Treesearch

Renewed interest in urban forestry has resulted in significant public investment in trees during the past few years, yet comprehensive urban forest monitoring programs are uncommon. Monitoring is an integral component of a program to sustain healthy community forests and long term flows of net benefits. Volunteer-based monitoring will promote continued public involvement and support in community forestry. To overcome constraints to monitoring in urban environments, programs must be personally relevant, socially desirable, scientifically credible, and economically feasible. A three-tiered...

Findings from monitoring and computer simulation studies indicate that trees can be a cost-effective energy conservation measure for some electric utilities. Our simulations suggest that a single 25-ft tall tree can reduce annual heating and cooling costs of a typical residence by 8 to 12 percent ($10-25). Assuming annual savings of $1 0 per household, a nationwide residential tree planting program could eventually save about $1 billion each year. A study of the potential for energy-conserving shade tree plantings within residential sections of San Diego found that over 40 percent of all...

Proper planning and placement of trees as part of a utility DSM strategy offers a number of benefits to utilities and their customers in certain markets. When all of the benefits — including those not easily quantified — are counted, trees may be a resource and customer service tool your utility should consider.

This is a pilot study of visitor use at the Imperial Sand Dunes recreation area in southern California. The purpose was to describe the socio-demographic characteristics of visitors to Imperial Sand Dunes as well as the importance of and visitor satisfaction with the area's natural and cultural features, types of information used to learn about the area, types of information desired, activity patterns, perceptions of crowding, perceptions of safety and knowledge of BLM's mission as a multiple use agency. Results will provide resource managers with information about people who use the area,...

We describe a mathematical model for the probability that a fireline succeeds in containing a fire. The probability increases as the fireline width increases, and also as the fire's flame length decreases. More interestingly, uncertainties in width and flame length affect the computed containment probabilities, and can thus indirectly affect the optimum allocation of fire-fighting resources. Uncertainty about the fireline width that will be produced can often affect containment chances as much as uncertainty in flame length.

This "Case Study" represents the first in a series of reports which provide insight into specific management environments and the factors significant to an understanding of the expectations and demands of public land visitors in the West. The study describes the methods and results of a two year inventory of visitors in a wildland area in the desert lands east of Los Angeles, administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Emphasis has been placed on developing an understanding of use patterns, visitor behavior and preferences, recreational trends and the implications of these circumstances...

Mountain biking activity presents a new set of management challenges related to multiple use in recreation areas. To determine the potential issues associated with mountain bike management, a telephone survey of 40 recreation managers from two federal agencies (USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management) was conducted. Exploratory in nature, the study sets. the groundwork for more comprehensive future investigations. Many of the respondents characterized mountain bike use in their resource areas as moderate to extensive. Most did not have designated mountain bike areas, and few...

Isozyme and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers were used to determine the genetic identities of 12 longleaf pine (Pinus palustrus Mill.) ramets whose identities came into question after Hurricane Hugo. Isozyme assays were performed for 12 enzyme systems representing 15 loci. Variation at 6 loci revealed unique identities for 6 ramets. Four RFLP probes showed that 9 of the 12 ramets were genetically unique. This study confirms the power of isozyme analysis for determining genetic identity of seed orchard clones and, in addition, demonstrates the increased power of...

Wildfires in tropical forest and savanna are a strong source of trace gas and particulate emissions to the atmosphere, but estimates of the continental-scale impacts are limited by large uncertainties in the rates of fire occurrence and biomass combustion. Satellite-based remote sensing offers promise for characterizing fire physical properties and impacts on the environment, but currenUy available sensors saturate over high-radiance targets and provide only indicalions of regions and times at which fires are extensive ond their areal rate of growth as recorded in ash layers. Here we...

Managers do not currently use prescribed fire in stands of canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis Liebm.) because it is highly susceptible to fire injury. A preliminary study investigating the effects of prescribed burning on this species was initiated on the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California. The purpose was to assess the feasibility of using thinning and prescribed burning to develop shaded fuel breaks in these stands. This paper addresses aboveground tree mortality inventoried 2 and 6 years after a prescribed burn. Aboveground tree stems were judged as live or dead...