Tara Bal

American beech is facing pressure from a number of emergent health issues including beech bark disease, beech leaf disease, beech leaf mining weevil, and climate and habitat change. Interest has increased in the propagation of American beech in response to the demand for more disease-resistant American beech for use in restoration. This study describes the first steps towards publishing methods for transplanting beech in order to supplement commercially available beech seedlings in an area with multiple agencies depleting the existing stock of slow growing species. American beech seedlings were purchased from a nursery in northern Michigan and were excavated from natural stands in the Hiawatha National Forest. Survival rates for these cohorts were compared after a growing season and by the relative amounts of fine roots present on the trees. Generally, the wildling seedlings had a higher survivability than the purchased bare root seedlings. Future work is proposed that could clarify...

Two figured woods, commonly known as birdseye maple ( Acer saccharum , sugar maple) and curly maple ( Acer rubrum , red maple), were exposed to brown rot and white rot fungi in a standard laboratory decay test and compared with unfigured wood of each species, respectively. For the birdseye maple, two levels of figure intensity were used: wood with heavy figure and wood with light figure. Heavily figured birdseye maple wood was decayed significantly less by the brown rot fungus  Rhodonia placenta  than unfigured maple wood or lightly figured maple wood. However, heavily figured birdseye maple wood was decayed significantly more by two white rot fungi,  Trametes versicolor  and  Irpex lacteus , than unfigured maple wood but was not decayed significantly more than lightly figured wood. For both brown rot and white rot fungi, lightly figured birdseye maple wood did not decay significantly differently compared with unfigured wood. Likewise, there was no significant difference in decay between curly red maple wood and unfigured red maple wood for either brown rot or white rot fungi. Results suggest chemical or anatomical differences in the heavily figured birdseye sugar maple wood affect decay by brown rot and white rot fungi. These findings may be useful to hobbyists and woodworkers needing to protect wood or who partially decay wood to produce spalted wood for decorative purposes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine education as a driver of change in U.S. forests and the forest sector over the next two decades. Likely outcomes in general education include: (1) greater emphasis on the production of information products and services associated with a knowledge-creation society; (2) more emphasis on nondiscipline-specific or generic and transferable competencies; (3) increase in the importance of information and communication technologies in the development of knowledge-creation skills and competencies; (4) greater attention paid to the environment in which students learn, with an overall emphasis on engagement, and in particular on the relationship between instruction and student outcomes; and (5) expansion of virtual, informal lifelong learning made possible by an infrastructure of digital networks complementing the instructor-mediated learning approaches. Expectations from natural resources education include: (1) better integration of the ecological, soci...

A survey of 396 undergraduate and graduate students from 51 countries on 5 continents currently enrolled in Forestry or Related Natural Resource (FRNR) degree programmes was conducted of attendees to the International Union of Forest Research Organizations' (IUFRO) conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, 2014. These perspectives come from some of the most active students in their respective fields. We explored the motivating reasons for enrolling in their current FRNR programme, and conversely why they may have been hesitant to do so. Results indicate that enjoyment of nature was the most important factor on average driving the decision to enroll, closely followed by job satisfaction, concern for the environment, enjoyment of outdoor recreation, being outdoors, and an interest in subject material. Hesitancy factors included earning potential, availability of funding/scholarships, and politically contentious issues. A number of significant differences were found across demographic ca...

In 2018, a web image content analysis was conducted to assess the perceived gender and race/ethnicity diversity and representativeness of 11 natural resources-related, professional society websites. Results highlight the lack of inclusivity of women and minorities in images most frequently seen at the top of these organizations’ home webpages. More gender and race/ethnicity diversity is present on the main landing page or home page for these organizations, but much less diversity is found on other webpages within the websites. Women and minorities are also less likely to be portrayed in images in the field, or actively engaging with natural resources (more likely to be included in posed, passive images indoors). Representative diversity in images is important to influence the perceived fit and consequential decisionmaking for potential students and professionals entering natural resource-related fields.

Under-representation of minorities and women in natural resources (NR)-related fields is common, both as students and as professionals. The perception of a predominantly white, male student body and workforce is a potential barrier to recruiting women and minorities to Forestry and related-NR fields. The images of “forestry” and “natural resources-related” fields were examined as they would be from a potential student’s perspective looking at university and college websites with these degree program majors at the 80 National Association of University Forest Resource Programs member institutions during in 2016. Results suggest the percentage of women and minorities enrolled explains little variation in a program’s website image content, whereas there is significant image under-representation of minorities in all NR fields and of women on forestry-major webpages. In addition, women and minorities are more likely to be portrayed in a passive image, such as posing on campus, rather than...

The exotic emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is established in a number of states, including Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, and in one Canadian province, Ontario. At high population densities, all green, black, and white ash trees are apparently susceptible to attack and can be expected to die. Emerald ash borer larvae develop in the phloem of ash trees in stems and branches above approximately 2.5 cm in diameter. Removal of ash from high priority areas such as those stands in close proximity to outlier populations will reduce the population density of this insect. The surface area of over 500 ash trees was measured using standing trees as well as cut trees throughout Lower and Upper Michigan. White, green, and black ash trees in open-grown and forested settings were all represented. There are strong quadratic relationships between diameter at breast height and calculated surface area of the tree, but these quadratic relationships differ significantly between open-grown and forest-grown trees when the different ash species are considered. Multiple models have been developed for use in management prescriptions to reduce the amount of ash available to emerald ash borer. These models are based on ash species and crown light exposure. Information on ash species and the light exposure for most of the trees in a stand (i.e., forested or open-grown trees) may allow managers to use a more specific model to fit their stand. Other relationships between diameter, surface area, and volume of phloem are being determined. These relationships, in addition to others involving tree vigor, form, and growing conditions, have been integrated into models characterizing the amount of ash phloem in a forest stand. Using these models with density information (trees per acre) from a stand and stock table, we can determine diameter limits for cutting to meet prescribed ash phloem reduction targets. By reducing emerald ash borer populations through phloem reduction, and decreasing the removal of the smaller trees in a stand, this model will enable the genetic diversity of ash to be optimized during ash reduction efforts. Similar models are available for use when the management goal is to retain large trees within a stand. Applied models help land managers to make scientifically quantifiable decisions relating to ash reduction in forests. Forest resource managers are able to access the models online at www.ashmodel.org and determine the diameter limit for removal of ash to achieve the phloem reduction target within the context of other forest management goals.