Tallo: A global tree allometry and crown architecture database.

Data capturing multiple axes of tree size and shape, such as a tree's stem diameter, height and crown size, underpin a wide range of ecological research-from developing and testing theory on forest structure and dynamics, to estimating forest carbon stocks and their uncertainties, and integrating remote sensing imagery into forest monitoring programmes. However, these data can be surprisingly hard to come by, particularly for certain regions of the world and for specific taxonomic groups, posing a real barrier to progress in these fields. To overcome this challenge, we developed the Tallo database, a collection of 498,838 georeferenced and taxonomically standardized records of individual trees for which stem diameter, height and/or crown radius have been measured.

Spatial patterns and interspecific associations among trees at different stand development stages in the natural secondary forests on the Loess Plateau, China.

populations on the Loess Plateau are currently becoming more dominant in natural secondary forests, whereas is declining. In the present paper, the diameter class (instead of age) was used to classify the different growth stages as juvenile, subadult, or adult, and the univariate function () was used to analyze the dynamic changes in spatial patterns and interspecific associations in three 1-ha tree permanent plots on the Loess Plateau, NW China. Our results suggested that the niche breadth changed with the development stage.

From the stand scale to the landscape scale: predicting the spatial patterns of forest regeneration after disturbance.

Shifting disturbance regimes can have cascading effects on many ecosystems processes. This is particularly true when the scale of the disturbance no longer matches the regeneration strategy of the dominant vegetation. In the yellow pine and mixed conifer forests of California, over a century of fire exclusion and the warming climate are increasing the incidence and extent of stand-replacing wildfire; such changes in severity patterns are altering regeneration dynamics by dramatically increasing the distance from live tree seed sources.

The influence of preparation method on measured carbon fractions in tree tissues.

Carbon fractions of tree tissues are a key component of forest carbon mass estimation. Several methods have been used to measure carbon fractions, yet no comprehensive comparison between methods has been performed. We found significant differences between carbon fractions derived from four sample preparation methods: oven-drying, vacuum desiccation, freeze-drying, and a new method that consisted of (i) not drying samples, (ii) cutting samples instead of grinding them, (iii) measuring carbon content of samples, (iv) oven-drying remaining sample material and (v) using mass measurements of remaining sample material before and after oven-drying to adjust measured carbon fraction values to an oven-dry basis (minimize the loss of carbon (MLC) method).

A genotyping protocol for multiple tissue types from the polyploid tree species Sequoia sempervirens (Cupressaceae).

Premise Of The Study: Identifying clonal lineages in asexually reproducing plants using microsatellite markers is complicated by the possibility of nonidentical genotypes from the same clonal lineage due to somatic mutations, null alleles, and scoring errors. We developed and tested a clonal identification protocol that is robust to these issues for the asexually reproducing hexaploid tree species coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens).

Methods: Microsatellite data from four previously published and two newly developed primers were scored using a modified protocol, and clones were identified using Bruvo genetic distances.

Building a system for preparedness: the NYCEPCE NEST experience.

The New York Consortium for Emergency Preparedness Continuing Education grew from clinician-oriented, Web-based continuing education developed with and primarily for clinicians associated with the New York Presbyterian Healthcare System. As the consortium expanded to reach all of New York State (and beyond, via the Web), courses originally developed at Columbia were transferred to a widely advertised Web site, and the content expanded. The National Education Strategy Team supplemental funds allowed New York Consortium for Emergency Preparedness Continuing Education to consider how to overcome one of the major challenges in emergency preparation, connectivity across all sectors, and levels of the public health community.