Treesearch

We used non-native invasive plant data from the US Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, spatial statistical methods, and the space (cover class)-for-time approach to quantify the invasion potential and success ("invasibility") of three major invasive shrubs (multiflora rose, non-native bush honeysuckles, and common buckthorn) in broadly classified forest-type groups in seven Upper Midwest states. Smoothed maps of presence and cover percent showed a strong clustering pattern for all three invasive shrubs despite their different ranges. The species are clustered...

Understanding the role of stream hydrologic and morphologic variables on the selection of spawning sites by salmonid fishes at high resolution across broad scales is needed for effective habitat restoration and protection. Here we used remotely sensed meter-scale channel bathymetry for a 13.5 km reach of Chinook salmon spawning stream in central Idaho to describe habitat quality and set boundary conditions for a two-dimensional surface water model coupled with a three-dimensional hyporheic flux model. Metrics describing ambient hyporheic flow intensity and habitat quality, which is...

Identification of genes underlying genomic signatures of natural selection is key to understanding adaptation to local conditions. We used targeted resequencing to identify SNP markers in 5321 candidate adaptive genes associated with known immunological, metabolic and growth functions in ovids and other ungulates. We selectively targeted 8161 exons in protein-coding and nearby 50 and 30 untranslated regions of chosen candidate genes. Targeted sequences were taken from bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) exon capture data and directly from the domestic sheep genome (Ovis aries v. 3; oviAri3)....

This study examines conversion narratives of Iraq War military veterans who have become antiwar political activists. I examine how antiwar veterans construct and emplot prewar, wartime, and postwar narrative periods to shape and reclaim their moral identities as patriots fighting for a just cause, and how through a communal antiwar story they work to both challenge and reappropriate the rhetorical framework they associate with justifications for the invasion of Iraq. The study draws on in-depth interviews with forty members of Iraq Veterans Against theWar (IVAW). In sum, the research...

Fire regimes are ultimately controlled by wildland fuel dynamics over space and time; spatial distributions of fuel influence the size, spread, and intensity of individual fires, while the temporal distribution of fuel deposition influences fire's frequency and controls fire size. These "shifting fuel mosaics" are both a cause and a consequence of fire regimes. This paper synthesizes results from two major fuel dynamics studies that described the spatial and temporal variability of canopy and surface wildland fuel characteristics found in US northern Rocky Mountain forests. Eight major...

Forest hydrology studies the distribution, storage, movement, and quality of water and the hydrological processes in forest-dominated ecosystems. Forest hydrological science is regarded as the foundation of modern integrated water¬shed management. This chapter provides an overview of the history of forest hydrology and basic principles of this unique branch of hydrological sciences and forest ecology. Then, the chapter presents the general methodology and techniques that are widely used in forest hydrological investigations. A sum¬mary of key world-wide discoveries on the forest-water...

Ongoing challenges to understanding how hazard exposure and disaster experiences influence perceived risk lead us to ask: Is seeing believing? We approach risk perception by attending to two components of overall risk perception: perceived probability of an event occurring and perceived consequences if an event occurs. Using a two-period longitudinal data set collected from a survey of homeowners living in a fire-prone area of Colorado, we find that study participants’ initial high levels of perceived probability and consequences of a wildfire did not change substantially after extreme...

In recent decades much attention has been given to the Arctic environment, where climate change is happening rapidly. Black carbon (BC) has been shown to be a major component of Arctic pollution that also affects the radiative balance. In the present study, we focused on how vegetation fires that occurred in northern Eurasia during the period of 2002–2013 influenced the budget of BC in the Arctic. For simulating the transport of fire emissions from northern Eurasia to the Arctic, we adopted BC fire emission estimates developed independently by GFED3 (Global Fire Emissions Database) and...

The inclusion of quadratic mean diameter (QMD) and relative spacing index (RSI) substantially improved the predictive capacity of height–diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) and crown ratio models (CR), respectively. Data were obtained from 208 permanent plots established in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma during 1985–1987 and remeasured for the sixth time (2012–2014). Existing height–d.b.h. and CR estimation models for naturally occurring shortleaf pine forests (Pinus echinata Mill.) were updated and modified for improved performance. Additionally, eight height–d.b.h. relationship...

The role of planting in the restoration of southern pine ecosystems that are underrepresented on the landscape is simple to the point of being rudimentary--when a seed source of the desired species is absent from a stand, planting is the only way to re-establish the desired species in the stand being restored. The advantages are obvious, especially when application of planting is done in a manner that draws on existing knowledge of seed sources, nursery practice, site preparation, and planting methodology in a manner that resembles reforestation after clearcutting. Much headway is being...