Treesearch

This Resource Update provides an overview of forest resources in Wisconsin based on an inventory conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program at the Northern Research Station in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). Data 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 2015.

For many, citizen science is exciting because of the possibility for more diverse, equitable partnerships in scientific research with outcomes considered meaningful and useful by all, including public participants. This was the focus of a symposium we organized at the 2015 conference of the Citizen Science Association. Here we synthesize points made by symposium participants and our own reflections. Professional science has a participation problem that is part of a larger equity problem in society. Inequity in science has negative consequences including a failure to address the needs and...

The importance of lignin as a recalcitrant constituent of soil organic matter (SOM) remains contested. Associations with iron (Fe) oxides have been proposed to specifically protect lignin from decomposition, but impacts of Fe-lignin interactions on mineralization rates remain unclear. Oxygen (O2) fluctuations characteristic of humid tropical soils drive reductive Fe dissolution and precipitation, facilitating multiple types of Fe-lignin interactions that could variably decompose or protect lignin. We tested impacts of Fe addition on 13C methoxyl-labeled lignin mineralization in soils that...

Acoustic tomography for urban tree inspection typically uses stress wave data to reconstruct tomographic images for the trunk cross section using interpolation algorithm. This traditional technique does not take into account the stress wave velocity patterns along tree height. In this study, we proposed an analytical model for the wave velocity in the longitudinal–radial (LR) plane of a live tree. Both field and laboratory stress wave testing were conducted to determine the stress wave velocity patterns in healthy and defective trees. The results showed that the ratio of the wave velocity...

This paper describes the testing plan and current progress for assessing the efficacy of using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to detect fungal decay within Douglas-fir beams. Initially, the beams were assessed using a variety of physical, mechanical, and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) test methods including micro-resistance drilling, Janka hardness, ultrasonic transmission, and GPR. After initial baseline assessment, beams were inoculated with brown rot fungus, Fomitopsis pinicola, and exposed to above-ground conditions approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of Gulfport, Mississippi, USA....

Communicating emissions impacts to the public can sometimes be difficult because quantitatively conveying smoke concentrations is complicated. Regulators and land managers often refer to particulate-matter concentrations in micrograms per cubic meter, but this may not be intuitive or meaningful to everyone. The primary purpose of this guide is to serve as a tool for communicating potential particulate matter (PM2.5) levels during wildfire events using visual representation. Examples of visibility impairment under various levels of smoke concentration and humidity have been modeled using...

Since amphibian declines were first proposed as a global phenomenon over a quarter century ago, the conservation community has made little progress in halting or reversing these trends. The early search for a “smoking gun” was replaced with the expectation that declines are caused by multiple drivers. While field observations and experiments have identified factors leading to increased local extinction risk, evidence for effects of these drivers is lacking at large spatial scales. Here, we use observations of 389 time-series of 83 species and complexes from 61 study areas across North...

This paper examines the accuracy of a recently developed hygrothermal-corrosion model which predictsthe corrosion of fasteners embedded in wood by comparing the results of the model to a one year fieldtest. Steel and galvanized steel fasteners were embedded into untreated and preservative treated woodand exposed outdoors while weather data were collected. Qualitatively, the distribution of corrosionproducts along the length of the fastener were in agreement with the simulation results. Quantitatively,the combined hygrothermal-corrosion model predicted 20% less corrosion than measured in...

Growing demand for bioenergy, biofuels, and bioproducts has increased interests in the utilization of biomass residues from forest treatments as feedstock. In areas with limited history of industrial biomass utilization, uncertainties in the quantity, distribution, and cost of biomass production and logistics can hinder the development of new bio-based industries. This paper introduces a new methodology to quantify and spatially describe delivered feedstock volumes and costs across landscapes of arbitrary size in ways that characterize operational and annual management decision-making....

The future of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum) forests in the southwestern United States is uncertain because climate-change-induced stresses are expected to increase tree mortality and place greater constraints on regeneration. Silvicultural treatments, which include thinning, are increasingly being used to address forest health concerns by restoring ponderosa pine forests to more open conditions representative of historical forest structure. In light of the greater use of thinning and mounting concerns about the future of the species at the southern edge of its range,...