Treesearch

Development in poikilothermic organisms is strongly temperature‐dependent, particularly during early life stages prior to exogenous feeding. This thermally constrained physiology produces a near‐mechanistic relationship between ambient temperature and developmental rate, allowing for predictive models of phenology. However, traditional models—often developed under constant laboratory temperatures—struggle to account for the variable thermal regimes experienced by wild populations. Effective value models were created to address this issue and are a framework that integrates diel temperature...

Wildfire smoke poses a growing global health risk, largely from fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) emissions. Prescribed fires, which are critical for maintaining resilient forests in many locations, can also reduce wildfire emissions in treated areas that later burn. However, prescribed fires also produce smoke, creating a tradeoff in their net impact on PM 2.5 emissions. We develop a mathematical framework showing that, under most current conditions globally, prescribed fire emissions are rarely offset by reduced wildfire emissions and therefore increase PM 2.5 emissions overall. An...

The annual westward migration of army cutworm moths, Euxoa auxiliaris (Grote), to the Rocky Mountains plays a crucial role in the diet of grizzly bears, Ursus arctos horribilis (L.), which face considerable variability in food availability throughout the year. During the bears’ hyperphagia period, when they must consume an excess of calories to prepare for hibernation, these migrating moths provide a vital and reliable energy source. Seasonal dispersal of E. auxiliaris has been primarily documented through ground observations. However, advancements in radar technology now offer new...

Changes in precipitation patterns can influence soil nitrogen (N) cycling by altering the timing and extent of moisture availability. Arid conditions, associated with more frequent and severe droughts, can increase soil inorganic N concentrations when diffusion constraints decouple N sources and sinks, making this N susceptible to loss. Further, shifts in precipitation patterns in one season can “carry over” N into subsequent seasons, known as precipitation legacies. However, how these legacies increase soil N availability through changes in inorganic N production (i.e., gross N mineralizat...

Examining urban thermal environments has become a critical area of research spanning epidemiology, urban planning, and ecology. While traditional metrics like air temperature ( T air ) and satellite-derived surface temperature dominate urban heat studies, these measures often fail to reflect how people actually experience thermal exposure intensity. More human-oriented metrics, such as mean radiant temperature (MRT), and the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), better capture this lived experience, particularly at locations where people are likely to encounter outdoor heat, such as bus...

Hotter droughts have resulted in widespread tree die‐off events globally, frequently leading to regeneration failure. Dry forest recovery often depends on the growth and survival of extant juvenile trees. However, it is unclear how microenvironmental changes following overstorey tree die‐off affect juvenile trees, particularly in dryland systems where tree recruitment is typically limited by water availability and heat stress.We simulated an overstorey tree die‐off event by girdling trees in piñon‐juniper woodlands across the south‐western United States. We sampled juvenile piñon pine...

Global biomass estimates suggest that plants hold 81% of the Earth’s 550 GT C, yet carbon stocks in non-forested and dryland ecosystems remain the largest source of uncertainty in the global carbon budget. Small uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms are increasingly used to estimate aboveground biomass at landscape scales. We conducted a systematic review of the remote sensing literature to determine: (1) which plant traits and related remote sensing indicators were used to develop aboveground biomass models; (2) statistical approaches; and (3) the key sources of uncertainty among these...

Wildfire is altering forested landscapes across the southwestern United States. There is opportunity to better understand regional landscape change by comparing more and less wildfire-affected forest areas at local scales. We evaluated meteorological and above- and belowground environmental variables in less-disturbed (PIPO: 2016 low-severity wildfire) and more-disturbed (PIPO-burned: 2000 stand-replacing, 2016 low-severity) ponderosa pine forest in central Arizona, USA. PIPO-burned experienced low conifer recovery and extensive woody plant type conversion following the 2000 wildfire....

Slack-water deposits are archives of paleoflood frequency, magnitude, and provenance. In the eastern Himalaya, deposits along the Siang River document Quaternary outburst megafloods originating from southeastern Tibet. Here we present new observations of slack-water deposits within aggradational terraces of the Siyom River, the Siang’s largest tributary. Terrace stratigraphy reveals distinct, regionally extensive sedimentary facies including laminated sands, clays, and detrital organic-rich deposits consistent with slack-water deposition from temporarily impounded waters. Radiocarbon dates...

Extreme wildfire events (EWEs) represent a growing threat globally, posing substantial risks to ecosystems, human communities, and infrastructure. Despite increased recognition of their ecological, social, and economic significance, current definitions of EWEs vary widely, reflecting disciplinary biases and regional contexts. This article emerges from an interdisciplinary workshop convened to reassess and refine the definition of EWEs, examine their impacts across ecological and social dimensions, and identify critical knowledge gaps impeding our understanding of these infrequent but...