Treesearch

Given the large and increasing amount of urban, suburban, and exurban land use on Earth, there is a need to accurately assess net primary productivity (NPP) of urban ecosystems. However, the heterogeneous and dynamic urban mosaic presents challenges to the measurement of NPP, creating landscapes that may appear more similar to a savanna than to the native landscape replaced. Studies of urban biomass have tended to focus on one type of vegetation (e.g., lawns or trees). Yet a focus on the ecology of the city should include the entire urban ecosystem rather than the separate investigation of...

Warming is expected to increase the net release of carbon from peatland soils, contributing to future warming. This positive feedback may be moderated by the response of peatland vegetation to rising atmospheric [CO2] or to increased soil nutrient availability. We asked whether a gradient of wholeecosystem warming (from + 0 °C to + 9 °C) would increase plant-available nitrogen and phosphorus in an ombrotrophic bog in northern Minnesota, USA, and whether elevated [CO2] would modify the nutrient response. We tracked changes in plant-available nutrients across space and through time and in...

Pinus rigida (Pitch Pine)–Quercus ilicifolia (Scrub Oak) barrens require active management to maintain, but the effects of forest management on snakes and game birds is poorly understood. We conducted vegetation surveys and examined incidental encounter data of a variety of snake and game bird species on a managed pine barren in Montague, MA, from 2008 to 2018. We recorded 73 observations, including 44 Coluber constrictor constrictor (Northern Black Racer) and 7 Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey) nests. All of our observations were in managed habitats (Scrub Oak, treated Pitch Pine, and...

Soils in urban natural areas can be highly variable due to legacies of land use change that include excavation of existing soils and dumping of construction debris or other anthropogenic materials. As cities undertake large-scale tree planting efforts to sustain and increase forest cover, understanding how urban soil quality influences native tree seedling survival and performance is important. In a greenhouse setting we examined growth and physiology of native silver maple (Acer saccharinum), black birch (Betula lenta), red oak (Quercus rubra), and Canadian serviceberry (Amalanchier...

Black locust (BL, Robinia pseudoacacia) is considered a promising tree species for reforestation due to its great ability to fix nitrogen. However, after two or three coppice-harvesting rotations, the productivity of BL declines. Whether soil microbial communities are affected and how these groups correlate with the nitrogen mineralization process across multi-generation stands remains unclear.

Acting as a top-down control on fire activity, climate strongly affects wildfire in North American ecosystems through fuel moisture and ignitions. Departures from historical fire regimes due to climate change have significant implications for the structure and composition of boreal forests, as well as fire management and operations. In this research, we characterize the relationship between trends in climate and fire regime characteristics, for a study area predominantly in Alberta, Canada. We examined trends of fire and climate in northwestern boreal forests using time series analysis of...

Forest ecosystems play an important role in hydrological processes as surface and subsurface runoff, as well as the storage of water at the catchment scale. Therefore, it is important to have a greater understanding of the effects of forests in the long-term water balance of Mediterranean catchments. In this sense, this study evaluates the effect of native forests, forest plantations, and the combination of both, on long-term streamflow variations in central Chile, an unusual area of Mediterranean climate characterized by a well-marked annual cycle with dry summers and wet winters. Thus,...

The Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus: hereafter whip-poor-will) has been declining from historical population levels throughout its range in the northeast. Although whip-poor-wills have been reported to use a variety of habitats, most recent studies have associated whip-poor-wills with open canopy habitats, such as early-successional habitats or forest edges. However, there remain substantial gaps in our understanding of whip-poor-wills’ habitat associations. For example, historical accounts state that whip-poor-wills roost and nest in forest and forage in openings, and thus,...

This paper develops methodologies and identifies data gaps for understanding the impacts of hurricanes on forest product markets. Using the case of Hurricane Michael, we simulate damage to forest growing stock and forest area from alternative damage estimations (inventory and remote sensed). We then consider alternative scenarios for replanting, and the spatial distribution of salvage consumption. Beyond previous analyses we examine both short run and long run market outcomes resulting from the age demographics of standing timber post-hurricane. The simulation framework developed allows...

Climate warming is expected to drive upward and poleward shifts at the leading edge of tree species ranges. Disturbance has the potential to accelerate these shifts by altering biotic and abiotic conditions, though this potential is likely to vary by disturbance type. In this study, we assessed whether recent wildfires and spruce beetle outbreaks promoted upward range expansion of trembling aspen.