scholarly journals Evaluating the Likelihood of Tree Failure in Naples, Florida (United States) Following Hurricane Irma

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 485
Author(s):  
Ryan W. Klein ◽  
Andrew K. Koeser ◽  
Brian Kane ◽  
Shawn M. Landry ◽  
Heather Shields ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Stem Diameter ◽  
Damage Category ◽  
Residential Landscapes ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Degree Of Damage ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Whole Tree ◽  
Relevant Factors ◽  
Hurricane Irma

Trees in residential landscapes provide many benefits, but can injure persons and damage property when they fail. In hurricane-prone regions like Florida, USA, the regular occurrence of hurricanes has provided an opportunity to assess factors that influence the likelihood of wind-induced tree failure and develop species failure profiles. We assessed open-grown trees in Naples, Florida, following the passage of Hurricane Irma in September 2017 to determine the effect of relevant factors on the degree of damage sustained by individual trees. Of 4034 assessed individuals (n = 15 species), 74% sustained no damage, 4% sustained only minor damage (i.e., minimal corrective pruning needed), 6% sustained significant damage (i.e., major corrective pruning needed), and 15% were whole-tree failures (i.e., overturned trees or trees requiring removal). The proportion of individuals in each damage category varied among species, stem diameter at 1.4 m above ground, and the presence of utility lines, which was a proxy for maintenance. We compared our results with the findings of seven previous hurricanes in the region to explore species’ resilience in hurricanes.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Likelihood of Tree Failure in Naples, Florida (United States) Following Hurricane Irma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan W. Klein ◽  
Andrew K. Koeser ◽  
Brian Kane ◽  
Shawn M. Landry ◽  
Heather Shields ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Stem Diameter ◽  
Damage Category ◽  
Residential Landscapes ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Degree Of Damage ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Whole Tree ◽  
Relevant Factors ◽  
Hurricane Irma

Trees in residential landscapes provide many benefits, but can injure persons and damage property when they fail. In hurricane-prone regions like Florida, USA, the regular occurrence of hurricanes has provided an opportunity to assess factors that influence the likelihood of wind-induced tree failure and develop species failure profiles. We assessed open-grown trees in Naples, Florida, following the passage of Hurricane Irma in September 2017 to determine the effect of relevant factors on the degree of damage sustained by individual trees. Of 4,034 assessed individuals (n = 15 species), 74% sustained no damage, 4% sustained only minor damage, 6% sustained significant damage and 15% were whole tree failures. The proportion of individuals in each damage category varied among species, stem diameter at 1.4 m above ground, and the presence of utility lines, which was a proxy for maintenance. We compared our results with the findings of seven previous hurricanes in the region to explore species’ resilience in hurricanes.

scholarly journals Largest-Crown-Width Prediction Models for 53 Species in the Western United States

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Bechtold
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stem Diameter ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Quadratic Term ◽  
Crown Width ◽  
Coefficients Of Variation ◽  
Bioclimatic Index ◽  
Minor Improvement

Abstract The mean crown diameters of stand-grown trees 5.0-in. dbh and larger were modeled as a function of stem diameter, live-crown ratio, stand-level basal area, latitude, longitude, elevation, and Hopkins bioclimatic index for 53 tree species in the western United States. Stem diameter was statistically significant in all models, and a quadratic term for stem diameter was required for some species. Crown ratio and/or Hopkins index also improved the models for most species. A term for stand-level basal area was not generally needed but did yield some minor improvement for a few species. Coefficients of variation from the regression solutions ranged from 17 to 33%, and model R2 ranged from 0.15 to 0.85. Simpler models, based solely on stem diameter, are also presented. West. J. Appl. For. 19(4):245–251.

scholarly journals Population structure of Drosophila suzukii and signals of multiple invasions into the continental United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle M Lewald ◽  
Antoine Abrieux ◽  
Derek A Wilson ◽  
Yoosook Lee ◽  
William R Conner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Drosophila Suzukii ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Multiple Invasions

Drosophila suzukii, or spotted-wing drosophila, is now an established pest in many parts of the world, causing significant damage to numerous fruit crop industries. Native to East Asia, D. suzukii infestations started in the United States a decade ago, occupying a wide range of climates. To better understand invasion ecology of this pest, knowledge of past migration events, population structure, and genetic diversity is needed. To improve on previous studies examining genetic structure of D. suzukii, we sequenced whole genomes of 237 individual flies collected across the continental U.S., as well as several representative sites in Europe, Brazil, and Asia, to identify hundreds of thousands of genetic markers for analysis. We analyzed these markers to detect population structure, to reconstruct migration events, and to estimate genetic diversity and differentiation within and among the continents. We observed strong population structure between West and East Coast populations in the U.S., but no evidence of any population structure North to South, suggesting there is no broad-scale adaptations occurring in response to the large differences in regional weather conditions. We also find evidence of repeated migration events from Asia into North America have provided increased levels of genetic diversity, which does not appear to be the case for Brazil or Europe. This large genomic dataset will spur future research into genomic adaptations underlying D. suzukii pest activity and development of novel control methods for this agricultural pest.

Assessment of the Pulpwood Quality of Standing Trees Using near Infrared Spectroscopy

1998 ◽  
Vol 6 (A) ◽  
pp. A117-A123 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. R. Schimleck ◽  
A. J. Michell ◽  
C. A. Raymond ◽  
A. Muneri
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Nir Spectroscopy ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Tree Breeding ◽  
Pulp Yield ◽  
Calibration Model ◽  
Standing Trees ◽  
Sampling Height ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Whole Tree

In Australia, considerable effort has been directed at improving the pulp yield of plantation grown trees through tree breeding programs. However, an improvement in pulp yield relies on the assessment of large numbers of trees. Traditional methods of assessment are expensive, time consuming and destructive, inhibiting their use. Cores can be extracted non-destructively from standing trees using TRECOR, a handheld motor driven drill. The cores are milled, their near-infrared spectra obtained and pulp yield estimated using an appropriate calibration model. The height at which the core is taken is very important. It must represent the whole tree and sampling must be easy and practical. The longitudinal and radial (within-tree) variation of pulp yield for 15 Eucalyptus nitens trees was examined using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. The trees were taken from three families (five trees per family) selected for giving high, medium and low pulp yields respectively. Three trees (one from each family) were examined in detail. Maps of within-tree variation of pulp yield were developed. Pulp yield was found to be highly variable within individual trees and between trees of the same family. The yield of samples from 10% of tree height (approximately 2.2 m) gave the best correlation with whole-tree yield. Samples from 5% of tree height (approximately 1.1 m) gave a slightly lower correlation but provided a more convenient sampling height. Ten Eucalyptus globulus and ten E. nitens trees growing on five sites in Australia were used to examine the longitudinal variation of pulp yield. Trees from sites in Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria were sampled. The optimal sampling height for E. globulus was 1.1 m. No single sampling height could be recommended for E. nitens due to large site effects.

Exploring Bias in Police Shooting Decisions With Real Shoot/Don’t Shoot Cases

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1171-1192 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Worrall ◽  
Stephen A. Bishopp ◽  
Scott C. Zinser ◽  
Andrew P. Wheeler ◽  
Scott W. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Police Department ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Police Shootings ◽  
Municipal Police ◽  
Shooting Decisions ◽  
Published Research ◽  
Relevant Factors

The controversy surrounding recent high-profile police shootings (e.g., Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Laquan McDonald in Chicago) has prompted inquiry into the possible existence of bias in officers’ use-of-force decisions. Using a balanced mix of shoot/don’t shoot cases from a large municipal police department in the Southwestern United States, this study analyzed the effect of suspect race on officers’ decisions to shoot—while accounting for other theoretically relevant factors. Findings suggest that Black suspects were not disproportionately the target of police shootings; Black suspects were approximately one third as likely to be shot as other suspects. This finding challenges the current bias narrative and is consistent with the other race-related findings in recently published research.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Hurricane-Track Forecasts in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Senkbeil ◽  
Jacob Reed ◽  
Jennifer Collins ◽  
Kimberly Brothers ◽  
Michelle Saunders ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Track Forecast ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Home Location ◽  
Hurricane Track ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Storm Characteristics ◽  
Hurricane Tracks ◽  
Hurricane Irma

AbstractHurricanes Isaac (2012), Harvey (2017), and Irma (2017) were storms with different geophysical characteristics and track forecast consistencies. Despite the differences, common themes emerged from the perception of track forecasts from evacuees for each storm. Surveys with a mixture of closed and open-ended responses were conducted during the evacuations of each storm while the storm characteristics and decision-making were fresh in the minds of evacuees. Track perception accuracy for each evacuee was quantified by taking the difference between three metrics: perceived track and official track (PT − OT), perceived track and forecast track (PT − FT), and home location and perceived track (HL − PT). Evacuees from Hurricanes Isaac and Harvey displayed a tendency to perceive hurricane tracks as being closer to their home locations than what was forecast to occur and what actually occurred. The large sample collected for Hurricane Irma provided a chance to statistically verify some of the hypotheses generated from Isaac and Harvey. Results from Hurricane Irma confirmed that evacuees expected a storm to be closer to their home locations after controlling for regional influences. Furthermore, participants with greater previous hurricane experience perceived a track as being closer to their home locations, and participants residing in zip codes corresponding with nonmandatory evacuation zones also perceived tracks as being closer to their home locations. These findings suggest that most evacuees from hurricanes in the United States appear to perceive storms as being closer to their home locations than they are and overestimate wind speeds at their homes, thus overestimating the true danger from landfalling hurricanes in many storms.

Hurricane Shutter-Related Injuries Treated in Emergency Departments

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Mathias B. Forrester
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Emergency Departments ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Body Part ◽  
Tropical Storm ◽  
Upper Extremities ◽  
Tropical Storms ◽  
Injury Surveillance System ◽  
Hurricane Wilma ◽  
Hurricane Irma

ABSTRACT Objectives: Injuries may occur when putting up and taking down hurricane (storm) shutters. This study described hurricane shutter-related injuries managed at emergency departments (EDs). Methods: Hurricane shutter-related injuries were identified through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a database of consumer product-related injuries collected from the EDs of approximately 100 United States hospitals. Results: There were 329 hurricane shutter-related injuries during 2001-2017. Thirty-six injuries were reported during October 2005 (Hurricane Wilma), 30 during August 2008 (Tropical Storm Fay), and 103 during September 2017 (Hurricane Irma). Patients were 20 years or older in 90.6% of the cases; 76.3% of the patients were male. The most frequently reported injuries were laceration (48.9%), sprain or strain (15.2%), and fracture (9.4%). Lower extremities (34.0%) were the most commonly affected body part followed by upper extremities (29.5%) and head or neck (17.0%). The patient was treated or examined at the ED and released in 86.6% of the cases. Conclusions: Over half of the hurricane shutter-related injuries appeared to occur in association with hurricanes and tropical storms. The most frequently reported injuries were laceration followed by sprain or strain and fracture. The majority of patients were treated or examined at the ED and released.

Amount and vertical distribution of foliage of young loblolly pine trees as affected by canopy position and silvicultural treatment

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1337-1344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Gillespie ◽  
H. Lee Allen ◽  
James M. Vose
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Silvicultural Treatment ◽  
Canopy Position ◽  
Individual Branch ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Whole Tree ◽  
Tree Foliage ◽  
Crown Size

Silvicultural practices such as thinning and fertilization can affect both canopy foliage quantity and distribution, altering stand growth. The objectives of this research were to quantify the effects of tree size and silvicultural treatment on the vertical distribution of foliage of individual trees of loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) and to estimate foliage quantity and distribution using easily measured tree data. In three stands sampled in North and South Carolina, fertilization and (or) thinning treatments had been applied 2 years prior to sampling. A fourth stand was untreated. Nonlinear and linear regression models were developed to test the effects of silvicultural treatment on individual branch foliage biomass and whole tree foliage biomass. Vertical distributions of foliage and branches were modelled using a Weibull probability density function. Analyses indicated that individual branch foliage biomass was positively related to branch size but negatively related to distance from the top of the tree. Fertilization with nitrogen and phosphorus, or thinning, increased the foliage biomass carried by a given sized branch. Silvicultural treatment effects on individual branches translated into whole-tree foliage biomass with thinning and fertilization increasing the crown size of individual trees. Though treatment affected crown size, the distribution of foliage (and branches) remained unaffected. Because silvicultural treatments change the size of crowns for trees of given dimensions, any estimation of loblolly pine crown biomass must be site and treatment specific.

scholarly journals Population genomics of Drosophila suzukii reveal longitudinal population structure and signals of migrations in and out of the continental United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle M Lewald ◽  
Antoine Abrieux ◽  
Derek A Wilson ◽  
Yoosook Lee ◽  
William R Conner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Population Genomics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Drosophila Suzukii ◽  
Genomic Dataset ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Whole Genomes

Abstract Drosophila suzukii, or spotted-wing drosophila, is now an established pest in many parts of the world, causing significant damage to numerous fruit crop industries. Native to East Asia, D. suzukii infestations started in the United States (U.S.) a decade ago, occupying a wide range of climates. To better understand invasion ecology of this pest, knowledge of past migration events, population structure, and genetic diversity is needed. In this study, we sequenced whole genomes of 237 individual flies collected across the continental U.S., as well as several sites in Europe, Brazil, and Asia, to identify and analyze hundreds of thousands of genetic markers. We observed strong population structure between Western and Eastern U.S. populations, but no evidence of any population structure between different latitudes within the continental U.S., suggesting there is no broad-scale adaptations occurring in response to differences in winter climates. We detect admixture from Hawaii to the Western U.S. and from the Eastern U.S. to Europe, in agreement with previously identified introduction routes inferred from microsatellite analysis. We also detect potential signals of admixture from the Western U.S. back to Asia, which could have important implications for shipping and quarantine policies for exported agriculture. We anticipate this large genomic dataset will spur future research into the genomic adaptations underlying D. suzukii pest activity and development of novel control methods for this agricultural pest.

Sentencing in Chaos

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 128-137
Author(s):  
Mark H. Allenbaugh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Criminal History ◽  
Interquartile Range ◽  
Sentencing Guidelines ◽  
Federal Sentencing ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Statistical Survey ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Relevant Factors

Antonin Scalia famously observed in his dissent in United States v. Booker that an advisory sentencing guidelines regime would result in a “discordant symphony” where similarly situated offenders would receive ad hoc sentences. As this article demonstrates through a statistical survey, he was right. Federal sentencing practice is in chaos. The fundamental goals of the guidelines—uniformity, proportionality, and certainty—have been undermined. Nonetheless, this does not mean the guidelines should be abandoned or a wholesale redrafting is required. As it turns out, the guidelines continue to be a useful tool, not for determining the ultimate sentence per se, but for identifying similarly situated offenders. Using the total offense level, criminal history category, and other relevant factors discussed in the article, a sentencing judge can identify those individuals within the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s datafiles matching those criteria. From there, a judge can determine various relevant statistics to consider when imposing a sentence: most importantly, the Interquartile Range (IQR). The IQR defines the central range of sentences imposed on similarly situated offenders. Sentencing within the IQR will necessarily promote the guidelines fundamental goals and thus harmonize federal sentencing. But the upshot of this approach also demonstrates that it is the sentencing table, and not the guidelines overall, that are in need of fundamental revision. This article concludes that the Commission should recalibrate the sentencing table downward to match current sentencing practice.

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