Management of forests for carbon uptake is an important tool in the effort to slow the increase in atmospheric CO2 and global warming. However, some current policies governing forest carbon credits actually promote avoidable CO2 release and punish actions that would increase long-term carbon storage. In fire-prone forests, management that […]
We compared energy fluxes between a site converted from ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest to sparse grassland by a severe wildfire 10 years ago and a nearby, unburned forest. We used eddy covariance and associated instruments to measure total radiation, net radiation, albedo, and fluxes of energy into latent heat, […]
Background Forests can sequester carbon dioxide, thereby reducing atmospheric concentrations and slowing global warming. In the U.S., forest carbon stocks have increased as a result of regrowth following land abandonment and in-growth due to fire suppression, and they currently sequester approximately 10% of annual US emissions. This ecosystem service is […]
Background Little is known about the combined impacts of global environmental changes and ecological disturbances on ecosystem functioning, even though such combined impacts might play critical roles in shaping ecosystem processes that can in turn feed back to climate change, such as soil emissions of greenhouse gases. Methodology/Principal Findings We […]
Carbon uptake by forests is a major sink in the global carbon cycle, helping buffer the rising concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, yet the potential for future carbon uptake by forests is uncertain. Climate warming and drought can reduce forest carbon uptake by reducing photosynthesis, increasing respiration, and by […]
A forest carbon (C) offset is a quantifiable unit of C that is commonly developed at the local or regional project scale and is designed to counterbalance anthropogenic C emissions by sequestering C in trees. In cap-and-trade programs, forest offsets have market value if the sequestered C is additional (more […]
Scientists who study climate and ecosystems in the Arctic have weighed in on future changes in the region affecting soils, streams and wildfire, which will be releasing greater amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.Because the Arctic is home to billions of tons of naturally occurring carbon […]
Quantifying the impacts of changing climatic conditions on forest growth is integral to estimating future forest carbon balance. We used a growth-and-yield model, modified for climate sensitivity, to quantify the effects of altered climate on mixed-conifer forest growth in the Lake Tahoe Basin, California. Estimates of forest growth and live […]
Despite augmentation stocking efforts, wild populations of razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus) continue to decline. Endangered razorback suckers are commonly raised in off-channel ponds until maturity (approximately 300 mm TL) and then stocked into the Colorado River or its tributaries. After fish are stocked, they commonly move large distances downstream. We […]
Evapotranspiration (ET) comprises a major portion of the water budget in forests, yet few studies have measured or estimated ET in semi-arid, high-elevation ponderosa pine forests of the south-western USA or have investigated the capacity of models to predict ET in disturbed forests. We measured actual ET with the eddy […]