Treesearch

To detect and avoid illegal logging of valuable tree species, identification methods for the origin of timber are necessary. We used next-generation sequencing to identify chloroplast genome regions that differentiate the origin of white oaks from the three continents; Asia, Europe, and North America. By using the chloroplast genome of Asian Q. mongolica as a reference, we identified 861 variant sites (672 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); 189 insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphism) from representative species of three continents (Q. mongolica from Asia; Q. petraea and Q. robur from...

We describe an efficient five-step, enantioselective synthesis of (R,R)- and (S,S)-lignin dimer models possessing a B-O-4 linkage, by using the Evans chiral aldol reaction as a key step. Mitsunobu inversion of the (R,R)- or (S,S)-isomers generates the corresponding (R,S)- and (S,R)-diastereomers. We further extend this approach to the enantioselective synthesis of a lignin trimer model. These lignin models are synthesized with excellent ee (>99%) and high overall yields. The lignin dimer models can be scaled up to provide multigram quantities that are not attainable by using previous...

Since 1960, the Forest Service has been guided by the multiple-use concept, which recognizes five major uses for public lands—timber, water, range, recreation, and fish and wildlife habitat—and mandates that all five should be equally considered in management plans. In recent decades, however, it has become evident that people also value many other benefits offered by the natural world, such as support for indigenous cultures and sustainable communities, protection for endangered species, and carbon sequestration. The “ecosystem services” concept has emerged as a way to describe a much...

This publication is part of a series of research notes that provide an overview of the invasive plant species monitored on an extensive systematic network of plots measured by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station (NRS). Each research note features one of the invasive plants monitored on forested plots by NRS FIA in the 24 states of the midwestern and northeastern United States. Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), a shrub of the Oleaster family (Elaeagnaceae), is native to eastern Asia and arrived in the United States in the...

Total consumption of wood and paper products and fuelwood, in roundwood equivalents, increased between 1965 and 1988 from 13.3 to 19.6 billion cubic feet per year. Since 1988, it has been about 20 billion cubic feet per year. Total per capita consumption increased between 1965 and 1988, 68 to 80 ft3 per year. Since 1988 through 2011, per capita consumption has declined 42 ft3 per year. Consumption excluding fuelwood increased steadily between 1965 and 1988, from 12.3 to 16.8 billion cubic feet, before flattening out between 1989 and 2007. Per capita consumption, excluding fuelwood, has...

Samples of bark and logs damaged by bark beetles were collected from 16 states of Mexico from 2007 to 2012. Fifteen bark beetle species were found within the bark and log samples and were examined for phoretic mites and arthropod associates. Thirty-three species of mesostigmatid mites were discovered within the samples. They were identified in several trophic guilds based on the mites’ feeding habits if known. Over half of the 33 mite species were found to be predators feeding on arthropods or nematodes, with the most voracious mites in this study being Dendrolaelaps quadrisetus, Hypoaspis...

The health, sustainability, and commercial viability of eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra) are currently under threat from thousand cankers disease. The disease is caused by an invasive bark beetle species, the walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis), and its associated fungal pathogen (Geosmithia morbida). Range expansion of the beetle and pathogen has likely been facilitated by transport of infested walnut forest products. Preventing colonization of these products is crucial to limiting further spread of thousand cankers disease. This study evaluated three insecticides for their...

An ecological vegetation classification approach has been developed in which a combination of vegetation attributes (physiognomy, structure, and floristics) and their response to ecological and biogeographic factors are used as the basis for classifying vegetation types. This approach can help support international, national, and subnational classification efforts. The classification structure was largely developed by the Hierarchy Revisions Working Group (HRWG), which contained members from across the Americas. The HRWG was authorized by the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)...

We conducted studies to assess the impact of traditional fire management on soil organic carbon and total nitrogen pools. We compared organic carbon and total nitrogen pools in forest floor and mineral soil (0–100-cm depth) in three areas burned by local communities (B) with adjacent unburned areas (UB) (three paired sites; 1, 5 and 9 years since fire; hereafter B1-UB, B5-UB and B9-UB) in a montane forest in southern Ethiopia. Despite differences in time since fire and dominant post-fire vegetation, forest floor and mineral soil organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations and pools...

Reforesting degraded urban landscapes is important due to the many benefits urban forests provide. Urban soils are highly variable, yet little is known about how this variability in urban soils influences tree seedling performance and survival. We conducted a greenhouse study to assess health, growth, and survival of four native tree species growing in native glacial till, coal ash, urban fill, and sandy clean fill soils collected from urban forest restoration sites in New York City. Using a multifactorial design, nine replicates of silver maple (Acer saccharinum), black birch (Betula...