Treesearch

By the late 1920s, most of the big southern pine lumber operations had cut out their virgin timber, or were on the cusp of doing so. Only a few had started dabbling with sustainable forestry—“perpetual forestry,” as some called it. This USDA Forest Service image, taken in January 1926 by Wilbur R. Mattoon, captures the essence of the limited southern pine silvicultural options available at that time.

Much like flowering plants set the stage for an explosion of herbivore and pollinator diversity, the origin of dead wood in early Devonian forests (~400 mya) was followed by an incredible diversification of life, giving rise to some of the most successful morphological adaptations and symbioses on Earth. Approximately one third of all forest insect species worldwide depend directly or indirectly on dying or dead wood (i.e., saproxylic), with major functional groups including wood feeders, fungus feeders, saprophages, and predators. Although beetles and flies dominate saproxylic insect...

Consisting of about 1000 species globally, beetles of the family Passalidae feed on decomposing wood in tropical and subtropical forests throughout the world. Passalids live in subsocial family groups within their galleries, characterized by overlapping generations, cooperative brood care, and a complex communi- cation system involving stridulations. In what has been referred to as an “external rumen,” larval passalids feed on the microbe-rich frass and finely chewed wood paste produced by the wood feeding adults. Endosymbionts found within the guts of passalids include a variety of...

Diptera rivals Coleoptera as perhaps the most abundant and diverse order of saproxylic insects, with saproxylic habits known from at least 75 (48%) of the 157 fly families recognized globally. Some fly families are mostly if not entirely saproxylic including Aulacigastridae, Axymyiidae, Canthyloscelidae, Clusiidae, Pachyneuridae, Pantophthalmidae, Periscelididae, Xylomyidae, and Xylophagidae. Saproxylic flies are common inhabitants of virtually all moist to wet microhabitats including sap flows, under bark, in rotting wood, tree hollows, and fungal fruiting bodies. Most species are saprophagous...

The small southern pine engraver, Ips avulsus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), is one member of a guild of southern pine bark beetles that causes millions of dollars of losses to southern U.S. pine forests annually. Our objective was to determine the impact of a commercial preparation of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo-Crivelli) Vuillemin (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) in protecting pine host plant tissue from colonization and damage by I. avulsus and on the B. bassiana–induced mortality of I. avulsus adults during the first 2 wk of host attack. The field trials were...

Downed woody material (DWM) is a key component in forest ecosystems with age, structure, and disturbance described as primary factors that influence DWM dynamics. In particular, much emphasis is placed on large coarse woody debris (CWD). Fine woody debris (FWD) (less than 7.62 cm diameter), duff, and litter also contribute to carbon stocks, provide habitat, add to nutrient cycling, and are often the most available fuels for fire, yet are regularly overlooked in studies describing the forest floor. Throughout the middle montane zone within the Intermountain West region USA, interior...

Whether intentionally or accidentally introduced, non-native woody plants now feature prominently in many ecosystems throughout the world. The dying and deadwood produced by these plants represent novel resources for saproxylic insects, but their suitability to these organisms remains poorly understood. We herein review existing knowledge about the utilization of non-native wood species by saproxylic insect communities and also provide several previously unpublished case studies from the USA, Germany, Portugal/Spain, and New Zealand. The first case study suggests that the relative number of...

Enhanced understanding of subsurface water storage will improve prediction of future impacts of climate change, including drought, forest mortality, wildland fire, and strained water security. Previous research has examined the importance of plant‐accessible water in soil, but in upland landscapes within Mediterranean climates, soil often accounts for only a fraction of subsurface water storage. We draw insights from previous research and a case study of the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory to define attributes of subsurface storage; review observed patterns in their distribution;...

Climate change has changed the phenologies of species worldwide, but it remains unclear how these phenological changes will affect species interactions and the structure of natural communities. Using a novel approach to analyse long-term data of 66 amphibian species pairs across eight communities, we demonstrate that phenological shifts can significantly alter the interaction potential of coexisting competitors. Importantly, these changes in interaction potential were mediated by non-uniform, species-specific shifts in entire phenological distributions and consequently could not be...

National forests and grasslands in the United States are governed by land and resource management plans that should be updated every 15 years to reflect changing social, economic, and environmental conditions and to address new priorities. A new forest planning rule finalized in 2012 introduces new planning approaches and requirements, and several forests have completed the forest assessment phase of their planning process. Using document analysis and interview data, we analyzed four completed forest assessments to gain insights into early forest planning efforts under the 2012 rule. We...