Treesearch

The Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program focuses on assessing the degree to which federal land management under the aquatic conservation strategy (ACS) of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) has been effective in maintaining and improving watershed conditions. We used stream sampling data and upslope/riparian geographic information system (GIS) and remote-sensing data to evaluate condition for sixth-field watersheds in each aquatic province within the NWFP area. Stream conditions were evaluated based on sampling data collected from 2002 to 2013 (214 watersheds) as part of an...

United States tree species and their associated ecosystems, managed forests, and urban plantings are increasingly vulnerable to non-native invasive pathogens and insects as well as effects associated with a changing climate. Some species, such as whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), have been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act. To fully assess the vulnerability of tree species and ecosystems, we need to make better use of data that shows temporal trends in mortality and forest health. With these data, forest managers and the United States public will have a greater sense...

A collaborative team of researchers from the United States and Mexico has begun an exciting new research project funded by The National Science Foundation’s Macrosystems Biology program. The project will study ecological and evolutionary processes affecting the distribution of southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis), an important tree species of mixed conifer forests in the southwest United States and Mexico. Southwestern white pine sustainability is threatened by changing climate, and a non-native tree disease, white pine blister rust caused by Cronartium ribicola. White pine blister...

The ecologically foundational species eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, is being functionally eliminated from southern Appalachian forests by the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae). The management of HWA has focused on chemical and biological control, conservation of hemlock genetic resources, and host resistance breeding; however, research on the reintroduction of hemlocks to forests where it has been lost has received almost no attention. This poster presents progress made on phase one of a three phase project to develop a hemlock restoration strategy that integrates silvicultu...

Picea chihuahuana is an endemic species in Mexico and is considered endangered, according to the Mexican Official Norm (NOM-ECOL-059-2010). This species covers a total area of no more than 300 ha located in at least 40 sites along the Sierra Madre Occidental in Durango and Chihuahua states. A minimum of 42,600 individuals has been estimated, although the number of mature individuals is uncertain and could be less than 2,500. The size of the populations varies from 21 to 5,546 individuals, including trees, saplings, and seedlings. Theory suggests that small populations can be more susceptibl...

Investigating how genetic variation is distributed across the landscape is fundamental to inform forest conservation and restoration. Detecting spatial genetic discontinuities has value for defining management units, germplasm collection, and target sites for reforestation; however, inappropriate sampling schemes can misidentify patterns of genetic structure. Appropriate sampling is more critical in fragmented landscapes where patterns of genetic diversity and structure might not yet reflect the current landscape structure. Landscape genetic simulations are useful for assessing the...

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) and foxtail pine (P. balfouriana) are conifers native to western North America. Due to several threats, including a non-native pathogen (Cronartium ribicola) and a changing climate, whitebark pine and foxtail pine are classified on the IUCN Red List as ‘endangered’ and ‘near threatened,’ respectively. Whitebark pine has been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the United States and is now listed as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Ex situ genetic conservation activities are...

We recently established a study to evaluate the effects of several riparian restoration treatments on degraded streambanks located on the Finger Lakes National Forest (FLNF) in western New York. A legacy of cattle grazing has led to soil compaction, invasion by non-native invasive plant species (NNIP), as well as heavy nitrogen loading and increased bacterial levels in riparian corridors on the FLNF. These characteristics slow the conversion of non-native grassland to closed-canopy forest, a FLNF management goal for these sites. We are testing two planting treatments: tree vs. mixed tree...

Accounting for spatial correlation of LiDAR model errors can improve the precision of model-based estimators. To estimate spatial correlation, sample designs that provide close observations are needed, but their implementation might be prohibitively expensive. To quantify the gains obtained by accounting for the spatial correlation of model errors, we examined (i) the spatial correlation patterns of residuals from LiDAR linear models developed to predict volume, total and stem biomass per hectare, quadratic mean diameter (QMD), basal area, mean and dominant height, and stand density and...

Whitebark pine (WBP, Pinus albicaulis) is a keystone species distributed widely at high elevations across western North America. It is in decline due to a combination of threats including infection from white pine blister rust (WPBR, caused by the non-native fungal pathogen Cronartium ribicola), mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) predation, climate change, and altered fire regimes (Lintz et al. 2016, Smith et al. 2013, Tomback and Achuff 2010) (figs. 1, 2). Whitebark pine has been classified as Endangered on the latest IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Mahalovich and Stritch...