Treesearch

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is an ecologically important species in high-altitude, mid-latitude areas of western North America due to the habitat and food source it provides for many wildlife species. Recent concerns about the long-term viability of whitebark pine stands have arisen in the face of high mortality due to a combination of fire suppression, white pine blister rust, and mountain pine beetle outbreaks. Most previous studies of whitebark pine have focused on pure stands, yet the spatially representative Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) dataset shows that whitebark pine...

Pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) are the principal dispersal agent for pinyon pine seeds in the Great Basin region of the Intermountain West. However, Pinyon jays have exhibited significant population declines over much their range in recent decades, even as pinyon-juniper woodlands appear to have been expanding over the past 150 years. In order to identify and quantify habitat preferences for nesting, seed caching, and general foraging within the woodlands of the Great Basin, we measured stand and tree parameters of Pinyon jay nest, forage and cache sites in Idaho and Nevada using...

Mangrove species are keystone components in coastal ecosystems and are the interface between forest land and sea. Yet, estimates of their area have varied widely. Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data from ground-based sample plots provide one estimate of the resource. Initial FIA estimates of the mangrove resource in Florida varied dramatically from those compiled by other sources. Estimates of mangrove forest in Florida ranged from FIA’s less than 100,000 acres to nearly 600,000 acres elsewhere. FIA discovered inherent measurement difficulties, accessibility constraints, and adverse...

The US Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station has been working in the Hawaiian islands since 2010. During this time they have installed a base grid of field plots across all of the Hawaiian Islands and an intensified sample of two experimental forests, the Laupāhoehoe and Pu‘u Wa‘awa‘a units of the Hawaii Experimental Tropical Forests (HETF). These intensified plots used the standard P3 FIA plot design but included a number of additional measurements that were designed to address forest health issues specific to Hawai›i›s...

The Forest Service and Esri recently entered into a partnership: (1) to distribute FIA and other Forest Service data with the public and stakeholders through ArcGIS Online, and (2) to facilitate the application of the ArcGIS platform within the Forest Service to develop forest management and landscape management plans, and support their scientific research activities. This partnership (in combination with the Agency’s master agreement with Esri) includes access to ArcGIS Online, the GeoPlanner, story maps, map journals, and business intelligence tools. In this presentation, we review the...

Forest ecosystem services (ES) are linked to sustaining human well-being. Recognizing an inappropriate economic valuation of ecosystem properties and processes, many ecologists, economists, and political scientists have pushed for an increasing awareness and appreciation of ES. Many definitions of ES include both direct and indirect benefits humans derive from ecosystem properties or processes. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) typology classifies ES into four categories: provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services; this framework enables linkages between Northern...

Family forest owners rule! Across the United States, no other groups owns more forestland than families, individuals, trusts, and estates – collectively referred to as family forest owners. In total this group owns 117 million hectares of forestland, or 36% of the US forestland. Understanding the attitudes, behaviors, and general characteristics of this group of owners is necessary for understanding not just the current state of the forests, but also its future. This information is also important for designing effective programs and programs to meet the need of current and future owners....

According to the latest data from the US Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey, there are an estimated 4 million family forest ownerships (with 10+ acres) across the U.S. Approximately 20% of these ownerships have a woman as the primary owner. A great percentage of the other ownerships are owned by a couple where the second owner is a woman and, given normal mortality patterns with woman outliving men, many more women will eventually become the primary decision makers. There has been increasing interest in establishing programs aimed specifically at female forest owners, but there...

We revisit the classic theory of forest succession that relates shade tolerance and species replacement and assess its validity to understand patch-mosaic patterns of forested ecosystems of the USA. We introduce a macroscopic parameter called the “shade tolerance index” and compare it to the classic continuum index in southern Wisconsin forests. We exemplify shade tolerance driven succession in White Pine–Eastern Hemlock forests using computer simulations and analyzing approximated chronosequence data from the USDA FIA forest inventory. We describe this parameter across the last 50 years...

Mangrove forests are highly productive and have large carbon sinks while also providing numerous goods and ecosystem services. However, effective management and conservation of the mangrove forests are often dependent on spatially explicit assessments of the resource. Given the remote and highly dispersed nature of mangroves, estimation of biomass and carbon in mangroves through routine field-based inventories represents a challenging task which is impractical for large-scale planning and assessment. Alternative approaches based on geospatial technologies are needed to support this...