Treesearch

If an organism becomes rare enough that it no longer participates in certain interspecific interactions, it can be said to have become ecologically extinct, even though it is still present. This form of extinction is much less recognized than global extinctions, although it may have ramifications for ecological community function. Here, we describe a case of possible or pending ecological extinction of an endemic Hawaiian plant. We performed over 120 h of systematic flower visitation observations of the endangered Hawaiian mint, Stenogyne angustifolia, in its wild habitat. The robust size...

Sensor networks within the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory (SSCZO) and Kings River Experimental Watersheds (KREW) document changes in the water cycle spanning the west slope of the southern Sierra Nevada in California. The networks were established to document water dynamics throughout the critical zone spanning profile, hillslope, catchment, and watershed scales at key locations that reflect systematic differences in bioclimatic conditions imposed by a strong elevation gradient. The critical zone observatory attempts to constrain the hydrologic budget via representative measureme...

This study examines how visual resource management functions in three community forests in British Columbia. We interpret the findings through the lens of visible stewardship theory that encourages care for forest landscape values and making visible the evidence of management activities. We conducted visual quality effectiveness evaluations on each of the forests to assess achievement of Visual Quality Objectives determined by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development. In addition, we interviewed forest staff and community members to collect data on...

The 9,670-acre Cascade Head Scenic-Research Area (Cascade Head) is a picturesque place of headlands, forested hills, meadows, and estuary on the north-central coast of Oregon. Its dramatic features and changing atmosphere have had a strong appeal for people for centuries. Established in 1974 primarily to ensure protection of its scenic values, its official designation as a Scenic-Research Area came a full decade ahead of the first site in the Congressional system of National Scenic Areas. The Cascade Head Act identifies key qualities and uses of distinct landscape subareas within its...

The field of visual resource stewardship has historically focused on assessments of visual quality and impacts to daytime scenery. In recent years, increasing numbers of visitors have been traveling to National Parks to participate in nighttime recreation and astronomy-based park programming. In many parks, nighttime programs have become some of the most popular ranger-led activities and visitors have come to expect superlative nighttime views of starry skies and park landscapes just as they do during the day. However, development of frameworks, methods, and protocols for assessing...

Section 106 of the National Historic Places Act requires Federal agencies to consider the impacts, including visual impacts, of their undertakings on the ability of certain historic properties to convey their historic significance. Visual impacts of Federal agency undertakings must also be considered under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for their potential to affect historic properties, scenic resources present in the landscape, and the scenic experiences of people who view the landscape. This paper discusses important differences between visual impact analysis (VIA)...

The effect of rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) on tree size–density relations has not been thoroughly investigated despite such relations forming the basis of contemporary forest stand stocking metrics. As an initial exploration of the effects of varying CO2 concentrations on size–density relations, we treated model stands of trembling aspen with increased concentration of CO2 (560 ppm) for 11 years in northern Wisconsin and found compelling differences in stand development compared with those in ambient atmosphere. Pure and mixed trembling aspen forests grew...

This paper describes the development of a visual management tool that allows landscape architects and planners, government officials, and community members to view the visual characteristics of the landscape in three dimensional (3D) real time from their homes or offices. The tool uses Google Earth, a free and easy-to-learn software that could be used by citizens and public officials. The user can view various landscape overlays, including land cover, visual quality, and visual sensitivity, and assess the extent to which proposed development will fit the scenic characteristics of the...

The Georgia Scenic Byways program is a "grassroots effort … to identify, preserve, promote, and protect treasured corridors throughout the state" (Georgia Department of Transportation 2013, p. 32). To date, the Georgia Department of Transportation has designated 15 Scenic Byways. This paper presents a model "valued landscape detector," a smartphone application that uses social media and augmented reality mechanisms to engage interested citizens in evaluating the scenic value of highways (or stretches of highways). Citizen data collectors, guided by GIS via their smartphones, are invited to...

While there is increased need for cultural resource conservation and management in North America, there are few assessment approaches that provide robust integration of visual and cultural resources. Our research, focused on the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, used a model to integrate visual and cultural resources for prioritizing landscape-scale conservation. We investigated how "place" can be studied in relation to visual resources given what we know from existing cultural resource databases such as the National Register. The study measured visual quality and...