Miscellaneous Publications

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  MP: 766 Roadside rights-of-way as pollinator habitat: A literature review

  Brianne Du Clos

  Pollination of crops and naturally-occurring flowering plants is a critical ecosystem service provided by managed and unmanaged animal pollinators. Insects are the most studied pollinators, particularly managed honey bees, unmanaged wild bees, and butterflies. Bees and butterflies thrive in early-successional habitat featuring grasses, exposed soil, wildflowers, and shrubs, which is consistently found within transportation and utility rights-of-way (ROW). However, intensive management of ROW can reduce the amount of high-quality pollinator habitat; such practices include frequent mowing, broadcast herbicide use, and planting non-native cool season grasses. Here, we review peer-reviewed academic and non-peer reviewed gray literature describing ROW management practices and their effects on pollinator populations. Both information sources consistently recommend these management practices to provide pollinator habitat in ROW and promote plant and pollinator diversity and abundance: 1) Reduce mowing frequency and time mowing to pollinator activity. 2) Target herbicide applications to undesirable plant species using backpack sprayers. 3) Plant native seeds, seedlings, or shrubs, leaving some exposed soil for nesting. We considered threats to plants and pollinators associated with ROW, including traffic volume and mortality, noise, light, and air pollution, and habitat fragmentation. The literature indicates that these threats vary widely across road sizes, types, and landscape context and suggests that the overall negative impacts do not outweigh the potential benefits of promoting pollinator habitat in ROW. Landscape context also influences the composition of ROW plant and pollinator communities. v Many state Departments of Transportation have incorporated integrative vegetation management (IVM) principles into ROW management, and we summarize a number of case studies here. Restoration projects in high-visibility areas are common; these can lead to public support for additional pollinator habitat enhancement. Implementing new management practices can be difficult; therefore, we discuss strategies to aid in successful adoption, including gathering public support, collaborations between public and private agencies, and innovative funding opportunities. While assessing vegetation management impacts on bee and butterfly communities in ROW is a rapidly expanding area of research, there are still many gaps in current knowledge. We conclude this report by addressing these gaps and provide suggestions for further study.

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  MP765: Creating the Orono Bog Boardwalk: A Facility for Education, Research, and Recreation

  Ronald B. Davis

  A memoir by Dr. Ronald Davis detailing the creation of the Orono Bog Boardwalk. The Orono Bog Boardwalk is a premier destination in the Bangor/Orono area for persons wishing to experience the beauty and fascinating plants and animals of a Maine bog. The 1-mile boardwalk loop trail begins at the forested wetland edge in the Bangor City Forest, and after 800 feet crosses the Orono town line into the portion of the Orono Bog owned by the University of Maine. Along the way the boardwalk passes through a wide range of changing vegetation and environments on its way to the open, peat moss carpeted center of the Orono Bog.

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  MP764: Field Manual for Managing Eastern White Pine Health in New England

  William H. Livingston, Isabel Munck, Kyle Lombard, Jennifer Weimer, Aaron Bergdahl, Laura S. Kenefic, Barbara Schultz, and Robert S. Seymour

  This manual provides basic information for identifying and evaluating important health problems of eastern white pine in New England. The health problems include:

  • White pine weevil

  • White pine blister rust

  • Caliciopsis canker

  • White pine bast scale

  • White pine needle damage

  • Red rot or Red-ring rot

  In addition to providing descriptions of symptoms, signs, and risk factors, recommendations for white pine silviculture are described for managing stands for low densities and crop trees.

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  MP763: Without Benefit of Insects: The Story of Edith M. Patch of the University of Maine

  K. Elizabeth Gibbs

  A biography of noted entomologist Edith M. Patch, focusing on her time and research at the University of Maine

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  MP762: Harvesting Equipment Cycle Time and Productivity Guide for Logging Operations in Maine

  Patrick Hiesl and Jeffrey G. Benjamin

  This guide provides cycle time and productivity information for harvesting equipment commonly used in Maine’s logging industry for partial harvests. Data were collected in terms of time consumption per work task. With these data, cycle time equations were developed. Productivity functions were developed using tree volumes. It is important to remember that productivity may vary from stand to stand due to differences in tree volume at the site level. Cycle time functions are independent of tree volume and will give fairly accurate predictions of time consumption per machine.

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  MP761: Considerations and Recommendations for Retaining Woody Biomass on Timber Harvest Sites in Maine

  Jeffrey G. Benjamin

  This report and associated guidelines focus on the amount and type of woody biomass that should be retained in the forest after a harvest operation to protect soil productivity, water quality, and site-level biodiversity. Woody biomass, defined from a forest operations perspective, is comprised of logging residues, previously unmerchantable stems, and other such woody material harvested directly from the forest typically for the purposes of energy production. In the broadest sense woody biomass is the total mass of roots, stem, branches, bark and leaves of all tree and shrub species (live and dead) in the forest. Under the broad definition all forest products could be considered as woody biomass, but in practice a forest operations perspective is more appropriate for this initiative. Harvest of woody biomass is often integrated with traditional forest operations, so it can be difficult to isolate effects of woody biomass removals at a site level. As such, it is important to consider retention of woody biomass during all harvest activities and to emphasize post-harvest site condition rather than the amount of any given product removed during harvest.

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  MP758: East Regional Potato Trials 2006: Summary of NE1014 Regional Project Field Testing of New Potato Clones

  Gregory Porter, Chad Hutchinson, Douglas Gergela, Paul Ocaya, Craig Yencho, Mark Clough, Mel Henninger, Sandra Menasha, Dale Moyer, Joe Sieczka, Don Halseth, Matt Kleinhenz, Barbara Christ, Walter Arsenault, A. J. Malone, Gilles Hamel, Phillippe Parent, and Pierre Turcotte

  The objectives of this regional potato trial are (1) to develop pest-resistant, early-maturing, long-dormant potato varieties that will process from cold storage; (2) to evaluate new and specialty variet­ies developed in the Northeast; (3) to determine climatic effects on performance to develop pre­dictive models for potato improvement; and (4) determine heritability/linkage relationships and improve the genetic base of tetraploid cultivated varieties. The results presented in this report reflect a portion of the activity directed toward objectives 1, 2 and 3.

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  MP759: Grower Survey of Organic Pest Management Practices for Wild Blueberries in Maine with Case Studies

  Andrew C. Files, David Yarborough, and Frank Drummond

  This report describes the results of a survey of all known organic blueberry growers in Maine conducted in December 2006. The survey included questions ranging from acreage owned and/or managed to market outlets to pruning techniques to educa­tion level of grower to methods of learning new information and was part of a larger, interdisciplinary project addressing organic pest-management strategies for lowbush blueber­ries.

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  MP760: East Regional Potato Trials 2007: Summary of NE1014 Regional Project Field Testing of New Potato Clones

  Gregory A. Porter, Chad Hutchinson, Douglas Gergela, Paul Ocaya, Craig Yencho, Mark Clough, Mel Henninger, Sandra Menasha, Dale Moyer, Joe Sieczka, Don Halseth, Matt Kleinhenz, Barbara Christ, Michael Peck, Sara May, and Richard Veilleux

  The objectives of this regional potato trial are (1) to develop pest-resistant, early-maturing, long-dormant potato varieties that will process from cold storage; (2) to evaluate new and specialty variet­ies developed in the Northeast; (3) to determine climatic effects on performance to develop pre­dictive models for potato improvement; and (4) determine heritability/linkage relationships and improve the genetic base of tetraploid cultivated varieties. The results presented in this report reflect a portion of the activity directed toward objectives 1, 2 and 3.

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  MP755: Eastern Regional Potato Trials 2003: Summary of NE1014 Regional Project Field Testing of New Potato Clones

  Gregory Porter, Chad Hutchinson, J. Marion White, Paul Ocaya, Craig Yencho, Mark Clough, Mel Henninger, Joe Sieczka, Don Halseth, Matt Kleinhenz, David Kelly, Barbara Christ, Pierre Turcotte, Daniel Harvey, Gilles Hamel, and Rikki Sterrett

  The objectives of this regional potato trial are (1) to develop pest-resistant, early-maturing, long-dormant potato varieties that will process from cold storage; (2) to evaluate new and specialty variet­ies developed in the Northeast; (3) to determine climatic effects on performance to develop pre­dictive models for potato improvement; and (4) determine heritability/linkage relationships and improve the genetic base of tetraploid cultivated varieties. The results presented in this report reflect a portion of the activity directed toward objectives 1, 2 and 3.

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  MP756: Eastern Regional Potato Trials 2004: Summary of NE1014 Regional Project Field Testing of New Potato Clones

  Gregory Porter, Chad Hutchinson, J. Marion White, Paul Ocaya, Craig Yencho, Mark Clough, Dale Moyer, Joe Sieczka, Don Halseth, Matt Kleinhenz, David Kelly, Barbara Christ, Pierre Turcotte, Daniel Harvey, Gilles Hamel, and Rikki Sterrett

  The objectives of this regional potato trial are (1) to develop pest-resistant, early-maturing, long-dormant potato varieties that will process from cold storage; (2) to evaluate new and specialty variet­ies developed in the Northeast; (3) to determine climatic effects on performance to develop pre­dictive models for potato improvement; and (4) determine heritability/linkage relationships and improve the genetic base of tetraploid cultivated varieties. The results presented in this report reflect a portion of the activity directed toward objectives 1, 2 and 3.

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  MP757: Eastern Regional Potato Trials 2005: Summary of NE1014 Regional Project Field Testing of New Potato Clones

  Gregory Porter, Chad Hutchinson, Douglas Gergela, J. Marion White, Craig Yencho, Mark Clough, Mel Henninger, Sandra Menasha, Dale Moyer, Joe Sieczka, Don Halseth, Matt Kleinhenz, David Kelly, Barbara Christ, Michael Peck, Walter Arsenault, A. J. Malone, Phillippe Parent, Pierre Turcotte, and Rikki Sterrett

  The objectives of this regional potato trial are (1) to develop pest-resistant, early-maturing, long-dormant potato varieties that will process from cold storage; (2) to evaluate new and specialty variet­ies developed in the Northeast; (3) to determine climatic effects on performance to develop pre­dictive models for potato improvement; and (4) determine heritability/linkage relationships and improve the genetic base of tetraploid cultivated varieties. The results presented in this report reflect a portion of the activity directed toward objectives 1, 2 and 3.

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  MP753: The Role of Interfering Plants in Regenerating Hardwood Stands of Northeastern North America

  Amy L. Bashant, Ralph D. Nyland, Heather M. Engelman, Kimberly K. Bohn, Jane M. Verostek, Pablo J. Donoso, and Roger L. Nissen Jr.

  An annotated bibliography for American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum L.), hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium Marsh.), hayscented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula L.), New York fern (Thelypteris noveborecensis L.), bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn), raspberries (Rubus spp.), and pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.f.). While accessible literature includes many references to these species, the information remains scattered. No one has previously consolidated the separate reports for easy reference, nor summarized the findings relative to interference with tree regeneration. This annotated bibliography serves that purpose.

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  MP754: A Literature Review of the Effects of Intensive Forestry on Forest Structure and Plant Community Composition at the Stand and Landscape Levels

  Erika L. Rowland, Alan S. White, and William H. Livingston

  The effects of intensive forest management on forest structure and plant community composition are not well documented, particularly with respect to the forests in the Northeast. This review presents a six-part synthesis of the literature. The first section considers the effects of intensive forestry practices within the context of naturally regenerated stands. The second section reviews the changes associated with the planting of conifers in softwood sites, as well as those previously occupied by hardwood and mixed-wood stands. The third examines the impacts of intensive management specifically on bryophytes and lichens. The fourth section discusses changes in dead organic matter components of the stand and the fifth with the impact on tree pests. The final section views the effects of intensive forestry from the landscape-scale perspective and is followed by summary and conclusions. While this paper provides a summary of scientific information, it does not recommend policy or propose how the forest should be managed.

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  MP748: Public Conservation Land and Economic Growth in the Northern Forest Region

  David Lewis and Andrew J. Plantinga

  This publication analyzes the impact of publicly owned conservation lands on employment and population growth in the Northern Forest region, defined for the purposes of this study as a group of 92 non-metropolitan counties stretching from Maine to northern Minnesota. The principal objective is to determine if there is a systematic relationship between the share of the land base in public conservation uses and employment growth and net migration rates in Northern Forest counties. The main finding is that public conservation lands had little effect on the growth of local economies over the period 1990 to 1997. Net migration rates were systematically higher in counties with more conservation lands, but the effects were relatively small. The authors found that conservation lands had no systematic effect on employment growth over the 1990 to 1997 period.

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  MP742: 4th Annual Munsungan Conference Proceedings: Forest Health

  William D. Ostrofsky and T. J. Dragon

  These conference proceedings provide viewpoints on a variety of important and defining aspects of forest health. Forest managers, landowners, and scientists have long appreciated the direct effects that insects, diseases and damaging weather can have on forests. Over the past fifty years the Maine landscape has been affected by numerous outbreaks of defoliators such as the gypsy moth and the spruce budworm, by white pine blister rust and beech bark disease, and most recently by severe ice storm damage, along with countless other pests and catastrophic storms. During the past several years, the public also has become increasingly aware of the subject of forest health and the factors that can result in the decline of forest health. Thus, our understanding of what forest health encompasses has grown well beyond the direct effects of insects and diseases to a more complete, ecological view. We now realize that the health of forests, measured by their ability to recover from stress, depends on factors of atmosphere, soils, water, and the status of associated plant and animal populations, as well as it does on healthy trees. Furthermore, all these aspects need to be in an appropriate balance if a healthy forest is to be maintained.

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  MP745: A Long-Term Study of an Oak Pine Forest Ecosystem: A Brief Overview of the Holt Research Forest

  Jack W. Witham, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr., Hollis C. Tedford III, Alan J. Kimball, Alan S. White, and Susan Elias Gerken

  This publication provides an overview of the long-term forest ecosystem project at the Holt Research Forest in Arrowsic, Maine. It is based on nearly 16 years of work by an interdisciplinary team from the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, including faculty, professional staff, visiting scientists, University of Maine graduate students, and undergraduate field assistants. We hope this publication will be useful to other researchers, to our workshop participants, and to others interested in forest ecosystem science.

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  MP736: Maine's Forest Area, 1600-1995: Review of Available Estimates

  Lloyd C. Irland

  In any brief period, the acreage of forest in Maine changes extremely slowly. Yet over the time since settlement, its forest area has changed a great deal indeed. A summary of estimates of the state’s forest area in the past may be of interest to naturalists and historians. This publication provides a brief summary of such estimates for years between 1600 and 1995, with cautions as to their limitations.

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  MP730: Land, Timber, and Recreation in Maine's Northwoods: Essays by Lloyd C. Irland

  Lloyd C. Irland

  This work is a collection of essays, all of them previously published but for the Introduction. They are about Maine’s forests, with a strong focus on the “Maine Woods” in Thoreau’s sense—the vast area of unsettled or lightly settled wildlands that stretch across western, northern, and eastern Maine. Much of the state is influenced by these woods—moose have wandered to the backyard of the Governor’s residence in Augusta. For some purposes, however, it is difficult to separate the wildlands for statistical treatment. This work aims to inform the reader about some of the important resource management conditions, issues, and trends in this region. Its focus is mostly on timber and recreational resources, the related economic values, and some of the policy issues related to them.

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  MP731: New England Killing Frost Records by Zone

  William R. Baron and David C. Smith

  This publication provides a deeper look at the killing frost data that is analyzed and summarized in Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station Bulletin 846. The presentation in Bulletin 846 is designed to help planners and analysts. Individual readers, historians, botanists, agronomists, ecologists, and others may find a deeper look at the materials useful. Miscellaneous Publication 731 provides those data by climate zone on a yearly basis.

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  MP733: Preliminary Database Assessment for International Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Efforts

  G. B. Wiersma

  Description of a database assessment of international ecological monitoring efforts.

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  MP716: New Forestry in Eastern Spruce-Fir Forests: Principles and Applications to Maine

  Robert S. Seymour and Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.

  Eastern North America's spruce-fir forests have a unique ecological and human history which is reflected in their current vegetation, ownership patterns, and forest management practices. Furthermore, there are important differences within the region between the true boreal forest and the sub-boreal Acadian forest; this paper emphasizes the Acadian forest. Applying New Forestry to this region will require a modified approach which we outline by describing three basic principles. First, to provide the landscape context for New Forestry, we propose a triad of forest land allocation in which reserves and plantations would co-exist, surrounded by and embedded within a landscape managed by alternative silvicultural systems based on New Forestry principles. The second principle is that silvicultural systems should be patterned after local natural disturbance regimes. The third principle is that ecosystems that have been altered by past practices should be restored. Implementing these principles is discussed in a review of specific silvicultural practices: conservation and restoration of seed sources; retention of residual trees; long rotations; limited whole-tree harvesting; and two-aged stands maintained by irregular shelterwood cutting. At the landscape level we discuss how the triad might be implemented and the importance of size and distribution of harvest areas and riparian zones.

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  MP712: Integrating Wildlife Habitat into Local Planning: A Handbook for Maine Communities

  Sharri A. Venno

  This handbook is designed to be a source of information for Maine towns interested in conserving wildlife habitats through their comprehensive plans and land-use ordinances. It was written in response to the growing need to conserve local habitats for wildlife in Maine. New land-use and planning legislation resulting from increased development pressure requires towns to plan for wildlife habitat. The process of integrating habitat conservation into local land-use planning described in this handbook combines an ecosystem approach with protection of species of special interest (i.e., rare, endangered, game, and nongame species).

  Recreational, economic, ecological, and other values of wildlife are important reasons for conserving local habitats. Legal mandates for protecting wildlife—especially the Federal Endangered Species and Clean Water Acts and State of Maine Endangered Species and Natural Resources Protection Acts, Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, and Subdivision and Site Location of Development laws—provide the basis for conserving habitats locally and influence planning and implementation of habitat conservation. Multiple benefits derived from maintaining wildlife habitats, such as protecting soil and water quality, farm and forest lands, and recreational and educational opportunities, provide additional rationales for conserving wildlife habitats. The concepts of biological diversity and wildlife habitats are discussed to provide towns with a basis for understanding habitat conservation.

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  MP694: Sunrise Agriculture in the Northeast: Foundations of a Sustainable Agriculture for the Twenty-First Century: Proceedings of an International Conference

  David Vail

  Proceedings from a conference on the future of agriculture in New England and Atlantic Canada. Major topics covered include the following:

  • The Crisis and Opportunity of Northeast Agriculture - Frederick H. Buttel
  • The Farm Crisis as a Time to Choose: Necessity and Opportunity -David Vail
  • Preconditions for a Northeastern Agricultural Sunrise - Bruce L. Gardner
  • Creating a Competitive Advantage - Stewart N. Smith
  • The Sun Also Rises: A New Era of Agriculture in the Northeast - August Schumacher, Jr.
  • New England Farm Strategies for Survival and Prosperity - Patrick Madden and Anastra Madden
  • Diversification and Agricultural Sustainability - Stuart B. Hill

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  MP627: Additional Volume Tables for Maine

  Harold E. Young

  This publication contains all of the volume tables completed since the release of Miscellaneous Publication 624 (balsam fir, hemlock, pulpwood, topwood) along with aids for computing tree volume in Maine.

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  MP624: Volume Tables for Maine

  Harold E. Young

  With the completion of the hemlock volume tables it seemed desirable to publish under one cover all of the volume tables compiled by the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. Therefore the white pine volume tables for southern Maine prepared by D. B. Demeritt, and the northern white cedar volume tables prepared by James D. Curtis and Dwight B. Demeritt are included. The publication includes volume tables for northern white cedar, various hardwoods, hemlock (both second growth and old growth), white pine, poplar, and spruce.