Treesearch

The determination of invasion stages and the degree to which an invasive plant (non-native invasive plant, NNIP) has become established and spread in an ecosystem (\invasiveness") is essential for developing methods of mitigation and control. We mapped the invasion stages and quantified the invasiveness of four NNIPs of great concern, multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora Thunb), nonnative bush honeysuckles (including four species from the Lonicera spp family), common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.) and garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata [M. Bieb.] Cavara & Grande) in the Upper Midwest...

Genetic resistance to white pine blister rust (WPBR) will play a critical role in the future trajectory of whitebark pine and the other high elevation white pines. However, as we found during the field trips at the WPEF Science Conference in September, the terminology associated with genetic disease resistance can get confusing, e.g. not all seed trees are plus trees and not all plus trees have genetic resistance.

The National Wilderness Preservation System in the United States provides the greatest level of protection for the ecological and social values of lands held in trust for future generations. Although designated wilderness is the cornerstone of the US conservation portfolio, designation alone doesn't assure the protection of these areas, which are degraded by threats both inside and external to the area. This paper describes new methods for quantifying the location and cumulative magnitude of threats to wilderness, allowing agency managers and the public to evaluate whether the legal...

Overabundance of woody plants in semiarid ecosystems can degrade understory herbaceous vegetation and often requires shrub reduction and seeding to recover ecosystem services. We used meta-analysis techniques to assess the effects of fire and mechanical shrub reduction over two post-treatment timeframes (1-4 and 5-10 years) on changes in cover and frequency of 15 seeded species at 63 restoration sites with high potential for recovery. Compared to mechanical treatments, fire resulted in greater increases in seeded species. Native shrubs did not increase, and forbs generally declined over...

Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) restoration is needed across vast areas, especially after large wildfires, to restore important ecosystem services. Sagebrush restoration success is inconsistent, with a high rate of seeding failures, particularly at lower elevations. Seed enhancement technologies may overcome limitations to restoration success. Seed pillows are one such technology designed to improve seed-soil contact in broadcast seedings by providing a favorable medium for seedling establishment and growth. Seed pillows have shown promising results in greenhouse studies;...

Fire and invasive weeds have increased the demand for native seed for restoration across the Great Basin region of the US. Cultivation of native forbs could provide lessexpensive seed in necessary quantities to meet restoration needs that cannot be harvested from wildland populations alone. We evaluated 2 cultivation methods of 4 lupine species (Lupinus (Tournefort) [Fabaceae]) - hairy bigleaf lupine (L. prunophilusM.E. Jones), silky lupine (L. sericeus Pursh), silvery lupine (L. argenteus Pursh), and longspur lupine (L. arbustus Douglas ex Lindl.) - to evaluate emergence, establishment,...

Variation in climate has been demonstrated to be a powerful driver of selection and local adaptation among plant populations. Variation in functional traits among populations can also be indicative of the drivers of local adaptation. However, it is not clear to what extent species exhibit consistent patterns of local adaptation as revealed by common, heritable trait–environment relationships among populations. To address this, we conducted a meta-analysis of common garden studies of grass populations to quantify the degree of heritability of several commonly measured functional traits, and...

Existing research suggests that adoption or development of various wildfire management strategies may differ across communities. However, there have been few attempts to design diverse strategies for local populations to better “live with fire.” This article extends an existing approach by articulating how characteristic patterns of local social context might be used to generate a range of fire adaptation “pathways” that can be applied variably across communities. Each ‘pathway’ would specify a distinct combination of actions, potential policies and incentives that best reflect the social...

This Species Review summarizes the fire effects information and relevant ecology of kingcup cactus in North America that was available in the scientific literature as of 2018. Kingcup cactus is a small cactus native to the American Southwest. It typically grows in rocky crevices in shrublands and conifer woodlands, and fingers into desert grasslands at low elevations. Its stems occur singly or in mounds up to 4 feet in diameter. Only limited information was available on regeneration and successional patterns of kingcup cactus. Hummingbirds and bees pollinate the flowers, and ants may...

If a radiological incident such as a nuclear power plant accident, a radiological dispersal device, or detonation of an improvised nuclear device occurs, significant areas may be contaminated. Initial cleanup priorities would likely focus on populated areas, leaving the forested areas to pass several seasons where the overhead canopy materials would fall to the forest floor. In the event of a wildfire in a radionuclide-contaminated forest, some radionuclides would be emitted in the air while the rest would remain in the ash. This paper reports on a laboratory simulation study that examines...