Articles

Determining why some trees die while others survive both drought and insect outbreaks is valuable for forecasting tree mortality events. Scientists collected data in California, where tree mortality from the combination of drought and bark beetles was widespread.

In cold ecosystems, the annual carbon balance can be dominated by winter respiration. However, the eddy-covariance technique, a common methodology to measure net ecosystem exchange of carbon, can be inaccurate in cold climates due to the effect a warm sensor has on its gas measurement. Often, this error can make an otherwise dormant ecosystem appear as a carbon sink.

This research chronicles the science, people, and destruction caused by mountain pine beetles primarily in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming from 1902 through 2012.

The belowground bud bank is the hidden source of plant community resiliency.

U.S. coal, oil, natural gas, and wind energy are concentrated in the grassland states, enabling them to be net exporters of energy. As energy demand continues to increase, increasing pressure will be placed on North American grassland systems. The tradeoff between the need and desire for energy and the conservation of lands within the grassland region leads to difficult management choices. In o...

The most arid region of the United States—the Southwest—is expected to become even warmer and drier in the future as the climate changes. Forest Service scientists have developed tools to quantify the vulnerability of these areas to inform adaptation strategies.

PhenoMap monitors weekly changes in phenology (green-up and brown-down) across the western United States via satellite. Weekly satellite values of “greenness” successfully tracked changes in phenology documented by phenology cameras in grasslands, shrublands, deciduous broadleaf, and mixed forests but demonstrated the difficulty of tracking changes in phenology of evergreen needleleaf forests.

Post-bark beetle outbreak snagfall dynamics create a multiple-decade legacy that will persist longer in high-elevation compared to lower-elevation forests. The persistence and fall rate of snags (standing dead trees) generated during bark beetle outbreaks have consequences for the behavior, effects, and suppression of potential wildfires, hazard tree and timber salvage operations, wildlife habitat, and numerous ecosystem processes.

This research evaluated how spatial patterns of historical ponderosa pine forest structure impacted fire torching thresholds and contributes to a mechanistic understanding of how spatial patterns were maintained. With this information, we demonstrate how treatments that seek to restore these historical forest structures can increase stand-level resistance to crown fire. Restoration treatments in ponderosa pine forests that increase the stand-...

As energy demand continues to increase, increasing pressure will be placed on our North American grassland systems. Identifying the ecological costs of energy production can aid managers as they work to avoid and minimize environmental issues as well as lead to the development of new technologies to aid in conservation.

A 17-year study at the Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site in Wyoming revealed that sublimation decreased following a spruce beetle outbreak due to reduced canopy intercepted snowfall.

Scientists and managers collaborated on a series of forest management studies on four experimental forests within the northern Rocky Mountains. The objectives were to evaluate methods to increase forests resilience to wildfires, windstorms, diseases, and insects. Methods included cutting different sized forest openings and removing fuel around large, old trees. Treatment goals were also to incr...

As the U.S. moves towards a greener economy, it is critical to understand the long-term impacts of harvest operations on both above and below ground productivity. Research at the Coram Experimental Forest points to resilient western larch forests in the cool-moist climatic regime that can fully recover carbon and nutrients before the next harvest rotation. Forty years after cable harvesting and broadcast burning, scientists found few long-term impacts on soil, understory, and overstory in larch forests.

Wildfire is an important disturbance in ponderosa pine forests of the southern Rocky Mountains. Forest Service research results from the Colorado Front Range indicate that ponderosa pine and other conifers have regenerated in severely burned areas, but at very low densities relative to unburned areas and to areas that burned less severely.

A large number of forested acres are scheduled for treatment over the next decade in an effort to restore historical forest structure and function. Implementation of science-based restoration prescriptions will ensure that the treatments we put on the ground show ecological validity.