Forest Sciences Commons^™

Linking Remote Sensing And Various Site Factors For Predicting The Spatial Distribution Of Eastern Hemlock Occurrence And Relative Basal Area In Maine, Usa, Kathleen Dunckel, Aaron Weiskittel, Greg Fiske, Steven A. Sader, Erika Latty, Amy Arnett

Publications

Introduced invasive pests are perhaps the most important and persistent catalyst for changes in forest composition. Infestation and outbreak of the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae; HWA) along the eastern coast of the USA, has led to widespread loss of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.), and a shift in tree species composition toward hardwood stands. Developing an understanding of the geographic distribution of individual species can inform conservation practices that seek to maintain functional capabilities of ecosystems. Modeling is necessary for understanding changes in forest composition, and subsequent changes in biodiversity, and one that can be implemented at the species …

The Dandy Scroll, Fall 2015, University Of Maine Pulp And Paper Foundation

General University of Maine Publications

The Fall 2015 issue of The Dandy Scroll newsletter produced by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation.

Implementing Complex Partial Harvests In Central Maine: Is Tree Marking Necessary?, Sam Grimm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent trends in forest management regimes seek to strike a balance between a multitude of ecologic and economic values at multiple scales. Whether the objectives are traditional (timber production), or contemporary (ecological sustainability), the fundamental, practical question of “how” the forester implements a silvicultural prescription remains relatively unaddressed by research. Forest managers must consider: what good are carefully designed landscape plans and stand-level prescriptions if the treatments are not executed accurately? In northeastern North America, tree marking -- the simple designation of cut or leave trees to implement a given silvicultural prescription -- has declined, in favor of reliance on …

Forest Harvesting Productivity And Cost In Maine: New Tools And Processes, Patrick Hiesl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Computer simulations have been used in forestry and forest operations since around 1960. In many cases such simulations can be used to answer questions that would be time consuming and expensive to investigate in a real-life environment. This dissertation focuses on the use of computer simulation in forest operations to answer questions regarding the profitability of technological advancements, investments in precommercial thinning (PCT), and the use of different harvesting systems. To explore the benefits of decoupling a harvesting system, a new simulation method, called agent based modeling was used. Agent based modeling is primarily used in social sciences but now …

Survival And Growth Of Reserve Trees In An Expanding-Gap Silvicultural System 20 Years After Establishment, David R. Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Land managers today are increasingly called upon to retain and restore late-successional features on harvested landscapes in order to reverse the current global decline of large, old trees and their associated elevated levels of biodiversity and ecosystem function. Such retention practices are commonly thought to result in increased rates of mortality as a result of exposure to wind, thus compromising management objectives. This study investigated the survival and growth dynamics of the reserve trees retained in harvested gaps (n=787) established 20 years prior in the Acadian Forest Ecosystem Research Project (AFERP) in east-central Maine.

A high (relative to similar treatments …

Individual Tree Measurements From Three-Dimensional Point Clouds, Elias Ayrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study develops and tests novel methodologies for measuring the attributes of individual trees from three-dimensional point clouds generated from an aerial platform. Recently, advancements in technology have allowed for the acquisition of very high resolution three-dimensional point clouds that can be used to map the forest in a virtual environment. These point clouds can be interpreted to produce valuable forest attributes across entire landscapes with minimal field labor, which can then aid forest managers in their planning and decision making.

Biometrics derived from point clouds are often generated on a plot level, with estimates spanning many meters (rather than …

The Relationship Between The Winter Moth (Operophtera Brumata) And Its Host Plants In Coastal Maine, Kaitlyn M. O'Donnell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project examines the recent outbreak of the invasive winter moth (Operophtera brumata) in mid-coast Maine. The winter moth was introduced into New England in the late 1990’s and low densities of winter moth were detected with pheromone traps throughout the Maine coast in 2006. Severe defoliation occurred for the first time in Maine in the spring of 2012 in Harpswell and Vinalhaven, ME. This pest attacks an extremely broad range of host plants, including forest hardwood trees and agricultural crops such as highbush blueberry and apple. The objectives of this study are to examine the differential development …

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 …

Seasonal Influences On Habitat Use By Snowshoe Hares: Implications For Canada Lynx In Northern Maine, Sheryn J. Olson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) respond to seasonal changes in vegetation in the northern and western portions of their range. During winter, hares use dense conifer stands that may provide thermal and predatory refugia, then during summer move to areas with more herbaceous food and cover. These movements influence hare demographics, with greater survival rates corresponding to seasonal use of dense, primarily coniferous stands. Different harvesting practices in commercial forests produce vegetative communities that may support differing hare densities among forest stand- types between seasons, but seasonal use of habitat had not been documented in northern Maine on a large spatial …

University Of Maine Proposal For Joining The Nsf Center For Advanced Forestry Systems, Robert G. Wagner, Aaron R. Weiskittel

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

University of Maine (UM) is planning to join the existing multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) entitled "The Center for Advanced Forestry Systems" (CAFS) which was established in 2007 with four member institutions: North Carolina State University (lead university), Oregon State University, Purdue University and Virginia Tech. The primary focus of the proposed research site within CAFS will be modeling the productivity of managed natural forests. This research focus will be addressed at multiple scales ranging from the individual tree to the regional forest. UM has a long history of applied research in the management of naturally regenerated forests as …

The Dandy Scroll, Spring 2015, University Of Maine Pulp And Paper Foundation

General University of Maine Publications

The Spring 2015 issue of The Dandy Scroll newsletter produced by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation.

Extent And Severity Of Caliciopsis Canker In New England, Usa: An Emerging Disease Of Eastern White Pine (Pinus Strobus L.), Isabel A. Munck, William Livingston, Kyle Lombaerd, Thomas Luther, William D. Ostrofsky, Stephen Wyka, Kirk Broders, Jennifer Weimer

Forest Resources Faculty Scholarship

Caliciopsis canker is an emerging problem in Pinus growing regions of Eastern North America. The fungal disease caused by Caliciopsis pinea is associated with overstocked stands and poor sites, but few quantitative data are available. The objective of this study, therefore, was to assess the extent and severity of Caliciopsis canker and to explore environmental variables associated with disease to identify areas at risk of damage. During 2014, 58 sites across New England with >75% P. strobus basal area in public lands were surveyed. Most sites (72%) had Caliciopsis canker signs or symptoms. Caliciopsis pinea was successfully identified with molecular …