Treesearch

The history of California's vegetation, from origins in the Mesozoic through Quaternary is outlined. Climatic and geologic history and the processes driving changes in vegetation over time are also described.

John C. Moser’s career spans over 50 years, and his research has focused on understanding the biology of town ants (Atta texana) and phoretic mites and other associates of ants and pine bark beetles. His approach to developing methods for the control of these pests has been to understand more completely the biology of these organisms. This research approach has established Moser as an internationally recognized expert in leaf-cutting ant biology and as a premier authority on phoretic mites and other associates of pine bark beetles. John’s efforts have led to the largest collection (over...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18-25. A part of the New Deal of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it provided unskilled manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources on the Nation’s forest and agricultural lands. The CCC was designed to provide employment for young men in relief families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression while at the same time implementing a general natural...

Philip C. Wakeley, a pioneer research scientist for the U.S. Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station in New Orleans, LA, began his career in 1924. He had an illustrious career with the Southern Station, and his research became the basis for the reforestation of the South's devastated forests. Upon his retirement in 1964, he presented the Station a personal overview of his early research, station programs, and personalities of many early scientists. Never before published, this history presents an intriguing look at the development of forestry research in the South from the eyes...

Early in the 20th century, the forests in the South were devastated by aggressive harvesting and many millions of acres of forest land needed reforestation. Foresighted individuals began a committed effort to restore this land to a productive condition. This effort required dedication, cooperation, and leadership. A small cadre of individuals led the restoration of the South’s forests that became the basis of the South’s economy. Many of these individuals are profiled in this document.

The Rocky Mountain Research Station’s Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) team synthesizes information about wildland fires, their history in U.S. ecosystems, and their effects on U.S. wildland plants, lichens, and animals. Found at www.feis-crs.org/feis/, FEIS publications can be used for many purposes, including land use planning, restoration and rehabilitation planning, wildlife and range projects, and related environmental assessments and impact statements. While traditionally used for fire management decisions, FEIS can also be used for NEPA, restoration, and other planning needs...

As a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United States annually prepares an inventory of carbon that has been emitted and sequestered among sectors (e.g., energy, agriculture, and forests). For many years, the United States developed an inventory of forest carbon by comparing contemporary forest inventories to inventories that were collected using different techniques and definitions from more than 20 years ago. Recognizing the need to improve the U.S. forest carbon inventory budget, the United States is adopting the Forest Carbon Accounting Framework...

This study explores the spatial association between social vulnerability and smoke plume dispersion at the census block group level for the 13 southern states in the USDA Forest Service’s Region 8. Using environmental justice as a conceptual basis, we use Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis to identify clusters or “hot spots” for the incidence of both higher than average socially marginal populations and plume dispersion. The larger health disparities and environmental justice literature suggests that lower income and minority populations in the U.S. face greater exposure than middle/upper...

Since uncertainty remains about how white rot fungi oxidize and degrade lignin in wood, it would be useful to monitor changes in fungal gene expression during the onset of ligninolysis on a natural substrate. We grew Phanerochaete chrysosporium on solid spruce wood and included oxidant-sensing beads bearing the fluorometric dye BODIPY 581/591 in the cultures. Confocal fluorescence microscopy of the beads showed that extracellular oxidation commenced 2 to 3 days after inoculation, coincident with cessation of fungal growth. Whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses based on...

About 10 million ha of forests are classi­ed as having moderate to high ­re hazards in the Western United States (Stephens and Ruth 2005), many of which are characterized by ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa), an integral component of three forest cover types and a major component of >65 percent of all forests in the Western United States (Burns and Honkala 1990). Prior to Euro-American settlement, many ponderosa pine forests were open and parklike, as frequent thinning of small-diameter [<19 cm diameter at breast height (d.b.h.)] and ­re-intolerant trees by low-intensity surface ­res and...