Treesearch

Green wood drying through a steam kiln-drying technology is an energy-demanding process. This process consumes a large amount of energy to evaporate water from wood and discharge it to the atmosphere through venting. The thermal energy loss from the venting of dry kilns takes up to 20% of total energy consumed by the whole wood-drying operation because a considerably large amount of thermal energy is stored in exhaust air. Harvesting and reusing such waste thermal energy would improve the energy efficiency of the kiln-drying process. Advanced moisture-selective membranes have been used to...

This review highlights the latest research studies about the use of lignocellulosic nanocellulose-based composites in the applications of wastewater treatment and waste-oil remediation. Three types of composites are described, including nanocellulose-based aerogels, nanocellulose-based membranes, and new wood-based morph-genetic materials. The fabrication and modification techniques to prepare these composites are introduced. The effectiveness and efficiency of these composites in the adsorption of heavy metal ions, dyes, and micropollutants, separation of oil and water, and catalytic...

In this study, nanocellulose was extracted from indigo-dyed denim fabric and the resultant nanocellulose properties were evaluated in comparison with those derived from bleached cotton fabric and wood pulp in order to investigate the potential of recycling denim waste for nanocellulose production and application. Sulfuric acid hydrolysis and (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl) oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidation were utilized to produce cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and cellulose nanofibers (TOCN), respectively. A stable CNC suspension with blue color was obtained after acid hydrolysis and the TEMPO...

Wildlands play a special role in providing a reliable supply of high-quality water (Dissmeyer 2000), and, in particular, we rely on forest and rangeland soils to ensure clean, abundant water. Soils retain water and make it available to support vegetation, facilitate drainage to soil and ultimately to surface waters (streams and lakes), and recharge aquifers and groundwater. Soils also help regulate water quality by filtering out pollutants and regulating sediments. In this chapter, we explore the links between soil and water and evaluate some potential threats to the ability of forest and...

As acidic deposition has decreased across Eastern North America, forest soils at some sites are beginning to show reversal of soil acidification. However, the degree of recovery appears to vary and is not fully explained by deposition declines alone. To assess if other site and soil factors can help to explain degree of recovery from acid deposition, soil resampling chemistry data (8- to 24-year time interval) from 23 sites in the United States and Canada, located across 25° longitude from Eastern Maine to Western Ontario, were explored. Site and soil factors included recovery years,...

The invasive emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, EAB) has destroyed ash tree (Fraxinus spp.) populations across the US, but remnant populations including many small trees and, more rarely, larger trees remain after EAB had its first major impact across the landscape. The future survival of these remnant trees is critical to the viability of the ash species. Several different management options, including biocontrol, EAB-tolerant or resistant ash trees, and silvicultural strategies exist or are under development. Here we model changes that could occur in a preserve’s remnant...

Conflicting evidence exists supporting linear and nonlinear density‐dependent population growth when species have slow life histories. The Ricker (linear) and θ‐logistic (nonlinear) models are commonly used to analyze survey data for these species, but no evaluation has examined whether these hypotheses can be differentiated with field data. We conducted a simulation exploring effects from shape of density dependence and variation in vital rates on the fit of these models. When vital rates had moderate to high variation, the models had similar fit. The θ‐logistic model differed from the...

Population and land management relies on understanding population regulation and growth, which may be impacted by variation in population growth parameters within and among populations. We explored the interactions between variation in carrying capacity (K), intrinsic population growth rate (r), and strength of density dependence (β) within and among elk (Cervus elaphus) herds in a small part of the geographic range of the species. We also estimated stochastic fluctuations in abundance around K for each herd. We fit linear Ricker growth models using Bayesian statistics to seven time series...

The non-indigenous colonial tunicate Didemnum vexillumplagues many shellfish aquaculture operations around the world by smothering crop and gear and displacing juvenile bivalves. There are two populations of D. vexillumin Oregon, but little is known regarding their spatial extent, seasonal dynamics, annual variability, reproductive biology, or ecology. SCUBA divers monitored the seasonal variation and spatial extent of the nascent D. vexillumpopulation in its current foothold at Umpqua Aquaculture, a longline oyster farm adjacent to Winchester Bay, Oregon. From May 2011 to November 2016,...

The early detection of plant pathogens at the landscape scale holds great promise for better managing forest ecosystem threats. In Hawai‘i, two recently described fungal species are responsible for increasingly widespread mortality in ‘ōhi‘a Metrosideros polymorpha, a foundational tree species in Hawaiian native forests. In this study, we share work from repeat laboratory and field measurements to determine if visible near-infrared and optical remote sensing can detect pre-symptomatic trees infected with these pathogens. After generating a dense time series of laboratory spectral reflectanc...