Key landscape and biotic indicators of watersheds sensitivity to forest disturbance identified using remote sensing and historical hydrography data

Water is one of the most critical resources derived from natural systems. While it has long been recognized that forest disturbances like fire influence watershed streamflow characteristics, individual studies have reported conflicting results with some showing streamflow increases postdisturbance and others decreases, while other watersheds are insensitive to even large disturbance events. Characterizing the differences between sensitive (e.g. where streamflow does change postdisturbance) and insensitive watersheds is crucial to anticipating response to future disturbance events. Here, we report on an analysis of a national-scale, gaged watershed database together with high-resolution forest mortality imagery. A simple watershed response model was developed based on the runoff ratio for watersheds (n=73) prior to a major disturbance, detrended for variation in precipitation inputs. Post-disturbance deviations from the expected water yield and streamflow timing from expected (based on observed precipitation) were then analyzed relative to the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the individual watershed and observed extent of forest mortality. The extent of the disturbance was significantly related to change in post-disturbance water yield (p<0.05), and there were several distinctive differences between watersheds exhibiting post-disturbance increases, decreases, and those showing no change in water yield. Highly disturbed, arid watersheds with low soil: water contact time are the most likely to see increases, with the magnitude positively correlated with the extent of disturbance. Watersheds dominated by deciduous forest with low bulk density soils typically show reduced yield post-disturbance. Postdisturbance streamflow timing change was associated with climate, forest type, and soil. Snowy coniferous watersheds were generally insensitive to disturbance, whereas finely textured soils with rapid runoff were sensitive. This is the first national scale investigation of streamflow postdisturbance using fused gage and remotely sensed data at high resolution, and gives important insights that can be used to anticipate changes in streamflow resulting from future disturbances.Ye

Osgood-Hartogs type properties of power series and smooth functions

We study the convergence of a formal power series of two variables if its restrictions on curves belonging to a certain family are convergent. Also analyticity of a given $C^\infty$ function $f$ is proved when the restriction of $f$ on analytic curves belonging to some family is analytic. Our results generalize two known statements: a theorem of P. Lelong and the Bochnak-Siciak Theorem. The questions we study fall into the category of "Osgood-Hartogs-type" problems.Comment: 13 page

Interpreting multiscale domains of tree cover disturbance patterns in North America

Spatial patterns at multiple observation scales provide a framework to improve understanding of pattern-related phenomena. However, the metrics that are most sensitive to local patterns are least likely to exhibit consistent scaling relations with increasing extent (observation scale). A conceptual framework based on multiscale domains (i.e., geographic locations exhibiting similar scaling relations) allows the use of sensitive pattern metrics, but more work is needed to understand the actual patterns represented by multiscale domains. The objective of this study was to improve the interpretation of scale-dependent patterns represented by multiscale domains. Using maps of tree cover disturbance covering North American forest biomes from 2000 to 2012, each 0.09-ha location was described by the proportion and contagion of disturbance in its neighborhood, for 10 neighborhood extents from 0.81 ha to 180 km2. A k-means analysis identified 13 disturbance profiles based on the similarity of disturbance proportion and contagion across neighborhood extent. A wall to wall map of multiscale domains was produced by assigning each location (disturbed and undisturbed) to its nearest disturbance profile in multiscale pattern space. The multiscale domains were interpreted as representing two aspects of local patterns – the proximity of a location to disturbance, and the interior-exterior relationship of a location relative to nearby disturbed areas.Ye

A foundation of ecology rediscovered: 100 years of succession on the William S. Cooper plots in Glacier Bay, Alaska

Understanding plant community succession is one of the original pursuits of ecology, forming some of the earliest theoretical frameworks in the field. Much of this was built on the long-term research of William S. Cooper, who established a permanent plot network in Glacier Bay, Alaska, in 1916. This study now represents the longest-running primary succession plot network in the world. Permanent plots are useful for their ability to follow mechanistic change through time without assumptions inherent in space-for-time (chronosequence) designs. After 100-yr, these plots show surprising variety in species composition, soil characteristics (carbon, nitrogen, depth), and percent cover, attributable to variation in initial vegetation establishment first noted by Cooper in the 1916–1923 time period, partially driven by dispersal limitations. There has been almost a complete community composition replacement over the century and general species richness increase, but the effective number of species has declined significantly due to dominance of Salix species which established 100-yr prior (the only remaining species from the original cohort). Where Salix dominates, there is no establishment of “later” successional species like Picea. Plots nearer the entrance to Glacier Bay, and thus closer to potential seed sources after the most recent glaciation, have had consistently higher species richness for 100 yr. Age of plots is the best predictor of soil N content and C:N ratio, though plots still dominated by Salix had lower overall N; soil accumulation was more associated with dominant species. This highlights the importance of contingency and dispersal in community development. The 100-yr record of these plots, including species composition, spatial relationships, cover, and observed interactions between species provides a powerful view of long-term primary succession.Ye

Isolated fixed point sets for holomorphic maps

We study discrete fixed point sets of holomorphic self-maps of complex manifolds. The main attention is focused on the cardinality of this set and its configuration. As a consequence of one of our observations, a bounded domain in ${\Bbb C}^n$ with no non-trivial holomorphic retractions is constructed.Comment: 12 page