Forest Biology Commons^™

Impacts Of Repeated Wildfire On Vegetation In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Thomas A. Waldrop, Donald L. Hagan, Matthew Reilly

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The infrequent occurrence of large wildfires in the southern Appalachian Mountains over the last several decades has offered few opportunities to study the impacts of these types of disturbances. As a result, relatively little is known about how heterogeneity in topography, vegetation, and recent disturbance history interact to influence patterns of fire severity across the landscape. Since 2000, five separate wildfires burned a large portion of the area in, and surrounding the Linville Gorge Wilderness in western North Carolina, two burned the same area a second time. Burn severity and vegetative recovery were measured in 152 plots established in 1992 …

Timber Talk, Vol. 51, No. 2, June 1, 2013

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber Market News; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried; Nebraska Timber Industry 2009; Global Timber and Wood Products Market Update; Drying Methods For Small Operators; Nebraska Forestry Spotlight; The Trading Post; Timber Sales.

Factors Influencing The Establishment And Survival Of Native Hardwood Tree Seedlings Of The Kentucky Inner Bluegrass Blue Ash-Oak Savanna-Woodland, James D. Shaffer

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Historically, the Kentucky Inner Bluegrass blue ash-oak savanna-woodland was the primary ecosystem of the Inner Bluegrass Region (IBR) of Kentucky. After European settlement, the majority (>99%) of Bluegrass savanna was converted to agricultural and urban land uses. Currently remnant savanna tree species are failing to recruit. Therefore, a long-term restoration ecology project researching competition and disturbance on seedling establishment, survival, and growth has been established at Griffith Woods (the largest remaining savanna in Kentucky) in Harrison Co., KY. Fourteen native hardwood tree species (a total of 6,168 seedlings) have been experimentally planted. Light, soil, surrounding vegetation, and herbivory, factors …

Carbon Storage And Sequestration By Trees In Urban And Community Areas Of The United States, David J. Nowak, Eric J. Greenfield, Robert E. Hoehn, Elizabeth Lapoint

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

Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States was quantified to assess the magnitude and role of urban forests in relation to climate change. Urban tree field data from 28 cities and 6 states were used to determine the average carbon density per unit of tree cover. These data were applied to statewide urban tree cover measurements to determine total urban forest carbon storage and annual sequestration by state and nationally. Urban whole tree carbon storage densities average 7.69 kg C m^‒2 of tree cover and sequestration densities average 0.28 kg C m^‒2 of tree …

Forest Recovery Patterns In Response To Divergent Disturbance Regimes In The Border Lakes Region Of Minnesota (Usa) And Ontario (Canada), Brian R. Sturtevant, Brian R. Miranda, Peter T. Wolter, Patrick M.A. James, Marie-Josée Fortin, Philip A. Townsend

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

The persistence of landscape-scale disturbance legacies in forested ecosystems depends in part on the nature and strength of feedback among disturbances, their effects, and subsequent recovery processes such as tree regeneration and canopy closure. We investigated factors affecting forest recovery rates over a 25-year time period in a large (6 million ha) landscape where geopolitical boundaries have resulted in important land management legacies (managed forests of Minnesota, USA; managed forests of Ontario, Canada; and a large unmanaged wilderness). Stand-replacing disturbance regimes were quantified across management zones, both inside and outside a central ecoregion, using a time series of classified land …

A Wildfire Risk Assessment Framework For Land And Resource Management, Joe H. Scott, Matthew P. Thompson, David E. Calkin

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

Wildfires can result in significant, long-lasting impacts to ecological, social, and economic systems. It is necessary, therefore, to identify and understand the risks posed by wildland fire, and to develop cost-effective mitigation strategies accordingly. This report presents a general framework with which to assess wildfire risk and explore mitigation options, and illustrates a process for implementing the framework. Two key strengths of the framework are its flexibility— allowing for a multitude of data sources, modeling techniques, and approaches to measuring risk—and its scalability, with potential application for project, forest, regional, and national planning. The specific risk assessment process we introduce …

Integrating Biodiversity And Drinking Water Protection Goals Through Geographic Analysis, James D. Wickham, Curtis H. Flather

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

Aim Biodiversity and drinking water share a common interest in land conservation. Our objective was to identify where that common interest occurs geographically to inform conservation planning.

Location The study focused on 2112 eight-digit hydrologic units (watersheds) occurring in the conterminous United States.

Methods Data on aquatic-dependent species occurrence, drinking water intakes, protected land status and land cover change were compiled for each watershed. We compared these four datasets after defining ‘hotspots’ based on attribute-specific thresholds that included (1) the 90th percentile of at-risk aquatic biodiversity, (2) with and without drinking water intakes, (3) above and below the median percentage …

Wildlife Population And Harvest Trends In The United States A Technical Document Supporting The Forest Service 2010 Rpa Assessment, Curtis H. Flather, Michael S. Knowles, Martin F. Jones, Carol Schilli

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

The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974 requires periodic assessments of the condition and trends of the nation’s renewable natural resources. Data from many sources were used to document recent historical trends in big game, small game, migratory game birds, furbearers, nongame, and imperiled species. Big game and waterfowl have generally increased in population and harvest trends. Many small upland and webless migratory game bird species have declined notably in population or harvest. Considerable declines in fur harvest since the 2000 RPA Assessment have occurred. Among the 426 breeding bird species with sufficient data to estimate …

The Influence Of Vertical And Horizontal Habitat Structure On Nationwide Patterns Of Avian Biodiversity, Patrick D. Culbert, Volker C. Radeloff, Curtis H. Flather, Josef M. Kellndorfer, Chadwick D. Rittenhouse, Anna M. Pidgeon

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

With limited resources for habitat conservation, the accurate identification of high-value avian habitat is crucial. Habitat structure affects avian biodiversity but is difficult to quantify over broad extents. Our goal was to identify which measures of vertical and horizontal habitat structure are most strongly related to patterns of avian biodiversity across the conterminous United States and to determine whether new measures of vertical structure are complementary to existing, primarily horizontal, measures. For 2,546 North American Breeding Bird Survey routes across the conterminous United States, we calculated canopy height and biomass from the National Biomass and Carbon Dataset (NBCD) as measures …

Keeping It Wild: Mapping Wilderness Character In The United States, Steve Carver, James Tricker, Peter Landres

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

A GIS-based approach is developed to identify the state of wilderness character in US wilderness areas using Death Valley National Park (DEVA) as a case study. A set of indicators and measures are identified by DEVA staff and used as the basis for developing a flexible and broadly applicable framework to map wilderness character using data inputs selected by park staff. Spatial data and GIS methods are used to map the condition of four qualities of wilderness character: natural, untrammelled, undeveloped, and solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation. These four qualities are derived from the US 1964 Wilderness Act and …

Smoke Science Plan: The Path Forward, Elise Lequire, Molly Hunter

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Wildland fire managers face increasingly steep challenges to meet air quality standards while planning prescribed fire and its inevitable smoke emissions. The goals of sound fire management practices, including fuel load reduction through prescribed burning, are often challenged by the need to minimize smoke impacts on communities. Wildfires, of course, also produce smoke, so managers must constantly weigh the benefits and risks of controlled burns and their generated emissions against potential wildfires and their generated emissions and must communicate those benefits and risks to the public. Moreover, research on and the modeling of smoke emissions from fire is a rapidly …

A Reexamination Of The Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus Collaris Collaris) In Arkansas, Ashley A. Grimsley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Loss of suitable habitat is a threat to species worldwide. Habitat destruction, including loss, change, and fragmentation of habitat, is the leading cause of species extinction. Eastern collared lizards (Crotaphytus collaris collaris) are habitat specialists on glades. Both C. c. collaris and glade habitats are rare and of special concern in the state of Arkansas. Many glade populations have already been extirpated in the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri. Increasing knowledge of the distribution, habitat structure, and population dynamics of C. c. collaris is important to ensure the survival of this species in Arkansas.

A literature review of …

Herbaceous 2012 (June 3), Amy L. Myers, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Herbaceous vegetation data collected in 2012 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Herbaceous 2012 (May 19), Amy L. Myers, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Herbaceous vegetation data collected in 2012 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Herbaceous 2012 (May 5), Amy L. Myers, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Herbaceous vegetation data collected in 2012 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Sub-Pixel Classification Of Forest Cover Types In East Texas, Joey Westbrook, I-Kuai Hung, Daniel Unger, Yanli Zhang

Faculty Publications

Sub-pixel classification is the extraction of information about the proportion of individual materials of interest within a pixel. Landcover classification at the sub-pixel scale provides more discrimination than traditional per-pixel multispectral classifiers for pixels where the material of interest is mixed with other materials. It allows for the un-mixing of pixels to show the proportion of each material of interest. The materials of interest for this study are pine, hardwood, mixed forest and non-forest. The goal of this project was to perform a sub-pixel classification, which allows a pixel to have multiple labels, and compare the result to a traditional …

Cheating Cheatgrass: New Research To Combat A Wily Invasive Weed, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Cheatgrass and its cousin, red brome, are exotic annual grasses that have invaded and altered ecosystem dynamics in more than 41 million acres of desert shrublands between the Rockies and the Cascade-Sierra chain. A fungus naturally associated with these Bromus species has been found lethal to the plants’ soil-banked dormant seeds. Supported by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), researchers Susan Meyer, Phil Allen, and Julie Beckstead cultured this fungus, Pyrenophora semeniperda, in the laboratory and developed an experimental field application that, in some trials, killed all the dormant soil-banked Bromus seeds, leaving none to germinate the following year. The …

Herbaceous 2012 (April 21), Amy L. Myers, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Herbaceous vegetation data collected in 2012 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Herbaceous 2012 (April 9), Amy L. Myers, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Herbaceous vegetation data collected in 2012 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Herbaceous 2012 (March 25), Amy L. Myers, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Herbaceous vegetation data collected in 2012 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Bark Beetles And Fire: Two Forces Of Nature Transforming Western Forests, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Bark beetles are chewing a wide swath through forests across North America. Over the past few years, infestations have become epidemic in lodgepole and spruce-fir forests of the Intermountain West. The resulting extensive acreages of dead trees are alarming the public and raising concern about risk of severe fire. Researchers supported by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) are examining the complicated relationship between bark beetles and wildfire, the two most influential natural disturbance agents in these forests. Are the beetles setting the stage for larger, more severe wildfires? And are fires bringing on beetle epidemics? Contrary to popular opinion, …

Predicting Dry Lightning Risk Nationwide, Joy Drohan

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Meteorologists developed two formulas to predict the probability of dry lightning throughout the continental United States and Alaska and parts of Canada. Predictions are made daily and are accessible through the web at http://www.airfire.org/tools/daily-fire-weather/dry-lightning-probability. The emphasis is on the western United States, where dry lightning is a more common occurrence. Predictions are based on identifying days on which lightning is expected and separately determining whether there is likely to be at least 1/10th inch of accompanying rain. The formulas are run with the latest North American or Alaskan weather forecasting model and forecast dry lightning probabilities for about three days …

Timber Talk, Vol. 50, No. 2, June 1, 2012

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber Market News; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried.; Air Drying Lumber; Chiggers-More Than You Ever Wanted To Know!; Nebraska Forestry Spotlight; The Trading Post; Timber Sales.

Climate Change On The Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming: A Synthesis Of Past Climate, Climate Projections, And Ecosystem Implications, Janine Rice, Andrew Tredennick, Linda A. Joyce

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

The Shoshone National Forest (Shoshone) covers 2.4 million acres of mountainous topography in northwest Wyoming and is a vital ecosystem that provides clean water, wildlife habitat, timber, grazing, recreational opportunities, and aesthetic value. The Shoshone has experienced and adapted to changes in climate for many millennia, and is currently experiencing a warming trend that is expected to accelerate in the next century. Climate change directly and indirectly affects the Shoshone’s high-elevation, mountainous terrain that supports unique and sometimes rare ecological components. Several vulnerable and very responsive resources and processes on the Shoshone could interact to produce unforeseeable or undesirable ecosystem …

Wildlife-Associated Recreation Trends In The United States A Technical Document Supporting The Forest Service 2010 Rpa Assessment, Miranda H. Mockrin, Richard A. Aiken, Curtis H. Flather

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

The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974 requires periodic assessments of the condition and trends of the Nation’s renewable natural resources. In this report, we document recent and historical trends in hunting and wildlife watching to fulfill RPA requirements. Using data from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation we present historical trends back to 1955 as well as recent changes from the past 10 to 20 years to evaluate changes in recreation since the 2000 RPA Assessment. We report on several attributes of wildlife …

Changing The Way We Address Change, Richard Straight

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

Covers factors impacting private forest management in the United States, and other related issues.

Assessment Of Windbreak Condition And Indicators To Renovate, Steve Rasmussen

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

A presentation covering assessment of windbreak condition and indicators to renovate.

Terrestrial Biosphere Models Need Better Representation Of Vegetation Phenology: Results From The North American Carbon Program Site Synthesis, Andrew D. Richardson, Ryan S. Anderson, M. Altaf Arain, Alan G. Barr, G. Bohrer, Guangsheng Chen, Jing M. Chen, Philippe Ciais, Kenneth J. Davis, Ankur R. Desai, Michael C. Dietze, Danilo Dragoni, Steven R. Garrity, Christopher M. Gough, Robert Grant, David Y. Hollinger, Hank A. Margolis, Harry Mccaughey, Mirco Migliavacca, Russell K. Monson, J. William Munger, Benjamin Poulter, Brett M. Raczka, Daniel M. Ricciuto, Alok K. Sahoo, Kevin Schaefer, Hanqin Tian, Rodrigo Vargas, Hans Verbeeck, Jingfeng Xiao, Yongkang Xue

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

Phenology, by controlling the seasonal activity of vegetation on the land surface, plays a fundamental role in regulating photosynthesis and other ecosystem processes, as well as competitive interactions and feedbacks to the climate system. We conducted an analysis to evaluate the representation of phenology, and the associated seasonality of ecosystem- scale CO₂ exchange, in 14 models participating in the North American Carbon Program Site Synthesis. Model predictions were evaluated using long-term measurements (emphasizing the period 2000–2006) from 10 forested sites within the AmeriFlux and Fluxnet-Canada networks. In deciduous forests, almost all models consistently predicted that the growing season started …

Timber Talk, Vol. 50, No. 1, February 1, 2012

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber Market News; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried; Hardwood Lumber Market History—Green; Tribute to a Forester; Cracking the Walnut Case; Woody Biomass Facts: A Look at the Myths Regarding a Sustainable Energy Source; Nebraska Forestry Industry Spotlight.....6 NFS Welcomes New M&U Forester; The Trading Post; Timber Sales; How Did Scragg Mills Get Named?

Timber Talk, Vol. 50, No. 3, September 1, 2012

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber Market News; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried; Timber Stumpage Prices; Wood is Good; Solar-Heated Lumber Dryers: Design Basics; Nebraska Forestry Spotlight; Study Reveals Component Market Trends; The Trading Post