Treesearch

Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. sensu lato (s.l.) is a dangerous forest pathogen causing root and butt rot disease in most conifers of the northern hemisphere. This pathogen is most widespread in the forests of Europe and North America. The economic impact on forestry related to tree mortality, reduction in timber yield, and wood rot is calculated in millions of dollars and euros. The genus Heterobasidion (Basidiomycota; Russulales) has been relatively recently separated into three genetically distinct groups (H. annosum, H. insulare and H. araucariae) comprising a total of 12 species...

In the western United States, pinyon-juniper woodlands have expanded by as much as sixfold among sagebrush landscapes since the late 19th century, with demonstrated negative impacts to the behav- ior, demography, and population dynamics of species that rely on intact sagebrush rangelands. Notably, greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are unable to tolerate even low conifer cover, which can result in population declines and local extirpation, whereas removing expanding conifer cover has been demonstrated to increase sage grouse population growth rates and sagebrush obligate...

The relationship between bee community composition and habitat characteristics at local scales may inform management decisions and conservation strategies for species of conservation concern. Ecotones are transition zones between two adjacent habitats that can potentially support abundant and diverse bee communities by providing complementary habitat characteristics within the foraging distance of most bee species. In a forest-shrubland ecotone, we evaluated the relationships between multiple habitat characteristics and the taxonomic and functional diversity of bee communities. Early in...

Efficient use of the available wood resources is necessary to sustainably meet the long-term demand for wood products. This paper presents research about the potential of using transverse and longitudinal vibration techniques to evaluate the bending modulus of elasticity MOE (Eb) and tensile properties (Et and UTS) of 2 by 10 No. 2 grade southern pine (Pinus spp.) lumber. A total of 285 lumber pieces were first nondestructively tested using longitudinal vibration (Director HM 200), transverse vibration (Metriguard E-computer), and proof-loading bending tests (Universal Instron Machine)....

Hydroxystilbenes are a class of polyphenolic compounds that behave as lignin monomers participating in radical coupling reactions during the lignification. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of various artificial copolymers of monolignols and hydroxystilbenes to obtain the mechanistic insights into their incorporation into the lignin polymer. The resulting DHPs were analyzed using 2D NMR to confirm the presence of hydroxystilbene structures in the lignin polymer.

The ramifications of a tenancy in common or heirs’ property ownership are extensive. This kind of tenuous ownership affects not only individual families but also the economic health of the typically minority and lower-wealth communities where these properties tend to cluster. Very little research has identified heirs’ property extent at a broad scale, however. We present results of our approach to identifying heirs’ parcels for every county and census tract in the U.S., using geospatial methodologies and aggregated parcel records acquired from LightBox. The method estimated 444,172 heirs’...

Research on harvesting culturally significant food plants can contribute to Indigenous food sovereignty. Relationshipsdrive the process of research, which can affect research methodologies and outcomes. Promoting inclusion and equity in researchrelationships is necessary to reduce power hierarchies that often position conventional sciences above Indigenous knowledge systems.This paper employs a reflexive lens to consider important dynamics of an ongoing research collaboration between the Eastern Bandof Cherokee Indians, federal agencies, and academic partners focused on the Cherokee food...

The Brazilian Amazon has been a focus of land development with large swaths of forests converted to agriculture. Forest degradation by selective logging and fires has accompanied the agricultural frontier and has resulted in significant impacts on Amazonian ecosystems. Changes in forest structure resulting from forest disturbances have large impacts on the surface energy balance, including on land surface temperature (LST) and evapotranspiration (ET). This study's objective is to assess the effects of forest disturbances on water fluxes and forest structure in a transitional forest site in...

Weather conditions at the time of wildfire front arrival strongly influence fire behavior and effects, yet few methods exist for estimating weather conditions more spatio-temporally resolved than coarse-grain (e.g., 4 km) daily averages. When a fire front advances rapidly and weather conditions are heterogeneous over space and time, greater spatio-temporal precision is required to accurately link fire weather to observed fire effects. To identify the influence of fire weather on fire effects observed across a sample of existing forest inventory plots during a wind-driven megafire event in...