Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences severed by this project included scientists, post-docs, and graduate and undergraduate students, in addition to land managers and policy-makers in both the private and public sectors who make decisions related to managing forests for multiple ecosystem services. For example, several undergraduate and graduate students participated in courses (e.g., Silviculture) where project information was presented, and conducted research related to this project as part of their honors theses, practicum experience, and MS and PhD degrees. As part of this research, participants gained skills in field and laboratory techniques, as well as experience with all aspects of scientific research. Several presentations were delivered at professional meetings (e.g., NH Farm & Forestry, Society of American Foresters, NH and VT Maple Producers Association), field days (e.g., Hubbard Brook), media outlets (e.g., NHPR, UNH) to reach broader audiences. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During this reporting period, this NHAES-supported research has contributed to the training and professional development of students and researchers at different stages in their academic studies and professional careers. Seven UNH undergraduate students (Kimberly Lavoie, Emily Perry, Taylor Lindsay, Kensley Hammond, Robert Lafreniere, Emily Beard, Emily Dutton) gained valuable hands-on research experience through their participation in various aspects of the field and lab components of the project. Three of these students (Perry, Dutton, Lindsay) completed independent research projects and presented their work in various UNH classes or outside conferences. Three MS students (Korik Vargas, Anthony Stewart, Rhys Williams) have contributed to the project through their academic program. Anthony Stewart finished his MS on soil hydraulic properties in regional agroforestry systems, presented his results as several conferences, and continued as a technician and gained experience with additional ecological measurements and data analysis including tree growth and sap flow. Korik Vargas' MS is focused on detecting tree moisture stress by analyzing leaf spectral properties at different scales from our ongoing drought manipulation. Rhys Williams' MS is conducting surveys to identify the distribution of chaga, a valuable natural recourse found in the NH White Mountains national forest. A new PhD student, David Moore will focus on investigating tree health of NH sap producing species, including sugar maple, red maple, and birch. A NHAES-funded post-doctoral associate, Dr. Adam Coble, contributed to several ongoing NH based projects including investigating tree moisture stress through leaf water potential in our forest drought manipulation, and published a comprehensive review on Northeastern US forests responses to drought. He also continued to collect, analyze and model data related to our ongoing silvopasture agroforestry experiment, and learned new techniques to measure non-structural carbohydrates. Research Scientist, Dr. Matthew Vadeboncoeur, has continued to develop skills in dendrochronology, stable isotope analysis, and mentoring several undergraduate and graduate students (including participating as a member of four graduate student committees). Finally, our field technician and lab manager on this project, Katie Jennings, continues to gain valuable experience in implementing, monitoring, collecting and analyzing field data collected from this project as well as in project management and disseminating results to broader audiences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated to diverse stakeholder communities through a variety of media outlets intended to reach a broader audience, as indicated below: Asbjornsen, H. NHPR the Exchange: Could it happen here? Fighting Forest Fires in N.H. Panel member. October 26, 2017. http://nhpr.org/post/could-it-happen-here-fighting-forest-fires-nh#stream/0 Asbjornsen, H.,M. Vadeboncoeur. 2017.Growth and tree rings:Responses of northern forest tree species to drought (emphasis on Sugar Maple). Vermont Sugar Maple Producers Association Workshop, January 28, 2017 Morrisville, VT. Asbjornsen, H. 2017.Thirsty trees: How the 2016 drought impacted New Hampshire's Forests.New Hampshire Farm and Forestry Expo, February, 17, 2016, Manchester, NH. Asbjornsen H, Vadeboncoeur MA. Responses of Northern Forest Tree Species to Climate Change and Drought. Webinar hosted by Northeastern States Research Cooperative, February 2017. July 2017, Vandeboncoeur, M.A., Jennings, K., McIntire, C.D., Sinacore, K., Gutierrez-Lopez, J., Vargas, K., Asbjornsen, H. Mentored high achieving high students participating in UNH Project SMART. Students complete week long modules in different STEM laboratories to develop and execute short projects. July 2017, McIntire, C. Guest lecturer at NH Forest Health workshop. Presented on aspects of White Pine Needle Damage; including how to identify signs and symptoms, known impacts, and mitigation efforts using silvicultural practices. Fox Research and Demonstration Forest, Hillsborough, NH. Spring 2017, McIntire, C. Student reviewer for the GLOBE program. Assisted with poster development with 3rdand 4thgraders of the Freemont Elementary School regarding macroinvertebrate populations and stream health of New Hampshire river systems. Vadeboncoeur, M.,H. Asbjornsen.2017. New Hampshire Sugar Maple Producers Association Annual Meeting. January 28, 2017. North Conway, NH. UNH TODAY Newsletter. "Parched: Drought leaves some researchers thirsty for data". Wednesday, September 7, 2016.http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/parched UNH TODAY Newsletter, "UNH Scientists Investigate How Droughts Impact Northern Forests. Monday, April 4, 2016.https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/news/release/2016/04/04/unh-scientists-investigate-how-droughts-impact-northern-forests. UNH NH Agricultural Experiment Station Newsletter, "Halting Spring Showers: UNH Scientists Investigate How Droughts Impact Northern Forests. Monday, April 4, 2016. UNH Spheres Newsletter, "Making a Thirsty Forest", Winter/Spring 2016.http://www.eos.sr.unh.edu/Spheres_0216/forest.shtml Vadeboncoeur MA, Asbjornsen H. Responses of sugar maple growth and physiology to global change drivers across the northeast. Talk at NH Maple Producers Association annual meeting, Plymouth, NH, January 2017. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Overview and Impact: Changes in the rainfall regime and water cycling due to climate change is a major concern facing the Northeastern U.S., especially the consequences for water supply, flood control, and pest and disease outbreaks. Although annual rainfall is expected to increase in the future, climate change forecasts also predict more intense rainfall events separated by more prolonged rainless periods, resulting in more severe droughts, flooding, and pathogens.Further, changes in the amount of water loss from the Earth back to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration (ET), which currently are poorly understood, may create feedbacks that impact hydrology in unexpected ways.This project seeks to enhance understanding of how climate change-induced shifts in rainfall, ET, and pathogens may affect forest ecosystems to support more informed policy and management decisions. Through this project, my lab group has (1) analyzed long-term trends in ET throughout the northeast region; (2) assessed how interactions between nutrient availability and climate change influence forest productivity and water use; (3) evaluated the impacts of White Pine Needle Damage (WPND) and experimental silvicultural treatments on forest productivity; and (4) established two precipitation manipulation experiments to evaluate the effects of drought on NH.Results suggest that (1) ET trends vary distinctly between southern (moisture-limited) and northern (non-moisture-limited) sites; (2) calcium fertilization stimulates forest productivity and water use over multiple years, (3) WPND significantly reduces white pine productivity; and (4) both white pine and red oak are sensitive to drought, but exhibit contrasting strategies for coping with drought. Major outcomes include training of students and postdocs and enhancing knowledge among diverse stakeholders about potential impacts of climate change, drought, and pathogens on forest health. Specific recommendations are currently being developed to help forest managers mitigate these threats, including silvicultural treatments and selecting species that are better adapted to climate change. Details are provided below for each of the four major project objectives. 1.Long-term data from 7 small watersheds and 11 larger watersheds across the northeastern region were analyzed to assess trends in ET in relation to climate change. Additionally, for the small watersheds,we collected increment cores from major tree species for determination of tree ring age, stem increment growth, and water use efficiency.We found a trend of increasing ET in northern New England, which contrasts with declining ET to the south and west over the past 50 years. We found clear relationships between tree growth, water use efficiency, and precipitation in the southern part of the region, but weaker and more complicated relationships in northern New England.Overall, these results suggest that climate change impacts on ET are complex and that they will likely vary depending on other factors than rainfall alone.Key outcomes include 9 presentations at professional conferences, while two manuscripts are currently under preparation.Upon completion of the second manuscript, the data will be shared as a contribution to the International Tree Ring Data Base. 2.We assessed the response of dominant northern hardwood forest tree species (sugar maple, yellow birch, American beech, spruce) to calcium additions within a treatment and control watershed at Hubbard Brook to understand possible long-term impacts of nutrient depletion due to acid rain and/or climate change using dendrochronology and stable isotope techniques.We found that only sugar maple showed a growth response to the Ca addition, but curiously we did not find that carbon isotopes were consistent with the large changes in ET that are apparent at the watershed scale (e.g., ET initially increased then steadily declined following Ca addition).Rather, water-use efficiency increased at approximately the same rate in both watersheds and across all species, driven by increases in the concentration of atmospheric CO2.Isotopic approaches to ecosystem-scale water use efficiency are still an evolving methodology, and there is currently vigorous debate in the literature on how to interpret the results and to account for effects such as tree age and changing canopy position over time.Our data will contribute to this effort. In 2017, we collected white ash cores from these same watersheds to improve our ability to represent the full watershed; analysis of these samples is ongoing. A newNSF Hydrological Sciences grant will extend this work to other sites that differ in acid deposition sensitivity and history. 3.The effects of the emerging fungal disease WPND on white pine tree and forest health were assessed in permanent plots established in 7 sites throughout NH, ME, MA, and VT.In each plot, we measured monthly litterfall to quantify defoliation severity, foliar nitrogen (N) content, and collected stem increment cores. Tree rings were dated and measured in to determine annual stem growth.A thinning experiment was conducted in two white pine stands to assess the potential for reducing negative impacts of WPND, consisting of three treatments:lowthinning (residual basal area = 60 ft2/ac),highthinning (residual basal area = 100 ft2/ac), and control. We found that mid-season defoliations occurring in the months of June and July accounted for ~50% of the total annual litterfall biomass (g m-2), and that WPND-induced litterfall matched or exceeded the amount of litterfall cast in October (when white pine typically sheds older needles). Further, infected white pines had a N resorption efficiency of 36-31% in the months of June and July respectively, half that of the October resorption efficiency of 67%, indicating greater N loss in WPND-infected trees. Tree ring analyses showed that WPND-diseased stands experienced a 41% decline in wood growth relative to pre-outbreak growth trends, equivalent to a 11 cm2 yr-1 basal area reduction. Both thinning treatments resulted in positive (healthier) index scores and reduced WPND severity ratings; however, tree diameter growth was not affected within the first two years of the study. 4:Drought experiments were initiated at Hubbard Brook in 2015 and at UNH's Thompson Farm in 2016 to simulate an extreme drought event by removing 50% of the throughfall over a 4-year period. Data were collected for diameter growth, litterfall, soil moisture, leaf gas exchange, sapflow, soil nutrients, decomposition, temperature, relative humidity, fine root production, and soil and stem respiration.The experimental manipulation significantly reduced soil moisture, which led to different responses at the two study sites. At Thompson Farm, white pine in the drought plots had approximately27%significantly lower water use compared to control pines, and exhibited near-zero water use for several days at the peak of the drought. In contrast, red oak trees in both control and drought plots decreased their water use to a similar extent as moisture stress increased over time, therefore sensitivity to drought appears to be lower compared to white pine.An overall trend of reduced photosynthesis and stomatal conductance and increased water use efficiency in drought trees compared to control trees was observed for both species.Basal area increment in 2016 (year of natural drought) was 49% and 76% lower in white pine and red oak, respectively, compared to a 5-year reference period prior to treatment. Red maple trees at Hubbard Brook did not respond significantly to drought, which may be related to experimental limitations (i.e., access by roots to deep soil water) or a greater capacity of red maple to adapt to moisture stress. As part of this effort, we established a Forest Drought-Net Network, which contributed to the development of a standard protocol for forest drought experiments and two manuscripts.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Accashian, K., C.D. McIntire, H. Asbjornsen. Evaluating seasonal variability of wood properties in red oak and eastern white pine. 2016. University of New Hampshire Graduate Research Symposium, April 2016
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Rustad, L., H. Asbjornsen, P. Templer, K. Jennings, A. Reinmann, M. Martin, M. Vadeboncouer, M. Smith. 2015. Northern Forest DroughtNet: A New Framework to Understand Impacts of Precipitation Change on the Northern Forest Ecosystem. Soil Science Society of America, Annual Meeting, November 15-18, Minneapolis, MN.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Orefice, J., Smith, R.G., Carroll, J., Asbjornsen, H., and T. Howard. 2016. Forage productivity and profitability in newly-established open pasture, silvopasture, and thinning forest production systems. Agroforestry Systems. DOI: 10.1007/s10457-016-0052-7.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Coble AP, Vadeboncoeur MA, Berry ZC, Jennings KA, McIntire CD, Campbell JL, Rustad LE, Templer PH, Asbjornsen H. 2017. Are northeastern U.S. forests vulnerable to extreme drought? Ecological Processes, 6:34. doi:10.1186/s13717-017-0100-x
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Guerrieri, R, K Jennings, S Belmecheri, H Asbjornsen, S Ollinger. Evaluating climate signal recorded in tree ring ?13C and ?18O from bulk wood and ?-cellulose for six species across four sites in the northeastern US. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 31(24):2081-2091. doi: 10.1002/rcm.7995
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
McIntire, C.D. 2017. White Pine Needle Damage Report. Landscape Message: UMass Amherst Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment. Issue 8. 6 p.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Wyka, S., McIntire, C.D., Smith, C., Munck, I.A., Broders, K., Asbjornsen, H.A. 2017. Abundance and dispersal of Lecanosticta acicola spores in the Northeastern United States and the impact on defoliation of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). Phytopathology. In press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Goswami S, Fisk MC, Vadeboncoeur MA, Johnston M, Yanai RD, Fahey TJ. Phosphorus limitation of aboveground production in northern hardwood forests. In review for Ecology, revision submitted October 2017, Manuscript ECY17-0072.R3.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Djukic I (with 322 coauthors including Jennings K and Vadeboncoeur MA). Litter decomposition across biomes: early stage mass loss. Science of the Total Environment, submitted September 2017.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
McIntire CD, Munck I, Vadeboncoeur MA, Asbjornsen H. Impacts of White Pine Needle Damage on seasonal litterfall dynamics and wood growth of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) in New England. Submitted for special issue of FE&M, October 2017. Manuscript FORECO_2017_1601
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
McIntire, C.D., Munck, I.A., Ducey, M.J., and Asbjornsen, H. 2018. Mitigating impacts of foliar pathogens on eastern white pine using thinning treatments. Submitted to Forest Ecology and Management.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Vadeboncoeur MA, Green MB, Campbell JL, Asbjornsen H, Adams MB, Boyer EW, Burns DA, Fernandez IJ, Mitchell MJ, Shanley JB. Trends in evapotranspiration from large and small watersheds in the Northeastern United States. Journal of Hydrology, submitted September 2017. Manuscript HYDROL25978. In revision for resubmission.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Asbjornsen H, Jennings K, McIntire C, Coble AP (Presenter), Vadeboncoeur M, Reinmann A, Templer P, Campbell J, Rustad L. 2017. Drought sensitivity of humid temperate forests: Results from two throughfall removal experiments superimposed on the 2016 drought in New Hampshire. 2017 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting. Portland, OR.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Coble AP, McIntire C, Jennings K, Vadeboncoeur M, Asbjornsen H. 2017. Northeastern forest response to drought at multiple scales. New England Society of American Foresters Winter Meeting. Bangor, ME.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Coble AP, Asbjornsen H. 2016. Impacts of forest-to-silvopasture conversion on forest hydrology. Earth Systems Research Center seminar. University of New Hampshire, NH.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Coble AP, Asbjornsen H. 2016. Ecohydrological impacts of forest-to-silvopasture conversion: implications for hydrologic services. Society of American Foresters National Convention. Madison, WI.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Dutton E, Vadeboncoeur MA. Updating the Record of Post-Agricultural Succession at Bald Mountain in Campton, New Hampshire. Talk at the Hubbard Brook Cooperators Meeting, July 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Jennings, K, H Asbjornsen. Pushing ecological thresholds? Response of northern forests to the 2016 drought and a throughfall removal experiment. Hubbard Brook Annual Cooperators Meeting, oral presentation; North Woodstock, NH, July 2017.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Jennings, K. Northern Forest DroughtNet: A new framework to understand impacts of precipitation change on northern forest ecosystems. Long Term Ecological Research Program Science Council Field Trip at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, oral presentation; North Woodstock, NH, May 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Jennings, K, M McIntire, A Coble, M Vadeboncoeur, A Reinmann, L Rustad, P Templer, H Asbjornsen. Tree species responses to throughfall removal experiments superimposed on a natural drought event in two contrasting humid temperate forests in New Hampshire, USA. European Geosciences Union 2017 General Assembly, poster presentation; Vienna, Austria, April 2017. EGU2017-19461
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Jennings, K. UNH Ecohydrology lab: Methods, Projects and Forest Drought Initiative. Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Center lab seminar, oral presentation; Barcelona, Spain, April 2017.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Ouimette AP, Ollinger SV, Hollinger DY, Richardson AD, Keenan TF, Lepine LC, Vadeboncoeur MA. 2017. Comparison of carbon flux estimates using 13 years of eddy covariance data and plot-level biometric measurements from the Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. In review for special issue of Ag For Met.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Asbjornsen H, Campbell JL, Jennings KA, McIntire CD, Vadeboncoeur MA, Templer PH, Phillips R, Bauerle TL, Bowles F, Dietze M, Frey S, Groffman P, Guerrieri R, Hanson PJ, Kelsey E, Knapp AK, McDowell NG, Meir PW, Novick KA, Ollinger SV, Pockman W, Schaberg PG, Wullschleger SD, Smith MD, Rustad LE A framework for designing precipitation manipulation experiments in tall-statured shrubland and forest ecosystems. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, submitted August 2017. Manuscript MEE-17-08-735.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
McIntire, C.D., Coble, A., Vandeboncoeur, M.A., Jennings, K., and Asbjornsen, H. Northern Forest Drought-Net: Initial results from a multi-year throughfall manipulation experiment in New Hampshire. UNH Graduate Research Conference. Durham, NH, April 2017. (poster)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
McIntire, C.D., Munck, I.A., and Asbjornsen, H. Northeastern US regional update on White Pine Needle Damage and impacts of the 2016 drought. White Pine Multistate Meeting: Eastern White Pine Health and Responses to Environmental Changes. Orono, ME, March 2017. (oral)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
McIntire, C.D., Munck, I.A and Asbjornsen, H. Northern Forest Drought-Net: Initial results from a multi-year throughfall manipulation experiment in New Hampshire. Joint annual meeting of the Northeast Forest Pest Council and New England Society of American Foresters. Bangor, ME, March 2017. (oral)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
McIntire, C.D., Coble, A., Vandeboncoeur, M.A., Jennings, K., and Asbjornsen, H. Northern Forest Drought-Net: Initial results from a multi-year throughfall manipulation experiment in New Hampshire. AGU Annual Fall Meeting. San Francisco, CA, December 2016. (poster)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Stewart, A.J., H. Asbjornsen, A. Coble, R. Smith 2017. Land use conversion in New England: retaining forest structure and its soil hydraulic properties through silvopasture. Presentation at the University of New Hampshire Graduate Research Conference, Durham, New Hampshire.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Stewart, A.J., H. Asbjornsen, A. Coble, R. Smith. 2017. Land use conversion in the Northeast United States: retaining forest structure and its soil hydraulic properties through silvopasture. Presentation at the 2017 Northeastern Ecosystem Research Cooperative (NERC) Conference, Saratoga, New York.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Stewart, A.J., H. Asbjornsen, A. Coble, R. Smith. 2016. Land use conversion in New England: retaining forest structure and its soil hydraulic properties through silvopasture. Presentation at the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Annual Conference on Water Resources, Orlando, Florida.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Vadeboncoeur MA, Asbjornsen H, Green M, Campbell JL, Scanlon T. Long-term trends in water-use efficiency and thoughts on recovery from acidification. Hubbard Brook Committee of Scientists Meeting, Millbrook, NY, October 2017.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Jennings, K., R. Guerrieri, M. Vadeboncoeur, H. Asbjornsen. 2016. Response of Quercus velutina growth and water use efficiency to climate variability and nitrogen fertilization in a temperate deciduous forest in the northeastern U.S. Tree Physiology. 36(4):428-442.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Vose, J.M., Luce, C., Miniat, C, Sun, G., Campbell, J., Grant, G.E.; Isaak, D. Asbjornsen, H., Loheide, S., Caldwell, P. 2016. Ecohydrological implications of drought for forests in the United States. Forest Ecology and Management. 380:335-345.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Berry, Z.C., J. Evaristo, G. Moore, M. Poca, K. Steppe, L. Verrot, H. Asbjornsen, L.S. Borma, M. Bretfeld, P. Herve-Fernandez, M. Seyfried, L. Schwendenmann, K. Sinacore, L. De Wispelaere, J. McDonnell. The two water worlds hypothesis: Assessing multiple working hypotheses and proposing a way forward. Ecohydrology. 2017;e1843.https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1843Copyright � 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/eco 1of10
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Wyka, S.A., McIntire, C.D., Smith, C., Munck, I.A., Rock, B.N., Asbjornsen, H., Broders, K.D. 2018. Effect of climatic variables on abundance and dispersal of Lecanosticta acicola spores and impact of defoliation on eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). Phytopathology, In Press.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Asbjornsen, H., R. Manson, C. Lopez, P. Negreros-Castillo. Agroforestry and Climate Change in Mexico. In: Patel-Weynand (ed.) 2018. Agroforestry and Climate Change: Reducing Threats and Enhancing Resiliency in Agricultural Landscapes. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report. In press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Guerrieri, R., L. Lepine, H. Asbjornsen, J. Xiao, S.V. Ollinger. Evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in relation to climate and canopy nitrogen in U.S. forests. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences. 121, doi: 10.1002/2016JG003415.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Orefice, J., Smith, R.G., Carroll, J., Asbjornsen, H., and D. Kelting. 2016. Soil and understory plant dynamics during conversion of forest to silvopasture, open pasture, and heavily thinned woodlot. Agroforestry Systems. DOI: 10.1007/s10457-016-0040-y
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Orefice, J., Smith, R.G., Carroll, J., Asbjornsen, H., and T. Howard. A comparison of open pasture, silvopasture, and thinned forest productivity during the first two years post initial treatment. Agroforestry Systems 2017, Volume 91, Issue 4, pp 729739
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Vose, J.M., C.F. Miniat, C.H. Luce, H. Asbjornsen, P.V. Caldwell, J.L. Campbell, G.E. Grant, D.J. Isaak, S.P. Loheide, G. Sun. 2016. Ecohydrological Implications of Drought. In: J.M. Vose, J. Clark, C. Luce, T. Patel-Weynand. Synthesis of Drought and Forest Ecosystems. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report. USFS Gen. Tech. Report WO-93b.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Coble, A., H. Asbjornsen. 2016. Ecohydrological impacts of forest-to-silvopasture conversion: implications for hydrologic services. Society of American Foresters, Annual National Convention, Madison, WI, November 2-6.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
McIntire CD, MA Vadeboncoeur, A Coble, K Jennings, H Asbjornsen. Northern Forest DroughtNet: Initial results from a multi-year throughfall manipulation experiment in New Hampshire. American Geophysical Union fall meeting. San Fransisco, CA. December 12-16 2016.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Guerrieri R, S Belmecheri, M Martin, LC Lepine, K Jennings, H Asbjornsen, J Xiao, SV Ollinger. Spatial and temporal trends in water-use efficiency across U.S. forests: integrating tree ring stable C and O isotopes with eddy covariance data. American Geophysical Union fall meeting. San Francisco, CA. December 12-16 2016.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Asbjornsen, H., L. Rustad, P. Templer, K. Jennings, M. Smith. 2016. DroughtNet Albequerque Northern Forest DroughtNet: Update and Preliminary Findings. Annual Meeting of the RCN DroughtNet Advisory Committee. Albuquerque, NM, May 3-5, 2016.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Vadeboncoeur MA, Asbjornsen H, Campbell JL, Green MB. Strength of climatic signals in growth and water use efficiency varies across a temperate climate gradient. Poster at Ameridendro 2016, Mendoza, Argentina.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
McIntire, C.D., H. Asbjornsen. 2016. Impacts of White Pine Needle Damage in the Northeastern US and Testing Silvicultural Strategies for Mitigation. Kingston, Ontario, CA. North Eastern Forest Pest Council (NEFPC) Annual Meeting, March 2016
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
McIntire, C.D., I.A. Munck, H. Asbjornsen. 2016. Testing experimental silvicultural treatments to mitigate foliar pathogens affecting eastern white pine in the northeastern US and Canada. Burlington, VT. Eastern CANUSA conference in Forest Science (ECANUSA), September 2016
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Munck, I.A., W. Livingston, S. Fraver, K. Lorion, K. Lombard, J. Weimer, W. Ostrofsky, C.D. McIntire, H. Asbjornsen, S. Wyka, K. Broders. 2016. Caliciopsis canker and white pine needle damage. New England Society of American Foresters (NESAF) Annual Winter Meeting, Sturbridge, MA., March 2016
|
Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences severed by this project includedscientists, post-docs, and graduate and undergraduate students, in addition to land managers and policy-makers in both the private and public sectors who make decisions related to managing forests for multiple ecosystem services. For example, several undergraduate and graduate students participated in courses (e.g., Silviculture) where project information was presented, and conducted research related to this project as part of their honors theses, practicum experience,and MS and PhD degrees. As part of this research, participants gained skills in field and laboratory techniques, as well as experience with all aspects of scientific research. Several presentations were delivered at professional meetings (e.g., NH Farm & Forestry, Society of American Foresters) and field days (e.g., Hubbard Brook) to reach broader audiences. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During this reporting period, this NHAES-supported research has contributed to the training and professional development of students and researchers at different stages in their academic studies and professional careers. Six UNH undergraduate students (Connor Breton, Stacie Powers, Kimberly Lavoie, Cameron Twombly, Emily Perry, Taylor Lindsay) gained valuable hands-on research experience through their participation in various aspects of the field and lab components of the project. Three of these students (Breton, Powers, Twombly) completed independent research projects and presented their work at the UNH undergraduate research conference. Two recent undergraduates (Korik Vargas, Rand Snyder) gained similar field and lab experiences as research assistants, one of whom (Vargas) is currently continuing his work in my lab as a UNH MS graduate student. Another new MS student, Anthony Stewart, has gained experience with developing and implementing scientific research, including training in measuring soil hydraulic properties in agroforestry systems and presenting his preliminary findings at a scientific conference. A previous post-doctoral associate, Dr. Matt Vadeboncoeur, was promoted to the position of Research Scientist within my lab, and has gained new skills related to dendrochronology, stable isotope analysis, and mentoring several undergraduate and graduate students (including participating as a member of two graduate student committees). A new NHAES-funded post-doctoral associate, Dr. Adam Coble, has received training in new field measurements related to sap flow and soil hydraulic conductivity, and is developing his professional skills through application of models to understanding forest responses to drought. Both Vadeboncoeur and Coble presented their work at scientific conferences this past year. Finally, our field technician and lab manager on this project, Katie Jennings, continues to gain valuable experience in implementing, monitoring, collecting and analyzing field data collected from this project as well as in project management and disseminating results to broader audiences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our research related to the impacts of drought on northers forest ecosystems was shared with the broader public during the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest 60th anniversary celebration event held in October 2015, which was attended by 175 members of the community who visited ongoing experiments (including our drought experiment) and engaged in the field with scientists and students working at the site. Our drought research was also featured in the following UNH outreach publications: UNH TODAY press release. "Parched: Drought leaves some researchers thirsty for data". Wednesday, September 7, 2016. http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2016/09/parched UNH TODAY press release, "UNH Scientists Investigate How Droughts Impact Northern Forests. Monday, April 4, 2016. https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/news/release/2016/04/04/unh-scientists-investigate-how-droughts-impact-northern-forests. UNH NH Agricultural Experiment Station press release, "Halting Spring Showers: UNH Scientists Investigate How Droughts Impact Northern Forests. Monday, April 4, 2016. UNH Spheres Newsletter, "Making a Thirsty Forest", Winter/Spring 2016. http://www.eos.sr.unh.edu/Spheres_0216/forest.shtml Our research on the impacts of White Pine Needle Damage on the health of white pine forests in New England was disseminated to audiences comprised of diverse stakeholder groups through presentations by PhD student Cameron McIntire at several annual meetings, including North Eastern Forest Pest Council (NEFPC), New England Society of American Foresters (NESAF), Vermont Forest Health Information, the New Hampshire Forest and Farm Expo, and the International Union of Forest Research Organization (IUFRO). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?OBJECTIVE 1: EVAPOTRANSPIRATION TRENDS. We have completed the calculations of water balance for the study watersheds, as well as the tree ring and stable isotope analyses. We are currently working to finish the analysis and synthesis of the complete data set. We plan to complete two manuscripts next year, one of which describes regional variation in long-term trends in ET, and the second assessing the different climate and biological drivers of WUE across the study region. We also plan to present our results to diverse stakeholders (nonprofit staff, foresters, master gardeners, and other researchers) in a webinar organized by the Northern States Research, scheduled for February 22, 2017. 2) OBJECTIVE 2. IMPACTS OF NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY-CLIMATE INTERACTIONS ON FOREST PRODUCTIVITY. The primary activities and outcomes associated with this objective have been achieved, including the publication of three manuscripts and several presentations and diverse scientific meetings. During the coming year, we plan to build on this previous work through a new project that addresses broad scale questions related to the impacts of atmospheric deposition across New England and interactions with climate change. This project is funded by a recent grant from NSF-Hydrology, and is led by new collaborators at the University of Virginia. 3) IMPACTS OF PATHOGENS ON FOREST HEALTH. The field work related to collection of litterfall data, tree cores, and pathogen severity, for the cross-site assessment of WPND impacts on pine forest health has been completed. We are currently in the process of finishing the tree ring analysis in the lab. Additionally, data will be collected during the 2017 field season on the response of WPND-infected pine stands to silvicultural thinning treatments (implemented this year) to assess the potential for alleviating negative impacts of WPND on white pine health through thinning. PhD student Cameron McIntire plans to complete at least three manuscripts and give several conference presentations to diverse audiences related to this work next year. 4) FOREST RESPONSE TO SEVERE DROUGHT. We are currently working on a manuscript synthesizing the challenges and opportunities for developing coordinated approaches for conducting precipitation manipulation experiments in forest ecosystems that is near completion (Asbjornsen et al. in prep.), and plan to begin work on several new manuscripts building on the preliminary findings described above. We also plan to present on our findings (especially related to red maple and sugar maple) to diverse stakeholders at annual meetings and workshops hosted by the Vermont and New Hampshire Sugar Maple Growers' Associations in January 2017. We will continue data collection efforts at Hubbard Brook during the next six years with support from a new grant through the HB-LTER that allocates a small amount of funding for this project. Data collection at Thompson Farm will continue next year with support provided by this NHAES-funded project. We also plan to add a new complementary field experiment to assess the response of saplings of five dominant northern forest species (sugar maple, red maple, red oak, white pine, and white birch) using a controlled irrigation experiment at UNH's Kingman Farm (contingent upon approval of our recently submitted one-time equipment purchase proposal to NHAES). Finally, we also recently submitted a grant proposal to NSF's Macrosystems Biology program, which, if funded, would support the establishment of drought experiments at four different field sites (Hubbard Brook, Bonanza Creek AK, Luquillo LTER PR, Ordway-Swisher FL) to test hypotheses related to the sensitivity of diverse ecosystems located along an aridity gradient to extreme drought events.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Climate change is expected to bring more rainfall to the northeastern U.S., yet the climate willlikely also become warmer and drierwith more frequent severe droughts.Improved knowledge about how climate change and drought will affect northern forests and tree species is critical for assisting land owners and forest managers in making more informed natural resource management decisions. Additionally, because stressed trees are often more susceptible to pathogens, enhanced understanding about climate change-pathogen interactions and impacts on forest health is essential to developing effective strategies for reducing vulnerability and treating infected forests. OBJECTIVE 1: EVAPOTRANSPIRATION TRENDS. One of the major consequences of future climate change will be to alter water loss from ecosystems back to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration (ET), creating feedbacks that impact hydrology and climate in ways that are unexpected and poorly understood. Understanding the differing trends and underlying causes of ET across the region will help forest and water managers make decisions about how to best secure the reliable provision of surface water from managed forest ecosystems as the climate changes. We investigated historical trends in ET across seven northeastern watersheds by using long-term watershed-scale data to estimate water balance and tree ring and stable isotopic analysis patterns in to assess tree growth and water use efficiency. Findings suggest that over the past 50 years, ET has increased in response to a warming climate in northern states (NH, ME), while ET declined in similar forest types located in southern states (PA, WV).Overall, ET was limited by summer temperature in the northern climates, but by summer precipitation in more southern climates which are similar to the climate foretasted for New Hampshire in the mid-late 21st Century.These changes were accompanied by dramatic 30% increases in forest water use efficiency at all sites due to plant physiological responses to increasing atmospheric CO2. Some species, particularly red spruce, seem to have reached a maximum water use efficiency around 1990 while others continue to respond linearly to increased CO2. 2) OBJECTIVE 2. IMPACTS OF NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY-CLIMATE INTERACTIONS ON FOREST PRODUCTIVITY. Over the past century, soil nutrient availability in NH's forests has been affected by acid deposition and climate change, including soil acidification, leaching of calcium, and changes in nitrogen availability. We assessed the impacts of changing calcium and nitrogen availability on forest health and productivity, using long-term fertilization experiments, tree ring and stable isotope analysis, and foliar nutrient measurements. We found that sugar maple exhibited significantly increased growth rates in response to calcium fertilization, while other species (e.g., beech, yellow birch, red spruce) did not, indicating high sensitivity of sugar maple to calcium depletion. Our findings also highlighted the important mediating role of nitrogen availability in determining responses of tree species' water use efficiency to increasing atmospheric CO2. Our tree ring data suggested that the growth of northern species, particularly sugar maple, was more limited by warm, dry summers in the southern extent of their range (i.e., WV, PA) compared to the northern region (NH, ME). Climate change projections indicate that the future climate in NH will likely resemble the current climate in these southern states; therefore, sugar maple may be especially vulnerable to future moisture stress. Given the important economic and cultural value of sugar maple in the state, these findings are important for land owners and managers as they work to develop strategies for adapting to future climate change. 3) IMPACTS OF PATHOGENS ON FOREST HEALTH. Since 2009, eastern white pine has been impacted by an outbreak of a complex of foliar fungal pathogens known collectively as White Pine Needle Damage (WPND). This disease causes significant loss of foliage in late summer, which poses a serious threat to the health and productivity of white pine in the region. Given the importance of white pine to NH's timber industry, information about the impacts of WPND on white pine health is critical for land owners and forest managers. We established a network of study plots throughout New England to quantify the spread and severity of WPND infestation and impacts on forest health. The results show that defoliation severity varies geographically, with southern sites in NH exhibiting lower levels of defoliation than sites in ME. Summer defoliation in WPND-infected trees represented 42%-50% of total annual litterfall, which contrasts sharply with the typical pattern of over 90% of litterfall occurring in October. Current- year needles of infected trees upregulated photosynthesis earlier in the growing season in comparison to healthy trees, potentially compensating for reduced total leaf area. Tree ring analysis indicated that WPND-infected trees experienced a mean decline in basal area increment of 34% across the study sites since 2009. Since infected pines are likely allocating a greater proportion of carbohydrates to upregulation and the production of new foliage rather than to growth, defense, cellular repair, or storage, our results suggest that WPND poses a significant threat to white pine health and is causing significant changes for forest productivity, carbon cycle, and water balance. We are currently testing the potential for different silvicultural treatments to mitigate the spread and severity of WPND, which will result in specific management recommendations for foresters and private landowners in New England. 4) FOREST RESPONSE TO SEVERE DROUGHT. Understanding of how mesic-adapted northern forest trees will respond to drought is limited, yet this knowledge is critical to developing forest management approaches adapted to future conditions. We established drought experiments at Hubbard Brook and UNH's Thompson Farm using a network of understory troughs to remove approximately 50% of the throughfall. Findings show that white pine at Thompson Farm reduced photosynthesis and stomatal conductance by 26% and 52% in response to the drought treatment. A natural drought occurring from late August to mid-September impacted white pines in both the control and drought plots, with control plot trees exhibiting 81% decline in transpiration, while trees in the drought plots stopped transpiring completely. Together with observations that decomposition rates were 22% lower in the drought plots, these results suggest significant impacts of drought on forest productivity and carbon cycling. In contrast to white pine, red maple at Hubbard Brook did not exhibit significant responses to the drought treatment, despite significantly reduced soil respiration and soil moisture. More prolonged drought periods may be needed in wetter high-elevation sites before trees experience significant moisture stress. Tree species likely also differ in their sensitivity to drought, such that white pine may experience greater growth declines and mortality under drought. Differences in species' vulnerability to climate change are important considerations for natural resource management, especially in relation to future timber harvests, wildlife habitat, water resources, and other important forest-based activities such as maple syrup production and recreation. CHANGE IN KNOWLEDGE: Collectively, our results demonstrate how different forest ecosystems and tree species are responding to important environmental change drivers, including drought, pathogens, and nutrient availability, providing a basis for making more informed decisions about how to design natural resource management strategies that are better adapted to future conditions and continue to provide goods and services to society.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Guerrieri R, S Belmecheri, M Martin, LC Lepine, K Jennings, H Asbjornsen, J Xiao, SV Ollinger. Spatial and temporal trends in water-use efficiency across U.S. forests: integrating tree ring stable C and O isotopes with eddy covariance data. American Geophysical Union fall meeting. San Francisco, CA. December 12-16 2016.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Asbjornsen, H., L. Rustad, P. Templer, K. Jennings, M. Smith. 2016. DroughtNet Albequerque Northern Forest DroughtNet: Update and Preliminary Findings. Annual Meeting of the RCN DroughtNet Advisory Committee. Albuquerque, NM, May 3-5, 2016.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Vadeboncoeur MA, Asbjornsen H, Campbell JL, Green MB. Strength of climatic signals in growth and water use efficiency varies across a temperate climate gradient. Poster at Ameridendro 2016, Mendoza, Argentina.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
McIntire, C.D., H. Asbjornsen. 2016. Impacts of White Pine Needle Damage in the Northeastern US and Testing Silvicultural Strategies for Mitigation. Kingston, Ontario, CA. North Eastern Forest Pest Council (NEFPC) Annual Meeting, March 2016
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
McIntire, C.D., I.A. Munck, H. Asbjornsen. 2016. Testing experimental silvicultural treatments to mitigate foliar pathogens affecting eastern white pine in the northeastern US and Canada. Burlington, VT. Eastern CANUSA conference in Forest Science (ECANUSA), September 2016
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Munck, I.A., W. Livingston, S. Fraver, K. Lorion, K. Lombard, J. Weimer, W. Ostrofsky, C.D. McIntire, H. Asbjornsen, S. Wyka, K. Broders. 2016. Caliciopsis canker and white pine needle damage. New England Society of American Foresters (NESAF) Annual Winter Meeting, Sturbridge, MA., March 2016
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Accashian, K., C.D. McIntire, H. Asbjornsen. Evaluating seasonal variability of wood properties in red oak and eastern white pine. 2016. University of New Hampshire Graduate Research Symposium, April 2016
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Rustad, L., H. Asbjornsen, P. Templer, K. Jennings, A. Reinmann, M. Martin, M. Vadeboncouer, M. Smith. 2015. Northern Forest DroughtNet: A New Framework to Understand Impacts of Precipitation Change on the Northern Forest Ecosystem. Soil Science Society of America, Annual Meeting, November 15-18, Minneapolis, MN.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Jennings, K., R. Guerrieri, M. Vadeboncoeur, H. Asbjornsen. 2016. Response of Quercus velutina growth and water use efficiency to climate variability and nitrogen fertilization in a temperate deciduous forest in the northeastern U.S. Tree Physiology. 36(4):428-442.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Vose, J.M., Luce, C., Miniat, C, Sun, G., Campbell, J., Grant, G.E.; Isaak, D. Asbjornsen, H., Loheide, S., Caldwell, P. 2016. Ecohydrological implications of drought for forests in the United States. Forest Ecology and Management. 380:335-345.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Berry, Z.C., J. Evaristo, G. Moore, M. Poca, K. Steppe, L. Verrot, H. Asbjornsen, L.S. Borma, M. Bretfeld, P. Herve-Fernandez, M. Seyfried, L. Schwendenmann, K. Sinacore, L. De Wispelaere, J. McDonnell. The two water worlds hypothesis: Assessing multiple working hypotheses and proposing a way forward. Ecohydrology. doi: 10.1002/eco.1843
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Asbjornsen, H., R. Manson, C. Lopez, P. Negreros-Castillo. Agroforestry and Climate Change in Mexico. In: Patel-Weynand (ed.) 2015. Agroforestry and Climate Change: Reducing Threats and Enhancing Resiliency in Agricultural Landscapes. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report. In press.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Guerrieri, R., L. Lepine, H. Asbjornsen, J. Xiao, S.V. Ollinger. 2016. Evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in relation to climate and canopy nitrogen in U.S. forests. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences. 121, doi: 10.1002/2016JG003415.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Orefice, J., Smith, R.G., Carroll, J., Asbjornsen, H., and D. Kelting. Soil and understory plant dynamics during conversion of forest to silvopasture, open pasture, and heavily thinned woodlot. Agroforestry Systems DOI: 10.1007/s10457-016-0040-y
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Orefice, J., Smith, R.G., Carroll, J., Asbjornsen, H., and T. Howard. A comparison of open pasture, silvopasture, and thinned forest productivity during the first two years post initial treatment. Agroforestry Systems doi:10.1007/s10457-016-0052-7
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Vose, J.M., C.F. Miniat, C.H. Luce, H. Asbjornsen, P.V. Caldwell, J.L. Campbell, G.E. Grant, D.J. Isaak, S.P. Loheide, G. Sun. 2016. Ecohydrological Implications of Drought. In: J.M. Vose, J. Clark, C. Luce, T. Patel-Weynand. Synthesis of Drought and Forest Ecosystems. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report. USFS Gen. Tech. Report WO-93b.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Coble, A., H. Asbjornsen. 2016. Ecohydrological impacts of forest-to-silvopasture conversion: implications for hydrologic services. Society of American Foresters, Annual National Convention, Madison, WI, November 2-6.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
McIntire CD, MA Vadeboncoeur, A Coble, K Jennings, H Asbjornsen. Northern Forest DroughtNet: Initial results from a multi-year throughfall manipulation experiment in New Hampshire. American Geophysical Union fall meeting. San Fransisco, CA. December 12-16 2016.
|
Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience includes scientists, post-docs, and graduate and undergraduate students, in addition to land managers and policy-makers in both the private and public sectors who make decisions related to managing forests for multiple ecosystem services. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Key outcomes of this work so far include contributing to the training and professional development of two postdoctoral associates (Matt Vadeboncoeur, Adam Coble), two PhD students (Cameron McIntire, Anthony Steward), six undergraduate students. One undergraduate student (S. Powers) completed an independent project building on the dendrochronology data set related to Objective #1, after training for over a year in the lab on these samples. A PhD student, Cameron McIntire, is jointly funded by NHAES and the USFS to conduct research on impacts of the White Pine Needle Damage on northeastern forests and silvicultural mitigation techniques (Objective #3) and on conducting a drought experiment at Thompson Farm as part of his dissertation research. The DroughtNet experiment (Objective #4) provided training opportunities in the field and lab for three undergraduate students (Kathryn Accashian, Cameron Twombly, and Kimberly Lavoie) related to conducting ecological measurements of root ingrowth cores, sap flow and diameter growth. Additionally, our field technician on this project, Katie Jennings, continues to gain valuable experience in implementing, monitoring, collecting and analyzing field data collected from this project as well as in project management and disseminating results to broader audiences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information about this project has been widely communicated through several poster and oral presentations, including the Soil Science Society of America annual meeting (Nov 15-18, 2015), Hubbard Brook 60th anniversary open house (Oct. 10, 2015), LTER All Scientist Meeting (Aug 30 - Sept 2, 2015), Ecological Society of America annual meeting (Aug 9 - 14, 2015), Hubbard Brook Annual Cooperators meeting (July 2015), American Geophysical Union annual meeting (Dec 15 - 19, 2014), and the International DroughtNet Research Coordination Network Advisory Committee Meeting (April 10th, 2014). Information about the project was communicated to more diverse public audience through a site tour given at the USF Hubbard Brook 60th anniversary open house event, in October 2015, to the DroughtNet throughfall manipulation experiment, which enhanced awareness by the general public about the potential for more severe droughts in the future related to climate change. Presentations given at the NH Forest and Farm Expo, the Northeastern Forest Pest Council Meeting, and the USFS Forest Health Division all contributed to enhancing knowledge about the risk and impacts of the White Pine Needle Damage fungal disease on NH forests among general audiences of practitioners and concerned citizens. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Over the next year we will continue to collect and analyze field data from Hubbard Brook prototype drought experiment. Finally, this work, in conjunction with prototype drought experiments underway (see details below), has also inspired us to develop a broader set of forest drought and climate change ecophysiology experiments for which we are currently developing a proposal to be submitted to NSF's Macrosystem Ecology program next year.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Overview: Changes in the rainfall regime and water cycling due to climate change is a major concern facing the Northeastern U.S., especially the consequences for water supply, flood control, and pest and disease outbreaks. Although annual rainfall is expected to increase in the future, climate change forecasts also predict more intense rainfall events separated by more prolonged rainless periods, resulting in more severe droughts, flooding, and pathogens. Further, changes in the amount of water loss from the Earth back to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration (ET), which currently are poorly understood, may create feedbacks that impact hydrology in unexpected ways. This project seeks to enhance understanding of how climate change-induced alterations in rainfall, ET, and pathogen dynamics may affect forest ecosystems to support more informed decisions about policy and management aimed at adapting to future climate change. Over the past year, my lab group has (1) analyzed long-term trends in ET throughout the northeast region; (2) assessed how interactions between nutrient availability and climate change influence forest productivity and water use; (3) evaluated the impacts of White Pine Needle Damage (WPND) and experimental silvicultural treatments on forest productivity; and (4) established a network for conducting precipitation manipulation experiments in forest ecosystems, including two drought experiments in NH. Results thus far suggest that (1) ET trends vary distinctly between southern (moisture-limited) and northern (non-moisture-limited) sites; (2) single-inputs of calcium fertilization stimulates forest productivity and water use over multiple years, (3) WPND is significantly reducing white pine productivity and water use; and (4) a prototype drought experiment using a network of understory gutters to remove throughfall successfully reduces soil moisture. Major outcomes include training of numerous undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs, as well as enhancing knowledge about impacts of climate change on ET and water supply, the risks associated with a new fungal disease outbreak on white pine forests, the impacts of calcium depletion on forest productivity, and viable approaches for conducting drought experiments in forest ecosystems. Details are provided below for each of the four major project objectives. 1. Long-term data from 7 small watersheds and 11 larger watersheds across the northeastern region were analyzed to assess trends in ET in relation to climate change. Additionally, for the small watersheds,we collected increment cores from major tree species for determination of tree ring age, stem increment growth, and water use efficiency. Results showed a trend of increasing evapotranspiration in northern New England contrasting with decreases to the south and west over the past 50 years. We found clear relationships between tree growth, water use efficiency, and precipitation in the southern part of the region, but little relationship in northern New England. Overall, these results suggest that climate change impacts on ET are complex and that they will likely vary depending on other factors than rainfall alone. We are currently conducting additional analyses to improve our interpretation ET trends in the region. Key outcomes include 9 presentations at professional conferences, while two manuscripts are currently under preparation (one on climatic and hydrologic trends in the region, and a second examining the relationships between tree growth, physiology inferred from isotope rations, and climate, as well as how these vary across the region). Upon completion of the second manuscript, the data will be shared as a contribution to the International Tree Ring Data Base. 2. We assessed the response of dominant northern hardwood forest tree species (sugar maple, yellow birch, American beech, spruce) to calcium additions within a treatment and control watershed at Hubbard Brook to understand possible long-term impacts of nutrient depletion due to acid rain and/or climate change using dendrochronology and stable isotope techniques.We found that only sugar maple showed a growth response to the Ca addition, but curiously did not find that carbon isotopes were consistent with the large changes in evapotranspiration that are apparent at the watershed scale (e.g., ET initially increased then steadily declined following Ca addition). We found that water use efficiency in all species increased at the same rate in the treated and control watersheds, as we expected. More work will be conducted in 2016 to disentangle these relationships. Additionally, a proposal was submitted to NSF Hydrological Sciences that included additional work at this and other regional sites. 3.The effects of the emerging fungal disease WPND on white pine tree and forest health were assessed in permanent plots established in Hillsborough, NH, Durham, NH, Lyman, ME, and Bethel, ME (including 4 different cold-hardiness zones). In each plot we measured tree water use from May to September, before, during, and after the summer defoliation WPND event. We collected litter fall monthly to quantify defoliation severity, measured leaf gas exchange to assess changes in photosynthesis and water use efficiency, and collected stem increment cores from pine trees at 7 sites throughout ME, MA, NH, and VT. Tree rings were dated and measured in the laboratory to determine annual stem growth. Results indicate that WPND-infected trees exhibit a 25-30% decline in stem increment growth since 2009. We began a second study to evaluate management techniques for mitigating WPND impacts using experimental silvicultural thinning treatments (funded through a grant from the USDA Forest Service) conducted at two 6 acre forest stands at the Fox State Forest in Hillsborough, NH and UNH's Bearcamp property in Ossipee, NH. The experiment consisted of three treatments: alowthinning targeting a residual basal area of 60 ft2/ac, ahighthinning targeting a residual basal area of 100 ft2/ac, and a paired control plot (no tree removal). In June 2015 we collected pre-treatment data and established a permanent network of subplots for tree measurements. Treatment sites will be thinned this winter (2015) and post-treatment data collected next year 4:A two-day workshop was organized in November 2014 at Hubbard Brook with 30 scientists and diverse stakeholders to develop standard guidelines for conducting rainfall manipulation experiments in forests. A prototype drought experiment was initiated at Hubbard Brook in May, 2015 to simulate an extreme drought event by removing 50% of the throughfall over a 4-year period. Data were collected for diameter growth, litterfall, soil moisture, leaf gas exchange, sapflow, soil nutrients, decomposition, temperature, relative humidity, tree root production, soil and stem respiration, and invertebrate populations. Preliminary findings indicate that soil moisture was reduced by 3-23% and soil respiration significantly declined on the treatment plots. With support from a UNH ADVANCE grant, we expanded our collaborative network to include Dr. Melinda Smith (Colorado State), who is leading the NSF-supported Research Coordination "Drought-Net" Network. Dr. Smith and her graduate student made two visits to UNH and contributed to completing the standard protocol for forest drought experiments and a synthesis manuscript.We also expanded our DroughtNet work through the establishment of a second throughfall removal experiment at UNH's Thompson Farm in March 2015, supported by a UNH-NHAESone-time equipment enhancement grant. Data were collected onsoil moisture, temperature and humidity, soil respiration, decomposition, sapflow, wood growth increment, and litter fall. The infrastructure for removing 50% of the throughfall was completed in October 2015, and post-treatment data collection will begin in June 2016.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Vadeboncoeur MA, Asbjornsen H, Green MB, Campbell JL. Examining long-term trends in evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in northeastern forested catchments. Talk presented at NERC Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, March 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Vadeboncoeur, M.A., H. Asbjornsen, M.B. Green, J.L. Campbell. Examining long-term trends in evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in northeastern forested catchments. Talk presented at Northeastern Ecosystem Research Cooperative (NERC) Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, March 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Vadeboncoeur, M.A., H. Asbjornsen, J.L. Campbell, M.B. Green. Determining drivers of long-term trends in evapotranspiration in forested small catchments. Poster presented at IUFRO World Congress, October 2014, Salt Lake City, UT.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Powers SL, Asbjornsen H, Vadeboncoeur MA. Growth rate of calcium-fertilized sugar maple and yellow birch trees at Hubbard Brook. Poster presented at UNH Undergraduate Research Conference, Durham, NH, April 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Powers SL, Vadeboncoeur MA, Asbjornsen H. Growth rate of sugar maple and yellow birch in W1 and W3. Talk presented at the Hubbard Brook Cooperators Meeting, Woodstock, NH, July 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Asbjornsen, H., L. Rustad, P. Templer, K. Jennings. 2015. Precipitation manipulation experiments in forest ecosystems ( Forest DroughtNet ): Challenges and opportunities for standardization, cross-site comparison, and advancing climate change science. Ecological Society of America, Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, August 9-14, 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Asbjornsen, H., L. Rustad, P. Templer, K. Jennings. 2015. Precipitation manipulation experiments in forest ecosystems ( Forest DroughtNet ): Challenges and opportunities for standardization, cross-site comparison, and advancing climate change science. Long-Term Ecological Research, All Scientists Meeting, Estes Park, CO, August 31 September 3, 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Asbjornsen, H., L. Rustad, P.H. Templer, K. Jennings, R.P. Phillips, M. Smith. 2014. Northern Forest DroughtNet: A new Framework to understand impacts of precipitation change on the northern forest ecosystem. American Geophysical Union, Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 15-19, 2014.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Moore, G.W., H. Asbjornsen, L. A. Bruijnzeel, Z. Carter Berry, T. Giambelluca, P. Martin, and M. Mulligan. 2015. CloudNet: Building a Global Network of Hydro-climatology Sites in Cloud-affected Tropical Montane Forests. American Geophysical Union, Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 13-18, 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Bretton, Connor, Katherine Sinacore, Jefferson Hall, Heidi Asbjornsen. Can tropical teak plantations be managed sustainably for both timber and water? An experimental thinning study in Panama. University of New Hampshire, COLSA Undergraduate Research Conference; April 25, 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Bretton, Connor. Can tropical teak plantations be managed sustainably for both timber and water? An experimental thinning study in Panama. University of New Hampshire, IROP Symposium on October 2, 2015.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Hernandez-Santana, V., A. Hernandez-Hernandez, M.A. Vadeboncoeur, H. Asbjornsen. 2015. Scaling from single-point sap velocity measurements to stand transpiration in a multi-species deciduous forest: uncertainty sources, stand structure effects, and future scenario impacts. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 45:1489-1497. doi: 10.1139/cjfr-2015-0009.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Jennings, K., R. Guerrieri, M. Vadeboncoeur, H. Asbjornsen. 2015. Response of Quercus velutina growth and water use efficiency to climate variability and nitrogen fertilization in a temperate deciduous forest in the northeastern U.S. Tree Physiology. (accepted)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Vose, J.M., C.F. Miniat, C.H. Luce, H. Asbjornsen, P.V. Caldwell, J.L. Campbell, G.E. Grant, D.J. Isaak, S.P. Loheide, G. Sun. 2015. Ecohydrological Implications of Drought. In: J.M. Vose, J. Clark, C. Luce, T. Patel-Weynand. Synthesis of Drought and Forest Ecosystems. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report. In press.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Asbjornsen, H., R. Manson, C. Lopez, P. Negreros-Castillo. Agroforestry and Climate Change in Mexico. In: Patel-Weynand (ed.) 2015. Agroforestry and Climate Change: Reducing Threats and Enhancing Resiliency in Agricultural Landscapes. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report. In press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Asbjornsen, H., A.S. Mayer, K.J. Wendland, T. Selfa, R. Kolka, L. Saenz, K.E. Halvorsen. 2015. Assessing impacts of payments for watershed services on sustainability in coupled natural-human systems. Bioscience. 65:579-591.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Gallany, H.T., B.D. Titus, S. Resh, H. Asbjornsen, R.A. Chimner, A. Scott, D.J. Kaczmarek, L.F.C. Leite, A.C.C. Ferreira, K. Rod, J. Hilbert, M.V. Galdos, M. Cisz. Biogeochemical research priorities for sustainable biofuel and bioenergy feedstock production in Pan-America. Environmental Management. DOI: 10.1007/s00267-015-0536-7.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Watkins, D.W. Jr., M.M.G.A. Moraes, H. Asbjornsen, A.S. Mayer, J. Licata, J. Gutierrez-Lopez, T. Pypker, V. Gamez-Molina, G. Fernandes-Marques, A.C. Guimaraes-Carneiro, H.M. Nunez, H. Onal, B. da Nobrega-Germano. 2015. Bioenergy development and integrated water-energy management in Pan America. Environmental Management. DOI: 10.1007/s00267-015-0460-x
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
CD McIntire, H Asbjornsen, I Munck, K Broders, W Livingston. Interactive effects of White Pine Needle Damage and climate change on forest health and carbon-water dynamics across the Northeastern United States. Poster and oral presentation at the International Union of Forest Research Organizations World Congress, Salt Lake City UT. October 2014.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Accashian, K., C.D. McIntire, H. Asbjornsen. Evaluating seasonal variability of sapwood properties in red oak and eastern white pine. Poster presented at the UNH Natural Resources and Earth System Science research conference, Durham, NH. December 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
CD McIntire, H Asbjornsen, I Munck. Growth declines associated with White Pine Needle Damage defoliation in the Northeastern US. Oral presentation at the NH Forest and Farm Expo NHAES outreach session, Manchester, NH. February 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
C.D. McIntire, H. Asbjornsen, I. Munck. Growth declines associated with White Pine Needle Damage defoliation in the Northeastern US. Oral presentation at the Northeastern Forest Pest Council Meeting, Hanover NH. March 2015
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Jennings, K, H Asbjornsen, L Rustad, P Templer. DroughtNet: Rain exclusions begin! Oral presentation at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Annual Cooperators' Meeting; July 8-9, North Woodstock, NH. July 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
I. Munck, C.D. McInitre, S. Wyka. White Pine Needle Damage. Oral presentation at the USFS Forest Health Division teleconference outreach presentation, Durham, NH. February 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Vadeboncoeur MA, Asbjornsen H, Green MB, Campbell JL. Drivers of trends and variation in tree-ring C and O isotopes at Watershed 3. Oral presentation at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Annual Cooperators Meeting, Woodstock, NH, July 2015.
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