Forest Sciences Commons^™

Consequences Of Shifts In Abundance And Distribution Of American Chestnut For Restoration Of A Foundation Forest Tree, Harmony J. Dalgleish, Charles Dana Nelson, John A. Scrivani, Douglass F. Jacobs

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Restoration of foundation species, such as the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) that was devastated by an introduced fungus, can restore ecosystem function. Understanding both the current distribution as well as biogeographic patterns is important for restoration planning. We used United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data to quantify the current density and distribution of C. dentata. We then review the literature concerning biogeographic patterns in C. dentata. Currently, 431 ± 30.2 million stems remain. The vast majority (360 ± 22 million) are sprouts < 2.5 cm dbh. Although this number is approximately 10% of the estimated pre-blight population, blight has caused a major shift in the size structure. The current-day population has a larger range, particularly west and north, likely due to human translocation. While climate change could facilitate northward expansion, limited seed reproduction makes this unlikely without assisted migration. Previous research demonstrates that the current, smaller population contains slightly higher genetic diversity than expected, although little information exists on biogeographic patterns in the genetics of adaptive traits. Our research provides a baseline characterization of the contemporary population of C. dentata, to enable monitoring stem densities …

The Effect Of Disturbance And Freshwater Availability On Lower Florida Keys’ Coastal Forest Dynamics, Danielle E. Ogurcak

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal forest retreat in the Florida Keys during the 20^th century has been attributed to a combination of sea level rise and hurricane storm surge impacts, but the interactions between these two disturbances leading to forest decline are not well understood. The goal of my research was to assess their effects over a period spanning more than two decades, and to examine the relationships between these press and pulse disturbances and freshwater availability in pine rockland, hardwood hammock, and supratidal scrub communities. Impacts and recovery from two storm surges, Hurricanes Georges (1998) and Wilma (2005), were assessed with satellite-derived …

Assessing The Sustainability Of Selective Logging In Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika New Protected Area, Eileen Nakahata

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the past 50 years, more than 90% of dense low-altitude humid forest in the District of Vangaindrano has been lost to deforestation and the remaining fragments continue to be threatened by slash and burn agriculture and selective cutting by local populations. These activities are driven by widespread poverty, population growth, and lack of development, which have made subsistence increasingly difficult. This study investigates logging rates and the stock of five commercially valuable trees in the Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika New Protected Area. Fifteen 1000m² transects were established systematically within the territory of the Matanga commune. Within each transect data was collected …

An Avian Biological Gradient Across Tropical Dry Lowland Local Habitats At Playa Venao, Los Santos Province, Panama, Abigail Thomas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

There are a myriad of forest types within Panama, varying by elevation, precipitation and other abiotic factors, which hosts a wide variety of native and migratory species in uniquely-structured avian communities. Panama has been well assessed for presence and distribution of its 987 collective avian species (Angehr, 2014). However most studies in Panama have been broad in scope, overlooking the highly specified habitats that are uniquely structured to host a certain range of avifauna communities. The distinctions in community structure of avifauna along a coastal to inland gradient were assessed among three specialized habitats: the Central Pacific coast, partially deforested …

Heterogeneous Oxidation Of Catechol, Elizabeth A. Pillar, Ruixin Zhou, Marcelo I. Guzman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Natural and anthropogenic emissions of aromatic hydrocarbons from biomass burning, agro-industrial settings, and fossil fuel combustion contribute precursors to secondary aerosol formation (SOA). How these compounds are processed under humid tropospheric conditions is the focus of current attention to understand their environmental fate. This work shows how catechol thin films, a model for oxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons present in biomass burning and combustion aerosols, undergo heterogeneous oxidation at the air–solid interface under variable relative humidity (RH = 0–90%). The maximum reactive uptake coefficient of O₃(g) by catechol γ_O3 = (7.49 ± 0.35) × 10^–6 occurs for …

Climate-Suitable Planting As A Strategy For Maintaining Forest Productivity And Functional Diversity, Matthew Joshua Duveneck, Robert M. Scheller

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Within the time frame of the longevity of tree species, climate change will change faster than the ability of natural tree migration. Migration lags may result in reduced productivity and reduced diversity in forests under current management and climate change. We evaluated the efficacy of planting climate-suitable tree species (CSP), those tree species with current or historic distributions immediately south of a focal landscape, to maintain or increase aboveground biomass, productivity, and species and functional diversity. We modeled forest change with the LANDIS-II forest simulation model for 100 years (2000–2100) at a 2-ha cell resolution and five-year time steps within …

The Effect Of Drought On Stomatal Conductance In The Biosphere 2 Rainforest, Justin Gay, Joost Van Haren

STAR Program Research Presentations

Drought is a major climate change concern for the Earth’s rainforests; however little is currently known about how these forests and individual plants will respond to water stress. At the individual level, the ability of plants to regulate their stomatal conductance is an important preservation mechanism that helps to cool leaves, regulate water loss, and uptake carbon dioxide. At the ecosystem level, transpiration in rain forests is a major contributor to the feedback loop that returns moisture to the atmosphere for continued rains. Nearly 60% of atmospheric moisture in the Amazon rain forests has been traced back to origins of …

Probing The Past 30-Year Phenology Trend Of Us Deciduous Forests, X. Yue, N. Unger, Xiaoyang Zhang, C.S. Vogel

GSCE Faculty Publications

Phenology is experiencing dramatic changes over deciduous forests in the USA. Estimates of trends in phenology on the continental scale are uncertain, however, with studies failing to agree on both the magnitude and spatial distribution of trends in spring and autumn. This is due to the sparsity of in situ records, uncertainties associated with remote sensing data, and the regional focus of many studies. It has been suggested that reported trends are a result of recent temperature changes, though multiple processes are thought to be involved and the nature of the temperature forcing remains unknown. To date, no study has …

Radiocarbon Isotopic Classification Of Deep Tropical Forest Soils, Brooke Butler, Karis J. Mcfarlane, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Katherine A. Heckman

STAR Program Research Presentations

Tropical forest soils have an important role in global carbon (C) stocks. Small changes in the cycling of C could drastically affect atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and active cycling of carbon in a forest community. Currently, little is understood of how tropical forest soils will respond to the increasing global temperatures. To examine the effects of warming/ drought on losses of older versus younger soil C pools, we implemented radiocarbon (14C) isotopic characterization of various soil plot samples and depths from the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. 14C was measured using Accelerated Mass Spectrometry (AMS) from catalytically condensed carbon …

Evaluation Of A Waistband For Attaching External Radiotransmitters To Anurans, Luke Alexander Groff, Amber Pitt, Robert Baldwin, Aram J K Calhoun, Cynthia Loftin

Publications

Radiotelemetry provides fine-scale temporal and spatial information about an individual's movements and habitat use; however, its use for monitoring amphibians has been restricted by transmitter mass and lack of suitable attachment techniques. We describe a novel waistband for attaching external radiotransmitters to anurans and evaluate the percentages of resulting abrasions, lacerations, and shed transmitters. We used radiotelemetry to monitor movements and habitat use of wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) in 2006 and 2011–2013 in Maine, USA; American toads (Anaxyrus americanus) in 2012 in North Carolina, USA; and, wood frogs, southern leopard frogs (L. sphenocephalus), and green frogs (L. clamitans) in 2012 …

Scaling From Single-Point Sap Velocity Measurements To Stand Transpiration In A Multi-Species Deciduous Forest: Uncertainty Sources, Stand Structure Effect, And Future Scenarios Impacts, Virginia Hernandez-Santana, Adan Hernandez-Hernandez, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Heidi Asbjornsen

Earth Systems Research Center

ABSTRACT

A major challenge in studies estimating stand water use in mixed-species forests is how to effectively scale data from individual trees to the stand. This is the case for forest ecosystems in the northeastern USA where differences in water use among species and across different size classes have not been extensively studied, despite their relevance for a wide range of ecosystem services. Our objectives were to assess the importance of different sources of variability ontranspiration upscaling and explore the potential impacts of future shifts in species composition on forest water budget. We measured sap velocity in five tree species …

The Price Of Snow: Albedo Valuation And A Case Study For Forest Management, David A. Lutz, Richard B. Howarth

Dartmouth Scholarship

Several climate frameworks have included the role of carbon storage in natural landscapes as a potential mechanism for climate change mitigation. This has resulted in an incentive to grow and maintain intact long-lived forest ecosystems. However, recent research has suggested that the influence of albedo-related radiative forcing can impart equal and in some cases greater magnitudes of climate mitigation compared to carbon storage in forests where snowfall is common and biomass is slow-growing. While several methodologies exist for relating albedo-associated radiative forcing to carbon storage for the analysis of the tradeoffs of these ecosystem services, they are varied, and they …

Using An Obcd Approach And Landsat Tm Data To Detect Harvesting On Nonindustrial Private Property In Upper Michigan, Riccardo Tortini, Audrey L. Mayer, Pieralberto Maianti

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

Forest dynamics influence climate, biodiversity, and livelihoods at multiple scales, yet current resource policy addressing these dynamics is ineffective without reliable land use land cover change data. The collective impact of harvest decisions by many small forest owners can be substantial at the landscape scale, yet monitoring harvests and regrowth in these forests is challenging. Remote sensing is an obvious route to detect and monitor small-scale land use dynamics over large areas. Using an annual series of Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) images and a GIS shapefile of property boundaries, we identified units where harvests occurred from 2005 to 2011 using …

Fire, Fuels, And Streams: The Effects And Effectiveness Of Riparian Treatments, Josh Mcdaniel

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Fire is an important disturbance in riparian systems—consuming vegetation; increasing light; creating snags and debris flows; altering habitat structure; and affecting stream conditions, erosion, and hydrology. For many years, land managers have worked to keep fire out of riparian systems through the use of buffers. A number of projects funded by the Joint Fire Science Program are shedding light on the dynamics of fire in riparian systems. Recent research and field practice have shown that (1) riparian treatments can be beneficial and are not as risky as previously thought; and (2) riparian treatments need the “Goldilocks” prescribed fire—not too hot …

Forest Park Ecosystems Services Inventory: An Exploratory Study, Pablo Barreyro, Jenny Dempsey Stein

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

This report presents both qualitative and quantitative survey data concerning resident perceptions of ecosystem services in Portland’s Forest Park. Focus group best practices and ecosystem services in urban parks literature are reviewed. Representative focus groups were conducted to ascertain local awareness and understanding of the urban wilderness area’s ecosystem services, identify concurrent challenges and measure interest in a potential interpretive center. Individual surveys were also administered in order to connect issues with demographics and recreational use information. Regression analyses were conducted to examine related park usage, access and economic trends.

While the study is preliminary, the results reveal opportunities for …

Modeling Predator Habitat To Enhance Reintroduction Planning, Shiloh Michael Halsey, William J. Zielinski, Robert M. Scheller

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Context

The success of species reintroduction often depends on predation risk and spatial estimates of predator habitat. The fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a species of conservation concern and populations in the western United States have declined substantially in the last century. Reintroduction plans are underway, but the ability of the species to establish a selfsustaining population is affected by predation from its primary predator, the bobcat (Lynx rufus).

Objectives

To develop a habitat model that incorporates both habitat of the focal species and the spatial patterning of predator habitat. To locate areas of densely aggregated habitat that would be suitable …

Agenda: Seeds Of Change: Responding To Global Change In A Bottom-Up World, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law, Posner Center For International Development, Resolve (Firm), Newmont Mining Corporation

Seeds of Change: Responding to Global Change in a Bottom-Up World (Martz Winter Symposium, February 12-13)

Sponsors: Posner Center for International Development, RESOLVE, Inc., Newmont Mining Corporation, and Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment.

Conference moderators, panelists and speakers included University of Colorado Law School professors Phil Weiser, Sarah Krakoff, Britt Banks, and Lakshman Guruswamy.

This conference is made possible through the generous support of donors who sponsored this year’s Martz Sustainability Symposium (including Newmont Mining Corporation) and those who have invested in our Clyde O. Martz Endowed Fund for Natural Resources Management (including Brian Dolan and Davis Graham and Stubbs LLP). The Martz Natural Resources Management Fund was established in the memory …

Fire Modulates Climate Change Response Of Simulated Aspen Distribution Across Topoclimatic Gradients In A Semi-Arid Montane Landscape, Jian Yang, Peter J. Weisberg, Douglas J. Shinneman, Thomas E. Dilts, Susan L. Earnst, Robert M. Scheller

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Content Changing aspen distribution in response to climate change and fire is a major focus of biodiversity conservation, yet little is known about the potential response of aspen to these two driving forces along topoclimatic gradients.

Objective This study is set to evaluate how aspen distribution might shift in response to different climate-fire scenarios in a semi-arid montane landscape, and quantify the influence of fire regime along topoclimatic gradients.

Methods We used a novel integration of a forest landscape succession and disturbance model (LAN DIS-II) with a fine-scale climatic water deficit approach to simulate dynamics of aspen and associated conifer …

Integrating Hands-On Undergraduate Research In An Applied Spatial Science Senior Level Capstone Course, David Kulhavy, Daniel Unger, I-Kuai Hung, David Douglass

Faculty Publications

A senior within a spatial science Ecological Planning capstone course designed an undergraduate research project to increase his spatial science expertise and to assess the hands-on instruction methodology employed within the Bachelor of Science in Spatial Science program at Stephen F Austin State University. The height of 30 building features estimated remotely with LiDAR data, within the Pictometry remotely sensed web-based interface, and in situ with a laser rangefinder were compared to actual building feature height measurements. A comparison of estimated height with actual height indicated that all three estimation techniques tested were unbiased estimators of height. An ANOVA, conducted …

What Is Valuable?, Kelly Harer

SR & SC Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

On Underestimation Of Global Vulnerability To Tree Mortality And Forest Die-Off From Hotter Drought In The Anthropocene, Craig D. Allen, David D. Breshears, Nate G. Mcdowell

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Patterns, mechanisms, projections, and consequences of tree mortality and associated broadscale forest die-off due to drought accompanied by warmer temperatures—‘‘hotter drought’’, an emerging characteristic of the Anthropocene—are the focus of rapidly expanding literature. Despite recent observational, experimental, and modeling studies suggesting increased vulnerability of trees to hotter drought and associated pests and pathogens, substantial debate remains among research, management and policy-making communities regarding future tree mortality risks. We summarize key mortalityrelevant findings, differentiating between those implying lesser versus greater levels of vulnerability. Evidence suggesting lesser vulnerability includes forest benefits of elevated [CO2] and increased water-use efficiency; observed and modeled increases …

Monthly Land Cover-Specific Evapotranspiration Models Derived From Global Eddy Flux Measurements And Remote Sensing Data, Yuan Fang, Ge Sun, Peter Caldwell, Steven G. Mcnulty, Asko Noormets, Jean-Christophe Domec, John King, Zhiqiang Zhang, Xudong Zhang, Guanghui Lin, Guangsheng Zhou, Jingfeng Xiao, Jiquan Chen

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Evapotranspiration (ET) is arguably the most uncertain ecohydrologic variable for quantifying watershed water budgets. Although numerous ET and hydrological models exist, accurately predicting the effects of global change on water use and availability remains challenging because of model deficiency and/or a lack of input parameters. The objective of this study was to create a new set of monthly ET models that can better quantify landscape-level ET with readily available meteorological and biophysical information. We integrated eddy covariance flux measurements from over 200 sites, multiple year remote sensing products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and statistical modelling. Through examining …

Alternative Timing Of Carbaryl Treatments For Protecting Lodgepole Pine From Mortality Attributed To Mountain Pine Beetle, Christopher J. Fettig, A Steve Munson, Kenneth E. Gibson

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Carbaryl is regarded among the most effective, economically viable, and ecologically-compatible insecticides available for protecting conifers from bark beetle attack in the western United States. Treatments are typically applied in spring prior to initiation of bark beetle flight for that year. We evaluated the efficacy of spring and fall applications for protecting individual lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud, from mortality attributed to mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, the most notable forest insect pest in western North America. Both spring and fall treatments of 2.0% a.i. carbaryl (Sevin® SL) were efficacious for two field seasons, while results from …

Long-Term Droughtiness And Drought Tolerance Of Eastern Us Forests Over Five Decades, Matthew P. Peters, Louis R. Iverson, Stephen N. Matthews

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Droughts can influence forest composition directly by limiting water or indirectly by intensifying other stressors that affect establishment, growth, and mortality. Using community assemblages of eastern US tree species and drought tolerance characteristics assessed from literature, we examine recent drought conditions in relation to the spatial distribution of species and their tolerance to drought. First we calculate and compare a cumulative drought severity index (CDSI) for the conterminous US for the periods 1960–1986 and 1987–2013 using climate division Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) values and a gridded self-calibrated PDSI dataset. This comparison indicates that drought conditions in the East tend …

Scarification And Gap Size Have Interacting Effects On Northern Temperate Seedling Establishment, John L. Willis, Michael B. Walters, Kurt W. Gottschallk

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

After decades focused on promoting economically valuable species, management of northern temperate forests has increasingly become focused on promoting tree species diversity. Unfortunately, many formerly common species that could contribute to diversity including yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L.), and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) are now uncommon in the seedling layer, raising concerns about our ability to use these species to increase diversity. In this study, two related seed addition experiments conducted in 45 variably-sized harvest gaps (unharvested to 6500 m^2) in adjacent mesic northern hardwood stands, Emmet County, …

Matrix And Edge Effects On The Maintenance Of Ecological Function In An Afromontane Protected Area, Robin M. Martino

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Land use type in the human dominated matrix surrounding tropical forest can influence edge effects at the forest-matrix interface. Edge effects can alter ecological processes and impact the function of forest edge ecosystems. A key ecological process that helps maintain tropical forest and is affected by forest disturbance is seed dispersal by large, fruit eating vertebrates (frugivores). This dissertation examines how the type of vegetation in the matrix, the `soft’ edge contrast of pine plantations and the `hard’ edge contrast of tea plantations, affect seed dispersal behavior of large frugivores, and the structure and composition of tree species, in forest …