Christel C. Kern, PhD

Research Forester

Northern Research Station

0000-0003-4923-6180

christel.c.kern@usda.gov

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Treesearch Publications

Eric J. Gustafson, Nathan R. DeJager, Amanda M. McGraw, Christel C. Kern, John M. Kabrick. 2025. Effects of ungulate browsing on forest assisted migration strategies to conserve ecosystem function
Patricia Raymond, Emilie Champagne, Daniel Dumais, Christel C. Kern, Catherine Perie, Alison D. Munson, Jean-Pierre Tremblay, Alejandro A. Royo. 2025. Moving up north: How do translocated seedlings perform in mixed-species plantings at the boreal-temperate interface?
Bryce T. Adams, Alejandro A. Royo, Christel C. Kern, Dustin Bronson, Stephen Matthews, Andrew Gougherty, Anantha M. Prasad, Louis Iverson, Evan Rehm, Patricia Raymond, Catherine Périé, Jessica R. Miesel, Amanda M. McGraw. 2024. Identifying climatically-compatible seedlots for the eastern US: building the predictive tools and knowledge to enable forest assisted migration
Brandon C. Alveshere, Christel C. Kern, Robert T. Fahey. 2024. Effects of experimental partial harvesting regimes on forest canopy structure and complexity
Robin Michigiizhigookwe Clark, Christopher R. Webster, Laura S. Kenefic, Christel C. Kern, Rodney A. Chimner. 2024. Characterizing northern white-cedar communities in harvested and unharvested lowland forests of Michigan, USA
Randy Kolka, Kathleen M. Quigley, J. R. Miesel, Matthew B. Dickinson, Brian R. R. Sturtevant, Christel C. Kern. 2024. Influence of barrens restoration treatments on soil carbon, nitrogen, and mercury pools and emissions
Arun K. Bose, Martín Alcalá-Pajares, Christel C. Kern, Miguel Montoro-Girona, Nelson Thiffault. 2023. Complex regeneration responses of eight tree species to partial harvest in mixedwood forests of northeastern North America
Michael T. Carson, John M. Zobel, Dustin Bronson, Amanda M. McGraw, Christopher W. W. Woodall, Christel C. Kern. 2023. The case for stand management guidelines as dynamic as global change: Aspen forest stockings of the western Great Lakes
Lauren S. Pile, David R. Coyle, Daniel C. C. Dey, Jacob S. Fraser, Todd Hutchinson, Michael A. Jenkins, Christel C. Kern, Benjamin O. Knapp, Dacoda T. Maddox, Cornelia Wilson, G. Geoff. Wang. 2023. Invasive plant management in eastern North American Forests: A systematic review
Alejandro A. Royo, Patricia Raymond, Christel C. Kern, Bryce T. Adams, Dustin Bronson, Emilie Champagne, Daniel Dumais, Eric J. Gustafson, Paula E. Marquardt, Amanda M. McGraw, Jessica R. Miesel, Alison D. Munson, Catherine Périé, Felipe J. Tavares Moreira, Anne Ola, Mathieu Bouchard, Jean-François Bissonnette. 2023. Desired REgeneration through Assisted Migration (DREAM): Implementing a research framework for climate-adaptive silviculture
Yvette L. Dickinson, Christel C. Kern, Robert J. Ross, Xiping Wang. 2023. Choice of Silvicultural System Influences Internal Wood Characteristics of Sugar Maple
Dustin Bronson, Amanda McGraw, Teresa Pearson, Christel C. Kern. 2023. Considerations for Creating Canopy Gaps in Northern Hardwood Forests
Christel C. Kern, Samuel P. Knapp, Matthew S. VanderMolen, Christopher R. Webster. 2023. Group Selection Opening Effects on Regeneration Decades after Harvest
Christel C. Kern, Gregory J. Edge, Bradley M. Hutnik. 2023. The Challenges Facing Northern Hardwood Research and Management
Tyler K. Refsland, Bryce T. Adams, Dustin Bronson, Christel C. Kern, Paula Marquardt, Amanda M. McGraw, Alejandro A. Royo, Jessica R. Miesel. 2023. Synthesis of plant-soil feedback effects on eastern North American tree species: implications for climate-adaptive forestry
Christel C. Kern, Yvette L. Dickinson. 2023. Proceedings of the first biennial Northern Hardwood Conference 2021: bridging science and management for the future
Eric J. Gustafson, Christel C. Kern, John M. Kabrick. 2023. Can assisted tree migration today sustain forest ecosystem goods and services for the future?
Meghan L. Avolio, Kimberly J. Komatsu, Sally E. Koerner, Emily Grman, Forest Isbell, David S. Johnson, Kevin R. Wilcox, Juha M. Alatalo, Andrew H. Baldwin, Carl Beierkuhnlein, Andrea J. Britton, Bryan L. Foster, Harry Harmens, Christel C. Kern, Wei Li, Jennie R. McLaren, Peter B. Reich, Lara Souza, Qiang Yu, Yunhai Zhang. 2022. Making sense of multivariate community responses in global change experiments
Carolyn C. Pike, Christel C. Kern. 2022. Yellow birch: guidance for seed transfer within the Northeastern United States
Maxence Martin, Yoan Paillet, Laurent Larrieu, Christel C. Kern, Patricia Raymond, Pierre Drapeau, Nicole J. Fenton. 2022. Tree-Related Microhabitats Are Promising Yet Underused Tools for Biodiversity and Nature Conservation: A Systematic Review for International Perspectives
Nicole S. Rogers, Anthony W. D'Amato, Christel C. Kern, Steve Bèdard. 2022. Northern hardwood silviculture at a crossroads: Sustaining a valuable resource under future change
Lynne M. Westphal, Michael Dockry, Laura S. Kenefic, Sonya Sachdeva, Amelia Rhodeland, Dexter H. Locke, Christel C. Kern, Heidi Huber-Stearns, Michael R. Coughlan. 2022. USDA Forest Service Employee Diversity During a Period of Workforce Contraction
Kerry D. Woods, Christel C. Kern. 2022. Intermediate disturbances drive long‐term fluctuation in old‐growth forest biomass: an 84‐yr temperate forest record
Patricia Raymond, Laura S. Kenefic, John M. Kabrick, Benjamin Knapp, Ken Clark, Anthony D'Amato, Christel C. Kern, Lance Vickers, Daniel C. C. Dey, Nicole Rogers. 2021. Miser sur la régénération des conifères pour maintenir la composition mixte de forêts tempérées
Sajad Ghanbari, Christel C. Kern. 2021. Fuelwood Harvest and No Harvest Effects on Forest Composition, Structure, and Diversity of Arasbaran Forests—A Case Study
Maeve C. Draper, Christel C. Kern, Robert E. Froese. 2021. Growth, yield, and financial return through six decades of various management approaches in a second-growth northern hardwood forest
Matthew S. VanderMolen, Samuel P. Knapp, Christopher R. Webster, Christel C. Kern, Yvette L. Dickinson. 2021. Spatial patterning of regeneration failure in experimental canopy gaps 15–24 years post-harvest
Christel C. Kern. 2021. The irregular shelterwood system: What in the World? Michigan Forests
Laura S. Kenefic, John M. Kabrick, Benjamin O. Knapp, Patricia Raymond, Ken Clark, Anthony W. D'Amato, Christel C. Kern, Lance A. Vickers, Daniel C. C. Dey, Nicole S. Rogers. 2021. Mixedwood silviculture in North America: the science and art of managing for complex, multi-species temperate forests
Lance A. Vickers, Benjamin O. Knapp, John M. Kabrick, Laura S. Kenefic, Anthony W. D’Amato, Christel C. Kern, David A. MacLean, Patricia Raymond, Ken Clark, Daniel C. C. Dey, Nicole S. Rogers. 2021. Contemporary status, distribution, and trends of mixedwoods in the northern United States
Christel C. Kern, Justin D. Waskiewicz, Lee Frelich, Bethany L. Muñoz Delgado, Laura S. Kenefic, Ken Clark, John M. Kabrick. 2021. Understanding compositional stability in mixedwood forests of eastern North America
Sajad Ghanbari, Kiomars Sefidi, Christel C. Kern, Pedro Álvarez-Álvarez. 2021. Population Structure and Regeneration Status of Woody Plants in Relation to the Human Interventions, Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve, Iran
Christel C. Kern, Laura S. Kenefic, Christian Kuehne, Aaron R. Weiskittel, Sarah J. Kaschmitter, Anthony W. D'Amato, Daniel C. C. Dey, John M. Kabrick, Brian J. J. Palik, Thomas M. Schuler. 2021. Relative influence of stand and site factors on aboveground live-tree carbon sequestration and mortality in managed and unmanaged forests
Kathleen M. Quigley, Randy Kolka, Brian R. R. Sturtevant, Matthew B. Dickinson, Christel C. Kern, Jessica R. Miesel. 2021. Restoring open canopy pine barrens from the ground up: Repeated burns correspond with increased soil hydraulic conductivity
Samuel P. Knapp, Christel C. Kern, Christopher R. Webster. 2021. Harvested opening size affects cohort development and failures in a second-growth northern hardwood forest
John M. Kabrick, Ken Clark, Anthony W. D'Amato, Bethany L. Muñoz Delgado, Daniel C. C. Dey, Laura S. Kenefic, Christel C. Kern, Tara L. Keyser, Benjamin O. Knapp, David A. MacLean, Patricia Raymond, Callie Schweitzer, Lance A. Vickers. 2020. Research and management partnerships for resolving regeneration and recruitment challenges in hardwood-softwood mixtures in eastern North America
Kathleen M. Quigley, Randy Kolka, Brian R. R. Sturtevant, Matthew B. Dickinson, Christel C. Kern, Deahn Donner, Jessica R. Miesel. 2020. Prescribed burn frequency, vegetation cover, and management legacies influence soil fertility: Implications for restoration of imperiled pine barrens habitat
Eric J. Gustafson, Christel C. Kern, Brian R. Miranda, Brian R. R. Sturtevant, Dustin Bronson, John M. Kabrick. 2020. Climate adaptive silviculture strategies: How do they impact growth, yield, diversity and value in forested landscapes?
Miranda T. Curzon, Christel C. Kern, Susan C. Baker, Brian J. J. Palik, Anthony W. D'Amato. 2020. Retention forestry influences understory diversity and functional identity
Christel C. Kern, Laura S. Kenefic, Michael Dockry, Alan Cobo-Lewis. 2020. Discrimination and Career Satisfaction: Perceptions from US Forest Service Scientists
Sarita Bassil, Ralph D. Nyland, Christel C. Kern, Laura S. Kenefic. 2019. Dynamics of the diameter distribution after selection cutting in uneven- and even-aged northern hardwood stands: a long-term evaluation
Samuel P. Knapp, Christopher R. Webster, Christel C. Kern. 2019. The Composition and Height of Saplings Capturing Silvicultural Gaps at Two Long-Term Experiments in Managed Northern Hardwood Forests
Kimberly J. Komatsu, Meghan L. Avolio, Nathan P. Lemoine, Forest Isbell, Emily Grman, Gregory R. Houseman, Sally E. Koerner, David S. Johnson, Kevin R. Wilcox, Juha M. Alatalo, John P. Anderson, Rien Aerts, Sara G. Baer, Andrew H. Baldwin, Jonathan Bates, Carl Beierkuhnlein, R. Travis Belote, John Blair, Juliette M. G. Bloor, Patrick J. Bohlen, Edward W. Bork, Elizabeth H. Boughton, William D. Bowman, Andrea J. Britton, James F. Cahill, Enrique Chaneton, Nona R. Chiariello, Jimin Cheng, Scott L. Collins, J. Hans C. Cornelissen, Guozhen Du, Anu Eskelinen, Jennifer Firn, Bryan Foster, Laura Gough, Katherine Gross, Lauren M. Hallett, Xingguo Han, Harry Harmens, Mark J. Hovenden, Annika Jagerbrand, Anke Jentsch, Christel C. Kern, Kari Klanderud, Alan K. Knapp, Juergen Kreyling, Wei Li, Yiqi Luo, Rebecca L. McCulley, Jennie R. McLaren, J. Patrick Megonigal, John W. Morgan, Vladimir Onipchenko, Steven C. Pennings, Janet S. Prevéy, Jodi N. Price, Peter B. Reich, Clare H. Robinson, F. Leland Russell, Osvaldo E. Sala, Eric W. Seabloom, Melinda D. Smith, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, Lara Souza, Katherine Suding, K. Blake Suttle, Tony Svejcar, David Tilman, Pedro Tognetti, Roy Turkington, Shannon White, Zhuwen Xu, Laura Yahdjian, Qiang Yu, Pengfei Zhang, Yunhai Zhang. 2019. Global change effects on plant communities are magnified by time and the number of global change factors imposed
Lance Vickers, William McWilliams, Benjamin Knapp, Anthony D’Amato, Daniel Dey, Yvette Dickinson, John M. Kabrick, Laura S. Kenefic, Christel C. Kern, David Larsen, Alejandro A. Royo, Michael Saunders, Stephen Shifley, James A. Westfall. 2019. Are Current Seedling Demographics Poised to Regenerate Northern US Forests?
Samuel P. Knapp, Christopher R. Webster, Christel C. Kern. 2019. Can group selection with legacy retention change compositional trajectories in conventionally managed hardwoods?
Laura F. Reuling, Christel C. Kern, Laura S. Kenefic, Dustin Bronson. 2019. The Northern White-Cedar Recruitment Bottleneck: Understanding the Effects of Substrate, Competition, and Deer Browsing
Kathleen M. Quigley, R.E. Wildt, Brian R. R. Sturtevant, Randy Kolka, Matthew B. Dickinson, Christel C. Kern, Deahn Donner, J.R. Miesel. 2019. Fuels, vegetation, and prescribed fire dynamics influence ash production and characteristics in a diverse landscape under active pine barrens restoration
Christel C. Kern, John Schwarzmann, John M. Kabrick, Kathryn Gerndt, Suzanne Boyden, John Stanovick. 2019. Mounds facilitate regeneration of light-seeded and browse-sensitive tree species after moderate-severity wind disturbance
Mark Kubiske, Christopher W. W. Woodall, Christel C. Kern. 2018. Increasing Atmospheric CO₂ Concentration Stand Development in Trembling Aspen Forests: Are Outdated Density Management Guidelines in Need of Revision for All Species?
William McWilliams, Jim Westfall, Patrick Brose, Daniel C. C. Dey, Anthony W. D'Amato, Yvette L. Dickinson, Mary Ann Fajvan, Laura S. Kenefic, Christel C. Kern, Kenneth M. Laustsen, Shawn L. Lehman, Randall Morin, Todd Ristau, Alejandro A. Royo, Andrew M. Stoltman, Susan L. Stout. 2018. Subcontinental-scale patterns of large-ungulate herbivory and synoptic review of restoration management implications for midwestern and northeastern forests
Joshua A. James, Christel C. Kern, Jessica R. Miesel. 2018. Legacy effects of prescribed fire season and frequency on soil properties in a Pinus resinosa forest in northern Minnesota
Stefan Hupperts, Yvette Dickinson, Christopher Webster, Christel C. Kern. 2018. Promoting structural and species diversity in Great Lakes northern hardwoods: a conceptual model and its application
Sawyer S. Scherer, Christel C. Kern, Anthony W. D'Amato, Brian J. J. Palik, Matthew R. Russell. 2018. Long-term pine regeneration, shrub layer dynamics, and understory community composition responses to repeated prescribed fire in Pinus resinosa forests
Christopher R. Webster, Yvette L. Dickinson, Julia I Burton, Lee E. Frelich, Michael A. Jenkins, Christel C. Kern, Patricia Raymond, Michael R. Saunders, Michael B. Walters, John L. Willis. 2018. Promoting and maintaining diversity in contemporary hardwood forests: Confronting contemporary drivers of change and the loss of ecological memory
Robert T. Fahey, Brandon C. Alveshere, Julia I Burton, Anthony W. D'Amato, Yvette L. Dickinson, William S. Keeton, Christel C. Kern, Andrew J. Larson, Brian J. J. Palik, Klaus J. Puettmann, Michael R. Saunders, Christopher R. Webster, Jeff W. Atkins, Christopher M. Gough, Brady S. Hardiman. 2018. Shifting conceptions of complexity in forest management and silviculture
Miranda Curzon, Susan Baker, Christel C. Kern, Brian J. J. Palik, Anthony D'Amato. 2017. Influence of Mature Overstory Trees on Adjacent 12-Year Regeneration and the Woody Understory: Aggregated Retention versus Intact Forest
Alessandra Bottero, Anthony W. D'Amato, Brian J. J. Palik, Christel C. Kern, John B. Bradford, Sawyer S. Scherer. 2017. Influence of Repeated Prescribed Fire on Tree Growth and Mortality in Pinus resinosa Forests, Northern Minnesota
Kevin R. Wilcox, Andrew T. Tredennick, Sally E. Koerner, Emily Grman, Lauren M. Hallett, Meghan L. Avolio, Kimberly J. La Pierre, Gregory R. Houseman, Forest Isbell, David Samuel Johnson, Juha M. Alatalo, Andrew H. Baldwin, Edward W. Bork, Elizabeth H. Boughton, William D. Bowman, Andrea J. Britton, James F. Cahill, Scott L. Collins, Guozhen Du, Anu Eskelinen, Laura Gough, Anke Jentsch, Christel C. Kern, Kari Klanderud, Alan K. Knapp, Juergen Kreyling, Yiqi Luo, Jennie R. McLaren, Patrick Megonigal, Vladimir Onipchenko, Janet S. Prevey, Jodi N. Price, Clare H. Robinson, Osvaldo E. Sala, Melinda D. Smith, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, Lara Souza, David Tilman, Shannon R. White, Zhuwen Xu, Laura Yahdjian, Qiang Yu, Pengfei Zhang, Yunhai Zhang, Jessica Gurevitch. 2017. Asynchrony among local communities stabilises ecosystem function of metacommunities
Laura S. Kenefic, Christel C. Kern, Louis Iverson, Kelly E. Gleason, John B. Bradford, Alessandra Bottero, Anthony W. D'Amato, Shawn Fraver, Brian J. J. Palik, Michael A. Battaglia. 2017. Competition amplifies drought stress in forests across broad climatic and compositional gradients
Christel C. Kern, Manfred Schoelch, Paul Crocker, Dean Fellman, Angela Marsh, Dave Mausel, Marshall Pecore, Joseph Phillippi, Ronald Waukau, Anthony Waupochick. 2017. Group opening outcomes, sustainable forest management, and the Menominee Nation lands
John M. Kabrick, Ken Clark, Anthony W. D'Amato, Daniel C. C. Dey, Laura S. Kenefic, Christel C. Kern, Benjamin O. Knapp, David A. MacLean, Patricia Raymond, Justin D. Waskiewicz. 2017. Managing hardwood-softwood mixtures for future forests in eastern North America: assessing suitability to projected climate change
Brian D. Young, Anthony W. D'Amato, Christel C. Kern, Douglas Kastendick, Brian J. J. Palik. 2017. Seven decades of change in forest structure and composition in Pinus resinosa forests in northern Minnesota, USA: Comparing managed and unmanaged conditions
Margaret W. Roberts, Anthony W. D'Amato, Christel C. Kern, Brian J. J. Palik. 2017. Effects of variable retention harvesting on natural tree regeneration in Pinus resinosa (red pine) forests
Christel C. Kern, Julia I. Burton, Patricia Raymond, Anthony W. D'Amato, William S. Keeton, Alejandro A. Royo, Michael B. Walters, Christopher R. Webster, John L. Willis. 2017. Challenges facing gap-based silviculture and possible solutions for mesic northern forests in North America
Margaret W. Roberts, Anthony W. D'Amato, Christel C. Kern, Brian J. J. Palik, Lorenzo Marini. 2016. Long-term impacts of variable retention harvesting on ground-layer plant communities in Pinus resinosa forests
Susan C. Baker, Charles B. Halpern, Timothy J. Wardlaw, Christel C. Kern, Graham J. Edgar, Russell J. Thomson, Richard E. Bigley, Jerry F. Franklin, Kamal J. K. Gandhi, Lena Gustafsson, Samuel Johnson, Brian J. J. Palik, Thomas Spies, Ashley Steel, Jan Weslien, Joachim Strengbom. 2016. A cross-continental comparison of plant and beetle responses to retention of forest patches during timber harvest
Sawyer S. Scherer, Anthony W. D'Amato, Christel C. Kern, Brian J. J. Palik, Matthew B. Russell. 2016. Long-term impacts of prescribed fire on stand structure, growth, mortality, and individual tree vigor in Pinus resinosa forests
Christel C. Kern, Laura S. Kenefic, Susan L. Stout. 2015. Bridging the Gender Gap: The demographics of scientists in the USDA Forest Service and academia
Laura S. Kenefic, Christel C. Kern. 2015. Early northern hardwood silvicultural research at the Dukes Experimental Forest, Michigan
Christel C. Kern, Gus Erdmann, Laura S. Kenefic, Brian J. J. Palik, Terry Strong. 2014. Development of the selection system in northern hardwood forests of the Lake States: an 80-year silviculture research legacy
Christel C. Kern, Rebecca A. Montgomery, Peter B. Reich, Terry F. Strong. 2014. Harvest-created canopy gaps increase species and functional trait diversity of the forest ground-layer community
Laura S. Kenefic, Christel C. Kern, John Brissette, Matthew Russell, Lloyd Irland, Aaron Weiskittel, Kate Berven. 2013. Suggestions for maintaining records for long-term field studies. A supplement to papers by Berven et al. and Kenefic and Kern (this volume)
Laura S. Kenefic, Christel C. Kern. 2013. The remarkable story of the partial cutting study at the Dukes Experimental Forest
Christel C. Kern, Anthony W. D’Amato, Terry F. Strong. 2013. Diversifying the composition and structure of managed late-successional forests with harvest gaps: What is the optimal gap size?
Christel C. Kern, Rebecca A. Montgomery, Peter B. Reich, Terry F. Strong. 2013. Canopy gap size influences niche partitioning of the ground-layer plant community in a northern temperate forest
Christel C. Kern. 2012. Values and limitations of applied science in the real world [book review]
Michael E. Ostry, Melanie J. Moore, Christel C. Kern, Robert C. Venette, Brian J. J. Palik. 2012. Multiple diseases impact survival of pine species planted in red spine stands harvested in spatially variable retention patterns
Christel C. Kern, Peter B. Reich, Rebecca A. Montgomery, Terry F. Strong. 2012. Do deer and shrubs override canopy gap size effects on growth and survival of yellow birch, northern red oak, eastern white pine, and eastern hemlock seedlings?
Anthony W. D'Amato, Brian J. J. Palik, Christel C. Kern. 2010. Growth, yield, and structure of extended rotation Pinus resinosa stands in Minnesota, USA
Christel C. Kern, Brian J. J. Palik, Terry F. Strong. 2006. Ground-layer plant community responses to even-age and uneven-age silvicultural treatments in Wisconsin northern hardwood forests
Frederick J. Swanson, Olga Ramos González, Mary Beth Adams, Brian J. J. Palik, Ron Thill, Dale Brockway, Christel C. Kern, Richard Woodsmith, Robert Musselman, Ariel Lugo. 2006. Long-term research at the USDA Forest Service's experimental forests and ranges.
Brian J. J. Palik, Christel C. Kern, Robert Mitchell, Stephen Pecot. 2005. Using spatially variable overstory retention to restore structural and compositional complexity in pine ecosystems
Brian J. J. Palik, Darold P. Batzer, Christel C. Kern. 2005. Upland Forest Linkages to Seasonal Wetlands: Litter Flux, Processing, and Food Quality
Christel C. Kern, Jane M.-F. Johnson, Mark D. Coleman. 2004. Fine root dynamics in a developing Populus deltoides plantation
Mark D. Coleman, Christel C. Kern. 2004. Carbon allocation and nitrogen acquisition in a developing Populus deltoides plantation
Mark D. Coleman, Christel C. Kern. 2004. Carbon allocation and nitrogen acquisition in a developing Populus deltoides plantation
Christel C. Kern, Alexander L. Friend, Jane M. Johnson, Mark D. Coleman. 2004. Fine root dynamics in a developing Populus deltoides plantation
Connie Harrington, Christel C. Kern. 2002. Will Garry oak respond to release from overtopping conifers

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University of Minnesota, Ph.D., Natural Resource Science and Management, 2011
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, M.S., Natural Resources, 2000
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, B.S., Biology, 1997

Last updated March 10, 2026

Christel C. Kern, PhD

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