Treesearch

Species richness within a site (i.e., alpha diversity) and between sites (i.e., beta diversity) are important measurements of biodiversity utilized in wildlife research and management. However, novel occupancy modeling approaches, especially at large spatial scales and in conjunction with other analyses of biodiversity, remain scarce in studies of mammalian biodiversity across forested landscapes. We assessed alpha and beta diversity of mammals across a 16,058-km2 region of southern Illinois, USA, between January and April of the years 2008–2010. We deployed camera traps, measured habitat...

Field studies of hyporheic exchange in mountain systems are often conducted using short study reaches and a limited number of observations. It is common practice to assume these study reaches represent hyporheic exchange at larger scales or different sites and to infer general relationships among potential causal mechanisms from the limited number of observations. However, these assumptions of representativeness are rarely tested. In this study, we develop numerical models from four segments of mountain streams in different geomorphologic settings and extract shorter reaches to test how...

In 2016, mixed-severity wildfires in the southern Appalachians created a gradient of forest structures not typical following prescribed burns, providing a unique opportunity to study temporally dynamic conditions and breeding bird response. We measured forest structure and breeding bird communities across a fire-severity gradient in 3 burned and 3 unburned watersheds for 5 years (Y1-Y5). We categorized plots as unburned (NB), low- (L), moderate- (M), or high-severity (H) using a composite fire-severity index. Tree mortality increased with fire-severity category (FSC) and over time; by Y5,...

Demands for water services from forested watersheds have dramatically increased since the 1950s and the trend continues as global environmental change intensifies in the 21st century. The goal of this study is to provide an overview of existing hydrological modeling tools that can be used in watershed management in a forest environment, offer guidance of model uses, and identify knowledge gaps in model development and applications. We classify 47 selected hydrological models according to their development purposes, theories, functionalities, and potentials to be applied in Decision Support...

United States Department of Defense munitions wood packaging materials (WPMs) are currently dip-treated with preservatives to protect the wood against decay fungi and termites. However, recent observations of mold on WPMs prompted research to evaluate the effectiveness of adding moldicides to the wood preservatives that are typically used on WPMs. Controlling moisture is the most effective way to prevent mold growth, but this is not always possible during WPM handling and storage. For this study, moldicides were selected based on compatibility with existing wood preservatives, commercial...

Within black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marshall) wetlands, black ash acts as a foundational species, resulting in high vulnerability to the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). One mitigation strategy being considered is the planting of alternative tree species to increase compositional diversity, however, there is limited understanding of how replacement tree species tolerate flooding. A greenhouse experiment was used to explore early survival and growth of eighteen tree species in response to five flooding durations (3, 6, 9, 12, or 15...

Recreational boats are important vectors of spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) among waterbodies of the United States. To limit AIS spread, state and county agencies fund watercraft inspection and decontamination stations at lake access points. We present a bi-level model for determining how a state planner can efficiently allocate inspection resources to county managers, who independently decide where to locate inspection stations. In our formulation, each county manager determines a set of optimal plans for the locations of inspection stations under various resource constraints....

We investigated employment diversity patterns, including interactions between social networks and employee demographics such as race-ethnicity and gender. In 2012–2014, we randomly interviewed 183 of the total of about 300 employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNW), asking them how they learned of their first PNW job. Several results displayed patterns with race-ethnicity and gender, including the following: (1) males were more likely than females to have learned of their PNW job through nonsocial means (e.g., websites); (2)...

Forest managers are exploring options to proactively facilitate forest adaptation to climate change (resistance or resilience) or to introduce species (transition) that are better suited to future climates. Forest managers must have confidence that implementing an assisted migration (AM) transition strategy will maintain a more reliable stream of goods and services than strategies emphasizing resistance or resilience. The outcome of transition strategies can be evaluated with forest landscape models having direct links to climate and atmospheric drivers. We used the LANDIS-II forest...

Developing competitive oak advance reproduction prior to canopy disturbance is understood to be important for oak regeneration success. In the early 2000s, a study was installed in southeastern Missouri to examine the effects of midstory and understory release on natural and artificial sources of pin oak (Quercus palustris Muenchh.) advance reproduction. The findings obtained three years after midstory and understory release indicated photosynthetically active radiation increased from 3 to 15 % and a corresponding increase in density of pin oak reproduction as well as the survival and...