Treesearch

Interactions between trees and grasses that influence leaf area index (LAI) have important consequences for savanna ecosystem processes through their controls on water, carbon, and energy fluxes as well as fire regimes. We measured LAI, of the groundlayer (herbaceous and woody plants < 1-m tall) and shrub and tree layer (woody plants > 1-m tall), in the Brazilian cerrado over a range of tree densities from open shrub savanna to closed woodland through the annual cycle. During the dry season, soil water potential was strongly and positively correlated with grass LAI, and less strongly with...

Wildfires consume budgets and put the heat on fire managers to justify and control suppression costs. To determine the appropriate suppression strategy, land managers must conduct a wildland fire situation analysis (WFSA) when: A wildland fire is expected to or does escape initial attack, A wildland fire managed for resource benefits exceeds prescription parameters, or A prescribed fire exceeds its prescription and is declared a wildfire. On large wildfires, land managers sometimes conduct five or more WFSAs.

A mail survey of Japanese post and beam builders was conducted to measure their level of ethnocentrism, market orientation, risk aversion, and price consciousness. The data were analyzed utilizing factor and cluster analysis. The results showed that Japanese post and beam builders can be divided into three distinct market segments: open to import, low price sensitivity, and conservative. A demographic profile of the open to import segment revealed that they are relatively newer companies, highly price sensitive, composed of larger builders, and targeting the lower end affordable housing...

The dynamic geological history and naturally fragmented landscapes of southeastern Alaska create an environment with a high potential for endemism. The temperate rainforest of the region regenerates and develops slowly, and old-forest characteristics do not appear until >300 years following disturbance. The challenges of managing forest resources are intensified in island archipelagos because of the increased sensitivity of indigenous biota to disturbance and higher rates of extinction, especially among endemic organisms. Early expeditions of the large islands of the Alexander Archipelago...

Nitrogen isotopes (15N/14N ratios, expressed as δ15N values) are useful markers of the mycorrhizal role in plant nitrogen supply because discrimination against 15N during creation of transfer compounds within mycorrhizal fungi decreases the 15N/14N in plants (low δ15N) and increases the 15N/14N of the fungi (high δ15N). Analytical models of 15N distribution would be helpful in interpreting low δ15N patterns in fungi and plants. To compare different analytical models, we measured nitrogen isotope patterns in soils, saprotrophic fungi, ectomycorrhizal fungi, and plants with different...

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.

Riparian zones associated with alluvial rivers are spatially dynamic, forming distinct vegetative mosaics that exhibit sharp contrasts in structure and processes related to the underlying biophysical template. The productivity of riparian plants, especially trees, influences streamside community characteristics as, well as the forms and fluxes of organic matter to adjacent streams - thereby strongly impacting patterns of channel morphology, water flow, sedimentation, and habitat in rivers. As part of a comprehensive investigation of riparian dynamics in coastal rain forest rivers of the...

Emigrant Creek cattle allotment is located 48 km northwest of Burns, Oregon. It was photo sampled at nine original sites, starting in 1975. Photos were taken three times per year: June 15 prior to cattle grazing, August 1 at pasture rotation, and October 1 at the end of grazing. An additional four photopoints were established following disturbance from flooding and beavers. Results reported here cover 30 years, 1975 to 2005. Cattle did not significantly impact the riparian area. Beavers (Castor canadensis) arrived in 1984 and departed in 1994. They seriously reduced aboveground willow...

The private working land base of America’s forests is being converted to developed uses, with implications for the condition and management of affected private forests and the watersheds in which they occur. The Forests on the Edge project seeks to improve understanding of the processes and thresholds associated with increases in housing density in private forests and likely effects on the contributions of those forests to timber, wildlife, and water resources. This report, the first in a series, displays and describes housing density projections on private forests, by watershed, across...

Understanding sense of place and related concepts often presents challenges for both managers and researchers. Inconsistent application of terms, questions regarding their origin, and a lack of awareness of research findings contribute to the ambiguity of these concepts. This integrative review of research provides relevant, current information on the role of sense of place in natural-resource based recreation and tourism. Special focus is given to the foundations of place attachment, how place attachment may differ among user types, and the relation of place attachment to other psychologic...