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Younger SE, Cannon JB, Brantley ST. Impacts of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) on long-term hydrology at the watershed scale. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 902:165999. [PMID: 37558074 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
Threats from climate change and growing populations require innovative solutions for restoring streamflow in many regions. In the arid western U.S., attempts to increase streamflow (Q) through forest management have had mixed results, but these approaches may be more successful in the eastern U.S. where greater precipitation (P) and lower evapotranspiration (ET) offer greater potential to increase Q by reducing ET. Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) (LLP) woodlands, once the dominant land cover in the southeastern United States, often have lower ET than other forest types but it is unclear how longleaf pine cover impacts watershed-scale hydrology. To address this question, we analyzed 21 gaged rural watersheds. We estimated annual water balance ET (ETwb) as the difference between precipitation (P) and streamflow (Q) between 1989 and 2021 and quantified low flow rates (7Q10) among watersheds with high and low LLP cover. To control for climate variability among watersheds, we compared variation in hydrology metrics with biotic and abiotic variables using the Budyko equation (ETBudyko) to understand the differences between the two ET estimates (∆ET). Watersheds with 15-72 % LLP cover had 17 % greater mean annual Q, 7 % lower annual ETwb, and 92 % greater 7Q10 low flow rates than watersheds with <3 % LLP. LLP cover decreased ET and increased Q by 2.4 mm or 0.15 % Q/P per 1 % of watershed area, but only when LLP was managed as open woodlands. Our results demonstrate that ecological forest restoration in these systems, which entails mechanical thinning and re-introduction of low-intensity prescribed fire to maintain open woodlands, and enhance understory diversity, can contribute to decreases in ET and increases in Q in eastern forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seth E Younger
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, Newton, GA, United States of America.
| | - Jeffery B Cannon
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, Newton, GA, United States of America
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Fulé PZ, Sánchez Meador AJ, Moore MM, Covington WW, Kolb TE, Huffman DW, Normandin DP, Roccaforte JP. Forest restoration treatments increased growth and did not change survival of ponderosa pines in severe drought, Arizona. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2717. [PMID: 36184740 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
We report on survival and growth of ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) 2 decades after forest restoration treatments in the G. A. Pearson Natural Area, northern Arizona. Despite protection from harvest that conserved old trees, a dense forest susceptible to uncharacteristically severe disturbance had developed during more than a century of exclusion of the previous frequent surface-fire regime that ceased upon Euro-American settlement in approximately 1876. Trees were thinned in 1993 to emulate prefire-exclusion forest conditions, accumulated forest floor was removed, and surface fire was re-introduced at 4-years intervals (full restoration). There was also a partial restoration treatment consisting of thinning alone. Compared with untreated controls, mortality of old trees (mean age 243 years, maximum 462 years) differed by <1 tree ha-1 and old-tree survival was statistically indistinguishable between treatments (90.5% control, 92.3% full, 82.6% partial). Post-treatment growth as measured by basal area increment of both old (pre-1876) and young (post-1876) pines was significantly higher in both treatments than counterpart control trees for more than 2 decades following thinning. Drought meeting the definition of megadrought affected the region almost all the time since the onset of the experiment, including 3 years that were severely dry. Growth of all trees declined in the driest 3 years, but old and young treated trees had significantly less decline. Association of tree growth with temperature (negative correlation) and precipitation (positive correlation) was much weaker in treated trees, indicating that they may experience less growth decline from warmer, drier conditions predicted in future decades. Overall, tree responses after the first 2 decades following treatment suggest that forest restoration treatments have led to substantial, sustained improvement in the growth of old and young ponderosa pines without affecting old-tree survival, thereby improving resilience to a warming climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Z Fulé
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Andrew J Sánchez Meador
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Margaret M Moore
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - W Wallace Covington
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Thomas E Kolb
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - David W Huffman
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Donald P Normandin
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - John Paul Roccaforte
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
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Paul MJ, LeDuc SD, Lassiter MG, Moorhead LC, Noyes PD, Leibowitz SG. Wildfire Induces Changes in Receiving Waters: A Review With Considerations for Water Quality Management. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH 2022; 58:1-28. [PMID: 36968177 PMCID: PMC10034714 DOI: 10.1029/2021wr030699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires have increased in frequency in many ecosystems, with implications for human health and the environment, including water quality. Increased fire frequency and urbanization also raise the prospect of fires burning into urban areas, mobilizing pollutants few have considered to date. As a result, water quality managers lack information to anticipate, respond to and potentially mitigate wildfire impacts. Here, we reviewed the scientific literature to assess wildfire effects on response endpoints of a conceptual model linking fire to water quality, quantifying response directionality, magnitude and duration. Physically, water yield, sediments, and temperature all increased post-fire. Chemically, nutrients, ions, organic chemicals, and metals increased in burned watersheds, sometimes by orders of magnitude over pre-fire or reference conditions. In select cases, post-fire concentrations exceeded aquatic life criteria or drinking water standards, at times even in the finished drinking water. Biological assemblages commonly declined after post-fire runoff events. The duration of effects was less than 5 yr for most endpoints (e.g., metals) on average following fire, although effects did extend 15 yr or more in some individual cases. We found only a few studies on pollutants mobilized from wildfire impacted urban areas with benzene contamination in drinking water and high metal concentrations in ash prominent exceptions. Overall, this review provides a resource for understanding wildfire impacts on water quality endpoints, with the goal of informing the response of managers and other decision makers to this growing problem.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. J. Paul
- Tetra Tech Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - S. D. LeDuc
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - M. G. Lassiter
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - L. C. Moorhead
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - P. D. Noyes
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Washington, DC, USA
| | - S. G. Leibowitz
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, Corvallis, OR, USA
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Healy BD, Budy P, Conner MM, Omana Smith EC. Life and death in a dynamic environment: Invasive trout, floods, and intraspecific drivers of translocated populations. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022. [PMID: 35403769 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5805593.v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the relative strengths of intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulating populations is a long-standing focus of ecology and critical to advancing conservation programs for imperiled species. Conservation could benefit from an increased understanding of factors influencing vital rates (somatic growth, recruitment, survival) in small, translocated populations, which is lacking owing to difficulties in long-term monitoring of rare species. Translocations, here defined as the transfer of wild-captured individuals from source populations to new habitats, are widely used for species conservation, but outcomes are often minimally monitored, and translocations that are monitored often fail. To improve our understanding of how translocated populations respond to environmental variation, we developed and tested hypotheses related to intrinsic (density dependent) and extrinsic (introduced rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, stream flow and temperature regime) causes of vital rate variation in endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) populations translocated to Colorado River tributaries in the Grand Canyon (GC), USA. Using biannual recapture data from translocated populations over 10 years, we tested hypotheses related to seasonal somatic growth, and recruitment and population growth rates with linear mixed-effects models and temporal symmetry mark-recapture models. We combined data from recaptures and resights of dispersed fish (both physical captures and continuously recorded antenna detections) from throughout GC to test survival hypotheses, while accounting for site fidelity, using joint live-recapture/live-resight models. While recruitment only occurred in one site, which also drove population growth (relative to survival), evidence supported hypotheses related to density dependence in growth, survival, and recruitment, and somatic growth and recruitment were further limited by introduced trout. Mixed-effects models explained between 67% and 86% of the variation in somatic growth, which showed increased growth rates with greater flood-pulse frequency during monsoon season. Monthly survival was 0.56-0.99 and 0.80-0.99 in the two populations, with lower survival during periods of higher intraspecific abundance and low flood frequency. Our results suggest translocations can contribute toward the recovery of large-river fishes, but continued suppression of invasive fishes to enhance recruitment may be required to ensure population resilience. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of flooding to population demographics in food-depauperate, dynamic, invaded systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D Healy
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
- Native Fish Ecology and Conservation Program, Division of Science and Resource Management, Grand Canyon National Park, National Park Service, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Phaedra Budy
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
- United States Geological Survey, Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Mary M Conner
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Emily C Omana Smith
- Native Fish Ecology and Conservation Program, Division of Science and Resource Management, Grand Canyon National Park, National Park Service, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
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Healy BD, Budy P, Conner MM, Omana Smith EC. Life and death in a dynamic environment: Invasive trout, floods, and intraspecific drivers of translocated populations. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2635. [PMID: 35403769 PMCID: PMC9541007 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the relative strengths of intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulating populations is a long-standing focus of ecology and critical to advancing conservation programs for imperiled species. Conservation could benefit from an increased understanding of factors influencing vital rates (somatic growth, recruitment, survival) in small, translocated populations, which is lacking owing to difficulties in long-term monitoring of rare species. Translocations, here defined as the transfer of wild-captured individuals from source populations to new habitats, are widely used for species conservation, but outcomes are often minimally monitored, and translocations that are monitored often fail. To improve our understanding of how translocated populations respond to environmental variation, we developed and tested hypotheses related to intrinsic (density dependent) and extrinsic (introduced rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, stream flow and temperature regime) causes of vital rate variation in endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) populations translocated to Colorado River tributaries in the Grand Canyon (GC), USA. Using biannual recapture data from translocated populations over 10 years, we tested hypotheses related to seasonal somatic growth, and recruitment and population growth rates with linear mixed-effects models and temporal symmetry mark-recapture models. We combined data from recaptures and resights of dispersed fish (both physical captures and continuously recorded antenna detections) from throughout GC to test survival hypotheses, while accounting for site fidelity, using joint live-recapture/live-resight models. While recruitment only occurred in one site, which also drove population growth (relative to survival), evidence supported hypotheses related to density dependence in growth, survival, and recruitment, and somatic growth and recruitment were further limited by introduced trout. Mixed-effects models explained between 67% and 86% of the variation in somatic growth, which showed increased growth rates with greater flood-pulse frequency during monsoon season. Monthly survival was 0.56-0.99 and 0.80-0.99 in the two populations, with lower survival during periods of higher intraspecific abundance and low flood frequency. Our results suggest translocations can contribute toward the recovery of large-river fishes, but continued suppression of invasive fishes to enhance recruitment may be required to ensure population resilience. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of flooding to population demographics in food-depauperate, dynamic, invaded systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D. Healy
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology CenterUtah State UniversityLoganUtahUSA
- Native Fish Ecology and Conservation Program, Division of Science and Resource ManagementGrand Canyon National Park, National Park ServiceFlagstaffArizonaUSA
| | - Phaedra Budy
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology CenterUtah State UniversityLoganUtahUSA
- United States Geological Survey, Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Watershed SciencesUtah State UniversityLoganUtahUSA
| | - Mary M. Conner
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology CenterUtah State UniversityLoganUtahUSA
| | - Emily C. Omana Smith
- Native Fish Ecology and Conservation Program, Division of Science and Resource ManagementGrand Canyon National Park, National Park ServiceFlagstaffArizonaUSA
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Young JD, Ager AA, Thode AE. Using wildfire as a management strategy to restore resiliency to ponderosa pine forests in the southwestern United States. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jesse D. Young
- Human Dimensions United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station Missoula Montana USA
| | - Alan A. Ager
- Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station Missoula Montana USA
| | - Andrea E. Thode
- School of Forestry Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona USA
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Evaluating the Impact of Ecological Property Rights to Trigger Farmers’ Investment Behavior—An Example of Confluence Area of Heihe Reservoir, Shaanxi, China. LAND 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/land11030320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Property rights of natural resources have been acting as a critical legislative tool for promoting sustainable resource utilization and conservation in various regions of the globe. However, incorporating ecological property rights into the natural resources property rights structure may significantly influence farmers’ behavior in forestry investment. It may also trigger forest protection, water conservation, and urban water security. The main aim of the research is to evaluate the impact of ecological property rights and farmers’ investment behavior in the economic forest. We have constructed an analytical framework of collective forest rights from two indicators of integrity and stability, by adopting the theory of property rights and ecological capital to fulfill the study’s aims. The empirical data has been comprised of the microdata of 708 farmers, collected from the confluence area of the Heihe Reservoir, Shaanxi, China. The study also conducted pilot ecological property rights transactions in the surveyed area. The study utilized the double-hurdle model to test the proposed framework empirically. The results show that forest land use rights, economic products, and eco-product income rights positively affect farmers’ forestry investment intensity, and disposal rights (forest land transfer rights) negatively affect farmers’ investment intensity. However, in terms of the integrity of property rights, only the right to profit from ecological products affects farmers’ forestry investment willingness, and other property rights are insignificant. The study also found that the lower the farmers’ forest land expropriation risk is expected, the greater the possibility of investment and the higher the input level. However, we traced that the farmers’ forest land adjustment has no significant impact on farmers’ willingness to invest. Obtaining the benefits of ecological products has been found as the primary motivation for forestry investment within the surveyed area. The completeness of ownership rights positively impacted farmers’ investment intensity. Farmers should realize the ecological value of water conservation forests through the market orientation of the benefit of ecological products. Therefore, the government should encourage farmers and arrange proper training to facilitate a smooth investment. A well-established afforestation program should also be carried out.
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Spatiotemporal Patterns of Ecosystem Restoration Activities and Their Effects on Changes in Terrestrial Gross Primary Production in Southwest China. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs13061209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Large-scale ecosystem restoration projects (ERPs) have been implemented since the beginning of the new millennium to restore vegetation and improve the ecosystem in Southwest China. However, quantifying the effects of specific restoration activities, such as afforestation and grass planting, on vegetation recovery is difficult due to their incommensurable spatiotemporal distribution. Long-term and successive ERP-driven land use/cover changes (LUCCs) were used to recognise the spatiotemporal patterns of major restoration activities, and a contribution index was defined to assess the effects of these activities on gross primary production (GPP) dynamics in Southwest China during the period of 2001–2015. The results were as follows. (1) Afforestation and grass planting were major restoration activities that accounted for more than 54% of all LUCCs in Southwest China. Approximately 96% of restoration activities involved afforestation, and these activities were mostly distributed around Yunnan Province. (2) The Breathing Earth System Simulator (BESS) GPP performed better than the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) GPP validated by field observation data. Nevertheless, their annual GPP trends were similar and increased by 12,581 g C m−2 d−1 and 13,406 g C m−2 d−1 for MODIS and BESS GPPs, respectively. (3) Although the afforestation and grass planting areas accounted for less than 1% of the total area of Southwest China, they contributed to more than 1% of the annual GPP increase in the entire study area. Afforestation directly contributed 14.94% (BESS GPP) or 24.64% (MODIS GPP) to the annual GPP increase. Meanwhile, grass planting directly contributed only 0.41% (BESS GPP) or 0.03% (MODIS GPP) to the annual GPP increase.
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Ager AA, Barros AM, Houtman R, Seli R, Day MA. Modelling the effect of accelerated forest management on long-term wildfire activity. Ecol Modell 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.108962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Fekety PA, Crookston NL, Hudak AT, Filippelli SK, Vogeler JC, Falkowski MJ. Hundred year projected carbon loads and species compositions for four National Forests in the northwestern USA. CARBON BALANCE AND MANAGEMENT 2020; 15:5. [PMID: 32222913 PMCID: PMC7227189 DOI: 10.1186/s13021-020-00140-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Forests are an important component of the global carbon balance, and climate sensitive growth and yield models are an essential tool when predicting future forest conditions. In this study, we used the dynamic climate capability of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) to simulate future (100 year) forest conditions on four National Forests in the northwestern USA: Payette National Forest (NF), Ochoco NF, Gifford Pinchot NF, and Siuslaw NF. Using Forest Inventory and Analysis field plots, aboveground carbon estimates and species compositions were simulated with Climate-FVS for the period between 2016 and 2116 under a no climate change scenario and a future climate scenario. We included a sensitivity analysis that varied calculated disturbance probabilities and the dClim rule, which is one method used by Climate-FVS to introduce climate-related mortality. The dClim rule initiates mortality when the predicted climate change at a site is greater than the change in climate associated with a predetermined shift in elevation. RESULTS Results of the simulations indicated the dClim rule influenced future carbon projections more than estimates of disturbance probability. Future aboveground carbon estimates increased and species composition remained stable under the no climate change scenario. The future climate scenario we tested resulted in less carbon at the end of the projections compared to the no climate change scenarios for all cases except when the dClim rule was disengaged on the Payette NF. Under the climate change scenario, species compositions shifted to climatically adapted species or early successional species. CONCLUSION This research highlights the need to consider climate projections in long-term planning or future forest conditions may be unexpected. Forest managers and planners could perform similar simulations and use the results as a planning tool when analyzing climate change effects at the National Forest level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A Fekety
- Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1499, USA.
| | | | - Andrew T Hudak
- United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 1221 South Main Street, Moscow, ID, 83843, USA
| | - Steven K Filippelli
- Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1499, USA
| | - Jody C Vogeler
- Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1499, USA
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1476, USA
| | - Michael J Falkowski
- Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1499, USA
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1476, USA
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