Differential investment in offspring has been reported for many mammals, often in the context of the Trivers–
Willard model of male-biased investment, but evidence of differential investment in pronghorns (Antilocapra
americana) is largely lacking. We assessed the causes and consequences of different birth masses of littermate
fawns in a pronghorn...
We examined the nest-tree preferences of northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) in an old-growth,
mixed-conifer and red fir (Abies magnifica) forest of the southern Sierra Nevada of California. We tracked 27
individuals to 122 nest trees during 3 summers. Flying squirrels selected nest trees that were larger in diameter
and...
In-line, optical sensing has been developed for on-combine measurement and mapping of grain protein concentration (GPC). The objective of this study was to estimate changes in costs and net returns from using this technology for segregation of the dark northern spring (DNS) subclass of hard red wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)...
Two myxozoan species were observed in the kidney of topsmelt, Atherinops affinis, during a survey of parasites of estuarine fishes in the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, California. Fish collected on 3 dates in 2012 and 2013 were sectioned and examined histologically. Large extrasporogonic stages occurred in the renal interstitium of...
Severity rating systems are fundamental to understanding the impacts of disturbance agents in forest stands. The balsam woolly adelgid (BWA), Adelges piceae (Ratzeburg) (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), is an invasive forest pest in North America that infests and causes mortality in true fir, Abies spp. There is currently no single system for...
Forests play a critical role sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide, partially offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, and thereby mitigating climate change. Forest management, natural disturbances, and the fate of carbon in wood products strongly influence carbon sequestration and emissions in the forest sector. Government policies, carbon offset and trading programs, and sustainable...
Collaborations between tribal and nontribal organizations bring diverse communities together, often for the first time, to educate and learn, to address misinterpretations of the past, and to share cultural resources and knowledge. By examining data obtained through a nationally distributed survey, this research explores how successful partnerships between tribal and...
Silvicultural strategies such as thinning may minimize productivity losses from a variety of forest disturbances, including forest insects. This study analyzed the 10-year postthinning response of stands and individual trees in thinned white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) plantations in northern Minnesota, USA, with light to moderate defoliation from eastern...
Most forest managers would agree that soils are a fundamental resource of forestlands, yet many planning and management decisions continue to be made without a detailed and spatially explicit understanding of this unique and vital resource. We discuss the value of soil data and interpretations in forest planning. We emphasize...
Tree biomass is typically estimated using statistical models. This review highlights five limitations of most tree biomass models, which include the following: (1) biomass data are costly to collect and alternative sampling methods are used; (2) belowground data and models are generally lacking; (3) models are often developed from small...
Understanding the local context that shapes collective response to wildfire risk continues to be a challenge for scientists and policymakers. This study utilizes and expands on a conceptual approach for understanding adaptive capacity to wildfire in a comparison of 18 past case studies. The intent is to determine whether comparison...
Ceratonova gasterostea n. gen. n. sp. is described from the intestine of freshwater Gasterosteus aculeatus L. from the Klamath River, California. Myxospores are arcuate, 22.4 +/- 2.6 μm thick, 5.2 +/- 0.4 μm long, posterior angle 45 +/- 24°, with 2 sub-spherical polar capsules, diameter 2.3 +/- 0.2 μm, which...
A study was conducted to identify geographical variation in loblolly pine bark and wood properties at the whole-tree level and to quantify the responses in whole-tree
bark and wood properties following contrasting silvicultural practices that included planting density, weed control, and fertilization. Trees were destructively sampled from
both conventionally managed...
We examined natural regeneration following operational-scale variable density retention treatments in 40-60 year old Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) forests at seven sites for a decade following treatment. Treatments included residual overstory densities of 300, 200, and 100 trees/ha, with leave islands and gaps of three sizes (0.1, 0.2, and...
The Northwest Archivists (NWA), a regional archival association in the Pacific Northwest, established a formal mentoring program in 2007. A pilot phase of the program ran for 2 years and included both formative and summative assessments from participants. This case study documents NWA’s experiences designing and managing a mentoring program...
We examined the potential of using upslope density management to influence growth and drought tolerance of trees in untreated downslope riparian forests. Increment cores from Douglas-fir trees in three mature stands in western Oregon, USA, were collected and measured. Trees responded to an apparent edge effect up to 15 m...
Mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, is a primary agent of forest disturbance in western North America. Episodic outbreaks occur at the convergence
of favorable forest age and size class structure and climate patterns. Recent outbreaks have exceeded the historic range of variability of D. ponderosae-caused tree
mortality affecting ecosystem...
In coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest, young coniferous plantations typically contain a mixture of planted and natural Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). Swiss needle cast (SNC) disease inhibits the growth of Douglas-fir to varying degrees in these stands, depending on SNC severity. In addition to the...
Contamination of newly planted bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) varieties by undesirable off-type bermudagrass genotypes is an
ever increasing concern for turf managers because selective control options are limited. In 2009, a sethoxydim {2-[1-(ethoxyimino)butyl]-5-[2-(ethylthio)propyl]-3-hydroxy-2-cyclohexen-1-one} tolerant bermudagrass genotype (93-175) was identified during
herbicide screening at the University of Georgia in Tifton. The objective...
A substantial portion of the carbon (C) emitted by human activity is apparently being stored in forest ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere, but the magnitude
and cause are not precisely understood. Current official estimates of forest C flux are based on a combination of field measurements and other methods. The...
Small-area estimation (SAE) is a concept that has considerable potential for precise estimation of forest ecosystem attributes in partitioned forest populations. In this study, several estimators were compared as SAE techniques for 12 counties in the northern Oregon Coast range. The estimators that were compared consisted of three indirect estimators,...
Stream temperatures were monitored on seven low-elevation western Oregon streams immediately after clearcut harvesting and 14-17 years later in two studies that examined buffer designs. One study on four streams used no-tree buffers with all trees next to the stream harvested within the clearcut units. The second study on three...
Abstract: Myxobolus squamalis is a myxozoan skin parasite first reported from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Identification of the parasite based on myxospore morphology is unreliable because M. squamalis is similar to several other myxobolids that share host species and geographic ranges. The only ssrRNA gene sequence available for M. squamalis...
Parasite distributions fundamentally depend on the distributions of their hosts but may be more restricted than their hosts. Host-parasite symbioses tend to be spatially aggregated, and widely distributed host-parasite relationships are rare. Here, we combine field observations with published collection data to document the current known distribution of the nematode,...
Many land managers in the Pacific Northwest have the goal of increasing late-successional forest structures. Despite the documented importance of Douglas-fir tree bark structure in forested ecosystems, little is known about factors influencing bark development and how foresters can manage development. This study investigated the relative importance of tree size,...
US forestlands are increasingly subject to disturbances including wildfire, insects and disease, and urban and exurban development. Devising strategies for addressing these "forest threats" depends on anticipating where individual disturbances are most likely and where they might occur in combination. However, many spatial data sets describing forest threats are produced...
We investigated the potential use of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to predict key wood fiber properties from extrinsic indicators in lodgepole pine leading forest stands located in the foothills of central Alberta, Canada. Six wood fiber attributes (wood density, cell perimeter, cell coarseness, mature fiber length, microfibril...
n-Tree distance sampling (NTDS), also known as k-tree sampling and point-to-tree sampling, has been promoted as a practical method for forest inventory. This simulation study evaluated the performance of three NTDS estimators, as compared with fixed plot sampling and horizontal point sampling, for estimating density and basal area in headwater...
Metacercariae of an unidentified species of Apophallus Luhe, 1909 are associated with overwinter mortality in coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum, 1792), in the West Fork Smith River, Oregon. We infected chicks with these metacercariae in order to identify the species. The average size of adult worms was 197 x 57...
Translating research advances to natural systems using experimental laboratory studies is often difficult because of the variability between the natural environment and experimental conditions. Because environmental conditions have a large effect on an organism's physiology, responses to stressors like nutrient limitation, temperature, oxygen deprivation, predation, and parasite/pathogen infection are likely...
An overview of the 2012 Oregon Tribal Archives Institute published in the Society of American Archivist's newsletter "Archival Outlook" as part of the Jan/Feb 2013 issue, pages 8-9 and 26.
The forest industry is constantly changing, and technology is constantly shifting the bar for efficiency and profitability. To maintain competitiveness and control costs in a global market, an efficient log tracking method must be used by regional stakeholders in the log supply chain from stump to mill to end consumer....
Reliable measures of canopy cover are important in the management of public and private forests. However, direct sampling of canopy cover is both labor- and time-intensive. More efficient methods for estimating percent canopy cover could be empirically derived relationships between more readily measured stand attributes and canopy cover or, alternatively,...
Previous studies have demonstrated that light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-derived variables can be used to model forest yield variables, such as biomass, volume, and number of stems. However, the next step is underrepresented in the literature: estimation of forest yield with appropriate confidence intervals. It is of great importance that...
A stand of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) severely affected by Armillaria root disease was treated with five different levels of sanitation by root removal to reduce root disease losses in the regenerating stand. Treatments included the following: (1) all trees pushed over by machine, maximum removal of roots by machine...
Snags and hardwoods contribute to biological, structural, and functional diversity in old-growth forests. In the US Pacific Northwest, only general knowledge about regional patterns is available to determine target density of snags and hardwood trees. To investigate their variability at relevant scales for silviculture, we examined snag and hardwood densities...
Foresters face new and evolving challenges as society reconsiders the balance of its interests between wood production and the provision of ecosystem services in the management of forests. Whatever paths this process may take, sound and broad-based decisions will continue to require accurate and relevant measurements of current forest conditions...
Two techniques widely recommended for managing Port-Orford-cedar root disease (caused by the introduced pathogen Phytophthora lateralis) are vehicle washing and roadside sanitation. However, their effectiveness has never been tested using a sample-based approach. Vehicle washing effectiveness was evaluated using Port-Orford-cedar seedling baits and a double-washing method. Washing with water can...
Policymakers are examining a wide range of alternatives for climate change mitigation, including carbon offset sales programs, to enhance sequestration in the forest sector. Under an offset sales program, on-the-ground forestry could change as a result of both afforestation and modifications in the management of existing forests. These effects could...
Water temperature influences almost every biological and physiological process of salmon, including disease resistance. In the Klamath River (California), current thermal conditions are considered sub-optimal for juvenile salmon. In addition to borderline temperatures, these fish must contend with the myxozoan parasite Ceratomyxa shasta, a significant cause of juvenile salmonid mortality...
We are conducting studies on the impacts of parasites on Oregon coastal coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kistuch). An essential first step is documenting the geographic distribution of infections, which may be accomplished by using different methods for parasite detection. Thus, the objectives of the current study were to (1) identify parasite...
This research examines the effect of recent landownership changes and new management stewardship mechanisms (e.g., forest certification and working forest conservation easements) on disturbance rates in Maine forests. We quantify forest disturbance rates between 2000 and 2007 and forest cover type composition in 2007, as detected by Landsat Thematic Mapper...
The species self-thinning boundary line has been widely analyzed with a variety of statistical techniques. Most previous studies in the forestry literature have reported that the relationship does not differ across a range of stand and site factors, but these studies have primarily used statistical techniques that make model fitting...
Understory vegetation communities are critical components of forest ecosystems. As a result, the importance of modeling understory vegetation characteristics in forested landscapes has become more apparent. Abundance measures such as shrub cover are bounded between 0 and 1, exhibit heteroscedastic error variance, and are often subject to spatial dependence. These...
Conifer crowns can be highly variable both within and between trees, particularly with respect to foliage biomass and leaf area. A variety of sampling schemes have been used to estimate biomass and leaf area at the individual tree and stand scales. Rarely has the effectiveness of these sampling schemes been...
Three sets of linear models were developed to predict several forest attributes, using stand-level and single-tree remote sensing (STRS) light detection and ranging (LiDAR) metrics as predictor variables. The first used only area-level metrics (ALM) associated with first-return height distribution, percentage of cover, and canopy transparency. The second alternative included...
Selected tree height and diameter functions were evaluated for their predictive abilities for major tree species of southwest Oregon. Two sets of equations were evaluated. The first set included four base equations for estimating height as a function of individual tree diameter, and the remaining 16 equations enhanced the four...
Information on current forest condition is essential to assess and characterize resources and to support resource management and policy decisions. The 1998 Farm Bill mandates the US Forest Service to conduct annual inventories to provide annual updates of each state's forest. In annual inventories, the sample size of I year...
Forest measurement and biometrics (FMB) programs have been at the heart of forestry education in North America since its beginnings at the Biltmore Forest School more than 100 years ago. Over the intervening period, the field of forestry has changed in critical ways. There are many forest management and policy...
Airborne laser scanning, collected in a sampling mode, has the potential to be a valuable tool for estimating the biomass resources available to support bioenergy production in rural communities of interior Alaska. In this study, we present a methodology for estimating forest biomass over a 201,226-ha area (of which 163,913...