Treesearch

Among the 17 provinces, territories, and states that comprise western North America, approximately 18 percent of the 8.4 million km2 of forested land base is designated as protected areas to ensure the in situ conservation of forest biodiversity. Jurisdictions vary substantially however, in their responsibilities, protected area coverage, and conservation policies. Here we demonstrate a novel approach to identify current and potential future conservation gaps for genetic populations across a tree species’ range based on (1) statistical species distribution maps generated from 250 m remote...

Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae) is an invasive forest insect that has caused mortality of eastern (Tsuga canadensis) and Carolina hemlock (T. caroliniana) at an alarming rate. Now infesting 19 states and over 400 counties of the eastern United States, HWA poses a significant threat to native host species. The current biological and chemical methods for protecting these keystone species are expensive, time consuming, and short-lived. For the long-term preservation of both hemlock species, ex situ genetic conservation efforts such as seed collection and storage may be the best...

that forest tree species will undergo population-level extirpation or species-level extinction during the next century. Project CAPTURE (Conservation Assessment and Prioritization of Forest Trees Under Risk of Extirpation) is a cooperative effort across the three U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA FS) deputy areas to establish a framework for conservation priority-setting assessments of forest tree species across the entire United States. Project CAPTURE uses extensive lists of life history trait data, as well as climate change and pest and pathogen threat information, to...

Several analyses have been done or are underway to evaluate the vulnerability of individual forest tree species to climate change. Species vulnerability assessments allow managers to allocate limited resources to the management of those species that are most threatened. But we also know that threats to individual populations of species may vary across the landscape, and that populations may contain unique and potentially valuable genetic variants that should be conserved. We propose a framework for prioritizing populations within species for gene conservation activities in which maps of...

Trees and woodlands in the United Kingdom are currently subject to a range of threats including loss and fragmentation of native woodland and escalating pest and disease outbreaks. The largely unknown impacts of climate change pose a number of questions when considering afforestation and reforestation. There are frequent calls to develop resilient woodlands, robust enough to deal with these challenges but there is uncertainty over what this means in terms of species mixes and use of local provenance versus non-local planting material. Conserving and making appropriate use of the current...

The primary aim of this article is to enhance understanding about how two commonly used PPGIS approaches—community workshops and internet surveys—differ in who they bring to the environmental planning table. A secondary aim is to expand knowledge about favored destinations and activities associated with public forest road networks, with a focus on exploring how favored destinations and activities differ for urban and rural residents. Our study contributes to the field of environmental planning and management in several ways. First, it helps fill the gap in knowledge about whether and how...

Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) is a global voice for plant conservation via its worldwide network of botanic gardens and partners. Tree conservation has been a strong focus of BGCI’s program for many years. In collaboration with Fauna & Flora International, BGCI runs the Global Trees Campaign (GTC, www.globaltrees.org), the only international program dedicated to saving the world’s threatened tree species. Through the GTC, we prioritise and protect the trees of greatest conservation concern, and improve and promote tree conservation action globally. As a foundation of...

In order for harvesting contractors to stay ahead of increasing costs, it is imperative that they employ all options to maximize productivity and efficiency. Transportation can account for half the cost to deliver wood to a mill. Contractors seek to maximize truck payload to increase productivity. The Forest Operations Research Unit, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service located in Auburn, AL has accumulated data from various research projects on alternative trailers and loading techniques that allow harvesting contractors to increase payload. This paper presents the results of...

A Tigercat 845D3 swing-to-tree tracked feller-buncher was evaluated while operating on four sites located in Butler, Covington, Crenshaw, and Monroe counties in south Alabama. Study sites were comprised of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and ranged in age from 14 to 16 years with a mean tree size of 6.2 to 7.6 inches at Diameter Breast Height (DBH). The feller-buncher incorporated several new design features which included a high-speed shear head, a high capacity accumulating head, an adjustable shear opening, and an improved boom and swing system to increase fuel efficiency. The feller-buncher...