Treesearch

In this project, we examined the views of 21 long-term employees on climate change in 14 Rocky Mountain Research Station Experimental Forests and Ranges (EFRs). EFRs were described by employees as uniquely positioned to advance knowledge of climate change impacts and adaptation strategies due to the research integrity they provide for long-term studies, the ability to host experimental treatments on the efficacy of adaptation actions, and the opportunity for long-term field observations to inform and improve research. Institutional commitment and capacity was identified by participants as...

We investigated the spatial variability of a number of wildland fuel characteristics for the major fuel components found in six common northern Rocky Mountain ecosystems. Surface fuel characteristics of loading, particle density, bulk density, and mineral content were measured for eight fuel components - four downed dead woody fuel size classes (1, 10, 100, 1000 hr), duff, litter, shrub, and herb - on nested plots located within sampling grids to describe their variability across spatial scales. We also sampled canopy bulk density, biomass, and cover for each plot in the grid. The spatial...

Soil quality indices provide a means of distilling large amounts of data into a single metric that evaluates the soil's ability to carry out key ecosystem functions. Primarily developed in agroecosytems, then forested ecosystems, an index using the relation between soil organic matter and other key soil properties in more semi-arid systems of the Western US impacted by different geologic mineralization was developed. Three different sites in two different mineralization types, acid sulfate and Cu/Mo porphyry in California and Nevada, were studied. Soil samples were collected from undisturbe...

This study assessed the effectiveness of restoration treatments in enhancing the growth of Vaccinium scoparium transplants and plants established from seed on six closed campsites in subalpine forests in the Sawtooth Wilderness, Idaho. In the primary experiment, the soil on all plots was scarified and amended with organic matter; plots varied regarding the type and amount of organic matter in the amendments, whether or not they were fertilized, and whether or not they were covered with a mulch blanket. In the second experiment, plots varied regarding whether or not they were scarified,...

This guide describes the benefits, opportunities, and trade-offs concerning fuel treatments in the dry mixed conifer forests of northern California and the Klamath Mountains, Pacific Northwest Interior, northern and central Rocky Mountains, and Utah. Multiple interacting disturbances and diverse physical settings have created a forest mosaic with historically low- to mixed-severity fire regimes. Analysis of forest inventory data found nearly 80 percent of these forests rate hazardous by at least one measure and 20 to 30 percent rate hazardous by multiple measures. Modeled mechanical...

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) in the Inland Northwest region of the USA are nitrogen (N) deficient; however stem growth responses to N fertilizers are unpredictable, which may be due to poor accounting of other limiting nutrients. Screening trial experiments, including potassium (K), sulfur (S), and boron (B) multiple nutrient treatments, have been conducted to learn about Douglas-fir nutritional status and fertilizer growth response. The data from the screening trial experiments were compiled to test whether the soil parent materials of the region could be used to...

The Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) includes approximately 316,000 acres of National Forest System lands managed by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada (see Figure 1-1). The Spring Mountains have long been recognized as an island of endemism, harboring flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world. Conservation of the species endemic to and resident in the Spring Mountains is a goal described in the Organic Act for the SMNRA (Public Law 102-63, August 4, 1993). Management direction for the SMNRA was established in an amendment (USFS...

Sonic anemometers are capable of measuring the wind speed in all three dimensions at high frequencies (10­50 Hz), and are relied upon to estimate eddy-covariance-based fluxes of mass and energy over a wide variety of surfaces and ecosystems. In this study, wind-velocity measurement errors from a three-dimensional sonic anemometer with a nonorthogonal transducer orientation were estimated for over 100 combinations of angle-ofattack and wind direction using a novel technique to measure the true angle-of-attack and wind speed within the turbulent atmospheric surface layer. Corrections to the...

Recent bark beetle outbreaks in western North America have been widespread and severe. High tree mortality due to bark beetles affects the fundamental ecosystem processes of primary production and decomposition that largely determine carbon balance (Kurz et al. 2008, Pfeifer et al. 2011, Hicke et al. 2012). Forest managers need accurate data on beetle-induced tree mortality to make better decisions on how best to remediate beetle-affected forests and restore healthy ecosystem services (Negron et al. 2008). Discrete-return LiDAR measures canopy height and density, and LiDAR intensity...

A fundamental equation of eddy covariance (FQEC) is derived that allows the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) Ns of a specified atmospheric constituent s to be measured with the constraint of conservation of any other atmospheric constituent (e.g. N2, argon, or dry air). It is shown that if the condition [equation, see PDF] is true, the conservation of mass can be applied with the assumption of no net ecosystem source or sink of dry air and the FQEC is reduced to the following equation and its approximation for horizontally homogeneous mass fluxes: [equation, see PDF]. Here w is vertical...