Treesearch

The effective use of environmental DNA (eDNA) tools is contingent on strict adherence to established and validated methods. Differences in eDNA methods and quality assurance protocols may contribute to variability in results. However, quality assurance measures such as proficiency testing can provide independent evaluation of laboratory performance against pre‐established test criteria. With this commentary, we discuss how broad implementation of recurring proficiency testing in eDNA laboratories can build decision‐maker confidence in eDNA results. It can also create a culture of continuous...

The effective implementation of new technologies for wildlife population monitoring is limited by knowledge of factors that impact their efficacy. Population monitoring of harlequin ducks Histrionicus histrionicus on their breeding streams in Montana and Idaho in the Northern Rocky Mountains, has historically relied on ground‐based foot surveys (GBS), which have produced variable count data, making it hard to decipher trends in stream occupancy and population size. We quantified the detection probability of GBS and compared it to two additional non‐invasive technologies, environmental DNA...

The authors describe the development and use of serious games for the purpose of bringing together diverse community stakeholders in the process of developing a wildland fire management plan. The primary goals of this serious game are to: 1) provide participants with an educational tool designed to support social learning in the complexities of developing a community wildland fire management plan in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI); and 2) Create open and meaningful lines of communication for risk-based decision-making using a real-world scenario. Serious game participants are each given...

Invasive predators are leading drivers of native species decline, and their impact is heaviest where they concentrate in the habitats native species most depend on. The barred owl (Strix varia) is a generalist predator invading old forests across western North America. Using GPS telemetry of 56 barred owls across the range of the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) in northwestern California, we found consistent selection for an old-forest axis integrating high canopy cover, tall stands, large trees, diverse tree sizes, and old age. Because these attributes define old forest,...

Intensifying wildfire activity in western North America has motivated focus on fuel treatments as a tool for moderating fire severity. Treatment effectiveness is influenced by complex interactions among biophysical settings, treatments and weather.This study introduces a standardized, scalable workflow to quantify wildfire-treatment outcomes across diverse landscapes.We evaluated federal fuel treatments across 50 wildfires in southern Oregon and Northern California (2012–2021). We analyzed outcomes across two distinct landscapes: the productive, western Klamath mountains (west) and the...

This resource bulletin describes the principal findings of the 2019 forest inventory of Oklahoma (conducted January 13, 2010 to July 6, 2021)—the first report on a complete, annualized inventory of central and western Oklahoma, and changes since the previous report, Oklahoma’s Forests, 2014. The survey finds nearly 12 million acres in Oklahoma are forest land, mostly in private ownership. These forest lands contain more than 5 billion trees, 10 billion cubic feet of wood, and 250 million short tons of biomass. Net change in volume was positive, with an increase of 93.9 million cubic feet.

The Appalachian Mountains in eastern North America are a global biodiversity hotspot for woodland salamanders (genus Plethodon) and contain many range-restricted species endemic to areas of high elevation. Previous research indicates that interspecific competition could exert a strong influence on geographic distribution boundaries and local occurrence probabilities for high-elevation salamanders, but competition dynamics have not been assessed for most species. We investigated co-occurrence and competition dynamics between 2 large woodland salamanders that occur on Shenandoah Mountain in...

In the United States, voluntary carbon markets have gained significant traction in recent years. However, many offset standards, protocols, and credit ratings have come under scrutiny from the public and investors for failing to produce real or sustainable carbon offsets. Additionally, communities often find themselves unprepared to advocate for forest-based carbon projects that align with their needs and interests, mainly due to a lack of information and a general distrust surrounding carbon projects. There is a pressing need to address the social, ecological, and technological barriers...

Progressively more intense and frequent forest fires in western North America have led to higher demand for active fuels management activities. The most common method to manage fuel loads in western forests is fuels reduction thinning. Concurrently, growing evidence highlights the importance of forests as valuable habitat for native bees. However, the effects of fuels reduction thinning on bees are not well understood in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), United States. We examined how thinning affected native blooming plant and bee communities by conducting a before-after, control-impact (BACI)...

The necessity of biomass valorization arises from global energy and environmental and economic challenges. Catalytic transformation of biomass into fuels, chemicals, and other valuable products has emerged as a promising approach toward a sustainable and circular economy. The primary objective of this review is to provide a timely and comprehensive overview of the entire value chain for the high-value utilization of biomass, covering the entire process from biomass feedstock and its preliminary conversion to catalytic upgrading, and finally to the production of fuels, chemicals, and other...