Treesearch

Species detection using eDNA is revolutionizing global capacity to monitor biodiversity. However, the lack of regional, vouchered, genomic sequence information especially sequence information that includes intraspecific variation—creates a bottleneck for management agencies wanting to harness the complete power of eDNA to monitor taxa and implement eDNA analyses. eDNA studies depend upon regional databases of mitogenomic sequence information to evaluate the effectiveness of such data to detect and identify taxa. We created the Oregon Biodiversity Genome Project to create a database of...

Monoterpenes in the resin of host trees are important host-location and -selection signals for conifer-infesting bark beetles and can increase or reduce responses to aggregation pheromones. Research on this interaction has been largely limited to collocated release points of the semiochemicals; however, sources are often separated in nature. I performed a trapping experiment to investigate whether distance between semiochemical release points influences how host monoterpene alpha-pinene affects Ips avulsus(Eichhoff) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) response to its aggregation pheromone (ipsdieno...

We conducted studies with the native woodwasp Sirex nigricornisF. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) in Louisiana to identify host-associated olfactory stimulants that may include attractive semiochemicals for this species as well as Sirex noctilioF., an invasive species that can attack healthy trees. Loblolly pines (Pinus taedaL.) treated with a stressing agent were felled and chipped 1–2 mo after treatment, and the chips were steam–water distilled in a Clevenger apparatus to extract volatile compounds. Using coupled gas chromatography–electroantennographic detection, we analyzed the distillates...

Prey can assess the immediate risk of predation by detecting cues of predator presence, and it is expected that prey should invest in costly antipredator behaviors when a cue of predator presence is detected. Features of the habitat in which the cue is detected, such as vegetative concealment, serve as indirect cues of risk and can mediate how prey respond to direct cues of predator presence. Past agricultural land use and contemporary fire regimes are common disturbances that may modify prey perceptions of risk and could, therefore, alter prey responses to direct cues of predator presence....

Emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils to the atmosphere can offset the benefits of carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation. While past study has suggested that both CH4 and N2O emissions from tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) are generally low, the impacts of coastal droughts and drought-induced saltwater intrusion on CH4 and N2O emissions remain unclear. In this study, a process-driven biogeochemistry model, Tidal Freshwater Wetland DeNitrification-DeComposition (TFW-DNDC), was applied to examine the responses of CH4 and N2O emissions to episodic...

Resilience is the ability of ecosystems to maintain function while experiencing perturbation. Globally, forests are experiencing disturbances of unprecedented quantity, type, and magnitude that may diminish resilience. Early warning signals are statistical properties of data whose increase over time may provide insights into decreasing resilience, but there have been few applications to forests. We quantified four early warning signals (standard deviation, lag-1 autocorrelation, skewness, and kurtosis) across detrended time series of multiple ecosystem state variables at the Hubbard Brook...

We compared forest structure and breeding bird communities between shelterwood harvests (SW; n = 15) and mature upland hardwood forests (M; n = 16) over 17 years (Y). Both were relatively static throughout the study period in M. In contrast, heavy canopy reduction and increased light after timber harvests in SW initiated rapid increases in small tree stem densities and shrub cover driven primarily by blackberry (Rubus spp.) - a clonal shrub that “pioneers” recently disturbed, high-light environments. This open-canopy forest structure with low, dense vegetation was short-lived; young trees...

The building sector, including building operations and materials, was responsible for the emission of ∼11.9 gigatons of global energy-related CO2in 2020, accounting for 37% of the total CO2 emissions, the largest share among different sectors. Lowering the carbon footprint of buildings requires the development of carbon-storage materials as well as novel designs that could enable multifunctional components to achieve widespread applications. Wood is one of the most abundant biomaterials on Earth and has been used for construction historically. Recent research breakthroughs on advanced...

Individuals, families, and trusts own a plurality of forest land in the United States, and the decisions made by these landowners have substantial impacts on the ecological, economic, and social benefits their lands provide. Some of the most impactful decisions include when and to whom to sell or leave their forested land, and whether or not to actively manage. Family forest landowners constitute an older population relative to the general population, and, the life expectancy of these landowners is a critical factor determining future land transitions, as well as patterns of management and...

Methods that integrate pre-, active-, and post-fire measurements to quantify fire effects across multiple spatial scales are needed to improve our understanding of ecological effects following fire and for informing natural resource management decisions that rely on post-fire growth and yield estimates. Given growth and yield modeling systems require tree level measurements to parameterize diameter and height distributions, effective datasets require both tree and stand level characterization. However, most stand-to-landscape scale fire effects studies use optical multispectral data (e.g.,...