Treesearch

The annual national report of the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introduces new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently completed Evaluation Monitoring projects funded through the FHM national program. In this 13th edition in a series of annual reports, survey data are used to identify geographic patterns of insect and disease activity. Satellite data are employed to...

The first life cycle impact assessment for redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forest management activities (i.e. a cradle-to-sawmill gate input) including the growing, harvesting, and hauling of redwood sawlogs to a sawmill was completed. In the stump-to-truck timber harvesting analysis, primary transport activities such as skidding and yarding consumed the largest amount of fuel and consequently generated the greatest environmental impacts (50% of the total) compared with the other harvesting stages (felling, processing, and loading). Hauling sawlogs to the sawmill was also a major contributor...

First detected in North America in 2002, the emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire; Coleoptera: Buprestidae), an invasive phloem-feeding beetle from Asia, has killed tens of millions of ash (Fraxinus Linnaeus; Oleaceae) trees. Although few parasitoids attack EAB in North America, three parasitoid species were found attacking EAB in China: the egg parasitoid Oobius agrili Zhang and Huang (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and two larval parasitoids Tetrastichus planipennisi Yang (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Spathius agrili Yang (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). In 2007, classical biologica...

As of summer 2014, the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), has become established in 24 states in the United States of America and has killed tens of millions of ash trees since its introduction into Michigan in the 1990s. Considerable research has been conducted on many aspects of EAB life history, natural history, ecology, and management strategies in an attempt to contain this devastating pest. In this article, we review the life history, mating behaviours, and host plant selection by EAB in North America as well as host resistance...

This resource update provides an overview of forest resource attributes for the Commonwealth of Kentucky based on an annual inventory conducted by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program at the Southern Research Station of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry. These estimates, along with Web-posted supplemental tables, will be updated annually.

Two conservation goals of the early 20th century, extensive reforestation and reduced wildfire through fire exclusion, may have contributed to declining pollinator abundance as forests became denser and shrub covered. To examine how forest structure affects bees we selected 5 stands in each of 7 forest types including: cleared forest; dense young pines; thinned young pines; mature open pine with extensive shrub/sapling cover; mature open pine with extensive herbaceous plant cover and little shrub cover; mature upland hardwood forest; and mature riparian hardwood forest. We sampled bees...

Data on paper birch (Betula papyrifera L.; wiigwaas in the Ojibwe language), collected by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the U.S. Forest Service on forested lands in the Great Lakes region (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) from 1980 through 2010, are reported. Also presented are results and analysis of a supplemental inventory designed to identify the characteristics of paper birch bark that influenced Native American harvesters' evaluation of potential uses (e.g., baskets, canoes). Paper birch has long been an important part of the daily life and culture of the...

Implementing REDD+ renders the development of a measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system necessary to monitor carbon stock changes. MRV systems generally apply a combination of remote sensing techniques and in-situ field assessments. In-situ assessments can be based on 1) permanent plots, which are assessed on all successive occasions, 2) temporary plots, which are assessed only once, and 3) a combination of both. The current study focuses on in-situ assessments and addresses the effect of treatment bias, which is introduced by managing permanent sampling plots differently than...

This report contains the results of analyses conducted at the chemistry laboratory of the International Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico from 1981 to 2000. The data set includes 109,177 plant analyses and 70,729 soil analyses. We report vegetation chemical data by plant part, species, life zone, soil order, geology, or parent material. Soil data are reported by depth, soil order, geology or parent material, and life zone. These data are summarized to facilitate interpretation and highlight the mean and range of values obtained.

Although the arboriculture industry plants and maintains trees that remove CO2 from the atmosphere, it uses heavy-duty equipment and vehicles that release more CO2 per year than other similar-sized industries in the service sector. This study used lifecycle assessment to compare CO2 emissions associated with different decisions by arborists to the amount of CO2 sequestered over 50 years for California sycamore (Platanus racemosa) planted in Los Angeles, CA. Scenarios examined effects of equipment and vehicle choices, different operational efficiencies, amounts of irrigation water applied...