Treesearch

Intensively managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations often develop nutrient deficiencies near mid-rotation. Common silvicultural treatments for improving stand nutrition at this stage include thinning, fertilization, and vegetation control. It is important to better understand the influence of timing fertilization and vegetation control in relation to thinning as part of improving the efficiency of these practices. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of fertilization and vegetation control conducted within a year prior to thinning and within a year after...

The bark beetle Dendroctonus mesoamericanus sp. nov. is described from a population in Parque Nacional Lagunas de Montebello, La Trinitaria, Chiapas, Mexico. This species belongs to the D. frontalis complex, which includes D. adjunctus Blandford 1897, D. approximatus Dietz 1890, D. brevicomis LeConte 1876, D. frontalis Zimmermann 1868, D. mexicanus Hopkins 1905, and D. vitei Wood 1975. The new species can be distinguished from closely related species D. frontalis, D. mexicanus, and D. vitei by four diagnostic morphological characters: the presence of striations on the preepisternal area of...

For a termiticide to reach the American market where it's available for purchase by pest management professionals (PMPs), it must be federally registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Chemical manufacturers wishing to register their products as a termiticide submit a registration package to the EPA containing fairly standard, nontarget toxicity and environmental fate studies, as well as efficacy data. The EPA uses all these factors to determine termiticide registration.

Recent localized declines in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations in the southeastern United States have been linked to increasing predation pressure from coyotes (Canis latrans), a novel predator to the region. Studies have documented coyotes as the leading cause of mortality for neonates, and 1 study documented coyotes as a mortality factor for adult females. However, no study has used field-based vital rates to conduct sensitivity analyses or model deer population trajectories under potential harvest or predator removal strategies. We used low, medium, and high values...

Coyotes recently expanded into the eastern U.S. and potentially have caused localized white-tailed deer population declines. Research has focused on quantifying coyote predation on neonates, but little research has addressed the potential influence of bedsite characteristics on survival. In 2011 and 2012, we radiocollared 65 neonates, monitored them intensively for 16 weeks, and assigned mortality causes. We used Program MARK to estimate survival to 16 weeks and included biological covariates (i.e., sex, sibling status [whether or not it had a sibling], birth weight, and Julian date of...

Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) is a highly productive native conifer of the southern Appalachian Mountains that has long been established in plantations for conventional purposes of afforestation and timber production and potentially for carbon sequestration both within and outside its natural range. Growth-and-yield models are not available, however, for use by land managers to evaluate potential economic value of plantations established on sites of various qualities over time. Data from 78 plantations in the southern Appalachian Mountains of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia...

This publication provides an overview of forest resource attributes for Illinois 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 annually until completion. To ensure that all plots are transitioned to the new cycle length, estimates reported for 2014 include data collected from 2009-2014,...

This resource update provides an overview of forest resources in South Dakota based on an inventory conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program at the Northern Research Station (NRS) in cooperation with the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, Resource Conservation and Forestry Division. Estimates are based on field data collected using the FIA annualized sample design and are updated yearly. In 2014, NRS-FIA changed from a 5- to a 7-year inventory cycle, wherein one-seventh, or 14.3 percent, of plots will be measured annually until cycle completion....

Fusiform rust is the most devastating disease of slash pine (Pinus elliottii) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) in the southeastern United States. Since the 1970s, the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program has assessed fusiform rust incidence on its network of ground plots in 13 states across the southeastern United States. Through analysis of the FIA data, we found that current fusiform rust incidence varied by state, forest type, and stand origin and that across all stand ages, rust incidence was approximately equal in planted and natural stands of loblolly pine...

In plywood production, human operators find it difficult to precisely monitor the spread rate of adhesive in real-time. In this study, macroscopic fluorescence was used to estimate spread rate (SR) of urea formaldehyde adhesive on birch (Betula pendula Roth) veneer. This method could be an option when developing automated real-time SR measurement for plywood or processes. Estimation of SR was shown where adhesive was spread uniformly and also where adhesive was spread as lines. For uniform spreading, average intensity of the fluorescence image predicted the SR of adhesive well, with an R2...