ ln. l2 nF. .lirm.. b.aN S. (ril. U.. t.lt llr.
d i ! r . -n r n r k e dl . l 2 \ . _ R . t 9 t r ' . . S . l 2 : 2 I r 2 N , t . .
B .t .
, { l n . 1 5 i n s . d i a n _ .b e t s - s _ . 1 5 i \ \ . . l t , 1 l l s .
, l i s r .D. a r k , ! lT . 1 2 \ . . n l i l \ t . . S . l 2 : 2 1 1 2M . _
u .T .
A rrmara.k. il in.. i,i,liam.. h,iars\. t3o $..67
lks. cli:r.. rnarktd trr. !t. t.. R..2 lr2 \1.. B. 1..
Thr-"',10.00" represcnts a hali-mile crrrner. Thc
"pinc"
refcrred 1o is ponrJcrosapinc. the ..fir" is
l)ouglas-fir.and the "tarnar:rck'"is.wesLer.n
tarch.
Thc initials "lks" rcfcrs to links. onc link cqua.ls
7 .92''. On Fl\lTIl's 1901 boundtr,r rc-sunev.
corners. mile mark-. ancl hall-milc marks u-ruallv
$ , n , l e . , r i h e , l r r s i r r gt , , r r rh e j r i n g r r e - - . { l . o rrhercl.er the l'\{TR bourrdan, intefsccted town,
ship ancl serLion lincs. the points wcre also
clescribeciusing frrur bearing trees. if arailable
lithir thc 300 link linit.
At the cnd ol'the srrrvcved 'Third N{ilc". at
U0.00 chains,the survey partv chief pror.idedthe
Iollo\1ing-"umrnarv.uith the listinplof trces in or.dcr of dorninancc.the most dom;ndnt listccl1ir.-qL:
Lar,l. brole,, \. sL,B.ol nrornrain.
S0il- sr.d\ .. 2n,l rer(i.
Tnnh,.f. pm.- llr ond ranrurucl.
\l,n,nrri rus anij hearilr rnnh.rrl tand aIrl L,uorgr oense
!n,ltsfgrorth i10.00 ( hns.'
Bearing trr-'cdata rcseml)lcsplot-Jcss.pointccnteled distancemcasurcmenldata ((loLtamand
(iurLis 1956). CLO Lrcc data, lherr surnmarizcd
for a series of corncrs occrrrrinpJon similar (rclativcll homogeneous)landscapes,allol calculation
ol imporlancevalues for cach lrcc specicsdefined
its the surn of relative clcnsitv. relatir.e liequencv
and rclatir.ebasal arca. lhe distance measuresaLso
i lo$ estimatesto be rnadco[ Lrccdensitics(numbef per heclole) and b:rsal ureas (square mcters
ptl hectartJ lbr all trce slecics rerrrr.clccl
in lhc sur1'er notcs. Sincc a rnajoritr of the 1901 sur.vcv
I ' o i ' r l s\ c r F $ i t n " - . , , 1r , r t u u I l , e r r i n gt r e . - . r h e
arera!_ac
poirrt-to-tr.eedistances are clirectlv relatablc to trec mean area (MA), the ,,aluenecded 1o
calculatctree dcnsities.ln:rcldition,i1 r,as assurnccl
in using thc 19Ol CLO notes rhat sapling-sized
hees. under l0 cm/.l" in di:rnrr:tcraLgroundlinr,
i|'ere not -reledcd as bciuing trccs; no cvidenr:er,r,as
iound in 1992 thal tr.eesovcr.l0 cm/:l'. ii alir.e.
had been rejectr:d a-sbearing trecs. 'l'he l 90l notcs
lrrovide data 1or 30 cofnef poinLsand 82 bcaring
72
Habcck
During 1992, the !IITR
corrers uerc
revisited;onc of the original corner-scould not be
fclocated (thus n = 29 for 1992). 'lhe pr.csencc
and sun'ivorshipofthe l90l bearingrrrcs at each
corncr point were nolcd. Thc diamelcrsof sLrrviv,
ing bearing tLeesn'ere mcasured dt 0.::' m (l fr)
ahovc groundJine,or ''stump height.', Random
i n , r ' e m e n tc n r i r r F -o l . r r r r i r i r r Ab e r l i n F t r e e . : r r
breast height (morlcrn standad IIBII. 1.4 rn abore
thc groLrncl)ancl at (.).3 m (1 ir) confirrn that diameLersIecoftlcd in thc l9{)l notesdo represcnt
bearing lret diamelcrs near their base,..White,s
studv (1976) closclv supporrs this finding. A largcr
samplc ol iJ2.1presettlement bearing trees covering rnuch ol Pattce (ianyon indicatesthitt cornerlo-bearing tree .lisluncesand compass bcarings
lr'ere prcciselv instr.urnent-measured:bcadn€l trcc
diamcters rver-eregrrlarly recortled. but not exclu,
sivcly, ill cvcn numbers sLrchas: J0'', 20"" 30,'.
or in rnultiplesof a half-foot:6", 12". ] B',. 24".
suggcstingsuneyors simply cstimaLedbearing tree
cliamelcrs.
Thc 1992 clata wcre takcn al each corner
rcvisited.cmploying the point-centeredquitdranl
method (Cottam and Curtis 1956). 'lhe arca
a l o r r n ,el a c l r, u m e l l ' , i n t r r . r .r l i r i J - d i n t o , l , r J r - i c r using cardinal cornpassbearings.rcpJicatingthe
same sct ol cluadrantsused in 1901. The nearest
trcc in each quaclrant over l0 cm (4',) rras
rer.orded bv species. diamerer (30 cm (l it) above
grouncllineJ and distancc (corner+o-trec). ln addition, the ncarest rrcc sapling (diamter 2.5-10
cm 11 4"). and ncarest trec seedling (undcr 2.5
( m / r ") diameLer),bur olcr I m (3 ft) high in each
quadrant lerc tallied.
Thc 1992 data werc used to caleulateimpor
tance valucs (I.V.) for trees. saplings and sccdlings
ibr cach species. as rvell as dcnsity and basal area
pcr hectare lbr each tree species (Cottam and Curtis 1956.). Within a 0.04 ha (0.1 acrc) circul:u
rnacroploLarourrd each cor-ncr. est;m{ted canopv
coveragepercenlage-q(Daubennrirc 1959) tere assigncd to each tree. shrub, and herbat:eousspecies prcsenl. Thcse lattcr data lr.ere emplor,ed in
habitat L;-ping(Pfistet et al. 1c)77)cach suNeyed
corner location.
To undcrstandhoi! prcsettlemcntlorest vegetation in I'MTR ha-"chan€ieclover the past 90+
vears,the sLrI\evcor-nclswerc partitionedinb ti{o
c'anvonsubunits(Figure l). each enconrpassrng
a
sel ol -qurvcv@rncrs occrrpving homogeneous
canvon aspecls. l'he FMTR corners occur oD
'l{ULEl
Posr sell,.nx.rr 11901,1992)loresrchn,,gf*ohs,)LrthaipecGinFort
orr CLO suner recorrls.
ure ll. lalrl
\ I i s s o r l a l n r b c r R e - r e n ' e .i { e s l e n , N o , n a n a ( F i g -
1 . l . r 0 l S o u t h { s p e c tF o r e s tC o m p o s i L i , ) n :
Tree
Species
PIPO
ll)ints
0rr:ur.
\umber
Trees
Brsul
Arca
t2**
;i:t
u.;
0.0
P-sxtI
t2
:J,1
F
I)ensil!
\o.rliu
Brsal Areai
rn'iHr
Den
0/o
D0nr
0i
l.\'.
,iil
100
0
100
100
300
t)
t00
100
100
300
I
282
t8
r25.2
1.2
1 7 .?
o.2
300
132.I
11.9
t).0
4.2
0.0
8.2
B. 1992 South Astxtt Ioren (irtnposilio.
PtPo
PS]TF]
11
2
3:l
3
i.3
0.1
il8
Lz
95
5
Torals
1a)
56
7.6
100
t00
I00
In,r,ortan.' Values il\i.) : sumnutiorr ol relative {requr:no (: f olJ), relatire densjrr (: D, n qi) ard relatire dominln(.
l)ornrlt,) ulLles. Dd,"ir\ : Lr.es pef hectfie. Dlsdl Arca : squaE Ineters per hr!tar'- t'll'0 = Pniu pozddora- PS\11'] :
l'seLd. tsugd nlc n.i. sii.
+ :
(:
'i '' = ln 1901. n'o *rney-rl cornds ni grasslands lackrl n.arbr bearing trees. Ar olh(r codns lo.ated in slrlnnds.
$iLnss tr.es irere reco c,l rrLhcr tha. lhe tlpicll lour. In l9g2 {otrr hees were recorlcd at tarh orDer poLnl
IABL|
2 . . - q n n m l n o l 1 9 9 2 s , ) u r ha s p e d l r e e f e p u l u c t i , ' ,
uestern Uontona.
Timbtr Rcsrr.
dala* lahen !to
ginrl l90l
o,,h l -3
GLO suNer corners in l'ort [lissoula
A . S o u t hA s p r l t l r e e - r a p [ n g s :
Strri.s
Totals
\o. i H:1
:J5
2I
PIPO
PSUE
2L
I.V.
F
tl)i,,ts
0 < ru r .
:)(i
5t,t3
120
BO
66.:t
ll;
t(x)
100
200
I06.1
;0
.-)0
103
100
200
:r0.0
Il. Sortli Aspe.t Tree Seedlings:
P1P0
P,SNlL
It)
9
28
2u
5tJ
4i
19
5al
100
;3.a)
i:l.a)
9t-
Di,n o/o)r! u.s. Iiensit!
f i.2
= Durn
i :
ln|ortan(:
ValLrestl.\:.) = sumnrrLi,,,, ol relatire frequencr (:
Lcr ol saphrgs or seedh,gs 1r'r hrlLarc.
I'0/o)and felatile deDsirr (:
weli-defincd soLrthernaspects,northern aspects.
. r n , l. , ' . r c l m o i - t r l i n c - ; l l r , h l l F r l r o - i l c c J l . gories ircrc groupecl for anal,vsis.
cuc h.t. (P poDdetosa/Festuca itLthoensh h.t).
f)orrglas-lir/snorlberr\ h.l. (Pteudntsrlgamcnziesii/
S,tmphoitrrtT.tosa[bus h.t.), and Douglas-fir/rough
fescue h.t. l.P. menziesiilFestut:n stabrelLa h.t.).
Stand data for south dsped sur\'et corners alt
prcscnlcd in Tables 1 and 2.
Results
(iorners occLrp,vingsouthern aspcds fit conifcr/grasslandhabitat tvpcs. including: ponderosa
pine/bluebunclr rvhratgrass h.1. (Pinus ponderosa/
Apyopyon slti<:atunh.t.), pondcrosa pine/Idaho les-
Surrev corners on northern aspeds ale classinenlied as Douglas-fir/rrinetralkh.t. (.1'seudotsugo
ziesiilPhysot:aqtusmaft,acerr.rh.t.). l ith most litting
l-c ol r;LU ll,.,,r,l- to {--e-- fole-t Ch.rng,
73
TIBLE 3
t b s t s e n l e r n e n t l l 9 0 l1 9 9 2 ) i , r . s r c h r u r g e * o n r o r r h e u a s p e c t s , ) l r l r e F o r r l ' l i s s o u h T i m b e r R . s . f v , . . N e s t e r D \ t l n r r n u
( l i g u r el ) .
d. lrr0i \orlb
Forest (i,n,lx,sirion:
d\tntr
Tree
Poinis
Number
f'tFll
PS\I I'
25
t.\oc
t2
:10
Total:
lltsal
f'
De!
,'/t
Dorn
o/o
5.2
0.7
l tl
52
2:l
25
12
30
zil
t-.2
r00
100
2u
2.1
2l
50
29
100
I-\.
04r
D.rsiL)
\,,.1H!
Basll An,di
m'rHu
t;t
62
67
24.i
10.8
t1.B
l). t-
100
300
,r;.3
;. I
l2
60
28
t9
45
52
t;5
93
202.5
9,1.iJ
6.5
t 5.,1
t l.9
100
t Otl
300
3il;.3
33.8
5.1
1.3
ll. l9c)2 No h Asfe.l Fof.sl (i,mposition:
(,
PII'0
t'-{N'ltl
LA0C
t 1
:la)
t;
Totals
"=Inrtlor.trnce\!Iu('s(|.\r.)=sl|.lnlalidrofrelarirrlrequelrr(=|.%).relatirc.]l'nsitr(=Denol,!ndre]ati!(]llonrinan.e
i=Ddr0/o)
rond.r,rd.
T\BLE
1
Dfnsitl = nlnbffoftreesp(irl(clafe.
B a s a l A f . a = r a l u e s r : x 1 , r r : s s ei d
r s q u a r . n e t e r s p e r h rl r a r e . I , I I , 0 :
t',s[]|i : Psetulotwga nicr:ierii. I.AOC = Larit qtidentatis.
pru
- s r r m m r n o f 1 9 9 2 n o f r h a - . p e ( rr f d d d r a * s a m p h l a r G l , 0 s u r ! . r c o r n e f s n r F o r L r U i s s o u l a T i f b , r R e s e N e . { , j s l , . m
Vorrhn!.
A. \orth Asga I TreeSaplirss:
t'
PIPO
P.Str'IE
LA(X]
23
12
2(l
B. \,,rrh {specr
'1rr.
PIPO
PST]IE
I.\ .
I)cnsitl
\o./Ha
2.)
20
50
30
9B
;9
:t0.I
?,1.f1
,t,1.9
56
100
100
200
119.8
1
l1;
33
n2
r;2
il
2o
;0
l0
5
t5
56
100
100
2l
1J
SeedLnrgi:
t1
| {0c
20
+ :
20t)
153.6
I B?.2
Importarrr.\'ahres{1.\.) : surnnratio ofrr:larire frequcr.r (:
b(. ol slpljngs or s(arllingsper h.crrre.
F,,t) anll r.trrire densirr (:
nithin the Plr_rrocarp
u; nvrLt:ateusphase. The latter phascincludescool, moisLsitescapableof supporling r,ieslernlat ch. N{rfth aspect sur \,er cornefs
date arc surnmarizcdin Tablcs 3 and 4.
'l'he
bearing tr-ccs.
lorcl density oI trees suirablc
as ltearin€itrees on south aspects led. at limcs, to
SouthAspects
Pondcrosapint: tas ud (.()ntinuesto be thc ma
jor overstol'r'dominanl on soulhern ilspects. I
1901 ('l'able l. I'a A). the south aspecrGLO corner notes rccordecl pondcrosa pines crclusivelv as
74
Habeck
D e n , , , 0 )\ ! l u , j s . D e n s i r l = r l r r
thc slrr-\'e\,orsr-ccordingonlv tt'o or thrcc bearing
tlees at corncls where four trees woLrldhave been
selecLed.Tn lict. two bunchpl.ass-dominared
<rrrner siteslackcd. in 190i , bearilg trccs rviLhinthc
recommcnded ll00 link distancr. so rn)ne wcrc
reurrded at thcsc corners. The calr:ulatcd1901
south aspcd tr.ee dcnsitv is ij2.8 trees per.ha
(113.i3/acre).
suggostingan opcn-canopied pine
tial r:limatic clirnd\ slage dominatcd or codominated bv Douglas-lil andk)r ponderosapinc has
progrcssedoler the past n;neLt vears (Plistcr e,
al. 1977).
sarannd plc\ailed: frasalarca aleraged fJ.2 Int/ha
(36 lL']/acre).lhe 1901 ponclelosnpinc br:aring
trees alcr-agcrJ.25 rn'(2.8 ft') in basal area, ancl
an aleragc of 57 crn (22.8') in sttrmp diameter.
At thc soLrthasped points r.clisited (Table I,
I'art B1. the mngnitudc of forest changelras tcrr
er ident. l'ondcrosa pine -stillInaintainediLsover
,.ton tlorninance. but thcrc has been a lbur'-ftrlcl
inc,rease
in trec dcnsilv reaching 132.4 trc'esper
ha i53.6/arrre).In 1992 thcrc tas a greaterdcnsitv oi pincs. bul those recordcd avcraged -qmaller
diamelersthan thosc presentin 1901,lith basal
areas llcraging 0.11 m' (1.5 ft'2).and diameters
areraging,l2 cm (16.8'). In I992. thrcc I)ouglaslirs rrere talliccl at south aspect corners. indicating post- I 900 enhy of firs on *,arm. dr "* f\'lTR
sites. perhaps capable ol slrpporting forests cl:r-rsified rithin the l)ougJas-firclimax serics (Plister
et al. 1911).
Si\teen (47y0) of thc original i34 south aspect
bearing trccs !!efe alile in 1992, but these ilere
not ahars recorded as thc nearesttree(s)to the
corDersduing the 1992 re-measurcmenl.Be:rrdue to natural
ing trcc rnortalitvappearcd m()stl."_
causes(standingsnags.$,ind-thrortnlogs. broken
: t , r n t ' - r . h r l r i r r , , 1t l r . o r i g i r l r lb . . r r i n ; t r - . . .
positioncclon private propcrlr outside the l \'lTR
boundarv. appcirr to hare heen lost to logging. not
tithstanding the illegalitv oI culling and lemoval
of section corncr bcaring trees. Thc basal area-"
lour'
ofthe l6 sLrniringponderosapinc'sincrea-recl
fo1d.from an avcrageoi 0. t I rn' (1.2 ft'). anrl li7.l5
cnr (15") in stump diarncter in 1901, to 0..14 m'
(4.8 1i'). and 75 crn (30'') in slunp diameter in
1992.
Figurc 2. D,Lr\ rl I'seu.ht qa menzietii t(rtroduction into !n
oltlgrorrh Puirer lorrlea,sa ommunin errlier n,ainLairnl * a saroinr br l,trr i,,t.nsit) fue-r. Photo lakfn
near rasLr:nr Loundan ofFort \'llssorla 1nrlxr lle
serre {Fisurc l). Photo l,v J.It. Hlbeck. 19q0.
A summan' o1 I992 slrLldureanclcomposilion
NorthAspects
ol the saplirrgand seedlingla-vcrson south slope
The ser.Lioncolnc$ occup\,ing northem aspc(ts
cor-nersis given in Table 2. (bmparablc trte
reproduction daLaare not availablc frrr 1901. \lodand moist ravine sitcs in FLTR have t'estem larch
ern impottnnccralues (I.V.) lbl trcc saplingsshow
alrng lith pondclosa pine and f)ouglas-fir as rnajor forest componcnls (Table ll); both rvcstcrn larch
that Douglas-lir leproduction is currentlv tcll
r e p r e . ,n t ' r l . [ ' , ' n , l . r , ' - r p i n e - r r p l i n y . - , , r i g i n . r t i r r g and ponderosapirre are fire-depenclcntilnd were
olcr the past il 4 dccadcs. still outnumbcrcd
larored bl the frcclucnt. lor intensitv burns ocDouglas-firsaplirrgsin 1992. l'ield obscrlations
curring befbre 1900 (llabeck. 1990.). Although
indicatc pine and f)ouglas-fir reProduction hrs
r ' ' - t . r r r l a r e h\ r : l , r , - ' n l . l l r . m o - t c o m r n u nr ' i t been invading thc oprengaps betnccn the oldness tree recorded rt noflh aspectcorners in l90l
grorth ponderosapincs (l-igLrre2). The 1992 data
\|as still pondcrosa pine which displayccl the
show Douglas-lir seedlingsccluallingestablished
highestimportance ,'alue.the highcstdensityand
ponderosa pinr-' seecllingsin dcnsitv. Sa,'annagreatestbasal area ,ralues(lablc 3. ParL A).
bunchgr-ass
cornponentsart bccoming reduced in
The 1992 da r from north aspectand lavinc
l , ' l r l a r c , r\ r i l l , o r l t h , f r - , 1 r r e r fr ltr e i n t , r r , r r t i , , r r .
(Table il, Part B) shorv clistinct shilis in
Lhe
poten_
c'orners
Succession
lo$ilrds
on southcrn aspe(1s.
l,se of GLO Rccords to Assesslbrcst Change
7:)
FortMissoulaTimberReserve
PatteeCanyon- LoloNationalForest
BasalArea Data- NorthAsoect
1901
1992
LAOC-35%
LAOC-19%
PtPO-72y"
PSME-46%
TotalBasalArea:
TotalBasalArea:
7.1m2/ha
33.8m2lha
Pek,,trs,
s ol rotal l)asrl erer p.r h(r rnf. lre girer lnr PIP0 :
|.\\)(. = Lui\ nr.id.ntul^.
forcst stmcLurcand contpositiontowardsf)ouglasl i ' . F i y r r r " . t , r n p l r . r - i z -r. l r , - i g n i t i r n r i r l r e ; r r
in basal ue:r l)er hcctare. and lhe muclt grcater
importancc of DoLrglas-fir.onthe rroclcrn Fl\lTlt
Jarrrlscape.
A11thrce coniferspccieshare increased
in densilv and basal arca. changing the ph_,-sical
sllucture ol lbrest crorcr ii.om open to closed
, . 1 n , ' p r :1 u , r r ,rl ", - a I ' i r , h r - - l r i e ' l - p r u l , o r t i o r r alrly, to thifd place ranking tithin rhc modern
!'XITR fore-st.About 500ll ofthc original 48 north
rspect bcarin€(Lreessurviled to 1992. but Lhcst:
sLrnivors. Lhoughlargcr in 1992 rhan in 1901.
lrere s{.attrred :rmoltflsl thousands oI smaller
Douglasfirs cstabJished
during thc post 1900 cra.
A sunrrnarr'o1 1992 conifcr r.eprodLrclion
data
taken lrorn FN11'R'snorthern aspectsis prolided
'n
T r r b l , l . \ l t h " r p l rr l l t h r n e: p , r i , - r e n u i r r1 , r , . - 76
Habcck
I'ttu: ponden:a.
psl'tE
= /,rp/,rrixg.r
,rc,z6ii.
rrd
enl in the lo$'cr lbresl straturn. l)ouglas-firdominatcs the secdling ancl sapling lay-ers,as might
be erpectcd ol the potentialclirnar specicsin the
prolonged abscnce of firc. Ponrlrrosa pine and
'westernlarch. althoughlongJivcd,
bencfit br, site
disnrlbances(mineral sccd bed exposure)irr their
establishrnenL.
liightv-tvo pcrcentof all tree secdJings rccorded during the 1992 sanrpling rerc
l)ouglas-fir.As rnaturc.old-grorlthpondrrosapine
and testern larch ar-elost throughnrtural att tion.
*ith limited replacemenl.thc -.hifrlotar.os ovcrstorv (lominance bv Douglas-fir is prcdictablc
(Arno 1980. Habetk 1990).
Discussion
Thc sucr:essfirluse of CLO survev notes irr thc Fort
'l'imber
Nlissoula
Resene in assessirrgdirection antl
mrgnitudc of post-settlementlorcsl change is p.u1lv
duc Lo LheuDcommon cl)noenlr:ltiorlol sLrrverecl
cornels in ul4)ef PatteeCanvon.The inclusionand
descr\rtion of lrearing trees lhcrcver the FNITR
tounship and scdion lines
boundarv intersectccJ
expandcdthe quantitntivcdatabaseused to calcuhtc circa-I900 lolcsl slrrlcture :rnd composition
Furlhermorc. the CLO sun'cl notc data for uppcr
Pattcc Canron oiginrtc ffr)n relativelv uniforrn
south aspcd an{l norlh aspectlandscapeunits. al
lowing the grouping and averagingof the 1901
data. Iilse$here in mounla;nollsparts of thc Pacific \orthwcst. Lhere mav bc clifficrrltvin as- ' m l , l i r r ga - u l l i e i e n tn . r r n l , . "o l l r e . r r i n yl r , r - t , ,
r . t , r e - e r r t 1 r , , m , " r. r: ,- " u - L r n , 1 .r p " . : . r l , n ^ f l i n c
-similal rcgctaLion ol closcl,-vrrlaLecl habitat tvpcs"
as erisl in l'attcc Canvon. Hortevcr. r'her-e sirnilar analvsesof (lLO notcs are undertaken, in arcas
lacking thc sl)atial conccntration of sLul'eYcd
trrrners lbund in Pattr-'eCanvon, it lrould l)e neces
sar-!'to gr-oul)beadng tlec dilta laken liorn similar
aspecLsand elevations$'ithin contiEilloustownships
that shalc biophvsical similaritics.
(lanvon
l'rcclucnl presettlernentlilcs in PaLLee
arrd elsewherein $,csternN'lontanaarc knoln to
halc generated rnd pcrpeLualed pinc-larch
-"avanna anrl gr-assland tvpcs. lcrrrning n fircnrcrliatedmo-saic.Rcductionoi lire aftcr ]900 has
led to thc transforrnalionof thc parkland mosaic
of ponclerosrpine and $'esteln lur-chlo closed
canopicrl. Douglas-lir forcsl- Res.,urce PLanning
Lhatincludcs cfforts to reconstnlct ol. mimi(rfreset
tlement pineJarch conditions. such as has been
planncd [ol PatteeCan]on (fl-SD-r\l'orest,Strvicc'
t9B9), liJl bcnefiL from elI;r'ts 10 quantitativelv
chrngcs.
documcnl successionand olhcf !el_{etAtion
[ r r l u a r i o no I C L O - r r r \ t s \n i ' t c -r , l r ' - , r l - r - . r i l r ble rnethoclol assessinghistoric lcgelatiolr changc.
r " l i r ' r r , . t * i n l . l o r \ " p , l j , l i , , rm , r r l
1'n,ri,ling
agcment.
Acknowledgements
This stud! $as iundr:d bv lhe Intermountain Research Stillion. Forest Scrvicc, fJ. ,S.L)epartmcnt
of.\griculturc. The author wishcs to lhanl S. l.
Alno. R. E. Kcane. and \1. (1. Ha inglon. Inler
rnountain Rcscar(ll Station. Ior thr:ir reriet{s ol
earlier drafts oI the Inanu-.cripl. arrrl to ac
knrxrledge thc valuable slrggestions oflc'red b-'scvcr-alanonvmous lcvic$efs. J appreciatc thc cnRangerDistrict.Lolcr
couragcmcntof LheXlis-"oula
National l'orcsts rJuring all phascs ol this studv.
the NlissoulaCountr-Sur\-eyor'sC)ificc ior their help
arld
in researchinglhc original()L0 sunc,-vn{)Les.
the Division of Biologic:rl Scienccs. Thc llnirersity
ol l\rftrntanafor support prolidecl during the trrurse
of this in,'estigation.
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cen. lih.
Rrp.
P\W Cl R-ur0.
\o\.
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P l ; s r e r . R . D . . l l . l . . K o r a t c h i l - - q . f. : \ r n o . o n d F - ( l - P r s b r .
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