Treesearch

Global climate change threatens biodiversity, in part due to its effects on species distributions and habitat suitability. The ability to predict future impacts and discern variability in rates of change is critical for conservation planning. Here, we quantified the relative influence of climate and tree species metrics on contemporary and future patterns of incidence (i.e., an index of broad-scale habitat conditions and a metric of habitat suitability) associated with forest-breeding birds across the eastern USA and assessed trends in decadal trajectories of future projections. We...

Abstract. Boreal peatlands store 13 %–32 % of the global soil carbon (C) stock, a service dependent on plant-mycorrhizal fungi associations. In these nutrient poor systems, ectomycorrhizal and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi supply up to >80 % of the nutrient requirements of their plant hosts, partly with mined nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from soil organic matter that are otherwise inaccessible to plants. Despite the ecological significance, mycorrhizal associations are only represented in a few land surface or ecosystem models. We modify the peatland branch of version 2 of the Energy...

Wood and coal cofiring holds great potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from grate-fired combustion systems, as well as being widely technically feasible. This research was among the first to evaluate CO and NOx levels within grate-fired cofiring at small utility scales. We evaluated two wood fuel types—high-quality aspen chips and lower-quality pellet mill residues. Each wood fuel was evaluated at two cofiring rates. Over 6 days of testing, CO contents ranged from 40 to 620 ppm, and NOx contents ranged from 82 to 145 ppm. We found statistically significant differences in CO...

Barrier coating of fruits can decrease postharvest loss and improve food security. This study demonstrated the performance of barrier coating using pure plant-based carbohydrate polymers to improve the shelf life of bananas. The coating formulation was made of only two carbohydrate polymers: microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) from commercial bleached hardwood pulp fibers and lemon peel (LP) fibrils from milling commercial dry lemon peels. Bananas were coated by dipping into different MFC/LP suspensions with varied LP loadings. The measured banana peel color browning, fruit weight loss,...

This study demonstrated a sustainable and commercially scalable low temperature (∼100 °C) oxygen delignification (O2-delig) technology for delignifying pristine wood boards to produce advanced superstrong wood structural materials through subsequent densification. Sustainable dimensional wood delignification is the prerequisite first step with a significant barrier to commercialization due to great economic and environmental costs, though the groundbreaking concept of substantial wood densification through delignification has been well established and demonstrated. O2-delig was conducted...

Flooding is an increasingly destructive hazard for wood-based construction, creating conditions that reduce structural performance, promote mold growth, and complicate post-disaster recovery. This paper examines the resiliency of treated and engineered wood products exposed to flooding and natural disasters, with emphasis on material behavior below the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). Current guidance from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its associated National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and opportunities to improve regulatory recognition of treated wood materials are also...

Climate change increases drought frequencies and intensities, posing risks to biodiversity. Species inhabiting arid regions may be vulnerable to drought because they live near their physiological limits, while species with low historical drought exposure may lack adaptations to cope with unprecedented drought. Using a breeding bird dataset and the Standardized Precipitation‐Evaporation Index, we assessed drought vulnerability of 37 bird species across deserts of the western United States. We tested drought effects on community and species‐level relative abundance, how species’ long‐term...

The U.S. Army depends heavily on wood packaging materials (WPMs) for the storage and transport of ammunition, yet these materials are highly susceptible to mold growth under the damp, poorly ventilated conditions of the buildings used for storage. Despite wooden ammunition boxes being treated to military specifications, mold growth persists and, therefore, there is a need for improved evaluation methods for mold prevention. This project adapted the full-size commodity termite test (AWPA E21-18) into a field-based mold exposure setup. It was intended to replicate the high‑moisture conditions...

For centuries, Western cultures viewed strict protection as the best way to preserve nature. The practice of “fortress conservation” attempts to maintain environmentally valuable landscapes by excluding human influence. By doing so, landscapes could be maintained in a static climax condition - think, a stand of mature or old-growth forest - untrammeled by humans. The problem? This is not how nature works. Ecosystems are not ancient manuscripts that can be preserved in a climate-controlled chamber. They are highly dynamic systems, and what we view as desirable states are only ephemeral...

Restoration treatments have been implemented in many of the dry conifer forests of the western United States. By decreasing forest density and increasing forest heterogeneity, these treatments are generally effective at meeting their primary objective of reducing the risk of uncharacteristically severe wildfire. Treatments also commonly achieve a secondary objective of increasing overall native understory plant species richness and cover. However, it is less certain how treatments affect the recruitment, loss, and growth of individual understory plant species and, in turn, shape the...