Treesearch

As a result of climatic warming, tree species ranges are generally expected to move upslope in elevation. Although this upward range migration is likely determined principally by temperature, other factors such as habitat and soil moisture availability contribute to a species’ ability to establish in new areas. Throughout the montane ecosystems of the western US, effective drying is predicted, resulting from increasing temperatures and potentially reduced precipitation. The tree species that can better establish in these future high-elevation forests will likely expand their ranges while...

This general technical report was compiled to help Southeastern U.S. producers of economically important agricultural commodities build resilience to; prepare for; and recover from hurricane impacts. The report comprises 23 guides; each one focused on a specific commodity. The guides also provide initial site planning information and Extension; State; and Federal resource links.

1. Riparian vegetation management alters stream basal resources, but stream ecosystem responses partly depend on top-down interactions with in-stream consumers. Large-bodied omnivores can exert particularly strong influences on stream benthic environments through consumption of food resources and physical disturbance of the benthos. Trophic dynamics studies conducted within the context of reach-scale riparian vegetation manipulations can provide insights into the interactions and relative importance of top-down and bottom-up controls that determine ecosystem response to riparian change. 2....

Although it is common for nestlings to exhibit a strong bias for fledging in the morning, the mechanisms underlying this behavior are not well understood. Avoiding predation risk has been proposed as a likely mechanism by a number of researchers. We used video surveillance records from studies of grassland birds nesting in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to determine the diel pattern of nest predation and fledging patterns of four ground-nesting obligate grassland passerines (Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), Bobolink (Dolichon...

This study analyzes changes in timberland ownership from 2003 to 2012 across the northern United States based on Forest Inventory and Analysis data identified according to five ownership categories. A total of 26,940 FIA plots that were remeasured between selected years were used for the analysis. Publicly available corporate ownership data were investigated and used to differentiate industrial and institutional (timber investment management organizations [TIMO] and real estate investment trusts [REIT]) ownership. Kernel density, Ripley’s K-function, and multinomial logistic regression...

A complex landscape lies on an alpine plateau in the high Sierra Nevada, California, and comprises spatially organized physical and ecological features that interact to create a unique ecosystem. At the upslope end a tree-limited ribbon forest of whitebark pines grows on the crest of a short, steep slope, which is the only deformation on the otherwise flat plateau. A long-persistent snowbank forms on the slope in the lee of the ribbon forest; meltwater provides moisture to support a productive wet meadow just below. Below the meadow is a narrow, linear “rampart” comprising large sorted...

Landscape-scale maps of tree species densities are important tools for developing strategies to manage ecosystems threatened by forest pests. Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis Ehrh.) dominates riparian forests in watersheds throughout eastern North America. As a conifer in a primarily deciduous landscape, hemlock plays an ecohydrological role, especially when other species are dormant. The non-native, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae, presents a landscape-scale threat to forest ecosystem health and economic viability of eastern hemlock. Land managers require tools to assess...

The Asian longhorned beetle [Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky), ALB] was found in Hollywood, SC, in May 2020. This infestation is at least 7-yr old and represents the southernmost infestation in North America. A federally regulated invasive forest and tree pest, ALB primarily attacks maples but is known to attack and reproduce in trees in at least 12 different genera. Damage observed in South Carolina is typical of that seen in other ALB infestations, including oviposition sites, splitting bark around larval feeding sites, and round holes made by emerging adults. Copious weeping from...