Treesearch

Aim Stronger inferences about biological invasions may be obtained when accounting for multiple invasion measures and the spatial heterogeneity occurring across large geographic areas. We pursued this enquiry by utilizing a multimeasure, multiregional framework to investigate forest plant invasions at a subcontinental scale. Location United States of America (USA). Methods Using empirical data from a national survey of USA forests, we compiled and mapped invasion richness (number of invasive species) and invasion prevalence (percentage of plots invaded) for 2524 counties. We then modelled...

Prescribed fire is widely used to manage fuels in high-frequency, low-severity fire regimes including pine flatwoods of the southeastern USA where prescribed burning during the growing season (the frost-free period during the calendar year) has become more common in recent decades. Growing season prescribed fires address ecological management objectives that focus on increasing herb cover and decreasing shrub cover. The shift from shrub to herb dominance due to burning in the growing season corresponds to a change in surface fuels that could affect fire behavior, yet little has been done...

To promote sustainability and resilience, the role of co-design, co-production, and dissemination of social-ecological knowledge is of growing interest and importance. Although the antecedents for this approach are decades old, the integration of science and practice to advance sustainability and resilience is different from earlier approaches in several ways. In this paper, we discuss new requirements and possibilities for co-design, co-production, and dissemination of social-ecological research to promote sustainability and resilience. While new technologies are part of the solution,...

We studied seven programs that engage youth from 10 to 18 years old in wildfire risk reduction in their communities in the United States through in-depth interviews to examine the nature and role of community-school partnerships in resource-focused environmental education. While the programs use a variety of strategies, from Scout badge to summer school, they exhibit several common dimensions: they all engage youth in community projects; they all arise from partnerships between resource agencies, community organizations, and educators; they all began when people familiar with both wildfire...

Knowledge about species’ responses to habitat restoration can inform subsequent management and reintroduction planning. We used repeated call-response surveys to study brown-headed nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) patch occupancy at the current limits of its apparently expanding range in an area with active habitat restoration. We fit a probit occupancy model that accounted for spatial autocorrelation using restricted spatial regression. Nuthatch occupancy was related to patch-level vegetation structure and range-extension context, i.e., latitude, but not prescribed fire history. Latitude and...

Identifying transcription factor target genes is essential for modeling the transcriptional networks underlying developmental processes. Here we report a chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) resource consisting of genome-wide binding regions and associated putative target genes for four Populus homeodomain transcription factors expressed during secondary growth and wood formation. Software code (programs and scripts) for processing the Populus ChIP-seq data are provided within a publically available iPlant image, including tools for ChIP-seq data quality control and evaluatio...

The baldcypress leafroller, Archips goyerana Kruse (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a specialist on Taxodium distichum (L.) Richard and has caused serious defoliation in swamps of southeastern Louisiana, accelerating decline of baldcypress forests concurrently suffering from nutrient depletion, prolonged flooding, and saltwater intrusion. We investigated the composition of the sex pheromone of this species. Coupled gas chromatography–electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses indicated that male antennae were sensitive to four compounds [(Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (Z11-14:OAc),...

Where their geographic and host ranges overlap, sibling species of tree-killing bark beetles may simultaneously attack and reproduce on the same hosts. However, sustainability of these potentially mutually beneficial associations demands effective prezygotic reproductive isolation mechanisms between the interacting species. The pine bark beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, is syntopic in the Central American region with a recently described sibling species, Dendroctonus mesoamericanus Armendariz- Toledano and Sullivan, but mechanisms for their reproductive isolation are uncertain....

A national survey of managers was developed to support interagency wilderness strategic planning. The focus was on major challenges, perceived needs for science and training, and accomplishments of 1995 Strategic Plan objectives. The survey was administered to managers at the four federal agencies with wilderness management responsibilities: the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service. In spring 2014, responses were received from 368 managers. The highest ranking threat perceived was "lack of political and financial support...

This publication provides an overview of forest resource attributes for New Jersey based on an annual inventory conducted by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the Northern Research Station (NRS) of the U.S. Forest Service. These estimates, along with web-posted core tables, are updated annually. In 2014, NRS-FIA changed from a 5- to a 7-year inventory cycle, wherein 1/7th or 14.3 percent of plots will be measured each year until completion. To ensure that all plots are transitioned to the new cycle length, estimates reported for 2014 include data collected from 2009 to...