Article
Environmental Sciences
Bethany L. Coulthard, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Gregory T. Pederson, Edward Cook, Jeremy Littell, Dan J. Smith
Summary: Climate change has led to recent declines in mountain snowpack and earlier runoff, intensifying hydrological droughts in western North America. Current understanding of trends and variability in mountain snowpack is limited, highlighting the need for further research in this area.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Water Resources
Frances C. O'Donnell, Jonathon Donager, Temuulen Sankey, Sharon Masek Lopez, Abraham E. Springer
Summary: Thinning of semi-arid forests to reduce wildfire risk is believed to increase soil moisture, but the mechanisms behind this have not been rigorously evaluated. A study in high elevation ponderosa pine forests in Arizona found that thinned forest plots had consistently higher soil moisture, but did not show clear evidence of increased snow water equivalent in thinned forests. Further research is needed to understand how reduction in tree density affects soil hydraulic properties.
HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Katarzyna Izworska, Elzbieta Muter, Pawel Matulewski, Tomasz Zielonka
Summary: This study focuses on the tree-ring changes of Stone pine in cliff forests of the Western Carpathians to better understand their growth release pattern and the influence of climate. The growth of stone pine is strongly related to summer temperature and the negative influence of summer precipitation has decreased in recent decades. The adaptability of Swiss stone pine to extreme cliff environments and its long lifespan make it an excellent species for studying climate change.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Remote Sensing
Mitchell T. Bonney, Yuhong He
Summary: Satellite-derived vegetation proxies and tree-rings can provide temporal records of forest productivity change, but different forest types show variations in response to climate and growth. Recent advances in Landsat time-series allow for expanded research on forest change, but a better understanding of factors influencing relationship strength is needed.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATION AND GEOINFORMATION
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Phillimon Ng'andwe, Donald Chungu, Frank Tailoka, Michael Bwembya
Summary: This study investigated the response of non-native Pinus kesiya in Zambia to climate change, finding that dry season precipitation is a limiting factor for tree growth. The tree-ring width chronology at different sites is positively modulated by precipitation, but negatively by solar radiation and temperature, with trees near emission sources showing significantly higher growth than those at remote sites.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emily E. Smoot, Kelly E. Gleason
Summary: As climate warms, snow-water storage decreases and forest fires increase, leading to reduced water availability. In some regions, burned forests accelerate snowmelt, affecting water resources across the area.
Review
Forestry
Benjamin Laffitte, Barnabas C. C. Seyler, Pengbo Li, Zhengang Ha, Ya Tang
Summary: Evidence for the CO2 fertilization effect (CFE) is mixed, and new dendrochronological designs are needed to verify it. A weakness in current methodologies could impede the detection of CFE. More research is necessary in tropical and boreal biomes to understand the effects of CO2 fertilization on plant growth.
TREES-STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Aleh Meshyk, Maryna Barushka, Viktoryia Marozava
Summary: There are differences in snow cover characteristics between Belarus and neighboring countries, with variations in snow water equivalent related to altitude, year, and region. Snow water equivalent shows cyclic changes and correlates with current climate fluctuations. There is a trend of decreasing snow water equivalent in certain parts of Belarus, while meltwater and river runoff data support the findings.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Itallo Romany Nunes Menezes, Jose Roberto Vieira Aragao, Mariana Alves Pagotto, Claudio Sergio Lisi
Summary: This study demonstrates the influence of edaphoclimatic variables and ocean teleconnections on the growth of Cedrela odorata trees in the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTF) of northeastern Brazil. The results show that precipitation has a positive effect on tree growth, while air temperature and soil water deficit have negative effects. Extremely dry years can lead to missing rings, indicating a lack of growth due to water stress. Oceanic variables, except for TSA, have a negative impact on the radial growth of C. odorata. The findings provide valuable information on the hydrological seasonality responses of C. odorata and the fluctuations in oceanic teleconnections that influence rainfall dynamics in northeastern Brazil.
Article
Forestry
Benjamin R. Lockwood, Justin T. Maxwell, Scott M. Robeson, Tsun Fung Au
Summary: Research suggests that simply summing tree-ring widths to estimate diameter can lead to underestimations of tree diameter, resulting in inaccurate estimates of forest productivity metrics BAI and biomass. To reduce this bias, researchers developed a regression model to adjust diameter for more accurate estimations of BAI and biomass, providing more reliable productivity estimates.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yufei Liu, Yiwen Fang, Dongyue Li, Steven A. Margulis
Summary: This study examined eight global snow products in High Mountain Asia and found that there was an average underestimation of 33% in peak annual snow storage. The variability in cumulative snowfall explained the majority of the uncertainty in peak snow storage.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gilberto Binda, Antonino Di Iorio, Damiano Monticelli
Summary: The chemical analysis of tree rings has been studied for five decades as a high-resolution environmental archive. The review covers the determinable chemical species in tree rings and the possibilities offered by analytical techniques. Dendrochemical proxies have been used to trace environmental contamination, paleoclimate reconstruction, and other processes. The reliability of dendrochemical data and future perspectives are discussed in this review.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rolf Ole R. Jenssen, Svein K. Jacobsen
Summary: This paper presents a method for remotely estimating snow water equivalent (SWE) using UAV-mounted radar and initial field experiments show high repeatability and good agreement with simulations. System improvements are outlined to increase the accuracy of the snow density estimator based on F-K migration technique.
Article
Biology
Margaret E. K. Evans, Justin Derose, Stefan Klesse, Martin P. Girardin, Kelly A. Heilman, M. Ross Alexander, Andre Arsenault, Flurin Babst, Mathieu Bouchard, Sean M. P. Cahoon, Elizabeth M. Campbell, Michael Dietze, Louis Duchesne, David C. Frank, Courtney L. Giebink, Armando Gomez-Guerrero, Genaro Gutierrez Garcia, Edward H. Hogg, Juha Metsaranta, Clementine Ols, Shelly A. Rayback, Anya Reid, Martin Ricker, Paul G. Schaberg, John D. Shaw, Patrick F. Sullivan, Sergio Armando Villela Gaytan
Summary: Tree-ring time series offer valuable information on tree growth, which can be scaled to estimate forest carbon dynamics globally. Systematic sampling of tree rings in national forest inventories can provide unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution, helping to address key scientific uncertainties surrounding forest growth patterns.
Article
Ecology
Stefano Casirati, Martha H. Conklin, Mohammad Safeeq
Summary: Higher global temperatures and intensification of extreme hydrologic events, such as droughts, can result in premature tree mortality. In Mediterranean climates like California, the timing of precipitation does not match the peak growing season, and a loss of snowpack during warmer years exacerbates water stress and tree mortality. Using data from the 2012-2015 drought, Regional Generalized Additive Models were used to examine the role of snowpack on forest water stress. The models successfully simulated forest water stress patterns and can help forest managers predict future water stress and tree die-off.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
George P. Malanson, R. Justin DeRose, Matthew F. Bekker
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2019)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jessika M. Pettit, Steve L. Voelker, R. Justin DeRose, Julia Burton
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Daniele Castagneri, Giorgio Vacchiano, Andrew Hacket-Pain, R. Justin DeRose, Tamir Klein, Alessandra Bottero
Summary: The study found that competition at stand level does influence tree growth response to drought, as it strengthens the association between water availability and growth rates. Competition reduces resistance but improves recovery in trees, with inconsistent effects on resilience to drought.
Article
Forestry
Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione, Justin DeRose, James N. Long
Summary: Bark beetle outbreaks in western North America cause significant tree mortality, with factors such as temperature and forest community structure playing important roles. Research shows that the majority of forests in the Interior West and Colorado have moderate to high susceptibility to bark beetles.
Article
Biology
Margaret E. K. Evans, Justin Derose, Stefan Klesse, Martin P. Girardin, Kelly A. Heilman, M. Ross Alexander, Andre Arsenault, Flurin Babst, Mathieu Bouchard, Sean M. P. Cahoon, Elizabeth M. Campbell, Michael Dietze, Louis Duchesne, David C. Frank, Courtney L. Giebink, Armando Gomez-Guerrero, Genaro Gutierrez Garcia, Edward H. Hogg, Juha Metsaranta, Clementine Ols, Shelly A. Rayback, Anya Reid, Martin Ricker, Paul G. Schaberg, John D. Shaw, Patrick F. Sullivan, Sergio Armando Villela Gaytan
Summary: Tree-ring time series offer valuable information on tree growth, which can be scaled to estimate forest carbon dynamics globally. Systematic sampling of tree rings in national forest inventories can provide unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution, helping to address key scientific uncertainties surrounding forest growth patterns.
Article
Ecology
Emily L. Schultz, Lisa Huelsmann, Michiel D. Pillet, Florian Hartig, David D. Breshears, Sydne Record, John D. Shaw, R. Justin DeRose, Pieter A. Zuidema, Margaret E. K. Evans
Summary: Estimates show that climate change can lead to the extinction of a significant percentage of species, but the predictive models for range changes need to include factors beyond just climate. Research on the distribution of Pinus edulis suggests that climate and competition alone do not fully explain the species' distribution, with climate influencing other range-limiting processes as well. The complex effects of climate on species distributions, including indirect effects and interactions, may result in unforeseen changes in abundance and distribution.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kelly A. Heilman, Michael C. Dietze, Alexis A. Arizpe, Jacob Aragon, Andrew Gray, John D. Shaw, Andrew O. Finley, Stefan Klesse, R. Justin DeRose, Margaret E. K. Evans
Summary: This study applies a Bayesian state-space model to analyze the ecological complexity of Pinus ponderosa var. brachyptera in the southwestern US using a fusion of tree-ring and forest inventory data. The study quantifies the effects of climate, tree size, stand density, site quality, and their interactions on tree growth and identifies the uncertainties associated with these effects. Results show negative effects of fall-spring maximum temperature and positive effects of water-year precipitation on tree growth. The study also reveals that tree vulnerability to climate stress increases with competition, tree size, and poor site conditions. Future climate scenarios are projected to cause significant declines in tree growth.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
R. Justin DeRose, Richard S. Gardner, Richard L. Lindroth, Karen E. Mock
Summary: Polyploidy has an influence on the growth and defense tradeoff in natural populations of quaking aspen. This study shows that there is substantial genotype and cytotype variability in growth and leaf chemistry, with phenolic glycosides negatively related to growth. Triploid clones exhibit higher levels of phenolic glycosides compared to diploids.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Courtney L. Giebink, Grant M. Domke, Rosie A. Fisher, Kelly A. Heilman, David J. P. Moore, R. Justin DeRose, Margaret E. K. Evans
Summary: There is great hope for forest ecosystems to contribute to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and limit global warming. However, the current policy and ecology surrounding forest-based natural climate solutions (NCS), particularly in temperate forests of the United States, have gaps in carbon accounting and a lack of understanding between ambitions and forest ecology. Improved use of data models can help in better assessing and anticipating forest-based climate mitigation.
Article
Ecology
Rebecca Lee Molinari, Matthew F. Bekker, Benjamin D. St Clair, Jason Bartholomew, R. Justin DeRose, Stanley G. Kitchen, Samuel B. St. Clair
Summary: This study investigates the effects of shifts in forest composition and proximity between tree species on stand development in mixed forest systems. The results show that as conifer abundance increases, growth rates of aspen decrease, while growth rates of subalpine fir increase when growing near aspen in aspen-dominated stands.
Article
Ecology
Joseph D. Birch, Yoshimitsu Chikamoto, R. J. DeRose, Vinicius Manvailer, E. H. Hogg, Justine Karst, David M. Love, James A. Lutz
Summary: Climate change is causing earlier spring budburst in deciduous temperate trees, increasing their vulnerability to damage from growing season frosts. The study found that over the past 150 years, the occurrence of 'white rings' associated with frost damage accounted for 5-6% of all years, leading to nearly a 40% decline in radial growth of Populus tremuloides.
Review
Forestry
R. Justin DeRose, James N. Long, Kristen M. Waring, Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione, Andrew S. Nelson, Mark R. Nabel
Summary: Silviculture is a dynamic discipline that has been practiced in North America for over a century. It has evolved with changing societal trends and continues to play a crucial role in contemporary resource management. The definition of silviculture has shifted from an art to a combination of art and science, and it is argued that silviculturists need to embrace their artistic skills in order to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions.
JOURNAL OF FORESTRY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vachel A. Carter, Andrea Brunelle, Mitchell J. Power, R. Justin DeRose, Matthew F. Bekker, Isaac Hart, Simon Brewer, Jerry Spangler, Erick Robinson, Mark Abbott, S. Yoshi Maezumi, Brian F. Codding
Summary: Research suggests that climatic conditions play a significant role in wildfire activity in the western United States, but Indigenous farming practices have also shaped local fire regimes. High fire activity was observed during the peak of prehistoric farming on the plateau, with climate becoming the dominant driver of wildfires after populations abandoned farming practices. This study highlights the influence of Indigenous populations on high-elevation forest fire regimes through land-use practices.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Judson Byrd Finley, Erick Robinson, R. Justin DeRose, Elizabeth Hora
AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Scott M. Frost, Martin E. Alexander, R. Justin DeRose, Michael J. Jenkins