Forest Research in Iowa's State Parks - The Values of Natural Diversity

Authors

Donald R. Farrar, Iowa State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Research

Keywords

forest ecology, forest management, park management

Abstract

Approximately 3% of Iowa's forests are contained in state parks and preserves. In addition to aesthetics and recreation, these protected forests provide a vital service in the unique opportunities they provide for forest research. As intact ecosystems where natural ecological processes dominate, they provide standards by which we measure the effects of livestock pasturing, methods of timber harvest, and other manipulations of managed forests. A number of current studies and public programs emphasize the importance of natural diversity in forests. They rely on state parks and preserves to provide a measure of potential diversity for a given region of the state. Future generations of Iowans will inherit the many benefits of naturally diverse old-growth forests, provided we safeguard the forests in our state parks and preserves that we have inherited.

Publication Date

June 1997

Journal Title

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

104

Issue

2

First Page

39

Last Page

42

Copyright

© Copyright 1997 by the Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Farrar, Donald R. (1997) "Forest Research in Iowa's State Parks - The Values of Natural Diversity," Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS, 104(2), 39-42.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/jias/vol104/iss2/5