Ebook: Responses of Northern U.S. Forests to Environmental Change

In the Global Change Research Act of 1990, "global change" is defined as "changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life. " For the purposes of this book, we interpret the definition of global change broadly to include physical and chemical environmental changes that are likely to affect the productivity and health of forest ecosystems over the long term. Important environmental changes in the Northern United States include steadily increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, tropospheric ozone, wet and dry deposition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds, acidic precipitation and clouds, and climate variability. These environmental factors interact in complex ways to affect plant physiological functions and soil processes in the context of forest landscapes derived from centuries of intensive land use and natural disturbances. Research in the North has begun to unravel some key questions about how environmental changes will impact the productivity and health of forest ecosystems, species distributions and abundance, and associations of people and forests. Initial research sponsored by the USDA Forest Service under the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) was focused on basic process-level understanding of tree species and forest v VI Preface ecosystem responses to environmental stress. Chemical pollution stresses received equal emphasis with climate change concerns.

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The physical and chemical environmental changes associated with global change have increasingly affected the health and productivity of forest ecosystems. Among the important environmental changes manifested by intensive land use and natural disturbances in the Northeastern and North Central United States are escalating levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, tropospheric ozone, deposition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds, acidic precipitation, and climate variability. This volume presents five years of research of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Northern Global Change Program. This longterm research contributes to our understanding of the effects of multiples stresses on forest ecosystems over multiple spatial and temporal scales. At the physiological level, reports explore changes in growth and biomass, species composition, and wildlife habitat; at the landscape scale, the abundance distribution, and dynamics of species, populations, and communities are addressed. Chapters include studies of nutrient depletion, climate and atmospheric deposition, carbon and nitrogen cycling, insect and disease outbreaks, biotic feedbacks with the atmosphere, interacting effects of multiple stresses, and modeling the regional effects of global change. The book provides sound ecological information for policymakers and land-use planners as well as for researchers in ecology, forestry, atmospheric science, soil science and biogeochemistry. Robert A. Mickler is Project Scientist for Scientific Assessments and Quality Assurance, Southern Global Change Program with ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc. Richard Birdsey is USDA Forest Service Program Manager for the Northern Global Change Program. John L. Hom is USDA Forest Service Assistant Program Manger for the Northern Global Change Program.

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The physical and chemical environmental changes associated with global change have increasingly affected the health and productivity of forest ecosystems. Among the important environmental changes manifested by intensive land use and natural disturbances in the Northeastern and North Central United States are escalating levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, tropospheric ozone, deposition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds, acidic precipitation, and climate variability. This volume presents five years of research of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Northern Global Change Program. This longterm research contributes to our understanding of the effects of multiples stresses on forest ecosystems over multiple spatial and temporal scales. At the physiological level, reports explore changes in growth and biomass, species composition, and wildlife habitat; at the landscape scale, the abundance distribution, and dynamics of species, populations, and communities are addressed. Chapters include studies of nutrient depletion, climate and atmospheric deposition, carbon and nitrogen cycling, insect and disease outbreaks, biotic feedbacks with the atmosphere, interacting effects of multiple stresses, and modeling the regional effects of global change. The book provides sound ecological information for policymakers and land-use planners as well as for researchers in ecology, forestry, atmospheric science, soil science and biogeochemistry. Robert A. Mickler is Project Scientist for Scientific Assessments and Quality Assurance, Southern Global Change Program with ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc. Richard Birdsey is USDA Forest Service Program Manager for the Northern Global Change Program. John L. Hom is USDA Forest Service Assistant Program Manger for the Northern Global Change Program.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xix
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Forest Resources and Conditions....Pages 3-26
Geologic and Edaphic Factors Influencing Susceptibility of Forest Soils to Environmental Change....Pages 27-49
Climate and Atmospheric Deposition Patterns and Trends....Pages 51-115
Forest Declines in Response to Environmental Change....Pages 117-145
Front Matter....Pages 147-147
Interacting Effects of Multiple Stresses on Growth and Physiological Processes in Northern Forest Trees....Pages 149-180
Physiological and Environmental Causes of Freezing Injury in Red Spruce....Pages 181-227
Tree Health and Physiology in a Changing Environment....Pages 229-274
Atmospheric Deposition Effects on Surface Waters, Soils, and Forest Productivity....Pages 275-330
Front Matter....Pages 331-331
Nitrogen Saturation in Experimental Forested Watersheds....Pages 333-355
Effects of Soil Warming on Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling....Pages 357-381
Regional Impacts of Climate Change and Elevated Carbon Dioxide on Forest Productivity....Pages 383-423
Regional Impacts of Ozone on Forest Productivity....Pages 425-453
Effects of Climate Change on Forest Insect and Disease Outbreaks....Pages 455-494
Forest Responses to Changing Climate: Lessons from the Past and Uncertainty for the Future....Pages 495-540
Front Matter....Pages 541-541
Summary of Prospective Global Change Impacts on Northern U.S. Forest Ecosystems....Pages 543-568
Back Matter....Pages 569-581

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The physical and chemical environmental changes associated with global change have increasingly affected the health and productivity of forest ecosystems. Among the important environmental changes manifested by intensive land use and natural disturbances in the Northeastern and North Central United States are escalating levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, tropospheric ozone, deposition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds, acidic precipitation, and climate variability. This volume presents five years of research of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Northern Global Change Program. This longterm research contributes to our understanding of the effects of multiples stresses on forest ecosystems over multiple spatial and temporal scales. At the physiological level, reports explore changes in growth and biomass, species composition, and wildlife habitat; at the landscape scale, the abundance distribution, and dynamics of species, populations, and communities are addressed. Chapters include studies of nutrient depletion, climate and atmospheric deposition, carbon and nitrogen cycling, insect and disease outbreaks, biotic feedbacks with the atmosphere, interacting effects of multiple stresses, and modeling the regional effects of global change. The book provides sound ecological information for policymakers and land-use planners as well as for researchers in ecology, forestry, atmospheric science, soil science and biogeochemistry. Robert A. Mickler is Project Scientist for Scientific Assessments and Quality Assurance, Southern Global Change Program with ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc. Richard Birdsey is USDA Forest Service Program Manager for the Northern Global Change Program. John L. Hom is USDA Forest Service Assistant Program Manger for the Northern Global Change Program.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xix
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Forest Resources and Conditions....Pages 3-26
Geologic and Edaphic Factors Influencing Susceptibility of Forest Soils to Environmental Change....Pages 27-49
Climate and Atmospheric Deposition Patterns and Trends....Pages 51-115
Forest Declines in Response to Environmental Change....Pages 117-145
Front Matter....Pages 147-147
Interacting Effects of Multiple Stresses on Growth and Physiological Processes in Northern Forest Trees....Pages 149-180
Physiological and Environmental Causes of Freezing Injury in Red Spruce....Pages 181-227
Tree Health and Physiology in a Changing Environment....Pages 229-274
Atmospheric Deposition Effects on Surface Waters, Soils, and Forest Productivity....Pages 275-330
Front Matter....Pages 331-331
Nitrogen Saturation in Experimental Forested Watersheds....Pages 333-355
Effects of Soil Warming on Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling....Pages 357-381
Regional Impacts of Climate Change and Elevated Carbon Dioxide on Forest Productivity....Pages 383-423
Regional Impacts of Ozone on Forest Productivity....Pages 425-453
Effects of Climate Change on Forest Insect and Disease Outbreaks....Pages 455-494
Forest Responses to Changing Climate: Lessons from the Past and Uncertainty for the Future....Pages 495-540
Front Matter....Pages 541-541
Summary of Prospective Global Change Impacts on Northern U.S. Forest Ecosystems....Pages 543-568
Back Matter....Pages 569-581
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