Energy content in dried leaf litter of some oaks and mixed mesophytic species that replace oaks

Treesearch

Aaron D. Stottlemeyer; G. Geoff Wang; Patrick H. Brose; Thomas A. Waldrop

2010-01-01

Mixed-mesophytic hardwood tree species are replacing upland oaks in vast areas of the Eastern United States deciduous forest. Some researchers have suggested that the leaf litter of mixed-mesophytic, oak replacement species renders forests less flammable where forest managers wish to restore a natural fire regime. We performed chemical analyses on dried leaf litter...

Species-specific Mechanisms Contributing to the Mesophication of Upland Oak Stands in the Absence of Fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babl, E. K.; Alexander, H. D.; Siegert, C. M.; Willis, J. L.; Berry, A. I.

2017-12-01

Upland oak forests of the eastern United States are shifting dominance towards shade-tolerant, fire-intolerant species. This shift is hypothesized to be driven by anthropogenic fire suppression and lead to mesophication, a positive feedback loop where shade-tolerant, fire-sensitive species (i.e. mesophytes) create a cool, moist understory, reducing forest flammability and promoting their own proliferation at the expense of pyrophytic, shade-intolerant species such as oaks. There have been few empirical studies identifying mechanisms of mesophication, and these studies have yet to extensively explore potential mesophytes other than red maple (Acer rubrum). To address this issue, we sampled four hypothesized mesophytes (A. rubrum, A. saccharum, Carya glabra, and Fagus grandifolia) and two upland oak species (Quercus alba and Q. montana) across a gradient of sizes (20-60 cm DBH) in western Kentucky. We quantified canopy, bark, and leaf litter traits among upland oaks and mesophytes that may lead to differences in forest flammability. Preliminary results show that mesophytes had thinner and smoother bark than upland oaks and an increased canopy volume (normalized to stem volume), traits known to influence water movement through the canopy and understory microclimate. Maple leaf litter also decomposed faster, which could decrease fuel loads; after 6 months, red and sugar maple leaf litter lost 37% of original mass compared to 32%, 22%, and 14% mass loss in hickory, oak, and American beech litter, respectively. Furthermore, volumetric soil moisture of the soil organic layer beneath the canopies of mesophytes was 62% moister two days following a rainfall event compared to oaks. These differences in soil organic layer water retention after rainfall could lead to fuel discontinuity. These findings suggest that mesophytes may alter future forest flammability through their bark, canopy, and leaf litter traits which may modify fuel moisture, loads, and continuity and that a mesophication tipping point may eventually occur that prevents restoration efforts using prescribed fire.

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...

Use of Tree Species by Summer Birds in Ozark Upland Oak-Hickory Forest

Treesearch

C. Joan Patterson; Douglas A. James

2004-01-01

Impacts of oak-boring beetles in the Ozark region could produce major changes in forest communities of northwestern Arkansas resulting in loss of oaks replaced by other tree species. Because the extensive Ozark forests are a major source of surplus birds, alterations of forest structure producing changes in foraging opportunities for birds could have serious...

The application of single-tree selection compared to diameter-limit cutting in an upland oak-hickory forest on the Cumberland Plateau in Jackson County, Alabama

Treesearch

Callie Jo Schweitzer; Greg Janzen

2012-01-01

Cumberland Plateau region upland oak forests have undergone a myriad of disturbances (including periods of few and minor disturbances). Traditional timber harvesting practices such as diameter-limit cutting have negatively altered species composition and skewed stand structure, especially on medium-quality sites. We assessed the ability of single-tree selection to...

Thirty-year assessment of released, overtopped white oaks

Treesearch

C. Miller; S. Grayson; A. Houser; W. Clatterbuck; K. Kuers

2011-01-01

White oak (Quercus alba L.) is a slow-growing species that is often overtopped in the mixed upland hardwood forests of the Cumberland Plateau. Forest managers have concerns about the potential economic value of releasing overtopped white oaks to become valuable crop trees. This study follows the growth and development of 104 overtopped white oaks...

Drought response of upland oak (Quercus L.) species in Appalachian hardwood forests of the southeastern USA

Treesearch

Tara L. Keyser; Peter M. Brown

2016-01-01

Key message In Appalachian hardwood forests, density, stem size, and productivity affected growth duringdrought for red oak, but not white oak species. Minor effects of density suggest that a single low thinning does...

Development, succession, and stand dynamics of upland oak forests in the Wisconsin Driftless Area: Implications for oak regeneration and management

Treesearch

Megan L. Buchanan; Kurt F. Kipfmueller; Anthony W. D' Amato

2017-01-01

Throughout the deciduous forests of the eastern United States, oak (Quercus) regeneration has declined in stands historically dominated by oak species. In the Wisconsin Driftless Area, the level of decline in oak regeneration is variable and influenced by stand structural development, historical disturbance regime, abiotic site characteristics, and...

Acorn viability following prescribed fire in upland hardwood forests

Treesearch

Katie Greenberg; Tara Keyser; Stan Zarnoch; Kris Connor

2012-01-01

Restoration of structure and function of mixed-oak (Quercus spp.) forests is a focal issue of forest land managers in the eastern United States due to widespread regeneration failure and poor overstory recruitment of oaks, particularly on productive sites. Prescribed fire is increasingly used as a tool in oak ecosystem restoration, with the goal of reducing competition...

Oak decline across the Ozark Highlands- from stand to landscape and regional scale processes

Treesearch

Marty Spetich; Zhaofei Fan; Hong S. He; Wen J. Wang; Michael K. Crosby; Stephen R. Shifley

2016-01-01

Oak decline has been a problem in forests of the Ozark Highlands (OzH) for decades. It has impacted upland oak-hickory forests, particularly species in the red oak group (Quercus section Lobatae) across the Ozark Highlands of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The oak decline complex is often described in terms of predisposing...

Preliminary evaluation of operational oak regeneration methods in central Missouri

Treesearch

Carrie Steen; Gus Raeker; David. Gwaze

2011-01-01

Oak regeneration on mesic upland sites continues to be a major challenge throughout the hardwood forests of eastern North America. Oak forests across northern and central Missouri have been historically maintained through natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes. This cycle has been interrupted in many areas through fire suppression, high-grading, and intensive...

Height prediction equations for even-aged upland oak stands

Treesearch

Donald E. Hilt; Martin E. Dale

1982-01-01

Forest growth models that use predicted tree diameters or diameter distributions require a reliable height-prediction model to obtain volume estimates because future height-diameter relationships will not necessarily be the same as the present height-diameter relationship. A total tree height prediction equation for even-aged upland oak stands is presented. Predicted...

Modeling the long-term effects of oak shelterwood regeneration treatments on species diversity and oak abundance in southern Appalachian forests of North Carolina

Treesearch

Tara L. Keyser; Chad E. Keyser

2013-01-01

In April 2008, the Upland Hardwoods Ecology and Management Research Work Unit of the U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station began a long-term cooperative study to describe forest ecosystem response to three oak (Quercus spp.) shelterwood regeneration treatments in the central hardwoods region of the United States. Pretreatment inventory data...

Stump Sprouting 2 Years After Thinning in a Cherrybark Oak Plantation

Treesearch

Brian Roy Lockhart; Jim L. Chambers; Kristi L. Wharton

2002-01-01

Stump sprouts are considered an important regeneration source in hardwood management, especially in upland oak-dominated forests. Less is known about stump sprouting in bottomland oak forests. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the success and growth of stump sprouts following 2 thinning levels, 70-75 percent of initial stocking (light thinning)...

Effects of periodic fire on composition and long-term dynamics of Arkansas upland hardwood forests

Treesearch

Martin A. Spetich

2005-01-01

Prescribed fire (at historic periodic fire frequencies) is seen as an important but little understood tool in the assortment of management techniques that could help restore oak to Arkansas upland hardwood forests and facilitate the maintenance of these keystone species.

Do chestnut, northern red, and white oak germinant seedlings respond similarly to light treatments? Growth and biomass

Treesearch

Joanne Rebbeck; Kurt Gottschalk; Amy Scherzer

2011-01-01

Northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedling growth has been extensively studied. White oak (Quercus alba L.) and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus L.), however, are far less investigated despite their importance among upland oak species in eastern North American forests. We characterized white and chestnut oak...

Short term response of herpetofaunal to oak-regeneration treatments on the mid-Cumberland Plateau of southern Tennessee

Treesearch

Andrew W. Cantrell; Yong Wang; Callie J. Schweitzer; Cathryn H. Greenberg

2013-01-01

We examined the short term response of herpetofauna to two treatments designed to regenerate oak in upland hardwood forest: (1) shelterwood (30–40% BA retention), and (2) oak-shelterwood (midstory removal by use of herbicide), along with controls. Research was conducted 1 and 2 years post treatment within an oak-hickory forest within the mid-Cumberland Plateau of...

Oak-Black Bear Relationships in Southeastern Uplands

Treesearch

Joseph D. Clark

2004-01-01

Bears (Ursus americanus) primarily occur in upland habitats in the Southeast because uplands were the last to be developed for agriculture and were more likely to become publicly owned. National parks and forests created in the early to mid-1900s served as sources to supply surrounding uplands with bears. Bears could not survive in southeastern...

Disking and mid- and understory removal following an above-average acorn crop in three mature oak forests in southern Indiana

Treesearch

Ronald A. Rathfon; Nathanael I. Lichti; Robert K. Swihart

2008-01-01

We disked using small-scale equipment in the understory of three mature upland oak (Quercus) forests in southern Indiana immediately following acorn dispersal in an aboveaverage seed crop year as a means of improving oak seedling establishment. Three different mid- and understory removal treatments were also applied to create favorable light...

Intermediate Cutting in Mixed Upland Oak Stands on the Western Highland Rim, Tennessee, After a Quarter of a Century

Treesearch

Adrienne N. Hall; John C. Rennie; Glendon W. Smalley

2004-01-01

In 1973 and 1974, a study was established at Stewart State Forest (SSF) and Lewis State Forest (LSF) to evaluate Roach and Gingrich’s “Even-Aged Silviculture for Upland Central Oaks” on the Western Highland Rim. Harvesting to the “B-level” of the stocking guide primarily removed cull and low-quality stems. Basal area was reduced from 110 to 80 square feet per acre at...

Wildlife and Upland Oak Forests

Treesearch

James G. Dickson

2004-01-01

The oak forests of the eastern U.S. have always been diverse as well as dynamic; continually molded andinfluenced by a variety of natural and anthropogenic forces. These forests support thousands of species of plants, untold numbers of insects and other invertebrates, and hundreds of species of vertebrate wildlife. Because of the large number of species, I focus on...

The Role of Fine Root Dynamics in the N and P Cycles of Regenerating Upland Oak-Hickory Forests

Treesearch

Travis W. Idol; Phillip E. Pope; Jennifer Tucker; Felix, Jr. Ponder

1998-01-01

ln naturally regenerating hardwood forest stands, inputs of organic matter and nutrients from fine root turnover and decomposition are significant but not well-quantified. Four forest stands in southern Indiana-aged 6, 12, 31, and approximately 100 years since clearcutting at the time of the study-were chosen to represent the different developmental stages of upland...

Oak mortality associated with crown dieback and oak borer attack in the Ozark Highlands

Treesearch

Zhaofei Fan; John M. Kabrick; Martin A. Spetich; Stephen R. Shifley; Randy G. Jensen

2008-01-01

Oak decline and related mortality have periodically plagued upland oak-hickory forests, particularly oak species in the red oak group, across the Ozark Highlands of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma since the late 1970s. Advanced tree age and periodic drought, as well as Armillaria root fungi and oak borer attack are believed to contribute to oak decline and mortality....

Birds of Upland Oak Forests in the Arkansas Ozarks: Present Community Structure and Potential Impacts of Burning, Borers, and Forestry Practices

Treesearch

Kimberly Smith; Michael Mlodinow; Janet S. Self; Thomas M. Haggerty; Tamara R. Hocut

2004-01-01

Based on published works, our own research, and the U.S. Forest Service’s R8 Bird database, we characterize breeding bird communities in mesic and xeric upland hardwood forests of the Arkansas Ozarks. Although 59 species have been recorded as breeding, typical breeding assemblages in mesic forests are 20-25 species, with only 5 species commonly found in xeric forests....

Upland Oak Ecology and Management

Treesearch

D.H. Van Lear

2004-01-01

Of the many disturbance factors that shaped hardwood forests in the eastern United States, fire was perhaps the most important. Fires ignited by Native Americans and lightning played a dominant role in sustaining oak (Quercus spp.) forests throughout the Central Hardwood Region. Prior to logging at the turn of the last century, fires in the region...

Short-term response of small mammals following oak regeneration silviculture treatments.

Treesearch

Amy L. Raybuck; Christopher E. Moorman; Christopher S. DePerno; Kevin Gross; Dean M. Simon; Gordon S. Warburton

2012-01-01

Upland, mixed-oak forests in the eastern United States have experienced widespread oak regeneration failure, largely due to cessation of anthropogenic disturbance. Silvicultural practices used to promote advance oak regeneration may affect ground-dwelling mammals. From May to August 2008 (pre-treatment), 2010 (first year post-treatment), and 2011 (second year post-...

Oak mortality associated with crown dieback and oak borer attack in the Ozark Highlands

Treesearch

Zhaofei Fan; John M. Kabrick; Martin A. Spetich; Stephen R. Shifley; Randy G. Jensen

2008-01-01

Oak decline and related mortality have periodically plagued upland oak–hickory forests, particularly oak species in the red oak group, across the Ozark Highlands of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma since the late 1970s. Advanced tree age and periodic drought, as well as Armillaria root fungi and oak borer attack are believed to contribute to oak decline and mortality....

Auger planting of oak seedlings in northern Arkansas

Treesearch

Eric Heitzman; Adrian Grell

2003-01-01

Planting oak seedlings to regenerate upland oak forests is a promising but untested silvicultural practice in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas. The stony (cherty) soils of the region make it difficult to dig deep planting holes using conventional hand planting tools. In 2001, we planted 1-0 northern red oak and white oak seedlings in 0.5 to 1 acre group...

Site disturbance and soil impacts resulting from mechanized thinning of upland hardwood stands in Southeastern Kentucky

Treesearch

Jason Thompson; Emily Carter

2015-01-01

A large scale silvicultural trial was designed to examine the effectiveness of five treatments in reducing the potential future impacts of gypsy moth infestation and oak decline on upland hardwood forests in the Daniel Boone National Forest in southeastern Kentucky. Three of the five prescriptions were implemented with a mechanical harvesting system. The system...

First-Year Response on an Upland Hardwood Forest to Five Levels of Overstory Tree Retention

Treesearch

Callie Jo Schweitzer

2004-01-01

Response of a north Alabama upland oak-hickory forest to five levels of overstory tree retention was compared following treatment. Fifty-acre experimental blocks were established on the mid-Cumberland Plateau, which included the highly dissected margins and sides of the southern subregion. Blocks were replicated three times. Each of the five retention treatments (...

The fire—oak literature of eastern North America: synthesis and guidelines

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose; Daniel C. Dey; Thomas A. Waldrop

2014-01-01

Guidelines for using prescribed fire to regenerate and restore upland oak forests, woodlands, and savannas in eastern North America were developed by synthesizing the results of more than 100 scientific publications. The first four chapters provide background information on the values of oak ecosystems, eastern fire history, oak's adaptations to fire, and the...

Flood tolerance of oak seedlings from bottomland and upland sites

Treesearch

Michael P. Walsh; Jerry Van Sambeek; Mark Coggeshall; David Gwaze

2009-01-01

Artificial regeneration of oak species in floodplains presents numerous challenges because of the seasonal flooding associated with these areas. Utilizing not only flood-tolerant oak species, but also flood tolerant seed sources of the oak species, may serve to enhance seedling survival and growth rates. Despite the importance of these factors to hardwood forest...

Oak decline risk rating for the southeastern United States

Treesearch

S. Oak; F. Tainter; J. Williams; D. Starkey

1996-01-01

Oak decline risk rating models were developed for upland hardwood forests in the southeastern United States using data gathered during regional oak decline surveys. Stepwise discriminant analyses were used to relate 12 stand and site variables with major oak decline incidence for each of three subregions plus one incorporating all subregions. The best model for the...

Bolts Salvaged From Cull Oaks

Treesearch

B. E. Carpenter

1959-01-01

But how about bolts from cull oaks on upland pine sites? Though a bolt operation in such material offers many difficulties, at least one Southern firm is currently trying it. That firm is Potlatch Forests, Inc., of Warren, Arkansas.

The timber-supply potential of intensive management in upland oak forests of Ohio

Treesearch

David A. Gansner; Owen W. Herrick; Owen W. Herrick

1973-01-01

Two alternative programs of intensive timber management were defined for Ohio's oak-hickory forests. Their potentials were evaluated by comparing the expected yields and yield values of each program with those expected from a continuation of current management practices. Neither program would produce large increases in timber yield. But the expected gains in yield...

Forest response and recovery following disturbance in upland forests of the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

PubMed

Schäfer, Karina V R; Renninger, Heidi J; Carlo, Nicholas J; Vanderklein, Dirk W

2014-01-01

Carbon and water cycling of forests contribute significantly to the Earth's overall biogeochemical cycling and may be affected by disturbance and climate change. As a larger body of research becomes available about leaf-level, ecosystem and regional scale effects of disturbances on forest ecosystems, a more mechanistic understanding is developing which can improve modeling efforts. Here, we summarize some of the major effects of physical and biogenic disturbances, such as drought, prescribed fire, and insect defoliation, on leaf and ecosystem-scale physiological responses as well as impacts on carbon and water cycling in an Atlantic Coastal Plain upland oak/pine and upland pine forest. During drought, stomatal conductance and canopy stomatal conductance were reduced, however, defoliation increased conductance on both leaf-level and canopy scale. Furthermore, after prescribed fire, leaf-level stomatal conductance was unchanged for pines but decreased for oaks, while canopy stomatal conductance decreased temporarily, but then rebounded the following growing season, thus exhibiting transient responses. This study suggests that forest response to disturbance varies from the leaf to ecosystem level as well as species level and thus, these differential responses interplay to determine the fate of forest structure and functioning post disturbance.

The Effects of Harvesting on Long-Term Soil Productivity in Southern Indiana Oak-Hickory Forests

Treesearch

Travis W. Idol; Phillip E. Pope; Felix Ponder

2002-01-01

Timber harvesting has the potential to alter long-term soil productivity in a variety of forest ecosystems. We monitored the effects of harvesting on N cycling processes in upland oak-hickory forests of southern Indiana, using a chronosequence of stands ranging in age from 1 year to 100 years after harvest. N cycling pools and processes were monitored from 1995-1999....

Risk factors of oak decline and regional mortality patterns in the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas and Missouri

Treesearch

Martin A. Spetich; Zhaofei Fan; Xiuli Fan; Hong He; Stephen R. Shifley; W. Keith Moser

2011-01-01

Since the late 1970s, oak decline and mortality have plagued Midwestern-upland oak-hickory forests, particularly species in the red oak group (Quercus Section Lobatae) across the Ozark Highlands of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma (Dwyer and others 1995). Drought is a common inciting factor in oak decline, while advanced tree age is considered a...

Long-term effects of clearcutting on tree species composition in an oak-hickory forest

Treesearch

Jessica A. Yeagle; John W. Groninger

2006-01-01

In 1973, a silvicultural clearcut, with and without a post-harvest herbicide treatment, was performed on an upland oak-hickory forest in southern Illinois. Prior to harvest, permanent plots were established, and a survey was conducted to determine stand structure and composition. In 2003, a post-harvest survey was performed using the permanent plots. Relative density...

Natural canopy damage and the ecological restoration of fire-indicative groundcover vegetation in an oak-pine forest

Treesearch

J. Stephen Brewer

2016-01-01

An important goal of restoring fire to upland oak-dominated communities that have experienced fire exclusion is restoring groundcover plant species diversity and composition indicative of fire-maintained habitats. Several studies have shown that fire alone, however, may not be sufficient to accomplish this goal. Furthermore, treatment-driven declines in rare forest...

Efficacy and associated factors of even- and uneven-aged management to promote oak regeneration in the Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

Zhaofei Fan; Qi Yao; Daniel Dey; Martin Spetich; Andrew Ezell; Stephen Shifley; John Kabrick; Randy Jensen

2015-01-01

Oak regeneration problems have been noted in the Missouri Ozarks and elsewhere in the eastern United States. Alteration of disturbance regimes, competition from nonoak species, and high overstory stocking are believed to be major barriers that impede oak regeneration. We studied regeneration in upland oak forests that were harvested by both even-aged (clearcutting) and...

Improving Estimates of Acceptable Growiing Stock in Young Upland Oak Forests in the Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Paul S. Johnson; H.E. Garrett

1998-01-01

Estimates of regeneration or growing stock in young oak forests may be too high unless criteria are established that define explicitly acceptable growing stock. In young hardwood stands, crown class can be used to identify acceptable growing stock because it is related to the future growth and survival of reproduction. A method is presented for assigning crown class...

Gap characteristics of southeastern Ohio second-growth forests

Treesearch

David M. Hix; Katherine K. Helfrich

2003-01-01

Transect sampling was used to assess the features of 30 gaps encountered in upland oak stands on the Wayne National Forest. Tip-ups caused the most canopy gaps (52 percent), two-thirds of which were small (

The South's forestland - on the hot seat to provide more

Treesearch

Raymond M. Sheffield; James G. Dickson

1998-01-01

Forests of the Southern United States range from tropical/subtropical forests on the southern extremities of the region, oak savanna forests on the western fringe, to central hardwood forests, and high elevation boreal forests in the north. Upland and bottomland hardwood, southern pine, and mixed pine-hardwood forests are found on the more moderate sites between these...

Long-term changes in tree composition in a mesic old-growth upland forest in southern Illinois

Treesearch

James J. Zaczek; John W. Groninger; J.W. Van Sambeek

1999-01-01

The Kaskaskia Woods (Lat. 37.5 N, Long. 88.3 W), an old-growth hardwood forest in southern Illinois, has one of the oldest and best documented set of permanent plots with individual tree measurements in the Central Hardwood Region. In 1935, eight 0.101-ha plots were installed in a 7.4 ha upland area consisting of xeric oak-hickory and mesic mixed hardwoods communities...

Effects of visual grading on northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings planted in two shelterwood stands on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee, USA

Treesearch

Stacy Clark; Scott Schlarbaum; Callie Schweitzer

2015-01-01

Artificial regeneration of oak has been generally unsuccessful in maintaining the oak component in productive upland forests of eastern North America. We tested visual grading effects on quality-grown northern red oak (Quercus rubra) seedlings planted in two submesic stands on the Cumberland Plateau escarpment of Tennessee, USA. Seedlings were grown for one year using...

Statewide land cover derived from multiseasonal Landsat TM data: A retrospective of the WISCLAND project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reese, H.M.; Lillesand, T.M.; Nagel, D.E.; Stewart, J.S.; Goldmann, R.A.; Simmons, T.E.; Chipman, J.W.; Tessar, P.A.

2002-01-01

Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data were the basis in production of a statewide land cover data set for Wisconsin, undertaken in partnership with U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Gap Analysis Program (GAP). The data set contained seven classes comparable to Anderson Level I and 24 classes comparable to Anderson Level II/III. Twelve scenes of dual-date TM data were processed with methods that included principal components analysis, stratification into spectrally consistent units, separate classification of upland, wetland, and urban areas, and a hybrid supervised/unsupervised classification called "guided clustering." The final data had overall accuracies of 94% for Anderson Level I upland classes, 77% for Level II/III upland classes, and 84% for Level II/III wetland classes. Classification accuracies for deciduous and coniferous forest were 95% and 93%, respectively, and forest species' overall accuracies ranged from 70% to 84%. Limited availability of acceptable imagery necessitated use of an early May date in a majority of scene pairs, perhaps contributing to lower accuracy for upland deciduous forest species. The mixed deciduous/coniferous forest class had the lowest accuracy, most likely due to distinctly classifying a purely mixed class. Mixed forest signatures containing oak were often confused with pure oak. Guided clustering was seen as an efficient classification method, especially at the tree species level, although its success relied in part on image dates, accurate ground troth, and some analyst intervention. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

The conundrum of creating understory light conditions conducive to promoting oak reproduction: midstory herbicide and prescribed fire treatments

Treesearch

Callie Jo Schweitzer; Daniel C. Dey

2015-01-01

Challenges remain to regenerating oak (Quercus spp.) in eastern upland hardwood forests. It is well established that to be competitive, advance oak reproduction must be of sufficient size to respond favorably upon release. We also know altering the understory light regime, through reductions in stand stocking, basal area, or canopy cover, promotes the growth and...

Integrating studies in the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project: Status and outlook

Treesearch

David Gwaze; Stephen Sheriff; John Kabrick; Larry Vangilder

2011-01-01

The Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP), which was started in 1989 by the Missouri Department of Conservation, evaluates the effects of forest management practices (even-aged management, uneven-aged management, and no-harvest management) on upland oak-forest components in southern Missouri. MOFEP is a long-term, landscape-level, fully replicated, and...

Early fire history near Seguin Falls, Ontario

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Richard P. Guyette

1996-01-01

This report is one of a series of site-specfic fire histories being developed for red oak (Quercus rubra L.)-pine ecosystems in central Ontario. Collectively, these studies documents the role of fire in upland oak forests. this information also provides an ecological basis for developing silviculture prescriptions that use prescribed burning to...

Species-site relationships in a Northern Arkansas upland forest

Treesearch

Eric Heitzman; Michael G. Shelton; Ruth Ann Chapman

2006-01-01

Phytosociological aspects of the forest vegetation were described for a 780-ha area on the Sylamore Experimental Forest in northern Arkansas. Pronounced changes in species composition occurred with topographic position in this deeply dissected area. For the overstory, oaks and pines dominated the upper slope positions, while other tree species dominated the lower...

Early development of mixed-species studs on the Wayne Nation Forest

Treesearch

Eric R. Norland; Dr. David M. Hix

1993-01-01

The species compositions of many upland hardwood forests in southeastern Ohio appear to be changing. Since the arrival of settlers, most of the mixed mesophytic forest has been cleared at least once as a result of timber cutting, burning, and agriculture. The compositions of the second- and third-growth forests are shifting toward a smaller component of oaks (...

Upland Hardwood Forests and Related Communities of the Arkansas Ozarks in the Early 19th Century

Treesearch

Thomas L. Foti

2004-01-01

Historic accounts of the 19 th Century Arkansas Ozarks mention such communities as oak forests, pine forests, barrens and prairies. I document the region-wide distribution of these types based on data from the first land survey conducted by the General Land Office (GLO). Structural classes used here include closed forest, open forest, woodland, savanna, open savanna...

Restoring perennial warm-season grasses as a means of reversing mesophication of oak woodlands in northern Mississippi

Treesearch

Erynn E. Maynard; J. Stephen Brewer

2012-01-01

Fire suppression has removed an important ecological force previously responsible for shaping many plant communities throughout the world. Upland areas of northcentral Mississippi that have been protected from fire are now closed-canopy forests including species known to be uncommon as bearing/witness trees in upland portions of the landscape (historically off-site...

Vegetation of forested uplands in the Massabesic Experimental Forest

Treesearch

Alison C. Dibble; Catherine A. Rees; Paul E. Sendak; John C. Brissette

2004-01-01

A summary of an inventory of vascular plants in the 3,700-acre Massabesic Experimental Forest in York County, Maine. We identified about 500 species and subspecies. The most common overstory trees were eastern white pine, eastern hemlock, northern red oak, and red maple. Hemlock was the most abundant tree seedling. Shrub density was greatest for beaked hazlenut,...

Oak composition and structure in the eastern United States

Treesearch

W. Keith Moser; Mark Hansen; Will McWilliams; Ray Sheffield

2006-01-01

Although oak species currently occupy a dominant position in most eastern deciduous forests, particularly on upland sites, many scientists and managers have expressed concern about the future of this genus in the absence of the disturbance patterns that facilitated its establishment up to now. Reductions in timber harvesting and fire in particular may give the...

Prescribed Fire Impacts to Amphibians and Reptiles in Shelterwood-harvested Oak-dominated Forests

Treesearch

Patrick D. Keyser; David J. Sausville; W. Mark Ford; Donald J. Schwab; Partick H. Brose

2004-01-01

As part of a larger study examining the role of prescribed fire in regenerating upland oaks (Quercus spp.), seasonal prescribed burns (winter, spring, summer, and unburned control) were applied to first-stage shelterwood-harvested stands on Horsepen Wildlife Management Area in the Virginia Piedmont in 1995. Because fire impacts are poorly documented...

Chapter 8 - Effects of prescribed fire on upland oak forest ecosystems in Missouri Ozarks (Project NC-F-06-02)

Treesearch

Zhaofei Fan; Daniel C. Dey

2014-01-01

Fire in the Ozark Highlands was historically used by Native Americans (Guyette and others 2002). Early European settlers continued to burn the landscape to manage livestock forage. In the late 1800s, people began to harvest timber, cutting first pine trees and later oak (Flader 2008).

Topographic Position and Site Index: An Oak Regeneratoin Relationship

Treesearch

David I. Shostak; Edward F. Loewenstein; Mark R. Dubois

2004-01-01

In 1996, a 10-year study was initiated in an upland hardwood forest in northern Alabama to assess establishment success and stocking levels of oak reproduction following three regeneration treatments: block clearcutting, strip clearcutting, and deferment cutting. Each treatment was applied to two 4-acre stands. In addition, two 2-acre uncut controls were monitored. All...

Changes in fine root dynamics and distribution along a chronosequence of upland oak-hickory forests

Treesearch

Travis W. Idol; Phillip E. Pope; Felix, Jr. Ponder

1997-01-01

Central Hardwood forests regenerate rapidly following a major disturbance like a clear-cut. The subsequent aboveground growth and development of the resulting stands have been well-documented for these forests. However, the belowground components, specifically the dynamics of fine roots, are not well understood. Fine roots are the main vectors through which plants...

Foliar nutrient variation in four species of upland oak

Treesearch

L. R. Auchmoody; K. P. Hammack

1975-01-01

Sampling of forest tree foliage for nutrient analyses is commonly restricted to specific and often dificult-to-reach locations such as the uppermost sun leaves growing on the south side of the crown. A study of 60-year-old red, white, chestnut, and scarlet oaks growing near Parsons, West Virginia, suggests that the easier-to-reach foliage from the lower crown is...

An evaluation of hardwood fuel models for planning prescribed fires in oak shelterwood stands

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose

2017-01-01

The shelterwood burn technique is becoming more accepted and used as a means of regenerating eastern mixed-oak (Quercus spp.) forests on productive upland sites. Preparation is important to successfully implement this method; part of that preparation is selecting the proper fuel model (FM) for the prescribed fire. Because of the mix of leaf litter...

Effects of acorn size and mass on seedling quality of northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

Treesearch

Stacy L. Clark; Scott E. Schlarbaum

2018-01-01

Oaks are not sustainable in many upland temperate forests because of poor recruitment resulting from natural regeneration. Artificial regeneration is an alternative to natural regeneration, but is difficult, in part, due to large variation in seedling quality.  In this study, we examined the effects of acorn size and mass on nursery...

Response of upland oak and co-occurring competitor seedlings following single and repeated prescribed fires

Treesearch

Heather D. Alexander; Mary Arthur; David Loftis; Stephanie Green

2009-01-01

Studies within and outside the United States indicate recurring oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration problems. In deciduous forests of the eastern U.S., a prevailing explanation for this trend is that fire suppression leads to high competitor abundance and low understory light. In response, prescribed fire is increasingly used as a management tool to...

Introduction of black walnut and northern red oak seedlings in an upland hardwood forest in southeastern Ohio

Treesearch

Donald E. Hilt

1977-01-01

Black walnut and northern red oak seedlings were planted on a clearcut area in 1964. Three cultural treatments were applied to seedlings to control competing trees. Average height and survival were analyzed 13 growing seasons after planting. Results indicated that black walnut seedlings can be effectively established on good sites if cultural treatments are applied....

Thinning young oak stands on poor sites in southern New Jersey does not pay

Treesearch

S. Little; H. A. Somes

1956-01-01

Between 1933 and 1940 the Civilian Conservation Corps undertook many cultural operations in the state forests of southern New Jersey; one of the most common was thinnings in predominantly oak stands on upland sites. The thinnings varied from very light - removing only trees that would soon die - to very heavy. They were usually justified on the prevalent notion that...

Integrating land and resource management plans and applied large-scale research on two national forests

Treesearch

Callie Jo Schweitzer; Stacy Clark; Glen Gaines; Paul Finke; Kurt Gottschalk; David Loftis

2008-01-01

Researchers working out of the Southern and Northern Research Stations have partnered with two National Forests to conduct two large-scale studies designed to assess the effectiveness of silvicultural techniques used to restore and maintain upland oak (Quercus spp.)-dominated ecosystems in the Cumberland Plateau Region of the southeastern United...

Assessing forest mortality patterns using climate and FIA data at multiple scales

Treesearch

Michael K. Crosby; Zhaofei Fan; Xingang Fan; Theodor D. Leininger; Martin A. Spetich

2012-01-01

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and PRISM climate data from 1991-2000 were obtained for 10 states in the southeastern United States. Mortality was calculated for each plot, and annual values for precipitation and maximum and minimum temperature were extracted from the PRISM data. Data were then stratified by upland/bottomland for red oak species, and classification...

Characterization of coarse woody debris across a 100 year chronosequence of upland oak-hickory forest

Treesearch

Travis W. Idol; Phillip E. Pope; Rebecca A. Figler; Felix Ponder Jr.

1999-01-01

Coarse woody debris is an important component influencing forest nutrient cycling and contributes to long-term soil productivity. The common practice of classifying coarse woody debris into different decomposition classes has seldom been related to the chemistry/biochemistry of the litter, which is the long term objective of our research. The objective of this...

Old-growth definition for western juniper woodlands: Texas ashe juniper dominated or codominated communities. Forest Service general technical report

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

Diamond, D.D.

1997-09-01

Ashe juniper dominated or codominated woodlands are extensive within the Edwards Plateu in Texas. Almost all contemporary woodlands are the result of various disturbances, especially grazing and fire suppression. Old-growth examples are rare. Several different geomorphic situations once supported natural Ashe juniper communities with different dynamics and composition. These included mesic slopes and canyon systems, shallow-soiled uplands (hardscrabble), and deeper-soiled uplants. The most extensive and most diverse woodlands were in canyon systems, where Ashe juniper shared dominance with a diversity of oaks and other broad-leaved trees, Drier upland woodlands were less diverse, with live oak, shin oak, and Vasey oakmore » variously important. Ashe junipr woodlands harbor a diverse biota, including rare and endemic species, and, thus, preservation of representative old-growth examples is an important conservation concern.« less

Proactive restoration: planning, implementation, and early results of silvicultural strategies for increasing resilience against gypsy moth infestation in upland oak forests on the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky

Treesearch

Callie Schweitzer; Stacy L. Clark; Kurt W. Gottschalk; Jeff Stringer; Robbie Sitzlar

2014-01-01

Determining targets in forest restoration is a complicated task that can be facilitated by cooperative partnerships. Too often restoration plans are implemented after adverse events that cause widespread tree mortality, such as drought or insect outbreaks, have occurred. Reactive management precludes the use of preemptive management techniques that can result in more...

Microbial properties and litter and soil nutrients after two prescribed fires in developing savannas in an upland Missouri Ozark Forest

Treesearch

Felix, Jr. Ponder; Mahasin Tadros; Edward F. Loewenstein

2009-01-01

On some landscapes periodic fire may be necessary to develop and maintain oak-dominated savannas. We studied the effects of two annual prescribed burns to determine their effect on microbial activity and soil and litter nutrients 1 year after the last burn. Surface litter and soil from the upper 0?5 cm soil layer in three developing savannas (oak-hickory, ...

Understory response to varying fire frequencies after 20 years of prescribed burning in an upland oak forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burton, J.A.; Hallgren, S.W.; Fuhlendorf, S.D.; Leslie, David M.

2011-01-01

Ecosystems in the eastern United States that were shaped by fire over thousands of years of anthropogenic burning recently have been subjected to fire suppression resulting in significant changes in vegetation composition and structure and encroachment by invasive species. Renewed interest in use of fire to manage such ecosystems will require knowledge of effects of fire regime on vegetation. We studied the effects of one aspect of the fire regime, fire frequency, on biomass, cover and diversity of understory vegetation in upland oak forests prescribe-burned for 20 years at different frequencies ranging from zero to five fires per decade. Overstory canopy closure ranged from 88 to 96% and was not affected by fire frequency indicating high tolerance of large trees for even the most frequent burning. Understory species richness and cover was dominated by woody reproduction followed in descending order by forbs, C3 graminoids, C4 grasses, and legumes. Woody plant understory cover did not change with fire frequency and increased 30% from one to three years after a burn. Both forbs and C3 graminoids showed a linear increase in species richness and cover as fire frequency increased. In contrast, C4 grasses and legumes did not show a response to fire frequency. The reduction of litter by fire may have encouraged regeneration of herbaceous plants and helped explain the positive response of forbs and C3 graminoids to increasing fire frequency. Our results showed that herbaceous biomass, cover, and diversity can be managed with long-term prescribed fire under the closed canopy of upland oak forests. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Silvical characteristics of the five upland oaks

Treesearch

Earl L. Core

1971-01-01

The five most important upland oaks of eastern North America are white oak (Quercus alba), chestnut oak (Q. prinus), northern red oak (Q. rubra), black oak (Q. velutina), and scarlet oak (Q. coccinea). Of these, white oak and northern red oak are most characteristic of...

Field trip on the Kellogg Forest of Michigan State University near Augusta, Michigan

Treesearch

Jonathan W. Wright; Walter Lemmien

1966-01-01

When the Kellogg Forest was established in 1932, 90 percent of the farmland in the locality was idle. The original tree cover had been oak-hickory on the upland areas and basswood, white ash, American elm, and black cherry on the lower, more fertile areas. Agricultural activities had begun between 1830 and 1850. Since then, continued cropping had resulted in severe...

Evaluation of ikonos satellite imagery for detecting ice storm damage to oak forests in Eastern Kentucky

Treesearch

W. Henry McNab; Tracy Roof

2006-01-01

Ice storms are a recurring landscape-scale disturbance in the eastern U.S. where they may cause varying levels of damage to upland hardwood forests. High-resolution Ikonos imagery and semiautomated detection of ice storm damage may be an alternative to manually interpreted aerial photography. We evaluated Ikonos multispectral, winter and summer imagery as a tool for...

Snags and Down Wood on Upland Oak Sites in the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project

Treesearch

Stephen R. Shifley; Brian L. Brookshire; David R. Larsen; Laura A. Herbeck; Randy G. Jensen

1997-01-01

We analyzed volume, surface area, and percent cover of down wood to determine if there were pre-treatment differences among the sites in the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project. We also compared pre-treatment values for the number and basal area of snags. We observed no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05) among treatment classes for these...

Soil-site relationships of the upland oaks

Treesearch

Willard H. Carmean

1971-01-01

Site quality for upland oaks can be estimated directly by using site-index curves, or indirect estimations can be made by using soil-site prediction methods. Presently available harmonized site-index curves may not be suitable for all upland oak species, or may not be suitable throughout their range. New stem-analysis data show that different species of oak have...

Impacts of prescribed fire on Pinus rigida Mill. in upland forests of the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

PubMed

Carlo, Nicholas J; Renninger, Heidi J; Clark, Kenneth L; Schäfer, Karina V R

2016-08-01

A comparative analysis of the impacts of prescribed fire on three upland forest stands in the Northeastern Atlantic Plain, NJ, USA, was conducted. Effects of prescribed fire on water use and gas exchange of overstory pines were estimated via sap-flux rates and photosynthetic measurements on Pinus rigida Mill. Each study site had two sap-flux plots, one experiencing prescribed fire and one control (unburned) plot for comparison before and after the fire. We found that photosynthetic capacity in terms of Rubisco-limited carboxylation rate and intrinsic water-use efficiency was unaffected, while light compensation point and dark respiration rate were significantly lower in the burned vs control plots post-fire. Furthermore, quantum yield in pines in the pine-dominated stands was less affected than pines in the mixed oak/pine stand, as there was an increase in quantum yield in the oak/pine stand post-fire compared with the control (unburned) plot. We attribute this to an effect of forest type but not fire per se. Average daily sap-flux rates of the pine trees increased compared with control (unburned) plots in pine-dominated stands and decreased in the oak/pine stand compared with control (unburned) plots, potentially due to differences in fuel consumption and pre-fire sap-flux rates. Finally, when reference canopy stomatal conductance was analyzed, pines in the pine-dominated stands were more sensitive to changes in vapor pressure deficit (VPD), while stomatal responses of pines in the oak/pine stand were less affected by VPD. Therefore, prescribed fire affects physiological functioning and water use of pines, but the effects may be modulated by forest stand type and fuel consumption pattern, which suggests that these factors may need to be taken into account for forest management in fire-dominated systems. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Forest regeneration composition and development in upland, mixed-oak forests.

PubMed

Fei, Songlin; Gould, Peter J; Steiner, Kim C; Finley, James C; McDill, Marc E

2005-12-01

Advance regeneration in 52 mature mixed-oak stands was analyzed and described. Red maple (Acer rubrum L.) was the most abundant species in the study area. Among oak (Quercus) species, northern red oak (Q. rubra L.) was the most abundant within the Allegheny Plateau physiographic province, whereas chestnut oak (Q. montana L.) was the most abundant within the Ridge and Valley physiographic province. Sixteen stands, for which data are available through the fourth growing season following harvest, were used to describe stand development. Cumulative height, a composite measure of size and density, was used to describe early stand development. Black gum (Nyssa sylvatica Marsh.) and black birch (Betula lenta L.) had dramatic increases in stand density and cumulative height after overstory removal. Cumulative height of northern red oak and chestnut oak showed a faster positive response to overstory removal than red maple. Oak retained its dominance in cumulative height for at least 4 years after harvest. Red maple nevertheless remained the most abundant tree species after overstory removal. Our results suggest that the principal advantage of red maple regeneration is its ability to accumulate in large numbers prior to harvest.

Development of an upland hardwood demonstration forest on the Mary Olive Thomas Demonstration Forest

Treesearch

Seth D. Hunt; John S. Kush; Rebecca J. Barlow

2016-01-01

Landowners have experienced a dizzying array of timber prices over the past several years. At one time, hardwood pulpwood brought very little per ton and today it brings as much or more than pine pulpwood. In some markets in the Southeast today, oak sawtimber is bringing more than pine poles. Many landowners, who previously said they wanted their hardwood stands left...

Oak Symposium Proceedings

Treesearch

Northeastern Forest Experiment Station

1971-01-01

As "tall oaks from little acorns grow", the germ of an idea blossomed into this symposium on the five upland oaks. Called simply the "Oak Symposium", that's what it's all about - a meeting to bring together a summation of the advances made on the silviculture, management, and utilization of the upland oaks. Part of this process is the...

Effect of long-term understory prescribed burning on standing and down dead woody material in dry upland oak forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Polo, John A.; Hallgren, S.W.; Leslie,, David M.

2013-01-01

Dead woody material, long ignored or viewed as a nuisance for forest management, has gained appreciation for its many roles in the forest including wildlife habitat, nutrient storage and cycling, energy for trophic webs, protection of soil, fuel for fire and carbon storage. The growing interest in managing dead woody material has created strong demand for greater understanding of factors controlling amounts and turnover. Prescribed burning, an important management tool, may have strong effects of dead woody material given fire’s capacity to create and consume dead woody material. We determined effects of long-term understory prescribed burning on standing and down woody material in upland oak forests in south-central North America. We hypothesized that as frequency of fire increased in these stands the amount of deadwood would decrease and the fine woody material would decrease more rapidly than coarse woody material. The study was conducted in forests dominated by post oak (Quercus stellata) and blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) in wildlife management areas where understory prescribed burning had been practiced for over 20 years and the range of burn frequencies was 0 (unburned) fires per decade (FPD) to 4.6 FPD. The amount of deadwood was low compared with more productive forests in southeastern North America. The biomass (24.7 Mg ha-1) and carbon stocks (11.7 Mg ha-1) were distributed among standing dead (22%), coarse woody debris (CWD, dia. > 7.5 cm., 12%), fine woody debris (FWD, dia. < 7.5 cm., 23%), and forest floor (43%). There was no evidence that understory prescribed burning influenced the amount and size distribution of standing and down dead woody material. There were two explanations for the lack of a detectable effect. First, a high incidence of severe weather including ice storms and strong winds that produce large amounts of deadwood intermittently in an irregular pattern across the landscape may preclude detecting a strong effect of understory prescribed burning. Second, fire suppression during the first one-half of the 20th Century may have led to encroachment of woody plants into forest gaps and savannas creating a patchwork of young and old stands that produced deadwood of different sizes and at different rates.

Yellow-Poplar and Oak Seedling Density Responses to Wind-Generated Gaps

Treesearch

Erik C. Berg; David H. Van Lear

2004-01-01

The effects of wind on upland hardwood forest structure and composition have been studied mostly in the context of either small "gap-phase" openings or in retrospective studies of ancient disturbances. Larger (> 0.1 ha) wind-created openings are common across Southern Appalachian landscapes, and can be impor tant in shaping understory colonization, growth...

Early fire history near Papineau lake, Ontario

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Richard P. Guyette

1996-01-01

Research that defines the role of fire in upland red oak-pine ecosystems in central Ontario is being conducted by the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Silviculture program. Site-specific fire histories are being developed that document fire frequency, fire behavior, fire effects on forest regeneration and grwoth, and the influnce of human activites on fire disturbances. This...

Survivorship and Growth of Oak Regeneration in Wind-Created Gaps

Treesearch

Erik C. Berg

2004-01-01

The effects of wind on upland hardwood forest structure and composition have been studied mostly in the context of either one to two tree mortality gap-phase openings or in retrospective studies of ancient disturbances. Larger (> 0.1 ha) wind-created openings are common across Southern Appalachian landscapes and can be an important factor in shaping understory...

Northern long-eared bat day-roosting and prescribed fire in the central Appalachians, USA

Treesearch

W. Mark Ford; Alexander Silvis; Joshua B. Johnson; John W. Edwards; Milu Karp

2016-01-01

The northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis Trovessart) is a cavity-roosting species that forages in cluttered upland and riparian forests throughout the oak-dominated Appalachian and Central Hardwoods regions. Common prior to white-nose syndrome, the population of this bat species has declined to functional extirpation in some regions in...

Soil-Site Factors Affecting Southern Upland Oak Managment and Growth

Treesearch

John K. Francis

1980-01-01

Soil supplies trees with physical support, moisture, oxygen, and nutrients. Amount of moisture most limits tree growth; and soil and topographic factors such as texture and aspect, which influence available soil moisture. are most useful in predicting growth. Equations that include soil and topographic variables can be used to predict site index. Foresters can also...

Upland forest vegetation of the Ozark Mountains in Northwestern Arkansas

Treesearch

Steven L. Stephenson; Harold S. Adams; Cynthia D. Huebner

2007-01-01

Quantitative data on structure and composition of all strata of vegetation were collected from 20 study sites in the Boston Mountains Subsection of the Ozark Mountains of northwestern Arkansas in June 2004. All study sites were located at upper slope or ridgetop positions and occurred at elevations > 457 m. Oaks (Quercus spp.) were dominants in...

Upland Oak Regeneration and Management

Treesearch

David L. Loftis

2004-01-01

In oak-dominated plant communities and in other communities where oaks are important, the keys to natural regeneration of upland oak components are (1) to ensure presence of competitive regeneration sources, and (2) to provide timely, sufficient release of these sources. Regeneration sources vary significantly among different types of plant communities and disturbance...

A comparison of the survival and development of the seedlings of four upland oak species grown in four different understory light environments

Treesearch

Patrick Brose; Joanne Rebbeck

2017-01-01

Oak (Quercus spp.) research and management often focus on northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and assume that associated upland oaks have similar growth patterns. To test this premise, we measured the survival and development of four species of acorn-origin oak seedlings growing in four different levels of understory sunlight for...

Responses of ground flora to a gradient of harvest intensity in the Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

Eric K. Zenner; John M. Kabrick; Randy G. Jensen; JeriLynn E. Peck; Jennifer K. Grabner

2006-01-01

The relationship between the intensity of timber harvest and the composition and diversity of ground vegetation was investigated in upland mixed oak forests in the Missouri Ozarks. Pre- and post-harvest data were collected from 420 permanent vegetation plots to determine if changes in the composition and diversity of ground flora depended upon the intensity of the...

Understory fuel variation at the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge: a description of chemical and physical properties

Treesearch

Evelyn S. Wenk; G. Geoff Wang; Joan L. Walker

2013-01-01

Upland forest in the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge is characterized by a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) canopy with a variable understory and ground-layer species composition. The system was historically maintained by fire and has been managed with prescribed fire in recent decades. A management goal is to reduce turkey oak (...

Public Participation and Natural Habitat Preservation Along Arcade Creek, Del Paso Regional Park, Sacramento, California

Treesearch

Timothy J. Vendlinski; Steven N. Talley

1989-01-01

Thirty-six hectares (90 acres) of riparian forest, high terrace oak woodland-savanna, and upland vernal pools were preserved along Arcade Creek in Sacramento, California as a result of citizen involvement in a city-sponsored master plan process for Del Paso Regional Park. Citizens formed an organization and called for a comprehensive Environmental Impact Report to...

The state of mixed shortleaf pine-upland oak management in Missouri

Treesearch

Elizabeth M. Blizzard; David R. Larsen; Daniel C. Dey; John M. Kabrick; David Gwaze

2007-01-01

Mixed shortleaf pine-upland oak stands allow flexibility in type and timing of regeneration, release, and harvesting treatments for managers; provide unique wildlife and herbaceous community niches; and increase visual diversity. Most of the research to date focused on growing pure pine or oak stands, with little research on today's need to grow pine-oak mixtures...

Regime Shifts and Weakened Environmental Gradients in Open Oak and Pine Ecosystems

PubMed Central

Hanberry, Brice B.; Dey, Dan C.; He, Hong S.

2012-01-01

Fire suppression allows tree species that are intolerant of fire stress to increase their distribution, potentially resulting in disruption of historical species-environmental relationships. To measure changes between historical General Land Office surveys (1815 to 1850) and current USDA Forest Inventory and Assessment surveys (2004 to 2008), we compared composition, distribution, and site factors of 21 tree species or species groups in the Missouri Ozarks. We used 24 environmental variables and random forests as a classification method to model distributions. Eastern redcedar, elms, maples, and other fire-sensitive species have increased in dominance in oak forests, with concurrent reductions by oak species; specific changes varied by ecological subsection. Ordinations displayed loss of separation between formerly distinctive oak and fire-sensitive tree species groups. Distribution maps showed decreased presence of disturbance-dependent oak and pine species and increased presence of fire-sensitive species that generally expanded from subsections protected from fire along rivers to upland areas, except for eastern redcedar, which expanded into these subsections. Large scale differences in spatial gradients between past and present communities paralleled reduced influence of local topographic gradients in the varied relief of the Missouri Ozarks, as fire-sensitive species have moved to higher, drier, and sunnier sites away from riverine corridors. Due to changes in land use, landscapes in the Missouri Ozarks, eastern United States, and world-wide are changing from open oak and pine-dominated ecosystems to novel oak-mixed species forests, although at fine scales, forests are becoming more diverse in tree species today. Fire suppression weakened the influence by environmental gradients over species dominance, allowing succession from disturbance-dependent oaks to an alternative state of fire-sensitive species. Current and future research and conservation that rely on historical relationships and ecological principles based on disturbance across the landscape will need to incorporate modern interactions among species for resources into management plans and projections. PMID:22848467

Regime shifts and weakened environmental gradients in open oak and pine ecosystems.

PubMed

Hanberry, Brice B; Dey, Dan C; He, Hong S

2012-01-01

Fire suppression allows tree species that are intolerant of fire stress to increase their distribution, potentially resulting in disruption of historical species-environmental relationships. To measure changes between historical General Land Office surveys (1815 to 1850) and current USDA Forest Inventory and Assessment surveys (2004 to 2008), we compared composition, distribution, and site factors of 21 tree species or species groups in the Missouri Ozarks. We used 24 environmental variables and random forests as a classification method to model distributions. Eastern redcedar, elms, maples, and other fire-sensitive species have increased in dominance in oak forests, with concurrent reductions by oak species; specific changes varied by ecological subsection. Ordinations displayed loss of separation between formerly distinctive oak and fire-sensitive tree species groups. Distribution maps showed decreased presence of disturbance-dependent oak and pine species and increased presence of fire-sensitive species that generally expanded from subsections protected from fire along rivers to upland areas, except for eastern redcedar, which expanded into these subsections. Large scale differences in spatial gradients between past and present communities paralleled reduced influence of local topographic gradients in the varied relief of the Missouri Ozarks, as fire-sensitive species have moved to higher, drier, and sunnier sites away from riverine corridors. Due to changes in land use, landscapes in the Missouri Ozarks, eastern United States, and world-wide are changing from open oak and pine-dominated ecosystems to novel oak-mixed species forests, although at fine scales, forests are becoming more diverse in tree species today. Fire suppression weakened the influence by environmental gradients over species dominance, allowing succession from disturbance-dependent oaks to an alternative state of fire-sensitive species. Current and future research and conservation that rely on historical relationships and ecological principles based on disturbance across the landscape will need to incorporate modern interactions among species for resources into management plans and projections.

Using Shelterwood Harvests and Prescribed Fire to Regenerate Oak Stands on Productive Upland Sites

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose; David H. van Lear; Roderick Cooper

1999-01-01

Regenerating oak stands on productive upland sites in the Piedmont region is a major problem because of intense competition from yellow-poplar. As a potential solution to this problem, we tested the hypothesis that a shelterwood harvest of an oak-dominated stand. followed several years later by a prescribed fire, would adequately regeneraie the stand. Three oak-...

Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, Lake Darling Flood Control Project, Souris River, North Dakota and Final Feature Environmental Impact Statement, Velva Flood Control, Velva, North Dakota.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-11-01

plant species found in the floodplain forest are elm, green ash, box elder, bur oak, willow, cottonwood, hawthorn, chokecherry , dogwood, wolfberry, and...understory of grape, sorrel, meadow rue, poison ivy, rose, and cocklebur. These species plus chokecherry and black currant grow in some of the upland

Relation of Crown Width to Tree Diameter In Some Upland Hardwood Stands of Southern Illinois

Treesearch

Leon S. Minckler; Samuel F. Gingrich

1970-01-01

Crown width-d.b.h. relationships in well stocked, uneven-aged stands of oak and hickory were similar to those for open-grown trees and were independent of site, crown class, and species. The irregular crowns of forest grown trees interface and overlap, however, and measuring crown extensions to the branch tips tended to overestimate effective crown area

Estimating site index from tree species composition in mixed stands of upland eastern hardwoods: Should shrubs be included?

Treesearch

W. Henry McNab

2010-01-01

Site index is the most widely used method for site quality assessment in hardwood forests of the eastern United States. Its application in most oak (Quercus sp. L.) dominated stands is often problematic, however, because available sample trees usually do not meet important underlying assumptions of the method. A prototype method for predicting site index from tree...

FOREX - an expert system for managing even-aged upland oak forests on steep terrain

Treesearch

Chris B. LeDoux; B. Gopalakrishnan; K. Lankalapalli

1995-01-01

An expert system, FOREX, was developed to access the data from the database management provided by MANAGE. For a specific site index, the user of FOREX can obtain information on present net worth, optimal thinning entry timing, optimal stand rotation age, diameter at breast height, volume by grade and value of the trees harvested, and based on the cable yarder used,...

The effects of log erosion barriers on post-fire hydrologic response and sediment yield in small forested watersheds, southern Califonia

Treesearch

Peter M. Wohlgemuth; Ken R. Hubbert; Peter R. Robichaud

2001-01-01

Wildfire usually promotes flooding and accelerated erosion in upland watersheds. In the summer of 1999, a high-severity wildfire burned a series of mixed pine/oak headwater catchments in the San Jacinto Mountains of southern California. Log erosion barriers (LEBs) were constructed across much of the burned area as an erosion control measure. We built debris basins in...

Response of avian bark foragers and cavity nesters to regeneration treatments in the oak-hickory forest of Northern Alabama

Treesearch

Wang Yong; Callie Jo Schweitzer; Adrian A. Lesak

2006-01-01

We examined bark-foraging and cavity-nesting birds’ use of upland hardwood habitat altered through a shelterwood regeneration experiment on the mid-Cumberland Plateau of northern Alabama. The five regeneration treatments were 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent basal area retention. The 75 percent retention treatment was accomplished by stem-injecting herbicide into mostly...

Effects of Disturbance on Carbon Sequestration in the New Jersey Pine Barrens

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

Schafer, Karina; Bohrer, Gil

While carbon and water cycling of forests contribute significantly to the Earth's overall biogeochemical cycling, it may be affected by disturbance and climate change. In this research, we contributed to the body of research on leaf-level, ecosystem and regional scale effects of disturbances on forest ecosystems, in an effort to foster more mechanistic understanding, which in turn can improve modeling efforts. Here, we summarize some of the major findings in this research of physical and biogenic disturbances, such as drought, prescribed fire, and insect defoliation, on leaf and ecosystem-scale physiological responses as well as impacts on carbon and water cyclingmore » in an Atlantic Coastal Plain upland oak/pine and upland pine forest. Following we have incorporated some of our findings into a new version of the Finite-element Tree-Crown Hydrodynamics (model version 2) model, which improved timing and hysteresis of transpiration modeling for trees. Furthermore, incorporation of hydrodynamics into modeling transpiration improved latent heat flux estimates. In our study on the physiology of the trees, we showed that during drought, stomatal conductance and canopy stomatal conductance were reduced, however, defoliation increased conductance on both leaf-level and canopy scale. Furthermore, after prescribed fire, leaf-level stomatal conductance was unchanged for pines but decreased for oaks, while canopy stomatal conductance decreased temporarily, but then rebounded the following growing season, thus exhibiting transient responses. This study suggests that forest response to disturbance varies from the leaf to ecosystem level as well as species level and thus, these differential responses interplay to determine the fate of forest structure and functioning post disturbance. Incorporating this responses improves model outcome.« less

Mathematical model of forest succession and land use for the North Carolina Piedmont

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

Johnson, W.C.

1977-01-01

A linear, constant-coefficient compartment model was constructed to simulate temporal changes in the areal extent of major forest types in the North Carolina Piedmont. Model structure and transfer coefficients were derived from published ecological literature and available USDA Forest Service statistical summaries. The results show the importance of old-field abandonment to the perpetuation of extensive loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forests in the Piedmont. Should abandonment cease, post-harvest treatment and planting of loblolly pine would have to be increased considerably over current levels to maintain an extensive loblolly pine forest type. Extrapolation of current rates of change forward 250 years wouldmore » result in a sizeable increase in the area of loblolly pine and loblolly pine-oak types, a slight increase in oak-hickory, a sizeable decline in shortleaf and Virginia pine (Pinus echinata, Pinus virginiana, resp.) types and a slight decline for other mixed pine-hardwood and lowland and dry upland hardwood categories compared to current conditions. The technique can be a useful tool either to assess some long-term effects of present management and use trends or to suggest strategies necessary to obtain a desired regional mixture of forest types.« less

Spatial and temporal ecology of oak toads (Bufo quercicus) on a Florida landscape

Treesearch

Cathryn H. Greenberg; George W. Tanner

2005-01-01

We used data from 10 years of continuous, concurrent monitoring of oak toads at eight isolated, ephemeral ponds in Florida longleaf pine-wiregrass uplands to address: (1): did weather variables affect movement patterns of oak toads? (2) did pond hydrology and the condition of surrounding uplands affect pond selection by adults or juvenile recruitment? (3) were...

Hardwood regeneration twenty years after three distinct diameter-limit cuts in upland central hardwoods

Treesearch

Randall B. Heiligmann; Jeffery S. Ward

1993-01-01

The effects of diameter-limit cutting on the future species composition and development of 60-80 year-old upland oak stands were studied in southern Ohio. Four treatments, 11-inch diameter-limit cut, 14-inch diameter-limit cut with selective thinning, 14-inch diameter-limit cut with low thinning, and uncut control were evaluated on medium oak sites (black oak site...

Stem form changes in upland oaks after thinning

Treesearch

Donald E. Hilt; Martin E. Dale

1979-01-01

Results of two independent studies were analyzed to determine whether residual stocking after thinning had any effect on change in stem form of upland oak. One study is based on 15 years' change in Girard Form Class after thinning of an 80-year-old white oak stand in eastern Kentucky. The other, 12-year changes in Girard Form Class and breast-height form factor...

Survival and growth for the first-growing season of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings underplanted in mixed upland hardwood stands in South Central Iowa

Treesearch

Robert E. Bardon; David W. Countryman

1993-01-01

This paper reports the first year survival and growth of red oak seedlings underplanted in two mixed upland hardwood stands in south central Iowa. The underplanted seedlings were undercut and not undercut 1-0 red oak stock. Fifteen blocks were laid out in 1990, with seven of the blocks receiving a foliar application of glyphosate herbicide. In the winter of 1990-1991,...

Predawn Leaf Water Potential of Oak-Hickory Forest at Missouri Ozark (MOFLUX) Site: 2004-2017

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

Pallardy, S.G.; Gu, L.; Wood, J.D.

Measurements of predawn leaf water potential (PLWP) have been made at weekly to biweekly intervals during the 2004 to 2017 growing seasons of the second-growth upland oak-hickory forests at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux (MOFLUX) site. The MOFLUX site is located in the University of Missouri Baskett Wildlife Research area (BWREA), situated in the Ozark Border Region of central Missouri, USA. Data Release Notes: The first release of PLWP data for MOFLUX covered the range of June 18, 2004 through October 18, 2014 (Pallardy et al., 2015). This second release appends data through October 3, 2017. • There were no changesmore » to the previously released data and the format and structure of this release are the same. • The data citation has been updated. o Addition of author J.D. Wood o Year published is now 2018 o Update of title for extended date range (2004-2017) o Change of publisher (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TES SFA) o No change to the DOI (10.3334/CDIAC/ornlsfa.004) • Please use the updated citation when referencing any or all the PLWP data.« less

Individual Tree Release and Enrichment Planting in Young Natural Upland Hardwoods

Treesearch

Daniel J. Robison; Jamie L. Schuler; Larry Jervis; Joseph L. Cox; Peter J. Birks

2004-01-01

Individual naturally regenerated trees of red oak, white oak, and yellow poplar in upland North Carolina Piedmont hardwood stands aged 1 to 13 were treated with mechanical clearing, herbicide of competition, and fertilization. These treatments produced significant changes in height and diameter growth 2 to 3 years posttreatment. Generally, height growth was negatively...

Diameter growth of upland oaks after thinning

Treesearch

Donald E. Hilt

1979-01-01

Diameter growth rates of the 40 largest trees per acre on 154 permanent plots in Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, and Iowa were analyzed to determine the effects of thinning in upland oak stands. The plots were established over a wide range of stocking levels, stand age, and site conditions. Thinning resulted in increased diameter growth of the residual trees, regardless of...

Effect of removing understory on growth of upland oak

Treesearch

Martin E. Dale

1975-01-01

The amount of additional growth attributed to complete eradication of all woody understory vegetation varied for several widely scattered upland oak stands in the region. Based on paired-plot comparisons of 10 or more years' results, basal-area and cubic-volume growth usually increased slightly when the understory was eradicated. The amount of increase was related...

Oak Regeneration: Four Years After Three Harvesting Treatments in a North Alabama Upland Hardwood Stand

Treesearch

David Shostak; Michael S. Golden; Mark R. Dubois

2002-01-01

Fourth year regeneration of upland oaks (Quercus spp.) was compared within three harvesting treatments in the mountains of northern Alabama. Six four-acre experimental blocks were established on north facing slopes. Each of the three harvesting treatments (deferment cutting, strip clearcutting, and block clearcutting) was randomly assigned to two...

Taper-based system for estimating stem volumes of upland oaks

Treesearch

Donald E. Hilt

1980-01-01

A taper-based system for estimating stem volumes is developed for Central States upland oaks. Inside bark diameters up the stem are predicted as a function of dbhib, total height, and powers and relative height. A Fortran IV computer program, OAKVOL, is used to predict cubic and board-foot volumes to any desired merchantable top dib. Volumes of...

Modeling 9-Year Survival Of Oak Advance Regeneration Under Shelterwood Overstories

Treesearch

Martin A. Spetich; David L. Graney

2004-01-01

Abstract Survival of white oak (Quercus alba L.), northern red oak (Q. rubra L.), and black oak (Q. velutina Lam.) on upland oak stands was modeled 9 years after shelterwood treatment. Stands represented a range of site quality, overstory stocking, and understory treatments. There were three...

Effects of Flood Duration and Depth on Germination of Cherrybark, Post, Southern, White and Willow Oak Acorns

Treesearch

Yanfei Guo; Michael G. Shelton; Eric Heitzman

2002-01-01

Effects of flood duration (0, 10, 20, and 30 days) and depth (10 and 100 centimeters below a water surface) on acorn germination were tested for two bottomland oaks (cherrybark oak [Quercus pagoda Raf.] and willow oak [Q. phellos L.]) and three upland oaks (post oak [Q. stellata Wang.], southern red oak [

Releasing red oak reproduction using a growing season application of Oust

Treesearch

Jamie L. Schuler; John Stephens

2010-01-01

In most cases, newly harvested upland oak stands contain sufficient numbers of red oak stems to form a fully stocked oak stand in the future. Unfortunately, many stands will not reach full stocking of oak due to intense competition from other non-oak reproduction. There are few feasible options to release established oak reproduction from other broadleaf woody or non-...

Growth and yield predictions for upland oak stands. 10 years after initial thinning

Treesearch

Martin E. Dale; Martin E. Dale

1972-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to furnish part of the needed information, that is, quantitative estimates of growth and yield 10 years after initial thinning of upland oak stands. All estimates are computed from a system of equations. These predictions are presented here in tabular form for convenient visual inspection of growth and yield trends. The tables show growth...

Individual-tree diameter growth model for managed, even-aged, upland oak stands

Treesearch

Donald E. Hilt

1983-01-01

A distance-independent, individual-tree diameter growth model was developed for managed, even-aged, upland oak stands. The 5-year basal-area growth of individual trees is first modeled as a function of dbh squared for given stands. Parameters from these models are then modeled as a function of mean stand diameter, percent stocking of the stand, and site index. A...

OAKSIM: An individual-tree growth and yield simulator for managed, even-aged, upland oak stands

Treesearch

Donald E. Hilt; Donald E. Hilt

1985-01-01

OAKSIM is an individual-tree growth and yield simulator for managed, even-aged, upland oak stands. Growth and yield projections for various thinning alternatives can be made with OAKSIM for a period of up to 50 years. Simulator components include an individual-tree diameter growth model, a mortality model, height prediction equations, bark ratio equations, a taper-...

Do chestnut, northern red, and white oak germinant seedlings respond similary to light treatments? II. Gas exchange and chlorophyll responses

Treesearch

Joanne Rebbeck; Amy Scherzer; Kurt Gottschalk

2012-01-01

Understanding differences in physiological and growth strategies in low-light environments among upland oak species may help managers address the challenges of oaks' poor regeneration. Gas exchange and chlorophyll content were measured for northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.), chestnut oak (Quercus prinus L.), and white oak (...

Oak Ridge Reservation Physical Characteristics and Natural Resources

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

Parr, P.D.; Hughes, J.F.

The topography, geology, hydrology, vegetation, and wildlife of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) provide a complex and intricate array of resources that directly impact land stewardship and use decisions (Fig. 1). The purpose of this document is to consolidate general information regarding the natural resources and physical characteristics of the ORR. The ORR, encompassing 33,114 acres (13,401 ha) of federally owned land and three Department of Energy (DOE) installations, is located in Roane and Anderson Counties in east Tennessee, mostly within the corporate limits of the city of Oak Ridge and southwest of the population center of Oak Ridge. Themore » ORR is bordered on the north and east by the population center of the city of Oak Ridge and on the south and west by the Clinch River/Melton Hill Lake impoundment. All areas of the ORR are relatively pristine when compared with the surrounding region, especially in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province (Fig. 2). From the air, the ORR is clearly a large and nearly continuous island of forest within a landscape that is fragmented by urban development and agriculture. Satellite imagery from 2006 was used to develop a land-use/land-cover cover map of the ORR and surrounding lands (Fig. 3). Following the acquisition of the land comprising the ORR in the early 1940s, much of the Reservation served as a buffer for the three primary facilities: the X-10 nuclear research facility (now known as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory [ORNL]), the first uranium enrichment facility or Y-12 (now known as the Y-12 National Security Complex [Y-12 Complex]), and a gaseous diffusion enrichment facility (now known as the East Tennessee Technology Park [ETTP]). Over the past 60 years, this relatively undisturbed area has evolved into a rich and diverse eastern deciduous forest ecosystem of streams and reservoirs, hardwood forests, and extensive upland mixed forests. The combination of a large land area with complex physical characteristics and diverse natural resources has provided a critical foundation for supporting DOE's environmental research mission, as well as the area in which to build leading-edge facilities.« less

Weight, volume, and physical properties of major hardwood species in the Southern Appalachian mountains

Treesearch

Alexander III Clark; James G. Schroeder

1985-01-01

The weight, volume, and physical properties of trees 1 to 20 inches d.h.h. were determined for basswood, blackgum (upland), red maple,yellow-poplar, white oak, sweet birch, black locust, hickory, black oak, chestnut oak, northern red oak, scarlet oak, and white oak in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Hard hardwoods, soft hardwoods, and individual species equations...

An analysis of modern pollen rain from the Maya lowlands of northern Belize

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bhattacharya, T.; Beach, T.; Wahl, D.

2011-01-01

In the lowland Maya area, pollen records provide important insights into the impact of past human populations and climate change on tropical ecosystems. Despite a long history of regional paleoecological research, few studies have characterized the palynological signatures of lowland ecosystems, a fact which lowers confidence in ecological inferences made from palynological data. We sought to verify whether we could use pollen spectra to reliably distinguish modern ecosystem types in the Maya lowlands of Central America. We collected 23 soil and sediment samples from eight ecosystem types, including upland, riparian, secondary, and swamp (bajo) forests; pine savanna; and three distinct wetland communities. We analyzed pollen spectra with non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), and found significant compositional differences in ecosystem types' pollen spectra. Forested sites had spectra dominated by Moraceae/Urticaceae pollen, while non-forested sites had significant portions of Poaceae, Asteraceae, and Amaranthaceae pollen. Upland, bajo, and riparian forest differed in representation of Cyperaceae, Bactris-type, and Combretaceae/Melastomataceae pollen. High percentages of pine (Pinus), oak (Quercus), and the presence of Byrsonima characterized pine savanna. Despite its limited sample size, this study provides one of the first statistical analyses of modern pollen rain in the Maya lowlands. Our results show that pollen assemblages can accurately reflect differences between ecosystem types, which may help refine interpretations of pollen records from the Maya area. ?? 2010 Elsevier B.V.

Floristic conservation value, nested understory floras, and the development of second-growth forest.

PubMed

Spyreas, Greg; Matthews, Jeffrey W

2006-08-01

Nestedness analysis can reveal patterns of plant composition and diversity among forest patches. For nested floral assemblages, the plants occupying any one patch are a nested subset of the plants present in successively more speciose patches. Elimination of sensitive understory plants with human disturbance is one of several mechanisms hypothesized to generate nonrandom, nested floral distributions. Hypotheses explaining distributions of understory plants remain unsubstantiated across broad landscapes of varying forest types and disturbance histories. We sampled the vegetation of 51 floodplain and 55 upland forests across Illinois (USA) to examine how the diversity, composition, and nestedness of understory floras related to their overstory growth and structure (basal area), and their overall floristic conservation value (mean C). We found that plant assemblages were nested with respect to site species richness, such that rare plants indicated diverse forests. Floras were also nested with respect to site mean C and basal area (BA). However, in an opposite pattern from what we had expected, floras of high-BA stands were nested subsets of those of low-BA stands. A set of early-successional plants restricted to low-BA stands, and more importantly, the absence of a set of true forest plants in high-BA stands, accounted for this pattern. Additionally, we observed a decrease in species richness with increasing BA. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that recovery of true forest plants does not occur concurrently with overstory regeneration following massive anthropogenic disturbance. Nestedness by site mean C indicates that high conservation value (conservative) plants co-occur in highly diverse stands; these forests are assumed to be less disturbed historically. Because site mean C was uncorrelated with BA, BA-neutral disturbances such as livestock usage are suggested as accounting for between-site differences in mean C. When considered individually, conservative plants were actually more likely to be found in low-BA stands (uplands only). This suggests that floras of historically more open-canopied oak-hickory uplands are being degraded by canopy closure from increasing density of "mesophytic, nonpyrogenic" trees. It also indirectly suggests that recent moderate logging is uncorrelated with floristic conservation values.

Effects of flood duration and season on germination of black, cherrybark, northern red, and water oak acorns

Treesearch

Yanfei Guo; Michael G. Shelton; Brian R. Lockhart

1998-01-01

Effects of flood duration (0, 10, 20, and 30 days) and season (winter and spring) on acorn germination were tested for two upland oaks [black and northern red oak (Quercus velutina Lam. and Q. rubra L.)] and two bottomland oaks [cherrybark and water oak (Q. pagoda Raf. and Q. nigra L.)]. Acorns...

Butt log quality of trees in Pennsylvania oak stands

Treesearch

Martin E. Dale; Robert L. Brisbin; Robert L. Brisbin

1985-01-01

Describes the distribution of sawtimber trees by diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) and grade for eight hardwood species in upland oak stands of Pennsylvania. The proportion of trees by d.b.h. and grade revealed differences between species. The quality of northern red oak, white oak, and yellow-poplar appeared inherently better than that of red maple, chestnut oak, and...

Oak Advanced Regeneration Following Seasonal Prescribed Fires In Mixed Hardowod Sheleterwood Stands

Treesearch

Roderick D. Cooper; David H. van Lear; Patrick H. Brose

1999-01-01

Regeneration of oaks (Quercus) on productive upland sites is a long-standing silvicultural problem due to aggressive competition from faster growing indetetminant species. We hypothesized that a single prescribed fire 3-5 years after an initial shelterwood cut would increase the competitive position of oak regeneration. Three productive oak-...

Methane Emissions from Upland Forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Megonigal, Patrick; Pitz, Scott; Wang, Zhi-Ping

2016-04-01

Global budgets ascribe 4-10% of atmospheric methane sinks to upland soils and assume that soils are the sole surface for methane exchange between upland forests and the atmosphere. The dogma that upland forests are uniformly atmospheric methane sinks was challenged a decade ago by the discovery of abiotic methane production from plant tissue. Subsequently a variety of relatively cryptic microbial and non-microbial methane sources have been proposed that have the potential to emit methane in upland forests. Despite the accumulating evidence of potential methane sources, there are few data demonstrating actual emissions of methane from a plant surface in an upland forest. We report direct observations of methane emissions from upland tree stems in two temperate forests. Stem methane emissions were observed from several tree species that dominate a forest located on the mid-Atlantic coast of North America (Maryland, USA). Stem emissions occurred throughout the growing season while soils adjacent to the trees simultaneously consumed methane. Scaling fluxes by stem surface area suggested the forest was a net methane source during a wet period in June, and that stem emissions offset 5% of the soil methane sink on an annual basis. High frequency measurements revealed diurnal cycles in stem methane emission rates, pointing to soils as the methane source and transpiration as the most likely pathway for gas transport. Similar observations were made in an upland forest in Beijing, China. However, in this case the evidence suggested the methane was not produced in soils, but in the heartwood by microbial or non-microbial processes. These data challenge the concept that forests are uniform sinks of methane, and suggest that upland forests are smaller methane sinks than previously estimated due to stem emissions. Tree emissions may be particularly important in upland tropical forests characterized by high rainfall and transpiration.

Songbird use of floodplain and upland forests along the Upper Mississippi River corridor during spring migration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kirsch, Eileen M.; Heglund, Patricia J.; Gray, Brian R.; Mckann, Patrick

2013-01-01

The Upper Mississippi River is thought to provide important stopover habitat for migrating landbirds because of its north-south orientation and floodplain forests. The river flows through the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota where forests are plentiful, yet forests of the floodplain and Driftless Area uplands differ greatly in landscape setting, tree species composition, and topography. We compared landbird assemblages in these upland and floodplain forests over three springs, 2005–2007, using line-transect surveys at randomly selected areas in and within 16 km of the floodplain. We found more species of both transient and locally breeding migrants per survey in floodplain than in upland forest. Detections of transient neotropical migrants did not differ statistically by habitat. Detections of locally breeding neotropical and temperate-zone migrants and transient temperate-zone migrants were greater in floodplain than in upland forest. Between floodplain and upland forest, assemblages of locally breeding species, including neotropical and temperate-zone migrants (of which some individuals were in transit), differed substantially, but assemblages of transients (including both neotropical and temperate-zone migrants) did not differ as much. Only two species of transient migrants had clear affinities for floodplain forest, and none had an affinity for upland forest, whereas most locally breeding migrants had an affinity for either upland or floodplain forest. Within each spring, however, detections of transient neotropical migrants shifted from being greater in floodplain to greater in upland forests. This intraseasonal shift may be related to the phenology of certain tree species.

Fertilization Increases Growth of Thinned and Nonthinned Upland Oak Stands in the Boston Mountains of Arkansas

Treesearch

D.L. Graney; P.E. Pope

1978-01-01

Thinning and fertilization tests with pole-sized red oaks (northern red oak Quercus rubra L. and black oak Q. velutina Lam.) and white oak (Q. alba L.) were begun in the Boston Mountains of Arkansas in the spring of 1975. Fertilizer treatments of either (1) no fertilization, (2) 200 Ibs N + 45 Ibs P per acre, or...

Biochemical basis of osmotic potential for several hardwood species

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

Shirshac, T.L.; Gebre, G.M.; Tschaplinski, T.J.

1995-06-01

Metabolite concentrations in leaves of several tree species in an upland oak forest were characterized to determine the biochemical basis of species differences in osmotic potential at saturation. Hydrologic treatments at the site included ambient, wet (+33% throughfall precipitation), and dry (-33% throughfall precipitation). All samples collected from the ambient plot in May have been analyzed for free primary amino acids, inorganic ions, soluble carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, and organic acids. In all species, free primary amino acids accounted for less than 1% of the total solute pool. Dogwood had the lowest total solute concentration (687 {mu}mol/g dw), corresponding to themore » highest osmotic potential at saturation (-1.05 MPa). Understory red maple, sugar maple, scarlet oak, white oak, and overstory red maple had increasing total solute concentrations, with chestnut oak having the highest solute concentration (1126 {mu}mol/g dw) and the lowest osmotic potential (-1.76 MPa). Osmotic adjustment to water stress was evident in chestnut oak in the dry treatment throughout the growing season--up to a 0.21 MPa difference in the dry plot relative to the ambient plot in September. The data on carbohydrate concentrations, however, only partially account for the adjustments. Given that inorganic ions constituted almost 50% of the total solute pool in chestnut oak in May, any large solute adjustment would likely result from changes in inorganic ions.« less

Cryptic Methane Emissions from Upland Forest Ecosystems

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

Megonigal, Patrick; Pitz, Scott

This exploratory research on Cryptic Methane Emissions from Upland Forest Ecosystems was motivated by evidence that upland ecosystems emit 36% as much methane to the atmosphere as global wetlands, yet we knew almost nothing about this source. The long-term objective was to refine Earth system models by quantifying methane emissions from upland forests, and elucidate the biogeochemical processes that govern upland methane emissions. The immediate objectives of the grant were to: (i) test the emerging paradigm that upland trees unexpectedly transpire methane, (ii) test the basic biogeochemical assumptions of an existing global model of upland methane emissions, and (iii) developmore » the suite of biogeochemical approaches that will be needed to advance research on upland methane emissions. We instrumented a temperate forest system in order to explore the processes that govern upland methane emissions. We demonstrated that methane is emitted from the stems of dominant tree species in temperate upland forests. Tree emissions occurred throughout the growing season, while soils adjacent to the trees consumed methane simultaneously, challenging the concept that forests are uniform sinks of methane. High frequency measurements revealed diurnal cycling in the rate of methane emissions, pointing to soils as the methane source and transpiration as the most likely pathway for methane transport. We propose the forests are smaller methane sinks than previously estimated due to stem emissions. Stem emissions may be particularly important in upland tropical forests characterized by high rainfall and transpiration, resolving differences between models and measurements. The methods we used can be effectively implemented in order to determine if the phenomenon is widespread.« less

Growth of Oak Reproduction Increased by Shelterwood Treatments in Northern Arkansas

Treesearch

David L. Graney

1999-01-01

Nine-year survival and growth of oak (Quercus alba L., Q. rubra L., and Q. velutina Lam.) reproduction was evaluated in upland oak stands representing a range in site quality, residual overstory stocking, and understory treatments. Analysis of variance was used to test for differences in establishment, survival...

Landscape dynamics in Mediterranean oak forests under global change: understanding the role of anthropogenic and environmental drivers across forest types.

PubMed

Acácio, Vanda; Dias, Filipe S; Catry, Filipe X; Rocha, Marta; Moreira, Francisco

2017-03-01

The Mediterranean region is projected to be extremely vulnerable to global change, which will affect the distribution of typical forest types such as native oak forests. However, our understanding of Mediterranean oak forest responses to future conditions is still very limited by the lack of knowledge on oak forest dynamics and species-specific responses to multiple drivers. We compared the long-term (1966-2006) forest persistence and land cover change among evergreen (cork oak and holm oak) and deciduous oak forests and evaluated the importance of anthropogenic and environmental drivers on observed changes for Portugal. We used National Forest Inventories to quantify the changes in oak forests and explored the drivers of change using multinomial logistic regression analysis and an information theoretical approach. We found distinct trends among oak forest types, reflecting the differences in oak economic value, protection status and management schemes: cork oak forests were the most persistent (62%), changing mostly to pines and eucalypt; holm oak forests were less persistent (53.2%), changing mostly to agriculture; and deciduous oak forests were the least persistent (45.7%), changing mostly to shrublands. Drivers of change had distinct importance across oak forest types, but drivers from anthropogenic origin (wildfires, population density, and land accessibility) were always among the most important. Climatic extremes were also important predictors of oak forest changes, namely extreme temperatures for evergreen oak forests and deficit of precipitation for deciduous oak forests. Our results indicate that under increasing human pressure and forecasted climate change, evergreen oak forests will continue declining and deciduous oak forests will be replaced by forests dominated by more xeric species. In the long run, multiple disturbances may change competitive dominance from oak forests to pyrophytic shrublands. A better understanding of forest dynamics and the inclusion of anthropogenic drivers on models of vegetation change will improve predicting the future of Mediterranean oak forests. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The impact of strip clearcutting on red oak seedling development

Treesearch

Jamie L. Schuler; Michael Boyce; Gary W. Miller

2017-01-01

A mature upland yellow-poplar/red oak stand was harvested using an alternating strip clearcut method. Red oak seedlings were planted across a light gradient between the cut and residual strips to assess the potential ability of the residual strips to foster the development of competitive oak seedlings over time. After one growing season, no differences in seedling...

Assessing the feasibility and profitability of cable logging in southern upland hardwood forests

Treesearch

Chris B. LeDoux; Dennis M. May; Tony Johnson; Richard H. Widmann

1995-01-01

Procedures developed to assess available timber supplies from upland hardwood forest statistics reported by the USDA Forest Services' Forest Inventory and Analysis unit were modified to assess the feasibility and profitability of cable logging in southern upland hardwood forests. Depending on the harvest system and yarding distance used, cable logging can be...

Impact of in-woods product merchandizing on profitable logging opportunities in southern upland hardwood forests

Treesearch

Dennis M. May; Chris B. LeDoux; John B. Tansey; Richard Widmann

1994-01-01

Procedures developed to assess available timber supplies from upland hardwood forest statistics reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) units, were modified to demonstrate the impact of three in-woods product-merchandizing options on profitable logging opportunities in upland hardwood forests in 14 Southern...

Estimating oak growth and yield

Treesearch

Martin E. Dale; Donald E. Hilt

1989-01-01

Yields from upland oak stands vary widely from stand to stand due to differences in age, site quality, species composition, and stand structure. Cutting history and other past disturbances such as grazing or fire also affect yields.

Site Index Curves For Upland Oak in the Southeast

Treesearch

David J. Olson

1959-01-01

These site index curves are based on 697 observations of height on age for white, northern red, southern red, scarlet, black, and chestnut oak in the Virginia- Carolina Piedmont and the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

High resilience of bryophyte assemblages in streamside compared to upland forests.

PubMed

Dynesius, Mats; Hylander, Kristoffer; Nilsson, Christer

2009-04-01

Landscape heterogeneity causes spatial variation in disturbance regimes and resilience. We asked whether the resilience of bryophyte (liverwort and moss) assemblages to clear-cutting differs between streamside and upland boreal forests in northern Sweden. We hypothesized that bryophyte survival and recolonization rates are higher in streamside areas, thus raising resilience. Conversely, disturbance-intolerant but also invading species should be more frequent here, potentially reducing resilience. In each of 18 sites, we compared two 0.1-ha plots (one streamside and one upland) located in old forest that had never been clear-cut with two matching plots in young stands established after clear-cutting of old forests 30-50 years earlier. We used the magnitude of the difference in assemblages between old and young stands as a measure of change and, therefore, resilience (large difference implying low resilience). Species assemblages were more resilient in streamside than in upland forests. Species composition changed significantly in upland but not in streamside forests. Reductions in species richness were more pronounced in upland forests for total richness and for eight subgroups of species. Two results indicated lower survival/recolonization in upland forests: (1) species had a stronger association with old stands in upland areas, and (2) among species present in both the old streamside and old upland plot in a site, fewer appeared in the young upland than in the corresponding streamside plot. Simultaneously, a higher proportion of species invaded streamside areas; 40 of the 262 species encountered in streamside forests increased their occupancy by two or more sites compared to only two of 134 species in uplands. We suggest that in boreal forests spatial variation in resilience of assemblages of forest organisms intolerant of canopy removal is related to factors governed mainly by topography. More generally, we argue that landscape-scale variation in resilience of assemblages is influenced by spatial variation in (1) stress and resource availability, (2) number of disturbance-intolerant species, and (3) magnitude of environmental changes brought about by a disturbance with a specific intensity. We also suggest that rapid recovery in the short term does not necessarily imply higher long-term ability to return to the pre-disturbance state.

Optimizing Emory oak woodlands for multiple resource benefits [Poster

Treesearch

Catlow Shipek; Peter F. Ffolliott; Gerald J. Gottfried; Leonard F. DeBano

2005-01-01

The Emory oak woodlands in the southwestern United States present a diverse range of resources. People utilize these woodlands for wood products, cattle grazing, and recreational purposes. The woodlands provide a diversity of wildlife habitats for resident and migratory species. Occupying predominantly upland regions, the oak woodlands protect watersheds from excessive...

Weight, Volume, and Physical Properties of Major Hardwood Species in the Upland-South

Treesearch

Alexander Clark; Douglas R. Phillips; Douglas J. Frederick

1986-01-01

The weight, volume, and physical properties oftrees1 to 20 inchesd.b.h.were determined for sweetgum, yellow-poplar, hickory, post oak, scarlet oak, southern red oak, and white oakin northern Alabama and Mississippi, eastern Arkansas, southern Kentucky and Tennessee. Hard hardwoods, soft hardwoods, and individual species equations are presented for predicting green and...

Oak Ecosystem Restoration and Maintenance in Southern Illinois

Treesearch

Charles M. Ruffner; John W. Groninger

2004-01-01

Oak dominance in southern Illinois appears to be a consequence of long term anthropogenic disturbances, including burning, grazing, and cutting. The increased prevalence of thin barked, shade tolerant species, such as sugar maple and beech on presently oak-dominated upland sites appears to be a result of the extremely low-intensity distur-bance regimes of the late 20...

Salt marsh hydrology data web site facilitates research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gardner, L. R.; Reeves, H. W.

The interface between maritime forests and inter-tidal salt marshes along the southeastern coast of the United States is a major ecological boundary characterized by a sequence of botanical zones that typically consist of pine/ oak forest>Iva>Juncus>Salicornia>Spartina. In addition to questions regarding the physical and chemical factors that govern this ecotone, this interface is of interest because of the potential for groundwater flow to transfer nutrients and pollutants from developed uplands to the adjacent marshes. The interface is also of interest because it is presumably migrating upslope as a result of ongoing sea level rise and concomitant aquifer salinization.A new Web site, http://links.baruch.sc.edu/data/GRNDWATER/data/data.htm, contains long-term and spatially dense measurements of groundwater heads and salinity from a network of nested piezometers that has been installed along three forest-marsh transects across the Crab Haul Creek finger marsh basin at the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Georgetown County South Carolina (Figure 1).

Oak soil-site relationships in northwestern West Virginia

Treesearch

L.R. Auchmoody; H. Clay Smith

1979-01-01

An oak soil-site productivity equation was developed for the well-drained, upland soils in the northwestern portion of West Virginia adjacent to the Ohio River. The equation uses five easily measured soil and topographic variables and average precipitation to predict site index. It accounts for 69 percent of the variation in oak site index and has a standard error of 4...

Effects of tree shelters on planted red oaks after six growing seasons

Treesearch

Douglas O. Lantagne

1995-01-01

A 22 year-old shelterwood treatment that failed to regenerate oaks on an upland site in Michigan was clearcut in the fall of 1986 and planted with 2-0 northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings the following spring. The four planting treatments included: control (clearcut harvest only), brush control only, 48 inch tree shelters only, and brush...

Establishing northern red oak on a degraded upland site in northeastern Pennsylvania: Influence of seedling pedigree and quality

Treesearch

Cornelia C. Pinchot; Thomas J. Hall; Scott E. Schlarbaum; Arnold M. Saxton; James Bailey

2017-01-01

Enrichment plantings using large oak seedlings of regional sources may promote superior survival and growth compared to direct seeding or standard nursery seedling material. This study evaluated the survival and growth of planted 1-0 northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings among 11 families and 3 seedling size classes (small, average, and...

Stocking, growth, and yield of oak stands

Treesearch

Samuel F. Gingrich

1971-01-01

An appraisal of stocking in even-aged upland oak stands is a prerequisite for determining the cultural needs of a given stand. Most oak stands have sufficient stocking to utilize the site, but are deficient in high-quality trees. Thinning such stands offers a good opportunity to upgrade the relative quality of the growing stock and enhance the growth and yield...

A Shelterwood-Burn Technique for Regenerating Productive Upland Oak Sites in the Piedmont Region

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose; David H. van Lear; Patrick D. Keyser

1999-01-01

Regenerating oak stands on productive uplandsires is widely recognized byforesters as a major problem in hardwood management. Recent research indicates that oak regeneration is more resistant to surface fires than its primary competitors on these sites if burning occurs 3 to 5 yr after a partial overstory harvest. This combination of cutting followed by fire (...

A comparison of point-count and mist-net detections of songbirds by habitat and time-of-season

Treesearch

Rich W. Pagen; Frank R., III Thompson; Dirk E. Burhans

2002-01-01

We compared the results of point-count and mist-net surveys during the breeding and post-breeding seasons in four Missouri Ozark habitats: mature upland forest, mature riparian forest, 9- to 10-yr-old upland forest and 3- to 4-yr-old upland forest created by clearcutting. We determined whether differences in abundance estimates among habitats or between breeding and...

Breeding birds in riparian and upland dry forests of the Cascade Range

Treesearch

John F. Lehmkuhl; E. Dorsey Burger; Emily K. Drew; John P. Lindsey; Maryellen Haggard; Kent Z. Woodruff

2007-01-01

We quantified breeding bird abundance, diversity, and indicator species in riparian and upland dry forests along six third- to fourth-order streams on the east slope of the Cascade Range, Washington, USA. Upland mesic forest on southerly aspects was dominated by open ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and dry Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii...

Temperature of upland and peatland soils in a north central Minnesota forest

Treesearch

Dale S. Nichols

1998-01-01

Soil temperature strongly influences physical, chemical, and biological activities in soil. However, soil temperature data for forest landscapes are scarce. For 6 yr, weekly soil temperatures were measured at two upland and four peatland sites in north central Minnesota. One upland site supported mature aspen forest, the other supported short grass. One peatland site...

Upland forests of the American/Pacific Islands: research opportunities in Micronesia and American Samoa

Treesearch

Dean S. DeBell; Craig D. Whitesell

1993-01-01

Upland forests of Micronesia and American Samoa can provide many social, ecological, and esthetic benefits for island inhabitants. Substantial upland areas (the majority of acreage on some islands) are now occupied by secondary and grassland/savanna vegetation; such areas represent opportunities for restoration, with both native forest cover and plantations of...

Plant and bird diversity in natural forests and in native and exotic plantations in NW Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Proença, Vânia M.; Pereira, Henrique M.; Guilherme, João; Vicente, Luís

2010-03-01

Forest ecosystems have been subjected to continuous dynamics between deforestation and forestation. Assessing the effects of these processes on biodiversity could be essential for conservation planning. We analyzed patterns of species richness, diversity and evenness of plants and birds in patches of natural forest of Quercus spp. and in stands of native Pinus pinaster and exotic Eucalyptus globulus in NW Portugal. We analyzed data of forest and non-forest species separately, at the intra-patch, patch and inter-patch scales. Forest plant richness, diversity and evenness were higher in oak forest than in pine and eucalypt plantations. In total, 52 species of forest plants were observed in oak forest, 33 in pine plantation and 28 in eucalypt plantation. Some forest species, such as Euphorbia dulcis, Omphalodes nitida and Eryngium juresianum, were exclusively or mostly observed in oak forest. Forest bird richness and diversity were higher in both oak and pine forests than in eucalypt forest; evenness did not differ among forests. In total, 16 species of forest birds were observed in oak forest, 18 in pine forest and 11 in eucalypt forest. Species such as Certhia brachydactyla, Sitta europaea and Dendrocopos major were common in oak and/or pine patches but were absent from eucalypt stands. Species-area relationships of forest plants and forest birds in oak patches had consistently a higher slope, at both the intra and inter-patch scales, than species-area relationships of forest species in plantations and non-forest species in oak forest. These findings demonstrate the importance of oak forest for the conservation of forest species diversity, pointing the need to conserve large areas of oak forest due to the apparent vulnerability of forest species to area loss. Additionally, diversity patterns in pine forest were intermediate between oak forest and eucalypt forest, suggesting that forest species patterns may be affected by forest naturalness.

Phenological responses of juvenile pecan and white oak on an upland site

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Pecan (Carya illinoiensis) and white oak (Quercus alba) produce multiple products and wildlife values, but their phenological responses to N fertilization have not been well characterized in an mixed species agroforestry practice. We compared tree height at planting and for six consecutive growing ...

Planting yellow-poplar, white ash, black cherry, and black locust

Treesearch

Robert D. Williams; Calvin F. Bey

1989-01-01

Hardwood plantations that include yellow-poplar, white ash, black cherry, and black locust can be established on upland sites in the central hardwoods region (see Note 3.06 Seeding and Planting Upland Oaks, and Note 3.08 Seeding and Planting Walnut). Even though hardwoods are more difficult to establish than conifers, there are...

Temperate Forest Methane Sink Diminished by Tree Emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Megonigal, P.; Pitz, S.

2015-12-01

Global budgets ascribe 4-10% of atmospheric CH4 sinks to upland soils and assume that soils are the sole surface for CH4 exchange between upland forests and the atmosphere. The prevailing dogma that upland forests are sinks of atmospheric CH4 was challenged a decade ago by large discrepancies in bottom-up versus top-down models of CH4 concentrations over upland forests that are still unexplained. Evidence of a novel abiotic mechanism for CH4 production from plant tissue is too small to explain the discrepancy. Alternative hypotheses for this observation have been proposed, but not tested. Here we demonstrate that CH4 is emitted from the stems of dominant tree species in an upland forest. Tree emissions occur throughout the growing season while soils adjacent to the trees are consuming CH4, challenging the concept that forests are uniform sinks of CH4. Scaling by stem surface area showed the forest to be a net CH4 source during a wet sample in June and a reduced CH4 sink by 5% annually. High frequency measurements revealed diurnal cycling in the rate of CH4 emissions, pointing to soils as the CH4 source and transpiration as the most likely pathway for CH4 transport. We propose the forests are smaller CH4 sinks than previously estimated due to stem emissions. Stem emissions may be particularly important in upland tropical forests characterized by high rainfall and transpiration, resolving differences between models and measurements.

Oak wilt: a potential threat to southern and western oak forests

Treesearch

A. Dan Wilson

2001-01-01

Oak wilt is recognized as one of the most destructive diseases to afflict oak species in the United States. The distribution and development of oak wilt in our eastern and midwestern oak forests has been closely linked to changes in forest stand composition, forest management practices, and pathogen dissemination facilitated by human and vector activity. The potential...

Bark structure of southern upland oaks

Treesearch

E.T. Howard

1977-01-01

Bark structure of eleven oak species commonly found on southern pine sites was examined and described. In inner bark (phloem), groups of thick-walled lignified fibers and sclereids are interspersed among thin-walled cellulosic elements (parenchyma, sieve tube members, and companion cells). These fibers and sclereids greatly influence the bark's density, hardness,...

Where Do We Go From Here?

Treesearch

Martin L. Blaney; Scott Simon; James M. Guldin; Tom Riley; Donny Harris; Rebecca McPeake

2004-01-01

The structure and diversity of the upland oak ecosystem has changed significantly, primarily caused by fire suppression and historic forestry practices, leaving the ecosystem vulnerable to outbreaks of pathogens and insects. These conditions, coupled with periods of drought, have caused significant oak mortality throughout the Interior Highland region shifting the...

Influence of thinning style on stand structure and growth in upland oaks: a 58-year case study

Treesearch

Jeffery S. Ward

2003-01-01

In 1937, a study comparing low and high thinning (partial crop tree release) was established in northwestern Connecticut. Oaks accounted for 65 percent of the crop trees that were partially released at stand ages 17, 26, and 42 years. Sawtimber trees had greater diameters, higher volumes, and higher tree grades on thinned than unmanaged plots. The higher oak density on...

Subfossil Leaves Reveal a New Upland Hardwood Component of the Pre-European Piedmont Landscape, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

PubMed Central

Elliott, Sara J.; Wilf, Peter; Walter, Robert C.; Merritts, Dorothy J.

2013-01-01

Widespread deforestation, agriculture, and construction of milldams by European settlers greatly influenced valley-bottom stream morphology and riparian vegetation in the northeastern USA. The former broad, tussock-sedge wetlands with small, anastomosing channels were converted into today’s incised, meandering streams with unstable banks that support mostly weedy, invasive vegetation. Vast accumulations of fine-grained “legacy” sediments that blanket the regional valley-bottom Piedmont landscape now are being reworked from stream banks, significantly impairing the ecological health of downstream water bodies, most notably the Chesapeake Bay. However, potential restoration is impaired by lack of direct knowledge of the pre-settlement riparian and upslope floral ecosystems. We studied the subfossil leaf flora of Denlingers Mill, an obsolete (breached) milldam site in southeastern Pennsylvania that exhibits a modern secondary forest growing atop thin soils, above bedrock outcrops immediately adjacent to a modified, incised stream channel. Presumably, an overhanging old-growth forest also existed on this substrate until the early 1700s and was responsible for depositing exceptionally preserved, minimally transported subfossil leaves into hydric soil strata, which immediately underlie post-European settlement legacy sediments. We interpret the eleven identified species of the subfossil assemblage to primarily represent a previously unknown, upland Red Oak-American Beech mixed hardwood forest. Some elements also appear to belong to a valley-margin Red Maple-Black Ash swamp forest, consistent with preliminary data from a nearby site. Thus, our results add significantly to a more complete understanding of the pre-European settlement landscape, especially of the hardwood tree flora. Compared with the modern forest, it is apparent that both lowland and upslope forests in the region have been modified significantly by historical activities. Our study underscores that generally overlooked subfossil leaves can provide important, local, temporally constrained paleoecological data, with much potential value in this case for stream and wetland restoration decisions in the mid-Atlantic region. PMID:24236120

The increasing sacrcity of red oaks in Mississippi river floodplain forestS: Influence of the residual overstory

Treesearch

Chadwick Dearing Oliver; E.C. Burkhardt; Daniel A. Skojac

2005-01-01

Red oaks - cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda Raf.) willow oak (Quercus phellos L.), water oak (Quercus nigra L.), and Nuttall oak (Quercus texana Buckley; aka: Quercus nuttallii Palmer) - are not regrowing in Mississippi Delta river floodplain forests in the southeastern United...

[Contribution of tropical upland forests to carbon storage in Colombia].

PubMed

Yepes, Adriana; Herrera, Johana; Phillips, Juan; Galindo, Gustavo; Granados, Edwin; Duque, Alvaro; Barbosa, Adriana; Olarte, Claudia; Cardona, María

2015-03-01

The tropical montane forests in the Colombian Andean region are located above 1500 m, and have been heavily deforested. Despite the general presumption that productivity and hence carbon stocks in these ecosystems are low, studies in this regard are scarce. This study aimed to (i) to estimate Above Ground Biomass (AGB) in forests located in the South of the Colombian Andean region, (ii) to identify the carbon storage potential of tropical montane forests dominated by the black oak Colombobalanus excelsa and to identify the relationship between AGB and altitude, and (iii) to analyze the role of tropical mountain forests in conservation mechanisms such as Payment for Environmental Services (PES) and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+). Twenty six 0.25 ha plots were randomly distributed in the forests and all trees with D > or =10 cm were measured. The results provided important elements for understanding the role of tropical montane forests as carbon sinks. The information produced can be used in subnational initiatives, which seek to mitigate or reduce the effects of deforestation through management or conservation of these ecosystems, like REDD+ or PES. The AGB and carbon stocks results obtained were similar to those reported for lowland tropical forests. These could be explained by the dominance and abundance of C. excelsa, which accounted for over 81% of AGB/carbon. The error associated with the estimates of AGB/carbon was 10.58%. We found a negative and significant relationship between AGB and altitude, but the higher AGB values were in middle altitudes (approximatly = 700-1800 m), where the environmental conditions could be favorable to their growth. The carbon storage potential of these forests was higher. However, if the historical rate of the deforestation in the study area continues, the gross emissions of CO2e to the atmosphere could turn these forests in to an important emissions source. Nowadays, it is clear that tropical montane forests are vulnerable to deforestation, especially black Oak forests due to their commercial value. Given their high carbon storage potential, the presence of endemic species and the strategic functions of these ecosystems, we recommend that they should be considered relevant during REDD+, PES or any other conservation assessment.

CARBON MONOXIDE FLUXES OF DIFFERENT SOIL LAYERS IN UPLAND CANADIAN BOREAL FORESTS

EPA Science Inventory

Dark or low-light carbon monoxide fluxes at upland Canadian boreal forest sites were measured on-site with static chambers and with a laboratory incubation technique using cores from different depths at the same sites. Three different upland black spruce sites, burned in 1987,199...

Intensity of precommercial crop-tree release increases diameter and crown growth in upland hardwoods

Treesearch

Jeffrey S. Ward

1995-01-01

In 1988 seven study areas were established in Connecticut to examine the effects of precommercial crop tree release on bole and crown growth. Each study area has 27 8x8 m plots centered on a northern red oak, black oak, or scarlet oak identified as a potential crop-tree (PCT). The 27 plots at each study area were divided into 3 treatments: no cutting, removal of all...

Fire effects on Gambel oak in southwestern ponderosa pine-oak forests

Treesearch

Scott R. Abella; Peter Z. Fulé

2008-01-01

Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) is ecologically and aesthetically valuable in southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests. Fire effects on Gambel oak are important because fire may be used in pine-oak forests to manage oak directly or to accomplish other management objectives. We used published literature to: (1) ascertain...

Phenological responses of juvenile pecan and white oak on an upland site

Treesearch

D. M. Burner; D. K. Brauer; J. L. Snider; C. A. Harrington; P. A. Moore

2014-01-01

Pecan (Carya illinoiensis) and white oak (Quercus alba) produce multiple products and wildlife values, but their phenological responses to N fertilization have not been well characterized. We compared tree growth at planting and for six consecutive growing seasons during establishment (2003–2008, Test 1), and determined if...

Basidiomycetes Associated with Decay of Living Oak Trees

Treesearch

Frederick H. Berry; Frances F. Lombard

1978-01-01

Thirty-one identified species of wood-rotting hymenomycetes were associated with decay and cull in upland oak stands in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio. Seven of these species produced brown rots that accounted for a volume loss of approximately 381 ft3 in the trees sampled. The remaining species produced white rots that were...

Oak Regeneration Following Three Cutting Treatments on Mountain Slopes in Northern Alabama

Treesearch

Michael S. Golden; Mark R. Dubois; Jeffery L. Stockman

1999-01-01

Early regeneration success of upland oaks (Quercus spp. L.) was compared for three regeneration cutting treatments in the Sandstone Mountain Region of northern Alabama. Two 4-acre replications each of block dearcutting, strip cutting, and deferment cutting were established on north-facing slopes. The three harvesting treatments were applied in...

Status of oak seedlings and saplings in the northern United States: implications for sustainability of oak forests

Treesearch

Chris W. Woodall; Randall S. Morin; Jim R. Steinman; Charles H. Perry

2008-01-01

Oak species are a substantial component of forest ecosystems in a 24-state region spanning the northern U.S. During recent decades, it has been documented that the health of oak forests has been experiencing large-scale decline. To further evaluate the sustainability of oak forests in nearly half the states of the U.S., the current status of oak seedlings and saplings...

Thinning results from a mixed upland hardwood stand after 35 years

Treesearch

Ronald J., Jr. Myers; Kenneth R. Roeder; W. Henry McNab

2008-01-01

A long-term study of precommercial thinning was installed in a 6-year-old oak-dominated stand regenerated by clearcutting in the southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Three levels of residual stand density were tested: control (no thinning), and 200, and 400 residual trees per acre (TPA). Objectives of the study were to determine the response of an upland...

Responses of Isolated Wetland Herpetofauna to Upland Forest Management

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

Russell, K.R.; Hanlin, H.G.; Wigley, T.B.

2002-01-02

Measurement of responses of herpetofauna at isolated wetlands in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina to disturbance of adjacent loblolly pine forest. Many species of isolated wetland herpetofauna in the Southeastern Coastal Plain may tolerate some disturbance in adjacent upland stands. Responses of isolated wetland herpetofauna to upland silviculture and the need for adjacent forested buffers likely depend on the specific landscape context in which the wetlands occur and composition of the resident herpetofaunal community.

Silviculture and management strategies applicable to southern hardwoods

Treesearch

Ray R. Hicks; William H. Conner; Robert C. Kellison; David Van Lear

2004-01-01

Southern hardwood forests stretch from the Virginias to Florida and from the mid-Atlantic to Missouri. They can generally be grouped into upland forests and bottomland forests. The upland hardwood forests of the southern region are usually associated with the mountainous topography of the Appalachians and Ozarks. Bottomland hardwoods are found along the floodplains of...

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...

Effect of thinning on height and diameter growth of oak & yellow-poplar saplings

Treesearch

Rufus H., Jr. Allen; David A. Marquis; David A. Marquis

1970-01-01

Studying the response to thinning of a 7- to 9-year-old upland hardwood sapling stand, we found that height growth of yellow-poplar and oak trees was markedly reduced by heavy thinning. This suggests that stand density should be carefully controlled to achieve maximum benefit from thinnings in very young stands.

Hardwood Fertilization: Research Progress in the Midsouth

Treesearch

B. G. Blackmon

1974-01-01

To meet the increasing demand for wood and wood products, the Southern Hardwoods Laboratory is investigating silvicultural techniques such as fertilization. Sweetgum, water oak, and willow oak have responded to N and NPK on clay soils of the Mississippi River floodplain. Yellow-poplar growth has been improved by NPK fertilizers on eroded sites in the Silty Uplands, and...

Oak Seedlings: Quality Improved Available Now Genetically Improved Available Soon

Treesearch

S.E. Schlarbaum; Paul P. Kormanik; T. Tibbs; L.R. Barber

1997-01-01

Technology for obtaining natural oak regeneration on low quality upland sites, e.g. site indices of 60-65 or less, was developed in the Central Statesregion and has been successfully applied throughout the eastern United States (Sanderand Graney 1993, Clark 1993, Sander 1972). Modification of this technology for use on high quality mesic sites, productive coves and...

Brood cover and food resources for wild turkeys following silvicultural treatments in mature upland hardwoods

Treesearch

M. McCord; C. Harper; Katie Greenberg

2014-01-01

Closed-canopy, upland hardwood forests with limited understory development provide suboptimal habitat for wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) broods and may lead to low recruitment. Various forest management practices have been used to stimulate understory development within upland hardwoods, but evaluation of such practices on cover and food resources for wild turkey...

Historical land-use changes and potential effects on stream disturbance in the Ozark Plateaus, Missouri

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jacobson, Robert B.; Primm, Alexander T.

1997-01-01

Land-use changes have been blamed for creating disturbance in the morphology of streams in the Ozark Plateaus, Missouri (hereafter referred to as the "Ozarks"). Historical evidence and stratigraphic observations document that streams have been aggraded by substantial quantities of gravel beginning sometime at or near the time of European settlement of the Ozarks. Before European settlement, streams were depositing a mixed sediment load of gravel bedload and silty overbank sediment. Observations of early explorers conspicuously lack descriptions of extensive gravel bars; observations of geologists working during the middle to late 1800's before significant landuse disturbance, however, include descriptions of large quantities of gravel in stream banks and beds.The first change in land cover as settlement progressed from the early 1800's to approximately 1880 was replacement of valley-bottom forest with cultivated fields and pastures. At the same time, suppression of wildfires in the uplands caused an increase of woodland with woody understory at the expense of grassland and oak savannah. Valley-bottom clearing probably initiated some direct disturbance of stream channels, but fire suppression would have decreased runoff and sediment yield from uplands.Beginning sometime from 1870 to 1880 and continuing until 1920, commercial timber companies began large operations in the Ozarks to harvest shortleaf pine for sawlogs and oak for railroad ties. Selective cutting of large timber, use of livestock for skidding logs from the forest, and avoidance of the steeper slopes minimized the effect of this phase of logging on runoff and sediment supply of uplands and valley-side slopes. Continued decreases in the erosional resistance of valley bottoms through clearing and road building and the incidence of extreme regional floods from 1895 to 1915 probably caused initiation of moderate stream disturbance. This hypothesis is supported by historical and oral-historical observations that stream instability began before the peak of upland destabilization from 1920 to 1960.The post-Timber-boom period (1920-60) included the institution of annual burning of uplands and cut-over valley-side slopes, increased grazing on open range, and increased use of marginal land for cultivated crops. Models for landuse controls on annual runoff, storm runoff, and soil erosion indicate that this period should have been the most effective in creating stream disturbance. Written historical sources and oral-historical accounts indicate that erosion was notable mainly on lands in row-crop cultivation. Oral-history respondents consistently recall that smaller streams had more discharge for longer periods from 1920 to 1960 than from 1960 to 1993; many additionally observed that floods are "flashier" under present-day (1993) conditions. Changes in the timing of hydrographs probably relate to changes in upland and riparian zone vegetation that decreased storage and flow resistance. Probably the most destabilizing effect on Ozarks stream channels during this period was caused by livestock on the open range that concentrated in valley bottoms and destroyed riparian vegetation in the channels and on banks. Destruction of riparian vegetation in small valleys may have encouraged headward migration of channels, resulting in extension of the drainage network and accelerated release of gravel from storage in the small valleys. This hypothesis is supported by lack of other sources for the large quantity of gravel in Ozarks streams and oral-historical observations that gravel came out of the runs, rather than from slopes.From 1960 to 1993, cultivated fields and total improved land in farms decreased, but cattle populations continued to increase. This increase in grazing density has the potential to maintain runoff and sediment delivery to streams at rates higher than natural background rates. Whereas some riparian zones have been allowed to grow up into bottom-land forest, this stabilizing effect occurs on only a small part of valley-bottom land. Recovery processes aided by riparian vegetation are limited by channel instability and frequent, large floods.

Historical land-use changes and potential effects on stream disturbance in the Ozark Plateaus, Missouri

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jacobson, Robert B.; Primm, Alexander T.

1994-01-01

Land-use changes have been blamed for creating disturbance in the morphology of streams in the Ozark Plateaus, Missouri (hereafter referred to as the Ozarks). Historical evidence and stratigraphic observations document that streams have been aggraded by substantial quantities of gravel beginning sometime at or near the time of European settlement of the Ozarks. Before European settlement, streams were depositing a mixed sediment load of gravel bedload and silty over-bank sediment. Observations of early explorers conspicuously lack descriptions of extensive gravel bars; observations of geologists working during the middle to late 1800's before significant land-use disturbance, however, include descriptions of large quantities of gravel in stream banks and beds.The first change in land cover as settlement progressed from the early 1800's to approximately 1880 was replacement of valley-bottom forest with cultivated fields and pastures. At the same time, suppression of wildfires in the uplands caused an increase of woodland with woody understory at the expense of grassland and oak savannah. Valley-bottom clearing probably initiated some direct disturbance of stream channels, but fire suppression would have decreased runoff and sediment yield from uplands.Beginning sometime during 1870 to 1880 and continuing until 1920, commercial timber companies began large operations in the Ozarks harvesting shortleaf pine for sawlogs and oak for railroad ties. Selective cutting of large timber, use of livestock for skidding logs from the forest, and avoidance of the steeper slopes minimized the effect of this phase of logging on runoff and sediment supply of uplands and valley-side slopes. Continued decreases in the erosional resistance of valley bottoms through clearing and road building, and the incidence of extreme regional floods from 1895 to 1915, probably caused initiation of moderate stream disturbance. This hypothesis is supported by historical and oral-historical observations that stream instability began before the peak of upland destabilization from 1920 to 1960.The post-Timber-boom period (1920 to 1960) included the institution of annual burning of uplands and cut-over valley-side slopes, increased grazing on open range, and increased use of marginal land for cultivated crops. Models for land-use controls on annual runoff, storm runoff, and soil erosion indicate this period should have been the most effective in creating stream disturbance. Written historical sources and oral-historical accounts indicate that erosion was notable mainly on lands in row-crop cultivation. Oral-history respondents consistently recall that smaller streams had more discharge for longer periods during 1920 to 1960 than during 1960 to 1993; many additionally observed that floods are "flashier" under present-day (1993) conditions. Changes in the timing of hydrographs probably relate to changes in upland and riparian zone vegetation that decreased storage and flow resistance. Probably the most destabilizing effect on Ozarks stream channels during this period was caused by livestock on the open range that concentrated in valley bottoms and destroyed riparian vegetation in the channels and on banks. Destruction of riparian vegetation in small valleys may have encouraged headward migration of channels, resulting in extension of the drainage network and accelerated release of gravel from storage in the small valleys. This hypothesis is supported by lack of other sources for the large quantity of gravel in Ozarks streams and oral-historical observations that gravel came out of the runs, rather than from slopes.From 1960 to 1993, cultivated fields and total improved land in farms decreased, but cattle populations continued to increase. This increase in grazing density has the potential to maintain runoff and sediment delivery to streams at rates higher than natural background rates. Whereas some riparian zones have been allowed to grow up into bottom-land forest, this stabilizing effect occurs on only a small part of valley-bottom land. Recovery processes aided by riparian vegetation are limited by channel instability and frequent, large floods.

Application of a tree-level hydrodynamic model to simulate plot-level transpiration in the upland oak/pine forest in New Jersey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirfenderesgi, G.; Bohrer, G.; Matheny, A. M.; Fatichi, S.; Frasson, R. P. M.; Schafer, K. V.

2015-12-01

The Finite-Elements Tree-Crown Hydrodynamics model version 2 (FETCH2) simulates water flow through the tree using the porous media analogy. Empirical equations relate water potential within the stem to stomatal conductance at the leaf level. Leaves are connected to the stem at each height. While still simplified, this approach brings realism to the simulation of transpiration compared with models where stomatal conductance is directly linked to soil moisture. The FETCH2 model accounts for plant hydraulic traits such as xylem conductivity, area of hydro-active xylem, vertical distribution of leaf area, and maximal and minimal xylem water content, and their effect on the dynamics of water flow in the tree system. Such a modeling tool enhances our understanding of the role of hydraulic limitations and allows us to incorporate the effects of short-term water stresses on transpiration. Here, we use FETCH2 parameterized and evaluated with a large sap-flow observations data set, collected from 21 trees of two genera (oak/pine) at Silas Little Experimental Forest, NJ. The well-drained deep sandy soil leads to water stress during many days throughout the growing season. We conduct a set of tree-level transpiration simulations, and use the results to evaluate the effects of different hydraulic strategies on daily transpiration and water use efficiency. We define these "hydraulic strategies" through combinations of multiple sets of parameters in the model that describe the root, stem and leaf hydraulics. After evaluating the performance of the model, we use the results to shed light on the future trajectory of the forest in terms of species-specific transpiration responses. Application of the model on the two co-occurring oak species (Quercus prinus L. and Quercus velutina Lam) shows that the applied modeling approach was successfully captures the differences in water-use strategy through optimizing multiple physiological and hydraulic parameters.

Disturbance, succession, and structural development of an upland hardwood forest on the Interior Low Plateau, Tennessee

Treesearch

Justin L. Hart; Merrit M. Cowden; Scott J. Torreano; J. Patrick R. Vestal

2017-01-01

We quantified species composition, stand structure, canopy disturbance history, and Quercus establishment and canopy accession patterns in an upland hardwood forest in Tennessee. The forest established in the mid-1800s and exhibited structural characteristics that were within the range of what has been reported from other late-successional forests...

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...

Carbon exchange and venting anomalies in an upland deciduous forest in northern Wisconsin, USA

Treesearch

Bruce D. Cook; Kenneth J. Davis; Weiguo Wang; Ankur Desai; Bradford W. Berger; Ron M. Teclaw; Jonathan G. Martin; Paul V. Bolstad; Peter S. Bakwin; Chuixiang Yi; Warren Heilman

2004-01-01

Turbulent fluxes of carbon, water vapor, and temperature were continuously measured above an upland forest in north central Wisconsin during 1999 and 2000 using the eddy covariance method. Maple (Acer saccharum), basswood (Tilia americana), and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) species found in this forest...

Soil communities and plant litter decomposition as influenced by forest debris: Variation across tropical riparian and upland sites.

Treesearch

Honghua Ruana; Yiqing Lib; Xiaoming Zouc

2005-01-01

Forest debris on ground surface can interact with soil biota and consequently change ecosystem processes across heterogeneous landscape. We examined the interactions between forest debris and litter decomposition in riparian and upland sites within a tropical wet forest. Our experiment included control and debris-removal treatments. Debris-removal reduced leaf litter...

Changes in Microbial Nitrogen Across a 100-Year Chronosequence of Upland Hardwood Forests

Treesearch

Travis W. Idol; Phillip E. Pope; Felix, Jr. Ponder

2002-01-01

Soil microorganisms mediate many of the major processes involved in soil N cycling. Also, they are strong competitors with plants for available soil N. Thus, changes in microbial N because of forest harvesting may have significant impacts on N availability and overall forest N cycling. A chronosequence of upland hardwood forest stands in southern Indiana, USA, ranging...

Response of seasonal pond plant communities to upland forest harvest in northern Minnesota forests, USA

Treesearch

Brian J. Palik; Doug. Kastendick

2010-01-01

Small seasonally flooded forest ponds have received increased attention due to a growing recognition of their abundance in many landscapes, their importance as habitat for a variety of organisms, and the contributions they make to species and ecosystem diversity. There also is concern over potential negative effects of forest management in adjacent uplands on seasonal...

Using Forest Service forest inventory and analysis data to estimate regional oak decline and oak mortality

Treesearch

Kathryn W. Kromroy; Jennifer Juzwik; Paul Castillo; Mark H. Hansen

2008-01-01

Damage and mortality data are collected as part of the US Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) ongoing assessments of the nation's timberlands. The usefulness and value of FIA tree data in assessing historical levels of oak decline and oak mortality were investigated for seven Midwestern states. The data were collected during two periodic...

Litter and nutrient flows in tropical upland forest flooded by a hydropower plant in the Amazonian basin.

PubMed

Pereira, Guilherme Henrique A; Jordão, Henos Carlos K; Silva, Vanessa Francieli V; Pereira, Marcos Gervasio

2016-12-01

Extensive areas in the Brazilian Amazon have been flooded for the construction of hydroelectric dams. However, the water regime of these areas affects the dynamics of igarapés (streams) in adjacent terra firme (upland forests). When the reservoirs are filled, the water levels of streams rise above the normal levels and upland bank forests are flooded. We investigated how this flooding affects the litterfall and nutrient input in the upland forests upstream of a hydroelectric dam reservoir in the Central Amazonia. When the reservoir was filled, the forests were flooded and produced more than twice the litter (8.80Mg·ha -1 yr -1 ), with three times more leaves (6.36Mg·ha -1 yr -1 ) than when they were not flooded (4.20 and 1.92Mg·ha -1 yr -1 , respectively). During flooding, the decomposition rate was four times lower in flooded forests (0.328g·g -1 yr -1 ) than in control forests (1.460g·g -1 yr -1 ). Despite this, the flooding did not favor litter or nutrient accumulation. Therefore, dam construction changes the organic matter and nutrient cycling in upland Amazon rainforests. This may influence the important role that they play in organic matter dynamics and could have consequences for the regional carbon balance and, ultimately, global climate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thinking About Oak Forests as Responsive Ecosystems

Treesearch

Paul S. Johnson

2004-01-01

Like all forests, oak forests are continually responding to disturbances originating from both within and outside the forest. Oaks (Quercus spp.) owe their very existence to disturbance. In this context, silvicultural and other manage-ment practices can be thought of as planned disturbances designed to direct forest change in specific ways. The...

An old-growth definition for xeric pine and pine-oak woodlands

Treesearch

Paul A. Murphy; Gregory J. Nowacki

1997-01-01

The old-growth characteristics of xeric pine and pine-oak woodlands are summarized from a survey of the available scientific literature. This type occurs throughout the South and is usually found as small inclusions on ridgetops and south-facing slopes in the mountains or on excessively drained, sandy uplands in gentle terrain. Historically, this type has had frequent...

Improving strand quality of upland oaks for use in oriented strand board

Treesearch

David B. DeValliance; Jody D. Gray; Shawn T. Grushecky

2013-01-01

Past research estimates that more than 1 million tons of oak logging residues go unused in West Virginia each year. Much research has been done investigating potential products and markets for this underutilized resource. West Virginia is home to an oriented strand board (OSB) producer that consumes large volumes of small diameter, low quality round wood. However, the...

Defoliation and oak mortality in Southern New England

Treesearch

Jeffrey S. Ward

2007-01-01

Crown class and diameter of 4088 upland oaks have been monitored at 10-year intervals since 1927. Plots had three episodes of moderate to heavy defoliation: 1961-1964, 1971-1972, and 1981. Primary defoliators were gypsy moth, canker worm, and elm spanworm. Mortality peaked during the period of 1957-1967 when there were three years of defoliation. Mortality was higher...

Truffle abundance in riparian and upland mixed-conifer forest of California's southern Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Marc D. Meyer; Malcolm P. North

2005-01-01

We compared the abundance, diversity, and composition of truffles in riparian and upland areas within a mixed-conifer forest of the Sierra Nevada of California. We sampled for truffles in a single watershed over two seasons (spring and summer) and 4 years to determine whether truffles were more abundant and diverse in riparian than upland sites in old-growth, mixed-...

The red oak - white oak forests of the Anthracite Region

Treesearch

C. F. Burnham; M. J. Ferree; F. E. Cunningham

1947-01-01

The red oak - white oak forests of the Anthracite Region occupy as substantial portion - 28.6 percent or 915,200 acres - of the region's 3,198,400 acres of forest land. These forests have been so heavily cut for lumber and mine timbers during the past 100 years and have been so badly ravaged by fire following these heavy cuttings that in their present condition...

Do natural disturbances or the forestry practices that follow them convert forests to early-successional communities?

PubMed

Brewer, J Stephen; Bertz, Christine A; Cannon, Jeffery B; Chesser, Jason D; Maynard, Erynn E

2012-03-01

Stand-replacing natural disturbances in mature forests are traditionally seen as events that cause forests to revert to early stages of succession and maintain species diversity. In some cases, however, such transitions could be an artifact of salvage logging and may increase biotic homogenization. We present initial (two-year) results of a study of the effects of tornado damage and the combined effects of tornado damage and salvage logging on environmental conditions and ground cover plant communities in mixed oak-pine forests in north central Mississippi. Plots were established in salvage-logged areas, adjacent to plots established before the storm in unlogged areas, spanning a gradient of storm damage intensity. Vegetation change directly attributable to tornado damage was driven primarily by a reduction in canopy cover but was not consistent with a transition to an early stage of succession. Although we observed post-storm increases of several disturbance indicators (ruderals), we also observed significant increases in the abundance of a few species indicative of upland forests. Increases in flowering were just as likely to occur in species indicative of forests as in species indicative of open woodlands. Few species declined as a result of the tornado, resulting in a net increase in species richness. Ruderals were very abundant in salvage-logged areas, which contained significantly higher amounts of bare ground and greater variance in soil penetrability than did damaged areas that were not logged. In contrast to unlogged areas severely damaged by the tornado, most upland forest indicators were not abundant in logged areas. Several of the forest and open-woodland indicators that showed increased flowering in damaged areas were absent or sparse in logged areas. Species richness was lower in salvage-logged areas than in adjacent damaged areas but similar to that in undamaged areas. These results suggest that salvage logging prevented positive responses of several forest and open-woodland species to tornado damage. Anthropogenic disturbances such as salvage logging appear to differ fundamentally from stand-level canopy-reducing disturbances in their effects on ground cover vegetation in the forests studied here and are perhaps more appropriately viewed as contributing to biotic homogenization than as events that maintain diversity.

The status of oak and hickory regeneration in forests of Virginia

Treesearch

Anita K. Rose

2008-01-01

Evidence suggests that eastern U.S. forests dominated by oak (Quercus spp.) and hickory (Carya spp.) may be shifting to more maple- (Acer spp.) and mixed-species dominated forests. Data from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis program were used to describe the status of oak and hickory...

Black walnut response to subsoiling, irrigation, and vegetation management on a site with a shallow fragipan

Treesearch

F. D. McBride; J. W. Van Sambeek

1995-01-01

Vegetation management with glyphosate and simazine proved to be more effective than preplant subsoiling or irrigation for achieving acceptable walnut biomass growth on an upland old field site (SI = 70 for white oak). In 1980, we direct seeded germinating black walnut seed on an upland, slightly eroded, old field ridge with a 45 to 60 cm deep fragipan. We tested all...

Upland log volumes and conifer establishment patterns in two northern, upland old-growth redwood forests, a brief synopsis

Treesearch

Daniel J. Porter; John O. Sawyer

2007-01-01

We characterized the volume, weight and top surface area of naturally fallen logs in an old-growth redwood forest, and quantified conifer recruit densities on these logs and on the surrounding forest floor. We report significantly greater conifer recruit densities on log substrates as compared to the forest floor. Log substrate availability was calculated on a per...

Effects of two prescribed fires on red maple regeneration across four levels of canopy cover

Treesearch

William W. DeBord; David S. Buckley; Terry L. Sharik; Jason P. Hartman; Jason G. Henning

2011-01-01

Oak species have maintained an important role in eastern U.S. forests for the last 8,000 years. Intense changes in land use and disturbance regimes brought on by European settlement helped oak persist and expand its range through the 1800s. Mixed-oak forests persist as the predominant forest type in present-day eastern forests, but very little oak recruitment into the...

Associations among breeding birds and gambel oak in Southwestern ponderosa pine forests

Treesearch

Stephanie Jentsch; R. William Mannan; Brett G. Dickson; William M. Block

2008-01-01

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests with Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) are associated with higher bird abundance and diversity than are ponderosa pine forests lacking Gambel oak. Little is known, however, about specific structural characteristics of Gambel oak trees, clumps, and stands that may be important to birds in...

Refining the oak-fire hypothesis for management of oak-dominated forests of the eastern United States

Treesearch

Mary A. Arthur; Heather D. Alexander; Daniel C. Dey; Callie J. Schweitzer; David L. Loftis

2012-01-01

Prescribed fires are increasingly implemented throughout eastern deciduous forests to accomplish various management objectives, including maintenance of oak-dominated (Quercus spp.) forests. Despite a regional research-based understanding of prehistoric and historic fire regimes, a parallel understanding of contemporary fire use to preserve oak...

The importance of floodplain forests in the conservation and management of neotropical migratory birds in the Midwest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knutson, M.G.; Hoover, J.P.; Klaas, E.E.; Thompson, Frank R.

1996-01-01

Bottomland forests of the Central Forest Region of the Upper Midwest are found primarily on the floodplains of large rivers and include at least six types of forest communities. Birds breeding in bottomland forests are affected by extensive variation in latitude, climate, hydrology, forest succession, and change caused by anthropogenic disturbances. The floodplain forest bird community differs in species composition and in relative abundance from adjacent upland habitats. High abundances of some species are found in the floodplain and some species, such as the prothonotary warbler, brown creeper, yellow-billed cuckoo, yellow-bellied sapsucker, and great crested flycatcher, show a clear preference for floodplain forests. Studies of nesting success indicate that, for some species, nest success may be higher in the floodplain than in the uplands. Floodplain birds face threats due to large-scale loss of floodplain forest habitat. Conservation efforts should focus on restoring degraded floodplains by maintaining high tree species diversity and wide corridors. To accomplish this, the underlying hydrodynamics which support a diverse floodplain forest habitat may need to be restored. Large, contiguous tracts of floodplain and upland forests should be maintained where they exist and restored in other locations. This will provide some high quality habitat for area-sensitive neotropical migratory birds (NTMBs) in agricultural landscapes where small, scattered forest fragments are the rule. Future research efforts should examine the importance of floodplain forests in maintaining populations of neotropical migrants, especially birds experiencing population declines in adjacent uplands.

Soil-landscape relationships at the lower reaches of a watershed at Bear Creek near Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Treesearch

D.H. Phillips; J.E. Foss; C.A. Stiles; Carl C. Trettin; R.J. Luxmoore

2000-01-01

The watersheds at Bear Creek, Oak Ridge, TN, have similar soil-landscape relationships. The lower reaches of many of these watersheds consist of headwater riparian wetlands situated between sloping non-wetland upland zones. The objectives of this study are to examine the effects of (i) slope and geomorphic processes, (ii) human impacts, and (iii) particular...

Third-year response of oak natural reproduction to a shelterwood harvest and midstory cpmpetition control in the Arkansas Ozarks

Treesearch

Kyle K. Cunningham

2015-01-01

A study evaluating the response of oak natural reproduction to a shelterwood harvest and midstory competition control in an upland hardwood stand within the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas was conducted. The study site was located in the dissected Springfield Plateau physiographic region on the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture Livestock and Forestry Research...

AmeriFlux US-WCr Willow Creek

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

Desai, Ankur

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-WCr Willow Creek. Site Description - Upland decduous broadleaf forest. Mainly sugar maple, also basswood. Uniform stand atop a very modest hill. Clearcut approximately 80 years ago. Chosen to be representative of the upland deciduous broadleaf forests within the WLEF tall tower flux footprint. It appears to be more heavily forested and more productive than most of the upland deciduous broadleaf forests in the WLEF flux footprint (see publications for more details). It is also important that SE winds are screened from the flux data (see Cookmore » et al, 2004 for details). Propane generator power.« less

Forest Types in the Lower Suwannee River Floodplain, Florida?-A Report and Interactive Map

USGS Publications Warehouse

Darst, M.R.; Light, H.M.; Lewis, L.J.; Sepulveda, A.A.

2003-01-01

A map of forest types in the lower Suwannee River floodplain, Florida, was created during a study conducted from 1996 to 2000 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Suwannee River Water Management District. The map is presented with this report on a compact disc with interactive viewing software. The forest map can be used by scientists for ecological studies in the floodplain based on land cover types and by landowners and management personnel making land use decisions. The study area is the 10-year floodplain of the lower Suwannee River from its confluence with the Santa Fe River to the lower limit of forests near the Gulf of Mexico. The floodplain is divided into three reaches: riverine (non-tidal), upper tidal, and lower tidal, due to changes in hydrology, vegetation, and soils with proximity to the coast. The 10-year floodplain covers about 21,170 hectares; nearly 88 percent of this area (18,580 hectares) is mapped as 14 major forest types. Approximately 29 percent (5,319 hectares) of these forests have been altered by agriculture or development. About 75 percent of the area of major forest types (13,994 hectares) is wetland forests and about 25 percent (4,586 hectares) is upland forests. Tidal wetland forests (8,955 hectares) cover a much greater area than riverine wetland forests (5,039 hectares). Oak/pine upland forests are present in the riverine and upper tidal reaches of the floodplain on elevations that are inundated only briefly during the highest floods. High bottomland hardwoods are present on the higher levees, ridges, and flats of the riverine reach where soils are usually sandy. Low bottomland hardwood forests are present in the riverine reach on swamp margins and low levees and flats that are flooded continuously for several weeks or longer every 1 to 3 years. Riverine swamps are present in the lowest and wettest areas of the non-tidal floodplain that are either inundated or saturated most of the time. Upper tidal bottomland hardwood forests are present on sandy soils on high flats and in transitional areas between upland forests and swamps. Upper tidal mixed forests are found on low levees or between swamps and higher forest types. Upper tidal swamps are present at elevations below median monthly high stage and usually have surface soils that are permanently saturated mucks. Lower tidal hammocks are found on higher elevations that do not receive regular tidal inundation but have a high water table and are briefly inundated by storm surges several times a decade. Lower tidal mixed forests include swamps with numerous small hummocks or less common larger hummocks. Lower tidal swamps are found on deep muck soils that are below the elevation of the median daily or monthly high stage. Seven additional land cover types (2,590 hectares) are mapped. Water in the main channel of the lower Suwannee River (1,767 hectares) was mapped separately from open water in the floodplain (239 hectares). Other land cover types are: seepage slopes (70 hectares), isolated forested wetlands (19 hectares), marshes upstream of the tree line (505 hectares), beds of emergent aquatic vegetation (21 hectares), and floodplain glades (46 hectares)

Reptile and amphibian response to season of burn in an upland hardwood forest

Treesearch

Cathryn H. Greenberg; Tyler Seiboldt; Tara L. Keyser; W. Henry McNab; Patrick Scott; Janis Bush; Christopher E. Moorman

2018-01-01

Growing-season burns are increasingly used in upland hardwood forest for multiple forest management goals. Many species of reptiles and amphibians are ground-dwelling, potentially increasing their vulnerability to prescribed fire, especially during the growing-season when they are most active. We used drift fences with pitfall traps to experimentally assess how...

Environmental gradients and identification of wetlands in north-central Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, M.M.; Sprecher, S.W.; Wakeley, J.S.; Best, G.R.

1996-01-01

Vegetation composition, soil morphology, and hydrology were characterized along wetland-to-upland gradients at six forested sites in north-central Florida to compare results of Federal wetland delineation methods with 3–5 yr of hydrologic data. Wetland and non-wetland identifications were supported by hydrology data in eight of nine plant communities. Lack of hydric soil indicators and hydrophytic vegetation in two upland communities (scrub and mixed mesic hardwoods) agreed with a deep water table. Six wetland communities (cypress dome, cypress strand, bayhead, cypress/bayhead, red maple/oak swamp, and cedar swamp) with field indicators of wetland hydrology, hydrophytic vegetation, and hydric soils were inundated or had water tables at or near the ground surface at least 5% of the growing season in most years., Flatwoods communities, however, occurred at intermediate positions on the moisture gradient and could not be consistently identified as wetland or upland communities. Identification of flatwoods as wetlands depended on wetland delineation method and was not usually supported by hydrologic measurements. In the flatwoods community, soil properties and vegetation composition were correlated with the mean and standard deviation of water-table depths, as well as the depth continuously exceeded by the water table at least 5% of the growing season in most years. Various hydrologic parameters need to be considered in addition to the 5% exceedence level currently used in Federal wetland delineation guidance when characterizing wetland conditions in low-gradient areas such as flatwoods.

The specificity of host-bat fly interaction networks across vegetation and seasonal variation.

PubMed

Zarazúa-Carbajal, Mariana; Saldaña-Vázquez, Romeo A; Sandoval-Ruiz, César A; Stoner, Kathryn E; Benitez-Malvido, Julieta

2016-10-01

Vegetation type and seasonality promote changes in the species composition and abundance of parasite hosts. However, it is poorly known how these variables affect host-parasite interaction networks. This information is important to understand the dynamics of parasite-host relationships according to biotic and abiotic changes. We compared the specialization of host-bat fly interaction networks, as well as bat fly and host species composition between upland dry forest and riparian forest and between dry and rainy seasons in a tropical dry forest in Jalisco, Mexico. Bat flies were surveyed by direct collection from bats. Our results showed that host-bat fly interaction networks were more specialized in upland dry forest compared to riparian forest. Bat fly species composition was different between the dry and rainy seasons, while host species composition was different between upland dry forest and riparian forest. The higher specialization in upland dry forest could be related to the differences in bat host species composition and their respective roosting habits. Variation in the composition of bat fly species between dry and rainy seasons coincides with the seasonal shifts in their species richness. Our study confirms the high specialization of host-bat fly interactions and shows the importance of biotic and abiotic factors to understand the dynamics of parasite-host interactions.

Forecasting the future of coast live oak forests in the face of sudden oak death

Treesearch

Letty B. Brown; Barbara Allen-Diaz

2006-01-01

Little is known about the potential short- and long-term impacts of sudden oak death (SOD) on forest structure and composition. This study began in 2002 to evaluate the effects of SOD on coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) - California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) forests over a gradient of Phytophthora ramorum...

Stump sprout dominance probabilities of five oak species in southern Indiana 15 years after clearcut harvesting

Treesearch

Dale R. Weigel; Daniel C. Dey; Chao-Ying Joanne Peng

2006-01-01

Oak stump sprouts are vital to sustaining oak's presence and long-term dominance when regenerating oak-, mixed-hardwood forests. A study was initiated on the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana in 1987 to predict the sprouting potential and dominance probability of oaks. Before clearcutting, we sampled 2,188 trees of 5 oak species: white oak (...

Influences of upland timber harvest on aquatic invertebrate communities in seasonal ponds: efficacy of forested buffers

Treesearch

Mark A. Hanson; Brian J. Palik; James O. Church; Anthony T. Miller

2010-01-01

We assessed community responses of aquatic invertebrates in 16 small, seasonal ponds in a forested region of north central Minnesota, USA, to evaluate potential influences of timber harvest and efficacy of uncut forested buffers in adjacent uplands. Invertebrate data gathered before (2000) and during the first 4 years following clearcut timber harvest (2001-2004)...

Risk analysis and guidelines for harvest activities in wisconsin oak timberlands to minimize oak wilt threat

Treesearch

Jennifer Juzwik; Jane Cummings-Carlson; Kyoko Scanlon

2010-01-01

Oaks (Quercus spp.) are an important species group in the forests of Wisconsin. The State’s timberland typed as oak-hickory forest was estimated at 2.9 million acres in 1996. Growing stock volume for red oak was estimated at 2.4 billion cubic feet, whereas select white oak volume was estimated to be 927 million cubic feet. Oak wilt, the oak disease...

Transformation of the oak forest spatial structure in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, Minnesota, USA over 7 years

Treesearch

Kathleen Ward; Kathryn Kromroy; Jennifer Juzwik

2007-01-01

The Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (TCMA) oak (Quercus spp.) forest area decreased by 5.6% between 1991 and 1998. Accompanying spatial transformation of the forest can have great impacts on forest health, water flow and quality, wildlife habitat, potential for the spread of invasive transformation that occurred along with the loss of oak forest in the...

The changing role of fire in mediating the relationships among oaks, grasslands, mesic temperate forests, and boreal forests in the Lake States

Treesearch

Lee E. Frelich; Peter B. Reich; David W. Peterson

2017-01-01

Historically, oak forests and woodlands intergraded with southern boreal forest, temperate mesic forest, and grassland biomes, forming complex fire-mediated relationships in the Great Lakes region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, USA. Variability in fire recurrence intervals allowed oaks to mix with grasses or with mesic forest species in areas with high (2–10 yr...

First year response of oak natural regeneration to a shelterwood harvest and midstory competition control in the Arkansas Ozarks

Treesearch

K. Kyle Cunningham

2012-01-01

A study evaluating the response of oak reproduction to a shelterwood harvest and midstory competition control in an upland hardwood stand within the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas is being conducted. The study site is located in the dissected Springfield Plateau physiographic region on the University of Arkansas – Division of Agriculture Livestock and Forestry Research...

Effects of fire and thinning on oak and other hardwood species regeneration in mixed oak forests of southeastern Ohio

Treesearch

Brian C. McCarthy; Matthew A. Albrecht

2005-01-01

We conducted a study of hardwood regeneration in the mixed oak forests of unglaciated southeastern Ohio following various silvicultural practices. Our study was conducted at three separate forests within the region.

Clemson Researchers Find Prescribed Fire Regenerates Oak Forests

Treesearch

David van Lear; Patrick Brose

1999-01-01

Fire is being prescribed by Clemson University forestry researchers to regenerate oak forests. Regenerating oaks following timber harvests is a major challenge because faster growing yellow polar and red maple trees crowd out hte more valuable oak seedlings.

Forecasting long-term acorn production with and without oak decline using forest inventory data

Treesearch

Cathryn H. Greenberg; Chad E. Keyser; Leah C. Rathburn; Anita K. Rose; Todd M. Fearer; Henry W. McNab

2013-01-01

Acorns are important as wildlife food and for oak regeneration, but production is highly variable, posing a challenge to forest managers targeting acorn production levels. Forest managers need tools to predict acorn production capability tailored to individual landscapes and forest management scenarios, adjusting for oak mortality and stand development over time. We...

Sustaining northern red oak forests: managing oak from regeneration to canopy dominance in mature stands

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Gary W. Miller; John M. Kabrick

2008-01-01

Across the range of northern red oak, managers have problems sustaining current stocking of northern red oak in forests. Oak species are adapted to frequent stand disturbances that reduce the abundance of shade tolerant competitors and control fast-growing pioneer species. A widely recommended approach to regenerating northern red oak is to develop relatively large...

Forest change in the Driftless Area of the Midwest: From a preferred to undesirable future

Treesearch

T.G. Knoot; M.E. Shea; L.A. Schulte; J.C. Tyndall; M.D. Nelson; C.H. Perry; B.J. Palik

2015-01-01

In the midwestern and eastern U.S., oaks (Quercus spp.) have been a dominant component of forests for at least the last 10,000 years, providing vital habitat for numerous wildlife and plant species that have adapted to oak forest conditions. However, the current state of these oak systems, in which there has been a general lack of successful oak...

A glimpse at future forests: predicting the effects of Phytophthora ramorum on oak forests of southern Appalachia

Treesearch

H.L. Spaulding; L.K. Rieske

2011-01-01

The highly pathogenic Phytophthora ramorum, causal organism of sudden oak death (SOD), is established in forests of the Pacific Northwest (USA) and is threatening invasion of other regions. Given the breadth of its host range, with dozens of asymptomatic ornamental hosts and with oaks, Quercus spp., in the red oak (Erythrobalanus) subgenus particularly susceptible, we...

Impacts of Potential Oak Forest Change on Breeding Birds in Northwestern Arkansas

Treesearch

Douglas A. James

2004-01-01

Birds found on existing census routes in the Ozark region of northwestern Arkansas were used to predict avifaunal changes that could occur in the area due to oak-hickory forest degradation caused by red oak borer beetle infestations. The two census routes used passed through high elevation forests where red oaks thrive the best. Analysis showed that 21 bird species...

Forest stand dynamics and sudden oak death: Mortality in mixed-evergreen forests dominated by coast live oak

Treesearch

L.B. Brown; B. Allen-Diaz

2009-01-01

Sudden oak death (SOD), caused by the recently discovered non-native invasive pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, has already killed tens of thousands of native coast live oak and tanoak trees in California. Little is known of potential short and long term impacts of this novel plant–pathogen interaction on forest structure and composition. Coast live...

Fire in upper Midwestern oak forest ecosystems: an oak forest restoration and management handbook

Treesearch

Lee E. Frelich; Peter B. Reich; David W. Peterson

2015-01-01

We reviewed the literature to synthesize what is known about the use of fire to maintain and restore oak forests, woodlands, and savannas of the upper Midwestern United States, with emphasis on Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Included are (1) known physical and ecological effects of fire on oaks from acorn through seedling, established sapling, and mature stages of...

soil carbon pools within oak forest is endangered by global climate change in central mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Oliva, Felipe; Merino, Agustín; González-Rodriguez, Antonio; Chávez-Vergara, Bruno; Tapia-Torres, Yunuen; Oyama, Ken

2016-04-01

Forest soil represents the main C pool in terrestrial ecosystems. In particular, temperate forest ecosystems play an important role in the C budget among tropical countries, such as Mexico. For example, the temperate forest ecosystem contains higher C contents on average (295 Mg C ha-1) than the soil C associated with other ecosystems in Mexico (between 56 to 287 Mg C ha-1). At a regional scale, oak forest has the highest C content (460 Mg C ha-1) among the forest ecosystem in Michoacán State at Central Mexico. At the local scale, the soil C content is strongly affected by the composition of organic matter produced by the plant species. The oak species are very diverse in Mexico, distributed within two sections: Quercus sensu stricto and Lobatae. The oak species from Quercus s.s. section produced litterfall with lower concentrations of recalcitrant and thermostable compounds than oak species from Lobatae section, therefore the soil under the former species had higher microbial activity and nutrient availability than the soil under the later species. However, the forest fragment with higher amount of oak species from Quercus s.s. section increases the amount of soil C contents. Unfortunately, Quercus species distribution models for the central western region of Mexico predict a decrease of distribution area of the majority of oak species by the year 2080, as a consequence of higher temperatures and lower precipitation expected under climate change scenarios. Additionally to these scenarios, the remnant oak forest fragments suffer strong degradation due to uncontrolled wood extraction and deforestation. For this reason, the conservation of oak forest fragments is a priority to mitigate the greenhouse gases emission to the atmosphere. In order to enhance the protection of these forest fragments it is required that the society identify the ecosystem services that are provided by these forest fragments.

Estimating fire-caused mortality and injury in oak-hickory forests.

Treesearch

Robert M. Loomis

1973-01-01

Presents equations and graphs for predicting fire-caused tree mortality and equations for estimating basal wound dimensions for surviving trees. The methods apply to black oak, white oak, and some other species of the oak-hickory forest type.

Final Environmental Assessment, Construct Guard House at Cape Cod Air Force Station, Massachusetts

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

Pine - Scrub Oak Forest Northern Pine Barren with Oak Forest... barren vegetation communities were identified on Cape Cod AFS, pitch pine – scrub oak barren and northern pine barren with oak trees. The majority of...area on the east side of the access road just north of the installation is northern pine barren with oak trees. Pitch pine and scarlet oak

Stump sprouting potential of oaks in Missouri Ozark forests managed by even- and uneven-aged silviculture

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Randy G. Jensen

2002-01-01

We evaluated the stump sprouting potential of white oak, black oak, and scarlet oak in relation to tree age, stem diameter, and overstory density in Ozark forests managed by even-aged and uneven-aged silvicultural systems. In eastern North America, few studies have evaluated the influence of a forest canopy on the potential of hardwood stumps to sprout and contribute...

Managing Gambel oak in southwestern ponderosa pine forests: the status of our knowledge

Treesearch

Scott R. Abella

2008-01-01

Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) is a key deciduous species in southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests and is important for wildlife habitat, soil processes, and human values. This report (1) summarizes Gambel oak's biological characteristics and importance in ponderosa pine forests, (2) synthesizes literature on...

Three-year bole response of white oak (Quercus alba L.) crop trees to fertilizer and crown release on a Tennessee upland site

Treesearch

G. Richard Schaertl; Allan E. Houston; Edward R. Buckner; James S. Meadows

1997-01-01

Bole diameter responses to fertilization, crown release, and fertilization x release treatments with untreated controls and treatment-by-year interactions were studied in pole-sized (approx. 43 years old) white oak (Quercus alba L.) crop trees. In the main study, fertilizer was applied by broadcast to plots at a rate of 150 lbs N and 35 lbs P

Changes in forest structure associated with oak decline in severely impacted areas of northern Arkansas

Treesearch

Eric Heitzman; Adrian Grell; Martin Spetich; Dale Starkey

2007-01-01

Four mature northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.)–white oak (Quercus alba L.) stands in the Boston Mountains of northern Arkansas were studied to describe the vegetation dynamics of forests heavily impacted by oak decline. Northern red oak was the species most susceptible to decline. Across the four stands, 51–75% of red oak density...

Thinning, Age, and Site Quality Influence Live Tree Carbon Stocks in Upland Hardwood Forests of the Southern Appalachians

Treesearch

Tara L. Keyser; Stanley J. Zarnoch

2012-01-01

This study examines the effects of thinning, age, and site quality on aboveground live tree carbon (ATC) (Mg/ha) stocks in upland hardwood forests of mixed-species composition in the southern Appalachian Mountains. In 1974, 80 plots ranging in size from 0.06 to 0.1 ha were established in even-aged, mixed-hardwood forests throughout the southern Appalachians. All trees...

Hydrologic cycling of mercury and organic carbon in a forested upland-bog watershed

Treesearch

R. K. Kolka; D. F. Grigal; E. A. Nater; E. S. Verry

2001-01-01

The hydrologic cyvling of total Hg (HgT) and organic C (OC) was studies for a 1-yr period in a northern Minnesota forested watershed, consisting of an upland surrounding a bog peatland with a narrow lagg at their interface. Throughfall and sternflow contributed twice as much HgT as seven times as much OC to the forested watershed than atmospheric deposition in a...

Diameter growth of trees in an uneven-aged oak forest in the Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

Edward F. Loewenstein; Paul S. Johnson; Harold E. Garrett

1997-01-01

We tested the efficacy of even-aged stand tables for predicting diameter growth of trees in uneven-aged oak stands. The study was based on the age- and diameter-structure of the Pioneer Forest, a 156,000-acre, privately owned oak forest in the Ozark Highlands of Missouri. The forest has been managed by single-tree selection since 1954.

Contrasting the effects of organic matter removal and soil compaction on root biomass of 9-year-old red oak, white oak, and shortleaf pine in a Missouri Ozark forest

Treesearch

Felix Jr. Ponder

2011-01-01

Nine-year old artificially regenerated red oak (Quercus rubra L.), white oak (Q. alba L.), and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) trees were excavated from plot borders of a U.S. Forest Service long-term soil productivity study in the Carr Creek State Forest near Ellington, MO, to quantify treatment effects on...

Stump sprout dominance probabilities of five oak species in southern Indiana 20 years after clearcut harvesting

Treesearch

Dale R. Weigel; Daniel C. Dey; Chao-Ying Joanne Peng

2011-01-01

Oak (Quercus spp.) stump sprouts are vital to sustaining oak's presence and long-term dominance when regenerating oak or mixed-hardwood forests in southern Indiana. A study was initiated on the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana in 1987 to predict the sprouting potential and dominance probability of oaks. Before clearcut harvesting, we...

The supply and demand situation for oak timber

Treesearch

Kenneth L. Quigley

1971-01-01

Twenty oak species in the eastern United States account for one-third of the hardwood sawtimber volume and almost 10 percent of both hardwood and softwood growing-stock volume. The oak-hickory and oak-pine forest types occupy about 38 percent of the forest land in the eastern United States. Oak timber volume is increasing. Annual growth exceeds annual removals by about...

Water use and carbon exchange of red oak- and eastern hemlock-dominated forests in the northeastern USA: implications for ecosystem-level effects of hemlock woolly adelgid.

PubMed

Hadley, Julian L; Kuzeja, Paul S; Daley, Michael J; Phillips, Nathan G; Mulcahy, Thomas; Singh, Safina

2008-04-01

Water use and carbon exchange of a red oak-dominated (Quercus rubra L.) forest and an eastern hemlock-dominated (Tsuga canadensis L.) forest, each located within the Harvard Forest in north-central Massachusetts, were measured for 2 years by the eddy flux method. Water use by the red oak forest reached 4 mm day(-1), compared to a maximum of 2 mm day(-1) by the eastern hemlock forest. Maximal carbon (C) uptake rate was also higher in the red oak forest than in the eastern hemlock forest (about 25 versus 15 micromol m(-2) s(-1)). Sap flux measurements indicated that transpiration of red oak, and also of black birch (Betula lenta L.), which frequently replaces eastern hemlock killed by hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand.), were almost twice that of eastern hemlock. Despite the difference between species in maximum summertime C assimilation rate, annual C storage of the eastern hemlock forest almost equaled that of the red oak forest because of net C uptake by eastern hemlock during unusually warm fall and spring weather, and a near-zero C balance during the winter. Thus, the effect on C storage of replacing eastern hemlock forest with a forest dominated by deciduous species is unclear. Carbon storage by eastern hemlock forests during fall, winter and spring is likely to increase in the event of climate warming, although this may be offset by C loss during hotter summers. Our results indicate that, although forest water use will decrease immediately following eastern hemlock mortality due to the hemlock woolly adelgid, the replacement of eastern hemlock by deciduous species such as red oak will likely increase summertime water use over current rates in areas where hemlock is a major forest species.

Introduction, study area description, and experimental design

Treesearch

Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; Todd F. Hutchinson; Daniel A. Yaussy

2003-01-01

Throughout much of the Eastern Deciduous Forest, the sustainability of oak-dominated forests is threatened by poor oak regeneration as other tree species increase in abundance. Historically, fire was a frequent process in oak-dominated ecosystems (savannas, woodlands, open-structured forests) as Native Americans and then Euro-American settlers used fire for a variety...

Evaluation of cleanings to maintain oak forests on the Allegheny National Forest

Treesearch

Kurt W. Gottschalk; Gary W. Miller; Robert L. White; Andrea Hille; Thomas M. Schuler

2014-01-01

Ten-year results for an administrative study on the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) that examined their cleaning (precommercial thinning) prescriptions and standards for success in maintaining oak (Quercus spp.) composition in young stands and maintaining oak stems in a competitive position are presented. Two studies were installed. One study was in...

Examining the sensitivity of modelled evapotranspiration to vegetation structural characteristics within boreal peatlands, riparian ecosystems and upland mixedwood forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrone, R. M.; Chasmer, L. E.; Brown, S. M.; Mendoza, C. A.; Diiwu, J.; Quinton, W. L.; Hopkinson, C.; Devito, K. J.

2010-12-01

The Western Boreal Plain (WBP) of northern Alberta is comprised of a complex mosaic of small ponds, riparian buffer zones, and upland aspen dominated mixedwood forests surrounded by low-lying peatlands. The hydrology of the WBP is strongly influenced by climatic drivers and geology, whereby water budgets are often controlled by vertical fluxes. During most years, potential evapotranspiration (PET) exceeds precipitation (P), and changes in P as a result of climatic change will likely alter actual evapotranspiration (AET) and regional water balances. In recent years, the WBP has also undergone intense anthropogenic disturbance via oil and gas exploration and extraction, and silvicultural and forest harvesting activities. The extent to which changes in land cover types/characteristics affect estimates of PET and AET is currently unknown. This study examines the sensitivity of PET using a simple estimate of equilibrium ET (Priestley-Taylor) and AET (Penman-Monteith variant) to variability in canopy structural and ground surface characteristics at 12 sites throughout the 2008 growing season (June, July, August). Energy balance meteorological stations are deployed within four peatland ecosystems, four riparian buffer zones, two regenerating upland mixedwood forests and two mature upland mixedwood forests. Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is used to derive metrics of canopy height, leaf area index (LAI), uplands and lowlands, elevation, zero plane displacement, roughness length governing momentum, roughness length governing heat and vapour, and understory vegetation characteristics. LiDAR land surface metrics and energy balance measurements are used to model evapotranspiration for classified land cover types throughout the larger basin. Sensitivity of potential and actual estimates to changes in land cover characteristics within each of the three land cover types (peatland, riparian and upland) is quantified.

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

Greenberg, Cathryn, H.; Tanner, George, W.

ABSTRACT: We used data from 10 years of continuous, concurrent monitoring of oak toads at eight isolated, ephemeral ponds in Florida longleaf pine-wiregrass uplands to address: (1) did weather variables affect movement patterns of oak toads?; (2) did pond hydrology and the condition of surrounding uplands affect pond selection by adults or juvenile recruitment?; (3) were population trends evident?; and (4) did a classical metapopulation model best represent their population ecology? Of 4076 oak toads captured, 92.2% were adults. Substantial (n _ 30 exiting juveniles) recruitment occurred only three times (once each at three ponds during two years). Males outnumberedmore » females (average for all years 2.3:1). Most captures occurred during May–September. Adult captures during June–August increased with heavier rainfall but were not influenced by the durations of preceding dry periods. Movement patterns of metamorphs suggested that oak toads emigrated when moisture conditions become favorable. Pond use by adults was correlated with maximum change in pond depth (May–September). Juvenile recruitment was negatively correlated with minimum pond depth and the number of weeks since a pond was last dry, and positively correlated with the maximum number of weeks a pond held water continuously. The number of breeding adults and juvenile recruitment were highest at ponds within the hardwood-invaded upland matrix. The direction of most immigrations and emigrations was nonrandom, but movement occurred from all directions, and the mean direction of pond entry and exit did not always correspond. A total of 21.1% of individuals was recaptured; 13.3% of first captures were recaptured during the same year, and 7.7% during a subsequent year. Only 1.9% of captured oak toads moved among ponds, mostly within a distance of 132 m. We did not detect adult population trends over the 10- yr studied. Presence or absence at ponds in any given year was a poor indicator of overall use. We saw little evidence of local extinction or ‘‘rescue,’’ but were unable to determine whether juveniles returned to natal ponds or colonized new ponds for breeding as adults. Oak toad conservation can best be ensured by maintaining multiple ponds within a landscape to increase the probability of recruitment within the landscape neighborhood during at least some years and at some ponds, and to increase the likelihood of interpond movement.« less

Protecting forests across landscapes and through generations: the Sonoma County Forest Conservation Working Group

Treesearch

Frederick D. Euphrat; Steven Swain; Dee Swanhuyser; Dee Butler; Amy Chesnut; Kim Batchelder; Caerleon Safford; Earle Cummungs

2012-01-01

There are approximately 513,000 acres of coniferous forests and oak woodlands in Sonoma County, California, situated about 50 miles north of San Francisco. Most of the oak woodland, and over 68 percent (132,000 acres) of the coniferous forestland, is in private ownerships of 50 acres and less. These forests are unique, with 10 species of true oak and 19 species of...

Effects of tornado damage, prescribed fire, and salvage logging on natural oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration in a xeric southern USA Coastal Plain oak/pine forest

Treesearch

Jeffery B. Cannon; J. Stephen Brewer

2013-01-01

Due in large part to fire exclusion, many oak-dominated (Quercus spp.) forests, woodlands, and savannas throughout eastern North America are being replaced by less diverse forest ecosystems. In the interior coastal plain of the southern United States, these forests are dominated in the mid- and understory by mesophytic species such as Acer...

Runoff water quality from a sierran upland forest, transition ecotone, and riparian wet meadow

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

High concentrations of inorganic N, P, and S have been reported in overland and litter interflow within forested uplands of the Tahoe basin and surrounding watersheds. In this study we compared runoff nutrient concentration and load as well as soil nutrient fluxes at three watershed locations; an up...

Bird response to fire severity and repeated burning in upland hardwood forest

Treesearch

Cathryn H. Greenberg; Thomas A. Waldrop; Joseph Tomcho; Ross J. Phillips; Dean Simon

2012-01-01

Prescribed burning is a common management tool for upland hardwood forests, with wildlife habitat improvement an often cited goal. Fire management for wildlife conservation requires understanding how species respond to burning at different frequencies, severities, and over time. In an earlier study, we experimentally assessed how breeding bird communities and species...

Impacts of forestry planting on primary production in upland lakes from north-west Ireland.

PubMed

Stevenson, Mark A; McGowan, Suzanne; Anderson, N John; Foy, Robert H; Leavitt, Peter R; McElarney, Yvonne R; Engstrom, Daniel R; Pla-Rabés, Sergi

2016-04-01

Planted forests are increasing in many upland regions worldwide, but knowledge about their potential effects on algal communities of catchment lakes is relatively unknown. Here, the effects of afforestation were investigated using palaeolimnology at six upland lake sites in the north-west of Ireland subject to different extents of forest plantation cover (4-64% of catchment area). (210)Pb-dated sediment cores were analysed for carotenoid pigments from algae, stable isotopes of bulk carbon (δ(13)C) and nitrogen (δ(15)N), and C/N ratios. In lakes with >50% of their catchment area covered by plantations, there were two- to sixfold increases in pigments from cryptophytes (alloxanthin) and significant but lower increases (39-116%) in those from colonial cyanobacteria (canthaxanthin), but no response from biomarkers of total algal abundance (β-carotene). In contrast, lakes in catchments with <20% afforestation exhibited no consistent response to forestry practices, although all lakes exhibited fluctuations in pigments and geochemical variables due to peat cutting and upland grazing prior to forest plantation. Taken together, patterns suggest that increases in cyanobacteria and cryptophyte abundance reflect a combination of mineral and nutrient enrichment associated with forest fertilization and organic matter influx which may have facilitated growth of mixotrophic taxa. This study demonstrates that planted forests can alter the abundance and community structure of algae in upland humic lakes of Ireland and Northern Ireland, despite long histories of prior catchment disturbance. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Time series data of a broadleaved secondary forest in Japan as affected by deer and mass mortality of oak trees.

PubMed

Itô, Hiroki

2017-01-01

Abandonment of broadleaved secondary forests that have been used for various purposes may cause the loss of biodiversity. Some of these forests suffer from diseases such as Japanese oak wilt. An increasing number of deer also impact some of them. Monitoring and recording the status of such forests is important for their proper management. This data set provides a concrete example of temporal changes in a temperate broadleaved secondary forest. The forest has been damaged by mass mortality of oak trees caused by Japanese oak wilt disease. In addition, the forest has been under foraging pressure by sika deer ( Cervus nippon Temminck). The data set can provide information on how such a forest has changed in species composition of the canopy and sub-canopy layers and in species occurrence in the understory layer.

Responses of oaks and tanoaks to the sudden oak death pathogen after 8 y of monitoring in two coastal California forests

Treesearch

Brice A. McPherson; Sylvia R. Mori; David L. Wood; Maggi Kelly; Andrew J. Storer; Pavel Svihra; Richard B. Standiford

2010-01-01

Sudden oak death, caused by Phytophthora ramorum, is widely established in mesic forests of coastal central and northern California. In 2000, we placed 18 plots in two Marin County sites to monitor disease progression in coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia), California black oaks (Q. kelloggii), and tanoaks (Lithocarpus densiflorus), the species that are most...

Cordwood Yields From Thinnings in Young Oak Stands in the Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

Kenneth W. Seidel

1966-01-01

Proposed construction in Missouri of pulpmills using oak cordwood should result in a greater demand for pole-size oak trees, thus making needed thinnings feasible in young oak stands. According to the 1958 forest survey, poletimber stands (which are mainly oak) occupy 39 percent of the commercial forest area of the eastern Ozakrs, more than any other size class. More...

Sustaining oak forests in eastern North America: regeneration and recruitment, the pillars of sustainability

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey

2014-01-01

Oak cover types comprise half of the forestlands in the eastern United States. There is a great desire to sustain these highly valued forests. Unfortunately, reports of the successional replacement of oak are all too common, as they are throughout the world. Sustaining the oak resource requires the ability to both regenerate and recruit oak into the overstory as...

Temporal Patterns of Oak Mortality in a Southern Appalachian Forest (1991-2006).

Treesearch

Cathryn Greenberg; Tara L. Keyser; James Speer

2011-01-01

The sustainability of eastern oak-dominated forests is threatened by high oak mortality rates and widespread oak regeneration failure, and presents a challenge to natural area managers. We tracked the rate and cause of mortality of 287 mature oak trees of five species for 15 years to determine the temporal patterns and sources of mortality. We observed a 15.3% total...

A preliminary model of yellow-poplar seedling establishment two years after a growing season prescribed fire in southern Appalachian oak stands

Treesearch

Henry McNab

2016-01-01

Factors affecting the density and distribution of yellow-poplar regeneration after a single growing season prescribed fire were studied in mature upland oak stands in the southern Appalachian Mountains. In burned and unburned stands, density of one and two year old yellow-poplar seedlings was inventoried within 50 m from isolated yellow-poplar canopy seed trees in...

Prescribing regeneration treatments for mixed-oak forests in the Mid-Atlantic region

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose; Kurt W. Gottschalk; Stephen B. Horsley; Peter D. Knopp; James N. Kochenderfer; Barbara J. McGuinness; Gary W. Miller; Todd E. Ristau; Scott H. Stoleson; Susan L. Stout

2008-01-01

Includes guidelines for using the SILVAH decision-support system to perpetuate oak forests in the Mid-Atlantic region. Six chapters provide information on values of oak forests, inventory methods, key decision variables, decision charts, and silvicultural prescriptions, as well as guidance on fostering young stands. Sample tally sheets and SILVAH computer printouts are...

Influence of fire on mammals in eastern oak forests

Treesearch

Patrick D. Keyser; W. Mark Ford

2006-01-01

With the exception of small mammals, little research has been conducted in eastern oak forests on the influence of fire on mammals. Several studies have documented little or no change inrelative abundance or community measures for non-volant small mammals in eastern oak (Quercus spp.) forests following fires despite reductions in leaf litter, small woody debris, and...

How to Manage Oak Forests for Acorn Production

Treesearch

Paul Johnson

1994-01-01

Oak forests are life support systems for the many animals that live in them. Acorns, a staple product of oaks forests, are eaten by many species of birds and mammals including deer, bear, squirrels, mice, rabbits, foxes, raccoons, grackles, turkey, grouse, quail, blue jays, woodpeckers, and waterfowl. The population and health of wildlife often rise and fall with the...

Underplanting to sustain future stocking of oak (Quercus) in temperate deciduous forests

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Emile S. Gardiner; Callie J. Schweitzer; John M. Kabrick; Douglass F. Jacobs

2012-01-01

Oaks (Quercus spp.) are one of the most important tree taxa in the northern hemisphere. Although they are dominant in mixed species forests and widely distributed, there are frequent reports of regeneration failures. An adequate population of large oak advance reproduction is a critical prerequisite to successful oak regeneration, and hence...

Managing an oak decline crisis in Oakville, Ontario: lessons learned

Treesearch

Peter A. Williams; John W. McNeil; Kurt W. Gottschalk; Robert A. Haack

2013-01-01

The town of Oakville, Ontario, is located along the north shore of Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton. In the fall of 2002, significant oak (Quercus spp.) mortality was observed at Oakville's Iroquois Shoreline Woods Park, an environmentally significant forest remnant noted for its oak-dominated forests. Investigations suggested that oak...

Impacts of Oak Decline on Forest Structure in Arkansas and Oklahoma: Preliminary Results

Treesearch

Eric Heitzman; James M. Guldin

2004-01-01

We established field plots in the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma to quantify the impacts of oak decline on forest structure. Plots were identified as either high risk (red oak basal area > 20 square feet per acre) or low risk (red oak basal area

Oak forest exploitation and black-locust invasion caused severe shifts in epiphytic lichen communities in Northern Italy.

PubMed

Nascimbene, Juri; Marini, Lorenzo

2010-10-15

In the last two centuries, native European oak forests have undergone a dramatic decline related to increasing human pressure for agriculture and urbanization. Oak forests were either completely eradicated and transformed into agricultural landscapes or replaced by second-growth formations. Intensive forest management and the replacement of native forests with production forests or arable lands are recognized amongst the main threats to many lichens in Europe. In this study, we used historical information on the epiphytic lichen biota which was hosted in a native oak-dominated forest of Northern Italy to identify shifts of lichen communities due to the changes in land use which occurred during the last two centuries. We also compared the epiphytic lichen communities inhabiting remnant oak forests with those found in the habitats that have replaced native forests: black-locust forests and agrarian landscapes. Almost all the species sampled during the 19th century are now extinct. The loss of native habitat and the subsequent invasion by black locust were probably the most influential factors which affected the composition of lichen communities, causing the local extinction of most of the species historically recorded. Despite the fact that oak remnants host only a few species which were historically recorded, and that they currently are the lichen poorest habitat in the study region, they host lichen assemblages differing from those of black-locust forests and agrarian stands. In these habitats lichen assemblages are mainly composed of species adapted to well-lit, dry conditions and tolerating air pollution and eutrophication. This pattern is likely to be common also in other lowland and hilly regions throughout Northern Italy where oak forests are targeted among the habitats of conservation concern at the European level. For this reason, a national strategy for biodiversity conservation and monitoring of lowlands forests should provide the framework for local restoration projects. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bottomland hardwood reforestation for neotropical migratory birds: are we missing the forest for the trees?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Twedt, D.J.; Portwood, J.

1997-01-01

Reforestation of bottomland hardwoods on lands managed for wildlife or timber production has historically emphasized planting heavy-seeded oaks (Quercus spp.). Although techniques have been developed for successful oak establishment, these plantings often require 5 or more years before establishing a 3-dimensional forest structure. We suggest that lands planted to fast-growing early-successional species, in combination with oaks, provide: (1) more expedient benefits to Neotropical migratory birds; (2) greater forest diversity; (3) more rapid economic return to landowners; and (4) enhanced public relations. Under good growing conditions, and with effective weed control, some fast-growing species can develop a substantial 3-dimensional forest structure in as few as 2 or 3 years. Forest-breeding Neotropical migratory birds use stands planted with early successional species several years before sites planted solely with oaks. Where desirable, succession to forests with a high proportion of oak species can be achieved on sites initially planted with fast-growing species through silvicultural management.

Field test of foliar-spray herbicides to control mountain laurel in mature mixed-oak forests in western Maryland

Treesearch

Gary W. Miller; Patrick H. Brose; Jeffrey D. Kochenderfer; James N. Kochenderfer; Kurt W. Gottschalk; John R. Denning

2016-01-01

Successful oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration requires the presence of competitive sources of oak reproduction before parent oaks are harvested. Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) in the understory of many Appalachian forests prevents new oak seedlings from receiving adequate sunlight to survive and grow into competitive size classes. This study examined the efficacy of...

Wood Products by Species and Quality in Upland Forests

Treesearch

David W. Patterson

2004-01-01

Products that can be produced from an upland forest depend on the species and quality of the trees present. Quality depends on growth rate and tree form. These variables are discussed as well as the products that can be produced such as veneer and plywood, grade lumber, handle stock, pallet stock, cross ties, and industrial lumber.

Visual quality assessment of alternative silvicultural practices in upland hardwood management

Treesearch

Tim McDonald; Bryce Stokes

1997-01-01

Visual impacts of forest operations are of increasing concern to forest managers. Tools are available for evaluating, and potentially avoiding, problems in visual quality resulting from poorly designed harvest unit boundaries. One of these visualization tools is applied in comparing various harvest unit shape alternatives in an upland hardwood stand on steeply sloping...

Spilogale gracilis in upland forests of western Washington and Oregon.

Treesearch

A.B. Carey; J.E. Kershner

1996-01-01

During surveys of upland forests in the Tsuga heterophylla Zone in Washington and Oregon, 1986 to 1996, we caught 192 S. gracilis. In the Oregon Coast Range, more (85%) S. gracilis were caught in oldeilar to Coast Range old growth (P = 0.60) with no differences between seral stages (P = 0.74). No S....

Influence of harvesting on understory vegetation along a boreal riparian-upland gradient

Treesearch

Rebecca L. MacDonald; Han Y.H. Chen; Brian P. Palik; Ellie E. Prepas

2014-01-01

Management of riparian forests, and how they respond to disturbance, continues to be a focus of interest in the literature. Earlier studies on riparian plant community assembly following harvesting in the boreal forest have focused merely on highly contrasting microhabitats within a landscape, for example, streambank riparian habitat or upland habitat. Sustaining...

The role of selected soil fauna as predators of Apethymus abdominalis Lep. (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) in oak forests in the District Caiuti, Romania

Treesearch

C. Ciornei; N. Popa; L. Ciuca; C. Rang

2003-01-01

The present study was initiated in 2001 in the oak forests from Trotus valley (Forest District Caiucti - Bacau, Romania) which were heavily infested by oak sawflies Apethymus abdominalis Lep. (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), in order to understand better the role of soil-inhabitating predators in population regulation of this pest.

Change in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area Oak Forests from 1991 to 1998

Treesearch

Kathleen Ward; Jennifer Juzwik

2005-01-01

Based on classifications of Landsat TM imagery, the total area of oak forests in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, metropolitan area decreased by 5.6 percent between 1991 and 1998, and oak forest losses ranged from 12 to 1,229 ha in six of seven ecological subsections. Maps and spatial data layers are provided.

Comparison of FVS projection of oak decline on the Mark Twain National Forest to actual growth and mortality as measured over three FIA inventory cycles

Treesearch

Don Vandendriesche; Linda Haugen

2008-01-01

Oak decline has been recorded on oak forests throughout the Ozark Plateau of Missouri since the 1970s, but severe drought in the late 1990s, combined with the advancing age of the Ozark forests, has intensified the levels of crown dieback and mortality beyond historical levels. The purpose of this project was to determine whether the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS)...

Madrean pine-oak forest in Arizona: altered fire regimes, altered communities

Treesearch

Andrew M. Barton

2005-01-01

In Madrean pine-oak forests in the Chiricahua Mountains, surface fire favors pines, which exhibit high top-survival, but resprouting allows oaks to rebound during inter-fire periods. These patterns plus age structure and radial growth data suggest that frequent presettlement surface fire maintained open stands, promoted a high pine:oak ratio, and excluded less fire...

A new book: the ecology and silviculture of oaks

Treesearch

Stephen R. Shifley; Robert Rogers

2003-01-01

A new book, The Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks, is now available (Johnson and others 2002). The book focuses on the oaks of the United States and was written for forest and wildlife managers, ecologists, silviculturists, environmentalists, students of those fields, and others interested in sustaining oak forests for their many tangible and intangible values. Although...

Do improvement harvests mitigate oak decline in Missouri Ozark forests?

Treesearch

John P. Dwyer; John M. Kabrick; James Wetteroff

2007-01-01

Since the 1970s, oak decline has been a chronic problem throughout the oak-dominated forests of the Missouri Ozarks. Prior research indicates that environmental stress, particularly drought, leads to the onset of oak decline. Consequently, some scientists and managers have advocated thinning and intermediate harvesting to maintain or improve tree vigor and growth,...

Ten-year results of using oak Cleanings to maintain oak species dominance on the Allegheny National Forest

Treesearch

Kurt W. Gottschalk; Gary W. Miller; Robert White; Andrea Hille; Thomas M. Schuler

2014-01-01

The Allegheny National Forest (ANF) in northwestern Pennsylvania implemented precommercial thinning in young stands to maintain oak (Quercus spp.) stems in a competitive position. This administrative study was developed to test ANF standards for precommercial thinning for success in maintaining oak composition. An additional objective was to examine...

Prescribed fire and oak seedling development in an Appalachian forest

Treesearch

Jacob Royse; Mary Arthur; David Loftis

2009-01-01

In recent decades considerable research has focused on the use of prescribed fire in oak-dominated forests with the management objective of promoting oak regeneration for future overstory dominance. These studies typically focus on the response of oak seedlings and saplings already in place when experimental prescribed fires are set because it is difficult to time...

Goldspotted oak borer in California: Invasion history, biology, impact, management, and implications for Mediterranean forests worldwide

Treesearch

Tom Coleman; Steven Seybold

2016-01-01

In 2008, the goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), was fi rst linked to elevated levels of oak mortality in southern California (CA), but it appears to have impacted oak woodlands and mixed conifer forests across all land ownerships in this region for nearly two decades. This unexpectedly damaging...

Effects of fire on the thermal stability of permafrost in lowland and upland black spruce forests of interior Alaska in a changing climate

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jafarov, Elchin E.; Romanovsky, Vladimir E.; Genet, Helene; McGuire, Anthony David; Marchenko, Sergey S.

2013-01-01

Fire is an important factor controlling the composition and thickness of the organic layer in the black spruce forest ecosystems of interior Alaska. Fire that burns the organic layer can trigger dramatic changes in the underlying permafrost, leading to accelerated ground thawing within a relatively short time. In this study, we addressed the following questions. (1) Which factors determine post-fire ground temperature dynamics in lowland and upland black spruce forests? (2) What levels of burn severity will cause irreversible permafrost degradation in these ecosystems? We evaluated these questions in a transient modeling–sensitivity analysis framework to assess the sensitivity of permafrost to climate, burn severity, soil organic layer thickness, and soil moisture content in lowland (with thick organic layers, ~80 cm) and upland (with thin organic layers, ~30 cm) black spruce ecosystems. The results indicate that climate warming accompanied by fire disturbance could significantly accelerate permafrost degradation. In upland black spruce forest, permafrost could completely degrade in an 18 m soil column within 120 years of a severe fire in an unchanging climate. In contrast, in a lowland black spruce forest, permafrost is more resilient to disturbance and can persist under a combination of moderate burn severity and climate warming.

Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Diversity and Sampling Methodology in a Midwestern USA Deciduous Forest.

PubMed

McCravy, Kenneth W; Ruholl, Jared D

2017-08-04

Forests provide potentially important bee habitat, but little research has been done on forest bee diversity and the relative effectiveness of bee sampling methods in this environment. Bee diversity and sampling methodology were studied in an Illinois, USA upland oak-hickory forest using elevated and ground-level pan traps, malaise traps, and vane traps. 854 bees and 55 bee species were collected. Elevated pan traps collected the greatest number of bees (473), but ground-level pan traps collected greater species diversity (based on Simpson's diversity index) than did elevated pan traps. Elevated and ground-level pan traps collected the greatest bee species richness, with 43 and 39 species, respectively. An estimated sample size increase of over 18-fold would be required to approach minimum asymptotic richness using ground-level pan traps. Among pan trap colors/elevations, elevated yellow pan traps collected the greatest number of bees (266) but the lowest diversity. Malaise traps were relatively ineffective, collecting only 17 bees. Vane traps collected relatively low species richness (14 species), and Chao1 and abundance coverage estimators suggested that minimum asymptotic species richness was approached for that method. Bee species composition differed significantly between elevated pan traps, ground-level pan traps, and vane traps. Indicator species were significantly associated with each of these trap types, as well as with particular pan trap colors/elevations. These results indicate that Midwestern deciduous forests provide important bee habitat, and that the performance of common bee sampling methods varies substantially in this environment.

Tropical secondary forests regenerating after shifting cultivation in the Philippines uplands are important carbon sinks.

PubMed

Mukul, Sharif A; Herbohn, John; Firn, Jennifer

2016-03-08

In the tropics, shifting cultivation has long been attributed to large scale forest degradation, and remains a major source of uncertainty in forest carbon accounting. In the Philippines, shifting cultivation, locally known as kaingin, is a major land-use in upland areas. We measured the distribution and recovery of aboveground biomass carbon along a fallow gradient in post-kaingin secondary forests in an upland area in the Philippines. We found significantly higher carbon in the aboveground total biomass and living woody biomass in old-growth forest, while coarse dead wood biomass carbon was higher in the new fallow sites. For young through to the oldest fallow secondary forests, there was a progressive recovery of biomass carbon evident. Multivariate analysis indicates patch size as an influential factor in explaining the variation in biomass carbon recovery in secondary forests after shifting cultivation. Our study indicates secondary forests after shifting cultivation are substantial carbon sinks and that this capacity to store carbon increases with abandonment age. Large trees contribute most to aboveground biomass. A better understanding of the relative contribution of different biomass sources in aboveground total forest biomass, however, is necessary to fully capture the value of such landscapes from forest management, restoration and conservation perspectives.

Tropical secondary forests regenerating after shifting cultivation in the Philippines uplands are important carbon sinks

PubMed Central

Mukul, Sharif A.; Herbohn, John; Firn, Jennifer

2016-01-01

In the tropics, shifting cultivation has long been attributed to large scale forest degradation, and remains a major source of uncertainty in forest carbon accounting. In the Philippines, shifting cultivation, locally known as kaingin, is a major land-use in upland areas. We measured the distribution and recovery of aboveground biomass carbon along a fallow gradient in post-kaingin secondary forests in an upland area in the Philippines. We found significantly higher carbon in the aboveground total biomass and living woody biomass in old-growth forest, while coarse dead wood biomass carbon was higher in the new fallow sites. For young through to the oldest fallow secondary forests, there was a progressive recovery of biomass carbon evident. Multivariate analysis indicates patch size as an influential factor in explaining the variation in biomass carbon recovery in secondary forests after shifting cultivation. Our study indicates secondary forests after shifting cultivation are substantial carbon sinks and that this capacity to store carbon increases with abandonment age. Large trees contribute most to aboveground biomass. A better understanding of the relative contribution of different biomass sources in aboveground total forest biomass, however, is necessary to fully capture the value of such landscapes from forest management, restoration and conservation perspectives. PMID:26951761

Tropical secondary forests regenerating after shifting cultivation in the Philippines uplands are important carbon sinks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukul, Sharif A.; Herbohn, John; Firn, Jennifer

2016-03-01

In the tropics, shifting cultivation has long been attributed to large scale forest degradation, and remains a major source of uncertainty in forest carbon accounting. In the Philippines, shifting cultivation, locally known as kaingin, is a major land-use in upland areas. We measured the distribution and recovery of aboveground biomass carbon along a fallow gradient in post-kaingin secondary forests in an upland area in the Philippines. We found significantly higher carbon in the aboveground total biomass and living woody biomass in old-growth forest, while coarse dead wood biomass carbon was higher in the new fallow sites. For young through to the oldest fallow secondary forests, there was a progressive recovery of biomass carbon evident. Multivariate analysis indicates patch size as an influential factor in explaining the variation in biomass carbon recovery in secondary forests after shifting cultivation. Our study indicates secondary forests after shifting cultivation are substantial carbon sinks and that this capacity to store carbon increases with abandonment age. Large trees contribute most to aboveground biomass. A better understanding of the relative contribution of different biomass sources in aboveground total forest biomass, however, is necessary to fully capture the value of such landscapes from forest management, restoration and conservation perspectives.

Indiana's Forests 2008

Treesearch

Christopher W. Woodall; Mark N. Webb; Barry T. Wilson; Jeff Settle; Ron J. Piva; Charles H. Perry; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Susan J. Crocker; Brett J. Butler; Mark Hansen; Mark Hatfield; Gary Brand; Charles Barnett

2011-01-01

The second full annual inventory of Indiana's forests reports more than 4.75 million acres of forest land with an average volume of more than 2,000 cubic feet per acre. Forest land is dominated by the white oak/red oak/hickory forest type, which occupies nearly a third of the total forest land area. Seventy-six percent of forest land consists of sawtimber, 16...

Long-term (13-year) effects of repeated prescribed fires on stand structure and tree regeneration in mixed-oak forests

Treesearch

Todd F. Hutchinson; Daniel A. Yaussy; Robert P. Long; Joanne Rebbeck; Elaine Kennedy. Sutherland

2012-01-01

The survival and growth of oak advance regeneration is often limited by shade-tolerant species that are abundant in the understory of oak stands. Evidence of historic burning has prompted the use of prescribed fire as a tool to improve the competitive status of oak regeneration in mature stands. A primary shortfall of fire effects research in oak forests has been a...

Spatio-Temporal Trends of Oak Decline and Mortality under Periodic Regional Drought in the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas and Missouri

Treesearch

Zhaofei Fan; Xiuli Fan; Michael K. Crosby; W. Keith Moser; Hong He; Martin A. Spetich; Stephen R. Shifley

2012-01-01

At the forest landscape/region level, based on annual Forest Inventory and Analysis plot data from 1999 to 2010, oak decline and mortality trends for major oak species (groups) were examined in the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas and Missouri. Oak decline has elevated cumulative mortality of red oak species to between 11 and 15 percent in terms of relative density and...

Upland hardwood silviculture DVD

Treesearch

Claire Payne; Donna Burnett

2010-01-01

The Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management unit of the Southern Research Station offers a week-long course that provides practicing foresters with information about current silvicultural practices and emerging issues based on scientific research and applied techniques that affect managing upland hardwoods. This DVD captures the course that took place in July 2007....

Long-term effects of a lock and dam and greentree reservoir management on a bottomland hardwood forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

King, S.L.; Allen, J.A.; McCoy, J.W.

1998-01-01

We investigated the long-term effects of a lock and dam and greentree reservoir management on a riparian bottomland hardwood forest in southern Arkansas, USA, by monitoring stress, mortality, and regeneration of bottomland hardwood trees in 53 permanent sampling plots from 1987-1995. The lock and dam and greentree reservoir management have altered the timing, depth, and duration of flooding within the wetland forest. Evaluation of daily river stage data indicates that November overbank flooding (i.e. 0.3 m above normal pool) of 1 week duration occurred only 10 times from 1950 to 1995 and four of these occurrences were the result of artificial flooding of the greentree reservoir. Results of the vegetation study indicate that the five most common dominant and co-dominant species were overcup oak, water hickory, Nuttall oak, willow oak, and sweetgum. Mortality of willow oak exceeded that of all other species except Nuttall oak. Nuttall oak, willow oak, and water hickory had much higher percentages of dead trees concentrated within the dominant and co-dominant crown classes. Probit analysis indicated that differences in stress and mortality were due to a combination of flooding and stand competition. Overcup oak appears to exhibit very little stress regardless of crown class and elevation and, with few exceptions, had a significantly greater probability of occurring within lower stress classes than any other species. Only 22 new stems were recruited into the 5 cm diameter-at-breast height size class between 1990-1995 and of these, three were Nuttall oak, three were water hickory, and one was sweetgum. No recruitment into the 5 cm diameter-at-breast height size class occurred for overcup oak or willow oak. The results of the study suggest that the forest is progressing to a more water-tolerant community dominated by overcup oak. A conservative flooding strategy would minimize tree stress and maintain quality wildlife habitat within the forested wetland.The long-term effects of a lock and dam and greentree reservoir management on a riparian bottomland hardwood forest in southern Arkansas, USA, were investigated by monitoring stress, mortality, and regeneration of bottomland hardwood trees in 53 permanent sampling plots from 1987-1995. Results of the study suggest that the forest is progressing to a more water-tolerant community dominated by overcup oak.

The transformation of vegetation vertical zonality affected by anthropogenic impact in East Fennoscandia (Russia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidorik, Vadim; Miulgauzen, Daria

2017-04-01

Ecosystems of East Fennoscandia have been affected by intensive anthropogenic influence that resulted in their significant transformation. Study of ecosystems in the framework of vegetation vertical zonality disturbance as well as its recovery allows to understand the trends of anthropogenically induced changes. The aim of the present research is the comparative analysis of vegetation vertical zonality of the two uplands in East Fennoscandia which may be considered as unaffected and affected by anthropogenic impact. The objects of key studies carried out in the north-west of Kola Peninsula in the vicinity of the Pechenganikel Mining and Metallurgical Plant are represented by ecosystems of Kalkupya (h 357 m) and Hangaslachdenvara (h 284 m) uplands. They are characterized by the similarity in sequence of altitudinal belts due to the position on the northern taiga - forest-tundra boundary. Plant communities of Kalkupya upland have no visible signs of anthropogenic influence, therefore, they can be considered as model ecosystems of the area. The sequence of altitudinal belts is the following: - up to 200 m - pine subshrub and green moss ("zonal") forest replaced by mixed pine and birch forest near the upper boundary; - 200-300 m - birch crooked subshrub wood; - above 300 m - tundra subshrub and lichen communities. Ecosystems of Hangaslachdenvara upland have been damaged by air pollution (SO2, Ni, Cu emissions) of the Pechenganikel Plant. This impact has led to plant community suppression and formation of barren lands. Besides the soil cover was significantly disturbed, especially upper horizons. Burying of soil profiles, represented by Podzols (WRB, 2015), also manifested itself in the exploited part of the area. The vegetation cover of Hangaslachdenvara upland is the following: - up to 130 m - birch and aspen subshrub and grass forest instead of pine forest ("zonal"); - 130-200 m - barren lands instead of pine forest ("zonal"); - above 200 m - barren lands instead of birch crooked subshrub wood, which stretched to the north-east, proving the leading role of prevailing southwestern winds in pollution spreading in the area. As the anthropogenic impact decreases due to the Plant's emissions decline, there have been identified signs of ecosystem restoration. The beginning restoration helps parvifoliate forests to grow in barren lands, including the above-mentioned birch and aspen forest on Hangaslachdenvara upland. Reductive processes of soil formation are responsible for the development of soddy or raw humus horizons in the substrate overlaying the well-developed Podzols. Nevertheless, there is no restoration above 130 m on Hangaslachdenvara upland owing to the barrier effect, in other words, intensive deposition and accumulation of air pollutants on the upland's top. Thus, there has been defined that the anthropogenic impact led to total vegetation vertical zonality modification and physical disturbance of soil cover in East Fennoscandia. The typical taiga scheme of "coniferous forest - birch crooked wood - tundra subshrub and lichen communities" altitudinal belts was replaced by that of "parvifoliate forest - barren land" altitudinal belts. However, after the reduction of anthropogenic influence "zonal" plant communities begin to restore gradually and weak developed soils are forming.

Ecological and ecophysiological attributes and responses to fire in eastern oak forests

Treesearch

Marc D. Abrams

2006-01-01

Prior to European settlement vast areas of the eastern U. S. deciduous forest were dominated by oak species. Evidence indicates that periodic understory fire was an important ecological factor in the historical development of oak forests. During European settlement of the late 19th and early 20th century, much of the Eastern United States was impacted by land clearing...

The chestnut oak forests of the anthracite region

Treesearch

C. F. Burnham; M. J. Ferree; F. E. Cunningham

1947-01-01

The chestnut oak forests occur mostly on poor sites along the tops and southern slopes of ridges in the central and southern parts of the Anthracite Region (see map). This forest type is not of much commercial value. It contains some saw timber and mine timber, but most of the chestnut oak stands are of seedling-and-sapling size. Furthermore, many of them are in...

Assessing Oak Decline Incidence and Distribution in the Southern U.S. Using Forest Inventory and Analysis Data

Treesearch

Steven W. Oak; James R. Steinman; Dale A. Starkey; Edwin K. Yockey

2004-01-01

Forest Inventory and Analysis data for twelve southern states were used to evaluate regional oak decline status. Total host type, vulnerable host type, and affected areas were determined. The attributes used for classification were forest type, predominant stem size class, oak basal area percent, and dieback damage coding. Host type totaled 104.7 million acres in the...

Timber resources of the Kuskokwim flood plain and adjacent upland.

Treesearch

Karl M. Hegg; Harold. Sieverding

1979-01-01

The first intensive forest inventory of the Kuskokwim River flood plains and adjacent uplands was conducted in 1967. A commercial forest area of 252.5 thousand acres (102.2 thousand hectares) was identified with a growing-stock volume of 343.0 million cubic feet (9.7 million cubic meters). A noncommercial stratum was also examined that had substantial standing volume...

Site disturbances associated with alternative prescriptions in an upland hardwood forest of northern Alabama

Treesearch

Emily Carter; Robert B. Rummer; Bryce Stokes

1997-01-01

A study was installed in an upland hardwood forest to evaluate the site impacts associated with three alternative prescriptions --- clearcut, deferment cut, and strip cut. Two methods of site impact assessment were employed: 1) assignment of disturbance classes to selected points within each treatment area; and 2) measurement of soil bulk density, gravimetric water...

Use of an Upland Pine Forest by the Star-Nosed Mole, Condylura Cristata

Treesearch

Timothy S. McCay; Mark J. Komoraoski; William M. Ford

1999-01-01

The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is a semi-aquatic insectivore, commonly found near marshy areas and streams. We report two captures of star-nosed moles from a xeric, upland pine forest more than 500 m from the nearest persistent source of water. Both captures occurred during rainy nights, suggesting that star-nosed moles use rain events as...

Historic range of variability for upland vegetation in the Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming

Treesearch

Gregory K. Dillon; Dennis H. Knight; Carolyn B. Meyer

2005-01-01

An approach for synthesizing the results of ecological research pertinent to land management is the analysis of the historic range of variability (HRV) for key ecosystem variables that are affected by management activities. This report provides an HRV analysis for the upland vegetation of the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern Wyoming. The variables include...

Historic range of variability for upland vegetation in the Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming

Treesearch

Carolyn B. Meyer; Dennis H. Knight; Gregory K. Dillon

2005-01-01

An approach for synthesizing the results of ecological research pertinent to land management is the analysis of the historic range of variability (HRV) for key ecosystem variables that are affected by management activities. This report provides an HRV analysis for the upland vegetation of the Bighorn National Forest in northcentral Wyoming. The variables include live...

Upland Forest Linkages to Seasonal Wetlands: Litter Flux, Processing, and Food Quality

Treesearch

Brian J. Palik; Darold P. Batzer; Christel Kern

2005-01-01

The flux of materials across ecosystem boundaries has significant effects on recipient systems. Because of edge effects, seasonal wetlands in upland forest are good systems to explore these linkages. The purpose of this study was to examine flux of coarse particulate organic matter as litter fall into seasonal wetlands in Minnesota, and the relationship of this flux to...

Braconid (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) parasitoids of bark beetles in upland spruce stands of the Czech Republic

Treesearch

Aural Lozan; Jiri Zeleny

2003-01-01

Several species of bark beetles occur frequently in the upland spruce forests of the Czech Republic; some of them are serious pests that may cause vast destruction of forest stands. In the last decade, a complex of several species from the genera Ips, Pityogenes and Polygraphus contributed to large-scale devastation of thousand...

The role of young, recently disturbed upland hardwood forest as high quality food patches

Treesearch

Cathryn H. Greenberg; Roger W. Perry; Craig A. Harper; Douglas J. Levey; John M. McCord

2011-01-01

Young (1-10 year post-disturbance) upland hardwood forests function as high-quality food patches by providing abundant fruit, and nutritious foliage and flowers that attract pollinating and foliar arthropods and support high populations of small mammals that, in turn, are prey for numerous vertebrate predators. Reductions in basal area increase light penetration to the...

Stump sprout dominance probabilities of five oak species in southern Indiana 25 years after clearcut harvesting

Treesearch

Dale R. Weigel; Daniel C. Dey; Callie J. Schweitzer; Chao-Ying Joanne Peng

2017-01-01

When regenerating oak or mixed-hardwood forests in southern Indiana, oak (Quercus spp.) stump sprouts are vital to sustaining their presence and long-term dominance. In 1987, a study began in the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. The study goal was to predict the sprouting potential and dominance probability of oaks. Before clearcut...

Oak silviculture, management, and defoliation effects in France and Germany

Treesearch

Kurt W. Gottschalk

1993-01-01

A study tour of four areas of France and Germany (two in each country) was conducted to examine oak silvicultural and managerial practices and the influence of insect defoliators on the ecology and management of oak forests. The French and German situations may provide useful information for managing oak forests and gypsy moth in the United States, especially the...

History of fire in a southern Ohio second-growth mixed-oak forest

Treesearch

Elaine Kennedy Sutherland

1997-01-01

The role of fire in shaping the composition and structure of Quercus (oak)-dominated communities in the deciduous forests of eastern North America is becoming clearer but fire regimes are less well known. I analyzed the fire-scar patterns in 14 oak cross sections from a mixed-oak stand in Vinton County, southeastern Ohio, to determine the frequency...

Use of USDA forest inventory and analysis data to assess oak tree health in Minnesota

Treesearch

Kathryn W. Kromroy; Jennifer Juzwik; Paul D. Castillo

2003-01-01

As a precursor to a regional assessment for the Upper Midwest, three variables were examined as measures of oak health in Minnesota between 1974 and 1990 using USDA Forest Service Inventory and Analysis data. Mortality was 6 percent in the 1986-1990 inventory based on numbers of dead oaks per total oaks on plots with...

A comparison of the effects of different shelterwood harvest methods on the survival and growth of acorn-origin oak seedlings

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose

2011-01-01

Timely development of newly germinated oak (Quercus spp.) seedlings into competitive-sized regeneration is an essential part of the oak regeneration process. The amount of sunlight reaching the forest floor partly governs this development, and foresters often use the shelterwood system to expose oak seedlings to varying degrees of insolation. To...

Butt-log grade distributions for five Appalachian hardwood species

Treesearch

John R. Myers; Gary W. Miller; Harry V., Jr. Wiant; Joseph E. Barnard; Joseph E. Barnard

1986-01-01

Tree quality is an important factor in determining the market value of hardwood timber stands, but many forest inventories do not include estimates of tree quality. Butt-log grade distributions were developed for northern red oak, black oak, white oak, chestnut oak, and yellow-poplar using USDA Forest Service log grades on more than 4,700 trees in West Virginia. Butt-...

Regional and geomorphic influence on the productivity, composition, and structure of oak ecosystems in the western central hardwoods region

Treesearch

Amber M. Steele; John M. Kabrick; Randall J. Miles

2013-01-01

The steeply dissected glaciated landscapes of the Chariton River Hills Ecological Subsection (CRHES) in northern Missouri have extensive, but largely unmanaged, oak forests that are relatively unstudied. There is increasing interest in these forests for oak ecosystem restoration, ecological site description, and production of oak timber for biofuels. Our objectives...

A Forest Tent Caterpiller Outbreak in the Mississippi Delta: Host Preference and Growth Effects

Treesearch

Theodor D. Leininger; J.D. Solomon

1995-01-01

Abstract - An outbreak of forest tent caterpillars (FTC) began ln spring, 1989 and lasted three years.This is the first recorded epidemic of FTC in the Mississippi Delta. Species fed upon and defoliated, or nearly defoliated, include: willow oak, water oak, nuttall oak, overcup oak, green ash, and sweetgum.Water hickory, and sugarberry were not fed...

Natural oak regeneration 22 to 35 years after clearcutting on the Hoosier National Forest

Treesearch

Marcus F. Selig; John R. Seifert; Douglass F. Jacobs

2005-01-01

Oak (Quercus spp.) recruitment failure is a severe problem in the Central Hardwood forest region. The majority of studies that have examined decreases in oak abundance were conducted over a relatively short time and across a very narrow landscape. This study examines oak regeneration by revisiting a number of former clearcut stands throughout the...

Fire in Eastern North American Oak Ecosystems: Filling the Gaps

Treesearch

Julian (Morgan) Varner; Mary Arthur; Stacy Clark; Daniel C. Dey; Justin Hart; Callie Schweitzer

2016-01-01

This special issue of Fire Ecology is focused on the fire ecology of eastern USA oak (Quercus L.) forests, woodlands, and savannas. The papers were presented as part of the Fifth Fire in Eastern Oak Forests Conference in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA, in 2015. The topic of fire in eastern oak ecosystems is one that has received insufficient interest from the...

The relationship between productivities of salmonids and forest stands in northern California watersheds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Frazey, S.L.; Wilzbach, M.A.

2007-01-01

Productivities of resident salmonids and upland and riporian forests in 22 small watersheds of coastal northern California were estimated and compared to determine whether: 1) upland site productivity predicted riparian site productivity; 2) either upland or riparian site productivity predicted salmonid productivity; and 3) other parameters explained more of the variance in salmonid productivity. Upland and riparian site productivities were estimated using Site Index values for redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and red alder (Alnus rubra), respectively. Salmonid productivity was indexed by back-calculated length at age 1 of the largest individuals sampled and by total biomass. Upland and riparian site indices were correlated, but neither factor contributed to the best approximating models of salmonid productivity. Total salmonid biomass was best described by a positive relationship with drainage area. Length of dominant fish was best described by a positive relationship with percentage of hardwoods within riparian areas, which may result from nutrient and/or litter subsidies provided by red older. The inability of forest productivity to predict salmon productivity may reflect insufficient variation in independent variables, limitations of the indices, and the operation of other factors affecting salmonid production. The lack of an apparent relationship between upland conifer and salmonid productivity suggests that management of land for timber productivity and component streams for salmonid production in these sites will require separate, albeit integrated, management strategies.

Methane production potential and microbial community structure for different forest soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, Y.; Ueyama, M.; Kominami, Y.; Endo, R.; Tokumoto, H.; Hirano, T.; Takagi, K.; Takahashi, Y.; Iwata, H.; Harazono, Y.

2017-12-01

Forest soils are often considered as a methane (CH4) sink, but anaerobic microsites potentially decrease the sink at the ecosystem scale. In this study, we measured biological CH4 production potential of soils at various ecosystems, including upland forests, a lowland forest, and a bog, and analyzed microbial community structure using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Three different types of soil samples (upland, bank of the stream, and center of the stream) were collected from Yamashiro forest meteorology research site (YMS) at Kyoto, Japan, on 11 May 2017. The soils were incubated at dark and anaerobic conditions under three different temperatures (37°C, 25°C, and 10°C) from 9 June 2017. The upland soils emitted CH4 with largest yields among the three soils at 37°C and 25°C, although no CH4 emission was observed at 10°C. For all temperature ranges, the emission started to increase with a 14- to 20-days lag after the start of the incubation. The lag indicates a slow transition to anaerobic conditions; as dissolved oxygen in water decreased, the number and/or activity of anaerobic bacteria like methanogens increased. The soils at the bank and center of the stream emitted CH4 with smaller yields than the upland soils in the three temperature ranges. The microbial community analyses indicate that methanogenic archaea presented at the three soils including the aerobic upland soil, but compositions of methanogenic archaea were different among the soils. In upland soils, hydrogenotrophic methanogens, such as Methanobacterium and Methanothermobacter, consisted almost all of the total methanogen detected. In the bank and center of the stream, soils contained approximately 10-25% of acetoclastic methanogens, such as Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta, among the total methanogen detected. Methanotrophs, a genus of Methanobacteriaceae, was appeared in the all types of soils. We will present results from same incubation and 16S rRNA analyses for other ecosystems, including a larch forest on volcanic soils, a young larch forest on Gleyic Cambisol, and a boreal bog and a lowland forest on permafrost. Comparing various soils from temperate and boreal ecosystems, we will discuss differences of biogenic CH4 production potential among the soils with the microbial community analyses.

The dynamic response of housing values to a forest invasive disease: evidence from a sudden oak death infestation

Treesearch

Kent Kovacs; Thomas P Holmes; Jeffrey E Englin; Janice Alexander

2011-01-01

“Sudden Oak Death” (Phytophthora ramorum) is a non-indigenous forest pathogen which causes substantial mortality of coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and several other oak tree species on the Pacific Coast of the United States. We estimated the time path of residential property values subject to oak mortality using a dataset that spans more than two decades—including...

Linking Forests and Fish: The Relationship Between Productivities of Salmonids and Forest Stands in Northern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilzbach, P.; Frazey, S.

2005-05-01

Productivities of resident salmonid populations, upland, and riparian areas in 25 small watersheds of coastal northern California were estimated and compared to determine if: 1) upland site productivity predicted riparian site productivity; 2) either upland or riparian site productivity predicted salmonid productivity; and 3) other parameters explained more of the variance in salmonid productivity than upland or riparian site productivity. Salmonid productivity was indexed by total salmonid biomass, length of age 1 fish, and percent habitat saturation. Upland and riparian site productivities were estimated using site indices for redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and red alder (Alnus rubra), respectively. Upland and riparian site indices were correlated, but neither factor contributed to the best approximating models of salmonid biomass or fish length at age one. Salmonid biomass was best described by a positive relationship with drainage area, and length at age was best described by a positive relationship with percent of riparian hardwoods. Percent habitat saturation was not well described by any of the models constructed. Lack of a relationship between upland conifer and salmonid productivity suggests that management of land for timber productivity and component streams for salmonid production in these sites will require separate, albeit integrated, strategies.

The weight of the past: land-use legacies and recolonization of pine plantations by oak trees.

PubMed

Navarro-González, Irene; Pérez-Luque, Antonio J; Bonet, Francisco J; Zamora, Regino

2013-09-01

Most of the world's plantations were established on previously disturbed sites with an intensive land-use history. Our general hypothesis was that native forest regeneration within forest plantations depends largely on in situ biological legacies as a source of propagules. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed native oak regeneration in 168 pine plantation plots in southern Spain in relation to land use in 1956, oak patch proximity, and pine tree density. Historical land-use patterns were determined from aerial photography from 1956, and these were compared with inventory data from 2004-2005 and additional orthophoto images. Our results indicate that oak forest regeneration in pine plantations depends largely on land-use legacies, although nearby, well-conserved areas can provide propagules for colonization from outside the plantation, and pine tree density also affected oak recruit density. More intense land uses in the past meant fewer biological legacies and, therefore, lower likelihood of regenerating native forest. That is, oak recruit density was lower when land use in 1956 was croplands (0.004 +/- 0.002 recruits/m2 [mean +/- SE]) or pasture (0.081 +/- 0.054 recruits/m2) instead of shrubland (0.098 +/- 0.031 recruits/m2) or oak formations (0.314 +/- 0.080 recruits/m2). Our study shows that land use in the past was more important than propagule source distance or pine tree density in explaining levels of native forest regeneration in plantations. Thus, strategies for restoring native oak forests in pine plantations may benefit from considering land-use legacies as well as distance to propagule sources and pine density.

[Impact of cork oak management on the ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity associated with Quercus suber in the Mâamora forest (Morocco)].

PubMed

Maghnia, Fatima Z; Sanguin, Hervé; Abbas, Younes; Verdinelli, Marcello; Kerdouh, Benaissa; El Ghachtouli, Naima; Lancellotti, Enrico; Bakkali Yakhlef, Salah Eddine; Duponnois, Robin

2017-05-01

The cork oak forest is an ecosystem playing a major role in Moroccan socio-economy and biodiversity conservation. However, this ecosystem is negatively impacted by extensive human- and climate-driven pressures, causing a strong decrease in its distribution and a worsening of the desertification processes. This study aims at characterising the impact of cork oak forest management on a major actor of its functioning, the ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungal community associated with Quercus suber, and the determination of EcM bio-indicators. The EcM fungal community has been monitored during spring and winter seasons in two sites of the Moroccan Mâamora forest, corresponding to a forest site either impacted by human activities or protected. A significant impact of cork oak forest management on the EcM fungal community has been revealed, with major differences during the summer season. The results confirmed the potential ecological significance of several EcM fungi (e.g., Cenococcum) in the sustainability of the cork oak forest functioning, but also the significant association of certain EcM fungi (Pachyphloeus, Russula, Tomentella) with a perturbation or a season, and consequently to the cork oak forest status or to climatic conditions, respectively. The development of study at the Mediterranean scale may improve the robustness of ecological models to predict the impact of global changes on this emblematic ecosystem of Mediterranean basin. Copyright © 2017 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Ghost forest creation and the conversion of uplands to wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirwan, M. L.; Schieder, N. W.; Reay, W.

2017-12-01

Global sea level rise rates began accelerating sharply in the late 19th century, with an approximate tripling in sea level rise rates in many regions of the world. Some portions of the coastal landscape, such as marshes and barrier islands, survive relative sea level rise by natural eco-geomorphic processes that allow them to build elevation vertically and migrate landward. In contrast, adjacent uplands typically occupied by forests and agricultural fields have limited ability to resist the impacts of sea level rise. This portion of the coastal landscape consists of mostly salt intolerant plants, receives little mineral sediment deposition, and rarely builds elevation through the accumulation of soil organic matter. Thus, ghost forests- dead trees surrounded by marshland- are a prominent feature of many low-relief coastal landscapes, and represent a striking visual indicator of upland to wetland conversion. Here, we report preliminary results of several efforts designed to quantify rates and drivers of upland to wetland conversion in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Drone based canopy monitoring and ground-based seedling experiments suggest that ghost forests are created by episodic, storm-driven adult tree mortality paired with continuous seedling mortality. Preliminary comparisons between sediment cores and historical photographs from 5 sites in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina suggest that modern coastal forest retreat is 2-10 times faster than late-Holocene retreat rates, and that rates have accelerated in most decades since the 1930's. Finally, historical T-Sheet maps suggest that approximately 100,000 acres (400 km2) of uplands have converted to wetlands in the Chesapeake region, and that about 1/3 of all present-day marsh was created by upland drowning since the late 19th Century. Together, these observations indicate rapid coastal transgression, where low-relief, terrestrial portions of the coastal landscape are perhaps more sensitive to sea level rise than better studied, more seaward portions.

Shelterwood treatments fail to establish oak reproduction on mesic forest sites in West Virginia - 10-year results

Treesearch

Thomas M. Schuler; Gary W. Miller

1995-01-01

The difficulty in regenerating oak on mesic forest sites is well known throughout the eastern and central United States, southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Research has shown that the establishment and development of oak seedlings prior to overstory removal, commonly referred to as advanced regeneration, is crucial for retaining oak species in the regenerated stand....

Litter Species Composition and Topographic Effects on Fuels and Modeled Fire Behavior in an Oak-Hickory Forest in the Eastern USA

Treesearch

Matthew B. Dickinson; Todd F. Hutchinson; Mark Dietenberger; Frederick Matt; Matthew P. Peters; Jian Yang

2016-01-01

Mesophytic species (esp. Acer rubrum) are increasingly replacing oaks (Quercus spp.) in fire-suppressed, deciduous oak-hickory forests of the eastern US. A pivotal hypothesis is that fuel beds derived from mesophytic litter are less likely than beds derived from oak litter to carry a fire and, if they do, are more likely to...

Survival analysis for a large scale forest health issue: Missouri oak decline

Treesearch

C.W. Woodall; P.L. Grambsch; W. Thomas; W.K. Moser

2005-01-01

Survival analysis methodologies provide novel approaches for forest mortality analysis that may aid in detecting, monitoring, and mitigating of large-scale forest health issues. This study examined survivor analysis for evaluating a regional forest health issue - Missouri oak decline. With a statewide Missouri forest inventory, log-rank tests of the effects of...

Atmospheric Inputs of Mercury and Organic Carbon into a Forested Upland/Bog Watershed

Treesearch

Randall K. Kolka; E.A. Nater; D.F. Grigal; E.S. Verry

1999-01-01

Inputs of mercury (Hg) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in throughfall and stemflow waters were measured for an upland/bog watershed in northern Minnesota, and were compared to the deposition in a nearby opening to determine the influence of tree canopies on Hg and DOC deposition. Twice as much Hg and seven times as much DOC was deposited in the forested watershed...

Short-term stem mortality of 10 deciduous broadleaved species following prescribed burning in upland forests of the southern US

Treesearch

Tara L. Keyser; Virginia L. McDaniel; Robert N. Klein; Dan G. Drees; Jesse A. Burton; Melissa M. Forder

2018-01-01

In upland forests of the southern US, management is increasingly focussed on the restoration and maintenance of resilient structures and species compositions, with prescribed burning being the primary tool used to achieve these goals and objectives. In this study, we utilised an extensive dataset comprising 91 burn units and 210 plots across 13 National Park Service...

Sources, transformations, and hydrological processes that control stream nitrate and dissolved organic matter concentrations during snowmelt in an upland forest

Treesearch

Stephen D. Sebestyen; Elizabeth W. Boyer; James B. Shanley; Carol Kendall; Daniel H. Doctor; George R. Aiken; Nobuhito Ohte

2008-01-01

We explored catchment processes that control stream nutrient concentrations at an upland forest in northeastern Vermont, USA, where inputs of nitrogen via atmospheric deposition are among the highest in the nation and affect ecosystem functioning. We traced sources of water, nitrate, and dissolved organic matter (DOM) using stream water samples collected at high...

A source of methane from upland forests in the Brazilian Amazon.

Treesearch

Janaina Braga do Carmo; Michael Keller; Jadson Dezincourt Dias; Plinio Barbosa de Camargo; Patrick Crill

2006-01-01

We sampled air in the canopy layer of undisturbed upland forests during wet and dry seasons at three sites in the Brazilian Amazon region and found that both methane(CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) mixing ratios increased at night. Such increases were consistent across sites and seasons. A canopy layer budget model based on measured soil-atmosphere fluxes of CO2 was...

An old-growth definition for upland longleaf and south Florida slash pine forests, woodlands, and savannas

Treesearch

J. Larry Landers; William D. Boyer

1999-01-01

Upland longleaf pine forests, woodlands, and savannas once occupied most of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from southeastern Virginia south through the northern two-thirds of Florida and west to east Texas, with extensions into the Piedmont and mountains of Alabama and northwest Georgia. South Florida slash pine is native to the southern half of peninsular...

Short-Term Effects of Understory and Overstory Management on Breeding Birds in Arkansas Oak-Hickory Forests

Treesearch

Paul G. Rodewald; Kimberly G. Smith

1998-01-01

Relatively little is known about the effects of uneven-aged forest management practices on eastern forest birds, despite the fact that such methods are now commonly practiced. In 1993-94, we studied the short-term effects of uneven-aged forest management on bird communities in oak-hickory forests of north-western Arkansas. We estimated bird abundance in mature forests...

Age Distribution of Oak Forests in North-Central Arkansas

Treesearch

Rick Soucy; Eric Heitzman; Martin A. Spetich

2004-01-01

We used tree ring analysis to reconstruct the tree establishment patterns in four mature white oak (Quercus alba L.)-northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.)-hickory (Carya spp.) forests in the Ozark Mountains of north-central Arkasas. Cross sections were removed from the stumps of 321 recently harvested trees and...

Regeneration of native California oaks in the forest zone [Abstract

Treesearch

P.M. McDonald

1999-01-01

The two native California oaks in the forest zone of California are California black oak (Quercus kelloggii Newb.) and tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus [Hook. and Arn.] Rehd.). Both are ancient species with many adaptations to withstand California's Mediterranean climate, but some weaknesses as well. Both sprout vigorously...

BOREAS TE-9 In Situ Diurnal Gas Exchange of NAS Boreal Forest Stands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Curd, Shelaine (Editor); Margolis, Hank; Coyea, Marie; Dang, Qinglai

2000-01-01

The BOREAS TE-9 team collected several data sets related to chemical and photosynthetic properties of leaves in boreal forest tree species. The purpose of the BOREAS TE-09 study was threefold: 1) to provide in situ gas exchange data that will be used to validate models of photosynthetic responses to light, temperature, and carbon dioxide (CO2); 2) to compare the photosynthetic responses of different tree crown levels (upper and lower); and 3) to characterize the diurnal water potential curves for these sites to get an indication of the extent to which soil moisture supply to leaves might be limiting photosynthesis. The gas exchange data of the BOREAS NSA were collected to characterize diurnal gas exchange and water potential of two canopy levels of five boreal canopy cover types: young jack pine, old jack pine, old aspen, lowland old black spruce, and upland black spruce. These data were collected between 27-May-1994 and 17-Sep-1994. The data are provided in tabular ASCII files. The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884), or from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

Use of damage surveys and field inventories to evaluate oak and sugar maple health in the northern United States

Treesearch

Randall S Morin; Christopher W. Woodall; Jim Steinman; Charles H. Perry

2009-01-01

Oak species (Quercus spp.) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) are substantial components of the forest ecosystems in the 24-state region spanning the northern U.S. During recent decades, both damage surveys and forest inventories have documented declines of sugar maple and oak health. In order to more fully assess the status of oak and sugar maple health, we examined...

Repeated burning alters the structure and composition of hardwood regeneration in oak-dominated forests of eastern Kentucky, USA

Treesearch

Tara L. Keyser; Mary Arthur; David L. Loftis

2017-01-01

The exclusion of anthropogenic fire is a primary factor responsible for the ‘mesophication’ of eastern oak (Quercus) forests and resultant oak regeneration problems. Consequently, the reintroduction of fire is increasingly used to promote the establishment and growth of oak and hickory (Carya) and control competition from shade-tolerant species (e.g., red maple (Acer...

Effects of Understory Burning in a Mesic Mixed-Oak Forest of the Southern Appalachians

Treesearch

Katherine J. Elliott; James M. Vose; Barton D. Clinton; Jennifer D. Knoepp

2004-01-01

Information is lacking on ecosystem effects of understory burning in mesic mixed-oak (Quercus spp.) forests of the southern Appalachians. Native Americans used periodic fires in these forests for driving game and opening the forest. In April 1998, we conducted a low- to moderate-intensity fire in a cove­hardwood forest in the Nantahala National...

Capturing forest dependency in the central Himalayan region: Variations between Oak (Quercus spp.) and Pine (Pinus spp.) dominated forest landscapes.

PubMed

Chakraborty, Anusheema; Joshi, Pawan Kumar; Sachdeva, Kamna

2018-05-01

Our study explores the nexus between forests and local communities through participatory assessments and household surveys in the central Himalayan region. Forest dependency was compared among villages surrounded by oak-dominated forests (n = 8) and pine-dominated forests (n = 9). Both quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate variations in the degree of dependency based on proximity to nearest forest type. Households near oak-dominated forests were more dependent on forests (83.8%) compared to households near pine-dominated forests (69.1%). Forest dependency is mainly subsistence-oriented for meeting basic household requirements. Livestock population, cultivated land per household, and non-usage of alternative fuels are the major explanatory drivers of forest dependency. Our findings can help decision and policy makers to establish nested governance mechanisms encouraging prioritized site-specific conservation options among forest-adjacent households. Additionally, income diversification with respect to alternate livelihood sources, institutional reforms, and infrastructure facilities can reduce forest dependency, thereby, allowing sustainable forest management.

Oak woodlands and other hardwood forests of California, 1990s.

Treesearch

K.L. Waddell; T.M. Barrett

2005-01-01

This report provides a multiownership assessment of oak woodlands and other hardwood forests in California, excluding only reserved lands outside of national forests. Because sampling intensity on woodlands was doubled from the previous 1981-84 inventory, and because national forests were inventoried, this is the most complete assessment to date for California...

Relative nitrogen mineralization and nitrification potentials in relation to soil chemistry in oak forest soils along a historical deposition gradient

Treesearch

Ralph E. J. Boerner; Elaine Kennedy Sutherland

1996-01-01

This study quantified soil nutrient status and N mineralization/nitrification potentials in soils of oak-dominated, unmanaged forest stands in seven USDA Forest Service experimental forests (EF) ranging along a historical and current acidic deposition gradient from southern Illinois to central West Virginia.

Availability of nest cavity trees for wood ducks (Aix sponsa) at Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Maine

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clugston, D.A.

1999-01-01

The availability of natural cavities for cavitynesting waterfowl, especially wood ducks (Aix sponsa), was unknown ferating forest of Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, ME. An assessment of cavity availability was needed to determine if the existing nesting box program should be increased. During November to March, 199697 and 199798, I sampled 56 onehalf ha random plots, stratified into 5 types (upland hardwood, upland conifer, upland mixwood, wetland conifer, and wetland hardwood) to assess availability of trees with cavities. The predominant tree species with cavities were red maple (Acer rubrum; 39%) and aspen (Populus sp.; 31%); 72% of all trees with cavities were alive. Density ees/plot averaged from 1.0 +0.4 (x +SE) in wetland softwoods to 1.9 +0.4 in upland hardwoods. This low density of potential cavity trees and the small mean dbh (39.4 +1.6 cm) indicate a young forest with few suitable cavities. Forested areas, especially hardwoods near canopy openings, need to be allowed to mature to increase the number and quality of future cavities. An expanded nest box program seems justified.

Low dissolved organic carbon input from fresh litter to deep mineral soils

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

Froeberg, Mats J; Jardine, Philip M; Hanson, Paul J

2007-01-01

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leached from recent litter in the forest floor has been suggested to be an important source of C to the mineral soil of forest ecosystems. In order to determine the rate at which this flux of C occurs we have taken advantage of a local release of 14C at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Reservation, USA (latitude N 35 58'; longitude W 84 16'). Eight replicate 7x7 m plots were estab lished at four field sites on the reservation in an upland oak forest setting. Half of the plots were provided with 14C-enriched litter (∆14C ≈1000 ),more » and the other half with near-background litter (∆14C ≈220 ) over multiple years. Differences in the labeled leaf litter were used to quantify the movement of litter derived DOC through the soil profile. Soil solutions were collected over several years with tension lysimeters at 15 and 70 cm depth and measured for DOC concentration and 14C abundance. The net amount of DOC retained between 15 and 70 cm was 1.5-6 g m-2 y-1. There were significant effects of the litter additions on the 14C abundance in the DOC, but the net transport of 14C from the added litter was small. The difference in ∆14C between the treatments with enriched and near-background litter was only about 130 at both depths, which is small compared with the difference in Δ14C in the added litter. The primary source of DOC within the mineral soil must therefore have been either the Oe/Oa horizon or the organic matter in the mineral soil. Over a 2-year time frame, leaching of DOC from recent litter did not have a major impact on the C stock in the mineral soil below 15 cm in this ecosystem.« less

Comparison of Ant Community Diversity and Functional Group Composition Associated to Land Use Change in a Seasonally Dry Oak Forest.

PubMed

Cuautle, M; Vergara, C H; Badano, E I

2016-04-01

Ants have been used to assess land use conversion, because they reflect environmental change, and their response to these changes have been useful in the identification of bioindicators. We evaluated ant diversity and composition associated to different land use change in a temperate forest (above 2000 m asl) in Mexico. The study was carried out in "Flor del Bosque" Park a vegetation mosaic of native Oak Forests and introduced Eucalyptus and grasslands. Species richness, dominance and diversity rarefaction curves, based on ant morphospecies and functional groups, were constructed and compared among the three vegetation types, for the rainy and the dry seasons of 2008-2009. Jaccard and Sorensen incidence-based indices were calculated to obtain similarity values among all the habitats. The Oak Forest was a rich dominant community, both in species and functional groups; the Eucalyptus plantation was diverse with low dominance. The most seasonality habitat was the grassland, with low species and high functional group diversity during the dry seasons, but the reverse pattern during the wet season. The Oak Forest was more similar to the Eucalyptus plantation than to the grassland, particularly during the dry season. Oak Forests are dominated by Cold Climate Specialists, specifically Prenolepis imparis (Say). The Eucalyptus and the grassland are characterized by generalized Myrmicinae, as Pheidole spp. and Monomorium ebenium (Forel). The conservation of the native Oak Forest is primordial for the maintenance of Cold Climate Specialist ant communities. The microclimatic conditions in this forest, probably, prevented the invasion by opportunistic species.

Mycorrhizae promote fire adaptation in oak-hickory forests in Eastern USA

Treesearch

Aaron D. Stottlemyer; G. Geoff Wang; Thomas A. Waldrop

2015-01-01

Prescribed fire is commonly used in silvicultural programs designed to promote oak (Quercus spp.) and hickory (Carya spp.) regeneration in eastern deciduous forests (Brose and others 2008). Thick bark, hypogeal germination, large root systems, repeated-prolific sprouting, and the ability to compartmentalize scars are well-known characteristics that enable oaks and...

The state of the system and steps toward resilience of distrubance-dependent oak forests

Treesearch

Tricia G. Knoot; Lisa A. Schulte; John C. Tyndall; Brian J. Palik

2010-01-01

Current ecological, economic, and social conditions present unique challenges to natural resource managers seeking to maintain the resilience of disturbance-dependent ecosystems, such as oak (Quercus spp.) forests. Oak-dominated ecosystems throughout the U.S. have historically been perpetuated through periodic disturbance, such as fire, but more...

Novel interactions between wildfire and sudden oak death influence sexual and asexual regeneration in coast redwood forests

Treesearch

Allison B. Simler; Margaret R. Metz; Ross K. Meentemeyer; Kerri M. Frangioso; David M. Rizzo

2017-01-01

Novel interactions between compounded disturbances can leave lasting ecological legacies on communities and alter regeneration trajectories. Sudden oak death (SOD), caused by Phytophthora ramorum, is a biotic disturbance, an emerging disease causing widespread oak and tanoak mortality in California’s coastal forests....

Biotic and abiotic mechanisms in the establishment of northern red oak seedlings: a review

Treesearch

Linda S. Gribko; Thomas M. Schuler; W. Mark Ford

2002-01-01

This review of literature pertaining to the biotic and abiotic mechanisms in the establishment of northern red oak seedlings is designed to aid forest managers and researchers interested in sustaining the oak component of the eastern and central hardwood forest regions. Recommendations for future research are presented.

Madrean pine-oak forest in Arizona: past dynamics, present problems

Treesearch

Andrew M. Barton

2008-01-01

This paper synthesizes research on presettlement dynamics and modern disruption of Madrean pine-oak forests in Arizona. In response to surface fires characteristic of presettlement times, pines were fire resistant, exhibiting high top-survival, whereas oaks were fire resilient, exhibiting lower top-survival but pronounced resprouting. Thus, low-severity fire favors...

Stability of diameter distributions in a managed uneven-aged oak forest in the Ozark Highlands

Treesearch

Zhiming Wang; Paul S. Johnson; H. E. Garrett; Stephen R. Shifley

1997-01-01

We studied a privately owned 156,000-acre oak-dominated forest in the Ozark Highlands of southern Missouri. The forest has been managed by the single-tree selection method since 1952. Using 40 years of continuous forest inventory records, we analyzed the stability of the shape of tree diameter distributions at the forest-wide scale. Results show that for trees ...

The key host for an invasive forest pathogen also facilitates the pathogen’s survival of wildfire in California forests

Treesearch

Maia M. Beh; Margaret R. Metz; Kerri M. Frangioso; David M. Rizzo

2012-01-01

SummaryThe first wildfires in sudden oak death-impacted forests occurred in 2008 in the Big Sur region of California, creating the rare opportunity to study the interaction between an invasive forest pathogen and a historically recurring disturbance.To determine whether and how the sudden oak death...

Origin, development, and impact of mountain laurel thickets on the mixed-oak forests of the central Appalachian Mountains, USA

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose

2016-01-01

Throughout forests of the northern hemisphere, some species of ericaceous shrubs can form persistent understories that interfere with forest regeneration processes. In the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) may interfere in the regeneration of mixed-oak (Quercus spp.) forests. To...

Contrasting responses to drought of forest floor CO2 efflux in a loblolly pine plantation and a nearby Oak-Hickory forest

Treesearch

S. Palmroth; Chris A. Maier; Heather R. McCarthy; A. C. Oishi; H. S. Kim; Kurt H. Johnsen; Gabrial G. Katul; Ram Oren

2005-01-01

Forest floor C02 efflux (Fff) depends on vegetation type, climate, and soil physical properties. We assessed the effects of biological factors on Fff by comparing a maturing pine plantation (PP) and a nearby mature Oak-Hickory-type hardwood forest (HW). Fff was measured...

Word-wide meta-analysis of Quercus forests ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity reveals southwestern Mexico as a hotspot.

PubMed

García-Guzmán, Olimpia Mariana; Garibay-Orijel, Roberto; Hernández, Edith; Arellano-Torres, Elsa; Oyama, Ken

2017-11-01

Quercus is the most diverse genus of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) host plants; it is distributed in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, from temperate to tropical regions. However, their ECM communities have been scarcely studied in comparison to those of conifers. The objectives of this study were to determine the richness of ECM fungi associated with oak forests in the Cuitzeo basin in southwestern Mexico; and to determine the level of richness, potential endemism and species similarity among ECM fungal communities associated with natural oak forests worldwide through a meta-analysis. The ITS DNA sequences of ECM root tips from 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis. In total, 1065 species of ECM fungi have been documented worldwide; however, 812 species have been only found at one site. Oak forests in Europe contain 416 species, Mexico 307, USA 285, and China 151. Species with wider distributions are Sebacinaceae sp. SH197130, Amanita subjunquillea, Cenococcum geophilum, Cortinarius decipiens, Russula hortensis, R. risigallina, R. subrubescens, Sebacinaceae sp. SH214607, Tomentella ferruginea, and T. lapida. The meta-analysis revealed (1) that Mexico is not only a hotspot for oak species but also for their ECM mycobionts. (2) There is a particularly high diversity of ECM Pezizales in oak seasonal forests from western USA to southwestern Mexico. (3) The oak forests in southwestern Mexico have the largest number of potential endemic species. (4) Globally, there is a high turnover of ECM fungal species associated with oaks, which indicates high levels of alpha and beta diversity in these communities.

Catastrophic flood and forest cover change in the Huong river basin, central Viet Nam: a gap between common perceptions and facts.

PubMed

Tran, Phong; Marincioni, Fausto; Shaw, Rajib

2010-11-01

Recent catastrophic floods in Viet Nam have been increasingly linked to land use and forest cover change in the uplands. Despite the doubts that many scientists have expressed on such nexus, this common view prompted both positive forest protection/reforestation programs and often-unwarranted blame on upland communities for their forest management practices. This study discusses the disparity between public perceptions and scientific evidences relating the causes of catastrophic floods. The former was drawn on the results of a questionnaire and focus groups discussions with key informants of different mountainous communities, whereas the latter was based on GIS and remote sensing analysis of land cover change, including a statistical analysis of hydro-meteorological data of the Huong river basin in Viet Nam. Results indicate that there is a gap between the common beliefs and the actual relationship between the forest cover change and catastrophic floods. Undeniably, the studied areas showed significant changes in land cover over the period 1989-2008, yet, 71% of the variance of catastrophic flood level in the downstream areas appeared related to variance in rainfall. Evidences from this study showed that the overall increasing trends of catastrophic flooding in the Huong river basin was mainly due to climate variability and to the development of main roads and dyke infrastructures in the lowlands. Forest management policies and programs, shaped on the common assumption that forest degradation in the upland is the main cause of catastrophic flood in the downstream areas, should be reassessed to avoid unnecessary strain on upland people. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of forest edge effects on throughfall deposition in different forest types.

PubMed

Wuyts, Karen; De Schrijver, An; Staelens, Jeroen; Gielis, Leen; Vandenbruwane, Jeroen; Verheyen, Kris

2008-12-01

This study examined the influence of distance to the forest edge, forest type, and time on Cl-, SO4(2-), NO3(-), and NH4+ throughfall deposition in forest edges. The forests were dominated by pedunculate oak, silver birch, or Corsican/Austrian pine, and were situated in two regions of Flanders (Belgium). Along transects, throughfall deposition was monitored at distances of 0-128 m from the forest edge. A repeated-measures analysis demonstrated that time, forest type, and distance to the forest edge significantly influenced throughfall deposition of the ions studied. The effect of distance to the forest edge depended significantly on forest type in the deposition of Cl-, SO4(2-), and NO3(-): the edge effect was significantly greater in pine stands than in deciduous birch and oak stands. This finding supports the possibility of converting pine plantations into oak or birch forests in order to mitigate the input of nitrogen and potentially acidifying deposition.

Aspen Regeneration in Riparian ManagementZones in Northern Minnesota: Effects ofResidual Overstory and Harvest Method

Treesearch

Brian Palik; Kory Cease; Leanne Egeland; Charles Blinn

2003-01-01

We examined aspen regeneration under diferent riparian management zone (RMZ) treatments in aspen forests in northern Minnesota. We also compared aspen regeneration in partially harvested RMZs to adjacent upland clearcuts. The four RMZ treatments included: (1) full control (no cutting in RMZ or upland); (2) riparian control (RMZ uncut; upland clearcut); and partially...

Oak Mortality Trends on the Interior Highlands of Arkansas

Treesearch

James F. Rosson

2004-01-01

Using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program, I studied mortality trends of oak (Quercus spp.) across four physiographic sections of the Interior Highlands in Arkansas. Surveys for 1978, 1988, and 1995 showed oak mortality levels of 3.9, 8.9, and 5.5 percent, respectively. Increases...

Rating forest stands for gypsy moth defoliation

Treesearch

Owen W. Herrick; David A. Gansner; David A. Gansner

1986-01-01

The severity of future defoliation can be estimated from the percentages of basal area in oaks (Quercus), black oak (Q. velutina) and chestnut oak (a prinus), and in trees with good crowns, along with the average diameter of the stand. With information on these variables, the defoliation potential of any hardwood forest stand in an approaching gypsy moth (Lymantria...

Anthropogenic fire history and red oak forests in south-central Ontario

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Richard P. Guyette

2000-01-01

The regeneration and dominance of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) has been associated with fire throughout eastern North America. Red oak in central Ontario grows near the northern edge of its distribution in mixed hardwood - coniferous forests under mesic conditions where it competes with more shade-tolerant species. We hypothesized that the...

A multi-century analysis of disturbance dynamics in pine-oak forests of the Missouri Ozark Highlands

Treesearch

Chad King; Rose-Marie Muzika

2013-01-01

Using dendrochronology and growth release approaches, we analyzed the disturbance history of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mich.) white oak (Quercus alba L.) forests in the Missouri Ozark Highlands. The objectives of this study were to (1) identify growth release events using living and remnant shortleaf pine and white oak, (2)...

Bringing fire back. The changing regimes of the Appalachian mixed-oak forest

Treesearch

Patrick Brose; Thomas Schuler; David Van Lear; John Berst

2001-01-01

Since vegetative associations stabilized about 4,000 years ago, the Appalachian mixed-oak forests have experienced three profoundly different fire regimes. Periodic, low-intensity surface fires lit by American Indians characterized the first regime, and this regime helped perpetuate oak as one of the dominant species groups. The Industrial Revolution led to high-...

Oak regeneration potential increased by shelterwood treatments

Treesearch

Richard C. Schlesinger; Ivan L. Sander; Kenneth R. Davidson

1993-01-01

In much of the Central Hardwood Forest Region, oak species are not regenerating well, even though large oak trees are common within the existing forests. The shelterwood method has been suggested as a potential tool for establishing and developing advanced regeneration where it is lacking. The 10-yr results from a study of several variants of the shelterwood method...

Analysis of two pre-shelterwood prescribed fires in a mesic mixed-oak forest in West Virginia

Treesearch

Thomas M. Schuler; Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy; Mary Beth Adams; W. Mark Ford

2013-01-01

In 2009, a mesic mixed-oak forest in West Virginia treated with two prescribed fires (2002-2003 and 2005) to eliminate a shade-tolerant understory was characterized by 7,500 seedlings/acre ≥1.0 foot tall of oak (Quercus spp.), maple (Acer spp.), black birch (Betula lenta), and yellow-poplar (...

Phytophthora species from oak and tanoak forests in California and Oregon

Treesearch

Everett Hansen; David Rizzo; Matteo Garbelotto

2006-01-01

The current sudden oak death (SOD) epidemics in Europe and western North America triggered a search of North American oak forests for other Phytophthora species, and the results from the western United States have been surprising. Phytophthora ramorum has been the main quarry, and as an aerial pathogen, it is a surprise in itself....

Oak ecosystem succession of the Northern Caucasus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chalaya, Elena; Slepykh, Victor; Efimenko, Natalia; Povolotskaya, Nina

2014-05-01

English oak (Quercus robur L.) along with its well-known good properties has a high sanitary-hygienic and curative potential. Its volatile metabolites (VM) influence bacteriostatically Staphylococcus aureus 209r, oppressing it in vitro by 85% compared with the control, and Escherichia coli by 45%. There is the least amount of epiphytic microorganisms on the leaves of Q. robur L. compared with some tree species [1]. In addition, VM of Q. robur L. have direct milieu (hypotensive) effects on the organism under its canopy, lowering blood pressure by 20-25 mm Hg [2]. A.P. Kazankin (1993) [4] calculated the prehistoric formula of forest species composition of Caucasian Mineral Waters region (Northern Caucasus): 6Qr3Crp1Fr which was based on the theory of calcium-magnesium absorption complex. According to the theory, underground mineral water, soil, forest litter and the leaves of ground vegetation of the area have the same ratio of the cations Ca and Mg - calcium-magnesium index [3]. Hence oldgrowth in the region consisted of oak (Qr) by 60%, hornbeam (Carpinus-Crp) by 30% and ash (Fraxinus-Fr) only by 10%. Currently, the formula of the forests of the region has been changed by man: 5Fr3Crp2Qr. The proportion of oak forests has decreased to 20%, the proportion of ash has increased by 50%, but the proportion of hornbeam hasn't changed. So it is relevant to restore oak forests of the region in the former ratio to other forest-forming species - ash and hornbeam. Taking into consideration the change of economic formation of society in Russia, it is extremely important to restore natural seed oak forests. Therein the luminance of surface areal is a limiting factor. We have calculated that the natural recovery of oak forests is possible providing observation of optimal moisture standards and soil fertility in combination with solar light within 10-24% from the light of open space. Measures for promotion of oak natural regeneration in mountain resorts of the Northern Caucasus can be found in elaborate recommendations [5].

Using terrestrial stereo photography to interpret changes in tree quality characteristics

Treesearch

David L. Sonderman

1980-01-01

A technique is described for using stereo photography to evaluate tree quality changes over time. Stereo pairs were taken four times over an 18-year period. All four faces of the selected trees were photographed. Individual defect changes are shown for young upland white oak trees.

Estimation of biophysical properties of upland Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) plantations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, Robert M.

1993-01-01

It is widely accepted that estimates of forest above-ground biomass are required as inputs to forest ecosystem models, and that SAR data have the potential to provide such information. This study describes relationships between polarimetric radar backscatter and key biophysical properties of a coniferous plantation in upland central Wales, U.K. Over the test site, topography was relatively complex and was expected to influence the amount of radar backscatter.

Reproducing pine stands on the eastern shore of Maryland using a seed-tree cutting and preparing seedbeds with machinery and summer fires

Treesearch

S. Little; J. J. Mohr

1954-01-01

Pure pine stands are the most profitable forest crop on upland sites of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The stands have been common in the past, because loblolly pine and pond pine usually made up most of the first forest growth on abandoned farmland. And apparently nearly all upland sites have been tilled at one time or another.

N mineralization, nitrification, and N uptake across a 100-year chronosequence upland hardwood forests

Treesearch

Travis W. Idol; Phillip E. Pope; Felix, Jr. Ponder

2003-01-01

Net N mineralization, nitrification, and N uptake were monitored in the A (0-8 cm) and B (8-30 cm) soil horizons from 1997 to 1999 across a chronosequence of upland hardwood forest stands in southern Indiana, USA. Stand ages were 1, 6, 12, 31, and 80-100 years at the beginning of the study. Contrary to previous studies, there was no apparent stimulation of N...

Ecological Restoration of an Oak Woodland in Kansas Informed with Remote Sensing of Vegetation Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galgamuwe Arachchige, Pabodha Galgamuwa

Recurrent, landscape-level fires played an integral part in the development and persistence of eastern oak (Quercus spp.) forests of the United States. These periodic surface fires helped secure a competitive position for oaks in the regeneration pool by maintaining a desirable species composition and forest structure. This historical fire regime was altered with the European settlement of North America, and fire suppression within forestlands became a standard practice since 1930s. With decades of fire suppression, mature oak-dominated woodlands have widely converted to shade-tolerant tree species. Prescribed fire has successfully been used to enhance oak regeneration in eastern forests. However, oak woodland restoration within the forest-prairie ecotone of the Central plains has not been systematically studied. Fuel beds under shade-tolerant species are often less conducive to fire. Therefore, monitoring fuel loading (FL) and its changes are essential to inform management decisions in an oak regeneration project. Rapid expansion of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana/ERC) is another ecological issue faced by land managers throughout North America's midcontinent forest-prairie ecotone. Hence, it is worthy to monitor ERC expansion and effects on deciduous forests, to inform oak ecosystem restoration interventions within this region. Therefore, the main objectives of this dissertation were three-fold: (1) understand the effects of prescribed burning and mechanical thinning to encourage oak regeneration; (2) investigate the initial effects of an oak regeneration effort with prescribed fire and mechanical thinning on FL; and (3) monitor the spatio-temporal dynamics of ERC expansion in the forest-prairie ecotone of Kansas, and understand its effects on deciduous forests. The first two studies were conducted on a 90-acre oak dominated woodland, north of Manhattan, Kansas. The experimental design was a 2 (burn) x 2 (thin) factorial in a repeated measures design. The design structure allowed four treatment combinations: burn only (B), thin only (T), burn and thin combined (BT), and a control (C). Burning and thinning treatments were administered in spring 2015. Changes in the FL estimates after the burn treatment revealed that the BT treatment combination consumed more fuel and burned more intensely compared to the B treatment. This observation was reflected in vegetation responses. The thinning reduced the canopy cover significantly, but under enhanced light environments, both oaks and competitive species thrived when no burn was incorporated. In contrast, burn treatments controlled the competitive vegetation. Hence, the most promising results were obtained when both fire and thinning were utilized. The remote sensing study documented the expansion of ERC in three areas of eastern Kansas over 30 years. The use of multi-seasonal layer-stacks with a Support Vector Machines (SVM) supervised classification was found to be the most effective approach to map ERC distribution. Total ERC cover increased by more than 6000 acres in all three study areas investigated in this study between 1986 and 2017. Much of the ERC expansion was into deciduous woodlands. Therefore, ERC control measures should be incorporated into oak woodland restoration efforts within the forest-prairie ecotone of Kansas.

Reversing legacy effects in the understory of an oak-dominated forest

Treesearch

Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy; James Rentch; Mary Beth Adams; Walter Carson

2014-01-01

Current forests developed under conditions different from original forests, with higher deer densities, reduced fire frequency, denser canopies, and smaller canopy gaps. These alterations have led to understories dominated by species simultaneously browse tolerant, shade tolerant, and fire sensitive leading to difficulties in the regeneration of oak species (...

The history of widespread decrease in oak dominance exemplified in a grassland--forest landscape

Treesearch

Brice B. Hanberry; Daniel C. Dey; Hong S. He

2014-01-01

Regionally-distinctive open oak forest ecosystems have been replaced either by intensive agriculture and grazing fields or by denser forests throughout eastern North America and Europe. To quantify changes in tree communities and density in the Missouri Plains, a grassland-forest landscape, we used historical surveys from1815 to 1864 and current surveys from 2004 to...

Native and exotic insects and diseases in forest ecosystems in the Hoosier-Shawnee ecological assessment area

Treesearch

Dwight Scarbrough; Jennifer Juzwik

2004-01-01

Various native and exotic insects and diseases affect the forest ecosystems of the Hoosier-Shawnee Ecological Assessment Area. Defoliating insects have had the greatest effects in forests where oak species predominate. Increases in oak decline are expected with the imminent establishment of the European gypsy moth. Insects and pathogens of the pine forests are...

A comparison of forest dynamics at two sites in the Southeastern Ozark Mountains of Missouri

Treesearch

Michael A. Jenkins; Stephen G. Pallardy

1993-01-01

Changes in tree species composition and regeneration patterns were studied in 53 permanent vegetation plots located at two sites (Pioneer Forest and University State Forest) in oak-hickory forests of southeastern Missouri where mortality and decline of red oak species have been identified. The two sites also exhibited differing levels of decline and mortality. Between...

Mexican spotted owl home range and habitat use in pine-oak forest: Implications for forest management

Treesearch

Joseph L. Ganey; William M. Block; Jeffrey S. Jenness; Randolph A. Wilson

1998-01-01

To better understand the habitat relationships of the Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida), and how such relationships might influence forest management, we studied home-range and habitat use of radio-marked owls in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) forest. Annual home-range size (95% adaptive-kernel estimate) averaged 895 ha...

Implementing watershed investment programs to restore fire-adapted forests for watershed services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Springer, A. E.

2013-12-01

Payments for ecosystems services and watershed investment programs have created new solutions for restoring upland fire-adapted forests to support downstream surface-water and groundwater uses. Water from upland forests supports not only a significant percentage of the public water supplies in the U.S., but also extensive riparian, aquatic, and groundwater dependent ecosystems. Many rare, endemic, threatened, and endangered species are supported by the surface-water and groundwater generated from the forested uplands. In the Ponderosa pine forests of the Southwestern U.S., post Euro-American settlement forest management practices, coupled with climate change, has significantly impacted watershed functionality by increasing vegetation cover and associated evapotranspiration and decreasing runoff and groundwater recharge. A large Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program project known as the Four Forests Restoration Initiative is developing landscape scale processes to make the forests connected to these watersheds more resilient. However, there are challenges in financing the initial forest treatments and subsequent maintenance treatments while garnering supportive public opinion to forest thinning projects. A solution called the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project is utilizing City tax dollars collected through a public bond to finance forest treatments. Exit polling from the bond election documented the reasons for the 73 % affirmative vote on the bond measure. These forest treatments have included in their actions restoration of associated ephemeral stream channels and spring ecosystems, but resources still need to be identified for these actions. A statewide strategy for developing additional forest restoration resources outside of the federal financing is being explored by state and local business and governmental leaders. Coordination, synthesis, and modeling supported by a NSF Water Sustainability and Climate project has been instrumental in facilitating the forest restoration and watershed health decision making processes.

Induced plant defenses, host–pathogen interactions, and forest insect outbreaks

PubMed Central

Elderd, Bret D.; Rehill, Brian J.; Haynes, Kyle J.; Dwyer, Greg

2013-01-01

Cyclic outbreaks of defoliating insects devastate forests, but their causes are poorly understood. Outbreak cycles are often assumed to be driven by density-dependent mortality due to natural enemies, because pathogens and predators cause high mortality and because natural-enemy models reproduce fluctuations in defoliation data. The role of induced defenses is in contrast often dismissed, because toxic effects of defenses are often weak and because induced-defense models explain defoliation data no better than natural-enemy models. Natural-enemy models, however, fail to explain gypsy moth outbreaks in North America, in which outbreaks in forests with a higher percentage of oaks have alternated between severe and mild, whereas outbreaks in forests with a lower percentage of oaks have been uniformly moderate. Here we show that this pattern can be explained by an interaction between induced defenses and a natural enemy. We experimentally induced hydrolyzable-tannin defenses in red oak, to show that induction reduces variability in a gypsy moth’s risk of baculovirus infection. Because this effect can modulate outbreak severity and because oaks are the only genus of gypsy moth host tree that can be induced, we extended a natural-enemy model to allow for spatial variability in inducibility. Our model shows alternating outbreaks in forests with a high frequency of oaks, and uniform outbreaks in forests with a low frequency of oaks, matching the data. The complexity of this effect suggests that detecting effects of induced defenses on defoliator cycles requires a combination of experiments and models. PMID:23966566

Ground truth assessments of forests affected by oak decline and red oak borer in the interior highlands of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri: preliminary results from overstory analysis

Treesearch

James M. Guldin; Edward A. Poole; Eric Heitzman; John M. Kabrick; Rose-Marie Muzika

2006-01-01

Forests of the Interior Highlands of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri are being affected by oak decline and an unprecedented outbreak of a native beetle called the red oak borer. On average, Interior Highlands stands contained 236 trees per acre, of which 32 trees per acre (13.4 percent) were dead or dying. Stands averaged 97 square feet per acre of basal area, of...

[Biogeochemical cycles in natural forest and conifer plantations in the high mountains of Colombia].

PubMed

León, Juan Diego; González, María Isabel; Gallardo, Juan Fernando

2011-12-01

Plant litter production and decomposition are two important processes in forest ecosystems, since they provide the main organic matter input to soil and regulate nutrient cycling. With the aim to study these processes, litterfall, standing litter and nutrient return were studied for three years in an oak forest (Quercus humboldtii), pine (Pinus patula) and cypress (Cupressus lusitanica) plantations, located in highlands of the Central Cordillera of Colombia. Evaluation methods included: fine litter collection at fortnightly intervals using litter traps; the litter layer samples at the end of each sampling year and chemical analyses of both litterfall and standing litter. Fine litter fall observed was similar in oak forest (7.5 Mg ha/y) and in pine (7.8 Mg ha/y), but very low in cypress (3.5 Mg ha/y). Litter standing was 1.76, 1.73 and 1.3 Mg ha/y in oak, pine and cypress, respectively. The mean residence time of the standing litter was of 3.3 years for cypress, 2.1 years for pine and 1.8 years for oak forests. In contrast, the total amount of retained elements (N, P, S, Ca, Mg, K, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) in the standing litter was higher in pine (115 kg/ha), followed by oak (78 kg/ha) and cypress (24 kg/ha). Oak forests showed the lowest mean residence time of nutrients and the highest nutrients return to the soil as a consequence of a faster decomposition. Thus, a higher nutrient supply to soils from oaks than from tree plantations, seems to be an ecological advantage for recovering and maintaining the main ecosystem functioning features, which needs to be taken into account in restoration programs in this highly degraded Andean mountains.

Effects of moisture limitation on tree growth in upland and floodplain forest ecosystems in interior Alaska

Treesearch

John. Yarie

2008-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of summer throughfall on the growth of trees, at upland and floodplain locations, in the vicinity of Fairbanks, Alaska. Corrugated clear plastic covers were installed under the canopy of floodplain balsam poplar/white spruce stands and upland hardwood/white spruce stands to control soil moisture recharge as a result...

Source Areas of Water and Nitrate in a Peatland Catchment, Minnesota, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sebestyen, S. D.

2017-12-01

In nitrogen polluted forests, stream nitrate concentrations increase and some unprocessed atmospheric nitrate may be transported to streams during stormflow events. This understanding has emerged from forests with upland mineral soils. In contrast, catchments with northern peatlands may have both upland soils and lowlands with deep organic soils, each with unique effects on nitrate transport and processing. While annual budgets show nitrate yields to be relatively lower from peatland than upland-dominated catchments, little is known about particular runoff events when stream nitrate concentrations have been higher (despite long periods with little or no nitrate in outlet streams) or the reasons why. I used site knowledge and expansive/extensive monitoring at the Marcell Experimental Forest in Minnesota, along with a targeted 2-year study to determine landscape areas, water sources, and nitrate sources that affected stream nitrate variation in a peatland catchment. I combined streamflow, upland runoff, snow amount, and frost depth data from long-term monitoring with nitrate concentration, yield, and isotopic data to show that up to 65% of stream nitrate during snowmelt of 2009 and 2010 was unprocessed atmospheric nitrate. Up to 46% of subsurface runoff from upland soils during 2009 was unprocessed atmospheric nitrate, which shows the uplands to be a stream nitrate source during 2009, but not during 2010 when upland runoff concentrations were below the detection limit. Differences are attributable to variations in water and nitrate sources. Little snow (a nitrate source), less upland runoff relative to peatland runoff, and deeper soil frost in the peatland caused a relatively larger input of nitrate from the uplands to the stream during 2009 and the peatland to the stream during 2010. Despite the near-absence of stream nitrate during much of rest of the year, these findings show an important time when nitrate transport affected downstream aquatic ecosystems, reasons why nitrate was transported, and that atmospheric nitrate pollution had a direct effect on a stream in a peatland catchment. Furthermore, this work illustrates how long-term monitoring when coupled with shorter-duration studies allows contemporary questions to be addressed within legacy catchment studies.

Effects of soil compaction, forest leaf litter and nitrogen fertilizer on two oak species and microbial activity

Treesearch

D. Jordan; F., Jr. Ponder; V. C. Hubbard

2003-01-01

A greenhouse study examined the effects of soil compaction and forest leaf litter on the growth and nitrogen (N) uptake and recovery of red oak (Quercus rubra L.) and scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea Muencch) seedlings and selected microbial activity over a 6-month period. The experiment had a randomized complete block design with...

Seed Biology and Technology of Quercus

Treesearch

F.T. Bonner; John A. Vozzo

1987-01-01

The genus Quercus,known as oak, includes worldwide some 500 species with 58 of these species in the United States, making it this country's largest genus of native trees (Little 1979). Oak is therefore an important group of temperate-zone forest trees. In addition, oaks are significant components of many of the major forest types of the South (Burns 1983)and are...

Does the shelterwood method to regenerate oak forests affect acorn production and predation?

Treesearch

M.I. Bellocq; C. Jones; D.C. Dey; J.J. Turgeon

2005-01-01

The shelterwood system is one of the primary methods currently used to encourage regeneration of oak forests; yet, little is known about its influence on acorn production and predation. We compared acorn production, and predation by insects and mammals in stands of red oak (Quercus rubra L.) that were regenerated by the shelterwood method (50% canopy...

Comparison of northern goshawk nesting habitat in Appalachian oak and northern hardwood forests of Pennsylvania

Treesearch

J.T. Kimmel; R.H. Yahner

1991-01-01

The Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is a rare to uncommon woodland raptor in Pennsylvania. Although it is primarily a boreal species, the goshawk nests in Northern Hardwoods and Appalachian oak forests along the southern margin of its range in Pennsylvania. This study compared the nesting habitat of goshawks in Appalachian oak and Northern...

An Old-Growth Definition for Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak-Pine Forests.

Treesearch

David L. White; F. Thomas Lloyd

1998-01-01

Dry and dry-mesic oak-pine forests are widely distributed from New Jersey to Texas, but representative old-growth stands are rare. Historical accounts of composition, along with information from existing old-growth stands, were used to characterize this type. Shortleaf pine and white oak were the most widely distributed trees across all old-growth stands. Shortleaf was...

Seedling response to initial oak woodland restoration treatments on the Ozark National Forest

Treesearch

Jamie L. Schuler; Don C. Bragg; Eric Heitzman; Jason Milks

2013-01-01

Over the last century, the range of oak woodland ecosystems has diminished as woodlands have become more closed-canopy forests. A century of fire suppression efforts has all but eliminated the frequent ground fires necessary to maintain the open canopy characteristics of oak woodland ecosystems. Restoration efforts are underway to return some of the closed-canopy...

Is there evidence of mesophication of oak forests in the Missouri Ozarks?

Treesearch

Matthew G. Olson; Aaron P. Stevenson; Benjamin O. Knapp; John M. Kabrick; Randy G. Jensen

2014-01-01

Many studies on oak-dominated forests of the Central Hardwood region (CHR) have reported increasing abundance of fire-sensitive species and poor recruitment of oak (Quercus spp.) in the absence of frequent fire. However, most of these studies were conducted in the eastern and central CHR, and the assumption that similar dynamics occur in the western...

Silviculture to restore oak woodlands

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Callie J. Schweitzer; John M. Kabrick

2016-01-01

Variability in historic fire regimes in eastern North America resulted in an array of oak savannas, woodlands and forests that were dominant vegetation types throughout the region. In the past century, once abundant woodlands have become scarce due to conversion to agriculture, or development of forest structure in the absence of fire. Restoration of oak woodlands is a...

Comparison of the carbon stock in forest soil of sessile oak and beech forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horváth, Adrienn; Bene, Zsolt; Bidló, András

2016-04-01

Forest ecosystems are the most important carbon sinks. The forest soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle, because the global climate change or the increase of atmospheric CO2 level. We do not have enough data about the carbon stock of soils and its change due to human activities, which have similar value to carbon content of biomass. In our investigation we measured the carbon stock of soil in 10 stands of Quercus petraea and Fagus sylvatica. We took a 1.1 m soil column with soil borer and divided to 11 samples each column. The course organic and root residues were moved. After evaluation, we compared our results with other studies and the carbon stock of forests to each other. Naturally, the amount of SOC was the highest in the topsoil layers. However, we found significant difference between forest stands which stayed on the same homogenous bedrock, but very close to each other (e.g. distance was 1 or 2 km). We detected that different forest utilizations and tree species have an effect on the forest carbon as the litter as well (amount, composition). In summary, we found larger amount (99.1 C t/ha on average) of SOC in soil of stands, where sessile oak were the main stand-forming tree species. The amount of carbon was the least in turkey oak-sessile oak stands (85.4 C t/ha on average). We found the highest SOC (118.3 C t/ha) in the most mixed stand (silver lime-beech-red oak). In the future, it will be very important: How does climate change affect the spread of tree species or on carbon storage? Beech is more sensitive, but even sessile oak. These species are expected to replace with turkey oak, which is less sensitive to drought. Thus, it is possible in the future that we can expect to decrease of forest soil carbon stock capacity, which was confirmed by our experiment. Keywords: carbon sequestration, mitigation, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus petraea, litter Acknowledgements: Research is supported by the "Agroclimate.2" (VKSZ_12-1-2013-0034) EU-national joint funded research project.

The scrub oak forests of the anthracite region

Treesearch

C. F. Burnham; M. J. Ferree; F. E. Cunningham

1947-01-01

A small portion of our forest land has probably always been covered with scrub oak. There is some evidence of this in fragments handed down to us about certain areas by early historians and travelers.

Establishing Mixtures of Redcedar In Poor Oak-Hickory Forests

Treesearch

Leon S. Minckler

1966-01-01

Oak-history forests on the poorest sites in the Upper Mississippi Valley have both low productivity and little esthetic appeal. A mixture of the native evergreen redcedar would add bearty and increase wildlife values.

Habitat use by bats in two Indiana forests prior to silvicultural treatments for oak regeneration

Treesearch

Jeremy J. Sheets; Joseph E. Duchamp; Megan K. Caylor; Laura D' Acunto; John O. Whitaker; Virgil Jr. Brack; Dale W. Sparks

2013-01-01

As part of a study examining the effects of silvicultural treatments for oak regeneration on habitat use by bats, we surveyed forest stands prior to the implementation of treatments in two state forests in Indiana. Interior forest sites corresponding to areas designated for silvicultural treatments were surveyed for 2 nights each during the summers of 2007 and 2008....

Long-term impact of clearcutting, deer browsing, and defoliation on stand development in a Pennsylvania mixed-oak forest

Treesearch

Aaron D. Stottlemyer

2014-01-01

The long-term impacts of even-age forest management and excessive browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on regeneration are unknown for hardwood forests in the eastern United States. In 1965, Gene Wood, a graduate student at Pennsylvania State University, initiated a study in a mixed-oak forest in central Pennsylvania to examine...

National Detection Surveys for Sudden Oak Death

Treesearch

B. M. Tkacz; S. W. Oak; W. D. Smith

2006-01-01

The Forest Health Monitoring program, a partnership of Federal and State forest management agencies, has developed and tested protocols for identifying and surveying forest ecosystems that may be vulnerable to invasion by Phytophthora ramorum, the cause of Sudden Oak Death in California and Oregon. This detection survey is targeting areas outside the currently known...

Managing redwood ecosystems using Sudden Oak Death as a silvicultural tool

Treesearch

Frederick D. Euphrat

2015-01-01

In response to the wave of sudden oak death (SOD), caused by Phytophthora ramorum, sweeping the redwood forest ecosystems of California's North Coast, the role of foresters and other ecosystem managers is being tested. On Bear Flat Tree Farm, near Healdsburg, California, Forest, Soil & Water, Inc. (FSW) has conducted a multi-year,...

Factors influencing avian habitat selection between oak-hickory and mesic forests in southern Illinois

Treesearch

Kevin P. Sierzega; Michael W. Eichholz

2014-01-01

Oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration has declined drastically over the past century in eastern deciduous forests predominantly because of decreased disturbance (i.e., fire). Many forests are undergoing mesophication, a positive feedback system that occurs within closed-canopy systems wherein shade-tolerant, late successional, mesic species such as maples...

Stand density, stand structure, and species composition in transition oak stands of northwestern Pennsylvania

Treesearch

S.L. Stout

1991-01-01

Transition stands, those containing species associated with both the northern hardwood and oak-hickory forest types, are important to forest diversity in northwestern Pennsylvania. These stands have high value for a variety of forest uses, including timber production, wildlife habitat, and aesthetics. Diameter distributions are characteristically stratified by species...

Wildfire Effects on an Oak-Hickory Forest in Southeast Missouri

Treesearch

Robert M. Loomis

1977-01-01

Plant community development was observed for 10 years after a fire had top-killed most trees in a southeastern Missouri oak-hickory forest stand. The forest was re-established by sprouts. Production of herbaceous plants and other potential wildlife food was abundant for 4 years before decreasing to a stable preburn condition.

A cool-temperate young larch plantation as a net methane source - A 4-year continuous hyperbolic relaxed eddy accumulation and chamber measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueyama, Masahito; Yoshikawa, Kota; Takagi, Kentaro

2018-07-01

Upland forests are thought to be methane (CH4) sinks due to oxidation by methanotrophs in aerobic soils. However, CH4 budget for upland forests are not well quantified at the ecosystem scale, when possible CH4 sources, such as small wet areas, exists in the ecosystem. Here, we quantified CH4 fluxes in a cool-temperate larch plantation based on four-year continuous measurements using the hyperbolic relaxed eddy accumulation (HREA) method and dynamic closed chambers with a laser-based analyzer. After filling data gaps for half-hourly data using machine-learning-based regressions, we found that the forest acted as a net CH4 source at the canopy scale: 30 ± 11 mg CH4 m-2 yr-1 in 2014, 56 ± 8 mg CH4 m-2 yr-1 in 2015, 154 ± 5 mg CH4 m-2 yr-1 in 2016, and 132 ± 6 mg CH4 m-2 yr-1 in 2017. Hotspot emissions from the edge of the pond could strongly contribute to the canopy-scale emissions. The magnitude of the hotspot emissions was 10-100 times greater than the order of the canopy-scale and chamber-based CH4 fluxes at the dry soils. The high temperatures with wet conditions stimulated the hotspot emissions, and thus induced canopy-scale CH4 emissions in the summer. Understanding and modeling the dynamics of hotspot emissions are important for quantifying CH4 budgets of upland forests. Micrometeorological measurements at various forests are required for revisiting CH4 budget of upland forests.

Effects of sea-level rise and anthropogenic development on priority bird species habitats in coastal Georgia, USA.

PubMed

Brittain, Ross A; Craft, Christopher B

2012-02-01

We modeled changes in area of five habitats, tidal-freshwater forest, salt marsh, maritime shrub-scrub (shrub), maritime broadleaf forest (oak) and maritime narrowleaf (pine) forest, in coastal Georgia, USA, to evaluate how simultaneous habitat loss due to predicted changes in sea level rise (SLR) and urban development will affect priority bird species of the south Atlantic coastal plain by 2100. Development rates, based on regional growth plans, were modeled at 1% and 2.5% annual urban growth, while SLR rates, based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's A1B mean and maximum scenarios, were modeled at 52 cm and 82 cm, respectively. SLR most greatly affected the shrub habitat with predicted losses of 35-43%. Salt marsh and tidal forest also were predicted to lose considerable area to SLR (20-45 and 23-35%, respectively), whereas oak and pine forests had lesser impact from SLR, 18-22% and 11-15%, respectively. Urban development resulted in losses of considerable pine (48-49%) and oak (53-55%) habitat with lesser loss of shrub habitat (21-24%). Under maximum SLR and urban growth, shrub habitat may lose up to 59-64% compared to as much as 62-65% pine forest and 74-75% oak forest. Conservation efforts should focus on protection of shrub habitat because of its small area relative to other terrestrial habitats and use by Painted Buntings (Passerina ciris), a Partners In Flight (PIF) extremely high priority species. Tidal forests also deserve protection because they are a likely refuge for forest species, such as Northern Parula and Acadian Flycatcher, with the decline of oak and pine forests due to urban development.

Driving factors of a vegetation shift from Scots pine to pubescent oak in dry Alpine forests.

PubMed

Rigling, Andreas; Bigler, Christof; Eilmann, Britta; Feldmeyer-Christe, Elisabeth; Gimmi, Urs; Ginzler, Christian; Graf, Ulrich; Mayer, Philipp; Vacchiano, Giorgio; Weber, Pascale; Wohlgemuth, Thomas; Zweifel, Roman; Dobbertin, Matthias

2013-01-01

An increasing number of studies have reported on forest declines and vegetation shifts triggered by drought. In the Swiss Rhone valley (Valais), one of the driest inner-Alpine regions, the species composition in low elevation forests is changing: The sub-boreal Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) dominating the dry forests is showing high mortality rates. Concurrently the sub-Mediterranean pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens Willd.) has locally increased in abundance. However, it remains unclear whether this local change in species composition is part of a larger-scale vegetation shift. To study variability in mortality and regeneration in these dry forests we analysed data from the Swiss national forest inventory (NFI) on a regular grid between 1983 and 2003, and combined it with annual mortality data from a monitoring site. Pine mortality was found to be highest at low elevation (below 1000 m a.s.l.). Annual variation in pine mortality was correlated with a drought index computed for the summer months prior to observed tree death. A generalized linear mixed-effects model indicated for the NFI data increased pine mortality on dryer sites with high stand competition, particularly for small-diameter trees. Pine regeneration was low in comparison to its occurrence in the overstorey, whereas oak regeneration was comparably abundant. Although both species regenerated well at dry sites, pine regeneration was favoured at cooler sites at higher altitude and oak regeneration was more frequent at warmer sites, indicating a higher adaptation potential of oaks under future warming. Our results thus suggest that an extended shift in species composition is actually occurring in the pine forests in the Valais. The main driving factors are found to be climatic variability, particularly drought, and variability in stand structure and topography. Thus, pine forests at low elevations are developing into oak forests with unknown consequences for these ecosystems and their goods and services. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Synchrony of forest responses to climate from the aspect of tree mortality in South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, M.; Lee, W. K.; Piao, D.; Choi, G. M.; Gang, H. U.

2016-12-01

Mortality is a key process in forest-stand dynamics. However, tree mortality is not well understood, particularly in relation to climatic factors. The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the patterns of maximum stem number (MSN) per ha over dominant tree height from 5-year remeasurements of the permanent sample plots for temperate forests [Red pine (Pinus densiflora), Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi), Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis), Chinese cork oak (Quercus variabilis), and Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica)] using Sterba's theory and Korean National Forest Inventory (NFI) data, (ii) develop a stand-level mortality (self-thinning) model using the MSN curve, and (iii) assess the impact of temperature on tree mortality in semi-variogram and linear regression models. The MSN curve represents the upper range of observed stem numbers per ha. The mortality model and validation statistic reveal significant differences between the observed data and the model predictions (R2 = 0.55-0.81), and no obvious dependencies or patterns that indicate systematic trends between the residuals and the independent variable. However, spatial autocorrelation was detected from residuals of coniferous species (Red pine, Japanese larch and Korean pine), but not of oak species (Chinese cork oak and Mongolian oak). Based on linear regression from residuals, we found that the mortality of coniferous forests tended to increase when the annual mean temperature increased. Conversely, oak mortality nonsignificantly decreased with increasing temperature. These findings indicate that enhanced tree mortality due to rising temperatures in response to climate change is possible, especially in coniferous forests, and are expected to contribute to policy decisions to support and forest management practices.

Bird densities and diversity in clearcut and mature oak-hickory forest.

Treesearch

Frank R. III Thompson; Erik K. Fritzell

1990-01-01

Describes nongame bird densities and diversity in a central Missouri oak-hickory forest 1 year before and 3 years after portions were clearcut. Discusses changes in species density and diversity and their management implications.

Cavity nesting bird habitat in the oak-hickory forests--a review.

Treesearch

Kimberly I. Hardin; Keith E. Evans

1977-01-01

Summarizes and discusses the literature about the nesting habitat of the 26 cavity-nesting bird species found in the oak-hickory forest. Also discusses the potential influences of silvicultural practices and management alternatives.

Examining the relationship between fire history and sudden oak death patterns: a case study in Sonoma County

Treesearch

Max A. Moritz; Dennis C. Odion

2006-01-01

Fire is often integral to forest ecology and can affect forest disease dynamics. Sudden oak death has spread across a large, fire-prone portion of California, killing large numbers of oaks and tanoaks and infecting most associated woody plants. Building on our earlier study of fire-disease dynamics, we examined spatial patterns of confirmed infections in relation to...

Building a state prescribed fire program: experiences and lessons learned in Ohio

Treesearch

Michael Bowden

2009-01-01

Science continues to show the need for the use of prescribed fire in oak-dominated forests of the eastern United States. Fire is necessary to reduce competition by thin-barked species, allowing for the development of oak advance regeneration. Many agencies are beginning to apply this science by using prescribed fire to manage their oak forests. This paper examines the...

Development of a management plan for coast live oak forests affected by sudden oak death in East Bay Regional Parks

Treesearch

Brice A. McPherson; Joshua O’Neill; Gregory Biging; Maggi Kelly; David L. Wood

2015-01-01

The East Bay Regional Park District maintains the largest urban park system in the United States, comprising over 45 000 ha, and more than 1900 km of trails, with extensive forests bordering residential areas. Sudden oak death (SOD), caused by the introduced oomycete Phytophthora ramorum, was first detected in a district park in 2001. Both...

Oak regeneration response to moderate and heavy traffic under mechanical harvesting in an oak-hickory forest on the Cumberland platueau

Treesearch

Callie Jo Schweitzer

2007-01-01

Forest harvest operations can cause ground disturbances that negatively impact regeneration. On the Cumberland Plateau, managers must often rely on very small (less than a foot in height) oak advanced reproduction that is susceptible to disturbance by harvesting equipment. Furthermore, sites on the plateau top are often harvested when conditions are too wet to permit...

The Keystone Role of Oak and Hickory in the Central Hardwood Forest

Treesearch

James S. Fralish

2004-01-01

Communities of the central hardwood forest have been dominated primarily by oak and hickory for the past 5000 years. Over this time period, they have become keystone species within the ecosystem and are of major importance in maintaining biodiversity. Not only do the large number of oak and hickory species by themselves contribute to commu-nity richness but they are...

Thinning to improve growth, bole quality, and forest health in an Inonotus hispidus-infected, red oak-sweetgum stand in the Mississippi Delta: 10-year results

Treesearch

James S. Meadows; Theodor D. Leininger; David Montwé; T. Evan Nebeker

2013-01-01

A 55-year-old red oak-sweetgum (Quercus spp.- Liquidambar styraciflua) stand on the Delta National Forest in western Mississippi was subjected to a combination of low thinning and improvement cutting in 1997. Special emphasis was placed on removing all red oaks infected with Inonotus hispidus, a canker decay...

Sustaining Oak Ecosystems in the Central Hardwood Region: Lessons from the Past--Continuing the History of Disturbance

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Richard P. Guyette

2000-01-01

Oak savannas, woodlands and forests were dominant ecosystems throughout the central hardwood Region (CHR) before European settlement. Today, only 0.02 percent of the original oak savannas present at the time of European settlement remain, and bottomland hardwood forests have been reduced by 70 to 95 percent depending on the watershed (Nuzzo 1986, Sharitz and Mitsch...

Growth and seed production of sawtooth oak (`quercus acutissima`) 22 years after direct seeding. Forest Service research note

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

Goelz, J.C.G.; Carlson, D.W.

Sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima Carruth) was direct seeded at two locations, one with a poorly drained clay soil and the other with a well-drained silty clay loam. For comparison, Nuttall oak (Q. nuttallii Palmer) was direct seeded on the poorly drained clay soil. On the well-drained silty clay loam, sawtooth oak was 18 ft taller and 2.4 inches larger in d.b.h. at age 22 than on the poorly drained clay soil. On the clay, sawtooth oak grew faster than Nuttall oak, but survival was lower. Almost all sawtooth oaks were producing acorns on both sites; however, no developing acorns weremore » found on the Nuttall oaks. Sawtooth oak is a viable alternative for planting on a wide range of Mississippi Delta forest types. Because sawtooth oak has a poorer form than Nuttal oak, its primary use is as a source of wildlife food. Sawtooth oak could be included in plantings with the multiple objectives of timber production and wildlife use because it grows well and could potentially be used for pulpwood.« less

Relation of biomass to basal area and site index on an Appalachian watershed

Treesearch

Harry V., Jr. Wiant; Robert Knight; John E. Baumgras

1984-01-01

The biomass of 50-year-old cove hardwood and upland oak stands on an Appalachian watershed was more strongly related to basal area than to site index. Equations are presented for predicting the green and dry weight per acre of biomass components with basal area as the independent variable.

Round Top Butte Research Natural Area: guidebook supplement 46

Treesearch

Marcia L. Wineteer; Reid Schuller

2014-01-01

This guidebook describes major biological and physical attributes of the 243-ha (600-ac) Round Top Butte Research Natural Area. The area supports high-quality examples of valley upland grasslands and savanna of the Cascade foothills. Plant communities include Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) savanna and open woodland with forbs and grasses;...

Net production relations of three tree species at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. [Liriodendron tulipifera; Quercus alba; Pinus echinata

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

Whittaker, R.H.; Cohen, N.; Olson, J.S.

Measurement of productivity of forests is a difficult problem which has been variously approached. Results from an exploratory application of one approach (Whittaker 1961) to trees of three species - Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree or yellow poplar), Quercus alba (white oak), and Pinus echinata (shortleaf pine) - are reported here. The trees were felled in a logging operation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in a mature second-growth, mixed oak-pine forest including also Quercus velutina, Q. coccinea, Q. falcata, Pinus virginiana, Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, Oxydendrum arboreum, and Carya ovalis. The forest grew on slopes of low hills on Knox dolomitemore » at about 300 m elevation. 22 references, 1 figure, 2 tables.« less

Assessing timber availability in upland Hardwood Forests

Treesearch

Dennis M. May; Chris B. LeDoux

1992-01-01

Reported forest inventory statistics gathered by the USDA Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Inventory and Analysis (SOFIA) have been criticized because not all of the inventory volume reported is truly available for harvest. In response to this criticism, a procedure has been developed for assessing timber availability from reported inventory...

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...

Fire History of a Forest, Savanna, and Fen Mosaic at White Ranch State Forest

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Ricahrd P. Guyette; Michael C. Stambaugh

2004-01-01

We present the fire history of a 1-km2 area that is a mosaic of oak forest, savanna, and fen on the White Ranch State Forest, Howell County, Missouri. We dated 135 fire scars on 35 cross-sections of post oak ( Quercus stellata) trees and constructed a fire chronology dating from 1705 to 1997. Mean fire return intervals by periods were 3.7 years (...

Urbanization effects on soil nitrogen transformations and microbial biomass in the subtropics

Treesearch

Heather A. Enloe; B. Graeme Lockaby; Wayne C. Zipperer; Greg L. Somers

2015-01-01

As urbanization can involve multiple alterations to the soil environment, it is uncertain how urbanization effects soil nitrogen cycling. We established 22–0.04 ha plots in six different land cover types—rural slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantations (n=3), rural natural pine forests (n=3), rural natural oak forests (n=4), urban pine forests (n=3), urban oak forests (n...

The presence of Abronia oaxacae (Squamata: Anguidae) in tank bromeliads in temperate forests of Oaxaca, Mexico.

PubMed

Cruz-Ruiz, G I; Mondragón, D; Santos-Moreno, A

2012-05-01

The presence of lizards in bromeliads has been widely documented. Nevertheless, the possibility of some type of preference or specificity among lizards for particular bromeliad species has not yet been investigated. Therefore, this study aims to document the presence of Abronia oaxacae in six species of tank bromeliads found in pine forests, pine-live oak forests, and live oak groves during both the rainy season and the dry season. Three adult individuals of Abronia oaxacae were collected; one in a Tillandsia violácea (pine-live oak forest), one in a T. calothyrsus (live oak grove), and one in a T. prodigiosa (live oak grove). All three specimens were collected in sampling efforts carried out during the dry season. The results of the present study suggest that A. oaxacae shows no preference for a single, specific bromeliad species, although it does have a certain preference for a few select species. The presence of A. oaxacae in bromeliads during the dry season could be related to the cooler, moister microhabitat that these plants represent.

The white pine - oak forests of the anthracite region

Treesearch

C. F. Burnham; M. J. Ferree; F. E. Cunningham

1947-01-01

The white pine - oak forests in the Anthracite Region occupy approximately one-fifth of the forested area. They occur chiefly in the central and southern counties of the region and are characteristic of the fairly fertile agricultural sections in the rolling foothills. Sixty-nine percent are located in these farming areas, another 23 percent are in less accessible...

The effects of sudden oak death and wildfire on forest composition and dynamics in the Big Sur Ecoregion of Coastal California

Treesearch

Margaret R. Metz; Kerri M. Frangioso; Ross K. Meentemeyer; David M. Rizzo

2012-01-01

Sudden oak death (SOD), caused by Phytophthora ramorum, is an emerging forest disease associated with extensive tree mortality in coastal California forests (Rizzo et al. 2005). P. ramorum is a generalist pathogen that infects many hosts, but hosts differ in their ability to transmit the disease...

Red maple (Acer rubrum) response to prescribed burning on the William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama

Treesearch

Stacy L. Clark; Callie J. Schweitzer

2009-01-01

Prescribed burning is part of Land and Resource Management Plans on National Forest System lands throughout the southeastern United States, and is sometimes implemented to achieve a desired future condition of oak-dominated forest or woodland habitat. However, effects of burning on oak (Quercus spp.) competitors, such as red maple (Acer...

Aerial application of Agri-Fos® to prevent Sudden Oak Death in Oregon tanoak forests

Treesearch

Alan Kanaskie; Everett Hansen; Wendy Sutton; Paul Reeser; Carolyn Choquette

2010-01-01

We have been testing the practicality and efficacy of aerial application of Agri-Fos® for control of sudden oak death (SOD) in the Oregon tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) forest. Helicopter application to forest stands has been compared with bole injection and groundbased spray application to seedlings and stump sprouts. We bio-assayed...

An evaluation of seven methods for controlling mountain laurel thickets in the mixed-oak forests of the central Appalachian Mountains, USA

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose

2017-01-01

In the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) thickets in mixed-oak (Quercus spp.) stands can lead to hazardous fuel situations, forest regeneration problems, and possible forest health concerns. Therefore, land managers need techniques to control mountain laurel thickets and limit...

Sawtimber oak stand response to six distinct cutting methods

Treesearch

Jeffery S. Ward; George R. Stephens

2003-01-01

Nonindustrial private owners control over 80 percent of the 50 million acres of oak-dominated forest in the northern United States. Although non-commodity amenities are more important than timber production for many of these owners, the expense of forest ownership may make them amenable to forest management practices that provide income while retaining the desired non-...

Changes in Gambel oak densities in southwestern ponderosa pine forests since Euro-American settlement

Treesearch

Scott R. Abella; Peter Z. Fulé

2008-01-01

Densities of small-diameter ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) trees have increased in southwestern ponderosa pine forests during a period of fire exclusion since Euro-American settlement in the late 1800s. However, less well known are potential changes in Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) densities during this period in these forests....

Why sustain oak forests?

Treesearch

David Wm. Smith

2006-01-01

A brief overview and some personal thoughts are offered that deal with the implications of our social and political systems on the long-term sustainability of our forest resources. The connection of the most recent climatic events, in a geologic-time context, to the development of present day oak dominated forests of the Eastern United States is discussed. The impacts...

Blue oak plant communities of southern San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara Counties, California

Treesearch

Mark I. Borchert; Nancy D. Cunha; Patricia C. Krosse; Marcee L. Lawrence

1993-01-01

An ecological classification system has been developed for the Pacific Southwest Region of the Forest Service. As part of that classification effort, blue oak (Quercus douglasii) woodlands and forests of southern San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara Counties in Los Padres National Forest were classified into I3 plant communities using...

Missouri's forests 2008

Treesearch

Gus Raeker; W. Keith Moser; Brett J. Butler; John Fleming; Dale D. Gormanson; Mark H. Hansen; Cassandra M. Kurtz; Patrick D. Miles; Mike Morris; Thomas B. Treiman

2011-01-01

The second full annual inventory of Missouri's forests (2004-2008) reports more than 15 million acres of forest land, almost all of which is timberland (98 percent), with an average volume of more than 1,117 cubic feet of growing stock per acre. White oak and black oak are the most abundant in terms of live tree volume. Eighty-three percent of the State's...

Relationships between forest cutting and understory vegetation: an overview of eastern hardwood stands

Treesearch

Hewlette S. Crawford

1976-01-01

The impacts of forest cutting upon understory vegetation were evaluated for Ozark oak-hickory and Appalachian oak-pine stands. These findings were related to similar information from other eastern forest types. Production of understory vegetation is related to stand type, stand structure, stand disturbance, and site. Stand type, structure, and site operate together to...

A dendrochronological analysis of a disturbance-succession model for oak-pine forests of the Appalachian Mountains, USA

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose; Thomas A. Waldrop

2010-01-01

Disturbance-succession models describe the relationship between the disturbance regime and the dominant tree species of a forest type. Such models are useful tools in ecosystem management and restoration, provided they are accurate. We tested a disturbance-succession model for the oak-pine (Quercus spp. - Pinus spp.) forests of the...

Approaches to restoration of oak forests on farmed lowlands of the Mississippi River and its tributaries

Treesearch

Emile S. Gardiner; Daniel C. Dey; John A. Stanturf; Brian Roy Lockhart

2010-01-01

The lowlands associated with the Mississippi River and its tributaries historically supported extensive broadleaf forests that were particularly rich in oak (Quercus spp.) species. Beginning in the 1700s, deforestation for agriculture substantially reduced the extent of the original forest, and fragmented the remainder into small parcels. More...

Fire in eastern oak forests: delivering science to land managers

Treesearch

Matthew B., ed. Dickinson

2006-01-01

Contains 20 papers and 36 poster abstracts presented at a conference on fire in oak forests of the Eastern United States that was held at the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, on November 15-17, 2005.

Oak Leaftier and Oak Leafroller (Pest Alert)

Treesearch

USDA Forest Service

1998-01-01

The oak leaftier, Croesia semipurpurana (Kearfott), and the oak leafroller, Archips semiferanus (Walker), are important Tortricidae moths in a complex of native species feeding in the early spring on oak foliage throughout the forests of Eastern North America. Outbreaks periodically develop with frequent and severe defoliation resulting in tree mortality. The last...

Oak mortality risk factors and mortality estimation

Treesearch

Stephen R. Shifley; Zhaofei Fan; John M. Kabrick; Randy G. Jensen

2006-01-01

Managers are often concerned about oak mortality in maturing mixed-oak forests, but they often lack explicit information about mortality risk for oaks that differ in species, size, crown class, competitive status, and growth rate. In eastern North America, tree species in the red oak group (Quercus Section Lobatae) are typically...

Mass loss and nutrient concentrations of buried wood as a function of organic matter removal, soil compaction, and vegetation control in a regenerating oak-pine forest

Treesearch

Felix Ponder; John M. Kabrick; Mary Beth Adams; Deborah S. Page-Dumroese; Marty F. Jurgensen

2017-01-01

Mass loss and nutrient concentrations of northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and white oak (Q. alba) wood stakes were measured 30 months after their burial in the upper 10 cm of soil in a regenerating forest after harvesting and soil disturbance. Disturbance treatments were two levels of organic matter (OM) removal (only...

Host preference of the vector beetle, host resistance, and expanding patterns of Japanese oak wilt in a stand

Treesearch

Kazuyoshi Futai; Hiroaki Kiku; Hong-ye Qi; Hagus Tarn; Yuko Takeuchi; Michimasa Yamasaki

2012-01-01

Since the early 1980s, an epidemic forest disease, Japanese Oak Wilt (JOW), has been spreading from coastal areas along the Sea of Japan to the interior of Honshu island and has been devastating huge areas of forests by killing an enormous number of oak trees in urban fringe mountains, gardens, and parks. The disease is caused by a fungus, Raffaelea...

Ecological behavior and effects of energy related pollutants. Progress report, June 1976--August 1977. [SO2 impact on survival and stability of plant species; fallout /sup 137/Cs transfer processes in Southeastern Coastal Plain ecosystem

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

Platt, R.B.; Ragsdale, H.L.; Murdy, W.H.

1977-10-25

The impact of SO/sub 2/ on the survival and stability of plant populations and communities was studied. The results to date have an important bearing on the adequacy of current permissible ambient air levels for SO/sub 2/. Atmospheric SO/sub 2/ concentrations at near permissible levels had a significant adverse effect on sexual reproduction processes, which results in a reduced number of viable seeds, in all 8 populations tested. Implications for both natural and agricultural plant species and possible significant losses of fruit production are discussed. An ecological implication of the invisible effect of fruit and seed mortality is postulated sincemore » the life cycle of many insects and the trophic relations of numerous animals depend, at least in part, on fruit production by trees and shrubs. Hence, there is a potential for disruptive effects on ecosystem level processes. Results are also reported from four systems-oriented studies within the Lower Three Runs Creek Watershed, Savannah River Plant, to examine fallout /sup 137/Cs transfer processes in ecological systems characteristic of the Southeastern Coastal Plain. These studies were carried out within the stream and its floodplains, within floodplains along the stream gradient, in upland aquatic systems (Carolina Bays), and in the upland scrub-oak forest system. Results are discussed.« less

The Effects of Intermittent Flooding on Seedlings of Three Forest Species

Treesearch

P.H. Anderson; S.R. Pezeshki

1999-01-01

Under greenhouse conditions, seedlings of three forest species, baldcypress (Taxodium distichum), nuttall oak (Quercus nuttallii), and swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii) were subjected to an intermittent flooding and subsequent physiological and growth responses to such conditions were evaluated....

Mercury Speciation and Bioaccumulation In Riparian and Upland Food Webs of the White Mountains Region, New Hampshire, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodenhouse, N.; Gebauer, R.; Lowe, W.; McFarland, K.; Bank, M. S.

2015-12-01

The soils and foods webs associated with mid to high elevation, forested, headwater streams are potential hotspots for mercury methylation and bioaccumulation but are not well studied. We tested the hypothesis that spatial variation in mercury bioaccumulation in upland taxa associated with headwater streams can be explained by variation in soil conditions promoting Hg methylation such as soil moisture, pH, and sulfur and organic matter content. We sampled at high (c. 700m) and mid elevation (c. 500m) in northern hardwood forest adjacent to and away from (75m) replicate headwater streams in the Hubbard Brook and Jeffers Brook watersheds of the White Mountains region, New Hampshire, USA. These forested watersheds differed primarily in soil calcium content and pH. We measured and assessed spatial variation in total Hg (THg) and methyl Hg (MeHg) concentrations in soils, insects, spiders, salamanders and birds. We also tested whether trophic position, as determined by nitrogen stable isotopes, was a major predictor of Hg bioaccumulation across these riparian and upland forest taxa. We found elevated levels of THg in all measured components of the food web, and conditions for methylation were better in the upland forest sites compared to the riparian sites located adjacent to headwater streams. Both THg and MeHg in biota were positively correlated with trophic position as indicated by 15N enrichment. In fact, trophic position was a better predictor of THg and MeHg content than spatial location, but the spatial patterning of bioaccumulation differed among taxa. Our data show that that significant Hg bioaccumulation and biomagnification can occur in soils and food webs of mid to high elevation temperate deciduous forests of the Northeast. They also suggest that mercury methylation in forested watersheds is a widespread phenomenon and not limited to areas with high soil moisture, such as lotic environments.

Application of Lidar remote sensing to the estimation of forest canopy and stand structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lefsky, Michael Andrew

A new remote sensing instrument, SLICER (Scanning Lidar Imager of Canopies by Echo Recovery), has been applied to the problem of remote sensing the canopy and stand structure of two groups of deciduous forests, Tulip Poplar-Oak stands in the vicinity of Annapolis, MD. and bottomland hardwood stands near Williamston, NC. The ability of the SLICER instrument to remotely sense the vertical distribution of canopy structure (Canopy Height Profile), bulk canopy transmittance, and several indices of canopy height has been successfully validated using twelve stands with coincident field and SLICER estimates of canopy structure. Principal components analysis has been applied to canopy height profiles from both field sites, and three significant factors were identified, each closely related to the amount of foliage in a recognizable layer of the forest, either understory, midstory, or overstory. The distribution of canopy structure to these layers is significantly correlated with the size and number of stems supporting them. The same layered structure was shown to apply to both field and SLICER remotely sensed canopy height profiles, and to apply to SLICER remotely sensed canopy profiles from both the bottomland hardwood stands in the coastal plain of North Carolina, and to mesic Tulip-Poplars stands in the upland coastal plain of Maryland. Linear regressions have demonstrated that canopy and stand structure are correlated to both a statistically significant and useful degree. Stand age and stem density is more highly correlated to stand height, while stand basal area and aboveground biomass are more closely related to a new measure of canopy structure, the quadratic mean canopy height. A geometric model of canopy structure has been shown to explain the differing relationships between canopy structure and stand basal area for stands of Eastern Deciduous Forest and Douglas Fir Forest.

Oak conservation and restoration on private forestlands: negotiating a social-ecological landscape.

PubMed

Knoot, Tricia G; Schulte, Lisa A; Rickenbach, Mark

2010-01-01

In the midwestern United States, oak (Quercus spp.) forests are considered critical habitat for conserving biodiversity and are a declining resource. Ecological conditions, such as deer herbivory and competition from more mesic broad-leaved deciduous species, have been linked to poor oak regeneration. In the Midwest, where up to 90% of forestland is privately owned, a greater understanding of social dimensions of oak regeneration success is especially critical to designing effective restoration strategies. We sought to determine factors that serve as direct and indirect constraints to oak restoration and identify policy mechanisms that could improve the likelihood for restoration success. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 32 natural resource professionals working in the Midwest Driftless Area. We found that most professionals anticipate that oak will remain only a component of the future forest. Furthermore, they identified the general unwillingness of landowners to adopt oak restoration practices as a primary driving force of regional forest change. The professionals pointed to interdependent ecological and social factors, occurring at various scales (e.g., economic cost of management, deer herbivory, and exurban residential development) as influencing landowner oak restoration decisions. Professionals emphasized the importance of government cost-share programs and long-term personal relationships to securing landowner acceptance of oak restoration practices. However, given finite societal resources, ecologically- and socially-targeted approaches were viewed as potential ways to optimize regional success.

Oak Conservation and Restoration on Private Forestlands: Negotiating a Social-Ecological Landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knoot, Tricia G.; Schulte, Lisa A.; Rickenbach, Mark

2010-01-01

In the midwestern United States, oak ( Quercus spp.) forests are considered critical habitat for conserving biodiversity and are a declining resource. Ecological conditions, such as deer herbivory and competition from more mesic broad-leaved deciduous species, have been linked to poor oak regeneration. In the Midwest, where up to 90% of forestland is privately owned, a greater understanding of social dimensions of oak regeneration success is especially critical to designing effective restoration strategies. We sought to determine factors that serve as direct and indirect constraints to oak restoration and identify policy mechanisms that could improve the likelihood for restoration success. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 32 natural resource professionals working in the Midwest Driftless Area. We found that most professionals anticipate that oak will remain only a component of the future forest. Furthermore, they identified the general unwillingness of landowners to adopt oak restoration practices as a primary driving force of regional forest change. The professionals pointed to interdependent ecological and social factors, occurring at various scales (e.g., economic cost of management, deer herbivory, and exurban residential development) as influencing landowner oak restoration decisions. Professionals emphasized the importance of government cost-share programs and long-term personal relationships to securing landowner acceptance of oak restoration practices. However, given finite societal resources, ecologically- and socially-targeted approaches were viewed as potential ways to optimize regional success.

Fire behavioral changes as a result of sudden oak death in coastal California forests

Treesearch

Y. Vlachovic; C. Lee; H. Scanlon; J.M. Varner; R. Glebocki; B.D. Graham; D.M. Rizzo

2013-01-01

Field observations and anecdotal evidence suggest that sudden oak death (SOD), a disease caused by the pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, may alter fuel loading in affected forests. Though it is reasonable to assume that a disease resulting in leaf blight, dead branches, and tree mortality would increase forest fuels, little work has been done to...

Oak Forest Composition, Site Quality, and Dynamics in Relation to Site Factors in the Southeastern Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

John M. Kabrick; Stephen R. Shifley; Randy G. Jensen; David R. Larsen; Jennifer K. Grabner

2004-01-01

Physical site factors are known to affect forest species composition but the pattern and variation across forest landscapes has not been well quantified. We discuss relationships between site factors including soil parent materials, depth to dolomite bedrock, aspect, and landform position and the distribution of vegetation, site index, and short-term succession in oak...

Climate response of five oak species in the eastern deciduous forest of the southern Appalachain Mountains, USA

Treesearch

James H Speer; Henry D Grission-Mayer; Kenneth H Orivs; Cathryn H: Greenberg

2009-01-01

The climatic response of trees that occupy closed canopy forests in the eastern United States (US) is important to understanding the possible trajectory these forests may lake in response to a warming climate. Our study examined tree rings of 664 trees from five oak species (white (Querclus alba L), black (Quercus "velutina Lam...

Dynamics of forest populations in the mountain resort region of the North Caucasus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chalaya, Elena; Efimenko, Natalia; Slepykh, Olga; Slepykh, Viktor; Povolotskaya, Nina

2017-04-01

Prehistoric formula of forest species composition of the resort region Caucasian Mineralnye Vody (RR CMV) in the North Caucasus is 6Q3Cb1Fe [1]. According to it, undisturbed forests of the region consisted of the pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) and the durmast (Quercus cerris L.) by 60%, the European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) by 30% and the European ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) only by 10%. At present the formula of forest composition of the region is 5Fe3Cb2Q, according to it, the rate of oak-groves (the most valuable to resort landscape gardening) has reduced to 20%, and the ash-tree, though the rate of the hornbeam has not changed, increased up to 50%. Forest breeding populations in the RR CMV are referred to natural medical resources as they have high rehabilitation and climate-regulating properties, the change in forest breeding populations influences the conditions of the resort climate-landscape-therapy. The researches conducted in the perfect oak wood of vegetative origin in Beshtaugorsky Forestry Area (BFA) of the RR CMV have shown the reduction of the pedunculate oak in the tree-stand composition during 1984-2014 from 10 to 8 units in the composition: the European ash (1 unit) and the crataegus monogyna (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.), the checker tree (Sorbus torminalis (L.) Crantz), the common pear (Pyrus communis L.) have appeared [2]. The rate of the pedunculate oak decreased from 10 units to 9 in the perfect planting of the pedunculate oak of the artificial origin (Mashuk section of the forestry of BFA of the RR CMV) during 1986-2016. Among accompanying breeds there was the English field maple (Acer campestre L.), the Chinese elm in singular (Ulmus parvifolia Jacq.), the single-seed hawthorn. The reliable regrowth (4C3Fe3Ac+Q+Cm+Pc+Up) in number of 3,9 thousand pieces/hectare defines the perspective of complete replacement of the oak crop in the future on planting with dominance of the hornbeam and the involvement of the ash-tree and the English field maple. Succession of the oak replacement in natural stand of the vegetative origin can be explained with the soil fatigue under the oak forest inhibiting its own regrowth [2]. However, you can observe the same succession of the oak replacement by other native species in the artificial planting of the oak on the virgin meadow lands. Therefore, the exogenous factors proceeding against the background of global warming during the number of decades are the reason of the succession. The nature of this process demands further studying. References 1.Kazankin A.P. Ecological role of the mountain woods of the Caucasus. Novosibirsk: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science publishing house, 2013. - 366 p. 2. Slepykh, V.V. Successions and bioclimate of oak groves in the resort region Caucasian MineralnyeVody / V.V.Slepykh, N.P.Povolotskaya// Resort medicine, № 3, 2015. - P. 18-27.

Decomposition and N cycling changes in redwood forests caused by sudden oak death

Treesearch

Richard C. Cobb; David M. Rizzo

2012-01-01

Phytophthora ramorum is an emergent pathogen in redwood forests which causes the disease sudden oak death. Although the disease does not kill coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), extensive and rapid mortality of tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) has removed this...

Land-use and Land-cover Change from 1974 to 2008 around Mobile Bay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellis, Jean; Spruce, Joseph; Smoot, James; Hilbert, Kent; Swann, Roberta

2008-01-01

This project is a Gulf of Mexico Application Pilot in which NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) is working within a regional collaboration network of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. NASA researchers, with support from the NASA SSC Applied Science Program Steering Committee, employed multi-temporal Landsat data to assess land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes in the coastal counties of Mobile and Baldwin, AL, between 1974 and 2008. A multi-decadal time-series, coastal LULC product unique to NASA SSC was produced. The geographic extent and nature of change was quantified for the open water, barren, upland herbaceous, non-woody wetland, upland forest, woody wetland, and urban landscapes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Coastal Development Data Center (NCDDC) will assist with the transition of the final product to the operational end user, which primarily is the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP). We found substantial LULC change over the 34-year study period, much more than is evident when the change occurring in the last years. Between 1974 and 2008, the upland forest landscape lost almost 6% of the total acreage, while urban land cover increased by slightly more than 3%. With exception to open water, upland forest is the dominant landscape, accounting for about 25-30% of the total area.

Structure and dynamics of an upland old- growth forest at Redwood National Park, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

van Mantgem, Philip J.; Stuart, John D.

2011-01-01

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 surveyed all stems =20 cm DBH in 1995 and 2010, allowing us to estimate any systematic changes in these stands. Stem size distributions for all species and for redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.) alone did not appreciably change over the 15 year observation interval. Recruitment and mortality rates were roughly balanced, as were basal area dynamics (gains from recruitment and growth versus losses from mortality). Similar patterns were found for Sequoia alone. The spatial structure of stems at the plots suggested a random distribution of trees, though the pattern for Sequoia alone was found to be significantly clumped at small scales (< 5 m) at three of the six plots. These results suggest that these forests, including populations of Sequoia, have been generally stable over the past 15 years at this site, though it is possible that fire exclusion may be affecting recruitment of smaller Sequoia (< 20 cm DBH). The non-uniform spatial arrangement of stems also suggests that restoration prescriptions for second-growth redwood forests that encourage uniform spatial arrangements do not appear to mimic current upland old-growth conditions.

Relationships between dead wood and arthropods in the Southeastern United States.

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

Ulyshen, Michael, Darragh

The importance of dead wood to maintaining forest diversity is now widely recognized. However, the habitat associations and sensitivities of many species associated with dead wood remain unknown, making it difficult to develop conservation plans for managed forests. The purpose of this research, conducted on the upper coastal plain of South Carolina, was to better understand the relationships between dead wood and arthropods in the southeastern United States. In a comparison of forest types, more beetle species emerged from logs collected in upland pine-dominated stands than in bottomland hardwood forests. This difference was most pronounced for Quercus nigra L., amore » species of tree uncommon in upland forests. In a comparison of wood postures, more beetle species emerged from logs than from snags, but a number of species appear to be dependent on snags including several canopy specialists. In a study of saproxylic beetle succession, species richness peaked within the first year of death and declined steadily thereafter. However, a number of species appear to be dependent on highly decayed logs, underscoring the importance of protecting wood at all stages of decay. In a study comparing litter-dwelling arthropod abundance at different distances from dead wood, arthropods were more abundant near dead wood than away from it. In another study, grounddwelling arthropods and saproxylic beetles were little affected by large-scale manipulations of dead wood in upland pine-dominated forests, possibly due to the suitability of the forests surrounding the plots.« less

Innovation and dedication underpin management of sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum) in California and Oregon forests

Treesearch

Susan J. Frankel

2017-01-01

This special issue of Forest Phytophthoras serves as part of the proceedings from the Sixth Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium held June 21 -23, 2016 at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, CA, USA. The symposium marked almost 16 years to the day that David Rizzo (UC Davis) and Matteo Garbelotto (UC Berkeley) identified the cause of sudden oak death to be a previously...

Fitting Fire into Oak Management

Treesearch

Patrick Brose

2004-01-01

In the past decade, the use of prescribed fire in the mixed-oak forests of the eastern United States has markedly increased to help overcome the chronic lack of abundant, vigorous oak regeneration (Yaussy 2000). However, pre- scribed burns implemented under inappropriate circum- stances can result in failure to establish oak regeneration and/or loss of existing oak...

An overview of oak silviculture in the United States: the past, present, and future

Treesearch

R. Rogers; P.S. Johnson; D.L. Loftis

1993-01-01

Oaks (Quercus) are important components of forest systems throughout the United States. This overview describes past, present, and future silvicultural practices within the oak-hickory ecosystem of the United States. Past land-use activitiesfavored oak development, butwildfire and livestock grazing controls have caused severe oak regeneration...

Rapid rebound of soil respiration following partial stand disturbance by tree girdling in a temperate deciduous forest.

PubMed

Levy-Varon, Jennifer H; Schuster, William S F; Griffin, Kevin L

2014-04-01

Forests serve an essential role in climate change mitigation by removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Within a forest, disturbance events can greatly impact C cycling and subsequently influence the exchange of CO2 between forests and the atmosphere. This connection makes understanding the forest C cycle response to disturbance imperative for climate change research. The goal of this study was to examine the temporal response of soil respiration after differing levels of stand disturbance for 3 years at the Black Rock Forest (southeastern NY, USA; oaks comprise 67% of the stand). Tree girdling was used to mimic pathogen attack and create the following treatments: control, girdling all non-oaks (NOG), girdling half of the oak trees (O50), and girdling all the oaks (OG). Soil respiratory rates on OG plots declined for 2 years following girdling before attaining a full rebound of belowground activity in the third year. Soil respiration on NOG and O50 were statistically similar to the control for the duration of the study although a trend for a stronger decline in respiration on O50 relative to NOG occurred in the first 2 years. Respiratory responses among the various treatments were not proportional to the degree of disturbance and varied over time. The short-lived respiratory response on O50 and OG suggests that belowground activity is resilient to disturbance; however, sources of the recovered respiratory flux on these plots are likely different than they were pre-treatment. The differential taxon response between oaks and non-oaks suggests that after a defoliation or girdling event, the temporal response of the soil respiratory flux may be related to the C allocation pattern of the affected plant group.

Fire Impacts on Mixed Pine-oak Forests Assessed with High Spatial Resolution Imagery, Imaging Spectroscopy, and LiDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, R.; Wu, J.; Zhao, F. R.; Kathy, S. L.; Dennison, P. E.; Cook, B.; Hanavan, R. P.; Serbin, S.

2016-12-01

As a primary disturbance agent, fire significantly influences forest ecosystems, including the modification or resetting of vegetation composition and structure, which can then significantly impact landscape-scale plant function and carbon stocks. Most ecological processes associated with fire effects (e.g. tree damage, mortality, and vegetation recovery) display fine-scale, species specific responses but can also vary spatially within the boundary of the perturbation. For example, both oak and pine species are fire-adapted, but fire can still induce changes in composition, structure, and dominance in a mixed pine-oak forest, mainly because of their varying degrees of fire adaption. Evidence of post-fire shifts in dominance between oak and pine species has been documented in mixed pine-oak forests, but these processes have been poorly investigated in a spatially explicit manner. In addition, traditional field-based means of quantifying the response of partially damaged trees across space and time is logistically challenging. Here we show how combining high resolution satellite imagery (i.e. Worldview-2,WV-2) and airborne imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR (i.e. NASA Goddard's Lidar, Hyperspectral and Thermal airborne imager, G-LiHT) can be effectively used to remotely quantify spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation recovery following a top-killing fire that occurred in 2012 within mixed pine-oak forests in the Long Island Central Pine Barrens Region, New York. We explore the following questions: 1) what are the impacts of fire on species composition, dominance, plant health, and vertical structure; 2) what are the recovery trajectories of forest biomass, structure, and spectral properties for three years following the fire; and 3) to what extent can fire impacts be captured and characterized by multi-sensor remote sensing techniques from active and passive optical remote sensing.

What's Causing the Mortality in Southern Hardwoods?

Treesearch

W. M. Broadfoot; E. R. Toole

1958-01-01

Widespread dieback and mortality of hardwoods has been noted in the South during recent years. In general, losses have been most severe in certain areas of cottonwood, sweetgum, and black willow. Some damage also has been noted in red oaks, especially Nuttall; and in elms, green ash, sycamore, and some less important species. On uplands, mortality has occurred in...

Responses of hardwood advace regeneration to seasonal prescribed fires in oak-dominated shelterwood stands

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose; David H. Van Lear

1998-01-01

Effects of seasonal prescribed fires of varying intensities on density, mortality, stem form, height, and height growth of hardwood advance regeneration were investigated. Three mixed-hardwood stands on productive upland sites were cut using a shelterwood technique, each forming a block of spring burn, summer burn, winter burn, and control treatments. Advance...

Hillslope erosion rates in the oak savannas of the southwestern borderlands region

Treesearch

Aaron T. Kauffman; Cody L. Stropki; Peter F. Ffolliott; Gerald J. Gottfried; Daniel G. Neary

2007-01-01

Hillslope soil erosion on watershed landscapes can lower the productivity of upland sites and adversely impact water quality and downstream (off-site) areas. It is not surprising, therefore, that excessive soil erosion and the consequent sedimentation can represent significant costs to the land and people that are affected. The first known estimates of hillslope soil...

Thinning even-aged, upland oak stands

Treesearch

Donald E. Hilt; Martin E. Dale

1989-01-01

Thinning produces bigger and better trees faster. Thinning removes poor quality trees and concentrates growth on the best. Total wood production increases because trees that would otherwise die from competition are harvested. Rotation ages for sawtimber can be shortened as much as 20 years. Or, we can grow bigger, more valuable trees using the same rotation age as an...

Urbanization effects on leaf litter decomposition, foliar nutrient dynamics and aboveground net primary productivity in the subtropics

Treesearch

Heather A. Enloe; B. Graeme Lockaby; Wayne C. Zipperer; Greg L. Somers

2015-01-01

Urbanization can alter nutrient cycling. This research evaluated how urbanization affected nutrient dynamics in the subtropics. We established 17–0.04 ha plots in five different land cover types—slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantations (n=3), rural natural pine forests (n= 3), rural natural oak forests (n=4), urban pine forests (n=3) and urban oak forests (n=4) in the...

Susceptibility of eastern U.S. habitats to invasion of Celastrus orbiculatus (oriental bittersweet) following fire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leicht-Young, Stacey A.; Pavlovic, Noel B.; Grundel, Ralph

2013-01-01

Fire effects on invasive species are an important land management issue in areas subjected to prescribed fires as well as wildfires. These effects on invasive species can be manifested across life stages. The liana Celastrus orbiculatus (oriental bittersweet) is a widespread invader of eastern US habitats including those where fire management is in practice. This study examined if prescribed fire makes these habitats more susceptible to invasion of C. orbiculatus by seed at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Four treatments (control, litter removed, high and low intensity fire) were applied in six habitat types (sand savanna/woodland, sand prairie, moraine prairie, sand oak forest, beech-maple forest, and oak-hickory forest) and germinating seedlings were tracked over two growing seasons. Treatment did not have a significant effect on the germination, survival, or biomass of C. orbiculatus. However, habitat type did influence these responses mostly in the first growing season. Moraine prairie, beech-maple forest, and oak-hickory forests had the greatest peak percentage of germinants. Moraine prairie had significantly greater survival than oak forest and savanna habitats. Control plots with intact litter, and the moraine prairie habitat had the tallest seedlings at germination, while tallest final heights and greatest aboveground biomass were highest in oak forest. Thus, fire and litter removal did not increase the susceptibility of these habitats to germination and survival of C. orbiculatus. These results indicate that most eastern US habitats are vulnerable to invasion by this species via seed regardless of the level or type of disturbance to the litter layer.

Limited Pollen Dispersal Contributes to Population Genetic Structure but Not Local Adaptation in Quercus oleoides Forests of Costa Rica.

PubMed

Deacon, Nicholas John; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine

2015-01-01

Quercus oleoides Cham. and Schlect., tropical live oak, is a species of conservation importance in its southern range limit of northwestern Costa Rica. It occurs in high-density stands across a fragmented landscape spanning a contrasting elevation and precipitation gradient. We examined genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure in this geographically isolated and genetically distinct population. We characterized population genetic diversity at 11 nuclear microsatellite loci in 260 individuals from 13 sites. We monitored flowering time at 10 sites, and characterized the local environment in order to compare observed spatial genetic structure to hypotheses of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment. Finally, we quantified pollen dispersal distances and tested for local adaptation through a reciprocal transplant experiment in order to experimentally address these hypotheses. High genetic diversity is maintained in the population and the genetic variation is significantly structured among sampled sites. We identified 5 distinct genetic clusters and average pollen dispersal predominately occurred over short distances. Differences among sites in flowering phenology and environmental factors, however, were not strictly associated with genetic differentiation. Growth and survival of upland and lowland progeny in their native and foreign environments was expected to exhibit evidence of local adaptation due to the more extreme dry season in the lowlands. Seedlings planted in the lowland garden experienced much higher mortality than seedlings in the upland garden, but we did not identify evidence for local adaptation. Overall, this study indicates that the Costa Rican Q. oleoides population has a rich population genetic history. Despite environmental heterogeneity and habitat fragmentation, isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment alone do not explain spatial genetic structure. These results add to studies of genetic structure by examining a common, tropical tree over multiple habitats and provide information for managers of a successional forest in a protected area.

Responses of upland herpetofauna to the restoration of Carolina Bays and thinning of forested Bay Margins.

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

Ledvina, Joseph A.

2008-05-01

Research on the effects of wetland restoration on reptiles and amphibians is becoming more common, but almost all of these studies have observed the colonization of recently disturbed habitats that were completely dry at the time of restoration. In a similar manner, investigations herpetofaunal responses to forest management have focused on clearcuts, and less intensive stand manipulations are not as well studied. To evaluate community and population responses of reptiles and amphibians to hydrology restoration and canopy removal in the interior of previously degraded Carolina bays, I monitored herpetofauna in the uplands adjacent to six historically degraded Carolina bays atmore » the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina for four years after restoration. To evaluate the effects of forest thinning on upland herpetofauna, forests were thinned in the margins of three of these bays. I used repeated measures ANOVA to compare species richness and diversity and the abundance of selected species and guilds between these bays and with those at three reference bays that were not historically drained and three control bays that remained degraded. I also used Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) to look for community-level patterns based treatments.« less

Temperate forest methane sink diminished by tree emissions.

PubMed

Pitz, Scott; Megonigal, J Patrick

2017-06-01

Global budgets ascribe 4-10% of atmospheric methane (CH 4 ) sinks to upland soils and have assumed until recently that soils are the sole surface for CH 4 exchange in upland forests. Here we report that CH 4 is emitted from the stems of dominant tree species in a temperate upland forest, measured using both the traditional static-chamber method and a new high-frequency, automated system. Tree emissions averaged across 68 observations on 17 trees from May to September were 1.59 ± 0.88 μmol CH 4  m -2  stem h -1 (mean ± 95% confidence interval), while soils adjacent to the trees consumed atmospheric CH 4 at a rate of -4.52 ± 0.64 μmol CH 4  m -2  soil h -1 (P < 0.0001). High-frequency measurements revealed diurnal patterns in the rate of tree-stem CH 4 emissions. A simple scaling exercise suggested that tree emissions offset 1-6% of the growing season soil CH 4 sink and may have briefly changed the forest to a net CH 4 source. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

The epidemiology of sudden oak death in Oregon forests

Treesearch

Ebba K. Peterson

2011-01-01

The phytopathogen Phytophthora ramorum (Werres, DeCock & Man in't Veld), causal agent of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) of oaks (Quercus spp.) and tanoaks (Notholithocarpus densiflorus syn. Lithocarpus densiflorus...

A presettlement fire history in an oak-pine forest near Basin Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario

Treesearch

Richard P. Guyette; Daniel C. Dey

1995-01-01

Fire scars from natural remnants of red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) in an oak-pine forest near Basin Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario, were dated using dendrochronological methods. A fire scar chronology was constructed from 28 dated fire scars on 26 pine remnants found in a 1 km2 area of this forest. From pith and outside ring...

Assessing anthropogenic and natural disturbances: forest response to similarly aged clearcut and tornado disturbances in an east Tennessee oak-hickory forest

Treesearch

Jonathan C. McGrath; Wayne K. Clatterbuck

2013-01-01

In February of 1993, an F3 tornado caused a large-scale disturbance in an east Tennessee oak-hickory (Quercus spp.-Carya spp.) forest. Vegetation response to anthropogenic and natural disturbances was compared by examining two tornado-disturbed areas and five adjacent 1-acre silvicultural clearcut areas unaffected by the tornado...

Factors Affecting Salamander Density and Distribution within Four Forest Types in Southern Appalachian Mountains

Treesearch

Craig A. Harper; David C. Guynn

1999-01-01

We used a terrestrial vacuum to sample known area plots in order to obtain density estimates of salamanders and their primary prey, invertebrates of the forest floor. We sampled leaf litter and measured various vegetative and topographic parameters within four forest types (oak-pine, oak-hickory, mixed mesophytic and northern hardwoods) and three age classes (0-12,13-...

Patterns of forest use and endemism in resident bird communities of north-central Michoacan, Mexico

Treesearch

Santiago Garcia; Deborah M. Finch; Gilberto Chavez Leon

1998-01-01

We compared breeding avian communities among 11 habitat types in north-central Michoacan, Mexico, to determine patterns of forest use by endemic and nonendemic resident species. Point counts of birds and vegetation measurements were conducted at 124 sampling localities from May through July, in 1994 and 1995. Six native forest types sampled were pine, pine-oak, oak-...

Impact of Market-Based Disturbance on the Composition of West Virginia's Forest Resource

Treesearch

William G. Luppold; John E. Baumgras; John E. Baumgras

2000-01-01

The eastern hardwood resource has been shaped by a combination of human and natural disturbances. This impact on the forest resources of West Virginia has been especially dramatic. This resource has changed from a virgin forest dominated white oak, chestnut, spruce, white pine, and hemlock in the late 19th century, to one dominated by red oak in the 1950's, to...

Restoring oak forest, woodlands and savannahs using modern silvicultural analogs to historic cultural fire regimes

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Richard P. Guyette; Callie J. Schweitzer; Michael C. Stambaugh; John M. Kabrick

2015-01-01

Variability in historic fire regimes in eastern North America resulted in an array of oak savannahs, woodlands and forests that were dominant vegetation types throughout the region. In the past century, once abundant savannahs and woodlands have become scarce due to conversion to agriculture, or development of forest structure in the absence of fire. In addition, the...

AmeriFlux US-PFa Park Falls/WLEF

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

Desai, Ankur

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-PFa Park Falls/WLEF. Site Description - The flux footprint encompasses a highly heterogeneous landscape of upland forests and wetlands (forested and nonforested). The forests are mainly deciduous but also include substantial coniferous coverage. The upland/lowland variability occurs on spatial scales of a few hundred meters. This heterogeneous landscape is further complicated by a nonuniform, small scale mosaic of thinning and clearcutting of the forest. At larger scales (1 km or greater) the forest cover mosaic is quite homogeneous for many kilometers. The site was chosen not formore » study of a simple stand, but for upscaling experiments. The daytime fetch of flux measurements from the 396m level is on the order of 5-10 km, yielding a flux footprint roughly 100x the area of a typical stand-level flux tower. AC power (tower is a TV transmitter).« less

The symbiotic relationship between dominant canopy trees and soil microbes affects the nitrogen source utilization of co-existing understory trees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwaoka, C.; Hyodo, F.; Taniguchi, T.; Shi, W.; Du, S.; Yamanaka, N.; Tateno, R.

2017-12-01

The symbiotic relationship between dominant canopy trees and soil microbes such as mycorrhiza or nitrogen (N) fixer are important determinants of soil N dynamics of a forest. However, it is not known how and to what extent the symbiotic relationship of dominant canopy trees with soil microbes affect the N source of co-existing trees in forest. We measured the δ15N of surface soils (0-10 cm), leaves, and roots of the dominant canopy trees and common understory trees in an arbuscular mycorrhizal N-fixing black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) plantation and an ectomycorrhizal oak (Quercus liaotungensis) natural forest in a China dryland. We also analyzed the soil dissolved N content in soil extracts and absorbed by ion exchange resin, and soil ammonia-oxidizer abundance using real-time PCR. The δ15N of soil and leaves were higher in the black locust forest than in the oak forest, although the δ15N of fine roots was similar in the two forests, in co-existing understory trees as well as dominant canopy trees. Accordingly, the δ15N of leaves was similar to or higher than that of fine roots in the black locust forest, whereas it was consistently lower than that of fine roots in the oak forest. In the black locust forest, the soil dissolved organic N and ammonium N contents were less abundant but the nitrate N contents in soils and absorbed by the ion exchange resin and ammonia-oxidizer abundance were greater, due to N fixation or less uptake of organic N from arbuscular mycorrhiza. In contrast, the soil dissolved organic N and ammonium N contents were more abundant in the oak forest, whereas the N content featured very low nitrate, due to ectomycorrhizal ability to access organic N. These results suggest that the main N source is nitrate N in the black locust forest, but dissolved organic N or ammonium N in the oak forest. N fixation or high N loss due to high N availability would cause high δ15N in soil and leaves in black locust forest. On the other hand, low soil N availability in the oak forest may make 15N fractionation more active in roots via mycorrhizal association, resulting in higher δ15N in fine roots than in leaves. In conclusion, the symbiotic relationship between dominant canopy trees and soil microbes affected the N source of not only the dominant trees but also co-existing understory trees via the control of soil N dynamics.

SUBSURFACE CHARACTERIZATION OF UPLAND RIPARIAN MEADOWS IN CENTRAL NEVADA USING AN INNOVATIVE DIRECT-PUSH EXPLORATION RIG

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. EPA and the USDA Forest Service are conducting a joint investigation to better understand the interactions between geomorphology, hydrology, and vegetation associated with riparian meadow ecosystems in upland watersheds in central Nevada. Stream incision is a major threa...

AmeriFlux US-SCf Southern California Climate Gradient - Oak/Pine Forest

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

Goulden, Mike

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-SCf Southern California Climate Gradient - Oak/Pine Forest. Site Description - Half hourly data are available at https://www.ess.uci.edu/~california/. This site is one of six Southern California Climate Gradient flux towers operated along an elevation gradient (sites are US-SCg, US-SCs, US-SCf, US-SCw, US-SCc, US-SCd). This site is a mixed oak/pine forest. The site experiences episodic severe drought and mortality, and has also experienced occasional logging and wildfire. Drought and mortality was especially severe in the early 2000s.

Productivity and carbon sequestration of forests in the southern United States

Treesearch

Kurt H. Johnsen; Tara L. Keyser; John R. Butnor; Carlos A. Gonzalez-Beenecke; Donald J. Kaczmarek; Chris A. Maier; Heather R. McCarthy; Ge. Sun

2014-01-01

Sixty percent of the Southern United States landscape is forested (Wear 2002). Forest types vary greatly among the five subregions of the South, which include the Coastal Plain, Piedmont, Appalachian-Cumberland, Mid-South, and the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Current inventory data show upland hardwood forests being the predominant forest type in the South (>30...

Invertabrates Associated with Woody Debris in a Southeastern U.S. Forested Floodplain Wetland

Treesearch

Amy Braccia; Darold P. Batzer

2001-01-01

Woody debris is an ecologically important resource in upland forests and stream ecosystems. Although much is known about invertebrate-woody debris interactions in forests and streams, little information exists for forested wetlands. In this study, invertebrates associated with woody debris in a Southeastern U. S. forested floodplain are described and factors that shape...

The Minnesota Program: community partnerships for effective pest control

Treesearch

Thomas G. Eiber

1998-01-01

Oak wilt, a fungal disease of all oak species, continues to be the primary cause of oak mortality in Minnesota. The oak type covers over 650,000 acres in Minnesota and is made up of six species. Forest industry adds $1 billion to the state's economy by harvesting and utilizing oak. In our communities, oak is our most valuable shade tree providing energy...

AmeriFlux US-Oho Oak Openings

DOE Data Explorer

Chen, Jiquan [University of Toledo / Michigan State University

2016-01-01

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Oho Oak Openings. Site Description - The Ohio Oak Openings site is located within the Oak Openings Preserve Metropark of northwest Ohio, one of the few remaining oak woodlands/savanna/prairie complexes in the Midwest. Declared one of the "One of America's Last Great Places" by the Nature Conservancy the area consists of four main vegetation types: Oak Woodlands, Oak Savanna, Floodplain Forests and Wet Prairies. The stand surrounding the tower is mainly Oak Woodlands dominated by red, white and black oaks with a relatively abundant population of red maples indicating high soil moisture retention and a history of limited fire disturbances. Most of the area was cleared for agriculture at the time of Euro-American settlements in the mid to late-19th century. A large fraction of the cleared land was later abandoned due to the poor sandy soils. These areas reverted to Oak Savannas and in cases where fire was limited progressively made the transition to Oak Woodlands. Today patches of the forest are burned every few years as part of prescribed burning cycle to control stand density.