Silviculture; Applied forest health; Introduced forest pests; forest stand dynamics

The definition of silviculture as applied forest ecology fits me well as a researcher. I perform research that has direct applications to forest management and work to integrate the disciplines of forest entomology and pathology with silviculture. For the past several years I have been involved in research on introduced forest pests:

Introductions of forest pests into new environments is not likely to stop, or even slow, in coming years. Research into ecological effects of these pests is integral to management and restoration of affected ecosystems, and is potentially valuable in preventative measures as well. I am interested in how forest ecosystems respond to new pests, and in the development of innovative management strategies used in restoration of affected ecosystems. I have used stand reconstruction methodology in the past to evaluate individual tree response to mortality of neighboring trees due to introduced pathogens. Results from this type of research can be integrated into existing forest management tools or used to develop new tools for restoration of these systems.

I plan to continue research in basic silviculture and the applied aspects of both native and introduced pest ecology and management. I am also interested in other topics in silviculture and forest insects and disease, such as comparisons of tree and stand growth in variable retention harvest systems, the use of silvicultural strategies in forest restoration, and the role of native pests and silviculture in native, yet changing, forests, such as those where disturbance has been withheld for many decades. Forest carbon sequestration and climate change are also of interest to me and were the focus of my postdoctoral work, where we were investigating the most efficient and accurate method of estimating forest biomass over large areas.

Education

B.S., University of Montana, 1997
M.S., University of Montana, 2000
Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley, 2005
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California-Berkeley, 2006

Contact Information

Fall 2008 Courses

Past Courses Taught

Selected Publications:

Waring, K.M., R.A.York, D. Vogler, and W.J. Libby. Western gall rust impacts on radiata pine tree growth and form. In prep.

Battles, J.J., T. Robards, A. Das, K. Waring, J.K. Gilless, G. Biging and F. Schurr. Climate change impacts on forest growth and tree mortality: A data-driven modeling study in the mixed-conifer forest of the Sierra Nevada, California. Climatic Change. In review.

Waring, K.M. and K.L. O’Hara. Redwood/tanoak stand development and response to tanoak mortality caused by Phytophthora ramorum. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. In review.

Waring, T.D. and K.M. Waring. Mercury levels in trees, shrubs, and grasses growing on mercury contaminated sites in southwestern Montana. Intermountain Journal of Sciences. In press

Waring, K.M. and K.L. O’Hara. Estimating relative error in growth ring analyses of second-growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). Canadian Journal of Forest Research. In press.

Waring, K.M. and K.L. O’Hara. 2005. Ten-year response of western larch to pruning in western Montana. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 20(4):228-232.

Waring, K.M. and K.L. O’Hara. 2005. Silvicultural strategies in forest ecosystems affected by introduced pests. Forest Ecology and Management. 209:27-42.

Waring, K.M. and D.L. Six. 2005. Distribution of bark beetle attacks following whitebark pine restoration treatments: A case study. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 20(2):110-116.

O'Hara, K.L. and K.M. Waring 2005. Forest restoration practices in the Pacific Northwest and California. Pp 445-461. In: Restoration of Boreal and Temperate Forests. J.A. Stanturf and Palle Madsen, Editors. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL.

Last Updated ( Friday, 05 October 2007 )