Article
Forestry
Cathryn H. Greenberg
Summary: This study evaluates the long-term impact of hurricanes on eastern temperate forests, revealing that heavy mortality caused by wind disturbances is unevenly distributed among species, particularly affecting scarlet and black oak. After 21 years, changes in forest structure and relative species importance were observed.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Geology
Chilisa M. Shorten, Paul G. Fitzgerald
Summary: This study utilizes multi-kinetic inverse thermal modeling to constrain the cooling and exhumation history of the Catskill Mountains (New York, USA) through apatite fission-track thermochronology and apatite (U-Th)/He data. By examining three cooling phases - from Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (1-3 °C/m.y.), Early Cretaceous to early Miocene (-0.5 °C/m.y.), and since Miocene times (1-2 °C/m.y.), correlations between episodic cooling phases and geologic processes such as tectonic uplift are revealed.
Article
Forestry
Matthew C. Vaughan, Donald L. Hagan, William C. Bridges, Kyle Barrett, Steve Norman, T. Adam Coates, Rob Klein
Summary: The study found that extending the use of prescribed fire into the early growing season in southern Appalachian forests can effectively reduce shrub density in the midstory and decrease red maple tree density, thereby promoting forest restoration objectives.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jordan R. Stark, Jason D. Fridley
Summary: This study demonstrates the use of low-cost custom sensors to create a large monitoring network of soil moisture content across Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The study found that elevation was the strongest factor associated with soil moisture, and slope angle played a significant mediating role. The results indicate that establishing extensive soil moisture monitoring networks is practical and important.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Quresh S. Latif, Jonathan G. Dudley, Matthew A. Dresser, Denise Pengeroth, Victoria A. Saab
Summary: This study found that snags formed after trees were infested by bark beetles can persist for a relatively long time, providing nesting and foraging opportunities for woodpeckers and other wildlife. The persistence of snags is influenced by environmental factors such as diameter at breast height, age, broken-top condition, topography, and tree density. This research is important for helping forest managers identify snags that are most likely to persist and provide extended habitat value for woodpeckers.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Qianna Xu, Xian Yang, Jian Song, Jingyi Ru, Jianyang Xia, Shaopeng Wang, Shiqiang Wan, Lin Jiang
Summary: Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment has complex effects on the stability of grassland, decreasing certain aspects while increasing others. Species asynchrony and compositional stability are key factors affecting grassland functional stability.
Article
Forestry
Matthew J. Reilly, Steven P. Norman, Joseph J. O'Brien, E. Louise Loudermilk
Summary: In 2016, there was a regional outbreak of large wildfires in the southern Appalachian Mountains. These fires were larger and more widespread than previous wildfires in the past three decades. The increase in fire activity can be attributed to land-use changes, loss of native species, and fire exclusion. These wildfires have significant ecological and management implications for the region.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Aidan L. Manning, Adrian Harpold, Adam Csank
Summary: Bark beetles have affected over 58 million acres of coniferous forests in the Western US since 2000. Previous studies on the impact of bark beetle outbreaks on streamflow have shown mixed results, but this study is the first to use an empirical approach to quantify the response of streamflow to spruce beetle kill. The study found that in three out of six beetle impacted basins, annual streamflow increased by 22%-37% for at least three to 6 years after the beetle outbreak.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Gustav B. Seixas, Curt N. Veldhuisen
Summary: Forest management can impact aquatic habitat and water quality through increased landsliding, but it is challenging to differentiate the effects of hydroclimate and land-use practices on landslide rate fluctuations. Our study analyzed landslide inventories in nine small watersheds over several decades and found a peak in landsliding in the 1970s and 1980s, which was not likely due to random variation alone. The analysis showed that unmanaged forests were influenced by regional warm/wet climatic conditions, while landsliding in federally managed forests reduced significantly after clearcut logging cessation in the mid-1990s.
EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Jacob S. Fraser, Lauren S. Pile Knapp, Brad Graham, Michael A. Jenkins, John Kabrick, Michael Saunders, Martin Spetich, Steve Shifley
Summary: Managing old-growth forests and promoting old-growth complexity in aging forests for carbon emissions mitigation has become an important component of diversified land management strategies. Understanding carbon storage potential in old-growth forests across the Central Hardwoods Region (CHR) is crucial for evaluating climate-adaptive management strategies. The study found that old-growth forests on more productive sites in the eastern portion of the CHR stored more aboveground carbon than less productive sites to the west. Over a twenty-year period, old-growth forests in the region accumulated 7% more total aboveground carbon, with varying impacts on different carbon pools.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Codey L. Mathis, Darin J. McNeil Jr., Monica R. Lee, Christina M. Grozinger, David I. King, Clint R. V. Otto, Jeffery L. Larkin
Summary: In regenerating timber harvest sites in Pennsylvania, the abundance of bees and butterflies is positively correlated with floral abundance and negatively correlated with dense vegetation. Pollinator species diversity is positively correlated with floral diversity and forb cover, and negatively correlated with tall sapling cover. The results suggest that regenerating timber harvests promote abundant and diverse pollinator communities in the Appalachian Mountains, but pollinator abundance declines quickly as woody stems regenerate.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Charles C. Rhoades, Timothy S. Fegel, Robert M. Hubbard, Marin E. Chambers
Summary: Serotinous cones play an important role in the resilience of lodgepole pine forests. Despite the high mortality caused by crown fires and bark beetle outbreaks, serotinous cones can provide viable seeds for regeneration in burned areas, although the germination rate decreases with cone age.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lukasz Pawlik, Sandy P. Harrison
Summary: This study utilized machine learning techniques to analyze the forest damage caused by windstorms in the Sudety Mountains from 2004 to 2010. The results showed that tree volume and age were the most important predictors of windstorm damage, while climate and geomorphic variables were less important. Gradient boosted modelling and random forest performed the best in terms of predictive power.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Bohdan Konopka, Vladimir Seben, Katarina Merganicova
Summary: The research focused on the impact of post-disturbance management on subsequent forest stands in the High Tatra Mountains in Slovakia. Differentiated post-disturbance management resulted in higher tree densities, larger trees, and greater tree species richness in salvaged areas, while unsalvaged areas showed more dominance of Norway spruce.
Article
Forestry
Donald S. Ross, Meghan E. Knowles
Summary: Harvesting activities can affect forest floor carbon pools, and the impact depends on the intensity of the harvest. A study was conducted in Vermont, USA to examine the effects of partial harvesting on the forest floor. The results showed that partial harvesting did not significantly alter the carbon stock, but there were changes in thickness and density of the forest floor.