Treesearch

Managed burning of forests can provide benefits to society including mitigated wildfire risk, improved habitat, and more. However, adverse outcomes of escaped fire or smoke pose risks. I reviewed the evolution of the law regulating forest management burns, explored the current legal architecture, and analyzed the economic incentives for involved actors, in order to identify policy options. Liability standards through most of the twentieth century increasingly placed risk burden on landowners and burners, but increased recognition of the benefits of burns led many States to reverse this...

Torreya taxifoliaArn. (Florida torreya) is a critically endangered (International Union for Conservation of Nature 3.1) conifer with a very limited native range in the USA, occurring in two counties in Florida and one in Georgia where it persists in ravines along the Apalachicola River. The species suffered a major decline, ∼ 99% loss, beginning in the 1930s, with a total population estimated at 357,500 in the early 1900s decreasing to 1,000 individuals currently remaining in the wild. The initial decline was attributed to an unknown fungal disease with Fusarium torreyae(T. Aoki, J. A....

Exhaust from diesel combustion engines is an important contributor to urban air pollution and poses significant risk to human health. Diesel exhaust contains a chemical class known as nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs) and is enriched in 1-nitropyrene (1-NP), which has the potential to serve as a marker of diesel exhaust. The isomeric nitro-PAHs 2-nitropyrene (2-NP) and 2-nitrofluoranthene (2-NFL) are secondary pollutants arising from photochemical oxidation of pyrene and fluoranthene, respectively. Like other important air toxics, there is not extensive monitoring of...

The forests and associated wood products of the Pacific coast region (PCR)—British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California—play an important role in mitigating climate change by storing carbon long term in durable wood products and providing a significant share of non-fossil fuel-based building materials and other renewable products. Understanding the supply chains and flows of these wood products into and out of the PCR is essential for supporting this goal. The objective of this research paper is to quantify the trade flows in the four PCR jurisdictions. This analysis focuses on the...

Anthropogenic climate change is altering patterns of extreme weather events across the planet, with far-ranging consequences for biodiversity. Increases in the frequency, duration, and severity of droughts are anticipated to substantially impact natural ecosystems. Here, we predicted the extent to which 1221 terrestrial vertebrates in the contiguous United States will be increasingly exposed to annual (12-month) and prolonged (36-month) drought, under three global climate models and two representative concentration pathways. On average, a377% increase in annual drought exposure and a 579%...

Constructed soils are soils that are created with a mixture of various materials. An innovative soil exchange program - the Clean Soil Bank (CSB) in New York City allows recycling of clean glacial outwash sediments excavated from depth at construction sites. One previous study showed that soils constructed from CSB sediment and compost can effectively support crop growth in community gardens, but no research has been conducted on its potential usage as a medium for tree growth. Moreover, biochar has been used to improve soil quality, but its efficacy for street trees incorporated into...

Urban forests in coastal regions are vulnerable to changing climate conditions, especially sea level rise (SLR). Such climate change impacts add complexity for urban forest managers as they make decisions related to tree species selection. The New York City (NYC) Parks Department manages over 660,000 street trees, many of which occupy sites that are susceptible to saltwater flooding. In order to build a resilient urban tree canopy in these flood-prone zones, we ranked tree species based on their overall tolerance to coastal vulnerability factors such as high winds, salt spray, and soil...

Differential use of resources among bird species has been examined extensively in diet and nesting sites, but few studies have assessed this regarding avian nest materials. We assessed the structure and composition of nests in a group of co‐existing passerine shrubland birds at a site in Massachusetts, USA. We found, measured, collected, and dissected nests, and then weighed nest materials in morphological groups (e.g., bark, twigs, feathers) to determine if our seven focal species were using different nest materials. Among species, we compared proportional material masses in complete...

La vertiente del pacifico de Nicaragua contiene areas naturales como el bosque seco, esta zona, aunque es un mosaico de ecosistemas y microclimas predominan las reducidas precipitaciones con una marcada epoca seca, yes importante para la diversidad aviar por las especies linicas que contiene. Este contiene mas del 50% de las especies reportadas en Nicaragua, ademas de un relevante numero de investigaciones que se han llevado a cabo historicamente y mas activamente en los ultimos 30 años . Esta zona muestra una mezcla d e aves presentes en otras macroregiones como la vertiente del Caribe...