Current West Virginia coal mining regulations emphasize reforestation as a preferred postmining land use on surface mined areas. Some mined sites reclaimed to pasture are being converted to forests. In the spring of 2001, we compared the establishment and growth of five hardwood tree species on a reclaimed West Virginaia surface mine with compacted soils and a heavy grass groundcover. We plante...

Oak is the most important forest tree in Kurdistan province (Iran). Fungi are associated with oak trees as parasite, saprophyte and endophyte. The endophytic fungi are known components of biodiversity and have beneficial effects on host plants. During 2012-13 in a survey on endophytic fungi of oak trees in forest regions of Kurdistan province asymptomatic samples were collected from healthy twi...

We assessed dietary preference of 14 captive Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) for different food types under different conditions of availability. In four separate feeding trials, we provisioned jays with the following: Trial 1, two nuts each of white oak (Quercus alba), pin oak (Q. palustris), black oak (Q. velutina), northern red oak (Q. rubra), and shagbark hickory (Carya ovata); Trial 2, two...

Understanding how trees respond to global change drivers is central to predict changes in forest structure and functions. Although there is evidence on the mode of nitrogen (N) and drought (D) effects on tree growth, our understanding of the interplay of these factors is still limited. Simultaneously, as mixtures are expected to be less sensitive to global change as compared to monocultures, we...

A variety of forest health issues, concerns, and events have rapidly changed southern forests and plantations in the past two decades. These factors have strongly impacted the ways we manage forest pests in the Southern United States. This trend will no doubt continue to shape forest pest management in the future. The major issues and events of concern include changing forest conditions, urbani...

Forestry industry in many European countries has begun to focus on sustainable forest management practices, and consequently, a greater emphasis is now being placed on the restoration and enhancement of native woodlands in places where intensive forestry is nowadays not highly profitable. In this context, we evaluate the natural regeneration of native oak woodland vegetation under cultivated st...

he use of tree shelters with naturally established red oak seedlings was studied in southern New England mixedhardwood stands where deer browsing limited regeneration height growth. Seedlings of three size classes (basal diameters of 5 mm, 8 mm, and 15 mm) were cut off just above ground level during the dormant season to induce sprouting. Plastic tree shelters were placed over one group in each...

The natural history of the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is poorly understood and confounded by domestication. In nature, S. cerevisiae and its undomesticated relative S. paradoxus are usually found on the bark of oak trees, a habitat very different from wine or other human fermentations. It is unclear whether the oak trees are really the primary habitat for wild yeast, or whether this a...

Oak forests throughout the world are in a state of decline due to lack of oak seedling recruitment to larger size classes. Much of this recruitment decline has been attributed to changes in ecosystem disturbance regimes that have led to increased competition from other species. The Midwest Driftless Area forests in the United States are currently dominated by large oak trees of three species: Q...