Treesearch

Except for the substitution of soy flour in phenolic resins (Frihart et al. 2013) and the use of soy flour at high pHs (Lambuth 2003), the literature on soy protein properties for adhesives has mainly focused on soy protein isolate and specific protein fractions (Sun 2005b). The assumption is that proteins are the main portion of soy flour giving bond strength and the carbohydrate portion serves as an inert diluent. Given our observed inability to greatly alter soy flour adhesion using chaotropic agents, salts, surfactants, or co-solvents (Frihart and Lorenz 2013), which is in contrast to...

Michigan Technological University's (Michigan Tech) School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science maintains a log cabin on the north branch of the Otter River in southern Houghton County (Portage Township), Michigan. The cabin was built in 1934-1935 and measures 150 m2. The cabin's location is less than 10 m from the river, and when combined with the region's high snowfall (5+ m per year) and subsequent spring melting, is highly susceptible to occasional flooding and subsequent water damage and decay.

Resistance-surface-based connectivity modeling has become a widespread tool for conservation planning. The current ease with which connectivity models can be created, however, masks the numerous untested assumptions underlying both the rules that produce the resistance surface and the algorithms used to locate low-cost paths across the target landscape. Here we present a process to guide map creation, from conceptualization through validation, that seeks to better consider the complex biological issues inherent to connectivity modeling. Following this organized approach to connectivity...

Climate warming affects arctic and boreal ecosystems by interacting with numerous biophysical factors across heterogeneous landscapes. To assess potential effects of warming on diverse local-scale ecosystems (ecotypes) across northwest Alaska, we compiled data on historical areal changes over the last 25–50 years. Based on historical rates of change relative to time and temperature, we developed three state-transition models to project future changes in area for 60 ecotypes involving 243 potential transitions during three 30-year periods (ending 2040, 2070, 2100). The time model, assuming...

The prospect of rapidly changing climates over the next century calls for methods to predict their effects on myriad, interactive ecosystem processes. Spatially explicit models that simulate ecosystem dynamics at fine (plant, stand) to coarse (regional, global) scales are indispensable tools for meeting this challenge under a variety of possible futures. A special class of these models, called landscape models (LMs), simulates dynamics at intermediate scales where many critical ecosystem processes interact. The complicated dependencies among climate, disturbance, and vegetation present a...

Sensitivity analysis—determination of how prediction variables affect response variables—of individual-based models (IBMs) are few but important to the interpretation of model output. We present sensitivity analysis of a spatially explicit IBM (HexSim) of a threatened species, the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO; Strix occidentalis caurina) in Washington, USA. We explored sensitivity to HexSim variables representing habitat quality, movement, dispersal, and model architecture; previous NSO studies have well established sensitivity of model output to vital rate variation. We developed “normative”...

Native plant materials are needed to create, enhance, or restore pollinator habitat. They provide critical foraging and breeding areas for wild and managed pollinator species, including transnational migratory species such as hummingbirds and monarch butterflies. Although many pollinators and plants are generalists, some have limited, obligate relationships (i.e., one requires the other for survival) (Proctor 1996). While reproduction and propagation information is available for many commercially important plant species, this information is lacking for most native species. Commercially...

This paper reviewed the key physical, chemical and biological water quality attributes of surface waters in New Zealand’s planted forests. The purpose was to: a) assess the changes in water quality throughout the planted forestry cycle from afforestation through to harvesting; b) compare water quality from planted forests with other land uses in New Zealand; and c) identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for future research. Afforestation of pasture land significantly improved a wide range of water quality attributes such as stream temperature, nutrient and sediment concentrations and...

This periodic resource update provides an overview of forest resources in North Carolina 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 the North Carolina Forest Service. Data estimates are based on field data collected using the FIA annualized sample design and are updated yearly. The estimates presented in this update are for the measurement year 2013 with comparisons made to data reported in 2007.

The Sustainability Science Team (SST) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Sustainable Operations Initiative is a 18-member virtual research and development team, located across five regions and four research stations of the USDA Forest Service. The team provides research, publication, systems analysis, and decision support to the Sustainable Operations program of USDA Forest Service Business Operations. This report examines the role of the SST in supporting ongoing agency developments in the emerging field of sustainability science. We provide an overview of current...