Treesearch

To better understand the long-term effects of species selection and forest management practices on soil quality and soil C retention, we analyzed soil samples from an experimental planting of loblolly (Pinus taeda L.), longleaf ((Pinus palustris Mill.), and slash ((Pinus elliottii Engelm.) pines under different management intensities in Mississippi. The treatments included stump removal and cultivation (CULT), a one-time application of fertilizer combined with stump removal and cultivation (CULT+F), and a control (CON). After 49 years, pine species had no significant effect on any soil...

Retention harvests are proposed as mechanisms for introducing two-aged structure into even-aged red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) stands, yet little is known about seedling responses to overstory abundance and resource availability under potential harvesting treatments. We related spatially explicit measurements of overstory abundance, proportional diffuse radiation, and soil temperature and moisture to first-year mortality and 2-year growth of underplanted jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.), and red pine seedlings under four harvest treatments: no-harvest...

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a promising wood-based structural component and has potential to provide cost-effective building solutions for residential, commercial and institutional buildings as well as large industrial facilities. Market acceptance of CLT requires that it meets the applicable building code requirements.

This handbook is an update of handbook FHTET-2012-01, Gypchek - Environmentally Safe Viral Insecticide for Gypsy Moth Control, printed in May, 2012. This update contains information on virus production, safety evaluations, results of efficacy and deposition evaluations, commercial production, and a copy of the revised registration label, safety data sheet, and technical bulletin.

A challenge in the development of renewable energy is the ability to spatially assess the risk of feedstock supply to conversion facilities. Policy makers and investors need improved methods to identify the interactions associated with landscape features, socioeconomic conditions, and ownership patterns, and the influence these variables have on the geographic location of potential conversion facilities. This study estimated opportunity zones for woody cellulosic feedstocks based on landscape suitability and market competition for the resource. The study covered 13 Southern States which...

1. Nest predation limits avian fitness, so birds should favour nest sites that minimize predation risk. Nevertheless, preferred nest microhabitat features are often uncorrelated with apparent variation in predation rates. 2. This lack of congruence between theory-based expectation and empirical data may arise when birds already occupy ‘adaptive peaks’. If birds nest exclusively in low-predation microhabitats, microhabitat and nest predation may no longer be correlated even though predation ultimately shaped microhabitat selection. 3. This ‘adaptive peak hypothesis’ was tested for a...

To guide monitoring of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) in the Coachella Valley, California, USA, we analyzed survey-method-specific seasonal variation in detectability. Point-based call-broadcast surveys yielded high early season detectability that then declined through time, whereas detectability on driving surveys increased through the season. Point surveys without call-broadcasts yielded the lowest detectability rates overall. To maximize detectability, we recommend coupling early season point-based call-broadcast surveys with late-season driving surveys. Occupancy models proved...

Because nest predation strongly limits avian fitness, ornithologists identify nest predators to inform ecological research and conservation. During 2002–2008, we used both video-monitoring of natural nests and direct observations of predation to identify nest predators of open-cup nesting riparian songbirds along tributaries of Mono Lake, California. Video cameras at 50 nests of 3 songbird species and direct observations of additional nests confirmed 10 distinct nest-predator species and suggested one additional species. Video-monitored nests experienced reduced predation rates, and video...

Nest predation limits avian fitness, so ornithologists study nest predation, but they often only document patterns of predation rates without substantively investigating underlying mechanisms. Parental behavior and predator ecology are two fundamental drivers of predation rates and patterns, but the role of parents is less certain, particularly for songbirds. Previous work reproduced microhabitat-predation patterns experienced by Yellow Warblers (Setophaga petechia) in the Mono Lake basin at experimental nests without parents, suggesting that these patterns were driven by predator ecology...

Research in the last several years has indicated that the frequency of large fires is on the rise in western US forests. Although fire size and frequency are important, they do not necessarily provide information concerning the effects of fire on ecosystems, as ecosystems differ in ecological and evolutionary relationships with fire. Our study focused on the four National Forests of NW California (Klamath, Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity, and Six Rivers). We assessed: 1) trends and patterns in fire size and frequency from 1910-2008 (all fires >40 ha), and 2) percentage of high-severity in fires...