Re-evaluating pattern and process to understand resilience in transitional mixed conifer forests.

A key challenge to maintaining resilient landscapes is adapting to and maintaining dynamic ecological processes. In fire-dependent ecosystems, this includes identifying and defining mechanisms through which fire influences forest structure and functionality. Interpretations of tree patterns via land survey records in the Lake States have often highlighted the importance of infrequent moderate to extreme disturbance events. However, historical survey methods are limited to observing higher severity disturbances and over large landscapes, thus it is not clear if the origin, structure, and forcing factors for either patterns or processes are adequately quantified by these methods. We used dendrochronological methods to determine how fire history and stand structure, including cohort structure, tree density, and spatial patterning, are linked within Lake States mixed conifer forests in Wisconsin. We found relatively short mean fire return intervals (MFRIs) ranging from 6 to 13 yr with little variation in fire frequency among sites. Current densities of red-pine-dominated forests are 4-37 times historical (ca. 1860) densities (mean 12×) and almost entirely spatially random, whereas historically forests were spatially aggregated at stand scales. Stands also contained multiple and/or loosely defined cohort structures suggesting very different controls operating historically than currently. Heterogeneity that helped maintain ecosystem resilience in these ecosystems historically came from frequent fire disturbance processes that affected stand-scale forest resistance. This was likely the historical dynamic across fire-adapted transitional pine forests of the Lake States.

Estimation of U.S. sewer residence time distributions for national-scale risk assessment of down-the-drain chemicals.

Sewer residence time (the amount of time a given volume of wastewater resides in a sewer system prior to treatment) can have a significant influence on predictions of environmental fate and transport of wastewater constituents and corresponding risk assessment. In this study, a geographic information systems-based approach for estimating the distribution of sewer residence times for the U.S. was developed using road networks as a spatial proxy for sewer networks. The suitability of the approach was evaluated using case study municipalities, and the approach was subsequently extrapolated to 3422 wastewater treatment facilities of varying size across the U.S. to estimate a national distribution of sewer residence times. The estimated national median residence time for the U.S. was 3.3h. Facilities serving smaller municipalities (<1 million gallons per day) had comparatively shorter sewer residence times to facilities serving larger municipalities, though the latter comprise a greater proportion of overall national wastewater volume. The results of this study provide an important data resource in combination with chemical in-sewer biodegradation data to enable probabilistic risk assessment of consumer product chemicals disposed of down the drain.

Investigating past range dynamics for a weed of cultivation, Silene vulgaris.

Since the last glacial maximum (LGM), many plant and animal taxa have expanded their ranges by migration from glacial refugia. Weeds of cultivation may have followed this trend or spread globally following the expansion of agriculture or ruderal habitats associated with human-mediated disturbance. We tested whether the range expansion of the weed Silene vulgaris across Europe fit the classical model of postglacial expansion from southern refugia, or followed known routes of the expansion of human agricultural practices. We used species distribution modeling to predict spatial patterns of postglacial expansion and contrasted these with the patterns of human agricultural expansion. A population genetic analysis using microsatellite loci was then used to test which scenario was better supported by spatial patterns of genetic diversity and structure. Genetic diversity was highest in southern Europe and declined with increasing latitude. Locations of ancestral demes from genetic cluster analysis were consistent with areas of predicted refugia. Species distribution models showed the most suitable habitat in the LGM on the southern coasts of Europe. These results support the typical postglacial northward colonization from southern refugia while refuting the east-to-west agricultural spread as the main mode of expansion for S. vulgaris. We know that S. vulgaris has recently colonized many regions (including North America and other continents) through human-mediated dispersal, but there is no evidence for a direct link between the Neolithic expansion of agriculture and current patterns of genetic diversity of S. vulgaris in Europe. Therefore, the history of range expansion of S. vulgaris likely began with postglacial expansion after the LGM, followed by more recent global dispersal by humans.