Research Highlights

Great Basin bristlecone pines are highly resistant to mountain pine beetles

Mountain pine beetle has killed millions of pines in the past two decades. We discovered that when confined on a Great Basin bristlecone pine, a high elevation species that can live more than 5000 years, mountain pine beetles avoid boring into the tree. Station: RMRS

Goshawks, bark beetles, and timber management: Can they coexist?

Wildlife habitat and timber production are critical elements of the management of many national forests. The Black Hills National Forest in Western South Dakota and Northeastern Wyoming has provided a thriving timber economy for over 100 years. The forest, a habitat for the northern goshawk, has been severely impacted by mountain pine beetles. This research intertwines a sensitive wildlife species, intense forest disturbance, and timber production for the greatest timber producing national forest. Station: RMRS

Aboveground and belowground herbivores control growth and survival of deciduous shrubs in understories of conifer forests

These research results on the combined effects of herbivory by cattle, elk, and pocket gophers provide robust new knowledge about how mammalian eating habits affect understory vegetation in dry coniferous forests following fuels reduction and prescribed burning. Station: PNW

Environmental factors associated with genetic variation in the Hawaiian koa tree

Forest Service scientists looked at the association between environmental variables and genetic variation in the endemic Hawaiian tree species, Acacia koa. They found that trees from different islands are genetically distinct and that there is a strong association between genetic structure and mean annual rainfall. Statistical models show changes in rainfall patterns may lead to genetic offset, so that trees no longer may be genetically matched to their environment in a projected future climate. Station: RMRS

i-Tree grows to more than 180,000 users in 130 countries

i-Tree is a series of freely available tools that aid people in quantifying the benefits and values derived from trees and forests and in understanding local threats to forest health. Use of these tools continues to grow globally to aid in using trees to improve local environments and human health. Station: NRS

Forest Inventory and Analysis Urban Monitoring Expands to Include 26 Cities

In collaboration with state and local partners, the Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIS) Program has expanded urban forest monitoring to include 26 cities. FIA recently crossed a major milestone with data collection underway in more than 25 percent of the program’s proposed cities, making urban inventories active in all four national FIA units. Station: NRS

Effects of prescribed fire on wildlife and wildlife habitat in selected ecosystems of North America

Prescribed fire provides an important resource management tool that is effective at maintaining or enhancing habitats for many species of wildlife. Station: RMRS