Semi-arid ecosystems contribute about 40% to global net primary production (GPP) even though water is a major factor limiting carbon uptake. Evapotranspiration (ET) accounts for up to 95% of the water loss and in addition, vegetation can also mitigate drought effects by altering soil water distribution. Hence, partitioning of carbon and water fluxes between the soil and vegetation components is...

Understory vegetation plays a vital role in regulating soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) characteristics due to differences in plant functional traits. Different understory vegetation types have been reported following aerial seeding. While aerial seeding is common in areas with serious soil erosion, few studies have been conducted to investigate changes in soil C and N cycling as affected by un...

Competition from understory vegetation for water and nutrients can limit productivity of young forest stands. Less is known of the effect of understory vegetation on long-term stand growth or soil organic properties. The effect of understory vegetation on periodic annual increments (PAIs) of basal area, height, and volume for ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Doug].) in central Oregon at 4 or 5-y...

There is concern over the decline of aspen and the lack of successful regeneration due to excessive browsing of aspen suckers by cattle and other wild and domestic ungulates. We conducted a 2-yr study on Lassen National Forest, California, to aid development of cattle grazing strategies to enhance aspen regeneration. We evaluated seasonal biomass, nutritional quality, and utilization by cattle ...

Experiments with potted plants and removed understories have indicated that understory vegetation often affects the chemical and microbial properties of soil. In this study, we examined the mechanism and extent of the influence of understory vegetation on the chemical and microbial properties of soil in plantation forests. The relationships between the vegetational structure (diversity for diff...

the present survey was carried out in oak (quercus brantii lindl.) woodlands of arghvan valley protected area, in ilam province, western iran. the main aim of this study was to survey the understory vegetation of oak in different classes of altitude (1400-1600, 1600-1800 and >1800 m) in the southern aspects, and their relationship with physical and chemical properties of soil. four transects, w...

Alterations in under-canopy resource availability associated with elevated ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl.) abundance can negatively influence understory vegetation. Experimental evidence linking under-canopy resource availability and understory vegetation is scarce. Yet this information would be beneficial in developing management strategies to recover desired understory species. We tes...

In the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (MAV), complete alteration of river-floodplain hydrology allowed for widespread conversion of forested bottomlands to intensive agriculture, resulting in nearly 80% forest loss. Governmental programs have attempted to restore forest habitat and functions within this altered landscape by the methods of tree planting (afforestation) and local hydrologic en...

Pinus ponderosa Laws. (ponderosa pine) forests have changed considerably during the past century, partly because recurrent fires have been absent for a century or more. A number of studies have explored the influence of timber harvest or burning on understory production in ponderosa pine forests, but study designs incorporating cutting and prescribed burning in an experimental framework are nee...

In this study we characterized spatial heterogeneity of soil carbon and nitrogen pools, soil moisture, and soil pH of the first 15 cm of the soil profile; depth of the organic horizon; forest floor covers; and understory vegetation abundances in three sites (1999, 1987 and 1920 wildfires) of a boreal forest chronosequence of interior Alaska. We also investigated the cross-dependence between und...