Science to Serve the Common Good:Upstream: Salmon and Society in the Pacific Northwest

Abstract Bear activity resulting in injury to Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) trees has been documented as early as the mid-1850s in the Pacific Northwest. The study reported in this article was designed to help managers decide whether the common practice of removing the damaged but potentially valuable butt section of the bottom log and leaving it in the woods is warranted. Thirty-four damaged and 28 undamaged trees were selected from three sites in western Washington where bear damage has been a persistent problem. Trees were felled and bucked into 16-ft lengths. The damaged trees in the sample had been injured at ages between 10 and 15 years at two sites and between 10 and 65 years at the third site. The primary scaling deductions were for ring and scar defects. The 16-ft butt logs from the damaged and undamaged trees were sawn into dimension lumber. Bear-damaged logs were found to have lower cubic volume recovery than undamaged logs having the same small-end diameters. Lumber grade recovery was also influenced by bear damage; logs from damaged trees had a lower percentage of high-value lumber. The analysis suggests that the optimal harvesting policy is to haul the entire butt log to the mill rather than leaving the damaged portion in the woods. Although the value of the damaged portion is lower, most of the lumber recovered from that section can be used, with only a modest reduction in grade and value.

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Mechanisms of methane transport through <i>Populus trichocarpa</i>

10.5194/bg-2016-60 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ellynne Kutschera ◽

Aslam Khalil ◽

Andrew Rice ◽

Todd Rosenstiel

Keyword(s):

Pacific Northwest ◽

Populus Trichocarpa ◽

Transport Processes ◽

Ch4 Emission ◽

Transport Mechanisms ◽

Black Cottonwood ◽

The Pacific ◽

Average Flux ◽

The Common ◽

Hydroponic Conditions

Abstract. Although the dynamics of methane (CH4) emission from croplands and wetlands have been fairly well investigated, the contribution of trees to global CH4 emission and the mechanisms of tree transport are relatively unknown. CH4 emissions from the common wetland tree species Populus trichocarpa (black cottonwood) native to the Pacific Northwest were measured under hydroponic conditions in order to separate plant transport mechanisms from the influence of soil processes. Roots were exposed to CH4 enriched water and canopy emissions of CH4 were measured. The average flux for 34 trials (at temperatures ranging from 17 to 25 °C) was 2.8 ± 2.2 μg CH4 min−1 (whole canopy). Flux increased with temperature. Compared to the isotopic composition of root water CH4, δ13C values were depleted for canopy CH4 where the warmest temperatures (24.4–28.7 °C) resulted in an epsilon of 2.8 ± 4.7 ‰; midrange temperatures (20.4–22.1 °C) produced an epsilon of 7.5 ± 3.1 ‰; and the coolest temperatures (16.0–19.1 °C) produced an epsilon of 10.2 ± 3.2 ‰. From these results it is concluded that there are likely multiple transport processes at work in CH4 transport through trees and the dominance of these processes changes with temperature. The transport mechanisms that dominate at low temperature and low flux result in a larger fractionation, while the transport mechanisms that prevail at high temperature and high flux produce a small fractionation. Further work would investigate what combination of mechanisms are specifically engaged in transport for a given fractionation of emitted CH4.

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