Recent Publications From the Pacific Northwest Research Station: 3rd Quarter 2023

Sherman, Lorelle M.; Anderson, Paul D.; Fettig, Christopher J., tech. eds. 2023. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-1015. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 168 p. (Online only).

Dillon, Thale; Morgan, Todd A. 2023. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-1017. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 47 p. (Online only). 

Kamelamela, Katie L.; Chamberlain, James; Lehman, Ashley D.; Sprecher, Irene; Friday, James B.; Ticktin, Tamara. 2023. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-1011. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 68 p. 

Monzingo, Deborah S.; Cook, John G.; Cook, Rachel C.; Wisdom, Michael J.; Shipley, Lisa A. 2023. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-1016. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 88 p. 
PNW Science Findings
Anecdotal evidence and some previous studies suggest that as development approaches private forest land, there’s a decline in commercial timber management of those forests.

Jeff Kline and Andrew Gray, researchers with the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, studied whether this held true in Oregon and Washington. They used data from the national Forest Inventory Analysis program and state data from 2001–2016 to determine if there was a connection. 

Read more in PNW Science Findings #258
Recruiting beavers—or building structures that mimic beaver dams—is an increasingly popular method for restoring streams and floodplains in the American West. Doing so can boost the growth of vegetation for cattle forage and improve habitat for fish and wildlife. But with a nature-based solution for stream restoration, anything can happen.

Gordon Grant and Susan Charnley, scientists with the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, studied beaver-related restoration projects throughout the U.S. West. This research revealed uncertainties and unintended consequences involved with beaver projects, providing a reality check for anyone wanting to invest in this type of restoration.

Ventenata (Ventenata dubia) is an invasive grass. First reported in North America in 1952 in Washington state, it is now expanding into previously invasion-resistant forest landscapes. Unlike invasive cheatgrass, ventenata can grow in sparsely vegetated rocky meadows that historically served as natural fire breaks.

Becky Kerns, a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, calls the ventenata invasion a “perfect storm” that is threatening forest resilience in the Blue Mountains Ecoregion. Not only is it contributing to wildfires, but those very fires may exacerbate the ventenata invasion. 

Read more in PNW Science Findings #260
Journal Articles by Topic
Environment & People
Unsheltered homelessness in public natural areas across an urban-to-wildland system: Institutional perspectives. Derrien, Monika M.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Bratman, Gregory N.; Levy, Chaja; Frank, Paulo; Serio, Naomi; Blahna, Dale J. 2023. Society & Natural Resources. 36(8): 947-969.
 
A text-messaging chatbot to support outdoor recreation monitoring through community science. Lia, Emilia H.; Derrien, Monika M.; Winder, Samantha G.; White, Eric M.; Wood, Spencer A. 2023. Digital Geography and Society. 5(2): 100059.
Fire & Fuels
It’s about time: A method for estimating wildfire arrival and weather conditions at field-sampled locations. Klock, Angela M.; Busby, Sebastian; Fried, Jeremy S. 2023. Fire. 6(9): 360.

Evaluating fireline effectiveness across large wildfire events in north-central Washington State. Lemons, Rebecca E.; Prichard, Susan J.; Kerns, Becky K. 2023. Fire Ecology. 19:8.

The influence of socioeconomic factors on human wildfire ignitions in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Reilley, Caitlyn; Crandall, Mindy S.; Kline, Jeffrey D.; Kim, John B.; de Diego, Jaime. 2023. Fire. 6(8): 300.

A protocol for collecting burned area time series cross-check data. Podschwit, Harry R.; Potter, Brian; Larkin, Narasimhan K. 2022. Fire. 5(5): 153.

Snag decomposition following stand‐replacing wildfires alters wildlife habitat use and surface woody fuels through time. Peterson, David W.; Dodson, Erich K.; Harrod, Richy J. 2023. Ecosphere. 14(8): e4635.

Invasive Species
Multivariate Bayesian analysis to predict invasiveness of Phytophthora pathogens. Marcot, Bruce G.; Scott, Peter; Burgess, Treena I. 2023. Ecosphere. 14(6): e4573.
Inventory & Monitoring
 
West coast U.S. tree species show stronger evidence for shifts in density than range. Groom, Jeremiah D.; Monleon, Vicente J. 2023. Forest Ecology and Management. 545(11): 121262.
 
Range-wide population assessments for subalpine fir indicate widespread disturbance-driven decline. Perret, Daniel L.; Bell, David M.; Gray, Andrew N.; Shaw, John D.; Zald, Harold S.J. 2023. Forest Ecology and Management. 542(4): 121128.
 
Climate change, tree demography, and thermophilization in western US forests. Rosenblad, Kyle C.; Baer, Kathryn C.; Ackerly, David D. 2023. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 120(18): e2301754120. 
Resource Management & Use
“What’s past is prologue”: Vegetation model calibration with and without future climate. Kutschera, Ellynne; Kim, John B.; Pitts, G. Stephen; Drapek, Ray. 2023. Land. 12(6): 1121.
 
Assessing relativeness in the provision of urban ecosystem services: better comparison methods for improved well-being. Krsnik, Goran; Reyes-Paecke, Sonia; Reynolds, Keith M.; Garcia-Gonzalo, Jordi; González Olabarria, José Ramón. 2023. Land. 12(5): 1088. 
 
Site and provenance interact to influence seasonal diameter growth of Pseudotsuga menziesii. Harrington, Constance A.; Gould, Peter J.; Cronn, Richard. 2023. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. 6:1173707.
 
Tree pruning improves tree form but not understory plant production in mixed stands of Sitka spruce and western hemlock, USA. Nelson, Kellen N; Barnard, Jeffrey C; Massingham, Preston M; Crotteau, Justin S. 2023. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research. 1-10. 
 
Shortcomings of the normalized difference vegetation index as an exposure metric Donovan, Geoffrey H.; Gatziolis, Demetrios; Derrien, Monika; Michael, Yvonne L.; Prestemon, Jeffrey P.; Douwes, Jeroen. 2022. Nature Plants. 8(6): 617-622.
 
Three-year effects of crown removal by clipping or burning on beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) size and biomass. Peter, David H.; Harrington, Timothy B. 2023. Northwest Science. 96(1-2):38-54.
Water, Air & Soil
Novel dimensionless index for physically based assessment of thermal refugia characterizes off‐channel habitat on gravel bed river. Gombert, Carolyn E.; Lancaster, Stephen T.; Grant, Gordon E.; Flitcroft, Rebecca L. 2023. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 59(4): 615-634.

Conifer water-use patterns across temporal and topographic gradients in the southern Sierra Nevada. Goodwin, Marissa J; Kerhoulas, Lucy P; Zald, Harold S J; North, Malcolm P; Hurteau, Matthew D. 2023. Tree Physiology. 43(2): 210-220.

Synthesis of lichen response to gaseous nitrogen: Ammonia versus nitrogen dioxide. Greaver, Tara; McDow, Stephen; Phelan, Jennifer; Kaylor, S. Douglas; Herrick, Jeffrey D.; Jovan, Sarah. 2023. Atmospheric Environment. 292: 119396.

Stream nitrate enrichment and increased light yet no algal response following forest harvest and experimental manipulation of headwater riparian zones. Johnson, Sherri L.; Argerich, Alba; Ashkenas, Linda R.; Bixby, Rebecca J.; Plaehn, David C. 2023. PLOS ONE. 18(4): e0284590.

Heavy metals in moss guide environmental justice investigation: A case study using community science in Seattle, WA, USA. Jovan, Sarah E.; Zuidema, Christopher; Derrien, Monika M.; Bidwell, Amanda L.; Brinkley, Weston; Smith, Robert J.; Blahna, Dale; Barnhill, Roseann; Gould, Linn; Rodríguez, Alberto J.; Amacher, Michael C.; Abel, Troy D.; López, Paulina. 2022. Ecosphere. 13(6): e4109.

Assessing impacts of sulfur deposition on aquatic ecosystems: A decision support system for the Southern Appalachians. Reynolds, Keith M.; Hessburg, Paul F.; Lakicevic, Milena; Povak, Nicholas A.; Salter, R. Brion; Sullivan, Timothy J.; McDonnell, Todd C.; Cosby, Bernard J.; Jackson, William. 2023. Ecosphere. 14(5): e4507.
Wildlife & Fish
Using passive acoustic monitoring to estimate northern spotted owl landscape use and pair occupancy. Appel, Cara L.; Lesmeister, Damon B.; Duarte, Adam; Davis, Raymond J.; Weldy, Matthew J.; Levi, Taal. 2023. Ecosphere. 14(2): e4421.
 
Investigating the use of pollen DNA metabarcoding to quantify bee foraging and effects of threshold selection. Arstingstall, Katherine A.; DeBano, Sandra J.; Li, Xiaoping; Wooster, David E.; Rowland, Mary M.; Burrows, Skyler; Frost, Kenneth. 2023. PLOS ONE. 18(4): e0282715.

Variation in gut microbial contribution of essential amino acids to host protein metabolism in a wild small mammal community. Besser, Alexi C.; Manlick, Philip J.; Blevins, Christina M.; Takacs‐Vesbach, Cristina D.; Newsome, Seth D. 2023. Ecology Letters. 26(8): 1359-1369.
 
Characterizing long‐term population conditions of the elusive red tree vole with dynamic individual‐based modeling. Heinrichs, Julie A.; Marcot, Bruce G.; Linnell, Mark A.; Lesmeister, Damon B. 2023. Conservation Science and Practice. 5(7): e12938.

Climate change, wildfire, and past forest management challenge conservation of Canada lynx in Washington, USA. Lyons, Andrea L.; Gaines, William L.; Lewis, Jeffrey C.; Maletzke, Benjamin T.; Werntz, Dave; Thornton, Daniel H.; Hessburg, Paul F.; Begley, James; Vanbianchi, Carmen; King, Travis W.; Blatz, Gretchen; Fitkin, Scott. 2023. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 87(5): e22410.
 
Density‐dependent changes in elk resource selection over successional time scales following forest disturbance. Ruprecht, Joel; Wisdom, Michael J.; Clark, Darren A.; Rowland, Mary M.; Levi, Taal. 2023. Ecological Applications. 17: 15.
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.