Forest Sciences Commons^™

Habitat Type Mapping In Montana De Oro State Park Through Gis Image Classification, Evan Corrales, Sarah Fockler

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

This project involved using aerial imagery and GIS procedures to automatically map the basic vegetation communities present within Montana de Oro State Park, CA: grassland, coastal scrub, bare ground, woodland, and riparian areas. 1m resolution color imagery of the park from the NAIP 2005 (National Agriculture Inventory Program) and 1m resolution LiDAR height data were also used to determine the locations of the different vegetation types in the park. This data was then classified by color using the interactive supervised classification tool in ArcGIS. Points were taken in the park using a GPS unit, and compared with the GIS results …

Variability In Soil Climate And Respiration On Managed Timber Stands: A Case Study In Southwest Oregon, Scott Pensky, Adrian Gallo

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Thinning of forested lands and timber stands in the Pacific Northwest have taken place for centuries with a limited understanding of how the alterations may affect ecosystem functions. The goal of this study was to examine the soil climate and microbial activity on a seasonal timescale of thinning practices examined at different stages of succession. Two timber stands in Southwestern Oregon within the Grayback Creek Watershed were chosen because of identical forest management techniques separated by a 10-year treatment interval (40% variable density thinning). Field methods and equipment measured canopy coverage, soil moisture and temperature at 3 depths (5, 15, …

Post-Fire Response Of Little Creek Watershed: Evaluation Of Change In Sediment Production And Suspended Sediment Transport, Andrew Wood Loganbill

Master's Theses

The Little Creek watershed was assessed to identify changes in event-based suspended sediment export and determine the factors contributing to sediment production the first year following the Lockheed Fire in 2009. The amount and volume of near-stream sediment sources were found to decrease, while an increase in hillslope sediment production was documented. High intensity, short duration rainfall (up to 87 mm/hr for 10 minute duration) initiated extensive rilling and minor channel-derived debris torrents originating from the upper south facing slopes. Rainfall simulations, hillslope erosion plots, and soil infiltration tests indicated that fire produced soil water repellency, the lack of ground …

Smokejumper Obituary: Abromeit, Douglas E. (Mccall 1971), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Campbell, Ronald (Redding 1964), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Aiken, Max (Missoula 1947), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Mechanisms Of Nutrient Limitation And Nutrient Acquisition In Managed And Unmanaged Forest Ecosystems, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur

Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding the interactions between global change, human and natural disturbances, and other factors on biogeochemical processes in forests is necessary to ensure the sustainability of forest management. Here I report the results of several investigations into nutrient acquisition processes in the forests of New Hampshire. I begin with a meta-analysis of fertilization studies showing that phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) as well as nitrogen (N) may limit primary production in deciduous forests of the region. Because these limiting nutrients are all removed from the ecosystem when trees are harvested, I compared nutrient budgets under a range of harvesting scenarios with …

Climate Change Tipping Points: A Point Of No Return?, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Summer 2012 saw records fall for intensity of drought and number, size, and cost of wildfires in the Central and Western United States, and the climate forecast calls for more of the same in the near and distant future. When wildfire breaks out, emergency responders decide their immediate strategy based on past experience and quick judgment calls. But in the long term, land managers need to plan for a warmer climate on a time scale of decades, or even a century or more, to better reflect the life span of trees and forests. Studies supported by the Joint Fire Science …

What Is Silvopasture?

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

What is silvopasture?

Silvopasture is the deliberate integration of trees and grazing livestock operations on the same land. These systems are intensively managed for both forest products and forage. Well managed silvopastures employ agronomic principals, typically including introduced or native pasture grasses, fertilization and nitrogen-fixing legumes, and rotational grazing systems that employ short grazing periods which maximize vegetative plant growth and harvest.

Mitigating Heat Stress In Cattle

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

Mitigating heat stress In cattle

Heat stress can even result in greater calf mortality and increased veterinary costs. Moreover, it causes livestock to drink more water, and lose more sodium, magnesium, and potassium in their urine.

The Effects Of Fire On The Vernal Herbs Of An Eastern Mesic Forest, David Randolph Kem

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The effects of fire on vernal herbs of the mesic forests of eastern North America are poorly understood. I studied the influence of prescribed fire on species richness, abundance of rare and common species, and density of exotics in the vernal herbaceous layer. To determine these effects, three sites in central Kentucky were surveyed prior to and following one of three treatments: spring burn, winter burn, or negative control. I conducted low-intensity spring burns in April 2010 and winter burns in February 2011. I used chi square analyses to test for changes in species richness, abundance of rare species, abundance …

Mitigando El Estrés Por Calor En Ganado

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

Mitigando el estrés por calor en ganado.

Kentucky Forestry Economic Impact Report 2012-2013, Jeff Stringer, Billy Thomas, Bobby Ammerman, Alison Davis

Kentucky Forestry Economic Impact Reports

Kentucky plays a pivotal role in providing forest products to the U.S. and the forestry sector is a major economic force in the Commonwealth providing over 51,000 jobs and $9.9 billion to Kentucky’s economy in 2012. This economic input was generated from 708 facilities located in 109 of Kentucky’s 120 counties including a wide range of industries from logging and sawmills to cabinet manufacturers and paper and producers. In 2012 Kentucky was one of the largest producers of hardwood timber with over 590 million board feet of sawlogs and over 900,000 tons of pulpwood harvested from private family-owned forests. This …

Temporal Analysis Of Field, Ssurgo, And Lidar Derived Site Indices In The Southeastern U.S., Steven Ham

All Theses

Sustainable forest management requires accurate information about site index (SI, tree height at a base age). The objectives of this study were to compare site indices from field inventory data (2008-2009), Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR, 2008), and to determine the uncertainty in the site indices from the southern part of the Clemson Experimental Forest. When LiDAR derived analysis were used to compare to SSURGO there were statistical differences for site indices for all of the tree species in this study: loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), white …

Characterization Of Whole Pine Tree Substrates For Adventitious Rooting Of Cuttings And Initial Growth Of Seedlings, Anthony Lynn Witcher

Dissertations

Processed whole pine (Pinus taeda L.) trees have been extensively evaluated to supplement peatmoss and pine bark usage in container substrates for greenhouse and nursery crop production. The suitability of whole pine tree (WPT) substrates for crop propagation has not been investigated. Demonstrating the versatility of WPT substrates is essential to expanding their commercial availability and use.

The objective of this work was to evaluate WPT substrates for stem cutting and seed propagation of ornamental crops, and to identify factors affecting root development. Stem cutting and seedling root development was evaluated in WPT and traditional (peatmoss and pine bark) …

Herbaceous 2013, Julia I. Chapman, Amy L. Myers, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Herbaceous vegetation data collected in 2013 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Sustainable Outdoor Recreation And The Forest Service: Agency Culture, Response To Change And Implications For The Future, Noelle L. Meier

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As a product of the Progressive Reform movement of the early 20th century, the Forest Service was created to be a scientific, well-organized, ethical and efficient new form of government. In over a century of service, the agency retains many proud traits and traditions along such lines, but it has been noted as being technocratic and overly rigid in its emphasis on the biophysical sciences, analysis and administrative procedures, and lacking agility in the socio-political aspects of natural resource management. While the agency has endeavored to better integrate the social sciences and improve its policies toward meaningful public involvement, issues …

Response Of Breeding Birds To Forest Disturbance In The Arkansas Ozarks: Impacts Of Uneven-Aged Management, Ice Damage, And Woodland Restoration, Maureen Mcclung

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Forests of the Ozarks are important breeding grounds for many bird species, each with specific habitat requirements. Natural and anthropogenic disturbance events can alter vegetational structure of forests, thereby influencing communities of breeding birds. The objectives of my study were to examine the response of breeding birds and their habitat to three types of forest disturbance: (1) uneven-aged management, (2) ice damage, and (3) woodland restoration. Avian and vegetation surveys were conducted during the 2008, 2009, and 2010 breeding seasons (May-June) in the Ozark National Forest, Arkansas. Each site was surveyed for birds four times a season using fixed-radius point …

Forest Recovery, Nutrient Cycling And Carbon Sequestration In A Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest, Patrick T. Moore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Our forests provide us with a variety of services from clean water, forest products and wildlife habitat to the lesser known functions of nutrient cycling and carbon
sequestration. This research helps to demonstrate the extent of some of these services in a heavily disturbed southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest within Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the most heavily visited National Park in the United States. Following a catastrophic infestation of the non-native balsam wooly adelgid, the future of this forest was unknown, causing some to speculate about the future of this sensitive forest type. Though predictions about this forest’s future varied …

Use Of Exposure History To Identify Patterns Of Immunity To Pneumonia In Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis), Raina K. Plowright, Kezia R. Manlove, E. Frances Cassirer, Paul C. Cross, Thomas E. Besser, Peter J. Hudson

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Individual host immune responses to infectious agents drive epidemic behavior and are therefore central to understanding and controlling infectious diseases. However, important features of individual immune responses, such as the strength and longevity of immunity, can be challenging to characterize, particularly if they cannot be replicated or controlled in captive environments. Our research on bighorn sheep pneumonia elucidates how individual bighorn sheep respond to infection with pneumonia pathogens by examining the relationship between exposure history and survival in situ. Pneumonia is a poorly understood disease that has impeded the recovery of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) following their widespread extirpation in …