Treesearch

Forests are integral to the global land carbon sink, which has sequestered ~30% of anthropogenic carbon emissions over recent decades. The persistence of this sink depends on the balance of positive drivers that increase ecosystem carbon storage—e.g., CO2 fertilization— and negative drivers that decrease it—e.g., intensifying disturbances. The net response of forest productivity to these drivers is uncertain due to the challenge of separating their effects from background disturbance–regrowth dynamics. We fit non-linear models to US forest inventory data (113,806 plot remeasurements in...

Once a dominant species in the eastern United States, the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was largely wiped out by chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) in the early 20th century. Only 10 percent of the original population remains, and most of these trees are less than 1 inch in diameter. The ecological and economic value of chestnut has prompted extensive restoration efforts that have focused on developing blight-resistant chestnut trees and planting them in their native range.

Agricultural practices such as cover crops and no-till systems can maintain and improve soil health and productivity and help to address climate change by sequestering carbon. However, economic costs and returns to farmers influence the rate of adoption of these practices. This paper reviews published studies that address the economic factors associated with using cover crops and no-till systems in the northeastern United States. Farmers typically bear all of the costs of adopting soil health practices, while both the farmer and society receive benefits. Variability of economic outcomes...

Noninvasive and nondestructive root phenotyping techniques under field conditions are needed to advance plant root science. Soil electrical parameters including capacitance and resistance hold potential to meet this need, although their specific ability to detect roots remains uncertain. In this study, we developed a two-phase root and soil permittivity model at high frequency enabling accurate and noninvasive prediction of root volume. The validation calculation showed that the two-phase model successfully predicts root volume with a minimal error of less than 1 % under the control...

Foresight is essential for long-term planning and forward-looking decision-making in forestry, where planning horizons often span many decades. But generating foresight is challenging due to the increasing pace and complexity of change and growing uncertainty about the future. Most change that could affect or even disrupt forestry in the future originates outside of the field, such as social, technological, economic, and environmental changes. The Forest Futures Horizon Scanning project (Forest Horizons) aims to generate foresight by identifying early signals of change from outside...

The 3-30-300 rule offers benchmarks for cities to promote equitable nature access. It dictates that individuals should see three trees from their dwelling, have 30 % tree canopy in their neighborhood, and live within 300 m of a high-quality green space. Implementing this demands thorough measurement, monitoring, and evaluation methods, yet little guidance is currently available to pursue these actions. To overcome this gap, we employed an expert-based consensus approach to review the available ways to measure 3-30-300 as well as each measure’s strengths and weaknesses. We described seven...

Rhode Island forests accounted for a total of 505.0 thousand cubic feet (MCF) of timber products while the forest products industry produced a total of 393.8 MCF within the State. This resource update contains the findings of a survey conducted on a sample of all primary wood-using mills in Rhode Island. It complements the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) annual inventory of volume and removals.

South Dakota forests accounted for a total of 14,085 thousand cubic feet (MCF) of timber products while the forest products industry produced a total of 19,552 MCF within the State. This resource update contains the findings of a survey conducted on a sample of all primary wood-using mills in South Dakota. It complements the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) annual inventory of volume and removals.

Vermont forests accounted for a total of 27,206 thousand cubic feet (MCF) of timber products while the forest products industry produced a total of 17,730 MCF within the State. This resource update contains the findings of a survey conducted on a sample of all primary wood-using mills in Vermont. It complements the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) annual inventory of volume and removals.

West Virginia forests accounted for a total of 68,989 thousand cubic feet (MCF) of timber products while the forest products industry produced a total of 138,701 MCF within the State. This resource update contains the findings of a survey conducted on a sample of all primary wood-using mills in West Virginia. It complements the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) annual inventory of volume and removals.