Forest Sciences Commons^™

A Comparison Of Fuel Reduction Methods For Wildfire Risk Management And Climate Change Resiliency In Mixed Conifer Forests In The Sierra Nevada, Heather Navle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Wildfires in the mixed conifer forests of California’s Sierra Nevada have been a common and natural disturbance for thousands of years, historically occurring every 3 to 30 years. The flora and fauna of the mixed conifer forest have evolved to depend on low to moderate severity wildfires for reproduction, foraging, and habitat. However, the Sierra Nevada has experienced dramatic environmental changes over the past ~150 years as a result of three main factors: wildfire suppression, climate change, and habitat loss. Because of the threat wildfires pose to human lives, property and timber harvest, they have been suppressed to an extent …

Smokejumper Obituary: Marker, Ronald E. (Mccall 1952), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Royer, Lawrence E. (North Cascades 1961), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Taxonomic Similarity Does Not Predict Necessary Sample Size For Ex Situ Conservation: A Comparison Among Five Genera, Sean Hoban, Taylor Callicrate, John Clark, Susan Deans, Michael Dosmann, Priyanka Dipak Kadav, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Effectively conserving biodiversity with limited resources requires scientifically informed and efficient strategies. Guidance is particularly needed on how many living plants are necessary to conserve a threshold level of genetic diversity in ex situ collections. We investigated this question for 11 taxa across five genera. In this first study analysing and optimizing ex situ genetic diversity across multiple genera, we found that the percentage of extant genetic diversity currently conserved varies among taxa from 40% to 95%. Most taxa are well below genetic conservation targets. Resampling datasets showed that ideal collection sizes vary widely even within a genus: one taxon …

Smokejumper Obituary: Grammer, Steven R. (Redding 1970), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Reviewing Fire, Climate, Deer, And Foundation Species As Drivers Of Historically Open Oak And Pine Forests And Transition To Closed Forests, Brice B. Hanberry, Marc D. Abrams, Mary A. Arthur, J. Morgan Varner

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Historically open oak and pine savannas and woodlands have transitioned to closed forests comprised of increased numbers of tree species throughout the eastern United States. We reviewed evidence for and against a suite of previously postulated drivers of forest transition focused on (1) change in fire regimes, (2) increased precipitation, (3) increased white-tailed deer densities, and (4) loss of American chestnut. We found that fire and fire exclusion provide a parsimonious mechanism for historical dominance by open forests of fire-tolerant oak and/or pine species and subsequent transition to closed forests with fire-sensitive tree species that fill the vertical profile. Based …

Smokejumper Obituary: Hastey, Edward L. (Missoula 1954), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Tuttle, Richard E. (North Cascades 1940), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Fire Suppression On Aquatic Invertebrates In Ephemeral Wetlands Embedded In Longleaf Pine Forests, Hailey E. Baker

Honors College Theses

It has been established for many years that longleaf pine forests require the ecological disturbance of fire in order to maintain a balanced ecosystem. However, a crucial part of these forests has become nearly excluded from prescribed burning. Ephemeral wetlands embedded within longleaf pine forests are a unique and dynamic seasonal habitat that provide homes, refuge, and breeding grounds for a large array of taxa. Past research suggests that fire suppression around ephemeral wetlands is causing harm to many species of amphibians and other herpetofauna, especially threatened species like the flatwoods salamander. However, other species have not been as well …

Smokejumper Obituary: Laplant, Larry A. (Missoula 1962), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Brist, Howard B. (Missoula 1941), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Population Genetics Of A Recent Range Expansion By The Southern Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus Frontalis, Into The Northeastern United States, Megan Stubbs

Honors Theses

Population genetics as a field of study aims to determine the genetic variation among individuals in a population, and differences among populations. Certain population genetic analyses can provide such information and be used to better understand the biological aspects to a species’ expansion beyond its native range. The southern pine beetle (SPB), Dendroctonus frontalis, has become an invasive pest to pine forests in northeastern United States with its recent range expansion. Nine microsatellite loci were first developed and then used in analyses. To determine what the genetic variation is among individuals in SPB populations across its entire range, including …

Smokejumper Obituary: Price, Ronald K. (Cave Junction 1956), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Modeling Species Distribution And Habitat Suitability Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius) In Virginia, Jacob D. J. Peters

Masters Theses, 2020-current

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a well-known and sought-after medicinal plant native to North America that is facing increased threat of extinction due to overharvesting, herbivory, and habitat loss. Species distribution and habitat suitability models may be valuable to landowners interested in sustainable harvest or to institutions interested in the conservation and restoration of the species. With unequal sampling efforts across a region of interest, it is likely that some locations with appropriate habitat may be misrepresented in model predictions. This study refined a state-derived species distribution model for ginseng through increased sampling effort across the Cumberland Plateau …

Shifting Public Perception: Climate Change Means Living With Fire And Smoke, Robert Froembling

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

The urgency to prepare for the climate crisis has never been greater. We are currently living in the sixth mass extinction and the effects are only going to accelerate. We will inherit more wildfires, larger wildfires, and more frequent wildfires.

This piece is not meant to stoke fear in its readers or be depressing, but to shift public perception on what our future holds by evaluating the laws and science presented to us. This piece will look at regional and federal regulations and assess the increased rate of forest fires and the grave public health concerns from stagnant smoke specifically …

Smokejumper Obituary: Garner, Richard F. (Mccall 1956), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Tibbitts, Allen "A.B." (Mccall 1966), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Pine Litter Raking On Plant Community Composition And Soil Seed Banks In Longleaf Pine Savannas, Jordan Andrew Winter

Graduate Theses

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) savannas have been reduced to a small percentage of their original range in the southeastern United States. These savannas are fire-reliant and require frequent, low-intensity fires to maintain understory plant diversity. Currently, many landowners rake pine litter off the forest floor of longleaf pine savannas for subsequent sale in horticulture. Though raking is a common practice, little is known about the effects of raking on the understory plant community, the soil seed bank, or fire intensity. I conducted my research in two longleaf pine savanna sites where raking has occurred. At the McCain Forest Management Area …

A Floristic Survey Of Andalusia: A Historic Preservation Site In Baldwin County, Georgia, William Pharr

Biology Theses

A survey of the vascular plants of Andalusia, a historic preservation site located along Highway 441 north of Milledgeville in Baldwin County, Georgia, was conducted between August 2018 and February 2020. The site was the late home of esteemed author, Flannery O’Connor, and resides along the Georgia fall line, making it a historically significant area that could yield a unique plant community convergence, as well as rare endemic species. This floristic inventory provides baseline data on the species and plant communities of Andalusia for use in future studies regarding the flora of this area. A total of 191 vascular species …

Canopy Openness As A Predictor Of Growth For Castanea Dentata Seedlings In The Cumberland Uplands Of Tennessee, Hannah Crawford

Honors Theses

Castanea dentata growth and reproduction in the forest ecosystem is limited by light. Canopy gaps could be used for restoration efforts; however, the lack of blight resistant planting material has limited what is known about the silvicultural requirements of C. dentata. I studied the survival and growth of chestnut seedlings in various sized light gaps in the Cumberland Uplands in the 2019 season. The Tennessee Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation previously established Eagle Point Railroad (Cumberland Plateau) and the Starr Farm (Eastern Highland Rim), and I established a site near Barker Pounds trailhead (Cumberland Plateau). Results indicate that canopy …