Treesearch

Over the past century, fire suppression has facilitated broad ecological changes in the composition, structure, and function of fire-dependent landscapes throughout the eastern US, which are in decline. These changes have likely contributed mechanistically to the enhancement of habitat conditions that favor pathogencarrying tick species, key wildlife hosts of ticks, and interactions that have fostered pathogen transmission among them and to humans. While the longrunning paradigm for limiting human exposure to tick-borne diseases focuses responsibility on individual prevention, the continued...

In addition to the devastating impacts on human health and the economy, COVID-19 is changing the way people interact with public lands such as forests, parks, and green spaces. Land managers have adapted practices in real-time to a changing reality. Establishing new field protocols, managing workforce capacity issues, responding to unprecedented demand, and reimagining the way the public is served through events and programs are some of the adaptations managers are making to ensure use and access to public lands. Many community-based partners have managed to adapt during this time of...

Bark− and wood−infesting insects (which we’ll refer to as borers) can be transported in solid wood to new areas both domestically, especially in firewood, and internationally, especially in wood packaging material (WPM) like crating and pallets (Haack 2006). Borer generation times range from months to multiple years, and as wood dries, such as with stacked firewood, generation times can be extended (Haack and Slansky 1987, Petrice and Haack 2007). The current international standard for heat treating WPM, known as ISPM 15 (IPPC 2019), requires that the wood be heated to at least 56°C for 30...

More than 300 caddisfly (Trichoptera) species have been reported from Michigan (Houghton et al. 2018, Houghton 2020). Starting in 2021, we used UV-lights laid over a pan of 80% ethanol to collect adult caddisflies at five sites along Finch Creek (Antrim County) and at 12 sites on Drummond Island (Chippewa County). Collecting occurred three times in 2021 along Finch Creek (June, July, and September) and twice on Drummond Island (June and September). So far in 2022, collecting has occurred in May at all sites and at Finch Creek in June.

The Purdue Agribusiness Science Academy (PASA) is a program designed to increase youth interest and engagement in agriculture and also increase youth association of agriculture with STEM. The twelve-year history of the program demonstrates support for its existence and success at Purdue University. However, future empirical research needs to be done to determine if PASA can be seen as a model for other universities and organizations to follow.

Strategic foresight is a tool for understanding the ways in which the future might unfold. It is a valuable tool for identifying and mitigating areas of risk while identifying opportunities for our forests, particularly in an age of uncertainty and accelerating change. In recent years, foresight has increasingly been adopted by governments, large organizations, and forward-looking business enterprises as a method to reduce risk for their operations. But forestry agencies have been relatively slow to adopt strategic foresight methods and perspectives. A key principle of foresight is the...

Green infrastructure (GI) refers to trees, rain gardens, rain barrels, and other features that address stormwater management, climate change and other challenges facing many cities. GI is often not equitably distributed across urban landscapes, making its benefits unevenly experienced. Cities have multiple initiatives focused on different types of GI in residential areas, including underserved neighborhoods, although there is potential for GI programs to serve more privileged neighborhoods. The goal of this study was to examine GI program participants and non-participants to better...

Urban trees in lawns and along streets are anthropogenically constructed systems, in that these tree communities are formed by human planting and removal actions. Tree mortality studies are essential to understanding the temporal dynamism of urban forests, and in particular, it is critical to incorporate institutional records and human decision-making regarding tree removals. In this study, we investigated tree removals on a highly urbanized college campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (US) by analyzing field inventories and institutional records, and by considering firsthand accounts of...

Soil temperature measurements from a Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) monitoring site in the Ozark Highlands Major Land Resource Area (MLRA 116A) were evaluated on landscapes comprising Typic Fragiudults (Scholten series) and Typic Paleudults (Poynor series). The fve soil forming factors were similar for both soils, with the major difference between the adjacent soils being a fragipan in the Scholten series. Air and soil temperatures were collected from a weather station of the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service near the border of the mesic soil temperature regime and udic...

Native trees provide a range of benefits, from supporting native wildlife to climate regulation, and many urban natural resource managers prioritize native tree planting and restoration. Ulmus americana (American elm) was once widely planted in American cities but has been decimated by Dutch elm disease (DED; Ophiostoma ulmi). Our study evaluated U. americana establishment and growth across urban landscapes. We planted ramets from three DED-tolerant U. americana genotypes (RV16, RV474, and Sunfield) along an urbanization gradient in Newark, DE and Philadelphia, PA, and assessed physiologica...