Treesearch

We developed and applied a spatial optimization algorithm to prioritize forest and fuel management treatments within a proposed linear fuel break network on a 0.5 million ha Western US national forest. The large fuel break network, combined with the logistics of conducting forest and fuel management, requires that treatments be partitioned into a sequence of discrete projects, individually implemented over the next 10-20 years. The original plan for the network did not consider how linear segments would be packaged into projects and how projects would be prioritized for treatments over...

1. Recent hot droughts in California resulted in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) mortality attributed to drought and western pine beetle (WPB, Dendroctonus brevicomis). While drought alone can cause tree death, direct warming effects on WPB are a contributing factor. Research on WPB generation timing (voltinism), however, is lacking.2. We monitored WPB tree attacks and adult emergence timing at two California sites and developed a degree-day model from field-observed data. Historical, contemporary, and future temperatures for several California sites were used with the model to examine...

1. Fragmentation of habitat, for example by intensive agricultural practices, can be detrimental to local biodiversity. However, it often remains unclear whether such biodiversity declines are caused by loss of habitat area or increased fragmentation, and how habitat quality factors into it. In our study system, vegetated vineyards are typically small, and isolated from one another, potentially limiting the distribution and dispersal of organisms.2. In a full-factorial experiment of a priori selected vegetated vineyard patches of differing size and fragmentation, we aimed to disentangle...

The relationship between traffic and forest road erosion has been studied for decades, and the answer to the question “what happens when traffic is present on unpaved forest roads?” is simple: erosion increases. However, the answer to the question “why does it increase?” is complex and requires us to consider forest road erosion through an integrated lens. Fully understanding how traffic affects forest road erosion will allow us to control forest road erosion effectively. In this synthesis, we look at forest road erosion literature and focus the discussion on the interactions between...

Global efforts to protect biodiversity have fallen short and global threats, including energy development, are prevalent. Assessing impacts of energy development helps determine if protected areas, particularly wilderness areas, can conserve biodiversity, natural habitats, and sustain ecological processes inherent in ecosystems. We quantified the amount of energy development around wilderness areas, evaluated rate of change in energy development, assessed if nearby public land provides a safeguard from energy development, and identified wilderness areas surrounded by the most energy...

This paper reviews the current knowledge of hydrological processes in Chilean temperate forests which extend along western South America from latitude 29◦ S to 56◦ S. This geographic region includes a diverse range of natural and planted forests and a broad sweep of vegetation, edaphic, topographic, geologic, and climatic settings which create a unique natural laboratory. Many local communities, endangered freshwater ecosystems, and downstream economic activities in Chile rely on water flows from forested catchments. This review aims to (i) provide a comprehensive overview of Chilean...

Restoration planning requires a reliable seed supply, yet many projects occur in response to unplanned events. Identifying regions of greater disturbance risk could efficiently guide seed procurement. Using fire in U.S. Cold Deserts as an example, we demonstrate how historic disturbance can inform seed production choices. We compared differences in fire frequency, area burned, and percent of area burned among different management areas, identifying regions of particular need.We also present a case study focused on fire occurrence within important wildlife habitat, specifically looking at...

Old-growth forests are globally valued for their ecological attributes, cultural significance, and in many cases their rarity. Yet, defining and quantifying these forests has been a difficult task. This study developed an approach to consistently estimate extent of old-growth forest on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service National Forest System (NFS) lands, using NFS regional old-growth definitions applied to the US national forest inventory (conducted by the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis [FIA] program). This method was developed in response to...

Decades of research have brought increasing focus to the biotic and abiotic factors associated with bark beetle infestation of North American conifers. Information is lacking, however, regarding beetle-caused mortality for ponderosa pine of the Colorado Plateau. From 1995 to 2019, we installed and periodically remeasured permanent plots in this forest type with a goal of identifying factors related to infestation probability including tree and stand characters, and abiotic factors such as temperature and precipitation. Forty-eight sites were distributed throughout the Colorado Plateau,...

Wildfire has been an important force in shaping biological diversity in forests of western North America. Patterns of reburning helped to maintain heterogenous landscapes with low tree densities that naturally limited the extent of severe stand-replacing fires. However, anthropogenic impacts over the past two centuries have dramatically altered fire activity and its ecological function, creating conditions that promote large and intense fires with no historical analog. Fuels reduction treatments represent proven methods to mitigate extreme fire events, but there is controversy over their...