Ruth Yanai's research

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Ongoing Projects

WERC: Size of discolored hearts of sugar maple

Ruth Yanai and René Germain, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Because the most valuable sugar maple trees are those with small hearts, foresters, loggers and landowners would benefit from a heart-size prediction model. Few studies have examined the relationship between dark discoloration size and site or individual tree factors. The initial phase of this study, based on data (bark type, diameter, slope, aspect, etc.) collected from 52 timber sales in 6 states, is nearly complete. The next phase will involve the intensive field study of sites to develop and validate a heart-size prediction model. Future analysis will include stand history and exposure to injury, which is commonly thought to influence dark discoloration in sugar maple. This project is part of the Northeastern Area Wood Education and Resource Center.

Long-Term Ecological Research in New Hampshire

Ruth Yanai, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Department of Forest and Natural Resources; Melany Fisk, Miami University Department of Zoology; Steven Hamburg, Brown University Center for Environmental Studies; Joel Blum. University of Michigan Department of Geological Sciences; Scott Bailey, US Forest Service Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest; Timothy Fahey, Cornell University Department of Natural Resources.

The health and productivity of northern forests are affected by disturbances such as acidic deposition and harvesting for energy or forest products. We believe that interactive mechanisms of nutrient acquisition are crucial for interpreting forest productivity responses to changing nutrient environments. Our study involves comparing the response of young and mature forests to nitrogen and phosphorus additions at three sites that differ in P availability due to differences in mineralogy of the soil parent material.

Biotic control of calcium cycling

Mary Arthur, University of Kentucky; Joel Blum, University of Michigan; Melany Fisk, Appalachian State University; Steven Hamburg, Brown University; Elizabeth Hane, Rochester Institute of Technology; and Ruth Yanai, SUNY-ESF

We are looking at differences in Ca cycling with stand age, and determing the source of Ca mobilized from mineral soil in young stands. Hypothesis testing uses both an extensive approach, involving 13 previously studied stands, and intensive one using replicate stands of three ages at a single site. For more information on this project. please visit The Northern Hardwood Calcium Project site housed at Brown University.

NSRC: Modeling forest susceptibility to decline following defoliation by forest tent caterpillar

R.D. Yanai, D. Parry, L.K. Lautz, and D.C. Allen, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

In the northeastern US, we are in the fourth year of an outbreak of forest tent caterpillar. We are seeking funding to examine the factors that cause some stands to suffer dieback and mortality following defoliation, while other stands recover. This project involves monitoring forest health, analyzing geographic information, including aerial coverage of defoliation history, and working with state agencies and other stakeholders. This project is funded by the Northeastern States Research Cooperative.

Nitrogen immobilization by woodchip application in a northern hardwood forest.

René Germain, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Leaf litter immobilizes N, reducing stream export, briefly, in the fall. We have conducted a 1-year study of the potential for wood chips to immobilize N following forest harvest, to reduce the peak nitrate delivery to streams. This work is in the context of the New York City Watersheds in the Catskill Mountains of New York. To date, Forestry BMPs (Best Management Practices) have addressed sedimentation of streams, but not stream chemistry. This work could result in the development of a new BMP.

NYSERDA: Assessing the sensitivity of New York Forests to cation depletion

Ruth Yanai, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Joel Blum, University of Michigan

Information concerning the distribution of sources of calcium (Ca) and the ability of tree species to access calcium is essential for predicting the sensitivity of forests across New York State to Ca depletion resulting from acidic deposition. The data accumulated through this project will provide a more accurate assessment of the likelihood that New York State forests will be adversely affected by the depletion of calcium and other exchangeable cations. In particular, this project seeks to:

Describe the distribution of Ca-bearing minerals in soil and soil parent material;
Assess the relative ability of important tree species to access Ca from various sources, including trace minerals; and
Assess how changes in soil Ca content resulting from nitrogen deposition would affect the storage of carbon in soil.

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