Treesearch

Although tropical forests account for only a fraction of the planet's terrestrial surface, they exchange more carbon dioxide with the atmosphere than any other biome on Earth, and thus play a disproportionate role in the global climate. In the next 20 years, the tropics will experience unprecedented warming, yet there is exceedingly high uncertainty about their potential responses to this imminent climatic change. Here, we prioritize research approaches given both funding and logistical constraints in order to resolve major uncertainties about how tropical forests function and also to...

To better accomplish their mission of an informed public, environmental education organizations often exchange ideas, share financing, and distribute overhead through collaboration. Yet it remains to be seen whether benefits of these collaborations extend to the public. We examine two possible benefits: the ability of the organizations to act as representatives of the public interest, and equitable access to environmental educational materials. We model patterns of public access to water-related education across organizations using two surveys in metropolitan Phoenix, AZ. This enables the...

This resource update provides an overview of forest resources in Oklahoma based on an inventory conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program at the Southern Research Station, in cooperation with Oklahoma Forestry Services. Estimates are based on field data collected using the FIA annualized sample design and are updated yearly, creating a moving average. Where appropriate, the estimates presented in this update compare data from the 2014 measurement year with data reported in 2013 (table 1). The Oklahoma sample plot population in 2014 consists of 7,535...

Conversion of underutilized forest biomass to bio-oil could be a niche market for energy production. In this work, bio-oil was produced from underutilized forest biomass at selected temperatures between 425–500°C using an auger reactor. Physical properties of bio-oil, such as pH, density, heating value, ash, and water, were analyzed and compared with an ASTM standard to document the effect of pyrolysis temperature. All of the properties analyzed in this study, except for the ash content of the bio-oil, met the ASTM standard. Chemical composition of bio-oil was also analyzed, and the...

A large scale silvicultural trial was designed to examine the effectiveness of five treatments in reducing the potential future impacts of gypsy moth infestation and oak decline on upland hardwood forests in the Daniel Boone National Forest in southeastern Kentucky. Three of the five prescriptions were implemented with a mechanical harvesting system. The system consisted of a swing-to-tree feller buncher, chainsaw limbing and topping in the woods and skidding with a grapple skidder. The three mechanically harvested prescriptions were shelterwood with reserves, thinning to B-line, and...

This report is a joint effort of the Southwest Regional Climate Hub and the California Subsidiary Hub (Sub Hub). The Southwest Regional Climate Hub covers Arizona, California, Hawai‘i and the U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah and contains vast areas of western rangeland, forests, and high-value specialty crops (Figure 1). The California Sub Hub works with the issues of climate change effects on forests and agriculture in California, including internationally important specialty crops. The southwestern region contains high climatic diversity, with locations that...

Provides current information on lumber and plywood production and prices; employment in the forest industries; international trade in logs, lumber, and plywood; volume and average prices of stumpage sold by public agencies; and other related items. Current data and downloadable Excel files are available online.

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key component of the hydrologic cycle in terrestrial ecosystems and accurate description of ET processes is essential for developing reliable ecohydrological models. This study investigated the accuracy of ET prediction by the DRAINMOD-FOREST after its calibration/validation for predicting commonly measured hydrological variables. The model was tested by conducting an eight year simulation of drainage and shallow groundwater dynamics in a managed mid-rotation loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation located in the coastal plain of North Carolina, USA. Modeled...

Water resource management is becoming increasingly challenging in northern China because of the rapid increase in water demand and decline in water supply due to climate change. We provide a case study demonstrating the importance of integrated watershed management in sustaining water resources in Chifeng City, northern China. We examine the consequences of various climate change scenarios and adaptive management options on water supply by integrating the Soil and Water Assessment Tool and Water Evaluation and Planning models. We show how integrated modeling is useful in projecting the...

The Earth has entered into Anthropocene, a new epoch dominated by people. The world’s urban population has grown more than four times during the past 60 years to 3.9 billion. Today, more people are living in the cities than in the countryside in most nations. Cities are growing bigger and faster than ever before (United Nations, 2014). Cities that have a population >10 million are commonly considered as megacities as defined by UN-HABITAT (Li et al., 2015b). Globally, there are about 28 megacities with approximately 13% of the world’s urban population (United Nations, 2014). Most of these...