Download or read book A Range Wide Restoration Strategy for Whitebark Pine Pinus Albicaulis written by U.s. Department of Agriculture and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2012-10-19 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) forests are declining across most of their range in North America because of the combined effects of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks, fire exclusion policies, and the exotic pathogen Cronartium ribicola, which infects five-needle white pines and causes the disease white pine blister rust. The loss of this high-elevation tree species poses serious consequences for upper subalpine ecosystems, both in terms of impacts on biodiversity and losses in ecosystem processes; whitebark pine is now a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Large, nutritious seeds produced by whitebark pine are an important food for many bird and small mammal species, as well as grizzly (Ursus arctos horribilis) and black bears (Ursus americanus), and whitebark pine communities provide habitat for many additional wildlife species. Whitebark pine seed dispersal by Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) combined with hardy seedlings results in early whitebark pine community development after fire and other disturbances; whitebark pine seedlings survive on harsh, arid sites and may act as nurse trees to less hardy conifers and vegetation. Whitebark pine at higher elevations, where it is common in many regions, helps regulate snow melt and reduce soil erosion. For these collective functions, whitebark pine is considered both a keystone species for promoting community diversity and a foundation species for promoting community stability. Since more than 90 percent of whitebark pine forests exist on public land in the United States and Canada, it is important that government natural resource management agencies play an important role in ensuring future presence of this tree species by initiating concerted, coordinated, and comprehensive restoration efforts. This is best accomplished through a coordinated, trans-boundary restoration strategy that includes shared infrastructure and expertise for conserving seeds, growing blister rust-resistant seedlings, protecting trees, restoring ecosystem processes, and promoting natural regeneration. We detail a multi-scale strategy for restoring whitebark pine across its range in the western United States and Canada. The strategy was compiled by researchers, land managers, and resource specialists for use as a reference for prioritizing, designing, and implementing successful whitebark pine restoration activities across many scales from stands to landscapes to its entire range. The whitebark pine restoration strategy consists of the following principles: (1) promote rust resistance, (2) conserve genetic diversity, (3) save seed sources, and (4) employ restoration treatments. These guiding principles are then used to implement the whitebark pine restoration strategy using a set of possible actions: 1. assess condition, 2. plan activities, 3. reduce pest impacts, 4. gather seed, 5. grow seedlings, 6. protect seed sources, 7. implement restoration treatments, 8. plant burned areas, 9. support research, and 10. monitor activities. The strategy is also organized by six spatial scales of analysis and organization: 1. range-wide, 2. region (National Forest Region or Provincial Regions), 3. forest (National Forest, National Park, and Canadian Forest District), 4. landscape (watershed or landform), 5. stand, and 6. tree. At each scale, we present four important factors in the restoration strategy: (1) assessment, (2) restoration actions, (3) management concerns, and (4) an example. Strategic restoration plans are presented for the coarse-scale strategies, while illustrated examples are presented for the finer scales (tree, stand, and landscape).

Download or read book A Range Wide Restoration Strategy for Whitebark Pine Pinus Albicaulis written by United States Department of Agriculture and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-13 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), an important component of western highelevation forests, has been declining in both the United States and Canada since the early Twentieth Century from the combined effects of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks, fire exclusion policies, and the spread of the exotic disease white pine blister rust (caused by the pathogen Cronartium ribicola). The pine is now a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Within the last decade, with major surges of pine beetle and increasing damage and mortality from blister rust, the cumulative whitebark pine losses have altered high-elevation community composition and ecosystem processes in many regions.

Download or read book Whitebark Pine Communities written by Diana F. Tomback and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whitebark pine is a dominant feature of western high-mountain regions, offering an important source of food and high-quality habitat for species ranging from Clark's nutcracker to the grizzly bear. But in the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada, much of the whitebark pine is disappearing. Why is a high-mountain species found in places rarely disturbed by humans in trouble? And what can be done about it.Whitebark Pine Communities addresses those questions, explaining how a combination of altered fire regimes and fungal infestation is leading to a rapid decline of this once abundant -- and ecologically vital -- species. Leading experts in the field explain what is known about whitebark pine communities and their ecological value, examine its precarious situation, and present the state of knowledge concerning restoration alternatives. The book. presents an overview of the ecology and status of whitebark pine communities offers a basic understanding of whitebark pine taxonomy, distribution, and ecology, including environmental tolerances, community disturbance processes, regeneration processes, species interactions, and genetic population structure identifies the threats to whitebark pine communities explains the need for management intervention surveys the extent of impact and losses to dateMore importantly, the book clearly shows that the knowledge and management tools are available to restore whitebark pine communities both locally and on a significant scale regionally, and it provides specific information about what actions can and must be taken.Whitebark Pine Communities offers a detailed portrait of the ecology of whitebark pine communities and the current threats to them. It brings together leading experts to provide in-depth information on research needs, management approaches, and restoration activities, and will be essential reading for ecologists, land managers, and anyone concerned with the health of forest ecosystems in the western United States.

Download or read book Management Guide to Ecosystem Restoration Treatments written by Robert Keane and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-13 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) forests are declining across most of their range in North America because of the combined effects of three factors: (1) several major mountain pine beetle epidemics that occurred over the last 70 years, (2) an extensive and successful fire exclusion management policy, and (3) extensive infections of the exotic white pine blister rust fungus (Cronartium ribicola). The loss of whitebark pine is serious for upper subalpine ecosystems because it is considered a keystone species across most of its range, producing large seeds that are an important food source for more than 110 animal species.

Download or read book Climate Actions written by Brenda Groskinsky and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2022-03-15 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a diverse set of solid concerted strategies in the development and implementation of specific "climate actions," in natural and built places where we all live. The book also serves as a conduit of knowledge for those who are unsure on how they can make a difference for their families, their communities, and the natural places that surround them. Through many actionable examples of mitigation efforts for the ever-present effects of climate change, especially for those who may not understand the wide range of climate action opportunities that are available. Scientists, academics, and community leaders, will find concrete examples on how they too, can develop and implement climate action solutions.

Download or read book Biodiversity and Conservation in Forests written by Diana F. Tomback and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2019-01-18 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Biodiversity and Conservation in Forests" that was published in Forests

Download or read book Assessment of Nontimber Forest Products in the United States Under Changing Conditions written by James L. Chamberlain and published by Forest Service. This book was released on 2018-08-24 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nontimber forest products (NTFPs) are fundamental to the functioning of healthy forests and play vital roles in the cultures and economies of the people of the United States. However, these plants and fungi used for food, medicine, and other purposes have not been fully incorporated into management, policy, and resource valuation. This report is a forest-sectorwide assessment of the state of the knowledge regarding NTFPs science and management information for U.S. forests and rangelands (and hereafter referred to as the NTFP assessment). The NTFP assessment serves as a baseline science synthesis and provides information for managing nontimber forest resources in the United States. In addition, this NTFP assessment provides information for national-level reporting on natural capital and the ecosystem services NTFPs provide. The report also provides technical input to the 2017 National Climate Assessment (NCA) under development by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).

Download or read book Evolutionary Dynamics of Plant Pathogen Interactions written by Jeremy J. Burdon and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-31 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A broad view of plant-pathogen interactions illustrating the fundamental reciprocal role pathogens and hosts play in shaping each other's ecology and evolution.

Download or read book Why Birds Matter written by Çagan H. Sekercioglu and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-08-24 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Explore[s] the role of birds in such important ecological dynamics as scavenging, nutrient cycling, food chains, and plant-animal interactions-- all seen through the lens of human well-being. ... The contributors show that quantifying avian ecosystem services is crucial when formulating contemporary conservation strategies."--Back cover.

Download or read book Climate Change in Wildlands written by Andrew J Hansen and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientists have been warning for years that human activity is heating up the planet and climate change is under way. We are only just beginning to acknowledge the serious effects this will have on all life on Earth. The federal government is crafting broad-scale strategies to protect wildland ecosystems from the worst effects of climate change. One of the greatest challenges is to get the latest science into the hands of resource managers entrusted with vulnerable wildland ecosystems. This book examines climate and land-use changes in montane environments, assesses the vulnerability of species and ecosystems to these changes, and provides resource managers with collaborative management approaches to mitigate expected impacts. Climate Change in Wildlands proposes a new kind of collaboration between scientists and managers--a science-derived framework and common-sense approaches for keeping parks and protected areas healthy on a rapidly changing planet.

Download or read book Ecological Forest Management written by Jerry F. Franklin and published by Waveland Press. This book was released on 2018-03-19 with total page 646 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fundamental changes have occurred in all aspects of forestry over the last 50 years, including the underlying science, societal expectations of forests and their management, and the evolution of a globalized economy. This textbook is an effort to comprehensively integrate this new knowledge of forest ecosystems and human concerns and needs into a management philosophy that is applicable to the vast majority of global forest lands. Ecological forest management (EFM) is focused on policies and practices that maintain the integrity of forest ecosystems while achieving environmental, economic, and cultural goals of human societies. EFM uses natural ecological models as its basis contrasting it with modern production forestry, which is based on agronomic models and constrained by required return-on-investment. Sections of the book consider: 1) Basic concepts related to forest ecosystems and silviculture based on natural models; 2) Social and political foundations of forestry, including law, economics, and social acceptability; 3) Important current topics including wildfire, biological diversity, and climate change; and 4) Forest planning in an uncertain world from small privately-owned lands to large public ownerships. The book concludes with an overview of how EFM can contribute to resolving major 21st century issues in forestry, including sustaining forest dependent societies.

Download or read book The Quiet Extinction written by Kara Rogers and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2015-10-22 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Quiet Extinction explores the reasons many of our native plants are disappearing, noting their significance to the continent's natural heritage. Kara Rogers captures the excitement of their discovery, the tragedy that has come to define their existence, and the remarkable efforts underway to save them.

Download or read book Climate Change and Rocky Mountain Ecosystems written by Jessica Halofsky and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-07-19 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the result of a team of approximately 100 scientists and resource managers who worked together for two years to understand the effects of climatic variability and change on water resources, fisheries, forest vegetation, non-forest vegetation, wildlife, recreation, cultural resources and ecosystem services. Adaptation options, both strategic and tactical, were developed for each resource area. This information is now being applied in the northern rocky Mountains to ensure long-term sustainability in resource conditions. The volume chapters provide a technical assessment of the effects of climatic variability and change on natural and cultural resources, based on best available science, including new analyses obtained through modeling and synthesis of existing data. Each chapter also contains a summary of adaptation strategies (general) and tactics (on-the-ground actions) that have been developed by science-management teams.

Download or read book The Least Cost Path From Landscape Genetics to Landscape Genomics written by Samuel A. Cushman and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2018-08-03 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecosystems are the stage on which the play of evolution is acted, and ecosystems are complex, spatially structured and temporally varying. The purpose of this Research Topic is to explore critical challenges and opportunities for the transition from landscape genetics to landscape genomics. Landscape genetics has focused on the spatial analysis of small genetic datasets, typically comprised of less than 20 microsatellite markers, taken from clusters of individuals in putative populations or distributed individuals across landscapes. The recent emergence of large scale genomic datasets produced by next generation sequencing methods poses tremendous challenge and opportunity to the field. Perhaps the greatest is to produce, process, curate, archive and analyze spatially referenced genomic datasets in a way such that research is led by a priori hypotheses regarding how environmental heterogeneity and temporal dynamics interact to affect gene flow and selection. The papers in the Research Topic cover a broad range of topics under this area of focus, from reviews of the emergence of landscape genetics, to best practices in spatial analysis of genetic data. The compilation, like the emerging field itself, is eclectic and illustrates the scope of both the challenges and opportunities of this emerging field.

Download or read book A World to Live In written by G. M. Woodwell and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2016-02-26 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A scientist makes a powerful case that preservation of the integrity of the biosphere is a necessity and an inviolable human right. A century of industrial development is the briefest of moments in the half billion years of the earth's evolution. And yet our current era has brought greater changes to the earth than any period in human history. The biosphere, the globe's life-giving envelope of air and climate, has been changed irreparably. In A World to Live In, the distinguished ecologist George Woodwell shows that the biosphere is now a global human protectorate and that its integrity of structure and function are tied closely to the human future. The earth is a living system, Woodwell explains, and its stability is threatened by human disruption. Industry dumps its waste globally and makes a profit from it, invading the global commons; corporate interests overpower weak or nonexistent governmental protection to plunder the planet. The fossil fuels industry offers the most dramatic example of environmental destruction, disseminating the heat-trapping gases that are now warming the earth and changing the climate forever. The assumption that we can continue to use fossil fuels and “adapt” to climate disruption, Woodwell argues, is a ticket to catastrophe. But Woodwell points the way toward a solution. We must respect the full range of life on earth—not species alone, but their natural communities of plant and animal life that have built, and still maintain, the biosphere. We must recognize that the earth's living systems are our heritage and that the preservation of the integrity of a finite biosphere is a necessity and an inviolable human right.

Download or read book Alpine and Polar Treelines in a Changing Environment written by Gerhard Wieser and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2020-04-09 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concerns have been raised with respect to the state of high-altitude and high-latitude treelines, as they are anticipated to undergo considerable modifications due to global changes, and especially due to climate warming. As high-elevation treelines are temperature-limited vegetation boundaries, they are considered to be sensitive to climate warming. As a consequence, in this future, warmer environment, an upward migration of treelines is expected because low air and root-zone temperatures constrain their regeneration and growth. Despite the ubiquity of climate warming, treeline advancement is not a worldwide phenomenon: some treelines have been advancing rapidly, others have responded sluggishly or have remained stable. This variation in responses is attributed to the potential interaction of a continuum of site-related factors that may lead to the occurrence of locally conditioned temperature patterns. Competition amongst species and below-ground resources have been suggested as additional factors explaining the variability in the movement of treelines. This Special Issue (book) is dedicated to the discussion of treeline responses to changing environmental conditions in different areas around the globe.

Download or read book Conifers of California written by Ronald M. Lanner and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: