Treesearch

We measured dynamic stress responses using ambulatory heart rate monitoring as participants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania walked past vacant lots before and after a greening remediation treatment of randomly selected lots. Being in view of a greened vacant lot decreased heart rate significantly more than did being in view of a nongreened vacant lot or not in view of any vacant lot. Remediating neighborhood blight may reduce stress and improve health.

This resource update provides an overview of forest resource attributes for Kansas based on annual inventories conducted by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the Northern Research Station (NRS) of the U.S. Forest Service. The estimates presented in this update are based on field data collected in 2010-2014 with comparisons made to data collected from 2005-2009. These estimates, along with web-posted core tables, are updated annually. For more information, please refer to inventory citations on page 5 of this report.

Scutellaria saxatilis Riddell (smooth rock skullcap or rock skullcap, hereafter abbreviated as SRS), a herbaceous perennial in the mint family, is a globally rare (G3) plant. In West Virginia, SRS is categorized as an S2 species (imperiled and at high risk of extinction due to a very restricted range, very few [1,000 individuals were selected, one in a burn area and the other in a nonburn area. Sites were sampled in early September of 2008 and 2009 (pre-burn) and 2010 and 2011 (postburn). The prescribed burn occurred in April and early May of 2010. A generalized linear mixed model with...

Establishment of native grasses is a primary objective of restoration in Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum (P. & C. Lawson) forests in the southwestern United States. Interactions among native grasses and soil microorganisms generate feedbacks that influence the achievement of this objective. We examined soil chemical properties and communities of plants and soil microorganisms in clear-cuts and P. ponderosa stands thinned and maintained at low and medium tree densities for over 40 years along with high density (unthinned) stands. Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) in soils were analyzed to...

Oobius Trjapitzin (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) species are egg parasitoids that are important for the biological control of some Buprestidae and Cerambycidae (Coleoptera). Two species, O. agrili Zhang & Huang and O. longoi (Siscaro), were introduced into North America for classical biocontrol and have successfully established. Two new native North American species that parasitize eggs of Agrilus spp. (Buprestidae) are described and illustrated from the USA: O. minusculus Triapitsyn & Petrice, sp. n. (Michigan), an egg parasitoid of both A. subcinctus Gory on ash (Fraxinus spp.) and A. egenus...

Monitoring is the collection of data over time. We monitor many things: temperatures at local weather stations, daily changes in sea level along the coastline, annual prevalence of specific diseases, sunspot cycles, unemployment rates, inflation, commodity futures-the list is virtually endless. In wildlife biology, we also conduct a lot of monitoring, most commonly measuring state variables that either directly or indirectly relate to the size and areal extent of wildlife populations. Most of these activities, both in wildlife biology and more generally, are not strongly targeted at...

The Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program (FFS) of the U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station focuses on fundamental and applied research in wildland fire, from fire physics and fire ecology to fuels management and smoke emissions. Located at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Montana, the scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff in FFS conduct national and international, cutting-edge work in wildland fire research and develop research and management tools and applications designed to improve understanding of wildland fire as well as safe and effective...

Residential development is a leading driver of land-use change, with important implications for biodiversity, ecosystem processes, and human well-being. We reviewed over 500 published scientific articles on the biophysical, economic, and social effects of residential development and open space in the US. We concluded that current knowledge of the effects of this type of development on social and natural systems is inadequate for achieving key objectives of sustainability, including a viable environment, a robust economy, and an equitable society. Most biophysical studies measured species-...

Our objectives are (1) to compare tree sap flux density (Js in g cm
2 d
1) and stomatal conductance (Gs in mmol m
2 s
1 ) across five dominant species, red maple (Acer rubrum), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), and oak species (Quercus spp.), (2) to quantity riparian buffer stand transpiration (Es in mm d
1), and (3) to link riparian buffer Es of residual trees to stream discharge. In June 2010, the above species were instrumented with sap flow sensors in a pair (HF1 and HF2) of 12 hectare gauged watersheds. HF1 was...

This report highlights general ownership patterns and key information about private owners of trees, woods, and forests from the 2011-2013 National Woodland Owner Survey, which is conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, to help us better understand: who owns the woods and forests of the United States, why they own it, how they use it now, and how they intend to use it.