Sample records for conditions nelson forest

  1. The Nelson Institute

    Science.gov Websites

    EVENTS Nelson Events Earth Day Environmental Events @ UW-Madison Jordahl Public Lands Lecture Submit an for Environmental Studies, UW-Madison Tweets by @NelsonInstitute visit us on youtube NEWS April 27 Skip to main content nelson logo UW Home | My UW | Map click to support nelson facebook logo

  2. Robert S. Nelson | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    S. Nelson Photo of Robert S. Nelson Robert Nelson Researcher II-Biological Science Robert.Nelson recombinant proteins. His current work is focused on the biological conversion of lignocellulose to advanced

  3. Re-examining Nelson's syndrome.

    PubMed

    Palermo, Nadine E; Ananthakrishnan, Sonia

    2015-08-01

    Nelson's syndrome is a rare complication that can occur during the course of management of Cushing's disease. This article summarizes the recent literature on the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of this potentially life-threatening outcome. Nelson's syndrome, with rising adrenocorticotropin hormone levels and corticotroph tumor progression on diagnostic imaging, can develop following treatment of refractory Cushing's disease with total bilateral adrenalectomy with/without radiotherapy. However, data showing that radiotherapy prevents Nelson's syndrome is inconsistent. In addition to the treatment of Nelson's syndrome with neurosurgery with/without adjuvant radiotherapy, selective somatostatin analogs and dopamine agonists, as well as other novel agents, have been used with increasing frequency in treating cases of Nelson's syndrome with limited benefit. The risk-benefit profile of each of these therapies is still not completely understood. Consensus guidelines on the evaluation and management of Nelson's syndrome are lacking. This article highlights areas in the surveillance of Cushing's disease patients, and diagnostic criteria and treatment regimens for Nelson's syndrome that require further research and review by experts in the field.

  4. Nelson Syndrome: Update on Therapeutic Approaches.

    PubMed

    Azad, Tej D; Veeravagu, Anand; Kumar, Sunny; Katznelson, Laurence

    2015-06-01

    To review the pathophysiology and therapeutic modalities availble for Nelson syndrome. We reviewed the current literature including managment for Nelson syndrome. For patients with NS, surgical intervention is often the first-line therapy. With refractory NS or tumors with extrasellar involvement, radiosurgery offers an important alternative or adjuvant option. Pharmacologic interventions have demonstrated limited usefulness, although recent evidence supports the feasibility of a novel somatostatin analog for patients with NS. Modern neuroimaging, improved surgical techniques, and the advent of stereotactic radiotherapy have transformed the management of NS. An up-to-date understanding of the pathophysiology underlying Nelson Syndrome and evidence-based management is imperative. Early detection may allow for more successful therapy in patients with Nelson Syndrome. Improved radiotherapeutic interventions and rapidly evolving pharmacologic therapies offer an opportunity to create targeted, multifocal treatment regiments for patients with Nelson Syndrome. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. The Tao of Nelson

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1998-01-01

    ARCHIVE COPY . NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY NATIONAL WAR COLLEGE The Tao of Nelson Tao rnvarzably takes no actron, and yet there IS nothing left...1998 to 00-00-1998 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Tao of Nelson 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d...MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12 . DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution

  6. Nelson syndrome: historical perspectives and current concepts.

    PubMed

    Hornyak, Mark; Weiss, Martin H; Nelson, Don H; Couldwell, William T

    2007-01-01

    The appearance of an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-producing tumor after bilateral adrenalectomy for Cushing disease was first described by Nelson in 1958. The syndrome that now bears his name was characterized by hyperpigmentation, a sellar mass, and increased plasma ACTH levels. The treatment of Cushing disease has changed drastically since the 1950s, when the choice was adrenalectomy. Thus, the occurrence, diagnosis, and treatment of Nelson syndrome have changed as well. In the modern era of high-resolution neuroimaging, transsphenoidal microneurosurgery, and stereotactic radiosurgery, Nelson syndrome has become a rare entity. The authors describe the history of the diagnosis and treatment of Nelson syndrome. In light of the changes described, the authors believe this disease must be reevaluated in the contemporary era and a modern paradigm adopted.

  7. Forest condition in Latvia

    Treesearch

    Madis Sipols

    1998-01-01

    Systematic assessment and observation (survey, inventory) of forests in Latvia has been underway since the 1700's. Latvia's forests are in the boreal/temperate forest zone and cover 44 percent of the country. Forest growing conditions are subdivided into five site class types: forests on dry mineral, wet mineral, wet peat, drained mineral, drained peat soils...

  8. Nelson: management is a team effort.

    PubMed

    Nelson, S I

    2001-11-01

    Sally I. Nelson, CPA, is executive vice president, chief financial officer, and chief information officer for Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, the largest freestanding pediatric hospital in the United States. It is a part of Texas Children's Hospital and Integrated Delivery System (TCH IDS). Before joining the organization in 1986, Nelson served as a senior manager in the computer services consulting practice of KPMG Peat Marwick-Houston. Nelson recently was named a finalist in CFO magazine's national 2001 CFO Excellence Awards, the first CFO of a not-for-profit organization to be named a finalist since not-for-profits became eligible for the awards. She was cited for her accomplishments in managing expectations and relationships with the community and its leaders, government officials, Baylor College of Medicine, physicians, patients' families, hospital personnel, trustees of the hospital, and investors.

  9. 78 FR 75205 - Death of Nelson Mandela

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-10

    ... of Nelson Mandela By the President of the United States of America Proclamation Today, the United... of nations or our own personal lives. While we mourn his loss, we will forever honor Nelson Mandela's... Constitution and laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall...

  10. Meet EPA's Dan Nelson

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA’s Dan Nelson is the Director of the Human Research Protocol Office at the National Health and Environmental Effect Research Laboratory, Dan works to protect the rights and welfare of EPA’s research participants.

  11. U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson of Florida during medical tests at JSC's Clinic

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1985-01-01

    U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson of Florida during medical tests at JSC's Clinic. Photos include Rep. Nelson talking to Sharon Briceno (center) and Betty Lord before the tests begin. The congressman's torso bears a number of sensors for the testing (40835); Portrait view of Rep. Nelson with sensors attached to his chest (40836); Rep. Nelson gets some assistance from nurses at the clinic as he prepares to participate in medical tests. Help is provided by Betty Lord, right, and Sharon Briceno (40837); Rep. Nelson is being assisted to don 'halo' device for tests (40838); Rep. Nelson runs in place on a treadmill device (40839).

  12. On the domain of the Nelson Hamiltonian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Griesemer, M.; Wünsch, A.

    2018-04-01

    The Nelson Hamiltonian is unitarily equivalent to a Hamiltonian defined through a closed, semibounded quadratic form, the unitary transformation being explicitly known and due to Gross. In this paper, we study the mapping properties of the Gross-transform in order to characterize the regularity properties of vectors in the form domain of the Nelson Hamiltonian. Since the operator domain is a subset of the form domain, our results apply to vectors in the domain of the Hamiltonian as well. This work is a continuation of our previous work on the Fröhlich Hamiltonian.

  13. Marilyn Nelson: Poetic Justice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pierpont, Katherine

    2006-01-01

    This article features some of the books written by Marilyn Nelson. Here, the author discusses how she has written a children's book of poetry about lynching, entitled "A Wreath for Emmitt Till." The author discusses how her books for children honor and memorialize history-changing African Americans. Among other things, the author discusses some of…

  14. GRAHAM NELSON AND ANDREW HANKS WITH BREADBOARD ENGINE PROJECT CO

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-09-14

    Graham Nelson, right, and Andrew Hanks examine a combustion chamber developed by engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for an additively manufactured demonstration breadboard engine project. Nelson is project manager and Hanks is test lead for the project, in which engineers are designing components from scratch to be made entirely by 3-D printing.

  15. Navy/Thomas Nelson Community College MLT Training Pilot Evaluation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-06-01

    4825 Mark Center Drive • Alexandria, Virginia 22311-1850 CAB D0006007.A2/Final June 2002 Navy/Thomas Nelson Community College MLT Training Pilot...Navy/Thomas Nelson Community College MLT Training Pilot Evaluation 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d...ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12 . DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release

  16. Bias in the Wagner-Nelson estimate of the fraction of drug absorbed.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yibin; Nedelman, Jerry

    2002-04-01

    To examine and quantify bias in the Wagner-Nelson estimate of the fraction of drug absorbed resulting from the estimation error of the elimination rate constant (k), measurement error of the drug concentration, and the truncation error in the area under the curve. Bias in the Wagner-Nelson estimate was derived as a function of post-dosing time (t), k, ratio of absorption rate constant to k (r), and the coefficient of variation for estimates of k (CVk), or CV% for the observed concentration, by assuming a one-compartment model and using an independent estimate of k. The derived functions were used for evaluating the bias with r = 0.5, 3, or 6; k = 0.1 or 0.2; CV, = 0.2 or 0.4; and CV, =0.2 or 0.4; for t = 0 to 30 or 60. Estimation error of k resulted in an upward bias in the Wagner-Nelson estimate that could lead to the estimate of the fraction absorbed being greater than unity. The bias resulting from the estimation error of k inflates the fraction of absorption vs. time profiles mainly in the early post-dosing period. The magnitude of the bias in the Wagner-Nelson estimate resulting from estimation error of k was mainly determined by CV,. The bias in the Wagner-Nelson estimate resulting from to estimation error in k can be dramatically reduced by use of the mean of several independent estimates of k, as in studies for development of an in vivo-in vitro correlation. The truncation error in the area under the curve can introduce a negative bias in the Wagner-Nelson estimate. This can partially offset the bias resulting from estimation error of k in the early post-dosing period. Measurement error of concentration does not introduce bias in the Wagner-Nelson estimate. Estimation error of k results in an upward bias in the Wagner-Nelson estimate, mainly in the early drug absorption phase. The truncation error in AUC can result in a downward bias, which may partially offset the upward bias due to estimation error of k in the early absorption phase. Measurement error of

  17. STS-26 MS Nelson on fixed based (FB) shuttle mission simulator (SMS) middeck

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1988-01-01

    STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, Mission Specialist (MS) George D. Nelson trains on the middeck of the fixed based (FB) shuttle mission simulator (SMS). Nelson, wearing communications assembly headset, adjusts camera mounting bracket.

  18. Gamma knife radiosurgery for Cushing's disease and Nelson's syndrome.

    PubMed

    Marek, Josef; Ježková, Jana; Hána, Václav; Kršek, Michal; Liščák, Roman; Vladyka, Vilibald; Pecen, Ladislav

    2015-06-01

    This paper presents our 18 years of experience in treating ACTH secreting adenomas (Cushing's disease and Nelson's syndrome) using the Leksell gamma knife (LGK) irradiation. Twenty-six patients with Cushing's disease were followed-up after LGK irradiation for 48-216 months (median 78 months). Seventeen patients had undergone previous surgery, in nine patients LGK irradiation was the primary therapy. Furthermore, 14 patients with Nelson's syndrome were followed-up for 30-204 months (median 144 months). LGK treatment resulted in hormonal normalization in 80.7 % of patients with Cushing's disease. Time to normalization was 6-54 months (median 30 months). The volume of the adenoma decreased in 92.3% (in 30.7% disappeared completely). There was no recurrence of the disease. In all 14 patients with Nelson's syndrome ACTH levels decreased (in two patients fully normalized) their ACTH levels. When checked up 5-10 years after irradiation regrowth of the adenoma was only detected in one patient (9.1%), in 27.3% adenoma volume remained unchanged, in 45.4% adenoma volume decreased and in 18.2% adenoma completely disappeared. Hypopituitarism did not develop in any patient where the critical dose to the pituitary and distal infundibulum was respected. LGK radiation represents an effective and well-tolerated option for the treatment of patients with Cushing's disease after unsuccessful surgery and may be valuable even as a primary treatment in patients who are not suitable for, or refuse, surgery. In the case of Nelson's syndrome it is possible to impede tumorous growth and control the size of the adenoma in almost all patients.

  19. Forest insect & disease conditions in the Northeast - 1956

    Treesearch

    W. E. Waters; Alma M. Waterman

    1957-01-01

    This annual report on forest pest conditions in the Northeast combines, for the first time, information about both the major forest insects and the major forest diseases in the region. It was prepared as an aid to those who have a concern for protecting our forests from insect and disease attacks.

  20. Observations of emperor geese feeding at Nelson Lagoon, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Petersen, Margaret R.

    1983-01-01

    Estuaries along the north side of the Alaska Peninsula provide essential habitat for most of the American population of Emperor Goose (Chen canagica) during migration (Petersen and Gill 1982). Most of the population passes through Nelson Lagoon in spring and fall, with over 40,000 birds recorded there (Gill et al 1981). Little is known about the feeding activity of Emperor Geese while they are in estuaries, and the importance of estuaries as staging areas during spring and fall migration is poorly understood. Here I report observations on the feeding activity of emperor Geese at one estuary (Nelson Lagoon).

  1. Forest health conditions on the Allegheny National Forest (1989-1999): Analysis of forest health monitoring surveys

    Treesearch

    R.S. Morin; A.M. Liebhold; K.W. Gottschalk; D.B. Twardus; R.E. Acciavatti; R.L. White; S.B. Horsley; W.D. Smith; E.R. Luzader

    2001-01-01

    This publication describes the forest vegetation and health conditions of the Allegheny National Forest (ANF). During the past 15 years, the ANF has experienced four severe droughts, several outbreaks of exotic and native insect defoliators, and the effects of other disturbance agents. An increase in tree mortality has raised concerns about forest health. Historical...

  2. Mercury in Nelson's Sparrow Subspecies at Breeding Sites

    PubMed Central

    Winder, Virginia L.; Emslie, Steven D.

    2012-01-01

    Background Mercury is a persistent, biomagnifying contaminant that can cause negative effects on ecosystems. Marshes are often areas of relatively high mercury methylation and bioaccumulation. Nelson's Sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni) use marsh habitats year-round and have been documented to exhibit tissue mercury concentrations that exceed negative effects thresholds. We sought to further characterize the potential risk of Nelson's Sparrows to mercury exposure by sampling individuals from sites within the range of each of its subspecies. Methodology/Principal Findings From 2009 to 2011, we captured adult Nelson's Sparrows at sites within the breeding range of each subspecies (A. n. nelsoni: Grand Forks and Upham, North Dakota; A. n. alterus: Moosonee, Ontario; and A. n. subvirgatus: Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick) and sampled breast feathers, the first primary feather (P1), and blood for total mercury analysis. Mean blood mercury in nelsoni individuals captured near Grand Forks ranged from 0.84±0.37 to 1.65±1.02 SD ppm among years, between 2.0 and 4.9 times as high as concentrations at the other sites (P<0.01). Breast feather mercury did not vary among sites within a given sampling year (site means ranged from 0.98±0.69 to 2.71±2.93 ppm). Mean P1 mercury in alterus (2.96±1.84 ppm fw) was significantly lower than in any other sampled population (5.25±2.24–6.77±3.51 ppm; P≤0.03). Conclusions/Significance Our study further characterized mercury in Nelson's Sparrows near Grand Forks; we documented localized and potentially harmful mercury concentrations, indicating that this area may represent a biological mercury hotspot. This finding warrants further research to determine if wildlife populations of conservation or recreational interest in this area may be experiencing negative effects due to mercury exposure. We present preliminary conclusions about the risk of each sampled population to mercury exposure. PMID:22384194

  3. A selection of forest condition indicators for monitoring

    Treesearch

    Kurt H. Riitters; B.E. Law; R.C. Kucera; A.L. Gallant; R.L. DeVelice; C.J. Palmer

    1992-01-01

    Regional monitoring and assessments of the health of forested ecosystems require indicators of forest conditions and environmental stresses. Indicator selections depend on objectives and the strategy for data collection and analysis. This paper recommends a set of indicators to signal changes in forest ecosystem distribution, productivity, and disturbance. Additional...

  4. Forests growing under dry conditions have higher hydrological resilience to drought than do more humid forests.

    PubMed

    Helman, David; Lensky, Itamar M; Yakir, Dan; Osem, Yagil

    2017-07-01

    More frequent and intense droughts are projected during the next century, potentially changing the hydrological balances in many forested catchments. Although the impacts of droughts on forest functionality have been vastly studied, little attention has been given to studying the effect of droughts on forest hydrology. Here, we use the Budyko framework and two recently introduced Budyko metrics (deviation and elasticity) to study the changes in the water yields (rainfall minus evapotranspiration) of forested catchments following a climatic drought (2006-2010) in pine forests distributed along a rainfall gradient (P = 280-820 mm yr -1 ) in the Eastern Mediterranean (aridity factor = 0.17-0.56). We use a satellite-based model and meteorological information to calculate the Budyko metrics. The relative water yield ranged from 48% to 8% (from the rainfall) in humid to dry forests and was mainly associated with rainfall amount (increasing with increased rainfall amount) and bedrock type (higher on hard bedrocks). Forest elasticity was larger in forests growing under drier conditions, implying that drier forests have more predictable responses to drought, according to the Budyko framework, compared to forests growing under more humid conditions. In this context, younger forests were shown more elastic than older forests. Dynamic deviation, which is defined as the water yield departure from the Budyko curve, was positive in all forests (i.e., less-than-expected water yields according to Budyko's curve), increasing with drought severity, suggesting lower hydrological resistance to drought in forests suffering from larger rainfall reductions. However, the dynamic deviation significantly decreased in forests that experienced relatively cooler conditions during the drought period. Our results suggest that forests growing under permanent dry conditions might develop a range of hydrological and eco-physiological adjustments to drought leading to higher hydrological

  5. Identifying Hydrological Controls in the Lower Nelson River Basin utilizing Stable Water Isotopes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Delavau, C. J.; Smith, A. A.; Stadnyk, T.; Koenig, K.

    2012-12-01

    In 2010 a Stable Water Isotope (SWI) Monitoring Network was established within the lower Nelson River Basin (LNRB) (approximately 90,000 km2) in northern Manitoba, Canada, through a joint collaboration between the University of Manitoba and Manitoba Hydro (MH). The monitoring network encompasses over 60 sites where surface waters are regularly sampled, four sites sampling isotopes in precipitation, two sites utilizing drive point piezometers for the isotopic sampling of baseflow waters, and one site collecting evaporatively enriched water samples from an evaporation pan. In addition, two synoptic surveys have been completed in June 2011 and July 2012 to obtain annual snapshots of the monitoring network at a point in time. Currently, over 700 samples have been collected and analyzed. The LNRB contains approximately 9% of the total Nelson River Basin (NRB) drainage area, which encompasses an area of over 1 million km2. A diversion from the Churchill River through the Rat/Burntwood system routes an additional portion of flow into the northwest portion of the LNRB. The LNRB is significant to MH's network as it represents 75% of their power generation potential through six generating stations, thus resulting in a large portion of the basin being regulated. The watershed is topographically flat, therefore the movement and runoff of water, as well as isotopic composition of streamflow, is suspected to be highly impacted by changes in landscape and hydrography. The LNRB is a coniferous and wetland dominated basin, with almost 35% of the land cover composed of coniferous forest and 40% comprised of wetlands and lakes. Interpretation of the LNRB isotope framework shows that the major water sources (rainfall, snowfall, groundwater and surface waters) and rivers are isotopically distinct from one another. The main stem of the Nelson River shows little spatial or temporal variability, with an average δ18O of -10.6‰ and a standard deviation of 0.5‰ throughout the sampling

  6. Grantee Spotlight: Bill Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.

    Cancer.gov

    Dr. William (Bill) Nelson is playing an integral role in advancing our understanding of cancer health disparities and helping to foster the interests of young students from underrepresented backgrounds in cancer/cancer health disparities research.

  7. Development history and bibliography of the US Forest Service crown-condition indicator for forest health monitoring.

    PubMed

    Randolph, KaDonna C

    2013-06-01

    Comprehensive assessment of individual-tree crown condition by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program has its origins in the concerns about widespread forest decline in Europe and North America that developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Programs such as the US National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, US National Vegetation Survey, Canadian Acid Rain National Early Warning System, and joint US-Canadian North American Sugar Maple Decline Project laid the groundwork for the development of the US Forest Service crown-condition indicator. The crown-condition assessment protocols were selected and refined through literature review, peer review, and field studies in several different forest types during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Between 1980 and 2011, 126 publications relating specifically to the crown-condition indicator were added to the literature. The majority of the articles were published by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service or other State or Federal government agency, and more than half were published after 2004.

  8. 3 CFR 9067 - Proclamation 9067 of December 5, 2013. Death of Nelson Mandela

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 5, 2013 Proc. 9067 Death of Nelson MandelaBy the President of the United States of America A... Nelson Mandela's memory. He left behind a South Africa that is free and at peace with itself—a close... Constitution and laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall...

  9. Philosophical Remarks on Nelson Mandela's Education Legacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Waghid, Yusef

    2014-01-01

    In this article, I reflect on Nelson Mandela's (Madiba, the clan name of Mandela) education legacy. I argue that Madiba's education legacy is constituted by three interrelated aspects: firstly, an education for non-violence guided by deliberation, compassion and reconciliation; secondly, education as responsibility towards the Other; and thirdly,…

  10. Monitoring Forest Condition in Europe: Impacts of Nitrogen and Sulfur Depositions on Forest Ecosystems

    Treesearch

    M. Lorenz; G. Becher; V. Mues; E. Ulrich

    2006-01-01

    Forest condition in Europe has been monitored over 19 years jointly by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the European Union (EU). Large-scale variations of forest condition over space and time in relation to natural and anthropogenic factors are assessed on about 6,000 plots systematically spread across Europe. This large-scale monitoring...

  11. 78 FR 66353 - EAM Nelson Holdings, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER13-2349-000] EAM Nelson Holdings, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization This is a supplemental notice in the above-referenced proceeding, of EAM Nelson...

  12. Land-Base Changes in the United States: Long-Term Assessments of Forest Land Condition

    Treesearch

    Ralph J. Alig

    2006-01-01

    Forest land conditions affect the potential of U.S. forests to sustain a wide array of forest goods and environmental services (e.g., biodiversity) that society demands. Forest survey data collected by U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) units are being used in long-term assessments of U.S. forest land conditions at large...

  13. Corner Office Interview: SirsiDynix's Rautenstrauch and Nelson

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rapp, David; Fialkoff, Francine

    2010-01-01

    This article presents an interview with SirsiDynix CEO Gary M. Rautenstrauch and newly appointed VP of library relations Berit Nelson about some of the issues that have been roiling the ILS world and the company itself, among them the recent consolidation of SirsiDynix's offices, customer service, the state of library budgets, the rise of ebooks…

  14. Rep. Bill Nelson inside a personal rescue sphere

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1985-09-25

    U.S. Representative Bill Nelson (D.,Florida) gives a thumbs up signal from inside a small ball called a personal rescue sphere (PRS). The PRS is not part of STS 61-C hardware, but serves to evaluate a subject's reaction to close quarters. The photo was taken through a visor on the 39-inch diameter fabric rescue sphere.

  15. Development history and bibliography of the US Forest Service crown-condition indicator for forest health monitoring

    Treesearch

    KaDonna Randolph

    2013-01-01

    Comprehensive assessment of individual-tree crown condition by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program has its origins in the concerns about widespread forest decline in Europe and North America that developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Programs such as the US National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program,...

  16. Describing the conditions of forest ecosystems using disturbance profiles

    Treesearch

    John E. Lundquist; J. P. Ward

    1995-01-01

    Data from a study on the effect of small-scale disturbances on small mammal prey of the Mexican spotted owl illustrates how spatial models of canopy cover and disturbance profiles of forest stands might be used to define forest stand condition and develop silvicultural prescriptions.

  17. Chapter 15: A desired future condition for Sierra Nevada Forests

    Treesearch

    M. North

    2012-01-01

    An unexpected outcome of U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report PSW-GTR 220, "An Ecosystem Management Strategy for Sierran Mixed-Conifer Forests" (North et al. 2009), was how it generated discussion about a desired future condition for Sierra Nevada forests. The paper did not convey leading-edge research results or provide an exhaustive literature...

  18. Evaluation of Forest Health Conditions using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hatfield, M. C.; Heutte, T. M.

    2016-12-01

    US Forest Service Alaska Region Forest Health Protection (FHP) and University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) are evaluating capability of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to monitor forest health conditions in Alaska's Interior Region. In July 2016, the team deployed UAS at locations in the Tanana Valley near Fairbanks in order to familiarize FHP staff with capabilities of UAS for evaluating insect and disease damage. While many potential uses of UAS to evaluate and monitor forest health can be envisioned, this project focused on use of a small UAS for rapid assessment of insect and disease damage. Traditional ground-based methods are limited by distance from ground to canopy and inaccessibility of forest stands due to terrain conditions. Observation from fixed-wing aircraft provide a broad overview of conditions but are limited by minimum safe flying altitude (500' AGL) and aircraft speed ( 100 mph). UAS may provide a crucial bridge to fill in gaps between ground and airborne methods, and offer significant cost savings and greater flexibility over helicopter-based observations. Previous uses of UAS for forest health monitoring are limited - this project focuses on optimizing choice of vehicle, sensors, resolution and area scanned from different altitudes, and use of visual spectrum vs NIR image collection. The vehicle selected was the ACUASI Ptarmigan, a small hexacopter (based on DJI S800 airframe and 3DR autopilot) capable of carrying a 1.5 kg payload for 15 min for close-range environmental monitoring missions. Sites were chosen for conditions favorable to UAS operation and presence of forest insect and disease agents including spruce broom rust, aspen leaf miner, birch leaf roller, and willow leafblotch miner. A total of 29 flights were conducted with 9000+ images collected. Mission variables included camera height, UAS speed, and medium- (Sony NEX-7) vs low-resolution (GoPro Hero) cameras. Invaluable

  19. Risk of impaired condition of watersheds containing National Forest lands

    Treesearch

    Thomas C Brown; Pamela Froemke

    2010-01-01

    We assessed the risk of impaired condition of the nearly 3700 5th-level watersheds in the contiguous 48 states containing the national forests and grasslands that make up the U.S. Forest Service's National Forest System (NFS). The assessment was based on readily available, relatively consistent nationwide data sets for a series of indicators representing watershed...

  20. U.S. SENATOR BILL NELSON AT FRICTION STIR WELD LAB

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-02-12

    U.S. SENATOR BILL NELSON OF FLORIDA, RIGHT, LISTENS AS ANDY SCHORR, ASSISTANT MANAGER FOR SPACECRAFT/PAYLOAD INTEGRATION AND EVOLUTION, EXPLAINS THE PROGRESS OF NASA'S SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM DURING A VISIT TO NASA'S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER ON FEB. 12, 2016

  1. 4. Historic American Buildings Survey, Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer, Jan. ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    4. Historic American Buildings Survey, Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer, Jan. 16, 1937, View - Second to Third Floor Stairs Old Homeopathic Hospital, 123 North Pearl St., Albany, N.Y. - Old Homeopathic Hospital (Interiors), 123 North Pearl Street, Albany, Albany County, NY

  2. 1. Historic American Buildings Survey, Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer, Jan. ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    1. Historic American Buildings Survey, Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer, Jan. 16, 1937, View - Stairway from First to Second Floor Old Homeopathic Hospital (Office of the HABS), Albany, N.Y. - Old Homeopathic Hospital (Interiors), 123 North Pearl Street, Albany, Albany County, NY

  3. 2. Historic American Buildings Survey, Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer, Jan. ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    2. Historic American Buildings Survey, Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer, Jan. 16, 1937, View - Interior Door Opening into Apartment on First Floor, 123 North Pearl St., Albany, N.Y. - Old Homeopathic Hospital (Interiors), 123 North Pearl Street, Albany, Albany County, NY

  4. 3. Historic American Buildings Survey, Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer, Jan. ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    3. Historic American Buildings Survey, Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer, Jan. 16, 1937, View - Double Doors and Columns in Apartment on First Floor, 123 North Pearl St., Albany, N.Y. - Old Homeopathic Hospital (Interiors), 123 North Pearl Street, Albany, Albany County, NY

  5. Rebuttal to Nelson et al. 'Response to Bodin and Grote regarding postdoctoral recruitment in clinical neuropsychology'.

    PubMed

    Bodin, Doug; Grote, Christopher L

    2016-07-01

    Nelson et al. provided a response to our commentary on the postdoctoral match in clinical neuropsychology. In this brief rebuttal, we will focus on statements from Nelson et al. that we believe are factual inaccuracies or misunderstandings of some of the points we made in our commentary. In addition, we will comment briefly on the proposed guidelines offered in their response.

  6. Experimental foundation of the Gabor-Nelson theory applied to boundaries which are non-insulating.

    PubMed

    Troquet, J; Lambin, P; Nelson, C V

    1985-06-07

    In order to found the application of the Gabor-Nelson theory to non-insulating boundaries, we have used a network which we have divided into two parts: a core energized by a source sink pair and an appendage, the conductivity of which may or may not differ from that of the core. By ignoring the appendage and by applying the Gabor-Nelson method to the restricted perimeter as if it were totally insulating, we stress the errors made in computing the dipole strength, orientation and position and how they are influenced by the dipole eccentricity, by its orientation with respect to the junction between the added portion and the core, and by a change in conductivity between the same compartments. Finally, we restore the dipole characteristics by using the appropriate correction derived from theory. Comparing the later results to those obtained by applying the Gabor-Nelson method to the whole insulating boundary leads to the conclusion that the correction is founded and must be taken into account.

  7. Imported case of acute respiratory tract infection associated with a member of species nelson bay orthoreovirus.

    PubMed

    Yamanaka, Atsushi; Iwakiri, Akira; Yoshikawa, Tomoki; Sakai, Kouji; Singh, Harpal; Himeji, Daisuke; Kikuchi, Ikuo; Ueda, Akira; Yamamoto, Seigo; Miura, Miho; Shioyama, Yoko; Kawano, Kimiko; Nagaishi, Tokiko; Saito, Minako; Minomo, Masumi; Iwamoto, Naoyasu; Hidaka, Yoshio; Sohma, Hirotoshi; Kobayashi, Takeshi; Kanai, Yuta; Kawagishi, Takehiro; Nagata, Noriyo; Fukushi, Shuetsu; Mizutani, Tetsuya; Tani, Hideki; Taniguchi, Satoshi; Fukuma, Aiko; Shimojima, Masayuki; Kurane, Ichiro; Kageyama, Tsutomu; Odagiri, Takato; Saijo, Masayuki; Morikawa, Shigeru

    2014-01-01

    A Japanese man suffered from acute respiratory tract infection after returning to Japan from Bali, Indonesia in 2007. Miyazaki-Bali/2007, a strain of the species of Nelson Bay orthoreovirus, was isolated from the patient's throat swab using Vero cells, in which syncytium formation was observed. This is the sixth report describing a patient with respiratory tract infection caused by an orthoreovirus classified to the species of Nelson Bay orthoreovirus. Given the possibility that all of the patients were infected in Malaysia and Indonesia, prospective surveillance on orthoreovirus infections should be carried out in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, contact surveillance study suggests that the risk of human-to-human infection of the species of Nelson Bay orthoreovirus would seem to be low.

  8. A Good Time: A Conversation with C. Michael Nelson

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zabel, Robert; Kaff, Marilyn; Teagarden, Jim

    2015-01-01

    C. Michael Nelson began his special education career as a teacher of adolescents with learning and behavior disorders. He has worked as a child psychologist and as a professor with the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Kentucky. He coordinated the graduate Personnel Preparation Program for Teachers…

  9. A Message from Nelson Mandela to the Youth of America.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mandela, Nelson

    1995-01-01

    Presents a message to young people from Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa. Calls for a bridge between the youth of Africa and the United States. Asserts that racial divisions in the United States are major social issues that must be solved. (CFR)

  10. Anoxic conditions drive phosphorus limitation in humid tropical forest soil microorganisms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gross, A.; Pett-Ridge, J.; Weber, P. K.; Blazewicz, S.; Silver, W. L.

    2017-12-01

    The elemental stoichiometry of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) of soil microorganisms (C:N:P ratios) regulates transfers of energy and nutrients to higher trophic levels. In humid tropical forests that grow on P-depleted soils, the ability of microbes to concentrate P from their surroundings likely plays a critical role in P-retention and ultimately in forest productivity. Models predict that climate change will cause dramatic changes in rainfall patterns in the humid tropics and field studies have shown these changes can affect the redox state of tropical forest soils, influencing soil respiration and biogeochemical cycling. However, the responses of soil microorganisms to changing environmental conditions are not well known. Here, we incubated humid tropical soils under oxic or anoxic conditions with substrates differing in both C:P stoichiometry and lability, to assess how soil microorganisms respond to different redox regimes. We found that under oxic conditions, microbial C:P ratios were similar to the global optimal ratio (55:1), indicating most microbial cells can adapt to persistent aerated conditions in these soils. However, under anoxic conditions, the ability of soil microbes to acquire soil P declined and their C:P ratios shifted away from the optimal ratio. NanoSIMS elemental imaging of single cells extracted from soil revealed that under anoxic conditions, C:P ratios were above the microbial optimal value in 83% of the cells, in comparison to 41% under oxic conditions. These data suggest microbial growth efficiency switched from being energy limited under oxic conditions to P-limited under anoxic conditions, indicating that, microbial growth in low P humid tropical forests soils may be most constrained by P-limitation when conditions are oxygen-limited. We suggest that differential microbial responses to soil redox states could have important implications for productivity of humid tropical forests under future climate scenarios.

  11. John Nelson Darby: His Contributions to Evangelical Christian Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutherland, Winston Terrance

    2010-01-01

    The study reported in this article focused on the contributions of John Nelson Derby to biblical hermeneutics and contemporary eschatological thought. Darby continues to exert a great influence on Christianity, particularly conservative evangelical Christianity. This research provides a discussion of Darby's contributions to contemporary…

  12. Horatio Nelson and the 1798 Mediterranean Campaign

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-01-01

    status as Duke of Bronte. Dates preceded by names Theseus , Captain, Vanguard or Victory are referring to Nelson’s flagships, from whence he wrote many...Guns 590 Men 2. Theseus R.W. Miller, Captain 74 Guns 590 Men 3. Alexander Alex. John Ball, Captain 74 Guns 590 Men 4. Vanguard Rear-Admiral...1798, OFF THE MOUTH OF THE NILE. Theseus .—5 Seamen killed; 1 Officer, 24 Seamen, 5 Marines wounded. —Total 35. Alexander.—1 Officer, 13 Seamen

  13. ForWarn Forest Disturbance Change Detection System Provides a Weekly Snapshot of US Forest Conditions to Aid Forest Managers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hargrove, W. W.; Spruce, J.; Kumar, J.; Hoffman, F. M.

    2012-12-01

    The Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center and Western Wildland Environmental Assessment Center of the USDA Forest Service have collaborated with NASA Stennis Space Center to develop ForWarn, a forest monitoring tool that uses MODIS satellite imagery to produce weekly snapshots of vegetation conditions across the lower 48 United States. Forest and natural resource managers can use ForWarn to rapidly detect, identify, and respond to unexpected changes in the nation's forests caused by insects, diseases, wildfires, severe weather, or other natural or human-caused events. ForWarn detects most types of forest disturbances, including insects, disease, wildfires, frost and ice damage, tornadoes, hurricanes, blowdowns, harvest, urbanization, and landslides. It also detects drought, flood, and temperature effects, and shows early and delayed seasonal vegetation development. Operating continuously since January 2010, results show ForWarn to be a robust and highly capable tool for detecting changes in forest conditions. To help forest and natural resource managers rapidly detect, identify, and respond to unexpected changes in the nation's forests, ForWarn produces sets of national maps showing potential forest disturbances at 231m resolution every 8 days, and posts the results to the web for examination. ForWarn compares current greenness with the "normal," historically seen greenness that would be expected for healthy vegetation for a specific location and time of the year, and then identifies areas appearing less green than expected to provide a strategic national overview of potential forest disturbances that can be used to direct ground and aircraft efforts. In addition to forests, ForWarn also tracks potential disturbances in rangeland vegetation and agriculural crops. ForWarn is the first national-scale system of its kind based on remote sensing developed specifically for forest disturbances. The ForWarn system had an official unveiling and rollout in

  14. Spatial interpolation of forest conditions using co-conditional geostatistical simulation

    Treesearch

    H. Todd Mowrer

    2000-01-01

    In recent work the author used the geostatistical Monte Carlo technique of sequential Gaussian simulation (s.G.s.) to investigate uncertainty in a GIS analysis of potential old-growth forest areas. The current study compares this earlier technique to that of co-conditional simulation, wherein the spatial cross-correlations between variables are included. As in the...

  15. Nonparametric projections of forest and rangeland condition indicators: A technical document supporting the 2005 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment Update

    Treesearch

    John Hof; Curtis Flather; Tony Baltic; Rudy King

    2006-01-01

    The 2005 Forest and Rangeland Condition Indicator Model is a set of classification trees for forest and rangeland condition indicators at the national scale. This report documents the development of the database and the nonparametric statistical estimation for this analytical structure, with emphasis on three special characteristics of condition indicator production...

  16. The struggle for Sunday lunch: gastropolitics in the life of Nelson Mandela.

    PubMed

    Trapido, Anna

    2011-01-01

    This paper explores the political, economic, and social life of Nelson Mandela through his food choices from 1918 to the present. A description of the minutiae of one particular 1950s Sunday lunch is used to examine the broader role of first colonial and later apartheid legislation in determining the dietary choices and options of South Africans past and present. How such policies shaped attitudes and access to Nelson Mandela’s ancestral Xhosa cuisine is assessed. The long-term cultural, economic, and political impact of a lack of access to core indigenous African ingredients is evaluated. Most of all this paper offers a snapshot portrayal of two families (one white, one black) trying to sustain a normal friendship within a grossly abnormal society.

  17. Modelling Associations between Public Understanding, Engagement and Forest Conditions in the Inland Northwest, USA

    PubMed Central

    Hartter, Joel; Stevens, Forrest R.; Hamilton, Lawrence C.; Congalton, Russell G.; Ducey, Mark J.; Oester, Paul T.

    2015-01-01

    Opinions about public lands and the actions of private non-industrial forest owners in the western United States play important roles in forested landscape management as both public and private forests face increasing risks from large wildfires, pests and disease. This work presents the responses from two surveys, a random-sample telephone survey of more than 1500 residents and a mail survey targeting owners of parcels with 10 or more acres of forest. These surveys were conducted in three counties (Wallowa, Union, and Baker) in northeast Oregon, USA. We analyze these survey data using structural equation models in order to assess how individual characteristics and understanding of forest management issues affect perceptions about forest conditions and risks associated with declining forest health on public lands. We test whether forest understanding is informed by background, beliefs, and experiences, and whether as an intervening variable it is associated with views about forest conditions on publicly managed forests. Individual background characteristics such as age, gender and county of residence have significant direct or indirect effects on our measurement of understanding. Controlling for background factors, we found that forest owners with higher self-assessed understanding, and more education about forest management, tend to hold more pessimistic views about forest conditions. Based on our results we argue that self-assessed understanding, interest in learning, and willingness to engage in extension activities together have leverage to affect perceptions about the risks posed by declining forest conditions on public lands, influence land owner actions, and affect support for public policies. These results also have broader implications for management of forested landscapes on public and private lands amidst changing demographics in rural communities across the Inland Northwest where migration may significantly alter the composition of forest owner goals

  18. Forecasts of forest conditions

    Treesearch

    Robert Huggett; David N. Wear; Ruhong Li; John Coulston; Shan Liu

    2013-01-01

    Key FindingsAmong the five forest management types, only planted pine is expected to increase in area. In 2010 planted pine comprised 19 percent of southern forests. By 2060, planted pine is forecasted to comprise somewhere between 24 and 36 percent of forest area.Although predicted rates of change vary, all forecasts reveal...

  19. Ongoing change of site conditions important for sustainable forest management planning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bidló, András; Horváth, Adrienn; Gulyás, Krisztina; Gálos, Borbála

    2016-04-01

    Observed tree mortality of the last decades has shown that the vulnerable forest ecosystems are especially affected by the recurrent, long lasting droughts, heat waves and their consequences. From all site conditions climate is changing the fastest, in this way it can be the largest threatening factor in the 21st century. Beyond climate, soil characteristics are playing an important influencing role. Until now, silvicultural technologies and species preferences of many countries are prescribed by binding regulation based on climate conditions that are assumed to be constant over time. Therefore the aim of our research was to investigate the ongoing and projected change of site conditions that are considered to be of primary importance in terms of tree species selection. For a case study region in Hungary (Keszthely Mountains, near to Lake Balaton) long-term climate tendencies have been determined for the period 1961-2100, as well as a detailed soil sample analysis has been carried out including ~100 sites. Results show a 0.5 degree increase of temperature and a 6-7 % decrease of the precipitation amount for the summer months in the last decades. For the future, significant warming and drying of summers is expected. Decrease of the summer precipitation sum can exceed 25 % until the end of the century, probability of extreme hot days may increase. These tendencies together with the unfavourable soil conditions and biotic damages can be the reason of the ongoing forest dieback. One of the characteristic soil type of the region is rendzina with a thin topsoil layer and an unfavourable water holding capacity. These properties are limiting the amount of available water for plants, especially in case of intense precipitation events. Black pine stands planted on rendzinas after many years of grazing; therefore erosion may have played a significant role. Not only microclimate conditions but also soil types show a large diversity within a relatively small distance. However

  20. John Nelson Darby: Scholarship that Influenced the Bible College Movement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutherland, Winston Terrance

    2010-01-01

    The study reported in this article focused on the scholastic life of John Nelson Darby and his contributions to the Bible college movement. Darby continues to exert a great influence on Christianity, particularly conservative evangelical Christianity. This research provides a discussion of the forces that conspired to shape the direction of…

  1. Denudation rates derived from spatially-averaged cosmogenic nuclide analysis in Nelson catchments, South Island, New Zealand

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burdis, A.; Norton, K. P.; Ditchburn, B.; Zondervan, A.

    2013-12-01

    events. This is highlighted by sediment yields reaching ~2535 t km-2 yr-1 following storm events in the Nelson region (Basher et al., 2011). At least on the northern South Island of New Zealand, extreme climatic events appear to be the main driver of elevated denudation rates. Basher, L., Hicks, D., Clapp, B., & Hewitt, T. (2011). Sediment Yield Response to Large Storm Events and Forest Harvesting, Motueka River, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal ofMarine and Freshwater Research, Vol. 45, No. 3 , 333-356.

  2. Forest resources and conditions

    Treesearch

    William H. McWilliams; Linda S. Heath; Gordon C. Reese; Thomas L. Schmidt

    2000-01-01

    The forests of the northern United States support a rich mix of floral and faunal communities that provide inestimable benefits to society. Today's forests face a range of biotic and abiotic stressors, not the least of which may be environmental change. This chapter reviews the compositional traits of presettlement forests and traces the major land use patterns...

  3. Special article: Horace Nelson MD, John Webster LDS--unrecognized Canadian anesthesia pioneers.

    PubMed

    Craig, Douglas; Chartrand, Daniel

    2014-03-01

    The timing of the earliest reported ether anesthetics in early 1847, in regions to become Canada in July 1867, was examined using information from on-line and library-based sources. Previous authors had identified the first reported ether anesthetic given by a visiting American dentist in January 1847 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Nevertheless, they had reported three different anesthetics as the second occurrence - which would denote the first anesthetic given by a resident of Canada. We confirmed that there were no reports of ether anesthetics being given in Canada before that reported on January 18, 1847 in Saint John. The information available for our review indicates that the second ether anesthetic, and the first by a Canadian, was given in Montreal by a dentist, Dr. John Horatio Webster, on February 20, 1847. The surgical assistant for that operation, Dr. Horace Nelson, later reported on animal and human experiments with ether, which he had led in Montreal starting in January 1847. Earlier authors, who may not have had access to the information now available, came to incorrect conclusions about the first ether anesthetic reported to have been given by a Canadian. Current information indicates that John Webster gave the first reported anesthetic in Montreal on February 20, 1847 following experiments with ether led by Horace Nelson. Both Webster and Nelson deserve recognition as Canadian anesthesia pioneers.

  4. Preliminary report on the Nelson and Radovan copper prospects, Nizina district, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sainsbury, C.J.

    1952-01-01

    Renewed copper exploration by Alaska Copper Mines, Incorporated, at the Nelson and Radovan prospects, Nizina district, Alaska, led the Geological Survey in 1951 to map in detail the Nelson fault block, and to re-examine the old workings. In addition, two new prospects were studied. The Nelson fault block is cut by many dominantly strike-slip faults of small displacement, and by bedding faults. Slickensided chalcocite shows post-mineral movement, and chalcocite veinlet in a filled solution cavity indicates that some of the chalcocite is secondary, perhaps very recent. Structural relations indicate two overthrust faults cut the block. The Radovan Greenstone prospect shows massive chalcocite, up to 3 feet wide, in a silicified, epidotized fault zone in the Nikolai greenstone. Ore indicated by surface exposures may amount to 450 tons of chalcocite. The Radovan Low-Contact prospect is on a continuation of the same fault approximately 3 miles southwest of the Greenstone prospect, and 150 feet above the contact of the Nikolai greenstone and the overlying Chitistone limestone. Limonite staining is widespread in bedding planes and small faults near the fault zone; mineralization in the fault zone consists of pyrite, chalcocite, bornite, malachite, realgar, orpiment and stibnite. The sulphides in the fault zone, plus the widespread silicification and epidotization indicate a strong zone of hydrothermal activity which merits extensive prospecting.

  5. Relation of weather forecasts to the prediction of dangerous forest fire conditions

    Treesearch

    R. H. Weidman

    1923-01-01

    The purpose of predicting dangerous forest-fire conditions, of course, is to reduce the great cost and damage caused by forest fires. In the region of Montana and northern Idaho alone the average cost to the United States Forest Service of fire protection and suppression is over $1,000,000 a year. Although the causes of forest fires will gradually be reduced by...

  6. Nelson Spencer (1918-2002)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brace, Larry; Carignan, George; Donahue, Tom; Nagy, Andrew; Hunten, Donald

    Nelson Spencer, former chief of the Laboratory for Atmospheres at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, died on 31 August 2002 in Bethesda, Maryland, at the age of 84 due to complications from Parkinson's disease. He had been an AGU member (SPA) since 1950.He was born in Buffalo, New York, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1941 with a degree in electrical engineering. Spencer served as a naval officer during World War II and attended Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while in the service. After the war, he returned to the University of Michigan for graduate studies, earning his master's degree in electrical engineering in 1953. He soon became director of that department's Space Physics Research Laboratory (SPRL), and later, a full professor. In 1960, Spencer moved to Washington D.C. to lead Goddard's upper atmosphere research effort, serving for many years as chief of the Laboratory for Atmospheres. He retired in 1986.

  7. Forest reference conditions for ecosystem management in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico

    Treesearch

    M. R. Kaufmann; L. S. Huckaby; C. M. Regan; J. Popp

    1998-01-01

    We present the history of land use and historic vegetation conditions on the Sacramento Ranger District of the Lincoln National Forest within the framework of an ecosystem needs assessment. We reconstruct forest vegetation conditions and ecosystem processes for the period immediately before Anglo-American settlement using General Land Office survey records, historic...

  8. STS-26 MS Nelson during Crew escape system (CES) testing in JSC WETF Bldg 29

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1988-07-08

    S88-42409 (20 July 1988) --- STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, Mission Specialist (MS) George D. Nelson participates in crew escape system (CES) testing in JSC Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) Bldg 29. Nelson, wearing the newly designed (navy blue) launch and entry suit (LES), floats in WETF pool with the aid of an underarm flotation device (modern version of Mas West floats). He awaits the assistance of SCUBA-equipped divers during a simulation of escape and rescue operations utilizing a new CES pole for emergency exit from the Space Shuttle.

  9. Mixing and photoreactivity of dissolved organic matter in the Nelson/Hayes estuarine system (Hudson Bay, Canada)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guéguen, C.; Mokhtar, M.; Perroud, A.; McCullough, G.; Papakyriakou, T.

    2016-09-01

    This work presents the results of a 4-year study (2009-2012) investigating the mixing and photoreactivity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the Nelson/Hayes estuary (Hudson Bay). Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), colored DOM, and humic-like DOM decreased with increasing salinity (r2 = 0.70-0.84). Removal of DOM was noticeable at low to mid salinity range, likely due to degradation and/or adsorption to particles. DOM photobleaching rates (i.e., decrease in DOM signal resulting from exposure to solar radiation) ranged from 0.005 to 0.030 h- 1, corresponding to half-lives of 4.9-9.9 days. Dissolved organic matter from the Nelson and Hayes Rivers was more photoreactive than from the estuary where the photodegradation of terrestrial DOM decreased with increasing salinity. Coincident with the loss of CDOM absorption was an increase in spectral slope S, suggesting a decrease in DOM molecular weight. Marked differences in photoreactivity of protein- and humic-like DOM were observed with highly humidified material being the most photosensitive. Information generated by our study will provide a valuable data set for better understanding the impacts of future hydroelectric development and climate change on DOM biogeochemical dynamics in the Nelson/Hayes estuary and coastal domain. This study will constitute a reference on terrestrial DOM fate prior to building additional generating capacity on the Nelson River.

  10. U.S. Rep. William Nelson drinking tea from shuttle beverage container

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1985-01-01

    U.S. Rep. William Nelson of Florida tries drinking tea from a straw-equipped beverage dispenser in JSC's life sciences laboratory during a space food orientation session. The congressman is in early stages of training for a position on the STS 61-C mission.

  11. National Dam Safety Program. Nelson Dam (Inventory Number VA 12501), James River Basin, Nelson County, Virginia. Phase I Inspection Report.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-06-01

    during tropical storm Camille. 5.4 Flood Potential: The 100-Year Flood, 1/2 PMF, and PH? were developed by use of the HEC-l computer program (Reference 2...Appendix V) and routed through the reservoir using the NWS-Dambreak computer program (Reference 3, Appendix V). Clark’s Tc and R coefficients for...AD-AO" 330 ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT NORFOLK VA F/6 13/13 NATIONAL DAM SAFETY PROGRAM . NELSON DAM (INVENTORY NUMBER VA 12--ETC(U) JUN 81 B 0 TARANUNCL

  12. 77 FR 1667 - Nelson S. Galgoul, Av. Edison Passess 909, Rio De Janeiro, R.J., Brazil 20531-070, Respondent...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-11

    ..., Rio De Janeiro, R.J., Brazil 20531-070, Respondent; Order Relating to Nelson S. Galgoul The Bureau of... entry of the Order, Nelson S. Galgoul, with a last known address of Av. Edison Passess 909, Rio De Janeiro, R.J., Brazil 20531-070, and when acting for or on his behalf, his representatives, assigns...

  13. In Honor of Eyak: The Art of Anna Nelson Harry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krauss, Michael E., Ed.

    Ten stories, in poem and narrative form, told by Anna Nelson Harry, are presented here. The stories represent a portion of the oral tradition of the Eyak, an Alaskan native nation of which few native speakers remain. An introductory section chronicles the history and decline of the Eyak, the research undertaken to preserve their culture, and the…

  14. Silenced but Not Silent: The Rhetorical Influence of Nelson Mandela.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boyd, Susy

    In the epicenter of the political strife in South Africa is former African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela. The ANC is considered to be the leading source of opposition to white rule in South Africa, and Mandela is one of the most revered and powerful figures to emerge from that organization. Incarcerated for over 25 years on charges…

  15. Assessment of the Use of the Nelson Denny Reading Test.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perkins, Dorothy

    1984-01-01

    The Nelson Denny Reading Test (NDRT) is probably the most widely used test of reading comprehension at the college level in the nation. However, reviews of the test, as well as recent reports of its failure to adequately measure gain or lack of gain of college students enrolled in reading improvement courses, do not support the popularity it has…

  16. Vegetative composition in forested areas following application of desired forest condition treatments

    Treesearch

    Trent A. Danley; Andrew W. Ezell; Emily B. Schultz; John D. Hodges

    2015-01-01

    Desired forest conditions, or DFCs, are recently created parameters which strive to create diverse stands of hardwoods of various species and age classes, along with varying densities and canopy gaps, through the use of uneven-aged silvicultural methods and repeated stand entries. Little research has been conducted to examine residual stand composition and hardwood...

  17. Reference conditions for giant sequoia forest restoration: structure, process, and precision

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stephenson, Nathan L.

    1999-01-01

    National Park Service policy directs that more natural conditions be restored to giant sequoia groves, which have been altered by a century of fire exclusion. Efforts to find a reasonable and practical definition of “natural” have helped drive scientists and land managers to use past grove conditions as reference conditions for restoration. Extensive research aimed at determining reference conditions has demonstrated that past fire regimes can be characterized with greater precision than past grove structures. Difficulty and imprecision in determining past grove structure has helped fuel a debate between “structural restorationists,” who believe that forest structure should be restored mechanically before fire is reintroduced, and “process restorationists,” who believe that simple reintroduction of fire is appropriate. I evaluate old and new studies from sequoia groves to show that some of the arguments of both groups have been flawed. Importantly, it appears that restoration of fire without a preceding mechanical restoration may restore the pre-Euro-American structure of sequoia groves, at least within the bounds of our imprecise knowledge of past grove structure. However, the same may not be true for all forest types that have experienced lengthy fire exclusion. Our ability to draw robust generalizations about fire's role in forest restoration will depend heavily on a thorough understanding of past and present interactions among climate, fire, and forest structure. Use of reference conditions will be central to developing this understanding.

  18. Application of the Nelson model to four timelag fuel classes using Oklahoma field observations: Model evaluation and comparison with national Fire Danger Rating System algorithms

    Treesearch

    J. D. Carlson; Larry S. Bradshaw; Ralph M. Nelson; Randall R Bensch; Rafal Jabrzemski

    2007-01-01

    The application of a next-generation dead-fuel moisture model, the 'Nelson model', to four timelag fuel classes using an extensive 21-month dataset of dead-fuel moisture observations is described. Developed by Ralph Nelson in the 1990s, the Nelson model is a dead-fuel moisture model designed to take advantage of frequent automated weather observations....

  19. Beluga whale summer habitat associations in the Nelson River estuary, western Hudson Bay, Canada.

    PubMed

    Smith, Alexander J; Higdon, Jeff W; Richard, Pierre; Orr, Jack; Bernhardt, Warren; Ferguson, Steven H

    2017-01-01

    To understand beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) estuarine use in the Nelson River estuary, southwest Hudson Bay, we recorded and examined beluga movements and habitat associations for the July through August period in 2002-2005. We compared locations of belugas fitted with satellite transmitters ("tags") (2002-2005) and aerial-surveyed (2003 and 2005) belugas for years of differing freshwater flow from the Nelson River which is influenced by hydroelectric activity. Using the beluga telemetry location data, we estimated an early August behavioral shift in beluga distribution patterns from local estuarine use to a progressively more migratory behavior away from the estuary. The timing of this shift in behavior was also apparent in results of beluga aerial surveys from the 1940s-1960s, despite environmental changes including later freeze-up and warming ocean temperatures. Overall, during the higher than average discharge ("wet") year of 2005, the three tagged belugas ranged farther from the Nelson River but not farther from the nearest shore along southwestern Hudson Bay, compared to the 10 tagged belugas tracked during the "dry" years of 2002-2004 with below average discharges. Aerial survey data for 2003 and 2005 display a similar dry vs. wet year shift in spatial patterns, with no significant change in overall density of belugas within the study area. In the Nelson estuary, proximity to the fresh-salt water mixing area may be more important than the shallow waters of the upper estuary. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) were observed in the Churchill area (200 km northwest) during each year of study, 2002-05, and belugas may benefit from the proximity to shallow estuary waters that provide protection from the larger-bodied predator. Study results contribute to an understanding of the influence of environmental variation on how and why belugas use estuaries although considerable uncertainties exist and additional research is required.

  20. The US Forest Service Watershed Condition Classification: Status and Path Forward

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levinson, D. H.; Carlson, C. P.; Eberle, M. B.

    2017-12-01

    The US Forest Service Watershed Condition Classification (WCC) was developed as a tool to characterize the condition or health of watersheds on National Forests and Grasslands and assist the Agency in prioritizing actions to restore or maintain the condition of specified watersheds. After a number of years of exploring alternative approaches to assessing the health or condition of watersheds, the WCC and the associated Watershed Condition Framework were developed in response to concerns raised by the US Office of Management and Budget that the Forest Service was not able to demonstrate success in restoring watersheds on a national scale. The WCC was initially applied in 2011 to the roughly 15,000 HUC12 watersheds with an area of Forest Service management of 5% or greater. This initial watershed classification found that 52% (or 7,882) were Functioning Properly (Class 1), 45% (or 6,751) were Functioning at Risk (Class 2), and 3% (or 431) had Impaired Function (Class 3). The basic model used in the WCC was intended to provide a reconnaissance-level evaluation of watershed condition through the use of a systematic, flexible means of classifying and comparing watersheds based on a core set of national watershed condition indicators. The WCC consists of 12 indicators in four major process categories: (1) aquatic physical, (2) aquatic biological, (3) terrestrial physical, and (4) terrestrial biological. Each of the indicators is informed by one or more attributes. The attributes fall into three primary categories: numeric, descriptive, and map-derived, each of which is to be interpreted by an interdisciplinary team at the unit level. The descriptive and map-derived attributes are considered to be semi-quantitative or based on professional judgement of the team. The original description of the attributes anticipated that many of them would be improved as better data and information become available. With the advances in geographic information systems and remote sensing

  1. Stand conditions associated with tree regeneration in sierran mixed-conifer forests.

    Treesearch

    Andrew N. Gray; Harold S.J. Zald; Ruth A. Kern; Malcolm North

    2005-01-01

    Fire suppression has significantly increased canopy cover, litter depth, and stem density in many western forests, altering microsite conditions that affect tree seedling establishment. We conducted studies in a mixed-conifer forest in the Sierra Nevada, California, to determine relationships between established understory trees and microsite quality, and to examine...

  2. An Estimate of the Economic Impacts of Thomas Nelson Community College.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Butler, Thomas E.

    A study was conducted at Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC) to assess the college's economic impact on its service area in fiscal year 1979. Models, based on linear cash flow formulas, were used to determine impacts on local businesses, governments, and individuals. Students' expenditures and spending for construction were omitted from the…

  3. Observed response of vulnerable forest ecosystems to ongoing site condition changes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bidló, András; Gulyás, Krisztina; Gálos, Borbála; Horváth, Adrienn

    2017-04-01

    In the last decades, several symptoms of drought damages have been observed in the Hungarian forests (e.g. sparse canopy, leaf drop, top drying, fungal diseases). Forest responses are also influenced by other factors beyond climate (e.g. available water content, soil conditions, biotic damages, adaptive capacity, etc.). Our aim was to prepare a complex analysis of the change of all site conditions, that could lead to the observed health status decline of the forest tree species. For a case study region in Hungary (Keszthely Mountains, near to Lake Balaton) precipitation and temperature tendencies as well as the frequency of extreme dry summers have been determined for the period 1961-2100. Soil conditions have been investigated in 9 profiles and soil mapping analysis has been carried out including 100 sites with hand soil auger. For the investigation of the water-balance we used the modified Thornthwaite-type monthly model and determined water stress when the relative extractable water (REW) decreased below 40% (Granier et al., 1999). In the last 30 years three severe droughts have been detected when duration of extremely dry and hot periods exceeded 3-4 years. Not only orographic and microclimate conditions but also soil types show a large diversity within a relatively small distance in the case study area. On rendzina with shallow topsoil layer thickness, low water holding capacity, black pine was planted. Brown earth with medium and brown forest soils with deep topsoil layer thickness is favourable for oak (sessile or Turkey) and beech. These microscale differences between the three site condition types resulted different available water contents quantified by the modified Thornthwaite-type monthly water-balance model. Our results show the different sensitivity of the studied sites to water stress. It means that the local scale orographic and soil conditions can enhance the projected drought risk of the region. However, the favourable microclimatic effects of

  4. Astronaut Nelson wipes off helmet visor in the middeck of Shuttle Challenger

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1984-01-01

    Astronaut George D. Nelson, 41-C mission specialist, wipes off his helmet visor in the middeck of Shuttle Challenger. Astronaut James D. van. Hoften, is seen in the background. Both crew members are wearing the liquid cooled undergarments for the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU).

  5. Forest management under changing climate conditions: Is timing a tool for Sustainable Forest Management? Relevant questions for research development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    D'Aprile, Fabrizio; McShane, Paul; Tapper, Nigel

    2013-04-01

    Change of climate conditions influence energy fluxes applicable to forest ecosystems. These affect cycles of nutrients and materials, primary productivity of the ecosystem, biodiversity, ecological functionality and, consequently, carbon equilibria of the forest ecosystem. Temporal factors influence physical, biological, ecological, and climatic processes and functions. For example, seasonality, cycles, periodicity, and trends in climate variables; tree growth, forest growth, and forest metabolic activities (i.e., photosynthesis and respiration) are commonly known to be time-related. In tropical forests, the impacts of changing climate conditions may exceed temperature and/or precipitation thresholds critical to forest tree growth or health. Historically, forest management emphasises growth rates and financial returns as affected by species and site. Until recently, the influence of climate variability on growth dynamics has not been influential in forest planning and management. Under this system, especially in climatic and forest regions where most of species are stenoecious, periodical wood harvesting may occur in any phase of growth (increasing, decreasing, peak, and trough). This scenario presents four main situations: a) harvesting occurs when the rate of growth is decreasing: future productivity is damaged; the minimum biomass capital may be altered, and CO2 storage is negatively affected; b) harvesting occurs during a trough of the rate of growth: the minimum biomass capital necessary to preserve the resilience of the forest is damaged; the damage can be temporary (decades) or permanent; CO2 storage capacity is deficient - which may be read as an indirect emission of CO2 since the balance appears negative; c) harvesting occurs when the rate of growth is increasing: the planned wood mass can be used without compromising the resilience and recovery of the forest; CO2 storage remains increasing; d) harvesting occurs during a peak period of growth: the wood

  6. Sustained improvements in plasma ACTH and clinical status in a patient with Nelson's syndrome treated with pasireotide LAR, a multireceptor somatostatin analog.

    PubMed

    Katznelson, Laurence

    2013-05-01

    Nelson's syndrome refers to aggressive pituitary corticotroph adenoma growth after bilateral adrenalectomy for treatment of Cushing's disease (CD). Pasireotide, a novel somatostatin analog, has been effective in treating CD. Here, the first case report of a patient with Nelson's syndrome treated with pasireotide is presented. A 55-year-old female was diagnosed with CD in 1973 at age 15 years and underwent bilateral adrenalectomy 1 year later. She subsequently developed Nelson's syndrome and underwent multiple surgeries and radiotherapy for adenoma growth. After presentation with ocular pain, third cranial nerve palsy, and a finding of suprasellar tumor enlargement with hemorrhage, she began pasireotide long-acting release 60 mg/28 days im. At baseline, fasting plasma ACTH was 42 710 pg/mL (normal, 5-27 pg/mL), and fasting plasma glucose was 98 mg/dL. After 1 month, ACTH declined to 4272 pg/mL, and it has remained stable over 19 months of follow-up. Hyperpigmentation progressively improved. Magnetic resonance imaging scans show reduction in the suprasellar component. Fasting plasma glucose increased to 124 mg/dL, and the patient underwent diabetes management. In this clinical case seminar, the current understanding of the treatment of Nelson's syndrome and the use of pasireotide in CD are summarized. A case of Nelson's syndrome with clinically significant and dramatic biochemical and clinical responses to pasireotide administration is reported. Hyperglycemia was noted after pasireotide administration. Pasireotide may represent a useful tool in the medical management of Nelson's syndrome. Further study of the potential benefits and risks of pasireotide in this population is necessary.

  7. Figural properties are prioritized for search under conditions of uncertainty: Setting boundary conditions on claims that figures automatically attract attention.

    PubMed

    Peterson, Mary A; Mojica, Andrew J; Salvagio, Elizabeth; Kimchi, Ruth

    2017-01-01

    Nelson and Palmer (2007) concluded that figures/figural properties automatically attract attention, after they found that participants were faster to detect/discriminate targets appearing where a portion of a familiar object was suggested in an otherwise ambiguous display. We investigated whether these effects are truly automatic and whether they generalize to another figural property-convexity. We found that Nelson and Palmer's results do generalize to convexity, but only when participants are uncertain regarding when and where the target will appear. Dependence on uncertainty regarding target location/timing was also observed for familiarity. Thus, although we could replicate and extend Nelson and Palmer's results, our experiments showed that figures do not automatically draw attention. In addition, our research went beyond Nelson and Palmer's, in that we were able to separate figural properties from perceived figures. Because figural properties are regularities that predict where objects lie in the visual field, our results join other evidence that regularities in the environment can attract attention. More generally, our results are consistent with Bayesian theories in which priors are given more weight under conditions of uncertainty.

  8. 7 CFR 1.620 - What supporting information must the Forest Service provide with its preliminary conditions?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What supporting information must the Forest Service... § 1.620 What supporting information must the Forest Service provide with its preliminary conditions? (a) Supporting information. (1) When the Forest Service files preliminary conditions with FERC, it...

  9. Nelson River and Hudson Bay

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    Rivers that empty into large bodies of water can have a significant impact on the thawing of nearshore winter ice. This true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from May 18, 2001, shows the Nelson River emptying spring runoff from the Manitoba province to the south into the southwestern corner of Canada's Hudson Bay. The warmer waters from more southern latitudes hasten melting of ice near the shore, though some still remained, perhaps because in shallow coastal waters, the ice could have been anchored to the bottom. High volumes of sediment in the runoff turned the inflow brown, and the rim of the retreating ice has taken on a dirty appearance even far to the east of the river's entrance into the Bay. The sediment would have further hastened the melting of the ice because its darker color would have absorbed more solar radiation than cleaner, whiter ice. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC

  10. Beluga whale summer habitat associations in the Nelson River estuary, western Hudson Bay, Canada

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Alexander J.; Higdon, Jeff W.; Richard, Pierre; Orr, Jack; Bernhardt, Warren

    2017-01-01

    To understand beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) estuarine use in the Nelson River estuary, southwest Hudson Bay, we recorded and examined beluga movements and habitat associations for the July through August period in 2002–2005. We compared locations of belugas fitted with satellite transmitters (“tags”) (2002–2005) and aerial-surveyed (2003 and 2005) belugas for years of differing freshwater flow from the Nelson River which is influenced by hydroelectric activity. Using the beluga telemetry location data, we estimated an early August behavioral shift in beluga distribution patterns from local estuarine use to a progressively more migratory behavior away from the estuary. The timing of this shift in behavior was also apparent in results of beluga aerial surveys from the 1940s–1960s, despite environmental changes including later freeze-up and warming ocean temperatures. Overall, during the higher than average discharge (“wet”) year of 2005, the three tagged belugas ranged farther from the Nelson River but not farther from the nearest shore along southwestern Hudson Bay, compared to the 10 tagged belugas tracked during the “dry” years of 2002–2004 with below average discharges. Aerial survey data for 2003 and 2005 display a similar dry vs. wet year shift in spatial patterns, with no significant change in overall density of belugas within the study area. In the Nelson estuary, proximity to the fresh-salt water mixing area may be more important than the shallow waters of the upper estuary. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) were observed in the Churchill area (200 km northwest) during each year of study, 2002–05, and belugas may benefit from the proximity to shallow estuary waters that provide protection from the larger-bodied predator. Study results contribute to an understanding of the influence of environmental variation on how and why belugas use estuaries although considerable uncertainties exist and additional research is required. PMID

  11. STS-26 MS Nelson adjusts ADSF power cable on Discovery's middeck

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1988-01-01

    STS-26 Mission Specialist (MS) George D. Nelson adjusts power cable on automated directional solidification furnace (ADSF) support electronics package. ADSF is located in forward (starboard side) lockers on Discovery's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103's, middeck. ADSF consists of the furnace container (left) and the control electronics container (right). An Air National Guard, Houston, Texas, decal appears on middeck locker above ADSF.

  12. Stand conditions associated with truffle abundance in western hemlock/Douglas-fir forests

    Treesearch

    Malcolm North; Joshua Greenberg

    1998-01-01

    Truffles are a staple food source for many forest small mammals yet the vegetation or soil conditions associated with truffle abundance are unknown. We examined the spatial distribution of forest structures, organic layer depth, root density, and two of the most common western North American truffles (Elaphomyces granulatus and Rhizopogon...

  13. Challenges in forest reclamation of marginal lands: a balance between site conditions and seedling quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Landhäusser, Simon

    2017-04-01

    Forest loss and degradation is occurring worldwide, but at the same time efforts in forest restoration are ever increasing. While approaches to restoration often follow specific stakeholder objectives, regional climates and the degree of site degradation also play an important role in the prioritization of restoration efforts. Often the restoration of degraded lands can satisfy only few measurable objectives; however, to design and restore resistant and resilient ecosystems that can adapt to changing conditions, there is a need for new and adaptive management approaches. Mining and other resource extraction industries are affecting more and more forested areas worldwide. A priority in the reclamation and certification of forest lands disturbed by industrial activity is their expeditious redevelopment to functioning forests. To rehabilitate these heavily disturbed areas back to forest ecosystems, planting of trees remains one of the most effective strategies for the redevelopment of a continuous tree canopy on a site. It is well understood that access to good quality seedling stock is essential to achieve establishment success and early growth of seedlings. However, most reclamation areas have challenging initial site conditions and these conditions are often not a single factor but a combination of factors that can be additive or synergistic. Therefore successful forest restoration on degraded lands needs to consider multiple objectives and approaches to minimize trade-offs in achieving these objectives. To meet these demands, new methods for the production and evaluation of seedling stock types are needed to ensure that that seedlings are fit to grow on a wide range of site conditions or are particularly designed to grow in very specific conditions. Generally, defining seedling quality is difficult as it is species specific and results have been mixed; likely influenced by site conditions, further reiterating the need to carefully evaluate sites allowing

  14. Towards a sampling strategy for the assessment of forest condition at European level: combining country estimates.

    PubMed

    Travaglini, Davide; Fattorini, Lorenzo; Barbati, Anna; Bottalico, Francesca; Corona, Piermaria; Ferretti, Marco; Chirici, Gherardo

    2013-04-01

    A correct characterization of the status and trend of forest condition is essential to support reporting processes at national and international level. An international forest condition monitoring has been implemented in Europe since 1987 under the auspices of the International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests). The monitoring is based on harmonized methodologies, with individual countries being responsible for its implementation. Due to inconsistencies and problems in sampling design, however, the ICP Forests network is not able to produce reliable quantitative estimates of forest condition at European and sometimes at country level. This paper proposes (1) a set of requirements for status and change assessment and (2) a harmonized sampling strategy able to provide unbiased and consistent estimators of forest condition parameters and of their changes at both country and European level. Under the assumption that a common definition of forest holds among European countries, monitoring objectives, parameters of concern and accuracy indexes are stated. On the basis of fixed-area plot sampling performed independently in each country, an unbiased and consistent estimator of forest defoliation indexes is obtained at both country and European level, together with conservative estimators of their sampling variance and power in the detection of changes. The strategy adopts a probabilistic sampling scheme based on fixed-area plots selected by means of systematic or stratified schemes. Operative guidelines for its application are provided.

  15. Celebrating the Hero in All of Us: An Interview with Kadir Nelson

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sableski, Mary-Kate; Arnold, Jackie Marshall; Adomat, Donna Sayers

    2015-01-01

    Books provide an opportunity through which children can learn what it means to be in the world and to respond flexibly and creatively to a diverse range of situations. Author/illustrator Kadir Nelson creates books that provide these opportunities for readers of all ages. A dominant theme in current conversations surrounding children's literature…

  16. Bark beetle conditions in western forests and formation of the Western Bark Beetle Research Group

    Treesearch

    Robert J. Cain; Jane L. Hayes

    2009-01-01

    The recent dramatic impacts of bark beetle outbreaks across conifer forests of the West have been mapped and reported by entomology and pathology professionals with Forest Health Protection (FHP), a component of USDA Forest Service's State and Private Forestry, and their state counterparts. These forest conditions set the stage for the formation of the Western...

  17. Characterization of mercury and its risk in Nelson's, Saltmarsh, and Seaside Sparrows.

    PubMed

    Winder, Virginia L

    2012-01-01

    Nelson's, Saltmarsh, and Seaside Sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni, A. caudacutus, and A. maritimus, respectively) depend on marsh and wetland habitats--ecosystems in which mercury (Hg) bioavailability is notoriously high. The purpose of the present study was to address the potential impact of Hg on these species using first primary and breast feathers as non-destructive biomonitoring tools. Feathers were sampled from wintering sparrows in North Carolina salt marshes (2006-2010). Feather Hg data were used in three risk analysis components (1) Threshold Component--examined feather Hg with regard to published negative effects thresholds; (2) Hg Dynamics Component--examined Hg in sparrows captured multiple times; and (3) Capture Frequency and Survival Component--tested for links between Hg and return frequency and survival. Threshold Component analyses indicated that Hg concentrations in 42-77% of sampled individuals (breast feather n = 879; first primary feather n = 663) were within the range associated with decreased reproduction in other avian species. Hg Dynamics Component analyses demonstrated that Hg increased between first and second captures for Nelson's (n = 9) and Seaside Sparrows (n = 23). Capture Frequency and Survival Component analyses detected a negative relationship between Hg and capture frequency in Nelson's Sparrows (n = 315). However, MARK models detected no effect of Hg on apparent survival in any species. This study indicates that current Hg exposure places a considerable proportion of each population at risk. In particular, 52% of all sampled Saltmarsh Sparrows exhibited first primary feather Hg concentrations exceeding those associated with a >60% reduction in reproductive success in other species. This study reports evidence for net annual bioaccumulation, indicating an increased risk in older individuals. These data can be used to inform future population assessments and management for these species.

  18. Dataset of timberland variables used to assess forest conditions in two Southeastern United States' fuelsheds

    DOE PAGES

    Parish, Esther S.; Dale, Virginia H.; Tobin, Emma; ...

    2017-05-27

    The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “How is wood-based pellet production affecting forest conditions in the southeastern United States?” (Dale et al., 2017). This article describes how United States Forest Service (USFS) Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data from multiple state inventories were aggregated and used to extract ten annual timberland variables for trend analysis in two case study bioenergy fuelshed areas. This dataset is made publically available to enable critical or extended analyses of changes in forest conditions, either for the fuelshed areas supplying the ports of Savannah, Georgia and Chesapeake, Virginia,more » or for other southeastern US forested areas contributing biomass to the export wood pellet industry.« less

  19. Dataset of timberland variables used to assess forest conditions in two Southeastern United States' fuelsheds

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Parish, Esther S.; Dale, Virginia H.; Tobin, Emma

    The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “How is wood-based pellet production affecting forest conditions in the southeastern United States?” (Dale et al., 2017). This article describes how United States Forest Service (USFS) Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data from multiple state inventories were aggregated and used to extract ten annual timberland variables for trend analysis in two case study bioenergy fuelshed areas. This dataset is made publically available to enable critical or extended analyses of changes in forest conditions, either for the fuelshed areas supplying the ports of Savannah, Georgia and Chesapeake, Virginia,more » or for other southeastern US forested areas contributing biomass to the export wood pellet industry.« less

  20. Reference conditions for old-growth pine forests in the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain

    Treesearch

    Don C. Bragg

    2002-01-01

    Ecosystem restoration has become an important component of forest management. especially on public lands. However, determination of manageable reference conditions has lagged behind the interest. This paper presents a case study from pine-dominated forests in the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain (UWGCP), with special emphasis on southern Arkansas. Decades of forest...

  1. Experimental Study of the Conditions for Quenching Forest Combustible Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Antonov, D. V.; Volkov, R. S.; Zhdanova, A. O.; Kuznetsov, G. V.; Strizhak, P. A.

    2017-05-01

    To confirm the possibility of quenching forest combustible materials by small volumes of water, experimental studies have been made of the processes of interaction of droplets, films, and aerosol flows of water with small sources of combustion of typical forest combustible materials — birch leaves, pine needles, birch and asp twigs. Model combustion sources in the form of cylinders of diameter 20-60 mm and height 40-100 mm were constructed. With the use of high-speed video recording, the characteristic times of thermal decomposition of forest combustibles and the times of suppressing combustion of these materials under various conditions of their interaction with water (pulsed supply of aerosol, injection of water ″mist″ with droplets of radius up to 100 μm, sequential supply of large drops of radius about 1.5 mm) have been determined. Volumes of water sufficient for suppressing combustion depending on the method of supplying it onto the surface of the reacting forest combustible have been determined. Estimates have been made of the nonreacted portion of the material by comparing the initial mass of the sample of the forest combustible with its final mass (upon quenching the material).

  2. Evaluating a new method for reconstructing forest conditions from General Land Office survey records

    Treesearch

    Carrie R. Levine; Charles V. Cogbill; Brandon M. Collins; Andrew J. Larson; James A. Lutz; Malcolm P. North; Christina M. Restaino; Hugh D. Safford; Scott L. Stephens; John J. Battles

    2017-01-01

    Historical forest conditions are often used to inform contemporary management goals because historical forests are considered to be resilient to ecological disturbances. The General Land Office (GLO) surveys of the late 19th and early 20th centuries provide regionally quasi-contiguous data sets of historical forests across much of the Western United States....

  3. Regional forest landscape restoration priorities: Integrating historical conditions and an uncertain future in the northern Rocky Mountains

    Treesearch

    Barry L. Bollenbacher; Russell T. Graham; Keith M. Reynolds

    2014-01-01

    National law and policy direct the management of the National Forests, with restoring resilient forest conditions being an overarching theme. Climate is a major driver of disturbances that affect ecosystems, especially those with vegetation that show large departures from historical conditions. Drought, fire, insects, and diseases are common forest stressors whose...

  4. Measurement of forest condition and response along the Pennsylvania atmospheric deposition gradent

    Treesearch

    D.D. David; J.M. Skelly; J.A. Lynch; L.H. McCormick; B.L. Nash; M. Simini; E.A. Cameron; J.R. McClenahen; R.P. Long

    1991-01-01

    Research in the oak-hickory forest of northcentral Pennsylvania is being conducted to detect anomalies in forest condition that may be due to atmospheric deposition, with the intent that such anomalies will be further studied to determine the role, if any, of atmospheric deposition. This paper presents the status of research along a 160-km gradient of sulfate/nitrate...

  5. Public preferences for future conditions in disturbed and undisturbed northern forest sites

    Treesearch

    Terry C. Daniel

    2006-01-01

    This study presented computer visualizations (pictures) of projected changes over an 80-year period to conditions in a northern forest that had been hit by a major blowdown. Study participants included local residents and forest visitors who were asked to choose between visualizations of projected outcome scenarios for 10 pairs of treatment versus no-treatment options...

  6. Modeling current climate conditions for forest pest risk assessment

    Treesearch

    Frank H. Koch; John W. Coulston

    2010-01-01

    Current information on broad-scale climatic conditions is essential for assessing potential distribution of forest pests. At present, sophisticated spatial interpolation approaches such as the Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) are used to create high-resolution climatic data sets. Unfortunately, these data sets are based on 30-year...

  7. Terrestrial condition assessment for national forests of the USDA Forest Service in the continental US

    Treesearch

    David Cleland; Keith Reynolds; Robert Vaughan; Barbara Schrader; Harbin Li; Larry Laing

    2017-01-01

    The terrestrial condition assessment (TCA) evaluates effects of uncharacteristic stressors and disturbance agents on land-type associations (LTAs) to identify restoration opportunities on national forest system (NFS) lands in the United States. A team of agency scientists and managers, representing a broad array of natural resource disciplines, developed a logic...

  8. Soil microbial diversity, site conditions, shelter forest land, saline water drip-irrigation, drift desert.

    PubMed

    Jin, Zhengzhong; Lei, Jiaqiang; Li, Shengyu; Xu, Xinwen

    2013-10-01

    Soil microbes in forest land are crucial to soil development in extreme areas. In this study, methods of conventional culture, PLFA and PCR-DGGE were utilized to analyze soil microbial quantity, fatty acids and microbial DNA segments of soils subjected to different site conditions in the Tarim Desert Highway forest land. The main results were as follows: the soil microbial amount, diversity indexes of fatty acid and DNA segment differed significantly among sites with different conditions (F < F0.05 ). Specifically, the values were higher in the middle and base of dunes than the top part of dunes and hardened flat sand, but all values for dunes were higher than for drift sand. Bacteria was dominant in the soil microbial community (>84%), followed by actinomycetes and then fungi (<0.05%). Vertical differences in the soil microbial diversity were insignificant at 0-35 cm. Correlation analysis indicated that the forest trees grew better as the soil microbial diversity index increased. Therefore, construction of the Tarim Desert Highway shelter-forest promoted soil biological development; however, for enhancing sand control efficiency and promoting sand development, we should consider the effects of site condition in the construction and regeneration of shelter-forest ecological projects. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Social Justice and Human Rights in Education Policy Discourse: Assessing Nelson Mandela's Legacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gebremedhin, Abrehet; Joshi, Devin

    2016-01-01

    Twenty years after South Africa's democratisation, Nelson Mandela's passing has prompted scholars to examine his legacy in various domains. Here we take a look at his legacy in education discourse. Tracing Mandela's thoughts and pronouncements on education we find two major emphases: a view of education as a practical means to economic…

  10. Tree species diversity affects decomposition through modified micro-environmental conditions across European forests.

    PubMed

    Joly, François-Xavier; Milcu, Alexandru; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Jean, Loreline-Katia; Bussotti, Filippo; Dawud, Seid Muhie; Müller, Sandra; Pollastrini, Martina; Raulund-Rasmussen, Karsten; Vesterdal, Lars; Hättenschwiler, Stephan

    2017-05-01

    Different tree species influence litter decomposition directly through species-specific litter traits, and indirectly through distinct modifications of the local decomposition environment. Whether these indirect effects on decomposition are influenced by tree species diversity is presently not clear. We addressed this question by studying the decomposition of two common substrates, cellulose paper and wood sticks, in a total of 209 forest stands of varying tree species diversity across six major forest types at the scale of Europe. Tree species richness showed a weak but positive correlation with the decomposition of cellulose but not with that of wood. Surprisingly, macroclimate had only a minor effect on cellulose decomposition and no effect on wood decomposition despite the wide range in climatic conditions among sites from Mediterranean to boreal forests. Instead, forest canopy density and stand-specific litter traits affected the decomposition of both substrates, with a particularly clear negative effect of the proportion of evergreen tree litter. Our study suggests that species richness and composition of tree canopies modify decomposition indirectly through changes in microenvironmental conditions. These canopy-induced differences in the local decomposition environment control decomposition to a greater extent than continental-scale differences in macroclimatic conditions. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

  11. Failure Analysis of Main Flame Deflector Nelson Studs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Long, Victoria

    2009-01-01

    NASA Structures engineers submitted two Nelson refractory studs from the main flame deflector at Launch Complex (LC) 39 A for analysis when they were observed to be missing a significant amount of material after launch. The damaged stud and an unused comparative stud were analyzed by macroscopic and microscopic examination along with metallographic evaluation of the microstructure. The stud lost material due to a combination of erosion and corrosion. Plain carbon steel readily forms an oxide layer in the coastal launch environment at Kennedy Space Center. The blast during a launch removes this brittle oxide layer, which then forms again post-launch, thereby further removing material. No indications of melting were observed.

  12. Toward more robust projections of forest landscape dynamics under novel environmental conditions: embedding PnET within LANDIS-II

    Treesearch

    A. De Bruijn; E.J. Gustafson; B.R. Sturtevant; J.R. Foster; B.R. Miranda; N.I. Lichti; D.F. Jacobs

    2014-01-01

    Ecological models built on phenomenological relationships and behavior of the past may not be robustunder novel conditions of the future because global changes are producing environmental conditions that forests have not experienced historically. We developed a new succession extension for the LANDIS-II forest landscape model, PnET-Succession, to simulate forest growth...

  13. Forest health conditions in North America

    Treesearch

    B. Moody; J.V. Castillo; M.E. Fenn

    2008-01-01

    Some of the greatest forest health impacts in North America are caused by invasive forest insects and pathogens (e.g., emerald ash borer and sudden oak death in the US), by severe outbreaks of native pests (e.g., mountain pine beetle in Canada), and fires exacerbated by changing climate. Ozone and N and S pollutants continue to impact the health of forests in several...

  14. View of Astronaut Nelson using MMU to examine Solar Maximum Mission Satellite

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1984-04-08

    41C-22-885 (8 April 1984) --- The 35mm camera was used to photograph this scene of Astronaut George D. Nelson, STS-41C mission specialist, as he uses the manned maneuvering unit (MMU) to make an excursion to the plagued Solar Maximum, Mission Satellite (SMMS)._Astronaut James D. van Hoften remained in the Challenger's cargo bay during the April 8 extravehicular activity (EVA).

  15. 78 FR 56224 - Hydro Nelson, Ltd.; Hydro-WM, LLC; Notice of Transfer of Exemption

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 3401-049] Hydro Nelson, Ltd.; Hydro-WM, LLC; Notice of Transfer of Exemption 1. By documentation filed July 8, 2013 and supplemented on September 4, 2013, Hydro-WM, LLC informed the Commission that the exemption from licensing for the...

  16. Southern forest resource conditions and management practices from 1900-1950: Benefits of research

    Treesearch

    James P. Barnett

    2004-01-01

    The vast harvest of the native forests of the South in the 19th and early 20th centuries created a great need for reforestation and silvicultural knowledge. An emphasis on forestry research that changed the face of the South began with the establishment of the Southern and Appalachian Forest Experiment Stations in 1921. Working under primitive conditions, early...

  17. Seven decades of change in forest structure and composition in Pinus resinosa forests in northern Minnesota, USA: Comparing managed and unmanaged conditions

    Treesearch

    Brian D. Young; Anthony W. D' Amato; Christel C. Kern; Douglas N. Kastendick; Brian J. Palik

    2017-01-01

    An understanding of long-term patterns of forest structural and compositional development is critical for anticipating management outcomes and developing appropriate silvicultural strategies for restoring complex forest conditions. In most cases, this information comes from stand-level assessments; however, the impacts and outcomes of management and other disturbances...

  18. Hydrology signal from GRACE gravity data in the Nelson River basin, Canada: a comparison of two approaches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Tanghua; Wu, Patrick; Wang, Hansheng; Jia, Lulu; Steffen, Holger

    2018-03-01

    The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission measures the combined gravity signal of several overlapping processes. A common approach to separate the hydrological signal in previous ice-covered regions is to apply numerical models to simulate the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) signals related to the vanished ice load and then remove them from the observed GRACE data. However, the results of this method are strongly affected by the uncertainties of the ice and viscosity models of GIA. To avoid this, Wang et al. (Nat Geosci 6(1):38-42, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1652; Geodesy Geodyn 6(4):267-273, 2015) followed the theory of Wahr et al. (Geophys Res Lett 22(8):977-980, 1995) and isolated water storage changes from GRACE in North America and Scandinavia with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) data. Lambert et al. (Postglacial rebound and total water storage variations in the Nelson River drainage basin: a gravity GPS Study, Geological Survey of Canada Open File, 7317, 2013a, Geophys Res Lett 40(23):6118-6122, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL057973, 2013b) did a similar study for the Nelson River basin in North America but applying GPS and absolute gravity measurements. However, the results of the two studies in the Nelson River basin differ largely, especially for the magnitude of the hydrology signal which differs about 35%. Through detailed comparison and analysis of the input data, data post-processing techniques, methods and results of these two works, we find that the different GRACE data post-processing techniques may lead to this difference. Also the GRACE input has a larger effect on the hydrology signal amplitude than the GPS input in the Nelson River basin due to the relatively small uplift signal in this region. Meanwhile, the influence of the value of α , which represents the ratio between GIA-induced uplift rate and GIA-induced gravity-rate-of-change (before the correction for surface uplift), is more obvious in

  19. Forest conditions and trends in the northern United States

    Treesearch

    Stephen R. Shifley; Francisco X. Aguilar; Nianfu Song; Susan I. Stewart; David J. Nowak; Dale D. Gormanson; W. Keith Moser; Sherri Wormstead; Eric J. Greenfield

    2012-01-01

    This section describes current conditions and trends for the 20 Northern States by focusing on selected characteristics associated with forest sustainability. Its format is based upon a set of 64 indicators within 7 broad criteria that the United States and 11 other countries have adopted under the auspices of the Montréal Process Working Group on Criteria and...

  20. Discrimination between acute and chronic decline of Central European forests using map algebra of the growth condition and forest biomass fuzzy sets: A case study.

    PubMed

    Samec, Pavel; Caha, Jan; Zapletal, Miloš; Tuček, Pavel; Cudlín, Pavel; Kučera, Miloš

    2017-12-01

    Forest decline is either caused by damage or else by vulnerability due to unfavourable growth conditions or due to unnatural silvicultural systems. Here, we assess forest decline in the Czech Republic (Central Europe) using fuzzy functions, fuzzy sets and fuzzy rating of ecosystem properties over a 1×1km grid. The model was divided into fuzzy functions of the abiotic predictors of growth conditions (F pred including temperature, precipitation, acid deposition, soil data and relative site insolation) and forest biomass receptors (F rec including remote sensing data, density and volume of aboveground biomass, and surface humus chemical data). Fuzzy functions were designed at the limits of unfavourable, undetermined or favourable effects on the forest ecosystem health status. Fuzzy sets were distinguished through similarity in a particular membership of the properties at the limits of the forest status margins. Fuzzy rating was obtained from the least difference of F pred -F rec . Unfavourable F pred within unfavourable F rec indicated chronic damage, favourable F pred within unfavourable F rec indicated acute damage, and unfavourable F pred within favourable F rec indicated vulnerability. The model in the 1×1km grid was validated through spatial intersection with a point field of uniform forest stands. Favourable status was characterised by soil base saturation (BS)>50%, BCC/Al>1, C org >1%, MgO>6g/kg, and nitrogen deposition<1200mol(H + )/ha·year. Vulnerable forests had BS humus 46-60%, BCC/Al 9-20 and NDVI≈0.42. Chronic forest damage occurs in areas with low temperatures, high nitrogen deposition, and low soil BS and C org levels. In the Czech Republic, 10% of forests were considered non-damaged and 77% vulnerable, with damage considered acute in 7% of forests and chronic in 5%. The fuzzy model used suggests that improvement in forest health will depend on decreasing environmental load and restoration concordance between growth conditions and tree species

  1. A comparison of the conditional inference survival forest model to random survival forests based on a simulation study as well as on two applications with time-to-event data.

    PubMed

    Nasejje, Justine B; Mwambi, Henry; Dheda, Keertan; Lesosky, Maia

    2017-07-28

    Random survival forest (RSF) models have been identified as alternative methods to the Cox proportional hazards model in analysing time-to-event data. These methods, however, have been criticised for the bias that results from favouring covariates with many split-points and hence conditional inference forests for time-to-event data have been suggested. Conditional inference forests (CIF) are known to correct the bias in RSF models by separating the procedure for the best covariate to split on from that of the best split point search for the selected covariate. In this study, we compare the random survival forest model to the conditional inference model (CIF) using twenty-two simulated time-to-event datasets. We also analysed two real time-to-event datasets. The first dataset is based on the survival of children under-five years of age in Uganda and it consists of categorical covariates with most of them having more than two levels (many split-points). The second dataset is based on the survival of patients with extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) which consists of mainly categorical covariates with two levels (few split-points). The study findings indicate that the conditional inference forest model is superior to random survival forest models in analysing time-to-event data that consists of covariates with many split-points based on the values of the bootstrap cross-validated estimates for integrated Brier scores. However, conditional inference forests perform comparably similar to random survival forests models in analysing time-to-event data consisting of covariates with fewer split-points. Although survival forests are promising methods in analysing time-to-event data, it is important to identify the best forest model for analysis based on the nature of covariates of the dataset in question.

  2. Passageless Comprehension on the "Nelson-Denny Reading Test": Well above Chance for University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coleman, Chris; Lindstrom, Jennifer; Nelson, Jason; Lindstrom, William; Gregg, K. Noel

    2010-01-01

    The comprehension section of the "Nelson-Denny Reading Test" (NDRT) is widely used to assess the reading comprehension skills of adolescents and adults in the United States. In this study, the authors explored the content validity of the NDRT Comprehension Test (Forms G and H) by asking university students (with and without at-risk…

  3. Forecasts of forest conditions in regions of the United States under future scenarios: a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2012 RPA Assessment

    Treesearch

    David N. Wear; Robert Huggett; Ruhong Li; Benjamin Perryman; Shan Liu

    2013-01-01

    The 626 million acres of forests in the conterminous United States represent significant reserves of biodiversity and terrestrial carbon and provide substantial flows of highly valued ecosystem services, including timber products, watershed protection benefits, and recreation. This report describes forecasts of forest conditions for the conterminous United States in...

  4. Astronaut George Nelson working on Comet Halley Active monitoring program

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1986-01-14

    61C-05-026 (14 Jan. 1986) --- Astronaut George D. Nelson smiles for a fellow crew man's 35mm camera exposure while participating in the Comet Halley active monitoring program (CHAMP). Camera equipment and a protective shroud used to eliminate all cabin light interference surround the mission specialist. This is the first of three 1986 missions which are scheduled to monitor the rare visit by the comet. The principal investigators for CHAMP are S. Alan Stern of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado; and Dr. Stephen Mende of Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory.

  5. Forest conditions in the San Francisco Mountains Forest Reserve, Arizona

    Treesearch

    John B. Leiberg; Theodore F. Rixon; Arthur. Dodwell

    1904-01-01

    On April 12, 1902, President Roosevelt issued a proclamation "for the purpose of consolidating into one reserve the lands heretofore embraced in the San Francisco Mountains Forest Reserves and of including therein the other adjacent lands within the description herein after given." The consolidated area is now known as the San Francisco Mountains Forest...

  6. Estimation of absorption rate constant (ka) following oral administration by Wagner-Nelson, Loo-Riegelman, and statistical moments in the presence of a secondary peak.

    PubMed

    Mahmood, Iftekhar

    2004-01-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of Wagner-Nelson, Loo-Reigelman, and statistical moments methods in determining the absorption rate constant(s) in the presence of a secondary peak. These methods were also evaluated when there were two absorption rates without a secondary peak. Different sets of plasma concentration versus time data for a hypothetical drug following one or two compartment models were generated by simulation. The true ka was compared with the ka estimated by Wagner-Nelson, Loo-Riegelman and statistical moments methods. The results of this study indicate that Wagner-Nelson, Loo-Riegelman and statistical moments methods may not be used for the estimation of absorption rate constants in the presence of a secondary peak or when absorption takes place with two absorption rates.

  7. Adaptation of the Nelson-Somogyi reducing-sugar assay to a microassay using microtiter plates.

    PubMed

    Green, F; Clausen, C A; Highley, T L

    1989-11-01

    The Nelson-Somogyi assay for reducing sugars was adapted to microtiter plates. The primary advantages of this modified assay are (i) smaller sample and reagent volumes, (ii) elimination of boiling and filtration steps, (iii) automated measurement with a dual-wavelength scanning TLC densitometer, (iv) increased range and reproducibility, and (v) automated colorimetric readings by reflectance rather than absorbance.

  8. Forest insect conditions in the Northeast - 1955

    Treesearch

    W. E. Waters

    1956-01-01

    The tremendous destructive capacity of forest insects in reducing our resources of usable timber is becoming increasingly apparent as the shoe of the forest economy pinches tighter. The U.S. Forest Service's recent TIMBER RESOURCE REVIEW, which presents the findings of the most comprehensive survey to date of the present and future timber supply of the United...

  9. Impacts of peatland forestation on regional climate conditions in Finland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Yao; Markkanen, Tiina; Backman, Leif; Henttonen, Helena M.; Pietikäinen, Joni-Pekka; Laaksonen, Ari

    2014-05-01

    Climate response to anthropogenic land cover change happens more locally and occurs on a shorter time scale than the global warming due to increased GHGs. Over the second half of last Century, peatlands were vastly drained in Finland to stimulate forest growth for timber production. In this study, we investigate the biophysical effects of peatland forestation on near-surface climate conditions in Finland. For this, the regional climate model REMO, developed in Max Plank Institute (currently in Climate Service Center, Germany), provides an effective way. Two sets of 15-year climate simulations were done by REMO, using the historic (1920s; The 1st Finnish National Forest Inventory) and present-day (2000s; the 10th Finnish National Forest Inventory) land cover maps, respectively. The simulated surface air temperature and precipitation were then analyzed. In the most intensive peatland forestation area in Finland, the differences in monthly averaged daily mean surface air temperature show a warming effect around 0.2 to 0.3 K in February and March and reach to 0.5 K in April, whereas a slight cooling effect, less than 0.2 K, is found from May till October. Consequently, the selected snow clearance dates in model gridboxes over that area are advanced 0.5 to 4 days in the mean of 15 years. The monthly averaged precipitation only shows small differences, less than 10 mm/month, in a varied pattern in Finland from April to September. Furthermore, a more detailed analysis was conducted on the peatland forestation area with a 23% decrease in peatland and a 15% increase in forest types. 11 day running means of simulated temperature and energy balance terms, as well as snow depth were averaged over 15 years. Results show a positive feedback induced by peatland forestation between the surface air temperature and snow depth in snow melting period. This is because the warmer temperature caused by lower surface albedo due to more forest in snow cover period leads to a quicker and

  10. Relating Demographic Characteristics of a Small Mammal to Remotely Sensed Forest-Stand Condition

    PubMed Central

    Lada, Hania; Thomson, James R.; Cunningham, Shaun C.; Mac Nally, Ralph

    2014-01-01

    Many ecological systems around the world are changing rapidly in response to direct (land-use change) and indirect (climate change) human actions. We need tools to assess dynamically, and over appropriate management scales, condition of ecosystems and their responses to potential mitigation of pressures. Using a validated model, we determined whether stand condition of floodplain forests is related to densities of a small mammal (a carnivorous marsupial, Antechinus flavipes) in 60 000 ha of extant river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) forests in south-eastern Australia in 2004, 2005 and 2011. Stand condition was assessed remotely using models built from ground assessments of stand condition and satellite-derived reflectance. Other covariates, such as volumes of fallen timber, distances to floods, rainfall and life stages were included in the model. Trapping of animals was conducted at 272 plots (0.25 ha) across the region. Densities of second-year females (i.e. females that had survived to a second breeding year) and of second-year females with suckled teats (i.e. inferred to have been successful mothers) were higher in stands with the highest condition. There was no evidence of a relationship with stand condition for males or all females. These outcomes show that remotely-sensed estimates of stand condition (here floodplain forests) are relatable to some demographic characteristics of a small mammal species, and may provide useful information about the capacity of ecosystems to support animal populations. Over-regulation of large, lowland rivers has led to declines in many facets of floodplain function. If management of water resources continues as it has in recent decades, then our results suggest that there will be further deterioration in stand condition and a decreased capacity for female yellow-footed antechinuses to breed multiple times. PMID:24621967

  11. Rep. Bill Nelson prepares to photograph samples of protein crystal growth

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1986-01-12

    61C-05-036 (12-18 Jan. 1986) --- U.S. Representative Bill Nelson (Democrat - Florida), STS-61C payload specialist, prepares to photograph individual samples in the Handheld Protein Crystal Growth Experiment (HPCG) on Columbia's middeck. The operations involve the use of four pieces of equipment to attempt the growth of 60 different types of crystals -- 12 by means of dialysis and 48 via the vapor diffusion method. The photo was used by members of the STS-61C crew at their Jan. 23, 1986, Post-Flight Press Conference.

  12. A personal experience in the presence of a man who transformed a nation and changed the world: Nelson Mandela.

    PubMed

    Brown, Geraldine

    2014-01-01

    At this time in history, I consider myself very privileged to have spent some three hours in the presence of President Nelson Mandela as a Howard University faculty member in the late 1990s. Then, President of Howard University, H. Patrick Swygert bestowed upon President Nelson Mandela, Esquire an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters. I can only equate this experience to my four mile walk up the Bedaling Wall (Great Wall) in China (a magnificent ancient wonder of the world), and trying to relate this event to something only fortunate souls have had the chance to enjoy. I also treasure the once in a lifetime visit to the Republic of South Africa in 1998 when the Association of Black Nursing Faculty, Inc., Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority, Inc., and the Department of Nursing (University of Botswana) sponsored the trip as an attempt to establish partnerships, share common interests and discussion in how to meet health needs of emerging majority and disadvantaged populations in the world, including mainly, the continent of Africa, in the 21st century. This short memoir can only piggy-back the massive coverage in the media that began almost instantly as a long anticipated event (death of Nelson Mandela), but startled upon its occurrence.

  13. "Passageless" Administration of the Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension Test: Associations with IQ and Reading Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ready, Rebecca E.; Chaudhry, Maheen F.; Schatz, Kelly C.; Strazzullo, Sarah

    2013-01-01

    There are few tests that assess reading comprehension in adults, but these tests are needed for a comprehensive assessment of reading disorders (RD). "The Nelson-Denny Reading Test" (NDRT) has a long-passage reading comprehension component that can be used with adolescents and adults. A problem with the NDRT is that reading comprehension…

  14. Evaluation of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to Monitor Forest Health Conditions in Alaska

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Webley, P. W.; Hatfield, M. C.; Heutte, T. M.; Winton, L. M.

    2017-12-01

    US Forest Service Alaska Region Forest Health Protection (FHP) and University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) are evaluating the capability of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS, "drone" informally) to monitor forest health conditions in Alaska's Interior Region. On July 17-20 2017, FHP and ACUASI deployed two different UAS at permanent forest inventory plots managed by the UAF programs Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) and Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI). The purpose of the mission was to explore capabilities of UAS for evaluating aspen tree mortality at inaccessible locations and at a scale and precision not generally achievable with currently used ground- or air-based methods. Drawing from experience gained during the initial 2016 campaign, this year emphasized the efficient use of UAS to accomplish practical field research in a variety of realistic situations. The vehicles selected for this years' effort included the DJI Matrice quadcopter with the Zenmuse-X3 camera to quickly capture initial video of the site and tree conditions; followed by the ING Responder (single rotor electric helicopter based on the Gaui X7 airframe) outfitted with a Nikon D810 camera to collect high-resolution stills suitable for construction of orthomosaic models. A total of 12 flights were conducted over the campaign, with two full days dedicated to the Delta Junction Gerstle River Intermediate (GRI) sites and the remaining day at the Bonanza Creek site. In addition to demonstrating the ability of UAS to operate safely and effectively in various canopy conditions, the effort also validated the ability of teams to deliver UAS and scientific payloads into challenging terrain using all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and foot traffic. Analysis of data from the campaign is underway. Because the permanent plots have been recently evaluated it is known that nearly all aspen mortality is caused by an aggressive canker

  15. Shaping Influences on the Leadership of Genghis Khan, George Washington, and Nelson Mandela: Applications for Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bongila, Jean-Pierre

    2011-01-01

    Using a prosopographical methodology this study examines common leadership influences that might have existed among Genghis Khan, George Washington, and Nelson Mandela. Shoup (2005) suggests that the following seven influences have contributed to nurturing the leadership of 12 renowned individuals: involved parents, happy childhood, formal,…

  16. Utility of tree crown condition indicators to predict tree survival using remeasured Forest Inventory and Analysis data

    Treesearch

    Randall S. Morin; Jim Steinman; KaDonna C. Randolph

    2012-01-01

    The condition of tree crowns is an important indicator of tree and forest health. Crown conditions have been evaluated during surveys of Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Phase 3 (P3) plots since 1999. In this study, remeasured data from 39,357 trees in the northern United States were used to assess the probability of survival among various tree species using the...

  17. Influence of climatic variables, forest type, and condition on activity patterns of Geoffroyi's spider monkeys throughout Mesoamerica.

    PubMed

    González-Zamora, Arturo; Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor; Chaves, Oscar M; Sánchez-López, Sónia; Aureli, Filippo; Stoner, Kathryn E

    2011-12-01

    Understanding how species cope with variations in climatic conditions, forest types and habitat amount is a fundamental challenge for ecologists and conservation biologists. We used data from 18 communities of Mesoamerican spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) throughout their range to determine whether their activity patterns are affected by climatic variables (temperature and rainfall), forest types (seasonal and nonseasonal forests), and forest condition (continuous and fragmented). Data were derived from 15 published and unpublished studies carried out in four countries (Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama), cumulatively representing more than 18 years (221 months, >3,645 hr) of behavioral observations. Overall, A. geoffroyi spent most of their time feeding (38.4 ± 14.0%, mean ± SD) and resting (36.6 ± 12.8%) and less time traveling (19.8 ± 11.3%). Resting and feeding were mainly affected by rainfall: resting time increased with decreasing rainfall, whereas feeding time increased with rainfall. Traveling time was negatively related to both rainfall and maximum temperature. In addition, both resting and traveling time were higher in seasonal forests (tropical dry forest and tropical moist forest) than in nonseasonal forests (tropical wet forest), but feeding time followed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, spider monkeys spent more time feeding and less time resting (i.e., higher feeding effort) in forest fragments than in continuous forest. These findings suggest that global climate changes and habitat deforestation and fragmentation in Mesoamerica will threaten the survival of spider monkeys and reduce the distributional range of the species in the coming decades. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Using the Forest Vegetation Simulator to reconstruct historical stand conditions in the Colorado Front Range

    Treesearch

    Paula J. Fornwalt; Merrill R. Kaufmann; Laurie S. Huckaby; Jason M. Stoker

    2002-01-01

    Presettlement ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests of the Colorado Front Range were open and heterogeneous. Logging, grazing, and fire suppression over past 100 to150 years have altered stand structure by changing diameter distributions and increasing overstory density. In an effort to guide forest restoration toward presettlement conditions, we are currently using the...

  19. [Effects of atmospheric thermally stratified condition on sensible heat within forest canopy].

    PubMed

    Diao, Yi-Wei; Wang, An-Zhi; Guan, De-Xin; Jin, Chang-Jie; Pei, Tie-Fan

    2010-01-01

    By using Eulerian second-order closure model, this paper studied the source-sink distribution and flux characteristics of sensible heat within forest canopy under atmospheric thermally stratified condition. In the daytime, a notable feature for the atmospheric stratification of forest canopy was the unstable stratification above the canopy and the stable stratification under the canopy. The changes of temperature profile indicated there was a 'hot spot' at about 2/3 of canopy height. The counter-gradient fluxes within the canopy were discovered by modeling the heat flux under weak stable atmospheric condition. Simulations of the diurnal variation of sensible heat flux were consistent with the measurements (R2 = 0.9035, P < 0.01). Adding buoyancy in the sensible heat balance equation could increase the simulation accuracy of inversion model, and improve the simulation capability for heat flux balance.

  20. How Socio-Economic Conditions Influence Forest Policy Development in Central and South-East Europe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vuletić, Dijana; Potočić, Nenad; Krajter, Silvija; Seletković, Ivan; Fürst, Christine; Makeschin, Franz; Galić, Zoran; Lorz, Carsten; Matijašič, Dragan; Zupanič, Matjaž; Simončič, Primož; Vacik, Harald

    2010-12-01

    In this article, several findings on socio-economic conditions derived from national reports and a web-based questionnaire are discussed and related to the changing role of forestry and the future forest policy development. A number of Central and South-eastern European countries taking part in a SEE-ERA-NET project ReForMan project ( www.reforman.de ) participated in data acquisition: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Serbia and Slovenia. The aim of the research was to illustrate the present structure of forestry sector, as well as investigate newly emerging topics in forestry of Central and South-eastern Europe. The results indicated certain patterns in attitudes and perceptions among stakeholders that can be related to socio-economic conditions defined for each country. Clear differences between member and non-member countries exist only in level of implementation of EU legislation. Results showed consensus on main threats to the forests among all countries, but also some country specifics in perceptions of factors influencing forestry, their importance and professional competencies. These results could be additionally explained by influence of historical conditions which shaped development of forest sector in SEE region especially in its organizational dimension as well as in perceived role of forestry expressed through recognition of main forest functions. The influence of European forest policy processes in the region is evident through adaptation of EU legislation and perceived implications of international processes on national levels. Based on this observation, two possible options for future development of the forestry sector can be foreseen: (i) focusing on the productive function of forests and fostering its' sustainable use; or (ii) putting an emphasis on environmental and social issues. In both cases supporting public

  1. Coherent Backscattering: Conceptions and Misconceptions (Reply to Comments by Bruce W. Hapke and Robert M. Nelson)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tishkovets, Victor P.; Mishchenko, Michael

    2010-01-01

    Although the note by Hapke and Nelson has virtually no relevance to our original publication, it contains a number of statements that are misleading and/or wrong. We, therefore, use this opportunity to dispel several profound misconceptions that continue to hinder the progress in remote sensing of planetary surfaces.

  2. Radical Questioning on the Long Walk to Freedom: Nelson Mandela and the Practice of Critical Reflection

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brookfield, Stephen

    2008-01-01

    Nelson Mandela's autobiography "The Long Walk to Freedom" describes how an iconic political activist and freedom fighter reflected on, and sometimes modified, four core assumptions at the heart of his struggle to overturn the White supremacist, minority hegemony and create a free South Africa. Critical reflection's focus is on…

  3. "Finding Useful Questions: On Bayesian Diagnosticity, Probability, Impact, and Information Gain": Correction to Nelson (2005)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson, Jonathan D.

    2007-01-01

    Reports an error in "Finding Useful Questions: On Bayesian Diagnosticity, Probability, Impact, and Information Gain" by Jonathan D. Nelson (Psychological Review, 2005[Oct], Vol 112[4], 979-999). In Table 13, the data should indicate that 7% of females had short hair and 93% of females had long hair. The calculations and discussion in the article…

  4. Climate change reverses the competitive balance of ash and beech seedlings under simulated forest conditions.

    PubMed

    Saxe, H; Kerstiens, G

    2005-07-01

    This study identifies the important role of climate change and photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) in the regenerative competence of ash and beech seedlings in 12 inter- and intra-specific competition designs in simulated mixed ash-beech forest gaps under conditions of non-limiting soil volume, water and nutrient supply. The growth conditions simulated natural forest conditions as closely as possible. Simulations were performed by growing interacting seedling canopies for one season in temperature-regulated closed-top chambers (CTCs). Eight CTCs were used in a factorial design with replicate treatments of [CO2] x temperature x PPFD x competition design. [CO2] tracked ambient levels or was 360 micromol mol-1 higher. Temperature tracked ambient levels or was 2.8 degrees C higher. PPFD on two plant tables inside each CTC was 16% and 5% of open-field levels, respectively, representative of typical light flux levels in a natural forest gap. In several of the competition designs, climate change made the ash seedlings grow taller than the beech seedlings and, at the same time, attain a larger leaf area and a larger total biomass. Advantages of this type for ash were found particularly at lower PPFD. There was a positive synergistic interaction of elevated temperature x [CO2] for both species, but more so for ash. There are many uncertainties when a study of chambered seedlings is to be projected to real changes in natural forests. Nevertheless, this study supports a possible future shift towards ash in north European, unmanaged, mixed ash-beech forests in response to the predicted climate change.

  5. Regression tree modeling of forest NPP using site conditions and climate variables across eastern USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kwon, Y.

    2013-12-01

    As evidence of global warming continue to increase, being able to predict forest response to climate changes, such as expected rise of temperature and precipitation, will be vital for maintaining the sustainability and productivity of forests. To map forest species redistribution by climate change scenario has been successful, however, most species redistribution maps lack mechanistic understanding to explain why trees grow under the novel conditions of chaining climate. Distributional map is only capable of predicting under the equilibrium assumption that the communities would exist following a prolonged period under the new climate. In this context, forest NPP as a surrogate for growth rate, the most important facet that determines stand dynamics, can lead to valid prediction on the transition stage to new vegetation-climate equilibrium as it represents changes in structure of forest reflecting site conditions and climate factors. The objective of this study is to develop forest growth map using regression tree analysis by extracting large-scale non-linear structures from both field-based FIA and remotely sensed MODIS data set. The major issue addressed in this approach is non-linear spatial patterns of forest attributes. Forest inventory data showed complex spatial patterns that reflect environmental states and processes that originate at different spatial scales. At broad scales, non-linear spatial trends in forest attributes and mixture of continuous and discrete types of environmental variables make traditional statistical (multivariate regression) and geostatistical (kriging) models inefficient. It calls into question some traditional underlying assumptions of spatial trends that uncritically accepted in forest data. To solve the controversy surrounding the suitability of forest data, regression tree analysis are performed using Software See5 and Cubist. Four publicly available data sets were obtained: First, field-based Forest Inventory and Analysis (USDA

  6. Determination of critical habitat for the endangered Nelson's bighorn sheep in southern California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Turner, J.C.; Douglas, C.L.; Hallum, C.R.; Krausman, P.R.; Ramey, R.R.

    2004-01-01

    The United States Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) designation of critical habitat for the endangered Nelson's bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) in the Peninsular Ranges of southern California has been controversial because of an absence of a quantitative, repeatable scientific approach to the designation of critical habitat. We used 12,411 locations of Nelson's bighorn sheep collected from 1984-1998 to evaluate habitat use within 398 km2 of the USFWS-designated critical habitat in the northern Santa Rosa Mountains, Riverside County, California. We developed a multiple logistic regression model to evaluate and predict the probability of bighorn use versus non-use of native landscapes. Habitat predictor variables included elevation, slope, ruggedness, slope aspect, proximity to water, and distance from minimum expanses of escape habitat. We used Earth Resources Data Analysis System Geographic Information System (ERDAS-GIS) software to view, retrieve, and format predictor values for input to the Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS) software. To adequately account for habitat landscape diversity, we carried out an unsupervised classification at the outset of data inquiry using a maximum-likelihood clustering scheme implemented in ERDAS. We used the strata resulting from the unsupervised classification in a stratified random sampling scheme to minimize data loads required for model development. Based on 5 predictor variables, the habitat model correctly classified >96% of observed bighorn sheep locations. Proximity to perennial water was the best predictor variable. Ninety-seven percent of the observations were within 3 km of perennial water. Exercising the model over the northern Santa Rosa Mountain study area provided probabilities of bighorn use at a 30 x 30-m2 pixel level. Within the 398 km 2 of USFWS-designated critical habitat, only 34% had a graded probability of bighorn use to non-use ranging from ???1:1 to 6,044:1. The remaining 66% of the study area

  7. Warm Dry Weather Conditions Cause of 2016 Fort McMurray Wild Forest Fire and Associated Air Quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Azevedo, S. C.; Singh, R. P.; da Silva, E. A., Sr.

    2016-12-01

    The climate change is evident from the increasing temperature around the world, day to day life and increasing frequency of natural hazards. The warm and dry conditions are the cause of frequent forest fires around the globe. Forest fires severely affect the air quality and human health. Multi sensor satellites and dense network of ground stations provide information about vegetation health, meteorological, air quality and atmospheric parameters. We have carried out detailed analysis of satellite and ground data of wild forest fire that occurred in May 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. This wild forest fire destroyed 10 per cent of Fort McMurray's housing and forced more than 90,000 people to evacuate the surrounding areas. Our results show that the warm and dry conditions with low rainfall were the cause of Fort McMurray wild fire. The air quality parameters (particulate matter, CO, ozone, NO2, methane) and greenhouse gases measured from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) satellite show enhanced levels soon after the forest fire. The emissions from the forest fire affected health of population living in surrounding areas up to 300 km radius.

  8. Harmonic analysis of dense time series of landsat imagery for modeling change in forest conditions

    Treesearch

    Barry Tyler Wilson

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the utility of dense time series of Landsat imagery for small area estimation and mapping of change in forest conditions over time. The study area was a region in north central Wisconsin for which Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery and field measurements from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program are available for the decade of 2003 to 2012. For the periods...

  9. BIRD COMMUNITIES AND HABITAT AS ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF FOREST CONDITION IN REGIONAL MONITORING

    EPA Science Inventory

    Ecological indicators for long-term monitoring programs are needed to detect and assess changing environmental conditions, We developed and tested community-level environmental indicators for monitoring forest bird populations and associated habitat. We surveyed 197 sampling plo...

  10. Application of the Ecosystem Disturbance and Recovery Tracker in Detection of Forest Health Departure from Desired Conditions in Sierra Nevada National Forests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slaton, M.; Koltunov, A.; Ramirez, C.

    2016-12-01

    Three Sierra Nevada national forests have recently released draft revised land management plans to the public for comment. These plans include components guiding land management projects (e.g. timber harvest) over the next decades. Desired conditions for land cover types were identified, and are based on the concept of the natural range of variability (NRV); the agency aims to achieve vegetation structure and composition that is within the range that has occurred in that system during the Holocene, prior to Euro-American settlement. Such systems are identified as having ecological integrity, with the ability to withstand and recover from disturbance. Comparisons between current conditions and the NRV period are often made qualitatively, with quantitative comparisons possible through the reconstruction of forest parameters using paleoecological evidence such as pollen or tree rings. Where such information is lacking, comparisons can be made using more recent data for locations or time periods believed to closely represent NRV. Such evaluations are necessary to develop projects that will be within the agency's desired conditions. As an example, the most recent estimate of the extent of tree mortality in CA continues to rise and expand at an aggressive rate, creating the need to track progress as compared to baseline conditions. The Ecosystem Disturbance and Recovery Tracker (eDaRT) is a system developed by the US Forest Service Region 5 Remote Sensing Lab and UC Davis CSTARS center that uses all available Landsat imagery to detect anomalies in vegetation indices, and has been adapted to detect current tree mortality as compared to modern pre-drought baseline conditions. We present initial results for the southern Sierra Nevada (5,260,913 hectares; 13 million acres) that have been validated using WorldView imagery and field data. The high spatial resolution and large extent of the dataset as compared to other mortality maps enabled identification of factors correlated

  11. The soil indicator of forest health in the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program

    Treesearch

    Michael C. Amacher; Charles H. Perry

    2010-01-01

    Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators (MPCI) were established to monitor forest conditions and trends to promote sustainable forest management. The Soil Indicator of forest health was developed and implemented within the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program to assess condition and trends in forest soil quality in U.S. forests regardless of ownership. The...

  12. Forest insect conditions in the Northeast - 1954

    Treesearch

    W. E. Waters

    1955-01-01

    Forest insects continued to be a major cause of timber loss in the Northeast in 1954. A diversity of destructive pests caused these losses in different ways: by outright killing trees; by reducing growth; by reducing merchantable volume; and by reducing the quality of forest products. Some of the insects caused serious damage to woodlands that have high recreational...

  13. Practical Application of Electrochemical Nitrate Sensor under Laboratory and Forest Nursery Conditions.

    PubMed

    Caron, William-Olivier; Lamhamedi, Mohammed S; Viens, Jeff; Messaddeq, Younès

    2016-07-28

    The reduction of nitrate leaching to ensure greater protection of groundwater quality has become a global issue. The development of new technologies for more accurate dosing of nitrates helps optimize fertilization programs. This paper presents the practical application of a newly developed electrochemical sensor designed for in situ quantification of nitrate. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to report the use of electrochemical impedance to determine nitrate concentrations in growing media under forest nursery conditions. Using impedance measurements, the sensor has been tested in laboratory and compared to colorimetric measurements of the nitrate. The developed sensor has been used in water-saturated growing medium and showed good correlation to certified methods, even in samples obtained over a multi-ion fertilisation season. A linear and significant relationship was observed between the resistance and the concentration of nitrates (R² = 0.972), for a range of concentrations of nitrates. We also observed stability of the sensor after exposure of one month to the real environmental conditions of the forest nursery.

  14. Practical Application of Electrochemical Nitrate Sensor under Laboratory and Forest Nursery Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Caron, William-Olivier; Lamhamedi, Mohammed S.; Viens, Jeff; Messaddeq, Younès

    2016-01-01

    The reduction of nitrate leaching to ensure greater protection of groundwater quality has become a global issue. The development of new technologies for more accurate dosing of nitrates helps optimize fertilization programs. This paper presents the practical application of a newly developed electrochemical sensor designed for in situ quantification of nitrate. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to report the use of electrochemical impedance to determine nitrate concentrations in growing media under forest nursery conditions. Using impedance measurements, the sensor has been tested in laboratory and compared to colorimetric measurements of the nitrate. The developed sensor has been used in water-saturated growing medium and showed good correlation to certified methods, even in samples obtained over a multi-ion fertilisation season. A linear and significant relationship was observed between the resistance and the concentration of nitrates (R2 = 0.972), for a range of concentrations of nitrates. We also observed stability of the sensor after exposure of one month to the real environmental conditions of the forest nursery. PMID:27483266

  15. STS-26 MS Nelson operates controls for PVTOS-2 experiment on aft middeck

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1988-01-01

    STS-26 Mission Specialist (MS) George D. Nelson operates generic electronics module for the Physical Vapor Transport of Organic Solids 2 (PVTOS-2) experiment on Discovery's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103's, aft middeck. PVTOS-2 consists of nine independent experimental cells about 12 inches long and 3 inches in diameter. They are mounted in a circular base plate inside the drum-like experimental apparatus container (EAC). PVTOS-2 is sponsored by NASA's Office of Commercial Programs and is being conducted by 3M's Space Research and Applications Laboratory.

  16. The New England forest: baseline for New England forest health monitoring

    Treesearch

    Robert T. Brooks; Thomas S Frieswyk; Douglas M. Griffith; Ellen Cooter; Luther Smith; Luther Smith

    1992-01-01

    The USDA Forest Service along with various cooperators has initiated Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) in New England to assess the condition and stressors of the region's forests, to analyze changes in these data over time, and to identify any relationships between forest condition and stressors. A major component of FHM in New England is 263 permanent plots located...

  17. A loading study of older highway bridges in Virginia. Pt. 3, Concrete tee-beam bridge in Nelson County.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1977-01-01

    A 40-foot clear span, standard reinforced tee-beam bridge over the Tye River in Nelson County was tested with a 23-ton, tandem axle test vehicle in July 1976. The test span was one of four identical spans making a total bridge length of 170 feet. Str...

  18. [Turbulent characteristics in forest canopy under atmospheric neutral condition].

    PubMed

    Diao, Yi-Wei; Guan, De-Xin; Jin, Chang-Jie; Wang, An-Zhi; Pei, Tie-Fan

    2010-02-01

    Based on the micrometeorological data of broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountain in 2003, a second-order closure model was employed to calculate and analyze the turbulent characteristics within and above the canopy of the forest. The calculated mean wind profile was coincident with the measured one. The Reynolds stress within the forest was significantly attenuated. The turbulent strength, velocity flux, and skew were the largest at forest-atmosphere interface, as well the wind shear. With the increase of velocity skew, the turbulent intermittence became more significant, and the downward turbulent eddy within the canopy was limited. Most of the turbulent deeply within the forest canopy was produced by the non-local contributions above the canopy.

  19. Seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall redistribution under Scots pine and Downy oak forests in Mediterranean conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia-Estringana, Pablo; Latron, Jérôme; Molina, Antonio J.; Llorens, Pilar

    2013-04-01

    The large degree of temporal and spatial variability of throughfall input patterns may lead to significant changes in the volume of water that reach the soil in each location, and beyond in the hydrological response of forested hillslopes. To explore the role of vegetation in the temporal and spatial redistribution of rainfall in Mediterranean climatic conditions two contrasted stands were monitored. One is a Downy oak forest (Quercus pubescens) and the other is a Scots pine forest (Pinus sylvestris), both are located in the Vallcebre research catchments (NE Spain, 42° 12'N, 1° 49'E). These plots are representative of Mediterranean mountain areas with spontaneous afforestation by Scots pine as a consequence of the abandonment of agricultural terraces, formerly covered by Downy oaks. The monitoring design of each plot consists of a set of 20 automatic rain recorders and 40 automatic soil moisture probes located below the canopy. 100 hemispheric photographs of the canopy were used to place the instruments at representative locations (in terms of canopy cover) within the plot. Bulk rainfall, stemflow and meteorological conditions above the forest cover are also automatically recorded. Canopy cover as well as biometric characteristics of the plots are also regularly measured. This work presents the first results describing the variability of throughfall beneath each forest stand and compares the persistence of temporal patterns among stands, and for the oaks stand among the leafed and the leafless period. Furthermore, canopy structure, rainfall characteristics and meteorological conditions of rainfall events are evaluated as main drivers of throughfall redistribution.

  20. Archaeological Investigations at Nelson Wash, Fort Irwin, California. Fort Irwin Archaeological Project Research Report Number 23. Volume 1. Revision

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-09-01

    Ovis canadensis nelsoni Antelope AnJilocapra americana Feral burro’ Equus asnus Introduced during historic times. 207 OTHER FAUNA The published...also important for Shoshonean diets (Steward 1938:73). Honeybees were spotted in Nelson Wash but no hive was observed. There are few references to

  1. Commentary: The Development of Hippocampal-Dependent Memory Functions: Theoretical Comments on Jabès and Nelson Review (2015)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bachevalier, Jocelyne

    2015-01-01

    Studies investigating the development of memory processes and their neural substrates have flourished over the past two decades. The review by Jabès and Nelson (2015) adds an important piece to our understanding of the maturation of different elements and circuits within the hippocampal system and their association with the progressive development…

  2. Statement of Facts for 1975 City-Wide Mock Trial Competitions. Georgia Floyd, Individually and as Parent and Next Friend of Minor, Nelson Floyd v. Fix-It Home Remodeling, Inc. and Sam Baldwin.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Inst. for Citizen Education in the Law, Washington, DC.

    Prepared by the District of Columbia Street Law Project for its annual city-wide mock trial competition, this instructional handout provides material for a civil trial over a claim for damages. During an argument, a friend pushed Nelson Floyd against the railing of a porch. Falling onto the concrete below, Nelson was injured with a broken shin…

  3. Forests in transition: Post-epidemic vegetation conditions [Chapter 4

    Treesearch

    Rob Hubbard; Michael Battaglia; Chuck Rhoades; Jim Thinnes; Tom Martin; Jeff Underhill; Mark Westfahl

    2014-01-01

    More than 23 million acres of lodgepole pine forests across the western U.S. have experienced overstory mortality following the recent mountain pine beetle (MPB) epidemic (USDA Forest Service 2013). Unknowns regarding the immediate and long-term consequences of the epidemic challenge the ability of managers to make informed decisions aimed at sustaining forest health...

  4. Stand structure, fuelloads, and fire behavior in riparian and upland forests, Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA; a comparison of current and reconstructed conditions

    Treesearch

    Kip Van de Water; Malcolm North

    2011-01-01

    Fire plays an important role in shaping many Sierran coniferous forests, but longer fire return intervals and reductions in area burned have altered forest conditions. Productive, mesic riparian forests can accumulate high stem densities and fuel loads, making them susceptible to high-severity fire. Fuels treatments applied to upland forests, however, are...

  5. Decline of forest interior conditions in the conterminous United States

    Treesearch

    Kurt H. Riitters; James D. Wickham

    2012-01-01

    Forest fragmentation threatens the sustainability of forest interior environments, thereby endangering subordinate ecological attributes and functions. We analyzed the spatial patterns of forest loss and gain for the conterminous United States from 2001 to 2006 to determine whether forest interior environments were maintained at five spatial scales. A 1.1% net loss of...

  6. Comparing Forests across Climates and Biomes: Qualitative Assessments, Reference Forests and Regional Intercomparisons

    PubMed Central

    Salk, Carl F.; Frey, Ulrich; Rusch, Hannes

    2014-01-01

    Communities, policy actors and conservationists benefit from understanding what institutions and land management regimes promote ecosystem services like carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. However, the definition of success depends on local conditions. Forests' potential carbon stock, biodiversity and rate of recovery following disturbance are known to vary with a broad suite of factors including temperature, precipitation, seasonality, species' traits and land use history. Methods like tracking over-time changes within forests, or comparison with “pristine” reference forests have been proposed as means to compare the structure and biodiversity of forests in the face of underlying differences. However, data from previous visits or reference forests may be unavailable or costly to obtain. Here, we introduce a new metric of locally weighted forest intercomparison to mitigate the above shortcomings. This method is applied to an international database of nearly 300 community forests and compared with previously published techniques. It is particularly suited to large databases where forests may be compared among one another. Further, it avoids problematic comparisons with old-growth forests which may not resemble the goal of forest management. In most cases, the different methods produce broadly congruent results, suggesting that researchers have the flexibility to compare forest conditions using whatever type of data is available. Forest structure and biodiversity are shown to be independently measurable axes of forest condition, although users' and foresters' estimations of seemingly unrelated attributes are highly correlated, perhaps reflecting an underlying sentiment about forest condition. These findings contribute new tools for large-scale analysis of ecosystem condition and natural resource policy assessment. Although applied here to forestry, these techniques have broader applications to classification and evaluation problems using

  7. Comparing forests across climates and biomes: qualitative assessments, reference forests and regional intercomparisons.

    PubMed

    Salk, Carl F; Frey, Ulrich; Rusch, Hannes

    2014-01-01

    Communities, policy actors and conservationists benefit from understanding what institutions and land management regimes promote ecosystem services like carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. However, the definition of success depends on local conditions. Forests' potential carbon stock, biodiversity and rate of recovery following disturbance are known to vary with a broad suite of factors including temperature, precipitation, seasonality, species' traits and land use history. Methods like tracking over-time changes within forests, or comparison with "pristine" reference forests have been proposed as means to compare the structure and biodiversity of forests in the face of underlying differences. However, data from previous visits or reference forests may be unavailable or costly to obtain. Here, we introduce a new metric of locally weighted forest intercomparison to mitigate the above shortcomings. This method is applied to an international database of nearly 300 community forests and compared with previously published techniques. It is particularly suited to large databases where forests may be compared among one another. Further, it avoids problematic comparisons with old-growth forests which may not resemble the goal of forest management. In most cases, the different methods produce broadly congruent results, suggesting that researchers have the flexibility to compare forest conditions using whatever type of data is available. Forest structure and biodiversity are shown to be independently measurable axes of forest condition, although users' and foresters' estimations of seemingly unrelated attributes are highly correlated, perhaps reflecting an underlying sentiment about forest condition. These findings contribute new tools for large-scale analysis of ecosystem condition and natural resource policy assessment. Although applied here to forestry, these techniques have broader applications to classification and evaluation problems using crowdsourced

  8. Condition and fate of logged forests in the Brazilian Amazon.

    Treesearch

    Gregory P. Asner; Eben N. Broadbent; Paulo J. C. Oliveira; Michael Keller; David E. Knapp; Jose N. M. Silva

    2006-01-01

    The long-term viability of a forest industry in the Amazon region of Brazil depends on the maintenance of adequate timber volume and growth in healthy forests. Using extensive high-resolution satellite analyses, we studied the forest damage caused by recent logging operations and the likelihood that logged forests would be cleared within 4 years after timber harvest....

  9. Temporal trends of forest interior conditions in the United States

    Treesearch

    Kurt Riitters; James. Wickham

    2012-01-01

    Nature's benefits derived from forest interior environments cannot be sustained if the natural capital of forest interior area is not sustained. We analyzed the spatial patterns of forest loss and gain for the conterminous United States from 2001 to 2006 to determine whether forest interior environments were maintained at five spatial scales. A 1.1 percent net...

  10. Towards complete and harmonized assessment of soil carbon stocks and balance in forests: The ability of the Yasso07 model across a wide gradient of climatic and forest conditions in Europe.

    PubMed

    Hernández, Laura; Jandl, Robert; Blujdea, Viorel N B; Lehtonen, Aleksi; Kriiska, Kaie; Alberdi, Iciar; Adermann, Veiko; Cañellas, Isabel; Marin, Gheorghe; Moreno-Fernández, Daniel; Ostonen, Ivika; Varik, Mats; Didion, Markus

    2017-12-01

    Accurate carbon-balance accounting in forest soils is necessary for the development of climate change policy. However, changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) occur slowly and these changes may not be captured through repeated soil inventories. Simulation models may be used as alternatives to SOC measurement. The Yasso07 model presents a suitable alternative because most of the data required for the application are readily available in countries with common forest surveys. In this study, we test the suitability of Yasso07 for simulating SOC stocks and stock changes in a variety of European forests affected by different climatic, land use and forest management conditions and we address country-specific cases with differing resources and data availability. The simulated SOC stocks differed only slightly from measured data, providing realistic, reasonable mean SOC estimations per region or forest type. The change in the soil carbon pool over time, which is the target parameter for SOC reporting, was generally found to be plausible although not in the case of Mediterranean forest soils. As expected under stable forest management conditions, both land cover and climate play major roles in determining the SOC stock in forest soils. Greater mean SOC stocks were observed in northern latitudes (or at higher altitude) than in southern latitudes (or plains) and conifer forests were found to store a notably higher amount of SOC than broadleaf forests. Furthermore, as regards change in SOC, an inter-annual sink effect was identified for most of the European forest types studied. Our findings corroborate the suitability of Yasso07 to assess the impact of forest management and land use change on the SOC balance of forests soils, as well as to accurately simulate SOC in dead organic matter (DOM) and mineral soil pools separately. The obstacles encountered when applying the Yasso07 model reflect a lack of available input data. Future research should focus on improving our knowledge of

  11. Preliminary geologic map of the Chugach National Forest Special Study Area, Alaska

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nelson, Steven W.; Miller, Marti L.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Snee, Lawrence W.; Philips, Patti J.; Huber, Carol

    1999-01-01

    In 1990, both the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines were contacted by the Chugach National Forest (CNF) for the purpose of providing mineral resource information for the CNF Master Plan during the planning period fiscal years 1991-1994. This information is to address the terms and requirements of the 1986 Settlement Agreement and to provide mineral and geologic information useful to the CNF for making land-use decisions. In early 1992 an Interagency Agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the Chugach National Forest was signed. In this agreement the U.S. Geological Survey is to provide a report which estimates the undiscovered mineral endowments of the 'special' study area and to identify the potential for mineral discovery and development. The U.S. Bureau of Mines was to prepare a report updating the discovered mineral endowment of the Special Study Area. These reports are now published (Roe and Balen, 1994; Nelson and others, 1994). This geologic map is a component of the U.S. Geological Survey contribution to the overall project.

  12. The effects of catchment and riparian forest quality on stream environmental conditions across a tropical rainforest and oil palm landscape in Malaysian Borneo.

    PubMed

    Luke, Sarah H; Barclay, Holly; Bidin, Kawi; Chey, Vun Khen; Ewers, Robert M; Foster, William A; Nainar, Anand; Pfeifer, Marion; Reynolds, Glen; Turner, Edgar C; Walsh, Rory P D; Aldridge, David C

    2017-06-01

    Freshwaters provide valuable habitat and important ecosystem services but are threatened worldwide by habitat loss and degradation. In Southeast Asia, rainforest streams are particularly threatened by logging and conversion to oil palm, but we lack information on the impacts of this on freshwater environmental conditions, and the relative importance of catchment versus riparian-scale disturbance. We studied 16 streams in Sabah, Borneo, including old-growth forest, logged forest, and oil palm sites. We assessed forest quality in riparian zones and across the whole catchment and compared it with stream environmental conditions including water quality, structural complexity, and organic inputs. We found that streams with the highest riparian forest quality were nearly 4 °C cooler, over 20 cm deeper, had over 40% less sand, greater canopy cover, more stored leaf litter, and wider channels than oil palm streams with the lowest riparian forest quality. Other variables were significantly related to catchment-scale forest quality, with streams in the highest quality forest catchments having 40% more bedrock and 20 times more dead wood, along with higher phosphorus, and lower nitrate-N levels compared to streams with the lowest catchment-scale forest quality. Although riparian buffer strips went some way to protecting waterways, they did not maintain fully forest-like stream conditions. In addition, logged forest streams still showed signs of disturbance 10-15 years after selective logging. Our results suggest that maintenance and restoration of buffer strips can help to protect healthy freshwater ecosystems but logging practices and catchment-scale forest management also need to be considered.

  13. Modelling hydrological conditions in the maritime forest region of south-western Nova Scotia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yanni, Shelagh; Keys, Kevin; Meng, Fan-Rui; Yin, Xiwei; Clair, Tom; Arp, Paul A.

    2000-02-01

    Hydrological processes and conditions were quantified for the Mersey River Basin (two basins: one exiting below Mill Falls, and one exiting below George Lake), the Roger's Brook Basin, Moosepit Brook, and for other selected locations at and near Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia, Canada, from 1967 to 1990. Addressed variables included precipitation (rain, snow, fog), air temperature, stream discharge, snowpack accumulations, throughfall, soil and subsoil moisture, soil temperature and soil frost, at a monthly resolution. It was found that monthly per hectare stream discharge was essentially independent of catchment area from <20 km2 to more than 1000 km2. The forest hydrology model ForHyM2 was used to simulate monthly rates of stream discharge, throughfall and snowpack water equivalents for mature forest conditions. These simulations were in good agreement with the historical records once the contributions of fog and mist to the area-wide water budget were taken into account, each on a monthly basis. The resulting simulations establish a hydrologically consistent, continuous, comprehensive and partially verified record for basin-wide outcomes for all major hydrological processes and conditions, be these related to stream discharge, soil moisture, soil temperature, snowpack accumulations, soil frost, throughfall, interception and soil percolation.

  14. Forest Restoration following Southern Pine Beetle

    Treesearch

    John D. Waldron

    2011-01-01

    Forest restoration is the process of transforming a damaged or unhealthy forest into a healthy one. After the southern pine beetle (SPB) has damaged a forest, it is sometimes, if not most times, necessary to restore that forest. It is important to know the restoration goals, conditions prior to SPB, current conditions, and potential future conditions of the forest...

  15. Patient advocacy by rural emergency physicians after major service cuts: the case of Nelson, BC.

    PubMed

    Fleet, Richard; Plant, Jeff; Ness, Rhonda; Moola, Shiraz

    2013-01-01

    Efforts at cost containment through regionalization have led to reduced services in several rural emergency departments (EDs) in Canada. As a result, questions have been raised about patient safety and equitable access to care, compelling physicians to advocate for their patients. Few published reports on physicians' advocacy experiences pertaining to rural EDs exist. We describe our experience of patient advocacy after major service cuts at Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson, BC. Despite mixed results, we suggest increased physician involvement in patient advocacy.

  16. Quantum cybernetics: a new perspective for Nelson's stochastic theory, nonlocality, and the Klein-Gordon equation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grössing, Gerhard

    2002-04-01

    The Klein-Gordon equation is shown to be equivalent to coupled partial differential equations for a sub-quantum Brownian movement of a “particle”, which is both passively affected by, and actively affecting, a diffusion process of its generally nonlocal environment. This indicates circularly causal, or “cybernetic”, relationships between “particles” and their surroundings. Moreover, in the relativistic domain, the original stochastic theory of Nelson is shown to hold as a limiting case only, i.e., for a vanishing quantum potential.

  17. Riparian forest as a management tool for moderating future thermal conditions of lowland temperate streams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kristensen, P. B.; Kristensen, E. A.; Riis, T.; Baisner, A. J.; Larsen, S. E.; Verdonschot, P. F. M.; Baattrup-Pedersen, A.

    2013-05-01

    Predictions of the future climate infer that stream water temperatures may increase in temperate lowland areas and that streams without riparian forest will be particularly prone to elevated stream water temperature. Planting of riparian forest is a potential mitigation measure to reduce water temperatures for the benefit of stream organisms. However, no studies have yet determined the length of a forested reach required to obtain a significant temperature decrease. To investigate this we measured the temperature in five small Danish lowland streams from June 2010 to July 2011, all showing a sharp transition between an upstream open reach and a downstream forested reach. In all stream reaches we also measured canopy cover and a range of physical variables characterizing the streams reaches. This allowed us to analyse differences in mean daily temperature and amplitude per month among forested and open sections as well as to study annual temperature regimes and the influence of physical conditions on temperature changes. Stream water temperature in the open reaches was affected by heating, and in July we observed an increase in temperature over the entire length of the investigated reaches, reaching temperatures higher than the incipient lethal limit for brown trout. Along the forest reaches a significant decrease in July temperatures was recorded immediately (100 m) when the stream moved into the forested area. In three of our study streams the temperature continued to decrease the longer the stream entered into the forested reach, and the temperature decline did not reach a plateau. The temperature increases along the open reaches were accompanied by stronger daily temperature variation; however, when the streams entered into the forest, the range in daily variation decreased. Multiple regression analysis of the combined effects on stream water temperature of canopy cover, Width/Depth ratio, discharge, current velocity and water temperature revealed that canopy

  18. Decline of forest interior conditions in the conterminous United States

    EPA Science Inventory

    Forest fragmentation threatens the sustainability of forest interior environments, thereby endangering subordinate ecological attributes and functions. We analyzed the spatial patterns of forest disturbance and recovery for the conterminous United States from 2001 to 2006 to det...

  19. Condition and fate of logged forests in the Brazilian Amazon.

    PubMed

    Asner, Gregory P; Broadbent, Eben N; Oliveira, Paulo J C; Keller, Michael; Knapp, David E; Silva, José N M

    2006-08-22

    The long-term viability of a forest industry in the Amazon region of Brazil depends on the maintenance of adequate timber volume and growth in healthy forests. Using extensive high-resolution satellite analyses, we studied the forest damage caused by recent logging operations and the likelihood that logged forests would be cleared within 4 years after timber harvest. Across 2,030,637 km2 of the Brazilian Amazon from 1999 to 2004, at least 76% of all harvest practices resulted in high levels of canopy damage sufficient to leave forests susceptible to drought and fire. We found that 16+/-1% of selectively logged areas were deforested within 1 year of logging, with a subsequent annual deforestation rate of 5.4% for 4 years after timber harvests. Nearly all logging occurred within 25 km of main roads, and within that area, the probability of deforestation for a logged forest was up to four times greater than for unlogged forests. In combination, our results show that logging in the Brazilian Amazon is dominated by highly damaging operations, often followed rapidly by deforestation decades before forests can recover sufficiently to produce timber for a second harvest. Under the management regimes in effect at the time of our study in the Brazilian Amazon, selective logging would not be sustained.

  20. The Nelson-Denny Reading Test as a Predictor of Academic Success in Selected Classes in a Specific Community College.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gudan, Sirkka

    A review of the literature indicates that the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) may be a viable instrument for screening students and predicting their academic success in particular circumstances. In 1981, a study was conducted at Schoolcraft College to determine the extent of the relationship between the reading abilities of entering students and…

  1. The effects of catchment and riparian forest quality on stream environmental conditions across a tropical rainforest and oil palm landscape in Malaysian Borneo

    PubMed Central

    Barclay, Holly; Bidin, Kawi; Chey, Vun Khen; Ewers, Robert M.; Foster, William A.; Nainar, Anand; Pfeifer, Marion; Reynolds, Glen; Turner, Edgar C.; Walsh, Rory P. D.; Aldridge, David C.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Freshwaters provide valuable habitat and important ecosystem services but are threatened worldwide by habitat loss and degradation. In Southeast Asia, rainforest streams are particularly threatened by logging and conversion to oil palm, but we lack information on the impacts of this on freshwater environmental conditions, and the relative importance of catchment versus riparian‐scale disturbance. We studied 16 streams in Sabah, Borneo, including old‐growth forest, logged forest, and oil palm sites. We assessed forest quality in riparian zones and across the whole catchment and compared it with stream environmental conditions including water quality, structural complexity, and organic inputs. We found that streams with the highest riparian forest quality were nearly 4 °C cooler, over 20 cm deeper, had over 40% less sand, greater canopy cover, more stored leaf litter, and wider channels than oil palm streams with the lowest riparian forest quality. Other variables were significantly related to catchment‐scale forest quality, with streams in the highest quality forest catchments having 40% more bedrock and 20 times more dead wood, along with higher phosphorus, and lower nitrate‐N levels compared to streams with the lowest catchment‐scale forest quality. Although riparian buffer strips went some way to protecting waterways, they did not maintain fully forest‐like stream conditions. In addition, logged forest streams still showed signs of disturbance 10–15 years after selective logging. Our results suggest that maintenance and restoration of buffer strips can help to protect healthy freshwater ecosystems but logging practices and catchment‐scale forest management also need to be considered. PMID:28706573

  2. Application of a COSMO Mesoscale Model to Assess the Influence of Forest Cover Changes on Regional Weather Conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Olchev, A.; Rozinkina, I.; Kuzmina, E.; Nikitin, M.; Rivin, G. S.

    2017-12-01

    Modern changes in land use and forest cover have a significant influence on local, regional, and global weather and climate conditions. In this study, the mesoscale model COSMO is used to estimate the possible influence of forest cover change in the central part of the East European Plain on regional weather conditions. The "model region" of the study is surrounded by geographical coordinates 55° and 59°N and 28° and 37°E and situated in the central part of a large modeling domain (50° - 70° N and 15° 55° E), covering almost the entire East European Plain in Northern Eurasia. The forests cover about 50% of the area of the "model region". The modeling study includes 3 main numerical experiments. The first assumes total deforestation of the "model region" and replacement of forests by grasslands. The second is represented by afforestation of the "model region." In the third, weather conditions are simulated with present land use and vegetation structures of the "model region." Output of numerical experiments is at 13.2 km grid resolution, and the ERA-Interim global atmospheric reanalysis (with 6-h resolution in time and 0.75°×0.75° in space) is used to quantify initial and boundary conditions. Numerical experiments for the warm period of 2010 taken as an example show that deforestation and afforestation processes in the selected region can lead to significant changes in weather conditions. Deforestation processes in summer conditions can result in increased air temperature and wind speed, reduction of precipitation, lower clouds, and relative humidity. The afforestation process can result in opposite effects (decreased air temperature, increased precipitation, higher air humidity and fog frequency, and strengthened storm winds). Maximum meteorological changes under forest cover changes are projected for the summer months (July and August). It was also shown that changes of some meteorological characteristics (e.g., air temperature) is observed in the

  3. Forest Health Monitoring in the Interior West: A baseline summary of forest issues, 1996-1999

    Treesearch

    Paul Rogers; David Atkins; Michelle Frank; Douglas Parker

    2001-01-01

    Although forest health may be difficult to define and measure, a strong demand exists for assessment of forest conditions at various state, regional, and national scales. Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) is a national program designed to measure the status, changes, and trends of forest conditions annually. This report presents a broad view of forest health issues...

  4. Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 years (1994–2003): preliminary assessment of the condition of watersheds.

    Treesearch

    Kirsten Gallo; Steven H. Lanigan; Peter Eldred; Sean N. Gordon; Chris Moyer

    2005-01-01

    We aggregated road, vegetation, and inchannel data to assess the condition of sixth-field watersheds and describe the distribution of the condition of watersheds in the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) area. The assessment is based on 250 watersheds selected at random within the Plan area. The distributions of conditions are presented for watersheds and for many of the...

  5. Carbon and Nitrogen dynamics in forest soils depending on light conditions and tree species

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Veselinovic, Bojana; Hager, Herbert

    2013-04-01

    Climate change mitigation actions under the Kyoto Protocol apply among other decreases of CO2-emissions and/or increases of carbon (C) stocks. As soils represent the second biggest C-reservoir on Earth, an exact estimation of the stocks and reliable knowledge on C-dynamics in forest soils is of high importance. Anyhow, here, the accurate GHG-accounting, emission reductions and increase in C stocks is hampered due to lack of reliable data and solid statistical methods for the factors which influence C-sequestration in and its release from these systems. In spite of good progress in the scientific research, these factors are numerous and diverse in their interactions. This work focuses on influence of the economically relevant tree species - Picea abies, Fagus sylvatica and Quercus spp. - and light conditions on forest floor and mineral soil C and N dynamics in forest soils. Spruce monocultures have been widely used management practices in central European forests during the past century. Such stands are in lower altitudes and on heavy and water logged soils unstable and prone to disturbances, especially to windthrows. We hypothesize that windthrow areas loose C & N and that the establishment of the previous nutrient stocks is, if at all, only possible to be reached over the longer periods of time. We research also how the increased OM depletion affects the change of C & N stocks in forest floor vs. mineral soil. Conversion of such secondary spruce monocultures to site adequate beech and oak forests may enable higher stocks allocated predominantly as stable organic carbon and as plant available nitrogen. For this purpose sites at 300-700 m altitude with planosols were chosen in the region of the Northern Alpine Foothills. A false chronosequence approach was used in order to evaluate the impacts of the tree species and change in light conditions on dynamic of C & N in the forest floor and mineral soil, over the period 0-100 (for oak 120 y.) years. The C- and N

  6. Condition and fate of logged forests in the Brazilian Amazon

    PubMed Central

    Asner, Gregory P.; Broadbent, Eben N.; Oliveira, Paulo J. C.; Keller, Michael; Knapp, David E.; Silva, José N. M.

    2006-01-01

    The long-term viability of a forest industry in the Amazon region of Brazil depends on the maintenance of adequate timber volume and growth in healthy forests. Using extensive high-resolution satellite analyses, we studied the forest damage caused by recent logging operations and the likelihood that logged forests would be cleared within 4 years after timber harvest. Across 2,030,637 km2 of the Brazilian Amazon from 1999 to 2004, at least 76% of all harvest practices resulted in high levels of canopy damage sufficient to leave forests susceptible to drought and fire. We found that 16 ± 1% of selectively logged areas were deforested within 1 year of logging, with a subsequent annual deforestation rate of 5.4% for 4 years after timber harvests. Nearly all logging occurred within 25 km of main roads, and within that area, the probability of deforestation for a logged forest was up to four times greater than for unlogged forests. In combination, our results show that logging in the Brazilian Amazon is dominated by highly damaging operations, often followed rapidly by deforestation decades before forests can recover sufficiently to produce timber for a second harvest. Under the management regimes in effect at the time of our study in the Brazilian Amazon, selective logging would not be sustained. PMID:16901980

  7. The Influence Of Variability Of Water Resources In Lowland Forests On Selected Parameters Describing The Condition Of Trees

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tyszka, Jan; Stolarek, Andrzej; Fronczak, Ewa

    2014-01-01

    The influence of water conditions on the condition and growth of tree stands has been analysed in the context of the climatic and hydrological functions forest plays. Long observational series obtained for precipitation, outflow and depths below the surface of the water table have been put together with measured increases in the breast-height diameters of Scots pines and the severity of crown defoliation observable in selected tree species growing on the Polish Lowland, in order to determine the overall scope to the reaction stand condition manifests in the face of ongoing variability of water conditions within forest. An overall improvement in the condition of stands over the last 20 years does not disguise several-year cyclicity to changes capable of shaping the situation, i.a. departures from long-term mean values for precipitation totals and groundwater levels. The condition of stands is seen to worsen in both dry and wet years. Analysis of the degree to which pine, spruce and broadleaved stands experience defoliation points to spruce stands responding most to extreme hydro-climatic conditions. Extreme situations as regards water resources were seen to involve a response over two-year time intervals in the case of coniferous stands. Unsurprisingly, optimal growing-season (June-September) precipitation totals correspond with long-term average figures, while being slightly higher for spruce (at 384 mm), than for Scots pine or broadleaved species (375 mm). The relationships reported gain confirmation in analysis of periodic change in breast-height diameter increments characterising Scots pines, whose growth is seen to depend closely, not only on precipitation, but also above all on the depth of the water table in the summer half-year. Optimal depths of the water table proved to be different, being around 20 cm below ground in the case of marshy coniferous forest, 80 cm in wet habitats, and 135 cm in fresh habitats. Depending on the possibilities for water to soak

  8. A PROBABILITY SURVEY OF SUCCESSIONAL FOREST COMPOSITION AND CONDITION IN A GREAT RIVER FLOODPLAIN LANDSCAPE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Floodplains within the Great River Ecosystems (GREs) of the central U.S. are composed of dynamic mosaics of successional habitat that (when unmodified) are typically dominated by cottonwood forest (Populus ssp.). GRE riparian habitat condition and successional dynamics are linked...

  9. Effects of forest cover changes in European Russia on regional weather conditions: results of numerical experiments with the COSMO-CLM model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Olchev, Alexander; Kuzmina, Ekaterina; Rozinkina, Inna; Nikitin, Mikhail; Rivin, Gdaly S.

    2017-04-01

    The forests have a significant effect on the climatic system. They capture CO2 from the atmosphere, regulate the surface evaporation and runoff, and influence the radiation and thermal conditions of the land surface. It is obvious, that their influence depends on many different factors including regional climate conditions, land use and vegetation structure, surface topography, etc. The main goal of the study is to assess the possible influence of forest cover changes (under deforestation and/or afforestation) on regional weather conditions in the central part of European Russia using the results of modeling experiments provided by the meso-scale COSMO-CLM model. The need of the study lies in a lack of the experimental and modeling data characterizing the influence of the forest and land-use changes on regional weather conditions in European part of Russia. The forest ecosystems in the study region play a very important biosphere role that is significantly increased in the last decades due to considerable strengthening of anthropogenic activity in the area of European Russia. The area selected for the study is located in the central part of European Russia between 55 and 59N and 28 and 37E. It comprises several geographical zones including dark-coniferous forests of the South-European taiga in the north, the mixed forests in the central part and the broad-leaved forests in the south. The forests within the study area are very heterogeneous. The total area covered by forests according to recent remote sensing data is about 50%. The numerical experiments were provided using the COSMO-CLM model with the spatial resolution 13.2 km. As initial and boundary conditions for the numerical experiments the global reanalysis ERA Interim (with the 6-hour resolution in time and 0.75° × 0.75° in space) were used. The weather conditions were simulated in a continuous cycle for several months for the entire area of European Russia using the results of global reanalysis on

  10. Scaling Limit for a Generalization of the Nelson Model and its Application to Nuclear Physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suzuki, Akito

    We study a mathematically rigorous derivation of a quantum mechanical Hamiltonian in a general framework. We derive such a Hamiltonian by taking a scaling limit for a generalization of the Nelson model, which is an abstract interaction model between particles and a Bose field with some internal degrees of freedom. Applying it to a model for the field of the nuclear force with isospins, we obtain a Schrödinger Hamiltonian with a matrix-valued potential, the one pion exchange potential, describing an effective interaction between nucleons.

  11. The divine clockwork: Bohr's correspondence principle and Nelson's stochastic mechanics for the atomic elliptic state

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Durran, Richard; Neate, Andrew; Truman, Aubrey

    2008-03-15

    We consider the Bohr correspondence limit of the Schroedinger wave function for an atomic elliptic state. We analyze this limit in the context of Nelson's stochastic mechanics, exposing an underlying deterministic dynamical system in which trajectories converge to Keplerian motion on an ellipse. This solves the long standing problem of obtaining Kepler's laws of planetary motion in a quantum mechanical setting. In this quantum mechanical setting, local mild instabilities occur in the Keplerian orbit for eccentricities greater than (1/{radical}(2)) which do not occur classically.

  12. Classification of riparian forest species and health condition using multi-temporal and hyperspatial imagery from unmanned aerial system.

    PubMed

    Michez, Adrien; Piégay, Hervé; Lisein, Jonathan; Claessens, Hugues; Lejeune, Philippe

    2016-03-01

    Riparian forests are critically endangered many anthropogenic pressures and natural hazards. The importance of riparian zones has been acknowledged by European Directives, involving multi-scale monitoring. The use of this very-high-resolution and hyperspatial imagery in a multi-temporal approach is an emerging topic. The trend is reinforced by the recent and rapid growth of the use of the unmanned aerial system (UAS), which has prompted the development of innovative methodology. Our study proposes a methodological framework to explore how a set of multi-temporal images acquired during a vegetative period can differentiate some of the deciduous riparian forest species and their health conditions. More specifically, the developed approach intends to identify, through a process of variable selection, which variables derived from UAS imagery and which scale of image analysis are the most relevant to our objectives.The methodological framework is applied to two study sites to describe the riparian forest through two fundamental characteristics: the species composition and the health condition. These characteristics were selected not only because of their use as proxies for the riparian zone ecological integrity but also because of their use for river management.The comparison of various scales of image analysis identified the smallest object-based image analysis (OBIA) objects (ca. 1 m(2)) as the most relevant scale. Variables derived from spectral information (bands ratios) were identified as the most appropriate, followed by variables related to the vertical structure of the forest. Classification results show good overall accuracies for the species composition of the riparian forest (five classes, 79.5 and 84.1% for site 1 and site 2). The classification scenario regarding the health condition of the black alders of the site 1 performed the best (90.6%).The quality of the classification models developed with a UAS-based, cost-effective, and semi-automatic approach

  13. The Northern Forest Futures Project: A forward look at forest conditions in the northern United States

    Treesearch

    W. Keith Moser; Stephen R. Shifley

    2012-01-01

    Forests and forest ecosystems provide a critical array of benefits, from clean air and water to commercial products to open space. The forests and their ability to provide desired benefi ts constantly change in response to natural forces, human decisions, and human needs. The complexity and rate of change demand a rigorous evaluation of existing and emerging natural...

  14. Detection of lung cancer through low-dose CT screening (NELSON): a prespecified analysis of screening test performance and interval cancers.

    PubMed

    Horeweg, Nanda; Scholten, Ernst Th; de Jong, Pim A; van der Aalst, Carlijn M; Weenink, Carla; Lammers, Jan-Willem J; Nackaerts, Kristiaan; Vliegenthart, Rozemarijn; ten Haaf, Kevin; Yousaf-Khan, Uraujh A; Heuvelmans, Marjolein A; Thunnissen, Erik; Oudkerk, Matthijs; Mali, Willem; de Koning, Harry J

    2014-11-01

    Low-dose CT screening is recommended for individuals at high risk of developing lung cancer. However, CT screening does not detect all lung cancers: some might be missed at screening, and others can develop in the interval between screens. The NELSON trial is a randomised trial to assess the effect of screening with increasing screening intervals on lung cancer mortality. In this prespecified analysis, we aimed to assess screening test performance, and the epidemiological, radiological, and clinical characteristics of interval cancers in NELSON trial participants assigned to the screening group. Eligible participants in the NELSON trial were those aged 50-75 years, who had smoked 15 or more cigarettes per day for more than 25 years or ten or more cigarettes for more than 30 years, and were still smoking or had quit less than 10 years ago. We included all participants assigned to the screening group who had attended at least one round of screening. Screening test results were based on volumetry using a two-step approach. Initially, screening test results were classified as negative, indeterminate, or positive based on nodule presence and volume. Subsequently, participants with an initial indeterminate result underwent follow-up screening to classify their final screening test result as negative or positive, based on nodule volume doubling time. We obtained information about all lung cancer diagnoses made during the first three rounds of screening, plus an additional 2 years of follow-up from the national cancer registry. We determined epidemiological, radiological, participant, and tumour characteristics by reassessing medical files, screening CTs, and clinical CTs. The NELSON trial is registered at www.trialregister.nl, number ISRCTN63545820. 15,822 participants were enrolled in the NELSON trial, of whom 7915 were assigned to low-dose CT screening with increasing interval between screens, and 7907 to no screening. We included 7155 participants in our study, with

  15. Forest Plantations

    Treesearch

    D. Zhang; J.A. Stanturf

    2008-01-01

    Between the extremes of afforestation and unaided naturalregeneration of natural forests, there is a range offorest conditions in which human intervention occurs.Previously, forest plantations were defined as...

  16. Caesarean section deliveries: Experiences of mothers of midwifery care at a public hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay.

    PubMed

    Jikijela, Thobeka P; James, Sindiwe; Sonti, Balandeli S I

    2018-01-30

    The rate of caesarean section deliveries has increased globally and mothers are faced with challenges of postoperative recovery and caring thereof. Midwives have a duty to assist these mothers to self-care. The objective was to explore and describe experiences of post-caesarean section delivered mothers of midwifery care at a public hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay. A qualitative, descriptive and explorative research design was used in the study. Data were collected from 11 purposively criterion-selected mothers who had a caesarean section delivery. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted in the post-natal wards. Research ethics, namely autonomy, beneficence, justice and informed consent, were adopted in the study. All participants were informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any stage without penalties. Interviews were analysed using Tesch's method of data analysis. Three main themes were identified as experiences of: diverse pain, physical limitation and frustration and health care services as different. Experiences of mothers following a caesarean section delivery with midwifery services at a public hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay were explored and described as diverse. A need for adequate pain management as well as assistance and breastfeeding support to mothers following caesarean delivery was identified as crucial to promote a good mother-to-child relationship.

  17. National projections of forest and rangeland condition indicators: a supporting technical document for the 1999 RPA assessment.

    Treesearch

    John Hof; Curtis Flather; Tony Baltic; Stephen Davies

    1999-01-01

    The 1999 forest and rangeland condition indicator model is a set of independent econometric production functions for environmental outputs (measured with condition indicators) at the national scale. This report documents the development of the database and the statistical estimation required by this particular production structure with emphasis on two special...

  18. Condition Assessment of a 2,500-Year-Old Mummy Coffin

    Treesearch

    Robert J. Ross; Turker Dundar

    2012-01-01

    This work was conducted to assess the condition of a 2,500-year-old mummy coffin. The coffin, part of a collection of funerary objects at the Nelson–Atkins Museum of Art in St. Louis, Missouri, is made of wood obtained from a sycamore fig tree, Ficus sycomorus. Visual and acoustic-based nondestructive testing techniques were used to inspect the...

  19. Forest statistics for Alabama: A report of the Southern forest survey

    Treesearch

    Philip R. Wheeler

    1953-01-01

    This report summarizes data on forest acreage, timber volume, growth, and drain collected by the Southern Forest Survey in Alabama, It is primarily the product of the new Forest Survey of the State, made between 1951 and 1953, but it also draws on the first Forest Survey of 1935-36 to show the changes in forest conditions during the intervening 1'7 years.21...

  20. Alaskan Eskimo Children's Games and Their Relationship to Cultural Values and Role Structure in a Nelson Island Community. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ager, Lynn Price

    The village of Tununak on Nelson Island in southwestern Alaska was the site of this field investigation into Eskimo children's games. The focus of investigation was the relationship between role structure in the community and player organization in games; the expressive nature of games as defined by specific values reflected in games and game…

  1. Crown Condition

    Treesearch

    KaDonna C. Randolph

    2009-01-01

    Photosynthetic capacity is dependent upon the size and condition of the tree crown. Trees with full, vigorous crowns are generally associated with more vigorous growth rates (Zarnoch and others 2004). Therefore, the Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program measures a suite of crown condition indicators to evaluate forest health. Among the crown...

  2. Georgia's forests

    Treesearch

    Raymond M. Sheffield; Herbert A. Knight

    1984-01-01

    In accordance with the Forest and rangeland renewable resources planning act(RPA) of 1974, the fifth inventory of Georgia’s forest was expanded to accommodate nontimber as well as timber resources. This report presents the principal findings concerning the extent of condition of forest lands, associated timber volumes, and rates of growth and removals. Nontimber...

  3. Effects of forest fire and logging on forest degradation in Mongolia

    Treesearch

    Yeong Dae Park; Don Koo Lee; Jamsran Tsogtbaatar; John A. Stanturf

    2010-01-01

    Forests in Mongolia have been severely degraded by forest fire and exploitive logging. This study investigate changes in vegetation and soil properties after forest fire or clearfelling. Microclimate conditions such as temperature and relative humidity (RH) changed drastically after forest fire or logging; temperature increased 1.6-1.7 ºC on average, whereas...

  4. Uniform and blinded cause of death verification of the NELSON lung cancer screening participants.

    PubMed

    Yousaf-Khan, A U; van der Aalst, C M; Aerts, J G J V; den Bakker, M A; de Koning, H J

    2017-09-01

    Primary outcome of the Dutch-Belgian lung cancer screening trial (NELSON) is lung cancer-specific mortality. Accurate assessment of the cause of death (CoD) is crucial. As death certificates regarding the CoD can be inaccurate, a clinical expert committee (CEC) was formed to assign the CoD. In this study, the medical files of deceased lung cancer patients were reviewed and the outcomes were compared with official death certificates. The first 266 completed medical files of Dutch deceased participants who were diagnosed with lung cancer during the study or of those with lung cancer on the death certificate were selected and blinded towards arms and patients identity. The end product of the review process consisted of six possible categories which defined the graduation of certainty that lung cancer was the primary CoD. The percentage agreement and the Cohen's kappa statistics between the two CEC-memberswere calculated. The sensitivity and specificity of the official death certificates were determined. The results indicated that, the overall concordance and the Cohen's kappa between the CEC-memberswere 86.1% and 0.57(0.45-0.69, p<0.001), respectively. This level increased with the numbers of cases evaluated. The sensitivity and the specificity of the official death certificate were 92.6% and 98.8%; 6.5% cases were reclassified to lung cancer specific death, which is lower than in the National Lung Screening trial(22.0%). Concluding, each death should be reviewed by at least two members. So far, in the NELSON trial, possible biases related to lung cancer death seem relatively small. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Current forest conditions of older stands of the mixed mesophytic forest region on the Appalachian Plateaus Province of eastern Kentucky

    Treesearch

    James F. Jr. Rosson

    2008-01-01

    E. Lucy Braun coined the term "mixed mesophytic forest" in 1916. These forests are structurally complex and occur extensively across the Appalachian Plateaus Province. This region is considered the epicenter of highest development of the eastern deciduous forest. I used U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data to study current forest...

  6. The Calhoun Experimental Forest

    Treesearch

    Louis J. Metz

    1958-01-01

    The Calhoun Experimental Forest, a research area of the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, was established in 1947 for work on Piedmont forest, soil, and water problems. Located in the Sumter National Forest, near Union, South Carolina, the forest was chosen because it represented poorest Piedmont conditions.Since early settler days, the great Piedmont...

  7. Does Deafness Spell Disaster? An Analysis of the Written English Levels of Deaf Children in the Nelson Mandela Metropole, South Africa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weir, Carolyn; Aylif, Diana

    2014-01-01

    This article presents the findings of an empirical comparative study in the Nelson Mandela Metropole investigating the difference between the written English of deaf children and the written English of hearing children and makes recommendations on how to improve the writing of deaf children. The psycholinguistic approach was used for the…

  8. Forest biomass mapping from fusion of GEDI Lidar data and TanDEM-X InSAR data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, W.; Hancock, S.; Armston, J.; Marselis, S.; Dubayah, R.

    2017-12-01

    Mapping forest above-ground biomass (hereafter biomass) can significantly improve our ability to assess the role of forest in terrestrial carbon budget and to analyze the ecosystem productivity. Global Ecosystem Dynamic Investigation (GEDI) mission will provide the most complete lidar observations of forest vertical structure and has the potential to provide global-scale forest biomass data at 1-km resolution. However, GEDI is intrinsically a sampling mission and will have a between-track spacing of 600 m. An increase in adjacent-swath distance and the presence of cloud cover may also lead to larger gaps between GEDI tracks. In order to provide wall-to-wall forest biomass maps, fusion algorithms of GEDI lidar data and TanDEM-X InSAR data were explored in this study. Relationship between biomass and lidar RH metrics was firstly developed and used to derive biomass values over GEDI tracks which were simulated using airborne lidar data. These GEDI biomass values were then averaged in each 1-km cell to represent the biomass density within that cell. Whereas for cells without any GEDI observations, regression models developed between GEDI-derived biomass and TDX InSAR variables were applied to predict biomass over those places. Based on these procedures, contiguous biomass maps were finally generated at 1-km resolution over three representative forest types. Uncertainties for these biomass maps were also estimated at 1 km following methods developed in Saarela et al. (2016). Our results indicated great potential of GEDI/TDX fusion for large-scale biomass mapping. Saarela, S., Holm, S., Grafstrom, A., Schnell, S., Naesset, E., Gregoire, T.G., Nelson, R.F., & Stahl, G. (2016). Hierarchical model-based inference for forest inventory utilizing three sources of information. Annals of Forest Science, 73, 895-910

  9. An efficient estimator to monitor rapidly changing forest conditions

    Treesearch

    Raymond L. Czaplewski; Michael T. Thompson; Gretchen G. Moisen

    2012-01-01

    Extensive expanses of forest often change at a slow pace. In this common situation, FIA produces informative estimates of current status with the Moving Average (MA) method and post-stratification with a remotely sensed map of forest-nonforest cover. However, MA "smoothes out" estimates over time, which confounds analyses of temporal trends; and post-...

  10. Global-scale patterns of forest fragmentation

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Riitters, K.; Wickham, J.; O'Neill, R.; Jones, B.; Smith, E.

    2000-01-01

    We report an analysis of forest fragmentation based on 1-km resolution land-cover maps for the globe. Measurements in analysis windows from 81 km 2 (9 ?? 9 pixels, "small" scale) to 59,049 km 2 (243 ?? 243 pixels, "large" scale) were used to characterize the fragmentation around each forested pixel. We identified six categories of fragmentation (interior, perforated, edge, transitional, patch, and undetermined) from the amount of forest and its occurrence as adjacent forest pixels. Interior forest exists only at relatively small scales; at larger scales, forests are dominated by edge and patch conditions. At the smallest scale, there were significant differences in fragmentation among continents; within continents, there were significant differences among individual forest types. Tropical rain forest fragmentation was most severe in North America and least severe in Europe - Asia. Forest types with a high percentage of perforated conditions were mainly in North America (five types) and Europe - Asia (four types), in both temperate and subtropical regions. Transitional and patch conditions were most common in 11 forest types, of which only a few would be considered as "naturally patchy" (e.g., dry woodland). The five forest types with the highest percentage of interior conditions were in North America; in decreasing order, they were cool rain forest, coniferous, conifer boreal, cool mixed, and cool broadleaf. Copyright ?? 2000 by The Resilience Alliance.

  11. Aerial sketchmapping for monitoring forest conditions in Southern Brazil

    Treesearch

    Y. M. Malheiros de Oliveira; M. A. Doetzer Rosot; N. B. da Luz; W. M. Ciesla; E.W. Johnson; R. Rhea; J.F. Jr. Penteado

    2006-01-01

    Aerial sketchmapping is a simple, low cost remote sensing method used for detection and mapping of forest damage caused by biotic agents (insects, pathogens and other pests) and abiotic agents (wind, fire, storms, hurricane, ice storms) in North America. This method was introduced to Brazil in 2001/2002 via a USDA Forest Service/EMBRAPA technical exchange program,...

  12. Condition varies with habitat choice in postbreeding forest birds

    Treesearch

    Scott H. Stoleson

    2013-01-01

    Many birds that are experiencing population declines require extensive tracts of mature forest habitat for breeding. Recent work suggests that at least some may shift their habitat use to early-successional areas after nesting but before migration. I used constant-effort mist netting in regenerating clearcuts (4-8 years postcut) and dense mature-forest understories to...

  13. Forests on the edge: housing development on America’s private forests.

    Treesearch

    Ronald E. McRoberts; Ralph J. Alig; Mark D. Nelson; David M. Theobald; Mike Eley; Mike Dechter; Mary. Carr

    2005-01-01

    The private working land base of America’s forests is being converted to developed uses, with implications for the condition and management of affected private forests and the watersheds in which they occur. The Forests on the Edge project seeks to improve understanding of the processes and thresholds associated with increases in housing density in private forests and...

  14. The impact of forest structure and light utilization on carbon cycling in tropical forests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morton, D. C.; Longo, M.; Leitold, V.; Keller, M. M.

    2015-12-01

    Light competition is a fundamental organizing principle of forest ecosystems, and interactions between forest structure and light availability provide an important constraint on forest productivity. Tropical forests maintain a dense, multi-layered canopy, based in part on abundant diffuse light reaching the forest understory. Climate-driven changes in light availability, such as more direct illumination during drought conditions, therefore alter the potential productivity of forest ecosystems during such events. Here, we used multi-temporal airborne lidar data over a range of Amazon forest conditions to explore the influence of forest structure on gross primary productivity (GPP). Our analysis combined lidar-based observations of canopy illumination and turnover in the Ecosystem Demography model (ED, version 2.2). The ED model was updated to specifically account for regional differences in canopy and understory illumination using lidar-derived measures of canopy light environments. Model simulations considered the influence of forest structure on GPP over seasonal to decadal time scales, including feedbacks from differential productivity between illuminated and shaded canopy trees on mortality rates and forest composition. Finally, we constructed simple scenarios with varying diffuse and direct illumination to evaluate the potential for novel plant-climate interactions under scenarios of climate change. Collectively, the lidar observations and model simulations underscore the need to account for spatial heterogeneity in the vertical structure of tropical forests to constrain estimates of tropical forest productivity under current and future climate conditions.

  15. Northwest Forest Plan—the first 20 years (1994–2013): watershed condition status and trends

    Treesearch

    Stephanie A. Miller; Sean N. Gordon; Peter Eldred; Ronald M. Beloin; Steve Wilcox; Mark Raggon; Heidi Andersen; Ariel. Muldoon

    2017-01-01

    The Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program focuses on assessing the degree to which federal land management under the aquatic conservation strategy (ACS) of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) has been effective in maintaining and improving watershed conditions. We used stream sampling data and upslope/riparian geographic information system (GIS) and remote...

  16. An Archaeological Inventory of Portions of the Devils Lake Basin, Benson, Eddy, Nelson, and Ramsey Counties, North Dakota

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-01-18

    INVENTORY O: PORTIONS OF THE DEVILS LAKE BASIN , I BENSON, EDDY, NELSON, AND RAMSEY COUNTIES, NORTH DAKOTA By: 5 MERVIN G. FLOODMAN, M.A. Submitted By...had a geomorphological study conducted for the Devils Lake Basin , to interpret the Pleistocene and Holocene development of the landscape, and assess...investigations, in an attempt to make broad statements about the location of cultural resources within the Devils Lake Basin . None of the historic sites

  17. Forest statistics for Alabama

    Treesearch

    Philip R. Wheeler

    1953-01-01

    This report summarizes data on forest acreage, timber volume, growth, and drain1/ collected by the Southern Forest Survey in Alabama, It is primarily the product of the new Forest Survey of the State, made between 1951 and 1953, but it also draws on the first Forest Survey of 1935-36 to show the changes in forest conditions during the intervening...

  18. Georgia's forests, 1989

    Treesearch

    Raymond M. Sheffield; Tony G. Johnson

    1993-01-01

    This resource bulletin presents the principal findings of the sixth inventory of Georgia's forest resources. Data on the extent, condition, and classification of forest land and associated timber volumes, growth, removals, and mortality are described and interpreted. Whereas data on nontimber commodities associated with forests were also collected, evaluations of...

  19. Disturbances catalyze the adaptation of forest ecosystems to changing climate conditions

    PubMed Central

    Thom, Dominik; Rammer, Werner; Seidl, Rupert

    2016-01-01

    The rates of anthropogenic climate change substantially exceed those at which forest ecosystems – dominated by immobile, long-lived organisms – are able to adapt. The resulting maladaptation of forests has potentially detrimental effects on ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, as many forest-dwelling species are highly dependent on the prevailing tree species, a delayed response of the latter to a changing climate can contribute to an extinction debt and mask climate-induced biodiversity loss. However, climate change will likely also intensify forest disturbances. Here, we tested the hypothesis that disturbances foster the reorganization of ecosystems and catalyze the adaptation of forest composition to climate change. Our specific objectives were (i) to quantify the rate of autonomous forest adaptation to climate change, (ii) examine the role of disturbance in the adaptation process, and (iii) investigate spatial differences in climate-induced species turnover in an unmanaged mountain forest landscape (Kalkalpen National Park, Austria). Simulations with a process-based forest landscape model were performed for 36 unique combinations of climate and disturbance scenarios over 1000 years. We found that climate change strongly favored European beech and oak species (currently prevailing in mid- to low-elevation areas), with novel species associations emerging on the landscape. Yet, it took between 357 and 706 years before the landscape attained a dynamic equilibrium with the climate system. Disturbances generally catalyzed adaptation and decreased the time needed to attain equilibrium by up to 211 years. However, while increasing disturbance frequency and severity accelerated adaptation, increasing disturbance size had the opposite effect. Spatial analyses suggest that particularly the lowest and highest elevation areas will be hotspots of future species change. We conclude that the growing maladaptation of forests to climate and the long lead times of autonomous

  20. What is forest restoration?

    Treesearch

    John A. Stanturf

    2005-01-01

    The need to repair habitat and restore forest structure and funciton is recognized throughout the temperate and boreal zones as a component of sustainable forest management (Krishnaswamy and Hanson 1999; Dobson et al. 1997). Forest restoration is a complex task, complicated by diverse ecological and social conditions, that challenges our understanding of forest...

  1. Does Humor Have an Effect on the Performance of College Freshmen in Improving Scores on the Nelson Denny Reading Post Test?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schiller, Maryann F.

    A study was conducted to investigate the effects of humor on the performance of college freshmen on the Nelson Denny Reading Post Test. The subjects, 36 college freshmen from two developmental reading improvement classes, were randomly assigned to experimental A or B or control sample groups. Students had previously taken forms F and C of the test…

  2. Health of Idaho's Forests: A Summary of conditions, issues and implications

    Treesearch

    David Atkins; James Byler; Ladd Livingston; Paul Rogers; Dayle Bennett

    1999-01-01

    The desire for lasting and healthy forests in which to live, work and play is something we all share - not only in Idaho but across our nation. In Idaho we have a number of forest health issues confronting us, our forest ecosystems are not as resilient as desired and the ability to sustain our communities is at risk.

  3. Northwest Forest Plan—the first 15 years (1994–2008): watershed condition status and trend

    Treesearch

    Steven H. Lanigan; Sean N. Gordon; Peter Eldred; Mark Isley; Steve Wilcox; Chris Moyer; Heidi Andersen

    2012-01-01

    We used two data sets to evaluate stream and watershed condition for sixth-field watersheds in each aquatic province within the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) area: stream data and upslope data. The stream evaluation was based on inchannel data (e.g., substrate, pieces of large wood, water temperature, pool frequency, and macroinvertebrates) we sampled from 2002 to 2009...

  4. Canopy structure and tree condition of young, mature, and old-growth Douglas-fir/hardwood forests

    Treesearch

    B.B. Bingham; J.O. Sawyer

    1992-01-01

    Sixty-two Douglas-fir/hardwood stands ranging from 40 to 560 years old were used to characterize the density; diameter, and height class distributions of canopy hardwoods and conifers in young (40 -100 yr), mature (101 - 200 yr) and old-growth (>200 yr) forests. The crown, bole, disease, disturbance, and cavity conditions of canopy conifers and hardwoods were...

  5. Forest and rangeland ecosystem condition indicators: identifying national areas of opportunity using data development analysis

    Treesearch

    John G. Hof; Curtis H. Flather; Tony J. Baltic; Rudy M. King

    2004-01-01

    This article reports the methodology and results of a data envelopment analysis (DEA) that attempts to identify areas in the country where there is maximum potential for improving the forest and rangeland condition, based on 12 indicator variables. This analysis differs from previous DEA studies in that the primary variables are measures of human activity and...

  6. North Carolina's forests

    Treesearch

    Raymond M. Sheffield; Herbert A. Knight

    1986-01-01

    In accordance with the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974, the fifth inventory of North Carolina's forests was expanded to accommodate nontimber as well as timber resources. This report presents the principal findings concerning the extent and condition of forest land, associated timber volumes, and rates of growth and removals....

  7. South Carolina's forests

    Treesearch

    John B. Tansey; Cecil C. Hutchins

    1988-01-01

    This report presents the principal findings of the sixth evaluation of South Carolina's forest resources. Data concerning the extent and condition of forest land, associated timber volumes, and rates of growth and removals are included. In accordance with the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974, the sixth inventory of South Carolina...

  8. Forest health from different perspectives

    Treesearch

    T. E. Kolb; M. R. Wagner; W. W. Covington

    1995-01-01

    Forest health is an increasingly important concept in natural resource management. However, definition of forest health is difficult and dependent on human perspective. From a utilitarian perspective, forest health has been defined by the production of forest conditions which directly satisfy human needs. From an ecosystem-centered perspective, forest health has been...

  9. Monitoring of environmental conditions in taiga forests using ERS-1 SAR

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rignot, E.; Way, J.B.; McDonald, K.

    1994-08-01

    Synthetic-aperture radar images of forest site near Manley Hot Springs (64[degree]N, 151[degree]W), Alaska, were collected between August 1991 and December 1991, day and night, every 3 days, at C-band frequency ([lambda] = 5.7 cm), vertical receive and transmit polarization, by the European Space Agency First Remote Sensing Satellite, ERS-1. During the same period, air and soil temperatures and dielectric and gravimetric moisture properties of the forest canopy and forest floor were monitored in three forest stands dominated, respectively, by black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (Picea glauca), and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera). The calibrated ERS-1 radar backscatter values, [sigma][degree], ofmore » the forest stands are shown to exhibit a pronounced temporal pattern, with little separability between tree species. The largest change in [sigma][degree], a 3-dB decrease almost independent of tree species, is observed in early winter when the soil and vegetation freeze. In the summer, temporal fluctuations in [sigma][degree] are about 1--2 dB in magnitude, depending on tree species. Diurnal variations in [sigma][degree] are as large as 2 dB during fall freeze-up, and less than 1 dB in summer and winter. These temporal variations in radar backscatter from the forest are interpreted using the MIMICS radar backscatter model and the in situ surface observations as due to changes in the dielectric properties of the forest floor and forest canopy induced by precipitation (summer), drought (fall), and freezing (fall-winter) events. In winter, [sigma][degree] increases across the entire landscape, probably because of volume scattering from large depth hoar ice crystals forming in the snow pack.« less

  10. Trade-off between light availability and soil fertility determine refugial conditions for the relict light-demanding species in lowland forests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiedrzyński, Marcin; Kurowski, Józef Krzysztof; Kiedrzyńska, Edyta

    2017-11-01

    Identifying potential refugial habitats in the face of rapid environmental change is a challenge faced by scientists and nature conservation managers. Relict populations and refugial habitats are the model objects in those studies. Based on the example of Actaea europaea from Central Poland, we analyse the habitat factors influencing relict populations of continental, light-demanding species in lowland forests and examine which habitats of studied species corresponding most closely to ancient vegetation. Our results indicate that the current refugial habitats of Actaea europaea include not only communities which are very similar to ancient open forest but also forests with a closed canopy. Although the populations are influenced by nitrogen and light availability, the co-occurrence of these two factors in forest communities is limited by dense canopy formation by hornbeam and beech trees on fertile soils and in more humid conditions. Our findings indicate that the future survival of relict, light-demanding communities in lowland forests requires low-intensity disturbances to be performed in tree-stands, according to techniques, which imitate traditional forests management.

  11. Fragmentation impairs the microclimate buffering effect of tropical forests.

    PubMed

    Ewers, Robert M; Banks-Leite, Cristina

    2013-01-01

    Tropical forest species are among the most sensitive to changing climatic conditions, and the forest they inhabit helps to buffer their microclimate from the variable climatic conditions outside the forest. However, habitat fragmentation and edge effects exposes vegetation to outside microclimatic conditions, thereby reducing the ability of the forest to buffer climatic variation. In this paper, we ask what proportion of forest in a fragmented ecosystem is impacted by altered microclimate conditions driven by edge effects, and extrapolate these results to the whole Atlantic Forest biome, one of the most disturbed biodiversity hotspots. To address these questions, we collected above and below ground temperature for a full year using temperature sensors placed in forest fragments of different sizes, and at different distances from the forest edge. In the Atlantic forests of Brazil, we found that the buffering effect of forests reduced maximum outside temperatures by one third or more at ground level within a forest, with the buffering effect being stronger below-ground than one metre above-ground. The temperature buffering effect of forests was, however, reduced near forest edges with the edge effect extending up to 20 m inside the forest. The heavily fragmented nature of the Brazilian Atlantic forest means that 12% of the remaining biome experiences altered microclimate conditions. Our results add further information about the extent of edge effects in the Atlantic Forest, and we suggest that maintaining a low perimeter-to-area ratio may be a judicious method for minimizing the amount of forest area that experiences altered microclimatic conditions in this ecosystem.

  12. Florida's forests, 1987

    Treesearch

    William A. Bechtold; Mark J. Brown; Raymond M. Sheffield

    1990-01-01

    This resource bulletin describes the principal findings of the sixth inventory of Florida’s forest resources. Data concerning the extent and condition of forest land, as well as associated timber inventory, growth, and removal volumes are presented and analyzed. In accordance with the Forest and rangeland renewable resources planning act of 1974, information on...

  13. Disturbances catalyze the adaptation of forest ecosystems to changing climate conditions.

    PubMed

    Thom, Dominik; Rammer, Werner; Seidl, Rupert

    2017-01-01

    The rates of anthropogenic climate change substantially exceed those at which forest ecosystems - dominated by immobile, long-lived organisms - are able to adapt. The resulting maladaptation of forests has potentially detrimental effects on ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, as many forest-dwelling species are highly dependent on the prevailing tree species, a delayed response of the latter to a changing climate can contribute to an extinction debt and mask climate-induced biodiversity loss. However, climate change will likely also intensify forest disturbances. Here, we tested the hypothesis that disturbances foster the reorganization of ecosystems and catalyze the adaptation of forest composition to climate change. Our specific objectives were (i) to quantify the rate of autonomous forest adaptation to climate change, (ii) examine the role of disturbance in the adaptation process, and (iii) investigate spatial differences in climate-induced species turnover in an unmanaged mountain forest landscape (Kalkalpen National Park, Austria). Simulations with a process-based forest landscape model were performed for 36 unique combinations of climate and disturbance scenarios over 1000 years. We found that climate change strongly favored European beech and oak species (currently prevailing in mid- to low-elevation areas), with novel species associations emerging on the landscape. Yet, it took between 357 and 706 years before the landscape attained a dynamic equilibrium with the climate system. Disturbances generally catalyzed adaptation and decreased the time needed to attain equilibrium by up to 211 years. However, while increasing disturbance frequency and severity accelerated adaptation, increasing disturbance size had the opposite effect. Spatial analyses suggest that particularly the lowest and highest elevation areas will be hotspots of future species change. We conclude that the growing maladaptation of forests to climate and the long lead times of autonomous

  14. Pre-outbreak forest conditions mediate the effects of spruce beetle outbreaks on fuels in subalpine forests of Colorado.

    PubMed

    Mietkiewicz, Nathan; Kulakowski, Dominik; Veblen, Thomas T

    2018-03-01

    Over the past 30 years, forest disturbances have increased in size, intensity, and frequency globally, and are predicted to continue increasing due to climate change, potentially relaxing the constraints of vegetation properties on disturbance regimes. However, the consequences of the potentially declining importance of vegetation in determining future disturbance regimes are not well understood. Historically, bark beetles preferentially attack older trees and stands in later stages of development. However, as climate warming intensifies outbreaks by promoting growth of beetle populations and compromising tree defenses, smaller diameter trees and stands in early stages of development now are being affected by outbreaks. To date, no study has considered how stand age and other pre-outbreak forest conditions mediate the effects of outbreaks on surface and aerial fuel arrangements. We collected fuels data across a chronosequence of post-outbreak sites affected by spruce beetle (SB) between the 1940s and the 2010s, stratified by young (<130 yr) and old (>130 yr) post-fire stands. Canopy and surface fuel loads were calculated for each tree and stand, and available crown fuel load, crown bulk density, and canopy bulk densities were estimated. Canopy bulk density and density of live canopy individuals were reduced in all stands affected by SB, though foliage loss was proportionally greater in old stands as compared to young stands. Fine surface fuel loads in young stands were three times greater shortly (<30 yr) following outbreak as compared to young stands not affected by outbreak, after which the abundance of fine surface fuels decreased to below endemic (i.e., non-outbreak) levels. In both young and old stands, the net effect of SB outbreaks during the 20th and 21st centuries reduced total canopy fuels and increased stand-scale spatial heterogeneity of canopy fuels following outbreak. Importantly, the decrease in canopy fuels following outbreaks was greater in

  15. [Utilization suitability of forest resources in typical forest zone of Changbai Mountains].

    PubMed

    Hao, Zhanqing; Yu, Deyong; Xiong, Zaiping; Ye, Ji

    2004-10-01

    Conservation of natural forest does not simply equal to no logging. The Northeast China Forest Region has a logging quota of mature forest as part of natural forest conservation project. How to determine the logging spots rationally and scientifically is very important. Recent scientific theories of forest resources management advocate that the utilization of forest resources should stick to the principle of sustaining use, and pay attention to the ecological function of forest resources. According to the logging standards, RS and GIS techniques can be used to detect the precise location of forest resources and obtain information of forest areas and types, and thus, provide more rational and scientific support for space choice about future utilization of forest resources. In this paper, the Lushuihe Forest Bureau was selected as a typical case in Changbai Mountains Forest Region to assess the utilization conditions of forest resources, and some advices on spatial choice for future management of forest resources in the study area were offered.

  16. Fragmentation Impairs the Microclimate Buffering Effect of Tropical Forests

    PubMed Central

    Ewers, Robert M.; Banks-Leite, Cristina

    2013-01-01

    Background Tropical forest species are among the most sensitive to changing climatic conditions, and the forest they inhabit helps to buffer their microclimate from the variable climatic conditions outside the forest. However, habitat fragmentation and edge effects exposes vegetation to outside microclimatic conditions, thereby reducing the ability of the forest to buffer climatic variation. In this paper, we ask what proportion of forest in a fragmented ecosystem is impacted by altered microclimate conditions driven by edge effects, and extrapolate these results to the whole Atlantic Forest biome, one of the most disturbed biodiversity hotspots. To address these questions, we collected above and below ground temperature for a full year using temperature sensors placed in forest fragments of different sizes, and at different distances from the forest edge. Principal Findings In the Atlantic forests of Brazil, we found that the buffering effect of forests reduced maximum outside temperatures by one third or more at ground level within a forest, with the buffering effect being stronger below-ground than one metre above-ground. The temperature buffering effect of forests was, however, reduced near forest edges with the edge effect extending up to 20 m inside the forest. The heavily fragmented nature of the Brazilian Atlantic forest means that 12% of the remaining biome experiences altered microclimate conditions. Conclusions Our results add further information about the extent of edge effects in the Atlantic Forest, and we suggest that maintaining a low perimeter-to-area ratio may be a judicious method for minimizing the amount of forest area that experiences altered microclimatic conditions in this ecosystem. PMID:23483976

  17. Conversion of natural forest to managed forest plantations decreases tree resistance to prolonged droughts

    Treesearch

    Jean-Christophe Domec; John S. King; Eric Ward; A. Christopher Oishi; Sari Palmroth; Andrew Radecki; Dave M. Bell; Guofang Miao; Michael Gavazzi; Daniel M. Johnson; Steve G. McNulty; Ge Sun; Asko Noormets

    2015-01-01

    Throughout the southern US, past forest management practices have replaced large areas of native forests with loblolly pine plantations and have resulted in changes in forest response to extreme weather conditions. However, uncertainty remains about the response of planted versus natural species to drought across the geographical range of these forests. Taking...

  18. Forest area and conditions: a 2010 update of Chapter 16 of the Southern Forest Resource Assessment

    Treesearch

    Andrew J. Hartsell; Roger C. Conner

    2013-01-01

    This report updates the findings of Chapter 16 of the Southern Forest Resource Assessment (Wear and Greis 2002), based on 2010 report year data. Analysis focuses on changes in the South’s forest resources since 1999 using annual inventory, mapped-plot design data available for the first time for all 13 Southern States (excluding west Oklahoma and west Texas). The...

  19. The transient behavior of whole-canopy fluxes during dynamic light conditions for midlatitude and tropical forests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fitzjarrald, D. R.; Kivalov, S. N.

    2017-12-01

    Cloud shadows lead to alternating light and dark periods at the surface. Understanding how clouds affect whole-canopy fluxes suffer from two knowledge gaps that limit scaling from leaf to canopy scales, an effort currently done by assertion alone. First, there is a lack a clear quantitative definition of the incident light time series that occur on specific types of cloudy days. Second, the characteristic time scales for leaves to respond to for stomatal opening and closing is 1-10 minutes, a period too short to allow accurate eddy fluxes. We help to close the first gap by linking the durations of alternating light and dark periods statistically to conventional meteorological sky types at a midlatitude mixed deciduous forest (Harvard Forest, MA, USA: 42.53N, 72.17W) and in a tropical rain forest (Tapajós National Forest, Brazil; 2.86S, 54.96W). The second gap is narrowed by measuring the dynamic response whole canopy exchanges in the flux footprint at intervals of only a few seconds using the classical ensemble average method, keying on step changes in light intensity. Combining light and shadow periods of different lengths we estimate ensemble fluxes sensible heat (H), net ecosystem exchange (NEE), and latent heat (LE) fluxes initiated by abrupt radiation changes at intervals of 30 s over 20 minutes. We present composite results of the transient behavior of whole-canopy fluxes at each forest, showing distinct features of each forest type. Observed time constants and transient flux parameterizations are then used to force a simple model to yield NEE, LE, WUE, and Bowen ratio extrema under periodic shadow-light conditions and given cloud amount. We offer the hypothesis that, at least on certain types of cloudy days, the well-known correlation between diffuse light and WUE does not represent a causal connection at the canopy scale.

  20. An integrated approach to mapping forest conditions in the Southern Appalachians (North Carolina)

    Treesearch

    Weimin Xi; Lei Wang; Andrew G Birt; Maria D. Tchakerian; Robert N. Coulson; Kier D. Klepzig

    2009-01-01

    Accurate and continuous forest cover information is essential for forest management and restoration (SAMAB 1996, Xi et al. 2007). Ground-truthed, spatially explicit forest data, however, are often limited to federally managed land or large-scale commercial forestry operations where forest inventories are regularly collected. Moreover,...

  1. Forested wetland habitat

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Duberstein, Jamie A.; Krauss, Ken W.; Kennish, Michael J.

    2015-01-01

    A forested wetland (swamp) is a forest where soils are saturated or flooded for at least a portion of the growing season, and vegetation, dominated by trees, is adapted to tolerate flooded conditions. A tidal freshwater forested wetland is a forested wetland that experiences frequent but short-term surface flooding via tidal action, with average salinity of soil porewater less than 0.5 g/l. It is known locally as tidal várzea in the Amazon delta, Brazil. A tidal saltwater forested wetland (mangrove forest) is a forested wetland that experiences frequent but short-term surface flooding via tidal action, with average salinity often exceeding 3 g/l and reaching levels that can exceed seawater. Mangrove ecosystems are composed of facultative halophytes that generally experience better growth at moderate salinity concentrations.

  2. The Anticancer Activity of Sea Buckthorn [Elaeagnus rhamnoides (L.) A. Nelson].

    PubMed

    Olas, Beata; Skalski, Bartosz; Ulanowska, Karolina

    2018-01-01

    Various parts of sea buckthorn [ Elaeagnus rhamnoides (L.) A. Nelson], particularly the berries, known also as seaberries, or Siberian pineapples, are characterized by a unique composition of bioactive compounds: phenolic compounds, vitamins (especially vitamin C), unsaturated fatty acids, and phytosterols such as beta-sitosterol. These berries, together with the juices, jams, and oils made from them, have a range of beneficial antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. This short review discusses whether sea buckthorn may represent a "golden mean" for the treatment of cancers: It has anti-proliferation properties and can induce apoptosis and stimulate the immune system, and sea buckthorn oil counteracts many side effects of chemotherapy by restoring kidney and liver function, increasing appetite, and keeping patients in general good health. Although the anticancer activity of sea buckthorn has been confirmed by many in vitro and animal in vivo studies, the treatment and prophylactic doses for humans are unknown. Therefore, greater attention should be paid to the development of well-controlled and high-quality clinical experiments in this area.

  3. The Anticancer Activity of Sea Buckthorn [Elaeagnus rhamnoides (L.) A. Nelson

    PubMed Central

    Olas, Beata; Skalski, Bartosz; Ulanowska, Karolina

    2018-01-01

    Various parts of sea buckthorn [Elaeagnus rhamnoides (L.) A. Nelson], particularly the berries, known also as seaberries, or Siberian pineapples, are characterized by a unique composition of bioactive compounds: phenolic compounds, vitamins (especially vitamin C), unsaturated fatty acids, and phytosterols such as beta-sitosterol. These berries, together with the juices, jams, and oils made from them, have a range of beneficial antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. This short review discusses whether sea buckthorn may represent a “golden mean” for the treatment of cancers: It has anti-proliferation properties and can induce apoptosis and stimulate the immune system, and sea buckthorn oil counteracts many side effects of chemotherapy by restoring kidney and liver function, increasing appetite, and keeping patients in general good health. Although the anticancer activity of sea buckthorn has been confirmed by many in vitro and animal in vivo studies, the treatment and prophylactic doses for humans are unknown. Therefore, greater attention should be paid to the development of well-controlled and high-quality clinical experiments in this area. PMID:29593547

  4. Forest drainage

    Treesearch

    R.W. Skaggs; S. Tian; G.M. Chescheir; Devendra Amatya; M.A. Youssef

    2016-01-01

    Most of the world's 4030 million ha of forested lands are situated on hilly, mountainous or well-drained upland landscapes where improved drainage is not needed. However, there are millions of hectares of poorly drained forested lands where excessively wet soil conditions limit tree growth and access for harvesting and other management activities. Improved or...

  5. Coulomb Scattering in the Massless Nelson Model III: Ground State Wave Functions and Non-commutative Recurrence Relations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dybalski, Wojciech; Pizzo, Alessandro

    2018-02-01

    Let $H_{P,\\sigma}$ be the single-electron fiber Hamiltonians of the massless Nelson model at total momentum $P$ and infrared cut-off $\\sigma>0$. We establish detailed regularity properties of the corresponding $n$-particle ground state wave functions $f^n_{P,\\sigma}$ as functions of $P$ and $\\sigma$. In particular, we show that \\[ |\\partial_{P^j}f^{n}_{P,\\sigma}(k_1,\\ldots, k_n)|, \\ \\ |\\partial_{P^j} \\partial_{P^{j'}} f^{n}_{P,\\sigma}(k_1,\\ldots, k_n)| \\leq \\frac{1}{\\sqrt{n!}} \\frac{(c\\lambda_0)^n}{\\sigma^{\\delta_{\\lambda_0}}} \\prod_{i=1}^n\\frac{ \\chi_{[\\sigma,\\kappa)}(k_i)}{|k_i|^{3/2}}, \\] where $c$ is a numerical constant, $\\lambda_0\\mapsto \\delta_{\\lambda_0}$ is a positive function of the maximal admissible coupling constant which satisfies $\\lim_{\\lambda_0\\to 0}\\delta_{\\lambda_0}=0$ and $\\chi_{[\\sigma,\\kappa)}$ is the (approximate) characteristic function of the energy region between the infrared cut-off $\\sigma$ and the ultraviolet cut-off $\\kappa$. While the analysis of the first derivative is relatively straightforward, the second derivative requires a new strategy. By solving a non-commutative recurrence relation we derive a novel formula for $f^n_{P,\\sigma}$ with improved infrared properties. In this representation $\\partial_{P^{j'}}\\partial_{P^{j}}f^n_{P,\\sigma}$ is amenable to sharp estimates obtained by iterative analytic perturbation theory in part II of this series of papers. The bounds stated above are instrumental for scattering theory of two electrons in the Nelson model, as explained in part I of this series.

  6. Have changing forests conditions contributed to pollinator decline in the southeastern United States?

    Treesearch

    James L. Hanula; Scott Horn; Joseph J. O' Brien

    2015-01-01

    Two conservation goals of the early 20th century, extensive reforestation and reduced wildfire through fire exclusion, may have contributed to declining pollinator abundance as forests became denser and shrub covered. To examine how forest structure affects bees we selected 5 stands in each of 7 forest types including: cleared forest; dense young pines; thinned young...

  7. Chapter 7 - Crown condition

    Treesearch

    KaDonna C. Randolph

    2018-01-01

    Tree crown conditions are visually assessed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program as an indicator of forest health. These assessments are useful because individual tree photosynthetic capacity is dependent upon the size and condition of the crown. In general, trees with full, vigorous crowns are associated...

  8. Area and percent of forest affected by abiotic agents beyond reference conditions

    Treesearch

    2012-01-01

    Criterion 3, Indicator 16, of the Montréal Process Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests was designed to assess the impact of abiotic agents upon forests (Montréal Process Working Group 2007). Various abiotic agents, both natural and human-induced, can change forest structure and species composition....

  9. The Forest Ecosystem Study: background, rationale, implementation, baseline conditions, and silvicultural assessment.

    Treesearch

    Andrew B. Carey; David R. Thysell; Angus W. Brodie

    1999-01-01

    The Forest Ecosystem Study (FES) came about as an early response to the need for innovative silvicultural methods designed to stimulate development of late-successional attributes in managed forests—a need ensuing from the exceptional and longstanding controversies over old-growth forests and endangered species concerns in the Pacific Northwest. In 1991, scientists...

  10. Global Climate Model Simulated Hydrologic Droughts and Floods in the Nelson-Churchill Watershed

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vieira, M. J. F.; Stadnyk, T. A.; Koenig, K. A.

    2014-12-01

    There is uncertainty surrounding the duration, magnitude and frequency of historical hydroclimatic extremes such as hydrologic droughts and floods prior to the observed record. In regions where paleoclimatic studies are less reliable, Global Climate Models (GCMs) can provide useful information about past hydroclimatic conditions. This study evaluates the use of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) GCMs to enhance the understanding of historical droughts and floods across the Canadian Prairie region in the Nelson-Churchill Watershed (NCW). The NCW is approximately 1.4 million km2 in size and drains into Hudson Bay in Northern Manitoba, Canada. One hundred years of observed hydrologic records show extended dry and wet periods in this region; however paleoclimatic studies suggest that longer, more severe droughts have occurred in the past. In Manitoba, where hydropower is the primary source of electricity, droughts are of particular interest as they are important for future resource planning. Twenty-three GCMs with daily runoff are evaluated using 16 metrics for skill in reproducing historic annual runoff patterns. A common 56-year historic period of 1950-2005 is used for this evaluation to capture wet and dry periods. GCM runoff is then routed at a grid resolution of 0.25° using the WATFLOOD hydrological model storage-routing algorithm to develop streamflow scenarios. Reservoir operation is naturalized and a consistent temperature scenario is used to determine ice-on and ice-off conditions. These streamflow simulations are compared with the historic record to remove bias using quantile mapping of empirical distribution functions. GCM runoff data from pre-industrial and future projection experiments are also bias corrected to obtain extended streamflow simulations. GCM streamflow simulations of more than 650 years include a stationary (pre-industrial) period and future periods forced by radiative forcing scenarios. Quantile mapping adjusts for magnitude

  11. South Carolina's forests, 1993

    Treesearch

    Roger C. Conner

    1998-01-01

    This resource bulletin describes the principal findings of the seventh inventory of South Carolina’s forest re-sources. Data on the extent, condition, and classification of forest land and associated timber volumes, growth, removals, and mortality are described and interpreted. Whereas data on nontimber commodities associated with forests were also collected,...

  12. The proposed Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital, Johannesburg: providing the best care for children in the developing world.

    PubMed

    Bolton, Keith

    2011-01-01

    Construction will soon commence on the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital (NMCH) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Hospital will have 250-300 beds and will provide tertiary and quaternary care to children in specific Centers of Excellence. Admission to this referral facility will be based entirely on medical needs. The disciplines that are catered for include Paediatric surgery, oncology, nephrology, cardiology, intensive care and imaging. The NMCH will be South Africa's first "Private Hospital - Not for Gain". Funding for capital expenditure is currently being raised by the Trust. Operational expenditure will come from the Department of Health, private insurers and neighbouring governments.

  13. Towards the harmonization between National Forest Inventory and Forest Condition Monitoring. Consistency of plot allocation and effect of tree selection methods on sample statistics in Italy.

    PubMed

    Gasparini, Patrizia; Di Cosmo, Lucio; Cenni, Enrico; Pompei, Enrico; Ferretti, Marco

    2013-07-01

    In the frame of a process aiming at harmonizing National Forest Inventory (NFI) and ICP Forests Level I Forest Condition Monitoring (FCM) in Italy, we investigated (a) the long-term consistency between FCM sample points (a subsample of the first NFI, 1985, NFI_1) and recent forest area estimates (after the second NFI, 2005, NFI_2) and (b) the effect of tree selection method (tree-based or plot-based) on sample composition and defoliation statistics. The two investigations were carried out on 261 and 252 FCM sites, respectively. Results show that some individual forest categories (larch and stone pine, Norway spruce, other coniferous, beech, temperate oaks and cork oak forests) are over-represented and others (hornbeam and hophornbeam, other deciduous broadleaved and holm oak forests) are under-represented in the FCM sample. This is probably due to a change in forest cover, which has increased by 1,559,200 ha from 1985 to 2005. In case of shift from a tree-based to a plot-based selection method, 3,130 (46.7%) of the original 6,703 sample trees will be abandoned, and 1,473 new trees will be selected. The balance between exclusion of former sample trees and inclusion of new ones will be particularly unfavourable for conifers (with only 16.4% of excluded trees replaced by new ones) and less for deciduous broadleaves (with 63.5% of excluded trees replaced). The total number of tree species surveyed will not be impacted, while the number of trees per species will, and the resulting (plot-based) sample composition will have a much larger frequency of deciduous broadleaved trees. The newly selected trees have-in general-smaller diameter at breast height (DBH) and defoliation scores. Given the larger rate of turnover, the deciduous broadleaved part of the sample will be more impacted. Our results suggest that both a revision of FCM network to account for forest area change and a plot-based approach to permit statistical inference and avoid bias in the tree sample

  14. Conservative Diffusions: a Constructive Approach to Nelson's Stochastic Mechanics.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carlen, Eric Anders

    In Nelson's stochastic mechanics, quantum phenomena are described in terms of diffusions instead of wave functions; this thesis is a study of that description. We emphasize that we are concerned here with the possibility of describing, as opposed to explaining, quantum phenomena in terms of diffusions. In this direction, the following questions arise: "Do the diffusions of stochastic mechanics--which are formally given by stochastic differential equations with extremely singular coefficients--really exist?" Given that they exist, one can ask, "Do these diffusions have physically reasonable sample path behavior, and can we use information about sample paths to study the behavior of physical systems?" These are the questions we treat in this thesis. In Chapter I we review stochastic mechanics and diffusion theory, using the Guerra-Morato variational principle to establish the connection with the Schroedinger equation. This chapter is largely expository; however, there are some novel features and proofs. In Chapter II we settle the first of the questions raised above. Using PDE methods, we construct the diffusions of stochastic mechanics. Our result is sufficiently general to be of independent mathematical interest. In Chapter III we treat potential scattering in stochastic mechanics and discuss direct probabilistic methods of studying quantum scattering problems. Our results provide a solid "Yes" in answer to the second question raised above.

  15. 2004 report on the health of Colorado's forests: Special issue: Ponderosa pine forests

    Treesearch

    Paige Lewis; Merrill R. Kaufmann; Laurie S. Huckaby; Dave Leatherman

    2005-01-01

    The 2004 Report on the Health of Colorado's Forests begins with an overview of significant incidents and trends in forest insect and disease activity across the state. The remainder of the Report provides an in-depth examination of the ecology, condition and management of Colorado's ponderosa pine forests. Unlike previous editions, which highlighted a range...

  16. Forest structure and fire hazard in dry forests of the Western United States

    Treesearch

    David L. Peterson; Morris C. Johnson; James K. Agee; Theresa B. Jain; Donald McKenzie; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt

    2005-01-01

    Fire, in conjunction with landforms and climate, shapes the structure and function of forests throughout the Western United States, where millions of acres of forest lands contain accumulations of flammable fuel that are much higher than historical conditions owing to various forms of fire exclusion. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act mandates that public land...

  17. Analysis of forest health monitoring surveys on the Allegheny National Forest (1998-2001)

    Treesearch

    Randall S. Morin; Andrew M Liebhold; K.W. Gottschalk; Chris W. Woodall; Daniel B. Twardus; Robert L. White; Stephen B. Horsley; Todd E. Ristau

    2006-01-01

    Describes forest vegetation and health conditions on the Allegheny National Forest (ANF). During the past 20 years, the ANF has experienced four severe droughts, several outbreaks of exotic and native insect defoliators, and the effects of other disturbance agents. An increase in tree mortality has raised concerns about forest health. Historical aerial surveys (1984-98...

  18. 7 CFR 1.673 - How will the Forest Service analyze a proposed alternative and formulate its modified condition?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... evidence on the implementation costs or operational impacts for electricity production of the proposed... alternative: (1) Will, as compared to the Forest Service's preliminary condition: (i) Cost significantly less... alternative not adopted on: (1) Energy supply, distribution, cost, and use; (2) Flood control; (3) Navigation...

  19. The forests of Connecticut

    Treesearch

    Eric H. Wharton; Richard H. Widmann; Carol L. Alerich; Charles H. Barnett; Andrew J. Lister; Tonya W. Lister; Don Smith; Fred Borman

    2004-01-01

    A report on the fourth forest inventory of Connecticut conducted in 1997-98 by the Forest Inventory and Analysis unit of the Northeastern Research Station. Explains the current condition and changes from previous inventories for forest area, timber volume, biomass, growth and removals, and harvesting. Graphics depict data at the state and geographic-unit level and,...

  20. Area and percent of forest affected by biotic agents beyond reference conditions

    Treesearch

    Jeffrey A. Mai

    2012-01-01

    Criterion 3, Indicator 15, of the Montréal Process identifies the impact that biotic processes and agents have on forests (Montréal Process Working Group 2007). Where change due to these agents and processes occurs beyond a critical threshold, forest ecosystem health and vitality may be significantly altered and a forest’s ability to recover could be reduced or lost....

  1. Quantifying spatial patterns of tree groups and gaps in mixed-conifer forests: reference conditions and long-term changes following fire suppression and logging

    Treesearch

    Jamie M. Lydersen; Malcolm P. North; Eric E. Knapp; Brandon M. Collins

    2013-01-01

    Fire suppression and past logging have dramatically altered forest conditions in many areas, but changes to within-stand tree spatial patterns over time are not as well understood. The few studies available suggest that variability in tree spatial patterns is an important structural feature of forests with intact frequent fire regimes that should be incorporated in...

  2. The forest resources of Puerto Rico

    Treesearch

    Richard A. Birdsey; Peter L. Weaver

    1982-01-01

    A forest survey conducted in 1980 found 130 thousand hectares of potential commercial timberland and 148 thousand hectares of other forest land. Most of the forest area has regrown on abandoned pasture and cropland including coffee production areas. The timberland areas are composed of numerous species and forest conditions.

  3. The effects of extinction-aroused attention on context conditioning.

    PubMed

    Nelson, James Byron; Fabiano, Andrew M; Lamoureux, Jeffrey A

    2018-04-01

    Two experiments assessed the effects of extinguishing a conditioned cue on subsequent context conditioning. Each experiment used a different video-game method where sensors predicted attacking spaceships and participants responded to the sensor in a way that prepared them for the upcoming attack. In Experiment 1 extinction of a cue which signaled a spaceship-attack outcome facilitated subsequent learning when the attack occurred unsignaled. In Experiment 2 extinction of a cue facilitated subsequent learning, regardless of whether the spaceship outcome was the same or different as used in the earlier training. In neither experiment did the extinction context become inhibitory. Results are discussed in terms of current associative theories of attention and conditioning. © 2018 Nelson et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

  4. Relative importance of current and past landscape structure and local habitat conditions for plant species richness in dry grassland-like forest openings.

    PubMed

    Husáková, Iveta; Münzbergová, Zuzana

    2014-01-01

    In fragmented landscapes, plant species richness may depend not only on local habitat conditions but also on landscape structure. In addition, both present and past landscape structure may be important for species richness. There are, however, only a few studies that have investigated the relative importance of all of these factors. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of current and past landscape structures and habitat conditions on species richness at dry grassland-like forest openings in a forested landscape and to assess their relative importance for species richness. We analyzed information on past and present landscape structures using aerial photographs from 1938, 1973, 1988, 2000 and 2007. We calculated the area of each locality and its isolation in the present and in the past and the continuity of localities in GIS. At each locality, we recorded all vascular plant species (296 species in 110 forest openings) and information on abiotic conditions of the localities. We found that the current species richness of the forest openings was significantly determined by local habitat conditions as well as by landscape structure in the present and in the past. The highest species richness was observed on larger and more heterogeneous localities with rocks and shallow soils, which were already large and well connected to other localities in 1938. The changes in the landscape structure in the past can thus have strong effects on current species richness. Future studies attempting to understand determinants of species diversity in fragmented landscapes should also include data on past landscape structure, as it may in fact be more important than the present structure.

  5. Projecting treatment opportunities for current Minnesota forest conditions.

    Treesearch

    W. Brad Smith; Pamela J. Jakes

    1981-01-01

    Reviews opportunities for treatment of timber stands in Minnesota for the decade of 1977-1986. Under the assumptions and management guides specified, 27% of Minnesota's commercial forest land would require timber harvest or some other form of treatment during the decade.

  6. Assessing socioeconomic impacts of climate change on U.S. forests, wood-product markets, and forest recreation

    Treesearch

    Lloyd C. Irland; Darius Adams; Ralph Alig; Carter J. Betz; Chi-Chung Chen; Mark Hutchins; Bruce A. McCarl; Ken Skog; Brent L. Sohngen

    2001-01-01

    In this paper we discuss the problems of projecting social and economic changes affecting forests and review recent efforts to assess the wood-market impacts of possible climate changes. To illustrate the range of conditions encountered in projecting socioeconomic change linked to forests, we consider two markedly different uses: forest products markets and forest...

  7. Tennessee’s forests, 2009

    Treesearch

    Christopher M. Oswalt; Sonja N. Oswalt; Tony G. Johnson; Consuelo Brandeis; KaDonna C. Randolph; Christopher R. King

    2012-01-01

    This resource bulletin consolidates data from the eighth complete survey of Tennessee’s forest resources which was conducted during the period 2005–09 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program in coordination with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry. Data on the extent, condition, and...

  8. Kentucky’s forests, 2009

    Treesearch

    Christopher M. Oswalt; Consuelo Brandeis; Jason A. Cooper; Sonja N. Oswalt; KaDonna C. Randolph

    2015-01-01

    This resource bulletin consolidates data from the sixth complete survey of Kentucky’s forest resources, which was conducted during the period 2005–09 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program in coordination with the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources Division of Forestry. Data on the extent, condition, and...

  9. Snag Condition and Woodpecker Foraging Ecology in a Bottomland Hardwood Forest

    Treesearch

    Richard N. Conner; Stanley D. Jones; Gretchen D. Jones

    1994-01-01

    We studied woodpecker foraging behavior, snag quality, and surrounding habitat in a bottomland hardwood forest in the Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest from December 1984 through November 1986. The amount and location of woodpecker foraging excavations indicated that woodpeckers excavated mainly at the well-decayed tops and bases of snags. Woodpeckers preferred to...

  10. BLM forest lands report -- 2006 status and condition

    Treesearch

    Tim Bottomley; Jim Menlove

    2006-01-01

    The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), administers over 261 million surface acres of public land in the western United States, including Alaska. Approximately 69 million acres, or 26 percent, are classified as forested.

  11. RIPARIAN FOREST INDICATORS OF POTENTIAL FUTURE STREAM CONDITION

    EPA Science Inventory

    Large wood in streams can play an extraordinarily important role in influencing the physical structure of streams and in providing habitat for aquatic organisms. Since wood is continually lost from streams, predicting the future input of wood to streams from riparian forests is c...

  12. Emerging forests on abandoned land: Puerto Rico’s new forests

    Treesearch

    Ariel E. Lugo; Eileen Helmer

    2004-01-01

    The species composition of forests change continuously as the earth’s biota evolves and adjusts to environmental change. Humans are accelerating the rate of species turnover by moving species around the planet and dramatically changing environmental conditions. Our focus is on new forests in Puerto Rico that emerge naturally on abandoned lands previously converted to...

  13. Radiocarbon ages of terrestrial gastropods extend duration of ice-free conditions at the Two Creeks forest bed, Wisconsin, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rech, Jason A.; Nekola, Jeffrey C.; Pigati, Jeffrey S.

    2012-01-01

    Analysis of terrestrial gastropods that underlie the late Pleistocene Two Creeks forest bed (~ 13,800–13,500 cal yr BP) in eastern Wisconsin, USA provides evidence for a mixed tundra-taiga environment prior to formation of the taiga forest bed. Ten new AMS 14C analyses on terrestrial gastropod shells indicate the mixed tundra-taiga environment persisted from ~ 14,500 to 13,900 cal yr BP. The Twocreekan climatic substage, representing ice-free conditions on the shore of Lake Michigan, therefore began near the onset of peak warming conditions during the Bølling–Allerød interstadial and lasted ~ 1000 yr, nearly 600 yr longer than previously thought. These results provide important data for understanding the response of continental ice sheets to global climate forcing and demonstrate the potential of using terrestrial gastropod fossils for both environmental reconstruction and age control in late Quaternary sediments.

  14. EXAMINING MULTI-SCALE CHANGES IN FOREST FRAGMENTATION

    EPA Science Inventory

    Forest fragmentation is a key measurement of forest condition. In comparison to the Chesapeake Bay region, dominant forest loss in New Jersey was less sensitive to forest loss, which may be attributable the protected status of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

  15. 36 CFR 223.110 - Delegation to regional forester.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Delegation to regional forester. 223.110 Section 223.110 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF... § 223.110 Delegation to regional forester. The Chief, Forest Service, after approval of conditions of...

  16. Responses of Tree Growths to Tree Size, Competition, and Topographic Conditions in Sierra Nevada Forests Using Bi-temporal Airborne LiDAR Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Q.; Su, Y.; Tao, S.; Guo, Q.

    2016-12-01

    Trees in the Sierra Nevada (SN) forests are experiencing rapid changes due to human disturbances and climatic changes. An improved monitoring of tree growth and understanding of how tree growth responses to different impact factors, such as tree competition, forest density, topographic and hydrologic conditions, are urgently needed in tree growth modeling. Traditional tree growth modeling mainly relied on field survey, which was highly time-consuming and labor-intensive. Airborne Light detection and ranging System (ALS) is increasingly used in forest survey, due to its high efficiency and accuracy in three-dimensional tree structure delineation and terrain characterization. This study successfully detected individual tree growth in height (ΔH), crown area (ΔA), and crown volume (ΔV) over a five-year period (2007-2012) using bi-temporal ALS data in two conifer forest areas in SN. We further analyzed their responses to original tree size, competition indices, forest structure indices, and topographic environmental parameters at individual tree and forest stand scales. Our results indicated ΔH was strongly sensitive to topographic wetness index; whereas ΔA and ΔV were highly responsive to forest density and original tree sizes. These ALS based findings in ΔH were consistent with field measurements. Our study demonstrated the promising potential of using bi-temporal ALS data in forest growth measurements and analysis. A more comprehensive study over a longer temporal period and a wider range of forest stands would give better insights into tree growth in the SN, and provide useful guides for forest growth monitoring, modeling, and management.

  17. Interannual variability in the extent and intensity of tropical dry forest deciduousness in the Mexican Yucatan (2000-2016): Drivers and Links to Regional Atmospheric Conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cuba, Nicholas Joseph

    The dry topical forests of the southern Yucatan Peninsula experience multiple natural and anthropogenic disturbances, as well as substantial interannual climate variability that can result in stark interannual differences in vegetation phenology. Dry season deciduousness is a typical response to limit tree water loss during prolonged periods of hot and dry conditions, and this behavior has both direct implications for ecosystem functioning, and the potential to indicate climate conditions when observed using remotely-sensed data. The first research paper of this dissertation advances methods to assess the accuracy of remotely-sensed measurements of canopy conditions using in-situ observations. Linear regression models show the highest correlation (R2 = 0.751) between in-situ canopy gap fraction and Landsat NDWISWIR2. MODIS time series NDWISWIR2 are created for the period March 2000-February 2011, and exhibit stronger correlation with time series of TRMM precipitation data than do MODIS EVI time series (R2= 0.48 vs. R2 = 0.43 in deciduous forest areas). The second paper examines differences between the deciduous phenology of young forest stands and older forest stands. Land-cover maps are overlaid to determine whether forested areas are greater than or less than 22 years old in 2010, and metrics related to deciduous phenology are derived from MODIS EVI2 time series in three years, 2008 to 2011. Statistical tests that compare matched pairs of young (12-22 years) and older (>22 years) forest stand age class samples are used to detect significant differences in metrics related to the intensity and timing of deciduousness. In all three years, younger forests exhibit significantly more intense deciduousness, measured as total seasonal change of EVI2 normalized by annual maximum EVI2 (p<0.001), and exhibit larger EVI2 declines at successive 32-day periods during dry season months (p<0.02), than nearby older forests that are assumed to share similar environmental

  18. Forest policy impact assessment in the Ouachita National Forest and the valuation of conserving red-cockaded woodpeckers

    Treesearch

    Difei Zhang; Michael M. Huebschmann; Thomas B. Lynch; James M. Guldin

    2010-01-01

    Problem statement: The Ouachita National Forest received approval in 1996 for an amendment to its Forest Plan that would allocate 10% of the Forest to long-rotation silviculture. The purpose of the new management area is to restore pre-European settlement forest conditions and recreate habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Approach: This study explored...

  19. Influence of vegetation structure on lidar-derived canopy height and fractional cover in forested riparian buffers during leaf-off and leaf-on conditions.

    PubMed

    Wasser, Leah; Day, Rick; Chasmer, Laura; Taylor, Alan

    2013-01-01

    Estimates of canopy height (H) and fractional canopy cover (FC) derived from lidar data collected during leaf-on and leaf-off conditions are compared with field measurements from 80 forested riparian buffer plots. The purpose is to determine if existing lidar data flown in leaf-off conditions for applications such as terrain mapping can effectively estimate forested riparian buffer H and FC within a range of riparian vegetation types. Results illustrate that: 1) leaf-off and leaf-on lidar percentile estimates are similar to measured heights in all plots except those dominated by deciduous compound-leaved trees where lidar underestimates H during leaf off periods; 2) canopy height models (CHMs) underestimate H by a larger margin compared to percentile methods and are influenced by vegetation type (conifer needle, deciduous simple leaf or deciduous compound leaf) and canopy height variability, 3) lidar estimates of FC are within 10% of plot measurements during leaf-on periods, but are underestimated during leaf-off periods except in mixed and conifer plots; and 4) depth of laser pulse penetration lower in the canopy is more variable compared to top of the canopy penetration which may influence within canopy vegetation structure estimates. This study demonstrates that leaf-off lidar data can be used to estimate forested riparian buffer canopy height within diverse vegetation conditions and fractional canopy cover within mixed and conifer forests when leaf-on lidar data are not available.

  20. Influence of Vegetation Structure on Lidar-derived Canopy Height and Fractional Cover in Forested Riparian Buffers During Leaf-Off and Leaf-On Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Wasser, Leah; Day, Rick; Chasmer, Laura; Taylor, Alan

    2013-01-01

    Estimates of canopy height (H) and fractional canopy cover (FC) derived from lidar data collected during leaf-on and leaf-off conditions are compared with field measurements from 80 forested riparian buffer plots. The purpose is to determine if existing lidar data flown in leaf-off conditions for applications such as terrain mapping can effectively estimate forested riparian buffer H and FC within a range of riparian vegetation types. Results illustrate that: 1) leaf-off and leaf-on lidar percentile estimates are similar to measured heights in all plots except those dominated by deciduous compound-leaved trees where lidar underestimates H during leaf off periods; 2) canopy height models (CHMs) underestimate H by a larger margin compared to percentile methods and are influenced by vegetation type (conifer needle, deciduous simple leaf or deciduous compound leaf) and canopy height variability, 3) lidar estimates of FC are within 10% of plot measurements during leaf-on periods, but are underestimated during leaf-off periods except in mixed and conifer plots; and 4) depth of laser pulse penetration lower in the canopy is more variable compared to top of the canopy penetration which may influence within canopy vegetation structure estimates. This study demonstrates that leaf-off lidar data can be used to estimate forested riparian buffer canopy height within diverse vegetation conditions and fractional canopy cover within mixed and conifer forests when leaf-on lidar data are not available. PMID:23382966

  1. Forest insurance number.

    Treesearch

    Thornton T. Munger; H.B. Shepard

    1934-01-01

    This inquiry, originally conceived as an effort to determine definitely whether the existing lack of adequate and practical forest fire insurance facilities is in truth unavoidable and, if possible, to suggest means whereby the condition might be remedied, finds no apparent reason why successful forest fire insurance should not be possible as far as the loss situation...

  2. Iowa forest statistics

    Treesearch

    The Forest Survey Organization Central States Forest Experiment Station

    1956-01-01

    This report contains forest area and timber volume statistics for the State of Iowa. The information presented here was gathered and compiled according to three different geographical units, the divisions being made on the basis of similar forest, soil, and economic conditions (frontispiece). So, for the benefit of those who might find such localized information useful...

  3. Forests of the Mountain State

    Treesearch

    Richard H. Widmann; Charles R. Dye; Gregory W. Cook

    2007-01-01

    A report on the forest inventory of West Virginia conducted in 1999-2001 by the Forest Inventory and Analysis unit of the Northeastern Research Station. Discusses the current condition and changes from previous inventories for forest area, timber volume, tree species, mortality and growth and removals. Graphics depict data at the state level and by county where...

  4. Forests of the Garden State

    Treesearch

    Richard H. Widmann

    2005-01-01

    A report on the fourth forest inventory of New Jersey conducted in 1998-99 by the Forest Inventory and Analysis unit of the Northeastern Research Station. Discusses the current condition and changes from previous inventories for forest area, timber volume, tree species, and growth and removals. Graphics depict data at the state level and by county where appropriate...

  5. Influence of soil conditions on dissolved organic matter leached from forest and wetland soils: a controlled growth chamber study.

    PubMed

    Kim, Eun-Ah; Nguyen, Hang Vo-Minh; Oh, Hae Sung; Hur, Jin; Choi, Jung Hyun

    2016-03-01

    This study investigated the effects of various soil conditions, including drying-rewetting, nitrogen deposition, and temperature rise, on the quantities and the composition of dissolved organic matter leached from forest and wetland soils. A set of forest and wetland soils with and without the nitrogen deposition were incubated in the growth chambers under three different temperatures. The moisture contents were kept constant, except for two-week drying intervals. Comparisons between the original and the treated samples revealed that drying-rewetting was a crucial environmental factor driving changes in the amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The DOC was also notably increased by the nitrogen deposition to the dry forest soil and was affected by the temperature of the dry wetland soil. A parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis identified three sub-fractions of the fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) from the fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (EEMs), and their compositions depended on drying-rewetting. The data as a whole, including the DOC and PARAFAC components and other optical indices, were possibly explained by the two main variables, which were closely related with the PARAFAC components and DOC based on principal component analysis (PCA). Our results suggested that the DOC and PARAFAC component information could provide a comprehensive interpretation of the changes in the soil-leached DOM in response to the different environmental conditions.

  6. Watershed condition [Chapter 4

    Treesearch

    Daniel G. Neary; Jonathan W. Long; Malchus B. Baker

    2012-01-01

    Managers of the Prescott National Forest are obliged to evaluate the conditions of watersheds under their jurisdiction in order to guide informed decisions concerning grazing allotments, forest and woodland management, restoration treatments, and other management initiatives. Watershed condition has been delineated by contrasts between “good” and “poor” conditions (...

  7. Forest health and global change.

    PubMed

    Trumbore, S; Brando, P; Hartmann, H

    2015-08-21

    Humans rely on healthy forests to supply energy, building materials, and food and to provide services such as storing carbon, hosting biodiversity, and regulating climate. Defining forest health integrates utilitarian and ecosystem measures of forest condition and function, implemented across a range of spatial scales. Although native forests are adapted to some level of disturbance, all forests now face novel stresses in the form of climate change, air pollution, and invasive pests. Detecting how intensification of these stresses will affect the trajectory of forests is a major scientific challenge that requires developing systems to assess the health of global forests. It is particularly critical to identify thresholds for rapid forest decline, because it can take many decades for forests to restore the services that they provide. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  8. Application of an improved Nelson-Nguyen analysis to eccentric, arbitrary profile liquid annular seals

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Padavala, Satyasrinivas; Palazzolo, Alan B.; Vallely, Pat; Ryan, Steve

    1994-01-01

    An improved dynamic analysis for liquid annular seals with arbitrary profile based on a method, first proposed by Nelson and Nguyen, is presented. An improved first order solution that incorporates a continuous interpolation of perturbed quantities in the circumferential direction, is presented. The original method uses an approximation scheme for circumferential gradients, based on Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT). A simpler scheme based on cubic splines is found to be computationally more efficient with better convergence at higher eccentricities. A new approach of computing dynamic coefficients based on external specified load is introduced. This improved analysis is extended to account for arbitrarily varying seal profile in both axial and circumferential directions. An example case of an elliptical seal with varying degrees of axial curvature is analyzed. A case study based on actual operating clearances of an interstage seal of the Space Shuttle Main Engine High Pressure Oxygen Turbopump is presented.

  9. Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 years (1994-2003): status and trend of late-successional and old-growth forest.

    Treesearch

    Melinda Moeur; Thomas A. Spies; Miles Hemstrom; Jon R. Martin; James Alegria; Julie Browning; John Cissel; Warren B. Cohen; Thomas E. Demeo; Sean Healey; Ralph Warbington

    2005-01-01

    We monitored the status and trend of late-successional and old-growth forest (older forest) on 24 million ac of land managed by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service in the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) area between 1994 and 2003. We developed baseline maps from satellite imagery of older forest conditions at the start of the Plan...

  10. The changing science of forest health

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gray, G.; Clark, L.

    In many western states, forest health is an immediate and growing concern. The pattern of historic use and management has altered the natural conditions of their ecosystems, making the forests much more susceptible to drought stresses, insects, and deseases. Scientists, resource managers, and policymakers are asking how healthy conditions can be restored, how further forest decline can be prevented, and how losses can be reduced. The general ecosystem approach is described, along with how science can be translated into action in a Sustaining Ecological Systems (SES) approach. The Blue Mountains in Oregon are highlighted as the specific example. An strategymore » for action on overall forest health is described.« less

  11. The Timber Resources of Maine. A Report on the Forest Survey made by the U.S. Forest Service

    Treesearch

    Roland H. Ferguson; Franklin R. Longwood; Franklin R. Longwood

    1960-01-01

    This is a report on the timber resources of Maine. It is based on the findings of a forest survey made in 1954-58 by the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, U.S. Forest Service. The Maine survey was part of a nationwide survey that is being made to evaluate the extent and condition of the Nation's forest resources.

  12. Social and economic assessment of the Chugach National Forest area.

    Treesearch

    Lisa K. Crone; Pat Reed; Julie Schaefers

    2002-01-01

    This is an assessment of the social and economic conditions in the Chugach National Forest area for use as background information for forest planning. Current regional conditions and recent trends are compared and contrasted with state and national conditions and recent trends. Regional employment and income trends in industries that use forest-related resources are...

  13. p-hacking by post hoc selection with multiple opportunities: Detectability by skewness test?: Comment on Simonsohn, Nelson, and Simmons (2014).

    PubMed

    Ulrich, Rolf; Miller, Jeff

    2015-12-01

    Simonsohn, Nelson, and Simmons (2014) have suggested a novel test to detect p-hacking in research, that is, when researchers report excessive rates of "significant effects" that are truly false positives. Although this test is very useful for identifying true effects in some cases, it fails to identify false positives in several situations when researchers conduct multiple statistical tests (e.g., reporting the most significant result). In these cases, p-curves are right-skewed, thereby mimicking the existence of real effects even if no effect is actually present. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Changes in dissolved organic matter quality in a peatland and forest headwater stream as a function of seasonality and hydrologic conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Broder, Tanja; Knorr, Klaus-Holger; Biester, Harald

    2017-04-01

    Peatlands and peaty riparian zones are major sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM), but are poorly understood in terms of export dynamics and controls thereof. Thereby quality of DOM affects function and behavior of DOM in aquatic ecosystems, but DOM quality can also help to track DOM sources and their export dynamics under specific hydrologic preconditions. The objective of this study was to elucidate controls on temporal variability in DOM concentration and quality in stream water draining a bog and a forested peaty riparian zone, particularly considering drought and storm flow events. DOM quality was monitored using spectrofluorometric indices for aromaticity (SUVA254), apparent molecular size (SR) and precursor organic material (FI), as well as PARAFAC modeling of excitation emission matrices (EEMs). Indices for DOM quality exhibited major changes due to different hydrologic conditions, but patterns were also dependent on season. Stream water at the forested site with mineral, peaty soils generally exhibited higher variability in DOM concentrations and quality compared to the outflow of an ombrotrophic bog, where DOM was less susceptible to changes in hydrologic conditions. During snowmelt and spring events, near-surface protein-like DOM pools were exported. A microbial DOM fraction originating from groundwater and deep peat layers was increasing during drought, while a strongly microbially altered DOM fraction was also exported by discharge events with dry preconditions at the forested site. This might be due to accelerated microbial activity in the peaty riparian zone of the forested site under these preconditions. Our study demonstrated that DOM export dynamics are not only a passive mixing of different hydrological sources, but monitoring studies have to consider that DOM quality depends on hydrologic preconditions and season. Moreover, the forested peaty riparian zone generated the most variability in headwater DOM quantity and quality, as could be

  15. Prescribed fire in upland harwood forests

    Treesearch

    T.L. Keyser; C.H. Greenberg; H. McNab

    2014-01-01

    In upland hardwood forests of the Southeastern U.S.,prescribed fire is increasingly used by land managers citing objectives that include hazardous fuels reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, promoting oak regeneration, or restoring forest composition or structure to an historic condition. Research suggests that prescribed fire effects on hardwood forests and...

  16. Joint Annual Forest Inventory and Monitoring System

    Treesearch

    Ronald E. McRoberts

    1999-01-01

    The Renewable Forest and Rangeland Resources Planning Act of 1978 requires that the USDA Forest Service conduct periodic inventories of forestland in the United States to determine its extent and condition and the volume of standing timber, timber growth, and timber depletions. Five separate Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) programs, located in USDA Forest Service...

  17. Occurrence and lung cancer probability of new solid nodules at incidence screening with low-dose CT: analysis of data from the randomised, controlled NELSON trial.

    PubMed

    Walter, Joan E; Heuvelmans, Marjolein A; de Jong, Pim A; Vliegenthart, Rozemarijn; van Ooijen, Peter M A; Peters, Robin B; Ten Haaf, Kevin; Yousaf-Khan, Uraujh; van der Aalst, Carlijn M; de Bock, Geertruida H; Mali, Willem; Groen, Harry J M; de Koning, Harry J; Oudkerk, Matthijs

    2016-07-01

    US guidelines now recommend lung cancer screening with low-dose CT for high-risk individuals. Reports of new nodules after baseline screening have been scarce and are inconsistent because of differences in definitions used. We aimed to identify the occurrence of new solid nodules and their probability of being lung cancer at incidence screening rounds in the Dutch-Belgian Randomized Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NELSON). In the ongoing, multicentre, randomised controlled NELSON trial, between Dec 23, 2003, and July 6, 2006, 15 822 participants who had smoked at least 15 cigarettes a day for more than 25 years or ten cigarettes a day for more than 30 years and were current smokers, or had quit smoking less than 10 years ago, were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either screening with low-dose CT (n=7915) or no screening (n=7907). From Jan 28, 2004, to Dec 18, 2006, 7557 individuals underwent baseline screening with low-dose CT; 7295 participants underwent second and third screening rounds. We included all participants with solid non-calcified nodules, registered by the NELSON radiologists as new or smaller than 15 mm(3) (study detection limit) at previous screens. Nodule volume was generated semiautomatically by software. We calculated the maximum volume doubling time for nodules with an estimated percentage volume change of 25% or more, representing the minimum growth rate for the time since the previous scan. Lung cancer diagnosis was based on histology, and benignity was based on histology or stable size for at least 2 years. The NELSON trial is registered at trialregister.nl, number ISRCTN63545820. We analysed data for participants with at least one solid non-calcified nodule at the second or third screening round. In the two incidence screening rounds, the NELSON radiologists registered 1222 new solid nodules in 787 (11%) participants. A new solid nodule was lung cancer in 49 (6%) participants with new solid nodules and, in total, 50 lung cancers were

  18. Fire regimes, forest change, and self-organization in an old-growth mixed-conifer forest, Yosemite National Park, USA.

    PubMed

    Scholl, Andrew E; Taylor, Alan H

    2010-03-01

    Fire is recognized as a keystone process in dry mixed-conifer forests that have been altered by decades of fire suppression, Restoration of fire disturbance to these forests is a guiding principle of resource management in the U.S. National Park Service. Policy implementation is often hindered by a poor understanding of forest conditions before fire exclusion, the characteristics of forest changes since excluding fire, and the influence of topographic or self-organizing controls on forest structure. In this study the spatial and temporal characteristics of fire regimes and forest structure are reconstructed in a 2125-ha mixed-conifer forest. Forests were multi-aged, burned frequently at low severity and fire-return interval, and forest structure did not vary with slope aspect, elevation, or slope position. Fire exclusion has caused an increase in forest density and basal area and a compositional shift to shade-tolerant and fire-intolerant species. The median point fire-return interval and extent of a fire was 10 yr and 115 ha, respectively. The pre-Euro-American settlement fire rotation of 13 yr increased to 378 yr after 1905. The position of fire scars within tree rings indicates that 79% of fires burned in the midsummer to fall period. The spatial pattern of burns exhibited self-organizing behavior. Area burned was 10-fold greater when an area had not been burned by the previous fire. Fires were frequent and widespread, but patches of similar aged trees were < 0.2 ha, suggesting small fire-caused canopy openings. Managers need to apply multiple burns at short intervals for a sustained period to reduce surface fuels and create small canopy openings characteristic of the reference forest. By coupling explicit reference conditions with consideration of current conditions and projected climate change, management activities can balance restoration and risk management.

  19. Influence of forest stands on soil and ecosystem carbon stocks in the conditions of the European part of Russia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaganov, Vladimir

    2016-04-01

    Forest stands are one of the most important components of ecosystems, both in Russia and around the world and at the same time forest vegetation is able to provide environment-modifying effect on the occupied landscape and, in particular, on the soil cover. Currently, due to the large interest in the carbon cycle, there is a question about the influence of forest vegetation on carbon stocks in ecosystems and in particular in the soil cover. To perform the study we selected 9 objects located in the European part of Russia from the area of the southern taiga to the semi-desert zone: Novgorod region, Kostroma region, Moscow region (2 objects), Penza region, Voronezh region, Volgograd region (2 objects) and Astrakhan region. For studying the influence of forest vegetation on the soil`s carbon, we organized the following experiment scheme: in each of the objects two key sites were selected, so that they originally were in the same soil conditions and the difference between them was only in a course development of vegetation - forest or grass. One part of the experimental sites, presenting forest vegetation, were the restored forests on abandoned lands with the age of 70-200 years. The second part of the experimental sites were artificial forest plantations aged from 60 to 112 years planted on the originally treeless forest-steppe or steppe landscapes. Perennial hayfields, perennial abandoned agricultural landscapes and virgin steppe areas were used as reference sites with grass vegetation. For each forest site we estimated the major carbon pools: phytomass, mortmass (dead wood, dry grass), debris, litter and soil. All data were recalculated using the conversion factors in carbon stocks in t C ha-1. We collected soil samples every 10 cm until the depth of 50 cm, and then at 50-75 and 75-100 cm soil layers. Bulk density and total organic carbon were determined by CHN analyzer. As a result, the soil`s carbon was also calculated into t C ha-1. We found out that the total

  20. Using hyperspectral imagery to estimate forest floor consumption from wildfire in boreal forests of Alaska, USA

    Treesearch

    Sarah A. Lewis; Andrew T. Hudak; Roger D. Ottmar; Peter R. Robichaud; Leigh B. Lentile; Sharon M. Hood; James B. Cronan; Penny Morgan

    2011-01-01

    Wildfire is a major forest disturbance in interior Alaska that can both directly and indirectly alter ecological processes. We used a combination of pre- and post-fire forest floor depths and post-fire ground cover assessments measured in the field, and high-resolution airborne hyperspectral imagery, to map forest floor conditions after the 2004 Taylor Complex in...

  1. Mangrove forests: a tough system to invade

    Treesearch

    Ariel E. Lugo

    1998-01-01

    Tropical forests are the most species-rich forests in the world. As many as 225 tree species per hectare have been reported in these ecosystems, values that are equivalent to almost finding a different tree species every other tree encountered in the forest. Under some conditions, tree species richness decreases in tropical forests. For example, Hart et al. (1989)...

  2. Overview of the forest health monitoring program

    Treesearch

    2000-01-01

    This paper presents an overview of the Forest Health Monitoring Program (FHM), a partnership among the USDA Forest Service, State Foresters, universities, and the USDI Bureau of Land Management. The purpose of FHM is to annually assess the condition of the nation's forested ecosystems in a standardized way. There are four components of the program - Detection...

  3. Overview of the Forest Health Monitoring Program

    Treesearch

    2000-01-01

    This paper presents an overview of the Forest Health Monitoring Program (FHM), a partnership among the USDA Forest Service, State Foresters, universities, and the USDI Bureau of Land Management. The purpose of FHM is to annually assess the condition of the Nation's forested ecosystems in a standardized way. There are four components of the program-Detection...

  4. Southern forest science: past, present, and future

    Treesearch

    H. Michael Rauscher; Kurt Johnsen

    2004-01-01

    Southern forests provide innumerable benefits. Forest scientists, managers, owners, and users have in common the desire to improve the condition of these forests and the ecosystems they support. A first step is to understand the contributions science has made and continues to make to the care and management of forests. This book represents a celebration of past...

  5. Natural and near natural tropical forest values

    Treesearch

    Daniel H. Henning

    2011-01-01

    This paper identifies and describes some of the values associated with tropical rain forests in their natural and near-natural conditions. Tropical rain forests are moist forests in the humid tropics where temperature and rainfall are high and the dry season is short. These closed (non-logged) and broad-leaved forests are a global resource. Located almost entirely in...

  6. Wildlife of westside and high montane forests.

    Treesearch

    D.H. Olson; J.C. Hagar; A.B. Carey; J.H. Cissel; F.J. Swanson

    2001-01-01

    More than 300 vertebrate species are associated with western forests of Oregon and Washington (Table 1). Western and montane conifer-hardwood forests and oak woodlands are some of the more species-rich areas within the two states. Both the productivity and the mosaic of conditions within western forests contribute to the higher vertebrate diversity. These forests are...

  7. Forest insect disease conditions in the Northeast - 1959

    Treesearch

    W. E. Waters; Paul V. Mook

    1958-01-01

    The one event of 1957 that most affected the forest insect and disease picture in the Northeast was the severe drought. The drought was most serious in New Jersey and the Delmarva Peninsula; eastern Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York; and central and southern New England. Its duration was generally from mid-May to mid-August. With an area from New York to...

  8. The influence of forest management on vulnerability of forests to severe weather

    Treesearch

    Robert H. Beach; Erin O. Sills; Tzu-Ming Liu; Subhrendu Pattanayak

    2010-01-01

    Excessive wind, ice, and snow regularly cause major disturbances to forests in many parts of the world, significantly impacting both ecological conditions and economic returns to forest landowners. These events cause immediate losses for landowners, and the broken and uprooted trees left in the wake of a storm increase the risk that wildfires, disease, and pest...

  9. Utilizing forest tree genetic diversity for an adaptation of forest to climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schueler, Silvio; Lackner, Magdalena; Chakraborty, Debojyoti

    2017-04-01

    Since climate conditions are considered to be major determinants of tree species' distribution ranges and drivers of local adaptation, anthropogenic climate change (CC) is expected to modify the distribution of tree species, tree species diversity and the forest ecosystems connected to these species. The expected speed of environmental change is significantly larger than the natural migration and adaptation capacity of trees and makes spontaneous adjustment of forest ecosystems improbable. Planting alternative tree species and utilizing the tree species' intrinsic adaptive capacity are considered to be the most promising adaptation strategy. Each year about 900 million seedlings of the major tree species are being planted in Central Europe. At present, the utilization of forest reproductive material is mainly restricted to nationally defined ecoregions (seed/provenance zones), but when seedlings planted today become adult, they might be maladapted, as the climate conditions within ecoregions changed significantly. In the cooperation project SUSTREE, we develop transnational delineation models for forest seed transfer and genetic conservation based on species distribution models and available intra-specific climate-response function. These models are being connected to national registers of forest reproductive material in order support nursery and forest managers by selecting the appropriate seedling material for future plantations. In the long-term, European and national policies as well as regional recommendations for provenances use need to adapted to consider the challenges of climate change.

  10. Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory

    Treesearch

    Thomas Malone; Jingjing Liang; Edmond C. Packee

    2009-01-01

    The Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI) is a comprehensive database of boreal forest conditions and dynamics in Alaska. The CAFI consists of field-gathered information from numerous permanent sample plots distributed across interior and south-central Alaska including the Kenai Peninsula. The CAFI currently has 570 permanent sample plots on 190 sites...

  11. Protecting and restoring longleaf pine forests on the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana

    Treesearch

    James D. Haywood; Michael Elliot-Smith; Finis Harris; Alton Martin

    2000-01-01

    Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests once constituted a major ecosystem in the Southern United States stretching from southeastern Virginia south to central Florida and west into East Texas. These forests covered a wide range of site conditions, from wet pine flatwoods to dry mountain slopes. Intensive exploitation reduced the extent of old-...

  12. Future directions in forest hydrology

    Treesearch

    T.M. Williams; Devendra Amatya; L. Bren; C. deJong; J.E. Nettles

    2016-01-01

    Forest hydrology is a separate and unique branch of hydrology due to the special conditions caused by trees, and the understorey beneath them, comprising a forest. Understanding the forest, with trees that can grow over 100 m tall, may have crowns up to 20-30 m in diameter with roots 5-10 m deep and spread as widely as the crowns, and have lifespans from 50 to 5000...

  13. 25 CFR 163.22 - Payment for forest products.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ...) Terms and conditions for payment of forest products under lump sum (predetermined volume) sales shall be... Forest Management and Operations § 163.22 Payment for forest products. (a) The basis of volume determination for forest products sold shall be the Scribner Decimal C log rules, cubic volume, lineal...

  14. Criterion 3: Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality

    Treesearch

    Stephen R. Shifley; Francisco X. Aguilar; Nianfu Song; Susan I. Stewart; David J. Nowak; Dale D. Gormanson; W. Keith Moser; Sherri Wormstead; Eric J. Greenfield

    2012-01-01

    Forest ecosystem health depends on stable forest composition and structure and on sustainable ecosystem processes. Forest disturbances that push an ecosystem beyond the range of conditions considered normal can upset the balance among processes, exacerbate forest health problems, and increase mortality beyond historical norms. Sometimes forest ecosystems respond to...

  15. A Snapshot of the Northeastern Forests

    Treesearch

    USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area

    2005-01-01

    This publication offers an overview of the northeastern forests and some of the major challenges and opportunities for sustaining them, as identified by the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry and the Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters. Our goal is to raise awareness of the condition of the forests as a starting point for landowner discussions...

  16. Deposition of Mercury in Forests along a Montane Elevation Gradient.

    PubMed

    Blackwell, Bradley D; Driscoll, Charles T

    2015-05-05

    Atmospheric mercury (Hg) deposition varies along elevation gradients and is influenced by both orographic and biological factors. We quantified total Hg deposition over a 2 year period at 24 forest sites at Whiteface Mountain, NY, USA, that ranged from 450 to 1450 m above sea level and covered three distinct forest types: deciduous/hardwood forest (14.1 μg/m2-yr), spruce/fir forest (33.8 μg/m2-yr), and stunted growth alpine/fir forest (44.0 μg/m2-yr). Atmospheric Hg deposition increased with elevation, with the dominant deposition pathways shifting from litterfall in low-elevation hardwoods to throughfall in midelevation spruce/fir to cloudwater in high-elevation alpine forest. Soil Hg concentrations (ranging from 69 to 416 ng/g for the Oi/Oe and 72 to 598 ng/g for the Oa horizons) were correlated with total Hg deposition, but the weakness of the correlations suggests that additional factors such as climate and tree species also contribute to soil Hg accumulation. Meteorological conditions influenced Hg deposition pathways, as cloudwater Hg diminished in 2010 (dry conditions) compared to 2009 (wet conditions). However, the dry conditions in 2010 led to increased Hg dry deposition and subsequent significant increases in throughfall Hg fluxes compared to 2009. These findings suggest that elevation, forest characteristics, and meteorological conditions are all important drivers of atmospheric Hg deposition to montane forests.

  17. Forest Management Guidance Package: How to Conduct Forest Product Sales and Handle Forest Management Service Contracts,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-03-01

    state the conditions under which forest products will be sold. They describe the products for sale and the location of the sales area , as well as the...price. Forest products are sold (1) by species or groups of species, ") by designated logging area or areas , or (3) by product, i.e. sawtimber, poles...Lump Sum Sale (Appendix J). Designated trees or entire sale areas may be sold with this method. Individual trees are marked for sale in some manner

  18. Forest land area estimates from vegetation continuous fields

    Treesearch

    Mark D. Nelson; Ronald E. McRoberts; Matthew C. Hansen

    2004-01-01

    The USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program provides data, information, and knowledge about our Nation's forest resources. FIA regional units collect data from field plots and remotely sensed imagery to produce statistical estimates of forest extent (area); volume, growth, and removals; and health and condition. There is increasing...

  19. Aquatic conditions

    Treesearch

    Warren E. Heilman

    1999-01-01

    This publication provides citizens, private and public organizations, scientists, and others with information about the aquatic conditions in or near national forests in the Ozark-Ouachita Highlands: the Mark Twain in Missouri, the Ouachita in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests in Arkansas. This report includes water quality analyses...

  20. Achievable future conditions as a framework for guiding forest conservation and management

    Treesearch

    S.W. Golladay; K.L. Martin; J. M. Vose; D. N. Wear; A.P. Covich; R.J. Hobbs; Kier Klepzig; G.E. Likens; R.J. Naiman; A.W. Shearer

    2016-01-01

    We contend that traditional approaches to forest conservation and management will be inadequate given the predicted scale of social-economic and biophysical changes in the 21st century. New approaches, focused on anticipating and guiding ecological responses to change, are urgently needed to ensure the full value of forest ecosystem services for future generations....

  1. True Grit: In Tracking down the Real Story of a Legendary Hero of the Old West, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson also Nabbed the Coretta Scott King Award

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fleishhacker, Joy

    2010-01-01

    When Vaunda Micheaux Nelson donned a black Stetson to become the biographer of Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, she had no idea that her square-shooting book about an unsung African-American hero of the Old West would win over a posse of fans and earn her the prestigious 2010 Coretta Scott King (CSK) Author Award. "Bad News for Outlaws"…

  2. Photo series for quantifying forest fuels in Mexico: montane subtropical forests of the Sierra Madre del Sur and temperate forests and montane shrubland of the northern Sierra Madre Oriental

    Treesearch

    Jorge E. Morfin-Rios; Ernesto Alvarado-Celestino; Enrique J. Jardel-Pelaez; Robert E. Vihnanek; David K. Wright; Jose M. Michel-Fuentes; Clinton S. Wright; Roger D. Ottmar; David V. Sandberg; Andres Najera-Diaz

    2008-01-01

    Single wide-angle and stereo photographs display a range of forest ecosystems conditions and fuel loadings in montane subtropical forests of the Sierra Madre del Sur and temperate forests and montane shrubland of the northern Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. Each group of photographs includes inventory information summarizing overstory vegetation composition and...

  3. Modeling Forest Structure and Vascular Plant Diversity in Piedmont Forests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hakkenberg, C.

    2014-12-01

    When the interacting stressors of climate change and land cover/land use change (LCLUC) overwhelm ecosystem resilience to environmental and climatic variability, forest ecosystems are at increased risk of regime shifts and hyperdynamism in process rates. To meet the growing range of novel biotic and environmental stressors on human-impacted ecosystems, the maintenance of taxonomic diversity and functional redundancy in metacommunities has been proposed as a risk spreading measure ensuring that species critical to landscape ecosystem functioning are available for recruitment as local systems respond to novel conditions. This research is the first in a multi-part study to establish a dynamic, predictive model of the spatio-temporal dynamics of vascular plant diversity in North Carolina Piedmont mixed forests using remotely sensed data inputs. While remote sensing technologies are optimally suited to monitor LCLUC over large areas, direct approaches to the remote measurement of plant diversity remain a challenge. This study tests the efficacy of predicting indices of vascular plant diversity using remotely derived measures of forest structural heterogeneity from aerial LiDAR and high spatial resolution broadband optical imagery in addition to derived topo-environmental variables. Diversity distribution modelling of this sort is predicated upon the idea that environmental filtering of dispersing species help define fine-scale (permeable) environmental envelopes within which biotic structural and compositional factors drive competitive interactions that, in addition to background stochasticity, determine fine-scale alpha diversity. Results reveal that over a range of Piedmont forest communities, increasing structural complexity is positively correlated with measures of plant diversity, though the nature of this relationship varies by environmental conditions and community type. The diversity distribution model is parameterized and cross-validated using three high

  4. FIA forest inventory data for wildlife habitat assessment

    Treesearch

    David C. Chojnacky

    2000-01-01

    The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA Forest Service maintains a network of permanent plots to monitor changing forest conditions. These plots were originally established to monitor the nation's timber supply; however, these data have great potential for evaluating other forest resources. To demonstrate a wildlife application, an assessment...

  5. Soil properties and soil nitrogen dynamics of prairie-like forest openings and surrounding forests in Kentucky's Knobs Region

    Treesearch

    C.C. Rhoades; S.P. Miller; M.M. Shea

    2004-01-01

    Herbaceous communities located within forest openings increase plant species diversity of forests in the Knobs Region of Kentucky. Although these grass-dominated communities are protected and managed for rare plant species conservation, it is unclear how soil conditions may delineate the grassland-forest boundary. We compared soil chemical and physical properties and...

  6. Historical (1860) forest structure in ponderosa pine forests of the northern Front Range, Colorado

    Treesearch

    Peter M. Brown; Michael A. Battaglia; Paula J. Fornwalt; Benjamin Gannon; Laurie S. Huckaby; Chad Julian; Antony S. Cheng

    2015-01-01

    Management of many dry conifer forests in western North America is focused on promoting resilience to future wildfires, climate change, and land use impacts through restoration of historical patterns of forest structure and disturbance processes. Historical structural data provide models for past resilient conditions that inform the design of silvicultural treatments...

  7. Wildlife of southern forests habitat & management (Chapter 7): Managing Forests for Wildlife

    Treesearch

    James G. Dickson; T. Bently Wigley

    2003-01-01

    Wildlife species and communities are molded and influenced by a variety of factors, including some abiotic conditions such as climate, topography, soils, and site. These conditions form the basis for productive and diverse southern forests and their wildlife communities.

  8. CO2 flux studies of different hemiboreal forest ecosystems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krasnova, Alisa; Krasnov, Dmitrii; Noe, Steffen M.; Uri, Veiko; Mander, Ülo; Niinemets, Ülo; Soosaar, Kaido

    2017-04-01

    Hemiboreal zone is a transition between boreal and temperate zones characterized by the combination of climatic and edaphic conditions inherent in both zones. Hemiboreal forests are typically presented by mixed forests types with different ratios of deciduous and conifer tree species. Dominating tree species composition affects the functioning of forest ecosystem and its influence on biogeochemical cycles. We present the result of ecosystem scale CO2 eddy-covariance fluxes research conducted in 4 ecosystems (3 forests sites and 1 clear-cut area) of hemiboreal zone in Estonia. All 4 sites were developing under similar climatic conditions, but different forest management practices resulted in different composition of dominating tree species: pine forest with spruce trees as a second layer (Soontaga site); spruce/birch forest with single alder trees (Liispõllu site); forest presented by sectors of pine, spruce, birch and clearcut areas (SMEAR Estonia site); 5-years old clearcut area (Kõnnu site).

  9. Urban forests for sustainable urban development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sundara, Denny M.; Hartono, Djoko M.; Suganda, Emirhadi; Haeruman, S. Herman J.

    2017-11-01

    This paper explores the development of the urban forest in East Jakarta. By 2030 Jakarta area has a target of 30% green area covering 19,845 hectares, including urban forest covering an area of 4,631 hectares. In 2015, the city forest is only 646 hectares, while the city requires 3,985 hectares of new land Urban forest growth from year to year showed a marked decrease with increasing land area awoke to commercial functions, environmental conditions encourage the development of the city to become unsustainable. This research aims to support sustainable urban development and ecological balance through the revitalization of green areas and urban development. Analytical methods for urban forest area is calculated based on the amount of CO2 that comes from people, vehicles, and industrial. Urban spatial analysis based on satellite image data, using a GIS program is an analysis tool to determine the distribution and growth patterns of green areas. This paper uses a dynamic system model to simulate the conditions of the region against intervention to be performed on potential areas for development of urban forests. The result is a model urban forest area is integrated with a social and economic function to encourage the development of sustainable cities.

  10. Tree crown conditions in Missouri, 2000-2003

    Treesearch

    KaDonna C. Randolph; W. Keith Moser

    2009-01-01

    The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program uses visual assessments of tree crown condition to monitor changes and trends in forest health. This report describes three FIA tree crown condition indicators (crown dieback, crown density, and foliage transparency) and sapling crown vigor measured in Missouri between 2000...

  11. Temporal change in fragmentation of continental US forests

    Treesearch

    James D. Wickham; Kurt H. Riitters; Timothy G. Wade; Collin Homer

    2008-01-01

    Changes in forest ecosystem function and condition arise from changes in forest fragmentation. Previous studies estimated forest fragmentation for the continental United States (US). In this study, new temporal land-cover data from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) were used to estimate changes in forest fragmentation at multiple scales for the continental US....

  12. Executive Summary: Forests of the Northern United States

    Treesearch

    Stephen R. Shifley; Francisco X. Aguilar; Nianfu Song; Susan I. Stewart; David J. Nowak; Dale D. Gormanson; W. Keith Moser; Sherri Wormstead; Eric J. Greenfield

    2012-01-01

    This executive summary provides an overview of the 200-page report, Forests of the Northern United States, which covers in detail current forest conditions, recent trends, issues, threats and opportunities in the forests in the 20 Northern States. It provides a context for subsequent Northern Forest Futures Project analyses that will forecast alternative future...

  13. Desirable forest structures for a restored Front Range

    Treesearch

    Yvette L. Dickinson; Rob Addington; Greg Aplet; Mike Babler; Mike Battaglia; Peter Brown; Tony Cheng; Casey Cooley; Dick Edwards; Jonas Feinstein; Paula Fornwalt; Hal Gibbs; Megan Matonis; Kristen Pelz; Claudia Regan

    2014-01-01

    As part of the federal Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program administered by the US Forest Service, the Colorado Front Range Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project (FR-CFLRP, a collaborative effort of the Front Range Roundtable1 and the US Forest Service) is required to define desired conditions for lower montane ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa...

  14. Severity of a mountain pine beetle outbreak across a range of stand conditions in Fraser Experimental Forest, Colorado, United States

    Treesearch

    Anthony G. Vorster; Paul H. Evangelista; Thomas J. Stohlgren; Sunil Kumar; Charles C. Rhoades; Robert M. Hubbard; Antony S. Cheng; Kelly Elder

    2017-01-01

    The recent mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks had unprecedented effects on lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) in western North America. We used data from 165 forest inventory plots to analyze stand conditions that regulate lodgepole pine mortality across a wide range of stand structure and species composition at the Fraser...

  15. Northwest Forest Plan–the first 15 years (1994–2008): status and trends of late-successional and old-growth forests

    Treesearch

    Melinda Moeur; Janet L. Ohmann; Robert E. Kennedy; Warren B. Cohen; Matthew J. Gregory; Zhiqiang Yang; Heather M. Roberts; Thomas A. Spies; Maria Fiorella

    2011-01-01

    Late-successional and old-growth (LSOG) monitoring characterizes the status and trends of older forests to answer such questions as: How much older forest is there? Where is it? How much has changed and from what causes? Is the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) maintaining or restoring older forest ecosystems to desired conditions on federal lands in the Plan area? This...

  16. Forest environmental investments and implications for climate change mitigation.

    Treesearch

    Ralph J. Alig; Lucas S. Bair

    2006-01-01

    Forest environmental conditions are affected by climate change, but investments in forest environmental quality can be used as part of the climate change mitigation strategy. A key question involving the potential use of forests to store more carbon as part of climate change mitigation is the impact of forest investments on the timing and quantity of forest volumes...

  17. Forest Resources of Isle Royale National Park 2010

    Treesearch

    Wilfred J. Previant; Linda M. Nagel; Scott A. Pugh; Christopher W. Woodall

    2012-01-01

    This publication provides a baseline overview of forest resources for Isle Royale National Park (Isle Royale) using data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The availability of permanent FIA plots allows for the first-ever comparison of Isle Royale's forest conditions (2006-2010) to reserved...

  18. Northern Forest Ecosystem Dynamics Using Coupled Models and Remote Sensing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ranson, K. J.; Sun, G.; Knox, R. G.; Levine, E. R.; Weishampel, J. F.; Fifer, S. T.

    1999-01-01

    Forest ecosystem dynamics modeling, remote sensing data analysis, and a geographical information system (GIS) were used together to determine the possible growth and development of a northern forest in Maine, USA. Field measurements and airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data were used to produce maps of forest cover type and above ground biomass. These forest attribute maps, along with a conventional soils map, were used to identify the initial conditions for forest ecosystem model simulations. Using this information along with ecosystem model results enabled the development of predictive maps of forest development. The results obtained were consistent with observed forest conditions and expected successional trajectories. The study demonstrated that ecosystem models might be used in a spatial context when parameterized and used with georeferenced data sets.

  19. Evaluating the condition of a mangrove forest of the Mexican Pacific based on an estimated leaf area index mapping approach.

    PubMed

    Kovacs, J M; King, J M L; Flores de Santiago, F; Flores-Verdugo, F

    2009-10-01

    Given the alarming global rates of mangrove forest loss it is important that resource managers have access to updated information regarding both the extent and condition of their mangrove forests. Mexican mangroves in particular have been identified as experiencing an exceptional high annual rate of loss. However, conflicting studies, using remote sensing techniques, of the current state of many of these forests may be hindering all efforts to conserve and manage what remains. Focusing on one such system, the Teacapán-Agua Brava-Las Haciendas estuarine-mangrove complex of the Mexican Pacific, an attempt was made to develop a rapid method of mapping the current condition of the mangroves based on estimated LAI. Specifically, using an AccuPAR LP-80 Ceptometer, 300 indirect in situ LAI measurements were taken at various sites within the black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) dominated forests of the northern section of this system. From this sample, 225 measurements were then used to develop linear regression models based on their relationship with corresponding values derived from QuickBird very high resolution optical satellite data. Specifically, regression analyses of the in situ LAI with both the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the simple ration (SR) vegetation index revealed significant positive relationships [LAI versus NDVI (R (2) = 0.63); LAI versus SR (R (2) = 0.68)]. Moreover, using the remaining sample, further examination of standard errors and of an F test of the residual variances indicated little difference between the two models. Based on the NDVI model, a map of estimated mangrove LAI was then created. Excluding the dead mangrove areas (i.e. LAI = 0), which represented 40% of the total 30.4 km(2) of mangrove area identified in the scene, a mean estimated LAI value of 2.71 was recorded. By grouping the healthy fringe mangrove with the healthy riverine mangrove and by grouping the dwarf mangrove together with the poor condition

  20. Forest Management as an Element of Environment Development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jaszczak, Roman; Gołojuch, Piotr; Wajchman-Świtalska, Sandra; Miotke, Mariusz

    2017-12-01

    The implementation of goals of modern forestry requires a simultaneous consideration of sustainable development of forests, protection, needs of the environment development, as well as maintaining a balance between functions of forests. In the current multifunctional forest model, rational forest management assumes all of its tasks as equally important. Moreover, its effects are important factors in the nature and environment protection. The paper presents legal conditions related to the definitions of forest management concepts and sustainable forest management. Authors present a historical outline of human's impact on the forest and its consequences for the environment. The selected aspects of forest management (eg. forest utilization, afforestation, tourism and recreation) and their role in the forest environment have been discussed.

  1. Stability and change in forest-based communities: a selected bibliography.

    Treesearch

    Catherine Woods Richardson

    1996-01-01

    This bibliography lists literature dealing with the concept of community stability, the condition of forest-based communities, and the relations between forest management and local community conditions. Most citations are from the 1970s to the mid 1990s, though some particularly pertinent earlier works also appear. The emphasis is on forest-based communities in the...

  2. The outlook for northern forests

    Treesearch

    Stephen R. Shifley; W. Keith Moser; Sherri Wormstead; Francisco X. Aguilar

    2016-01-01

    The forests of the Northern United States have been remarkably resilient to nearly four centuries of immigration and settlement with associated anthropogenic disturbances caused by farming, logging, burning, urbanization, trade, and many other factors. Although resilient, forests conditions have been significantly impacted by humans as is illustrated by the extent of...

  3. A novel statistical methodology to overcome sampling irregularities in the forest inventory data and to model forest changes under dynamic disturbance regimes

    Treesearch

    Nikolay Strigul; Jean Lienard

    2015-01-01

    Forest inventory datasets offer unprecedented opportunities to model forest dynamics under evolving environmental conditions but they are analytically challenging due to irregular sampling time intervals of the same plot, across the years. We propose here a novel method to model dynamic changes in forest biomass and basal area using forest inventory data. Our...

  4. Adaptive forest management for drinking water protection under climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koeck, R.; Hochbichler, E.

    2012-04-01

    Drinking water resources drawn from forested catchment areas are prominent for providing water supply on our planet. Despite the fact that source waters stemming from forested watersheds have generally lower water quality problems than those stemming from agriculturally used watersheds, it has to be guaranteed that the forest stands meet high standards regarding their water protection functionality. For fulfilling these, forest management concepts have to be applied, which are adaptive regarding the specific forest site conditions and also regarding climate change scenarios. In the past century forest management in the alpine area of Austria was mainly based on the cultivation of Norway spruce, by the way neglecting specific forest site conditions, what caused in many cases highly vulnerable mono-species forest stands. The GIS based forest hydrotope model (FoHyM) provides a framework for forest management, which defines the most crucial parameters in a spatial explicit form. FoHyM stratifies the spacious drinking water protection catchments into forest hydrotopes, being operational units for forest management. The primary information layer of FoHyM is the potential natural forest community, which reflects the specific forest site conditions regarding geology, soil types, elevation above sea level, exposition and inclination adequately and hence defines the specific forest hydrotopes. For each forest hydrotope, the adequate tree species composition and forest stand structure for drinking water protection functionality was deduced, based on the plant-sociological information base provided by FoHyM. The most important overall purpose for the related elaboration of adaptive forest management concepts and measures was the improvement of forest stand stability, which can be seen as the crucial parameter for drinking water protection. Only stable forest stands can protect the fragile soil and humus layers and hence prevent erosion process which could endanger the water

  5. Photo series for quantifying forest residues in managed lands of the Medicine Bow National Forest

    Treesearch

    John B. Popp; John E. Lundquist

    2006-01-01

    This photo series presents a visual representation of a range of fuel loading conditions specifically found on the Medicine Bow National Forest. The photos are grouped by forest type and past management practices. This field guide describes the distribution of different types of woody fuels and includes some vegetation data.

  6. Forest discrimination with multipolarization imaging radar

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ford, J. P.; Wickland, D. E.

    1985-01-01

    The use of radar polarization diversity for discriminating forest canopy variables on airborne synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images is evaluated. SAR images were acquired at L-Band (24.6 cm) simultaneously in four linear polarization states (HH, HV, VH, and VV) in South Carolina on March 1, 1984. In order to relate the polarization signatures to biophysical properties, false-color composite images were compared to maps of forest stands in the timber compartment. In decreasing order, the most useful correlative forest data are stand basal area, forest age, site condition index, and forest management type. It is found that multipolarization images discriminate variation in tree density and difference in the amount of understory, but do not discriminate between evergreen and deciduous forest types.

  7. The forests of the Green Mountain State

    Treesearch

    Eric H. Wharton; Richard H. Widmann; Charles H. Barnett; Thomas S. Frieswyk; Andrew J. Lister; Bob DeGeus

    2003-01-01

    A report on the fifth forest inventory of Vermont conducted in 1996-98 by the Forest Inventory and Analysis unit of the Northeastern Research Station. Explains the current condition and changes from previous inventories for forest area, timber volume, biomass, growth and removals, and harvesting. Graphics depict data at the state and geographic-unit level and, where...

  8. Forest resources of the Susitna Valley, Alaska.

    Treesearch

    Karl M. Hegg

    1970-01-01

    This report summarizes the data from the first intensive inventory of the forests in the Susitna Valley, Alaska, conducted during the period 1964-65. The primary purposes of the inventory were to determine the total area of forested lands, the commercial forest area and timber volume, and the condition and growth of this resource, and to report on...

  9. Vegetation and Ecological Characteristics of Mixed-Conifer and Red Fir Forests at the Teakettle Experimental Forest

    Treesearch

    Malcolm North; Brian Oakley; Jiquan Chen; Heather Erickson; Andrew Gray; Antonio Izzo; Dale Johnson; Siyan Ma; Jim Marra; Marc Meyer; Kathryn Purcell; Tom Rambo; Dave Rizzo; Brent Roath; Tim Schowalter

    2002-01-01

    Detailed analysis of mixed-conifer and red fir forests were made from extensive, large vegetation sampling, systematically conducted throughout the Teakettle Experimental Forest. Mixed conifer is characterized by distinct patch conditions of closed-canopy tree clusters, persistent gaps and shrub thickets. This heterogeneous spatial structure provides contrasting...

  10. Using crown condition variables as indicators of forest health

    Treesearch

    Stanley J. Zarnoch; William A. Bechtold; K.W. Stolte

    2004-01-01

    Indicators of forest health used in previous studies have focused on crown variables analyzed individually at the tree level by summarizing over all species. This approach has the virtue of simplicity but does not account for the three-dimensional attributes of a tree crown, the multivariate nature of the crown variables, or variability among species. To alleviate...

  11. An accuracy assessment of positions obtained using survey- and recreational-grade Global Positioning System receivers across a range of forest conditions within the Tanana Valley of interior Alaska

    Treesearch

    Hans-Erik Andersen; Tobey Clarkin; Ken Winterberger; Jacob Strunk

    2009-01-01

    The accuracy of recreational- and survey-grade global positioning system (GPS) receivers was evaluated across a range of forest conditions in the Tanana Valley of interior Alaska. High-accuracy check points, established using high-order instruments and closed-traverse surveying methods, were then used to evaluate the accuracy of positions acquired in different forest...

  12. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kolka, R., K.; Trettin, C., C.; Nelson, E., A.

    Kolka, R.K., C.C. Trettin, E.A. Nelson, C.D. Barton, and D.E. Fletcher. 2002. Application of the EPA Wetland Research Program Approach to a floodplain wetland restoration assessment. J. Env. Monitoring & Restoration 1(1):37-51. Forested wetland restoration assessment is difficult because of the timeframe necessary for the development of a forest ecosystem. The development of a forested wetland ecosystem includes the recovery of hydrology, soils, vegetation, and faunal communities. To assess forested wetland restoration projects, measures need to be developed that are sensitive to early changes in community development and are predictive of future conditions. In this study we apply the EPS'smore » Wetland Research Program's (WRP) approach to assess the recovery of two thermally altered riparian wetland systems in South Carolina. In one of the altered wetland systems, approximately 75% of the wetland was planted with bottomland tree seedlings in an effort to hasten recovery. Individual studies addressing hydrology, soils, vegetation, and faunal communities indicate variable recovery responses.« less

  13. Reassessment of forest area and its scoring as a permanent production forest

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sudarmadji, T.; Hartati, W.

    2018-04-01

    Along with the increasing demand for tropical timber, the need for wood raw materials is not enough just to rely on natural forests, and therefore in the early 1990s began to be developed timber estates concessions. The designation of forest areas can basically be altered using procedures established by the Ministry of and Forestry. PT Permata Borneo Abadi (PBA) as the holder of IUPHHK-HT covering 38.680 ha intends to propose changing of forest function from limited production forest (HPT) and convertible production forest (HPK) into permanent production forest (HP) to be developed as timber estates with fast growing species. Reassessment of forest function is intended to formulate official documents aimed to reevaluate IUPHHK-HT especially HPT and HPK. The assessment is based on established criteria and standard values (scores) covering topographic, soil and vegetation conditions as well as regional rainfall distribution. The assessment results indicate that there is an area with a slope of >40% of 840.18 ha with score >175 which must therefore as protected areas. The area of HPT that scored between 125-174 remains HPT is 12.287,77 ha. The area of HPT that scored <125 is 27.637.80 ha and therefore is possible to be converted into HP. The results can be used as an important basis for intensive forest management synergically with conservation efforts.

  14. Forest fragmentation and selective logging have inconsistent effects on multiple animal-mediated ecosystem processes in a tropical forest.

    PubMed

    Schleuning, Matthias; Farwig, Nina; Peters, Marcell K; Bergsdorf, Thomas; Bleher, Bärbel; Brandl, Roland; Dalitz, Helmut; Fischer, Georg; Freund, Wolfram; Gikungu, Mary W; Hagen, Melanie; Garcia, Francisco Hita; Kagezi, Godfrey H; Kaib, Manfred; Kraemer, Manfred; Lung, Tobias; Naumann, Clas M; Schaab, Gertrud; Templin, Mathias; Uster, Dana; Wägele, J Wolfgang; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin

    2011-01-01

    Forest fragmentation and selective logging are two main drivers of global environmental change and modify biodiversity and environmental conditions in many tropical forests. The consequences of these changes for the functioning of tropical forest ecosystems have rarely been explored in a comprehensive approach. In a Kenyan rainforest, we studied six animal-mediated ecosystem processes and recorded species richness and community composition of all animal taxa involved in these processes. We used linear models and a formal meta-analysis to test whether forest fragmentation and selective logging affected ecosystem processes and biodiversity and used structural equation models to disentangle direct from biodiversity-related indirect effects of human disturbance on multiple ecosystem processes. Fragmentation increased decomposition and reduced antbird predation, while selective logging consistently increased pollination, seed dispersal and army-ant raiding. Fragmentation modified species richness or community composition of five taxa, whereas selective logging did not affect any component of biodiversity. Changes in the abundance of functionally important species were related to lower predation by antbirds and higher decomposition rates in small forest fragments. The positive effects of selective logging on bee pollination, bird seed dispersal and army-ant raiding were direct, i.e. not related to changes in biodiversity, and were probably due to behavioural changes of these highly mobile animal taxa. We conclude that animal-mediated ecosystem processes respond in distinct ways to different types of human disturbance in Kakamega Forest. Our findings suggest that forest fragmentation affects ecosystem processes indirectly by changes in biodiversity, whereas selective logging influences processes directly by modifying local environmental conditions and resource distributions. The positive to neutral effects of selective logging on ecosystem processes show that the

  15. Forest Fragmentation and Selective Logging Have Inconsistent Effects on Multiple Animal-Mediated Ecosystem Processes in a Tropical Forest

    PubMed Central

    Schleuning, Matthias; Farwig, Nina; Peters, Marcell K.; Bergsdorf, Thomas; Bleher, Bärbel; Brandl, Roland; Dalitz, Helmut; Fischer, Georg; Freund, Wolfram; Gikungu, Mary W.; Hagen, Melanie; Garcia, Francisco Hita; Kagezi, Godfrey H.; Kaib, Manfred; Kraemer, Manfred; Lung, Tobias; Schaab, Gertrud; Templin, Mathias; Uster, Dana; Wägele, J. Wolfgang; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin

    2011-01-01

    Forest fragmentation and selective logging are two main drivers of global environmental change and modify biodiversity and environmental conditions in many tropical forests. The consequences of these changes for the functioning of tropical forest ecosystems have rarely been explored in a comprehensive approach. In a Kenyan rainforest, we studied six animal-mediated ecosystem processes and recorded species richness and community composition of all animal taxa involved in these processes. We used linear models and a formal meta-analysis to test whether forest fragmentation and selective logging affected ecosystem processes and biodiversity and used structural equation models to disentangle direct from biodiversity-related indirect effects of human disturbance on multiple ecosystem processes. Fragmentation increased decomposition and reduced antbird predation, while selective logging consistently increased pollination, seed dispersal and army-ant raiding. Fragmentation modified species richness or community composition of five taxa, whereas selective logging did not affect any component of biodiversity. Changes in the abundance of functionally important species were related to lower predation by antbirds and higher decomposition rates in small forest fragments. The positive effects of selective logging on bee pollination, bird seed dispersal and army-ant raiding were direct, i.e. not related to changes in biodiversity, and were probably due to behavioural changes of these highly mobile animal taxa. We conclude that animal-mediated ecosystem processes respond in distinct ways to different types of human disturbance in Kakamega Forest. Our findings suggest that forest fragmentation affects ecosystem processes indirectly by changes in biodiversity, whereas selective logging influences processes directly by modifying local environmental conditions and resource distributions. The positive to neutral effects of selective logging on ecosystem processes show that the

  16. CTFS-ForestGEO: a worldwide network monitoring forests in an era of global change.

    PubMed

    Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J; Davies, Stuart J; Bennett, Amy C; Gonzalez-Akre, Erika B; Muller-Landau, Helene C; Wright, S Joseph; Abu Salim, Kamariah; Almeyda Zambrano, Angélica M; Alonso, Alfonso; Baltzer, Jennifer L; Basset, Yves; Bourg, Norman A; Broadbent, Eben N; Brockelman, Warren Y; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Burslem, David F R P; Butt, Nathalie; Cao, Min; Cardenas, Dairon; Chuyong, George B; Clay, Keith; Cordell, Susan; Dattaraja, Handanakere S; Deng, Xiaobao; Detto, Matteo; Du, Xiaojun; Duque, Alvaro; Erikson, David L; Ewango, Corneille E N; Fischer, Gunter A; Fletcher, Christine; Foster, Robin B; Giardina, Christian P; Gilbert, Gregory S; Gunatilleke, Nimal; Gunatilleke, Savitri; Hao, Zhanqing; Hargrove, William W; Hart, Terese B; Hau, Billy C H; He, Fangliang; Hoffman, Forrest M; Howe, Robert W; Hubbell, Stephen P; Inman-Narahari, Faith M; Jansen, Patrick A; Jiang, Mingxi; Johnson, Daniel J; Kanzaki, Mamoru; Kassim, Abdul Rahman; Kenfack, David; Kibet, Staline; Kinnaird, Margaret F; Korte, Lisa; Kral, Kamil; Kumar, Jitendra; Larson, Andrew J; Li, Yide; Li, Xiankun; Liu, Shirong; Lum, Shawn K Y; Lutz, James A; Ma, Keping; Maddalena, Damian M; Makana, Jean-Remy; Malhi, Yadvinder; Marthews, Toby; Mat Serudin, Rafizah; McMahon, Sean M; McShea, William J; Memiaghe, Hervé R; Mi, Xiangcheng; Mizuno, Takashi; Morecroft, Michael; Myers, Jonathan A; Novotny, Vojtech; de Oliveira, Alexandre A; Ong, Perry S; Orwig, David A; Ostertag, Rebecca; den Ouden, Jan; Parker, Geoffrey G; Phillips, Richard P; Sack, Lawren; Sainge, Moses N; Sang, Weiguo; Sri-Ngernyuang, Kriangsak; Sukumar, Raman; Sun, I-Fang; Sungpalee, Witchaphart; Suresh, Hebbalalu Sathyanarayana; Tan, Sylvester; Thomas, Sean C; Thomas, Duncan W; Thompson, Jill; Turner, Benjamin L; Uriarte, Maria; Valencia, Renato; Vallejo, Marta I; Vicentini, Alberto; Vrška, Tomáš; Wang, Xihua; Wang, Xugao; Weiblen, George; Wolf, Amy; Xu, Han; Yap, Sandra; Zimmerman, Jess

    2015-02-01

    Global change is impacting forests worldwide, threatening biodiversity and ecosystem services including climate regulation. Understanding how forests respond is critical to forest conservation and climate protection. This review describes an international network of 59 long-term forest dynamics research sites (CTFS-ForestGEO) useful for characterizing forest responses to global change. Within very large plots (median size 25 ha), all stems ≥ 1 cm diameter are identified to species, mapped, and regularly recensused according to standardized protocols. CTFS-ForestGEO spans 25 °S-61 °N latitude, is generally representative of the range of bioclimatic, edaphic, and topographic conditions experienced by forests worldwide, and is the only forest monitoring network that applies a standardized protocol to each of the world's major forest biomes. Supplementary standardized measurements at subsets of the sites provide additional information on plants, animals, and ecosystem and environmental variables. CTFS-ForestGEO sites are experiencing multifaceted anthropogenic global change pressures including warming (average 0.61 °C), changes in precipitation (up to ± 30% change), atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds (up to 3.8 g N m(-2) yr(-1) and 3.1 g S m(-2) yr(-1)), and forest fragmentation in the surrounding landscape (up to 88% reduced tree cover within 5 km). The broad suite of measurements made at CTFS-ForestGEO sites makes it possible to investigate the complex ways in which global change is impacting forest dynamics. Ongoing research across the CTFS-ForestGEO network is yielding insights into how and why the forests are changing, and continued monitoring will provide vital contributions to understanding worldwide forest diversity and dynamics in an era of global change. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. A review of malaria transmission dynamics in forest ecosystems

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Malaria continues to be a major health problem in more than 100 endemic countries located primarily in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. Malaria transmission is a dynamic process and involves many interlinked factors, from uncontrollable natural environmental conditions to man-made disturbances to nature. Almost half of the population at risk of malaria lives in forest areas. Forests are hot beds of malaria transmission as they provide conditions such as vegetation cover, temperature, rainfall and humidity conditions that are conducive to distribution and survival of malaria vectors. Forests often lack infrastructure and harbor tribes with distinct genetic traits, socio-cultural beliefs and practices that greatly influence malaria transmission dynamics. Here we summarize the various topographical, entomological, parasitological, human ecological and socio-economic factors, which are crucial and shape malaria transmission in forested areas. An in-depth understanding and synthesis of the intricate relationship of these parameters in achieving better malaria control in various types of forest ecosystems is emphasized. PMID:24912923

  18. Relationships of three species of bats impacted by white-nose syndrome to forest condition and management

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Silvis, Alexander; Perry, Roger W.; Ford, W. Mark

    2016-01-01

    Forest management activities can have substantial effects on forest structure and community composition and response of wildlife therein. Bats can be highly influenced by these structural changes, and understanding how forest management affects day-roost and foraging ecology of bats is currently a paramount conservation issue. With populations of many cave-hibernating bat species in eastern North America declining as a result of white-nose syndrome (WNS), it is increasingly critical to understand relationships among bats and forest-management activities. Herein, we provide a comprehensive literature review and synthesis of: (1) responses of northern long-eared (Myotis septentrionalis) and tri-colored (Perimyotis subflavus) bats—two species affected by WNS that use forests during summer—to forest management, and (2) an update to a previous review on the ecology of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis).

  19. The Timber Resources of Delaware. A Report on tbe Forest survey made by the U.S. Forest Service.

    Treesearch

    Roland H. Ferguson; Roland H. Ferguson

    1959-01-01

    This is a report on the findings of the first comprehensive survey of the timber resources of Delaware. It describes, as of 1957, the area and condition of the forest land, the volume of standing timber, the annual growth and mortality of the forest growing stock, and the extent of timber cutting. The survey made by the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,...

  20. Effect of redox conditions on bacterial and fungal biomass and carbon dioxide production in Louisiana coastal swamp forest sediment.

    PubMed

    Seo, Dong Cheol; DeLaune, Ronald D

    2010-08-01

    Fungal and bacterial carbon dioxide (CO2) production/emission was determined under a range of redox conditions in sediment from a Louisiana swamp forest used for wastewater treatment. Sediment was incubated in microcosms at 6 Eh levels (-200, -100, 0, +100, +250 and +400 mV) covering the anaerobic range found in wetland soil and sediment. Carbon dioxide production was determined by the substrate-induced respiration (SIR) inhibition method. Cycloheximide (C15H23NO4) was used as the fungal inhibitor and streptomycin (C21H39N7O12) as the bacterial inhibitor. Under moderately reducing conditions (Eh > +250 mV), fungi contributed more than bacteria to the CO2 production. Under highly reducing conditions (Eh < or = 0 mV), bacteria contributed more than fungi to the total CO2 production. The fungi/bacteria (F/B) ratios varied between 0.71-1.16 for microbial biomass C, and 0.54-0.94 for microbial biomass N. Under moderately reducing conditions (Eh > or = +100 mV), the F/B ratios for microbial biomass C and N were higher than that for highly reducing conditions (Eh < or = 0 mV). In moderately reducing conditions (Eh > or = +100 mV), the C/N microbial biomass ratio for fungi (C/N: 13.54-14.26) was slightly higher than for bacteria (C/N: 9.61-12.07). Under highly reducing redox conditions (Eh < or = 0 mV), the C/N microbial biomass ratio for fungi (C/N: 10.79-12.41) was higher than for bacteria (C/N: 8.21-9.14). For bacteria and fungi, the C/N microbial biomass ratios under moderately reducing conditions were higher than that in highly reducing conditions. Fungal CO2 production from swamp forest could be of greater ecological significance under moderately reducing sediment conditions contributing to the greenhouse effect (GHE) and the global warming potential (GWP). However, increases in coastal submergence associated with global sea level rise and resultant decrease in sediment redox potential from increased flooding would likely shift CO2 production to bacteria rather than

  1. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increased early growth of two nontimber forest product species Dyera polyphylla and Aquilaria filaria under greenhouse conditions.

    PubMed

    Turjaman, Maman; Tamai, Yutaka; Santoso, Erdy; Osaki, Mitsuru; Tawaraya, Keitaro

    2006-10-01

    Nontimber forest products (NTFPs) represent an important source of income to millions of people in tropical forest regions, but some NTFP species have decreased in number and become endangered due to overexploitation. There is increasing concern that the planting stocks of Dyera polyphylla and Aquilaria filaria are not sufficient to sustain the yield of NTFPs and promote forest conservation. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of two arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, Glomus clarum and Gigaspora decipiens, on the early growth of two NTFP species, D. polyphylla and A. filaria, under greenhouse conditions. The seedlings of both species were inoculated with G. clarum or G. decipiens, or uninoculated (control) under greenhouse conditions. Percentage of AM colonization, plant growth, survival rate, and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations were measured after 180 days of growth. The percentage of AM colonization of D. polyphylla and A. filaria ranged from 87 to 93% and from 22 to 39%, respectively. Colonization by G. clarum and G. decipiens increased plant height, diameter, and shoot and root dry weights. Shoot N and P concentrations of the seedlings were increased by AM colonization by as much as 70-153% and 135-360%, respectively. Survival rates were higher in the AM-colonized seedlings at 180 days after transplantation than in the control seedlings. The results suggest that AM fungi can accelerate the establishment of the planting stocks of D. polyphylla and A. filaria, thereby promoting their conservation ecologically and sustaining the production of these NTFPs economically.

  2. Investigating the effects of forest structure on the small mammal community in frequent-fire coniferous forests using capture-recapture models for stratified populations

    Treesearch

    Rahel Sollmann; Angela M. White; Beth Gardner; Patricia N. Manley

    2015-01-01

    Small mammals comprise an important component of forest vertebrate communities. Our understanding of how small mammals use forested habitat has relied heavily on studies in forest systems not naturally prone to frequent disturbances. Small mammal populations that evolved in frequent-fire forests, however, may be less restricted to specific habitat conditions due to the...

  3. Where do forests influence rainfall?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang-Erlandsson, Lan; van der Ent, Ruud; Fetzer, Ingo; Keys, Patrick; Savenije, Hubert; Gordon, Line

    2017-04-01

    Forests play a major role in hydrology. Not only by immediate control of soil moisture and streamflow, but also by regulating climate through evaporation (i.e., transpiration, interception, and soil evaporation). The process of evaporation travelling through the atmosphere and returning as precipitation on land is known as moisture recycling. Whether evaporation is recycled depends on wind direction and geography. Moisture recycling and forest change studies have primarily focused on either one region (e.g. the Amazon), or one biome type (e.g. tropical humid forests). We will advance this via a systematic global inter-comparison of forest change impacts on precipitation depending on both biome type and geographic location. The rainfall effects are studied for three contemporary forest changes: afforestation, deforestation, and replacement of mature forest by forest plantations. Furthermore, as there are indications in the literature that moisture recycling in some places intensifies during dry years, we will also compare the rainfall impacts of forest change between wet and dry years. We model forest change effects on evaporation using the global hydrological model STEAM and trace precipitation changes using the atmospheric moisture tracking scheme WAM-2layers. This research elucidates the role of geographical location of forest change driven modifications on rainfall as a function of the type of forest change and climatic conditions. These knowledge gains are important at a time of both rapid forest and climate change. Our conclusions nuance our understanding of how forests regulate climate and pinpoint hotspot regions for forest-rainfall coupling.

  4. Forest disturbances under climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seidl, Rupert; Thom, Dominik; Kautz, Markus; Martin-Benito, Dario; Peltoniemi, Mikko; Vacchiano, Giorgio; Wild, Jan; Ascoli, Davide; Petr, Michal; Honkaniemi, Juha; Lexer, Manfred J.; Trotsiuk, Volodymyr; Mairota, Paola; Svoboda, Miroslav; Fabrika, Marek; Nagel, Thomas A.; Reyer, Christopher P. O.

    2017-06-01

    Forest disturbances are sensitive to climate. However, our understanding of disturbance dynamics in response to climatic changes remains incomplete, particularly regarding large-scale patterns, interaction effects and dampening feedbacks. Here we provide a global synthesis of climate change effects on important abiotic (fire, drought, wind, snow and ice) and biotic (insects and pathogens) disturbance agents. Warmer and drier conditions particularly facilitate fire, drought and insect disturbances, while warmer and wetter conditions increase disturbances from wind and pathogens. Widespread interactions between agents are likely to amplify disturbances, while indirect climate effects such as vegetation changes can dampen long-term disturbance sensitivities to climate. Future changes in disturbance are likely to be most pronounced in coniferous forests and the boreal biome. We conclude that both ecosystems and society should be prepared for an increasingly disturbed future of forests.

  5. Forest disturbances under climate change

    PubMed Central

    Seidl, Rupert; Thom, Dominik; Kautz, Markus; Martin-Benito, Dario; Peltoniemi, Mikko; Vacchiano, Giorgio; Wild, Jan; Ascoli, Davide; Petr, Michal; Honkaniemi, Juha; Lexer, Manfred J.; Trotsiuk, Volodymyr; Mairota, Paola; Svoboda, Miroslav; Fabrika, Marek; Nagel, Thomas A.; Reyer, Christopher P. O.

    2017-01-01

    Forest disturbances are sensitive to climate. However, our understanding of disturbance dynamics in response to climatic changes remains incomplete, particularly regarding large-scale patterns, interaction effects and dampening feedbacks. Here we provide a global synthesis of climate change effects on important abiotic (fire, drought, wind, snow and ice) and biotic (insects and pathogens) disturbance agents. Warmer and drier conditions particularly facilitate fire, drought and insect disturbances, while warmer and wetter conditions increase disturbances from wind and pathogens. Widespread interactions between agents are likely to amplify disturbances, while indirect climate effects such as vegetation changes can dampen long-term disturbance sensitivities to climate. Future changes in disturbance are likely to be most pronounced in coniferous forests and the boreal biome. We conclude that both ecosystems and society should be prepared for an increasingly disturbed future of forests. PMID:28861124

  6. Effects of plot size on forest-type algorithm accuracy

    Treesearch

    James A. Westfall

    2009-01-01

    The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program utilizes an algorithm to consistently determine the forest type for forested conditions on sample plots. Forest type is determined from tree size and species information. Thus, the accuracy of results is often dependent on the number of trees present, which is highly correlated with plot area. This research examines the...

  7. Light, canopy closure, and overstory retention in upland Ozark forests

    Treesearch

    Elizabeth M. Blizzard; John M. Kabrick; Daniel C. Dey; David R. Larsen; Stephen G. Pallardy; David P. Gwaze

    2013-01-01

    Foresters, wildlife biologists, and naturalists manipulate forest composition and structure for numerous reasons including forest regeneration, timber production, wildlife habitat, conservation of native biodiversity, and ecosystem restoration. Light conditions in the understory of forests and woodlands are often key in meeting the management objectives. In this study...

  8. Analysis of zone of vulnurability and impact of forest fires in forest ecosystems in north algeria by susing remote sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zegrar, Ahmed

    2010-05-01

    The Forest in steppe present ecological diversity, and seen climatic unfavourable conditions in zone and impact of forest fires; we notes deterioration of physical environment particularly, deterioration of natural forest. This deterioration of forests provokes an unbalance of environment witch provokes a process of deterioration advanced in the ultimate stadium is desertification. By elsewhere, where climatic conditions are favourable, the fire is an ecological and acted agent like integral part of evolution of the ecosystems, the specific regeneration of plants are influenced greatly by the regime of fire (season of fire, intensity, interval), witch leads to the recuperation of the vegetation of meadow- fire. In this survey we used the pictures ALSAT-1 for detection of zones with risk of forest fire and their impact on the naturals forests in region named TLEMCEN in the north west of Algeria. A thematic detailed analysis of forests well attended ecosystems some processing on the picture ALSAT-1, we allowed to identify and classifying the forests in there opinion components flowers. We identified ampleness of fire on this zone also. Some parameters as the slope, the proximity to the road and the forests formations were studied in the goal of determining the zones to risk of forest fire. A crossing of diaper of information in a GIS according to a very determined logic allowed classifying the zones in degree of risk of fire in semi arid zone witch forest zone not encouraging the regeneration but permitting the installation of cash of steppe which encourages the desertification.

  9. CARBON BALANCE OF FOREST BIOMES IN THE FORMER USSR

    EPA Science Inventory

    Sources and sinks of carbon and the sequestration potential of forest biomes in the former Soviet Union (FSU) were assessed under non-equilibrium conditions by considering, 1) net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of different age forest stands and actual forest coverage, 2) carbon fl...

  10. Geology, hydrology, and water quality of the glacial drift aquifer in the vicinity of the Nelson landfill near Yorkville, Illinois

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kay, Robert T.

    2006-01-01

    The geologic and hydrologic characteristics of the sand-and-gravel deposits that compose the glacial drift aquifer in the vicinity of the Nelson Landfill site in Yor-kville, Illinois indicate that the aquifer could be devel-oped as a source of public water supply. The geology of these deposits within the Newark Bedrock Valley is com-plex, however, and a detailed investigation of their water bearing and transmitting properties will be required to successfully locate high-capacity wells. Volatile organic compounds, pesticides, and cyanide were not detected in ground water during this investiga-tion. Metals and nitrogen compounds were not detected at concentrations above their Maximum Contaminant Level. Iron, manganese, and aluminum were detected at concentrations above their Secondary Maximum Con-taminant Level and various constituents were detected at concentrations above background levels downgradi-ent of the landfill. Nitrate and ammonia, presumably derived from agricultural practices, also were detected in samples from locations hydraulically upgradient of the landfill. Oxidation-reduction conditions in the aquifer become more reducing with depth. This change is reflected by a change in the type of nitrogen compound detected and the concentration of dissolved oxygen and iron in the glacial drift aquifer. Concentrations of some of the major ions and metals may be affected by disso-lution of carbonate minerals in the aquifer and perhaps road salts.

  11. Forest health status in Europe.

    PubMed

    Lorenz, Martin; Mues, Volker

    2007-03-21

    Forest health status in Europe is assessed by the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests). Established by the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the ICP Forests has been monitoring forest condition in close cooperation with the European Commission (EC) for 20 years. The present paper describes the latest results of the deposition measurements on permanent monitoring plots and of the extensive defoliation sample survey. The findings reveal marked spatial patterns in bulk and throughfall depositions of nitrate (N-NO3(-)), ammonium (N-NH4(+)), and sulfate (S-SO4(2-)), as well as an obvious decrease in bulk and throughfall deposition of sulfate. Latest analyses of defoliation data confirm previous results, indicating a high correlation with weather extremes.

  12. The timber resources of Pennsylvania. A report on the forest survey made by the U.S. Forest Service

    Treesearch

    Roland H. Ferguson; Roland H. Ferguson

    This is a report on the timber resources of Pennsylvania. It is based on the findings of a survey made by the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a nationwide forest appraisal. The survey data show--as of January 1955--the area and condition of the forest land and the volume and quality of the standing timber. They also include, for the year 1954...

  13. Climate and Management Controls on Forest Growth and Forest Carbon Balance in the Western United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelsey, Katharine Cashman

    Climate change is resulting in a number of rapid changes in forests worldwide. Forests comprise a critical component of the global carbon cycle, and therefore climate-induced changes in forest carbon balance have the potential to create a feedback within the global carbon cycle and affect future trajectories of climate change. In order to further understanding of climate-driven changes in forest carbon balance, I (1) develop a method to improve spatial estimates forest carbon stocks, (2) investigate the effect of climate change and forest management actions on forest recovery and carbon balance following disturbance, and (3) explore the relationship between climate and forest growth, and identify climate-driven trends in forest growth through time, within San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado, USA. I find that forest carbon estimates based on texture analysis from LandsatTM imagery improve regional forest carbon maps, and this method is particularly useful for estimating carbon stocks in forested regions affected by disturbance. Forest recovery from disturbance is also a critical component of future forest carbon stocks, and my results indicate that both climate and forest management actions have important implications for forest recovery and carbon dynamics following disturbance. Specifically, forest treatments that use woody biomass removed from the forest for electricity production can reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere, but climate driven changes in fire severity and forest recovery can have the opposite effect on forest carbon stocks. In addition to the effects of disturbance and recovery on forest condition, I also find that climate change is decreasing rates of forest growth in some species, likely in response to warming summer temperatures. These growth declines could result in changes of vegetation composition, or in extreme cases, a shift in vegetation type that would alter forest carbon storage. This work provides insight into both

  14. The assessment of environmentally sensitive forest road construction in Calabrian pine forest areas of Turkey.

    PubMed

    Tunay, Metin

    2006-07-01

    Forest road construction by bulldozers in Calabrian Pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) forests on mountainous terrain of Turkey causes considerable damage to the environment and the forest standing alongside the road. This situation obliges a study of environmentally sound road construction in Turkey. This study was carried out in 4 sample sites of Antalya Forest Directorate in steep (34-50% gradient) and very steep terrain (51-70% gradient) conditions with bulldozer and excavator machine and direct damages to forest during road construction was determined, including forest area losses and damages to downhill trees in mountainous areas. It was determined that in steep terrain when excavators were used, less forest area (22.16%) was destroyed compared to bulldozers and 26.54% less area in very steep terrain. The proportion of damage on trees where bulldozer worked was nearly twofold higher than excavator was used. The results of this research show that the environmentally sensitive techniques applied for the road construction projects are considerably superior to the traditional use of bulldozers on steep slopes. The environmentally sound forest road construction by use of excavator must be considered an appropriate and reliable solution for mountainous terrain where areas of sensitive forest ecosystems are to be opened up.

  15. Forest statistics for the glaciated region of Ohio

    Treesearch

    The Forest Survey Organization Central States Forest Experiment Station

    1954-01-01

    In this report forest-area and timber-volume statistics for Western and Northeastern Ohio (frontispiece) are shown separately. Regional boundaries were established in order to group counties having similar forest, soil, and economic conditions. The two forest regions include most of the areas commonly known as the Ohio Corn Belt and the Dairy Region.

  16. Comparing erosion risks from forest operations to wildfire

    Treesearch

    William J. Elliot; Peter R. Robichaud

    2001-01-01

    Wildfire and forest operations remove vegetation and disturb forest soils. Both of these effects can lead to an increased risk of soil erosion. Operations to reduce forest fuel loads, however, may reduce the risk of wildfire. This paper presents research and modeling results which show that under many conditions, carefully planned operations with adequate buffers,...

  17. Change in avian abundance predicted from regional forest inventory data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Twedt, Daniel J.; Tirpak, John M.; Jones-Farrand, D. Todd; Thompson, Frank R.; Uihlein, William B.; Fitzgerald, Jane A.

    2010-01-01

    An inability to predict population response to future habitat projections is a shortcoming in bird conservation planning. We sought to predict avian response to projections of future forest conditions that were developed from nationwide forest surveys within the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. To accomplish this, we evaluated the historical relationship between silvicolous bird populations and FIA-derived forest conditions within 25 ecoregions that comprise the southeastern United States. We aggregated forest area by forest ownership, forest type, and tree size-class categories in county-based ecoregions for 5 time periods spanning 1963-2008. We assessed the relationship of forest data with contemporaneous indices of abundance for 24 silvicolous bird species that were obtained from Breeding Bird Surveys. Relationships between bird abundance and forest inventory data for 18 species were deemed sufficient as predictive models. We used these empirically derived relationships between regional forest conditions and bird populations to predict relative changes in abundance of these species within ecoregions that are anticipated to coincide with projected changes in forest variables through 2040. Predicted abundances of these 18 species are expected to remain relatively stable in over a quarter (27%) of the ecoregions. However, change in forest area and redistribution of forest types will likely result in changed abundance of some species within many ecosystems. For example, abundances of 11 species, including pine warbler (Dendroica pinus), brown-headed nuthatch (Sitta pusilla), and chuckwills- widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis), are projected to increase within more ecoregions than ecoregions where they will decrease. For 6 other species, such as blue-winged warbler (Vermivora pinus), Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), and indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), we projected abundances will decrease within more ecoregions than ecoregions where they will

  18. Mortality rates associated with crown health for eastern forest tree species

    Treesearch

    Randall S. Morin; KaDonna C. Randolph; Jim Steinman

    2015-01-01

    The condition of tree crowns is an important indicator of tree and forest health. Crown conditions have been evaluated during inventories of the US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program since 1999. In this study, remeasured data from 55,013 trees on 2616 FIA plots in the eastern USA were used to assess the probability of survival among various tree...

  19. Communicating the role of silviculture and Forest Service silviculture research in the interior West

    Treesearch

    Dennis E. Ferguson; Victor J. Applegate; Philip S. Aune; Clinton E. Carlson; Kathleen Geier-Hayes; Russell T. Graham; Glenn L. Jacobsen; Theresa B. Jain; David C. Powell; Wayne D. Shepperd; John P. Sloan; Andrew Youngblood

    1997-01-01

    Silviculturists create desired forest conditions across the landscape and over time. Our job is to synthesize knowledge from many disciplines to develop prescriptions that produce desired forest conditions. In turn, forest conditions result in products and values for society. Silviculture and silviculture research help provide the scientific basis for land management...

  20. Protection against fire in the mountainous forests of Greece case study: forest complex of W. Nestos

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drosos, Vasileios C.; Giannoulas, Vasileios J.; Stergiadou, Anastasia; Karagiannis, Evaggelos; Doukas, Aristotelis-Kosmas G.

    2014-08-01

    Forest fires are an ancient phenomenon. Appear, however, with devastating frequency and intensity over the last 30 years. In our country, the climatic conditions in combination with the intense relief, favor their rapid spread. Considering the fact that environmental conditions provided for decades even worse (increased temperature, drought and vegetation), then the problem of forest fires in our country, is expected to become more intense. The work focuses on the optimization model of the opening up of the forest mountain areas taking into account the prevention and suppression of forest fires. Research area is the mountain forest complex of W. Nestos of Drama Prefecture. The percentage of forest protection area is examined under the light whether the total hose length corresponds to the actual operational capacity to reach a fire source. For this reason are decided to present a three case study concerning area of the forest being protected by fire extinguishing vehicles. The first one corresponds to a fire suppression bandwidth (buffer zone) with a capacity radius of 150m uphill and 250m downhill from the origin point where the fire extinguishing vehicle stands. The second one corresponds to a fire suppression capacity of 200m uphill and 400m downhill and the third one corresponds to a fire suppression capacity of 300m uphill and 500m downhill. The most important forest technical infrastructures to prevent fire are roads network (opening up) for fire protection and buffer zones. Patrols of small and agile 4 × 4 appropriately equipped (pipe length of 500 meters and putting pressure on uphill to 300 meters) for the first attack of the fire in the summer months coupled with early warning of fire observatories adequately cover the forest protection of W. Nestos complex. But spatial distribution needed improvements to a road density of the optimum economic Dec, both forest protection and for better management (skidding) of woody capital.

  1. Forest construction infrastructures for the prevision, suppression, and protection before and after forest fires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drosos, Vasileios C.; Giannoulas, Vasileios J.; Daoutis, Christodoulos

    2014-08-01

    Climatic changes cause temperature rise and thus increase the risk of forest fires. In Greece the forests with the greatest risk to fire are usually those located near residential and tourist areas where there are major pressures on land use changes, while there are no currently guaranteed cadastral maps and defined title deeds because of the lack of National and Forest Cadastre. In these areas the deliberate causes of forest fires are at a percentage more than 50%. This study focuses on the forest opening up model concerning both the prevention and suppression of forest fires. The most urgent interventions that can be done after the fire destructions is also studied in relation to soil protection constructions, in order to minimize the erosion and the torrential conditions. Digital orthophotos were used in order to produce and analyze spatial data using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Initially, Digital Elevation Models were generated, based on photogrammetry and forest areas as well as the forest road network were mapped. Road density, road distance, skidding distance and the opening up percentage were accurately measured for a forest complex. Finally, conclusions and suggestions have been drawn about the environmental compatibility of forest protection and wood harvesting works. In particular the contribution of modern technologies such as digital photogrammetry, remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems is very important, allowing reliable, effective and fast process of spatial analysis contributing to a successful planning of opening up works and fire protection.

  2. Managing organic debris for forest health: Reconciling fire hazard, bark beetles, wildlife, and forest nutrition needs

    Treesearch

    Chris Schnepf; Russell T. Graham; Sandy Kegley; Theresa B. Jain

    2009-01-01

    Forest organic debris includes tree limbs, boles (trunks), needles, leaves, snags, and other dead organic materials. It ranges in amount and composition depending on a forest's history, tree species, condition, and age. In the Inland Northwest (Idaho, western Montana, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington) there is a lot of discussion and concern about removing...

  3. Geologic map of the Nelson quadrangle, Lewis and Clark County, Montana

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Reynolds, Mitchell W.; Hays, William H.

    2003-01-01

    The geologic map of the Nelson quadrangle, scale 1:24,000, was prepared as part of the Montana Investigations Project to provide new information on the stratigraphy, structure, and geologic history of an area in the geologically complex southern part of the Montana disturbed belt. In the Nelson area, rocks ranging in age from Middle Proterozoic through Cretaceous are exposed on three major thrust plates in which rocks have been telescoped eastward. Rocks within the thrust plates are folded and broken by thrust faults of smaller displacement than the major bounding thrust faults. Middle and Late Tertiary sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks unconformably overlie the pre-Tertiary rocks. A major normal fault displaces rocks of the western half of the quadrangle down on the west with respect to strata of the eastern part. Alluvial and terrace gravels and local landslide deposits are present in valley bottoms and on canyon walls in the deeply dissected terrain. Different stratigraphic successions are exposed at different structural levels across the quadrangle. In the northeastern part, strata of the Middle Cambrian Flathead Sandstone, Wolsey Shale, and Meagher Limestone, the Middle and Upper Cambrian Pilgrim Formation and Park Shale undivided, the Devonian Maywood, Jefferson, and lower part of the Three Forks Formation, and Lower and Upper Mississippian rocks assigned to the upper part of the Three Forks Formation and the overlying Lodgepole and Mission Canyon Limestones are complexly folded and faulted. These deformed strata are overlain structurally in the east-central part of the quadrangle by a succession of strata including the Middle Proterozoic Greyson Formation and the Paleozoic succession from the Flathead Sandstone upward through the Lodgepole Limestone. In the east-central area, the Flathead Sandstone rests unconformably on the middle part of the Greyson Formation. The north edge, northwest quarter, and south half of the quadrangle are underlain by a

  4. Forests of opportunities and mischief: disentangling the interactions between forests, parasites and immune responses.

    PubMed

    Renner, Swen C; Lüdtke, Bruntje; Kaiser, Sonja; Kienle, Julia; Schaefer, H Martin; Segelbacher, Gernot; Tschapka, Marco; Santiago-Alarcon, Diego

    2016-08-01

    Habitat characteristics determine the presence of individuals through resource availability, but at the same time, such features also influence the occurrence of parasites. We analyzed how birds respond to changes in interior forest structures, to forest management regimes, and to the risk of haemosporidian infections. We captured and took blood samples from blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) and chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) in three different forest types (beech, mixed deciduous, spruce). We measured birds' body asymmetries, detected avian haemosporidians, and counted white blood cells as an immune measure of each individual per forest type. We used, to our knowledge for the first time, continuous forest structural parameters to quantify habitat structure, and found significant effects of habitat structure on parasite prevalence that previously have been undetected. We found three times higher prevalence for blackcaps compared with chaffinches. Parasite intensity varied significantly within host species depending on forest type, being lowest in beech forests for both host species. Structurally complex habitats with a high degree of entropy had a positive effect on the likelihood of acquiring an infection, but the effect on prevalence was negative for forest sections with a south facing aspect. For blackcaps, forest gaps also had a positive effect on prevalence, but canopy height had a negative one. Our results suggest that forest types and variations in forest structure influence the likelihood of acquiring an infection, which subsequently has an influence on host health status and body condition; however, responses to some environmental factors are host-specific. Copyright © 2016 Australian Society for Parasitology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Layout Guide for Burnt and Un-burnt Tropical Forest: The Diversity of Forest Plants and Insetcs for Sustainable Environmental

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Watiniasih, N. L.; Tambunan, J.; Merdana, I. M.; Antara, I. N. G.

    2018-04-01

    Forest fire is a common phenomenon in tropical forest likes in Indonesia. Beside the effect of soaring heat and lack of rain during dry season due to the tropical climate, farming system is also reported as one reason of forest fire in Indonesia. People of surrounding areas and neighbouring countries are suffering from the effect of forest fire. Plants and animals are the most suffer from this occurrence that they cannot escape. This study aimed to investigate the effect of previously burnt and un-burnt tropical forest in Borneo Island on the plant and insect diversity of the tropical forest. The result of the study found that the plants in previously burnt forest area was dominated by one species, while higher and more stable plant diversity was found in un-burnt forest. Although the number of individual insects was higher in previously burnt tropical forest, but the insects was more diverse in un-burnt tropical forest. The alteration of environmental conditions in previously burnt and un-burnt forest indicate that the energy held in natural forest support higher number and more stable insects than previously burnt forest.

  6. Piecing together the fragments: Elucidating edge effects on forest carbon dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hutyra, L.; Smith, I. A.; Reinmann, A.; Marrs, J.; Thompson, J.

    2017-12-01

    Forest fragmentation is pervasive throughout the world's forests, impacting growing conditions and carbon dynamics through edge effects that produce gradients in microclimate, biogeochemistry, and stand structure. Despite the majority of the world's forests being <1km from an edge, our understanding of forest carbon dynamics is largely derived from intact forest systems. In the northeastern USA, we find that over 23% of the current forest area is just 30m from an agricultural or developed edge. Edge effects on the carbon cycle vary in their magnitude by biome, but current forest carbon accounting methods and ecosystem models largely do not include edge effects, highlighting an important gap in our understanding of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Characterizing the role of forest fragmentation in regional and global biogeochemical cycles necessitates advancing our understanding of how shifts in microenvironment at the forest edge interact with local prevailing drivers of global change and limitations to microbial activity and forest growth. This study synthesizes the literature related to edge effects and the carbon cycle, considering how fragmentation affects the growing conditions of the world's remaining forests based on risks and opportunities for forests near the edge.

  7. The climatic sensitivity of the forest, savanna and forest-savanna transition in tropical South America.

    PubMed

    Hirota, Marina; Nobre, Carlos; Oyama, Marcos Daisuke; Bustamante, Mercedes M C

    2010-08-01

    *We used a climate-vegetation-natural fire (CVNF) conceptual model to evaluate the sensitivity and vulnerability of forest, savanna, and the forest-savanna transition to environmental changes in tropical South America. *Initially, under current environmental conditions, CVNF model results suggested that, in the absence of fires, tropical forests would extend c. 200 km into the presently observed savanna domain. *Environmental changes were then imposed upon the model in temperature, precipitation and lightning strikes. These changes ranged from 2 to 6 degrees C warming, +10 to -20% precipitation change and 0 to 15% increase in lightning frequency, which, in aggregate form, represent expected future climatic changes in response to global warming and deforestation. *The most critical vegetation changes are projected to take place over the easternmost portions of the basin, with a widening of the forest-savanna transition. The transition width would increase from 150 to c. 300 km, with tree cover losses ranging from 20 to 85%. This means that c. 6% of the areas currently covered by forests could potentially turn into grass-dominated savanna landscapes. The mechanism driving tree cover reduction consists of the combination of less favorable climate conditions for trees and more fire activity. In addition, this sensitivity analysis predicts that the current dry shrubland vegetation of northeast Brazil could potentially turn into a bare soil landscape.

  8. Wildlife Habitat Conditions in Mature Pine Hardwood Stands in the Ouachita/Ozark National Forests

    Treesearch

    Ronald E. Thill; Philip A. Tappe; Nancy E. Koerth

    1994-01-01

    A long-term, stand-level, interdisciplinsry research and demonstration project was initiated on the Ouachia (ONF) and Ozark-St. Francis National Forests in Arkansas in 1990 to compare the impacts of alternative reproduction cutting methods on commodity and noncommodity forest resources including wildlife habitat and populations. Habitat masurement procedures and...

  9. Measurements of aerosol chemical composition in boreal forest summer conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    ńijälä, M.; Junninen, H.; Ehn, M.; Petäjä, T.; Vogel, A.; Hoffmann, T.; Corrigan, A.; Russell, L.; Makkonen, U.; Virkkula, A.; Mäntykenttä, J.; Kulmala, M.; Worsnop, D.

    2012-04-01

    Boreal forests are an important biome, covering vast areas of the northern hemisphere and affecting the global climate change via various feedbacks [1]. Despite having relatively few anthropogenic primary aerosol sources, they always contain a non-negligible aerosol population [2]. This study describes aerosol chemical composition measurements using Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (C-ToF AMS, [3]), carried out at a boreal forest area in Hyytiälä, Southern Finland. The site, Helsinki University SMEAR II measurement station [4], is situated at a homogeneous Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest stand. In addition to the station's permanent aerosol, gas phase and meteorological instruments, during the HUMPPA (Hyytiälä United Measurements of Photochemistry and Particles in Air) campaign in July 2010, a very comprehensive set of atmospheric chemistry measurement instrumentation was provided by the Max Planck Institute for chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University, University of California and the Finnish Meteorological institute. In this study aerosol chemical composition measurements from the campaign are presented. The dominant aerosol chemical species during the campaign were the organics, although periods with elevated amounts of particulate sulfates were also seen. The overall AMS measured particle mass concentrations varied from near zero to 27 μg/m observed during a forest fire smoke episode. The AMS measured aerosol mass loadings were found to agree well with DMPS derived mass concentrations (r2=0.998). The AMS data was also compared with three other aerosol instruments. The Marga instrument [5] was used to provide a quantitative semi-online measurement of inorganic chemical compounds in particle phase. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was performed on daily filter samples, enabling the identification and quantification of organic aerosol subspecies. Finally an Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (APCI

  10. 25m-resolution Global Mosaic and Forest/Non-Forest map using PALSAR-2 data set

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Itoh, T.; Shimada, M.; Motooka, T.; Hayashi, M.; Tadono, T.; DAN, R.; Isoguchi, O.; Yamanokuchi, T.

    2017-12-01

    A continuous observation of forests is important as information necessary for monitoring deforestation, climate change and environmental changes i.e. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+). Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is conducting research on forest monitoring using satellite-based L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radars (SARs) continuously. Using the FBD (Fine Beam Dual polarizations) data of the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) onboard the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), JAXA created the global 25 m-resolution mosaic images and the Forest/Non-Forest (FNF) maps dataset for forest monitoring. SAR can monitor forest areas under all weather conditions, and L-band is highly sensitive to forests and their changes, therefore it is suitable for forest observation. JAXA also created the global 25 m mosaics and FNF maps using ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 launched on 2014 as a successor to ALOS. FNF dataset by PALSAR and PALSAR-2 covers from 2007 to 2010, and from 2015 to 2016, respectively. Therefore, it is possible to monitor forest changes during approx. 10 years. The classification method is combination of the object-based classification and the thresholding of HH and HV polarized images, and the result of FNF was compared with Forest Resource Assessment (FRA, developed by FAO) and their inconsistency is less than 10 %. Also, by comparing with the optical image of Google Earth, rate of coincidence was 80 % or more. We will create PALSAR-2 global mosaics and FNF dataset continuously to contribute global forest monitoring.

  11. Structure and dynamics of an upland old-growth forest at Redwood National Park, California

    Treesearch

    Phillip J. van Mantgem; John D. Stuart

    2012-01-01

    Many current redwood forest management targets are based on old-growth conditions, so it is critical that we understand the variability and range of conditions that constitute these forests. Here we present information on the structure and dynamics from six one-hectare forest monitoring plots in an upland old-growth forest at Redwood National Park, California. We...

  12. Postfire Forest Recovery in California's National Forests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Welch, K.; Young, T.; Safford, H.

    2012-12-01

    Due to fire suppression policies and other management practices over the last century, many low- to mid-elevation forest types in the Sierra Nevada have accumulated high fuel loads that promote stand-replacing high-intensity fires. Current and future projected trends in climate are predicted to increase the occurrence of such fires. We established over 1,000 plots in a range of elevations, environments, forest types, climate zones and fire severity classes to provide insight into the factors that promote natural tree regeneration after wildfires, the limiting factors in species establishment, and the differences in post-fire responses of conifers and hardwoods. We employed a standardized protocol that measured site characteristics, seedling densities, and woody plant growth. Preliminary results reveal that fire severity generally has a unimodal relationship with rates of natural regeneration, although effects of site and local environment act to modulate the shape of the relationship. Above low to moderate severities, natural regeneration rates of all tree species decrease with increasing severity, possibly due to a combination of factors including seed mortality, increasing distance to the nearest living seed tree, and more severe microclimatic conditions. Though hardwoods (oaks) are able to both seed and resprout from top-killed root crowns in a postfire environment, conifers still have the numerical advantage over hardwoods through seeding alone. We did not find evidence that shrubs have a strong either facilitative or competitive effect on conifer seedling establishment or growth in the first five years of forest recovery. Understanding forest recovery and regeneration processes after high severity fires is critical to appropriately applying management strategies on National Forest lands.

  13. Historical forest structure, composition, and spatial pattern in dry conifer forests of the western Blue Mountains, Oregon

    Treesearch

    Derek J. Churchill; Gunnar C. Carnwath; Andrew J. Larson; Sean A. Jeronimo

    2017-01-01

    In frequent-fire forests of the interior Western United States, historical (prefire suppression) conditions are often used as a reference to set management objectives, guide prescriptions, and monitor treatment effectiveness. We quantified the historical size, density, composition, and spatial patterns of dry mixed-conifer forests in the Blue Mountains of Oregon to...

  14. FUEL CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH NATIVE AND EXOTIC GRASSES IN A SUBTROPICAL DRY FOREST IN PUERTO RICO

    Treesearch

    Jarrod M. Thaxton; Skip J. Van Bloem; Stefanie Whitmire

    2012-01-01

    Exotic grasses capable of increasing frequency and intensity of anthropogenic fire have invaded subtropical and tropical dry forests worldwide. Since many dry forest trees are susceptible to fire, this can result in decline of native species and loss of forest cover. While the contribution of exotic grasses to altered fire regimes has been well documented, the role of...

  15. Visions of Restoration in Fire-Adapted Forest Landscapes: Lessons from the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program.

    PubMed

    Urgenson, Lauren S; Ryan, Clare M; Halpern, Charles B; Bakker, Jonathan D; Belote, R Travis; Franklin, Jerry F; Haugo, Ryan D; Nelson, Cara R; Waltz, Amy E M

    2017-02-01

    Collaborative approaches to natural resource management are becoming increasingly common on public lands. Negotiating a shared vision for desired conditions is a fundamental task of collaboration and serves as a foundation for developing management objectives and monitoring strategies. We explore the complex socio-ecological processes involved in developing a shared vision for collaborative restoration of fire-adapted forest landscapes. To understand participant perspectives and experiences, we analyzed interviews with 86 respondents from six collaboratives in the western U.S., part of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program established to encourage collaborative, science-based restoration on U.S. Forest Service lands. Although forest landscapes and group characteristics vary considerably, collaboratives faced common challenges to developing a shared vision for desired conditions. Three broad categories of challenges emerged: meeting multiple objectives, collaborative capacity and trust, and integrating ecological science and social values in decision-making. Collaborative groups also used common strategies to address these challenges, including some that addressed multiple challenges. These included use of issue-based recommendations, field visits, and landscape-level analysis; obtaining support from local agency leadership, engaging facilitators, and working in smaller groups (sub-groups); and science engagement. Increased understanding of the challenges to, and strategies for, developing a shared vision of desired conditions is critical if other collaboratives are to learn from these efforts.

  16. Visions of Restoration in Fire-Adapted Forest Landscapes: Lessons from the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Urgenson, Lauren S.; Ryan, Clare M.; Halpern, Charles B.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Belote, R. Travis; Franklin, Jerry F.; Haugo, Ryan D.; Nelson, Cara R.; Waltz, Amy E. M.

    2017-02-01

    Collaborative approaches to natural resource management are becoming increasingly common on public lands. Negotiating a shared vision for desired conditions is a fundamental task of collaboration and serves as a foundation for developing management objectives and monitoring strategies. We explore the complex socio-ecological processes involved in developing a shared vision for collaborative restoration of fire-adapted forest landscapes. To understand participant perspectives and experiences, we analyzed interviews with 86 respondents from six collaboratives in the western U.S., part of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program established to encourage collaborative, science-based restoration on U.S. Forest Service lands. Although forest landscapes and group characteristics vary considerably, collaboratives faced common challenges to developing a shared vision for desired conditions. Three broad categories of challenges emerged: meeting multiple objectives, collaborative capacity and trust, and integrating ecological science and social values in decision-making. Collaborative groups also used common strategies to address these challenges, including some that addressed multiple challenges. These included use of issue-based recommendations, field visits, and landscape-level analysis; obtaining support from local agency leadership, engaging facilitators, and working in smaller groups (sub-groups); and science engagement. Increased understanding of the challenges to, and strategies for, developing a shared vision of desired conditions is critical if other collaboratives are to learn from these efforts.

  17. Designing Forest Adaptation Experiments through Manager-Scientist Partnerships

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nagel, L. M.; Swanston, C.; Janowiak, M.

    2014-12-01

    Three common forest adaptation options discussed in the context of an uncertain future climate are: creating resistance, promoting resilience, and enabling forests to respond to change. Though there is consensus on the broad management goals addressed by each of these options, translating these concepts into management plans specific for individual forest types that vary in structure, composition, and function remains a challenge. We will describe a decision-making framework that we employed within a manager-scientist partnership to develop a suite of adaptation treatments for two contrasting forest types as part of a long-term forest management experiment. The first, in northern Minnesota, is a red pine-dominated forest with components of white pine, aspen, paper birch, and northern red oak, with a hazel understory. The second, in southwest Colorado, is a warm-dry mixed conifer forest dominated by ponderosa pine, white fir, and Douglas-fir, with scattered aspen and an understory of Gambel oak. The current conditions at both sites are characterized by overstocking with moderate-to-high fuel loading, vulnerability to numerous forest health threats, and are generally uncharacteristic of historic structure and composition. The desired future condition articulated by managers for each site included elements of historic structure and natural range of variability, but were greatly tempered by known vulnerabilities and projected changes to climate and disturbance patterns. The resultant range of treatments we developed are distinct for each forest type, and address a wide range of management objectives.

  18. Current and projected condition of mid-elevation Sierra Nevada forests

    Treesearch

    Malcolm P. North; Mark W. Schwartz; Brandon M. Collins; John J. Keane

    2017-01-01

    Most of the California spotted owl’s (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) habitat is concentrated in mid-elevation forests of the Sierra Nevada (see chapter 9 for a discussion of southern California spotted owls and their habitat), which are made up primarily of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson), mixed-...

  19. Summary and findings of the 2006 BLM Forest Lands Report

    Treesearch

    Tim Bottomley; Jim Menlove

    2009-01-01

    In 2006, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contracted with the Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA) to assist in the preparation of a report specific to all forest lands under the administration of the BLM. The BLM requested that the FIA provide information on the extent and general conditions of BLM- managed forests and woodlands, within...

  20. Forest inventory and analysis data for FVS modelers

    Treesearch

    Patrick D. Miles

    2008-01-01

    The USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program has been in continuous operation for over 70 years. FIA’s primary objective is to determine the extent, condition, volume, growth, and depletion of timber on the Nation’s forest land. To accomplish this objective, FIA collects sample plot information on all ownerships across the United States.

  1. The southern forest resource assessment: What we learned

    Treesearch

    David N. Wear; John G. Greis

    2004-01-01

    The Southern Forest Resource Assessment was initiated in the spring of 1999 to address broad questions concerning the status, trends, and possible future of southern forests. The overall objective of the assessment was to develop a thorough and objective description of forest conditions and trends in the South, and to present it in a way that would help the public...

  2. Responses of dead forest fuel moisture to climate change

    Treesearch

    Yongqiang Liu

    2016-01-01

    Forest fuel moisture is an important factor for wildland fire behavior. Predicting future wildfire trends and controlled burned conditions is essential to effective natural resource management, but the associated effects of forest fuel moisture remain uncertain. This study investigates the responses of dead forest fuel moisture to climate change in the...

  3. Unbiased split variable selection for random survival forests using maximally selected rank statistics.

    PubMed

    Wright, Marvin N; Dankowski, Theresa; Ziegler, Andreas

    2017-04-15

    The most popular approach for analyzing survival data is the Cox regression model. The Cox model may, however, be misspecified, and its proportionality assumption may not always be fulfilled. An alternative approach for survival prediction is random forests for survival outcomes. The standard split criterion for random survival forests is the log-rank test statistic, which favors splitting variables with many possible split points. Conditional inference forests avoid this split variable selection bias. However, linear rank statistics are utilized by default in conditional inference forests to select the optimal splitting variable, which cannot detect non-linear effects in the independent variables. An alternative is to use maximally selected rank statistics for the split point selection. As in conditional inference forests, splitting variables are compared on the p-value scale. However, instead of the conditional Monte-Carlo approach used in conditional inference forests, p-value approximations are employed. We describe several p-value approximations and the implementation of the proposed random forest approach. A simulation study demonstrates that unbiased split variable selection is possible. However, there is a trade-off between unbiased split variable selection and runtime. In benchmark studies of prediction performance on simulated and real datasets, the new method performs better than random survival forests if informative dichotomous variables are combined with uninformative variables with more categories and better than conditional inference forests if non-linear covariate effects are included. In a runtime comparison, the method proves to be computationally faster than both alternatives, if a simple p-value approximation is used. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Changes in Orchid Bee Communities Across Forest-Agroecosystem Boundaries in Brazilian Atlantic Forest Landscapes.

    PubMed

    De Aguiar, Willian Moura; Sofia, Silvia H; Melo, Gabriel A R; Gaglianone, Maria Cristina

    2015-12-01

    Deforestation has dramatically reduced the extent of Atlantic Forest cover in Brazil. Orchid bees are key pollinators in neotropical forest, and many species are sensitive to anthropogenic interference. In this sense understanding the matrix permeability for these bees is important for maintaining genetic diversity and pollination services. Our main objective was to assess whether the composition, abundance, and diversity of orchid bees in matrices differed from those in Atlantic forest. To do this we sampled orchid bees at 4-mo intervals from 2007 to 2009 in remnants of Atlantic Forest, and in the surrounding pasture and eucalyptus matrices. The abundance, richness, and diversity of orchid bees diminished significantly from the forest fragment toward the matrix points in the eucalyptus and pasture. Some common or intermediate species in the forest areas, such as Eulaema cingulata (F.) and Euglossa fimbriata Moure, respectively, become rare species in the matrices. Our results show that the orchid bee community is affected by the matrices surrounding the forest fragments. They also suggest that connections between forest fragments need to be improved using friendly matrices that can provide more favorable conditions for bees and increase their dispersal between fragments. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Stand and fuel treatments for restoring old-growth ponderosa pine forests in the interior west (Boise Basin Experimental Forest)

    Treesearch

    Russell T. Graham; Theresa B. Jain

    2007-01-01

    Fire exclusion, especially in the dry forests (i.e. those dominated or potentially dominated by ponderosa pine) has most often altered tree and shrub composition and structure and, though often overlooked in many locales, the forest floor from conditions that occurred historically (pre-1900).

  6. Estimating forest structural characteristics using the airborne LiDAR scanning system and a near-real time profiling laser system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Kaiguang

    LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) directly measures canopy vertical structures, and provides an effective remote sensing solution to accurate and spatially-explicit mapping of forest characteristics, such as canopy height and Leaf Area Index. However, many factors, such as large data volume and high costs for data acquisition, precludes the operational and practical use of most currently available LiDARs for frequent and large-scale mapping. At the same time, a growing need is arising for real-time remote sensing platforms, e.g., to provide timely information for urgent applications. This study aims to develop an airborne profiling LiDAR system, featured with on-the-fly data processing, for near real- or real-time forest inventory. The development of such a system involves implementing the on-board data processing and analysis as well as building useful regression-based models to relate LiDAR measurements with forest biophysical parameters. This work established a paradigm for an on-the-fly airborne profiling LiDAR system to inventory regional forest resources in real- or near real-time. The system was developed based on an existing portable airborne laser system (PALS) that has been previously assembled at NASA by Dr. Ross Nelson. Key issues in automating PALS as an on-the-fly system were addressed, including the design of an archetype for the system workflow, the development of efficient and robust algorithms for automatic data processing and analysis, the development of effective regression models to predict forest biophysical parameters from LiDAR measurements, and the implementation of an integrated software package to incorporate all the above development. This work exploited the untouched potential of airborne laser profilers for real-time forest inventory, and therefore, documented an initial step toward developing airborne-laser-based, on-the-fly, real-time, forest inventory systems. Results from this work demonstrated the utility and effectiveness of

  7. Southern Foresters' Perceptions of Climate Change: Implications for Educational Program Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boby, Leslie; Hubbard, William; Megalos, Mark; Morris, Hilary L. C.

    2016-01-01

    An understanding of foresters' perceptions of climate change is important for developing effective educational programs on adaptive forest management. We surveyed 1,398 foresters in the southern United States regarding their perceptions of climate change, observations and concerns about climatic and forest conditions, and knowledge of and interest…

  8. 36 CFR 212.2 - Forest transportation program.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... transportation atlas may be updated to reflect new information on the existence and condition of roads, trails... of temporary roads, which are tracked by the project or activity authorizing the temporary road. The content and maintenance requirements for a forest transportation atlas are identified in the Forest...

  9. Is the Forest Healthy? (Mid-Atlantic, North Central, New England, and New York Regions)

    Treesearch

    Jennifer Stoyenoff; John Witter; Bruce Leutscher

    1997-01-01

    No single measurement can summarize forest health. Instead, we need to look at a wide set of indicators which together serve as a reflection of existing conditions. Repeated monitoring of the forest over time allows us to identify trends in forest conditions and evaluate the effectiveness of our actions. Information about forest health is obtained in a variety of ways...

  10. The Westphalian D fossil lepidodendrid forest at Table Head, Sydney Basin, Nova Scotia: Sedimentology, paleoecology and floral response to changing edaphic conditions

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Calder, J.H.; Gibling, M.R.; Eble, C.F.; Scott, A.C.; MacNeil, D.J.

    1996-01-01

    Strata of Westphalian D age on the western coast of the Sydney Basin expose a fossil forest of approximately 30 lepidodendrid trees within one of several clastic splits of the Harbour Seam. A mutidisciplinary approach was employed to interpret the origins of the coal bed, the depositional history of the site and the response of the fossil forest to changing edaphic conditions. The megaspore and miospore records indicate that the mire vegetation was dominated by arboreous lycopsids, especially Paralycopodites, with subdominant tree ferns. Petrographic, palynological and geochemical evidence suggest that the Harbour coal bed at Table Head originated as a rheotrophic (cf. planar) mire (eutric histosol). The mire forest is interpreted to have been engulfed by prograding distributary-channel sediments; sparse protist assemblages are suggestive of a freshwater delta-plain lake environment occasionally in contact with brackish waters. Lepidodendrids persisted as site colonizers of clastic substrates even after burial of the rheotrophic peatland and influenced the morphology of deposited sediment, but apparently were unable to colonize distributary channels. Equivocal taxonomic data (compression fossils) show the fossil forest to have been composed of both monocarpic (Lepidodendron) and polycarpic (Diaphorodendron, Paralycopodites, ?Sigillaria) lycopsids, genera recorded in the palynology of the uppermost ply of the underlying coal bed. Comparatively rare within the clastic beds of the fossil forest, however, is the stem compression of Paralycopodites, whose dispersed megapores and miospores dominate the underlying coal bed. Tree diameter data recorded equivalent to breast height indicate a forest of mixed age. These data would appear to suggest that some lepidodendrids employing a polycarpic reproductive strategy were better able to cross the ecological barrier imposed between peat and clastic substrates. Foliar compressions indicate that an understory or stand of

  11. Asessment of Forest Insect Conditions at Opax Mountain Silviculture Trail

    Treesearch

    Dan Miller; Lorraine Maclauchlan

    1998-01-01

    Forest managment in British Columbia requires that all resource calues are considered along with a variety of apporpriate management practices. For the past 100 years, partial-cutting parctices were the method of choice when harvesting in Interior Douglas-fir (IDF) zone ecosystems. ALong wiht a highly effective fire suppression program and minimal stand tending,...

  12. Assessment of Forest Insect Conditions at Opax Mountain Silviculture Trail

    Treesearch

    Dan Miller; Lorraine Maclauchlan

    1998-01-01

    Forest management in British Columbia requires that all resource values are considered along with a variety of appropriate management practices. For the past l00 years, partial-cutting practices were the method of choice whenharvesting in Interior Douglas-fir (IDF) zone ecosystems. Along with a highly effective fire suppression program and minimal stand tending, these...

  13. Family forest landowners' interest in forest carbon offset programs: focus group findings from the lake States, USA.

    PubMed

    Miller, Kristell A; Snyder, Stephanie A; Kilgore, Mike A; Davenport, Mae A

    2014-12-01

    In 2012, focus groups were organized with individuals owning 20+ acres in the Lake States region of the United States (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) to discuss various issues related to forest carbon offsetting. Focus group participants consisted of landowners who had responded to an earlier mail-back survey (2010) on forest carbon offsets. Two focus groups were held per state with an average of eight participants each (49 total). While landowner participant types varied, overall convergence was reached on several key issues. In general, discussion results found that the current payment amounts offered for carbon credits are not likely, on their own, to encourage participation in carbon markets. Landowners are most interested in other benefits they can attain through carbon management (e.g., improved stand species mix, wildlife, and trails). Interestingly, landowner perceptions about the condition of their own forest land were most indicative of prospective interest in carbon management. Landowners who felt that their forest was currently in poor condition, or did not meet their forest ownership objectives, were most interested in participating. While the initial survey sought landowner opinions about carbon markets, a majority of focus group participants expressed interest in general carbon management as a means to achieve reduced property taxes.

  14. Family Forest Landowners' Interest in Forest Carbon Offset Programs: Focus Group Findings from the Lake States, USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, Kristell A.; Snyder, Stephanie A.; Kilgore, Mike A.; Davenport, Mae A.

    2014-12-01

    In 2012, focus groups were organized with individuals owning 20+ acres in the Lake States region of the United States (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) to discuss various issues related to forest carbon offsetting. Focus group participants consisted of landowners who had responded to an earlier mail-back survey (2010) on forest carbon offsets. Two focus groups were held per state with an average of eight participants each (49 total). While landowner participant types varied, overall convergence was reached on several key issues. In general, discussion results found that the current payment amounts offered for carbon credits are not likely, on their own, to encourage participation in carbon markets. Landowners are most interested in other benefits they can attain through carbon management (e.g., improved stand species mix, wildlife, and trails). Interestingly, landowner perceptions about the condition of their own forest land were most indicative of prospective interest in carbon management. Landowners who felt that their forest was currently in poor condition, or did not meet their forest ownership objectives, were most interested in participating. While the initial survey sought landowner opinions about carbon markets, a majority of focus group participants expressed interest in general carbon management as a means to achieve reduced property taxes.

  15. 36 CFR 13.604 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.604 Section 13.604 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... § 13.604 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards is...

  16. 36 CFR 13.1206 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.1206 Section 13.1206 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Provisions § 13.1206 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards...

  17. 36 CFR 13.1206 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.1206 Section 13.1206 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Provisions § 13.1206 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards...

  18. 36 CFR 13.604 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.604 Section 13.604 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... § 13.604 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards is...

  19. 36 CFR 13.604 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.604 Section 13.604 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... § 13.604 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards is...

  20. 36 CFR 13.1206 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.1206 Section 13.1206 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Provisions § 13.1206 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards...

  1. 36 CFR 13.604 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.604 Section 13.604 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... § 13.604 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards is...

  2. 36 CFR 13.604 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.604 Section 13.604 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... § 13.604 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards is...

  3. 36 CFR 13.1206 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.1206 Section 13.1206 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Provisions § 13.1206 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards...

  4. 36 CFR 13.1206 - Wildlife distance conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Wildlife distance conditions. 13.1206 Section 13.1206 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Provisions § 13.1206 Wildlife distance conditions. (a) Approaching a bear or any large mammal within 50 yards...

  5. Scaling Stream Flow Response to Forest Disturbance: the SID Project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buttle, J. M.; Beall, F. D.; Creed, I. F.; Gordon, A. M.; Mackereth, R.; McLaughlin, J. W.; Sibley, P. K.

    2004-05-01

    We do not have a good understanding of the hydrologic implications of forest harvesting in Ontario, either for current or alternative management approaches. Attempts to address these implications face a three-fold problem: data on hydrologic response to forest disturbance in Ontario are lacking; most studies of these responses have been in regions with forest cover and hydrologic conditions that differ from the Ontario context; and these studies have generally been conducted at relatively small scales (<1 km2). It is generally assumed that hydrologic changes induced by forest disturbance should diminish with increasing scale due to the buffering capacity of large drainage basins. Recent modeling exercises and reanalysis of paired-basin results call this widespread applicability of this assumption into question, with important implications for assessing the cumulative impacts of forest disturbance on basin stream flow. The SID (Scalable Indicators of Disturbance) project combines stream flow monitoring across basin scales with the RHESSys modeling framework to identify forest disturbance impacts on stream flow characteristics in Ontario's major forest ecozones. As a precursor to identifying stream flow response to forest disturbance, we are examining the relative control of basin geology, topography, typology and topology on stream flow characteristics under undisturbed conditions. This will assist in identifying the dominant hydrologic processes controlling basin stream flow that must be incorporated into the RHESSys model framework in order to emulate forest disturbance and its hydrologic impacts. We present preliminary results on stream flow characteristics in a low-relief boreal forest landscape, and explore how the dominant processes influencing these characteristics change with basin scale in this landscape under both reference and disturbance conditions.

  6. Influence of forest cover changes on regional weather conditions: estimations using the mesoscale model COSMO

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Olchev, A. V.; Rozinkina, I. A.; Kuzmina, E. V.; Nikitin, M. A.; Rivin, G. S.

    2018-01-01

    This modeling study intends to estimate the possible influence of forest cover change on regional weather conditions using the non-hydrostatic model COSMO. The central part of the East European Plain was selected as the ‘model region’ for the study. The results of numerical experiments conducted for the warm period of 2010 for the modeling domain covering almost the whole East European Plain showed that deforestation and afforestation processes within the selected model region of the area about 105 km2 can lead to significant changes in regional weather conditions. The deforestation processes have resulted in an increase of the air temperature and a reduction in the amount of precipitation. The afforestation processes can produce the opposite effects, as manifested in decreased air temperature and increased precipitation. Whereas a change of the air temperature is observed mainly inside of the model region, the changes of the precipitation are evident within the entire East European Plain, even in regions situated far away from the external boundaries of the model region.

  7. Final screening round of the NELSON lung cancer screening trial: the effect of a 2.5-year screening interval.

    PubMed

    Yousaf-Khan, Uraujh; van der Aalst, Carlijn; de Jong, Pim A; Heuvelmans, Marjolein; Scholten, Ernst; Lammers, Jan-Willem; van Ooijen, Peter; Nackaerts, Kristiaan; Weenink, Carla; Groen, Harry; Vliegenthart, Rozemarijn; Ten Haaf, Kevin; Oudkerk, Matthijs; de Koning, Harry

    2017-01-01

    In the USA annual lung cancer screening is recommended. However, the optimal screening strategy (eg, screening interval, screening rounds) is unknown. This study provides results of the fourth screening round after a 2.5-year interval in the Dutch-Belgian Lung Cancer Screening trial (NELSON). Europe's largest, sufficiently powered randomised lung cancer screening trial was designed to determine whether low-dose CT screening reduces lung cancer mortality by ≥25% compared with no screening after 10 years of follow-up. The screening arm (n=7915) received screening at baseline, after 1 year, 2 years and 2.5 years. Performance of the NELSON screening strategy in the final fourth round was evaluated. Comparisons were made between lung cancers detected in the first three rounds, in the final round and during the 2.5-year interval. In round 4, 46 cancers were screen-detected and there were 28 interval cancers between the third and fourth screenings. Compared with the second round screening (1-year interval), in round 4 a higher proportion of stage IIIb/IV cancers (17.3% vs 6.8%, p=0.02) and higher proportions of squamous-cell, bronchoalveolar and small-cell carcinomas (p=0.001) were detected. Compared with a 2-year interval, the 2.5-year interval showed a higher non-significant stage distribution (stage IIIb/IV 17.3% vs 5.2%, p=0.10). Additionally, more interval cancers manifested in the 2.5-year interval than in the intervals of previous rounds (28 vs 5 and 28 vs 19). A 2.5-year interval reduced the effect of screening: the interval cancer rate was higher compared with the 1-year and 2-year intervals, and proportion of advanced disease stage in the final round was higher compared with the previous rounds. ISRCTN63545820. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  8. Quantifying the effect of forests on frequency and intensity of rockfalls

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moos, Christine; Dorren, Luuk; Stoffel, Markus

    2017-02-01

    Forests serve as a natural means of protection against small rockfalls. Due to their barrier effect, they reduce the intensity and the propagation probability of falling rocks and thus reduce the occurrence frequency of a rockfall event for a given element at risk. However, despite established knowledge on the protective effect of forests, they are generally neglected in quantitative rockfall risk analyses. Their inclusion in quantitative rockfall risk assessment would, however, be necessary to express their efficiency in monetary terms and to allow comparison of forests with other protective measures, such as nets and dams. The goal of this study is to quantify the effect of forests on the occurrence frequency and intensity of rockfalls. We therefore defined an onset frequency of blocks based on a power-law magnitude-frequency distribution and determined their propagation probabilities on a virtual slope based on rockfall simulations. Simulations were run for different forest and non-forest scenarios under varying forest stand and terrain conditions. We analysed rockfall frequencies and intensities at five different distances from the release area. Based on two multivariate statistical prediction models, we investigated which of the terrain and forest characteristics predominantly drive the role of forest in reducing rockfall occurrence frequency and intensity and whether they are able to predict the effect of forest on rockfall risk. The rockfall occurrence frequency below forested slopes is reduced between approximately 10 and 90 % compared to non-forested slope conditions; whereas rockfall intensity is reduced by 10 to 70 %. This reduction increases with increasing slope length and decreases with decreasing tree density, tree diameter and increasing rock volume, as well as in cases of clustered or gappy forest structures. The statistical prediction models reveal that the cumulative basal area of trees, block volume and horizontal forest structure represent key

  9. Topographic variation in structure of mixed-conifer forests under an active-fire regime

    Treesearch

    Jamie Lydersen; Malcolm North

    2012-01-01

    Management efforts to promote forest resiliency as climate changes have often used historical forest conditions to provide general guidance for fuels reduction and forest restoration treatments. However, it has been difficult to identify what stand conditions might be fire and drought resilient because historical data and reconstruction studies are generally limited to...

  10. Stand age and climate drive forest carbon balance recovery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Besnard, Simon; Carvalhais, Nuno; Clevers, Jan; Herold, Martin; Jung, Martin; Reichstein, Markus

    2016-04-01

    Forests play an essential role in the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle, especially in the C exchanges between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere. Ecological disturbances and forest management are drivers of forest dynamics and strongly impact the forest C budget. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the exogenous and endogenous factors driving forest C recovery. Our analysis includes 68 forest sites in different climate zones to determine the relative influence of stand age and climate conditions on the forest carbon balance recovery. In this study, we only included forest regrowth after clear-cut stand replacement (e.g. harvest, fire), and afforestation/reforestation processes. We synthesized net ecosystem production (NEP), gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Re), the photosynthetic respiratory ratio (GPP to Re ratio), the ecosystem carbon use efficiency (CUE), that is NEP to GPP ratio, and CUEclimax, where GPP is derived from the climate conditions. We implemented a non-linear regression analysis in order to identify the best model representing the C flux patterns with stand age. Furthermore, we showed that each C flux have a non-linear relationship with stand age, annual precipitation (P) and mean annual temperature (MAT), therefore, we proposed to use non-linear transformations of the covariates for C fluxes'estimates. Non-linear stand age and climate models were, therefore, used to establish multiple linear regressions for C flux predictions and for determining the contribution of stand age and climate in forest carbon recovery. Our findings depicted that a coupled stand age-climate model explained 33% (44%, average site), 62% (76%, average site), 56% (71%, average site), 41% (59%, average site), 50% (65%, average site) and 36% (50%, average site) of the variance of annual NEP, GPP, Re, photosynthetic respiratory ratio, CUE and CUEclimax across sites, respectively. In addition, we showed that gross fluxes (e.g. GPP and Re) are

  11. 36 CFR 251.56 - Terms and conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... authorizing noncommercial group uses of National Forest System lands. Section 251.56(a)(1)(ii)(G) provides... include the protection of resources and improvements on National Forest System lands, the allocation of.... (2) Authorizations for use of National Forest System lands may be conditioned to require State...

  12. 36 CFR 251.56 - Terms and conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... authorizing noncommercial group uses of National Forest System lands. Section 251.56(a)(1)(ii)(G) provides... include the protection of resources and improvements on National Forest System lands, the allocation of.... (2) Authorizations for use of National Forest System lands may be conditioned to require State...

  13. Carbon sequestration in managed temperate coniferous forests under climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dymond, Caren C.; Beukema, Sarah; Nitschke, Craig R.; Coates, K. David; Scheller, Robert M.

    2016-03-01

    Management of temperate forests has the potential to increase carbon sinks and mitigate climate change. However, those opportunities may be confounded by negative climate change impacts. We therefore need a better understanding of climate change alterations to temperate forest carbon dynamics before developing mitigation strategies. The purpose of this project was to investigate the interactions of species composition, fire, management, and climate change in the Copper-Pine Creek valley, a temperate coniferous forest with a wide range of growing conditions. To do so, we used the LANDIS-II modelling framework including the new Forest Carbon Succession extension to simulate forest ecosystems under four different productivity scenarios, with and without climate change effects, until 2050. Significantly, the new extension allowed us to calculate the net sector productivity, a carbon accounting metric that integrates aboveground and belowground carbon dynamics, disturbances, and the eventual fate of forest products. The model output was validated against literature values. The results implied that the species optimum growing conditions relative to current and future conditions strongly influenced future carbon dynamics. Warmer growing conditions led to increased carbon sinks and storage in the colder and wetter ecoregions but not necessarily in the others. Climate change impacts varied among species and site conditions, and this indicates that both of these components need to be taken into account when considering climate change mitigation activities and adaptive management. The introduction of a new carbon indicator, net sector productivity, promises to be useful in assessing management effectiveness and mitigation activities.

  14. NED Software for Forest Management: Much More Than Cruising

    Treesearch

    Mark J. Twery; H. Michael Rauscher

    2002-01-01

    The term NED describes a set of computer programs intended to help resource managers and landowners develop goals, assess current and potential conditions, and produce sustainable management plans for forest properties. NED-l helps analyze forest inventory data from the perspective of various forest resources for management areas up to several thousand acres. The...

  15. Soggy soils and sustainability: forested wetlands in southeast Alaska.

    Treesearch

    Sally Duncan

    2002-01-01

    The question has risen over whether forested wetlands in southeast Alaska are suitable for sustainable timber production. A significant factor limiting forest productivity in this region is excess soil moisture. Very little is known about the soil conditions that influence tree growth on forested wetlands. A research study was completed to provide information on the...

  16. A dynamic organic soil biogeochemical model for simulating the effects of wildfire on soil environmental conditions and carbon dynamics of black spruce forests

    Treesearch

    Shuhua Yi; A. David McGuire; Eric Kasischke; Jennifer Harden; Kristen Manies; Michelle Mack; Merritt Turetsky

    2010-01-01

    Ecosystem models have not comprehensively considered how interactions among fire disturbance, soil environmental conditions, and biogeochemical processes affect ecosystem dynamics in boreal forest ecosystems. In this study, we implemented a dynamic organic soil structure in the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (DOS-TEM) to investigate the effects of fire on soil temperature...

  17. Forest health monitoring indicators and their interpretability: a Lithuanian case study

    Treesearch

    Romualdas Kuknys; Algirdas Augustaitis

    1998-01-01

    Growth and productivity of forests are important indicators for understanding the general condition and health of forests. It is very important that indicators detected during monitoring procedures afford an opportunity for direct or indirect evaluation of forest productivity and its natural and anthropogenic changes. Analysis of the U.S. Forest Health Monitoring (FHM...

  18. Forest research notes, Pacific Northwest Forest Experiment Station, No. 11, May 5, 1933.

    Treesearch

    S.A. Wilson; J.A. Beal; H.M. Johnson; R.W. Cowlin; E.F. Rapraeger; L.A. Isaac; W.H. Meyer; G.M. Byrom; R.E. McArdle

    1933-01-01

    A general survey of forest land ownership in western Washington and Oregon and an intensive study of parts of eleven sample counties therein reveal a condition that should command broad serious attention.

  19. Uncertainty in future water supplies from forests: hydrologic effects of a changing forest landscape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jones, J. A.; Achterman, G. L.; Alexander, L. E.; Brooks, K. N.; Creed, I. F.; Ffolliott, P. F.; MacDonald, L.; Wemple, B. C.

    2008-12-01

    Forests account for 33 percent of the U.S. land area, process nearly two-thirds of the fresh water supply, and provide water to 40 percent of all municipalities or about 180 million people. Water supply management is becoming more difficult given the increasing demand for water, climate change, increasing development, changing forest ownership, and increasingly fragmented laws governing forest and watershed management. In 2006, the US National Research Council convened a study on the present understanding of forest hydrology, the hydrologic effects of a changing forest landscape, and research and management needs for sustaining water resources from forested landscapes. The committee concluded that while it is possible to generate short-term water yield increases by timber harvesting, there are a variety of reasons why active forest management has only limited potential to sustainably increase water supplies. These include the short-term nature of the increases in most environments, the timing of the increases, the need for downstream storage, and that continuing ground- based timber harvest can reduce water quality. At the same time, past and continuing changes in forest structure and management may be altering water supplies at the larger time and space scales that are of most interest to forest and water managers. These changes include the legacy of past forest management practices, particularly fire suppression and clearcutting; exurban sprawl, which permanently converts forest land to nonforest uses; effects of climate change on wildfires, insect outbreaks, forest structure, forest species composition, snowpack depth and snowmelt; road networks; and changes in forest land ownership. All of these changes have the potential to alter water quantity and quality from forests. Hence, the baseline conditions that have been used to estimate sustained water yields from forested watersheds may no longer be applicable. Stationarity also can no longer be assumed for the

  20. STRAIN-DEPENDENT SUSCEPTIBILITY TO TRANSPLACENTALLY-INDUCED MURINE LUNG TUMORS

    EPA Science Inventory

    STRAIN-DEPENDENT SUSCEPTIBILITY TO TRANSPLACENTALLY-INDUCED MURINE LUNG TUMORS
    M S Miller, J E Moore, M Xu, G B Nelson, S T Dance, N D Kock, J A Ross Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC and USEPA, Research Triangle Park, NC

    Previously, our laboratory demonstrated...

  1. Forest Landscape Assessment Tool (FLAT): rapid assessment for land management

    Treesearch

    Lisa Ciecko; David Kimmett; Jesse Saunders; Rachael Katz; Kathleen L. Wolf; Oliver Bazinet; Jeffrey Richardson; Weston Brinkley; Dale J. Blahna

    2016-01-01

    The Forest Landscape Assessment Tool (FLAT) is a set of procedures and tools used to rapidly determine forest ecological conditions and potential threats. FLAT enables planners and managers to understand baseline conditions, determine and prioritize restoration needs across a landscape system, and conduct ongoing monitoring to achieve land management goals. The rapid...

  2. Forest dynamics in the U.S. indicate disproportionate attrition in western forests, rural areas and public lands

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Forests are experiencing significant changes; studying geographic patterns in forests is critical in understanding the impact of forest dynamics to biodiversity, soil erosion, water chemistry and climate. Few studies have examined forest geographic pattern changes other than fragmentation; however, other spatial processes of forest dynamics are of equal importance. Here, we study forest attrition, the complete removal of forest patches, that can result in complete habitat loss, severe decline of population sizes and species richness, and shifts of local and regional environmental conditions. We aim to develop a simple yet insightful proximity-based spatial indicator capturing forest attrition that is independent of spatial scale and boundaries with worldwide application potential. Using this proximity indicator, we evaluate forest attrition across ecoregions, land ownership and urbanization stratifications across continental United States of America. Nationally, the total forest cover loss was approximately 90,400 km2, roughly the size of the state of Maine, constituting a decline of 2.96%. Examining the spatial arrangement of this change the average FAD was 3674m in 1992 and increased by 514m or 14.0% in 2001. Simulations of forest cover loss indicate only a 10m FAD increase suggesting that the observed FAD increase was more than an order of magnitude higher than expected. Furthermore, forest attrition is considerably higher in the western United States, in rural areas and in public lands. Our mathematical model (R2 = 0.93) supports estimation of attrition for a given forest cover. The FAD metric quantifies forest attrition across spatial scales and geographic boundaries and assesses unambiguously changes over time. The metric is applicable to any landscape and offers a new complementary insight on forest landscape patterns from local to global scales, improving future exploration of drivers and repercussions of forest cover changes and supporting more informative

  3. Forest dynamics in the U.S. indicate disproportionate attrition in western forests, rural areas and public lands.

    PubMed

    Yang, Sheng; Mountrakis, Giorgos

    2017-01-01

    Forests are experiencing significant changes; studying geographic patterns in forests is critical in understanding the impact of forest dynamics to biodiversity, soil erosion, water chemistry and climate. Few studies have examined forest geographic pattern changes other than fragmentation; however, other spatial processes of forest dynamics are of equal importance. Here, we study forest attrition, the complete removal of forest patches, that can result in complete habitat loss, severe decline of population sizes and species richness, and shifts of local and regional environmental conditions. We aim to develop a simple yet insightful proximity-based spatial indicator capturing forest attrition that is independent of spatial scale and boundaries with worldwide application potential. Using this proximity indicator, we evaluate forest attrition across ecoregions, land ownership and urbanization stratifications across continental United States of America. Nationally, the total forest cover loss was approximately 90,400 km2, roughly the size of the state of Maine, constituting a decline of 2.96%. Examining the spatial arrangement of this change the average FAD was 3674m in 1992 and increased by 514m or 14.0% in 2001. Simulations of forest cover loss indicate only a 10m FAD increase suggesting that the observed FAD increase was more than an order of magnitude higher than expected. Furthermore, forest attrition is considerably higher in the western United States, in rural areas and in public lands. Our mathematical model (R2 = 0.93) supports estimation of attrition for a given forest cover. The FAD metric quantifies forest attrition across spatial scales and geographic boundaries and assesses unambiguously changes over time. The metric is applicable to any landscape and offers a new complementary insight on forest landscape patterns from local to global scales, improving future exploration of drivers and repercussions of forest cover changes and supporting more informative

  4. Prioritizing treatment of second-growth forests using LiDAR

    Treesearch

    Lathrop P. Leonard; Daryl Van Dyke

    2012-01-01

    We used multi-return light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) to develop a costeffective method for describing forest conditions and prioritizing stands for treatment in over 14,000 ha of second-growth forests (11 to 85 years old) in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park (DNCRSP). DNCRSP consists primarily of redwood and Douglas-fir dominated forests with scattered tanoak...

  5. Initial effects of restoring natural forest structures in Estonia

    Treesearch

    D. Laarmann; H. Korjus; A. Sims; A. Kangur; J.A. Stanturf

    2013-01-01

    The legacy of structural homogenization due to forest management for commercial products is a loss of biodiversity. A common policy in many European countries is to increase forest diversity by converting managed forests to more natural conditions. The aim of this study was to provide an early evaluation of the effectiveness of different restoration treatments to...

  6. Estimating mapped-plot forest attributes with ratios of means

    Treesearch

    S.J. Zarnoch; W.A. Bechtold

    2000-01-01

    The mapped-plot design utilized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Inventory and Analysis and the National Forest Health Monitoring Programs is described. Data from 2458 forested mapped plots systematically spread across 25 States reveal that 35 percent straddle multiple conditions. The ratio-of-means estimator is developed as a method to obtain...

  7. Promoting soft mast for wildlife in intensively managed forests

    Treesearch

    John J. Stransky; John H. Roese

    1984-01-01

    The fruit of woody plants is important as food for wildlife (Martin et al. 1951, Lay 1965). The relation of fruit production to southern forest stand conditions has been explored in only a few studies. Fruit production is greater in forest clearings than in closed forest stands (Lay 1966, Elalls and Alcaniz 1968). In Georgia slash pine (Pinus elliottii...

  8. National Report on Sustainable Forests - 2003

    Treesearch

    USDA Forest Service

    2004-01-01

    This report presents a fresh analysis of the available data on the condition of forests in the United States. It uses the criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management endorsed by the Montreal Process, of which the United States is a member country. The report also identifies data gaps and makes recommendations for next steps to move forward the state of the...

  9. Survival, growth and reproduction by big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) in open clearing vs. forested conditions in Brazil

    Treesearch

    James Grogan; Mark Schulze; Jurandir Galvao

    2010-01-01

    Big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) trees are often retained in agricultural fields and pastures for seed and timber production after selective logging and forest clearing in the Brazilian Amazon. At a forest management site in southeast Para´, we censused trees growing scattered across a large open clearing after forest removal and in heavily disturbed forest...

  10. Focused sunlight factor of forest fire danger assessment using Web-GIS and RS technologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baranovskiy, Nikolay V.; Sherstnyov, Vladislav S.; Yankovich, Elena P.; Engel, Marina V.; Belov, Vladimir V.

    2016-08-01

    Timiryazevskiy forestry of Tomsk region (Siberia, Russia) is a study area elaborated in current research. Forest fire danger assessment is based on unique technology using probabilistic criterion, statistical data on forest fires, meteorological conditions, forest sites classification and remote sensing data. MODIS products are used for estimating some meteorological conditions and current forest fire situation. Geonformation technologies are used for geospatial analysis of forest fire danger situation on controlled forested territories. GIS-engine provides opportunities to construct electronic maps with different levels of forest fire probability and support raster layer for satellite remote sensing data on current forest fires. Web-interface is used for data loading on specific web-site and for forest fire danger data representation via World Wide Web. Special web-forms provide interface for choosing of relevant input data in order to process the forest fire danger data and assess the forest fire probability.

  11. Local climatic conditions constrain soil yeast diversity patterns in Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome.

    PubMed

    Yurkov, Andrey M; Röhl, Oliver; Pontes, Ana; Carvalho, Cláudia; Maldonado, Cristina; Sampaio, José Paulo

    2016-02-01

    Soil yeasts represent a poorly known fraction of the soil microbiome due to limited ecological surveys. Here, we provide the first comprehensive inventory of cultivable soil yeasts in a Mediterranean ecosystem, which is the leading biodiversity hotspot for vascular plants and vertebrates in Europe. We isolated and identified soil yeasts from forested sites of Serra da Arrábida Natural Park (Portugal), representing the Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome. Both cultivation experiments and the subsequent species richness estimations suggest the highest species richness values reported to date, resulting in a total of 57 and 80 yeast taxa, respectively. These values far exceed those reported for other forest soils in Europe. Furthermore, we assessed the response of yeast diversity to microclimatic environmental factors in biotopes composed of the same plant species but showing a gradual change from humid broadleaf forests to dry maquis. We observed that forest properties constrained by precipitation level had strong impact on yeast diversity and on community structure and lower precipitation resulted in an increased number of rare species and decreased evenness values. In conclusion, the structure of soil yeast communities mirrors the environmental factors that affect aboveground phytocenoses, aboveground biomass and plant projective cover. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Spatial impact assessment of conifer stands in the Hoosier National Forest

    Treesearch

    Richard Thurau; Craig Wayson; Dale Weigel; Jeff Ehman

    2011-01-01

    Forest management decisions on Federal lands must be administered at many spatial and temporal scales. Forest condition, size class, and cover type at the stand level determine how silvicultural practices today will impact management area and overall forest goals in the future. The Hoosier National Forest (HNF) Land Resource Management Plan lists eight goals for...

  13. A comparative analysis of simulated and observed landslide locations triggered by Hurricane Camille in Nelson County, Virginia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Morrissey, M.M.; Wieczorek, G.F.; Morgan, B.A.

    2008-01-01

    In 1969, Nelson County, Virginia received up to 71 cm of rain within 12 h starting at 7 p.m. on August 19. The total rainfall from the storm exceeded the 1000-year return period in the region. Several thousands of landslides were induced by rainfall associated with Hurricane Camille causing fatalities and destroying infrastructure. We apply a distributed transient response model for regional slope stability analysis to shallow landslides. Initiation points of over 3000 debris flows and effects of flooding from this storm are applied to the model. Geotechnical data used in the calculations are published data from samples of colluvium. Results from these calculations are compared with field observations such as landslide trigger location and timing of debris flows to assess how well the model predicts the spatial and temporal distribution. of landslide initiation locations. The model predicts many of the initiation locations in areas where debris flows are observed. Copyright ?? 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Tangled trends for temperate rain forests as temperatures tick up

    Treesearch

    Noreen Parks; Tara Barrett

    2013-01-01

    Climate change is altering growing conditions in the temperate rain forest region that extends from northern California to the Gulf of Alaska. Longer, warmer growing seasons are generally increasing the overall potential for forest growth in the region. However, species differ in their ability to adapt to changing conditions. For example, researchers with Pacific...

  15. Proceedings of the symposium on Arkansas forests: a conference on the results of the recent forest survey of Arkansas; 1997 May 30-31; North Little Rock, Arkansas

    Treesearch

    James M. Guldin; [Technical Compiler

    2001-01-01

    The proceedings include 14 papers on the status of Arkansas forests, based on data from the 1995 1996 Forest Survey of Arkansas conducted by the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service. Authors reviewed the State's forest history, current conditions and changes over time, implications for different resource values and ownerships,and current issues...

  16. A Macroecological Analysis of SERA Derived Forest Heights and Implications for Forest Volume Remote Sensing

    PubMed Central

    Brolly, Matthew; Woodhouse, Iain H.; Niklas, Karl J.; Hammond, Sean T.

    2012-01-01

    Individual trees have been shown to exhibit strong relationships between DBH, height and volume. Often such studies are cited as justification for forest volume or standing biomass estimation through remote sensing. With resolution of common satellite remote sensing systems generally too low to resolve individuals, and a need for larger coverage, these systems rely on descriptive heights, which account for tree collections in forests. For remote sensing and allometric applications, this height is not entirely understood in terms of its location. Here, a forest growth model (SERA) analyzes forest canopy height relationships with forest wood volume. Maximum height, mean, H100, and Lorey's height are examined for variability under plant number density, resource and species. Our findings, shown to be allometrically consistent with empirical measurements for forested communities world-wide, are analyzed for implications to forest remote sensing techniques such as LiDAR and RADAR. Traditional forestry measures of maximum height, and to a lesser extent H100 and Lorey's, exhibit little consistent correlation with forest volume across modeled conditions. The implication is that using forest height to infer volume or biomass from remote sensing requires species and community behavioral information to infer accurate estimates using height alone. SERA predicts mean height to provide the most consistent relationship with volume of the height classifications studied and overall across forest variations. This prediction agrees with empirical data collected from conifer and angiosperm forests with plant densities ranging between 102–106 plants/hectare and heights 6–49 m. Height classifications investigated are potentially linked to radar scattering centers with implications for allometry. These findings may be used to advance forest biomass estimation accuracy through remote sensing. Furthermore, Lorey's height with its specific relationship to remote sensing physics is

  17. Wildfire and drought dynamics destabilize carbon stores of fire-suppressed forests.

    PubMed

    Earles, J Mason; North, Malcolm P; Hurteau, Matthew D

    2014-06-01

    Widespread fire suppression and thinning have altered the structure and composition of many forests in the western United States, making them more susceptible to the synergy of large-scale drought and fire events. We examine how these changes affect carbon storage and stability compared to historic fire-adapted conditions. We modeled carbon dynamics under possible drought and fire conditions over a 300-year simulation period in two mixed-conifer conditions common in the western United States: (1) pine-dominated with an active fire regime and (2) fir-dominated, fire suppressed forests. Fir-dominated stands, with higher live- and dead-wood density, had much lower carbon stability as drought and fire frequency increased compared to pine-dominated forest. Carbon instability resulted from species (i.e., fir's greater susceptibility to drought and fire) and stand (i.e., high density of smaller trees) conditions that develop in the absence of active management. Our modeling suggests restoring historic species composition and active fire regimes can significantly increase carbon stability in fire-suppressed, mixed-conifer forests. Long-term management of forest carbon should consider the relative resilience of stand structure and composition to possible increases in disturbance frequency and intensity under changing climate.

  18. Hazard rating forest stands for gypsy moth

    Treesearch

    Ray R., Jr. Hicks

    1991-01-01

    A gypsy moth hazard exists when forest conditions prevail that are conducive to extensive damage from gypsy moth. Combining forest hazard rating with information on insect population trends provides the basis for predicting the probability (risk) of an event occurring. The likelihood of defoliation is termed susceptibility and the probability of damage (mortality,...

  19. Heat storage in forest biomass significantly improves energy balance closure particularly during stable conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lindroth, A.; Mölder, M.; Lagergren, F.

    2009-08-01

    Temperature measurements in trunks and branches in a mature ca. 100 years-old mixed pine and spruce forest in central Sweden were used to estimate the heat storage in the tree biomass. The estimated heat flux in the sample trees and data on biomass distributions were used to scale up to stand level biomass heat fluxes. The rate of change of sensible and latent heat storage in the air layer below the level of the flux measurements was estimated from air temperature and humidity profile measurements and soil heat flux was estimated from heat flux plates and soil temperature measurements. The fluxes of sensible and latent heat from the forest were measured with an eddy covariance system in a tower. The analysis was made for a two-month period in summer of 1995. The tree biomass heat flux was the largest of the estimated storage components and varied between 40 and -35 W m-2 on summer days with nice weather. Averaged over two months the diurnal maximum of total heat storage was 45 W m-2 and the minimum was -35 W m-2. The soil heat flux and the sensible heat storage in air were out of phase with the biomass flux and they reached maximum values that were about 75% of the maximum of the tree biomass heat storage. The energy balance closure improved significantly when the total heat storage was added to the turbulent fluxes. The slope of a regression line with sum of fluxes and storage as independent and net radiation as dependent variable, increased from 0.86 to 0.95 for half-hourly data and the scatter was also reduced. The most significant finding was, however, that during nights with strongly stable conditions when the sensible heat flux dropped to nearly zero, the total storage matched the net radiation nearly perfectly. Another interesting result was that the mean energy imbalance started to increase when the Richardson number became more negative than ca. -0.1. In fact, the largest energy deficit occurred at maximum instability. Our conclusion is that eddy

  20. The role of fleshy pericarp in seed germination and dispersal under flooded conditions in three wetland forest species

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mora, Juan P.; Smith-Ramírez, Cecilia; Zúñiga-Feest, Alejandra

    2013-01-01

    In flooded habitats, inundations affect important forest regeneration processes, such as seed dispersal and germination. The main seed dispersal mechanism used by species in Austral South American temperate swamp and riparian forests is endozoochory, which releases seeds from the fleshy pericarp. Endozoochory could be favorable or unfavorable in wetland habitats, since this mechanism exposes seeds directly to water and can, in some cases, be detrimental to germination. In this study, we studied whether or not the fleshy pericarp favors germination after the flooding period's end. Furthermore, we quantified if the number of days which the fruit was found to be floating related to its germination success. We used the seeds of three common fleshy fruit species of flooded habitats from southern Chile, the trees Luma apiculata and Rhaphithamnus spinosus, and the vine Luzuriaga radicans. We simulated flooding periods of 7, 15, 30 and 45 days submerging seeds, with and without pericarps, in water. We found that the pericarp's presence significantly increased Luma's germination success and significantly decreased that of Luzuriaga. The germination of Rhaphithamnus was low after periods of flooding in both seed treatments, with no significant differences found between them. The fruits could float for an average of one to four weeks, depending on the species, which did not relate to their germination success. These results show that germination was affected by the presence of fleshy pericarps in flooded conditions and furthermore, that flotation allows for hydrochory from one week to one month. We suggest that in swamp forests multiple seed dispersal mechanisms are advantageous, especially for fleshy-fruited species.

  1. Attaining the canopy in dry and moist tropical forests: strong differences in tree growth trajectories reflect variation in growing conditions.

    PubMed

    Brienen, Roel J W; Zuidema, Pieter A; Martínez-Ramos, Miguel

    2010-06-01

    Availability of light and water differs between tropical moist and dry forests, with typically higher understorey light levels and lower water availability in the latter. Therefore, growth trajectories of juvenile trees--those that have not attained the canopy--are likely governed by temporal fluctuations in light availability in moist forests (suppressions and releases), and by spatial heterogeneity in water availability in dry forests. In this study, we compared juvenile growth trajectories of Cedrela odorata in a dry (Mexico) and a moist forest (Bolivia) using tree rings. We tested the following specific hypotheses: (1) moist forest juveniles show more and longer suppressions, and more and stronger releases; (2) moist forest juveniles exhibit wider variation in canopy accession pattern, i.e. the typical growth trajectory to the canopy; (3) growth variation among dry forest juveniles persists over longer time due to spatial heterogeneity in water availability. As expected, the proportion of suppressed juveniles was higher in moist than in dry forest (72 vs. 17%). Moist forest suppressions also lasted longer (9 vs. 5 years). The proportion of juveniles that experienced releases in moist forest (76%) was higher than in dry forest (41%), and releases in moist forests were much stronger. Trees in the moist forest also had a wider variation in canopy accession patterns compared to the dry forest. Our results also showed that growth variation among juvenile trees persisted over substantially longer periods of time in dry forest (>64 years) compared to moist forest (12 years), most probably because of larger persistent spatial variation in water availability. Our results suggest that periodic increases in light availability are more important for attaining the canopy in moist forests, and that spatial heterogeneity in water availability governs long-term tree growth in dry forests.

  2. 36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

  3. 36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

  4. 36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

  5. 36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

  6. 36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

  7. Fragmentation, topography, and forest age modulate impacts of drought on a tropical forested landscape in eastern Puerto Rico

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Uriarte, M.; Schwartz, N.; Budsock, A.

    2017-12-01

    Naturally regenerating second-growth forests account for ca. 50% of tropical forest cover and provide key ecosystem services. Understanding climate impacts on these ecosystems is critical for developing effective mitigation programs. Differences in environmental conditions and landscape context from old-growth forests may exacerbate climate impacts on second-growth stands. Nearly 70% of forest regeneration is occurring in hilly, upland, or mountain regions; a large proportion of second-growth forests are also fragmented. The effects of drought at the landscape scale, however, and the factors that modulate landscape heterogeneity in drought impacts remain understudied. Heterogeneity in soil moisture, light, and temperature in fragmented, topographically complex landscapes is likely to influence climate impacts on these forests. We examine impacts of a severe drought in 2015 on a forested landscape in Puerto Rico using two anomalies in vegetation indices. The study landscape is fragmented and topographically complex and includes old- and second-growth forests. We consider how topography (slope, aspect), fragmentation (distance to forest edge, patch size), and forest age (old- vs second-growth) modulate landscape heterogeneity of drought impacts and recovery from drought. Drought impacts were more severe in second-growth forests than in old-growth stands. Both topography and forest fragmentation influences the magnitude of drought impacts. Forest growing in steep areas, south facing slopes, small patches, and closer to forest edges exhibited more marked responses to drought. Forest recovery from drought was greater in second-growth forests and south facing slopes but slower in small patches and closer to forest edges. These findings are congruent with studies of drought impacts on tree growth in the study region. Together these results demonstrate the need for a multi-scalar approach to the study of drought impacts on tropical forests.

  8. Mapping Forest Inventory and Analysis forest land use: timberland, reserved forest land, and other forest land

    Treesearch

    Mark D. Nelson; John Vissage

    2007-01-01

    The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program produces area estimates of forest land use within three subcategories: timberland, reserved forest land, and other forest land. Mapping these subcategories of forest land requires the ability to spatially distinguish productive from unproductive land, and reserved from nonreserved land. FIA field data were spatially...

  9. Enhancing moist forest restoration opportunities in riparian systems

    Treesearch

    Theresa Benavidez Jain; Russell T. Graham

    2004-01-01

    In northern Rocky Mountain moist forests, riparian systems contain many attributes that create unique biophysical conditions that alter disturbances and microenvironments; thus creating distinct forest structures, species composition, and management challenges. For example, browsing, limited opening size, competition from surrounding ground vegetation, high soil...

  10. Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; forest structure and fire hazard fact sheet 03: visualizing forest structure and fuels

    Treesearch

    Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

    2004-01-01

    The software described in this fact sheet provides managers with tools for visualizing forest and fuels information. Computer-based landscape simulations can help visualize stand and landscape conditions and the effects of different management treatments and fuel changes over time. These visualizations can assist forest planning by considering a range of management...

  11. Size distribution of unharvested redwood forests in Mendocino County

    Treesearch

    Bradley E. Valentine

    2012-01-01

    Late-seral conditions in redwood forests are becoming a management goal on some timberlands. However, published information is rare regarding the structure of late-seral forests upon which silvicultural prescriptions can be guided, or upon which to measure success. Old-growth forests—those perceived to be near or at the successional climax—are the ultimate model. Yet,...

  12. Application of mapped plots for single-owner forest surveys

    Treesearch

    Paul C. Van Deusen; Francis Roesch

    2009-01-01

    Mapped plots are used for the nation forest inventory conducted by the U.S. Forest Service. Mapped plots are also useful foro single ownership inventoires. Mapped plots can handle boundary overlap and can aprovide less variable estimates for specified forest conditions. Mapping is a good fit for fixed plot inventories where the fixed area plot is used for both mapping...

  13. Descriptive statistics of tree crown condition in the Northeastern United States

    Treesearch

    KaDonna C. Randolph; Randall S. Morin; Jim Steinman

    2010-01-01

    The U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program uses visual assessments of tree crown condition to monitor changes and trends in forest health. This report describes four crown condition indicators (crown dieback, crown density, foliage transparency, and sapling crown vigor) measured in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New...

  14. Multiplicative Forests for Continuous-Time Processes.

    PubMed

    Weiss, Jeremy C; Natarajan, Sriraam; Page, David

    2012-01-01

    Learning temporal dependencies between variables over continuous time is an important and challenging task. Continuous-time Bayesian networks effectively model such processes but are limited by the number of conditional intensity matrices, which grows exponentially in the number of parents per variable. We develop a partition-based representation using regression trees and forests whose parameter spaces grow linearly in the number of node splits. Using a multiplicative assumption we show how to update the forest likelihood in closed form, producing efficient model updates. Our results show multiplicative forests can be learned from few temporal trajectories with large gains in performance and scalability.

  15. Forest resources of the Forest resources of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

    Treesearch

    Paul Rogers

    2008-01-01

    The Interior West Forest Inventory and Analysis (IWFIA) program of the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, as part of its national Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) duties, conducted forest resource inventories of the Southwestern Region (Region 3) National Forests. This report presents highlights of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest...

  16. STRAIN-DEPENDENT SUSCEPTIBILITY TO TRANSPLACENTALLY-INDUCED MURINE LUNG TUMORS AND DNA ADDUCTS OF 3-METHYLCHOLANTHRENE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Strain-dependent susceptibility to transplacentally-induced murine lung tumors and DNA adducts of 3methylcholanthrene G B Nelson, J A Ross, J E Moore, M Xu, N D Kock, M S Miller Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC and USEPA, Research Triangle Park, NC.

    It has been de...

  17. Characteristics of forest fuels, fire and emissions

    Treesearch

    Charles K. McMahon

    1983-01-01

    Introduction Forest fires can be divided into two broad classes--wildfires and prescribed fires. Wildfires, whether caused by nature (lightning, etc.) or by the accidental or malicious acts of man, are not planned by forest managers and do not occur under controlled conditions. They can be relatively tame, covering only a few hectares and burning...

  18. Idaho's Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

    Treesearch

    Todd A. Morgan; Charles E. Keegan; Timothy P. Spoelma; Thale Dillon; A. Lorin Hearst; Francis G. Wagner; Larry T. DeBlander

    2004-01-01

    This report provides a description of the structure, capacity, and condition of Idaho's primary forest products industry; traces the flow of Idaho's 2001 timber harvest through the primary sectors; and quantifies volumes and uses of wood fiber. The economic contribution of the forest products industry to the State and historical industry changes are discussed...

  19. Effect of forest fragmentation on bird populations

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Robbins, C.S.

    1979-01-01

    Many of the insectivorous songbird species that winter in the tropics are dependent on large unbroken tracts of forest during the breeding season. These species are disappearing from localities where forests are becoming fragmented. By long-range planning, managers can prevent local extinctions of these area-sensitive birds through use of such techniques as management in large units, retention of connecting corridors, and prevention of excessive isolation of forest fragments. Edge conditions can be provided, where appropriate to meet the needs of upland game species.

  20. Huckleberry abundance, stand conditions, and use in western Oregon: evaluating the role of forest management.

    Treesearch

    Becky K Kerns; Susan J. Alexander; John D. Bailey

    2004-01-01

    Huckleberries are major components of the understory vegetation in coniferous Pacific Northwest forests of the United States. Vaccinium species also have a long history of human use. However, little research has been done to ascertain how they respond to common forest management practices. We used data obtained from old-growth, young thinned, and...

  1. Novelty and its ecological implications to dry forest functioning and conservation

    Treesearch

    Ariel Lugo; Heather Erickson

    2017-01-01

    Tropical and subtropical dry forest life zones support forests with lower stature and species richness than do tropical and subtropical life zones with greater water availability. The number of naturalized species that can thrive and mix with native species to form novel forests in dry forest conditions in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands is lower than in other...

  2. Seasonality of reproduction of epiphytic bryophytes in flooded forests from the Caxiuanã National Forest, Eastern Amazon.

    PubMed

    Cerqueira, Gabriela R; Ilkiu-Borges, Anna Luiza; Ferreira, Leandro V

    2016-05-13

    This work aimed to recognize the reproductive biology of the epiphytic bryoflora of phorophytes of Virola surinamensis (Rol. ex. Rottb.) Warb. in várzea and igapó forests in the Caxiuanã National Forest, to answer the following question: The reproductive period of the bryophyte species is influenced by the environment due the climatic seasonality present in flooded forests, being higher the occurrence of the sexual and asexual reproduction in the rainiest months? The bryophytes were identified and analyzed for the type of reproduction, sexual system and reproductive structures. In total, 502 samples of bryophytes were analyzed, resulting in 54 species, of which 34 were fertile. The comparison of the fertility of the species in different environmental conditions (dry or rainy, and igapó or várzea forest) was assessed using the chi-square test. The fertility of the seven studied species could not be defined by a pattern, considering the forest type and the seasonality. However, two species were associated to the forest type and two further species to the seasonality, showing that, for some bryophyte species, invest in constant fertility may be favoring the maintenance of their populations in tropical forests.

  3. Attaining the canopy in dry and moist tropical forests: strong differences in tree growth trajectories reflect variation in growing conditions

    PubMed Central

    Zuidema, Pieter A.; Martínez-Ramos, Miguel

    2009-01-01

    Availability of light and water differs between tropical moist and dry forests, with typically higher understorey light levels and lower water availability in the latter. Therefore, growth trajectories of juvenile trees—those that have not attained the canopy—are likely governed by temporal fluctuations in light availability in moist forests (suppressions and releases), and by spatial heterogeneity in water availability in dry forests. In this study, we compared juvenile growth trajectories of Cedrela odorata in a dry (Mexico) and a moist forest (Bolivia) using tree rings. We tested the following specific hypotheses: (1) moist forest juveniles show more and longer suppressions, and more and stronger releases; (2) moist forest juveniles exhibit wider variation in canopy accession pattern, i.e. the typical growth trajectory to the canopy; (3) growth variation among dry forest juveniles persists over longer time due to spatial heterogeneity in water availability. As expected, the proportion of suppressed juveniles was higher in moist than in dry forest (72 vs. 17%). Moist forest suppressions also lasted longer (9 vs. 5 years). The proportion of juveniles that experienced releases in moist forest (76%) was higher than in dry forest (41%), and releases in moist forests were much stronger. Trees in the moist forest also had a wider variation in canopy accession patterns compared to the dry forest. Our results also showed that growth variation among juvenile trees persisted over substantially longer periods of time in dry forest (>64 years) compared to moist forest (12 years), most probably because of larger persistent spatial variation in water availability. Our results suggest that periodic increases in light availability are more important for attaining the canopy in moist forests, and that spatial heterogeneity in water availability governs long-term tree growth in dry forests. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s

  4. Changes in forest conditions 1936-1949 north central Minnesota and Upper Peninsula of Michigan (a preliminary analysis)

    Treesearch

    R.N. Cunningham

    1951-01-01

    What has happened to the forests of the Lake States as a result of the abnormally heavy cutting during and since World War II and also from the stimulus of improved fire protection and other measures of forest management? This is a question of great interest to many foresters, conservationists, and others concerned with the timber resource. In Michigan and Minnesota...

  5. Design of the Southern Forest Futures Project

    Treesearch

    David N. Wear; John G. Greis

    2013-01-01

    The South has a unique human and landscape history and forests that reflect many episodes of change. Spanning the 13 States from Virginia to Texas, the South still contains a widely diverse complement of physical, economic, and ecological conditions; where forests and other native habitats play an important role not only in supporting diversity of native plants and...

  6. Forest values and how to sustain them

    Treesearch

    Leon S. Minckler

    1995-01-01

    The forestry profession has the responsibility of managing forests for all of their values. In the past, this has usually not been done. Often, timber has been the only value considered. The emphasis has not been on practices that combine other values with timber production. Such forestry practices must consider forest types and conditions, site quality and...

  7. Florida, 2011-forest inventory and analysis factsheet

    Treesearch

    Mark J. Brown; Jarek Nowak

    2013-01-01

    Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) factsheets are produced periodically to keep the public up to date on the extent and condition of the forest lands in each State. The forestrelated estimates in the factsheets are based upon data collected from thousands of sample plots distributed across the landscape in a systematic manner. The total number of these plots is...

  8. Operational validation of a multi-period and multi-criteria model conditioning approach for the prediction of rainfall-runoff processes in small forest catchments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, H.; Kim, S.

    2012-12-01

    Most of hydrologic models have generally been used to describe and represent the spatio-temporal variability of hydrological processes in the watershed scale. Though it is an obvious fact that hydrological responses have the time varying nature, optimal values of model parameters were normally considered as time invariants or constants in most cases. The recent paper of Choi and Beven (2007) presents a multi-period and multi-criteria model conditioning approach. The approach is based on the equifinality thesis within the Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) framework. In their application, the behavioural TOPMODEL parameter sets are determined by several performance measures for global (annual) and short (30-days) periods, clustered using a Fuzzy C-means algorithm, into 15 types representing different hydrological conditions. Their study shows a good performance on the calibration of a rainfall-runoff model in a forest catchment, and also gives strong indications that it is uncommon to find model realizations that were behavioural over all multi-periods and all performance measures, and multi-period model conditioning approach may become new effective tool for predictions of hydrological processes in ungauged catchments. This study is a follow-up study on the Choi and Beven's (2007) model conditioning approach to test how the approach is effective for the prediction of rainfall-runoff responses in ungauged catchments. To achieve this purpose, 6 small forest catchments are selected among the several hydrological experimental catchments operated by Korea Forest Research Institute. In each catchment, long-term hydrological time series data varying from 10 to 30 years were available. The areas of the selected catchments range from 13.6 to 37.8 ha, and all areas are covered by coniferous or broad-leaves forests. The selected catchments locate in the southern coastal area to the northern part of South Korea. The bed rocks are Granite gneiss, Granite or

  9. Ozark-Ouachita Highlands Assessment: Social and Economic Conditions

    Treesearch

    Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture

    1999-01-01

    This publication provides information about the social and economic conditions in and near the national forests in the Ozark-Ouachita Highlands: the Mark Twain in Missouri, the Ouachita in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests in Arkansas. This report includes an archeological and historical background, describes demographic conditions and...

  10. Descriptive statistics of tree crown condition in California, Oregon, and Washington

    Treesearch

    KaDonna C. Randolph; Sally J. Campbell; Glenn Christensen

    2010-01-01

    The U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program uses visual assessments of tree crown condition to monitor changes and trends in forest health. This report describes four tree crown condition indicators (crown dieback, crown density, foliage transparency, and sapling crown vigor) measured in California, Oregon, and Washington between 1996 and 1999....

  11. Payment for multiple forest benefits alters the effect of tree disease on optimal forest rotation length.

    PubMed

    Macpherson, Morag F; Kleczkowski, Adam; Healey, John R; Hanley, Nick

    2017-04-01

    Forests deliver multiple benefits both to their owners and to wider society. However, a wave of forest pests and pathogens is threatening this worldwide. In this paper we examine the effect of disease on the optimal rotation length of a single-aged, single rotation forest when a payment for non-timber benefits, which is offered to private forest owners to partly internalise the social values of forest management, is included. Using a generalisable bioeconomic framework we show how this payment counteracts the negative economic effect of disease by increasing the optimal rotation length, and under some restrictive conditions, even makes it optimal to never harvest the forest. The analysis shows a range of complex interactions between factors including the rate of spread of infection and the impact of disease on the value of harvested timber and non-timber benefits. A key result is that the effect of disease on the optimal rotation length is dependent on whether the disease affects the timber benefit only compared to when it affects both timber and non-timber benefits. Our framework can be extended to incorporate multiple ecosystem services delivered by forests and details of how disease can affect their production, thus facilitating a wide range of applications.

  12. Forest statistics for the Hill Country of Ohio

    Treesearch

    The Forest Survey Organization. Central States Forest Experiment Station

    1954-01-01

    In this report forest-area and timber-volume statistics for South-Central, Southeastern, and East-Central Ohio (frontispiece) are shown separately. Regional boundaries were established for the purpose of grouping counties with similar forest, soil, geologic, or economic conditions. This report covers the unglaciated, hill region of the State.

  13. Fire and forest history at Mount Rushmore.

    PubMed

    Brown, Peter M; Wienk, Cody L; Symstad, Amy J

    2008-12-01

    Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota is known worldwide for its massive sculpture of four of the United States' most respected presidents. The Memorial landscape also is covered by extensive ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest that has not burned in over a century. We compiled dendroecological and forest structural data from 29 plots across the 517-ha Memorial and used fire behavior modeling to reconstruct the historical fire regime and forest structure and compare them to current conditions. The historical fire regime is best characterized as one of low-severity surface fires with occasional (> 100 years) patches (< 100 ha) of passive crown fire. We estimate that only approximately 3.3% of the landscape burned as crown fire during 22 landscape fire years (recorded at > or = 25% of plots) between 1529 and 1893. The last landscape fire was in 1893. Mean fire intervals before 1893 varied depending on spatial scale, from 34 years based on scar-to-scar intervals on individual trees to 16 years between landscape fire years. Modal fire intervals were 11-15 years and did not vary with scale. Fire rotation (the time to burn an area the size of the study area) was estimated to be 30 years for surface fire and 800+ years for crown fire. The current forest is denser and contains more small trees, fewer large trees, lower canopy base heights, and greater canopy bulk density than a reconstructed historical (1870) forest. Fire behavior modeling using the NEXUS program suggests that surface fires would have dominated fire behavior in the 1870 forest during both moderate and severe weather conditions, while crown fire would dominate in the current forest especially under severe weather. Changes in the fire regime and forest structure at Mount Rushmore parallel those seen in ponderosa pine forests from the southwestern United States. Shifts from historical to current forest structure and the increased likelihood of crown fire justify the need for

  14. Reducing uncertainty for estimating forest carbon stocks and dynamics using integrated remote sensing, forest inventory and process-based modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poulter, B.; Ciais, P.; Joetzjer, E.; Maignan, F.; Luyssaert, S.; Barichivich, J.

    2015-12-01

    Accurately estimating forest biomass and forest carbon dynamics requires new integrated remote sensing, forest inventory, and carbon cycle modeling approaches. Presently, there is an increasing and urgent need to reduce forest biomass uncertainty in order to meet the requirements of carbon mitigation treaties, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). Here we describe a new parameterization and assimilation methodology used to estimate tropical forest biomass using the ORCHIDEE-CAN dynamic global vegetation model. ORCHIDEE-CAN simulates carbon uptake and allocation to individual trees using a mechanistic representation of photosynthesis, respiration and other first-order processes. The model is first parameterized using forest inventory data to constrain background mortality rates, i.e., self-thinning, and productivity. Satellite remote sensing data for forest structure, i.e., canopy height, is used to constrain simulated forest stand conditions using a look-up table approach to match canopy height distributions. The resulting forest biomass estimates are provided for spatial grids that match REDD+ project boundaries and aim to provide carbon estimates for the criteria described in the IPCC Good Practice Guidelines Tier 3 category. With the increasing availability of forest structure variables derived from high-resolution LIDAR, RADAR, and optical imagery, new methodologies and applications with process-based carbon cycle models are becoming more readily available to inform land management.

  15. Mexican forest fires and their decadal variations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Velasco Herrera, Graciela

    2016-11-01

    A high forest fire season of two to three years is regularly observed each decade in Mexican forests. This seems to be related to the presence of the El Niño phenomenon and to the amount of total solar irradiance. In this study, the results of a multi-cross wavelet analysis are reported based on the occurrence of Mexican forest fires, El Niño and the total solar irradiance for the period 1970-2014. The analysis shows that Mexican forest fires and the strongest El Niño phenomena occur mostly around the minima of the solar cycle. This suggests that the total solar irradiance minima provide the appropriate climatological conditions for the occurrence of these forest fires. The next high season for Mexican forest fires could start in the next solar minimum, which will take place between the years 2017 and 2019. A complementary space analysis based on MODIS active fire data for Mexican forest fires from 2005 to 2014 shows that most of these fires occur in cedar and pine forests, on savannas and pasturelands, and in the central jungles of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

  16. History and results of the Northern Forest Health Monitoring Program

    Treesearch

    Charles J. Barnett

    2000-01-01

    Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program was established because of a concern that the forests in the United States were declining. The program was established to monitor the state of and changes in forest conditions across the nation. This report looks at the distributions of trees into various rating categories for three variables collected on the FHM plots from 1991...

  17. The U.S. forest sector in 2030: Markets and competitors

    Treesearch

    James A. Turner; Joseph Buongiorno; Shushuai Zhu; Jeffrey P. Prestemon

    2005-01-01

    The Global Forest Products Model was used to project international forest sector developments, conditional on the latest RPA Timber Assessment of future domestic changes in the United States. While the United States, Japan, and Europe were predicted to remain major importers of forest products out to 2030, the rapid economic growth of China would make it the world...

  18. Associations between forest characteristics and socio-economic development: a case study from Portugal.

    PubMed

    Ribeiro, Sónia Carvalho; Lovett, Andrew

    2009-07-01

    The integration of socio-economic and environmental objectives is a major challenge in developing strategies for sustainable landscapes. We investigated associations between socio-economic variables, landscape metrics and measures of forest condition in the context of Portugal. The main goals of the study were to 1) investigate relationships between forest conditions and measures of socio-economic development at national and regional scales, 2) test the hypothesis that a systematic variation in forest landscape metrics occurs according to the stage of socio-economic development and, 3) assess the extent to which landscape metrics can inform strategies to enhance forest sustainability. A ranking approach and statistical techniques such as Principal Component Analysis were used to achieve these objectives. Relationships between socio-economic characteristics, landscape metrics and measures of forest condition were only significant in the regional analysis of municipalities in Northern Portugal. Landscape metrics for different tree species displayed significant variations across socio-economic groups of municipalities and these differences were consistent with changes in characteristics suggested by the forest transition model. The use of metrics also helped inform place-specific strategies to improve forest management, though it was also apparent that further work was required to better incorporate differences in forest functions into sustainability planning.

  19. Forest resources of the Prescott National Forest

    Treesearch

    Paul Rogers

    2003-01-01

    The Interior West Forest Inventory and Analysis (IWFIA) program of the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, as part of its national Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) duties, conducted forest resource inventories of the Southwestern Region (Region 3) National Forests. This report presents highlights of the Prescott National Forest 1996...

  20. Climate and biodiversity effects on standing biomass in Puerto Rican forests

    Treesearch

    R. Muscarella; M. Uriarte; D.L. Erickson; N.G. Swenson; J.K. Zimmerman; W.J. Kress

    2016-01-01

    Carbon sequestration is a major ecosystem service provided by tropical forests. Especially in light of global climate change, understanding the drivers of forest productivity is of critical importance. Although abiotic conditions (e.g., precipitation) are known to influence forest productivity, ecological theory predicts that biodiversity may also have independent...