Treesearch

In North America, white-nose syndrome (WNS) has caused precipitous declines in hibernating bat populations, raising the question of whether the rapid loss of arthropodivorous bats may affect the abundance of their prey. During the summers of 2015–2018 (1 year after the arrival of WNS in Wisconsin, USA), we performed intensive arthropod black-light trapping, ultrasonic acoustic monitoring, and emergence counts at 10 little brown (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown (Eptesicus fuscus) bat maternity roosts with paired control sites. For little brown bats, which are severely affected by WNS, roost...

Green social prescriptions (GSPs) are interventions designed to combat sedentary behavior and preventable diseases by leveraging the benefits of nature-based physical activity. As these programs are still evolving, there is limited data regarding the likelihood of participation from an international perspective. This study examined factors influencing participation likelihood in GSPs across various geographic contexts, levels of greenness, nature-relatedness, well-being, and socio-demographic variables. We conducted an online, cross-sectional survey with 2,467 participants from Australia,...

Starting in the fall of 2019, mortality, blight symptoms, and signs of white fungal mycelia were observed on external host tissues of non-native landscape trees as well as numerous native trees, understory shrubs, and vines throughout northern and central Florida, USA. We determined that the fungus is an undescribed species of Basidiomycota based on morphological characteristics and DNA sequence analysis. Phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), large subunit (LSU), and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1) regions revealed that this novel plant pathogen is an...

Boreal peatlands store abundant carbon (C) belowground because of saturated conditions and cold temperatures, which inhibit the enzymatic release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from organic matter. However, metals may also bind DOC, as well as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), and their impact may vary among peatlands with differing hydrology. To assess variation of metal-C-nutrient interactions within and among peatlands and with depth, we sampled cores from seven peatlands in the Marcell Experimental Forest, Minnesota, including bogs, poor fens, and a rich fen. We extracted peat with...

Natural climate solutions (NCS) play a critical role in climate change mitigation. NCS can generate win–win co-benefits for biodiversity and human well-being, but they can also involve trade-offs (co-impacts). However, the massive evidence base on NCS co-benefits and possible trade-offs is poorly understood. We employ large language models to assess over 2 million published journal articles, primarily written in English, finding 257,266 relevant studies on NCS co-impacts. Using machine learning methods to extract data (for example, study location, species and other key variables), we...

Snowpacks are changing in northeastern North America as the regional climate warms, yet the relative influence of changes in precipitation compared to changes in ablation on snowpacks is poorly understood. We use 56 years of weekly snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements from three locations within a study site which vary in elevation and aspect, paired with adjacent daily climate measurements, to investigate relationships between climate and snowpack onset, maximum, and disappearance. Maximum snowpack size and snowpack duration are shrinking at all sites, at rates ranging from 4.3...

Urban forests—trees within an urban area—provide substantial environmental and economic benefits, such as air purification, temperature regulation and energy savings, water absorption, and improved public health. However, these forests face multiple and overlapping threats that could reduce their capacity to deliver these benefits. Understanding threats to urban forests is critical for planning and implementing strategies that sustain urban forest health.

Increasing bulk density with depth in a peat profile has been seen as key to the formation of peat. Increasing bulk density with depth causing the changes in porosity and permeability of peat soils has been proposed as a mechanism to explain how waterlogged, stagnant conditions persist in peat bog soils. However, a previous study (Clay & Worrall, 2015; Soil Use & Management, 31, 77) observed, in passing, that this was not always the case, but this previous study could not test the nature of the peat bulk density profile. Thus, this present study examined 22 peat cores from 13 locations...

Lowland northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) forests are increasingly exposed to extreme droughts and floods that cause tree mortality. However, it is not clear the extent to which these events may differentially affect regeneration of cedar and its increasingly common associate, balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.). To test this, we measured how seedlings of cedar and fir were able to avoid, resist and recover from experimental drought and flood treatments of different lengths (8 to 66 days). Overall, we found that cedar exhibited a strategy of stress resistance and growth...

The Ceratocystis fungal disease complex, rapid ʻōhiʻa death (ROD), has killed over one million ʻōhiʻa (Metrosideros polymorpha), the keystone tree species of Hawaiʻi. The causal fungi can be spread by invasive ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) through fungal inoculum found on their bodies and in the frass they produce. Thus, there is a critical need to manage beetle attack on ʻōhiʻa trees to curtail subsequent pathogen spread and disease development. In this experiment at Waiākea Forest Reserve, we tested the potential of the semiochemical repellent, verbenone, in a commercial...