Treesearch

During the fall of 2005, a study was conducted at Priest River Experimental Forest (PREF) in northern Idaho to investigate the economics of mastication used to treat activity and standing live fuels. In this study, a rotary head masticator was used to crush and chop activity fuels within harvest units on 37.07 acres. Production averaged 0.57 acres/hour (range 0.21-0.89 ac/hr). Costs average $530 per acre (range $335-$1395 per acre). Additionally, eleven fireline segments totaling 2326 feet were constructed through activity fuels using the same mastication machine. On average, 18 ft of...

The new series, IAPT/IOPB Chromosome Data, presented here, is a continuation of the long-term activity of the International Organisation of Plant Biosystematists (now interest group of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy) in supporting the research and publication of data on chromosome numbers and ploidy levels. Polyploidy is a frequent phenomenon in plant evolution that produces fast and substantial changes in the genetic composition of the organisms, which seem to foster diversification. It is now widely acknowledged that most plants have undergone one or more episodes of...

The manuscripts in this thesis examine different aspects of white-tailed deer. In the first manuscript I used microsatellite DNA markers in the form of multilocus genotype data and microsatellite allele frequencies to examine spatial patterns of genetic relatedness for Coues white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus couesi) in Arizona and New Mexico in naturally fragmented habitats (sky islands) and in relatively continuous habitats (Mogollon Rim). I determined genotype, based on 12 microsatellite markers for 358 Coues white-tailed deer from these two regions. Both population and individual...

Forest management practices of the past century have led to an increase in unnatural and destructive crown fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of the southwest. To combat large fires, forest managers are attempting to simulate past fire regimes of low-intensity surface fires using prescribed fire. While there have been many studies investigating the effects of crown fires on birds, few studies exist on the effects of prescribed fire on birds, especially during winter. Winter may be a critical time for resident species since food is generally limited. Any information on how...

Imagine being able to 'travel the world without leaving home'. This is not the overblown promise of some high-tech, computer-generated virtual world, but the veritable promise of The World. Built and operated by a Norwegian company called ResidenSea and launched on her maiden voyage in early 2002, The World is a 191-metre-long 'global village at sea', boasting 200 sumptuous residential and guest suites (smaller units occupy 92 sq m and carry a price tag of a mere US$2 million). In naive but premonitory tones the company website announces: "'Citizen of the world" takes on new meaning when...

The environment is omnipresent. It is everything and anything external to us that might have an impact on how we think, feel, and act. It is physical and social, natural and human made. It includes not just our immediate surroundings but also a kind of mental shell of spatially and temporally nested situations and contexts we carry around with us in the form of memories that condition our mental experience and outward actions. Likewise the environment is the subject of our thoughts and feelings and is changed by our individual and collective actions.

Primary cavity-nesting birds play a critical role in forest ecosystems by excavating cavities later used by other birds and mammals as nesting or roosting sites. Several species of cavity-nesting birds are non-migratory residents and consequently subject to winter conditions. We conducted winter bird counts from 1998 to 2000 to examine the abundance and habitat association of cavity-nesting birds in prescribed burned and unburned ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stands. Even though bird diversity indices did not differ between burned and unburned stands, species-specific bird abundance was...

Geologic variation has important influences on habitat quality for species of concern, but it can be difficult to evaluate due to subtle variations, complex terminology, and inadequate maps. To better understand habitat of the Apache trout (Onchorhynchus apache or O. gilae apache Miller), a threatened endemic species of the White Mountains of eastcentral Arizona, we reviewed existing geologic research to prepare composite geologic maps of the region at intermediate and fine scales. We projected these maps onto digital elevation models to visualize combinations of lithology and topography,...

High-elevation white pines define the most remote alpine-forest ecotones in western North America yet they are not beyond the reach of a lethal non-native pathogen. The pathogen (Cronartium ribicola), a native to Asia, causes the disease white pine blister rust (WPBR) and was introduced into western Canada in 1910. Whitebark (Pinus albicaulis) and limber (P. flexilis) pines have been infected for over 50 years in the northern Rockies and are currently experiencing top-kill and mortality as a result of the disease (see Tomback et al. 2001). The disease was found in southern Wyoming over 30...

Recent concern about survival and recovery of high-elevation white pine ecosystems has returned white pine blister rust (caused by Cronartiurn ribicola) to prominence as a significant threat to forest health in the western U.S. (Sainman et al., 2003). This, in turn, has spurred new research into potential rust-resistance mechanisms in high-elevation white pines, including whitebark (Pinus albicaulis), foxtail (P. balfouriana), Rocky Mountain bristlecone (P. aristata), and Great Basin bristlecone (P. longaeva).