Treesearch

The Earth has entered the Anthropocene epoch and forest managers are facing unprecedented challenges to meet multiple ecosystem service demands from forests. Understanding the complex forest-water relations under a changing environment must add a human dimension, and this is essential in the move towards sustainable forest management in the 21st century. This Special Issue contains 10 papers presented at a joint international forest and water conference in Chile in 2018. These studies provide global examples on new advancements in sciences in forest ecohydrology, watershed management, and...

Litter decomposition, an important component of nutrient cycling, is often one of the limiting factors for the development of monoculture tree plantations for restoration, and how to improve the litter decomposition rate remains as a major challenge. To help resolve this issue, we developed a mixed-litter transplantation approach to improve the litter decomposition and nutrient cycling in Schima superba, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Eucalyptus urophylla, and Acacia mangium monoculture plantations in China. The monospecific leaf litters of the four species were collected and their possible...

The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA) mandates a periodic assessment of the conditions and trends of the Nation’s renewable resources on forests and rangelands. The 2020 RPA Assessment will evaluate the future of the Nation’s renewable natural resources through 2070. This publication describes the process used to select a set of four integrated scenarios to represent a plausible span of socioeconomic and climate futures that underpin the natural resource analyses. These four scenarios, and their associated assumptions about population change, economic...

Surface water improvements associated with the COVID-19 economic slowdown illustrate environmental resiliency and societal control over urban water quality.

The detailed review 'Using the CODIT model to explain secondary metabolites of xylem in defence systems of temperate trees against decay fungi' (Morris et al., 2020) breaks new ground in understanding the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (SMs) that resist (1) the loss of sapwood function after wounding and (2) the spread of fungal infection. The review summarizes the current state of research and provides fingerposts for the direction of new research.

This resource update is a brief look at some of the basic metrics that describe the status of and changes to forest resources in Oklahoma. This information is based on field data collected using the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) annualized sample design, and it is updated yearly.The application that produced this resource update was developed using data from the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis database(FIADB): https://apps.fs.usda.gov/fia/datamart/datamart_excel.html .Tables for Oklahoma, 2017 can be found here: https://doi.org/10.2737/FS-RU-188-T...

The objectives of this study were (1) to test the hypothesis that fertilizer applications do not increase nutrient fluxes on a switchgrass/pine forest (IC) when compared to a mature pine forest (MP) and (2) to evaluate post-fertilization (post-fert, 2014–2016) fluxes of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) on IC and compare them to those observed during switchgrass growth prior to fertilization (pre-fert, 2012–2014) and site preparation for switchgrass establishment (site prep, 2009–2012). Nitrogen and P were applied to IC, a paired pure switchgrass site (SG), and MP, each about 25 ha in size,...

Industry 4.0 could help improve competitiveness of the U.S. woodworking industry. Digitization is increasing in both large and small wood products operations, but many companies lack a long-term plan or vision on how to integrate Industry 4.0 technology into their businesses. Adoption of the principles of Industry 4.0, a term used to describe the ongoing digitization and rapid technological advancement in industry and society, will challenge the woodworking industry, due in part to the relatively small size and scale of many firms in the industry. A study was conducted in late 2019 to...

Plant biodiversity is affected by limiting resources such as water, nutrients, and sunlight. In urban settings, such as residential yards, however, limiting resources may also include the social factors of time and money spent on yard care. To examine the role that these precious human resources play in determining plant community structure and diversity, we surveyed homeowners and their yards in 12 neighborhoods across Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland, visiting a total of 96 residential properties. We chose neighborhoods based on residents’ median income (a proxy for money)...

The 27th US Forest Service National Silviculture Workshop was held May 21–23, 2019 in Bemidji, MN. The theme of the workshop was Forest Management–Research Partnerships. The workshop series began in 1973 and was held annually until 1979, when it went on a biennial schedule. The main purpose of the workshop has been to provide a forum for US Forest Service managers and scientists to come together to share knowledge, approaches, and insights on practical issues facing the National Forests. The workshop location has been near a National Forest to facilitate a field day to review regional...