Pacific Southwest Research Station

Giving you access to more than 45,000 online USDA Forest Service Research publications.

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In The News

• Fixing state's fire problem: Costly, complex, next to impossible - San Francisco Chronicle (Nov. 25, 2018)
• As California fires rage, Idyllwild seeks to protect town and forest - Desert Sun (Nov. 16, 2018)
• California wildfires weren't always this destructive - High Country News (Nov. 15, 2018)

Recent News Releases

• Researchers piece together disparate records as disease closes in on western bats
  (Nov. 1, 2018)
• Smoke from wildfires has cooling effect on water temperatures
  (Oct. 9, 2018)

PSW Publications List

• August - October 2018
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PSW on the USDA Blog

• New tool helps California land managers predict tree mortality
  (February 5, 2018)

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Due to a lapse in federal funding, this USDA website will not be actively updated. Once funding has been reestablished, online operations will continue.

• The Fourth National Climate Change Assessment is online.
• Researchers piece together disparate records as disease closes in on western bats
• Smoke from wildfires has cooling effect on water temperatures
• The draft Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) science synthesis is online
• Video: Learn about Rapid Ohia Death affecting ohia trees on Hawaii Island

The Fourth National Climate Change Assessment was recently released. PSW joined other USFS researchers to co-author the chapter highlighting impacts and risks to our Nation’s forests.

A concerted effort by the scientific community has produced one of the largest and most complete datasets of recorded hibernacula in the western United States.

Smoke generated by wildfires can cool river and stream water temperatures, according to a new study in California’s Klamath River Basin.

PNW and PSW have developed the draft Northwest Forest Plan science synthesis, to help provide a scientific foundation for Forest Service land management plans in the northwest.

The Ohia: The Story of Hawaii's Tree is a video featuring PSW researchers explaining the Ohia tree and the impacts of Rapid Ohia Death.

Science that makes a difference.

The Pacific Southwest Research Station is a world leader in natural resources research through our scientific excellence and responsiveness to the needs of current and future generations.

We represent the research and development branch of the USDA Forest Service in the states of California and Hawaii and the U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands. Our mission is to develop and communicate science needed to sustain forest ecosystems and their benefits to society.

Demographic trends in a local street tree population reveal ways to improve urban forest resiliency

Mature camphor trees (Cinnamomum camphora) line a street in Claremont, California. (U.S. Forest Service/Natalie van Doorn)

Urban forests can provide many important ecological functions and economic benefits, but continuous delivery of those services depends on the long-term health and resilience of the population.

The demographic analysis conducted in this study (i.e., quantifying mortality, growth, and replacement rates) can provide insights into current and future vulnerabilities of the population and help focus management efforts.

By sampling individual tree sites in 2000 and 2014, research urban ecologist Natalie van Doorn and research forester Greg McPherson quantified all three demographic components in Claremont, CA to gain a complete perspective of the state of the city’s street tree population and assess drivers of change.

Visit our Urban Forestry topic area and learn about our work to deliver benefits to local communities.

Using species distribution models with climate change scenarios to aid ecological restoration decisionmaking for southern California shrublands

(RP-PSW-270)

This paper features species distribution models for incorporating climate change scenarios into restoration decisions for southern California scrub and shrubland habitats.

Passive monitoring techniques for evaluating atmospheric ozone and nitrogen exposure and deposition to California ecosystems

(GTR-PSW-257)

In this report, several alternative approaches for estimating N deposition are also considered as a guide for selecting appropriate techniques in ecosystem-effects studies in California and elsewhere.

Proceedings of the Coast Redwood Science Symposium—2016: past successes and future direction. Proceedings of a workshop

(GTR-PSW-258)

With its limited range and high value, the coast redwood forest is a microcosm of many of the emerging science and management issues facing today’s forested landscapes.