Treesearch

1. Forest litter inputs to soil can stimulate the decomposition of older soil organic matter (SOM) via a priming effect (PE). The magnitude and underlying mechanisms driving PE are poorly understood, with especially little know about how litter quality and site conditions affect PE in situ. Further, very few studies have examined PE in tropical and subtropical soils. 2. Here, we established low and high elevation sites (600 vs. 1,400 m a.s.l.) in the subtropical Wuyishan National Park, China, that differed with respect to mean annual temperature (MAT; ∆MAT = 4.2°C), vegetation, soil...

Background Fire managers tasked with assessing the hazard and risk of wildfire in Alaska, USA, tend to have more confidence in fire behavior prediction modeling systems developed in Canada than similar systems developed in the US. In 1992, Canadian fire behavior systems were adopted for modeling fire hazard and risk in Alaska and are used by fire suppression specialists and fire planners working within the state. However, as new US-based fire behavior modeling tools are developed, Alaskan fire managers are encouraged to adopt the use of US-based systems. Few studies exist in the scientific...

We use a new modelling approach to predict the cumulative impact of Phytophthora ramorumon the dynamic distribution of tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) and other tree species in coastal-Californian forest-communities. We explore the effectiveness of disease-management strategies for the conservation of tanoak at stand level. Forest resources are increasingly threatened by emerging pathogens such as P. ramorum, a generalist that kills hosts and has altered ecosystems in the USA and Europe. In coastal California, P. ramorumhas the greatest impact on tanoak through leaf sporulation and...

Phytophthora ramorum, the cause of sudden oak death (SOD), kills tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) trees in southwestern Oregon and California. Two lineages of P. ramorumare now found in wildland forests of Oregon (NA1 and EU1). In addition to the management of SOD in forest ecosystems, disease resistance could be used as a way to mitigate the impact of P. ramorum. The objectives of this study were to (i) characterize the variability in resistance of N. densiflorusamong families using lesion length; (ii) determine whether lineage, isolate, family, or their interactions significantly...

Pathogens and insect pests are important drivers of tree mortality and forest dynamics, but global change has rapidly altered or intensifed their impacts. Predictive understanding of changing disease and outbreak occurrence has been limited by two factors: (a) tree mortality and morbidity are emergent phenomena determined by interactions between plant hosts, biotic agents (insects or pathogens), and the environment; and (b) disparate global change drivers co-occur, obscuring net impacts on each of these components. To expand our understanding of changing forest diseases, declines, and...

Human-altered disturbance regimes and changing climatic conditions can reduce seed availability and suitable microsites, limiting seedling regeneration in recovering forest systems. Thus, resprouting plants, which can persist in situ, are expected to expand in dominance in many disturbance-prone forests. However, resprouters may also be challenged by changing regimes, and the mechanisms determining facultative seedling recruitment by resprouting species, which will determine both the future spread and current persistence of these populations, are poorly understood. In the resprouter-dominat...

Nearly one-third of Earth’s total land area is covered by a remarkably complex and richly alive skin: forest soil. This layer – more membrane than crust – is of central importance to the survival of most organisms on our planet. Forest soils help provide an abundance of goods and services to humans including food, fuel, timber, medicines, water, oxygen, biodiversity, climate and hydrological regulation, not to mention a wealth of spiritual, cultural, and aesthetic benefts. For this, humanity is outright lucky but also profoundly challenged with the responsibility for stewarding this...

From the outset of this book project, we wanted to address three simple questions: how are forest soils faring in our rapidly changing world? Then, how are we progressing as stewards of global soils? Finally, how can we improve our stewardship to meet the challenges of a changing world? We challenged our subject experts to provide insights into the condition of Earth’s forest soils, their current management, future needs, and proposed actions where current practice falls short. From Asmeret Berhe (Chapter 3) comes the related concern that sustainable forest management needs to be rooted in...

Despite an increasingly ethnically and racially diverse population in the United States (U.S.), growing evidence indicates that minorities are underrepresented in national forest visitation. Many reasons for continuing underrepresentation have been examined, involving research reaching back multiple decades. In the current study, a random sample of residents (n = 1977) from four large metropolitan statistical areas in California was involved in a telephone survey about forest visitation. Analysis revealed a continuing pattern of inequities in lifetime visitation to a national forest, as...

This Special Issue addresses the intersections of outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism, and sustainability. Outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism provide essential benefits to individuals, communities, and society and thereby contribute to sustainability. Equitable provision of opportunities, cultural variations in desired experiences, barriers to outdoor recreation, and diverse perceptions of both nature and recreation add to the complexity in outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism service delivery. Outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism occur within a socioecological...