Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis) treatments are often implemented to improve breeding habitat for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a species of considerable conservation concern. In 2008 and 2009, we measured vegetation structure available to sage-grouse for breeding at 19 sites that were prescribed burned during 1990–1999 and 2000–2006, 6 sites that wer...

planting shrub seedlings under oil mulches has frequently been used for stabilizing mobile sands in iran for during the last three decades. sandy desert of samad abad, sarakhs, northeast iran, has been fixed by cultivating seedling of haloxylon aphyllum under the oil mulches. therefore this study was designed to investigate the effects of the sand fixation project on soil and vegetation propert...

–Trees in many forests affect the soils and plants below their canopies. In current high-density southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests, managers have opportunities to enhance multiple ecosystem values by manipulating tree density, distribution, and canopy cover through tree thinning. I performed a study in northern Arizona ponderosa pine-Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) forests to ...

0099-1112/12/7807–715/$3.00/0 © 2012 American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Abstract Tree canopy cover is a fundamental component of the landscape, and the amount of cover influences fire behavior, air pollution mitigation, and carbon storage. As such, efforts to empirically model percent tree canopy cover across the United States are a critical area of research. The 2001 nation...

With fire suppression, many western forests are expected to have fewer gaps and higher stem density of shade-tolerant species as light competition becomes a more significant influence on stand pattern and composition. We compared species composition, structure, spatial pattern, and environmental factors such as light and soil moisture between two old-growth forests: Pacific Northwest western he...

Planting shrub seedlings under oil mulches has frequently been used for stabilizing mobile sands in Iran for during the last three decades. Sandy desert of Samad Abad, Sarakhs, northeast Iran, has been fixed by cultivating seedling of Haloxylon aphyllum under the oil mulches. Therefore this study was designed to investigate the effects of the sand fixation project on soil and vegetation propert...

This study used an affordable ground-based portable LiDAR system to provide an understanding of the structural differences between old-growth and secondary-growth Southeastern pine. It provided insight into the strengths and weaknesses in the structural determination of portable systems in contrast to airborne LiDAR systems. Portable LiDAR height profiles and derived metrics and indices (e.g., ...

Woody plant encroachment into grasslands and rangelands is a world-wide phenomenon but detailed descriptions of changes in geographical distribution and infilling rates have not been well documented at large land scales. Remote sensing with either aerial or satellite images may provide a rapid means for accomplishing this task. Our objective was to compare the accuracy and utility of two types ...

Solar radiation directly and indirectly drives a variety of ecosystem processes. Our aim was to evaluate how tree canopy architecture affects near-ground, incoming solar radiation along gradients of increasing tree cover, referred to as the grassland–forest continuum. We evaluated a common type of canopy architecture: tall trees that generally have their lowest level of foliage high above, rath...

this study was carried out to investigate the effect of crown canopy of ziziphus spina-christi on seed bank characteristics (density and similarity with above ground flora) in two sites with saline-alkaline and alkaline soils. in each soil, forty plots were established, half in and half outside of z. spina-christi cover. in each plot, soil sampling was done from 0-5 and 5-10 cm depths. paired a...