Recent Station Publications: 1st Quarter 2021

This report assesses recent forest disturbance in the Western United States and discusses implications for sustainability. Individual chapters focus on fire, drought, insects, disease, invasive plants, and socioeconomic impacts. 

Climate affects most disturbance processes, particularly drought, fire, and biotic disturbances, and climate change is expected to continue to affect disturbance processes in various ways and degrees
Barrett, Tara M.; Robertson, Guy C., eds. 2021. Disturbance and sustainability in forests of the Western United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-992. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 231 p.

The Douglas-fir tussock moth is a forest defoliating insect that is subject to periodic population outbreaks. These outbreaks are sometimes spatially synchronized across hundreds of kilometers.  

This research note documents a field experiment testing the hypothesis that there is small-scale spatial variation in predation on Douglas-fir tussock moth larvae and that flying and branch-dwelling predators have different effects.
Hovland, Charlotte; Polivka, Carlos M.; Dwyer, Greg; Skalisky, Kirsten C. 2021. Spatial variability in generalist predation on the Douglas-fir tussock moth. Res. Note. PNW-RN-582. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Online only.
PNW Science Findings
The 1912 Douglas-fir heredity study: lessons from a century of experience. Kirkland, John; St. Clair, Brad. 2021. Science Findings 235. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 5 p.

Planting trees to mitigate climate change: policy incentives could lead to increased carbon sequestration. Watts, Andrea; Kline, Jeff; Haight, Robert. 2021. Science Findings 236. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 5 p
Journal Articles by Topic
Ecology, Ecosystems & Environment
Identification of seasonal streamflow regimes and streamflow drivers for daily and peak flows in Alaska. Curran, Janet H.; Biles, Frances E. 2021. Water Resources Research. 57(2): 1–21.

Riverine dissolved organic carbon and freshwater export in the eastern Gulf of Alaska. Edwards, Rick T.; D'Amore, David V.; Biles, Frances E.; Fellman, Jason B.; Hood, Eran W.; Trubilowicz, Joel W.; Floyd, William C. 2021. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 126(1): 1–16.

Effects of snow and climate on soil temperature and frost development in forested peatlands in Minnesota, USA. Friesen, Hannah C.; Slesak, Robert A.; Karwan, Diana L.; Kolka, Randall K. 2021. Geoderma. 394(1): 1–12.

Direct and indirect effects of forest harvesting on sediment yield in forested watersheds of the United States. McEachran, Zachary P.; Karwan, Diana L.; Slesak, Robert A. 2021. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 57(1): 1–31.
Environment & People
Discursive constructions of night sky experiences: Imagination and imaginaries in national park visitor narratives. Derrien, Monika M.; Stokowski, Patricia A. 2020. Annals of Tourism Research. 85(1): 10303.

An empirical test of the biodiversity hypothesis: exposure to plant diversity is associated with a reduced risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Donovan, Geoffrey H.; Gatziolis, Demetrios; Mannetje, Andrea; Weinkove, Robert; Fyfe, Caroline; Douwes, Jeroen. 2021. Science of the Total Environment. 768: 144627.

The politics of urban trees: tree planting is associated with gentrification in Portland, Oregon. Donovan, Geoffrey H.; Prestemon, Jeffrey P.; Butry, David T.; Kaminski, Abigail R.; Monleon, Vicente J. 2021. Forest Policy and Economics. 124: 102387.

Wood products for cultural uses: sustaining native resilience and vital lifeways in southeast Alaska, USA. Johnson, Adelaide; Clavijo, Audrey E.; Hamar, Glenn; Head, Deborah-Aanutein; Thoms, Andrew; Price, Wayne; Lapke, Arianna; Crotteau, Justin; Cerveny, Lee K.; Wilmer, Hailey; Petershoare, Lillian; Cook, Andrea; Reid, Sienna. 2021. Forests. 12(1): 1–26.

Mentoring relates to job satisfaction for fish biologists: a longitudinal study of the USDA Forest Service. Penaluna, Brooke E.; Shively, Dan; Roper, Brett B.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Witt, Shelly; Rothlisberger, John D. 2020. Fisheries. 45(12): 656-663.
Fire
Wildland fire emission sampling at Fishlake National Forest, Utah using an unmanned aircraft system. Aurell, J.; Gullett, B.; Holder, A.; Kiros, F.; Mitchell, W.; Watts, A.; Ottmar, R. 2021. Atmospheric Environment. 247(11): 118193.

Evaluating rural Pacific Northwest towns for wildfire evacuation vulnerability. Dye, Alex W.; Kim, John B.; McEvoy, Andrew; Fang, Fang; Riley, Karin L. 2021. Natural Hazards. 35(3): 1393.

Statistical downscaling with spatial misalignment: application to wildland fire PM 2.5 concentration forecasting. Majumder, Suman; Guan, Yawen; Reich, Brian J.; O’Neill, Susan; Rappold, Ana G. 2021. Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics. 26(1): 23–44.

Apportioning smoke impacts of 2018 wildfires on eastern Sierra Nevada sites. Mueller, Sean; Tarnay, Leland; O’Neill, Susan; Raffuse, Sean. 2020. Atmosphere. 11(9): 970.

Fuel treatment effectiveness in the context of landform, vegetation, and large, wind‐driven wildfires. Prichard, Susan J.; Povak, Nicholas A.; Kennedy, Maureen C.; Peterson, David W. 2020. Ecological Applications. 30(5): 1-22.
Forest & Plant Health
Non‐native species threaten the biotic integrity of the largest remnant Pacific Northwest bunchgrass prairie in the United States. Endress, Bryan A.; Averett, Joshua P.; Naylor, Bridgett J.; Morris, Lesley R.; Taylor, Robert V. 2020. Applied Vegetation Science. 23(1): 53–68.

Enhanced between-site biosecurity to minimize herpetofaunal disease-causing pathogen transmission. Olson, Deanna H.; Haman, Katherine H.; Gray, Matthew; Harris, Reid; Thompson, Tracy; Iredale, Marley; Christman, Michelle; Williams, Jennifer; Adams, Michael J.; Ballard, Jennifer. 2021. Herpetological Review. 52(1): 29–39.

Historical fire and Ventenata dubia invasion in a temperate grassland. Ridder, Luke W.; Perren, JoAnna M.; Morris, Lesley R.; Endress, Bryan A.; Taylor, Robert V.; Naylor, Bridgett J. 2021. Rangeland Ecology & Management. 75: 35–40.
Inventory, Monitoring & Analysis
Toward environmental justice in civic science: youth performance and experience measuring air pollution using moss as a bio-indicator in industrial-adjacent neighborhoods. Derrien, Monika M.; Zuidema, Christopher; Jovan, Sarah; Bidwell, Amanda; Brinkley, Weston; López, Paulina; Barnhill, Roseann; Blahna, Dale J. 2020. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17(19): 7278-.

Machine learning-based integration of high-resolution wildfire smoke simulations and observations for regional health impact assessment. Zou, Yufei; O’Neill, Susan M.; Larkin, Narasimhan K.; Alvarado, Ernesto C.; Solomon, Robert; Mass, Clifford; Liu, Yang; Odman, M. Talat; Shen, Huizhong. 2019. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 16(12): 2137-.
Natural Resource Management & Use
Management of multiple ecosystem services under climate change, bioeconomy and participation. Baskent, Emin Zeki; Borges, José Guilherme; Vacik, Harald; Reynolds, Keith M.; Rodriguez, Luiz Carlos E. 2021. Forests. 12(1): 104.

Effects of post-fire management on dead woody fuel dynamics and stand structure in a severely burned mixed-conifer forest, in northeastern Washington State, USA. Johnson, Morris C.; Kennedy, Maureen C.; Harrison, Sarah C.; Churchill, Derek; Pass, James; Fischer, Paul W. 2020. Forest Ecology and Management. 470-471.

Evaluating empirical evidence for housing development effects on the management of remaining private-owned forest in the U.S. Kline, Jeffrey D.; Houston, Laurie L.; Gray, Andrew N.; Monleon, Vicente. 2021. Forest Policy and Economics. 124(8): 102346.

A web-based approach for visualizing interactive decision maps. Marto, Marco; Bushenkov, Vladimir A.; Reynolds, Keith M.; Borges, José G.; Marques, Susete. 2020. Information. 12(1): 9.

Great expectations: Deconstructing the process pathways underlying beaver-related restoration. Nash, Caroline S; Grant, Gordon E; Charnley, Susan; Dunham, Jason B; Gosnell, Hannah; Hausner, Mark B; Pilliod, David S; Taylor, Jimmy D. 2021. BioScience. 71(3): 249–267.

Repeated fall prescribed fire in previously thinned Pinus ponderosa increases growth and resistance to other disturbances. Westlind, Douglas J.; Kerns, Becky K. 2021. Forest Ecology and Management. 480: 118645. 
Wildlife & Fish
Can nutrient additions facilitate recovery of Pacific salmon? Benjamin, Joseph R.; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Whitney, Emily; Dunham, Jason B. 2020. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 77(10): 1601-1611.

Demographic performance of a large herbivore: effects of winter nutrition and weather. Jackson, Nathan J.; Stewart, Kelley M.; Wisdom, Michael J.; Clark, Darren A.; Rowland, Mary M. 2021. Ecosphere. 12(1): 99.

What is an optimal value of k in k-fold cross-validation in discrete Bayesian network analysis?. Marcot, Bruce G.; Hanea, Anca M. 2020. Computational Statistics. 52(5): 667.

Better boundaries: identifying the upper extent of fish distributions in forested streams using eDNA and electrofishing. Penaluna, Brooke E.; Allen, Jennifer M.; Arismendi, Ivan; Levi, Taal; Garcia, Tiffany S.; Walter, Jason K. 2021. Ecosphere. 12(1): 1–19

The food habits of fishers (Pekania pennanti) in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon. Raley, Catherine M; Aubry, Keith B. 2020. Northwestern Naturalist. 101(3):143–157.

Strategic habitat conservation for beach mice: estimating management scenario efficiencies. Cronin, James Patrick; Tirpak, Blair E.; Dale, Leah L.; Robenski, Virginia L.; Tirpak, John M.; Marcot, Bruce G. 2021. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 85(2): 324–339.

Nowhere to hide: the importance of instream cover for stream‐living coastal cutthroat trout during seasonal low flow. Penaluna, Brooke E.; Dunham, Jason B.; Andersen, Heidi V. 2021. Ecology of Freshwater Fish. 30(2): 256–269.

Workflow and convolutional neural network for automated identification of animal sounds. Ruff, Zachary J.; Lesmeister, Damon B.; Appel, Cara L.; Sullivan, Christopher M. 2021. Ecological Indicators. 124(2): 107419.

Using decision science for monitoring threatened western snowy plovers to inform recovery. Marcot, Bruce G.; Lyons, James E.; Elbert, Daniel C.; Todd, Laura. 2021. Animals. 11(2): 569.
About the Pacific Northwest Research Station
The USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station is a leader in the scientific study of natural resources. We generate and communicate impartial knowledge to help people understand and make informed choices about natural resource management and sustainability. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the station has laboratories and research centers in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon.
Recent Publications of the Pacific Northwest Research Station is published quarterly.
The USDA is an equal opportunity employer.