Treesearch

Contributing to the worldwide biodiversity crisis are emerging infectious diseases, which can lead to extirpations and extinctions of hosts. For example, the infectious fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is associated with worldwide amphibian population declines and extinctions. Sensitivity to Bd varies with species, season, and life stage. However, there is little information on whether sensitivity to Bd differs among populations, which is essential for understanding Bd-infection dynamics and for formulating conservation strategies.We experimentally investigated intraspeci...

Communicating the scientific knowledge generated by the Pacific Northwest Research Station is integral to our mission. The 2014 Science Accomplishments reports highlights the breadth of the station’s research, the relevance of our science findings, and the application of these findings. The photographs throughout the report showcase the region where we work and how science is done.

The scientific and policy literature on climate change increasingly recognizes the vulnerabilities of indigenous communities and their capacities for resilience. The role of gender in defining how indigenous peoples experience climate change in the United States is a research area that deserves more attention. Advancing climate change threatens the continuance of many indigenous cultural systems that are based on reciprocal relationships with local plants, animals, and ecosystems. These reciprocal relationships, and the responsibilities associated with them, are gendered in many indigenous...

Land managers need to include climate change in their decisionmaking, but the climate models that project future climates operate at spatial scales that are too coarse to be of direct use. To create a dataset more useful to managers, soil and historical climate were assembled for the United States and Canada at a 5-arcminute grid resolution. Nine CMIP3 future climate projections were downscaled to this grid and the MC1 dynamic global vegetation model was run over the historical and future climates. Climate variables included monthly mean temperature, precipitation, minimum temperature,...

Douglas-fir is an iconic tree in the Pacific Northwest. Although individual trees may appear to be identical, genetic differences within each tree have resulted from adaptation to the local environment. These genetic differences over time have resulted in differences among populations that are important to the species' survival and growth in changing climates. Current climate models project that over the next 50 years, the Pacific Northwest will experience an increase in summer temperatures. Combined with less winter snowpack, warmer summer temperatures will likely lead to more frequent...

Since the Northwest Forest Plan implemented riparian buffers along non-fish bearing streams in 1994, there have been questions about how wide those buffers need to be to protect aquatic and riparian resources from upland forest management activities. The Density Management and Riparian Buffer Study of western Oregon, also initiated in 1994, examines the effects of thinning and different buffer widths on aquatic and riparian vertebrates and habitats, tree growth, and vegetation along headwater streams. Dede Olson, a research ecologist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station, leads the...

This report traces the flow of California's 2012 timber harvest through the primary wood products industry and provides a description of the structure, condition, and economic impacts of California's forest products sector. Historical forest products industry changes are discussed, as well as trends in harvest, production, mill residue, and sales. Also examined are employment and worker earnings in the state's primary and secondary forest products industry.

A severe climate, high transportation costs, and limited infrastructure have led to high energy costs in many places in Alaska, particularly in remote villages. Some communities are seeking opportunities to convert oil and electrical heat to a renewable energy source such as woody biomass. There are different types of wood energy appliances and fuel sources, and finding the right fit requires assessing local needs and tailoring the technology to the community. There are still serious barriers to adopting new energy technologies in Alaska. However, some projects have been successful and can...

If you’re a local businessperson, an entrepreneur, a tribal partner, a community organizer; a decision-maker for a school district, college, or hospital; a government leader; a project developer; an industry leader; or an equipment manufacturer, the Alaska Community Handbook will be helpful to you. This handbook is the first stop for individuals, businesses, and communities considering biomass heating in Alaska. It can help you ask the right questions to quickly narrow your range of options and take unrealistic ones off the table. The Alaska Biomass Handbook was developed as part of two...

Dissolved organic C (DOC) transfer from the landscape to coastal margins is a key component of regional C cycles. Hydropedology provides a conceptual and observational framework for linking soil hydrologic function to landscape C cycling. We used hydropedology to quantify the export of DOC from the terrestrial landscape and understand how soil temperature and water table fluctuations regulate DOC losses in the C-rich, perhumid coastal temperate rainforest (PCTR) of Alaska. Land cover in the region is dominated by three major hydropedologic units: poor fen, forested wetland, and upland. We...