Treesearch

Mountain ecosystems contain strong elevational gradients in climate and vegetation that shape species distributions and the structure of animal communities. Nevertheless, studies of habitat selection for individual species rarely account for such gradients that often result in species being managed uniformly across their range, which may not improve conservation as intended. Therefore, we characterized variation in nocturnal habitat selection by 18 GPS-tagged California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) along a 1400-m elevational gradient in the Sierra Nevada, California. We...

Soil microbial communities occupy the most biologically diverse habitats in the world. A single gram of soil can support more than several thousand fungal taxa near the root rhizosphere (Buée et al., 2009). As mentioned in other chapters in this book, many factors can influence the microbial communities associated with tree leaves, stems, and roots. Differences in host species (Prescott and Grayston, 2013), cultivar type within a species, soil type, physiological status of host, and pathogen presence can influence variation in microbial communities (Costa et al., 2007; Aira et al., 2010;...

The 2019/2020 Australian bushfires (or wildfires) burned the largest forested area in Australia's recorded history, with major socio‐economic and environmental consequences. Among the largest fires was the 280 000 ha Green Wattle Creek Fire, which burned large forested areas of the Warragamba catchment. This protected catchment provides critical ecosystem services for Lake Burragorang, one of Australia's largest urban supply reservoirs delivering ~85% of the water used in Greater Sydney. Water New South Wales (WaterNSW) is the utility responsible for managing water quality in Lake Burragora...

Rangeland managers promoting sustainable use of semiarid ecosystems in the Southwestern U.S. face numerous complex challenges, including invasions by non-native species, the expansion of woody vegetation, altered fire regimes, and drought. These challenges are compounded by uncertainty in how these problems will respond to any changes in climate. Decisions that land managers make today will influence landscapes for decades.

Managing forests has been demonstrated to be an efficient strategy for fragmenting fuels and for reducing fire spread rates and severity. However, large-scale analyses to examine operational aspects of implementing different forest management scenarios to meet fire governance objectives are nonexistent for many Mediterranean countries. In this study we described an optimization framework to build forest management scenarios that leverages fire simulation, forest management, and tradeoff analyses for forest areas in Macedonia, Greece. We demonstrated the framework to evaluate five forest...

Recent, widespread tree mortality in the western U.S. resulting from changes in climate, pathogens, insect activity, and forest management practices has led to concerns for many ecologically and culturally important species. Within conifers, resin-based defenses have long been recognized as a primary defense mechanism against a variety of insects and pathogens. Oleoresin produced by trees contain complex mixtures of terpenoids that have numerous insecticidal and fungicidal properties. Research has also identified links between resin duct characteristics and increased probability of...

After fire, bark beetles pose a significant threat to trees. Resin duct characteristics in trees can increase resistance to bark beetles. However, little is known about how intra- and interspecific variations in resin ducts due to tree characteristics, fire-caused tree injury and life history traits contribute to resistance. In fall 2013, a mixed-stand of Pinus sylvestris and P. nigra was underburned, with some trees subsequently attacked and killed by bark beetles (Ips sexdentatus) during the following two years. We investigated whether inter- or intraspecific differences in constitutive...

The dead foliage of scorched crowns is one of the most conspicuous signatures of wildland fires. Globally, crown scorch from fires in savannas, woodlands and forests causes tree stress and death across diverse taxa. The term crown scorch, however, is inconsistently and ambiguously defined in the literature, causing confusion and conflicting interpretation of results. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms causing foliage death from fire are poorly understood. The consequences of crown scorch – alterations in physiological, biogeochemical and ecological processes and ecosystem recovery...

Wildland-urban interface residents, who occupy the areas where wildlands meet and mix with human development, are both contributors to and recipients of the disastrous effects of wildland fires. They contribute through fire starts, flammable homes, unmitigated properties, opposition to mitigation on nearby public lands, and land use planning efforts. We argue that successful, sustainable wildland fire solutions are only possible if the WUI residents are engaged. In this article, we describe an evidence-based quantitative social science model to illustrate how to put people at the center of...

The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Partnership (CFLRP), focused on land managed at the national level (the National Forest System) by the US Forest Service, is a prominent public approach to FLR; whereas notable private sector programmes have been organized around specific forest types, for example the Longleaf Pine Initiative (ALRI, 2020), or bottomland hardwoods in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (NWFW, 2019). Major conservation organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, and American Forest Foundation, are financing restoration...