Treesearch

The United States' implementation of the Montréal Process indicator of forest fragmentation presents a case study in the development and application of science within a criteria and indicator framework to evaluate forest sustainability. Here, we review the historical evolution and status of the indicator and summarize the latest empirical results. While forest cover fragmentation is increasing, the rate of increase has slowed since 2006. Most of the fragmentation in the western United States is associated with changes in semi-natural land cover (e.g., shrub and grass) while most of the...

The rarity of rapid campaigns to characterize soils across scales limits opportunities to investigate variation in soil carbon stocks (SOC) storage simultaneously at large and small scales, with and without site-level replication. We used data from two complementary campaigns at 40 sites in the United States across the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), in which one campaign sampled profiles from closely co-located intensive plots and physically composited similar horizons, and the other sampled dozens of pedons across the landscape at each site. We demonstrate some consistenci...

The recognized gap between research and implementation in avian conservation can be overcome with translational ecology, an intentional approach in which science producers and users from multiple disciplines work collaboratively to co-develop and deliver ecological research that addresses management and conservation issues. Avian conservation naturally lends itself to translational ecology because birds are well studied, typically widespread, often exhibit migratory behaviors transcending geopolitical boundaries, and necessitate coordinated conservation efforts to accommodate resource and...

Predator fear effects influence reproductive outcomes in many species. In non-urban systems, passerines often respond to predator cues by reducing parental investment, resulting in smaller and lighter nestlings. Since trophic interactions in urban areas are highly altered, it is unclear how passerines respond to fear effects in human-altered landscapes. Nestlings of passerines in urban areas also tend to be smaller and lighter than their rural counterparts and are often exposed to high densities of potential predators yet experience lower per capita predation—the predation paradox. We...

Residential landscapes support human well-being and ecological functioning in urban ecosystems. Trees and native plants in yards and neighborhoods positively influence satisfaction, an important component of human well-being and quality of life. However, these patterns may not hold true in arid ecoregions, where the composition of desert vegetation contrasts the tall, broad-leafed trees of temperate regions. The effects of xeric, desert-like landscaping on satisfaction with the neighborhood environment are especially important to consider given the large amount of resources required to...

A long-standing goal of ecology has been to understand the cycling of carbon in forests. This has taken on new urgency with the need to address a rapidly changing climate. Forests serve as longterm stores for atmospheric CO2, but their continued ability to take up new carbon is dependent on future changes in climate and other factors such as age. We have been measuring many aspects of carbon cycling at an unmanaged evergreen forest in central Maine, USA, for over 25 years. Here we use these data to address questions about the magnitude and control of carbon fluxes and quantify flows and...

Gap-based silviculture and legacy-tree retention are strategies that can increase structural and resource heterogeneity while maintaining forest productivity at the stand scale. Nevertheless, areas of delayed regeneration have been noted in openings with some persisting for a decade or more. To better understand the causes of localized recruitment delay and/or near-term failure, we examined spatial patterning of persistent (≥15 years) patches of regeneration failure (≤1 sapling ≥1.37 m tall per 10 m2) at two long-term experimental gap experiments in northern Wisconsin and the Upper...

To a large degree, the sources and stability of soil organic carbon remain poorly constrained. A clear understanding of links among the components of the soil C cycle is hampered by the complexity of the system as well as challenges associated with partitioning bulk soil C into meaningful fractions. A large accidental 14CO2 release at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, USA provided a strong label pulse into adjacent, well-studied oak forests, resulting in highly elevated Δ14C values in leaf litter (~1000‰) and roots (~260–450‰). A four-year manipulative study was conducted to determine...

The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) and Intermountain Region (R4) are modeling an approach to how National Forest System management and science can work together in meaningful ways with tangible results. The R4-RMRS Science Partner Program actively cultivates relationships between research scientists and land managers to co-produce new knowledge and land management approaches. When scientists and managers develop solutions together, we strengthen the agency’s ability to address the complex challenges facing our forests, grasslands, and the communities that depend...