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Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Alberta are classified as endangered and apparently have declined. Disturbance from petroleum exploration has been implicated as a possible cause, so we constructed a simple model to estimate the energy costs of multiple encounters with disturbance (i.e., loud noise). Our objective was to estimate if woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta have been exposed to enough disturbance from 1988 to 1993 to cause winter mass loss to exceed either (i) 15% autumn mass or (ii) 20% autumn mass. A single disturbance event costs caribou 3.46-5.81 MJ. Caribou would have to encounter (i) 20-34 (mean = 27) disturbance events to lose >15% mass over winter and (ii) 41-137 (mean = 89)...
1. Soil disturbance by animals affects the availability of water, nutrients, sediment and seeds, which are critical for the maintenance of functional ecosystems. We examined long-lived faunal structures across six vegetation communities in the northern Chihuahuan desert of New Mexico, USA, testing the proposition that disturbances in undesertified grassland differ in magnitude and effect from those in desertified grassland. 2. Vertebrate and invertebrate disturbances totalled 18.9 structures ha−1 across 18 sites. The most common were pits and mounds of American badgers (Taxidea taxus, 32%), nests of the ant Aphaenogaster cockerelli (18.8%) and mounds of kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis, 31%). 3. Desertification...
Concern over global environmental change and associated uncertainty has given rise to greater emphasis on fostering resilience through forest management. We examined the impact of standard silvicultural systems (including clearcutting, shelterwood, and selection) compared with unharvested controls on tree functional identity and functional diversity in three forest types distributed across the northeastern United States. Sites included the Argonne, Bartlett, and Penobscot Experimental Forests located in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Maine, respectively. We quantified functional trait means for leaf mass per area, specific gravity, maximum height, height achieved at 20 years, seed mass, drought tolerance, shade tolerance,...
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This geodatabase contains all freely available spatial information on pipelines in the Crown of the Continent area. Due to the free nature of the data, it is of mixed quality and should not be considered inclusive of all pipelines actually in the region.
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This dataset depicts roads built on the Tongass National Forest prior to 1960. This dataset is part of a larger analysis of road building and timber harvest on the Tongass National Forest, compiled for the report Scientific Basis for Roadless Area Conservation (http://www.consbio.org/cbi/projects/show.php?page=roadless/roadless.htm), pp 70-73. Road segments from a US Forest Service roads layer were attributed to the most likely decade in which the road was built, as determined by an analysis of connectivity to clearcuts on the Tongass National Forest from that decade. It was assumed that following 1960, harvests required access to mills or extraction sites, and thus roads connecting to them were most likely built...
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The Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center 's mission is to provide scientific understanding and the technology needed to support sound management and conservation of our nation's natural resources, with emphasis on western ecosystems. The scientists from FRESC capitalize on their diverse expertise to answer critically important scientific questions shaped by the equally diverse environments of the western United States. FRESC scientists collaborate with each other and with partners to provide rigorous, objective, and timely information and guidance for the management and conservation of biological systems in the West and worldwide. Research activities are concentrated in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada,...
map background search result map search result map Tongass National Forest Roads - Pre 1960 Pipelines in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem Tongass National Forest Roads - Pre 1960 Pipelines in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem