Forest Biology Commons^™

Fire Regimes Of Montane Grasslands Of The Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico, Donald A. Falk, Craig D. Allen, Robert Parmenter, Thomas Swetnam, Clifford Dils

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Montane grasslands are an important ecosystem type in Southwestern landscapes, occurring from the forest borders of piñon-juniper woodland to high elevation subalpine and alpine ecosystems. Thus, they often represent a mosaic element embedded in the forest landscape matrix, playing key roles in processing water and nutrients, and providing habitat for unique suites of species, often at higher levels of diversity than those found in surrounding uplands. Soils, local temperature and moisture gradients, and disturbance all play roles in determining the distribution and extent of montane grasslands. Of these factors, fire plays the most dynamic role in regulating the location and …

Fuel Reduction Treatment Longevity And Crown Response In Interior Ponderosa Pine Forests Of Northern California, Martin W. Ritchie, Carl N. Skinner, Jianwei Zhang

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

With increasing interest in fuels treatments to address the high risk of severe fires in the western United States, there is an attendant need to quantify the effectiveness of such treatments. In addition to the immediate effect of reducing levels of combustible material and the attendant impact on fire intensity, resource managers also need to quantify or forecast the longevity of such treatments. Treatments that produce significant, but short-lived reductions in risk of severe wildfire may not be meeting the goals and objectives of managers. This temporal component needs further study and is the subject of this proposal. There are …

Fuel Treatments In Mixed-Pine Forests In The Great Lakes Region: A Comprehensive Guide To Planning And Implementation, Eric Toman, Stanley Gehrt, Charles Goebel, David M. Hix, Roger Williams, Robyn Wilson, Sarah Mccaffrey

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fuel management decisions are made within a larger context of resource management characterized by multiple objectives including ecosystem restoration, wildlife management, commodity production (from timber to less traditional forest products), and provision of recreation opportunities and amenity values. Implementation of fuel treatments is strongly influenced by their perceived influence on and compatibility with overarching management objectives. In some cases these objectives may be complementary while in others they may involve difficult tradeoffs. Such tradeoffs are only further complicated by institutional mandates, limited availability of information, and complex ownership patterns. Like natural resource managers across the U.S., those in the Great …

Native Trees And Shrubs For Nebraska, Justin R. Evertson, Bob Henrickson

Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: Publications

Native plants withstand Nebraska’s tough climate extremes and serve as vital habitat for wildlife like birds, butterflies, and bees. NOTE: “Nearly native” signifies a species that is native within 100 miles of Nebraska’s border and/or now naturalized within the state.

141 species, from
Acer negundo -­‐ boxelder maple
to
woodbine -­‐ Parthenocissus vitacea

Effects Of Nitrogen On Temporal And Spatial Patterns Of Nitrate In Streams And Soil Solution Of A Central Hardwood Forest, Frank S. Gilliam, Mary Beth Adams

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

This study examined changes in stream and soil water NO3−and their relationship to temporal and spatial patterns of NO3−in soil solution of watersheds at the Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia. Following tenfold increases in stream NO3−concentrations over a 13-year period (1969–1981) on untreated WS4, concentrations have declined through 2006. Followingfourfold increases in stream NO3−on treatment WS3 from pretreatment levels to a 1998 maximum, concentrations have declinedthrough 2006, despite additions of N. Concentrations of soil water NO3−were consistently lower for WS4 compared to WS3.Data for soil water NO3−on WS3 versus WS4 followed patterns of net mineralization and nitrification for these watersheds.Nitrogen …

Long-Term Observations Of Plant Succession On An Abandoned Cornfield In Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania (1967-2000), William Overlease, Edith Overlease

William Overlease Plant Succession Study Documents

No abstract provided.

William R. Overlease (1925 - 2007), Jack Holt

Gordon Natural Area History & Strategic Plan Documents

No abstract provided.

Timber Talk, Vol. 49, No. 2, June 1, 2011

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber Market News ; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried; New Nebraska “Secondary Processor” Directory; Sand Creek Post and Beam Named 2011 Nebraska Small Business of the Year; Poison Ivy, Oak, and Sumac; The Trouble With Ethanol; Trends — From One Saw Doctor’s Perspective; Nebraska Forestry Industry Spotlight; The Trading Post; Timber Sales

Timber Talk, Vol. 49, No. 4, November 1, 2011

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber Market News; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried; The Business Plan: Critical To Start-Up And Growth; A Baker’s Dozen Marketing Tips; Nebraska Forestry Industry Spotlight; The Trading Post; Proper Method of Bore Cutting Revisited; Timber Sales.

Saplings 2011, Sean M. Goins, Joseph Braner, Amy L. Myers, Charlie Jackson, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Sapling data (woody species >50 centimeters in height and <2.5 cm diameter at breast height) collected in 2011 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Overstory 2011, Sean M. Goins, Joseph Braner, Amy L. Myers, Charlie Jackson, Albert J. Burky, Julia I. Chapman, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Overstory data (woody species ≥2.5 centimeters in diameter at breast height) collected in 2011 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Modeling Loblolly Pine Aboveground Live Biomass In A Mature Pine-Hardwood Stand: A Cautionary Tale, D. C. Bragg

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Carbon sequestration in forests is a growing area of interest for researchers and land managers. Calculating the quantity of carbon stored in forest biomass seems to be a straightforward task, but it is highly dependent on the function(s) used to construct the stand. For instance, there are a number of possible equations to predict aboveground live biomass for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) growing in southeastern Arkansas. Depending on stem diameter at breast height (DBH), biomass varied considerably between four different prediction systems for loblolly pine. According to the tested models, individual tree oven-dry biomass for a 50 cm DBH loblolly …

Accuracy And User Variation Associated With Slope Measurement Using A Laser Hypsometer, C. Hastings, R. C. Weih Jr., H. O. Liechty, R. Harris

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Slope measurements are often necessary for assessing features and processes within the natural environment. Land managers often use handheld equipment rather than more complicated surveying equipment in order to measure slopes and to conduct field work efficiently. One type of handheld device used to measure slope is a laser clinometer. In order to determine the accuracy and user error associated with this type of clinometer, slope measurements were taken at multiple locations using two types of equipment: 1) a Haglof Sweden Vertex III Hypsometer with a laser clinometer function and 2) a Topcon GTS-603/AF electronic survey total station which can …

Cooper’S Hawk Nest Site Characteristics In The Pineywoods Region, Richard R. Schaefer, D. Craig Rudolph, Josh B. Pierce, Jesse F. Fagan

Faculty Publications

Early accounts describe the Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperi) as a species in decline in much of North America during the early twentieth century (Bent 1937), particularly when in close proximity to humans (Eaton 1914). This decreasing population trend continued to be recognized later in the century in both Texas (Oberholser 1974) and Louisiana (Lowery 1974). Shooting and trapping during the first half of the 1900s, and pesticide use (especially DDT) after World War II are suggested as primary causes of the decline (Henny and Wight 1972, Bednarz et al. 1990). The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1972 and the ban …

Ecotypic Variation And Plasticity Of Morphological And Physiological Traits Of Eucalyptus Loxophleba Ssp. Lissophloia Along A Climate Gradient In South-West Australia, Vanessa Stylianou

Theses : Honours

The adaptive capacity of plant species will be important for increasing their resilience in a changing climate. By 2070, a change in rainfall of +10 to -40 % of current mean annual rainfall and warming of between +2 to +5 ˚C in south-west Western Australia, is predicted. Plant species may cope with changing climatic characteristics through natural selection or phenotypic plasticity responses. Greater ecotypic variation in traits between stands of a single species may reduce its vulnerability in a changing climate as there is a greater selection of traits to increase fitness. Phenotypic plasticity has been highlighted as a mechanism …

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 …