Life Sciences Commons^™

Experimental Evidence For Selection Against Hybrids Between Two Interfertile Red Oak Species, Oliver Gailing, Ruhua Zhang

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

Reproductive isolation between related oak species within one taxonomic section is incomplete. Even though pre- and post-zygotic isolation mechanisms have been described for interfertile oak species, natural hybridization is common in contact zones between related oaks. The apparent restriction of inter-specific hybrids between ecologically divergent species to intermediate environments in contact zones suggests postzygotic isolation via environmental selection against hybrids in parental environments. Overrepresentation of hybrids in seeds as compared to adult trees provides additional indirect evidence for selection against hybrids. Here, we used genetic assignment analyses in progeny obtained from a sympatric stand of Quercus rubra and Quercus ellipsoidalis, …

Post-Wildfire Recovery Of An Upland Oak-Pine Forest On The Cumberland Plateau, Kentucky, Usa, Devin E. Black, Zachary W. Poynter, Claudia A. Cotton, Suraj Upadhaya, David D. Taylor, Wendy Leuenberger, Beth A. Blankenship, Mary A. Arthur

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Background: Many forests within the southern Appalachian region, USA, have experienced decades of fire exclusion, contributing to regeneration challenges for species such as oaks (Quercus spp. L.) and pines (Pinus spp. L.), and threatening the maintenance of oak-dominated forests in the future. While the use of prescribed fire as a forest management tool is increasing within this region, there remains a lack of information on the potential role of wildfire. A wildfire within the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, USA, provided an opportunity to investigate how wildfire affected forest vegetation response.

Results: We examined the effects of fire …

Biological Aspects Of Mountain Pine Beetle In Lodgepole Pine Stands Of Different Densities In Colorado, Usa, Jose Negron

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

Research Highlights: The biology of mountain pine beetle (MPB), Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, in Colorado’s lodgepole pine forests exhibits similarities and differences to other parts of its range. Brood emergence was not influenced by stand density nor related to tree diameter. The probability of individual tree attack is influenced by stocking and tree size. Findings have implications for understanding MPB as a disturbance agent and for developing management strategies. Background and Objectives: MPB causes extensive tree mortality of lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon, across the western US and Canada and is probably the most studied bark beetle in North …

The New Natural Distribution Area Of Aspen (Populus Tremula L.) Marginal Populations In Pasinler In The Erzurum Province, Turkey, And Its Stand Characteristics, Halil Bariş Özel, Sezgin Ayan, Serdar Erpay, Bojan Simovski

Aspen Bibliography

Background and Purpose: Genetic diversity is the basis for adaptation and survival of tree species under changing environmental conditions, representing the key issue of stability and productivity of forest ecosystems. This paper studies the marginal population characteristics and stand dynamics of aspen tree (Populus tremula L.) in natural, pure and mixed forest stands with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). These populations were observed on founding sites between Timarli Valley and Timan Plateau located in Pasinler in the Erzurum Province in Turkey.
Materials and Methods: Three replicated sample sites were established according to a randomised block design …

Factors Affecting The Distribution And Abundance Of Autumn Vagrant New World Warblers In Northwestern California And Southern Oregon, C. John Ralph, Jared D. Wolfe

Michigan Tech Publications

Birds found outside their typical range, or vagrants, have fascinated naturalists for decades. Despite broad interest in vagrancy, few attempts have been made to statistically examine the explanatory variables potentially responsible for the phenomenon. In this study, we used multiple linear regression to model the occurrence of 28 rare warbler species (family Parulidae) in autumn in northern California and southern Oregon as a function of migration distance, continental population size, distance, and bearing to both closest breeding population and breeding population center. In addition to our predictive model, we used capture data from the California coast to 300 km inland …

Does Persistent Snowpack Inhibit Degradation Of Fecal Stress Indicators?, Grace Parikh, Christopher R. Webster, John A. Vucetich, John J. Durocher, Joseph K. Bump

Michigan Tech Publications

Physiological stress in wildlife can be a useful indicator of a population’s response to environmental factors. By using non-invasive endocrinological techniques, such as fecal sampling, potential confounding factors associated with the stress of capture can be avoided. A potential drawback of fecal sampling, however, is degradation of samples which may produce aberrant measurements of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites. In vertebrates, glucocorticoids, such as corticosterone, become elevated in response to stress. We sought to gauge the reliability of measurement of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fecal samples exposed to a temperate winter with substantial snow cover and …

Within-Canopy Experimental Leaf Warming Induces Photosynthetic Decline Instead Of Acclimation In Two Northern Hardwood Species, Kelsey R. Carter, Molly A. Cavaleri

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

Northern hardwood forests are experiencing higher temperatures and more extreme heat waves, potentially altering plant physiological processes. We implemented in-situ leaf-level warming along a vertical gradient within a mature forest canopy to investigate photosynthetic acclimation potential of two northern hardwood species, Acer saccharum and Tilia americana. After 7 days of +3°C warming, photosynthetic acclimation was assessed by measuring differences between heated and control photosynthetic rates (A_opt) at leaf optimum temperatures (T_opt). We also measured the effects of warming and height on maximum rates of Rubisco carboxylation, stomatal conductance, transpiration, and leaf traits: leaf …

Spoil Type Influences Soil Genesis And Forest Development On An Appalachian Surface Coal Mine Ten Years After Placement, Kenton L. Sena, Carmen T. Agouridis, Jarrod Miller, Christopher D. Barton

Lewis Honors College Faculty Publications

Surface mining for coal (or other mineral resources) is a major driver of land-use change around the world and especially in the Appalachian region of the United States. Intentional and well-informed reclamation of surface-mined land is critical for the restoration of healthy ecosystems on these disturbed sites. In Appalachia, the pre-mining land cover is predominately mixed hardwood forest, with rich species diversity. In recent years, Appalachian mine reforestation has become an issue of concern, prompting the development of the Forestry Reclamation Approach, a series of mine reforestation recommendations. One of these recommendations is to use the best available soil substitute; …

Dependence Of Aspen Stands On A Subsurface Water Subsidy: Implications For Climate Change Impacts, D. M. Love, M. D. Venturas, J. S. Sperry, P. D. Brooks, J. L. Pettit, Y. Wang, W. R. L. Anderegg, X. Tai, D. S. Mackay

Aspen Bibliography

The reliance of 10 Utah (USA) aspen forests on direct infiltration of growing season rain versus an additional subsurface water subsidy was determined from a trait- and process-based model of stomatal control. The model simulated the relationship between water supply to the root zone versus canopy transpiration and assimilation over a growing season. Canopy flux thresholds were identified that distinguished nonstressed, stressed, and dying stands. We found growing season rain and local soil moisture were insufficient for the survival of 5 of 10 stands. Six stands required a substantial subsidy (31–80% of potential seasonal transpiration) to avoid water stress and …

Gene Network Analysis Of Poplar Root Transcriptome In Response To Drought Stress Identifies A Ptajaz3ptarap2.6-Centered Hierarchical Network, Madhumita Dash, Yordan S. Yordanov, Tatyana Georgieva, Hairong Wei, Victor Busov

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

Using time-series transcriptomic data from poplar roots undergoing polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress, we built a genetic network model of the involved putative molecular responses. We found that the network resembled a hierarchical structure. The highest hierarchical level in this structure is occupied by 9 genes, which we called superhubs because they were primarily connected to 18 hub genes, which are then connected to 2,934 terminal genes. We were only able to regenerate transgenic plants overexpressing two of the superhubs, suggesting that the majority of the superhubs might interfere with the regeneration process and did not allow recovery of transgenic …

Dynamics Of Postfire Aboveground Carbon In A Chronosequence Of Chinese Boreal Larch Forests, Yuan Z. Yang, Wen H. Cai, Jian Yang, Megan White, John M. Lhotka

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Boreal forests store a large proportion of the global terrestrial carbon (C), while wildfire plays a crucial role in determining their C storage and dynamics. The aboveground C (AC) pool is an important component of forest C stocks. To quantify the turning point (transforming from C source to C sink) and recovery time of postfire AC, and assess how stand density affects the AC, 175 plots from eight stand age classes were surveyed as a chronosequence in the Great Xing'an Mountains of Northeast China. Linear and nonlinear regression analyses were conducted to describe postfire AC recovery patterns. The results showed …

Understory Community Assembly Following Wildfire In Boreal Forests: Shift From Stochasticity To Competitive Exclusion And Environmental Filtering, Bo Liu, Han Y. H. Chen, Jian Yang

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Understory vegetation accounts for the majority of plant species diversity and serves as a driver of overstory succession and nutrient cycling in boreal forest ecosystems. However, investigations of the underlying assembly processes of understory vegetation associated with stand development following a wildfire disturbance are rare, particularly in Eurasian boreal forests. In this study, we measured the phylogenetic and functional diversity and trait dispersions of understory communities and tested how these patterns changed with stand age in the Great Xing'an Mountains of Northeastern China. Contrary to our expectation, we found that understory functional traits were phylogenetically convergent. We found that random …

Phylogeographic Analyses Of A Widely Distributed Populus Davidiana: Further Evidence For The Existence Of Glacial Refugia Of Cool‐Temperate Deciduous Trees In Northern East Asia, Zhe Hou, Zhaoshan Wang, Zhanyang Ye, Shuhui Du, Shuya Liu, Jianguo Zhang

Aspen Bibliography

Despite several phylogeographic studies had provided evidence to support the existence of glacial refugia of cool‐temperate deciduous trees in northeast China, the species used in these studies were limited by the species ranges, which could not exclude the possibility that northern populations were the colonists from southern refugial populations during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Here, we estimated the nucleotide variation in Populus davidiana, a widespread species distributed in Eurasia. Three groups in northeast, central, and southwest China were constructed according to the simulation results from SAMOVA, composition of chloroplast haplotypes and structure results. We revealed that the northeast …

Climate Change Adaptation Strategies And Approaches For Outdoor Recreation, Daniel O'Toole, Leslie A. Brandt, Maria K. Janowiak, Danielle Shannon, Patricia Leopold, Stephen D. Handler, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

Climate change will alter opportunities and demand for outdoor recreation through altered winter weather conditions and season length, climate-driven changes in user preferences, and damage to recreational infrastructure, among other factors. To ensure that outdoor recreation remains sustainable in the face of these challenges, natural resource managers may need to adapt their recreation management. One of the major challenges of adapting recreation to climate change is translating broad concepts into specific, tangible actions. Using a combination of in-depth interviews of recreational managers and a review of peer-reviewed literature and government reports, we developed a synthesis of impacts, strategies, and approaches, …

Nondestructive Assessment Of Wood Members In A Viewing Tower In Potawatomi State Park, Door County, Wisconsin, Us, Robert Ross, Xiping Wang, C. Adam Senalik

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

The State of Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources is responsible for operating one of the largest state park systems in the United States. Potawatomi State Park, located on the Door County peninsula, consists of about 1,200 acres of flat to gently rolling upland terrain bordered by steep slopes and rugged limestone cliffs along Lake Michigan’s shoreline. A 75-ft observation tower sits atop a 150-ft bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. The USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, was asked to conduct an assessment of the main support timbers of the tower. This report summarizes the results obtained from the inspection and assessment. …

Ray Et Al.: Pheromone Of The Velvet Longhorned Beetle Trichoferus Campestris, Ann M. Ray, Joseph A. Francese, Yunfan Zou, Kristopher Watson, Damon J. Crook, Jocelyn G. Millar

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

New London Urban Forestry: Inventory And Analysis, Isabelle Smith

Other Publications and Reports

No abstract provided.

Timber Talk, Vol. 56, No. 4, December 2018

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

In This Issue:

Lumber Market Reports

Hardwood Lumber Prices

NOTE FROM EDITOR: Transitioning to Electronic Delivery Only

NDA Expands EAB Quarantine

Forest Products Grants Available

Wildfires and Communities in Nebraska

Forest Industry Spotlight: “Good Neighbor Authority” in Nebraska

Trading Post

Timber Sales

Analysis Of Environment-Marker Associations In American Chestnut, Markus Müller, C. Dana Nelson, Oliver Gailing

Michigan Tech Publications

American chestnut (Castanea dentata Borkh.) was a dominant tree species in its native range in eastern North America until the accidentally introduced fungus Cryphonectria parasitica (Murr.) Barr, that causes chestnut blight, led to a collapse of the species. Different approaches (e.g., genetic engineering or conventional breeding) are being used to fight against chestnut blight and to reintroduce the species with resistant planting stock. Because of large climatic differences within the distribution area of American chestnut, successful reintroduction of the species requires knowledge and consideration of local adaptation to the prevailing environmental conditions. Previous studies revealed clear patterns of genetic diversity …

Analysis Of Environment-Marker Associations In American Chestnut, Markus Müller, Charles Dana Nelson, Oliver Gailing

Forest Health Research and Education Center Faculty Publications

American chestnut (Castanea dentata Borkh.) was a dominant tree species in its native range in eastern North America until the accidentally introduced fungus Cryphonectria parasitica (Murr.) Barr, that causes chestnut blight, led to a collapse of the species. Different approaches (e.g., genetic engineering or conventional breeding) are being used to fight against chestnut blight and to reintroduce the species with resistant planting stock. Because of large climatic differences within the distribution area of American chestnut, successful reintroduction of the species requires knowledge and consideration of local adaptation to the prevailing environmental conditions. Previous studies revealed clear patterns of genetic …

Compositional Response Of Amazon Forests To Climate Change, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Timothy R. Baker, Kyle G. Dexter, Simon L. Lewis, Roel J.W. Brienen, Ted R. Feldpausch, Jhon Del Aguila-Pasquel, Et. Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

Most of the planet's diversity is concentrated in the tropics, which includes many regions undergoing rapid climate change. Yet, while climate-induced biodiversity changes are widely documented elsewhere, few studies have addressed this issue for lowland tropical ecosystems. Here we investigate whether the floristic and functional composition of intact lowland Amazonian forests have been changing by evaluating records from 106 long-term inventory plots spanning 30 years. We analyse three traits that have been hypothesized to respond to different environmental drivers (increase in moisture stress and atmospheric CO 2 concentrations): maximum tree size, biogeographic water-deficit affiliation and wood density. Tree communities have …

Variation In Regional And Landscape Effects On Occupancy Of Temperate Bats In The Southeastern U.S., Benjamin D. Neece, Susan C. Loeb, David S. Jachowski

Publications

Habitat loss, wind energy development, and the disease white-nose syndrome are major threats contributing to declines in bat populations in North America. In the southeastern US in particular, the recent arrival of white-nose syndrome and changes in landscape composition and configuration have driven shifts in bat species populations and distributions. Effective management strategies which address these large-scale, community-level threats require landscape-scale analyses. Our objective was to model the relationship between ecoregional and landscape factors and occupancy by all bat species in South Carolina, USA, during summer. We conducted acoustic surveys from mid-May through July 2015 and 2016 and evaluated temporally …

Improving Ecological Restoration To Curb Biotic Invasion—A Practical Guide, Qinfeng Guo, Dale G. Brockway, Diane L. Larson, Deli Wang, Hai Ren

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

Common practices for invasive species control and management include physical, chemical, and biological approaches. The first two approaches have clear limitations and may lead to unintended (negative) consequences, unless carefully planned and implemented. For example, physical removal rarely completely eradicates the targeted invasive species and can cause disturbances that facilitate new invasions by nonnative species from nearby habitats. Chemical treatments can harm native, and especially rare, species through unanticipated side effects. Biological methods may be classified as biocontrol and the ecological approach. Similar to physical and chemical methods, biocontrol also has limitations and sometimes leads to unintended consequences. Therefore, a …

Microbial Diversity In Urban Environments: Concern For Antibiotic Resistance, Ality Aghedo, Mangala Tawde, Nazrul I. Khandaker

Publications and Research

We are almost oblivious to the presence of microorganisms in our daily lives, but they exist and come into contact with us all the time. While some bacteria are harmless, and even beneficial, other bacteria can cause infections. A common treatment to bacterial infections is antibiotics and the success of an antibiotic depends on the resistance of the bacteria to the antibiotic. We conducted experiments to identify the types of bacteria that can be found on surfaces or within soil environments that come into contact with a vast number of people on a daily basis and how this can affect …

Spatial Factor Models For High-Dimensional And Large Spatial Data: An Application In Forest Variable Mapping, Daniel Taylor-Rodríguez, Andrew O. Finley, Abhirup Datta, Chad Babcock, Hans-Erik Andersen, Bruce D. Cook, Douglas C. Morton, Sudipto Banerjee

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gathering information about forest variables is an expensive and arduous activity. As such, directly collecting the data required to produce high-resolution maps over large spatial domains is infeasible. Next generation collection initiatives of remotely sensed Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data are specifically aimed at producing complete-coverage maps over large spatial domains. Given that LiDAR data and forest characteristics are often strongly correlated, it is possible to make use of the former to model, predict, and map forest variables over regions of interest. This entails dealing with the high-dimensional (∼10² ) spatially dependent LiDAR outcomes over a large number …

The Importance Of Small Fire Refugia In The Central Sierra Nevada, California, Usa, Erika M. Blomdahl, Crystal A. Kolden, Arjan J.H. Meddens, James A. Lutz

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Fire refugia – the unburned areas within fire perimeters – are important to the survival of many taxa through fire events and the revegetation of post-fire landscapes. Previous work has shown that species use and benefit from small-scale fire refugia (1 m² to 1000 m²), but our understanding of where and how fire refugia form is largely limited to the scale of remotely sensed data (i.e., 900 m² Landsat pixels). To examine the causes and consequences of small fire refugia, we field-mapped all unburned patches ≥1 m² within a contiguous 25.6 ha forest plot that …

Meeting Minutes, October 24th, 2018, National Smokejumper Association Board Of Directors

National Smokejumper Association Meeting Minutes

Agenda: Call to order, introduction to site, approval of the agenda - Cherry; The Agenda was approved as presented.; Introductions - Cherry; Approval of previous meeting minutes - Cherry; Financial Reports; Investment Committee report - Packard; Update on 2017-18 Budget - Finance Committee (Brent Russ by phone); Look ahead to 2018-19 Budget - BOD; BOD discussed the Life Member Fund; Fred Cooper reports; 2018 TRAMPS Program; Status of my "1939 Experiment" Book, Fred; Miss Montana - Mann Gulch DC-3.; MSO Jump Base use of FS Museum Permit Site - "Field of Shame"; Museum of Mountain Flying NSA Exhibit; Status of …

Beyond The 1984 Perspective: Narrow Focus On Modern Wildfire Trends Underestimates Future Risks To Water Security, Brendan P. Murphy, Larissa L. Yocom, Patrick Belmont

Ecology Center Publications

The western United States remains well below historical wildfire activity, yet misconceptions abound in the public and news media that the area burning by wildfire each year in the American West is unprecedented. We submit that short‐term records of wildfire and a disproportionate focus on recent fire trends within high‐profile science stoke these misconceptions. Furthermore, we highlight serious risks to long‐term water security (encompassing water supply, storage, and quality) that have only recently been recognized and are underestimated as the result of skewed perspectives of wildfire. Compiling several data sets, we illustrate a comprehensive history of western wildfire, demonstrate that …

Impacts Of Climate Change And Bioenergy Markets On The Profitability Of Slash Pine Pulpwood Production In The Southeastern United States, Andrea Susaeta, Pankaj Lal

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In this study, we assessed the impacts of climate change on the production of pulpwood and biomass for bioenergy, and the profitability of slash pine stands in the Southeastern United States. We employed the 3-PG (Physiological Processes Predicting Growth) model to determine the effects of future climates on forest growth and integrated it with a stand-level economic model to determine their impacts on optimal forest management. We found that the average production of pulpwood increased for all sites by 7.5 m³ ha⁻¹ for all climatic scenarios and productivity conditions. In the case of forest biomass for bioenergy, the …

Assessing Ecosystem Services From The Forestry-Based Reclamation Of Surface Mined Areas In The North Fork Of The Kentucky River Watershed, Kumari Gurung, Jian Yang, Lei Fang

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Surface mining is a major driver of land use land cover (LULC) change in many mountainous areas such as the Appalachian region. Typical reclamation practices often result in land cover dominated by grass and shrubs. Assessing ecosystem services that can be obtained from a forest landscape may help policy-makers and other stakeholders fully understand the benefits of forestry-based reclamation (FRA). The objectives of this study are to (1) identify how surface mining and reclamation changed the LULC of a watershed encompassing the north fork of the Kentucky River, (2) assess the biophysical value of four major ecosystem services under the …