Treesearch

Over the last 20 years, all states within the US have required all cigarettes sold to be “fire safe” or “fire standards compliant” meaning that they must pass ASTM standard E2187. Though these cigarettes are designed to self-extinguish, there have been recent studies suggesting that these “fire safe” cigarettes (FSCs) can still ignite mattresses and other furnishings, but there has been no guidance for fire investigators whether FSCs can ignite natural fuels, such as duff and needles, that can be the source of a wildland fire. This work sets out to investigate whether FSCs can indeed be...

As governments around the world seek to develop and implement co-management practices with Indigenous peoples and local communities, there are many questions about how to foster collaborative and just agreements that support self-determination. Despite policy advancements enabling more co-management and shared stewardship within the United States (U.S.), possibilities for co-management are complicated by historical injustices that have hindered Tribal access to ancestral land and cultural practices. We use a multiple case study approach, examining three case studies from the Western U.S....

Increasing aridity has driven widespread synchronous fire occurrence in recent decades across North America. The lack of historical (pre-1880) fire records limits our ability to understand long-term continental fire-climate dynamics. The goal of this study is to use tree-ring reconstructions to determine the relationships between spatiotemporal patterns in historical climate and widespread fire occurrence in North American forests, and whether they are stable through time. This information will address a major knowledge gap required to inform projections of future fire.

Public land management decisions rely on science but there is a disconnect between research and practical application; this is referred to as the research–management gap. Within the context of the United States (US) National Wilderness Preservation System, this gap has implications across 111 million acres of land managed by four federal agencies. To better understand how to bridge research with management within the US wilderness context, we conducted facilitated conversations with 68 wilderness managers using interactive virtual whiteboards to guide conversations around decision contexts,...

Developing the capacity to monitor species diversity worldwide is of great importance in halting biodiversity loss. To this end, remote sensing plays a unique role. In this study, we evaluate the potential of Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) data, combined with conventional satellite optical imagery and climate reanalysis data, to predict in situ alpha diversity (Species richness, Simpson index, and Shannon index) among tree species. Data from Sentinel-2 optical imagery, ERA-5 climate data, SRTM-DEM imagery, and simulated GEDI data were selected for the characterization of...

Management treatments in ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States (SWUS) are largely done for wildfire mitigation and restoration to lower tree densities. However, lack of natural ponderosa pine regeneration in undisturbed forests (i.e., no occurrence of stand-replacing events) may require management treatments to promote regeneration. We conducted a field and modeling study in 77 ponderosa pine forests across 7 SWUS locations, with the goal of evaluating management impacts on recent natural regeneration (∼20 y). We categorized management into 3 broad categories: unmanaged,...

Bedrock rivers adjust to the properties of the rock into which they incise, imprinting the geologic past on Earth’s surface. We compared rock properties and channel form along the Dry Fork in the Allegheny Mountains, West Virginia, as it crosses between Mississippian sandstone and carbonate rock units, to investigate how the depositional history of channel-margin bedrock influences modern channel form. We used thin-section petrography to interpret site-specific depositional environments. We quantified rock strength with point-load testing, discontinuity spacing by measuring bed and...

We often turn to nature to get away from the clamor of urban life. Doing so has been shown to lower our stress levels, reduce blood pressure, and help us sleep better. But seeking nature to improve our health may have a paradoxical effect on the denizens of these areas. The sounds we create and carry into the natural soundscape, from our conversations to the whir of mountain bike wheels or the roar of off-highway vehicles (OHVs), can be stressful to wildlife. The next time you walk with friends or family on a trail in a local park, the mountains, the woods, or a wilderness area, take...

Tropical forests abound with regional and local endemic species and house at least half of the species on Earth, while covering less than 7% of its land (Lahssini et al., 2022; Bolívar-Santamaría et al., 2021; Bullock et al., 2020; Wilson, 1988; Gentry, 1988; as cited in Skole and Tucker, 1993). Their clearing, burning, draining, and harvesting can make slopes dangerously unstable, degrade water resources, change local climate, or release to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases (GHGs) the organic carbon (C) that they store in their biomass and soils. These forest disturbances accounted for...

Silvopasture is increasingly recognized as a nature-based solution to climate change. However, few studies have quantified the total carbon storage potential of silvopasture in humid continental climates, complicating efforts to understand climate mitigation potential. In this study, we compared the carbon stocks of silvopastures established by afforestation of trees into pastures (silvopasture) with pasture that remained without trees (treeless pasture) on five farms in the Northeastern United States. Total carbon content was measured in the woody, herbaceous, and soil pools for silvopastu...