Treesearch

Currently, Armillaria root disease causes large growth/volume losses (e.g., 16-55%) in areas of western North America (Filip and Goheen 1984; Cruickshank 2011; Lockman and Kearns 2016). Armillaria root disease is typically more severe in trees that are maladapted to climate-induced stress (Ayres and Lombardero 2000; Kliejunas et al. 2009; Sturrock 2011). Thus, it is likely that climate change will further exacerbate damage from Armillaria root disease, which can further predispose trees to beetle attack (e.g.,Hertert et al. 1975; Tkacz and Schmitz 1986; Goheen and Hansen 1993).

Phellinus noxius (Corner) G. H. Cunn is a vastly destructive, fast-growing pathogen that affects a wide range of woody hosts in pan-tropical areas, including Asia, Australia, Africa, and Oceania (Ann et al. 2002). This invasive pathogen causes brown root-rot disease on cacao, coffee, and rubber, as well as diverse fruit, nut, ornamental, and other native/exotic trees, and little host specificity is known to occur (Sahashi et al. 2010). Symptoms of P. noxius infection can include reduced tree growth, defoliation, and branch dieback; however, P. noxius can also survive as a saprophyte by...

Daily flight activity patterns of forest insects are influenced by temporal and meteorological conditions. Temperature and time of day are frequently cited as key drivers of activity; however, complex interactions between multiple contributing factors have also been proposed. Here, we report individual Bayesian network models to assess the probability of flight activity of three exotic insects, Hylurgus ligniperda, Hylastes ater, and Arhopalus ferus in a managed plantation forest context. Models were built from 7,144 individual hours of insect sampling, temperature, wind speed, relative...

ASHRAE Standard 160, Criteria for Moisture-Control Design Analysis in Buildings, was published in 2009. The standard sets criteria for moisture design loads, hygrothermal analysis methods, and satisfactory moisture performance of the building envelope. One of the evaluation criteria specifies conditions necessary to avoid mold growth. The current standard requires that the 30-day running average relative humidity at the material surface be less than 80 % when the 30-day running average surface temperature is between 5°C (41°F) and 40°C (104°F). This criterion was intended to strike a...

The third full annual inventory of Illinois' forests reports more than 4.9 million acres of forest land and 99 tree species. Forest land is dominated by oak/hickory and elm/ash/cottonwood forest types, which make up 92 percent of total forest area. The volume of growing stock on timberland has been rising since 1948 and currently totals 7.0 billion cubic feet. Average annual net growth of growing stock from 2010 to 2015 was about 146.1 million cubic feet per year. This report includes additional information on forest attributes, land-use change, carbon, timber products, and forest health....

Zinc naphthenate (ZnN) has been widely used for dip treatment of Department of Defense wood packaging materials but is no longer available. Research was conducted to evaluate the preservative efficacy and corrosiveness of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered alternatives to ZnN. Efficacy of “green” preservatives (defined here as not containing pesticides that require EPA registration) was also evaluated. Most of the EPA-registered preservatives provided decay and termite protection similar to or greater than that of ZnN. Four of the formulations provided protection...

Silvopastures — integrated tree-forage-livestock production systems — have the potential to boost farm resource use and income. These systems take advantage of the beneficial interactions among system components, add biodiversity, and increase animal comfort. The intentional and careful combining of trees and livestock in time and space can yield both short-and long-term returns and have positive environmental outcomes. In well-managed silvopasture systems, trees can reduce livestock stress by protecting them from inclement weather or by reducing ambient temperatures and radiation. They...

We investigated survival, reproduction, and population growth (λ) for a declining elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni) population in South Dakota, USA, 2011-2015. We obtained survival data from 125 calves and 34 yearlings. We determined survival and pregnancy rates for 42 adults (2-8 years old) and 39 old adults (≥8 years old). We combined population vital rates into a matrix model, which indicated a slightly growing population but with considerable uncertainty (math formula = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.93-1.13). Our elasticity analysis suggested asymptotic growth rates were most sensitive to proportional...

Cut-to-length (CTL) harvest systems have recently been introduced for thinning third-growth, young (<25 years old) redwood forests (Sequoia sempervirens (Lamb. ex D. Don) Endl.) in northern California. This type of harvesting can effective for thinning overstocked stands consisting of small-diameter trees. However, forestland managers and government agencies overseeing forest operations have concerns about potential environmental impacts such as soil compaction or damage to remaining trees because harvesting often occurs when the soil is wet. This study was designed to (1) determine...

Soils with high rock content are common in many US forests, and contain large amounts of stored C. Accurate measurements of soil bulk density and rock content are critical for calculating and assessing changes in both C and nutrient pool size, but bulk density sampling methods have limitations and sources of variability. Therefore, we evaluated the use of small-diameter soil cores (SD), irregular soil volume excavation (IR), and a nuclear density gauge (ND) to measure bulk density and rock content, and estimate C and N pools in three 10-cm increments to a 30-cm depth in a glacial till soil...