Life Sciences Commons^™

Modeling Early Responses Of Loblolly Pine Growth To Thinning In The Western Gulf Coastal Plain Region, Yuhi Weng, J. Grogan, Dean W. Coble

Faculty Publications

Growth response to thinning has long been a research topic of interest in forest science. This study presents the first 3–4 years of response of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) growth to thinning at different intensities. Data were collected from the East Texas Pine Research Project’s region-wide loblolly pine thinning study, which covers a wide variety of stand conditions. Four treatments, light, moderate, and heavy thinning, respectively having 370, 555, and 740 residual trees per hectare after thinning, and an unthinned control, were included. Individual tree diameter at breast height (dbh) and total height were recorded annually for the …

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Forestry, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

Forests and grasslands play an important role in water and air purification, prevention of the soil erosion, and in provision of habitat to wildlife. Internet of Things has a tremendous potential to play a vital role in the forest ecosystem management and stability. The conservation of species and habitats, timber production, prevention of forest soil degradation, forest fire prediction, mitigation, and control can be attained through forest management using Internet of Things. The use and adoption of IoT in forest ecosystem management is challenging due to many factors. Vast geographical areas and limited resources in terms of budget and equipment …

Resin Flow In Loblolly And Shortleaf Pines Used By Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers, David L. Kulhavy, W G. Ross, J H. Sun, Daniel Unger, I-Kuai Hung, Richard N. Conner

Faculty Publications

We measured resin flow in loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) and shortleaf (Pinus echinata Mill.) pines in stands used by red-cockaded woodpecker, Picoides borealis (Vieillot), in the Angelina and Davy Crockett National Forests in eastern Texas. We also measured resin flow in a mature loblolly pine stand not used by the woodpeckers. Resin flow varied by study area, species, and stand position. In woodpecker stands, pines experiencing low levels of competition seemed better able to tolerate the continual resin drainage associated with red-cockaded woodpecker resin well pecking. In the Angelina National Forest, all new cavity trees excavated during the study were …

Watershed Forest Management Information System (Wfmis), Yanli Zhang, P. K. Barten

Faculty Publications

Maintenance of a sustainable clean water supply is critical for our future. However, watershed degradation is a common phenomenon around the world that leads to poor water quality. In order to protect water resources, the Watershed Forest Management Information System (WFMIS), was developed as an extension of ArcGIS® and is described in this paper. There are three submodels to address nonpoint source pollution mitigation, road system management, and silvicultural operations, respectively. The Watershed Management Priority Indices (WMPI) is a zoning approach to prioritize critical areas for conservation and restoration management. It meets the critical need to spatially differentiate land cover …

The Effect Of Carbon Revenues On The Rotation And Profitability Of Loblolly Pine Plantations In East Texas, Ching Hsun Huang, Gary D. Kronrad

Faculty Publications

This study determined the profitability and financially optimal thinning and final harvest rotation of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) managed exclusively for timber production or for dual products of timber production and carbon sequestration. The results suggest that 1) depending on landowner’s alternative rate of return, the inclusion of carbon revenues in forest management may shorten or prolong the optimal timber-carbon rotation length, compared to the optimal rotation that maximizes timber value only; 2) the effect of carbon revenues on the optimal rotation length and the percentage gain in soil expectation value is larger on low-productivity sites than on high-productivity sites, …

Population Trends Of Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers In Texas, Richard N. Conner, Daniel Saenz, D. Craig Rudolph

Faculty Publications

We tracked population trends of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) in eastern Texas from 1983 through 2004. After declining precipitously during the 1980s, woodpecker population trends on federal lands (National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, but excluding the Big Thicket National Preserve) increased between 1990 and 2000, and have been stable to slightly decreasing over the past four years. Litigation against the U.S. Forest Service in the mid 1980s reversed a severe population decline, whereas litigation during the past 8 years hampered recovery efforts for the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Red-cockaded Woodpecker populations on private and State of Texas lands have steadily declined …

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Status And Management: West Gulf Coastal Plain And Interior Highlands, D. Craig Rudolph, Richard N. Conner, Richard R. Schaefer, Daniel Saenz, Dawn K. Carrie, N. Ross Carrie, Ricky W. Maxey, Warren G. Montague, Joe Neal, Kenneth Moore, John Skeen, Jeffrey A. Reid

Faculty Publications

Red-cockaded woodpecker populations declined precipitously following European settlement and expansion and cutting of the original pine forests across the southeastern United States. By 1990 most residual populations lacked demographic viability, existed in degraded habitat, and were isolated from other populations. The primary causes of this situation were harvest of the original pine forests of the southeastern United States, conversion of forested lands to other uses, short-rotation silvicultural practices, and alteration of the fire regime in the regenerated forests. As social and legal mandates changed, management of red-cockaded woodpeckers became a higher priority. Intensive management for red-cockaded woodpeckers is currently practiced …

Assessing The Quantity And Quality Of Forested Resources In East Texas Using Remotely Sensed Data, Daniel Unger

Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: Development of new or enhanced remote sensing methodologies for assessing the quantity of east Texas forests and their associated ecosystems. Development of new or enhanced remote sensing methodologies for assessing the quality of east Texas forests and their associated ecosystems. Application of temporal analysis to assess the change in the quantity/quality of east Texas forests and their associated ecosystems over time.

Economic Analysis Of Sequestering Carbon In Green Ash Forests In The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Ching Hsun Huang, Gary D. Kronrad, Shiaolin D. Cheng

Faculty Publications

Since the U.S. is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), it has become crucial to develop options that are both cost effective and supportive of sustainable development to reduce atmospheric CO2. Electric utility companies have the options of reducing their use of fossil fuels, switching to alternative energy sources, increasing efficiency, or offsetting carbon emissions. This study determined the cost and profitability of sequestering carbon in green ash plantations, and the number of tons of carbon that can be sequestered. The profitability of green ash is $2,342 and $3,645 per acre on site indices (measurement of soil quality) 65 …

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Foraging Behavior In Relation To Midstory Vegetation, D. Craig Rudolph, Richard N. Conner, Richard R. Schaefer

Faculty Publications

Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) nest and forage in pine-dominated forests. Research indicates that substantial hardwood midstory encroachment is detrimental to Red-cockaded Woodpecker populations, although the exact mechanisms are unknown. We examined foraging behavior in relation to midstory between August 1989 and February 1990. Red-cockaded Woodpeckers foraged at greater heights in areas of taller and denser midstory in the loblolly-shortleaf pine (Pinus taeda and P. echinata, respectively) habitat, but not in longleaf pine (P. palustris) habitat with less-developed midstory vegetation than typical of loblolly-shortleaf pine habitat. In addition, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers concentrated foraging activities in or adjacent to forest stands or openings …

Does Nonrandom Nest Placement Imply Nonrandom Nest Predation?: A Reply, Robert J. Cooper, R. Randy Wilson, Gary D. Zenitsky, Stephen J. Mullin, Jennifer A. Dececco, Matthew R. Marshall, Dorothy J. Wolf, Lars Y. Pomara

Faculty Publications

In response to the critique by Schmidt and Whelan (Condor 101 (4): 916-920, 1999), we find that the relationship between nest success and tree selectivity is dependent upon inclusion or exclusion of particular tree species, whether or not years are pooled, and the selectivity index used. We question their use of point estimates of nest success with extremely high variances, defend our index, question the application of the Chesson (1983) index to our data, and explain the need to analyze years separately. Bottomland hardwood forest systems are extremely variable; hydroperiods alter the suitability of nesting substrates, availability of alternative food, …

Grounds For Argument: Local Understandings, Science, And Global Processes In Special Forest Products Harvesting, Thomas Love, Eric Jones

Faculty Publications

In posing the question "Where are the pickers?", Love and Jones suggest that the shifting paradigm in forestry is real and that academia is not leading the shift. Love and Jones illustrate the emergence of special forest products' legitimacy in competing uses of forests with their experience and research in mushroom harvesting in the Pacific Northwest.

The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker's Role In The Southern Pine Ecosystem, Population Trends And Relationships With Southern Pine Beetles, Richard N. Conner, D. Craig Rudolph, Daniel Saenz, Robert N. Coulson

Faculty Publications

This study reviews the overall ecological role of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)in the southern pine ecosystem. It is the only North American woodpecker species to become well adapted to a landscape that was relatively devoid of the substrate typically used by woodpeckers for cavity excavation (i.e. snags and decayed, living hardwoods). Its adaptation to use living pines for cavity excavation has expanded the use of this fire-disclimax ecosystem for numerous other cavity-using species. As such, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker represents an important keystone species of fire-disclimax pine ecosystems of the South. Historically, populations of this woodpecker and other cavity dependent …

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Nesting Success, Forest Structure, And Southern Flying Squirrels In Texas, Richard N. Conner, D. Craig Rudolph, Daniel Saenz, Richard R. Schaefer

Faculty Publications

For several decades general opinion has suggested that southern flying squirrels (Gluucomys volans) have a negative effect on Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) through competition for cavities and egg/nestling predation. Complete removal of hardwood trees from Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavity tree clusters has occurred on some forests because southern flying squirrel abundance was presumed to be associated with the presence and abundance of hardwood vegetation. In some locations, southern flying squirrels have been captured and either moved or killed in the name of Red-cockaded Woodpecker management. We determined southern flying squirrel occupancy of Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavities in loblolly (Pinus taeda)-shortleaf (P. echinata) …

Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers And Silvicultural Practice: Is Uneven-Aged? Silviculture Preferable To Even-Aged, D. Craig Rudolph, Richard N. Conner

Faculty Publications

The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) has become a high-profile management issue in the southeastern United States. Suitable habitat consists of mature to old pine, or mixed pine-hardwood forest, with minimal hardwood midstory vegetation. Loss of habitat, detrimental silvicultural practices, and changes in the fire regime have resulted in small fragmented populations, most of which have been declining precipitously in recent decades (Costa and Escano 1989, Conner and Rudolph 1989). The current population of l0-12 thousand birds occurs across much of the original range from Virginia and Florida west to Oklahoma and Texas (James 1995). However, populations are restricted to …

Forest Pest Management On Typic Quartzipsamments: A Management Dilemma, R. R. Cahal, David L. Kulhavy, W. G. Ross, W. D. Tracey, W. D. Hacker

Faculty Publications

Pine plantations on Typic Quartzipsamments in East Texas are difficult to establish. Forest management options following clearcutting are limited. A eight year regeneration study of the growth and survival of loblolly, Pinus tuedu, L. shortleaf, P. echinutu Mill., slash, P. elliofii Engelm and longleaf pines P. palustris Mill. was conducted to determine optimum tree species and treatments for reforestation; and to recommend practical alternative land uses and management strategies for Typic Quartzipsamrnents. With successful regeneration also comes insects and pathogens. Impacts of the Nantucket pine tip moth, Rhyacioniujkstrunu, (Comstock) the Deodar weevil, Pissodes nernorensis, Germar, Annosus root rot, Heterobusidion unnosusm …

A Note On After-Tax Analysis Where Capitalized Costs Are Depreciated, Steven H. Bullard, Thomas J. Straka

Faculty Publications

Forest management often requires relatively long-term and capital intensive investments. Economic analysis of timber management alternatives can therefore be an extremely important aspect of decision-making. Investment analysis techniques are prominent in forest management texts and have also been the subject of many articles in the forestry literature.

Any forestry investment analysis involves several important aspects. Topics included in reports by Gunter and Haney (1984) and Bullard et al. (1986), for example, include the treatment of inflation, income taxes, risk, and the choice of an appropriate discount rate. In this article, we focus on a very specific aspect of after-tax investment …

Experimental Reintroduction Of Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers, D. Craig Rudolph, Howard Kyle, Richard N. Conner

Faculty Publications

The Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) is an endangered species endemic to the pine forests of the southeastern United States (Jackson 1971). Deforestation and habitat alteration have severely affected Red-cockaded Woodpecker populations; current populations are isolated and most are declining (Jackson 1971, Lennartz et al. 1983, Conner and Rudolph 1989, Costa and Escano 1989). The species has been extirpated from significant areas of suitable or potentially suitable habitat.

Wilderness And Natural Areas In The Eastern United States: A Management Challenge, David Kulhavy, Richard N. Conner

Faculty Publications

"The purpose of this symposium is not to debate either the concept of wilderness or the amount of wilderness appropriate for the United States. These are not debatable issues for present purposes. The Congress has spoken twice. The Wilderness Act of 1964 (PL 88-577) and the amendments of 1975, known as the "Eastern Wilderness Act" (PL 93-622), both set-aside existing areas as wilderness and established procedures for consideration of additions to the wilderness system. The purpose of this symposium is to consider the management of wilderness areas over time. In a very real sense, if those areas established as wilderness …