Forest Biology Commons^™

Long-Term Impacts Of Fuel Treatments On Tree Growth And Aboveground Biomass Accumulation In Ponderosa Pine Forests Of The Northern Rocky Mountains, Kate A. Clyatt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In western North America, many low-elevation, dry forest types historically experienced frequent, low-severity fires. However, European settlement and fire suppression policies have contributed to over a century of fire exclusion, substantially altering forest structure and composition. There is considerable interest in restoring fire resilient characteristics to these forests through fuel reduction treatments. One limitation of current research on the impacts of fuel treatments is treatment longevity, as few studies have been able to quantify long-term responses to commonly applied treatments. This research evaluated tree growth and aboveground biomass responses 23 years after treatment in two silvicultural installations with different underburning …

Ecological Predictors And Consequences Of Non-Native Earthworms In Kennebec County, Maine, Julia Rogers

Honors Theses

Non-native earthworms are found throughout much of the United States and southern Canada in areas that were glaciated during the most recent glaciation. These earthworms are changing nutrient cycling, modifying soil structure, and influencing diversity in forests throughout the Northern United States, and their invasion northward is facilitated by human activities. Although worms are present in compost piles and gardens of all Maine counties, there are no comprehensive studies of earthworms distributions in forested areas of Maine. I documented the presence and absence of earthworms in forested recreation areas in Kennebec County, Maine, and investigated ecological and landscape level variables …

Invasibility Of Three Major Non-Native Invasive Shrubs And Associated Factors In Upper Midwest U.S. Forest Lands, W. Keith Moser, Zhaofei Fan, Mark H. Hansen, Michael K. Crosby, Shirley X. Fan

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

We used non-native invasive plant data from the United States Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, spatial statistical methods, and the space (cover class)-for-time approach to quantify the invasion potential and success (‘‘invasibility”) of three major invasive shrubs (multiflora rose, non-native bush honeysuckles, and common buckthorn) in broadly classified forest-type groups in seven Upper Midwest states. Smoothed maps of presence and cover percent showed a strong clustering pattern for all three invasive shrubs despite their different ranges. The species are clustered around major cities or urban areas (e.g., Chicago, Illinois, and Des Moines, Iowa), indicating the potential role …

A Method For Estimating The Current And Future Carbon Content Of Standing Biomass Applied To Gishwati Forest Reserve, Rwanda, David Courard-Houri, Rebecca Chancellor, Aaron S. Rundus, A. Boland

Anthropology & Sociology Faculty Publications

The carbon content of standing tree biomass was determined in the Gishwati Forest Reserve in north-western Rwanda and growth potential of the forest was estimated using a straightforward, generalisable model of natural forest regeneration. A survey was conducted on 2289 trees in plots throughout the reserve. Wood density data were obtained from literature and tree biomass was estimated using a recent pan-tropical allometric equation. A survey on United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects showed that current methods of growth rate projection for mixed, non-plantation forests might significantly overestimate the amount of carbon sequestered. …

Long-Term Effects Of Forestry Best Management Practices On Hydrology And Water Chemistry In Three Appalchian Headwater Catchments, Kameryn I. Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

In 1982, a study was initiated in the Field Branch watershed, in the University of Kentucky’s Robinson Forest, to evaluate forestry best management practice (BMP) effectiveness after intensive harvesting. The study utilized a paired watershed approach on three adjacent Field Branch subcatchments. One subcatchment was left as the control, one had BMPs implemented (including a 50-ft undisturbed buffer along the stream), and one was clear-cut to the stream’s banks without the use of BMPs (i.e. logger’s choice). Prior research has shown that logging can negatively impact watershed functions by altering stream hydrology, geomorphology, water quality, and instream habitat. Thus, the …

Phylogenetic Analyses Of Andean And Amazonian Tree Communities In Ecuador, Samantha J. Worthy

Theses and Dissertations

The forests of Ecuador are known for their high levels of diversity and endemism, classifying the country as a biodiversity hotspot. Both the western Amazon and Andean montane forests are richly populated with tropical tree species that have been little studied in a community phylogenetic context. The implementation of elevational transects and trait based analyses having proven useful in gaining a better understanding of how environmental factors are affecting the tree community structure in these habitats. The goal of this research was to evaluate the magnitude ofDNA barcode diversity among Amazonian and Andean tree species. Specifically, the objectives were to …

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Of Northern White Cedar (Thuja Occidentalis L.): Habitat Effects On Fungal Communities And Inoculum Effects On Plant Growth On Acid Peat Soils, Guswarni Anwar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The relationship of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi with northern white cedar (NWC) was examined from the perspective of both fundamental questions about habitat specificity in the root fungal community, as well as applied questions regarding AM fungal efficacy in NWC restoration in peat soils. I performed two experiments testing the effects of AM fungi on survival, growth, and nutrition of NWC seedlings; and one molecular study to determine the habitat effects on community composition of NWC root-associated fungi. First, a greenhouse AM inoculation experiment was conducted in factorial combination with fertilization and liming to examine conditional effectiveness of AM fungal …

Effects Of Mountaintop Removal Mining On Population Dynamics Of Stream Salamanders, Sara B. Freytag

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Mountaintop removal mining (MTR) is a notorious stressor of stream ecosystems in the Central Appalachians. Valley fills (VF) lead to reduced occupancy, abundance, and species richness of stream salamanders. Multiple factors may be responsible for these reductions, but specifically habitat fragmentation and degradation may reduce colonization rates and increase local extinction rates. From 2013-2015, repeated counts of salamanders were conducted in stream reaches impacted by MTR/VF and compared to counts in reference reaches to answer the question: do stream salamander population dynamics differ between stream reaches impacted by MTR/VF and reference stream reaches? I also investigated dynamics of stream habitat …

Vegetation Diversity In Natural And Restored Forested Wetland Sites In Southeast Arkansas, C. J. Sheldon, R. L. Ficklin, K. P. Fawley, M. W. Fawley, M. Bataineh, A. S. Nelson, S. Wilson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The loss of forested wetlands in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley in Arkansas has altered regional vegetation communities. Multiple restoration projects have been established in this region to restore wetlands and the services they provide. In order to return these functions to the environment, microtopographic features were constructed in 2001 at Bob White Memorial Wetlands Research and Teaching Station (Bob White). Vegetation diversity was examined at Cut-Off Creek Wildlife Management Area (Cutoff), a naturally forested wetland, and Bob White, an area formally converted to cropland that is now undergoing forest wetland restoration. Vegetation diversity is one way to determine …

Quantifying Effects Of Quaking Aspen Silvicultural Treatments On Aspen Regeneration And Residual Growth, Philip W. Williams

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Many quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) populations are in decline across the western United States, a trend likely driven by ongoing climate change and past management that has led to increased competition with conifers. Restoration of aspen is a management goal potentially achievable through active forest management, but treatment effects on regeneration and residual growth have not been comprehensively studied. This project examined if removal of competing conifers altered aspen regeneration density, ungulate browsing, and residual adult aspen diameter growth using a control-impact study design. Sampling occurred at the Burnt Fork (ten treatments, four controls) and Bandy (seven treatments, four controls) …

Context-Dependent Seed Dispersal By A Scatter-Hoarding Corvid, Mario B. Pesendorfer, T. Scott Sillett, Scott A. Morrison, Alan C. Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

1. Corvids (crows, jays, magpies and nutcrackers) are important dispersers of large-seeded plants. Studies on captive or supplemented birds suggest that they flexibly adjust their scatter-hoarding behavior to the context of social dynamics and relative seed availability. Because many corvid-dispersed trees show high annual variation in seed production, context-dependent foraging can have strong effects on natural corvid scatter-hoarding behavior.

2. We investigated how seed availability and social dynamics affected scatter-hoarding in the island scrub jays (Aphelocoma insularis). We quantified rates of scatter-hoarding behavior and territorial defense of 26 colormarked birds over a three-year period with variable acorn crops. …

Semiochemicals In The Natural History Of Southern Pine Beetle Dendroctonus Frontalis Zimmermann And Their Role In Pest Management, B. T. Sullivan

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

The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann is generally considered to be one of the most significant biotic mortality agents of pines within North America, with a range stretching from New England to eastern Texas and from Arizona south to Nicaragua. As with other aggressive pine beetles, it relies on semiochemicals for coordinating the mass attacks necessary for colonization of healthy pines. Over the past 50 years its chemical ecology has received extensive study aimed at development of effective and practical semiochemical-based management strategies which might replace the destructive and costly techniques in practice. I review the literature on the …

A Forest Vulnerability Index Based On Drought And High Temperatures, David Mildrexler, Zhiqiang Yang, Warren B. Cohen, David M. Bell

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

Increasing forest stress and tree mortality has been directly linked to combinations of drought and high temperatures. The climatic changes expected during the next decades – large increases in mean temperature, increased heat waves, and significant long-term regional drying in the western USA – will likely increase chronic forest stress and mortality. The aim of this research is to develop and apply a new forest vulnerability index (FVI) associated with drought and high temperatures across the Pacific Northwest region (PNW; Oregon and Washington) of the USA during the MODIS Aqua era (since 2003). Our technique incorporates the alterations to canopy …

Contributing Factors For Drought In United States Forest Ecosystems Under Projected Future Climates And Their Uncertainty, Charles H. Luce, James M. Vose, Neil Pederson, John Campbell, Connie Millar, Patrick Kormos, Ross Woods

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

Observations of increasing global forest die-off related to drought are leading to more questions about potential increases in drought occurrence, severity, and ecological consequence in the future. Dry soils and warm temperatures interact to affect trees during drought; so understanding shifting risks requires some understanding of changes in both temperature and precipitation. Unfortunately, strong precipitation uncertainties in climate models yield substantial uncertainty in projections of drought occurrence. We argue that disambiguation of drought effects into temperature and precipitation-mediated processes can alleviate some of the implied uncertainty. In particular, the disambiguation can clarify geographic diversity in forest sensitivity to multifarious drivers …

Improved Bulk Density Of Bamboo Pellets As Biomass For Energy Production, Zhijia Liu, Bingbing Mi, Zehui Jiang, Benhua Fei, Zhiyong Cai, Xing'e Liu

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

To the best of our knowledge, there is the lack of sufficient information concerning bamboo pellets. In the preliminary research, bamboo pellets showed a low bulk density which could not meet requirement of Pellet Fuels Institute Standard Specification for Residential/Commercial Densified (PFI). To improve its bulk density, pellets were manufactured using mixtures of bamboo and pine particles and the properties were investigated. It was found that adding pine particles to bamboo particles was an effective way to improve bulk density of bamboo pellets. When adding 40% pine particles to bamboo particles, bulk density of pellets increased from 0.54 …

Pronghorn Habitat Suitability In The Texas Panhandle, Nathan P. Duncan, Samantha S. Kahl, Shawn S. Gray, Christopher J. Salice, Richard D. Stevens

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

Habitat quality is an important factor that can greatly affect wildlife populations. Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) habitat in the Texas Panhandle, USA has been lost through growth of human settlements and agricultural lands. We determined the most pertinent environmental variables affecting habitat selection using multiple methods, including a search of peer-reviewed literature, expert opinion ranking, and habitat suitability modeling. We determined quality and extent of pronghorn habitat in the Texas Panhandle using the MAXENT modeling environment to build a presence-only habitat suitability model based on global positioning system (GPS) locations collected via aerial surveys. Our habitat suitability model indicated …

Pyrodiversity Promotes Avian Diversity Over The Decade Following Forest Fire, Morgan W. Tingley, Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez, Robert L. Wilkerson, Christine A. Howell, Rodney B. Siegel

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

An emerging hypothesis in fire ecology is that pyrodiversity increases species diversity.We test whether pyrodiversity—defined as the standard deviation of fire severity—increases avian biodiversity at two spatial scales, and whether and how this relationship may change in the decade following fire. We use a dynamic Bayesian community model applied to a multi-year dataset of bird surveys at 1106 points sampled across 97 fires in montane California. Our results provide strong support for a positive relationship between pyrodiversity and bird diversity. This relationship interacts with time since fire, with pyrodiversity having a greater effect on biodiversity at 10 years post-fire than …

Diseases Of Trees In The Great Plains, Aaron D. Bergdahl, Alison Hill, Gerard C. Adams, Rachel A. Allison, John A. Appel, John Ball, James T. Blodgett, Kelly S. Burns, Whitney Cranshaw, Kelsey L. Dunnell, Mark L. Gleason, Mark O. Harrell, Thomas C. Harrington, Marcus B. Jackson, William R. Jacobi, Jennifer Juzwik, Megan M. Kennwlly, Les Koch, Jared M. Leboldus, Phillip A. Mason, Douglas L. Mcnew, Judith O'Mara, Hayley M. Nelson, Nicole Opbroek, Michael E. Ostry, Scott C. Redlin, Glen R. Stanosz, Laurie J. Stepanek, Ned Tisserat, Timothy C. Todd, James A. Walla, James J. Worrall, Simeon Wright

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

Hosts, distribution, symptoms and signs, disease cycle, and management strategies are described for 84 hardwood and 32 conifer diseases in 56 chapters. Color illustrations are provided to aid in accurate diagnosis. A glossary of technical terms and indexes to hosts and pathogens also are included.

Scope

The purpose of this handbook is to assist users in diagnosing tree diseases and reducing their impact. Included are the most damaging diseases, along with some that are the subject of frequent inquiry although of minor importance. The diseases included were those encountered primarily on trees in conservation plantings such as windbreaks, farmstead plantings, …

Twenty-Five Year Response Of The Herbaceous Layer Of A Temperate Hardwood Forest To Elevated Nitrogen Deposition, Frank S. Gilliam, Nicole Turrill Welch, Anne Hockenberry Phillips, Jake H. Billmyer, William T. Peterjohn, Zachariah K. Fowler, Christopher A. Walter, Mark B. Burnham, Jeffrey D. May, Mary Beth Adams

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Increasing rates of atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) present a novel threat to the biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Many forests are particularly susceptible to excess N given their proximity to sources of anthropogenic N emissions. This study summarizes results of a 25-yr treatment of an entire central Appalachian hardwood forest watershed via aerial applications of N with a focus on effects of added N on the cover, species richness, and composition of the herbaceous layer. Research was carried out on two watersheds of the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF), West Virginia. The long-term reference watershed at FEF (WS4) was used as …

Soil Organic Matter Distribution In A Douglas-Fir-Tanoak Forest, Humboldt County, California, Hollie A. Ernest

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Soil carbon (C) affects the active gases in the atmosphere, nutrient cycling, and diversity of flora and fauna. Soil organic matter (SOM) is partially comprised of C, and a widely-accepted ratio of 0.58 organic carbon (OC) to organic matter (OM) is used to measure soil C on a landscape scale. However, this ratio varies according to vegetation, depth, hydrology, and may lead to miscalculations of soil C and SOM estimates. Soil C and SOM are inherently complex and it is not completely understood which environmental factors have the most influence in their formation, which occurs on a time scale of …

Ninety-Two Years Of Tree Growth And Death In A Second-Growth Coast Redwood Forest, Benjamin Iberle

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Mature second-growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests are an important and uncommon resource in the redwood region. Development of second-growth redwood forests beyond rotation age (~50 years) is not well understood. Continuous long-term data are especially lacking, considering that the maximum possible age of second-growth stands is now over 150 years. Two permanent observation plots in Arcata, CA, established in 1923 by Woodbridge Metcalf and last measured in 1990, provide a unique opportunity to examine the development of coast redwood forest regenerating after logging in ~1880. We surveyed the Metcalf plots using modern methods and assembled a complete …

Early Seral Mixed-Conifer Forest Structure And Composition Following A Wildfire Reburn In The Sierra Nevada, Erin Alvey

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Before the era of modern fire suppression, California’s northern Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer and yellow pine forests were self-regulating; recurring short-interval, low-mixed severity wildfires maintained forest structure and composition, which in turn exerted bottom-up controls on subsequent wildfires. As a result of fire suppression, and coupled with the effects of climate warming and other anthropogenic disturbances, the fundamental structure of mixed-conifer and yellow pine forests has shifted. Wildfires may now be increasing in size, severity, and frequency across western North America. However, little is known about the post-fire impacts of repeat wildfire on a forest after a long era of suppression. …

The Conflict Resolution Case Study In Urban Life: Bull Run Watershed Case, Chang-Yu Hong

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

The City of Portland and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service are working together, along with citizens, to formulate a comprehensive new policy to guide joint management of the Bull Run watershed at Mt. Hood National Forest. This process has brought about four decades of conflict, resulting from differences between the federal view of multiple use and the local view of exclusive use for producing high quality water. The new policy is being formulated by the City of Portland and the Forest Service through negotiation of a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding that structures the parties’ roles, responsibilities, …

A Molecular Characterization Of The Fungal Endophytes Within The Needles Of Ponderosa Pine (Pinus Ponderosa), Amy E. Gray

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"Fungal endophytes (microbial fungi that live in plant tissues without causing disease) are ubiquitous in plants studied to date. Many conifers host endophytes that produce important bioactive secondary metabolites. While the endophytes in Pinus ponderosa roots have been studied, the endophyte communities within the needles are not well characterized by molecular means: thus, the goal of this study was to do so. Needles were sampled at two sites located five kilometers apart along a slight precipitation gradient in Eastern Washington State. Fungal DNA (along with pine DNA) was isolated directly from needles of two ages. Internal transcribed spacer regions of …

Forest Stand Structure And Primary Production In Relation To Ecosystem Development, Disturbance, And Canopy Composition, Cynthia M. Scheuermann

Theses and Dissertations

Temperate forests are complex ecosystems that sequester carbon (C) in biomass. C storage is related to ecosystem-scale forest structure, changing over succession, disturbance, and with community composition. We quantified ecosystem biological and physical structure in two forest chronosequences varying in disturbance intensity, and three late successional functional types to examine how multiple structural expressions relate to ecosystem C cycling. We quantified C cycling as wood net primary production (NPP), ecosystem structure as Simpson’s Index, and physical structure as leaf quantity (LAI) and arrangement (rugosity), examining how wood NPP-structure relates to light distribution and use-efficiency. Relationships between structural attributes of biodiversity, …

Restoration Of A Wet Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris) Savanna In Southeast Louisiana: Burning Toward Reference Conditions, Alex K. Entrup

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study quantifies the changes in vegetation composition and structure of a fire-excluded Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) wetland savanna restoration site in southeastern in comparison to a proximate contemporary reference site. The restoration site was invaded by hardwood species and off-site pines, and never underwent extensive soil disturbance. The restoration treatments involved logging across portions of the site and the reintroduction of fire across the entire site. All species present in 10m² quadrats were recorded prior to treatment and throughout the 17 year study at reference and treatment sites. The community composition of both logged and unlogged sites converged …

Demography And Disease Of The Rare Shrub Buckleya Distichophylla (Santalaceae) In Northeastern Tennessee, William Seth Ratliff

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Piratebush (Buckleya distichophylla (Nutt.) Torr.) is a rare, hemiparasitic shrub with the only extant populations in western North Carolina, northeastern Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia. The preferred natural hosts of piratebush, Carolina and eastern hemlocks, have seen sharp declines over the last decade due to the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid. Virginia pine, another important host of piratebush, is also susceptible to disease, specifically Cronartium appalachianum, a rust fungus for which piratebush is the secondary host. This study described and analyzed current demographic parameters of three Tennessee piratebush populations. Additionally, spatial patterns of disease and demographic characters were analyzed. These …

Mycorrhizal Roots In A Temperate Forest Take Up Organic Nitrogen From 13c- And 15n-Labeled Organic Matter, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Andrew P. Ouimette, Erik A. Hobbie

All Materials

Background and Aims

The importance of the uptake of nitrogen in organic form by plants and mycorrhizal fungi has been demonstrated in various ecosystems including temperate forests. However, in previous experiments, isotopically labeled amino acids were often added to soils in concentrations that may be higher than those normally available to roots and mycorrhizal hyphae in situ, and these high concentrations could contribute to exaggerated uptake.

Methods

We used an experimental approach in which we added ¹³C-labeled and ¹⁵N-labeled whole cells to root-ingrowth cores, allowing proteolytic enzymes to release labeled organic nitrogen at a natural rate, as …

Southeastern Monochamus And Their Interactions With Healthy Shortleaf Pine Trees And Associated Ips Grandicollis Bark Beetles, Matthew Walker Ethington

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Insects in the genus Monochamus are medium to large-sized, wood-boring beetles whose primary hosts in the Northern Hemisphere are pine trees. These beetles interact with both conifer hosts and associated insects throughout their life history. Past research has demonstrated that Monochamus are saprophagic, but recent findings show that they may colonize healthy pine trees. To determine if southeastern Monochamus could colonize healthy pines, adult Monochamus were attracted to healthy shortleaf pine trees from May to September, 2014, using host volatiles, Ips bark beetle kairomones, and congeneric pheromones. Subsequent development of oviposited eggs from 18 host trees was monitored. The results …

Timber Talk, Vol. 53, No .4, November 2015

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

In This Issue

Lumber Market News ...........................1

Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green..................................2

Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried...........................2

Sun-dried Lumber.................................3

NFS Forest Products Program...............4

Milling Railroad Ties in Nebraska........4

A Closer Look at Edgers........................5

Nebraska Forest Industry Spotlight......7

The Trading Post....................................8