Treesearch

Lignocellulosic biomass is a sustainable alternative to petroleum-derived chemicals to develop biobased wood adhesives, which motivates integrated biorefineries to effectively convert biomass feedstock into desirable chemicals. Herein, lignin recovered from kraft biorefinery (L-KB) and two bio-oils, prepared from laboratory-scale solvent liquefaction of lignin (BO-SL/L) and fast pyrolysis of pinewood (BO-FP/PW), respectively, have been used to substitute 50% (w/w) of phenol in a novolac phenol−formaldehyde (NPF) resin system. The molecular structures of the L-KB, BO-SL/L, and BO-FP/ PW...

Hemicellulose, a structural polysaccharide and often underutilized co-product stream of biorefineries, could be used to produce prebiotic ingredients with novel functionalities. Since hot water pre-extraction is a cost-effective strategy for integrated biorefineries to partially fractionate hemicellulose and improve feedstock quality and performance for downstream operations, the approach was applied to process switchgrass (SG), hybrid poplar (HP), and southern pine (SP) biomass at 160°C for 60 min. As a result, different hemicellulose-rich fractions were generated and the chemical...

Ecological theory predicts that animals will select habitats for breeding that confer an adaptive advantage through increased reproductive success. We therefore expect to see congruence between habitat preferences and measures of fitness. We studied abundance, nest site selection, and nest survival in white-headed woodpeckers (Picoides albolarvatus) in four forest types along an elevational gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada, California. Our primary objective was to ascertain what habitat features white-headed woodpeckers were selecting for nesting and at what scale, and whether those...

As the frequency and size of wildfires increase, accurate assessment of burn severity is essential for understanding fire effects and evaluating post-fire vegetation impacts. Remotely-sensed imagery allows for rapid assessment of burn severity, but it also needs to be field validated. Permanent forest inventory plots can provide burn severity information for the field validation of remotely-sensed burn severity metrics, although there is often a mismatch between the size and shape of the inventory plot and the resolution of the rasterized images. For this study, we used two distinct...

A plus-tree progeny test of full- and half-sib “superior” loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) was installed in 1969 on the Crossett Experimental Forest (CEF) to consider the performance of 28 improved families with unimproved planting stock from the CEF (family W29). Performance was evaluated using data from young (3-year-old; early 1970s), maturing (25-year-old; 1994), and mature (48-year-old; 2017) trees. With the exception of a single improved family, early survival was high (>80%), with most families exceeding 90%. Three years post-planting, fusiform rust infection rates were also low, with...

This handbook presents several arrays of practical silvicultural options to landowners and forest managers of young, bottomland oak-dominated plantations. Each array of options is designed specifically to achieve one of three common landowner objectives: (1) production of high-quality oak sawtimber as the sole or primary objective; (2) creation of improved habitat for wildlife as the sole or primary objective, primarily through improved acorn production; and (3) integrated management for both oak sawtimber and improved wildlife habitat as multiple objectives of roughly equal importance and...

Empirical evidence of the vulnerability of dryland ecosystems to suffer abrupt changes in response to global change is highly needed to assess the applicability of threshold models, understand the underlying mechanisms and anticipate the onset of abrupt shifts.We study the onset of abrupt changes in Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex) woodlands, by analyzing the combined effect of past human disturbance (mainly deforestation) and aridity on the functional state of these ecosystems. We determine ecosystem state in terms of herbaceous/woody species ratio, species richness and soil propertie...

Traditional forestry, ecology, and fuels monitoring methods can be costly and error-prone, and are often used beyond their original assumptions due to difficulty or unavailability of more appropriate methods. These traditional methods tend to be rigid and may not be useful for detecting new ecological changes or required data at modern levels of precision. The integration of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) methods into forest monitoring strategies can cost effectively standardize data collection, improve efficiency, and reduce error, with datasets that can easily be analyzed to better...

The month-over-month housing data for May were varied, and all data were positively robust year-over-year in all categories. Declines were reported for total-, single-, and multifamily permits; total- and single-family completions; and existing house sales.