[LTER-sbc_help] Forest Science News - January 2020

[Hubbard Brook Research Foundation]

A roundup of research headlines  Forest Science News is brought to you by the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation. January 2020 Thank you to everyone who participated in our survey, and congratulations to the winner of the book drawing: Katie Parent! SILVICULTURE Learning forestry best practices from the Bartlett Experimental Forest New Hampshire is home to two of the 76 experimental forests currently managed by the USDA Forest Service: the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest and the Bartlett Experimental Forest. This piece—written by David Dobbs for Northern Woodlands’ new multimedia storytelling project, “The Resilient Forest”—gives readers a glimpse into the valuable silvicultural research happening at the Bartlett by profiling wildlife biologist Mariko Yamasaki and forester Bill Leak. Article: Northern Woodlands CONSERVATION PLANNING Female songbird habitat is being overlooked When migratory birds fly south for the winter after the breeding season, males and females of the same species often occupy different habitats. In fact, the sexes spend their off-season apart in one-third of 66 North American bird species of special conservation concern. Females tend to occupy dry and shrubby lower elevation sites, while males opt for humid mid- and high-elevation sites. This sexual segregation of habitat is important for conservation planners to take into account. But after analyzing the conservation plans for those same 66 species, researchers from Cornell University found that only eight percent of the plans considered sexual segregation—suggesting that the widespread pattern is usually overlooked, with conservation efforts favoring males while leaving females unprotected. Abstract: Biological Conservation Press Release: Cornell Lab of Ornithology INSECT OUTBREAKS The very hungry caterpillar may be (indirectly) releasing greenhouse gases Researchers from Lund University in Sweden conducted a review of publications about how plant-eating insects affect soil processes in forests around the world. They found that when attacked by leaf-feeding insects, plants made less carbon available to their roots, leading to a decrease in the abundance of mycorrhizal fungi that live in association with plant roots. They also found that when there were outbreaks of plant-eating insects, nutrient cycling in the soil increased; more carbon and nitrogen were leached from the forest floor, and more carbon dioxide was released from the soil. This latter finding is especially important in the context of climate change; warmer temperatures are leading to more frequent insect outbreaks—if insect outbreaks in turn cause carbon dioxide to be released from forest ecosystems, a positive feedback loop to further climate warming could ensue. Abstract: Journal of Ecology Press Release: Lund University HUBBARD BROOK HIGHLIGHT What the data tell us two years after the Ice Storm Experiment Ice storms are highly destructive and expected to become more frequent in our changing climate, but they are notoriously challenging to study. The Hubbard Brook Ice Storm Experiment (ISE) mimicked the natural phenomenon in a controlled setting—a team of scientists sprayed the forest canopy under subfreezing conditions in 2016 and 2017, coating vegetation in ice with varying levels of frequency and severity. Two new papers describe the effects of the experimental ice storm. The first paper, published in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, examines how ice loading impacted the structure of the forest canopy. The researchers find that the openness, light transmission, and complexity of the canopy all increased significantly in the two years after the treatment. The second paper, published in Ecosystems, looks at the response of the nitrogen cycle. After a major ice storm hit Hubbard Brook in 1998, the forest lost a significant amount of nitrogen for a period of two years. However, the nitrogen leaching varied significantly depending on the location within the ecosystem. This time, the system did not respond the same way—in fact, there was a surprising lack of response from the nitrogen cycle to the experimental ice storm. The authors speculate that this may be an indication that nitrogen cycling in the ecosystem has fundamentally changed in the last two decades. Abstract: Canadian Journal of Forest Research Abstract: Ecosystems The above links were curated from news articles and press releases published during November/December 2019. 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. Please email ideas and questions to: sciencelinks at hubbardbrookfoundation.org Sign up to get Forest Science News in your inbox! Hubbard Brook Research Foundation | 30 Pleasant St., Woodstock, VT 05091 Unsubscribe sbc_help at lternet.edu Update Profile | About Constant Contact Sent by sciencelinks at hubbardbrookfoundation.org in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!
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