forester News
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Greenhouse Gases Rise From Forests Damaged by Katrina
Losses inflicted by Hurricane Katrina on Gulf Coast forest trees are great enough to cancel out a year's worth of new tree growth in other parts of the country, according to a new study led by biologist Jeffrey Chambers of Tulane University. 'The carbon that will be released as these trees decompose is enough to cancel out an entire year's worth of net gain by all U.S. forests. And this is ...
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GreenBlue launches new forest products working group
Sustainability nonprofit GreenBlue has announced the launch of its new Forest Products Working Group, a working group with cross-industry representation of leading companies committed to addressing unmet needs in the forest products sector. The Forest Products Working Group will focus on developing practical tools and resources to address forest resource challenges and opportunities. The ...
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Report: Forest restoration work not keeping pace with demand
The U.S. Forest Service says it has increased the pace and scale of its forest restoration work since 2011, but progress waned this year and the agency risks following further behind without more resources. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is using a new report to press Congress to change the way in which the federal government funds wildfire fighting. The report states that the Forest Services ...
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Attack of the Asian longhorned bettle Invasive exotic species threatens northeastern Canada and U.S. forests
Ottawa, Canada – Previously found in urban areas, the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) has moved beyond the confines of our cities and into natural forested areas, where its impact could be devastating. Recent research published in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research (CJFR) confirms this disturbing trend and calls for immediate action. Authors Dr. Kevin Dodds of the USDA Forest ...
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Climate shift `killing US trees`, according to new study
Tree death rates have more than doubled over the last few decades in old-growth forests of the western United States, and the most probable cause of the worrisome trend is regional warming, according to a U.S. Geological Survey-led (USGS) study published in Science on January 23. The study found that the increase in dying trees has been pervasive. Tree death rates have increased across a wide ...
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State foresters encouraged by strong state response to Insect & Disease Designation requests
The Agriculture Act of 2014 (“Farm Bill”) provided states with an opportunity to request designation of landscape-scale insect & disease infestation areas on National Forest System lands managed by the USDA Forest Service under section 8204 of the Farm Bill. To date, 36 states have submitted requests to the Forest Service for such designations under the Farm Bill authority. NASF ...
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House passes bill to hasten timber projects in forests
The House passed a bill Thursday designed to improve the health of national forests by scaling back the environmental reviews that go into some timbering projects and discouraging lawsuits that delay projects. The goal is to speed up timber harvests and underbrush removal that the U.S. Forest Service deems necessary to improve the health of national forests, which are taking a hit from drought, ...
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Reduced humidity seriously restricts leaf growth of beech trees
Beech trees are extremely sensitive to drought and are known to be one of the European tree species most at risk from climate change. New research found a dramatic reduction in the leaf growth of young beech trees growing in Central European forests when air conditions were dry, even where there was sufficient moisture in the soil. While previous experiments have shown the damaging effect of ...
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Controlled forest fires could kill invasive tree disease
In a new study, researchers examined the potential influence of human-driven changes in land-use on disease establishment in forests. The research suggests that changes in forest management, which encourage greater and more dense forest cover, are creating environmental conditions that promote disease. The invasive, fungal-like Phytophthora ramorum causes Sudden Oak Death (SOD), which is ...
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Preserving biodiversity in European forests
At present, to safeguard biodiversity around a quarter of Europe’s forests is not harvested. Between 2000 and 2005, protected forest areas were increased by almost 40 per cent in area. In addition, farmers have converted significant areas of agricultural land to forests. However, this can sometimes have negative effects: intensification measures such as peat land drainage, fertilisation, genetic ...
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Agroforestry can fix Pakistan’s depleting tree cover
Using a mix of trees and crop species can help rejuvenate Pakistan's deteriorating forests, a study reported. The study is based on physical and chemical analyses of 400 soil samples, collected during a survey of farms and plantations to compare the four agro-ecological zones of the Punjab province. Results of the findings published in the African Science Journal of Environmental Sciences and ...
By SciDev.Net
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Presentation: Forest Health Monitoring in the Oil Sands - Update!
On June 18, 2019, the WBEA presented findings from over a decade of the Terrestrial Environmental Effects Monitoring (TEEM) Program. The WBEA has monitored forest health in the RMWB for the past 20 years, and recently completed a publication project to summarize findings in key areas. The publication project involved the development and submission of nine manuscripts to an open-source scientific ...
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SFI and Audubon Team Up Bird Scientists with Forest Managers to Implement Conservation Programs
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) announced today that it has awarded the National Audubon Society $60,000 under the SFI Conservation and Community Partnership Grant Program. The three-year project is designed to develop and implement the latest bird conservation best practices by engaging Audubon scientists working closely with forest managers across six states along the ...
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Choice of tree species and site can increase plant diversity in plantation forest
Careful choice of tree species and sites could transform plantations into refuges for woodland plant diversity, new research from Ireland suggests. Plantations of native species on or near historic woodland and those with adequate light levels below the tree canopy were found to support more plant species. Europe’s forests cover 45% of the land area, and provide important habitat for many ...
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`Go Paper. Grow Trees.` connects healthy forests with paper use
An awareness campaign entitled Go Paper. Grow Trees.™ gives consumers the facts on how using paper products makes a direct contribution to the health and growth of trees and the forests. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a majority of the 750 million acres of U.S. forests are privately owned. These private owners -- mostly family tree farmers ...
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Locally Cut Firewood Can Prevent the Spread of Invasive Pests and Create Substanial Savings For Communities
As fall turns into winter, people across the country buy or gather firewood to heat their homes, campsites, and cabins, and many aren't aware that moving firewood more than 50 miles can increase the risk of new invasive pest infestations that kill trees. A recent study, "Economic Impacts of Non-Native Forest Insects in the Continental United States" by Aukema et al. estimates that the costs of ...
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New research project addresses national priorities in combating the threat of tree diseases
New diseases are posing significant risks to tree health and plant biosecurity.UK Government Research Councils, DEFRA, Forestry Commission and Scottish Government, are together investing £7M to fund seven new projects to help address threats to UK forests, woods and trees. Bangor University is a partner in one of these projects in collaboration with the Universities of Stirling and ...
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Forest management for climate change adaptation must fit the context
Forest management could help adaptation to climate change through its effects on water supply. A long-term US-based study has analysed the impact of forested land use changes on water flow into streams and rivers. It indicated that converting forests from deciduous to pine trees could help water storage in extreme wet conditions, but may be unsuitable in droughts. As such, it recommends tailoring ...
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Global well-being: rooted in the world`s forests
This piece originally appeared in the Washington Post Environmental Leadership supplement on April 20, 2011, and is reposted with permission. This year, 2011, has been declared the International Year of Forests, and while a few bright spots exist, forests today face a host of challenges. Mounting pressures from agricultural expansion, rapid economic development, and growing demand for products ...
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Slash-and-burn `improves tropical forest biodiversity`
Slash-and-burn agricultural practices, banned by governments because of the risk of uncontrolled fires, provide better growing conditions for valuable new trees than more modern methods of forest clearance, a study suggests. Starting in 1996, researchers cleared 24 half-hectare areas of tropical forest in Quintana Roo state, in southern Mexico, using three methods: clear-felling, where most of ...
By SciDev.Net
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