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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

2014 Future Earth Young Scientists Conference On Integrated Science And Knowledge Co-Production For Ecosystems And Human Well-Being, Ivy Shiue, Leah Samberg, Benard Kulohoma, Diana Dogaru, Carina Wyborn, Perrine Hamel, Peper Sogaard Jorgensen, Paul Lussier, Bharath Sundaram, Michelle Lim, Antonio Tironi Nov 2014

2014 Future Earth Young Scientists Conference On Integrated Science And Knowledge Co-Production For Ecosystems And Human Well-Being, Ivy Shiue, Leah Samberg, Benard Kulohoma, Diana Dogaru, Carina Wyborn, Perrine Hamel, Peper Sogaard Jorgensen, Paul Lussier, Bharath Sundaram, Michelle Lim, Antonio Tironi

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Effective integration in science and knowledge co-production is a challenge that crosses research boundaries, climate regions, languages and cultures. Early career scientists are crucial in the identification of, and engagement with, obstacles and opportunities in the development of innovative solutions to complex and interconnected problems. On 25-31 May 2014, International Council for Science and International Social Science Council, in collaboration with the International Network of Next-Generation Ecologists and Institute for New Economic Thinking: Young Scholars Initiative, assembled a group of early career researchers with diverse backgrounds and research perspectives to reflect on and debate relevant issues around ecosystems and human …


Changing Forest Structure Across The Landscape Of The Sierra Nevada, Ca, Usa, Since The 1930s, Christopher R. Dolanc, Hugh D. Safford, James H. Thorne, Solomon Z. Dobrowski Aug 2014

Changing Forest Structure Across The Landscape Of The Sierra Nevada, Ca, Usa, Since The 1930s, Christopher R. Dolanc, Hugh D. Safford, James H. Thorne, Solomon Z. Dobrowski

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Understanding the dynamics of forest structure aids inference regarding future forests and their distributions around the world. Over the last few decades, several papers have addressed changing forest structure in the Sierra Nevada, CA, USA, but these studies were limited in scope. We carried out a broad comparison of forest density and composition in the 1930s versus the 2000s for the west slope of the central and northern Sierra Nevada, using the two most extensive data sets available. Forests in this region have endured a long, complex history of human disturbance, and are now experiencing climatic shifts. We subdivided the …


Meanings And Robustness: Propositions For Enhancing Benefit Sharing In Social-Ecological Systems, Ernita Van Wyk, Charles Breen, Wayne A. Freimund Aug 2014

Meanings And Robustness: Propositions For Enhancing Benefit Sharing In Social-Ecological Systems, Ernita Van Wyk, Charles Breen, Wayne A. Freimund

Society and Conservation Faculty Publications

Given increased pressure on natural resources to deliver benefits, complex trade-offs and the regulation of behaviours in relation to benefits is of key concern. Behaviours that signify resistance to the rules according to which benefits are allocated prompt us to consider causal links and feedbacks between benefits, perceptions of benefits, meanings attached to the benefits, and the regulatory instruments that mediate the distribution of benefits. An understanding of how meanings influence the perception of benefits exposes the complexity inherent in how people perceive and allocate value to natural resource benefits. Meanings are personal, sometimes overlapping, context dependent and variable across …


Spatially Nonrandom Tree Mortality And Ingrowth Maintain Equilibrium Pattern In An Old-Growth Pseudotsuga–Tsuga Forest, James A. Lutz, Andrew J. Larson, Tucker J. Furniss, Daniel C. Donato, James A. Freund, Mark E. Swanson, Kenneth J. Bible, Jiquan Chen, Jerry F. Franklin Aug 2014

Spatially Nonrandom Tree Mortality And Ingrowth Maintain Equilibrium Pattern In An Old-Growth Pseudotsuga–Tsuga Forest, James A. Lutz, Andrew J. Larson, Tucker J. Furniss, Daniel C. Donato, James A. Freund, Mark E. Swanson, Kenneth J. Bible, Jiquan Chen, Jerry F. Franklin

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Mortality processes in old-growth forests are generally assumed to be driven by gap-scale disturbance, with only a limited role ascribed to density-dependent mortality, but these assumptions are rarely tested with data sets incorporating repeated measurements. Using a 12-ha spatially explicit plot censused 13 years apart in an approximately 500-year-old Pseudotsuga–Tsuga forest, we demonstrate significant density-dependent mortality and spatially aggregated tree recruitment. However, the combined effect of these strongly nonrandom demographic processes was to maintain tree patterns in a state of dynamic equilibrium. Density-dependent mortality was most pronounced for the dominant latesuccessional species, Tsuga heterophylla. The long-lived, early-seral Pseudotsuga menziesii …


Can Fire Atlas Data Improve Species Distribution Model Projections?, Shawn M. Crimmins, Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Alison R. Mynsberge, Hugh D. Safford Jul 2014

Can Fire Atlas Data Improve Species Distribution Model Projections?, Shawn M. Crimmins, Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Alison R. Mynsberge, Hugh D. Safford

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Correlative species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used in studies of climate change impacts, yet are often criticized for failing to incorporate disturbance processes that can influence species distributions. Here we use two temporally independent data sets of vascular plant distributions, climate data, and fire atlas data to examine the influence of disturbance history on SDM projection accuracy through time in the mountain ranges of California, USA. We used hierarchical partitioning to examine the influence of fire occurrence on the distribution of 144 vascular plant species and built a suite of SDMs to examine how the inclusion of fire-related predictors …


Fire Activity And Severity In The Western Us Vary Along Proxy Gradients Representing Fuel Amount And Fuel Moisture, Sean A. Parks, Marc-Andrè Parisien, Carol Miller, Solomon Z. Dobrowski Jun 2014

Fire Activity And Severity In The Western Us Vary Along Proxy Gradients Representing Fuel Amount And Fuel Moisture, Sean A. Parks, Marc-Andrè Parisien, Carol Miller, Solomon Z. Dobrowski

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Numerous theoretical and empirical studies have shown that wildfire activity (e.g., area burned) at regional to global scales may be limited at the extremes of environmental gradients such as productivity or moisture. Fire activity, however, represents only one component of the fire regime, and no studies to date have characterized fire severity along such gradients. Given the importance of fire severity in dictating ecological response to fire, this is a considerable knowledge gap. For the western US, we quantify relationships between climate and the fire regime by empirically describing both fire activity and severity along two climatic water balance gradients, …


Tourism And Protected Areas: A Growing Nexus Of Challenge And Opportunity, Stephen F. Mccool, Anna Spenceley Jun 2014

Tourism And Protected Areas: A Growing Nexus Of Challenge And Opportunity, Stephen F. Mccool, Anna Spenceley

Society and Conservation Faculty Publications

Three significant trends are converging with the result of increasing the importance of understanding and managing the nexus of tourism and protected areas. Firstly, international travel and tourism continues to grow significantly, resulting in more people wanting to visit, learn and appreciate their natural and cultural heritage. Secondly, international conservation efforts are increasingly dependent on protected areas serving as the cornerstone of slowing (ideally stopping) the loss of biological diversity. Thirdly, demands from society on protected areas are not only increasing, they are diversifying as well. Increased demand is, in part, the result of a growing human population that competes …


Local Spatial Structure Of Forest Biomass And Its Consequences For Remote Sensing Of Carbon Stocks, M. Rejou-Mechain, H. C. Muller-Landau, M. Detto, S. C. Thomas, T. Le Toan, S. S. Saatchi, J. S. Barreto-Silvia, N. A. Bourg, S. Bunyavejchewin, N. Butt, W. Y. Brockelman, M. Cao, D. Cardenas, J.-M. Chiang, G. B. Chuyong, K. Clay, R. Condit, H. S. Dattaraja, S. J. Davies, A. Duque, S. Esufali, C. Ewango, R.H.S. Fernando, C. D. Fletcher, I.A.U.N. Gunatilleke, Z. Hao, K. E. Harms, T. B. Hart, B. Herault, R. W. Howe, S. P. Hubbell, D. J. Johnson, D. Kenfack, A. J. Larson, L. Lin, Y. Lin, J. A. Lutz, J.-R. Makana, Y. Malhi, T. R. Marthews, R. W. Mcewan, S. M. Mcmahon, W. J. Mcshea, R. Muscarella, A. Nathalang, N.S.M. Noor, C. J. Nytch, A. A. Oliveira, R. P. Phillips, N. Pongpattananurak, R. Punchi-Manage, R. Salim, J. Schurman, R. Sukumar, H. S. Suresh, U. Suwanvecho, D. W. Thomas, J. Thompson, M. Uriarte, R. Valencia, A. Vicentini, A. T. Wolf, S. Yap, Z. Yuan, C. E. Zartman, J. K. Zimmerman, J. Chave Apr 2014

Local Spatial Structure Of Forest Biomass And Its Consequences For Remote Sensing Of Carbon Stocks, M. Rejou-Mechain, H. C. Muller-Landau, M. Detto, S. C. Thomas, T. Le Toan, S. S. Saatchi, J. S. Barreto-Silvia, N. A. Bourg, S. Bunyavejchewin, N. Butt, W. Y. Brockelman, M. Cao, D. Cardenas, J.-M. Chiang, G. B. Chuyong, K. Clay, R. Condit, H. S. Dattaraja, S. J. Davies, A. Duque, S. Esufali, C. Ewango, R.H.S. Fernando, C. D. Fletcher, I.A.U.N. Gunatilleke, Z. Hao, K. E. Harms, T. B. Hart, B. Herault, R. W. Howe, S. P. Hubbell, D. J. Johnson, D. Kenfack, A. J. Larson, L. Lin, Y. Lin, J. A. Lutz, J.-R. Makana, Y. Malhi, T. R. Marthews, R. W. Mcewan, S. M. Mcmahon, W. J. Mcshea, R. Muscarella, A. Nathalang, N.S.M. Noor, C. J. Nytch, A. A. Oliveira, R. P. Phillips, N. Pongpattananurak, R. Punchi-Manage, R. Salim, J. Schurman, R. Sukumar, H. S. Suresh, U. Suwanvecho, D. W. Thomas, J. Thompson, M. Uriarte, R. Valencia, A. Vicentini, A. T. Wolf, S. Yap, Z. Yuan, C. E. Zartman, J. K. Zimmerman, J. Chave

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Advances in forest carbon mapping have the potential to greatly reduce uncertainties in the global carbon budget and to facilitate effective emissions mitigation strategies such as REDD+. Though broad scale mapping is based primarily on remote sensing data, the accuracy of resulting forest carbon stock estimates depends critically on the quality of field measurements and calibration procedures. The mismatch in spatial scales between field inventory plots and larger pixels of current and planned remote sensing products for forest biomass mapping is of particular concern, as it has the potential to introduce errors, especially if forest biomass shows strong local spatial …


Consequences Of A Refuge For The Predator-Prey Dynamics Of A Wolf-Elk System In Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, Joshua F. Goldberg, Mark Hebblewhite, Jonathan M. Bardsley Mar 2014

Consequences Of A Refuge For The Predator-Prey Dynamics Of A Wolf-Elk System In Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, Joshua F. Goldberg, Mark Hebblewhite, Jonathan M. Bardsley

Wildlife Biology Faculty Publications

Refugia can affect predator-prey dynamics via movements between refuge and non-refuge areas. We examine the influence of a refuge on population dynamics in a large mammal predator-prey system. Wolves (Canis lupus) have recolonized much of their former range in North America, and as a result, ungulate prey have exploited refugia to reduce predation risk with unknown impacts on wolf-prey dynamics. We examined the influence of a refuge on elk (Cervus elaphus) and wolf population dynamics in Banff National Park. Elk occupy the Banff townsite with little predation, whereas elk in the adjoining Bow Valley experience higher wolf predation. The Banff …


Assessing Nutrient Limitation In Complex Forested Ecosystems : Alternatives To Large-Scale Fertilization Experiments, Benjamin W. Sullivan, Silvia Alvarez-Clare, Sarah C. Castle, Stephen Porder, Sasha C. Reed, Laura Schreeg, Cory C. Cleveland, Alan R. Townsend Mar 2014

Assessing Nutrient Limitation In Complex Forested Ecosystems : Alternatives To Large-Scale Fertilization Experiments, Benjamin W. Sullivan, Silvia Alvarez-Clare, Sarah C. Castle, Stephen Porder, Sasha C. Reed, Laura Schreeg, Cory C. Cleveland, Alan R. Townsend

Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences Faculty Publications

Quantifying nutrient limitation of primary productivity is a fundamental task of terrestrial ecosystem ecology, but in a high carbon dioxide environment it is even more critical that we understand potential nutrient constraints on plant growth. Ecologists often manipulate nutrients with fertilizer to assess nutrient limitation, yet for a variety of reasons, nutrient fertilization experiments are either impractical or incapable of resolving ecosystem responses to some global changes. The challenges of conducting large, in situ fertilization experiments are magnified in forests, especially the high-diversity forests common throughout the lowland tropics. A number of methods, including fertilization experiments, could be seen as …


Structure And Composition Of Old-Growth And Unmanaged Second-Growth Riparian Forests At Redwood National Park, Usa, Christopher R. Keyes, Emily K. Teraoka Feb 2014

Structure And Composition Of Old-Growth And Unmanaged Second-Growth Riparian Forests At Redwood National Park, Usa, Christopher R. Keyes, Emily K. Teraoka

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Restoration of second-growth riparian stands has become an important issue for managers of redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.) forest reserves. Identifying differences between old-growth and second-growth forest vegetation is a necessary step in evaluating restoration needs and targets. The objective of this study was to characterize and contrast vegetation structure and composition in old-growth and unmanaged second-growth riparian forests in adjacent, geomorphologically similar watersheds at Redwood National Park. In the old-growth, redwood was the dominant overstory species in terms of stem density, basal area, and importance values. Second-growth was dominated by red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.), …


Examining Historical And Current Mixed-Severity Fire Regimes In Ponderosa Pine And Mixed-Conifer Forests Of Western North America, Dennis C. Odion, Chad T. Hanson, Andre Arsenault, William L. Baker, Dominick A. Dellasala, Richard L. Hutto, Walt Klenner, Max A. Moritz, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Thomas T. Veblen, Mark A. Williams Feb 2014

Examining Historical And Current Mixed-Severity Fire Regimes In Ponderosa Pine And Mixed-Conifer Forests Of Western North America, Dennis C. Odion, Chad T. Hanson, Andre Arsenault, William L. Baker, Dominick A. Dellasala, Richard L. Hutto, Walt Klenner, Max A. Moritz, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Thomas T. Veblen, Mark A. Williams

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

There is widespread concern that fire exclusion has led to an unprecedented threat of uncharacteristically severe fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. Laws) and mixed-conifer forests of western North America. These extensive montane forests are considered to be adapted to a low/moderate-severity fire regime that maintained stands of relatively old trees. However, there is increasing recognition from landscape-scale assessments that, prior to any significant effects of fire exclusion, fires and forest structure were more variable in these forests. Biota in these forests are also dependent on the resources made available by higher-severity fire. A better understanding of …


Invasive Plant Erodes Local Song Diversity In A Migratory Passerine, Yvette K. Ortega, Aubree Benson, Erick Greene Feb 2014

Invasive Plant Erodes Local Song Diversity In A Migratory Passerine, Yvette K. Ortega, Aubree Benson, Erick Greene

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Exotic plant invasions threaten ecosystems globally, but we still know little about the specific consequences for animals. Invasive plants can alter the quality of breeding habitat for songbirds, thereby impacting important demographic traits such as dispersal, philopatry, and age structure. These demographic effects may in turn alter song-learning conditions to affect song structure and diversity. We studied Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) breeding in six savannas that were either dominated by native vegetation or invaded by spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), an exotic forb known to diminish food resources and reproductive success. Here, we report that the prevalence of older birds was …


Agricultural Conversion Without External Water And Nutrient Inputs Reduces Terrestrial Vegetation Productivity, William Kolby Smith, Cory C. Cleveland, Sasha C. Reed, Steven W. Running Jan 2014

Agricultural Conversion Without External Water And Nutrient Inputs Reduces Terrestrial Vegetation Productivity, William Kolby Smith, Cory C. Cleveland, Sasha C. Reed, Steven W. Running

Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences Faculty Publications

Driven by global population and standard of living increases, humanity co-opts a growing share of the planet's natural resources resulting in many well-known environmental trade-offs. In this study, we explored the impact of agriculture on a resource fundamental to life on Earth: terrestrial vegetation growth (net primary production; NPP). We demonstrate that agricultural conversion has reduced terrestrial NPP by ~7.0%. Increases in NPP due to agricultural conversion were observed only in areas receiving external inputs (i.e., irrigation and/or fertilization). NPP reductions were found for ~88% of agricultural lands, with the largest reductions observed in areas formerly occupied by tropical forests …


Management For Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak Suppression: Does Relevant Science Support Current Policy?, Diana Six, Eric Biber, Elisabeth Long Jan 2014

Management For Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak Suppression: Does Relevant Science Support Current Policy?, Diana Six, Eric Biber, Elisabeth Long

Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences Faculty Publications

While the use of timber harvests is generally accepted as an effective approach to controlling bark beetles during outbreaks, in reality there has been a dearth of monitoring to assess outcomes, and failures are often not reported. Additionally, few studies have focused on how these treatments affect forest structure and function over the long term, or our forests’ ability to adapt to climate change. Despite this, there is a widespread belief in the policy arena that timber harvesting is an effective and necessary tool to address beetle infestations. That belief has led to numerous proposals for, and enactment of, significant …