According to Nature Reserve date search, the global status of the California white oak is G4 meaning the species are apparentl secure. (Natureserve, 2015).
By 2040,the California woodlands will be threatened seriously due overpopulation of wildlife and humans. Moreover, the species in that area is losing oak to development, firewood harvesting, and agricultural conversions. (San Bernardino County, 2015).
3) Include the following points about the ecology of your chosen native species, for each point you should have an in-text citation (author, year):
a) Specifics about abiotic habitat requirements
The oak usually grows in a climate that is typically dry and hot with an average rainfall of 15 to 40 inches. Like most oaks, California white oak has an
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Several oak species were extensively harvested for fuelwood and charcoal production, but most California oaks had little or no commercial value as timber. Widespread destruction of oak woodlands to clear land for more profitable uses has been an accepted practice which continues to the present day in many areas. Clearing for intensive agriculture, rangeland "improvement", and urban development have eliminated oak woodlands from much of their former range. Stringers of oaks along creeks and occasional oaks scattered in agricultural fields and on grassy hillsides sometimes provide the only hints of the extent of former woodlands. (Bernhardt,2001)
b) Disease (stress, overcrowding, other), why?
Most valley oaks are infected with the heart-rot fungus Armillaria mellea, but it is usually fatal to only very old trees. It is nearly always fatal, however, to orchard trees planted in fields recently cleared of oaks. ((Raab, 1980).
Mature trees are susceptible to oak crown and root rot fungi (e.g., Inonotus, Ganoderma, and Laetiporus), that decay wood in trunks and roots. (Bergher, 2000.)
The reproduction of the valley oak trees are
d) Competition by non-native species?
Poulson, T. L., & Platt, W. J. (1996). Replacement patterns of beech and sugar maple in Warren Woods, Michigan. Ecology, 1234-1253.
These are very difficult questions for me personally to answer because I live in the Pacific Northwest, and I have seen the beauty of the old growth forests first-hand.
(Texas Parks and wildlife, n.d.) “The average temperature in the Pineywood’s region can range beteween 36(F) in the winter to upwards of 94(F0 in the summer.” (unknown,
The effects of deforestation around my home and throughout my state are becoming more evident every day. When a deer or other wild game loses its home, they move into cities, urban areas, and parks; thus causing issues with the human population. Most people living in Illinois have hit or nearly killed a deer driving on Southern Illinois roadways. This common occurrence could be kept at bay or maybe even avoided if the deer and wild game had more space to reside. There are many points that coincide with this reality but the main issues are the small subtle ones that affect everyday life and are often overlooked. Picture the Illinois we will leave for our children. Do you see a lush green forest or miles and miles of concrete and steel?
The devastating chestnut blight was discovered invading its first victims in 1904. After exposure, the fungus enters into the trees cambium through the bark causing a canker. The fungus then spread around the cambium, girdling the tree, cutting of its life support and ultimately causing death. Many methods were used to try to prevent further infections, chemical fungicides, and burning other chestnuts around infected areas, but all were unsuccessful. The blight would soon reach through the Southern United States destroying all known native American chestnut trees.
Redwoods were named for the color of their bark and heartwood. These trees have a high resistance to fungus and diseases due to the high tanin content in the wood. The dense, fibrous bark has an even higher content, and acts as an insulator from periodic fires which have plagued the countryside for centuries. Though these trees are immense, they have delicate foliage. The needles are narrow and sharp-pointed, and combine to form feathery sprays. The cones are an inch long and typically contain fourteen to twenty-four seeds. The older trees offspring sprout form their parents' roots in order to take advantage of the established root system.
Many old-growth forests across the landscape of northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan contain a mixture of tree species rather than a monoculture. Many researchers have put forward ideas to explain the competition and co-existence of tree species in such communities. A theory explaining competition and co-existence between two species is gap regeneration. Gap regeneration is when a gap is created upon death of a plant individual and a new individual, sometimes of the same species as died and sometimes not dependent on environmental heterogeneity, takes its place (Kenneth Lertzman). Canopy gaps during gap regeneration can be explained by either reciprocal replacement or habitat preference . In a reciprocal replacement, seedlings of one species would be found predominately under large trees ...
Citrus canker disease has been causing Florida growers issues for almost one hundred years. The bacterium, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, came to the United States from Southeast Asia in the early 1900’s. In 1933, after much effort and the destruction of thousands of infected trees, citrus canker was eradicated. However, another strain of canker appeared in 1995. Although the state put forth exhaustive efforts, a heavy hurricane season in 2004 spread the disease even further, and as a result citrus canker was declared unable to be eradicated in 2006 and is now considered endemic to Florida (Schumann and D’Arcy 88). Citrus canker is primarily spread by wind and rain, but can also be spread by contaminated humans or equipment and the transport of infected trees. Infected trees can be identified from the raised cankers on their leaves, stems, and fruit. Although the cankers do not generally penetrate the rind of the orange, the disease makes th...
In August 2002, President Bush launched his revolutionary campaign against wildfires known as the Healthy Forest Initiative (HFI). The President’s dynamic plan centers on preventing massive forest fires by thinning the dense undergrowth and brush commonly seen in our national forests. The thinning will occur in priority areas that are in close proximity to homes and watersheds. The Healthy Forest Initiative also aims at developing a more efficient response method to disease and insect infestations that sabotage our forests. Finally, if fully enacted, the Healthy Forest Initiative would provide the loggers with what is known as “goods for services”. This will compensate the loggers for the financial burden that will surface as a result of this aggressive thinning (http://www.sierraclub. org/forests /fires/healthyforests initiative.asp). In order to promote the progress of his Healthy Forest Initiative, in 2003 President Bush announced the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. This act took the main issues discussed in the Healthy Forest Initiative a step further. Bush plans to make a collaborative effort with federal, state, tribal, and local officials to protect our woodlands against future infernos. The act also calls for more public participation in reviewing any actions taken in lieu of the Healthy Forest Initiative. Furthermore, Bush wants to restore the land that has already been destroyed by wildfires and help to recover the threatened and endangered species that were affected by the fires (http://www.
Franklin, J. F., et al. (1981). In Ecological Characteristics of Old-Grow Douglas Fir Forest, (GTR PNW-118). Retrieved July 9, 2005, from USDA Forest Service Web Site: http://
...hich is an issue that simply cannot be ignored, due to the implications it has on our atmosphere. Our trees must be preserved as they are humanities biggest ally in the fight against the greenhouse effect, and if we continue to cut these trees down at rates faster than they can recover, the end for humanity as we know will be sooner rather than later. If deforestation is limited it will also limit the loss of biodiversity, which is an integral aspect to future survival.
Most of these trees will be sold as woodchips overseas for about $15 per tonne. After the logged area is burnt it is reseeded 1080 poison is laid down to kill animals who may feed on saplings. 1080 poison does not kill our native animals by putting in a relaxing sleep, it puts them through a long, agonising death, and it may take hours or even days of suffering for these native animals to die.
In moist and oxygenated soil, there are few treatments that enable vulnerable wood (softwood here) to resist for long against bacterial or fungal degradation
centuries. Today with an increasing population the amount of wood available has declined seriously in recent decades. People have been harvesting wood to cultivate land, burn, and for the use of raw materials for industry (Urquhart 2014). The estimated amount of deforestation taking place is twenty million hectares per year (Urquhart 2014). Climate change and global warming are just a few of the problems associated with the degradation of our forests.
A forest is defined by Botkin & Keller (2011) as a major kind of landscape that is normally grown over certain amounts of years and then harvested, forest products are mostly subjected to vigorous commercialization. Forests are also known for their important contribution to biological conservation. Forests have been an integral part of people and civilization from the very earliest centuries for their major product which his wood. Wood began to be viewed as an important building resource at the start of civilization. This was because wood was always easily and readily available and accessible. With wood, people built their houses, boats and even used it for heating up their homes. Amongst many reasons why people value the importance of forests,