Forest Biology Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Modis Lai Product Using Independent Lidar-Derived Lai: A Case Study In Mixed Conifer Forest, Jennifer L.R. Jensen, Karen S. Humes, Andrew T. Hudak, Lee A. Vierling, Eric Delmelle

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

This study presents an alternative assessment of the MODIS LAI product for a 58,000 ha evergreen needleleaf forest located in the western Rocky Mountain range in northern Idaho by using lidar data to model (R²=0.86, RMSE=0.76) and map LAI at higher resolution across a large number of MODIS pixels in their entirety. Moderate resolution (30 m) lidar-based LAI estimates were aggregated to the resolution of the 1-km MODIS LAI product and compared to temporally-coincident MODIS retrievals. Differences in the MODIS and lidar-derived values of LAI were grouped and analyzed by several different factors, including MODIS retrieval algorithm, sun/sensor …

Engineering A Future For Amphibians Under Climate Change, Luke P. Shoo, Deanna H. Olson, Sarah K. Mcmenamin, Kris A. Murray, Monique Van Sluys, Maureen A. Donnelly, Danial Stratford, Juhani Terhivuo, Andres Merino-Viteri, Sarah M. Herbert, Phillip J. Bishop, Paul Stephen Corn, Liz Dovey, Richard A. Griffiths, Katrin Lowe, Michael Mahony, Hamish Mccallum, Jonathan D. Shuker, Clay Simpkins, Lee F. Skerrat, Stephen E. Williams, Jean-Marc Hero

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

1. Altered global climates in the 21st century pose serious threats for biological systems and practical actions are needed to mount a response for species at risk.

2. We identify management actions from across the world and from diverse disciplines that are applicable to minimizing loss of amphibian biodiversity under climate change. Actions were grouped under three thematic areas of intervention: (i) installation of microclimate and microhabitat refuges; (ii) enhancement and restoration of breeding sites; and (iii) manipulation of hydroperiod or water levels at breeding sites.

3. Synthesis and applications. There are currently few meaningful management actions that will …

A Habitat Overlap Analysis Derived From Maxent For Tamarisk And The South-Western Willow Flycatcher, Patricia York, Paul Evangelista, Sunil Kumar, James Graham, Curtis Flather, Thomas Stohlgren

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

Biologic control of the introduced and invasive, woody plant tamarisk (Tamarix spp, saltcedar) in south-western states is controversial because it affects habitat of the federally endangered South-western Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). These songbirds sometimes nest in tamarisk where floodplain-level invasion replaces native habitats. Biologic control, with the saltcedar leaf beetle (Diorhabda elongate), began along the Virgin River, Utah, in 2006, enhancing the need for comprehensive understanding of the tamarisk-flycatcher relationship. We used maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling to separately quantify the current extent of dense tamarisk habitat (>50% cover) and the potential extent of …

A Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Risk Perception And Treatment Options As Related To Wildfires In The Usda Fs Region 3 National Forests, Ingrid M. Martin, Wade E. Martin, Carol B. Raish

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

As the incidence of devastating fires rises, managing the risk posed by these fires has become critical. This report provides important information to examine the ways that different groups or disaster subcultures develop the mentalities or perceived realities that affect their views and responses concerning risk and disaster preparedness. Fire risk beliefs and attitudes of individuals and groups from four geographic areas in the Southwest (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Region 3, Arizona and New Mexico) surrounding the Kaibab, Tonto, Santa Fe, and Lincoln National Forests are presented. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we collected information from three …

Carrying Capacity For Species Richness As A Context For Conservation: A Case Study Of North American Breeding Birds, Andrew J. Hansen, Linda Bowers Phillips, Curtis H. Flather, Jim Robinson-Cox

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

Aim To demonstrate that the concept of carrying capacity for species richness (S_K) is highly relevant to the conservation of biodiversity, and to estimate the spatial pattern of S_K for native landbirds as a basis for conservation planning.

Location North America.

Methods We evaluated the leading hypotheses on biophysical factors affecting species richness for Breeding Bird Survey routes from areas with little influence of human activities.We then derived a best model based on information theory, and used this model to extrapolate SK across North America based on the biophysical predictor variables. The predictor variables included the …

The Joint Fire Science Program’S First 10 Years, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Fire scientists and managers at the 4th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress offer their thoughts about the Joint Fire Science Program’s accomplishments, challenges, and future direction

Fire: Ecology & Prevention, Justin R. Frey

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Distribution Of Dioecious Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana) Along An Environmental Gradient In Ogallala, Ne, Taylor Sloey

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the sex distribution and energy allocation of dioecious Eastern Red Cedars (Juniperus virginiana) along an environmental resource gradient. The trees surveyed were growing in a canyon located at the University of Nebraska’s Cedar Point Biological Research Station in Ogallala, Nebraska. Due to the geography of this canyon, environmental factors necessary for plant growth should vary depending on the tree’s location within the canyon. These factors include water availability, sun exposure, ground slope, and soil nitrogen content, all of which are necessary for carbon acquisition.

Juniperus virginiana is a dioecious conifer. Dioecious …

Effects Of Experimental Freezing On Soil Nitrogen Dynamics In Soils From A Net Nitrification Gradient In A Nitrogen-Saturated Hardwood Forest Ecosystem, Frank S. Gilliam, Adam Cook, Salina Lyter

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

This study examined effects of soil freezing on N dynamics in soil along an N processing gradient within a mixed hardwood dominated watershed at Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia. Sites were designated as LN (low rates of N processing), ML (moderately low), MH (moderately high), and HN (high). Soils underwent three 7-day freezing treatments (0, –20, or –80 °C) in the laboratory. Responses varied between temperature treatments and along the gradient. Initial effects differed among freezing treatments for net N mineralization, but not nitrification, in soils across the gradient, generally maintained at LN < ML ≤ MH < HN for all treatments. Net N mineralization potential was higher following freezing at –20 and –80 °C than control; all were higher than at 0 °C. Net nitrification potential exhibited similar patterns. LN was an exception, with net nitrification low regardless of treatment. Freezing response of N mineralization differed greatly from that of nitrification, suggesting that soil freezing may decouple two processes of the soil N cycle that are otherwise tightly linked at our site. Results also suggest that soil freezing at temperatures commonly experienced at this site can further increase net nitrification in soils already exhibiting high nitrification from N saturation.

Mill Creek Management Plan, Joey A. Gentry

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

The goal of this study is to conduct a management plan for the Mill Creek property. This will be obtained through meeting the landowner objectives concerning: wildlife with habitat enhancements, recreation locations, and the forest growth potential pertaining to different areas of the property. This plan will also offer suggestions and guidelines to maximize the use of the property. Including a collection of flora, fauna, and health related issues in the appendices for identification. The site condition on the property is very poor, and as a result the growth rate for this area is slow. It is recommended that the …

Forest Resources Institute, Arthur Temple College Of Forestry And Agriculture

eBooks

No abstract provided.

Bending, Like The Reed In The Wind: A System To Restore Northwestern Forests, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Silviculture is the study, cultivation, and management of forest trees. It is rooted in science, but often is an art based on the experience of the forester. This story explores free-selection, a silvicultural system developed by scientists that allows managers and stakeholders greater fl exibility in growing new forests. By using this system for applying treatments, managers craft a vision of the desired short- and long-term conditions of the forest. The focus is placed on how the remaining forest components will function, rather than focusing on stand structure guidelines that dictate stand treatments and tree removal.

Naked Eyes And Hyperspectral Images Build Fuel Maps In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

With the limited knowledge previously available about the types of fuels, and how they are distributed in the southern Appalachian Mountains, managers have faced diffi culties in developing fi re plans for the region, including whether or where to apply prescribed fi re. For this study, the scientists took a two phase approach to determine fuel loads on the land—by ground surveys, and by remote sensing technology using hyperspectral images. Examining over 1,000 study plots in diverse topographic locations affected by various disturbances (or no disturbance) across four states, the researchers found few differences in undisturbed plots regardless of topographic …

Nature In A Name: Paulownia Tomentosa—Exotic Tree, Native Problem, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

While awareness of fire’s importance in dry Appalachian forests, and the application of fire as a restoration tool have increased over the last two decades, so too has the post-fire invasion of Paulownia tomentosa (Princess tree). For the last ten years, managers have witnessed Paulownia invasion grow following fi re events. To understand this better, the team studied five life history transitions for the species: seed dispersal, seed germination, seed survival over time through incorporation in the seed bank, initial habitat requirements, and seedling persistence to maturity. Paulownia seeds were found to disperse over two miles from their source tree. …

The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition: A Citizen-Agency Partnership That Works, Bruce Shindler

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

With the urgency of wildfi re near every community’s door, federal agencies have sought a middle ground between the extremes of timber-industry and environmental positions, one that would enable active management to reduce fuels and create safer communities. At the same time, citizen groups have organized themselves to protect important community values connected with their neighboring forests. These developments have set the stage for increasingly successful multi-stakeholder partnerships. The collaborative processes facilitated by these partnerships require considerable patience and perseverance at the outset, but the result can be a healthier forest, reduced fi re risk, more stable planning processes, and …

Filling In Knowledge Gaps In North Carolina, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

North Carolina is divided into three broad physiographic regions, from the low-lying Atlantic Coastal Plain, to the midelevation foothills—the Piedmont Plateau—to the higher elevation Blue Ridge and Appalachian zone. Understanding the behavior of fire in these widely different regions, as in much of the southeastern United States, presents challenges that differ sharply from those common in the West, where the emphasis on fire science research has been greater. An ambitious project has helped fill in local and regional knowledge gaps, as researchers gathered data and assessed the relevance and limitations of existing tools, including remote satellite sensing, weather station information, …

Sink Or Source? Fire And The Forest Carbon Cycle, Christina Frame

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

As the size and severity of fires in the western U.S. continue to increase, it has become ever more important to understand carbon dynamics in response to fire. Many subalpine forests experience stand-replacing wildfires, and these fires and subsequent recovery can change the amount of carbon released to the atmosphere because subalpine forests store large amounts of carbon. Stand-replacing fires initially convert ecosystems into a net source of carbon as the forest decomposes—a short-term effect (decades) that will likely be important over the next century if fire frequency increases as a result of climate change. Over the long term (centuries), …

The Good Earth: Run-Off, Erosion, And Recovery In The Post-Fi Re Chaparral Steeplands Of Southern California, Lisa-Natalie Anjozian

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

In September 2002, the Williams Fire burned 38,184 acres of chaparral steeplands, including more than 90 percent of the San Dimas Experimental Forest. The 1960 Johnstone Fire had burned many of the same watersheds some forty years earlier, thus providing opportunities to compare post-fire watershed response coupled with management efforts that had converted some native chaparral areas to grassland. With scant studies on soil water repellency, plant recovery, and their effects on watershed hydrology, managers face diffi culties in planning for erosion/run-off problems. The researchers delivered quantifi ed data on changing soil properties, the character and structure of regenerating plants, …

To Thin Or Not To Thin: Assessing The Consequences Of Fuel Reduction Treatments For The Non-Coniferous Ecosystems Of Southwestern Oregon, Shari Anstedt

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Over time, fire exclusion has caused the accumulation of fuels and changes in vegetation structure and composition in many western ecosystems. This is commonly assumed to have also occurred in the oak woodlands, shrub lands and grasslands of southwestern Oregon. As a result, land managers of the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have sought to reduce fuel-loads using a variety of thinning methods including mechanical mastication and hand-cutting, piling and burning. As of the mid-1990s, these treatments have been used on thousands of acres annually of the Ashland Resource Area (ARA) of the BLM. Since non-coniferous …

Using Lidar To Validate And Strengthen A Long-Range Smoke Transport Model For Air Quality Forecasting, Joy Drohan

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Researchers have explored the potential and limitations of using lidar, the remote sensing instrument, to provide information on smoke plume dynamics and optical properties. They used a scanning lidar in the smoke-polluted atmospheres near wildfires and prescribed fires to measure the height, dynamics, and three-dimensional dispersion of smoke plumes and the temporal and spatial variations of the optical properties of the smoke particulates. The team has developed and refi ned a measurement methodology and data processing techniques for analysis of data collected from smoky atmospheres by lidar and auxiliary instruments within the smoke-polluted area. They developed, validated, and improved lidar …

Frequencies, Lasers, And Wavelengths: A Quest For Affordable, Landscape Scale Remote Sensing, Marjie Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

New developments in high-resolution remote sensing systems have demonstrated the potential for generating direct, more accurate, and efficient estimates of fuels and the vegetation characteristics that influence fire behavior at the landscape scale. Two of these direct measurement tools are operated from aircraft and known by their acronyms LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and IFSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar). IFSAR is less costly than LIDAR, and unlike LIDAR, IFSAR sees through clouds and smoke. This project sought to evaluate the utility of IFSAR data for characterizing vegetation structure in the chaparral-dominated landscapes typical over much of southern California. The researchers …

Upland Oak Regeneration, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Along the ridgetops and in the coves of Kentucky’s Cumberland Plateau, oak forests are in a state of transition. Mature oaks still tower over the forest floor and produce acorns that provide nourishment for wildlife. Those acorns also once ensured new generations of oak from seedlings and saplings. Beneath the canopy, however, a fierce competition for light is placing the future of upland oak forests in jeopardy. Once a frequent visitor that cleared the understory, opened the canopy, and allowed sunlight to penetrate to the forest fl oor, fire has been basically absent for nearly a century. Reintroduced as part …

Exploring Patterns Of Burn Severity In The Biscuit Fire In Southwestern Oregon, Joy Drohan

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Large wildfires are important ecologically and economically, but their behavior and effects are not well understood, especially in the Klamath-Siskiyou region, which is characterized by a diversity of conifers and evergreen sprouting hardwoods, steep topography, variable geology, and strong climatic gradients. These studies used new analytical tools to characterize conditions before and after a large wildfire and to analyze those data across the entire landscape of the fire. Some of the general findings may apply to other forest regions, but the details may be unique to southwestern Oregon and northwestern California. The results improve our understanding of how post-fire management …

After A Southern Pine Beetle Epidemic, Jake Delwiche

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Southern pine beetles are a serious insect threat to pine forests in the South, from eastern Texas to Virginia. Beetles attack most pine species by boring through the bark of the tree and constructing long, winding tunnels between the bark and the wood, eventually girdling and killing the tree. They also introduce a fungus called “bluestain,” which further damages conductive systems of the tree. After an outbreak, the area of dead standing timber is usually no longer of commercial value. Forest managers are interested in reducing these fuel hot spots, both to allow forest regeneration and to reduce wildfire risk. …

After The Fire, Follow The Nitrogen, Jake Delwiche

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Nitrogen availability in soils, streams and associated terrestrial and aquatic vegetation can be infl uenced by both wildfi res and prescribed burns, though typically not to the same degree. Extensive research was done on postfire nitrogen dynamics at several mid-altitude coniferous National Forest sites in Idaho. Sites included both wildfi relocations and prescribed burn projects. By measurement of both ammonium (NH4) and nitrate (NO3) levels, researchers documented over time the effects of both high-intensity wildfi res and lower-intensity prescribed burns on nitrogen transformation processes in soil levels, and nitrogen levels in various ecosystem components. Field measurements demonstrated that the soil, …

Tracing The History Of Fire In The Willamette Valley, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

The Willamette Valley in northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington is a fertile agricultural region that supports a variety of farming activities. It is also a densely populated region with extensive urban and suburban development, including residences in the wildland/urban interface. Over the millennia, the valley floor has been shaped by numerous forces, including flooding of the Columbia and Willamette rivers, naturally and human-ignited fires, Euro-American forest clearance, and most recently, agriculture. Over the past 18,000 years the regional climate has undergone major changes. From the big chill of the last great Ice Age, to a period of warming that reached …

The Big Comeback: Prefire Understory Plants Return After The Hayman Fire, Marjie Brown

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Researchers took advantage of data collected prior to Colorado’s 2002 Hayman Fire to examine the effects of mixedseverity wildfire on understory plant community development during the first five postfire years. Some declines in species richness and cover were observed immediately following fire, but by postfire year five, they met or exceeded prefire levels, even in severely burned areas. Changes in upland community composition, where they were observed, were primarily due to the postfire recruitment of new species (particularly native short-lived forbs), rather than due to a loss of prefire species. While exotic richness and cover generally increased as fire severity …

Challenges To Implementing “Best Available Science”, Shari Anstedt

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Interagency wildland fire policy directs manager to apply “best available science” to management plans and activities. But what does “best available science” mean? With a vague defi nition of this concept and few guidelines for delivering or integrating science into management, it can be difficult for scientists to effectively provide managers with the science they need. As a result, valuable information and tools can go unused. To better understand the factors infl uencing research use, principal investigator Vita Wright conducted a literature review, agency meetings, in-depth interviews, and a survey of approximately 500 fi re and fuels specialists and decision …

New Tool Helps With The Tough Post-Fire Decisions, Jake Delwiche

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

After a wildfire is extinguished, the work is not done. In the U.S., many public natural resource agencies immediately begin considering appropriate post-fire steps. The most widely used system is the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) process. The purpose of BAER is to assess the effects of the fire and to make recommendations for appropriate next steps to protect health and safety, to prevent further loss of property or habitat, and to stabilize the fire area to allow revegetation and appropriate future use. Advanced mapping and measurement tools are available and widely used to define and describe affected areas. Another …

Using Satellite Imagery Analysis Together With Computer Simulation May Improve Burn Severity Mapping, Joy Drohan

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

This project compared and contrasted the utility and limitations of satellite-imagery and computer simulation modeling approaches to mapping fire effects and burn severity. The goal was to provide resource managers with tools to more effectively meet burned area rehabilitation objectives and manage fire on landscapes. Using satellite imagery analysis together with simulation modeling may improve burn severity mapping. The results of this study are being integrated into a comprehensive spatially explicit software analysis package for wildfi re and prescribed fire management decision support.