Treesearch

Woody biomass makes up the major portion of terrestrial carbon, and forest ecosystems contain enormous reservoirs of lignocellulose belowground, in dead trees, and litter. Decomposition of this recalcitrant material and mobilization of nutrients are essential for forest health [reviewed by Boddy and Watkinson (1995)]. Although mechanisms are incompletely understood, initial decomposition of lignocellulose is efficiently carried out by certain filamentous fungi, and the genomes of representative species have been recently sequenced. This review covers these genome studies and the insight...

Indigenous people’s detailed traditional knowledge about fire, although superficially referenced in various writings, has not for the most part been analyzed in detail or simulated by resource managers, wildlife biologists, and ecologists. . . . Instead, scientists have developed the principles and theories of fire ecology, fire behavior and effects models, and concepts of conservation, wildlife management and ecosystem management largely independent of native examples. (Lewis and Anderson, in Stewart, Forgotten Fires, 4)

Mitigation of ecological damage caused by rangeland wildfires has historically been an issue restricted to the western United States. It has focused on conservation of ecosystem function through reducing soil erosion and spread of invasive plants. Effectiveness of mitigation treatments has been debated recently. We reviewed recent literature to conduct a meta-analysis of seeding after wildfires to determine if seedings may (1) protect ecosystems against soil erosion and (2) reduce invasion or abundance of undesirable nonnative plant species. Effectiveness of postfire seedings was examined...

A forest carbon (C) offset is a quantifiable unit of C that is commonly developed at the local or regional project scale and is designed to counterbalance anthropogenic C emissions by sequestering C in trees. In capand- trade programs, forest offsets have market value if the sequestered C is additional (more than would have occurred in the absence of the project) and permanent (sequestered within the project boundary for a specified period of time). Local management and ecological context determine the rate of C sequestration, risk of loss, and hence the market value. An understanding of...

The Kings River Experimental Watersheds (KREW) study was designed to (1) characterize the variability in watershed attributes considered important to understanding processes and health of headwater streams and forest watersheds and (2) evaluate forest restoration treatments. The KREW is a paired watershed experiment located in the headwaters of the Kings River Basin which started collecting data in 2002. This article summarizes the new information gained and published about Sierra headwater streams during the first nine years of the KREW study.

Fire is a major disturbance agent in North American forests. Fires injure trees when heat transfer through the bark partially kills the cambium and the compartmentalization process results in a fire scar. Dendrochronologists use these scars in the xylem to reconstruct fire regimes. However, little information exists on the wood anatomy of fire scars. Consequently, this study quantifies changes in xylem (tracheid and ray traits) caused by fire-induced wounding in 2 individuals each of Larix occidentalis, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Pinus ponderosa. Transverse and tangential microsections were...

Josephine “Jo” Grant Peters was an Native American herbalist of mixed tribal ancestry (Karuk/Shasta/ Abenaki) who was raised and lived in Northwestern California along the Salmon, Klamath, and Trinity rivers. She was a woman with an exceptional knowledge of native and non-native plants, and of the many cultural traditions for management, harvesting, preparation, and uses associated with them. In addition to her plant knowledge, Jo was an artist, educator, and compassionate matriarch to her family and tribal community. Her life (1923 – 2011) experiences and work with plants spanned a time...

Seed arrival and habitat conditions (i.e., seed limitation and establishment limitation) are the primary drivers of community assembly in tropical forests. Several hypotheses make contradictory predictions for how the relative importance of these two drivers should vary with diversity. Particularly little is known of recruitment limitations in the regeneration of low diversity tropical forest. We quantified seed limitation, establishment limitation, seedling limitation, source limitation, dispersal limitation, and habitat associations using 2.5 years of seed rain and seedling distribution...

Falcataria moluccana (Miq.) Barneby and Grimes is a large tree that has become invasive in forests and developed landscapes across many Pacific islands. A fast-growing nitrogenfixing species, it transforms invaded ecosystems by dramatically increasing nutrient inputs, suppressing native species and facilitating invasion by other weeds. Individuals rapidly reach heights of 35 m, and their massive limbs break easily in storms or with age, creating significant hazards in residential areas and across infrastructure corridors such as roads and power lines. Their management is extremely costly...