Research

Subscriber Survey Coming To Your Email

Posted on by akabelowsky
Icon of a survey under the DNR Forestry News banner

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources soon will launch an email survey of Forest Health News subscribers. / Graphic Credit: Wisconsin DNR

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Outreach and Communications, Fitchburg Service Center;
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

Every five years or so, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s Forest Health Team surveys the readership of the Forest Health News to gain insight into the types of articles our readers find most valuable and interesting.

The next survey should arrive in your email folders within the next few weeks.

Continue reading “Subscriber Survey Coming To Your Email” →

ATCP 21 Rule Changes Coming

Posted on by akabelowsky

Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health outreach and communications specialist
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

Photo of an adult emerald ash borer.

The statewide quarantine for emerald ash borer will end July 1, as one of several permanent rule changes proposed by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Changes are coming to some of Wisconsin’s rules for plant inspection and plant control, following legislative approval of a proposal from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

The rule changes for ATCP 21 (Clearinghouse Rule CR 22-022), in the works since 2020, will go into effect on July 1.

One of the permanent rule changes involves the end of the state quarantine for emerald ash borer. Other quarantines to be rescinded are those for pine shoot beetle and thousand cankers disease of walnut trees.

The changes were recommended by DATCP for one or more of the following reasons: a lack of serious pest impacts, the quarantine outliving its ability to contain the pest, and/or federal deregulation.

Continue reading “ATCP 21 Rule Changes Coming” →

Wisconsin DNR Begins State Nursery Biochar Trial

Posted on by patricialindquist

By Brian Zweifel, DNR Forest Products Specialist, Brian.Zweifel@wisconsin.gov

What is Biochar?

Microscopic structure of biochar. Photo credit: UK Biochar Research Centre

Biochar is basically just charcoal with a special mission, to be used in the soil. The US Biochar Initiative (USBI) defines it as “carbonized biomass obtained from sustainable sources and sequestered in soils to sustainably enhance their agricultural and environmental value under present and future management.” 

Biomass, such as unmerchantable wood waste, is transformed into this carbon-rich material in a low oxygen environment, cooking most non-carbon materials out of it and leaving the material’s basic structure intact. This carbon skeleton is what gives biochar many of its desirable properties. 

Continue reading “Wisconsin DNR Begins State Nursery Biochar Trial” →

Urban Tree Loss And How To Stop It

Posted on by kirsten.biefeld

Trees are struggling to survive in cities, which is not good news for communities across the United States.

One study by the USDA Forest Service has estimated that 36 million urban trees are lost each year in the U.S. Estimated loss of benefits from trees in urban areas is conservatively valued at $96 million per year. These benefits include cooling urban areas, lowering carbon emissions, removing pollution and mental health benefits amongst many others. While trees and their benefits are needed more now than ever, it’s not too late to change the trend. Continue reading “Urban Tree Loss And How To Stop It” →

DNR Leads Milwaukee Heat Mapping Project

Posted on by kirsten.biefeld

Mitchell Park Domes. Credit: WDNR

Wisconsin DNR urban forest assessment specialist Dan Buckler had been monitoring weather forecasts for a month, waiting for just the right blisteringly hot day to launch a much-anticipated Milwaukee heat island mapping project. He’d been laser-focused on getting the one-day blitz in the books, and July 21 turned out to be go time.

The urban heat island effect explains the phenomenon that densely developed urban spaces are warmer than outlying places due to man-made surfaces (such as asphalt) absorbing and reradiating heat through the day and night. Trees are one method of reducing urban temperatures by providing shade and by putting more water vapor into the air via evapotranspiration.

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Planting and Seeding Trials In The Wake Of Ash Decline

Posted on by grace.hershberg

Swamp White Oak seedling planted in a black ash replacement trial. Credit: Wisconsin DNR

The emerald ash borer (EAB) is causing widespread mortality of both upland and lowland ash. Black ash (and to a lesser extent green ash) is a forest wetland species that helps prevent sites from swamping through evapotranspiration. With the loss of ash in these systems, forest practitioners are developing silvicultural strategies to minimize the impacts through planting and seeding trials.

Wisconsin Silviculture Trials

Posted on by grace.hershberg

The Wisconsin Silviculture Trials Directory was created in 2002 for foresters to document silviculture trials and share results and experiences with their peers. It is a way of documenting non-research trials in applied forestry. A trial site often visited during training sessions is the Nebish Lake oak burn. Here a forester established an oak shelterwood in 2008, followed by a prescribed burn in 2011. The results showed that fire could set back competition while creating a favorable seedbed for oak regeneration.

Nebish Oak Shelterwood burn with comparison of the left side that was burned and right side that was not burned. Credit: Wisconsin DNR

Managing For Old-Growth Forests

Posted on by grace.hershberg

Old-growth forests are unique ecosystems that were historically abundant across the forested regions of Wisconsin but have now dwindled to about 1% of their original presence. Realizing the importance of old-growth forest structure and composition, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) partners initiated a study in 2004 to look at silviculture methods to maintain and enhance old-growth characteristics. The Managed Old Growth Silviculture Study (MOSS)  continues today on public lands in northern Wisconsin including the Flambeau River State Forest, the Northern Highlands – American Legion State Forest and the Argonne Experimental Forest (located within the Chequamegon – Nicolet National Forest). The main goal of this study is to develop forest management techniques that accelerate the development of structural and compositional complexity in second-growth northern hardwoods.

Wisconsin DNR forest research crew collecting old growth data. Credit: Wisconsin DNR

A forester explains the values of old growth in a Hemlock stand near Woodruff. Credit: Wisconsin DNR

The Tick App: ‘Your On-the-Go Tick Expert’

Posted on by patricialindquist

By Danielle Smith, Midwest Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Disease, UW-Madison

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Columbia University and Michigan State University have developed the TickApp, a mobile smartphone application that allows users to learn how they can protect themselves, their families and their pets from ticks—and join a team of citizen scientists helping researchers better understand ticks and tick-borne disease risk.

Adult blacklegged tick on a dead leaf.

Adult blacklegged tick

Continue reading “The Tick App: ‘Your On-the-Go Tick Expert’” →

Wisconsin DNR 2020 Forest Health Annual Report

Posted on by eleanorvoigt

By Elly Voigt, DNR Forest Lab Technician and Communications Specialist, Eleanor.Voigt@wisconsin.gov

The cover page of the 2020 Annual ReportThe Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Forest Health team recently completed the 2020 Forest Health Annual Report. The report summarizes impacts from pests, diseases and weather on the health of Wisconsin’s forests. Highlights from 2020 include:

• An update on emerald ash borer in Wisconsin, including newly confirmed counties
• New township detections of oak wilt
• Flooding and tornado damage
• Summary of state nursery studies

For access to the report, visit the link here.