most valuable resource commodity produced by the Southern Appalachian
region. Its in situ value is likewise high in terms of ecosystem function and
recreation appeal, and certain headwater areas are especially vulnerable to
damage from alterations, especially ongoing land-use changes (SAMAB
1996b).
These social and economic forces combine with a broad suite of biophysical interactions in forest ecosystems to define a varied and decidedly
complex environment for public land management in the Southern
Appalachians. While much research had investigated specific aspects of
these complex systems, the SAA was the first attempt to bring together a
system-level interdisciplinary assessment of all these issues.
Another important motivation for conducting an assessment was
provided by changes in the form of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Forest Service planning. In the Forest Service planning system,
long-range plans require periodic updating, and the planning process is
designed to trigger new analysis whenever new resource issues emerge.
The constellation of issues described above, along with a fundamental shift
in public-land-management philosophy had, in the years leading up to the
assessment, indicated a need to revisit plans for all the national forests in
the region. The need for a comprehensive regional evaluation of resource
issues in support of national forest planning provided one of the most
substantial motivations for conducting a regional assessment.
Shifts toward ecosystem management on the national forests also defined
a fundamental need for information on forest systems at a regional level.
Ecosystem management, an emerging and changing approach to resource
management, demands a new and extended complement of knowledge
(Gottfried et al. 1996). Defined as a hybrid of traditional resource management, conservation biology, and landscape ecology, ecosystem management requires a broader scientific foundation for management as well as
information and knowledge compiled at broader scales (Christensen and
Franklin 1997). For example, effective decisions on a national forest may
depend on understanding the functional role of that national forest in its
broader regional landscape (Swallow and Wear 1993). This approach also
suggests a need to gauge disturbance regimes throughout ecosystems and,
therefore, a need for understanding the social as well as the ecological
context of natural resource decisions. Ecosystem management clearly
expands the information needs of resource managers. Modeling has a strong
role to play in integrating these multiple dynamics and playing out their
cumulative effects on resource systems.
4.3 Organization of the Assessment
While the USDA Forest Service had the strongest and most direct need
for knowledge to support science-based ecosystem management, other
agencies had similar needs. Institutional barriers between federal agencies
4. Large-Scale Regional Assessments
73
region. Its in situ value is likewise high in terms of ecosystem function and
recreation appeal, and certain headwater areas are especially vulnerable to
damage from alterations, especially ongoing land-use changes (SAMAB
1996b).
These social and economic forces combine with a broad suite of biophysical interactions in forest ecosystems to define a varied and decidedly
complex environment for public land management in the Southern
Appalachians. While much research had investigated specific aspects of
these complex systems, the SAA was the first attempt to bring together a
system-level interdisciplinary assessment of all these issues.
Another important motivation for conducting an assessment was
provided by changes in the form of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Forest Service planning. In the Forest Service planning system,
long-range plans require periodic updating, and the planning process is
designed to trigger new analysis whenever new resource issues emerge.
The constellation of issues described above, along with a fundamental shift
in public-land-management philosophy had, in the years leading up to the
assessment, indicated a need to revisit plans for all the national forests in
the region. The need for a comprehensive regional evaluation of resource
issues in support of national forest planning provided one of the most
substantial motivations for conducting a regional assessment.
Shifts toward ecosystem management on the national forests also defined
a fundamental need for information on forest systems at a regional level.
Ecosystem management, an emerging and changing approach to resource
management, demands a new and extended complement of knowledge
(Gottfried et al. 1996). Defined as a hybrid of traditional resource management, conservation biology, and landscape ecology, ecosystem management requires a broader scientific foundation for management as well as
information and knowledge compiled at broader scales (Christensen and
Franklin 1997). For example, effective decisions on a national forest may
depend on understanding the functional role of that national forest in its
broader regional landscape (Swallow and Wear 1993). This approach also
suggests a need to gauge disturbance regimes throughout ecosystems and,
therefore, a need for understanding the social as well as the ecological
context of natural resource decisions. Ecosystem management clearly
expands the information needs of resource managers. Modeling has a strong
role to play in integrating these multiple dynamics and playing out their
cumulative effects on resource systems.
4.3 Organization of the Assessment
While the USDA Forest Service had the strongest and most direct need
for knowledge to support science-based ecosystem management, other
agencies had similar needs. Institutional barriers between federal agencies
4. Large-Scale Regional Assessments
73