bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preferences of Backpackers and River Runners for Allocation Techniques
Authors: Shelby Bo , Danley Mark S. , Gibbs Kenneth C. , Petersen Margaret E.
Published: April 2024

In a questionnaire study, river runners and back-packers in Oregon reacted most favorably to pricing and reservation as means of allocating scarce recreation resources. Differences in reactions to three other alternatives (lottery, queuing, and merit) apparently reflected differences in the characteristics of the areas and types of recreation studied.
Managerial Skills as Viewed by Forest Supervisors
Authors: Koten Donald E.
Published: April 2024

A panel of 20 forest supervisors, selected within four regions of the USDA Forest Service, ranked a total of 21 skills as important in carrying out their managerial responsibilities. The three skills ranked as presently most important were anticipating and analyzing critical issues, working with other disciplines, and developing and setting goals and priorities. Anticipating and analyzing critical issues and working with other disciplines were judged to be best enhanced by on-the-job training, while setting goals and priorities was viewed as a skill readily enhanced by formal development programs. Skills in evaluating alternatives and managing change were expected to be increasingly important in the future.
How Michigan Prevented Another Monongahela
Authors: Hacker Jan J.
Published: April 2024

Lessons from the 1976 Monongahela clearcutting incident were successfully applied by the Forest Management Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to resolve a similar controversy in Michigan. A citizens' group, outraged by clearcutting near their homes, organized to challenge the division's cutting policies. The agency used six tactics successfully to resolve the issue: (1) The usual chain of command was bypassed. (2) Contact with the public was established and maintained. (3) The citizens' group was analyzed thoroughly and its complaints recognized. (4) Technical specialists were used where needed. (5) The Forest Management Division used every available opportunity to present its case. (6) Action was taken so the public saw the effect its concerns had on management. These general tactics can be applied to a variety of situations in which agency policies may conflict with citizens' desires. The techniques can serve as a base upon which foresters and other resource professionals, primarily trained in technical aspects of their work, can improve on an increasingly important part of their jobs.
Rates of Return: Internal or Composite?
Authors: Foster Bennett B. , Brooks George N.
Published: April 2024

The composite rate of return is apparently joining the more familiar internal rate of return as a measure of economic efficiency. Some analysts suggest that the composite rate replace the internal rate. Others are proceeding as if the replacement has already been approved. It would be an economic tragedy if this were allowed to happen. The composite rate is an erroneous measure that can easily lead to confusing or even absurd conclusions. The internal rate of return is the only valid, single-investment rate of return measure. Because it can now be easily calculated with any computer and many hand-held calculators, the internal rate of return should become a standard analytical measure for all forestry investments.
Demonstrating Timber Management Practices Through Audience Participation
Authors: Martin George L.
Published: April 2024

A procedure is described for having an audience participate in a demonstration of timber management. It is designed to let the members of the audience discover the rationale for the management practices, while maintaining their interest and attention. The audience is asked to help simulate a forest, and each person receives a unique work sheet containing growth and yield information for an individual tree. The benefits of thinning or selection cutting are demonstrated by "harvesting" some of the simulated trees and "growing" the forest for 10 years. The demonstration illustrates the effects of competition on the survival and growth of individual trees, and touches on some economic aspects of timber management.
Writing and the Forestry Curriculum
Authors: Blank Gary B.
Published: April 2024

At North Carolina State University forestry faculty members incorporate writing instruction in technical courses and provide team evaluations of student papers. Results include improved student attitudes and understanding concerning report writing, gains in stylistic and grammatical performance, and increasingly functional reports. Faculties who wish to improve student writing must consistently and frequently demand that students communicate their knowledge in realistic reporting situations, and must teach effective use of data and literature and encourage verbal precision and adaptation of style to audience.
Optimum Stand Prescriptions for Ponderosa Pine
Authors: Hann David W. , Brodie J. Douglas , Riitters Kurt H.
Published: April 2024

Two examples for a northern Arizona ponderosa pine stand illustrate the usefulness of dynamic programming in making silvicultural decisions. The first example analyzes the optimal planting density for bare land, while the second examines the optimal precommercial thinning intensity for a 43-year-old stand. Both examples assume that the manager's primary objective is maximization of the soil expectation value. A number of near-optimal solutions are also provided by the program, and may be preferable when the manager takes account of noneconomic considerations. The optimal solution then provides a standard for cost comparison of these noneconomic considerations.
Evaluating Spatial Feasibility of Harvest Schedules With Simulated Stand-Selection Decisions
Authors: Hokans Rickard H.
Published: April 2024

Harvest schedules that require the cutting of adjacent stands within a limited time period may create openings of sizes that exceed policy restrictions. A procedure has been developed to assist in identifying these excesses within the spatial pattern of a proposed harvest schedule. Further, the system is capable of evaluating the extent of these opening sizes for alternative spatial patterns of harvesting, and for the effects of current selections in future planning periods.
No More Free Books? User Fees and Government Publications
Authors: Walsh Barry W.
Published: April 2024

In April 1981, President Ronald Reagan declared a moratorium on government periodicals, pamphlets, and audio-visual products. Executive departments and agencies submitted control and savings plans to the Office of Management and Budget, resulting in elimination of over 2,000 publications at a savings of $36 million. Cost reduction and recovery measures include ceilings on free books distributed by federal agencies and more titles offered for sale through the Government Printing Office and the National Technical Information Service.
Designing Stable Buffer Strips for Stream Protection
Authors: Steinblums Ivars J. , Froehlich Henry A. , Lyons Joseph K.
Published: April 2024

On 40 streamside buffer strips in the Cascade Mountains of western Oregon, stability was a function of one vegetation and six topographic variables, and shading was related to three characteristics of buffer strips and one of adjacent clearcuts. Prediction equations were developed from these relationships to aid assessment of stream protection in proposed harvest designs and to aid rapid evaluation of design modifications. Options can be quantified so that the most suitable design may be chosen.
Economic Analysis of A Tree Improvement Program for Western Larch
Authors: Fins Lauren , Moore James A.
Published: April 2024

An individual-tree simulation model called Prognosis and an economic subroutine called CHEAPO were used to determine financial rotation ages (in this analysis defined as the age at which net present value is maximized) for stands grown with genetically improved and unimproved western larch (Larix occidentalis) in north Idaho. Three hypothetical but reasonable growth functions were tested on two site classes. Sensitivity analyses showed that the tree improvement investment was likely to be profitable at 4 and 5 percent discount rates on excellent sites and at 4 percent on good sites. The analysis was most sensitive to changes in discount rate, site quality, and cone production rate. It was moderately sensitive to variation in time to seed production, number of productive orchard years, and differences among the assumed biological functions. As the hypothetical growth functions were designed to be conservative, economic gains are likely to be larger than those indicated in the analysis.
Summary of Sediment Yield Data from Forested Land in the United States
Authors: Patric James H. , Evans James O. , Helvey J. David
Published: April 2024

Statistical analyses were made on 812 forest soil erosion measurements and estimates of sediment yield in forest streams. More than 100 of those reports showed that streams draining forested land along the Pacific Coast yield far more sediment per unit area of watershed than do streams of forested regions elsewhere in the nation. In the other 700 reports, no significant differences (P=0.05) were found among sediment yields in streams draining predominantly forested land of the eastern United States and of western regions other than the Pacific Coast. About one-third of these eastern and western observations denoted sediment yields not exceeding 0.02 ton per acre per year, and three-fourths of the total did not exceed 0.25 ton. About one-fourth fell between 0.25 and 1.00 ton, and a few exceeded 1.00 ton per acre annually. Nonforest land use within some of the larger watersheds may account for many of the higher sediment yields. These nationwide results are consistent with regional compilations. A long-term average of not more than 0.25 ton per acre per year in streams of the eastern and western United States (but not of the Pacific Coast) can provide a first approximation of sediment yield from predominantly forested land. Amounts derived by prediction equations should be questioned if they greatly exceed 0.25 ton per acre per year.
Vegetation Control for Douglas-Fir Regeneration on the Siuslaw National Forest: A Decision Analysis
Authors: Knapp Walter H. , Turpin Thomas C. , Beuter John H.
Published: April 2024

Records from 324 plantations on the Siuslaw National Forest of western Oregon were used to develop stocking outcomes from various methods of controlling competing vegetation before and after trees were placated. A decision-tree analysis indicated that if no site preparation or release were practiced, the forest as a whole would develop 63 percent of the mean annual increment and 35 percent of the present net worth expected if all means for chemical and manual vegetation control were available and used. With only manual means of vegetation control available (no chemicals), the expected values would be 78 and 57 percent, respectively. Where all means except phenoxy herbicides were available, the expected MAI and PNW were reduced only slightly. These values varied with the type of prelogging vegetation and aspect: declines were least on southwest aspects with predominantly conifers before logging and greatest on northeast aspects that had supported hardwoods. In all strata, however, a restriction against phenoxy herbicides had mirror effect. The results of this case study may or may not apply elsewhere, but the method of analysis should be useful.
High-Altitude Photography for Inventories of Mountain Pine Beetle Damage
Authors: Eav Bov B. , Dillman Robert D. , White William B.
Published: April 2024

High-altitude panoramic color infrared photography was used to assess a mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) infestation in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stands on 12 million acres of the Front Range of Colorado. Subsequently an in-place inventory was performed with the photography and ground sample data. The total number of trees killed in the Front Range was estimated to be 80,000, with a standard error of 15.7 percent. The cost for this survey was one cent per acre. With the same high-altitude photography, an in-place survey of a smaller area within the Front Range estimated 6,600 trees killed; the standard error was 4.7 percent. This survey cost two cents per acre.
Is the Pine Wood Nematode an Important Pathogen in the United States?
Authors: Wingfield Michael J. , Blanchette Robert A. , Nicholls Thomas H.
Published: April 2024

The pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, causes a serious disease of native pines in Japan. The nematode was recently identified as a pathogen in the United States, and pathologists have speculated that it may threaten forests here. Its ability to kill native North American pines growing in forests has not been established, but evidence suggests that it kills exotic pines (Scotch pine, Pinus sylvestris, and Japanese black pine, P. thunbergii) in this country. Insect vectors transmit the nematode to cut timber and dying trees during vector oviposition. Thus the nematode can be present in dying trees without being the primary cause of death. Transmission during oviposition may explain its recent association with stressed trees in the United States.
Public Support for Fire-Management Policies
Authors: Cortner Hanna J. , Zwolinski Malcolm J. , Carpenter Edwin H. , Taylor Jonathan G.
Published: April 2024

Members of the general public sampled in Tucson, Arizona, recognize that fire in forests can be both beneficial and detrimental. Public acceptance and understanding of the purposes and benefits of fire management are high, and additional fire knowledge increases tolerance for fire. While entirely new approaches to fire education do not appear necessary, existing approaches could benefit from modifications that directly address several public concerns. To be most effective, public education should be directed to local forest conditions as well as to local knowledge and acceptance of fire management.
The Productivity and Profitability of Fiber Farming
Authors: Yin Runsheng , Pienaar Leon V. , Aronow Mary Ellen
Published: April 2024

Standard site preparation for pine plantations in south Georgia was combined with fertilization, bedding, and herbicide treatments. These intensified silvicultural practices can boost volume by 128 percent and the rate of return by 12 percent. Combining the growth-and-yield data with a forest-level analytic framework shows the cost structure of timber production and its intra- and inter-regime changes. The high yields possible from fiber farming could allow changes in land use, from timber production to other uses, while maintaining supplies of low-cost fiber.
The Fallingsnow Ecosystem Project: Documenting the Consequences of Conifer Release Alternatives
Authors: Lautenschlager R. A. , Bell F. Wayne , Wagner Robert G. , Reynolds Phillip E.
Published: April 2024

The Fallingsnow Ecosystem Project is documenting the terrestrial ecological consequences of alternative conifer release treatments. Although long-term responses are unknown, results to date indicate that cutting and herbicide treatments are relatively inconsequential for most environmental components found in regenerating northern forests, including soil nutrients and species richness of vegetation, insects, gastropods, amphibians and reptiles, songbirds, and small mammals. Still, given the growing opposition to herbicide use in forestry, managers must expect that social input into natural resource management will become more common, if not required.
A Social Marketing Approach to Landowner Education
Authors: Tyson C. Benjamin , Broderick Stephen H. , Snyder Leslie B.
Published: April 2024

This article identifies factors that influence the intentions of nonindustrial private forest owners to prepare forest stewardship plans, based on survey research conducted in south central Connecticut. Social marketing principles guided research procedures. Findings allow construction of a casual model that diagrams forest owners' motivations to do forest stewardship planning. Social marketing also helps researchers segment the population so that a communications strategy to reach priority audiences can be developed.
Uneven-Aged Silviculture, Southern Style
Authors: Guldin James M. , Baker James B.
Published: April 2024

Data spanning 60 years on uneven-aged loblolly-shortleaf pine stands in Arkansas show that two regulation methods have been successful in regulating stand development. Key attributes of these methods are that regulation is more important than balance, residual basal area drives stand development, and regeneration is the first indicator of sustainability. Marking uneven-aged stands is best kept simple: mark to cut the poorest trees and leave the best, regardless of target structure or method of regeneration. To be successful in the long term, new methods of regulating uneven-aged and multiaged stands should share these attributes.
Maintaining Species Diversity in the Central Appalachians
Authors: Miller Gary W. , Kochenderfer James N.
Published: April 2024

Maintaining species diversity is the key to sustaining production of desired benefits in central Appalachian forest. Long-term research indicates that traditional uneven-aged silviculture based on single-tree selection eventually reduces the abundance of certain species, but desirable species composition can be maintained in two-aged stands or in uneven-aged stands where sizable canopy openings are created. In both situations, silvicultural treatments are needed to prepare for desirable reproduction before harvest operations. The increased application of two-aged systems in the central Appalachians is an example of how silvicultural strategies can evolve in response to emerging management goals.
"Selective Cutting" in Douglas-Fir: History Revisited
Authors: Curtis Robert O.
Published: April 2024

In the 1930s 'selective cutting' was practiced in old-growth Douglas-fir; in the 1950s the experiment was pronounced a failure. In fact, the original concept was not an individual tree selection system; it called for regeneration in small clearcut patches and resembled some current proposals. Flexible application might well have been successful, but as it was practiced, removals were limited to large Douglas-fir, very old stands deteriorated after disturbance, and small openings did not allow Douglas-fir regeneration. As a result, partial cutting trials came to an abrupt end, and the consequent lack of research into alternatives to clearcutting severely handicaps current efforts to meet changing objectives and public concerns.
Landowners' Educational Needs and How Foresters Can Respond
Authors: Kuhns Michael R. , Brunson Mark W. , Roberts Scott D.
Published: April 2024

A study of nonindustrial private forest land-owners in Utah and Indiana -- states with different ownership characteristics and numbers -- reveals that direct, simple, flexible educational methods like newsletters and personal assistance are preferred over work-shops and high-tech methods. Landowners with large parcels tend to know more about forestry, but the increasing fragmentation of forestland and the diversity of forest land-owners mean that foresters must fit the message to new and different audiences. Because timber production is not important to many landowners, stewardship programs should address the benefits that people do derive from their land.
National Recreation Trails: A Forgotten Designation
Authors: Chavez Deborah J. , Harding James A. , Tynon Joanne F.
Published: April 2024

What value does federal designation add to open space resources that are not all federally owned and managed? Over the years the federal government, under the auspices of the National Park Service and USDA Forest Service, has designated trails across the United States as National Recreation Trails. A survey of federal, nonfederal public, and private National Recreation Trail managers indicated that few knew they maintained a federally designated trail. As a result, the managers could not use the designation to help them manage the trails. The time is right to revitalize this system.
Sustainable Forestry Initiative: Toward a Higher Standard
Authors: Berg Scott , Cantrell Rick
Published: April 2024

The AF&PA Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) has been substantially improved in 1999. The program has been reformatted as a formal standard, and now offers a licensing program for nonmembers and a voluntary verification process through which AF&PA members and SFI licensees can be third-party verified to the standard. The ISO Technical Report on Forestry (ISO/TR 14061) outlines how foresters can incorporate performance-based standards, such as the SFI, into their ISO 14001 environmental management system policy, objectives, and targets.
Annual Forest Inventory: Cornerstone of Sustainability in the South
Authors: Reams Gregory A. , Roesch Francis A. , Cost Noel D.
Published: April 2024

With many competing uses and large regional shifts in forestland use, the sustainability of southern forests is being questioned. The new Southern Annual Forest Inventory System (SAFIS) is being implemented to address regional, state, and national questions regarding past, current, and projected changes in the southern forest. The annual inventory system will provide the information needed to closely monitor and quantify the landscape dynamics of southern forests. These annual inventory data will form the basis of state, regional, and national forest sustainability assessments.
Improving Forest Inventories: Three Ways to Incorporate Auxiliary Information
Authors: Robinson Andrew P. , Hamlin David C. , Fairweather Stephen E.
Published: April 2024

Precise estimates of standing inventory often are needed in a very short time; for example, in appraisal situations for acquisitions and divestitures. Opportunities to integrate auxiliary information into forest stand inventory are considerable, and the potential benefits are very attractive. This article presents three popular techniques for incorporating auxiliary information into forest inventory: list sampling, stratification, and Poisson sampling.
Forest Certification: The View from Europe's NIPFs
Authors: Lindström Tommy , Hansen Eric , Juslin Heikki
Published: April 2024

Despite different backgrounds and cultures, British and Finnish landowners hold remarkably similar opinions regarding forest certification. They are unsure of certification's potential benefits, either economic or ecological, and few would find participation attractive. Owners of large forest estates consider certification a threat; owners of smaller properties are less economically dependent on forestry and may see in certification a way to improve the state of their forests. If market forces eventually require large-scale certification, the needs and preferences of private forest landowners must be taken into consideration to ensure their participation.
Income Tax Considerations for Forest Landowners in the South: A Case Study on Tax Planning
Authors: Bailey Philip D. , Haney Harry L. , Callihan Debra S. , Greene John L.
Published: April 2024

Federal and state income taxes are calculated for hypothetical owners of nonindustrial private forests (NIPF) across 14 southern states to illustrate the effects of differential state tax treatment. The income tax liability is calculated in a year in which the timber owners harvest $200,000 worth of timber. After-tax land expectation values for a forest landowner are also calculated to illustrate the effects of tax planning on returns to a timber investment over time. Landowners who fail to take advantage of the many tax provisions can lose a third or more of their timberland revenues to income taxes.
Good News for Wildlife and Ecological Sustainability
Authors: Munson Mary A.
Published: April 2024

The Committee of Scientists' report supports the contention that protecting biodiversity is vital to stewardship of our national forests. It offers an innovative, science-based approach for protecting structures, processes, and conditions to sustain wildlife and ecosystems. The panel missed opportunities to address protection of roadless areas and to call for clear implementation standards. The major challenges ahead are for the Forest Service to produce clear standards for ecosystem integrity and species viability and to establish objective methods of determining whether the standards are being met.
Sustaining the People's Lands -- Recommendations for Stewardship of the National Forests and Grasslands into the Next Century
Authors: Johnson K. Norman , Agee James , Beschta Robert , Dale Virginia , Hardesty Linda , Long James , Nielsen Larry , Noon Barry , Sedjo Roger , Shannon Margaret , Trosper Ronald , Wilkinson Charles , Wondolleck Julia
Published: April 2024

In December 1997, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman convened an interdisciplinary committee of 13 scientists to provide scientific and technical advice on the Forest Service's land and resource management planning process. The committee was asked to recommend how best to accomplish resource planning within the existing environmental laws and statutory mission of the Forest Service; to provide technical advice on planning and provide material for the agency to consider in revising planning regulations; to recommend improvements in coordination with other federal agencies, state and local government agencies, and tribal governments; and to suggest a new planning framework that could last a generation. The committee took field trips and met in cities and towns around the country to hear from Forest Service employees, representatives of tribes, state and local governments, related federal natural resource agencies, and members of the public. Drawing on many of the approaches and improvements to planning it observed, the committee has made its recommendations.
Designing Spotted Owl Habitat in a Managed Forest
Authors: Hicks Lorin L. , Stabins Henning C. , Herter Dale R.
Published: April 2024

The perception that old-growth alone provides habitat for the northern spotted owl both contributed to its listing as a threatened species and may have hampered recovery efforts by targeting management solutions at old-growth forests. New information suggests that young forests can contribute to conservation efforts for the species. Observations of daytime roost sites in young forests, selectively harvested stands, and precommercially thinned stands suggest that the structural diversity spotted owls need may be provided by design in western Washington's western hemlock-Douglas-fir managed forests. Adaptive management will verify the effectiveness of designs and management options in spotted owl habitat.
A Contested Past: Forestry Education in the United States, 1898-1998
Authors: Miller Char , Lewis James G.
Published: April 2024

Many of today's arguments about forestry education proceed on the assumption that the past was glorious, the present is bleak, the future is doomed. In fact, foresters have disagreed about the proper balance between academic and practical training since the days of Bernhard Fernow, Gifford Pinchot, and Carl Schenck. The two main option for education--depth in technical forestry and breadth in natural resource management--reflect equally old, and fundamentally opposing, views of forestry and the profession's place in society.
Book Review: Recent Books on Forest History
Authors: Miller C.
Published: April 2024

Reviews of Walt Perry: An Early-Day Forest Ranger in New Mexico and Oregon, edited by Les Joslin; “I'll Never Fight Fire with My Bare Hands Again”: Recollections of the First Forest Rangers of the Inland Northwest, edited by Hal K. Rothman; Co-Operative Dreams: A history of the Kaweah Colony by Jay O'Connell; and New England Forests through Time: Insights from the Harvard Forest Dioramas.
Book Review: The Southern Forest: Geography, Ecology, and Silviculture
Authors: Miller C.
Published: April 2024

The Southern Forest: Geography, Ecology, and Silviculture by Laurence C. Walker and Brian P. Oswald, focuses on forests as managed landscapes and the challenges posed over the years by development, pests, and federal regulation.
Environmental Certification: Informing Consumers about Forest Products
Authors: Teisl Mario F. , Roe Brian
Published: April 2024

The justification for environmental labeling of forest products appears simple: Labeling can match consumers wishing to buy products from forests managed in an environmentally acceptable fashion with forest owners willing to supply these products. But for labeling to work, consumers must understand, believe, and care about the information presented. This article presents the communication issues that may affect development of a market for environmentally improved forestry practices. The aim is to highlight potential questions surrounding forest product certification, from a vantage point provided by consumer research.
Forest Fragmentation: Implications for Sustainable Private Forests
Authors: Sampson Neil , DeCoster Lester
Published: April 2024

The long-term trend for private forests in the United States is that of more people owning smaller pieces of wooded land for amenity values. This trend shows no sign of slowing, and indications are that it may be speeding up. The fragmenting of forests into smaller pieces appears to be driven by powerful social and demographic forces that consistently undertax and overserve developed areas, while overtaxing and underserving traditional rural land uses, such as forestry.
Landscape Change in the Midwest: An Integrated Research and Development Program
Authors: Gobster Paul H. , Haight Robert G. , Shriner Dave
Published: April 2024

Contemporary patterns of landownership and development are changing the landscape of urban, suburban, and rural areas, fragmenting the forest resource base and raising concerns among a range of stakeholders. A new Landscape Change Integrated Research and Development Program of the USDA Forest Service. North Central Research Station, is examining the character, causes, and effects of these changes as well as the effectiveness of strategies aimed at stemming the negative consequences of landscape change.
Remote Sensing Education: An Updated Survey
Authors: Sader Steven A. , Vermillion Stephanie
Published: April 2024

A survey of remote sensing education in US and Canadian forestry schools, sponsored by the Society of American Foresters Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Working Group, was conducted in late 1998. The objective of the survey was to document the current status of undergraduate training in remote sensing at SAF-accredited forestry schools and compare the data with those from a nearly identical survey conducted 10 years earlier. The results reveal a slight decline in aerial photo training, offset by an apparent increase in emphasis on geographic information systems.
Remote Sensing and Forestry: Collaborative Implementation for a New Century of Forest Information Solutions
Authors: Bergen Kathleen , Colwell John , Sapio Frank
Published: April 2024

This overview of the potential challenges and advantages in integrating remote sensing into forest information systems provides a context for subsequent articles in this issue. We first survey the status of and new developments in remote sensing programs. Next we discuss the appropriate role of remote sensing in forestry and explore the idea of collaborative implementation, stressing the professional responsibility that the remote sensing community has to the partnership. We then describe collaborative opportunities to use remote sensing to help provide the best possible forest information. We close with brief introductions to other articles in this special issue.
Using Hyperspectral Data to Assess Forest Structure
Authors: Ustin Susan L. , Trabucco Antonio
Published: April 2024

More accurate maps of forest composition will result from the new hyperspectral instruments, which read the abundance and distribution of woody biomass and standing litter by picking up slight variations in pigment, water content, and soil properties. Such information allows direct inferences about physical processes rather than requiring managers to make statistical associations. Although more difficult to analyze and interpret than multispectral images, these data will raise the level of accuracy for making forest management decisions.
Field Applications for Statistical Data and Techniques
Authors: Oderwald Richard G. , Wynne Randolph H.
Published: April 2024

Remote sensing technologies have tremendous potential for day-to-day field use, but on-the-ground foresters have thus far not been able to embrace them. One reason is that field foresters require information, not images, and that information must be applicable for small timber sales and management units. To make the technology useful, remote sensing specialists need to develop "turnkey" programs that ask what results are needed and then access the necessary images, suggest ground sampling strategies and measurements, apply the appropriate algorithms, and report results.
Personal Values & Professional Ethics
Authors: Kipnis Kenneth , South David B.
Published: April 2024

The Society of American Foresters has, proposed another revision of the Society's Code of Ethics. Changing a profession's code of conduct might cause considerable controversy. Some will support the current wording and oppose change, and others will see great merit in the new wording. Regardless, what we need is a code that articulates the core professional values of all foresters. A first step, then, is distinguishing our personal values from the core values of forestry.
What Are We Hiding Behind the Visual Buffer Strip? Forest Aesthetics Reconsidered
Authors: Hull R. Bruce , Robertson David P. , Buhyoff Gregory J. , Kendra Angelina
Published: April 2024

Forest aesthetics provide the public façade for forestry ethics. Current policies send a hypocritical message of citizens about the practice, intent and ethics of forestry by suggesting that foresters need to disguise the practice of forestry. Such policies imply, to an increasingly wary public, that forestry is bad for the land and that foresters cannot be trusted. We hope that the profession will discuss and negotiate an aesthetics policy that is consonant with--or part of--its Code of Ethics. We review the implications for forestry of competing aesthetic policies, and conclude that forestry should embrace an aesthetic ideal that is analogous to a gardener's work of tending a garden.
Carbon Sinks in the Kyoto Protocol: Potential Relevance for US Forests
Authors: Murray B.C. , Prisley S.P. , Birdsey R.A. , Sampson N.R.
Published: April 2024

The international agreement known as the Kyoto Protocol seeks to reduce the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases to mitigate the threat of global climate change. It contains provisions for including carbon stock changes from forests and land-use change to meet nations' greenhouse gas commitments, but the terms under which forest-related carbon stock changes are included are open to interpretation. Critical questions include how much of the carbon currently being sequestered by US forests might qualify, and what forest management activities will be included.
Biomass Flow in Western Forests: Simulating the Effects of Fuel Reduction and Presettlement Restoration Treatments
Authors: Hollenstein K. , Graham R.L. , Shepperd W.D.
Published: April 2024

Fuel treatment silviculture and the resulting long-term flow of biomass were examined using data from selected western stands. An uneven-aged management regime with reserve trees was modeled, using a canopy closure of 40 percent for the dominant trees as a target and a harvest cutting cycle of 20 years. Fuel reduction treatments in currently overstocked stands resulted in an initial peak of removal for the first and second cutting cycles. Yields stabilized in subsequent cutting cycles. Removal of some large reserve trees was crucial for maintaining stand structure and fire resilience.
Forester Registration and Licensing: An SAF Task Force Report
Authors:   none
Published: April 2024

Sixteen states currently have some form of voluntary or mandatory forester registration or licensing, and several other states are examining it. The SAF Task Force on Forester Licensing and Registration sought to determine what role SAF should play in these initiatives. This report outlines the components of forester licensing and registration by examining current statutes. Also discussed is SAF's Certified Forester® program and how it fits in with state-level efforts. The article concludes with some recommendations to Council on the appropriate role for SAF in forester credentialing.
Prescribed Fire and Public Support: Knowledge Gained, Attitudes Changed in Florida
Authors: Loomis J.B. , Bair L.S. , González-Cabán A.
Published: April 2024

Florida residents' knowledge of and attitudes toward wild and prescribed fire were elicited before and after receiving educational information. The results indicate that Florida residents exhibit knowledge and tolerance of prescribed fire similar to respondents of past surveys. Florida residents are less tolerant of wildfire than residents in past surveys but hold similar knowledge scores concerning wildfire. Respondents became more knowledgeable and tolerant of prescribed fire after the introduction of educational information.
Perspective: Finding a Name to Fit the Owner
Authors: Finley J.C. , Jones S.B. , Reed A.S. , Jacobson M.G. , Glover G.R.
Published: April 2024

Our profession struggles with its identity. Are we timber brokers, ecosystem managers, or who knows what? How many times have we heard the familiar, “Oh, you're a forester. You sit in a fire tower, right?” We're pretty sensitive about it, but the confusion of names and misapplied meaning is not limited to professional titles. Like it or not, the names we assign to people and things convey information and generate perceptions. Names are powerful symbols, often restricting our ability to communicate and interact.…
RBSim: Geographic Simulation of Wilderness Recreation Behavior
Authors: Gimblett H.R. , Richards M.T. , Itami R.M.
Published: April 2024

Simulation techniques are used to explore the complex spatial interactions between recreationists and their environment as a way to improve wildland recreation management. The Recreation Behavior Simulator (RBSim) uses rule-driven autonomous agents as surrogates for human visitors coupled with geographic information systems to represent the environment for dynamically simulating recreation behavior. Behavioral rules are derived from visitor surveys conducted in Broken Arrow Canyon, Sedona, Arizona. Model runs allow both statistical and spatial analysis to quantify and explore recreationists' movement patterns, encounters, and the influence of management actions on visitor use levels.
Commentary: Actions Speak Louder than Words
Authors: Banzhaf W.H.
Published: April 2024

To maintain our positive image, we must continue to put our energy into being the best that we can be, not into finding ways to tell the public how good we are.…
EMDS: Using a Logic Framework to Assess Forest Ecosystem Sustainability
Authors: Reynolds K.M.
Published: April 2024

More and more, bioregional assessments are being viewed as essential components of ecosystem management. But forestry professionals and others have identified several challenges posed by this new brand of regional-scale analysis. This article summarizes key challenges facing assessments in general, describes use of a logic-based modeling framework with an example of evaluating forest ecosystem sustainability in particular, and discusses ways in which logic-based modeling can help address the challenges of bioregional assessment.
Conservation Biology and Forest Certification: Working Together toward Ecological Sustainability
Authors: Brown N.R. , Noss R.F. , Diamond D.D. , Myers M.N.
Published: April 2024

We examine how forest certification can be used more effectively to produce concrete conservation results on forests that have been designated for timber production, by limiting forest fragmentation (thereby improving forest intactness over a landscape scale), and by conserving structural diversity, wildlife habitats, late successional components, natural disturbance regimes, and other components of biodiversity. We conclude that forest certification, as an integrative tool to be used in silvicultural management processes, can play an important role in promoting the sustainability of managed forests and of forestry.
Who Gets the Work? National Forest Contracting in the Pacific Northwest
Authors: Moseley C. , Shankle S.
Published: April 2024

Since the decline of federal timber harvests in the Pacific Northwest, forest community organizations and the USDA Forest Service have been trying to use federal service and construction contracting to foster economic development in rural communities. This study analyzes the Forest Service silviculture and restoration contracts let during FY 1998 and 1999 in Oregon and Washington to determine who wins this contract work. The study measures the distance between national forests and contractor offices and finds that contract value, work characteristics, and geographic variables partially explain variation in distance.
Perspectives on embryo maturation and seed quality in a global climate change scenario
Authors: Escudero Viviana , Fuenzalida Marlene , Rezende Enrico L , González-Guerrero Manuel , Roschzttardtz Hannetz
Published: April 2024

Global climate change has already brought noticeable alterations to multiple regions of our planet, including increased CO2 concentrations and changes in temperature. Several important steps of plant growth and development, such as embryogenesis, can be affected by such environmental changes; for instance, they affect how stored nutrients are used during early stages of seed germination during the transition from heterotrophic to autotrophic metabolism—a critical period for the seedling’s survival. In this article, we briefly describe relevant processes that occur during embryo maturation and account for nutrient accumulation, which are sensitive to environmental change. Most of the nutrients stored in the seed during its development—including carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, depending on the species—accumulate during the seed maturation stage. It is also known that iron, a key micronutrient for various electron transfer processes in plant cells, accumulates during embryo maturation. The existing literature indicates that climate change can not only affect the quality of the seed, in terms of total nutritional content, but also affect seed production. We discuss the potential effects of temperature and CO2 increases from an embryo-autonomous point of view, in an attempt to separate the effects on the parent plant from those on the embryo.
The EMBL-EBI Job Dispatcher sequence analysis tools framework in 2024
Authors: Madeira Fábio , Madhusoodanan Nandana , Lee Joonheung , Eusebi Alberto , Niewielska Ania , Tivey Adrian R N , Lopez Rodrigo , Butcher Sarah
Published: April 2024

The EMBL-EBI Job Dispatcher sequence analysis tools framework (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/jdispatcher) enables the scientific community to perform a diverse range of sequence analyses using popular bioinformatics applications. Free access to the tools and required sequence datasets is provided through user-friendly web applications, as well as via RESTful and SOAP-based APIs. These are integrated into popular EMBL-EBI resources such as UniProt, InterPro, ENA and Ensembl Genomes. This paper overviews recent improvements to Job Dispatcher, including its brand new website and documentation, enhanced visualisations, improved job management, and a rising trend of user reliance on the service from low- and middle-income regions.
Ordered and disordered regions of the Origin Recognition Complex direct differential in vivo binding at distinct motif sequences
Authors: Chappleboim Michal , Naveh-Tassa Segev , Carmi Miri , Levy Yaakov , Barkai Naama
Published: April 2024

The Origin Recognition Complex (ORC) seeds replication-fork formation by binding to DNA replication origins, which in budding yeast contain a 17bp DNA motif. High resolution structure of the ORC-DNA complex revealed two base-interacting elements: a disordered basic patch (Orc1-BP4) and an insertion helix (Orc4-IH). To define the ORC elements guiding its DNA binding in vivo, we mapped genomic locations of 38 designed ORC mutants, revealing that different ORC elements guide binding at different sites. At silencing-associated sites lacking the motif, ORC binding and activity were fully explained by a BAH domain. Within replication origins, we reveal two dominating motif variants showing differential binding modes and symmetry: a non-repetitive motif whose binding requires Orc1-BP4 and Orc4-IH, and a repetitive one where another basic patch, Orc1-BP3, can replace Orc4-IH. Disordered basic patches are therefore key for ORC-motif binding in vivo, and we discuss how these conserved, minor-groove interacting elements can guide specific ORC-DNA recognition.
CSDE1: a versatile regulator of gene expression in cancer
Authors: Ciocia Annagiulia , Mestre-Farràs Neus , Vicent-Nacht Ignacio , Guitart Tanit , Gebauer Fátima
Published: April 2024

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have garnered significant attention in the field of cancer due to their ability to modulate diverse tumor traits. Once considered untargetable, RBPs have sparked renewed interest in drug development, particularly in the context of RNA-binding modulators of translation. This review focuses on one such modulator, the protein CSDE1, and its pivotal role in regulating cancer hallmarks. We discuss context-specific functions of CSDE1 in tumor development, its mechanisms of action, and highlight features that support its role as a molecular adaptor. Additionally, we discuss the regulation of CSDE1 itself and its potential value as biomarker and therapeutic target.
Predicting the risk of neurocognitive decline after brain irradiation in adult patients with a primary brain tumor
Authors: Tohidinezhad Fariba , Zegers Catharina M L , Vaassen Femke , Dijkstra Jeanette , Anten Monique , Van Elmpt Wouter , De Ruysscher Dirk , Dekker Andre , Eekers Daniëlle B P , Traverso Alberto
Published: April 2024

Background

Deterioration of neurocognitive function in adult patients with a primary brain tumor is the most concerning side effect of radiotherapy. This study aimed to develop and evaluate normal-tissue complication probability (NTCP) models using clinical and dose–volume measures for 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year Neurocognitive Decline (ND) postradiotherapy.

Methods

A total of 219 patients with a primary brain tumor treated with radical photon and/or proton radiotherapy (RT) between 2019 and 2022 were included. Controlled oral word association test, Hopkins verbal learning test-revised, and trail making test were used to objectively measure ND. A comprehensive set of potential clinical and dose–volume measures on several brain structures were considered for statistical modeling. Clinical, dose–volume and combined models were constructed and internally tested in terms of discrimination (area under the curve, AUC), calibration (mean absolute error, MAE), and net benefit.

Results

Fifty percent, 44.5%, and 42.7% of the patients developed ND at 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year time points, respectively. The following predictors were included in the combined model for 6-month ND: age at radiotherapy > 56 years (OR = 5.71), overweight (OR = 0.49), obesity (OR = 0.35), chemotherapy (OR = 2.23), brain V20 Gy ≥ 20% (OR = 3.53), brainstem volume ≥ 26 cc (OR = 0.39), and hypothalamus volume ≥ 0.5 cc (OR = 0.4). Decision curve analysis showed that the combined models had the highest net benefits at 6-month (AUC = 0.79, MAE = 0.021), 1-year (AUC = 0.72, MAE = 0.027), and 2-year (AUC = 0.69, MAE = 0.038) time points.

Conclusions

The proposed NTCP models use easy-to-obtain predictors to identify patients at high risk of ND after brain RT. These models can potentially provide a base for RT-related decisions and post-therapy neurocognitive rehabilitation interventions.