Treesearch

Gels made of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are biodegradable and renewable with numerous applications. Prior efforts to quantify rheological properties have considered the material primarily as a fluid and have been hindered by strain localization and sample size dependence.We identify important considerations in designing experiments to quantify the time-dependent mechanics of CNF gels and devise experimental methods to quantify the viscoelastic properties of CNF gels on time scales on the order of hours.Shearing experiments were designed using a custom-built loading device to apply uniform...

The Urban National Landowner Survey (UNLS) is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and has the mission of providing information about the ownership, objectives, management, and future plans of people who own trees in urban areas. This report summarizes data collected from private, residential landowners in Houston, TX, from 2019 (n = 209). While normally collected over 5 years, implementation was intensified in Houston to complete data collection in 1 year. Private, residential landowners in Houston believe that...

Wood anatomical information on 30 of the most common commercial species of wood in Colombia is presented as a set of edge-notched cards designed for field wood identification. Wood specimens from the xylaria in the Center for Wood Anatomy Research of the Forest Products Laboratory—the Madison Wood Collection (MADw) and the Samuel J. Record Memorial Wood Collection (SJRw)—were used as references for the descriptions and imaging. The cards present macroscopic anatomical characteristics—such as vessel distribution, parenchyma types, and ray size and arrangement—and images of similar or...

Data collected from over 200 plots in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 2015 through 2021 reveal that the city has an estimated 3.7 million live trees at least 1.0 inch in diameter across all ownerships. The most common tree species by number are common buckthorn, boxelder, and green ash, while those at least 5.0 inches in diameter are led by green ash, boxelder, and Norway maple. The largest number of trees (31.4 percent; 1.1 million trees) are found on forest land. Trees on public lands total 2.1 million and account for over 57 percent of all live trees. Trees at least 15.0 inches in diameter...

Accurate estimation of mangrove biomass is a key component of the blue carbon economy, and allometric equations are a cornerstone of methodological approaches to quantify carbon from plot to landscape scales. A perennial question facing investigators is whether global allometric equations can be applied to their region of interest, or whether trees need to be harvested to provide accurate local estimates. Further, it is not always clear which combinations of tree measurements provide the most accurate estimates. We examined 16 different allometric equations for four tree measurements...

Drought is a natural part of the Southeastern United States climate and a threat to agricultural productivity and profitability. Whether slow developing or rapid onset, droughts can have negative effects on agricultural crops and livestock, depending on timing, severity, and length. Droughts are expected to become increasingly common in the Southeast due to increasing temperatures, longer dry periods between rain events, and growing water demand across the region. To help producers remain resilient and productive in the face of this threat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)...

Fruit crop-size estimates are little better than indices unless tied to plant abundance. We developed a “standardized fruit crop” (SFC) using 11 years of fruit-density data in replicated transects to estimate long-term average (versus within-year) production by Vaccinium spp. (blueberry), Gaylussacia spp. (huckleberry), and Rubus spp. (blackberry) if applied to shrub-area inventories. We sampled blueberry and huckleberry in mature forest where canopy cover and shrub area were constant, and blackberry—a “pioneer” shrub—in shelterwood harvests where light availability decreased with stand...

The Southern California Adaptation Partnership identified climate change issues relevant for resource management on national forest and national park units in southern California. This partnership assessed the vulnerability of infrastructure, outdoor recreation, and ecosystem services to climate change and developed adaptation options that minimize negative effects of climate change and facilitate transition to a warmer climate.High levels of use and aging roads and facilities on federal lands are increasing the vulnerability of infrastructure to the effects of climate change. Altered...

Background: Experimental forests present unrivaled opportunities to understand the factors influencing vegetation structure many decades after silvicultural treatments or natural disturbances. In this study, we use the western larch-dominated moist mixed-conifer forests at Miller Creek Demonstration Forest (Miller Creek) to better understand the relationship between current vegetation structure, 55 years after two forms of high-intensity disturbance (clearcutting plus broadcast burning, and a high-severity wildfire) and characteristics of the site, the disturbance, and pre-disturbance...

Reforestation success in areas impacted by high-severity wildfire and seasonal moisture limitations require nursery-grown seedlings capable of establishing and surviving in harsh environments. Drought conditioning (i.e. restricted irrigation regimes) has the potential to improve planting outcomes, although assessments of effectiveness based on replicated field trials in operational settings are rare. In 2022, we conducted a drought conditioning experiment on second-year stock of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), western white pine (Pinus monticola) and two seed sources of western larch...