Treesearch

In May, construction data was weak, but improvements were noted. Total starts; total, single-family, and multi-family permits; and new single-family sales increased on a month-over-month basis. On a year-over-year basis, most of the data indicated declines, except for total starts, new single-family sales, and total private residential construction spending. The impact of the Covid-19 virus is still evident in this month’s data.

In June, housing starts and new house sales were reassuring, as housing was a bright spot for the U.S. economy, albeit a subdued one. Total, single-, and multi-family starts; total and single-family permits; total and single-family completions; and new and existing house sales were positive on a month-over-month basis. Housing under construction and completions were the only subsectors registering positive data year-over-year. The majority of housing subsector data were negative. The effect of the Covid-19 virus is still evident in June’s data.

Species introductions threaten ecosystem function worldwide, and interactions among introduced species may amplify their impacts. Effects of multiple invasions are still poorly studied, and often, the mechanisms underlying potential interactions among invaders are unknown. Despite being a remote and well-conserved area, the southern portion of South America has been greatly impacted by invasions of both the American beaver (Castor canadensis) and Brown Trout (Salmo trutta fario). Here, we compared growth, condition, diet, and stable isotopes of sulfur δ34S, nitrogen δ15N, and carbon δ13C...

Widespread use of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) as pesticides and fungicides in agriculture is a major environmental concern. In the present study, soybean (Glycine max L.) was grown in Ag NP (0–62.5 mg kg−1)-amended soil with or without the addition of glutathione (GSH). Ag NPs exerted severe phytotoxicity and caused the reduction of shoot and root biomass and total number of nodules or completely inhibited nodule formation at doses above 31.25 mg kg−1. Synchrotron-based techniques were applied to analyze Ag speciation in both the soil and the soybean root tissues at harvest. The results...

The impacts of urbanization, such as urban heat island (UHI) and nutrient loads, can influence tree function through altered physiology and metabolism and stress response, which has implications for urban forest health in cities across the world. Our goal was to compare growth-stimulating and stress-mitigating acclimation patterns of red maple (Acer rubrum) trees in deciduous forests embedded in a small (Newark, DE, US) and a large (Philadelphia, PA, US) city. The study was conducted in a long-term urban forest network on seventy-nine mature red maple trees spanning ten forests across...

Forest stands can be considered as dynamic carbon pools throughout their developmental stages. Silvicultural thinning and initial planting densities for reforestation not only manipulate the structure or composition of vegetation, but also disturb forest floor and soils, which, in turn, influences the dynamics of carbon pools. Understanding these carbon pools both spatially and temporally can provide useful information for land managers to achieve their management goals. Here, we estimated five major carbon pools in experimental ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) plots that were planted to...

Discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusivity are becoming increasingly common in scientific societies. However, more concerted efforts are needed to recognize and challenge systemic discrimination to ensure scientists from marginalized groups can contribute to and benefit from scientific societies. Here, we evaluate efforts and opportunities within the Society for Freshwater Science (SFS) as examples for how scientific societies can make progress toward diversity, equity, and inclusivity. In 2017, SFS collected anonymous demographic information and open-ended feedback from SFS...

The legality of wood products often depends on their origin, creating a need for forensic tools that verify claims of provenance for wood products. The neotropical tree species Cedrela odorata (Spanish cedar) is economically valuable for its wood and faces threats of overexploitation. We developed a 140 SNP assay for geographic localization of C. odorata specimens. Target capture and short-read sequencing of 46 C. odorata specimens allowed us to identify 140 spatially informative SNPs that differentiate C. odorata specimens by latitude, temperature, and precipitation. We assessed the broad...

With this guide we want to provide an overview of the current best-practice methods used to analyse data derived from different wood identification methods, while presenting their respective strengths and limitations. We give advice on data analysis, from the development of reference data, through to the verification of identity and provenance of unknown samples against the reference database. We end with an expert view on combining methods for wood identification and discuss how timber identification possibilities could expand in the future.

In this article we discuss cadmium pollution in the environment and the various ways plants take up cadmium and respond to its accumulation. The increased development of metallurgical and mining industries is primarily responsible for the increases in cadmium pollution in the environment. Another significant source of cadmium contamination of agricultural plants is the widespread use of phosphorus fertilizers, which contain cadmium. Cadmium reduces the growth and development of plants. Cadmium in the soil also competes with the basic essential mineral elements thereby reducing their uptake...