Treesearch

The Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service requested a climate change vulnerability assessment from Rocky Mountain Research Station in support of future forest plan revision for the Pike-San Isabel National Forests (PSI) and Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests (AR) in the Rocky Mountain Region. Iterative conversations among the Rocky Mountain Research Station, the PSI and AR National Forests, and the Rocky Mountain Region identified management concerns for high-priority resources that were used to frame a scientist-manager workshop and this climate...

Climate change presents many challenges for ecosystems, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, particularly in combination with non-climate stressors. Progressive warming, variable precipitation, and more frequent extreme weather events produce changes in ecosystem structure and function, species distribution and abundance, and productivity (IPCC 2021; Lipton et al. 2018). Climate change affects natural resources and interacts with disturbances, such as fire, and non-climate stressors, such as habitat loss, to sometimes generate synergistic effects (Coristine and Kerr 2011). However,...

This chapter provides a summary of the climate change analysis done for Colorado’s Front Range forests that include the Pike-San Isabel and Arapaho-Roosevelt (PSIAR) National Forests. This analysis includes assessment of historical climate trends and future climate projections by 2050. Because of the wide range of future climate projections simulated by global climate models, four divergent future climate scenarios were selected to incorporate that large range and to quantify plausible future climate scenarios for PSI-AR. Following sections provide information on the (1) data and approaches...

The Colorado Front Range is the meeting of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, a nexus of great topographic, geologic, and atmospheric forces. As water collects in the mountains and moves to the deserts and plains, it fosters unique ecosystems, some of which support rare and sensitive species. This water also creates opportunities and challenges for a growing metro area, fuels the recreational activities of residents and visitors, and supports an expansive agricultural industry. A complex system of ditches, pipelines, reservoirs, and transbasin diversions has been constructed to meet...

The term “rangeland” is rather nebulous and there is no single definition of rangeland that is universally accepted by land managers, scientists, or international bodies (Reeves and Mitchell, 2011; Lund, 2007). Dozens and possibly hundreds (Lund, 2007) of definitions and ideologies exist because various stakeholders often have unique objectives requiring different information. To describe the role of remote sensing in a global context it is, however, necessary to provide definitions to orient the reader. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened a conferenc...

The New World genus Calyxochaetus Bigot (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) is revised and 36 species are recognized, including 14 new species. These species are classified into five species groups as follows: the C. tripilus species group including C. angustipennis (Aldrich, 1901) comb. nov., C. longitarsus sp. nov. and C. tripilus (Van Duzee, 1930); the C. cilifemoratus species group including C. anisoaristus sp. nov., C. arizonicus (Harmston, 1968), C. brooksi sp. nov., C. celatus sp. nov., C. cilifemoratus (Van Duzee, 1924), C. clavicornis (Van Duzee, 1930), C. coloradensis sp. nov., C. distortus...

Background. Terrain-induced turbulence is dangerous for smokejumpers parachuting into complex terrain and results in numerous serious accidents annually. Aims. We quantify wind modelling system WindNinja’s ability to reproduce terrain-induced effects on the mean wind speed and turbulence in complex terrain. We assess WindNinja’s suitability for use in identifying safe jump spots during smokejumper operations in complex terrain. Methods. We evaluate the model’s ability to reproduce mean wind speed, mean wind direction and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) measured by sonic anemometers and...

Wildfire in Hawaiʻi is increasing due to the interacting factors of land-use history, invasive grass species, shifting climates, and increasing ignitions. Native plant restoration and green breaks offer viable solutions to decrease invasive grass biomass and thus the fine fuels that often carry wildfire. While some organizations and agencies have robust inhouse plant materials programs, there is still a lack of readily available materials for varied stakeholders to meet their management objectives across the state. We briefly outline the current state of the wildfire crisis in Hawaiʻi, why...

Reforestation activities such as tree planting are important management tools to offset carbon emissions and restore forest ecosystem integrity. Severe wildfire activity, a key driver of forest loss, is increasing throughout the western United States (US) and creating an immense backlog of areas needing reforestation. Major financial investments and recent policy changes are expected to accelerate rates of tree planting, yet the broad-scale impact and efficacy of post-fire planting activities remain poorly understood. We quantified the outcomes of recent (1987-2022) post-fire plantings in...

Brown root rot disease (BRRD) is a highly destructive tree disease. Early diagnosis of BRRD has been challenging because the first symptoms and signs are often observed after extensive tissue colonization. Existing molecular detection methods, all based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, were developed without testing against global Phellinus noxius isolates, other wood-decay fungi, or host plant tissues. This study aimed to develop SYBR Green real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays for P. noxius. The primer pair Pn_ITS_F/Pn_ITS_R targets the ITS, and the primer pair...