Treesearch

In the early 20th century, fire exclusion policies had unforeseen consequences on the forests of the Appalachian Mountains, including fuel accumulation and a shift in composition to more fireintolerant species (Nowacki and Abrams 2008, Waldrop and others 2016). The failure to regenerate desirable fire-adapted species, such as oaks (Quercus spp.) and Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens), led scientists and managers to consider the use of prescribed burning as a management tool to restore these species (Brose and others 2013).

In 1999, the national Fire and Fire Surrogate study was undertaken to address concerns regarding wildfire hazard reduction and the restoration of forest structure and function in many fire-excluded locations nationwide (Coates and others 2010, Schwilk and others 2009). Thirteen regions were included in this nationwide project, including the Southern Appalachian Mountains, with study sites located on the Green River Game Lands near Hendersonville, NC. As fuel reduction treatments were implemented across the country, a broad array of ecosystem properties and processes were measured and...

Greater knowledge of plant flammability can improve prescribed fire effectiveness and wildfire mitigation strategies by improving fire behavior predictions in physics-based fire models and supplementing Firewise plant listings with flammability indices. Seasonal and regional changes in flammability parameters were estimated for yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), greenbrier (Smilax spp.), and Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) within the Post Oak Savannah, Blackland Prairie, and Pineywoods Ecoregions of Texas. Foliage (yaupon, privet, and greenbriar) and wood...

The volume, value, and distribution of NTFP trade in the United States are largely unknown. This is due to the lack of systematic and comprehensive market tracking programs. Trade measurement and mapping would allow market actors and stakeholders to improve market conditions, manage NTFP resources, and increase sustainable production of raw material. This is especially true in the heavily forested and mountainous regions of the eastern United States. This study hypothesized that the tendency to purchase medicinal NTFPs in this region can be predicted using socioeconomic and environmental...

Eastern deciduous forests in the United States have supplied marketable non-timber forest products (NTFP) since the 18th century. However, trade is still largely informal, and the market scope and structure are not well understood. One exception is American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.). Ginseng’s legal status as a threatened species requires that buyers apply for a license and keep sales records that are submitted to a state authority. Other marketable medicinal plants collected from the same forests, known colloquially as ‘off-roots’, are not similarly tracked. To study the characteris...

Prescribed fire, when applied at an appropriate frequency and intensity, has proven to be an effective management tool to promote and enhance upland oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration, particularly on xeric sites. Relatively thick protective basal bark, strong resprouting capabilities, and flammable leaf litter are fire-adapted traits that more fire-tolerant upland oaks possess, providing a competitive advantage over more fire-sensitive, mesophytic species (for example, red maple, Acer rubrum; blackgum, Nyssa sylvatica; black cherry, Prunus serotina). This study quantified the effects of...

The summer and early fall of 2016 were characterized by an extended period of drought in Tennessee with as little as 3.8 inches of precipitation from August 1 through November 28. Subsequently, the fall fire season was exceptional in numbers of fires, the intensity with which they burned, and the severity of their impacts. One such wildfire burned 500 acres on the University of Tennessee’s Cumberland Forest near Coalfield, TN, in late November. A study comparing the impact of this wildfire on the burned forest with the adjacent forest was initiated the following June. In the unburned...

The physiological impacts of Federal prescribed burn regimes on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) body weight and antler size was investigated in east Texas National Forests. Burn history was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. Many State wildlife management areas overlapped the National Forest boundaries; therefore, the burn histories were used in combination with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department deer harvest records to investigate the relationships between white-tailed deer physical attributes and prescribed...

The hemlock woolly adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae: Adelges tsugae Annand) is an invasive insect, introduced from Japan to eastern North America, where it causes decline and death of hemlock trees. There is a closely related lineage of A. tsugae native to western North America. To inform classical biological control of A. tsugae in the eastern USA, the density and phenology of three native western adelgid specialist predators, Leucopis argenticollis (Zetterstedt), Le. piniperda (Malloch) (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), and Laricobius nigrinus Fender (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), were quantified in...

This review provides perspectives and insights of forest researchers from four continents representing a range of geo-regions, with examples from diverse and dynamic use of forest products that are undervalued and often misrepresented. A comprehensive discussion of the subject provides special attention to property, tenancy, public goods and access rights to non-wood forest products (NWFP), seen as forest ecosystem services in a framework for forest management decisions. The overall purpose is to provide a logical argument for transitioning to sustainable management of forests for timber...