Treesearch

Wildfires generate significant amounts of ash and burned soils that can leach altered dissolved organic matter (DOM) to watersheds. In this work, we analyzed the absorbance and fluorescence spectrum of DOM leached from 40 ash and soil samples collected from two conifer forest burn scars. DOM fluorescence quantum yield at 350 nm (ϕf350) was elevated in all ash and burned soil leachates. Wildfire DOM fluorescence was also consistently shifted toward the ultraviolet (UV) region relative to unburned materials, which limited the utility of several pre-defined optical indices, such as the...

T. campestris has been described multiple times in various Asian countries, as well as under several generic names (Callidium, Hesperophanes, Stromatium and Trichoferus) (Lee & Lee, 2018). In much of the recent scientific literature this species has been referred to as either H. campestris or T. campestris. There are currently 8 species of Hesperophanes and 27 species of Trichoferus recognized worldwide, of which only one species of Hesperophanes is native to the New World (Tavakilian & Chevillotte, 2020). Grebennikov et al. (2010) state that the genera Hesperophanes and Trichoferus are...

Timber Product Output (TPO) is a component of FIA’s National Resource Use Monitoring (NRUM) program aimed at gathering and reporting information on industrial and nonindustrial uses of roundwood. Data are gathered through annual surveys of primary wood processing facilities and aggregated and reported at the county and/or state level. Data and more information about NRUM and TPO can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/programs/nrum.

Purple milkvetch occurs in a variety of grassland, shrubland, and forest vegetation types. It is often associated with depressional or poorly drained areas where water collects or persists at least early in the growing season (Barr 2015). Throughout its range, it is found in partially moist, shady sites (Hermann 1966) such as meadows, water edges, and cool, brushy slopes (Barneby 1989; Spellenberg 2001; Fox et al. 2010). It is considered infrequent to locally common in prairies, meadows, thickets, open woodlands, and along roadsides and lake and stream margins (Stubbendieck and Milby 2021).

Mangrove forests are important due to their strong capability for carbon storage, especially in soils. Understanding carbon dynamics in these forests is fundamental to estimate their roles in carbon storage and mitigating climate change. This study used a process-based model, MCAT-DNDC, to assess mangrove carbon sequestration and fluxes at a 30-m spatial resolution in three African countries, Gabon, Mozambique and Tanzania. The simulated above- and below-ground biomass at inventory plots in each country was approximate to actual observations with mean errors <5% for aboveground biomass and...

Low salinity tidal wetlands (LSTW) are vulnerable to sea level rise and saltwater intrusion, thus their carbon sequestration capacity is threatened. However, the thresholds of rapid changes in carbon dynamics and biogeochemical processes in LSTW due to changes in hydroperiod and salinity regime remain unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of soil porewater salinity and water level on changes in net primary productivity (NPP) and greenhouse gas fluxes [GHG: methane ( CH4), nitrous oxide ( N2O), and carbon dioxide ( CO2)] in LSTW using a wetland biogeochemistry model, Tidal...

The wood of African mahogany (Khaya spp.) is known for its high quality and similarity to the more expensive Brazilian mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King). Interest in African mahogany has been increasing because of the reduced availability of native Brazilian mahogany, which has become illegal to harvest. Most African mahogany comes from managed plantations, so the increased consumption of this wood helps to alleviate issues related to illegal harvesting by reducing the trade of Brazilian mahogany. African mahogany has also been gaining popularity in the United States, particularly for...

Indigenous communities in the United States experience some of the highest rates of food insecurity and diet-related diseases despite an abundance of food assistance programs and other public health interventions. New approaches that center Indigenous perspectives and solutions are emerging and urgently needed to better understand and address these challenges. This Practice Note shares lessons learned from ongoing collaboration between the Karuk Tribe and University of California, Berkeley researchers and other partners to assess and enhance food sovereignty among Tribes and Tribal...

Soil temperature extremes are not uncommon when woody fuels are ignited in prescribed burns or wildfires. Whether this leads to substantial loss of soil organic matter or microbial life is unclear. We created a soil heat gradient by burning four levels of masticated woody fuels (0, 34, 101, and 169 Mg ha−1) to determine if heat thresholds produce abrupt changes in soil C, N, microbial biomass, or fungal hyphae. Twenty-four burns were conducted with masticated fuels overlaying a clay loam soil equilibrated at either 4 or 25% volumetric soil water content. Maximum temperatures ranged from 40...

As contemporary wildfire activity intensifies across the western United States, there is increasing recognition that a variety of forest management activities are necessary to restore ecosystem function and reduce wildfire hazard in dry forests. However, the pace and scale of current, active forest management is insufficient to address restoration needs. Managed wildfire and landscape-scale prescribed burns hold potential to achieve broad-scale goals but may not achieve desired outcomes where fire severity is too high or too low. To explore the potential for fire alone to restore dry...