SWIM, L.W., JR., ELLIOTT, K.J., OTTMAR, R.D., and VIHNANEK , R.E. 1993. Site preparation burning to improve southern Appalachian pine-hardwood stands: fire characteristics and soil erosion, moisture, and temperature. Can. J. For. Res. 23: 2242-2254. Three southern Appalachian stands with sparse and unproductive pine-hardwood overstories and dense Kalmia latifolia L. understories were treated to...

Ericaceous shrubs can influence soil properties in many ecosystems. In this study, we examined how soil and forest floor properties vary among sites with different ericaceous evergreen shrub basal area in the southern Appalachian mountains. We randomly located plots along transects that included open understories and understories with varying amounts of Rhododendron maximum (rosebay rhododendro...

Streamside management zones (SMZs) in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma are frequently established along headwater ephemeral and intermittent streams to protect water quality, provide wildlife habitat, and increase landscape diversity. To better understand the function of these riparian forest corridors, we characterized the tree density and composition, forest floor mass, and dow...

Bolitoglossa colonnea is a member of the Bolitoglossa striatula group (sensu Wake and Lynch 1976) that inhabits low to intermediate elevations on the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica and Panama, and the Golfo Dulce area in southwestern Costa Rica and extreme western Panama. Due to their secretive habits and the low density in which these tropical salamanders generally occur, observations are rare ...

An individual-based simulation model, EFIMOD, was used to simulate the response of forest ecosystems to climate change and additional nitrogen deposition. The general scheme of the model includes forest growth depending on nitrogen uptake by plants and mineralization of soil organic matter. The mineralization rate is dependent on nitrogen content in litter and forest floor horizons. Three large...

Forest fragmentation affects the heterogeneity of accumulated fuels by increasing the diversity of forest types and by increasing forest edges. This heterogeneity has implications in how we manage fuels, fire, and forests. Understanding the relative importance of fragmentation on woody biomass within a single climatic regime, and along climatic gradients, will improve our ability to manage fore...

Nearly 8 million dry tons (7 256 000 t) of municipal sewage sludge are produced each year in the USA by the more than 15 000 publicly owned treatment plants and the tonnage is increasing. Municipalities are faced with increasing cost of incineration, decreasing land for and increasing costs of landfills, and environmental concerns over ocean dumping. Under the circumstances, the attractiveness ...

A regional assessment of the ecological effects of chipping and mastication fuels reduction and forest restoration treatments. Project Title: A regional assessment of the ecological effects of chipping and mastication fuels reduction and forest restoration treatments. ABSTRACT: Over the past several years, fire managers have increased their use of mastication treatments, the on-site disposal of...

In this study the impact of production work on the skid roads that have been carried out for many years by manpower animal power or machinery in a beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) stand have been examined. For this purpose, herbaceous understory, forest floor and soil samples were collected from the undisturbed area and the skid road. Weight per unit area (kg ha(-1)), organic matter ratio and mo...