bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Forest Service Land Management Litigation 1989–2002
Authors: Keele Denise M. , Malmsheimer Robert W. , Floyd Donald W. , Perez Jerome E. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
The land management decisions of the USDA Forest Service have been challenged and appealed frequently in federal court, and the agency believes such litigation constrains its professional expertise and frustrates effective forest management. This study provides the first complete picture of Forest Service land management litigation. Previous litigation studies limited their examination to published cases and did not analyze final case outcomes. We document the characteristics and final outcomes of 729 Forest Service management cases filed in federal court from 1989 to 2002. The Forest Service won 57.6% of cases, lost 21.3% of cases, and settled 17.6% of cases. It won 73% of the 575 cases decided by federal judges. Plaintiffs seeking less resource use lost more than half the cases they initiated, and plaintiffs seeking greater resource use lost more than two of every three cases they initiated. Most litigation (1) was for less resource use, (2) was based on the National Environmental Policy Act, and (3) challenged logging projects. The data indicate that the agency is less vulnerable in some types of cases and more vulnerable in others. This study provides policymakers, land managers, and stakeholders with accurate data that can help guide policy debate and choices.
A Financial Analysis of Small-Scale Tropical Reforestation with Native Species in Costa Rica
Authors: Streed Erik , Nichols J. Doland , Gallatin Ken 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
In 1990 four Peace Corps Volunteers in Costa Rica completed their service and started a private reforestation project. The goal was to see if a small tree plantation could be profitable compared with traditional land uses. This article discusses the economics of the first 15 years of the project, using actual cash flows, and makes projections for financial outcomes. We documented the yearly expenses and revenues (cash flows) for operating a small tropical woodlot, costs and/or revenues from the specific woodlot management operations, and profit projections over the 25-year life of the project. We used realized growth rates, milling costs, and wood sale prices to show that small-scale reforestation with mixtures of native species can be financially profitable, both for an investor and a farmer/landowner.
Preparing Resource and Environmental Managers with International Understanding and Merits (PREMIUM): Introducing a Research Experience for Undergraduates Program
Authors: Yin Runsheng 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
The Department of Forestry at Michigan State University was awarded a 3-year grant by the National Science Foundation in 2004 to conduct an undergraduate research project on the natural resource and environmental policy in China. Its goal is to engage undergraduate students in primary research of natural resource and environmental management in a unique international setting, featuring close mentoring, student and faculty teamwork, and multidisciplinary collaboration. This article introduces the project organization and activities and discusses its experience and benefits. It is shown that this type of program can make a great contribution not only to introducing students to the profession of resource and environmental management and developing their science careers, but also to graduate recruitment and scholarship nurturing.
Desertification and Restoration of Grasslands in Inner Mongolia
Authors: Meyer Natalie 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Grasslands cover 40% of China's total land area and are the largest ecosystem threatened by desertification. Grassland degradation causes ecosystem instability and harms economic development. Historically, a series of policies led to a rapid shift in land tenure and stewardship practices, resulting in overgrazing and conversion of grassland to cropland. Protection and restoration of grasslands are thus a key component of China's fight against desertification. Current strategies in Inner Mongolia demonstrate the potential of an integrated approach to combating desertification. The Xilinguole pilot project further illustrates this approach, which includes tree planting, grassland closures, resettlement of displaced herders and farmers, and feeding demonstration. To be more effective, it is necessary to modify grassland management practices, create more off-farm jobs, and promote range grazing with a standardized adaptive stocking rate.
Woody Invaders and the Challenges They Pose to Forest Ecosystems in the Eastern United States
Authors: Webster Christopher R. , Jenkins Michael A. , Jose Shibu 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Invasive exotic species pose significant challenges for natural resource managers charged with the maintenance of biological diversity and the sustainable production of forest resources. In this article, we review what is known about the biology and control of some of the most serious woody invaders of eastern forests. Based on the parallels between these invasions, we propose a working framework for integrating invasive control into forestry practices. In general, early detection and rapid response to invasions are essential. However, given that consistently effective control strategies that are broadly applicable simply do not exist for many species, adaptive management strategies will be necessary.
Impacts of Afforestation, Deforestation, and Reforestation on Forest Cover in China from 1949 to 2003
Authors: Zhang Yuxing , Song Conghe 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
China's forest cover increased from 8.6% in 1949 to 18.21% in 2003. The change of forest cover in China can be characterized in three stages: (1) transition stage (1949–1981), (2) slow increase stage (1982–1993), and (3) rapid increase stage (1994–2003). Afforestation is the primary factor increasing forest cover in China. Cumulative areas of afforestation in China from 1949 to 2003 were 241 million ha, of which 90 million ha eventually established as plantation forests, i.e., about 37% of the afforested area reach forest status. Harvesting consumed 13 billon m3 in timber volume from 1949 to 2003. Natural forests were the major source of timber production during the early years, and plantation forests became a major source of timber supply as they matured. Of the 90 million ha plantation forests, 53 million ha remained in 2003, the rest were harvested. The remaining plantations in 2003 contributed 5.0 of the 6.4 percentage points of increase in China's overall forest cover from1962 to 2003. Large areas of afforestation, intensive timber harvesting, and reforestation have made forest ecosystems in China become dominated by young stands, which has profound implications in their ecological functions in the terrestrial ecosystems.
Diameter Caps for Thinning Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests: Viewpoints, Effects, and Tradeoffs
Authors: Abella Scott R. , Fulé Peter Z. , Covington W. Wallace 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Upper size limits of trees allowed to be cut, termed diameter caps, have resulted in polarization, litigation, and delays and alterations to thinning projects in many western forests. Using southwestern ponderosa pine forests as an example, we summarize viewpoints on caps, simulateeffects of caps on thinning prescriptions, and provide examples of ecosystem-level tradeoffs of leaving extra trees during thinning projects. The importance placed on trees versus other ecosystem components primarily differentiates those who support caps and those who do not. We conclude that diameter caps may enhance some ecosystem components, such as densities of large trees, but they negatively impact many nontree components.
Visualize Your Forest—Using Forest Simulation Software to Communicate Forest Management Concepts to Private Forestland Owners
Authors: Roth Paul , Finley J.C. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
The Stand Visualization System (SVS) can reinforce understanding of forest management concepts when coupled with a “traditional” cooperative extension educational program to private forest landowners (PFLs). SVS, linked to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS), creates a time-compressed series of images that convey the effects of growth, treatments, and disturbances on stand structure. Participants in 12 workshops were evaluated to understand shifts in attitudes and knowledge on a number of management concepts after exposure to presentations. SVS software can aid in communicating and reinforcing PFLs' understanding of forest management concepts.
Assessing Family Forestland Certification Opportunities: A Minnesota Case Study
Authors: Kilgore Michael A. , Leahy Jessica E. , Hibbard Calder M. , Donnay Jacob S. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Minnesota family forest owners were surveyed to assess their perspectives on forest certification. The study found that in spite of the increased visibility of forest certification, its awareness among family forest owners continues to be low. Moreover, after developing an understanding of forest certification, only 4% of family forest owners were certain they wanted to certify their forests, and 19% were sure they would never want to do so. Landowners familiar with certification were no more likely to certify than those who had not heard of the concept. The design and outcomes of a certification program were found to have a substantial influence on landowner interest in forest certification. The lack of owner awareness and interest in forest certification, forest management plan requirement, and limited group certification opportunities suggest substantial expansion of certified family forestland is unlikely in the foreseeable future.
What Are Forests For: The Place of Ethics in the Forestry Curriculum
Authors: Klenk Nicole L. , Brown Peter G. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
A survey conducted to ascertain the degree of formal training in ethics offered to Canadian and American professional foresters and natural resource managers and technicians indicates that forestry ethics is not consistently and coherently covered in forestry curricula. We propose a framework for teaching forestry ethics such that professional codes of ethics are supplemented by environmental ethics and forest history. Environmental ethics offers a rich source of material to guide personal reflection, clarify the ethical dimensions of particular management decisions, and offers tools to facilitate normative discourse. However, this literature often lacks an integrated consideration of what actually happens. Forest history with its in-depth case studies and broad stroke depictions of past forest management decisions provides a surrogate for lived experience and a long-term perspective.
Managing Forest Structure and Fire Hazard—A Tool for Planners
Authors: Johnson Morris C. , Peterson David L. , Raymond Crystal L. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Fire planners and other resource managers need to examine a range of potential fuel and vegetation treatments to select options that will lead to desired outcomes for fire hazard and natural resource conditions. A new approach to this issue integrates concepts and tools from silviculture and fuel science to quantify outcomes for a large number of treatment options in dry forest stands in the western United States. Five silvicultural options (thinning from below to 50 trees per acre [tpa]; 100, 200, and 300 tpa; or no thinning) are considered in combination with three surface fuel treatments (pile and burn, prescribed fire, or no treatment), resulting in a range of alternative treatments for each representative stand. The Fire and Fuels Extension of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS) was used to calculate (1) immediate effects of treatments on surface fuels, fire hazard, potential fire behavior, and forest structure (including visualizations); and (2) a 50-year time series of treatment effects at 10-year increments. These fuel treatment scenarios can be used as a starting point for examining alternatives for National Environmental Policy Act documents and other applications that require scientifically based information to quantify the effects of modifying forest structure and surface fuels. Forest managers also can develop customized treatments for specific locations and resource objectives. Scenarios and output can be used to inform ecological, economic, and sociological evaluations of the effects of fuel and vegetation treatments.
Social Science Informing Forest Management—Bringing New Knowledge to Fuels Managers
Authors: Jakes Pamela 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
To improve access, interpretability, and use of the full body of research, a pilot project was initiated by the USDA Forest Service to synthesize relevant scientific information and develop publications and decision support tools that managers can use to inform fuels treatment plans. This article provides an overview of the work of the Social Science Core Team. Team members synthesized social science research to improve fuels management on the topics of collaboration, communicating with homeowners, assessing social acceptability, aesthetics of fuels management, and impacts of wildland fire on communities.
“Provide It ⋯ But Will They Come?„: A Look at African American and Hispanic Visits to Federal Recreation Areas
Authors: Johnson Cassandra Y. , Bowker J. , Green Gary , Cordell H. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Recent data from the US Forest Service's onsite National Visitor Use Monitoring Survey (National Visitor Use Monitoring Survey, 2004. Unpublished demographic results for 2002–2003. Data on file with Donald English, Program Manager, Visitor Use Monitoring Project, Washington,DC) shows that visits made by African Americans account for very low percentages of visits to national forests across the country. This is true even in the South, a region where African Americans are highly concentrated. In contrast, Hispanic visits to national forests in the Southwest arehigh, relative to their population proportion. We examine additional national level household data on awareness of federal lands and management to help understand the discrepancy between Hispanic and African American recreational use of federal lands. We hypothesized that awareness, knowledgeof management objectives, and attitudes about fees would reduce African American/Hispanic visitation differences; but strong differences remained after accounting for these factors. Results suggest other factors such as private landownership, and social definitions of place may be useful inconsidering African American use of wildland public recreation areas in the South.
The Carbon Consequences of Thinning Techniques: Stand Structure Makes a Difference
Authors: Hoover Coeli , Stout Susan 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Using results from a 25-year study of thinning in a northwestern Pennsylvania Allegheny hardwood stand, we assess whether and how thinning method affected carbon sequestration and merchantable volume production. Plots were thinned to similar residual relative density by removing treesfrom different portions of the diameter distribution. Plots that were thinned from below had greater volume production and carbon sequestration rates than plots that were thinned from the middle or thinned from above. Control plots, which were not thinned, also had higher carbon sequestrationrates than plots thinned from the middle and higher merchantable volume production and carbon sequestration rates than plots thinned from above. In this forest type, changing stand structure by thinning can affect carbon sequestration and stand growth either positively or negatively. Thoseeffects can be significant, with long-term implications for the growth of the stand. In general, structures that favored volume production also favor carbon sequestration.
What Do Foresters Think about Urban Forestry, Urban People, and Cities?
Authors: Ricard Robert M. , McDonough Maureen H. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Urban residents affect forest policy and hence forest management decisions and outcomes. In addition, urban forestry has become more visible, integrated, and influential in the Society of American Foresters (SAF). However, little is known about what foresters think urban people know about forestry, what emphasis foresters believe should be placed on urban forestry compared with traditional forestry, and what foresters think about the purposes of urban forestry. Results of a nationwide mail survey of SAF members suggest that urban forestry is well accepted as a community of interest by respondents, that respondents lean more toward loving cities than hating them, and that respondents believe urban people understand some specific forestry objectives, such as the link between forests and wood products, but not many others.
Comparing Job Quality in Logging and Forestry Services in Oregon
Authors: Moseley Cassandra , Reyes Yolanda 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
As logging employment continues to decline and forestry service employment grows, as they have over the past several decades, it is increasingly important to understand the relative quality of jobs in these two sectors. This study compares wages and job durability of loggers and forestry service workers in Oregon using unemployment insurance data. Using multiple wage measures (hourly, annual, and outside wages) and multiple job durability measures (employer changes, outside employment, seasonality, quarterly hours worked, and retention), this study finds that loggers typically earn more and have more durable jobs than forestry service workers.
Forest Plantations and Biodiversity: A Fresh Perspective
Authors: Stephens S. Sky , Wagner Michael R. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
We examined the worldwide literature on biodiversity in forest plantations for the indicator organism assessed, species composition (native versus exotic), tree species diversity, and appropriateness of the comparisons made. Fifty percent of the studies used invertebrates, 36% birds, 6% mammals, and 6% vascular plants as bioindicators. We found that 76% of the existing literature compares exotic plantation forests to native/natural forests, 9% of studies compare native plantations to native/natural forests, and 3% examine plantations to plantations. Lower biodiversity in plantation forest compared to other forests was reported by 94% of the reviewed studies. However, some studies indicate higher biodiversity in plantation forests compared to other land uses such as agriculture. We argue that much of the literature reporting lower biodiversity in plantation forests is based on inappropriate comparisons. We suggest more appropriate approaches to assessing the effects of plantation forests on biodiversity.
The Development of Pine Plantation Silviculture in the Southern United States
Authors: Fox Thomas R. , Jokela Eric J. , Allen H. Lee 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
In the 1950s there were vast acreages of cutover forestland and degraded agricultural land across the South. Less than 2 million ac of southern pine plantations existed at that time. By the end of the 20th century, there were 32 million ac of southern pine plantations in the US South and this region is the wood basket of the world. The success story that is southern pine forestry was facilitated by the application of research results generated through cooperative work of the US Forest Service, southern forestry schools, state forestry agencies, and forest industry. This article reviews the contributions of applied silvicultural research in tree improvement, nursery management, site preparation, weed control, and fertilization to plantation forestry in the South. These practices significantly increased productivity of southern pine plantations. Plantations established in the 1950s and 1960s, which produced less than 90 ft3 ac−1 yr−1, have been replaced by plantations established in the 2000s, which may produce in excess of 400 ft3 ac−1 yr−1. Currently, southern pine plantations are among the most intensively managed forests in the world. Growth of plantations managed using modern, integrated, site-specific silvicultural regimes now can rival that of plantations of fast-growing exotic species in the Southern Hemisphere.
Understanding and Reaching Family Forest Owners: Lessons from Social Marketing Research
Authors: Butler Brett J. , Tyrrell Mary , Feinberg Geoff , VanManen Scott , Wiseman Larry , Wallinger Scott 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Social marketing—the use of commercial marketing techniques to effect positive social change—is a promising means by which to develop more effective and efficient outreach, policies, and services for family forest owners. A hierarchical, multivariate analysis based on landowners' attitudes reveals four groups of owners to whom programs can be tailored: woodland retreat, working the land, supplemental income, and ready to sell. A prime prospect analysis segmenting landowners according to their level of engagement and interest in land management can be used to improve the efficiency of program implementation. Landowners showing low levels of engagement but high levels of interest are of special interest because they are likely to be receptive to a social marketing message and therefore should be a priority target for any such efforts. Using the demographic profile of the average family forest owner, newspapers and television were identified as important means for mass communication.
An Assessment of Geographic Information System Skills Used by Field-Level Natural Resource Managers
Authors: Merry Krista L. , Bettinger Pete , Clutter Mike , Hepinstall Jeffrey , Nibbelink Nathan P. 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
Geographic information systems (GIS) have become a standard tool to assist with mapping and spatial analysis needs of natural resource managers. Most recent graduates of university-level forestry and natural resource programs are required to complete a course in this area, and many employers expect recent graduates to have been exposed to the technology. Over the past 20 years, surveys of spatial technology have been conducted to assess needs of employers and capabilities of educational systems but have fallen short of identifying the needs of end users. We present one of the first surveys of end users, a set of recent graduates who are employed in natural resource management-related positions. The survey identifies the types of GIS software used by respondents, illustrates the processes and databases typically used, and highlights methods used to locate assistance when needed. Additionally, we discuss how to adapt GIS education to meet the needs of natural resource managers.
Decentralized Forest Management in South and Southeast Asia
Authors: Balooni Kulbhushan , Inoue Makoto 
Published: April 2024

Abstract
This article reviews the process of decentralization in forest management in developing countries in South and Southeast Asia. Decentralized forest management (DFM) is an alternative to centralized or state-regulated forest management, which transfers the forest use and management rights to local communities. It is a process of gradual change in forest management, which started in the 1970s when social forestry programs involving people's participation were first attempted and expanded in the 1990s when DFM policies were enacted to recognize the traditional forest rights of local communities. DFM has no single definition, depending instead on the state's willingness to move away from the command and control approach toward forest management. There are some plus points, but these are still limited and the drawbacks of decentralization far outweigh the gains.