Tools for Quickly Adapting During Pandemics, Disasters, and Other Unique Events

Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, Cooperative Extension personnel across the nation are quickly adapting to daily changes while continuing to respond to the needs of clients. This article provides examples of how we in North Carolina State Extension Forestry have responded to the challenges we have faced thus far. The solutions and tools described can be used in the current situation and for future pandemics, disasters, and other unique events that require alternative arrangements. The needs of landowners, farmers, youths, and the public at large will not diminish during this unprecedented time; therefore, we should continue to innovate to ensure that our impact is not diminished

Southern Foresters\u27 Perceptions of Climate Change: Implications for Educational Program Development

An understanding of foresters\u27 perceptions of climate change is important for developing effective educational programs on adaptive forest management. We surveyed 1,398 foresters in the southern United States regarding their perceptions of climate change, observations and concerns about climatic and forest conditions, and knowledge of and interest in resilient forest management techniques and climate science. A majority (61%) agreed that climate change is occurring, and 14% agreed that it is caused by humans. Most respondents were interested in learning more about forest resilience and related concepts. Development of programming focused on managing for forest resilience in a changing climate is a prudent educational approach that builds on familiar risk-management strategies

Short-rotation coppice system : environmental applications from Northern and Republic of Ireland

The treatment of wastewater in modern wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is highly effective. For larger communities, those treating more than one-hundred-thousand gallons of wastewater per day, WWTPs can be efficient and effective. Small, rural communities producing relatively low volumes of wastewater may find these systems to be uneconomical. In Ireland and Northern Ireland, there are hundreds of small, rural settlements with less than 1000 residents. In these communities, it is essential to develop economical, environmentally sound, and sustainable alternatives to a more expensive WWTP. A system of treating wastewater via irrigation of willow (Salix spp.) stands is successfully being pilot tested at a WWTP in Drumkee, Northern Ireland. Willow is a temperate plant well suited to wet soils, has a long growing season, is tolerant to many soil contaminants, and can be easily coppiced (i.e., can be cut back to ground level once every three years, and will regrow). The technology has been subsequently scaled up at several sites, including a WWTP in Bridgend, Ireland

Poplar for wastewater and biosolids management: An environmental application of the biocycle farm

Poplar trees are a highly effective wastewater management tool for biosolids application used by the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) in Eugene/Springfield, Oregon. The MWMC distributes the bulk of its nutrient-rich biosolids to local grass-seed farmers but needed a beneficial way to manage excess biosolids. Based on published agronomic rates in the Willamette Valley, OR, the MWMC determined that rapidly-growing hybrid poplar trees have approximately twice the nitrogen uptake capacity per acre as grass crops—which means that the MWMC’s 400 acres of poplar groves (called the Biocycle Farm) is equivalent to 800 acres of grass-seed fields for biosolids management. This uptake capacity also gives the MWMC flexibility in operating its program to meet local farm fertilizer demands while ensuring beneficial use of 100 percent of its annual biosolids production. Additionally, the water uptake capacity of poplar trees means the farm doubles as a land base for irrigation using recycled water. Recycled water use may become an important tool to reduce the MWMC’s weekly discharge to the Willamette River during times of the year when reducing sources of heat to the river is needed to protect aquatic species. By growing the poplar trees, the MWMC avoids risks borne by other wastewater processors, such as over-accumulating biosolids in storage lagoons or the expense of trucking biosolids to a landfill or far-away farms for application to crops

A roadmap for poplar and willow to provide environmental services and to build the bioeconomy

Poplar (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix spp.) are fast-growing trees and shrubs that can be used for a wide variety of environmental remediation and management purposes as well as provide biomass for bioenergy and bioproducts. Recent research in the U.S. has focused on growing these trees as short-rotation woody crops to provide biomass for renewable fuels and bio-based chemicals and products; however, domestic bioenergy markets have been inconsistent and the industry is still emerging. Although both poplar and willow have a long history of use for a variety of environmental purposes and bioenergy in Canada, Ireland, and other European countries, many barriers exist to similar implementation in the U.S. In April 2016, a National Working Forum was held in Portland, OR, to discuss how to bring together the environmental uses of poplar and willow with the production of biomass for fuel. This paper provides a summary of information and recommendations derived from the Forum including: (1) benefits, both environmental and otherwise, of growing poplar and willow and opportunities for using the biomass from these plantings, (2) barriers to this new endeavor, and (3) solutions to link biomass from poplar and willow grown for environmental applications to bioenergy markets. While use of poplar and willow for environmental benefits and biomass utilization is limited in the U.S., there have been successful programs, which are discussed in the Roadmap's supplemental Environmental Applications Series. A poplar- or willow-based system has the potential to be advantageous for landowners and others throughout the supply chain. This paper provides guidance towards the development of poplar and willow for environmental applications as well as a source of biomass for bioenergy

Willow buffers in agricultural systems : linking bioenergy production and ecosystem services

The production and consumption of food, energy, and water are inextricably linked. With agricultural systems contributing high levels of nutrients into ground and surface water systems, agriculture poses both human health and environmental risks downstream of these non-point sources. This project was designed to develop and prove concepts supporting multifunctional landscapes, which address multiple problems regarding food, energy, and water. The benefits of multifunctional landscapes over simplified landscapes (i.e., crop monocultures) include the ability to address these multiple societal challenges simultaneously by incorporating components that can perform multiple services

A roadmap for poplar and willow to provide environmental services and to build the bioeconomy

Poplar (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix spp.) are fast-growing trees and shrubs that can be used for a wide variety of environmental remediation and management purposes as well as provide biomass for bioenergy and bioproducts. Recent research in the U.S. has focused on growing these trees as short-rotation woody crops to provide biomass for renewable fuels and bio-based chemicals and products; however, domestic bioenergy markets have been inconsistent and the industry is still emerging. Although both poplar and willow have a long history of use for a variety of environmental purposes and bioenergy in Canada, Ireland, and other European countries, many barriers exist to similar implementation in the U.S. In April 2016, a National Working Forum was held in Portland, OR, to discuss how to bring together the environmental uses of poplar and willow with the production of biomass for fuel. This paper provides a summary of information and recommendations derived from the Forum including: (1) benefits, both environmental and otherwise, of growing poplar and willow and opportunities for using the biomass from these plantings, (2) barriers to this new endeavor, and (3) solutions to link biomass from poplar and willow grown for environmental applications to bioenergy markets. While use of poplar and willow for environmental benefits and biomass utilization is limited in the U.S., there have been successful programs, which are discussed in the Roadmap's supplemental Environmental Applications Series. A poplar- or willow-based system has the potential to be advantageous for landowners and others throughout the supply chain. This paper provides guidance towards the development of poplar and willow for environmental applications as well as a source of biomass for bioenergy

Appendix A. Allometric equations for predicting canopy biomass from diameter of interior Alaska Picea mariana trees in three size classes.

Allometric equations for predicting canopy biomass from diameter of interior Alaska Picea mariana trees in three size classes

Supplement 1. Ecosystem characteristics of 38 Picea mariana stands in interior Alaska that burned in 2004.

<h2>File List</h2><blockquote> <p><a href="Supplement_1_metadata.txt">Supplement_1_metadata.txt</a></p> <p><a href="Supplement_1_data.txt">Supplement_1_data.txt</a></p> </blockquote><h2>Description</h2><blockquote> <p>Supplement_1_metadata.txt: a description of each variable name contained in Supplement_1_data.txt.</p> <p>Supplement_1_data.txt: Ecosystem characteristics of 38 <i>Picea mariana</i> stands in interior Alaska that burned in 2004. Data includes checksum values for download verification.</p> </blockquote