Treesearch

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 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. The estimates presented in this update are for the measurement years 2009-2013 with comparisons made to 2004-2008. The sample plot population in South Dakota...

The behavior of long-distance migrants during stopover is constrained by the need to quickly and safely replenish energetic reserves. Replenishing fuel stores at stopover sites requires adjusting to unfamiliar landscapes with little to no information about the distribution of resources. Despite their critical importance to the success of songbird migration, the effects of landscape composition and configuration on fuel deposition rates (FDR [g/d]), the currency of migration, has not been tested empirically. Our objectives were to understand the effects of heterogeneous landscapes on FDR of...

Models based on simple air temperature–water temperature relationships have been useful in highlighting potential threats to coldwater-dependent species such as Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis by predicting major losses of habitat and substantial reductions in geographic distribution. However, spatial variability in the relationship between changes in air temperature to changes in water temperature complicates predictions. We directly measured paired summer air and water temperatures over 2 years in a stratified representative sample of watersheds (

Concurrent changes in climate, atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, and increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) affect ecosystems in complex ways. The DayCent-Chem model was used to investigate the combined effects of these human-caused drivers of change over the period 1980–2075 at seven forested montane and two alpine watersheds in the United States. Net ecosystem production (NEP) increased linearly with increasing N deposition for six out of seven forested watersheds; warming directly increased NEP at only two of these sites. Warming reduced soil organic carbon storage at...

In 2012, a year after a devastating tornado hit the town of Joplin, Missouri, leaving 161 people dead and leveling Joplin High School and St. John's Hospital, President Obama addressed the graduating seniors: "There are a lot of stories here in Joplin of unthinkable courage and resilience. . . . [People in Joplin] learned that we have the power to grow from these experiences. We can define our lives not by what happens to us, but by how we respond.1" There are indeed countless stories from Joplin of neighbors helping neighbors, of volunteers arriving by the busloads to lend their hands in...

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has been proposed as a basis for enhanced understanding of ecological systems and their management. TEK also can contribute to targeted inventories of resources not included in standard mensuration. We discuss the results of a cooperative effort between the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) and USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA). At the urging of member tribes, GLIFWC staff worked with tribal gatherers to document TEK regarding desired characteristics of birch bark for traditional uses and translate...

Martens, sables, and fishers are midsized carnivores belonging to the genus Martes. Their silky coats have been valued in the fur trade for centuries, which has contributed to a marked decline in their numbers. Pacific Northwest Martes species depend on structurally complex forested ecosystems and specific climatic conditions for their existence. The marten is designated as a Management Indicator Species on many national forests in Washington, Oregon, and California. The fisher (M. pennanti) is a Management Indicator Species in California and a candidate for listing as a federally endangere...

Historic land use changes and subsequent river channelization created deeply incised, unstable stream channels largely devoid of natural cover throughout the Yazoo River basin, Mississippi, USA. Large trash (e.g., televisions, toilets, car parts) dumped in streams provided shelter for some aquatic fauna. To determine whether trash served as a surrogate for natural cover, I examined crayfish use of both cover types. I sampled crayfishes by kick-seining 2 9 1-m plots in three cover classes: trash, natural cover, and no cover. I captured 415 crayfishes from 136 of the 294 plots. Most crayfishe...

The Cascades frog (Rana cascadae) is a montane, lentic-breeding amphibian that has become rare in the southern Cascade Range and remains relatively widespread in the Klamath Mountains of northern California. In the southern Cascades, remaining populations occur primarily in meadow habitats where the fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, and habitat desiccation pose threats to persistance. Major risk factors in the Klamath Mountains include introduced fish and chytridiomycosis. Conservation actions are needed for the Cascades frog in California and especially in the southern Cascades. Conservati...

Soil frost depth in forest ecosystems can be variable and depends largely on early winter air temperatures and the amount and timing of snowfall. A thorough evaluation of ecological responses to seasonally frozen ground is hampered by our inability to adequately characterize the frequency, depth, duration and intensity of soil frost events. We evaluated the use of ground penetrating radar to nondestructively delineate soil frost under field conditions in three forest ecosystems. Soil frost depth was monitored periodically using a 900 MHz antenna in South Burlington, Vermont (SB), Sleepers...