Treesearch

This resource update provides an overview of forest resources in Louisiana based on an inventory conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program at the Southern Research Station. Estimates are based on field data collected using the FIA annualized sample design and are updated yearly. The estimates presented in this update are for the measurement year 2014 with comparisons made to data reported in 2005. The sample plot population in Louisiana consists of 5,581 plots (2,733 forested plots), collected across a period of 7 years (about 797 total plots, or...

Competition can profoundly affect biodiversity patterns by determining whether similar species are likely to coexist. When species compete directly for space, competitive ability differences should theoretically promote trait and phylogenetic clustering, provided that niche differences are otherwise minimal. Yet many sessile communities exhibit high biodiversity despite minimal reliance on niche differentiation. A potential explanation is that intransitive competition ('rock–paper–scissors' competition) not only promotes species richness but also fosters coexistence among highly dissimilar...

Understanding the environmental impact of bioenergy crops is needed to inform bioenergy policy development. We determined the effects of five biomass cropping systems—continuous maize (Zea mays), soybean (Glycine max)-triticale (Triticosecale ×)/soybean-maize, maize-switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), triticale/sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and triticale-aspen (Populus alba × P. grandidentata)—on soil-saturated hydraulic conductivity (KS) across a toposequence in central Iowa, USA. We compared data from the time of cropping system establishment in 2009 to 4 years post-establishment. Both our 2009...

The Nearctic northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis atricapillis) is a resident of conifer, broadleaf, and mixed forests from the boreal to the southwestern montane regions of North America. We report on a 20-year mark-recapture investigation (1991-2010) of the distribution and density of breeders, temporal and spatial variability in breeding, nestling sex ratios, local versus immigrant recruitment of breeders, breeding age structure, age-specific survival rates, and rate of population change (λ) of this species on the Kaibab Plateau, a forested sky island in northern Arizona, USA. We used...

Expansion of the wildland–urban interface (WUI) and the increasing size and number of wildfires has policy-makers and wildfire managers seeking ways to reduce wildfire risk in communities located near fire-prone forests. It is widely acknowledged that homeowners can reduce their exposure to wildfire risk by using nonflammable building materials and reducing tree density near the home, among other actions. Although these actions can reduce the vulnerability of homes to wildfire, many homeowners do not take them. We examined the influence of risk factors on homeowners’ perceived wildfire...

This study investigates how federal, state, and private corporate forest owners in a fire-prone landscape of southcentral Oregon manage their forests to reduce wildfire hazard and loss to high-severity wildfire. We evaluate the implications of our findings for concepts of social–ecological resilience. Using interview data, we found a high degree of "response diversity" (variation in forest management decisions and behaviors to reduce wildfire losses) between and within actor groups. This response diversity contributed to heterogeneous forest conditions across the landscape and was driven...

The impact of the trucking transportation network flow was modeled for the southern United States. The study addresses a gap in existing research by applying a Bayesian logistic regression and Geographic Information System (GIS) geospatial analysis to predict biorefinery site locations. A one-way trucking cost assuming a 128.8 km (80-mile) haul distance was estimated by the Biomass Site Assessment model. The "median family income," "timberland annual growth-to-removal ratio," and "transportation delays" were significant in determining mill location. Transportation delays that directly...

Land-use and forest management practices may facilitate the invasion success of non-native plants in forests. In this study, we tested if agricultural land abandonment and subsequent forest management contributed to the invasion success of Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera (L.) Small) in the maritime forest of Parris Island, SC. We compared the abundance of Chinese tallow between disturbed and remnant forests, described Chinese tallow establishment patterns in relation to forest management activities, and characterized the structure and composition of disturbed and remnant forests in order...

Research demonstrating the biophysical benefits of urban trees are often used to justify investments in urban forestry. Far less emphasis, however, is placed on the non-bio-physical benefits such as improvements in public health. Indeed, the public-health benefits of trees may be significantly larger than the biophysical benefits, and, therefore, failure to account for the public-health benefits of trees may lead to underinvestment in urban forestry. In addition, the distribution of trees that maximizes bio-physical benefits may not maximize public-health benefits.

Selected allometric equations and fitting strategies were evaluated for their predictive abilities for estimating above ground biomass for seven species of shrubs common to northeastern California. Size classes for woody biomass were categorized as 1-h fuels (0.1–0.6 cm), 10-h fuels (0.6–2.5 cm), 100-h fuels (2.5–7.6 cm), and 1000-h fuels (greater than 7.7 cm in diameter). Three fitting strategies were evaluated - weighted nonlinear least squares regression (WNLS), seemingly unrelated regression (SUR), and multinomial log-linear regression (MLR) - to estimate individual shrub biomass as a...