Forest Sciences Commons^™

The Mcintire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research Program: The Driving Force Of Sustainable Forestry, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Presentations

The McIntire-Stennis (M-S) Cooperative Forestry Research Program has provided fundamental support for creating and strengthening forestry research and graduate training efforts at colleges and universities across the nation for nearly 50 years. M-S funding has helped produce thousands of forestry scientists and other research professionals, and M-S–supported research has provided critical basic understanding and applied solutions to extend the benefits that flow from forests and related rangelands across the nation over time. The 1962 legislation that created the M-S program authorized funding of up to one-half of the funds appropriated for federal forestry research conducted directly by the USDA. Throughout …

Evaluating The Current Status Of Chestnut-Present Forest Systems: Integrating Gigapan As A Tool For Site Assessment, Charles Taylor Brewer

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The field of environmental science can directly benefit from a society driven by advances in technology. The loss of the American chestnut (Castanea denata) has had a significant negative environmental and economic impact throughout the Appalachian region. However, using an integrated approach utilizing recent advances in science and technology, we may be able to promote the re-introduction of a very similar species within this region. Using GigaPan as a tool for site assessment and data storage, and previous methods of biological field surveying within the critical detritus layer of the forest floor, we will assess the status of forest ecosystems …

The Detection Of Forest Structures In The Monongahela National Forest Using Lidar, Dominique Norman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The mapping of structural elements of a forest is important for forestry management to provide a baseline for old and new-growth trees while providing height strata for a stand. These activities are important for the overall monitoring process which aids in the understanding of anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Height information recorded for each discrete point is key for the creation of canopy height, canopy surface, and canopy cover models. The aim of this study is to assess if LiDAR can be used to determine forest structures. Small footprint, leaf-off LiDAR data were obtained for the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. …

Suitability Of Low Cost Commercial Off-The-Shelf Aerial Platforms And Consumer Grade Digital Cameras For Small Format Aerial Photography, Anthony Allen Turley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Many research projects require the use of aerial images. Wetlands evaluation, crop monitoring, wildfire management, environmental change detection, and forest inventory are but a few of the applications of aerial imagery. Low altitude Small Format Aerial Photography (SFAP) is a bridge between satellite and man-carrying aircraft image acquisition and ground-based photography. The author’s project evaluates digital images acquired using low cost commercial digital cameras and standard model airplanes to determine their suitability for remote sensing applications. Images from two different sites were obtained. Several photo missions were flown over each site, acquiring images in the visible and near infrared electromagnetic …

Predicting Dry Lightning Risk Nationwide, Joy Drohan

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Meteorologists developed two formulas to predict the probability of dry lightning throughout the continental United States and Alaska and parts of Canada. Predictions are made daily and are accessible through the web at http://www.airfire.org/tools/daily-fire-weather/dry-lightning-probability. The emphasis is on the western United States, where dry lightning is a more common occurrence. Predictions are based on identifying days on which lightning is expected and separately determining whether there is likely to be at least 1/10th inch of accompanying rain. The formulas are run with the latest North American or Alaskan weather forecasting model and forecast dry lightning probabilities for about three days …

Wildland Fire In Ecosystems Effects Of Fire On Cultural Resources And Archaeology, Krista Deal, Leaonard Debano, Michael L. Elliot, Charles Haecker, Ann Trinkle Jones, Roger Kelly, Kristine M. Lee, Daniel F. Mccarthy, Elizabeth Oster, Trisha Rude, Samantha M. Ruscava-Barz, Kevin C. Ryan, Nelson Siefkin, Rebecca S. Timmons, John R. Welch

Joint Fire Science Program Synthesis Reports

This state-of-knowledge review provides a synthesis of the effects of fire on cultural resources, which can be used by fire managers, cultural resource (CR) specialists, and archaeologists to more effectively manage wildland vegetation, fuels, and fire. The goal of the volume is twofold: (1) to provide cultural resource/archaeological professionals and policy makers with a primer on fuels, fire behavior, and fire effects to enable them to work more effectively with the fire management community to protect resources during fuels treatment and restoration projects and wildfire suppression activities; and (2) to provide fire and land management professionals and policy makers with …

Research Perspectives On The Public And Fire Management: A Synthesis Of Current Social Science On Eight Essential Questions, Sarah M. Mccaffrey, Christine S. Olsen

Joint Fire Science Program Synthesis Reports

As part of a Joint Fire Science Program project, a team of social scientists reviewed existing fire social science literature to develop a targeted synthesis of scientific knowledge on the following questions: 1. What is the public’s understanding of fire’s role in the ecosystem? 2. Who are trusted sources of information about fire? 3. What are the public’s views of fuels reduction methods, and how do those views vary depending on citizens’ location in the wildland-urban interface or elsewhere? 4. What is the public’s understanding of smoke effects on human health, and what shapes the public’s tolerance for smoke? 5. …

A Comprehensive Guide To Fuel Management Practices For Dry Mixed Conifer Forests In The Northwestern United States, Theresa B. Jain, Mike A. Battaglia, Han-Sup Han, Russell T. Graham, Christopher R. Keyes, Jeremy S. Fried, Johnathan E. Sandquist

Joint Fire Science Program Synthesis Reports

This guide describes the benefits, opportunities, and trade-offs concerning fuel treatments in the dry mixed conifer forests of northern California and the Klamath Mountains, Pacific Northwest Interior, northern and central Rocky Mountains, and Utah. Multiple interacting disturbances and diverse physical settings have created a forest mosaic with historically low- to mixed-severity fire regimes. Analysis of forest inventory data found nearly 80 percent of these forests rate hazardous by at least one measure and 20 to 30 percent rate hazardous by multiple measures. Modeled mechanical treatments designed to mimic what is typically implemented, such as thinning, are effective on less than …

Climate Change, Forests, Fire, Water, And Fish: Building Resilient Landscapes, Streams, And Managers, Charles Luce, Penny Morgan, Kathleen Dwire, Daniel Isaak, Zachary Holden, Bruce Rieman, Robert Gresswell, John Rinne, Helen M. Neville, R. E. Gresswell, J. B. Dunham, Amanda E. Rosenberger, Michael K. Young

Joint Fire Science Program Synthesis Reports

Fire will play an important role in shaping forest and stream ecosystems as the climate changes. Historic observations show increased dryness accompanying more widespread fire and forest die-off. These events punctuate gradual changes to ecosystems and sometimes generate stepwise changes in ecosystems. Climate vulnerability assessments need to account for fire in their calculus. The biophysical template of forest and stream ecosystems determines much of their response to fire. This report describes the framework of how fire and climate change work together to affect forest and fish communities. Learning how to adapt will come from testing, probing, and pushing that framework …

Social Science At The Wildland-Urban Interface: A Compendium Of Research Results To Create Fire-Adapted Communities, Eric Toman, Melanie Stidham, Sarah Mccaffrey, Bruce Shindler

Joint Fire Science Program Synthesis Reports

Over the past decade, a growing body of research has been conducted on the human dimensions of wildland fire. Building on a relatively small number of foundational studies, this research now addresses a wide range of topics including mitigation activities on private lands, fuels reduction treatments on public land, community impacts and resident behaviors during fire, acceptance of approaches to postfire restoration and recovery, and fire management policy and decisionmaking. As this research has matured, there has been a recognition of the need to examine the full body of resulting literature to synthesize disparate findings and identify lessons learned across …

Timber Talk, Vol. 50, No. 2, June 1, 2012

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber Market News; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried.; Air Drying Lumber; Chiggers-More Than You Ever Wanted To Know!; Nebraska Forestry Spotlight; The Trading Post; Timber Sales.

Silvopastoreo: Una Práctica Agroforestal

Agroforestry Notes (USDA-NAC)

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Long-Term Water Table Manipulations On Vegetation, Pore Water, Substrate Quality, And Carbon Cycling In A Northern Poor Fen Peatland, John A. Hribljan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Northern peatlands are large reservoirs of soil organic carbon (C). Historically peatlands have served as a sink for C since decomposition is slowed primarily because of a raised water table (WT) that creates anoxic conditions. Climate models are predicting dramatic changes in temperature and precipitation patterns for the northern hemisphere that contain more than 90% of the world’s peatlands. It is uncertain whether climate change will shift northern peatlands from C sequestering systems to a major global C source within the next century because of alterations to peatland hydrology. This research investigated the effects of 80 years of hydrological manipulations …

Notes On The Diet Of The Malay Civet (Viverra Tangalunga) And Other Civets In Logged And Unlogged Lowland Dipterocarp Rain Forests In Sabah, Borneo, Christina P. Colon, John B. Sugau

Publications and Research

Civet diets were examined in a logged and unlogged Bornean rain forest. Malay civets (Viverra tangalunga) consumed invertebrates, fruit, rodents, insectivores, birds, snakes and lizards, and appear to show preference for centipedes and scorpions. Other civet species consumed fruit, such as figs, Connarus sp. and Annona sp., particularly in the unlogged forest, but also consumed invertebrates and vertebrates. Reduced fruit consumption observed in the logged forest may be due to lower availability and may be offset by increased consumption of invertebrates. The increased overlap in diet between Malay civets and other civets in disturbed areas may lead to …

What Is Alley Cropping?

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

What is alley cropping?

Alley Cropping is an agroforestry practice where agricultural or horticultural crops are grown in the alleyways between widely spaced rows of woody plants. Alley Cropping can diversify farm income, increase crop production, improve landscape aesthetics, enhance wildlife habitat and provide protection and conservation benefits to crops. By combining annual and perennial crops that yield mulitple products and profits at different times, a landowner can use available space, time and resources more effectively.

Revisiting The Ecological Status Of The Cheat Mountain Salamander (Plethodon Nettingi) After 32 Years, Whitney A. Kroschel

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Cheat Mountain Salamander (Plethodon nettingi) is endemic to the high elevations of the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia and is listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a threatened species. In 1978-79 and in 2011 the vertical distribution of P. nettingi was measured at four sites to determine their range of occupancy in relation to elevation. During both time periods, a transect was established at each site that ran from high to low elevation. Along each transect, quadrats were placed at regular, 12.2 m elevation intervals. Quadrats were searched twice for presence/absence (i.e., occupancy) and abundance of …

Working Trees For Water Quality

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

Working trees for water quality

Working Trees: a partner in watershed management. Agroforestry helps to protect water quality while achieving both landowner and community objectives.

What Is Forest Farming?

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

What is forest farming?

Forest farming, or multi-story cropping, is a distinctive approach to land management that combines management practices of conventional forestry with those of small-scale farming or gardening to attain an environmentally and economically sustainable land-use system.

Typically, a forest farming system is established by thinning an existing woodland or plantation to leave the best canopy trees for continued timber production and to create the appropriate conditions that favor the understory crop.

Using Agroforestry Practices To Reduce Pesticide Risks To

Agroforestry Notes (USDA-NAC)

No abstract provided.

Riparian Forest Buffers: An Agroforestry Practice

Agroforestry Notes (USDA-NAC)

No abstract provided.