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Although significant progress has been made in the conservation of Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus) populations, rapid population growth in coastal wetlands has caused severe habitat degradation. This highlights the urgent challenge of balancing ungulate population dynamics with wetland restoration efforts, particularly considering the limited data available on post-disturbance ecosystem recovery in these environments. In this study, we evaluated soil quality and bacterial community dynamics at an abandoned feeding site and a nearby control site within the Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve during 2020–2021. The goal was to provide a theoretical basis for the ecological restoration of Père David’s deer habitat in coastal wetlands. The main findings are as follows: among the measured indicators, bulk density (BD), soil water content (SWC), sodium (Na+), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), available potassium (AK), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), and the Chao index were selected to form the minimum data set (MDS) for calculating the soil quality index (SQI), effectively reflecting the actual condition of soil quality. Overall, the SQI at the feeding site was lower than that of the control site. Based on the composition of bacterial communities and the functional prediction analysis of bacterial communities in the FAPROTAX database, it is shown that feeding sites are experiencing sustained soil carbon loss, which is clearly caused by the gathering of Père David’s deer. Co-occurring network analyses demonstrated the structure of the bacterial community at the feeding site was decomplexed, and with a lower intensity than the control. In RDA, Na+ is the main soil property that affects bacterial communities. These findings suggest that the control of soil salinity is a primary consideration in the development of Père David’s deer habitat restoration programmes, followed by addressing nitrogen supplementation and carbon sequestration.

In the last four decades, the Jiangsu province, like the rest of China, has undergone rapid economic development coupled with a rapid increase in environmental pollution. Freshwater ecosystems have been particularly affected. In Lake Tai, China's third‐largest freshwater lake by volume, water quality has been severely reduced. There is a renewed interest in establishing riparian buffer strips in China as a conservation practice for mitigating agricultural non‐point source pollution. To study the effect of riparian buffers on phosphorus attenuation, eight 50 m × 20 m plots were established between a rice farm and the shore of Lake Tai in China, with the 20 m width facing the lake shore. They were planted with hybrid poplar (Populus deltoides × euramericana), hybrid cypress (Taxodium ascendens × mucronatum), or a mixture of both at densities of 2 m × 3 m, 2 m × 5 m, or 5 m × 5 m, while one plot was left as a control. Samples collected from soil, tree leaves, and groundwater during 2014–2018 were analyzed for multiple forms of phosphorus. Results indicated that riparian buffer width and time (year) were the most significant factors of phosphorus attenuation on all plots. Tree density had a minor effect, with medium density being the most effective, and we found negligible differences among hybrid tree species on attenuating phosphorus. Farmers should use densely vegetated buffer strips at least 15 m wide to ensure a significant reduction in nutrient runoff. Species selection should be based on market value and ecological benefits. Core Ideas Overfertilization of rice paddies is a systemic issue in China, with little incentive for farmers to change their practices. Riparian buffer strips can serve as an economically viable best management practice (BMP) for alleviating eutrophication on rice farms. A riparian buffer with a width of at least 15 m and medium tree density was found to be the most effective for attenuating phosphorus runoff.

Outdoor recreation is one of the most widely recognized ecosystem services provided by forests and grasslands in the world. This paper examined the influence of factors not related to landscape values, such as ethnicity and gasoline prices, on individual participation in outdoor recreation in the southeastern region of the U.S. The model results showed that there were no significant (p > 0.05) differences between the race groups (Caucasians and non-Caucasians) for participation in the different activities either between racial groups or among National Forest (NF). This may be due to the very high proportion of Caucasian participants in the study. The results also revealed that travel costs negatively influence the number of NF visits. The number of NF visits decreases if the gasoline price increases by 20% and more. The results of this study have practical importance for different entities such as stakeholders, tourism operators, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, and local authorities.

Growing demand for National Forests (NFs) recreational activities makes it crucial to understand the attitudes towards valuing public recreational resources and the potential conflicts with other functions of the forests. The study was conducted to identify the primary drivers influencing individual participation in outdoor recreation on NF lands in the southeastern region of the US among participants of various socioeconomic backgrounds. The study was based on the 2010–2014 dataset of fourteen NFs across thirteen states in the Southeastern USA—retrieved from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Different statistical models and statistical analyses were utilized for the study. The statistical results revealed that individual needs for relaxation were the main driver for participation in forest recreation for the whole sample and pulled data (approximately 52% of the participants). It has been noted that the drivers varied depending on the forest. The personal need for mental development was the least valued driver with only 2%. Some significant differences were observed by gender, age category, and income level. The study results have practical importance for different stakeholders such as tourism operators, the USDA Forest Service, and local authorities.

A mail survey of Alabama logging firms was conducted in collaboration with the Alabama Loggers Council (ALC) in the spring of 2023 to gather data for current and future assessments of the logging industry’s status and challenges. The response rate was 23.02% after two mailings. The average age of the business respondents was 56 and the average age of employees was 48. About 35% of owners expected to exit the industry within five years, with one-third of those reporting that their business would cease to operate. Most owners who plan to continue operating after five years expect to maintain the same production level. The primary challenges facing logging businesses are increasing operating and equipment costs, the lack of labor and truck drivers, and mill issues (including quotas, shutdowns, and slow operations). COVID-19 has had some effects on Alabama logging operations, including reducing production for a majority of businesses.

Selecting suitable tree species, cultivars or clones in agroforestry is essential for maximizing volume growth and reducing mortality. While most studies have investigated the performance of understory crops, more information is needed about the performance of trees in agroforestry systems. In the last decades, the forest industry in the Southeast has produced high-yielding loblolly pine varieties that can be propagated by cloning. We evaluated the performance of two forest industry-rated loblolly pine clones (Pinus taeda L.) that we planted in an agroforestry and a plantation setting at a northern Alabama site. Specifically, we assessed and compared the survival and growth of two genetically improved pine clones: clone 1 (CF Q3802-43) and clone 2 (CF L3519-41). Clone 1 had a significantly higher overall survival rate than clone 2 (86% vs. 83%). However, clone 2 demonstrated a superior performance growth compared to clone 1. Tree basal area, live crown ratio, height and total tree volume inside-bark of clone 2 averaged 0.027 m2, 70%, 10.7 m and 0.11 m3, respectively, and all were significantly higher than those of clone 1 (0.024 m2, 63%, 9.8 m, and 0.09 m3). Therefore, clone 1 is preferred over clone 2 for our region and in similar site conditions if survival is considered a selection criterion and clone 2 is preferred from the wood production viewpoint. However, it will be more advantageous to use clone 2 overall since its higher average tree volume (0.11 m3 vs. 0.09 m3 of clone 1) can easily offset the lower survival rate.

Abstract Disturbances of varying frequency and intensity shape the species composition, stand structure, and functions of forests. This study assessed the frequency and distribution of disturbances caused by eight agents (insects, diseases, fire, animals, weather, other vegetation, human, and unknown) in the forests of the southeastern United States from 1995 to 2018. We used data from 88,722 inventory measurements of 33,531 plots from the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis database to assess disturbance among different forest types and to different canopy strata. Disturbances were detected in approximately 14 percent of the plots, located mostly in pine-dominated forest types. Fire was the most frequent disturbance agent (occurring 6 percent of the time), followed by weather and animal agents. The agents that caused the highest mortality rate during the period for saplings were silvicultural treatments (8.6 percent), other vegetation (5.6 percent), and fire (4.4 percent), whereas for trees they were silvicultural treatments (9.8 percent), weather (1.9 percent) and insects (1.7 percent). The forest type that appeared to have been most affected by disturbances was longleaf–slash pine of the Coastal Plain. These results are useful for understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of disturbance events in different southeastern forest types and locations and for guiding forest management activities to mitigate potential impacts.

Agroforestry presents an opportunity to increase land productivity and improve cash flow by combining income from crop or animal production and forestry on the same land. In addition, agroforestry offers numerous environmental benefits such as increased diversity of plants and animals, nutrient recycling, erosion control, and carbon (C) sequestration. We investigated the effect of grazing and forage enhancement on total soil C (TSC), soil nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) dynamics in a goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus )—loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) silvopasture system on a Kipling silt loam soil (fine, smectitic, thermic, Typic Paleudalfs) at Epes, Alabama from 2006 to 2010. In 2007, the soil in the silvopasture plots was characterized by low pH, low TSC, and was deficient in N and P. Four years after tree thinning and after 3 years of grazing in June 2010, the silvopasture plots still depicted low soil pH (<6) and TSC levels less than 20 g kg −1 . TSC content in all the silvopasture plots in June 2010 were generally similar to levels obtained after thinning and prior to grazing in May 2007. However, soil disturbance for liming, fertilizer incorporation, and forage planting increased soil N and P levels, but resulted in lower TSC in the enhanced forage plots compared to the other treatments. Grazing increased N and P levels during the study period. Our study suggests that in the long-term, grazing without additional soil management practices can improve soil fertility through nutrient recycling and C sequestration and thereby making the goat-loblolly silvopasture system both environmentally and economically sustainable.