Nonindustrial private forests (NIPF) of the southern U.S., containing large quantities of small diameter trees are often viewed as the potential sources of woody biomass for future bioenergy production. Use of logging residues and non-marketable small diameter trees available in these forests, are thought to create economic opportunities for NIPF owners and contribute in maintaining healthy forest systems. However, in the absence of a well-defined market, it is difficult to predict the willingness of landowners for supplying biomass from their forests.

Decreasing the damage rate of residual trees during selective cutting operations is quite important for forest landowners to reduce wood production waste and to use forest resources sustainably. In this article we analyze the impacts of chain saw selective felling operations on the damage rate of residual trees during winter in a mixed conifer-road-leaved forest. A case study was conducted in Dongfanghong Forest Farm located in northeast China.

South Texas Natives (STN) is an initiative started in 2001 to develop and promote native plants for the restoration and reclamation of public and private lands in south Texas. At the urging of concerned conservationists and private landowners, STN has developed commercially viable sources of native seed and conducted research to discover effective restoration strategies that can be used by private landowners and government agencies to restore native plant communities.

Understanding factors that influence how promptly landowners regenerate their timberlands after harvest, if at all, is critical to developing policies to improve forest productivity. Mississippi forest landowners with over 100 acres (1 acre = 0.404 ha) of forestland were surveyed in 2006 to collect harvest and regeneration data from 1996 to 2006. This study investigated the length of the time interval between harvest and reforestation. Nonparametric duration analysis was used to examine how long nonindustrial private forest landowners waited to reforest after harvesting.

A genuine concern for landowners and other stake holders is whether conservation tillage contaminates shallow groundwater even though it greatly reduces erosion. A six-year continuous maize (Zea mays L.) study that compared yields from no-tillage (NT), reduced-tillage (RT), and conventional-tillage (CT) was conducted in the upland hills of northern Mississippi on 4–6% sloping soils overlying a shallow fragipan.

Energy is one of the essential inputs for economic development and industrialization. A reliable supply of energy is essential to maintain and to improve human being’s living conditions. The management of energy sources, rational utilization of energy, and renewable energy source usages are vital. Among the renewable energy sources wind energy is currently viewed as one of the most significant, fastest growing, and commercially attractive source to generate electrical energy because of the mature and cost effective energy conversation technology.

Notwithstanding the increasing cattle activity on the South American temperate forests, its impacts on the forests regeneration are yet poorly understood. We investigated the influence of cattle on the regeneration of monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria), an endangered conifer of the temperate forests of Chile and Argentina, on properties of small landowners and of timber companies. In thirty-six 100×20m plots, we recorded the number of seedlings and saplings from seeds and resprouts, the number of cattle dung pats and the density of parent trees.

Coastal dune systems are particularly susceptible to destabilisation through recreational pressure and because of this, conflicts frequently arise between those who want to use the dunes for recreational purposes and those who wish to see these fragile ecosystems protected. In addition, a range of approaches to resolving this conflict are being used in different countries with differing levels of success. To study this conflict, an approach based on the Q-method was applied to three European Union Member States, i.e.

Although human-related disturbance is usually detrimental for biodiversity, in some instances it can simulate natural processes and benefit certain species. Changes in the disturbance regime, both natural and human-driven, can affect species that rely on it. The Apennine yellow-bellied toad Bombina variegata pachypus, an amphibian endemic to peninsular Italy, has declined throughout its range in the last 3 decades. We sought to identify the drivers of the decline in the region of Liguria, at the north-western limit of its distribution.

Rare species of plants are especially vulnerable to extinction when populations are few, have small numbers of individuals, and are fragmented. Such conditions lead to a reduction in gene flow and genetic diversity, and encourage inbreeding depression. We conducted a study of the reproductive biology and population genetics of Penstemon debilis (Plantaginaceae), a Federally Threatened species endemic to a small region of oil shale extraction in western Colorado, USA. Most of the habitat area is privately owned and undergoing natural gas extraction activities.

This article examines the origins of the natural-wine movement in Germany—the first of its kind in Europe—by exploring the crucial technological and social developments which prompted the use of derided “artificial” winemaking techniques. The forgotten social reformer Ludwig Gall, once known to as the “savoir of the small vintner,” helped to relieve the unreliable dependency of winegrowers on nature by perfecting a deacidification technique which allowed for pleasant wines in any vintage.