Treesearch

This report provides an overview of forest resources in Rhode Island based on an inventory conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the Northern Research Station. Estimates are based on field data collected using the FIA annualized sample design. Results are for the measurement years 2009-2014 with comparisons made to 2005-20091 (see footnote on bottom of page 2). Forest resource measurements were taken on 124 plots with about 20 percent of the plots measured each year. Estimates will be updated and published annually.

Mat-forming ‘‘ground layers’’ of mosses and lichens often have functional impacts disproportionate to their biomass, and are responsible for sequestering one-third of the world’s terrestrial carbon as they regulate water tables, cool soils and inhibit microbial decomposition. Without reliable assessment tools, the potential effects of climate and land use changes on these functions remain unclear; therefore, we implemented a novel ‘‘Ground Layer Indicator’’ method as part of the U.S.D.A. Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. Non-destructive depth and cover measurements were used to...

Although disturbances such as fire and native insects can contribute to natural dynamics of forest health, exceptional droughts, directly and in combination with other disturbance factors, are pushing some temperate forests beyond thresholds of sustainability. Interactions from increasing temperatures, drought, native insects and pathogens, and uncharacteristically severe wildfire are resulting in forest mortality beyond the levels of 20th-century experience. Additional anthropogenic stressors, such as atmospheric pollution and invasive species, further weaken trees in some regions....

Lichens are known to be indicators for air quality; they also respond to climate. We developed indices for lichen response to climate and air quality in forests across the northeastern United States of America (U.S.A.), using 218–250 plot surveys with 145–161 macrolichen taxa from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Lichen indicator species for response to climate and air quality were selected using Indicator Species Analysis, correlations with environmental variables, and published literature. Ordinations were used to...

In recent decades, much work has been invested to describe forest allocations with high societal values. Yet, few comparative analyses have been conducted on their importance and differences across the regions of the globe. This paper introduces a conceptual framework to characterize forest priority areas defined as areas with identified higher importance of societal values in the context of multi-objective forest management. The six dimensions of the framework (designation objective, prioritization of objectives, governance, permanency, spatial scale, and management regime) characterize...

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of the conditions of hot water extraction (HWE) on abundance, properties, and structure of lignin depolymerization products. HWE of extracted softwood (ponderosa pine) was conducted using temperatures from 140 to 320°C for 90 min. HWE materials were then subjected to a soxhlet extraction process using dichloromethane (DCM). The composition and molecular weight of this DCM-soluble material was conducted using semi-quantitative Py-GC/MS and ESI/MS, which showed that this material is rich in lignin with low molecular weight (

Woodpeckers and other primary cavity excavators (PCEs) are important worldwide for excavating cavities in trees, and a large number of studies have examined their nesting preferences. However, quantitative measures of wood hardness have been omitted from most studies, and ecologists have focused on the effects of external tree- and habitat-level features on nesting. Moreover, information is lacking on the role of wood hardness in limiting nesting opportunities for this important guild. Here, we used an information theoretic approach to examine the role of wood hardness in multi-scale nest...

Depending on tree and site characteristics crown biomass accounts for a significant portion of the total aboveground biomass in the tree. Crown biomass estimation is useful for different purposes including evaluating the economic feasibility of crown utilization for energy production or forest products, fuel load assessments and fire management strategies, and wildfire modeling. However, crown biomass is difficult to predict because of the variability within and among species and sites. Thus the allometric equations used for predicting crown biomass should be based on data collected with...

Biomonitoring can provide cost-effective and practical information about the distribution of nitrogen(N) deposition, particularly in regions with complex topography and sparse instrumented monitoring sites. Because of their unique biology, lichens are very sensitive bioindicators of air quality. Lichens lack acuticle to control absorption or leaching of nutrients and they dynamically concentrate nutrients roughly in proportion to the abundance in the atmosphere. As N deposition increases, nitrogen-loving eutrophiclichens become dominant over oligotrophic lichens that thrive in nutrient-poor...

The 33 species of Agrilus (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) hypothesized to be most closely related or most similar to Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (the emerald ash borer), are described and illustrated. Morphology (adults and immatures), biology, distribution, detailed taxonomic history and systematics are presented for each species, along with a full literature review and bibliography. Large, high resolution photos displaying all diagnostic characters are presented as well as an illustrated dichotomous identification key to adult species of Agrilus treated in this work. A general review of...