Treesearch

Development in natural areas is a leading threat to biodiversity. Global conservationists have called for the expansion of protected areas to preserve wildlands that are free from buildings, and in the U.S., the 'America the Beautiful' initiative aims to protect 30% of land and water areas by 2030 (known as the '30x30' target). Here, we determined opportunities and limitations for conservation in the conterminous U.S. by assessing the extent of buildings in wildland vegetation. We focused specifically on National Forest lands, as these contain numerous private inholdings where development...

Fire-induced turbulence and the feedback into the fire, following ambient changes, differ for forested (subcanopy) and grassland environments. Here, we synthesize observations from multiple experimental surface fires: two sub-canopy backing fires, one sub-canopy heading fire, and a grassland heading fire. We identify and compare the most essential coherent structures and processes of each case from the turbulent momentum fluxes and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget terms. In the sub-canopy burns, turbulent eddies are strongest near the canopy top: high streamwise turbulent flux...

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been overabundant in eastern North America for more than five decades, resulting in depauperate understories and ricocheting effects on higher trophic levels. Even after deer populations are reduced, understory plant communities may fail to recover for an unknown length of time due to persistent legacy effects.We surveyed understory plant communities in six deer exclosures and paired reference plots in northwestern Pennsylvania to determine the degree to which 19 years of deer exclusion was sufficient for recovery of species richness,...

Climate change represents an existential threat to many forest ecosystems because tree populations are often adapted to local climate means and variability. If tree populations cannot migrate or adapt, they risk becoming increasingly maladapted with climate change. This emerging mismatch underscores the need for climate adaptive management techniques, such as assisted migration of tree species, to help mitigate climate change impacts on forest ecosystems. Although biotic and abiotic factors are known to constrain tree establishment success, the extent to which they may determine the...

Considerable confusion has occurred regarding the taxonomy of Gilpinia hercyniae (Adams and Entwistle 1981). Hartig first described Lophyrus polytomus in 1834, and then Lophyrus hercyniae in 1837 as two distinct spruce-feeding sawfly species in Europe. In 1910, both species were moved to the genus Diprion, but many authors continued to use Lophyrus. In 1912, a different author synonymized L. hercyniae under L. polytomus. Then in 1939, Benson erected a new genus, Gilpinia, under which he listed L. polytomus as G. polytoma, but did not recognize L. hercyniae. Soon thereafter, Reeks (1941)...

Natural disturbances can maintain forest diversity by creating a heterogeneous resource landscape, which can contribute to coexistence of early- and late-successional species. However, almost all forested ecosystems are also subject to multiple anthropogenic stressors, which could inhibit plant diversity and forest recovery after natural disturbances. Here, we present the first large-scale replicated field experiment testing the interactions among two natural and two anthropogenic disturbances in a mature secondary temperate forest. Specifically, we test the extent to which: 1. a natural...

The movement of species around the world has greatly increased with rising trade and commerce from globalization (Hulme, 2009; Pyšek et al., 2010) and rapidly changing environments due to climate change (Bebber et al., 2013; Walther et al., 2009). In new areas, species may experience different ecological processes from those that regulate their populations in their native geographic range and/or they may encounter an environment that is particularly sensitive to their presence (Colautti et al., 2004; Jeschke et al., 2012). Consequently, species can become disruptive to novel landscapes....

The Palearctic ground beetle Carabus granulatus Linneaus, 1758 has been accidentally introduced to North America on multiple occasions. We review previous reports of its North American colonization history, and document range expansion into northern California, Montana, New York state, Vermont, and Maine. We also review its several reported interceptions. The species is eurytopic, occupying marginal heathland and open wet forest habitats in the Old World, and is not particularly associated with human habitation. New World populations retain these habitat preferences, with established...

Buprestidae (Coleoptera: Buprestoidea) is one of the three wood-borer beetle groups of major phytosanitary interest worldwide, together with Cerambycidae and Scolytinae (Curculionidae). As in other beetle families, some buprestid species have been unintentionally or intentionally introduced around the world, in some cases causing significant environmental and economic damage in the invaded territories. Despite the phytosanitary relevance of the Buprestidae, information regarding the identity of exotic buprestids, their biogeographic areas of origin, introduction pathways, and larval host...

Despite the large body of theory concerning multiple disturbances, relatively few attempts have been made to test the theoretical assumptions of how and if disturbances interact. Of particular importance is whether disturbance events are linked, as this can influence the probability and intensity of ecological change. Disturbances are linked when one disturbance event increases or decreases the likelihood or extent of another. To this end, we used two long-term, multi-disturbance experiments in northern Wisconsin to determine whether earthworm invasion is linked to canopy gap creation and...