Treesearch

One way to increase conversion of woody residues often burned in slash piles into a value-added product is to expand markets for biochar. Biochar has been used to increase the growth of agricultural crops, grass, and urban trees and it has also been used as replacement for Sphagnum peat moss, perlite, or vermiculite in growing substrates for container seedlings (Dumroese et al. 2020). Using biochar in bareroot nursery beds is an opportunity for improving soil properties while also reducing nutrient and irrigation inputs. After 1 year, biochar reduced the amounts of NO3 -- N (fig. 1)...

Forest managers in the eastern United States need to decide which species and seed sources will be best adapted to current and future climates. This guidebook will synthesize information on genetics, silviculture, and forest health to assist land managers on decisions to seed transfer for major tree species in the eastern U.S.

Reforestation following harvest, and/or natural disasters, is critical to sustaining healthy forests. Recent increases in frequency, scale, and severity in wildfires in the West combined with ongoing turnover in personnel make the National Silviculture Workshop an ideal venue to review the laws and policies that direct reforestation on National Forest System Lands.

The National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA) mandates prompt reforestation. Passage of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) included the Repairing Existing Public Land by Adding Necessary Trees Act (REPLANT Act), which removes the cap on the Reforestation Trust Fund, indefinitely increasing annual funding for reforestation from $30 million to $140 million or more.

Meeting forest restoration goals requires establishment and growth of seedlings that can thrive for many decades. Often, this requires use of nursery-grown plants. Despite their obvious role, however, nurseries can be considered a low priority and/or overlooked during the planning process.

On the USDA Forest Service National Forest System, reforestation and restoration plans often require tree seedlings and native plant seed to expedite achieving a desired future condition following timber harvests, wildfires, and outbreaks of disease and insect pests. The seed and seedlings used by the agency for these purposes are produced by its Genetic Resource Program and its Nursery System, State forestry offices and other public agencies, and the commercial forest nursery and native seed industries. The Forest Service National Seed Laboratory (NSL) was established in 1954 to support...

At a fundamental level, smoke from wildland fire is of scientific concern because of its potential adverse effects on human health and social well-being. Although many impacts (e.g., evacuations, property loss) occur primarily in proximity to the actual fire, smoke can end up having a significant social impact far from the source. This dynamic, combined with lengthening fire seasons, suggests that understanding how wildland fire smoke affects diverse social values will be increasingly critical. This chapter reviews the existing scientific knowledge related to wildland fire smoke with...

This report presents the strategic direction for research at the Rocky Mountain Research Station to address climate change challenges in the context of resilience, disturbance, and recovery. It describes how current and future RMRS research programs could be enhanced and applied to address emerging challenges.

This chapter assesses the current state of the science regarding the composition, intensity, and drivers of wildland fire emissions in the USA and Canada. Globally and in the USA wildland fires are a major source of gases and aerosols which have significant air quality impacts and climate interactions. Wildland fire smoke can trigger severe pollution episodes with substantial effects on public health. Fire emissions can degrade air quality at considerable distances downwind, hampering efforts by air regulators to meet air standards. Fires are a major global source of aerosols which affect...

Wildfire affects hundreds of wildland-urban interface communities each year, and yet most communities lack data reflecting the conditions before an event. This study was conducted before the devastating 2020 East Troublesome Fire1, which spread across 193,812 acres and resulted in two lives lost and 366 homes and 214 other structures burned. The fire’s dramatic run threatened over 7,000 structures and led to a mandatory evacuation of over 35,000 people in Grand and Larimer Counties. The data reported here serve as baseline data to aid in understanding the parcel and social conditions...