Treesearch

Understanding the effect of expanding wood energy markets is important to all wood-dependent industries and to policymakers debating the implementation of public programs to support the expansion of wood energy generation. A key factor in determining the feasibility of wood energy projects (e.g. wood boiler or pellet plant) is the long-term (i.e. 20-30year) supply outlook for raw materials. Long-term supply of wood for energy, in turn, is directly affected by long-term demand from various markets using wood fuel for alternative demands (e.g. traditional wood industries).

Despite a global scientific consensus on the anthropogenic nature of climate change, the issue remains highly contentious in the United States, stifling public debate and action on the issue. Local perceptions of and attitudes toward climate change-how different groups of people outside of the professional climate science community make sense of changes in climate in light of their personal experiences and social, political, economic, and environmental contexts- are critical foci for understanding ongoing conflicts over climate change. Contributing to a growing body of literature on the...

Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) are generally sedentary, but are likely to move among habitats frequently to gain access to spatially segregated food and cover. We investigated movement patterns of hares from 2 characteristic boreal habitats using very-high-frequency radio collars (n ¼ 300) monitored weekly and global positioning system (GPS) collars (n ¼ 18) programmed to record locations at 30–120-min intervals. We used collar recoveries (n ¼ 203) to estimate distance from capture to mortality site. Approximately 90% of collars were recovered within 1 km of their deployment locations,...

Rivers may act as barriers to the movement of terrestrial mammals, which could limit dispersal and gene flow. Glacial rivers are particularly hazardous because of the cold water temperature and swift current. Yet, we determined that 2 Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) equipped with GPS collars repeatedly swam across the main channel of the Tanana River in interior Alaska in 2011 as late in the season as November, when the average minimum daily air temperature was −27°C. These observations are consistent with the low level of genetic structure observed in Canada Lynx in northwestern North...

"Ambers" is a term used to describe poorly filled, shriveled eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) kernels with a dark brown or black-colored pellicle that are unmarketable. Studies were conducted to determine the incidence of ambered black walnut kernels and to ascertain when symptoms were apparent in specific tissues. The occurrence of ambered kernels was evaluated in fruit harvested from mature 'Football' trees growing at three sites within a commercial black walnut orchard in 2008 to 2010. Mature walnut fruit sampled from trees at Site 2 had greater odds for ambered kernels than...

The forest restoration challenge (globally 2 billion ha) and the prospect of changing climate with increasing frequency of extreme events argues for approaching restoration from a functional and landscape perspective. Because the practice of restoration utilizes many techniques common to silviculture, no clear line separates ordinary forestry practices from restoration. The distinction may be that extra-ordinary activities are required in the face of degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems. Restoration is driven by the desire to increase sustainability of ecosystems and their services...

Water scarcities are striking in semiarid, subregions of the Southern United States such as Oklahoma and western Texas (Glennon 2009, Sabo et al. 2010). In Texas, water stress has been a constant concern since the 1950s when the state experienced severe drought conditions (Moore 2005). The nearly 2000-mile Rio Grande River, which forms part of the Texas–Mexico border, is the sole source of groundwater for residents and businesses at the far western part of the state. The river also provides water for Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. Because of its strategic location, the Rio Grande is a site of...

The perspective of Latin American and Asian immigrants on nature and wildlands is strikingly different from the view typical of European Americans. The very idea of outdoor recreation may be strange to the cultures from which many of these immigrants originate. This chapter addresses immigrant interaction with wildlands and wilderness by examining the environmental worldviews of Latino and Asian cultures in the United States. The aim is to assess how congruent these various ontologies may be with European American,Sup>1 ideals of nature interaction and preservation. Implications for...

Economic and ecological damages caused by wildfire are alarming, and such damages are expected to rise with changes in wildfire regimes, calling for more effective wildfire mitigation and adaptation strategies. Among wildfire adaptation options for forestland owners is purchasing wildfire insurance, which provides compensation to those insured if a wildfire damages their properties. We attempt to: a) identify factors that influence the decision of family forestland owners in the southern United States to purchase wildfire insurance for their forestlands via logistic regression using...

Longer term grazing rest has occurred or been proposed in large portions of the sagebrush steppe based on the assumption that it will improve ecosystem properties. However, information regarding the influence of longer term rest from grazing is limited and has not been summarized. We synthesized the scientific literature on long-term rest in the sagebrush steppe to evaluate the potential ecosystem effects and identify factors that influence those effects. Longer term rest is clearly advantageous compared to detrimental grazing practices (i.e., repeated defoliation during the growing season...