Treesearch

Activities of ecosystem engineers can interact with other disturbances to modulate rates of key processes such as productivity and nutrient cycling. Bioturbation, movement of soil by organisms, is a widespread form of ecosystem engineering in terrestrial ecosystems. We propose that bioturbation by southeastern pocket gophers (Geomys pinetis), an abundant but declining ecosystem engineer in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests, accelerates nutrient dynamics of the forest floor by burying litter and then reduces litter consumption and nitrogen (N) volatilization losses in the...

This study assessed the combined effects of increased urbanization and climate change on streamflow in the Yadkin-Pee Dee watershed (North Carolina, USA) and focused on the conversion from forest to urban land use, the primary land use transition occurring in the watershed. We used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool to simulate future (2050–2070) streamflow and baseflow for four combined climate and land use scenarios across the Yadkin-Pee Dee River watershed and three subwatersheds. The combined scenarios pair land use change and climate change scenarios together. Compared to the baseline,...

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) pose wide ranging environmental risks to many parts of the US and across the globe, but datasets for CAFO risk assessments are not readily available. Within the United States, some of the greatest concentrations of CAFOs occur in North Carolina. It is also one of the only states with publicly accessible location data for classes of CAFOs that are required to obtain water quality permits from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); however, there are no public data sources for the large number of CAFOs that do not require EPA water...

Conservation and recovery of species of concern necessitates evaluating forest habitat conditions under changing climate conditions, especially in the early stages of the delisting process. Managers must weigh implications of near-term habitat management activities within the context of changing environmental conditions and a species' biological traits that may influence their vulnerability to changing conditions. Here we applied established population-habitat relationships based on decades of monitoring and research-management collaborations for the Kirtland's Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii...

Fungal species in the genera Armillaria and Desarmillaria (Physalacriaceae, Agaricales) are well known for their symbiotic relationships with Gastrodia elata and Polyporus umbellatus, important components of traditional medicine in Asia. In addition, some species in these genera cause Armillaria root disease, which has had a negative economic impact by damaging and destroying urban, horticultural and forest trees. Five species within Armillaria and Desarmillaria have been previously reported in South Korea, based primarily on basidioma morphology: A. cepistipes, A. gallica, A. mellea, A....

Mature longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) trees were harvested to compare wood property data for opposing bark-to-pith wood strips representing the northern and southern cardinal (or compass) directions. For each of the ten 70-yr-old trees used in the study, wood property data were compared at breast height (BH) and three relative heights: one-quarter height (1Q), midheight (MID), and three-quarter height (3Q). Scanning of the specimens by X-ray densitometry gave specific gravity (SG) profiles that were used to determine wood properties for comparison. No significant differences were...

Raffaelea lauricola is the causal agent of laurel wilt and a fungal symbiont of its vector, the redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus. Beetle populations increase rapidly where redbays have died from laurel wilt. In a series of experiments using bolts from healthy and diseased trees, X. glabratus reproduced better in bolts from diseased redbay; ratio of beetles emerged to entrance holes (BE/EH ratio) ranged from 4.1 to 6.0 in diseased bolts versus 0.3 to 1.9 in healthy bolts. Emergence was greater from redbay bolts when their ends were treated with paraffin wax compared to untreated...

Background: Forest biodiversity is the foundation of many ecosystem services, and the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning and processes (BEF) has been a central issue in biodiversity studies. Although many hypotheses have been developed to interpret global gradients of biodiversity, there has not been complete agreement on mechanisms controlling biodiversity patterns and distributions. Differences may be due to limited observation data and inconsistencies of spatial scales in analysis. Methods: In this study, we take advantage of USDA Forest Service forest inventory and...

In boreal forests and alpine treelines, it is debatable how the temperature sensitivity of tree-ring growth should vary with changes in climate over time and the extent to which seasonal stem increments are controlled by leaf physiology. We aim to test the hypothesis that, in cold-limited forests, maximizing stem growth rate around summer solstice is closely related to foliage turnover, which generally results in high sensitivity of stem growth and less sensitivity of nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) to early-season temperatures. Our analysis was based on repeat-census observations of stem...

This resource update provides an overview of forest resources in North Carolina based on an inventory conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program at the Southern Research Station in cooperation with the North Carolina Forest Service. Data estimates are based on field data collected using the FIA annualized sample design and are updated yearly