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Browse subject: forest products
Number of records: 1320

European Forest Institute
About this Resource: The European Forest Institute's (EFI) mission is to conduct, promote and cooperate in the research of forests, forestry and forest products at the pan-European level, and to make the results of the research known to all interested parties, notably in the areas of policy formulation and implementation, in order to promote the conservation and management of forests for producing goods and services in a sustainable way. The website divides into three sections. EFI describes its' organization, its' activities, and offers a news service. Research emphasis concentrates on: forest ecology and management; forest products; markets and socioeconomics; policy analysis, forest resources and information. EFI is currently advancing seven database services from this website; while most is open, certain parts may be limited to EFI members and partners. These services include: EFIDAS (the European Forestry Information and Data Analysis System); EFISCEN (the EFI Forest SCENario Project); DFDE (the Database of Forest Disturbances in Europe); the Database on Forest Capacities in 18 European Countries; CIS (the Certification Information Service); the Forest Research Network; FINE (the Forest Information Services Network for Europe) and EFIS (the European Forest Information System). EFI offers details on publications; mostly descriptive, pointers identify: research reports, working papers, proceedings, discussion reports, internal papers and related documents.

Minnesota Division of Forestry
About this Resource: The Minnesota Division of Forestry works to sustain and enhance functioning forest ecosystems, to provide a sustainable supply of forest resources, and to protect lives and property from wildfire. The site provides information about tree care and management, forest fire, forest insects and disease, utilization and marketing, forest certification, and their partner programs. There are links to state forests, state forest nurseries, forestry education, timber harvesting, a timber auction sales calendar, subsection forest resource management planning, community forestry, forestry region and area offices, a fire management section, and a forest management section.

North Dakota Forest Service
About this Resource: The site provides information about the North Dakota Forest Service, community forestry, fire management, forest resource management, education information, state forests, sustainable forestry, and funding opportunities. There are links to the Towner State Nursery, a personnel directory, a page of related links, North Dakota State University, North Dakota Tree Information Center, and USDA Forest Service.

Certified Forest Products Council
About this Resource: This site introduces the concept of forest certification, provides information on the major certification programs around the world and describes the markets for certified wood products. Using the FCRC's search tool, suppliers and buyers can access a database of more than 800 certified forests throughout the world, and more than 4,500 certified locations supplying wood and paper products.

Forest Resource Environmental Educational Network | University of Minnesota
About this Resource: A coalition composed of state and federal agencies that are working with and include the University of Minnesota, and various forest product companies in Minnesota; F.R.E.E. (the Forest Environmental Education Network) is facilitating the dissemination of educational information about forest resources and their products. Educational resources are provided for teachers and children. Includes research resources as well.

Tropical Forest Foundation
About this Resource: The TFF is dedicated to the conservation of tropical forests through sustainable forestry. The primary focus of the Tropical Forest Foundation is to demonstrate and teach sustainable forest management through Reduced-impact Logging. This website offers users information about the Foundation as well as publications such as newsletters, bulletins, and other reports. The site also gives information about how the industry can help, Reduced-impact Logging, forestry in the future, and their sponsors.

Midsouth veneer log production
About this Resource: Veneer manufacturing is an important segment of the forest industries and 1s increasing in importance every year. Veneer logs are high-valued in comparison with other kinds of logs and bolts, and considerable employment is generated and much value added in their manufacture.

FAO Forestry
About this Resource: This organization focuses on "how to use trees, forests and related resources to improve people's economic, environmental, social and cultural conditions while ensuring that the resource is conserved to meet the needs of future generations." The website provides information about the organization and also about forest management, forest products and services, forest and the environment, people and forests, policy and institutions, sector studies, assessment and monitoring, and interdisciplinary issues. The site also contains forestry department country profiles, an events calendar, a database and library, publication information, and processes information.

Alabama forest industries
About this Resource: Alabama forests supplied 718 million cubic feet of roundwood to forest industries during 1971. Softwoods, mainly pine, made up over seven-tenths of the total. In terms of volume harvested, pulpwood was the leading product, with saw logs second. The two combined accounted for 91 percent of the roundwood produced. These are some of the major findings of a 1971 canvass of all primary forest industries using wood from Alabama.

Pennsylvania Forestry Association
About this Resource: The Pennsylvania Forestry Association (PFA) is the nation's oldest state timber harvesting organization devoted to forest conservation. The website gives information about the Association such as member information, news releases, a calender of events, and scholarships. Also available is information about becoming a member and ordering publications and products online. Links are available to other resources as well.

Mississippi forest industry
About this Resource: Nearly 402 million cubic feet of industrial roundwood were harvested in Mississippi in 1966. This was the largest harvest in a decade. Nearly three-fifths was softwood-mainly pine. Altogether, 305 million cubic feet were processed by the State's forest industries. Some 123 million cubic feet were shipped to surrounding States, while 26 million cubic feet were brought into Mississippi.

Great Lakes Forest Alliance
About this Resource: The Great Lakes Forest Alliance ("The Alliance") is a forum to foster and facilitate cooperative efforts that enhance management and sustainable use of the public and private forest lands in Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario and Wisconsin. The site contains areas about the Alliance, news and events, publications available online, and contact information.

Louisiana forest industries, 1973
About this Resource: Louisiana forests supplied more than 561 million cubic feet of roundwood to forest industries in 1973. Pulpwood and saw logs were the major products, accounting for 79 percent of the harvest. A total of 207 primary wood-using plants were in operation in 1973.

Oklahoma forest industries, 1972
About this Resource: Oklahoma forests supplied more than 64 million cubic feet of roundwood to forest industries in 1972. Pine made up over three-fourths of the total. In terms of volume harvested, saw logs were the leading product, with pulpwood second (fig. 1). The two combined accounted for 79 percent of the roundwood produced. Veneer logs added 11 percent and posts made up more than half the remainder. A total of 118 wood-using plants were in operation.

Forest Policy and Environment Programme (ODI)
About this Resource: The FPEP is a product of the Overseas Development Institute and focuses on policy in tropical forest districts. The website discusses the research being done and the people involved with it. The site also provides news, network information, publication information and ordering, and links to other related sites.

Ministere des Ressources naturelles et de la Fauna - Highlights on the Forests
About this Resource: The site provides information on the forests of Quebec. There are links to newsletters, publications, the Real Estate Refund Program, annual forest management plans, and a press room. There is information on their several online products and links to maps, forms, permits, programs, publications, laws and regulations. The site also provides links to information and programs regarding wildlife, energy, mines, territory, and land survey.

Finnish Forest Research Institute
About this Resource: Established in 1917, the Finish Forest Research Institute (Metla) is a signifigant resource realtive to Finland's forests. The website accomodates both English and Finish speaking audiences. Metla provides organizational background for site visitors, with staff introductions and descriptions of research, experiments, services and products. The Institute is making its' publications accessible in full-text and there is an explanation of the METINFO services. A sitemap faciliates site navigation and Metla places emphasis on currency by highlighting news items. The Finnish Forest Research Institute reports to Finland's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The journal "Silva Fennica" is full-text accessible - beginning in 1998 (with pdf formatting), abstracts date back to 1994. The "Working Papers of the Finnish Research Institute" was launched in 2004.

Pacific Forestry Centre
About this Resource: The Pacific Forestry Centre focuses on research in forest biology and forest resources. This includes research in remote sensing, biological control of weeds and insects, insect and disease management, alternative silvicultural systems, timber production, fire management, and ecosystem dynamics. Their website provides information about their research as well as information about related programs, policies, and publications.

Canadian Forest Industries
About this Resource: Canadian Forest Industries focuses on leading edge technology as it is applied in the most remote sites from British Columbia to Newfoundland. Some featured articles are available from the current issue online. Free Subscriptions are available to Canadian individuals or businesses involved in logging companies & logging contractors, woodlands department of pulp & paper company including pulpwood contractors, combined logging and sawmill, truck hauling, equipment manufacturer, dealer or distributor and others aligned to the forest industry. A form is available online to order a paying subscription.

National Hardwood Lumber Association
About this Resource: The NHLA strives to serve members in the North American hardwood lumber industry by maintaining structure in the hardwood marketplace, by providing member services, by assuring sustainable and available sawtimber, and by building relationships within the hardwood community. The website provides links to lumber inspection services, an inspection school, forest resources, an online catalog, and information about heat treatment, government affairs, and the annual convention. There are also links to a member directory, North American hardwood exporters, an events calendar, and information about lumber referrals, jobs, and NHLA news.

Arkansas forest industries, 1971
About this Resource: Arkansas forests supplied more than 451 million cubic feet of roundwood to forest industries in 1971. Softwoods, mainly pine, made up more than two-thirds of the total. The timber harvest increased 15 percent during the years 1969-1971, while the number of primary wood-using plants decreased. Saw logs and pulpwood comprised 83 percent of the roundwood. Veneer logs made up over 9 percent, with more than half of the remainder going into poles and charcoal wood. Figure 1 shows recent trends in output of these products.

Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe
About this Resource: The MCPFE is a political initiative that was developed to work towards the protection and sustainable management of forests. The site provides information about the conference and its events and links to publications, documents, conferences, and participants.

Roundtable on Sustainable Forests
About this Resource: The Roundtable's origins are rooted in several decades of dialogue at the domestic and international levels concerning the role and commitment of the U.S. government in sustainable resource management. Knowing this history helps us see how the Roundtable, a process unto itself, is part of a larger and ongoing process of moving toward the goal of sustainable resource management.

Forestry and Biodiversity Conservation and Management
About this Resource: This webpage is part of the Inter-American Development Bank's Sustainable Development Department. It includes background information about the topic, events, news bulletins, links to related sites and publications that are available online.

PP HARVST
About this Resource: Software that simulates the cost of harvesting operations in ponderosa pine plantations for partial cutting or clear cutting for three types of equipment configurations: a cut-to-length harvester-forwarder system, a whole tree/log length skidder system, and a skyline cable system.

Global Forest Information System
About this Resource: GFIS is an Internet gateway to forest information resources from around the world. Users can locate maps, datasets, web resources, journal articles, books and other resources relevant to their forest information needs.","GFIS is an internet gateway that provides access to various types of information resources through partnerships with information providers. GFIS search facilities (in the style of commonly used Internet search facilities), allows the user to locate forest related information through a single entry point based on the different search options.","* An updated version of a previous GFIS metadata search provides users with the ability to search the catalogues of information resources (a total of 130,000 metadata records) provided by GFIS partners. The metadata search allows users to search all metadata fields for specific terms or phrases.","* Browsing is a way of navigating among categories and their subcategories to pinpoint the resources that you want to search. GFIS offers browsing among selected information sources from its partners, organized by key types of resources.","* A GFIS Online resource search service uses the Google Web APIs, which is an experimental and free program. The Google API currently makes it possible to carry out 1,000 queries per day with a maximum of 10 keywords. Each query is confined to one single domain.","To describe the content of this information GFIS uses a standardized metadata format and provides conversion facilities for metadata submitted in other formats. In addition a universally accepted terminology facilitates the search operations and the respective results.

North Carolina Division of Forest Resources
About this Resource: The Division of Forest Resources' primary purpose is to ensure adequate and quality forest resources for the state by providing forest management assistance to private landowners and aiding with reforestation, forest fire prevention and suppression, and insect and disease control. Their website provides information about starting a forest, urban forestry, fire, forest health, and water quality. They also provide access to information about careers, publications, forms and grants. There are links to burning permits, fire weather updates, wildfire updates, and a list of educational state forests.

Forest Value Orientations in Australia: An Application of Computer Content Analysis
About this Resource: This article explores the expression of three forest value orientations that emerged from an analysis of Australian news media discourse about the management of Australian native forests from August 1, 1997 through December 31, 2004. Computer-coded content analysis was used to measure and track the relative importance of commodity, ecological and moral/spiritual/aesthetic forest value orientations. The number of expressions of these forest value orientations followed major events in forest management and policy, with peaks corresponding to finalization of Regional Forest Agreements and conflicts over forest management. Over the time period analyzed, the relative share of commodity value orientation decreased and the shares of the ecological and moral/spiritual/aesthetic value orientations increased. The shifts in forest value orientations highlight the need for native forests to be managed for multiple values and the need for continued monitoring of forest values.

New Zealand Forest Research Institute
About this Resource: The New Zealand Forest Research Institute site contains information about biomaterials and other research projects the institute is working on. The site also provides links to products and services, software, and publications, some of which are free online. Also, there is an area entitled "Targeted Knowledge" where the site discusses specific aspects of forest research.

Forest Statistics for Central Florida - 1970
About this Resource: Since 1959, area of commercial forest in Central Florida has declined from 3.2 to 2.7 million acres, or 16 percent, excluding the reclassification of 1.7 million acres from non-stocked forest to natural rangeland. Some 589,400 acres were actually diverted from commercial forest to other land uses, while only 56,400 acres of new forest were added. Volume of softwood timber has increased by 218 million cubic feet, or 25 percent.Volume of hardwood timber has increased by 146 million cubic feet, or 23 percent. In 1969, net growth of growing stock exceeded removals by an estimated 35 million cubic feet, or 73 percent. Since 1959, over 40 percent of the timber removals have resulted from land clearing where the timber was not used for products.

Forest Inventory and Analysis National Program | USDA-Forest Service
About this Resource: A link to the research and development organization within USDA's forest Service responsible for assessing the America's forests. Presents information that allows site visitors to develop, analyze and maintain forest resource information. The program allows for projections into how the National firest system will appear in the future. Visitors can develop upon specific indices. The website features various tools and databases, data tables and data services. The FIA Library is a source for a publications; fact sheets; briefings; summaries; overviews; scientific papers; presentations; maps and field guides. External links are also online.

Forestscience.info
About this Resource: ForestScience.info is an online information resource for forest and wood science. Subject coverage includes agroforestry, community forestry, forest management, forests, nonwood forest products, and wood technology. The database is updated weekly and contains content from 1939 to the present. The site also includes links to the Global Forest Information Service (GFIS) and BIOME, a guide to resources in health and life sciences. There is a link to the Society of American Foresters homepage and information on the Forestry compendium.

Forest Resources of Tennessee - 1972
About this Resource: This report states the principal findings of a new forest survey of Tennessee. Data for growth and cut are given for 1970, and the inventory is reported for January 1, 1971. A canvass of forest products output in 1970 also contributed information.

Current and Historical Composition and Size Structure of Upland Forests Across a Soil Gradient in North Mississippi
About this Resource: Comparisons of current and historical tree species composition and size structure along natural productivity gradients are useful for inferring effects of disturbance regimes and productivity on patterns of succession. We tabulated occurrences and estimated diameters of 3483 General Land Office bearing trees across 19 survey townships along an upland soil texture and organic matter gradient in north Mississippi. We then contrasted this presettlement composition and structure with that of 2998 trees in sampling plots within present-day mature (>100 years old) upland forests contained within the survey townships. Presettlement upland communities appeared to consist of non-successional communities, in which the most abundant trees were shade-intolerant, fire-tolerant trees (e.g., Quercus marilandica [blackjack oak]) in both large and small size classes across the entire soil gradient. These fire-prone pre-settlement assemblages differed greatly from present-day mature uplands, which were transitional assemblages of upland and floodplain trees, with mesophytic floodplain species (both early and late-successional) dominating the smaller size classes.

A site model for Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) stands using a dynamic algebraic difference equation.
About this Resource: This paper presents a growth model for dominant-height and site-quality estimations for Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) stands. The Bertalanffy-Richards function is used with the generalized algebraic difference approach to derive a dynamic site equation. This allows dominant-height and site-index estimations in a compatible way, using any desirable base age and allowing estimations to be time independent, which are important properties for site models. The database contains all possible height-growth intervals. The model is fitted considering residual autocorrelation, giving more efficient parameter estimates. Finally, the model behavior is analyzed by calculating error statistics from dominant-height and site-index estimations at different ages.

Abundance and productivity of Warbling Vireos across an elevational gradient in the Sierra Nevada
About this Resource: Recent studies have shown that Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus) are declining in California and that these trends are due to low reproductive success. Brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) has been implicated in the low productivity. I explored two hypotheses related to population dynamics of Warbling Vireos along an elevational gradient: (1) potential source populations exist at high elevations where cowbirds are rare, and (2) potential source populations occur in the center of the elevational distribution with less productive populations at upper and lower elevations. From 1985 through 2002 I studied the abundance and productivity of Warbling Vireos over an elevational gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada. Warbling Vireos were most abundant in mid elevation mixed conifer sites, less abundant in lower elevation ponderosa pine sites and upper elevation true fir sites, and rare in upper elevation lodgepole pine sites. Likewise, daily survival rates of nests were highest at mid elevations (approximately 1800 m) and gradually decreased at both higher and lower elevations. Compared to other populations studied in California, nest success in mixed conifer habitat was high (60%, n = 58). Although rates of brood parasitism were high enough to be of concern in low-elevation ponderosa pine forests, cowbird parasitism was not observed in mid- to upper-elevation forests. Warbling Vireos were most productive where they were most abundant. The hypothesis that potential source populations exist at upper elevations did not appear to hold at the upper bounds of the elevational distribution. The results of this study provide support for the hypothesis that potential source populations occur in the center of the elevational distribution, with less productive populations at both lower and higher elevations.

Nova Forest Alliance
About this Resource: The Nova Forest Alliance is a partnership of researchers, landowners, industry, environmentalists, educational institutions, and government who work together to research and promote sustainable forest management. Their website provides information about Nova Forest Alliance projects, committees, and partners as well as information about the Canadian Model Forest Network. There is also a link to the Canadian Model Forest Network's searchable publications database which houses information on hundreds of forestry topics.

Trends Among Family Forest Owners in Alabama, 1994-2004
About this Resource: There are an estimated 432,000 family forest owners in Alabama and they control 67% of the State's forestland. About two-thirds owned less than 10 ac. and about 88% of the family forest owners have holdings of less than 50 ac; collectively, this group of owners with 1-49 ac of forestland own 15% of Alabama's family forestland. The corollary to this finding is that a majority (85%) of the state's family forestland is owned by the minority (12%) of owners who own 50 ac or more. Between 1994 and 2004, the amount of forestland owned by family forest owners with small (less than 10 ac) and large (more than 500 ac) forest holdings increased, while the total area of forestland owned by people with intermediate-size holdings, in general, decreased. Compared with 10 years ago, the number of family forest owners 45-54 years old is higher but they tend to own smaller parcels of forestland. During the same period, the number of owners 65 years or older decreased, but, on average, the size of their holdings increased. Recreation and investments have become more important objectives of ownership, whereas timber production as a primary ownership objective decreases. The probability of an owner having harvested trees, having a management plan, or having sought forest management advice increased as the size of the forest holding increased.

Integrated decision support for sustainable forest management in the United States: fact or fiction
About this Resource: Decision support systems have played a prominent role in the implementation of forest management since the early 1980s. However, whereas early systems were typically designed to address relatively simple management questions, more modern systems are increasingly being called upon to address the challenges posed by issues surrounding forest ecosystem management, sustainable forest management, and adaptive management. This paper considers some of the key requirements as they apply to forestry in the United States, and reviews recent decision support system designs in the United States, considering the extent to which they are satisfying the requirements, and opportunities for their continued evolution. The three systems discussed, NED, LMS, and EMDS, are typical of recent approaches to system design insofar as each has taken an evolutionary approach to system implementation in order to develop effective, integrated decision support for forest management in this new, complex problem domain. On considering the current state of system development for the three systems, it is concluded that significant progress has, in fact, been made in the last few years in providing support for evaluation and planning, although it is equally true that substantial opportunities remain for continued development to support plan implementation and forest ecosystem monitoring.

Western Forestry Leadership Coalition
About this Resource: A state-federal partnership, the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC) is currently the product of a fifty year understanding. WFLC engages State and Territorial Foresters, along with USDA's Forest Service. The Coalition seeks to promote science-based forest manaagement while serving society and ensuring the health and sustainability of western forests. The website features brochures, presenations, issue briefs, reports, research and state fact sheets. An events calendar is also included.

Using glomalin as an indicator for arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphal growth: an example from a tropical rain forest soil.
About this Resource: Glomalin concentrations of extra-radical arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) hyphae were estimated by deploying hyphal in-growth cores containing glomalin-free sand in field soils in a tropical forest and in pot cultures. In field soils, glomalin was 0.044 +/- 0.013 microgram m(-1) hyphae. In pot cultures glomalin concentrations were lower (range 0.0068-0.036 microgram m(-1)), and varied significantly among species. Using this technique, preliminary estimates of extraradical AM hyphal production on Inceptisols were 1.91 Mg ha(-1)yr(-1) and on Oxisol were 1.47 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1), but they could range between 0.9-5.7 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1). These rates of hyphal production are approximately 10% (range 5-33%) of estimated above ground primary production of the forest.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources
About this Resource: The Washington State DNR's responsibilities include protecting and managing state land and protecting public resources through fire prevention and suppression and regulating forest practices. Their website provides information about recreation, fire and natural hazards, education, and employment. They also provide information about product sales, events, publications, programs, and divisions of the Washington State DNR.

Composition and carbon dynamics of forests in northeastern North America in a future, warmer world
About this Resource: Increasing temperatures, precipitation extremes, and other anthropogenic influences (pollutant deposition, increasing carbon dioxide) will influence future forest composition and productivity in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. This synthesis of empirical and modeling studies includes tree DNA evidence suggesting tree migrations since the last glaciation were much slower, at least under postglacial conditions, than is needed to keep up with current and future climate warming. Exceedances of US and Canadian ozone air quality standards are apparent and offset CO2-induced gains in biomass and predispose trees to other stresses. The deposition of nitrogen and sulfate in the northeastern United States changes forest nutrient availability and retention, reduces reproductive success and frost hardiness, causes physical damage to leaf surfaces, and alters performance of forest pests and diseases. These interacting stresses may increase future tree declines and ecosystem disturbances during transition to a warmer climate. Recent modeling work predicts warmer climates will increase suitable habitat (not necessarily actual distribution) for most tree species in the northeastern United States. Species whose habitat is declining in the northeastern United States currently occur in Canadian forests and may expand northward with warming. Paleoecological studies suggest local factors may interact with, even overwhelm, climatic effects, causing lags and thresholds leading to sudden large shifts in vegetation.

Informed multi-objective decision-making in environmental management using Pareto optimality
About this Resource: 1. Effective decision-making in environmental management requires the consideration of multiple objectives that may conflict. Common optimization methods use weights on the multiple objectives to aggregate them into a single value, neglecting valuable insight into the relationships among the objectives in the management problem. 2. We present a multi-objective optimization procedure that approximates the non-dominated Pareto frontier without the use of weightings, allowing for visualization of the trade-offs among objectives. The non-dominated Pareto frontier is approximated by the simultaneous optimization of a vector objective function; two vector objective functions are defined as non-dominated if improvement with respect to one objective is at the detriment of another objective. 3. We demonstrate the method with a case study for the optimum distribution of forest fuels treatments that reduce the impact of fire on a forest. The multiple objectives are to protect habitat of an endangered species, protect late successional forest reserves and minimize the total area treated. In the comparison of three optimization searches, the number of non-dominated solutions increases with the dimensions of the objective space, but with only two objectives the search is ineffective in minimizing fire impact in the different landscape types. Key challenges include the extensive computation time required to approximate the non-dominated set, and reducing the number of solutions that are analysed in detail. 4. Synthesis and applications. The multi-objective optimization program presented can be adapted to other environmental management problems, and easily incorporates a wide range of quantifiable objectives. This tool provides decision-makers with a set of alternatives that estimates the full range of trade-offs among multiple objectives and provides a common ground from which dialogue can come to an informed compromise and decision in environmental management problems.

Canadian Forestry Links
About this Resource: This directory points to links related to Canadian forestry. Organizational links are identified by the following arrangements: government, universities, associations companies and forest publications. The topical indexes relate to: biodiversity, forest genetics, forest products, forest fires, forest management, silviculture, sustainable forestry, soils, insects and disease and geographical information systems.

Plantation Management Intensity Affects Belowground Carbon and Nitrogen Storage in Northern California
About this Resource: Belowground C and N storage is important in maintaining forest productivity and to CO2 sequestration. How these pools respond to management is poorly understood. We investigated effects of repeated applications of complete fertilizer and competing vegetation control with herbicides on C and N storage in forest-floor, fine-root, and mineral-soil C and N pools to 1-m depth at three Pinus ponderosa P. Lawson & C. Lawson var. ponderosa plantations across a site quality gradient in northern California. Belowground C pools without treatment were 66, 153, and 199 Mg C ha-1 for the low-, intermediate-, and high-quality sites, respectively, and N pools were 5.1, 6.7, and 6.5 Mg N ha-1, respectively. Treatments increased tree-bole volume at 20 yr as much as 400%, while changes in C and N pools belowground were less dramatic. Herbicide treatment increased forest-floor C pools 35% at the poorer quality site. Fertilization increased forest-floor C and N storage 46 to 106% at all sites. Fertilization decreased fine-root C pools at 0 to 0.3 m at the most productive site 43% and increased this N pool 43% at the least productive site, but did not influence fine-root pools to 1 m. Fertilization increased mineral-soil C pools on lower quality sites, resulting in 12 to 57% more belowground C storage. At the intermediate site, fertilization increased total belowground N storage 12%. Results of this study suggest that the major sequestration mechanism up to this point in stand development is through gains in tree biomass rather than storage in fine roots and soil belowground.

Poplar plantation has the potential to alter the water balance in semiarid Inner Mongolia
About this Resource: Poplar plantation is the most dominant broadleaf forest type in northern China. Since the mid-1990s plantation was intensified to combat desertification along China's northwestern border, i.e., within Inner Mongolia (IM). This evoked much concern regarding the ecological and environmental effects on areas that naturally grow grass or shrub vegetation. To highlight potential consequences of large-scale poplar plantations on the water budget within semiarid IM, we compared the growing season water balance (evapotranspiration (ET) and precipitation (PPT)) of a 3-yr old poplar plantation (Kp₃) and a natural shrubland (Ks) in the Kubuqi Desert in western IM, and a 6-yr old poplar plantation (Bp₆) growing under sub-humid climate near Beijing. The results showed that, despite 33% lower PPT at Kp₃, ET was 2% higher at Kp₃ (228 mm) as compared with Ks (223 mm) in May-September 2006. The difference derived mainly from higher ET at the plantation during drier periods of the growing season, which also indicated that the poplars must have partly transpired groundwater. Estimated growing season ET at Bp6 was about 550 mm and more than 100% higher than at Kp₃. It is estimated that increases in leaf area index and net radiation at Kp₃ provide future potential for the poplars in Kubuqi to exceed the present ET and ET of the natural shrubland by 100-200%. These increases in ET are only possible through the permanent use of groundwater either directly by the trees or through increased irrigation. This may significantly change the water balance in the area (e.g., high ET at the cost of a reduction in the water table), which renders large-scale plantations a questionable tool in sustainable arid-land management.

Forestry AgNIC
About this Resource: This web site provides significant information, resources, associations, databases, and links on forestry and the related sciences such as agroforestry, wilderness management, and outdoor recreation.

Soil variability along a nitrogen mineralization and nitrification gradient in a nitrogen-saturated hardwood forest
About this Resource: Some N-saturated watersheds of the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF), West Virginia, exhibit a high degree of spatial heterogeneity in soil N processing. We used soils from four sites at FEF representing a gradient in net N mineralization and nitrification to consider the causes and consequences of such spatial heterogeneity. We collected soils with extremely high vs. low rates of N processing within each of two watersheds: WS3, treated for 15 yr with (NH4)2SO4, and WS4, untreated reference (control). Mineral soil was analyzed for extractable NH4, NO3, Ca, and Al before and during 28-d incubations at 10, 20, and 30 degrees C after 7, 14, 21, and 28 d. To address the fourth question, we decreased C:N ratios in the soil exhibiting lowest field rates of net N mineralization and no net nitrification (control-low N) by adding glycine and increased C:N ratios in the soil exhibiting highest field rates of net N mineralization and nitrification by adding sucrose. Incubations under controlled conditions supported the N-processing gradient found in the field under in situ conditions in the following order from highest to lowest rates of N mineralization and nitrification: control-high N > N-treated-high N > N-treated-low N > control-low N, the latter exhibiting no net nitrification in the field. Net Ca mineralization increased with net nitrification along the gradient from zero to highest rates. Soil Al appeared to inhibit net nitrification, being lowest in the soil with highest net nitrification and highest in the soil exhibiting no net nitrification. Glycine additions to this latter soil greatly stimulated net N mineralization but failed to initiate net nitrification. Sucrose additions resulted in net immobilization of NH4 and NO3 in soil with highest net N mineralization and nitrification. Results demonstrate that increased nitrification may enhance Ca mobility in N-saturated soils and further demonstrate that substrate quality alone is not necessarily a good predictor of soil N processing.

Pacific Northwest Nursery IPM
About this Resource: This website has been established to provide educational materials and links for the identification and management of pests in commercial nursery production in the Pacific Northwest. The PNW Nursery IPM Website offers subscribers the ability to send in pest alerts and also to receive emails regarding pest activity. The site also provides links and further information for growers on particular pests.