Treesearch

Direct sediment inputs from forest roads at stream crossings are a major concern for water quality and aquatic habitat. Legacy road–stream crossing approaches, or the section of road leading to the stream, may have poor water and grade control upon reopening, thus increasing the potential for negative impacts to water quality. Rainfall simulation experiments were conducted on the entire running surface area associated with six reopened stream crossing approaches in the south-western Virginia Piedmont physiographic region, USA. Event-based surface run-off and associated total suspended...

An assessment of the last 20 years wouldn't be complete without some examination of changing timber prices. The first issue of Vermont Woodlands included a chart of stumpage prices, a survey of the prices being paid for standing timber in the state. It would seem natural to simply compare those prices with a similar report from today. Unfortunately, the University of Vermont Extension, where the original data came from, stopped reporting stumpage prices in 2007.

This guidebook describes major biological and physical attributes of the 243-ha (600-ac) Round Top Butte Research Natural Area. The area supports high-quality examples of valley upland grasslands and savanna of the Cascade foothills. Plant communities include Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) savanna and open woodland with forbs and grasses; ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)-Oregon white oak woodland; bluebunch wheatgrass-California oatgrass-Lemmon’s needlegrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata-Danthonia californica-Achnatherum lemmonii) grasslands; and tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa)-Cal...

Human settlement and land management have radically altered the composition and structure of eastern Washington forests. Restoring high-functioning landscapes and habitat patterns have broad implications for the future sustainability of native species, ecosystem services, and ecosystem processes. Many land managers and scientists have turned their attention to whole landscapes to decipher key changes in the terrestrial and aquatic systems. A goal is to formulate landscapelevel prescriptions for re-establishing broad functionality and resilience to disturbances and changing climate....

The forest simulation model, 3-PG, has been widely applied as a useful tool for predicting growth of forest species in many countries. The model has the capability to estimate the effects of management, climate and site characteristics on many stand attributes using easily available data. Currently, there is an increasing interest in estimating biomass and assessing the potential impact of climate change for slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii), a commercially important tree species of the southeastern U.S. The 3-PG model had not been previously parameterized for this...

Massive city tree planting campaigns have invigorated the urban forestry movement, and engaged politicians, planners, and the public in urban greening. Million tree initiatives have been launched in Los Angeles, CA; Denver, CO; New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA, and other cities. Sacramento, CA even has a five million tree program. These planting campaigns - and urban forestry programs in general - are justified by models that estimate and monetize the environmental and socioeconomic benefits of trees. These ecosystem services, defined as "the benefits that humans derive from nature,"...

The US National Park Service (NPS) manages over 8900 km2 of forest area in the eastern United States where climate change and nonnative species are altering forest structure, composition, and processes. Understanding potential forest change in response to climate, differences in habitat projections among models (uncertainty), and nonnative biotic stressors (tree pests and diseases and invasive plants) are vital for forward-looking land management. In this research, we examined potential changes in tree habitat suitability using two climate scenarios ('least change' and 'major change') to...

This paper reviews the status and management of sudden oak death and “sudden larch death” in the urban and wildland forests of California, Oregon, and the UK. The causal pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, was discovered in all three locations over a decade ago; however, efforts to contain and eliminate infestations have been unsuccessful. These less than satisfactory management intervention outcomes underscore the importance of prevention, for once forest pathogens become established, response is costly and difficult, and eradication is unlikely.

The abundance of butternut (Juglans cinerea L.) trees has severely declined rangewide over the past 50 years. An important factor in the decline is butternut canker, a disease caused by the fungus Ophiognomonia clavigigentijuglandacearum, which has left the remaining butternuts isolated and sparsely distributed. To manage the remaining populations effectively, information regarding how butternut's population genetic structure is affected by environmental and historical factors is needed. In this study, we assessed genetic structure and diversity of 161 butternut trees from 19 adjacent...

Despite concerns that the Louisiana Pine Snake (Pituophis ruthveni) has been extirpated from large portions of its historic range, only a limited number of studies on their movement patterns have been published. Winter movement patterns are of particular interest since it has been hypothesized that impacts of management practices would be reduced during the winter. Using radiotelemetry, we determined winter movement patterns of Louisiana Pine Snakes (11 males, 8 females) in 5 study areas (2 in Louisiana and 3 in Texas). Movements during winter (November–February) were greatly curtailed...