Treesearch

Recently, noninvasive genetic sampling has become the most effective way to reliably sample occurrence of many species. In addition, genetic data provide a rich data source enabling the monitoring of population status. The combination of genetically based animal data collected at known spatial coordinates with vegetation, topography, and other available covariates enables development of habitat relationships and evaluation of population attributes, such as connectivity. Colocating animal occurrence sampling on an extensive vegetation plot grid, such as the forest inventory and analysis...

Thirty-three snowpack models of varying complexity and purpose were evaluated across a wide range of hydrometeorological and forest canopy conditions at five Northern Hemisphere locations, for up to two winter snow seasons. Modeled estimates of snow water equivalent (SWE) or depth were compared to observations at forest and open sites at each location. Precipitation phase and duration of above-freezing air temperatures are shown to be major influences on divergence and convergence of modeled estimates of the subcanopy snowpack. When models are considered collectively at all locations,...

The wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton, causes severe losses in wheat grown in the northern Great Plains. Much of the affected area is planted in monoculture with wheat, Triticum aestivum L., grown in large fields alternating yearly between crop and no-till fallow. The crop and fallow fields are adjacent. This cropping landscape creates pronounced edge effects of sawfly infestations and may be amenable to trap cropping using existing agricultural practices. The behavioral preference for two wheat varieties was assessed in the context of developing trap crops for this insect. In field...

This chapter develops a framework to explore examples of adaptation options that could be used to ensure that the ecosystem services provided by forests are maintained under future climates. The services are divided into broad areas within which managers can identify specific management goals for individual forests or landscapes. Adaptation options exist for the major forest regions of the world but the scientific basis for these adaptation options and their potential effectiveness varies across regions. Because of the great variation in local conditions, no recommendations can be made...

The genus Erebomyia is reviewed and a key is provided for the four known species, three of which are described here: Erebomyia aetheoptera n. sp., E. akidoptera n. sp., and E. ramseyensis n. sp. The type species, E. exalloptera Runyon & Hurley, is redescribed and the male genitalia illustrated. Erebomyia is known from Arizona (3 spp.) and California (1 sp.), and males are notable for their modified wings, most exceptionally those of E. exalloptera whose left wing is of a different shape and size than the right wing. The occurrence of directional wing asymmetry in insects is reviewed to...

The National Technology and Development Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, was asked to conduct an exploratory study on the ignition potential of muzzle-loading firearms. The five independent variables investigated include projectile type, powder type, powder load, patch thickness, and patch lubricant treatment. Indoor testing was performed at 90 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) and 15 percent relative humidity (RH), the most extreme environmental conditions that could be simulated in the laboratory. Craft paper was used as the ignition receptor. No ignitions were...

The degree and extent of soil compaction, which may reduce productivity of forest soils, is believed to vary by the type of harvesting system, and a field-based study was conducted to compare soil compaction from cut-to-length (CTL) and whole-tree (WT) harvesting operations. The CTL harvesting system used less area to transport logs to the landings than did the WT harvesting system (19%-20% vs. 24%-25%). At high soil moisture levels (25%-30%), both CTL and WT harvestings caused a significant increase of soil resistance to penetration (SRP) and bulk density (BD) in the track compared with...

Ungulate grazing in riparian areas has been shown to detrimentally impact stream morphology and fish populations. Goals of this research were to assess changes in stream morphology and responses of a brown trout (Salmo trutta) population to exclusion of cattle (Bos taurus) and elk (Cervus elaphus) from riparian areas, and to monitor spatial variability among individual and population level characteristics in brown trout in response to changing biotic and abiotic conditions.

Wildfires during the summer of 2007 burned over 500,000 acres within central Idaho. These fires burned around and through over 8,000 acres of fuel treatments designed to offer protection from wildfire to over 70 summer homes and other buildings located near Warm Lake. This area east of Cascade, Idaho, exemplifies the difficulty of designing and implementing fuel treatments in the many remote wildland urban interface settings that occur throughout the western United States. The Cascade Complex of wildfires burned for weeks, resisted control, were driven by strong dry winds, burned tinder...

Predicting climate change influences on forest diseases will foster forest management practices that minimize adverse impacts of diseases. Precise locations of accurately identified pathogens and hosts must be documented and spatially referenced to determine which climatic factors influence species distribution. With this information, bioclimatic models can predict the occurrence and distribution of suitable climate space for host and pathogen species under projected climate scenarios. Predictive capacity is extremely limited for forest pathogens because distribution data are usually...