Treesearch

Managers across the western US seek effective fuel treatment strategies to mitigate hazardous fuel loads and risks of high severity fire in dry conifer forests. Conventional fuel hazard reduction treatments emphasis reducing canopy fuel continuity and surface fuel loading using an even spaced, thin-from-below approach, with pile or broadcast burning of residual surface fuels. Such treatments often result in forest structures that differ from the historical conditions. Ecological restoration treatments emphasize enhancing structural heterogeneity but may produce less fire-resistant stands...

A nanomaterial life-cycle risk assessment (Nano LCRA) was conducted for second-generation functionalized cellulose nanomaterials (CNs) in five case studies, including applications in water filtration, food contact packaging (including as an additive and coating), and food additives, to identify and prioritize potential occupational, health, consumer, and environmental risks. Exposure scenarios were developed and ranked for each product life-cycle stage. A Safer-by-Design Toolbox (SbD Toolbox) representing a compendium of high-throughput physical, chemical, and toxicological new approach...

Climate change intensifies periods of climate extremes globally, threatening biodiversity. Vertebrates vulnerable to climate extremes are identified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, though future changes in these species' exposure remain unclear. Using CMIP6 climate models under four shared socioeconomic pathways, we projected changes in extreme drought, heat, and precipitation frequencies between 1974-2014 and 2050-2090 for 1634 terrestrial vertebrates considered threatened by climate extremes, focusing on 33 vertebrate diversity hotspots. Results indicate substantial...

This study used dense time-series satellite imagery, field data and historical streamflow records in a paired catchment approach to 1) estimate burn severity across a large ecoregion; 2) analyze vegetation recovery and 3) evaluate the effects of forest disturbance on annual water yield. While wildfire is an important driver of annual forest disturbance in Western United States, forest disturbance due to fire is infrequent in the Eastern United States. Changes in wildfire frequency and intensity amid climate variability are anticipated to increasingly impact forest ecosystems in regions...

Representing species interactions probabilistically as opposed to deterministically conveys uncertainties in our knowledge of interactions. The sources of uncertainty captured by interaction probabilities depend on the method used to evaluate them: uncertainty of predictive models, subjective assessment of experts, or empirical measurement of interaction spatiotemporal variability. However, guidelines for the estimation and documentation of probabilistic interaction data are lacking. This is concerning because our understanding of interaction probabilities depend on their sometimes elusive...

Understanding how vegetation management affects animals' habitat selection patterns is critical for comprehensive conservation planning. As part of a decade-long study (2011-2019) of 486 adult female sage-grouse in central Montana, we investigated how a conservation-based grazing program (CGP) affected greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat selection at two temporal scales: (a) the seasonal scale (four biologically relevant seasons) and (b) the annual scale. We used resource selection functions to assess sagegrouse selection for pastures enrolled in a CGP as well as plant...

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition presents a global threat to ecosystem functions. In terrestrial ecosystems, N-deposition is predicted to increase plant productivity but reduce diversity by bolstering dominant plants that suppress subordinate species. However, herbivores are predicted to offset these effects by consuming excess biomass produced by N-deposition. Here, we use a multifactorial field experiment in a grassland ecosystem to investigate the effects of N-addition on top-down control by herbivores and plant diversity. We show that at ambient N, grasshoppers suppress total...

Environmental DNA techniques are continuously demonstrating their efficiencies over traditional survey methods for detecting rare species. Unionids have a need for focused conservation efforts as they represent some of the most imperiled aquatic species in North America. Freshwater mussels are notoriously difficult to detect using traditional sampling techniques due to their cryptic morphological features, benthic habitat use, and low densities. Further, the persistence of freshwater mussel populations requires that viable fish host species be present during spawning. Therefore, improved...

The frequencies, intensities, and durations of extreme weather are increasing under climate change, furthering biodiversity loss. In the Southwestern USA, rising drought frequencies and intensities are anticipated to increasingly affect wildlife and their habitat. Particularly in highly arid regions, where species live closer to the limit of physiological tolerances, increasing drought emerges as a major threat to biodiversity. Using North American Breeding Bird Survey data (1998-2022) in combination with the Standardized Precipitation-Evaporation Index (SPEI), we estimated the effects of...

Planting a mixture of species during reforestation is of increasing interest, underlying a need to quantify the long-term effects of mixtures on stand development for a wide array of species. Here we report on ∼40 year response of three dual species mixture trials at a moderate quality site in Washington, USA where coast Douglas-fir (DF, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) was grown at 3 m spacing in a 50:50 mix with either western hemlock (WH, Tsuga heterophylla), noble fir (NF, Abies procera) or western white pine (WWP, Pinus monticola). Stand metrics were compared for each trial...