Treesearch

Accurate characterization of Carbon (C) consequences of forest disturbances and management is critical for informed climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. While research into generalized properties of the forest C cycle informs policy and provides abstract guidance to managers, most management occurs at local scales and relies upon monitoring systems that can consistently provide C cycle assessments that explicitly apply to a defined time and place. We used an inventory-based forest monitoring and simulation tool to quantify C storage effects of actual fires, timber harvests, and...

Vulnerability assessments are important tools to assist in climate adaptation planning. Six priority ecosystems were identified in the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region: alpine turf and dwarf-shrubland; aquatic, riparian, and wetland ecosystems in glaciated valleys; subalpine spruce-fir; low-gradient mountain stream reaches; ponderosa pine; and Great Plains streams and riparian areas. Vulnerability to nonclimate and climate stressors for these priority ecosystems is assessed. Criteria used to assess vulnerability include ecosystem traits related to the sensitivity and adaptive...

Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. (eastern hemlock) is dying across much of eastern North America from the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae Annand). Survey studies show that eastern hemlock populations with high foliar nutrient concentrations are associated with low infestation rates, and also suggest that deeply shaded trees may be more susceptible to infestation. Here we examined (1) how foliar nutrient concentration of eastern hemlock changes with varying shade levels; and (2) how nutrient concentration might further change with sustained shade and subsequent HWA infestatio...

The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the anthropocene.Main types of variables included: The database contains 8 773 553 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled...

Nutritional bacterial symbionts enhance the diets of sap-feeding insects with amino acids and vitamins missing from their diets. In many lineages, an ancestral senior symbiont is joined by a younger junior symbiont. To date, an emergent pattern is that senior symbionts supply a majority of amino acids, and junior symbionts supply a minority. Similar to other hemipterans, adelgids harbor obligate symbionts, but have higher diversity of bacterial associates, suggesting a history of symbiont turnover. The metabolic roles of dual symbionts in adelgids and their contributions to the consortium...

We compared crayfish collections from minnow versus microhabitat traps in the Dahomey National Wildlife Refuge, Bolivar County, Mississippi, USA, extending the knowledge of microhabitat trap effectiveness to seasonal bottomland hardwood forest floodplains. Crayfishes were captured in three seasonally flooded habitat types: wooded, trail, and open habitats. The CPUE of vernal crayfish Procambarus viaeviridis and White River crayfish P. acutus was higher in minnow traps, whereas CPUE of swamp dwarf crayfish Cambarellus puer was higher in microhabitat traps. The CPUE did not differ among...

State forest enterprises (SFEs) in Vietnam for decades were the main source of industrial wood production, but smallholder forest plantations have become common. Smallholders need positive financial returns to be viable. Likewise, financial returns are an important consideration of proposals to turn SFEs into joint ventures, because the potentially involved private companies would seek reasonable returns on investment. Financial analyses of smallholder and SFE forest plantations were undertaken to evaluate their competitiveness and profitability, and to assess opportunities and challenges...

This report highlights key findings from a test (“pilot”) of an interior Alaska forest inventory design. The pilot inventoried the forests of the Tanana Valley State Forest (TVSF) and the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR) in the Tanana River Valley of interior Alaska, covering 2.5 million ac. The inventory consisted of a systematic grid of 98 field-measured plots integrated with NASA’s Goddard- LiDAR/Hyperspectral/Thermal (G-LiHT) imaging system. We summarize and interpret basic resource information such as forest area, ownership, volume, carbon stocks in trees, ground layers, dead...

The Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) is a snag-associated species that colonizes and utilizes patches of burned forests typically within 10 years of fire. Previous research has indicated that salvage logging, the removal of dead and dying trees from burned forests, has a negative effect on nesting densities of Black-backed Woodpeckers. One strategy proposed to ameliorate the impacts of dead tree removal on Black-backed Woodpeckers is to retain patches, or islands, of dense snags within the salvage matrix, but this approach remains largely untested. Following the Angora fire of...

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests are historically and ecologically important and also endangered ecosystems in the southeastern United States. In addition to extensive exploitation and land use conversion, one characteristic which contributed to their dramatic decline and presents a continuing challenge to their future recovery is the sporadic timing of their seed production. In this study, about 60 years of cone production data for longleaf pine forests at four different sites were quantitatively characterized from different perspectives. Results indicated that longleaf pine...