Treesearch

As disturbances continue to increase in magnitude and severity under climate change, there is an urgency to develop climate-informed management solutions to increase resilience and help sustain the supply of ecosystem services over the long term. Towards this goal, we used climate analog modeling combined with logic-based conditions assessments to quantify the future resource stability (FRS) under mid-century climate. Analog models were developed for nine climate projections for 1 km cells across California. For each model, resource conditions were assessed at each focal cell in comparison...

Burrowing is a common trait among crayfish thought to help species deal with adverse environmental challenges. However, little is known about the microhabitat ecology of crayfish taxa in relation to their burrows. To fill this knowledge gap, we assessed the availability of oxygen inside the crayfish shelter by series of in-vivo and in-silico modelling experiments. Under modeled condition, we found that, except for the entrance region of the 200 mm, a flooded burrow microenvironment became anoxic within 8 h, on average. Multiple 12-hour day-night cycles, with burrows occupied by crayfish...

Quercus alba L., also known as white oak, eastern white oak, or American white oak, is aquintessential North American species within the white oak section (Quercus) of the genus Quercus,subgenus Quercus. This species plays a vital role as a keystone species in eastern North Americanforests and plays a significant role in local and regional economies. As a long-lived woody perennialcovering an extensive natural range, Q. alba’s biology is shaped by a myriad of adaptations accumulatedthroughout its natural history. Populations of Q. alba are crucial repositories of genetic, genomic,and...

Homeowner wildfire risk mitigation and preparedness are important components of community wildfire readiness. This report presents data collected via rapid wildfire risk assessments to describe the parcel-level wildfire risk of properties within the Stemilt basin, Chelan County, Washington study area. The report also describes household survey data collected from homeowners in the study area, including their perspectives on wildfire risk, outreach preferences, mitigation and preparedness activities, and perceptions of community risk reduction strategies. Results may inform the wildfire...

This summary report provides an overview of findings from the fourth full annualized inventory of Indiana forests based on data collected from 2012 to 2018. Indiana has nearly 4.9 million acres of forest land with an average of 442 trees (at least 1.0-inch in diameter) per acre. Hardwoods are the dominant tree species in Indiana. Forest land is dominated by the oak/hickory forest-type group, which occupies 72 percent of the total forest land area (3.5 million acres). Live tree volume averages 2,240 cubic feet per acre. Growing-stock net growth exceeds removals resulting in a growth-to-remov...

Mass timber building construction is a natural way to mitigate climate change and prevent its associated potential global catastrophic problems. To show the mitigating impact of mass timber, an international research team led by The Nature Conversancy conducted whole-building life-cycle assessments to compare wood structures with corresponding concrete structures for 8-, 12-, and 18-story buildings, based on the 2021 International Building Code, for three regions in the United States. This report covers the set of buildings for one of those regions, specifically the set of buildings...

This indicator is important because knowing the total and per capita consumption of nonwood forest products (NWFPs) provides a common denominator to compare the value of these products with other forest products. Nonwood forest products are harvested from forests for personal use and economic gain and need to be included in the overall valuation of forests. The amount consumed illustrates the relative importance of these products to more “mainstream” forest products. Knowing the total consumption amount of NWFPs is critical to determining sustainable production levels for these goods and...

Employment attributable to forests (including both forestbased and forest-related employment) is one measure of the social and economic importance of forests. Employment is a tangible and widely understood measure of economic activity and related social well-being. This indicator reports employment levels for the forest products sector, represented by activity in forestry and logging, and the wood products and paper products sectors, as supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021). For additional information, see the National report on sustainable forests, 2020

Nonwood forest products (NWFPs) are harvested from forests and don’t require cutting or removal of trees for timber. These products are a subset of nontimber forest products (NTFPs), which include wood that is not timberbased. People have been collecting these forest products— plant materials for food, fiber, and medicine, and other uses—for personal and commercial gain for generations. As the forest products industry developed, industries based on wood and nonwood forest products developed in parallel. The sale of these products contributes to local, regional, and national economies,...

Wetland management practices often alter habitat characteristics to improve the function of the wetland (e.g., removing emergent vegetation for aesthetics or dredging for fish stocking), potentially at the cost of reducing habitat quality for wetland-dependent species such as freshwater turtles. We identified wetland and surrounding landscape characteristics related to painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) and snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) relative abundance and snapping turtle movement among wetlands. We surveyed turtles at 29 wetland sites (0.04–1.71 ha) in a mixed-use watershed in...