SAF Learning
10:00AM - 1:00PM ET
Innovation Zone Presentations 10:00AM - 10:30AM ET
Taking the Urban Wood Economy Full Circle
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Taking the Urban Wood Economy Full Circle
Company: US Forest Service
Advancements in Forest Measurement
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Join us for an overview of how Haglof and our products are working to make your work more efficient and improve the accuracy of your data, all while making your job easier!
Company: Haglof, Inc.
Concurrent Poster Chat Sessions 10:00AM - 11:00AM ET
R1-PC1: Poster Chats
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10:00AM ET - Use of Drones for iNaturalist Data Collection
Speaker: Yanli Zhang, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture
10:08AM ET - Landscape Ecological Analysis of Sense of Place at Stephen F. Austin State University
Speaker: David Kulhavy, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture
10:16AM ET - Use of 3D Printer for Natural Resource Education
Speaker: Yanli Zhang, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture
10:24AM ET - Comparison of Positional Accuracy on Pecan Tree Locations Attained with Different Geospatial Technologies
Speaker: I-Kuai Hung, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture
10:32AM ET - Digital Preservation of Natural Resource Documents on ScholarWorks
Speaker: Yanli Zhang, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture
10:40AM ET - Comparing Mapping Tools on Locating Disc Golf Course Features in a Forested City Park
Speaker: I-Kuai Hung, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture
10:48AM ET - Seeing Past the Green: Quantifying the Characteristics of High-graded Forests
Speaker: Alexander Curtze, The Pennsylvania State University
R2-PC1: Poster Chats
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10:01AM ET - Economically Optimal Southern Forest Production under Intensive and Extensive Management Systems
Speaker: Unmesh Koirala, University of Florida
10:10AM ET - The Southwest Collaborative Support Network: Promoting Resilient, Restorative and Sustainable Forest Management and Governance
Speaker: Alan Barton, New Mexico Forest & Watershed Restoration Institute
10:19AM ET - Shifting the Burden: Impacts of Forest Tax Programs on Rural Municipalities in Wisconsin and Michigan
Speaker: Elsa Schwartz, Michigan Technological University
10:28AM ET - Challenges and Opportunities for Agroforestry Systems to Participate in State Preferential Property Tax Programs
Speaker: Stephanie Chizmar, North Carolina State University
10:37AM ET - Identification of Ash Trees in Maine Using Hyper- and Multi- Spectral Imagery
Speaker: John Furniss, University of Maine
R3-PC1: Poster Chats
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10:01AM ET - Climate Change Got the Aspens Trembling? - A Dendroecological Case Study from the Southwest
Speaker: Gabrielle Ayres, Northern Arizona University
10:10AM ET - Unraveling Drought Sensitivity via Dendroecological Investigation of Pinus strobiformis and P. flexilis Hybrid Individuals
Speaker: Lulu Peach, Northern Arizona University
10:19AM ET - Changing Climate Variance and the Eastern Deciduous Forest of the United States
Speaker: Jason Hubbart, West Virginia University
10:28AM ET - Updated Standard Estimates of Forest Ecosystem Carbon for Forest Types of the United States
Speaker: Coeli Hoover, USDA Forest Service
10:37AM ET - (Dis)Empowering Communities? Understanding the Cultural Carrying Capacity for Woody Biomass Energy Systems in Michigan, USA
Speaker: Sarah Mittlefehldt, Northern Michigan University
10:46AM ET - Socioeconomic Constraints to Biomass Removal from Forest Lands: Fire Risk Reduction in Western States
Speaker: David Nicholls, USDA Forest Service
R4-PC1: Poster Chats
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10:01AM ET - Effects of Climate Variation and Management on Shortleaf Pine Tree Ring Growth
Speaker: Rodney Will, Oklahoma State University
10:10AM ET - Phenological Variability Promoted by Topography and Species Associations in a Temperate Forest
Speaker: Bryce Adams, USDA Forest Service
10:19AM ET - Impacts of Single and Mixed Tree Species Composition on Leaf Litter Decomposition Rates
Speaker: Rachel Nation, Mississippi State University
10:28AM ET - Preliminary Analysis of Southern Pine Beetle Treatment on the Bienville National Forest, Mississippi
Speaker: Michael Crosby, Louisiana Tech University
10:37AM ET - An Ounce of Prevention: Designing a Field-Capable Molecular Tool to Detect Pine Pitch Canker
Speaker: Colton Meinecke, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia
10:46AM ET - Excavation and Care of Wildling American Beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) Seedlings
Speaker: Andrea Myers, Michigan Technological University
Innovation Zone Presentation 10:30AM - 11:00AM ET
Welcome to Forests
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Forests journal Editor-in-Chief Tim Martin provides a welcome to booth attendees, and a brief introduction to the journal.
Company: Forests (MDPI)
Science Flashes 11:00AM - 11:50AM ET
R1-1: Science Flashes
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11:00AM ET - Cost of Harvesting Small-diameter Trees: Comparing Semi-Mechanized and Mechanized Harvesting Operation
Speaker: Anil Raj Kizha, University of Maine
Description: Harvesting of small-diameter trees (SDT, diameter at breast height below 15 cm) for stand improvement is often challenging in terms of economic feasibility of the harvest and fluctuations in bioenergy market. Recent national level inventory shows that SDT constitutes a major diameter class of forests in the northeastern US.
11:10AM ET - Soil Erosion Potential of Major Timber Harvesting Methods in Northeastern US: A Comparative Study
Speaker: Alex K. George, University of Maine
Description: Soil erosion potential of timber harvesting operations tends to vary for different harvesting methods. A thorough understanding of the actual erosion rate, area under different operational areas and post-harvest ground cover from a harvesting site may help in implementing best management practices to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation.
11:20AM ET - Safety and Efficiency Benefits of State-Legal Log Trucks on Interstate Highways in the South
Speaker: Joe Conrad, University of Georgia
Description: Federal weight laws currently prevent state-legal, loaded log trucks from operating on interstate highways. This study quantified the benefits of applying state weight laws to interstate highways, including reductions in fatal crash risk, travel time, transportion costs, fuel consumption, and CO2 emissions.
11:30AM ET - Quantifying the Benefits of Log Sorting across Wisconsin Forests
Speaker: Shuva Gautam, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Description: A methodology was developed to quantify the importance of log sorting in various regions of Wisconsin. Data from DNR and the forest industry were used to develop various scenarios. The importance of log sorting was found to be more critical in certain parts of the state than others.
11:40AM ET - Forest Community Composition and Consumption with White-Tailed Deer and Urbanization
Speaker: Jameson Pierce, Purdue University
Description: We examined plant community diversity and browsing preferences of white-tailed deer in an urban to rural (agricultural) gradient. Urban landcover was more predictive of diversity than deer use and browsing rates did not increase in urban areas. In similar settings, understanding landcover may be important for management.
Concurrent Professional Development Seminars and Interactive Discussions 11:00AM - 12:30PM ET
LS2-1: Student Meetup
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Join students from around the country for a fun, engaging discussion on tips and tools for successful networking in the workplace and the profession.
Sponsor
LS3-1: A Seat at the Table: Advancing Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
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This workshop will examine how race, class, and gender have influenced the forestry/natural resource movement and how to move forward to proactively change the landscape. Participants will engage in meaningful conversation to consider steps the forestry/natural resource community can take to diversify, including within SAF and at the local level.
Speakers
Sam Cook, North Carolina State University
Mavis Gragg, The Gragg Law Firm, PLLC and NCSU
LS4-1: Discussion Panel with USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Fellows
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This session will include 5 short presentations from USDA National Needs Fellows. Participants from around the country will be welcome to contribute to an enriched discussion of the importance of this type of fellowship for graduate student education as well as other opportunities to participate in innovative educational initiatives.
Speakers
Alba Rocio Gutierrez Garzon, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Sciences, University of Georgia
Danielle Hernandez Atkins
Dana Bloome
Nicole Hensley
Andy Hiegel, University of Georgia
Audrey Lynn Ballou, University of Georgia
Uriaha Shane Bauer
Rainer James Shooter, University of Georgia
Concurrent Scientific & Technical Sessions 11:00AM - 12:30PM ET
R2-1: Agroforestry
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11:00AM ET - Agroforestry in the Southeast: A Financial Tradeoff of Silvopasture Systems
Speaker: Kenneth Dunn, NCSU
Description: Agroforestry the combination of agricultural commodities and forest mangament. Sounds intresting right? Research suggests that agroforestry is more profitable than conventional forest managment, but where's the data? Glad you asked... Listen to this presentation. We'll be comparing the financial tradeoffs of forestry, agriculture, and ultimately agroforestry systems in NC.
11:30AM ET - Modeling Establishment and Growth of Plantation and Converted Silvopasture Systems in the Missouri Ozarks Region
Speaker: Stewart McCollum, Missouri State University
Description: Two types of silvopasture were established and monitored over the first growing season following establishment. Both ground collected data and arial multispectral data were collected. Success of establishment was evaluated and linear regression models were built to predict crown expansion, forage growth, and site productivity over time.
12:00PM ET - Carbon Benefits of Intercropping Loblolly Pine and Carinata for Bio-Jet Fuel Production in US South
Speaker: Hosne Akter, University of Georgia
Description: The objective of this study is to compare the carbon savings achieved from intercropping loblolly pine and carinata for joint production of roundwood products and bio-jet fuel versus loblolly pine only management system in the US South.
R3-1: Wildlife
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11:00AM ET - DirtTreesWildlife.org: A New Online Tool for Making Wildlife Habitat Management Decisions Based on Soil Data
Speaker: Brendan Prusik, University of NH
Description: Learn about a simple, online tool for making habitat management decisions. The tool combines complex datasets based on current research and presents the user with maps, table and narrative to inform habitat management planning. Currently limited to BCR14 in NH, it is designed for expansion to New England and beyond.
11:30AM ET - Bat Activity and Insect Abundance in Regenerating Forest Stands over a 12-Year Period
Speaker: Daniel Wright, Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Center - Dept. of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut
Description: Harvesting trees to increase landscape heterogeneity is commonly used to assist wildlife populations that use young successional habitat. Our research is focused on the activity and species composition of insectivorous bats in regenerating stands.
12:00PM ET - Response of Insectivorous Bats to Disturbance Events in Forested Wetlands
Speaker: Daniel Wright, Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Center - Dept. of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut
Description: Insectivorous bats have been observed responding positively to changes in canopy structure in forested wetlands. With the objective of mimicking a natural disturbance, we felled trees in 3 forested wetlands and monitored the response of bats and their invertebrate prey.
R4-1: Economic Modelling
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11:00AM ET - Economic Trade-offs of Even-aged and Uneven-aged Longleaf Pine Management
Speaker: Kotryna Klizentyte, University of Florida
Description: The lack of economic information regarding even-aged and uneven-aged longleaf pine management, and conversion of uneven-aged to even-aged stands is a barrier for landowners to plant and manage longleaf pine. This study depicts optimal land expectation values of even-aged, uneven-aged longleaf pine and the opportunity cost of conversion between stand types.
11:30AM ET - Structural Change and Aggregate Economic Growth in Kentucky Forest Industries
Speaker: Domena Agyema, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky
Description: Understanding drivers of structural change and mechanism through which it occurs is important in identifying and examining pattern of growth and development within sectors in an economy. Focusing on forest industries in Kentucky, this study employs econometric techniques to empirically test factor endowment-based structural change theorems.
12:00PM ET - US Forests and Wood Product Markets Outlooks under Different Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
Speaker: Prakash Nepal, USDA Forest Service
Description: Outlooks of US forest resources and forest product markets under contrasting future of economic and demographic changes are provided for 2020-2050. The implications of projected forest area, forest stocks, timber removals, prices, production, consumption, and trade of wood and paper products are discussed.
R5-1: Silviculture
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11:00AM ET - Tree Regeneration Response to Variable-Sized Group Selection Harvest Gaps in Northern Wisconsin, USA
Speaker: David Schnake, NCDA&CS Research Stations
Description: This replicated experiment explores trends among tree regeneration nine years after establishing variable-sized canopy gaps through group selection harvesting in a northern hardwood forest in north-central Wisconsin, USA. The effects of deer exclusion on regeneration and the spatial patterns of difficult-to-regenerate midtolerant saplings within these gaps are also investigated.
11:30AM ET - Forest Management Effects on Coarse Woody Debris in Hardwood Forests of Missouri
Speaker: Benjamin Knapp, University of Missouri
Description: We summarize temporal dynamics of coarse woody debris in response to forest management over approximately 20 years. Within stands, the harvest intensity of the silvicultural treatments was related to short-term increases in coarse woody debris, but across the landscape there were no differences among even-aged, uneven-aged, and no-harvest management treatments.
12:00PM ET - Effects of Management on Stand Structure and Understory Development in Lowland Conifer Forests in Minnesota
Speaker: Laura Reuling, University of Minnesota
Description: We used a chronosequence to examine the effects of management on stand structure and development of understory shrubs and herbaceous plants over time in lowland conifer systems of three cover types: productive black spruce, stagnant black spruce, and tamarack in northern Minnesota.
R6-1: Forest Ecology
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11:00AM ET - Modeling Habitat Suitability for Mountain Stewartia with Maxent
Speaker: Clayton Hale, Mississippi State University
Description: Presented is a habitat suitability model for mountain stewartia across the known range. Ten environmental and biological factors and 65 occurrence points were used in the model including both herbarium and INaturalist records. This model is the first step in prioritizing land for the conservation of this unusual forest component.
11:30AM ET - 18 S’s of Bottomland Hardwood Ecology in Preparation for Silviculture and Management
Speaker: Brian Roy Lockhart
Description: In this presentation, I will review what I call 18 S's of bottomland hardwood ecology. While not an exhaustive list, an understanding of these ecology relationships provides a framework for silviculture and management of this important resource.
12:00PM ET - Habitat Suitability of Eastern Turkeybeard in Talladega National Forest, Alabama
Speaker: Volkan Bektas, University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Description: A model to describe the suitability of the landscape for turkeybeard (the plant) (Xerophyllum asphodeloides) in the Talladega National Forest.
R7-1: Forest Technology
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11:00AM ET - The Impact of GPS Receivers’ Accuracy on Spatial Point Pattern Analysis
Speaker: Taeyoon Lee, University of Georgia
Description: Studies investigating the distribution of trees using GPS receivers have not considered the positional error involved in the GPS data. This study was conducted to investigate whether the errors inherent in GPS data can influence the results of spatial point pattern analyses.
11:30AM ET - Airborne Hyperspectral Data Application in Health Stress Detection of Ash Trees
Speaker: Catherine Chan, University of Maine
Description: This study seeks to classify ash tree health using airborne hyperspectral data (acquired through UAV) while linking to emerald ash borer infestation. Advancing methods in these applications provide potential in convenient, rapid, and economic monitoring of tree and forest health.
12:00PM ET - Cross-Site Remote Sensing Algorithms Produce Continental-Scale Observations on Density and Allometry for 180 Million Trees
Speaker: Stephanie Bohlman, University of Florida
Description: Algorithms trained and tested across sites were applied to high resolution remote sensing and field data from the National Ecological Observatory Network to
yield measurements, as well as insights on tree densities and allometries, for 180 million trees across 41 forested sites with widely different forest structure across the US.
R8-1: Recreation & Wilderness Management
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11:00AM ET - Women in Wilderness Settings: Segmenting Motivations and Satisfaction in Western US National Forest Settings
Speaker: Robert Burns, West Virginia University
Description: This study focused on women who participate in wilderness recreation. We had three objectives: 1) to investigate women’s motivations to participate in wilderness recreation, 2) to understand the outcome of their visit (perceptions of crowding and satisfaction), and 3) to develop a typology of women recreationists in the wild.
11:30AM ET - The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Visitation to the Monongahela National Forest
Speaker: Chad Pierskalla, West Virginia University
Description: The objectives of this presentation are to: identify the range of activity-based market segments for the Monongahela National Forest; compare recreation participation in market segments for fiscal years 2009 and 2014; identify the tourism market winners and losers during the financial crisis.
12:00PM ET - Impacts of Forested Hiking Trails on Soil Erosion, Water Quality, and Salamander Populations in Kentucky
Speaker: Jill Fisk, Kentucky State University
Description: Hiking trails enable a connection with nature, although human impact may be influencing ecosystem health. We examined trail stream crossings in Kentucky to determine effects of trail approach’s soil erosion on water quality and local salamander populations and habitat. This research will help determine anthropogenic effects on conserved natural ecosystems.
R9-1: Urban & Community Forestry
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11:00AM ET - Beyond the Backyard: Diversity in Urban Tree Plantings across the Northeastern United States
Speaker: Danica Doroski, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Description: Tree planting efforts have increased in cities across the United States in recent years. This study consolidates and synthesizes data from municipalities and non-profit organizations across the Northeastern United States to illuminate patterns in species composition that can inform future plantings and improve tree-planting programs on the local level.
11:30AM ET - Using Traditional Forestry Site Assessment Methods to Improve Wildlife Habitat in an Urban/Suburban Setting
Speaker: Joseph Roush, City of Olympia
Description: The City of Olympia’s Storm Water Utility developed a Habitat and Stewardship Strategy, using methods adopted from traditional forestry. Remote sensing and GIS were used at a City-wide scale to measure historic changes to habitat and stand stocking analysis was used to develop habitat enhancement prescriptions at the site scale.
12:00PM ET - Ground-based Photogrammetry: Panacea for Inventories, Academic Diversion, or Integrative Puzzle Piece for Urban Forest Management?
Speaker: John Roberts, University of Florida
Description: Photogrammetry for forest measurements has been experiencing a renaissance with the proliferation computer vision programs that can create three-dimensional point cloud models. This presentation explores the accuracy, workflow, viability, and performance of mobile photorammetry to other ground-based remote sensing approaches from the perspective of urban forest management.
Innovation Zone Presentation 12:30PM - 1:00PM ET
IFTDSS: Fuel Treatment Decision Support - Introduction to the Quantitative Wildfire Risk Assessment
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IFTDSS: Fuel Treatment Decision Support - Introduction to the Quantitative Wildfire Risk Assessment
Company: US Forest Service
1:00PM - 6:00PM ET
Opening Plenary: Indigenous Environments and Adaptation in the Dawnland 1:00PM - 2:30PM ET
Indigenous Environments and Adaptation in the Dawnland
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Yeu Nuweekun (We Dwell Here. We Are of This Land.): Lorén Spears, Narragansett, will share a blessing in her language (and English) acknowledging the homelands on which the conference was to take place. She will acknowledge the gifts of the land and she will sing the song, Yeu Nuweekun to honor the Elders, the Ancestors and remind us all of the sacrifice of those that came before us who blazed a trail to ensure our sustainability and continuation.
Indigenous Environments and Adaptation in the Dawnland: 2020 marks 400 years since the Mayflower landed and its passengers settled Plymouth in the Wampanoag homeland of Pawtuxet. Colonization fostered major conflicts and transformations in the Dawnland, including environmental changes, but also led to innovative Indigenous adaptations. The histories written about New England have often focused on the stories of settlers and their conflicts with Native people. But Indigenous communities have also composed tribal histories and literatures which tell a different story. Dr. Brooks will share an Indigenous environmental history of New England, discussing traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and how it shapes Indigenous histories and forest and land management. Her insight will help us better understand the impacts of colonization and colonial forestry on Indigenous homelands and the recovery of Indigenous ecosystems and kinship relations with other-than-human beings. By drawing us into Native space through maps of Indigenous homelands, concepts, and place names drawn from Indigenous languages, we are promised to see this space of New England through an entirely different lens.
Presenters
Lorén Spears, Tomaquag Museum
Lisa Brooks, Amherst College
Remarks By
Stephanie Miller, ODNR Division of Forestry
Tammy Cushing, Oregon Statue University
Terry Baker, Society of American Foresters
National Awardee Winner Meet & Greet 2:30PM - 3:30PM ET
National Awardee Winner Meet & Greet
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Join the celebration as we showcase our 2020 SAF national award winners. This one-hour, interactive meet and greet will highlight the outstanding achievements of individuals and organizations in the field of forestry. National award winners will be introduced and then split into three groups where attendees can interact in a more casual setting. Bring your burning questions and be prepared to get inspired as you learn more about the people who are positively impacting today’s world of natural resources.
SAF Town Hall 3:30PM - 5:00PM ET
SAF Town Hall
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The annual SAF Business Meeting with an interactive twist. Join SAF CEO Terry Baker, SAF President Tammy Cushing, and other leadership as they discuss current and anticipated opportunities and challenges and highlight recent accomplishments. Plus, we’ll have a robust Q&A session with attendees.
Concurrent Professional Development Seminars and Interactive Discussions 3:30PM - 5:00PM ET
LS2-2: Engaging Students and Early-Career Professionals in SAF: A World Café
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For the third year, the SAF Diversity and Inclusion Working Group will lead a World Café Discussion to provide a forum for participants to share and grow. Building from insights over the past two years, our 2020 session will focus on the experiences, challenges, and opportunities of students and early-career professionals.
Speakers
Jamie Dahl, Colorado State University
Terry Sharik
Rocco Saracina, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc.
LS3-2: The Virtual Leader: Keeping Your Teams on Track in Turbulent Times and at All Times
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As Futurist Joel Barker put it long before COVID-19, “When a paradigm changes, everything goes back to zero.” If you weren’t already managing teams at a distance, you certainly are now and probably always will. This seminar offers the framework and skill sets you need to lead in this environment.
Speaker
Tom Davidson, Leadership Nature
People, Policy & Popcorn 3:30PM - 5:00PM ET
LS4-2: Cultural Connection with Land and Natural Resources
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Natural resource management must be informed by people's cultural perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, needs, and values, as well as the past, present, and possible future cultural influences on ecosystems. A panel of natural resource professionals will explore a holistic stewardship approach to an integrated management strategy for natural resources.
Speakers
Sam Cook, North Carolina State University
James Durglo, Salish Kootenai Colege
Zhu Ning, Southern University
Marley Puanani Smith, Greening Youth Foundation
Gabriel Romero, USDA Forest Services
Buck Vandersteen, Louisiana Forestry Association
Melissa Loewe, Society of American Foresters
Science Flashes 3:30PM - 4:50PM ET
R1-2: Science Flashes
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3:30PM ET - Impacts of Seed Predators, Substrate, and Wire Grass on Tree Species Establishment within Pine Savannas
Speaker: John Willis, U.S.D.A. Forest Service
Description: The presentation examines the ecological process governing tree species establishment in degraded pine savannas. Specifically, we consider the influences of seed depredation, substrate availability, midstory structure, and wire grass cover on the establishment of five tree species commonly found in pine savannas after decades of fire exclusion.
3:40PM ET - Effects of Biochar on Survival and Photosynthetic Rates of Jack Pine Seedlings under Drought Conditions
Speaker: Mathew Lochner, University of Minnesota
Description: Assessing the effects of biochar used as a soil amendment on the survival and photosynthetic rates of jack pine seedlings under simulated drought conditions. A sandy loam soil was amended with biochars containing three distinct particle sizes in order to observe the effects of particle size on soil hydrological properties.
3:50PM ET - Managing Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica L), an Invasive Species on Forest Ecosystems in the Gulf Coast
Speaker: Oghenekome Onokpise, Ovoland Associates, LLC
Description: Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica L) is one of the world’s ten most noxious and worst weeds. It is ranked the seventh invasive plant species in Florida and one of the most invasive species in other Gulf Coast states. Studies and management practices have been undertaken in Florida for the ecological restoration of herbicide treated forest ecosystems.
4:00PM ET - Germplasm Conservation for Species Restoration: Examples from Efforts to Restore the American Chestnut
Speaker: Kendra Collins, The American Chestnut Foundation
Description: Efforts to restore the American chestnut have been ongoing since the early 20th century and include three primary techniques: breeding, biotechnology, and biocontrol. Any plan to achieve complete species restoration in the long-term must also conserve genetically diverse and locally adapted sources of American chestnut in the near-term.
4:10PM ET - Multifaceted Interactions between Prescribed Fire and Bark Beetles in Loblolly and Longleaf Pine Ecosystems
Speaker: Kamal Gandhi, University of Georgia
Description: Use of frequent prescribe fire is critical in many conifer ecosystems to promote pine regeneration, tree health, and enhance ecosystem services. We provide two case studies on the variable interactions between prescribe fire regimes, bark beetles, and loblolly and longleaf pine trees in southern ecosystems.
4:20PM ET - Post-Wind Disturbance Salvage Logging and Prescribed Fire Effects on Pinus palustris Stand Development
Speaker: Jonathan Kleinman, University of Alabama
Description: Post-wind disturbance salvage logging effects on prescribed fire management remain uncertain. We monitored woody plant development before and after prescribed fire in mature, wind-disturbed, and salvage-logged Pinus palustris woodlands. Salvage-logged sites hosted the greatest P. palustris sapling densities. Prescribed fire enhanced recovery through shoot mortality of less fire-resistant sapling species.
4:30PM ET - Herbaceous Understory Communities in Reforested Urban Sites in Lexington, Kentucky
Speaker: Julia Maugans, University of Kentucky
Description: Herbaceous understory plant communities in reforested urban sites in Lexington, Kentucky, exhibit some native plant diversity, but they are threatened by invasive species such as purple wintercreeper. These sites will likely require ongoing management to control invasive species and aid the continued development of diverse native understory plant communities.
4:40PM ET - Forestry of the Future: Improving Workforce Participation of Underrepresented Minority Populations in Forest Resources
Speaker: Zakia Leggett, North Carolina State University
Description: Diversity enrollment and matriculation have failed due to poor intersections of academic support, peer community support, mentoring, leadership development, and “readiness” work skills. This National Needs Fellowship program builds on a pilot program to pipeline minority undergraduates from HBCUs to successful graduate training in forest resources at NC State University (NCSU).
Concurrent Scientific & Technical Sessions 3:30PM - 5:00PM ET
R2-2: Agroforestry from 30,000 Feet down to the Field Level
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3:30PM ET - Conservation, Profit, or Both? A Synthesis of Why Landowners Integrate Trees into Agricultural Landscapes
Speaker: Matthew Smith, USDA Forest Service National Agroforestry Center
Description: Agroforestry encompasses a suite of sustainable land management practices. These systems are dynamic, and so too are the reasons for their adoption. This review of 125 U.S. agroforestry studies will highlight key drivers effecting adoption, along with recommendations for how trees can be more successfully integrated into agricultural landscapes.
4:00PM ET - High-Resolution Agroforestry Mapping for the Central United States
Speaker: Todd Kellerman, USDA Forest Service
Description: Agricultural forests are an important, yet undercounted resource in the central United States. A large-scale mapping effort by USDA Forest Service's FIA and USDA National Agroforestry Center has produced high-resolution maps of these linear agroforestry systems. Highlights include summary statistics and examples of how the data is bein used.
4:30PM ET - Windbreak Influence on Crop Yields
Speaker: Charles Barden, Kansas State University
Description: This study compared multiple years of data from fields with and without windbreaks from farms across Kansas and Nebraska, looking at relative crop yield differences. Results showed the strongest positive influence of windbreaks on soybean and wheat yields and less consistent effects on corn yield.
R3-2: Silviculture & Forest Ecology in the West
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3:30PM ET - Time for a Comeback: Western White Pine and Resistance to White Pine Blister Rust
Speaker: Richard Sniezko, USDA Forest Service
Description: The availability of western white pine with genetic resistance to white pine blister rust will be key to successful reforestation and restoration of this species. The genetic resistance in the applied breeding program in the Pacific Northwest has reach levels high enough for land managers to use this species again.
4:00PM ET - Understory Composition in Southwest Dry Mixed-Conifer Forest in Absence of Contemporary Treatments
Speaker: Doug Cram, New Mexico State University
Description: Dry mixed-conifer forests in the Southwest occupy an important ecological role in upper watersheds. In the absence of reoccurring fire and silvicultural treatments over the last 50 years, we quantified understory structure and composition on north and south aspects using ordination analysis in preparation for an experiment in ecological restoration.
4:30PM ET - Research and Management Chronicle on Pinus monticola Forests of the Northern Rocky Mountains
Speaker: Terrie Jain, USDA Forest Service
Description: Setting the stage for the western white pine theme: The ecology, management and role of research through time, beginning with the first botanical survay in the late 1900s. Key points: the role of silviculture and fire research beginning in 1911 and the evolution of silvicultural systems from the past to the present.
R4-2: Forest Policy
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3:30PM ET - A National Review of the Forest Service's Shared Stewardship Strategy's Implementation
Speaker: Courtney Schultz, Colorado State University
Description: The US Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy emphasizes partnership with the states, tribes, and other collaborators to identify priority areas for management, coordinate work across jurisdictions, and leverage diverse capacities. We are conducting a longitudinal research project looking at perceptions of the Strategy and differences in its implementation across states.
4:00PM ET - Trillion Trees Initiative: Needs beyond “Plant ‘Em Green Side Up”
Speaker: Richard Guldin, Society of American Foresters
Description: The Trillion Trees Initiative, launched in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, calls for planting 1 trillion trees around the globe by 2030. For the U.S. to achieve its contribution, reforestation and afforestation rates need to triple. The fresh policies and investments needed will be explored.
4:30PM ET - Factors Driving Spatial Density of Longleaf Pine Plantations under Conservation Reserve Programs in Georgia, USA
Speaker: Puneet Dwivedi, University of Georgia
Description: The objective of this study was to understand how landowner’s decision to enroll in conservation practice is shaped by a range of socio-economic, topographic and other characteristics over space for prioritizing areas to support longleaf pine restoration in the US South.
R5-2: Silviculture
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3:30PM ET - Managing Northern White-Cedar in Mixed and Monotypic Stands
Speaker: Laura Kenefic, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Description: Northern white-cedar harvesting can cause undesired species shifts due to insufficient regeneration, competing vegetation, and white-tailed deer browsing. Our research confirms the importance of establishing, releasing, and retaining white-cedar trees in managed stands. Irregular shelterwood and group selection may be successful if synchronized with local reductions in deer populations.
4:00PM ET - Slash Walls Exclude Deer and Allow for Unadulterated Seedling Height Growth – Year #4
Speaker: Peter Smallidge, Cornell University and Brett Chedzoy, Cornell University
Description: Slash walls on the perimeter of 9 commercial even-aged regeneration harvests have excluded deer. Height growth of desirable seedlings is 3 to 10 times greater than unprotected seedlings. Slash walls cost $1.47 per linear foot for construction and use 0.31 tons of slash per foot. Wall slump declines through time.
4:30PM ET - Crown and Stem Form of Regeneration Improves with Reduced Deer Pressure
Speaker: Autumn Sabo, Penn State Beaver
Description: Our research in a mature maple stand demonstrates that deer management is a useful tool for encouraging the production of well-formed mid-shade tolerant trees, that its utility varies by species, and that seedling quality might be a poor predictor of eventual sapling shape.
R6-2: Forest Ecology
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3:30PM ET - Investigating Provenance Variation of Drought Adaptative Traits in Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Using Common Garden Studies
Speaker: Aalap Dixit, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University
Description: We are conducting greenhouse and field common garden studies to investigate genetic variations in growth, drought-adapted structural and physiological traits, and survival in ponderosa pines sampled from 21 provenances located across Arizona and New Mexico over elevational and environmental gradients.
4:00PM ET - The Effects of Logging Slash and Soil Disturbance on the Establishment of Big Bluestem Grass
Speaker: Lorenzo Walton, Alabama A&M University
Description: Native forest restoration efforts often tend to neglect the herbaceous layer of the forest community and direct more attention to the desired tree species of the overstory. Slash management techniques coupled with levels of soil compaction during timber harvest may prove to significantly impact the success of establishing native grasses.
R7-2: Forest Technology
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3:30PM ET - Estimating Harvest Risk for Each Acre of the US South
Speaker: Nan Pond, SilviaTerra, LLC
Description: We will describe work completed to estimate the risk of harvest across the US South. Risk of harvest across ownerships and parcels has been quantified at a 30 m resolution, enabling landscape-level planning for woodshed analysis, carbon capture estimation, and economic research.
4:00PM ET - Monitoring from Above: UAS for Describing Vegetation Structure, Function, and Condition
Speaker: Wade Tinkham, Colorado State University
Description: Resource managers are increasingly turning to technology to improve data collection, processing, and interpretation. This presentation will explore a range of Unmanned Aerial System monitoring strategies for tracking vegetation structure, function, and condition. Specific examples will be reviewed for plot- and tree-level forest inventory and prescribed fire monitoring.
R8-2: Recreation & Wilderness Management
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3:30PM ET - Responding to Increasing Visitation: Pilot Hiker Shuttle in Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire
Speaker: Philip Bryce, NH Division of Parks and Recreation
Description: Public lands have seen unprecedented levels of visitation. To address insufficient parking, a hiker shuttle was started to serve visitors to Franconia Notch State Park and the surrounding White Mountain National Forest. The shuttle, operated by NH State Parks, has been an operational success but is not financially self-sufficient.
4:00PM ET - Recreation Participation Outlooks to 2070 for Downhill and Back-Country Skiing
Speaker: Ashley Askew, University of Georgia
Description: A concern for many communities and forest landowners is the future of outdoor recreation opportunities under climate change. Recreation participation and consumption were simulated to 2070 under four paired socioeconomic and greenhouse gas scenarios. We highlight regions where downhill and back-country skiing may be most vulnerable to potential climate change.
R9-2: Urban & Community Forestry
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3:30PM ET - Looking to the Future: Challenges and Opportunities Facing Urban Forest Managers
Speaker: Arnold Brodbeck, Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Description: This presentation will address current challenges and opportunities facing urban forest managers and impacts on the profession. The study employed interviews with a diversity of participants, including practitioners, researchers, and organizational leaders, associated with urban forest management. Emergent themes included climate change, professionalism, technology, education and research needs.
4:00PM ET - Building a Sustainable Urban Forest: The Gowanus Tree Network in Brooklyn, NY
Speaker: Karl Honkonen, US Forest Service/Eastern Region, State & Private Forestry and Natasia Sidarta, Gowanus Canal
Description: The Gowanus Canal Conservancy has developed the Gowanus Tree Network, a group of engaged and educated neighborhood stakeholders that is building a more sustainable urban forest in the Gowanus neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. The Network is improving street tree health, stormwater management, reducing heat island effects and improving neighborhood livability.
Opening Reception 5:00PM - 6:00PM ET
Opening Reception
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Join us for a fun evening of virtual magic and connecting with attendees. Magician and mentalist Denny Corby will not only amaze you with his tricks, but he will also be showing everyone some secrets and how to do a trick or two. After the show, attendees are welcome to network and reconnect in breakout Zoom rooms. This would be a great time to wear your SAF T-shirt and show your support of the organization!!
Sponsors
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