Tower-Based Greenhouse Gas Fluxes In A Restored Tidal Freshwater Wetland: A Shared Resource For Research And Teaching.,
2016
Virginia Commonwealth University
Tower-Based Greenhouse Gas Fluxes In A Restored Tidal Freshwater Wetland: A Shared Resource For Research And Teaching., Ellen J. Stuart-Haëntjens, Scott C. Neubauer, Christopher M. Gough
Rice Rivers Center Research Symposium
The goals of this study are: 1) to use an eddy-covariance system to continuously measure wetland-atmosphere CO2 and CH4 exchange in a restored forested wetland, 2) to quantity C sequestration in plant biomass and soils in restored (Kimages Creek watershed) and old-growth (Harris Creek watershed) forested wetlands, and 3) to establish a shared long-term, shared research and teaching platform centered on eddy-covariance tower measurements. Since the old-growth forest wetland has had longer to accumulate C, the current C stocks are likely much larger than those of the restored wetland; however, the rate of C accumulation (i.e., C sequestration or net …
Agroforestry Horizons: Experiences And Reflections: Report-Out,
2016
Nebraska Forest Service District
Agroforestry Horizons: Experiences And Reflections: Report-Out, Steve Rasmussen
United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications
The USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) is charting a course for the next five years. As part of this process, NAC and the USDA Interagency Agroforestry Team hosted a meeting of leaders in the fields of agroforestry, agriculture, and forestry, from government, universities, and the private sector, to share experiences and insights on agroforestry opportunities and challenges. The meeting occurred on April 27th and 28th, 2016, in Washington, DC, and entailed presentations and discussions on current and potential roles of agroforestry in supporting water quality, soil health, economic diversification, food security, and pollinator/wildlife habitat. This report-out provides a summary of …
Spatial Distribution Of Earthworms In An East Texas Forest Ecosystem,
2016
Stephen F Austin State University
Spatial Distribution Of Earthworms In An East Texas Forest Ecosystem, Melissa A. Bozarth, Kenneth W. Farrish, George A. Damoff, James Van Kley, J. Leon Young
Faculty Publications
Earthworms were collected and identified in different ecological habitats of the Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest (SFAEF) in the Piney Woods Ecoregion (PWE) of Texas. Earthworm spatial distribution data were collected over four distinct ecological habitats with a range of soil conditions and vegetative cover. A total of 128 sampling plots were surveyed in two different, broadly defined locations (mesic slope = 68 plots, dry-mesic upland = 60 plots). Using multivariate classification/ordination (TWINSPAN) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) of overstory vegetation data, these two locations were further divided into four distinct habitats: dry-mesic mixed upland, transitional zone, mesic slope and …
Riparian Trees And Aridland Streams Of The Southwestern United
States: An Assessment Of The Past, Present, And Future,
2016
USDA Forest Service
Riparian Trees And Aridland Streams Of The Southwestern United States: An Assessment Of The Past, Present, And Future, D. Max Smith, Deborah M. Finch
United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications
Riparian ecosystems are vital components of aridlands within the southwestern United States. Historically, surface flows influenced population dynamics of native riparian trees. Many southwestern streams has been altered by regulation, however, and will be further affected by greenhouse warming. Our analysis of stream gage data revealed that decreases in volume of annual discharge and mean peak discharge and a shift to earlier peak discharge will occur in the Southern Rockies region of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. These changes will likely decrease rates of reproduction and survival of cottonwood (Populus fremontii and Populus deltoides ssp. wislizenii), Goodding's willow …
Review Of Broad-Scale Drought Monitoring Of Forests: Toward An
Integrated Data Mining Approach,
2016
USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station
Review Of Broad-Scale Drought Monitoring Of Forests: Toward An Integrated Data Mining Approach, Steven P. Norman, Frank H. Koch, William W. Hargrove
United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications
Efforts to monitor the broad-scale impacts of drought on forests often come up short. Drought is a direct stressor of forests as well as a driver of secondary disturbance agents, making a full accounting of drought impacts challenging. General impacts can be inferred from moisture deficits quantified using precipitation and temperature measurements. However, derived meteorological indices may not meaningfully capture drought impacts because drought responses can differ substantially among species, sites and regions. Meteorology-based approaches also require the characterization of current moisture conditions relative to some specified time and place, but defining baseline conditions over large, ecologically diverse regions can …
Conditions Inside Fisher Dens During Prescribed Fires; What Is The Risk
Posed By Spring Underburns?,
2016
USDA Forest Service
Conditions Inside Fisher Dens During Prescribed Fires; What Is The Risk Posed By Spring Underburns?, Craig M. Thompson, Kathryn L. Purcell
United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications
The use of spring prescribed fires to reduce accumulated fuel loads in western forests and facilitate the return of natural fire regimes is a controversial topic. While spring burns can be effective at reducing fuel loads and restoring heterogeneous landscapes, concerns exist over the potential impacts of unnaturally timed fires to native species. To protect native wildlife from disturbance during critical periods, limited operating periods (LOPs) are often implemented. However when LOPs for multiple species are combined into an integrated management plan, very few time windows for implementing prescribed fires remain. The use of spring burns is often effectively eliminated, …
The Conflict Resolution Case Study In Urban Life: Bull Run Watershed Case,
2016
Portland State University
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, …
Density Management In Young Western Larch Stands: Tree Growth, Stand Yield, And Carbon Storage 54 Years After Thinning,
2016
University of Montana - MissoulaUniversity of mon
Density Management In Young Western Larch Stands: Tree Growth, Stand Yield, And Carbon Storage 54 Years After Thinning, Michael S. Schaedel
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Long-term silvicultural experiments can be used to test novel ecological hypotheses and answer contemporary management questions that were not envisioned at study initiation. We used a 54-year old western larch precommercial thinning (PCT) study in northwest Montana to examine two sets of questions: (1) how different PCT regimes affect long-term stand yield and tree growth, and (2) how PCT affects total aboveground carbon (C) storage and distribution among C pools. The study has three target densities (494 trees ha-1, 890 trees ha-1, and 1680 trees ha-1) and three numbers of entries to achieve those …
Long-Term Impacts Of Fuel Treatments On Tree Growth And Aboveground Biomass Accumulation In Ponderosa Pine Forests Of The Northern Rocky Mountains,
2016
University of Montana
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,
2016
Colby College
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,
2016
United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
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,
2016
Drake University
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,
2016
University of Kentucky
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 …
Effects Of Mountaintop Removal Mining On Population Dynamics Of Stream Salamanders,
2016
University of Kentucky
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,
2016
University of Arkansas at Monticello
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 …
Early Seral Mixed-Conifer Forest Structure And Composition Following A Wildfire Reburn In The Sierra Nevada,
2016
Cal Poly Humboldt
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. …
Soil Organic Matter Distribution In A Douglas-Fir-Tanoak Forest, Humboldt County, California,
2016
Humboldt State University
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,
2016
Humboldt State University
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 …
Phylogenetic Analyses Of Andean And Amazonian Tree Communities In Ecuador,
2016
Columbus State University
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 …
Quantifying Effects Of Quaking Aspen Silvicultural Treatments On Aspen Regeneration And Residual Growth,
2016
University of Montana
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) …
