Treesearch

As an alternative to open pile burning, use of forest wastes from fuel hazard reduction projects at Blodgett Forest Research Station for electricity production was shown to produce energy and emission benefits: energy (diesel fuel) expended for processing and transport was 2.5% of the biomass fuel (energy equivalent); based on measurements from a large pile burn, air emissions reductions were 98%-99% for PM2.5, CO (carbon monoxide), NMOC (nonmethane organic compounds), CH4 (methane) and BC (black carbon), and 20% for NOx and CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases. Due to transport challenges and...

The implementation of US federal forest restoration programs on national forests is a complex process that requires balancing diverse socioecological goals with project economics. Despite both the large geographic scope and substantial investments in restoration projects, a quantitative decision support framework to locate optimal project areas and examine tradeoffs among alternative restoration strategies is lacking. We developed and demonstrated a new prioritization approach for restoration projects using optimization and the framework of production possibility frontiers. The study area...

Herbivory can shape the dynamics of plant populations, including effects on survival and reproduction, and is in turn affected by environmental factors that vary in space and time. White-tailed deer are significant herbivores in North America that have been broadly documented to affect plant reproductive success. If variation in the frequency and impact of herbivory by deer correlates with a broad-scale latitudinal gradient, climactic effects may be important for shaping plant–herbivore interactions. Alternatively, a lack of broad-scale gradients would suggest local factors such as plant...

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) is an economically important pathogen of cucurbits that is transmitted both horizontally and vertically. Although ZYMV is seed-transmitted in Cucurbita pepo, the potential for seed transmission in virus-resistant transgenic cultivars is not known. We crossed and backcrossed a transgenic squash cultivar with wild C. pepo, and determined whether seed-to-seedling transmission of ZYMV was possible in seeds harvested from transgenic backcrossed C. pepo. We then compared these transmission rates to those of non-transgenic (backcrossed and wild) C. pepo.The...

Road projects are like trains—slow to get rolling, averse to getting off track, and hard to slow down. As a result, the best opportunities to incorporate wildlife accommodations into a project are in the early stages of project development, where deadlines are more flexible and the larger issues of road corridor impacts on regional landscapes are usually considered. However, people concerned about the impacts of road projects are often frustrated trying to learn exactly what is being proposed, and how they can have their concerns addressed. Project managers are under pressure to deliver...

Fire is a natural disturbance that is nearly ubiquitous in terrestrial ecosystems. The capacity to burn exists virtually wherever vegetation grows. In some forested landscapes, fi re is a principal driver of rapid ecosystem change, resetting succession ( McKenzie et al. 1996a ) and changing wildlife habitat (Cushman et al. 2011 ), hydrology ( Feikema et al. 2013 ), element cycles ( Smithwick 2011 ), and even landforms (Pierce et al. 2004 ). In boreal forests, for example, recurring wildfi res are the main cause of compositional and spatial patterns ( Wein and MacLean 1983 ), where a fi...

There are more than 35,000 cerambycid species in the world (Švácha and Lawrence 2014), with over 1000 species, representing over 300 genera, in North America. Adult cerambycids vary greatly in size, from as short as 1.5 mm in length (Decarthria stephensi) to as long as 167 mm (Titanus giganteus) (Haack 2016). Nearly all cerambycids feed on plant tissue as both adults and larvae, but cerambycids in the genus Elytroleptus are one exception whereby they mimic and subsequently prey on adult lycid beetles (Eisner et al. 2008).

Chitosan is a hydrophilic and biodegradable polysaccharide with antimicrobial properties. It has low toxicity to non-target organisms and is considered an environmentally friendly preservative. In this study, the efficacy of chitosan polymer (> 50 kDa) as a wood preservative was evaluated against the subterranean termites Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). The treatability and leachability of chitosan from wood was also studied. Visual ratings and mass losses were used to assess the degree of termite damage to the wood blocks, while percent termite mortality after two...