Treesearch

The emerald ash borer is an invasive pest causing widespread mortality of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) across the USA. Broad-scale models can help identify management strategies to maintain lowland ash ecosystems. Simulating lowland forest dynamics in landscape models has been problematic because lowland hydrology is extremely complex, making most hydrology algorithms intractable at the landscape scale. A succession extension (PnET-Succession) of the LANDIS-II forest landscape model was recently updated to include simple algorithms to approximate lowland hydrology, but estimating parameters...

Silvicultural practices in forestry include activities such as site preparation, tree planting, thinning, and tree harvesting. Sometimes single trees are removed while in other cases large tracts of forest are clearcut. Logging activities bring about many environmental changes in light, temperature, soil moisture and vegetation structure, and thus can influence local plant and animal communities. Ground beetles (Carabidae) are good bioindicators of environmental change because they are (1) highly sensitive to habitat alterations, (2) diverse, (3) abundant, and (4) well known taxonomically....

Primary dispersers of seeds and spores play critical roles in structuring the distributions of species, yet the role of predators as secondary dispersers remains largely unknown. This is especially true of mycorrhizal fungi, which often rely on small mammals to consume and disperse spores. We investigated how predator size, diet, and movement influence secondary spore dispersal in a terrestrial carnivore community by quantifying spore loads in scats (dispersal quantity) and integrating movement rates with gut passage time to determine dispersal distance (dispersal quality). Spores in...

Forest managers recognize that proactive management strategies, such as forest assisted migration (FAM) of tree species, intended to accelerate the pace of forest adaptation, may be necessary to maintain resilient forests and combat the stressors of climate change. However, the impact of interactions between climate change and ungulate browsers of trees, both of which have profound effects on the landscape, on the success of FAM efforts is unknown. We used a forest landscape model (LANDIS‐II) to simulate assisted migration and browsing by ungulate (white‐tailed deer [ Odocoileus virginianus...

Conifers have been widely planted to stabilize soils and promote site recovery on former hardwood sites that were cleared for agriculture. Decades of confer occupancy may have lasting effects on nutrient availability, organic matter cycling, soil acidity, and soil buffering capacity. In many areas of eastern North America, conifer plantings consisted of non-native Pinus species planted on abandoned agricultural land that was once mesophytic hardwood forest. To investigate the long-term effect of Pinus occupancy on former hardwood soils, we compared the soil chemistry of P. echinata and P....

We studied the effects of trapping intensity and lure combinations on Scolytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) collections, using funnel traps at 16 sites including forests and Christmas tree farms near Erie, Pennsylvania and Toledo, Ohio, United States of America. In 2002, using 16 or 64 traps per site, all baited with α-pinene + ethanol, we collected 146 627 specimens from 40 species altogether. With 16 traps, 15–24 scolytine species were collected per site, whereas 28–31 species were collected with 64 traps. On average, 55% of all scolytine species collected with 16 traps were collected...

Background: Frequent low-intensity fires historically shaped forest composition and structure in the southeastern United States of America (USA). However, in modern times, fire suppression has inadvertently facilitated the recruitment of mesophytic trees and potentially the invasion of non-native woody plants. In this study, we selected twelve woody broadleaved plants from forested areas of South Carolina and categorized them into three groups: (1) non-native invasive species, (2) native pyrophytic species, and (3) native mesophytic species. We used these categories to examine bark...

Project VITAL (Vacant Lot Improvement to Transform Adolescent Lives) is a study designed to evaluate the impact of revitalized vacant lots on adolescent health in Baltimore, Maryland. We implemented a mixed-methods research approach, which included surveys of 14- to 19-year-olds, observations of nearby vacant lots, and street block assessments during 2023–2024. The aim was to understand how greening vacant lots affected adolescent mental health, experiences of violence, and food insecurity. Linear regression models were used to examine the association between living near a maintained...

Climate-change adaptation planning processes and tools are increasing in number and evolving rapidly. During times of innovation and proliferation, a potential danger is incoherence, when well-intended contributions can overwhelm, create confusion, or mask complementarities. A shared vision is needed to avoid duplication, reduce misunderstandings, and facilitate work across jurisdictions to steward resources undergoing profound changes. Such a vision would document fundamental tools and approaches while allowing flexibility to match highly varied management contexts and organizational...

While many tree professionals recognize the importance of planting quality stock and a diversity of species to enhance longevity and increase urban forest resiliency, the availability of such stock is often limited.To address this disconnect, we conducted 3 focus groups with growers, designers, urban foresters, and other technical experts from the Chesapeake Bay watershed region (USA) to identify challenges and opportunities for growing greater numbers of high-quality, underused species.Contract growing was seen as a key opportunity for increasing quality and diversity. Additionally,...