Treesearch

Many potential geographic information system (GIS) applications remain unrealized or not yet extended to diverse spatial and temporal scales due to the relative recency of conversion from paper maps to digitized images. Here, we applied GIS to visualize changes in the ecological boundaries of plant hardiness zones and the Köppen-Trewartha classification system between current climate (1981-2010) and future climate (2070-2099), as well as changing climate within stationary state boundaries of the conterminous United States, which provide context for the future of forests. Three climate...

Exotic grass invasions are often facilitated by disturbances, which provide opportunities for invasion by releasing pulses of resources available to invaders. Where disturbances such as prescribed fire are used as a management tool, there is a pressing need to identify ecosystem attributes associated with susceptibility to disturbance-induced invasion. In the Great Basin of the western United States, expansion of the exotic annual grass Bromus tectorum is transforming native ecosystems. In this study we examined long-term understory plant community responses to experimental prescribed fire...

In ponderosa pine forests of western North America, wildfires are becoming more frequent and affecting larger areas, while prescribed fire is increasingly used to reduce fuels and mitigate potential wildfire severity. Both fire types leave trees that initially survive their burn injuries, but will eventually die. Predicting delayed tree mortality has received considerable research attention to aid in post-fire planning and management. The amount of crown scorched is recognized as the most useful variable for discriminating between trees that live or die, but models gain discrimination with...

Two new species, Fomitopsis mounceae and F. schrenkii (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) in the F. pinicola species complex in North America, are described and illustrated. Previous molecular phylogenetic analyses identified three well-delimited lineages that represent F. mounceae and F. ochracea from Canada, the Appalachian Mountains, and the northern United States and F. schrenkii from western and southwestern regions of the United States. Fomitopsis pinicola sensu stricto is restricted to Eurasia and does not occur in North America. Morphological descriptions of basidiocarps and cultures for...

This is a Commentary for the 50th Anniversary Issue of Herpetological Review on the Diseases section of the journal which I initiated in December 2007. This section aimed to accelerate the pace and communication of science findings relative to herpetological emerging infectious diseases. Since the section was launched in late 2007, 185 disease articles by 594 authors have been published, including reports on seven disease-causing agents and a geographic scope spanning 42 countries and 35 US states. A world community has engaged in this work, empowering land managers, local biologists, the...

We examined the relationship between urban trees and the sales price of single-family homes in Tampa, Florida. We chose Tampa, because the city is facing major redevelopment pressure that may impact the association between trees and house price. In particular, a frequently voiced view in Tampa’s development community is that trees adversely affect the value of houses that are being sold for redevelopment. We estimated hedonic models of sales price controlling for house and neighborhood characteristics and correcting for spatial autocorrelation (n = 1,924). We found that trees within 152m...

Background: An important consequence of wildland fire is the production of ash, defined as a continuum of mineral to charred organic residues formed by the burning of wildland fuels. Ash may impact soil health depending on its elemental composition and other factors, which are influenced by fuel quantity and quality, and by combustion completeness. To investigate how ash properties relate to variation in fuels and fire, we collected and analyzed ash samples following prescribed fires in a pine barrens landscape spanning grassland, shrubland, conifer woodland, and deciduous forest. At some...

Xylodon (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) is the largest segregate genus of Hyphodontia s.l. Based on molecular and morphological data, 77 species are accepted in Xylodon to date. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS and 28S sequences, including 38 new ITS and 20 28S sequences of Xylodon species, revealed four species new to science. The new taxa X. exilis, X. filicinus, X. follis and X. pseudolanatus from Taiwan, Nepal, Réunion, Belize, and USA are described and illustrated. In addition, species concepts for Odontia vesiculosa from New Zealand and Xylodon lanatus from U.S.A. are revised and the...

We conducted this assessment to provide information on the current conditions of riparian and wetland ecosystems in reference to their natural range of variability on the Manti-La Sal National Forest during forest plan revision. We used peer-reviewed literature, data from the Forest and other partners, and site visits to evaluate the status of four key ecosystem characteristics: (1) distribution of riparian ecosystems, (2) groundwater and surface water fluctuations, (3) channel and bank stability, and (4) floodplain condition. We determined that riparian and wetland ecosystems of the...

Residents in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) can play an important role in reducing wildfire’s negative effects by performing wildfire risk mitigation on their property. This report offers insight into the wildfire risk mitigation activities and related considerations, such as attitudes, experiences, and concern about wildfire, for people with homes in the Pagosa Fire Protection District of Archuleta County, Colorado. Data come from a social survey and parcel-level rapid wildfire risk assessments administered by FireWise of Southwest Colorado. Results are presented both in graphical...