Treesearch

The coordination of plant leaf water potential (ΨL) regulation and xylem vulnerability to embolism is fundamental for understanding the tradeoffs between carbon uptake and risk of hydraulic damage. There is a general consensus that trees with vulnerable xylem more conservatively regulate ΨL than plants with resistant xylem. We evaluated if this paradigm applied to three important eastern US temperate tree species, Quercus alba L., Acer saccharum Marsh. And Liriodendron tulipifera L., by synthesizing 1600 ΨL observations, 122 xylem embolism curves and xylem anatomical measurements across 10...

Land management and fire management goals are increasingly framed in terms of resilience, in part due to the combined impacts of climate change, land-use change, and legacies of land management. Implicit in this framing is the recognition that resilience to wildfire involves both ecological and social dimensions. Discussions surrounding resilience often do not explicitly articulate what resources should or must be resilient to wildfire, and seldom do they make explicit for whom resilience is important. Land managers need to understand and identify which resources their communities want to...

Spruce beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennisKirby (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a lethal pest of spruce trees in North America. Despite decades of research, a semiochemical repellent that consistently and effectively protects spruce trees remains elusive. We evaluated the efficacy of 3-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one (MCH) in a proprietary, volatile compound release technology (SPLAT) alone and with two adjuvants, Acerkairomone blend (AKB) and acetophenone + green leaf volatiles (PLUS) to protect individually treated Picea engelmanniiParry ex. Engelm. (Pinales: Pinaceae), and Pi. engelmanniiwithin...

The chapter explores a series of overlapping discussions from the 1960s to the mid-1970s concerning the need to preserve natural areas for ecological research and observation, as well as the need for ecologists to be advocates for ecological science in the light of modern environmental problems. The U.S. Forest Service was also actively promoting the creation of Research Natural Areas and making them available for ecological research. A report prepared under the auspices of The Institute of Ecology in the mid-1970s drew attention to the desirability of creating a large network of experiment...

This chapter investigates how the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program has changed from 1980 to 2018. The LTER program is designed to balance persistence with response to change in science, society, and ecosystems through renewable 6-year grants subjected to peer review at the midterm and at renewal. The LTER program had an initial period of rapid growth with some terminations (1980s), a middle period of slower growth with no terminations (1990–2010), and a third period of no net growth, with added and terminated sites and an accelerated rate of...

A broad spectrum of arts and humanities activities has emerged organically within the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program including disciplines such as philosophy and ethics, creative writing, and the visual, multimedia, musical, and performing arts. The majority of LTER sites now hosts activities that integrate the environmental sciences with the arts and humanities (eSAH). These programs serve important functions central to the LTER mission, including, but not limited to, public engagement, outreach, and education. Some LTER eSAH programs additionally consider these activities...

This chapter describes the evolution of information management protocols for Long Term Ecological Research, starting with work conducted at the Andrews Forest Long Term Ecological Research site in Oregon in the 1980s. This early work involved the design, testing, and implementation of a data and information management system that helped establish standards and protocols across the Long Term Ecological Research Network. Following this initial work, a growth period ensued. The chapter discusses the creation of Ecological Metadata Language, explores the impact of the internet on ecological...

The “hierarchy of factors” hypothesis states that decomposition rates are controlled primarily by climatic, followed by biological and soil variables. Tropical montane forests (TMF) are globally important ecosystems, yet there have been limited efforts to provide a biome-scale characterization of litter decomposition. We designed a common litter decomposition experiment replicated in 23 tropical montane sites across the Americas, Asia, and Africa and combined these results with a previous study of 23 sites in tropical lowland forests (TLF). Specifically, we investigated (1) spatial...

We examined causes and levels of tree mortality one year after thinning and prescribed burning was completed in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosaDougl. ex Laws.) forests at Pringle Falls Experimental Forest, Oregon, U.S. Four blocks of five experimental units (N = 20) were established. One of each of five treatments was assigned to each experimental unit in each block. Treatments included thinning from below to the upper management zone (UMZ) for the dominant plant association based on stand density index values for ponderosa pine followed by mastication and prescribed burning: (1) 50% UMZ...

The building industry currently consumes over a third of energy produced and emits 39% of greenhouse gases globally produced by human activities. The manufacturing of building materials and the construction of buildings make up 11% of those emissions within the sector. Whole-building life-cycle assessment is a holistic and scientific tool to assess multiple environmental impacts with internationally accepted inventory databases. A comparison of the building lifecycle assessment results would help to select materials and designs to reduce total environmental impacts at the early planning...