[LTER-sbc_help] Forest Science News - December 2018

[Hubbard Brook Research Foundation]

A monthly roundup of research headlines Forest Science News is brought to you by the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation. December 2018 CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION Scientists highlight forests’ critical role in response to IPCC report The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest report, detailing the impacts of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming, on October 7. The findings are sobering—including the fact that we may reach that climate milestone in as little as 11 years. In advance of the report, a group of scientists published a statement outlining why protecting and sustainably managing forests is crucial to mitigating climate change. “In responding to the IPCC report, our message as scientists is simple,” the group writes. “Our planet’s future climate is inextricably tied to the future of its forests.” Article: Climate and Land Use Alliance AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS A common mosquito repellent is deadly to salamander larvae Insect repellents are on the rise globally in response to mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus, Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Often, the chemicals in these repellents wind up in surface waters. A team of researchers based at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies set out to the investigate the effect of DEET and picaridin, two of the most commonly used mosquito repellents, on aquatic mosquito larvae and their natural predators, salamander larvae. Neither of the repellents affected the mosquito larvae; DEET didn’t harm the salamander larvae, either. But many of the salamander larvae that were exposed to picaridin grew with deformities, and after 25 days of exposure, between 45 and 65% of them died. The researchers suspect that there may be a negative feedback loop at play: As people use more repellent to combat disease-spreading mosquitos, the salamanders that feast on them may decline, resulting in more mosquitos surviving to adulthood. Abstract: Biology Letters Press Release: Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies CONSERVATION For beleaguered bats, there may be a (UV) light at the end of the tunnel White-nose syndrome, an emerging disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has decimated more than 6 million bats across the U.S. since it was first identified in 2006—upwards of 78 percent of the bats in affected hibernacula die. But a $111,760 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Bats for the Future Fund may help shed light on the problem. Daniel Lidner, a Forest Service scientist, discovered that the fungus cannot recover from damage caused by ultraviolet light. The grant will enable his team to study whether UV light can be used to clean caves of the fungus and protect bats from infection. Press Release: U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station INVASIVE SPECIES Emerald ash borer invades fifth county in Vermont The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed that the invasive beetle—which kills ash trees by feeding beneath the bark and interrupting the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients—is now present in Grand Isle County in northwestern Vermont. The pest first showed up in the Green Mountain State in February 2018. Emerald ash borer has also been confirmed in Orange, Washington, Caledonia, and Bennington counties in Vermont, along with 35 other states and five Canadian provinces—most recently Nova Scotia. Article: Vermont Public Radio HUBBARD BROOK HIGHLIGHT How will forest ecosystems respond to lower nitrogen deposition? In response to increased nitrogen emissions from power plants and artificial fertilizers, ecologists have devoted significant time to studying how forest ecosystems respond to excess nitrogen. One of their key findings is that forests in the eastern U.S. are especially sensitive to nitrogen saturation, which happens when the ecosystem can’t keep up with the amount of nitrogen deposition in the atmosphere. But thanks to stricter regulations such as the Clean Air Act, nitrogen emissions from U.S. vehicles and power plants have decreased by more than 50 percent since the 1980s. A team of researchers, including Hubbard Brook Investigators Charles Driscoll, Serita Frey, and Gary Lovett, argue that it’s now time to focus on how eastern forests will change in response to decreased nitrogen deposition, following decades of chronically high deposition. They project that soil acidification, plant biodiversity, soil microbial communities, forest carbon and nitrogen cycling, and surface water chemistry will all recover towards pre-excess-nitrogen conditions, with varying lag times. Abstract: Environmental Pollution The above links were curated from news articles and press releases published during October 2018. The Hubbard Brook Research Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study Forest Science News is a science communication tool designed to improve communication between ecosystem scientists and public audiences in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada. 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