Treesearch

High-elevation peatlands in the Andes are receiving increasing attention for their biodiversity and their high rates of carbon accumulation. However, the ecology of these peatlands and the environmental factors that control their carbon dynamics remain under-studied. Here we report on the patterns of root biomass productivity and turnover rates for two cushion plant species (Distichia muscoides, Plantago rigida) that commonly dominate high-elevation peatlands (> 4200 m a.s.l.) in the Andean páramo landscape of Northern Ecuador. Root biomass for P. rigida ranged from 680 to 864 g m-2 and...

As arborists and urban foresters, we are hired for our knowledge of trees and forest management. But trees are part of an ecosystem, and we know they cannot thrive unless the conditions around them are optimal for growth. The Forest Service has learned a tremendous amount about best management practices through the study of biodiversity and urban forest habitats for birds and bees; this article will highlight some of these findings and their implications for those of us seeking to grow healthy and thriving trees and forests.

In the past, the wood products industry has often struggled with effectively marketing products to the public. With the increase of globalization and wood substitutions, the industry may need new ways to attract customers. Targeting younger customers who have recently joined the buyer's market may be a way to increase the industry's market share and customer base. A study was conducted to understand the millennial generation's (individuals born from 1980 to 2000) knowledge and perception of wood products. In 2018, an online survey was distributed to over 1,500 millennial-aged individuals...

In the past decade, several dedicated tools have been developed to help natural resources professionals integrate climate science into their planning and implementation; however, it is unclear how often these tools lead to on-the-ground climate adaptation. Here, we describe a training approach that we developed to help managers effectively plan to execute intentional, climate-informed actions. This training approach was developed through the Climate Change Response Framework (CCRF) and uses active and focused work time and peer-to-peer interaction to overcome observed barriers to using...

Private landowner participation in management initiatives can be encouraged by interventions, which must resonate with the underlying subjective motivations of the landowners. In this study, we use the Theory of Planned Behavior to gauge the relative influences of (1) attitudes; (2) subjective norms; and (3) perceived behavioral control on landowner intentions to harvest trees threatened by invasive insects. We use a survey (n=696) to estimate the effects of these latent factors among family forest owners in New England. Our results suggest that, overall, normative pressures are the...

As the industry emerges from the pandemic, what challenges await those involved in the construction-based sectors? For perspective, the total value of private construction (residential and nonresidential) put in place in the United States was slightly over a trillion dollars ($1,081 billion) in 2020, up from $1,031 billion in 2019. Spending in all residential categories increased in 2020, including 7.9% for single family, 6.6% for multi-family, and 20.3% for residential improvements. Spending on nonresidential construction however declined by 2.9%.

The Long-Term Soil Productivity Network is providing a systematic examination of the effects of organic matter removal and compaction on a variety of different soils and forest types across North America. Here we report on the 22nd-year survival and height growth of white oak (Quercus alba), northern red oak (Q. rubra), and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) on rocky, nutrient-poor soils that have a low to moderate water holding capacity in the Missouri Ozark Highlands. Treatments included three levels of organic matter removal (sawlog, whole tree, and whole-tree plus forest floor) and three...

Most existing functional diversity indices focus on a single facet of functional diversity. Although these indices are useful for quantifying specific aspects of functional diversity, they often present some conceptual or practical limitations in estimating functional diversity. Here, we present a new functional extension and evenness (FEE) index that encompasses two important aspects of functional diversity. This new index is based on the straightforward notion that a community has high diversity when its species are distant from each other in trait space. The index quantifies functional...

Mixedwood forest composition, or co-dominance of hardwood and softwood species, has been interpreted as both stable and unstable. Through review of existing theory, we propose a conceptual model to understand mixedwood compositional stability in boreal and temperate forests of eastern North America. We first review the current theory that the strength of neighborhood effects (i.e., species ability to self-replace under their own canopy) is essential to understanding stability such that when self-replacement is strong for both dominant hardwood and softwood species, composition is stable...

Unimodal response of tree species richness to increases in aboveground productivity is evident in grasslands but to a lesser extent in forests, where confounding factors (e.g., abiotic factors and management regimes) may alter the response and compromise the delivery of ecosystemservices.We hypothesize that unimodal response of biomass accumulation through increased species richness leads to greater tree above ground carbon (AGC) stocks and thus climate regulation but not necessarily higher timber volume production for human consumption across portions of North American and European...