Treesearch

Forests provide a suite of goods and services that are vital to human health and livelihoods. Studies of ecosystem services, which frequently attempt to place a monetary value on forest processes and organisms, can help inform management decisions by providing a baseline for discussing the costs and benefits of different management options.A recent study by Pacific Northwest Research Station researchers, Adelaide “Di” Johnson and Ryan Bellmore, along with retired Forest Service fisheries biologist Ron Medel and Alaska Department of Fish and Game fisheries biologist Stormy Haught, aimed to...

Background: The double sampling method known as "big BAF sampling" has been advocated as a way to reduce sampling effort while still maintaining a reasonably precise estimate of volume. A well-known method for variance determination, Bruce's method, is customarily used because the volume estimator takes the form of a product of random variables. However, the genesis of Bruce’s method is not known to most foresters who use the method in practice. Methods: We establish that the Taylor series approximation known as the Delta method provides a plausible explanation for the origins of Bruce's...

Ice storms are a type of extreme winter weather event common to north temperate and boreal forests worldwide. Recent climate modelling studies suggest that these storms may become more frequent and severe under a changing climate. Compared to other types of storm events, relatively little is known about the direct and indirect impacts of these storms on forests, as naturally occurring ice storms are inherently difficult to study. Here we describe a novel experimental approach used to create a suite of ice storms in a mature hardwood forest in New Hampshire, USA. The experiment included...

Fire managers are increasingly using natural ignitions to restore and maintain fire-adapted ecosystems. Managing natural ignitions after decades of suppression, however, holds inherent ecological, economic, and personal risks. During the severe drought of 2011, fire management staff on the Ouachita National Forest used a range of strategies to manage the lightning-ignited High Peak Wildfire because full suppression was infeasible and there were potential resource benefits (e.g., restoration of desired forest structure and composition). Because of concerns that the combined effect of...

The "NTFPs from Trees" factsheet series explains uses, markets, status, and management implications for several tree species valued for nontimber forest products. **Species status information has been revised to reflect updated data (June 2021).**

The "NTFPs from Trees" factsheet series explains uses, markets, status, and management implications for several tree species valued for nontimber forest products. **Species status information has been revised to reflect updated data (June 2021).**

The "NTFPs from Trees" factsheet series explains uses, markets, status, and management implications for several tree species valued for nontimber forest products. **Species status information has been revised to reflect updated data (June 2021).**

The "NTFPs from Trees" factsheet series explains uses, markets, status, and management implications for several tree species valued for nontimber forest products. **Species status information has been revised to reflect updated data (June 2021).**

Acetylation is widely used as a wood modifcation process that protects wood from fungal decay. The mechanisms by which acetylation protects wood are not fully understood. With these experiments, we expand upon the literature and test whether previously observed differences in iron uptake by wood were a result of decreased iron binding capacity or slower diffusion. We measured the concentration of iron in 2 mm thick wood sections at 0, 10, and 20% acetylation as a function of time after exposure to iron solutions. The iron was introduced either strongly chelated with oxalate or weakly...

Wildland fire smoke is visible and detectable with remote sensing technology. Using this technology to assess ground level pollutants and the impacts to human health and exposure is more difficult. We found the presence of satellite derived smoke plumes for more than a couple of hours in the previous three days has significant impact on the chances of ground level ozone values exceeding the norm. While the magnitude of the impact will depend on characteristics of fires such as size, location, time in transport, or ozone precursors produced by the fire, we demonstrate that information on...