Treesearch

Provides current information on lumber and plywood production and prices; employment in the forest industries; international trade in logs, lumber, and plywood; volume and average prices of stumpage sold by public agencies; and other related items. Current data and downloadable Excel files are available online.

The status of freshwater fishes continues to decline despite substantial conservation efforts to reverse this trend and recover threatened and endangered aquatic species. Lack of success is partially due to working at smaller spatial scales and focusing on habitats and species that are already degraded. Protecting entire watersheds and aquatic communities, which we term "native fish conservation areas" (NFCAs), would complement existing conservation efforts by protecting intact aquatic communities while allowing compatible uses. Four critical elements need to be met within a NFCA: (1)...

We used the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS) to simulate fuel treatment effects on stands in low- to midelevation dry forests (e.g., ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. P. & C. Laws.) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) of the western United States. We evaluated treatment effects on predicted post-treatment fire behavior (fire type) and fire hazard (torching index). FFE-FVS predicts that thinning and surface fuel treatments reduced crown fire behavior relative to no treatment; a large proportion of stands were predicted to...

An extensive literature review failed to locate any information relative to the pelleting characteristics of hemlock species—western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) and mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana (Bong.) Carr. )—that grow in Alaska. To determine more about the pelletizing properties of the species, arrangements were made with a pelleting company to conduct test runs using mixtures of pure Alaska-grown hemlock and combinations with white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). The test runs were conducted by using the same methods and procedures that the firm had been using...

Transportation corridors (notably roads) affect wildlife habitat, populations, and entire ecosystems. Considerable effort has been expended to quantify direct effects of roads on wildlife populations and ecological communities and processes. Much less effort has been expended toward quantifying indirect effects. In this report, we provide a comprehensive review of road/transportation corridor ecology; in particular, how this new field of ecology has advanced worldwide. Further, we discuss how research thus far has shaped our understanding and views of the ecological implications of...

Oak mortality is often associated with a complex of decline factors. We describe the morphological and physiological responses of coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia Née, in California to an invasive insect, the goldspotted oak borer (GSOB), Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), and evaluate drought as a potential inciting factor. Morphological traits of 356 trees were assessed and physiological traits of 70 of these were monitored intensively over one growing season. Morphological characteristics of tree health included crown thinning and dieback; bole staining resulting...

Rehabilitation and timber-salvage activities after wildfire require rapid planning and rational decisions. Identifying areas with high risk for erosion and soil productivity losses is important. Moreover, allocation of corrective and mitigative efforts must be rational and prioritized. Our logic-based analysis of forested soil polygons on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest was designed and implemented with the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system to evaluate risks to soil properties and productivity associated with moderate to severe wildfire and unmitigated use of...

Greenhouse pot studies were conducted to quantify the competitive abilities of three native perennial grass species to inhibit development of Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link ) seedlings: spike bentgrass (Agrostis exarata Trin. ), blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus Buckley), and western fescue (Festuca occidentalis Hook. ). In single-species stands (1) soil water content decreased with increasing grass density, (2) soil water depletion per plant differed among species as ratios of 2.4:1.3:1 for bentgrass, fescue, and wildrye, respectively, and (3) average percentage of ground cover per...

This report highlights key findings from the most recent (2004–2008) data collected by the Forest Inventory and Analysis program across all ownerships in southeast and south-central Alaska. We present basic resource information such as forest area, ownership, volume, biomass, carbon sequestration, growth, and mortality; structure and function topics such as vegetation and lichen diversity and forest age distribution; disturbance topics such as insects and diseases, yellow-cedar decline, fire, and invasive plants; and information about the forest products industry in Alaska, the potential...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aimed to create jobs and jumpstart the economy while addressing the Nation’s social and environmental needs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, received $1.15 billion in recovery funding to support projects in wildland fire management, capital improvement and maintenance, and biomass utilization. This volume contains eight individual case-study reports that describe how Forest Service economic recovery projects from around the United States are contributing to socioeconomic well-being in rural communities and investigates...