Treesearch

The Coram Experimental Forest represents western larch-mixed conifer forests of the Northern Rockies. Western larch research was centered at Coram Experimental Forest (CEF) to provide a scientific basis to regenerate and grow this important and valuable species. For example, the long-term silvicultural studies installed at CEF are allowing researchers and managers to understand the effects of multiple entries into stands on soil and forest productivity, as well as the potential of various silvicultural approaches to designing restoration of wildlife habitat. Climate and hydrological...

The black twig borer, Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is a pest of coffee and many endemic Hawaiian plants. Traps baited with chemical attractants commonly are used to capture ambrosia beetles for purposes of monitoring, studying population dynamics, predicting outbreaks, and mass trapping to reduce damage. The objectives of this research were to optimize trapping systems for X. compactus and other ambrosia beetles such as Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky) and Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg) by comparing efficacy of several attractants,...

Alaska's boreal forest have experienced unprecedented levels of disturbance. Fire is becoming more frequent and burning larger areas compared to the 1960s and 1970s. In the mid 1990s, insect outbreaks reached epidemic proportions. During the same period, timber harvesting increased to meet demand for logs no longer coming from the Pacific Northwest forest. Alaska white spruce was particularlyaffected by these disturbances, bringing into question the ability of the species to naturally regenerate and reestablish the stands. Andrew Youngblood, a research forester with the Pacifc Northwest...

Establishing markets for ecosystem services—the benefits that nature provides, such as clean air, water, and wildlife habitat—has gained traction in some circles as a way to finance the conservation of these public goods. Market influences on supply and demand work in tandem to encourage ecosystem protection. Jeff Kline and Trista Patterson, scientists with the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station, have identified several criteria needed for ecosystem service markets to achieve their potential. These include regulatory limits on environmental damage, ecosystem services that are...

The logging debris that remains after timber harvest traditionally has been seen as a nuisance. It can make subsequent tree planting more difficult and become fuel for wildfire. It is commonly piled, burned, or taken off site. Logging debris, however, contains significant amounts of carbon and nitrogen—elements critical to soil productivity. Its physical presence in the regenerating forest creates microclimates that influence a broad range of soil and plant processes. Researchers Tim Harrington of the Pacific Northwest Research Station; Robert Slesak, a soil scientist with the Minnesota...

Leafy spurge is an invasive weed that has appeared along streams throughout much of the country. Riparian ecosystems are particularly sensitive areas that can be threatened by nonnative invasive species. These areas also can be damaged by herbicides commonly used in uplands to control invasive plants. In a collaborative effort by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Agricultural Research Service, researchers found an effective way to use an insect to control the weed. Flea beetles (Aphthona spp.) are a natural predator of leafy spurge in its native range in Europe and...

People have long valued mature western redcedar for its strong, lightweight wood that is rot-resistant.The species has cultural importance for Northwest tribes who use the tree’s bark and roots as well as the wood. Redcedar is very shade-tolerant and is often found in the understory and midstory of Pacific Northwest forests. It is also very adaptable and can grow on a wide range of site conditions in both single- and mixed-species stands. In contrast to Douglas-fir, the subject of countless studies related to its growth potential and response to management in the region, very little has...

National forest managers are charged with tackling the effects of climate change on the natural resources under their care. The Forest Service National Roadmap for Responding to Climate Change and the Climate Change Performance Scorecard require managers to make significant progress in addressing climate change by 2015. To help land managers meet this challenge, Forest Service scientists conducted three case studies on national forests and adjacent national parks and documented a wide range of scientific issues and solutions. They summarized the scientific foundation for climate change...

Exploring relationships between landscape characteristics and rivers is an emerging field, enabled by the proliferation of satellite date, advances in statistical analysis, and increased emphasis on large-scale monitoring. Landscapes features such as road networks, underlying geology, and human developments, determine the characteristics of the rivers flowing through them. A multi-agency team of scientists developed novel modeling methods to link these landscape features to in-steam habitat and abundance of coho salmon in Oregon coastal streams. This is the first comprehensive analysis of...