Life Sciences Commons^™

Fine Roots Of Aspen Clones In High Salt And Petroleum Hydrocarbon Pollution, Kim Yrjälä, Ivika Ostonen, Shinjini Mukherjee, Timo Sipila, Lu-Min Vaario, Pertti Pulkkinen

Aspen Bibliography

The quality of polluted soil can much be improved and the environmental risks reduced by use of phytoremediation. Harmful hydrocarbon compounds can be degraded through the activity of plant and its associated microbes. We previously showed that PAHs increase aromatic ring-cleavage gene diversity in rhizosphere of birch (Sipilä et al. 2008, Yrjälä et al. 2010a) and the rhizosphere of aspen harbors Burkholderia bacteria able to degrade aromatics (Yrjälä et al. 2010b). The results are promising for successful remediation of polluted soils with woody plants. The aim of our studies is to elucidate the response of the plant and the associated …

Model Comparisons For Estimating Carbon Emissions From North American Wildland Fire, Nancy H. F. French, Willam J. De Groot, Liza K. Jenkins, Brendan M. Rogers, Ernesto Alvarado, Brian Amiro, Bernardus De Jong, Scott Goetz, Elizabeth Hoy, Edward Hyer, Robert Keane, B. E. Law, Donald Mckenzie, Steven G. Mcnulty, Roger Ottmar, Diego R. Perez-Salicrup, James Randerson, Kevin M. Robertson, Merritt Turetsky

Michigan Tech Research Institute Publications

Research activities focused on estimating the direct emissions of carbon from wildland fires across North America are reviewed as part of the North American Carbon Program disturbance synthesis. A comparison of methods to estimate the loss of carbon from the terrestrial biosphere to the atmosphere from wildland fires is presented. Published studies on emissions from recent and historic time periods and five specific cases are summarized, and new emissions estimates are made using contemporary methods for a set of specific fire events. Results from as many as six terrestrial models are compared. We find that methods generally produce similar results …

Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2009, Katherine Mcgraw, Jennie Popp, Wayne Miller

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

This report is the sixth in a series of reports examining agriculture’s economic contribution on the Arkansas economy. Utilizing data from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc. (MIG), the economic contribution of agriculture on the Arkansas economy was estimated for the most recent year available, 2009. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by State information for Arkansas in 2009 was compared with those of other states in the southeast U.S. to give a measure of the relative importance of agriculture in Arkansas.2 The total …

A General Target For Mvps: Unsupported And Unnecessary, Curtis H. Flather, Gregory D. Hayward, Steven R. Beissinger, Philip A. Stephens

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

In a recent article in TREE [1], we reviewed evidence for a consistent standardized estimate of minimum viable populations (MVPs) across taxa [2–4] and found that the universal MVP of 5000 adults advocated by Traill et al. [5] was unsupported by reanalyses of their data. We identified shortcomings in the original analyses, and found substantial uncertainty in standardized MVP estimates, both within populations of the same species and among species. We concluded that neither data nor theory supported a generally applicable MVP.

No evidence refuting the technical problems that we identified in their original analyzes was presented by Brook …

A Comparison Of Presettlement And Modern Forest Composition Along An Elevation Gradient In Central New Hampshire, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Steven P. Hamburg, Charles V. Cogbill, Wendy Y. Sugimura

Earth Systems Research Center

Tree species composition is influenced not only by edaphic and climatic factors but also by natural and human-caused disturbances. To understand interactions among these influences, we compared forest species composition data from the time of European settlement with modern data. We derived elevation data for 2529 trees mapped by early land surveys (1770–1850) across a 1000 m elevation gradient in central New Hampshire and compared these with modern data (2004–2009) from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program (123 plots containing 2126 trees) and from permanent plots representing case studies of different land-use histories. Spruce and beech are much less abundant …

Extent Of Coterminous Us Rangelands: Quantifying Implications Of Differing Agency Perspectives, Matthew Clark Reeves, John E. Mitchell

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

Rangeland extent is an important factor for evaluating critical indicators of rangeland sustainability. Rangeland areal extent was determined for the coterminous United States in a geospatial framework by evaluating spatially explicit data from the Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE) project describing historic and current vegetative composition, average height, and average cover through the viewpoints of the Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program administered by the US Forest Service. Three types of rangelands were differentiated using the NRI definition encompassing rangelands, afforested rangelands, and transitory …

Meeting Minutes, October 7th, 2011, National Smokejumper Association Board Of Directors

National Smokejumper Association Meeting Minutes

Agenda: Introductions, Updates, Logistics, Opening Remarks.; Smokejumper Base Manager's Report.; NSA Investment Policy Guidelines.; NSA Planned Giving.; Amendments To NSA Bylaws.; Transition Of Financial Records And Treasurer Position.; NSA Budget PropoNSAl.; Future Of Smokejumping.; Challenges In The Forest Service Fire Program.; Combining NSA And Art Jukkala Scholarship Funds And Objectives.; Membership Report.; Planned Giving.; Montana Community Foundation.; Merchandising And Website.; Donation/Loan To The National Smokejumper Center.; NSA Trails Program.; Mann Gulch.; Erikkson Estate Donation.; Bod Positions That Need To Be Filled.; Planned Giving Guide.; Conflict Of Interest Form.; Bod Meeting Dates And Locations.; Critique Of Meeting.; Adjourned At 1:15 Pm.;

Effects Of Experimental Nitrogen Additions On Plant Diversity In Tropical Forests Of Contrasting Disturbance Regimes In Southern China, Xiankai Lu, Jiangming Mo, Frank S. Gilliam, Guirui Yu, Wei Zhang, Yunting Fang, Juan Huang

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Responses of understory plant diversity to nitrogen (N) additions were investigated in reforested forests of contrasting disturbance regimes in southern China from 2003 to 2008: disturbed forest (withharvesting of understory vegetation and litter) and rehabilitated forest (without harvesting). Experimental additions of N were administered as the following treatments: Control, 50 kg N ha1yr1, and 100kg N ha1yr1. Nitrogen additions did not significantly affect understory plant richness, density,and cover in the disturbed forest. Similarly, no significant response was found for canopy closure in thisforest. In the rehabilitated forest, species richness and density showed no significant response to Nadditions; however, understory cover …

The Influence Of Land Use And Climate Change On Forest Biomass And Composition In Massachusetts, Usa, Jonathan R. Thompson, David R. Foster, Robert M. Scheller, David Kittridge

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Land use and climate change have complex and interacting effects on naturally dynamic forest landscapes. To anticipate and adapt to these changes, it is necessary to understand their individual and aggregate impacts on forest growth and composition. We conducted a simulation experiment to evaluate regional forest change in Massachusetts, USA over the next 50 years (2010–2060). Our objective was to estimate, assuming a linear continuation of recent trends, the relative and interactive influence of continued growth and succession, climate change, forest conversion to developed uses, and timber harvest on live aboveground biomass (AGB) and tree species composition. We examined 20 …

Despotism And Risk Of Infanticide Influence Grizzly Bear Den-Site Selection, Nathan S. Libal, Jerrold L. Belant, Bruce D. Leopold, Guiming Wang, Patricia A. Owen

College of Forest Resources Publications and Scholarship

Given documented social dominance and intraspecific predation in bear populations, the ideal despotic distribution model and sex hypothesis of sexual segregation predict adult female grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) will avoid areas occupied by adult males to reduce risk of infanticide. Under ideal despotic distribution, juveniles should similarly avoid adult males to reduce predation risk. Den-site selection and use is an important component of grizzly bear ecology and may be influenced by multiple factors, including risk from conspecifics. To test the role of predation risk and the sex hypothesis of sexual segregation, we compared adult female (n = 142), adult male …

Snapping A Pour Point For Watershed Delineation In Arcgis Hydrologic Analysis, Yanli Zhang, Matthew W. Mcbroom, Jason Grogan, I-Kuai Hung

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Risk Assessment Framework For Wildland Fire Management: The 2010 Cohesive Strategy Science Report, David E. Calkin, Alan Ager, Matthew P. Thompson, Mark A. Finney, Danny C. Lee, Thomas M. Quigley, Charles W. Mchugh, Karin L. Riley, Julie M. Gilbertson-Day

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

The FLAME Act of 2009 requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Interior to submit to Congress a Cohesive Wildfire Management Strategy. In this report, we explore the general science available for a risk-based approach to fire and fuels management and suggest analyses that may be applied at multiple scales to inform decisionmaking and tradeoff analysis. We discuss scientific strengths and limitations of wildfire risk assessment frameworks, including the benefit of broad scalability as demonstrated by four recent case studies. We further highlight the role of comparative risk assessment, which extends the analysis to …

Deriving Fuel Mass By Size Class In Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga Menziesii) Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning, Carl Seielstad, Crystal Stonesifer, Eric Rowell, Lloyd Queen

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Requirements for describing coniferous forests are changing in response to wildfire concerns, bio-energy needs, and climate change interests. At the same time, technology advancements are transforming how forest properties can be measured. Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) is yielding promising results for measuring tree biomass parameters that, historically, have required costly destructive sampling and resulted in small sample sizes. Here we investigate whether TLS intensity data can be used to distinguish foliage and small branches (less than or equal to 0.635 cm diameter; coincident with the one-hour timelag fuel size class) from larger branchwood (>0.635 cm) in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga …

Anthropogenic And Natural Causes Influencing Population Genetic Structure Of Juniperus Procera Hochst. Ex Endl. In The Ethiopian Highlands, Demissew Sertse, Oliver Gailing, Nicolas George Eliades, Reiner Finkeldey

Michigan Tech Publications

Juniperus procera is economically highly important but threatened tree species. It is the only species among 67 taxa in the genus Juniperus that naturally grows in Africa and south of the equator extending up to 18°S in Zimbabwe. Ethiopia is assumed to host the largest J. procera populations, which are also believed to have high genetic variation owing to their wide ecological amplitude. This study assessed genetic variation at AFLPs of J. procera populations in the Ethiopian highlands. In the study six populations, namely Chilimo, Goba, Menagesha-Suba, Wef-Washa, Yabelo and Ziquala were included. A total of 20-24 trees from each …

How Well Do U.S. Forest Service Terrestrial Ecosystem Surveys Correspond With Measured Vegetation Properties?, Scott R. Abella

Life Sciences Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Of Forest Management Strategies To Mitigate Effects Of Global Change In South-Central Siberia, Eric J. Gustafson, Anatoly Z. Shvidenko, Robert M. Scheller

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigated questions about the ability of broad silvicultural strategies to achieve multiple objectives (reduce disturbance losses, maintain the abundance of preferred species, mitigate fragmentation and loss of age-class diversity, and sequester aboveground carbon) under future climate conditions in Siberia. We conducted a factorial experiment using the LANDIS-II landscape disturbance and succession model. Treatments included varying the size and amount of areas cut and the cutting method (selective or clearcut). Simultaneously, the model simulated natural disturbances (fire, wind, insect out-breaks) and forest succession under projected future climate conditions as predicted by an ensemble of global circulation models. The cutting method …

A Landscape-Scale Approach For Modeling Habitat Suitability For The Louisiana Black Bear (Ursus Americanus Luteolus) In East Texas, Dan J. Kaminski, Christopher E. Comer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Lakeview, Oregon: The Little Town That Collaboration Saved, Laura Singer, Emily Rome, Liubov Doerr, Mari Saint Pierre, Dick Townsend, Alexander Freed, Daniel Mcduffee, Greg Nugent, Gretchen Olsen, Kirk Rea, Melissa Long, Ross D. Lamberth, Shelley D. Searle

National Policy Consensus Center Publications and Reports

The assessment team was made up of a diverse group - eight undergraduate PSU students, two graduate teaching assistants and one instructor - representing all ages, interests and fields of study. However, one thing everyone had in common was an interest in learning about collaboration and how it might be used to improve the state of Oregon, the nation and even the world. To that end, everyone participating in the Capstone course hoped to enhance their “Skills for Being an Effective Collaborator.” As this is the first time this course has been offered, we hope our success in meeting its …

Oak Galls: A Strange Biology Indeed!, W. John Hayden

Biology Faculty Publications

Anyone who takes the time to look closely at several branches of oak will soon find one or another peculiar anomaly among the leaves and twigs. One can easily find structures resembling Ping-Pong balls, hard knots, fluffy tufts, horns—either single or clustered, or irregular thickenings, to mention just a few possibilities. These abnormal growths are galls, structures caused by the presence of small insect larvae living inside the tissue of the plant. Galls can be found on a wide variety of plants. They are common, for example, on the stems of goldenrods, and the leaves of maples, but oaks are …

A Real-Time Risk Assessment Tool Supporting Wildland Fire Decisionmaking, David E. Calkin, Matthew P. Thompson, Mark A. Finney, Kevin D. Hyde

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

Development of appropriate management strategies for escaped wildland fires is complex. Fire managers need the ability to identify, in real time, the likelihood that wildfire will affect valuable developed and natural resources (e.g., private structures, public infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources). These determinations help guide where and when aggressive suppression is required to protect values and when fire may be allowed to burn to enhance ecosystem conditions. This article describes the primary components of the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS), a geospatial decision support system developed by the US Forest Service. WFDSS provides state-of-the-art wildfire risk analysis, decision …

High Genetic Diversity And Significant Population Structure In Cedrus Brevifolia Henry, A Narrow Endemic Mediterranean Tree From Cyprus, Nicolas George Homer Eliades, Oliver Gailing, Ludger Leinemann, Bruno Fady, Reiner Finkeldey

Michigan Tech Publications

Endemic island plant species with a narrow distribution are often, but not always, linked to low genetic variation within populations and a lack of differentiation among populations. Cedrus brevifolia is a narrow endemic island tree species of Cyprus. Its range is restricted to a single forest, divided into five neighbouring sites. This study, using biparentally inherited nuclear microsatellites and paternally inherited plastid (chloroplast) microsatellites, assessed the genetic variation of C. brevifolia within its sole population and the level of genetic differentiation among formed sites. The results from both markers showed high diversity (nuclear HT = 0. 70; plastid HT = …

Use Of Remote Sensing To Support Forest And Wetlands Policies In The Usa, Audrey L. Mayer, Ricardo D. Lopez

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

The use of remote sensing for environmental policy development is now quite common and well-documented, as images from remote sensing platforms are often used to focus attention on emerging environmental issues and spur debate on potential policy solutions. However, its use in policy implementation and evaluation has not been examined in much detail. Here we examine the use of remote sensing to support the implementation and enforcement of policies regarding the conservation of forests and wetlands in the USA. Specifically, we focus on the “Roadless Rule” and “Travel Management Rules” as enforced by the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service …

Bobcats Do Not Exhibit Rub Response Despite Presence At Hair Collection Stations, Chirstopher E. Comer, Symmank M. E., James C. Kroll

Faculty Publications

We evaluated the detection rate for hair snare sampling for bobcats (Lynx rufus) using colocated hair snares and infrared-triggered cameras at 20 locations on private property in eastern Texas. Hair snares and cameras were placed together at survey stations that included both visual and olfactory attractants. In 1,680 trap-nights we photographically documented 15 visits by bobcats but collected only one bobcat hair sample. Our observations suggested limited rubbing behavior by bobcats at hair snares despite presence at hair collection stations. The explanation for this behavior remains unclear but is consistent with observations of low and variable hair trap …

Pb1752 Native Warm-Season Grasses: Identification, Establishment And Management For Wildlife And Forage Production In The Mid-South, Craig A. Harper, Gary E. Bates, Michael P. Hansbrough, Mark J. Gudlin, John P. Gruchy, Patrick D. Keyser

Wildlife and Fisheries

Please note: This file is 11 MB and 192 pages.

Version 4.0

Clearcutting Has A Long-Lasting Effect On Habitat Connectivity For A Forest Amphibian By Decreasing Permeability To Juvenile Movements, Viorel Popescu, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.

Publications

Conservation of forest amphibians is dependent on finding the right balance between management for timber production and meeting species' habitat requirements. For many pond-breeding amphibians, successful dispersal of the juvenile stage is essential for long-term population persistence. We investigated the influence of timber-harvesting practices on the movements of juvenile wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). We used a chronosequence of stands produced by clear-cutting to evaluate how stand age affects habitat permeability to movements. We conducted experimental releases of juveniles in 2008 (n = 350) and 2009 (n = 528) in unidirectional runways in four treatments: mature forest, recent clearcut, …

Cooperative Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Translocation Strategy Throughout The Southeast, Robert J. Warren, C. Joseph Nairn

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pb1746 A Landowner's Guide To Native Warm-Season Grasses In The Mid-South, Craig A. Harper, Gary E. Bates, Mark J. Gudlin, Michael P. Hansbrough

Wildlife and Fisheries

Version 3.0

Prescribed Fire Effects On The Summer And Fall Herbs Of Mesic Deciduous Forests, Margaret Wilder

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

After years of fire suppression, high intensity forest fires were destructive to surrounding areas. Historically, fire was common in the eastern United States, but was suppressed over the past century, and recently has become a major tool in forest management. But to date, there have been no studies on the influence of fire on mesic sites in the eastern United States. Because fire is being reintroduced as a management practice, it is critical to know the influence of fire in this region. This study seeks to understand the influences of fire on summer and fall herbs in the western mesophytic …

Modeling Plant Ranges Over 75 Years Of Climate Change In California, Usa: Temporal Transferability And Species Traits, Solomon Z. Dobrowski, James H. Thorne, Johnathan A. Greenberg, Hugh D. Safford, Alison R. Mynsberge, Shawn M. Crimmins, Alan K. Swanson

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Species distribution model (SDM) projections under future climate scenarios are increasingly being used to inform resource management and conservation strategies. A critical assumption for projecting climate change responses is that SDMs are transferable through time, an assumption that is largely untested because investigators often lack temporally independent data for assessing transferability. Further, understanding how the ecology of species influences temporal transferability is critical yet almost wholly lacking. This raises two questions. (1) Are SDM projections transferable in time? (2) Does temporal transferability relate to species ecological traits? To address these questions we developed SDMs for 133 vascular plant species using …

Eastern Temperate Forests, Frank S. Gilliam, Christine L. Goodale, Linda H. Pardo, Linda H. Geiser, Erik A. Lilleskov

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Human activity in the last century has led to a substantial increase in nitrogen (N) emissions and deposition. This N deposition has reached a level that has caused or is likely to cause alterations to the structure and function of many ecosystems across the United States. One approach for quantifying the level of pollution that would be harmful to ecosystems is the critical loads approach. The critical load is dei ned as the level of a pollutant below which no detrimental ecological effect occurs over the long term according to present knowledge.

The objective of this project was to synthesize …