Author: Site Owner

Credit: via meteoweb.eu

Check out what’s happened this week in forestry news!

Plant urban trees and forests for happier and healthier cities – Thomas Reuters Foundation News

Despite the many benefits of trees, especially in urban environments, countless trees are removed to make space for more roads and buildings. This year, the theme for the International Day of Forests was forests and sustainable cities. Numerous cities around the world are making the effort to plan, plant, and nurture urban forests.

Drought-induced changes in forest composition amplify effects of climate change – Phys.org

In a new study focused on forests in the eastern U.S., researchers determined that climate change-induced shifts in rainfall and temperature are affecting the abundance of numerous tree species. Some forests are already starting to look different, which affects their ability to absorb carbon.

Jaguars and well-managed logging concessions can coexist, say conservationists – Wildlife Conservation Society via EurekaAlert!

A recent study published in Biological Conservation investigated the impact of logging activities on jaguars in Guatemala and Peru. Researchers found that carefully managed logging operations can play an important role in maintaining habitats for jaguars and other large wildlife species.

What is blue carbon? – forestsnews.cifor.org

Blue carbon is carbon captured and stored in oceans and coastal ecosystems. It also includes coastal carbon stored in tidal wetlands. Mangrove forests and other wetlands are effective carbon sinks. They have the potential to play a major role in meeting national and global targets on climate change.

By Devon Kellums, American Forests

At American Forests, we love every season, but the fresh scents, beautiful colors and new life make us excited for the first day of spring each year!

Read on to find out some of our favorite spring things and help us celebrate the start of a new season.

1. Fresh Blooms

Whether it’s flowers or trees, everything is in bloom during the spring. The sweet scent of pollen swirls through the air. It’s incredible to see nature sprout and grow right before your eyes.

2. Vibrant Colors

Going from leafless trees and the snow-covered ground to being surrounded by vibrant and luscious landscapes is one of the most refreshing feelings. The world comes to life after surviving the cold winter and it’s apparent in the blue skies and bright green grass.

3. Baby Animals

New life is everywhere during springtime. Animals come out of hibernation and babies are born. From lambs and ducklings to fox pups and bear cubs, you’ll be sure to get your fill of cute baby animals.

4. Cherry Blossoms

Sweet smells and delicate flowers make cherry blossoms one of the many great gifts that comes with spring. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area with cherry trees, don’t forget to take a moment to appreciate the beauty they bring to the surrounding landscape.

5. A New Soundtrack

The sounds of the season tie everything together. Branches and leaves rustling, birds singing and creeks trickling are music to the ears. Waking up in the morning is a bit easier when you’re greeted by spring’s song.

By Leah Rambadt, American Forests

Interested in helping local wildlife reclaim habitat space? Then create your own wildlife habitat garden!

Wildlife habitat gardens are accessible to wildlife all year round. Here are some considerations and preparations you should go through when planning and maintaining your garden.

Consider the Basics

A wildlife garden begins with your plants, since you’re trying to replicate pre-development land conditions. When you plant native plant species wildlife depend on, you create a habitat that starts restoring your local environment.

Location/Space

While this may seem obvious, it’s important to be aware of your location and the amount of space available in your yard. Design your wildlife garden to target specific wildlife based on the space available. For example, if you live in the city, you can target invertebrates, small animals and birds.

Create wildlife corridors by planting in open areas of your lawn. This will encourage invertebrates and other small animals to move around more. Instead of fences, you can also plant hedges as borders to act as corridors and cover for various wildlife. Flowering hedges, which grow berries in the fall and winter, can act as a food source for birds.

Be aware that overcrowding your garden can be just as harmful for wildlife movement as providing minimal plant-life for coverage.

Food

Native plants provide nectar, seeds, nuts, fruits, berries, foliage, pollen and insects for wildlife.

When you decide to plant native plants, it may seem harmless to grow plant species not native to your local area. However, doing so can negatively affect the local wildlife. You should only plant local, native species in your garden, since they are the ones local pollinators have evolved to rely on.

To find out the types of plant-life native to your area, search the National Wildlife Federation‘s (NWF) plant-finder database or search the web.

While choosing what to plant, consider the types of wildlife you want to attract, and learn their habits. This will allow you to accurately select the best plants to include in your garden. You should plant a variety of vegetation for all seasons, so wildlife will have food all year round.

Feeders can supplement natural food sources. By regularly providing a diversity of food, your garden can attract a range of birds. Make sure to provide a cover to keep squirrels from raiding the feeders.

Water

Provide a water source. Birds may also use a water source as a birdbath, while various insects may use it for a breeding ground. The container should have sloped sides to allow easy access.

Cover

The trick to providing good cover for wildlife is resisting the urge to completely clean your yard. Some of the “mess” you leave behind makes a good shelter for wildlife.

• Soil: Unless you’re planting, don’t dig your garden soil, and lay down compost on top to increase the invertebrate (earthworm and beetle larvae) population. This also provides a foraging site for birds like robins.
• Vertical Space: If you have space, you can encourage winged and crawling wildlife into an urban garden on a wall (i.e.: insect hotel, climbing vines).

• Garden Glade: Plant woodland flowers in succession under trees to provide shelter for invertebrates and frogs.
• Piles: Put logs and piles of sticks under bushes and around garden edges to provide shelter for a variety of animals. Grow ivy or place sods of earth on top for humidity. Compost, trimmings, and decomposing and discarded garden off-cut piles work as well.
• Lawn: Keep the center of your lawn short for foragers, and leave the edges long for the invertebrates.

Places for Wildlife to Raise Their Young

Most of the habitats listed above are good locations for wildlife to raise their young. You can also provide birdhouses or nesting boxes for birds. Keep in mind that some species of wildlife need a completely different habitat during their juvenile phase than they do as adults.

Sustainable Practices – How to Manage Your Garden

• Native plants should be of genuine native stock, not of continental origin. The wildflowers should also have been cultivated from legally collected seed, not dug up from the wild.
• Avoid using peat.
• Find alternative forms of compost.
• Collect rainwater to refill your water sources.
• Recycle: Use reclaimed, old materials when building raised borders and other garden structures.
• Avoid using pesticides and use non-toxic, non-chemical alternatives.

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What You Can Do Now – Spring Preparation

Late fall through early spring is the best time to sow seeds of various native wildflowers that support wildlife, such as birds and bees. Planting these seeds increases local genetic diversity, since most garden centers only sell plants selected and cloned for certain characteristics (e.g., color).

You can get seeds from your backyard, native plant societies, garden clubs, nature centers, and NWF community habitat groups. Plant these seeds outside (times vary by species) to let them germinate.

Good luck with your garden this year!

By Andrew Bell, American Forests

ASCC Project Investigators Chris Swanston, Brian Palik and Linda Nagel. Credit: Stephen Handler/U.S. Forest Service

Chris Swanston is the Director of the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science. His studies focus on climate adaptation and forest soil carbon. Together with American Forests and the University of Michigan, he is developing a robust project that will span regional soil data collection, stakeholder engagement and policy development in a best-practices model for addressing climate adaptation head-on.

I had the chance to speak with Chris at length about this exciting new project and his introduction to the Science Advisory Board at American Forests.

What made the opportunity to join the Science Advisory Board at American Forests so enticing?
American Forests is one of the premier forest conservation organizations in the country, so why wouldn’t I want to help guide the science-based decisions and policies that American Forests is pursuing? It was kind of a no-brainer, in other words.

How do you think the relationship with American Forests and with the other Science Advisory Board members can help you and your work?
In my experience on boards like this, I come in certainly with opinions and with experience, but I come in an active learning mode. I hope to gather information and perspectives and other people’s experiences, just as actively as I can give my own. So what I hope to gain is their perspectives and hard-won experience, so I can integrate that information right back into my own program.

Do you see yourself finding a climate science niche within the board?
Certainly, I imagine having a climate science niche. I run an organization that’s one of the premier forest climate adaptation organizations in the country. My group works with hundreds of forest managers. We interact with leadership of federal and state agencies in terms of providing science information from policymaking decisions. We produce the educational and training tools to help people who are working on the ground to make the decision that they need to make in a climate informed-manner. So certainly, I can bring in the experience that we’ve gained through time doing that to this advisory board. And likewise, as we talk to people about their jobs, we may come to them to discuss climate science and trends and how that may interact with their work.

Why is American Forests the perfect partner to embark on a project like this?
I think it worked quite well in the sense that American Forests is rethinking the way that they interact with their stakeholders now and moving into the future. They’re thinking about how they make decisions and how they roll those decisions out; how actively they work with people on the ground, and the ways that they choose to influence policy at multiple levels.

What are some critical gaps in national-level soil data that you would like to narrow with this project?
Soil carbon is something that a lot of people consider to be just a big black box. We know that there are lots of it and it’s often the bulk of the carbon that you’ll find in an ecosystem. Yet when [people] model carbon into the future and integrate that modeling with climate change, and maybe with management, they often just assume that there’s going to be no change to the soil carbon. But we know from years of land management and soil carbon science that even just the management that we do can affect soil carbon. So, it’s very spurious to think that a combination of management and climate change won’t affect soil carbon.

What makes soil carbon data so difficult to collect at the site level?
You’ve got the issue of expense of getting someplace to sample. And then, once you’re there, there’s this issue of how many samples can you possibly take to adequately characterize the variability of the soil within that place… The whole thing has to be insured. So, there are all of these hidden costs that, until you actually pursue one of these campaigns, you don’t realize they’re there. And when you pursue the campaign, you’re crushed by the logistics and the fact that each piece has some cost associated with it.

What’s the most common misconception pertaining to forest soil carbon that you find among private landowners?
I think the biggest hump to get over is to remind them that while it’s not as beautiful as some of the birds that they appreciate or as lucrative as some of the timber that they care about or as gorgeous as the fall colors, the soils their forests grow in are what make all of those other things possible. You’re not going to hold anybody’s attention very long with that conversation, so you’ve got to give them a few key ideas about protecting those soils for the benefit of the other things they really do care about, and that’s what we try to do.

Do you think there’s a way to get landowners to think about and address issues with their forest soils without the aid of monetary incentives?
Yeah, I think so. The most important thing to do is to first ask them what do they care about the most; what do they care about the most in their forest? And then put everything else within the context of what they care about. And as long as we’re listening to them, we can help frame the things that we want to express in terms that they understand and within their value system. It always comes down to listen first, and then place the discussion within their value system.

How do you see this project contributing to American Forests’ work, mission and legacy?
It can help people think about how their conservation can explicitly and intentionally support greenhouse gas mitigation and climate adaptation, and do so in a way that still pursues their identified conservation goals. We’re looking for an “everybody wins” kind of solution.

Learn more about Chris and the expertise he brings to American Forests via the U.S. Forest Service.