Treesearch

Over the past few decades, reports of forest health problems have concerned scientists and forest managers in loblolly pine forests of the southeastern United States. Several interacting factors likely contribute to observed reductions in loblolly pine health, including low resource availability on many upland sites that were once dominated by longleaf pine. Currently, land managers are interested in converting such sites back to longleaf pine, while maintaining ecosystems services that are now provided by loblolly pine. Recent research suggests that underplanting longleaf pine in loblolly...

This chapter discusses the native ranges, histories of introduction, recent research efforts, and the potential impacts of some of 22 species of invasive scolytids in California’s Mediterranean forest ecosystems. The diversity of native and ornamental tree species, the varied climatic zones, and the widespread importation of nursery stock and packaged cargo have made California a fertile location for the introduction and establishment of bark and ambrosia beetles. Eight of the twenty two taxa are ambrosia beetles; four are spermophagous (e.g., Coccotrypes and Dactylotrypes sp.); six are...

In 2008, the goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), was fi rst linked to elevated levels of oak mortality in southern California (CA), but it appears to have impacted oak woodlands and mixed conifer forests across all land ownerships in this region for nearly two decades. This unexpectedly damaging indigenous exotic phloem- and wood-boring pest is hypothesized to have been introduced in the late 1990s to early 2000s via infested fi rewood from southeastern Arizona to San Diego County, CA. The life history and impact of A. auroguttatus on oaks were...

We are investigating biogeochemical cycling in a mixed hardwood forest in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province in Montgomery County, Virginia. The broad aim of the study is to understand how carbon, water and nutrient cycles vary among diverse stand types in a relatively small spatial area. The specific objectives here are to determine patterns in soil CO2 efflux or respiration (Rs) and water use efficiency among cover types. Four 0.02 ha sample plots, replicated four times, were established in four cover types – white oak (WO, Quercus alba), Scarlet oak (SO, Q, coccinea), chestnut...

Currently, the need in the pine market is to develop higher sawtimber quality trees. The pine biomass and pulpwood market supports the low end of the product chain. However, we must improve on the quality of the southern pine for construction lumber if the southern region is expected to capture the shortfall of the sawtimber market expected in the future. Various pine genetic types ranging from open-pollinated to varietal seedlings must be closely evaluated for quality characteristics as to determine the best genetic material for regeneration. In 2007, a test of mass control-pollinated...

In a bid to control the loblolly pine decline complex, stakeholders are using the selection and deployment of genetically superior families that are disease tolerant. It is vital that we do not compromise other important properties while breeding for disease tolerance. In this preliminary study, near infrared spectroscopy was utilized in conjunction with data collected via conventional methods to develop partial least squares regression models that were used to rapidly predict the basic density, stiffness and ultimate strength of 14 genetically superior loblolly pine families that have...

Fire is a natural process and the dominant disturbance shaping plant and animal communities in many coniferous forests of the western US. Given that fire size and severity are predicted to increase in the future, it has become increasingly important to understand how wildlife responds to fire and post-fire management. The Angora Fire burned 1243 hectares of mixed conifer forest in South Lake Tahoe, California. We conducted avian point counts for the first 3 years following the fire in burned and unburned areas to investigate which habitat characteristics are most important for re-establishi...

The attrition of women from science with increasing career stage continues, suggesting that current strategies are unsuccessful. Research evaluation using unbiased metrics could be important for the retention of women, because other factors such as implicit bias are unlikely to quickly change. We compare the publishing patterns of men and women within the discipline of ecology and show sexual dimorphism in self-citation leading to higher h-index scores for men despite lower citations per paper, which is exacerbated by more career absences by women. However, if self-citations and non-researc...

At the 18th Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference held in Knoxville, TN, a range of topics germane to the ecology and management of southern forests was addressed in 101 oral and 61 poster presentations. Papers are grouped into 14 topic sections and include soil and site relationships, forest threats, conservation, nutrition, fire, biometrics, biomass, growth and development, pine regeneration, longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, PineMap, hardwood regeneration and hardwood management. These proceedings provide insight into the latest research conducted by myriad entities including...

Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) are important measures for protecting the waters of the U.S., but few studies have compared monitoring strategies and implementation success of forestry BMPs across states. In order to assess the status of state forestry BMPs, a survey was sent to the state forestry agency in each U.S. state regarding their forestry BMP program. The survey included questions pertaining to agency involvement in developing BMP guidelines, rates of BMP implementation, monitoring methods, and the nature of state BMP guidelines (whether non-regulatory, quasi-regulatory,...