Treesearch

A publication is a permanent, accessible, isolated, and definitive piece of work; it should not be difficult to determine who wrote it, when they wrote it, and where it was published (Cole and Eales 1917). Publications that communicate research findings to others include those works found in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, along with books, reports, and other published materials. A search and synthesis of the published literature is a first step in the development of a research paper or proposal and is important for setting the stage and for defining the gaps in science...

Around the globe, human behavior and ecosystem health have been extensively and sometimes severely affected by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Most efforts to study these complex and heterogenous effects to date have focused on public health and economics. Some studies have evaluated the pandemic's influences on the environment, but often on a single aspect such as air or water pollution. The related research opportunities are relatively rare, and the approaches are unique in multiple aspects and mostly retrospective. Here, we focus on the diverse research opportunities in disease...

We review science-based adaptation strategies for western North American (wNA) forests that include restoring active fire regimes and fostering resilient structure and composition of forested landscapes. As part of the review, we address common questions associated with climate adaptation and realignment treatments that run counter to a broad consensus in the literature. These include the following: (1) Are the effects of fire exclusion overstated? If so, are treatments unwarranted and even counterproductive? (2) Is forest thinning alone sufficient to mitigate wildfire hazard? (3) Can...

Species distribution models, or SDMs, have become important decision support tools by answering fundamental questions about where species, including invasive species, are likely to survive and thrive based on environmental conditions. For an inexperienced modeller or model reviewer, the terminology and technical aspects of SDMs can be overwhelming, and even well-trained modellers can struggle to understand the implications of various modelling choices. Here, I outline some key considerations with respect to SDMs, focusing on their application to forest insects. Foremost, I assert that a...

1. The removal and exclusion of non-native ungulates for conservation of biodiversity is common globally, including on tropical Pacific Islands. However, the poorly quantified effects of ungulate exclusion on fuels and wildfire may represent an important conservation trade-off. 2. We measured fuels (live and dead fuel loads, type, height and continuity) and modelled potential wildfire behaviour (flame height and rate of spread) inside and outside of 13 ungulate exclosures, three of which received active ecological restoration (e.g. planting of native shrubs and trees), across a 2,740 mm...

Aim Habitat suitability modelling methods for presence-only species data are limited in their ability for making true predictions and are therefore often misused in ecological applications. A use-availability design—also known as a case–control design with contaminated controls—combines presence-only species data with a background sample of covariates where the species presence/absence is unknown. Assuming a log link function for the true probability of presence/absence, the use-availability data then can be analysed as a logistic regression model with a biased estimate of the intercept....

The FOrest Resource Outlook Model (FOROM) is a global recursive dynamic partial equilibrium model of the forest sector that recognizes Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment regions as separate producing, consuming, and trading market regions within a complete global market. FOROM is calibrated to a base year and projects future market variables of price, production, consumption, and trade of primary and secondary forest products across various socioeconomic developments. Further captured in the model are predicted changes in forest area and forest stocks (inventory volumes) by management...

Silvics of North America (SNA) is a widely used silvicultural manual. However, the last SNA was published in 1990. Therefore, 2,589 registered foresters were surveyed across four US states to answer two broad questions: (1) Should SNA be updated? And (2) would an updated SNA still be a useful tool for forest management? Most respondents indicated that the type and extent of content contained in the previous version of SNA was still desirable today. Aside from updating all sections with recent research findings, expansion was suggested for ecosystem services provided by species. An update...

The Budyko models provide a transparent framework for analyzing climate-catchment interactions and therefore have been widely used to quantify the role of vegetation influencing the partitioning of precipitation (P) into evapotranspiration (ET) and runoff (R) at watershed to regional scales under a changing environment. This study provides a thorough review of the use of Budyko models for answering modern hydrological questions including the relation between vegetation dynamic and catchment ET (or runoff) and climate change impacts on water balances. Our synthesis suggests that: When...

A critical step in the development of a postfire restoration strategy is the acquisition and analysis of relevant data and other information. This information is essential to answering questions posed in the postfire flowchart that, in turn, informs the restoration portfolio (both addressed in chapter 2). Spatially explicit information helps us to evaluate the ecological condition of a postfire landscape, including the capacity of a particular area to support ecosystems in the future and the ecological processes that may affect ecosystem succession. Acquired and analyzed at a meaningful...