Catastrophic wind events play important but poorly documented roles in shaping bottomland hardwood forest structure and composition. The objective of this study was to survey a forested wetland area in Illinois, USA, twenty years following a severe tornado (wind speeds ranging from 333–418 km/h). Part of the damaged area had a subsequent salvage logging operation, and we compared the stand structure and composition of these damaged areas to adjacent reference sites. Stem density, basal area, and diversity differed significantly but slightly among disturbance types (p < 0.05). The density of Quercus spp. decreased in regenerated stands, while the density of Fraxinus pennsylvanica and invasive non-native species cover increased (p < 0.05). Salvage logging further increased the density of key bottomland taxa: Salix spp., Taxodium distichum, and Nyssa aquatica, as well as early successional species such as Liriodendron tulipifera (p < 0.05). Productivity did not differ between wind-impacted areas that were logged and not logged (p > 0.05). Recognizing the need for caution when informing management with case studies, this study highlights the value of delaying the assessment of even extreme wind disturbance impacts in hardwood forest recovery until the contribution of crown regrowth of severely wind-damaged trees, along with post-disturbance origin regeneration, can be ascertained.

Many ecosystems have been altered since European colonization, resulting in the loss of historical ecosystems along with information about historical ecosystems. Tree density estimation from historical land surveys with alignment to expert classifications of historical vegetation strengthen reconstructions of vegetation history through research triangulation. For the midwestern United States, we extended historical tree density estimates (≥12.7 cm in diameter) to contextualize expert classifications of vegetation types in Illinois and Minnesota, part of the historical Great Plains grasslands with very frequent fire exposure, and Indiana and southern Michigan, which were more protected from fire. We also identified a tree density threshold between grasslands and savannas and contrasted density estimates with two alternate density estimates. After refining expert-classified vegetation types, out of 14 major historical ecosystems in this region, 11 were grasslands, savannas, or woodlands. The three additional ecosystems were American beech (Fagus grandifolia) closed woodlands and forests in Indiana and American beech-oak (Quercus) closed woodlands and forests and tamarack (Larix laricina) and ash (Fraxinus) swamp forests in southern Michigan. Because tree densities in the grasslands of Illinois and Minnesota did not exceed 4 trees/ha and tree densities in the savannas of Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota ranged from 23 trees/ha to 78 trees/ha, around 15 trees/ha may be a reasonable threshold between grasslands and savannas. Density estimates generally matched with two other sources of density estimates, despite using different approaches, supporting the reliability of density estimation. Anchoring density estimates from land surveys to other sources of historical vegetation establishes the validity of density estimation, while supplementing expert-classified ecosystems.

The lack of desirable oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration on upland sites is a problem in the Central Hardwood Region. While the reintroduction of fire, thinning, and/or harvesting has been proposed as a solution to increase oak regeneration, these treatments may have limited impact on productive sites, and the effects on the growth of residual midstory oak stems is not clear. This study examined the regeneration response and growth of residual midstory white oak (Quercus alba) stems in a mature, oak-dominated, upland forest following four treatments: (1) burn, (2) thin and burn, (3) harvest and thin and burn, and (4) no treatment (control) at Trail of Tears State Forest located in southern Illinois. Results indicated there was no significant difference in oak density among treatments for any regeneration size class. In addition, none of the treatments resulted in a radial growth release in residual midstory white oak stems. These results suggested these treatments may need to be modified to increase oak regeneration on productive sites and indicated that there may not have been enough time since treatment application, or treatments may not have been intense enough, to release midstory residual stems.

We used historical and contemporary survey data to assess the dynamics in two old-growth forests at Savage Mountain, Maryland, versus secondary forests from the surrounding landscape of the northern Allegheny Mountain Plateau (AMP). This is the first published compilation of witness trees from western Maryland. The old-growth forests on Savage Mountain, Maryland, are presently dominated by mixed oak (Quercus spp. L.; 42%), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), and black birch (Betula lenta L.). Witness trees (1620-1825) from Savage Mountain were dominated by mixed oak (55%), hickory (Carya spp.; 18%), and chestnut (Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.; 10%), and lacked red maple and black birch. The witness trees of the AMP in Pennsylvania were dominated by mixed oak (41%), pine (Pinus spp. L.; 12%), maple (11%), chestnut (10%), and hickory (6%). Currently the AMP is dominated by mixed oak (25%), red maple (25%), and black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.; 11%). The old-growth stands on Savage Mountain are similar to its witness trees in regard to oak species and have greater oak dominance than the AMP secondary forests. This suggests that old-growth retains more oak compared with cut-over forests. However, old-growth on Savage Mountain has a higher density of red maple and black birch when compared to the AMP. Our research illustrates differences in forest dynamics and oak dominance between old-growth and second-growth forests that have important implications for the sustainability of native forests.

The limestone bluffs of the central Mississippi River Valley represent a significant portion of the remaining intermingled xeric hill prairie-savanna-woodland systems of the Midwest where different cover types may co-occur at very fine scales. Efforts to restore these landscapes would benefit from a data-driven tool to delineate existing vegetation cover characteristics and reconcile these with desired management outcomes on a spatially explicit basis. This study employed hierarchical cluster analysis and nonmetric multidimensional scaling in combination with indicator species analysis and dendrochronological methods to examine the structure, composition, and temporal community patterns of the forest-prairie gradient in the Mississippi River Bluffs of Jersey County, Illinois. Four distinct community types were identified on the gradient: (1) a woodland community dominated by Juniperus virginiana, Carya glabra, Quercus stellata, and Lonicera maackh; (2) open oak woodland with high exposed soil and overstory of Acer saccharum, Q. velutina, and Q. muehlenbergii; (3) a hill prairie community with grass coverage as the sole indicator; and (4) a transitioning community with 14 significant indicators and a trajectory advancing toward mesophytic forest composition. These data, within context with stem age, historical documents, and drought data, reveal the role of historical disturbances in temporal patterns of forest-prairie dynamics and provide a resolution in greater detail than previous studies of forest and nonnative invasive shrub encroachment. Pairing management activities to stand conditions, as informed by understanding drivers of ecosystem change, provides continuity with historical disturbance regimes and an objective basis for restoration activities and targets.

ABSTRACT We conducted literature searches of records from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin to create a source bibliography of wildland fire descriptions occurring between 1673 and 1905. A total of 795 landscape fire records were identified within or near the eastern tallgrass prairie–forest transition region, including 32 attributed to Native Americans, 194 to Europeans from spontaneous records in the nineteenth century, and 569 to Europeans from a systematic dataset collected during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Minnesota. From these historical accounts, we find overwhelming evidence that a two- to three-week period during October and November, known then as “Indian summer,” was the primary wildland fire season. Our records indicate that Native Americans used fire primarily for hunting, whereas Euro-American fires were set to reduce fire hazards near their habitations, to eliminate crop residues, and to facilitate plowing, or they were escapes due to mere carelessness. Only five lightning-caused fires were identified. Individual fires frequently burned thousands of hectares, creating dense smoke, damaging trees, personal property, and occasionally burning inhabitants fatally. South and southwest were the most frequent wind directions during wildfires. Drought years, including 1796, 1819, 1856, and 1871, were characterized by extensive fires, which ultimately resulted in legislation to protect property owners and public welfare. Fire events for the study period are certainly underestimated by this dataset because only large, spectacular, threatening fires were recorded, especially during European settlement. In addition, our estimate of Native American fire frequency and prevalence is less than their historical/expected frequency, due to their widespread population collapse and changed hunting methods following contact and dispossession by Europeans.

Sediment deposition and storage are important functions of batture lands (the land between the channel's low-water elevation and the flood mitigation levee). However, sedimentation processes within these areas are not fully understood. In this paper, we explore the spatiotemporal patterns, rates, and volume of sedimentation within the batture lands along the middle Mississippi River (MMR; between the confluence of the Missouri and Ohio rivers) using three approaches: (1) comparison of historical to modern elevation data in order to estimate long-term (>100 yr) sedimentation rates; (2) estimation of medium- to short-term (<50 yr) sedimentation rates using dendrogeomorphological methods; and (3) geomorphic change detection (GCD) software to estimate short-term sedimentation rates (~12 yr), spatial patterns of deposition, and volumes of geomorphic change within the batture lands. Comparison of long- to short-term sedimentation rates suggests up to a 300% increase in batture land sedimentation rates (from 6.2 to 25.4 mm yr−1) despite a substantial decrease in the MMR's suspended-sediment load (>70%) attributed largely to sediment trapping by dams during the second half of the twentieth century. The increase in MMR batture land sedimentation rates are attributed to at least two potential mechanisms: (1) the above average frequency and duration of low-magnitude floods (>2-yr and ≤5-yr flood) during the short-term assessment periods which allowed for more suspended sediment to be deposited within the batture lands; and (2) the construction of levees that substantially reduced the floodplain area (~75%) available for storage of overbank deposits increasing the vertical accumulation and consequently the detectability of a given volume of sediment. The GCD estimated batture land sediment volumes were ~9.0% of the suspended load at St. Louis. This substantial storage of sediment (~8.5 Mt yr−1) along the MMR suggests batture lands are an important sink for suspended sediments.

Chilgoza pine (Pinus gerardiana) is an important source of income in forested eastern Afghanistan through the harvest of edible seeds. Since the late 1970s, the resource has been largely inaccessible to researchers and government personnel from outside the region, except for the years 2002-2015, roughly coinciding with Operation Enduring Freedom. We assessed physical and social attributes of chilgoza pine forests and the management capacity of indigenous communities. We employed interviews/questionnaires and field measurements performed by Afghan forest scientists from Kabul, trained local residents, and U.S. forest scientists associated with military operations to examine stakeholder perceptions of chilgoza pine forest resilience, assess forest health, stand structure and natural regeneration status. Intensive cone collection, tree damage caused by cone harvesting, grazing, fuelwood collection, and other biotic/abiotic factors (insects, diseases, and drought) were associated with chilgoza forest degradation. Most interviewees observed natural regeneration in the understory layer of chilgoza forest stands, but perceived the overall rate of natural regeneration to be insufficient. Respondents from villages prohibiting grazing and fuelwood collection reported the greatest regeneration while the converse was associated with the lowest levels of regeneration. Field measurements confirmed the scarcity of natural regeneration of chilgoza pine, portending the further decline of this species in Afghanistan. Field surveys indicated diverse stand conditions, age class structures and land use practices employed by local stakeholders, suggesting the need for situation-specific forest management recommendations. We discuss the opportunities and limitations for forest resources data collection in highly insecure environments.

Reported here are original data related to the article “Indigenous knowledge and stand characteristics of a threatened tree species in a highly insecure area: Chilgoza pine in Afghanistan” (Shalizi et al., 2018) [1]. A dendrochronological summary of all known chilgoza pine tree growth increment cores collected in Afghanistan is presented in this data in brief article. Chilgoza pine trees and regeneration density profiles are reported for four provinces of eastern Afghanistan. In addition, images depicting chilgoza pine forest structure, stand conditions, and utilization impacts are presented.

Prescribed fire has several benefits for managing forest ecosystems including reduction of fuel loading and invasive species and enhanced regeneration of desirable tree species. Along with these benefits there are some limitations like nutrient and sediment loss which have not been studied extensively in mixed hardwood forests. The objective of our research was to quantify the amount of sediment movement occurring on a watershed scale due to prescribed fire in a southern Illinois mixed hardwood ecosystem. The research site was located at Trail of Tears State Forest in western Union county, IL, USA and included five watershed pairs. One watershed in each pair was randomly assigned the prescribed burn treatment and the other remained as control (i.e., unburned). The prescribed burn treatment significantly reduced the litter depth with 12.6%–31.5% litter remaining in the prescribed burn treatment watersheds. When data were combined across all watersheds, no significant differences were obtained between burn treatment and control watershed for total suspended solids and sediment concentrations or loads. The annual sediment losses varied from 1.41 to 90.54 kg·ha−1·year−1 in the four prescribed burn watersheds and 0.81 to 2.54 kg·ha−1·year−1 in the four control watersheds. Prescribed burn watershed 7 showed an average soil sediment loss of 4.2 mm, whereas control watershed 8 showed an average accumulation of sediments (9.9 mm), possibly due to steeper slopes. Prescribed burning did not cause a significant increase in soil erosion and sediment loss and can be considered acceptable in managing mixed hardwood forests of Ozark uplands and the Shawnee Hills physiographic regions of southern Illinois.

We studied an upland forest located within the Grand Prairie region of Illinois and utilized tree-ring analysis to document tree cohort development and radial growth in relation to stand disturbance and climate. The overstory within the Humiston Woods Nature Center (Livingston County, Illinois) study area was dominated by oak (Quercus spp.), hickory (Carya spp.), and ash (Fraxinus spp.), while the subordinate crown classes were principally composed of elm (Ulmus spp.) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum). The study area contained tree cohorts originating during two recruitment periods. Overstory oaks and hickories primarily established between 1865 and 1900. A second tree cohort was associated with a timber harvest occurring in the late 1960s. In contrast to the 1865-1900 recruitment period, trees within the 1965-1980 cohort were primarily ash, elm, sugar maple, and black cherry (Prunus serotina). RWI values were most strongly correlated with Palmer Drought Severity Index, precipitation, and temperature in June of the current growth year. RWI and radial increment data for overstory oaks highlighted a sustained growth increase following a late 1960s timber harvest that remained high relative to predisturbance growth rates even in pronounced drought years. Data provide needed insight into oak woodland recruitment patterns relating to disturbance regimes that are difficult to recreate at the landscape level but often serve as ecological restoration objectives. Our findings help extend the foundational knowledge regarding forest composition, stand level dynamics, and radial growth relationships present among upland forests and changing disturbance patterns in the Grand Prairie region of Illinois.

Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan included an unprecedented level of international civilian and military cooperation to address water insecurity within violence-prone rural communities. However, water development projects often fell short of expectations held by Afghans and by civilian and military personnel within the International Security Assistance Force. Failure to adequately consider hydrologic principles and social realities was often to blame. Joint pre-deployment training programmes are suggested as key to effective coordination and tactical implementation to address similar problems elsewhere. Also needed are consistent use of metrics for success and the selection of appropriate interventions complementary to long-term development objectives.

Advanced oak and hickory regeneration is often absent in mature oak-hickory forests in the Central Hardwood Region of the United States. Prescribed fire and thinning, alone and combined, are commonly prescribed silvicultural treatments that are recommended to initiate the regeneration process. This study examined the regeneration response in three mature oak stands following four treatments: (1) thin, (2) burn, (3) thinning and burning, or (4) no treatment (control). Ten years after initial treatment, results indicate that oak and hickory seedlings had greater height and diameter in the thinning and burning treatment compared to the control and that this treatment may help facilitate desirable regeneration in mature oak-hickory forests.

Fire frequency far below historic norms is threatening eastern oak ecosystem integrity. Increasingly, private family forest landowners are interested in using prescribed fire as a tool for maintaining oak dominance and associated wildlife habitat and wildfire protection. The Southeastern Illinois Prescribed Burn Association (SIPBA) empowers landowners to apply prescribed burning as a management tool. Prescribed fire use is consistent with the established land ethic expressed by members and serves as a means of modeling the practice for nonmember neighbors. SIPBA members regard dependence on outside funding as a limit to both the capacity and, potentially, the sustainability of this novel cooperative land management organization.

Land and water access insecurity, land grabbing, and unstable common property status of critical local resources continue to drive conflicts, rural landlessness and environmental problems throughout many areas of Afghanistan where formal government is weak or entirely absent. In contrast to traditional development strategies that favor infrastructure enhancement and backed by enforced national policies, we offer Afghan-specific strategies based on resource conservation and increased capacity of local resource management institutions that can function when and where central government cannot be relied upon to assume or maintain a supportive role. Resource conservation and building local capacity are key components of existing and proposed future efforts to increase stability. However, support for these efforts, whether government or community-based, has been limited in portions of rural Afghanistan, apparently due to low stakeholder confidence in retaining access to improved land, water and other critical resources when international forces withdraw. Powerful individuals and groups, operating outside local community structures, are increasingly impacting land use practices. We suggest a thorough assessment of the present and likely future social environment, including awareness of likely conflicts resulting from agricultural or natural resource improvements, before any tangible actions are taken.

We surveyed high quality, remnant black oak sand savannas across four sites in northeastern Illinois to compare characteristics of stand structure and tree vigor with fire history. Dendrochronological methods were applied to 289 dated fire scars identified on 60 Quercus velutina trees. Stand structure was characterized using 30 circular plots (0.04 ha each) per stand during summer 2007. Tree recruitment dynamics differed among the four stands, suggesting that canopy decline dynamics among them is likely to differ in coming decades. Frequent fire intervals (less than two years) were associated with canopy openness, but also a paucity of future canopy trees. Under these frequent fire regimes, we predict a loss of canopy cover, as no smaller trees were present to assume dominance. Fire intervals longer than two years were associated with transition to closed canopy forests. These results suggest that savanna managers should consider other disturbances, such as selective cutting and or grazing, along with fire to sustain both herbaceous and canopy tree components.

Oak dominated forests were historically maintained by periodic, low intensity fires in southern Illinois, but over the past century, fires have generally been suppressed, resulting in the increased abundance of fire intolerant species and decreased oak abundance (Ruffner and Groninger 2006). Recent research indicates that mechanical thinning (timber stand improvement, TSI) and prescribed fire increase the regeneration of oak species and suppress the development of fire intolerant species (Carril 2009). However, it is unclear how the residual oak trees respond to these treatments. The objective of this project was to assess how two forest management practices, TSI and prescribed fire, affect the growth of residual trees in oak dominated forests. Three sites were selected for this study. Each site was similar in terms of slope, aspect, elevation, and site index. Prior to treatment all sites had a two-aged structure and were dominated by oak and hickory species in the overstory and sugar maple, white ash, and American elm in the understory. Each site was divided and randomly assigned one of four treatments: 1) TSI, 2) prescribed burning, 3) TSI and prescribed burning, or 4) no treatment (control). TSI treatments removed all undesirable trees < 8 inches in 2002. Stumps were treated with herbicide (Garlon 4, Triclopyr 16 percent a.i.) immediately following cutting. Prescribed burning treatments were applied in the spring of 2002 and 2006. In 2010, we sampled 10 dominant or codominant oak trees from each treatment at each site to determine differences in growth among treatments. Results indicated that there was no difference in growth, either pretreatment or posttreatment, among the three sites (P > 0.12). Mean age of the sampled trees across all sites was 102, and posttreatment growth across all treatments was minimal, ranging from 0.07 to 0.08 inches/year. There did not appear to be any increased growth following the cutting and/or burning treatments when compared to pretreatment growth (P = 0.63), and these treatments did not differ when compared to the control (P = 0.58). Growth, however, did appear to be related to tree age (r2 = 0.44, P = 0.01) indicating that, on average, younger trees grew slightly more than older trees. Although TSI and/or prescribed fire did not increase residual oak growth when compared to the control, these treatments can still be beneficial because of the associated increased oak regeneration (Carril 2009). Examination of the growth rates of the cored trees over time indicated these stands were mature and well beyond peak annual growth. Our results suggest that working with younger stands and/or additional management (e.g., heavier cutting) may be necessary to increase residual tree growth.

Light harvesting and no cutting are two common management regimes in oak-dominated forests in the Ozark Hills of southern Illinois. We computed changes in overstory stand composition between 1980 and 2000 among forest inventory plots that were lightly harvested after initial sampling and plots that were uncut during the same time period. Total white oak (Quercus alba L.) basal area increased for both management regimes. Black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.) overstory density decreased, and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) density increased for both management regimes. Although overall density of oak was maintained by both management regimes, species and diameter class-specific response varied. Additional silvicultural activities may be necessary to sustain oak in both lightly harvested and uncut plots, with light harvesting providing opportunities to at least partially offset costs.

A project was designed to assess erosion and sedimentation associated with tracked vehicle training in the Ft. Knox Military Reservation in Kentucky. Th e project provided an extensive physical and biotic characterization of the training area, including hydrology, water quality, soils, and vegetation. To determine any changes in channel morphology, cross sections were established and surveyed in June 2008 and 2009 in the four stream channels. All four sampled streams experienced net erosion, losing between 0.31 and 44.45 m 3 of sediment a year. Otter Creek, the fi nal receiving stream for the training areas, was sampled weekly from March 2008 through December 2008 just before it entered the training area and upon exiting the training area. Stream TSS concentrations were greater exiting compared to entering the training area. Results will provide baseline data to assist in the development of a plan for sustainable management of the training areas.

Watershed rehabilitation, including reforestation, is critical to the success of Operation Enduring Freedom and to Afghanistan's development strategy. However, Afghanistan's natural resource management is characterized by weak government authority, little stakeholder input beyond the local level, and poor protection and maintenance of existing natural resources. Grassland and shrub planting, in conjunction with range protection strategies and hillslope terracing, are being planned to provide primary watershed stabilization as a prerequisite to potential irrigation infrastructure improvement. Planting native conifer and oak and other locally available species will also serve to reverse long-term degradation of fuelwood and timber resources. Natural resources improvement work also provides licit employment as a positive alternative to income opportunities sponsored by the Taliban and other antigovernment elements. Additional American foresters and watershed managers working on the ground in Afghanistan will further the efforts of the few professionals already involved in these endeavors.