This FULL COLOR publication focuses on the relatively small number of microorganisms (primarily fungi) and arthropods (primarily insects) that are capable of causing noticeable damage to oaks in California. We have included agents that cause serious damage to oaks, as well as some common agents that produce conspicuous impacts even if they are not especially detrimental to oak health. Conspicuous but relatively inconsequential agents, such as cynipid gall wasps, often attract more attention than more cryptic agents that can severely impact oak health and structural integrity, such as canker...

The medicinal or therapeutic uses of the plants described in this guide are not to be construed in any way as recommendation by the authors or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some of the dried crude drugs, which must be modified considerably before commercial use, can be extremely poisonous when not used properly. Readers are cautioned against using these plan drugs for purposes of self-medication. Besides descriptions of 126 medicinal plants of the Appalachian region, this guide includes a glossary of the terms uses, a reference list of publications, and al listing of additional source...

The National Tree-List Layer (NTLL) project used LANDFIRE map products to produce the first national tree-list map layer that represents tree populations at stand and regional levels. The NTLL was produced in a short time frame to address the needs of Fire and Aviation Management for a map layer that could be used as input for simulating fire-caused tree mortality across landscapes. Simulated tree mortality estimates using the NTLL as model input provided acceptable results when compared with tree mortality simulations using field-sampled tree attribute data. Our results indicate that fire...

Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) is a key deciduous species in southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests and is important for wildlife habitat, soil processes, and human values. This report (1) summarizes Gambel oak's biological characteristics and importance in ponderosa pine forests, (2) synthesizes literature on changes in tree densities and fire frequencies since Euro-American settlement in pine-oak forests, (3) suggests management prescriptions for accomplishing various oak management objectives (for example, increasing diameter growth or acorn production), and (4) provides an...

Turbidity threshold sampling uses real-time turbidity and river stage information to automatically collect water quality samples for estimating suspended sediment loads. The system uses a programmable data logger in conjunction with a stage measurement device, a turbidity sensor, and a pumping sampler. Specialized software enables the user to control the sampling process, plot and correct the data, and estimate suspended loads. This implementation guide describes the entire process, including instrumentation, installation, field procedures, software usage, data collection, laboratory methods,...

Water withdrawals to cities, farms, and other offstream uses in the United States have increased over ten-fold during the twentieth century in response to tremendous population and economic growth. Further rapid growth in population and income is almost certain to occur, placing additional demands on water supplies. As withdrawals to offstream users increase, more water is consumed, leaving less water in streams. Streamflows have dropped at the same time as additional instream uses have been found by scientists studying the needs of aquatic plants and wildlife and the hydro-geologic...

Red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.), also known as Norway pine has been the most widely planted species in the Lake States region of North America over the past 70 years. As a result, the red pine cover type in the Lake States has increased more than fivefold to almost 1.9 million acres. Because of its widespread occurrence and economic value, red pine has long received close attention from researchers and forest managers. In 1914, Theodore S. Woolsey, Jr., and Herman H. Chapman published a 42-page U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin entitled, "Norway Pine in the Lake States." This early...

This report was produced with two objectives in mind. First, we sought to provide a nationwide assessment based on relatively good quality, consistent data, which could serve as a point of reference for pending decisions about agency watershed condition assessment. Second, we hoped to offer information that would be useful in making broad-scale decisions about where more in-depth assessment would be most helpful. Our end products-this report and its associated spreadsheets of data and metrics of risk to watershed condition-offer a great deal of information about nearly 3700 5th-level...

The Wilderness Act of 1964 established a National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) "to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness." The Act states that wilderness areas shall be administered "for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness." Moreover, it is the responsibility of each agency that administers wilderness to preserve each area's "wilderness character." Since 1964, more than 100 pieces of legislation have created an...

Rothermel's surface fire spread model was developed to use a value for the wind speed that affects surface fire, called midflame wind speed. Models have been developed to adjust 20-ft wind speed to midflame wind speed for sheltered and unsheltered surface fuel. In this report, Wind Adjustment Factor (WAF) model equations are given, and the BehavePlus fire modeling system is used to demonstrate WAF calculation and effect on modeled fire behavior. There are differences in implementation of the same basic wind adjustment models in various fire behavior applications, including the Fireline...