Field and spatial data for: Understanding the role of fire refugia in promoting ecosystem resilience of dry forests in the western United States

We used the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS) to simulate fuel treatment effects on 45 162 stands in low- to midelevation dry forests (e.g., ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. P. & C. Laws.) and Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) of the western United States. We evaluated treatment effects on predicted post-treatment fire behavior (fire type) and fire hazard (torching index). FFE-FVS predicts that thinning and surface fuel treatments reduced crown fire behavior relative to no treatment; a large proportion of stands were predicted to transition from active crown fire pre-treatment to surface fire post-treatment. Intense thinning treatments (125 and 250 residual trees·ha–1) were predicted to be more effective than light thinning treatments (500 and 750 residual trees·ha–1). Prescribed fire was predicted to be the most effective surface fuel treatment, whereas FFE-FVS predicted no difference between no surface fuel treatment and extraction of fuels. This inability to discriminate the effects of certain fuel treatments illuminates the consequence of a documented limitation in how FFE-FVS incorporates fuel models and we suggest improvements. The concurrence of results from modeling and empirical studies provides quantitative support for “fire-safe” principles of forest fuel reduction (sensu Agee and Skinner 2005. For. Ecol. Manag. 211: 83–96).

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Human ocular onchocerciasis caused by Onchocerca lupi (Spirurida, Onchocercidae) in Iran

Journal of Helminthology ◽

10.1017/s0022149x13000060 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 88 (2) ◽

pp. 250-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

G. Mowlavi ◽

F. Farzbod ◽

A. Kheirkhah ◽

I. Mobedi ◽

D.D. Bowman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Sequence Analysis ◽

Causative Agent ◽

Ribosomal Dna ◽

United States Of America ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Western United States ◽

Onchocerca Lupi ◽

Nodular Lesions

AbstractCases of canine onchocerciasis caused by Onchocerca lupi are increasingly reported from Europe and the western United States of America. The zoonotic role of this parasite had already been suspected in Europe as the clinical signs and histopathology seen in two ocular cases from Albania and the Crimean region were very similar to those of canine ocular onchocerciasis. In the most recent reports of human onchocerciasis, O. lupi has been morphologically and molecularly identified as the causative agent of ocular infestation in two patients from Turkey, and one patient from Tunisia. Here, we report an additional case of nodular lesions involving two, and possibly more, immature worms in a patient from Iran. The parasite was found to belong to the genus Onchocerca based on morphological features and the species was confirmed as O. lupi from a partial sequence analysis of 12S ribosomal DNA.

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The Role of Microorganisms in the Revegetation of Strip-Mined Land in the Western United States

Journal of Range Management ◽

10.2307/3897311 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 299 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

A. M. Cundell

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Western United States

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The Role of Irrigation in the Development of Agriculture in the United States

The Journal of Economic History ◽

10.1017/s0022050718000608 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 78 (4) ◽

pp. 1103-1141 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Eric C. Edwards ◽

Steven M. Smith

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Surface Water ◽

Irrigation Water ◽

Crop Production ◽

The United States ◽

Western United States ◽

Policy Changes ◽

Annual Increase ◽

Small Streams

We examine the role of irrigation in explaining U.S. agricultural gains post-1940. Specifically, we analyze how productivity and farm values changed in the western United States as a result of technological and policy changes that expanded access to ground and surface water. To statistically identify the effects, we compare counties based on their potential access to irrigation water defined by physical characteristics. We find areas with access to large streams and/or groundwater increase crop production relative to areas with only small streams by $19 billion annually, equivalent to 90 percent of the total annual increase in the western United States after 1940.

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