Treesearch

Understanding the effects of landscape management on northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) population growth requires information on seasonal- and stage-specific demographic parameters linked across the full annual cycle. We evaluated site-level seasonal dynamics and population growth of bobwhites in southwest Missouri and compared differences between three extensively and two intensively managed sites from 2016 to 2019. Extensively managed sites were continuous tracts of native prairie. Intensively managed sites were composed of smaller native and non-native grassland units interspersed...

Fruit growth patterns are often exploited in predictions of final fruit size and to inform planting and harvesting decisions. Ten local apricot (Prunus armeniaca) varieties with superior genotypes (two early-ripening, five mid-ripening and three late-ripening varieties) were assessed using 20 nonlinear regression models (NRMs) and a radial basis function (RBF) neural network model. Fruit diameter and weight measurements for each genotype were collected at four-day intervals from fruit set to commercial harvest. Patterns based on diameter and weights were attributed to each genotype. Among...

Drought frequency and severity are projected to increase in many regions of the world, yet it remains unclear how mesic forest trees will respond to these novel climate conditions. Experimentally imposing drought in forests at the stand scale is logistically difficult, however, disturbing the hydraulic functioning of individual trees can induce severe water stress and may inform how large trees respond to future droughts. In this study, we manipulated water availability of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) trees by partially or completely severing sapwood, and measured impacts on water...

Tree canopy cover is a critical component of the urban environment that supports ecosystem services at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Increasing tree canopy across a matrix of public and private land is challenging. As such, municipalities often plant trees along streets in public rights-of-way where there are fewer barriers to establishment, and composition and biomass of street trees are inextricably linked to human decisions, management, and care. In this study, we investigated the contributions of street trees to the broader urban forest, inclusive of tree canopy distributed...

Wood has thousands of uses and the industry plays an important role in the US economy. There are many sectors within the industry such as the lumber, engineered wood products, pulp and paper products, and reclaimed lumber sectors. However, most consumers are unaware of the importance and the diversity of the industry. Reclaimed lumber is one particular sector that can have a great economic and environmental impact among communities. In 2021, an online survey was conducted to assess consumer knowledge of the reclaimed lumber sector and perceptions and attitudes toward the sector and...

In a changing climate, the future survival and productivity of species rely on individual populations to respond to shifting environmental conditions. Many tree species, including northern red oak (Quercus rubra), exhibit phenotypic plasticity, the ability to respond to changes in environmental conditions at within-generation time scales, through varying traits such as leaf phenology. Phenotypic plasticity of phenology may vary among populations within a species’ range, and it is unclear if the range of plasticity is adequate to promote fitness. Here, we used a 58-year-old common garden to...

Forest therapy is an emerging holistic health practice that uses multisensory immersive engagements in forest settings to achieve health and wellbeing outcomes. Many forest therapy engagements take place via slow walks along a trail to optimally experience the array of sensory phenomena afforded along the route, yet surprisingly few forest therapy studies to date have investigated the characteristics of forest sites and trails that give rise to healthful experiences. In this research, we employ a hybrid approach to understand the conditions and features that contribute to a good forest...

The physical structure of vegetation is thought to be closely related to ecosystem function, but little is known of its pertinence across geographic regions. Here, we used data from over three million trees in continental North America to evaluate structural diversity - the volumetric capacity and physical arrangement of biotic components in ecosystems - as a predictor of productivity. We show that structural diversity is a robust predictor of forest productivity and consistently outperforms the traditional measure - species diversity - across climate conditions in North America. Moreover,...

Despite the adaptation of many oak (Quercus) species to repeated surface fire, many public land managers in eastern North America resist using prescribed fire as a regeneration tool because of fire's perceived negative impacts on timber values through the wounding of overstory trees. We retrospectively quantified fire-associated wounds in 139 oak-dominated stands across four national forests, each with a history of zero to six prescribed fires within the last 30 years. For trees >25.4 cm dbh (n = 8093), fire-associated wounds within the first 3.67 m of height were categorized by type,...

The dendroecology of larch (Larix gmelinii Rupr.) in the world's northernmost forest provided insight into the complex relationship of tree growth, forest stand establishment, and changing eco-climatic factors. The Ary-Mas forest in the northern Siberia (72° + NL) is an ecological island, surrounded by tundra. We hypothesized that the environmental constraints that limit larch growth in this harsh habitat include soil moisture and winter winds as well as low air temperature. We constructed and analyzed the larch growth index (GI) chronology from the eighteenth century until 2019. We found...