Forest Sciences Commons^™

Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2007 And Revised Estimates For 2006, Nathan Kemper, Jennie Popp, Wayne Miller

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

This report is the fourth in a series of reports examining agriculture’s economic contribution on the Arkansas economy. Utilizing data from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, USDA Economics Research Service, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, and Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc., the economic contribution of agriculture on the Arkansas economy was estimated for the most recent year available, 2007. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by State information for Arkansas was compared with those of other states in the southeast U.S. to give a measure of the relative importance of agriculture in Arkansas. The total economic contribution of agriculture (direct, indirect, …

Improving Productivity In Mixed-Species Plantations, Mila Bristow, J Doland Nichols, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Mixed species plantations are often promoted as being environmentally preferable to monocultures, but are rarely considered operationally viable by commercial forest growers. Despite many publications documenting benefits demonstrated in research studies (e.g., Kelty 2006; Forrester et al. 2006b; Wood and Vanclay 1995), and despite continuing calls from a wide range of advocates for mixed-species plantations, polyculture remains the exception rather than the rule in industrial plantation forestry (Nichols et al 2006)...

Mixed-Species Plantation Of Eucalyptus With Nitrogen Fixing Trees: A Review, David I. Forrester, Jürgen Bauhus, Annette L. Cowie, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Mixed-species plantations of Eucalyptus with a nitrogen (N2) fixing species have the potential to increase productivity while maintaining soil fertility, compared to Eucalyptus monocultures. However, it is difficult to predict combinations of species and sites that will lead to these benefits. We review the processes and interactions occurring in mixed plantations, and the influence of species or site attributes, to aid the selection of successful combinations of species and sites. Successful mixtures, where productivity is increased over that of monocultures, have often developed stratified canopies, such that the less shade-tolerant species overtops the more shade-tolerant species. Successful mixtures also have …

Illumination-Size Relationships Of 109 Coexisting Tropical Forest Tree Species, Douglas Sheil, Agus Salim, Jérôme Chave, Jerome K. Vanclay, William D. Hawthorne

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Summary 1 Competition for light is a central issue in ecological questions concerning forest tree differentiation and diversity. Here, using 213 106 individual stem records derived from a national survey in Ghana, West Africa, we examine the relationship between relative crown exposure, ontogeny and phylogeny for 109 canopy species. 2 We use a generalized linear model (GLM) framework to allow interspecific comparisons of crown exposure that control for stem-size. For each species, a multinomial response model is used to describe the probabilities of the relative canopy illumination classes as a function of stem diameter. 3 In general, and for all …

Social And Ecological Issues For Private Native Forestry In North-Eastern New South Wales, Australia, V Alex Jay, J Doland Nichols, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Forests in north-eastern New South Wales have often been the focus of controversy. The tension between production and preservation continues and hampers current negotiations for a code of practice for private native forestry. The structure of many private forests reflects past mismanagement and silvicultural intervention would benefit both conservation and production objectives, but such intervention is rarely financially viable. This paper sets out the economic and ecological basis for private native forestry. Both the timber industry and nature-based tourism are major contributors to the local economy, and both rely in part on private native forests. Draft regulations currently under negotiation …

Growth And Species Interactions Of Eucalyptus Pellita In A Mixed And Monoculture Plantation In The Humid Tropics Of North Queensland, Mila Bristow, Jerome K. Vanclay, Lyndon O. Brooks, Mark Hunt

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

This study investigated whether mixed-species designs can increase the growth of a tropical eucalypt when compared to monocultures. Monocultures of Eucalyptus pellita (E) and Acacia peregrina (A) and mixtures in various proportions (75E:25A, 50E:50A, 25E:75A) were planted in a replacement series design on the Atherton Tablelands of north Queensland, Australia. High mortality in the establishment phase due to repeated damage by tropical cyclones altered the trial design. Effects of experimental designs on tree growth were estimated using a linear mixed effects model with restricted maximum likelihood analysis (REML). Volume growth of individual eucalypt trees were positively affected by the presence …

Community Attitudes Towards Private Native Forestry In New South Wales, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

An on-line survey during August-September 2006 examined community attitudes toward private native forestry. Survey findings (n=156) confirmed prior hypotheses that attitudes would correlate with associations (e.g., professionals in favour of incentives, farmers in favour of freedom to manage, conservationists in favour of regulations), and with interest (biodiversity enthusiasts in favour of regulations; producers in favour of incentives), but refuted the prior hypotheses that urban dwellers would be more likely to favour regulations. Respondents appear to reflect different constituencies with divergent views without a shared understanding of the condition and dynamics of these forests. This indicates the need for more extension …

Regeneration Changes In Tree Species Abundance Diversity And Structure In Logged And Unlogged Subtropical Rainforest Over A 36-Year Period, Maina Kariuki, Robert M. Kooyman, R Geoff B. Smith, Grant Wardell-Johnson, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

The long-term effects of logging treatments on rainforest regeneration are difficult to quantify due to compounding interactions with natural dynamics, site characteristics and tree species. The aim of this study was to examine regeneration differences over a 36-year period in stands subjected to various levels of disturbance ranging from natural, through an increasing intensity of individual tree removal to intensive logging. Multivariate and univariate analyses of trees ¡Ý 10 cm diameter at 1.3 m above the ground (dbh) showed that regeneration responses were generally correlated with disturbance gradient. In the undisturbed controls there were gradual changes that had no significant …

Realising Opportunities In Forest Growth Modelling, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

The world is continually changing: the emergence of new technology and new demands for pertinent information pose new challenges and possibilities for forest management. Are forest growth models keeping up with client needs? To remain relevant, modelers need to anticipate client needs, gauge the data needed to satisfy these demands, develop the tools to collect and analyze these data efficiently, and resolve how best to deliver the resulting models and other findings. Researchers and managers should jointly identify and articulate anticipated needs for the future, and initiate action to satisfy them. New technology that offers potential for innovation in forest …

Spatially-Explicit Competition Indices And The Analysis Of Mixed-Species Plantings With The Simile Modelling Environment, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Individual-based modelling and analysis of forest experiments has been made more accessible to researchers with the advent of modelling environments like Simile from www.simulistics.com. Individual-based analyses of tree growth data offer insights not possible with plot-based analyses, especially when the original experimental design has been compromised by mortality or other unforeseen events. The paper illustrates how Simile can be used for individual-based analyses of mixed plantings, and how it can be used to explore the consequences of the resulting statistical models. A mixed-species planting of Eucalyptus pellita and Acacia peregrina is used to illustrate possibilities.

Structure And Floristic Composition Of Flood Plain Forests In The Peruvian Amazon, Ii. The Understorey Of Restinga Forests, Gustav Nebel, Jens Dragsted, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Structure and floristic composition of small trees and shrubs (1.5 m height to 10 cm diameter at breast height was described in two flood plain forests of the lower Ucayali river, Peruvian Amazon. The forests were of the high and low restinga type, on an annual average flooded around 1 and 2 months, respectively. The soils were nutrient rich entisols, and the vegetation forms closed high canopy forests with presence of emergents. A total of 25 permanent sample plots covering 0.64 ha were established. They were nested within six quadratic 1 ha permanent sample plots where large individuals (>10 …

Sustainable Forestry In The Tropics: Panacea Or Folly?, David W. Pearce, Francis E. Putz, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

The profitability of uncontrolled logging can be a significant obstacle to sustainable forest management, especially in the tropics. Rice et al. (1997) have argued that not only does traditional selective logging provide higher returns but also incurs less damage to forests than sustainable forest management systems that involve harvesting of many species and the creation of large gaps in the forest canopy to foster regeneration of light-demanding species. They claimed that protected areas were the only viable way to conserve forest ecosystems and proposed that loggers be allowed to log forests selectively once, after which the forests should become parks. …

Forest Dynamics In Flood Plain Forests In The Peruvian Amazon: Effects Of Disturbance And Implications For Management, Gustav Nebel, Lars Peter Kvist, Jerome K. Vanclay, Hector Vidaurre

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Forest dynamics were studied from 1993 to 1997 for individuals > 10 cm DBH in nine 1 ha permanent sample plots. They were established in natural flood plain forests located on the lower Ucayali river in the Peruvian Amazon. After inventories of three plots in each of three forest types, a light and a heavy felling treatment were applied to each of the two plots, while a third plot was kept untreated. Average annual stem mortality and recruitment rates in the untreated plots were among the highest observed in neotropical rain forests: mortality 2.2-3.2% per year, recruitment 3.0-4.6% per year. Dead …

Experiment Designs To Evaluate Inter- And Intra-Specific Interactions In Mixed Plantings Of Forest Trees, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

A review of three mixed-species trials reveals the utility of competition indices for evaluating inter- and intra-specific interactions between trees, the desirability of experiments that span a range of tree spacing and composition to inform calibration of these competition indices, the need for extremes of species composition and stand density to calibrate response surfaces, and the far-reaching impact of edge-effects. Experiment layouts commonly used for mixed-species trials in forestry (such as replacement series) rarely provide a strong basis to calibrate competition indices and response surfaces. Alternative designs involving systematic changes in species composition may offer a better basis for calibrating …

How To Foster Good Husbandry Of Private Native Forests, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

It is generally agreed that effective conservation requires the cooperation of private landholders to complement reserve-based efforts, but there is little agreement about how this can best be achieved. Various stakeholders lobby for tough regulations, for greater landholder freedom, and for incentives for activities or outcomes. A review of these alternatives suggests an emerging consensus that incentives are the most effective approach. Policy-makers should consider incentive-based approaches such as stewardship support to foster conservation outcomes on private lands.

A Long And Winding Road: The Regulation Of Private Native Forestry In New South Wales, Australia, Jerome K. Vanclay, J Doland Nichols

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

This special issue of Small-Scale Forestry is concerned with private native forestry (PNF) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Private native forests comprise indigenous species in a semi-natural formation on privately owned land. Such forests are usually uneven-aged, and regenerated naturally rather than by sowing or planting. These forests are of major conservation and commercial importance in NSW, covering 8 M ha and comprising one-third of all native forest in the state (Thompson 2007). The management and harvesting of these forests is known as PNF, and has been the focus of public attention for several years, as the desirability and …

Aspen In Scotland: Biodiversity And Management, John Parrott, Neil Mackenzie

Aspen Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Mojave Applied Ecology Notes Fall 2009, Tom Monaco, Scott R. Abella, Amber Lee, James E. Deacon

Mojave Applied Ecology Notes

USDA working to manage invasive annual grasses, effects of heat and smoke on red brome soil seed bank, how burial depth and substrate affect germination of Sahara mustard and red brome, environmental effects of the southern Nevada groundwater project

W228 Wood Products Information - Test Of A Sodium Carbonate-Based Mold Control Spray On Wood, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

The sodium carbonate-based solution that we tested did not provide good mold inhibition in a severe, standardized test.

Eliminating the warm, wet conditions that lead to mold remains the best option for preventing the growth on mold on wood.

Influence Of Silvicultural Treatment, Site Characteristics, And Land Use History On Native And Nonnative Forest Understory Plant Composition On The Penobscot Experimental Forest In Maine, Elizabeth Bryce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates forest understory plant diversity and composition in managed and unmanaged stands within the context of a long-term silvicultural experiment in the Acadian Forest of Maine. I examined the effects of silvicultural intensity and past land use on understory plant species diversity and composition. Silvicultural treatments include three variants of the selection system, three variants of the shelterwood system, modified and fixed diameter-limit cutting, and an unregulated harvest. Two types of unmanaged stands were studied: a continuously forested natural area and secondary forest stands on old fields. Chapter 1 presents analysis of understory plant diversity and composition in …

Seedlings’ Substrate Preferences In A Minnesota Old Growth Thuja-Betula Forest, Stephen C. Rossiter

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

Northeastern Minnesota’s logging history has altered the forests enough to cause concern about the reproduction of Thuja occidentalis and Betula alleghaniensis. I studied a rare old growth example of an already rare mesic Thuja-Betula forest and asked how well those species were regenerating in that mostly unaltered ecosystem. In managed forests, a lack of suitable substrate is thought to be limiting their seedling establishment so I asked which substrates the seedlings preferred in the old forest. To answer both questions, I measured the seedling densities of all canopy tree species across height classes and substrate types within twenty 100m2 plots. …

Changes In Producer Attitudes Towards Windbreaks In Eastern Nebraska, 1983 To 2009, Kim Tomczak

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract Windbreaks are rows of trees or shrubs arranged on the landscape to reduce wind speed. In agricultural landscapes we find them as farmstead windbreaks, livestock windbreaks and field windbreaks. While farmstead and livestock windbreaks are well accepted by the agricultural community, field windbreaks are often viewed differently. A 1982 study of the attitudes of farmers in Eastern Nebraska indicated that many of the producers were around the age of 50 and that they used different types of windbreaks. This study repeated that survey in the same. When compared to data from 1982, farmers today are not educated about the …

Evaluating Hazelnut Cultivars For Yield, Quality And Disease Resistance, Sam Tobin

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

ABSTRACT This long term study focuses on testing various hazelnut cultivars for yield, nut quality and disease resistance. There are various cultivars that are being tested for these desired traits but only the Grand Traverse and Skinner will be applicable for the results of this localized study. The desired traits of commercial nut production are best matched by these two cultivars. Results from previous harvests will be used to draw trends to recommend commercially functional cultivars in Eastern Nebraska.

Evolution Of Genome Size And Complexity In Pinus., Alison M. Morse, Daniel G. Peterson, M. Nurul Islam-Faridi, Katherine E. Smith, Zenaida V. Magbanua, Saul A. Garcia, Thomas L. Kubisiak, Henry V. Amerson, John E. Carlson, C. Dana Nelson, John M. Davis

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Publications and Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Genome evolution in the gymnosperm lineage of seed plants has given rise to many of the most complex and largest plant genomes, however the elements involved are poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Gymny is a previously undescribed retrotransposon family in Pinus that is related to Athila elements in Arabidopsis. Gymny elements are dispersed throughout the modern Pinus genome and occupy a physical space at least the size of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome. In contrast to previously described retroelements in Pinus, the Gymny family was amplified or introduced after the divergence of pine and spruce (Picea). If retrotransposon expansions are responsible …

Volume 6, Number 1 (2009), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• Innovations in Learning

Volume 6, Number 2 (2009), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• Developing Safer Sports Turfs

Curing Nature-Deficit Disorder: How Environmental Education Helps Kids Learn, Jamie Leigh Langley

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Walk into any public school and talk with the children about their experiences in nature and you will begin to see a pattern. Children have made few connections with the world around them. They do not spend much time outdoors and the time they do spend outdoors is not spent interacting directly with nature. Why does this matter? Look at these same kids and you will see another pattern emerging: Attention-Deficit Disorder, depression, obesity, emotional problems, etc. While not all of these problems are directly caused by a lack of interaction with the natural world, current research shows that there …

Population And Harvest Trends Of Big Game And Small Game Species, Curtis H. Flather, Michael S. Knowles, Stephen J. Brady

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

This technical document supports the Forest Service’s requirement to assess the status of renewable natural resources as mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA). It updates past reports on national and regional trends in population and harvest estimates for species classified as big game and small game. The trends reported here were derived from State Wildlife Agency biologists and supplemented with data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey for those bird species that are commonly sought by upland game hunters. Big game populations and harvests have generally increased over the 1975-2000 period. Small …

Species Vs. Height As Predictors Of Increased Growth Rate In New England Canopy Trees, Kiely Schultz

Honors Projects

As part of a larger study on the effect of an experimentally-created gap within a forest on adult canopy trees, focuses on the possible effect of tree height versus type of species on radial growth response to gap creation. Sample includes fifty trees within four transects next to a gap in the Yale-Myers Experimental Forest in Connecticut, with results showing that type of species affects radial growth response.

Matrix Geochemistry And Phytophthora Occurrence On Reforested Mine Lands In Appalachia, Kathryn M. Ward

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

At the Bent Mountain surface mine, Pike County, Kentucky, a study has been ongoing since 2005 to assess the influence of various types of loose-graded mine spoils on water quality and forest establishment. Six research plots consist of two replicates of brown weathered sandstone, gray unweathered sandstone, and mixed brown sandstone, gray sandstone, and shale that were emplaced according to Forestry Reclamation Approach criteria. A series of analyses was initiated in 2007 to examine influence of spoil matrix composition on sulfate and carbonate geochemistry of infiltrated waters, as well as to investigate the occurrence of Phytophthora, a group of …