Ohio Hills - Transition

Treatment: actively facilitate change to encourage adaptive responses

Management Goals

People walking in a straight line through the forest led by a forester in a hardhat and vest.
Transition goals, strategies, and approaches will enable the Ohio Hills forest to respond to changing
conditions. Photo Credit: Courtney Peterson, Colorado State University.
  • Complex, multi-aged, variable structure
  • Native and novel future-adapted, drought-tolerant species (pine-oak woodland)
  • Maintain 50% canopy cover of white oak
  • Maintain productive forests that align with future conditions
  • Accommodate mixed to high severity levels of disturbance (drought and fire)
  • Low incidence of invasive species
  • Resistance to disease
  • Protect state endangered and threatened wildlife species

Strategies & approaches

  • Pre-commercial and commercial treatments
      • Lower stand basal area to 80% of density to ~70% relative density through a thin from below
      • Overstory thinning as needed
  • Include 16 reserve clusters 1/10 acre to-½1/2 acre in sizeth Thin matrix to ~70% relative density through thin from below
  • Overstory thinning as needed
  • Expanding gap / irregular shelterwood with variable retention (two entries).
      • Range of 1/10th acre to 1/4 acre gaps based on desired species
  • Prescribe burn
  • Chemical site prep
  • Plant mix of conifers and xeric deciduous species in clusters
      • Based on shade tolerance (silvics) in a grid across stand (openings, edges, and matrix)
  • Seed sourcing from Missouri and Arkansas to match Ozark-like climate projections
      • Plant C4 grasses mix from Ozarks
      • Consider shrubs for wildlife habitat

Check Out other Treatments

Resistance

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Resilience

Site Leads & Partners

Bryce Adams (USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station) is the Ohio Hills ASCC site lead. Melissa Thomas Van-Gundy and William Borovicka (USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station) are site co-leads. The management site leads are Gregory Guess, Courtney Cawood, and Jared Craig (Ohio Department of Natural Resources – Division of Forestry). Key partners and collaborators include Stephen Matthews (The Ohio State University), Rebecca Snell (Ohio University), and Laura Kearns (Ohio Division of Wildlife).

Bryce Adams
Site lead

Research Forester,
USDA Forest Service
Northern Research Station
359 Main Road,
Delaware, OH 43015
Phone: 740-368-0054
bryce.adams@usda.gov

Mellissa thomas van'gundy
Site Co-lead

USDA Forest Service
Northern Research Station,
459 Nursery Bottom Road,
Parson, WV 26287
melissa.thomasvangundy@usda.gov

William Borovicka
Site Co-lead

USDA Forest Service
Northern Research Station,
35700 Ball Diamond Road
Hamden, OH 45634
william.borovicka@usda.gov