Treesearch

Approximately 85% of the global forest estate is neither formally protected nor in areas dedicated to intensive wood production (e.g., plantations). Given the spatial extent of unprotected forests, finding management approaches that will sustain their multiple environmental, economic, and cultural values and prevent their conversion to other uses is imperative. The major global challenge of native forest management is further demonstrated by ongoing steep declines in forest biodiversity and carbon stocks. Here, we suggest that an essential part of such management—supplementing the protectio...

Humans have always been fascinated by hybrids. Consider such classic monsters as Wolfman, Dracula, and Mothmanor heroes such as Spiderman, Batman, and Catwoman. This trend pre-dates Hollywood by millennia; the "Minotaur" in Greek mythology was half man and half bull. Our fascination with creatures that are half one thing and half another extends to wildlife. Early naturalists often described new animals as a combination of parts from animals already known to them. Even the mule deer was described by John ]. Audubon in 1846 as having fur like an elk, but hooves like a whitetail.

An observation of a roost site of a male Vervain Hummingbird in the Dominican Republic on 7 November 2010 is the first for this species. The bird chose an entirely exposed position on a very thin twig, < 0.5 cm diameter, about 8 m above the ground, in the outer canopy of a small tree over a trail near the crest of a hill for its roost.

Three causes have been identified for the spiraling cost of wildfire suppression in the United States: climate change, fuel accumulation from past wildfire suppression, and development in fire-prone areas. Because little is likely to be performed to halt the effects of climate on wildfire risk, and because fuel-management budgets cannot keep pace with fuel accumulation let alone reverse it, changing the behaviors of existing and potential homeowners in fire-prone areas is the most promising approach to decreasing the cost of suppressing wildfires in the wildland-urban interface and...

Trout is the most popular sport fish in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico where fishing outfitters bring revenues to many rural economies. This article uses the hedonic pricing method on a monopolistically competitive outfitter market in those four states to examine angler values for trout fishing characteristics. A total of 1,685 fishing trip observations were collected from 198 outfitter websites during the 2009 fishing season. Vectors of variables describe states, trip characteristics, trout species, and river destinations. Descriptions were used to estimate marginal implicit...

Total belowground biomass, soil C, and N mass were measured in plots of 32-year-old black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.) from four full-sib families studied previously for drought tolerance and differential productivity on a dry and a wet site. Stump root biomass was greater on the wet than on the dry site; however, combined fine and coarse root biomass was greater on the dry than on the wet site, resulting in no site root biomass differences. There were no site differences in root distribution by soil depth. Drought-tolerant families had greater stump root...

Fine and coarse root biomass, C, and N mass parameters were assessed by root size and soil depths from soil cores in plots of 32-year-old black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.) from four full-sib families studied previously for drought tolerance and differential productivity on a dry and wet site. All fine and coarse root size categories had greater root biomass on the dry than on the wet site. Most of the site differences resided in 0–20 cm soil depth. The wet site had greater root N concentration than the dry site, despite the same soil N; thus, virtually no...

Hyporheic exchange is an important mechanism for solute mixing between river waters and shallow groundwater in streambed sediment. The hyporheic zone also provides an important ecotone for benthic species, including macro-invertebrates, microorganisms, and parts of some fish life stages. Most hyporheic analyses are limited in scope and performed at the reach scale. This research investigates hyporheic flow induced by streambed topography at the valley-scale under different flow discharges. We use a pumping model to predict hyporheic exchange along a 37km long reach of the Deadwood River...

Forests return large quantities of C to the atmosphere through soil respiration (Rsoil), which is often conceptually separated into autotrophic C respired by living roots (Rroot) and heterotrophic decomposition (Rhet) of soil organic matter (SOM). Live roots provide C sources for microbial metabolism via exudation, allocation to fungal associates, sloughed-off cells, and secretions such as mucilage production, suggesting a coupling between the activity of roots and heterotrophs. We addressed the strength of root effects on the activity of microbes and exo-enzymes by removing live-root-C...

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.), a species that once dominated the southeastern USA, is considered to be more drought tolerant than the principle plantation species in the South, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.), and so is predicted to better cope with increases in drought frequency associated with climate change. To determine if longleaf pine displays a more conservative water use strategy than the other two southern pine species, we examined diurnal patterns in leaf light-saturated photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, water use efficiency and...