Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

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 …

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 …

Does Environment Filtering Or Seed Limitation Determine Post-Fire Forest Recovery Patterns In Boreal Larch Forests?, Wen H. Cai, Zhihua Liu, Yuan Z. Yang, Jian Yang

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Wildfire is a primary natural disturbance in boreal forests, and post-fire vegetation recovery rate influences carbon, water, and energy exchange between the land and atmosphere in the region. Seed availability and environmental filtering are two important determinants in regulating post-fire vegetation recovery in boreal forests. Quantifying how these determinants change over time is helpful for understanding post-fire forest successional trajectory. Time series of remote sensing data offer considerable potential in monitoring the trajectory of post-fire vegetation recovery dynamics beyond current field surveys about structural attributes, which generally lack a temporal perspective across large burned areas. We used a time series …

Quantifying The Environmental Performance Of A Stream Habitat Improvement Project, Cody Morse

Master's Theses

River restoration projects are being installed worldwide to rehabilitate degraded river habitat. Many of these projects focus on stream habitat improvement (SHI), and an estimated 60%of the 37,000 projects listed in the National River Restoration Science Synthesis Program focus on SHI for salmon and trout species. These projects frequently lack a sufficient monitoring program or account for the environmental costs associated with SHI. The present study used life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques and topographic effectiveness monitoring to quantify environmental costs on the basis of geomorphic change. This methodology was a novel approach to assessing the cost-benefit relationship of SHI. To …

Assessment Of The Ponderosa Woodlands In Nebraska's Wildcat Hills: Implications For Juniperus Encroachment And Management, Allie Victoria Schiltmeyer

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) is a dominant tree species across western North America. Its eastern distribution includes three populations in western Nebraska. This study assesses the distribution, structure and age of ponderosa pine woodlands in one of those regions, the Wildcat Hills. The Wildcat Hills have escaped severe wildfires seen in recent decades in other ponderosa pine regions. Nevertheless, the Wildcat Hills woodlands face multiple threats including climate change, wildfire, drought, pine beetles, and invasive species. Key to these threats is the stand structure of pine woodlands, which have increased in density across much of ponderosa pine’s range. …

Using Transboundary Wildfire Exposure Assessments To Improve Fire Management Programs: A Case Study In Greece, Palaiologos Palaiologou, Alan A. Ager, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Cody Evers, Kostas Kalabokidis

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Numerous catastrophic wildfires in Greece have demonstrated that relying on fire suppression as the primary risk-management strategy is inadequate and that existing wildfire-risk governance needs to be re-examined. In this research, we used simulation modelling to assess the spatial scale of wildfire exposure to communities and cultural monuments in Chalkidiki, Greece. The study area typifies many areas in Greece in terms of fire regimes, ownership patterns and fire-risk mitigation. Fire-transmission networks were built to quantify connectivity among land tenures and populated places. We found that agricultural and unmanaged wildlands are key land categories that transmit fire exposure to other land …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

New Approaches To Mapping Forest Conditions And Landscape Change From Moderate Resolution Remote Sensing Data Across The Species-Rich And Structurally Diverse Atlantic Northern Forest Of Northeastern North America, Kasey R. Legaard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The sustainable management of forest landscapes requires an understanding of the functional relationships between management practices, changes in landscape conditions, and ecological response. This presents a substantial need of spatial information in support of both applied research and adaptive management. Satellite remote sensing has the potential to address much of this need, but forest conditions and patterns of change remain difficult to synthesize over large areas and long time periods. Compounding this problem is error in forest attribute maps and consequent uncertainty in subsequent analyses. The research described in this document is directed at these long-standing problems.

Chapter 1 demonstrates …

Restoration Of Legacy Trees As Roosting Habitat For Myotis Bats In Eastern North American Forests, Michael J. Lacki

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Most eastern North American Myotis roost in forests during summer, with species forming maternity populations, or colonies, in cavities or crevices or beneath the bark of trees. In winter, these bats hibernate in caves and are experiencing overwinter mortalities due to infection from the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which causes white-nose syndrome (WNS). Population recovery of WNS-affected species is constrained by the ability of survivors to locate habitats suitable for rearing pups in summer. Forests in eastern North America have been severely altered by deforestation, land-use change, fragmentation and inadvertent introduction of exotic insect pests, resulting in shifts in tree …

First-Year Vitality Of Reforestation Plantings In Response To Herbivore Exclusion On Reclaimed Appalachian Surface-Mined Land, Zachary J. Hackworth, John M. Lhotka, John J. Cox, Christopher D. Barton, Matthew T. Springer

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Conventional Appalachian surface-mine reclamation techniques repress natural forest regeneration, and tree plantings are often necessary for reforestation. Reclaimed Appalachian surface mines harbor a suite of mammal herbivores that forage on recently planted seedlings. Anecdotal reports across Appalachia have implicated herbivory in the hindrance and failure of reforestation efforts, yet empirical evaluation of herbivory impacts on planted seedling vitality in this region remains relatively uninitiated. First growing-season survival, height growth, and mammal herbivory damage of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.), and white oak (Quercus alba L.) are presented in response to varying intensities …

Phytophthora Cinnamomi Colonized Reclaimed Surface Mined Sites In Eastern Kentucky: Implications For The Restoration Of Susceptible Species, Kenton L. Sena, Kevin M. Yeager, Tyler J. Dreaden, Christopher D. Barton

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Appalachian forests are threatened by a number of factors, especially introduced pests and pathogens. Among these is Phytophthora cinnamomi, a soil-borne oomycete pathogen known to cause root rot in American chestnut, shortleaf pine, and other native tree species. This study was initiated to characterize the incidence of P. cinnamomi on surface mined lands in eastern Kentucky, USA, representing a range of time since reclamation (10, 12, 15, and 20 years since reclamation). Incidence of P. cinnamomi was correlated to soil properties including overall soil development, as indicated by a variety of measured soil physical and chemical parameters, especially the …

Assessing Transboundary Wildfire Exposure In The Southwestern United States, Alan A. Ager, Palaiologos Palaiologou, Cody Evers, Michelle A. Day, Ana M.G. Barros

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

We assessed transboundary wildfire exposure among federal, state, and private lands and 447 communities in the state of Arizona, southwestern United States. The study quantified the relative magnitude of transboundary (incoming, outgoing) versus nontransboundary (i.e., self-burning) wildfire exposure based on land tenure or community of the simulated ignition and the resulting fire perimeter. We developed and described several new metrics to quantify and map transboundary exposure. We found that incoming transboundary fire accounted for 37% of the total area burned on large parcels of federal and state lands, whereas 63% of the area burned was burned by ignitions within the …

Utilizing Gis To Locate Endangered Gravel Hill Prairies Of The Wabash River Valley, Ryan W.R. Schroeder

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

The Gravel Hill Prairies (GHP’s) of the Wabash River Valley are an endangered ecosystem in the state of Indiana and provide optimal growing conditions for a number of state endangered plants. Currently only four remnants are known to exist near Lafayette, IN, found by a previous study conducted in 1980 by Post, Bacone, and Aldrich (Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, 1984, vol. 94: 457-464). These unique ecosystems have been found to occur almost exclusively on soils classified as Rodman Gravelly Loams and Strawn-Rodman complexes which occur predominantly along the outwash terraces of the Wabash River and its tributaries. …

Using Unmanned Aerial Systems For Deriving Forest Stand Characteristics In Mixed Hardwoods Of West Virginia, Henry Liebermann, Jamie Schuler, Michael P. Strager, Angela K. Hentz, Aaron Maxwell

Journal of Geospatial Applications in Natural Resources

Forest inventory information is a principle driver for forest management decisions. Information gathered through these inventories provides a summary of the condition of forested stands. The method by which remote sensing aids land managers is changing rapidly. Imagery produced from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer high temporal and spatial resolutions to small-scale forest management. UAS imagery is less expensive and easier to coordinate to meet project needs compared to traditional manned aerial imagery. This study focused on producing an efficient and approachable work flow for producing forest stand board volume estimates from UAS imagery in mixed hardwood stands of West …

Accuracy Of Unmanned Aerial System (Drone) Height Measurements, Daniel Unger, I-Kuai Hung, David Kulhavy, Yanli Zhang, Kai Busch-Peterson

Faculty Publications

Vertical height estimates of earth surface features using an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) are important in natural resource management quantitative assessments. An important research question concerns both the accuracy and precision of vertical height estimates acquired with a UAS and to determine if it is necessary to land a UAS between individual height measurements or if GPS derived height versus barometric pressure derived height while using a DJI Phantom 3 would affect height accuracy and precision. To examine this question, height along a telescopic height pole on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) were estimated at 2, …

Effects Of Variable Density Thinning On Spatial Patterns Of Overstory Trees In Mt. Hood National Forest, Emma Huston

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Variable density thinning (VDT) is a method of restoration thinning that attempts to increase ecosystem resilience and spatial heterogeneity in forest stands to more closely resemble mosaic-like patterns characteristic of late-successional forests, which consist of clusters of multiple trees, individual trees, and gaps. This study examines the spatial patterning of overstory trees resulting from VDT of conifer forests in Mt. Hood National Forest in the western Cascade Mountains and compares these patterns with reference conditions. Stem maps were created from field surveys of study plots within one mature stand and six thinned stands designated as Late-Successional Reserve (LSR) with varying …

Two Post-Glacial Sagebrush Steppe Fire Records At The Wildland-Urban Interface, Eastern Cascades, Washington, Dusty Pilkington

All Master's Theses

Recent increases in large fires in the rapidly developing wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas of central Washington, where development intermixes with wildland fuels, contribute to federal firefighting costs exceeding of $1 billion annually. In addition, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion and anthropogenic-caused warming shorten fire return intervals while lengthening fire seasons. These climatic, ecological, economic, and social factors combine with fuel accumulation resulting from historic fire suppression to threaten lives and property in the WUI. To plan for safe growth in WUI areas, long-term fire histories are needed to expand understanding of past fire regimes in an understudied ecosystem, sagebrush …

Assessing Spatio-Temporal Patterns Of Forest Decline Across A Diverse Landscape In The Klamath Mountains Using A 28-Year Landsat Time-Series Analysis, Drew S. Bost

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Rates of tree mortality in California and the Pacific Northwest have greatly increased in recent years, driven largely by pest and pathogen outbreaks as well as the effects of hotter, warmer droughts. While there have been a multitude of regional-scale assessments of mortality and forest decline, landscape-level studies are necessary to better identify forests that are most vulnerable to decline and to anticipate future changes. This need is particularly notable in the remote and little-studied mountains of northwest California, which are renowned for their diverse, heterogeneous vegetation types. A recent observation of elevated levels of Shasta red fir (Abies …

The Infrastructure-Extractives-Resource Governance Complex In The Pan-Amazon: Roll Backs And Contestations, Denise Bebbington, Ricardo Verdum, Cesar Gamboa, Anthony J. Bebbington

Geography

Large-scale access and energy infrastructure projects, together with expanding investments in natural resource extraction, pose significant challenges to biodiversity conservation, forest cover, and the defence of forest peoples' rights and livelihoods across the wider Amazon region. Following a period in which safeguards and forest dwellers' territorial rights were strengthened under more permissive political opportunity structures, the current period has been characterized by efforts to weaken these protections and to facilitate large-scale private investment in previously protected lands. We describe these investment-based threats to forests and rights, and the nature of regulatory rollbacks in the region. We then discuss some of …