Treesearch

Evaluating hydrology within coastal marine terrace features has always been problematic as watershed boundaries and stream detail are difficult to determine in low gradient terrain with dense bottomland forests. Various studies have improved hydrologic detail using USGS Topographic Contour Maps (Hansen 2001, Eidson and others 2005) or Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) in gullied piedmont terrain (James and others 2007), and the Maryland coastal plain (Lang and others 2012). Research within Turkey Creek subwatershed near Huger, SC used LIDAR and field verification to estimate the size of...

Globalization is triggering an increase in the establishment of alien insects in Europe, with several species having substantial ecological and economic impacts. We investigated long-term changes in rates of species spread following establishment. We used the total area of countries invaded by 1171 insect species for which the date of first record in Europe is known, to estimate their current range radius (calculated as [invaded area]0.5/π). We estimated initial rates of radial spread and compared them among different groups of insects for all years (1800-2014) and for a subset ofmore...

Natural resource policymakers and planners increasingly rely on regional and national-level spatial data describing projections of future housing growth, to anticipate development impacts on natural resources and identify policy and planning needs. Such projections have not always been well-grounded in demographic and other factors that influence population and thus housing growth. We develop an empirical model describing population change and housing growth in the rural Midwestern U.S., as a function of demographic transition, socioeconomic factors, and natural amenities. The empirical...

A simulation study was conducted to determine the impacts of minor drainage for silvicultureon wetland hydrology.

Minor drainage is normally used to facilitate regeneration and timber harvesting by temporarily removing surface water from inundated forestland. Specific ditch depth and spacing recommendations are not listed in our manual, as each site is individually evaluated.

Earth's climate is changing, as evidenced by warming temperatures, increased temperature variability, fluctuating precipitation patterns, and climate-related environmental disturbances. And with considerable uncertainty about the future, Forest Service land managers are now considering climate change adaptation in their planning efforts. They want practical approaches to managing forests and rangelands that will sustain key ecosystem functions, services, and critical habitats in the face of climate change. Climate change studies are proliferating, and locating pertinent information, as it...

Brunnichia ovata (Walter) Shinners is a native, perennial, woody vine with the potential to become an aggressive competitor of the federally endangered shrub Lindera melissifolia (Walt.) Blume. Our study simulated habitat disturbances to hydrologic regime and light availability that may occur naturally, or through active management practices aimed at ensuring the sustainability of L. melissifolia, and we determined the species responses to these changes. First-year plants of L. melissifolia and B. ovata were grown at varying densities, in flooding or nonflooding treatments, and receiving...

The Turkey Creek watershed is a third-order coastal plain stream system draining an area of approximately 5,240 hectares of the Francis Marion National Forest and located about 37 miles northwest of Charleston near Huger, South Carolina. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service maintained a streamflow gaging station on Turkey Creek from 1964 to 1981.

Since the establishment of a collaborative study 10 years ago, research on the third-order, 5240 ha forested Turkey Creek watershed in South Carolina’s coastal plain has advanced the understanding of rainfall-runoff relationships, stream hydrograph characteristics, and water table dynamics for dominant soil types. Surface water dynamics were shown to be regulated primarily by the water table, which is dependent upon precipitation and evapotranspiration. The baseflow is, however, highly variable, resulting in zero streamflow about one-third of the time, on average. These processes regulate...

This resource update provides an overview of timber product output (TPO) and use in Michigan based on questionnaires designed to determine the size and composition of the State's primary wood-using industry, its use of roundwood, and its generation and disposition of wood residues. This study was a cooperative effort between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MI-DNR) and the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) unit at the Northern Research Station (NRS) of the U.S. Forest Service. The MI-DNR surveys all known primary wood-using mills and FIA processes and analyzes the survey...