Treesearch

Windbreaks are an agroforestry practice that have been used extensively in the United States for centuries. Researchers have investigated why producers use windbreaks through regional surveys; however, no national analysis has been conducted on windbreak extent or adoption, limiting understanding of key information needed to guide technical assistance and research. To address this knowledge gap, the National Agroforestry Producer Survey was conducted. The survey was completed by 5682 producers with agroforestry (52% response rate). This study provides results from the 2734 producers who...

Seasonal snowmelt from forested mountain catchments is the primary water source for both people and ecosystems in the western United States. As changes in climate and vegetation alter relationships between snow accumulation and water availability, quantifying the influence of ecosystem structure on snow water resources is a critical challenge. To address this knowledge gap, we performed 2 years of distributed snow surveys to quantify how vegetation structure, topography and winter conditions interact to control net snow accumulation. The ratio of net snow water equivalence (SWE) at peak...

This report summarizes the results of the National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The charge of the NWOS includes gathering and reporting information on private forest ownerships from across all U.S. States, protectorates, and territories. The survey was conducted in the USVI for the first time in 2021. This report focuses on families, individuals, trusts, estates, and family partnerships, collectively referred to as family forest ownerships, that own at least 1 acre of forest land in the USVI. The summary results include information about their forest...

We combine Indigenous and Western scientific ontologies to explore the deep history of pinyon pine in the Holocene Great Basin. We address 61 Theft of Pine Nuts (TPN) oral histories transcribed over the last 152 years. Contemporary Paiute, Shoshone, and Wá∙šiw storytellers still tell these narratives, which five Indigenous coauthors heard growing up. Considered judiciously and in concert with independent corroboration, these traditional oral histories (often dismissed as “myths”) potentially convey significant historical landmarks. Four themes emerge: (1) pine nuts have been a driving...

Ecological connectivity models commonly derive resistance surfaces from habitat suitability; however, it remains unclear how two-dimensional (2D) versus three-dimensional (3D) representations of landscape propagate through this modeling pipeline, particularly in urban environments. This study evaluated the sensitivity of habitat suitability and connectivity outputs derived from these models to the inclusion of 3D landscape structure for two bird species with contrasting habitat associations, the Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) and Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus), in Los...

Climate change is expected to alter the extent and severity of forest pest damage, with substantial economic and ecological consequences, but predicting future pest impacts is challenging because of complex feedbacks among climate, pests and host trees. Here we use 20 years of data from the conterminous USA to assess how bioclimatic and biotic factors have influenced forest damage by 30 high-impact pest species and to identify ecological signals in those relationships. We found consistency in pest damage responses to maximum temperature in the warmest month, including recent average...

Climate change is affecting nearly all social and environmental determinants of health. However, the extent of resulting cumulative impacts on cardiovascular and other noncommunicable diseases is not known. To address this gap and inform future research, we conducted an ecological evaluation of associations between 14 long‐term climate anomaly metrics and prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in the United States. We calculated long‐term anomaly metrics as the difference between their respective 1970–1979 baseline mean and 2013–2022 modern mean values. With fitted random...

Shortleaf pine has the broadest range of the southern pine species, occurring in 22 states and extending north into New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York (Staten Island). Shortleaf pine has been understudied compared to loblolly pine and longleaf pine, typically favored for timber production and conservation value, respectively. The extensive range of shortleaf pine contributes to a high degree of variability within and among its ecosystems and contributes to the need to understand regional context in considering its ecology and management. The goal of this paper is to review and synthesiz...

National Forest Inventory (NFI) data are typically limited to sparse networks of sample locations due to cost constraints. While design-based estimators provide reliable forest parameter estimates for large areas, there is increasing interest in model-based small area estimation (SAE) methods to improve precision for smaller spatial, temporal, or biophysical domains. SAE methods can be broadly categorized into area- and unit-level models, with unit-level models offering greater flexibility, making them the focus of this study. Ensuring valid inference requires satisfying model distributiona...

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is increasingly preferred to traditional stormwater management as it may confer environmental, social, or health co-benefits from its planted vegetation, although evidence for co-benefits remains sparse. Using the Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey, we conducted a study of the impact of GSI installations in Philadelphia neighborhoods from 2010 to 2018 on resident perceptions of the neighborhood social environment that reflect social cohesion. Exposure was estimated as the total area of GSI within 250 m and 1 km of participants’ homes,...