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What’s Inside 1 President’s Message 4 Influencing the Outcomes in a Cycle of Redevelopment for the Good of Urban Canopy 11 9 Tips to Save Your Mobile Battery Life 12 Tree Population Responses to Climate Change 19 Welcome New Members 20 New RCAs 21 ASCA Strategic Plan 23 Send Us Your Best Shot­—­ What’s Bugging You? 32 The Grammar Tree 33 A Day in the Life of a Consultant 34 Member News 35 Industry Reports From ASCA’s Representatives

I’m sitting here following our board meeting ref lecting on what we have accomplished and where we are going as an organization. This is such an exciting Chris D. Ahlum, time for ASCA, RCA #465 with all that we ASCA President have done over the past year and what we look forward to accomplishing before the end of this year.

Last year, we finished moving to a new website platform that allows us to share more information in a better way. If you have not done so yet, check out the members only section.

We also heard from many of you about the ability to connect with each other on different topics. We are currently integrating a platform into our website to make this much easier for all of us to do. You may also be surprised to find that you have an existing profile page that you can fill out to help potential clients, colleagues, and friends find you. Check this out and update it with your current picture and information to make it more relevant!

During our meeting, we reviewed our mission statement and past strategic plan and updated it to reflect the goals of ASCA for the next three to five years. Those main goals are knowledge, success, awareness, and strengthen.

9707 Key West Avenue, Suite 100 Rockville, MD 20850 Phone: 301.947.0483 Fax: 301.990.9771 Email: asca@mgmtsol.com www.asca-consultants.org

For ASCA, increasing knowledge is always important for members. We all want to continue to grow and learn in our consulting practices. ASCA plans to continue to develop and deliver the

knowledge and core competencies essential for Consulting Arborists.

Success is another important goal for us.

We recognize as an organization that our success is based on your success as consultants. Over the next couple of years, we look forward to providing services and benefits to make you all successful.

Following success, we also need to continue to raise the awareness of ASCA. Increasing public awareness of ASCA, the Academy, and the RCA credential is very important. Making the public, government entities, and others more conscious of who we are will help strengthen you as a member as well as our organization as a whole.

Speaking of strengthening, it makes sense that strengthen is another focus for the organization over the next few years. The past boards have done a great job, and we look forward to continuing that momentum and making ASCA the leader for Consulting Arborists.

These important goals will help shape our organization and direct our focus over the next couple years. With that said, the most important part of our organization is you. All of you help influence ASCA by being members, serving on committees, coming to the Annual Conference, and so much more. Thank you!

Also, a special thank you those who attended the annual business meeting last year in Boston. That meeting and the feedback we received enabled us to create our current Strategic Plan and help make ASCA what you want it to be over the next couple of years.

Best, Chris

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< home 2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Chris D. Ahlum, RCA #465, Dublin, OH President-Elect Jonathan E. Butcher, RCA #486, Milford, OH Immediate Past President Michael F. Galvin, RCA #432, Annapolis, MD Directors: Richard Adkins, RCA #573, Gilbert, AZ Denice Britton, RCA #296, Napa, CA John S. Leffingwell, RCA #442, Pleasanton, CA Carl A. Mellinger, Pacific Palisades, CA Greg Monfette, RCA #481, Culver City, CA Michael Sherwood, RCA #524, Charlotte, NC

STAFF

ASCA Consulting 2018 Academy February 20–23, 2018

Le Meridien Hotel • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Executive Director

Beth W. Palys, FASAE, CAE Vice President Meetings Grace L. Jan, CAE, CMP Member Services Manager Stephanie Colbert Director of Editorial Services Lynne Agoston Meeting Planner Morgan Prior Marketing Assistant Jeyin Lee Accounting Dawn Rosenfeld Exhibits/Sponsorship Manager Barbara Bienkowski, CEM Marketing Director Julie Hill

NEWSLETTER The Arboricultural Consultant is published four times a year by ASCA. Articles and news items are encouraged and must be submitted six weeks prior to publication.

Editorial Review Board Richard Adkins, RCA #573, Gilbert, AZ Chad Clink, RCA #589, Cleveland, OH Nick Drunasky, RCA #467, Woodbridge, VA Jeannine Lubeshkoff, RCA #500, Arcadia, CA Andy Lueck, RCA #556, Northbrook, IL Nick Martin, Auburn, AL Micah Pace, Dallas, TX Patrick Parker, RCA #514, Bedford Hills, NY Todd Prager, RCA #597, Lake Oswego, OR Anita Schill, RCA #421, Airdrie, Alberta, CA Brooke Sullivan, RCA #541, Melbourne, Australia Robert Wells, Philadelphia, PA

ASCA ANTITRUST STATEMENT The following antitrust statement has been approved by the president and board of directors of the American Society of Consulting Arborists.

“Members of the American Society of Consulting Arborists, especially members of the board of directors and Society committees, are reminded that they do not and may not speak for or on behalf of the Society without the express permission of the president or board of directors of the American Society of Consulting Arborists. This prohibition includes the use of ASCA letterhead when making a statement of a technical, economic, or political nature. Members of ASCA speak only for themselves as professional consultants when giving opinions or making statements.”

American Society of Consulting Arborists

Co-sponsored by Pacific Northwest Chapter ISA Penn-Del Chapter ISA Rocky Mountain Chapter ISA Tree Care Industry Association Western Chapter ISA

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Influencing the Outcomes in a Cycle of Redevelopment for the Good of Urban Canopy

By Jason Grabosky, Elizabeth Ravit, and Frank Gallagher

Back when I had hair…about 20 years ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a course as a visiting scientist in Turin, Italy. Upon ending a series of lectures on site soil conservation and tree protection during the development process, my host pulled me aside to explain that we were fully built out a long time ago, and we have little to work with in the pre-development stage of which I spoke.

Wow, was I humbled in my ignorance or arrogance, depending on how charitable you feel as a reader. I thought my lectures were pertinent, but had missed

can exist in urban systems—and given the profound new announcement of “ecological management” efforts—I think it is safe to observe that many folks need to learn the same lesson I learned in Italy instead of ignoring professional applications under other titles in order to hold onto their grasp of a self-perceived intellectual leadership.

the point in relevance for the region I was visiting. I imagine this experience marked an early point of my transition (or atrophy) from green industry practitioner to an academic who experiences the occasional loss of pragmatism. With time and admitted hair loss (I am told it is graying, but I can’t see it to verify), I am reminded of that lesson. As I observe and listen to ecologists who suddenly realize and accept that ecology as a discipline

the developing conversation in urban ecology, however, it becomes increasingly clear that there is no fixed endpoint within the fully built-out urban ecosystem. In restoration ecology, we have come to better understand that it is not about restoring some previous or historic “natural” community, but rather rehabilitating or improving definable and valued ecological/environmental functions and values. This recognition begs the need for

To be sure, many early urban ecology professionals had decades of running time prior to the more recent blossoming of a popular urban dialogue. With

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models to organize research and management efforts alike.

With the growing interest in managing ecological systems in the urban context, particularly with regard to urban tree canopy, there is some aspect of closing a loop. Benton MacKaye can be seen as an early influence on the definition and practice of urban planning through his application of forest management principles (as informed by early ecology, plant biology, and soil science, among other areas).

Yet now we are discussing using planning tools to reintroduce trees and canopy to meet environmental challenges.

The physical re-development and cyclic replanting of the urban core and older communities act as recruitment filters in an ever-changing trajectory of forest community development in a dynamic environmental system, and so there is no ecological endpoint. This process is not new, but urbanized sites now experience radical shifts in the baseline parameters due to development and human density/ intervention/ support.

The urban and suburban landscape is currently undergoing extensive redevelopment, with aging infrastructure being replaced, contaminated sites being cleaned up, open space being preserved, and public recognition of the benefits of ecological services growing (I-tree 2017; Costanza et al. 1997; Ozmen et al. 2000; USACE 2009). The intensity of the redevelopment and the extent of change in land use act as the disturbance regime that changes the fitness landscape for any

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social, economic, institutional, and environmental interests. There is an inherent tension between using landforms to increase socioeconomic capital versus preservation of ecological structure and improvement of ecological function (Alberti & Marzluff 2004). Inputs from economic interests, regulatory agencies, and local residents influence the decisionmaking processes that control the urban built-out environment, and the urbanized environment in turn affects ecological services (McIntyre et al. 2000).

Ecosystem Services (ES)

Human-created landscape heterogeneity influences ecological system structure and process through the mod Development ification of undeveloped landforms and drainage patterns, humancaused disturbances, and construction of massive infrastructure (Pickett et al. 1997). Species, nutrients, and resources flow between discrete landscape patches (Magle et al. 2009). Isolated patches may also experience the development of novel successional communities, although the members of these communities may be selected by urban stressors and therefore differ Urbanization from communities found in nonFig. 1. Ecosystem Services decline as urban systems (Evans et al. 2009). Fig. 1. Ecosystem Services decline as urbanization progresses and human services Through many studies in the brownfield dominate (after Alberti & Marzluff 2004). sections within Liberty State Park urbanization progresses and human in services dominate (after Alberti & New Jersey (Gallagher et al. 2008), both Within the ecology and natural resource plant community composition and suc- disciplines, the common perception Marzluff 2004). cessional trajectory were shown to occur (Fig. 1) of urban development is negative in patterns that suggest that the arrival of (Alberti & Marzluff 2004), and human species can be natural seeding from the infrastructure creation is typically treated surrounding landscape or anthropogenic as a disturbance event (Alberti 2005). travel of seeds and propagules (such as Coupled with this perception, regional birch seed on rail cars of coal). While not planning and land management professurprising, we see that their persistence sionals now face the challenge of cononce on site is one of individual toler- sidering creatively designed ecosystem ance selection to site limitation (such as development trajectories that can conmetal contamination), which then oper- tribute to mitigating wide-ranging effects ates across the varied onsite contamina- from local urbanization to global climate tion levels in a manner inconsistent with change (Grimm et al. 2008). Indeed, it the expectations developed from bench is easy to find challenges to traditional studies alone (Salisbury 2017). design paradigms within environmental and ecological evaluation once firmly Urban ecosystems consist of interlinked within a cycle of redevelopment. human subsystem patches that represent American Society of Consulting Arborists

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We repeatedly return to the conclusion that control of the water resource guides the success and failure of our landscapes moving into the future. Resource management consideration in the capture, staging, and deployment of urban water through more informed design is fundamental to a resilient tree canopy and urban vegetation management plan. Consider the gardens of Babylon and the description of the water conveyance technology for the city of Petra as examples. In short, as witnessed in garden design throughout many centuries, if the management authority controls water, it controls the success or failure of the landscape within the design context. Redevelopment of aging infrastructure presents opportunities to interact with existing urban environmental processes, potentially generating different ecological effects (Pickett 2003; Alberti 2005), thus complicating but also expanding design approaches and expectations.

Human Services (HS)

given species within a synthetic system of site context. One might also observe that the urban system can easily exaggerate abiotic environmental variables that dictate plant survival and growth (i.e., temperature, water, wind, nutrient, and contamination inputs) as much as soil biotic carrying capacity that supports a plant community (often in terms of volume, elevated pH, and compaction of the provided soil resource).

As a result of the extreme level of urbanization in emerging megacities and many urban population centers in the United States, an opportunity exists to redevelop urban ecosystems (Grimm et al. 2008). A redevelopment approach for highly urbanized centers that combines environmental benefits with socio-economic needs may provide an opportunity to enhance ecological

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services (Fig. 2) that have been lost as a result of earlier development. As we consider the impacts of climate changes with precipitation frequency and intensity in stormwater management and design, it is key to consider water capture, storage and deployment for tree canopy function and other associated ecological services within such re-development and general urban planning efforts.

Fig. 2. Conceptual change in Ecosystem Services trajectory as redevelopment progresses.

However, to enhance ecological services, the complex interactions and feedbacks between humans and the natural environment must not only be understood, but also be incorporated into conceptual models (Pickett et al. 1997; Liu et al.

2007). Such models can be used to identify opportunities to enhance urban ecosystem benefits, thereby reversing the loss of biodiversity and mitigating some of the effects of habitat fragmentation (Alberti 2005) while providing ecological benefits related to water resources and sequestration of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide that is contributing to climate change.

Systems donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t change incrementally but hit tipping points, and there are multiple levers pushing a system toward that tipping point. We just need to establish where and what the levers look like. Systems have trajectories defined by some currency or series of currencies. In this context, we define currency as any natural, designed, or social aspect of the urban environment that is measureable. We can use air, water, carbon, and habitat in this example as our currencies. Nitrogen, energy, appraisal value, and risk could be added as alternative currencies.

Multiple qualities (rephrased here as currencies to allow the concept of measurement) would make up components of a collective perceived value. Ecosystem services, often posited as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;lineâ&#x20AC;? of decreasing value with increasing development, would be better described as a three-dimensional cloud with a shape and a vector, or trajectory slope, somehow reflecting multiple currency factors. There is no a-priori reason to assume each development or redevelopment event must be negative in its three-dimensional cloud, although it is clear there are both positive and negative aspects to any component making up the cloud. The end of an infrastructure service life requiring high capital investment, rezoning in urban renovation or urban density (as a proxy for the level of previous development) can

be considered to start where many current models end (Fig. 2), so as to accommodate iterations of redevelopment, such as when a consultant walks onto a developed landscape.

The first governing concept is: The development gradient needs a revised scale.

The initial development event is only the first permutation in our consideration.

We suggest critical moments drive a cycle of redevelopment. With each cycle comes opportunity, if provided with an informed decision-making process to shift the ecosystem service trajectory toward a desired path. If accepted, the x-axis of time can then accommodate a definition or observation of event frequency (Fig. 3).

A rapid cycle frequency shifts the timescale of total ecosystem trajectory observation as much as it informs the level of site limitation in tree management planning (a site being redesigned and redeveloped every 20 years does not necessarily benefit from the labor of a detailed 100-year tree management plan).

The environment of the future should inform current design choices for sustained ecological benefit because urban trees represent investments on longer timescales than current situations and will respond to and reflect environmental niche shifts due to climate change.

Similarly, the environment of the future

The Redevelopment Model

The viability of ecosystem service/function can be correlated to specific anthropocentric events using nonlinear threshold models that focus on key indicators.

This modelling approach can be utilized to evaluate and enhance the ecological merits of human-generated responses to redevelopment patterns, infrastructure replacements, and climate changes.

Fig. 3. Ecosystem and Human Services on adjusted timescale vector over imposed redevelopment event density (expanded from Alberti & Marzluff 2005) with accelerator model on trajectory vectors in expanded window inset.

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informs management of existing landscapes. The species–site linkage will inform pest management planning, particularly if the species is no longer appropriate or competitive in the space it currently occupies. Additionally, the tree management aspect has to work within the nested sets of other infrastructures rather than press against the other urban service provisions. For example, pavement design moves on a 25-year service life, and urban trees can live for over 50 years. The Water Sensitive Urban Design programming coming from Australia’s 500-year drought event suggests another example of merging grey and green infrastructures. We can look at the redevelopment event cycle as an energy input, or a series of accelerators that can drive the ecosystem service trajectory.

The second governing concept is: There is no rational a priori reason to assume all development or redevelopment is manifested as a negative accelerator. We suggest the redevelopment cycle can have a positive shift in trajectory for the ecosystem. However, a different conclusion can be reached if the trajectory is viewed through a different lens of alternative currencies. The values of the client or community will likely change over time and based on knowledge gained and resources available. Our challenge is to best define the “problem” at the point of a redevelopment activity and then provide the best long-term solution(s). We suggest that access exists to extensive data records and a record of perceived needs that directed past redevelopment choices.

Such data can suggest patterns and strategies to influence a successful redevelopment trajectory.

Instead of a “line” for service values, we substitute a cloud of data moving on a defined trajectory. As our third governing concept, we’ll call this the “board” feeding into the accelerator of public investment or client action (Fig. 4).

Vector “board” feeding into Vector “board” feeding into accelerator accelerator

Shift in vector Shift vector trajectory trajectory

Accelerator Accelerator element spokes: The Central axis element spokes: The Central axis to local control on a continuum to the edge, which equates to local control on a continuum to the edge, which could be federal control authority. could be federal control authority. The length/ perceived importance of the spoke can influence The length/perceived importance of the spoke element imapct of the system in question. can influence element impact of the system in question.

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT

FUTURE FUTURE

PAS PA

ST

MARKET MARKET Fig. 4. “Board” feeding into the accelerator of public investment or client action.

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Currency Vectors

We look to the general pattern of the described as a four step cycle of 1) value The spark in the accelerator engine vector since each element can be mov- perception, 2) reaction, 3) demand, 4) requires capital investment (allocation) ing independently in any direction within allocation, 1) value perception. The spark for a targeted social gain. Each accelerator the cloud at any given moment, much as event in this internal combustion engine element feeds back into the other three elethe status of an individual tree within analogy would occur between steps 3 ments, if only due to limited budgets for a total landscape a given action.

Accelerator Elements management Dominance of portfolio. The select elements Past Environment Market Future board could slow alone or in assoEngineering Design Design Safety/Service (Land Use Planning/ down (negative ciat ion w it h Infrastructure Restructure) acceleration) or other elements Initial suggested spokes for wheel elements speed up (posican bias the path Lengths of spokes to be determined by socio-economic gradients and public perception tive acceleration). of the board as it Asthma/Allergenic Safety and services EPA SIP $ Aforestation initiatives Air Quality Visual haze Infrastructure Cap and Trade Markets Clean technologies In our concepmoves through Air alerts Health Care Costs tual model, the the acceleration Quality/quantity Stormwater utility Low Impact design/ Water Resources Flood gates three-dimene vent. T hu s, Flood/drought control Drainage and ditches Clean Water Act stormwater Public access Stormwater design Water availability The role of park as water bank sional cloud can water qualit y Pavement surfaces Porous pavement methods also change traperceptions as Net Primary Productivity Parkland allotments Carbon trade Vegetation crop Carbon Assemblages Brownfield abandonments Bio-fuels management in urban spaces a currency conjectory in three Carbon Cycling ROW cropping systems dimensions tributing to the Floral Matrix Landfill Biodiversity banking Node coordination/linkages Habitat/ rather than sim“board” would Soil sediment Fill Erosion controls for fauna movement Biodiversity Development infrastructure Fauna Matrix CO sequestration Floral urban selection for ply up and down e x c e e d c u rTransportation Preservation future env. regime within Public access/interpretation service life to allow a lateral rency values to shift in services minimize local of comparable Table 1. Currency Vectors and Accelerator Elements industry regulavalue. The currency values for consider- and 4. This cycle represents one of many tory components when rivers are burnation would be suggested by the site and events occurring simultaneously on an ing since the environmental accelerator the community/client. urban pl a nning level and might well element might exceed the market accelserve as a node within a large consultation erator element. However, wetland protecThe accelerator in this conceptual frame- master planning process. What becomes tion currencies might yield to developwork is a system of four rollers, set to important is the recognition that the cur- ment and taxation revenues if mosquito engage each surface of our “board” as it rencies can change by project event across vectored diseases were better publicized moves into and through a redevelopment a large plan-scape in the same timeframe than bird migration habitat, to influence event (Fig. 4). Placement of the event on to avoid paralysis in meeting all needs the perception of value by the public. the development/redevelopment axis is a and values simultaneously for a net gain function of public need, perception, and in the aggregate versus in each event on The model can accommodate the level engagement. As such, ecosystem com- all value currencies. of funding or intervention as the method ponents damaged by development could of imposing the pressure or influence shift into an early intercession if properly of an individual accelerator element on identified and redesigned. We will define the post-event trajectory. Each wheel these four acceleration elements as Enviasan accelerator element is composed ronment, Past Development Activity, of spokes that increase or decrease presMarket Influences, and Future Design sure and wheel contact on a continuum Responses. We’re sure there could be of socio-economic attributes, controlling many additional “rollers” but the beauty authority level, or public opinion. The of discipline is limiting the number of texture of any side of the “vector board” moving parts to enable explanation. provides the traction and friction to maximize the transfer of energy from All of the accelerator elements (rollers) accelerator element to the board. In are geared on the same engine design of the case of trees, the feelings and reachuman motivation. The engine can be tions associated with the natural system 2

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provide traction for environmental initiatives, often outweighing the dispassionate informants of scientific data or theoretical discipline. Therein rests the role of advocacy and debate in enabling any specific accelerator element to enable the shift in the system trajectory.

And Now the Challenge

Now that the conceptual model is sufficiently in place, our fourth governing concept is: In developing a methodology for the socio-economic dimension of the model, we would do well to accept natural, cultural, and socio-economic as three critical resources in the definition of the human ecosystem proposed

by Machlis et al. (1997) as “a coherent system of biophysical and social factors capable of adaptation and sustainability over time.” We recognize Dow (2000) and her point that studies of human ecology need to more fully consider the role of social processes. We also introduce the need for considering smaller scale examination at the property level to capture the full impact of these processes on the overall suite of ecological services in urban ecosystems. Two key aspects among this cluster of ideas are 1) the relationship with the client/private property owner/ manager and 2) the examination of historical data in terms of how previous decisions were influenced and what factors were weighed in making the choices among various alternatives.

While it is unlikely that a model based solely on historical events can accurately predict specific future ecological effects (McIntyre et al. 2000; Berling-Wolff & Wu 2004), we suggest that it is possible to learn from past decisions and describe how redevelopment choices can result in ecological benefits to the urban ecosystem. The development of such models can be used to enhance institutional decisionmaking, but these complex models cannot be produced by a single discipline.

Dynamic models must integrate multiple academic disciplines, including but not limited to, ecology, engineering, landscape architecture, sociology, psychology, and economics (Machlis et al. 1997; Pickett 2003).

While as Consulting Arborists there is limited ability to exert an overwhelming inertia to force such change, the community’s collective advocacy directly influences success in the solutions-based consultation we are called upon to provide and are assumed to be capable of providing. Because the urban core zones in New Jersey are representative of today’s extreme urban development, they represent the future of many existing places in the urbanizing United States. As such, they can afford a deep understanding for planning and possible human quality of life services after planned redevelopment of an urban ecosystem. New Jersey is a great wet laboratory to try on and develop

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ideas. So in that context, it gets folks like us to thinking. We propose the model to advance our understanding of ecological process in the urban reality of redevelopment. Of course, the challenge would be to establish socio-economic perception and legislative and public engagement metrics that define each element to develop one common model for national, regional, and local redevelopment planning use. Additionally, there is a larger conversation for which the consultant can develop and contribute advice. That conversation centers on a series of questions, such as “when does the designed become natural?” and “when does the designed project become ecologically functional/ competent/sustainable without active inputs?” Can we measure these aspects in order to understand and define success, and then recognize success when observed?

The open question at the ASCA 2016 Boston conference was how to develop a plan to define common aspects of each element in the model. We could define a language to describe the vector shape and possible approach trajectory by studying the past. This would in some way be a process of filling out the terms, which are placed in Table 1. We could then test in practice whether a shift in departure trajectory can be reliably (but not always predictably) influenced, with intensity of the chosen acceleration rollers depend-

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ing on the level of intercession pressure in the political and funding sphere. This raises significant questions as to how urban design, engineering, and political-social planning in redevelopment can enable decisions and processes that enhance environmental/ecological benefits. If so, what common parameters can be defined to maximize successful outcomes toward increased functionality? Solutions for habitats or specific service metrics must reconcile highintensity land uses, the underlying built structures that are currently in place, the human motivations that have created the

existing urban ecosystem, the effects of climate change, and the human responses to proposed system changes. We suggest that the consultant can construct, organize, and propose solutions that can be used in any redevelopment process, and that can serve as an operational model for decision-based development as well as redevelopment toward ecological or environmental goals.

Urban redevelopment continues to allow degradation of ecological services despite regulations designed to protect our air, water, land, and biota. Techniques, such as agent-based economic computational models (Janssen and Ostrom 2006) offer some insights, but there is no dominant theoretical framework to integrate the human dimension into the whole of an urban ecosystem (Lebel et al. 2006).

We would all benefit from a case study approach to focus on the phenomenon

of restoring ecological services through enhanced local decision-making, recasting engineering and landscape design decisions toward restoration ecology.

Reporting the failures without judgement is as important as showing success for bragging rights. The key is developing a common set of parameters from which to report and compare projects.

We know that urbanization is described by densities of population and dominant land covers. However, these measurements are not sufficient to characterize the damages or residual opportunities to ecological services. How can decisions related to redevelopment projects in urbanized areas be influenced to maximize environmental benefits and minimize negative long-term environmental impacts? We need a model that includes the dimension of public infrastructure and the decisionmaking associated with that element. This proposed model allows us to examine key elements of decision-making in ecological service management, incorporating both systemic and public dimensions into a new model. More importantly, it proves that playing with HotWheelsTM as a child can still yield benefits in creative problem-solving decades after the event.

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Alberti, M. 2005. The effects of urban pattern on ecosystem function. International Regional Science review 28(2):168-192.

Berling-Wolff, S., and J. Wu, 2004. Modeling urban landscape dynamics: A case study in Phoenix, USA. Urban Ecosystems 7:215-240.

Costanza, R., R. d’Arge, R. de Groot, S. Farber, M. Grasso, G. Hannon, K. Limburg, S. Naeem, R.V. O’Neill, J. Paruelo, R.G. Raskin, P. Sutton, M. van den Belt, 1998. Special section: Forum on valuation of ecosystem services: The value of ecosystem services: putting the issues into perspective.

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Dow, K. 2000. Social dimensions of gradients in urban ecosystem. Urban Ecosystems 4:255-275.

Evans, K.L., S.E. Newson, K.J. Gaston, 2009. Habitat influences on urban avian assemblages. Ibis 151:19-39.

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Gallagher, F.J., I. Pechmann, J. Bogden, J. Grabosky, P. Weis, 2008. Soil Metal Concentrations and Plant Productivity in an Urban Brownfield. Environmental Pollution 153:351-361.

Grimm, N.B., S.H. Faeth, N.E. Golubiewski, C.L. Redman, J. Wu, X. Bai, J.M. Briggs, 2008. Global change and the ecology of cities. Science 319:756-760. i-Tree Software Suite Web. Accessed 15 May 2017. http://www. itreetools.org Janssen, M.A., and E. Ostrom, 2006. Governing SocialEcological Systems, Handbook of Computational Economics II: Agent-Based Computational Economics, Edited by L. Tesfatsion and K.L. Judd, Elsevier Publisher, pp.1465–1509.

Lebel, L., J. M. Anderies, B. Campbell, C. Folke, S. HatfieldDodds, T. P. Hughes, and J. Wilson. 2006. Governance and the capacity to manage resilience in regional social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society 11(1).

Liu, J., T. Dietz, S.R. Carpenter, M. Alberti, C. Folke, E. Moran, A.N. Pell, P. Deadman, T. Kratz, Lubchenco, E. Ostrom, Z. Ouyang, W. Provencher, C.L. Redman, S.H. Schneider, W.W. Taylor, 2007. Complexity of coupled human and natural systems. Science 317:1513-1516.

McIntyre, N.E., K. Knowles-Yánez, D. Hope, 2000. Urban ecology as an interdisciplinary field: differences in the use of “urban” between the social and natural sciences. Urban Ecosystems 4:5-24.

Machlis G E, J E Force, W R Burch. 1997. The human ecosystem Part I: The human ecosystem as an organizing concept in ecosystem management. Society & Natural Resources 10(4):347-367. http://dx.doi. org/10.1080/08941929709381034 Magle, S.B., D.M. Theobald, K.R. Crooks, 2009. A comparison of metrics predicting landscape connectivity for a highly interactive species along an urban gradient in Colorado, USA. Landscape Ecology 24:267-280.

Ozmen, D., K. Ozbay, J. Berechman, R. Paaswell, J.H. Veras, 2000. New Jersey’s Link to the 21st Century: Maximizing the Impact of Infrastructure Investment. Working Paper #3.

Pickett, S.T.A., W.R. Burch Jr., S.E. Dalton, T.W. Foresman, J.M. Grove, R. Rowntree, 1997. A conceptual framework for the study of human ecosystems in urban areas. Urban Ecosystems 1: 185-199.

Pickett, S.T.A. 2003. Why is developing a broad understanding of urban ecosystems important to science and scientists?

In: Understanding Urban Ecosystems: A New Frontier for Science and Science Education. Springer-Verlag. New York, NY. p. 58-72.

Salisbury, A. 2017. Forest productivity along a gradient of trace element contamination in a spontaneously vegetated urban brownfield. Dissertation Rutgers University.

Jason Grabosky, Ph.D., is the current director of the Center for Resilient Landscapes, a joint venture of the New Jersey Agricultural Research Station and the USDA Forest Service. As the John and Eleanor Kuser Endowment Faculty Scholar in Urban Forestry, Dr. Grabosky maintains research programs in various areas related to tree management and biology. Dr. Grabosky is also the current director for the Undergraduate Honors Program for the Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and serves as the editor-in-chief for the journal Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

Beth Ravit, Ph.D., is the co-director of the Rutgers Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability, a unique collaboration between the Departments of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Sciences. Her research focus is rehabilitation of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, with emphasis on the region’s wetlands and coastal resiliency.

For over 40 years, Frank Gallagher has explored the connection between people and landscape through both land management and academic research. He has served as chief of interpretive services, administrator, and assistant director of the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry and currently serves as the director of the Rutgers University Environmental Planning and Design Program.

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9 Tips to Save Your Mobile Battery Life

by Beth Ziesenis, Your Nerdy Best Friend

You can’t be a tech-savvy professional on the go if your mobile devices don’t have any juice.

Many modern devices have low-power modes, but sometimes that’s not enough.

Here are nine tips to save your battery life.

1. Turn off wifi and bluetooth

Your wifi is constantly searching for signals. You probably have no intention of connecting to the grocery store’s wireless connection when you stop in for milk, but your device is spending energy making sure you have that opportunity. The phone has good intentions – to save data – but it can really drain a battery.

When you leave home, turn off your wifi not only to avoid the battery drain but also to speed up your connection since your device may connect to known networks without permission and slow your overall speed.

2. Don’t auto-update apps

Do you need the latest update to Angry Birds (especially since that game is SO 2014)? Probably not. But your device is probably automatically updating your apps behind the scenes, sucking up your energy.

3. Turn off auto-brightness

Your phone can adjust itself to the brightness in your environment, but it’ll cost you some juice.

4. Use do not disturb/sleep modes

Ever get a text clink in the middle of the night? Of course you do. But if your phone’s sitting on the kitchen table, you’re not going to hear it (and even if you do hear it, chances are the news can wait). You can set your device to sleep while you’re sleeping and save battery life.

5. Turn off location features

When your device is tracking your location, it’s working hard. You may not need for Google to know where you are at all times, so turn the master switch off when you’re concerned about your battery and manage the apps that have access to your location.

6. Watch your push technology

Not only are you more easily distracted when your phone is constantly dinging and pinging and notifying you of new baby pictures from Facebook friends, you’re also using more battery. Turn off the notifications for email and manage the other pop-up distractions through your settings.

7. Cut down on the special effects

Isn’t it cool when your background looks animated, or when you can wave a hand to make things happen? Sure, if you’re willing to give up some of your battery for a whiz bang experience.

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8. Autolock in less time

Sometimes it’s annoying when your phone locks up in 2 minutes, but if you set the autolock to put your phone to sleep in shorter intervals, the battery lasts longer.

9. Use airplane mode

Airplane mode is not just for airplanes. The setting stops your automatic battery drainers, such as wifi, bluetooth, app refresh and more. If you switch your device to airplane mode while it’s charging, it juices up much faster (but you can’t be playing Angry Birds or fooling with other areas of your phone because it negates the slight advantage).

Beth Ziesenis is Your Nerdy Best Friend.

She is the author of several books on technology, including Nerd Know-How: The 27+ Best Apps for Work … & How to Use ‘Em! Beth travels the country talking to organizations about free and bargain technology.

Learn more from Beth Ziesenis on how to make your smart device your most valuable work tool at ASCA’s 2017 Annual Conference. See page 27 for more details.

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Tree Population Responses to Climate Change Is their survival our choice?

This article is based on the research of Sierra C. McLane, Centre for Forest Conservation Genetics, University of British Columbia, as presented by Emily Gonzales, Ph.D., University of Victoria, in 2012.

Depart (migrate)

Sierra’s dissertation was titled “Establishment and growth responses of whitebark and lodgepole pine populations in a changing climate.” Her current work focuses on making Alaska national park science accessible and engaging to youth and adults nationwide.

HOW WILL FORESTS RESPOND TO CLIMATE ORGANIZATION CHANGE? Trees, and in fact all organisms, have four Photo credit: Sierra McLane

The quote “run, Forest, run!” satirically represents a serious dilemma for trees in an era of climate change. Tom Hanks could run away when chased, but what options do forests have when temperatures in their native ranges are rising beyond comfortable limits?

Photo credit: Microsoft

options when faced with climate change: they can migrate to more hospitable locations, express phenotypic plasticity, genetically adapt, or become extirpated.

In catchier terms, they can Depart (migrate), Deal (plasticity), alter their DNA (adapt), or Die (extirpate). This article examines each of these options and provides recent scientific evidence, or lack thereof, for these phenomena having occurred to date as a consequence of climate change. Then, the article summarizes a research project examining possible fates of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) as temperatures within its current species range become too hot for survival.

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The first climate change option for trees is to depart, or migrate. An image of Tolkien’s Ents might f lash through your mind when considering this, but unfortunately, walking is not an option for trees. Trees migrate by producing seeds that are transported to new locations by wind, water, and animals. Over time, the range of a tree species can change by hundreds or thousands of miles as seedlings leapfrog past their parents. You can imagine that this process is much slower for trees than for annual plants, and particularly true for long-lived trees like whitebark pine that don’t begin producing seeds until around age 50. The slow nature of migration in trees is one of the reasons we should be concerned about the survival of trees in an era of climate change.

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There are two different manifestations of migration: Trees can migrate within areas occupied by other tree species, potentially offsetting those other species or making room for new species as the margins of their ranges expand or contract; or trees can migrate into areas currently not occupied by other trees. In the context of climatic warming, unoccupied areas that are expected to become habitable are above the elevational and latitudinal treelines, respectively.

Predicting migration: climate determines range

Climate is the primary determinant of species ranges. Using this principal, we can create a model called a climatic range, which is fundamental to making predictions about species ranges under climate change scenarios. Here’s how climatic ranges work: scientists record climatic variables— average temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, length of growing season, etc.—at points where individuals of a species, e.g., a fern in the case pictured in the figure inset, are known to live. We pool all of the climatic variables associated with the observed species range and then ask, where within a given geographic area do those climatic variables exist, whether in or out of the observed species range? It turns out that there is generally a high correlation between the observed range and the predicted climatic range of a species. You can see this in the strong parallelism of the green shading in the observed (left) vs. climatically predicted (right) ranges in the figure. That species generally occupy the majority of their climatic ranges is key to predicting future species ranges under climate change scenarios.

rates that trees are predicted to need to move to keep pace with 21st century climate change.

Species range predictions

Pollen samples in these cores show dramatic range shifts that correspond with past global climate cycles. The figure provides two examples: one for spruce and one for oak. Pollen records are precise enough to identify trees to genus but not species, so these figures illustrate the changing abundance on the landscape of these two genera as they migrated north to their current ranges starting 21.5 thousand years ago. Now here’s the most important part: models can predict the historical abundances of these and other species using climate as the primary predictive variable instead of pollen abundance. This gives credibility to the next task: predicting future tree species abundances using future climate scenarios.

Evidence from pollen records and chloroplast DNA indicates that trees historically migrated approximately 100 to 500 m per year. Next we’ll discuss the

Post-ice age migration You might be wondering how scientists know that trees can migrate in response to climate change. The answer is that we can prove it has happened in the past using pollen from lake sediment cores.

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Using the ecological principal that climate is the primary determinant of species ranges, and the proof that we can predict past migrations known from pollen sediment records using knowledge of past climates, we now have confidence in predicting the future climatic ranges for trees. Future climatic ranges for all 50 tree species in British Columbia were predicted for the year 2085. On average,

necessary migration rates of 1 to 5 km per year were predicted, which is an order of magnitude faster than known historical migration rates. Enormous range expansions were predicted for some species, like ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), and large contractions for other species, like white spruce (Picea abies). It’s important to remember that these models only predict what areas will be climatically suitable for each tree species in 2085, not whether the species can actually physically migrate to those locations.

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Ecological zone predictions

Future climatic ranges for all of the ecological zones in British Columbia were predicted using conservative to extreme climate change scenarios. As you can see, models predicted major expansions of grasslands and losses of alpine tundra, among other changes. Remember, whole ecozones are not predicted to pick up and move together; modeling future migrations in this aggregated way is simply a powerful tool for illustrating change.

However, trees are not migrating as fast as models predict they’ll need to, as illustrated by Rees. This might be good or bad news, depending on your perspective. Rees assures those concerned about the loss of treeless tundra ecosystems that predictive models are probably unrealistic based on current observed migration rates. However, for people who are concerned about the loss of tree species that can’t migrate fast enough to keep pace with climate change, the observed migration rates are alarming.

DNA (adapt)

Ents are a race of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees.

They are similar to the talking trees in folklore around the world.

Think of Tolkien’s Ents. How great would it be if trees evolved to have legs and just walked away from overly hot environments? Here’s the scoop on trees changing their DNA—in other words, genetically adapting in response to climate change.

Species adaptation

Species have unique adaptations that allow them to minimize competition with other species. Take as an example white (left) vs. black (right) spruce (Picea abies vs. mariana). Black spruce is adapted to withstand extremes,

These images use BC’s Biogeoclimatic Ecological Classification (BEC) system. http://www.for.gov. bc.ca/hre/becweb/system/how/index.html

Photo credit: Sierra McLane

Evidence of migration

Predictions are all well and good, but have scientists found evidence of migration having occurred in connection with recent climate change? The majority of evidence is leaning towards migrations being underway. For example, Beckage et al. found a 100 m upslope shift in the ecotonal boundary between northern hardwood forests and high elevation boreal forests in Vermont since 2005.

Lloyd and colleagues found a 10 km advance in white spruce at Arctic treeline since the late 1800s, and increased stand density at alpine treeline.

Treeline in northern Europe moving ~0.1 km/year, not 2 km/year as predicted by some models.

“The prediction of a loss of 40% of the tundra by the end of the century is probably far too alarming.” - Gareth Rees, March 9, 2012

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most notably extreme wet and extreme cold, but it is a poor competitor. Black spruce therefore grows in swamps and permafrost areas and on mountaintops where white spruce can’t tolerate the conditions. Anywhere that has good enough growing conditions for white spruce, white spruce dominates.

Population adaptation

Forest geneticists take this classic way of thinking about species adaptations one step further by studying the adaptive differences between populations within

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a species. Remember that a population is an arbitrarily delineated subset of individuals within a species that live in a unique geographic location within the species range. These photos illustrate what happens when you plant seedlings from four geographically disparate populations of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) in a common environment, in this case near Prince George, BC. The populations are adapted to their home environmental conditions, and you can see visually that they carry these genetic signatures with them when transported to the new location.

Sitka spruce adaptational lag

Makiko Mimura illustrated withinspecies genetic adaptation beautifully with her study of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis). As shown in the range map on the left, Sitka spruce grows in a thin band along coastal western North America from northern California to southern Alaska. When populations of Sitka spruce were grown in a common garden at UBC, there was a strong linear trend to their heights. Populations from the south were tall, those from the north were short, and everyone else lined up linearly in between.

Population adaptation (and plasticity)

The dots on this map depict the home locations of the dozens of lodgepole pine populations that were studied in a large, long-term population genetics study called the Illingworth provenance trial in British Columbia.

A provenance trial is the same thing as a common garden trial and simply refers to growing populations from different home locations, or provenances, in a common environment. The x-axis shows the range of temperatures over which the lodgepole pines were grown, while the y-axis depicts their volume at 20 years old. You can see that different populations have different growth potential, and that their growth potential is temperature dependent.

Populations that maximize growth potential under current temperatures start being maladapted by the 2080s as temperatures become too hot.

Sitka example, data

Three-year-old Sitka spruce seedlings from colder (i.e., more northern) locations were shorter, partially as a consequence of setting bud earlier, than those from warmer (i.e., more southern) locations. Both trends were highly significant. Even though Vancouver is plenty warm for a late budset, the DNA strands of the northern populations are irreversibly programmed to set bud early to avoid frost damage.

Using the same data, we can def ine the â&#x20AC;&#x153;a d a pt a t ion a l l a g â&#x20AC;? of these populations in a climate change scenario. Adaptational lag is in this case the mor pholog ic a l a nd physiological difference

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between a population that is preadapted to warm temperatures and one that is adapted to colder temperatures when both are grown at future predicted temperatures. As you can see in the graphs, a population of Sitka spruce growing in an environment 4 °C warmer than its home environment would set bud 50 days earlier than necessary to prevent frost damage under the new temperature scenario.

The same population would grow 4 cm shorter than populations that were pre-adapted to take advantage of the warmer temperatures. This adaptational lag could pose a major disadvantage to tree species with long reproductive cycles, as genetic adaptation is only manifested from one generation to the next, not within individuals. The flip side is that trees can produce hundreds if not thousands of offspring each year, thus providing extensive genetic material with which natural selection can take place.

Evidence of adaptation

Are scientists seeing evidence of adaptation that can be traced to climate change? Here are some morphological, physiological and phenological changes that scientists are seeing in trees: earlier bud break and f lowering, increased leader growth, more erect growth forms, an uphill shift in reproductive

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areas. Are these changes evidence of adaptation? Who says yes, who says no, and why?

Deal (plasticity)

Scientists believe that most observed changes in species relating to warming that has occurred date are actually manifestations of phenotypic plasticity rather than genetic adaptations. In other words, the changes we’re seeing in the timing of life events and in growth forms are within the spectrum of each species’ plastic responsiveness potential without adaptation having occurred. Think about it this way: many trees live to be over 1,000, and some up to 6,000 years old. During such a long period of time, climatic cycles occur that trees have to deal with. A good example is the little ice age that lasted from the mid-1300s through mid-1800s. While it’s possible that natural selection is acting on their offspring, most of the changes we see are more likely simply due to trees having evolved to tolerate a diverse spectrum of climatic conditions over a long lifetime. So trees can deal with some amount of climate warming; things just get trickier if the temperatures don’t go back down.

Whitebark pine assisted migration trail Now we’ll put the concepts of tree population responses to climate change into context using whitebark pine, looking at whether the species can migrate fast enough to keep pace with climate change, and examine a controversial technique that could help save the species if natural migration won’t cut it. That technique is called assisted migration.

There are three forms of assisted migration that range from low to high in possible consequences and controversy.

On the low end is assisting migration of populations within a species range. In a climate change context this looks like introducing southern populations into northern locations within the species range, thus introducing alleles that are pre-adapted to warmer temperatures into northern populations to give those populations an adaptational boost.

Next, there is moving populations northward or uphill beyond the current boundaries of the species range but within biogeographic areas that were subject to similar evolutionary diseases and species assemblages in recent evolutionary time. This looks different for each species, but in the case of trees may suggest an acceptable migration radius of hundreds of kilometers.

The extreme end of assisted migration involves moving species into completely novel ecosystems, for example moving elephants to the American west. This is roundly considered to have high potential negative consequences.

This article only discusses the middle scenario of assisted migration.

Die (extirpation)

“We predict, on the basis of midrange climate-warming scenarios for 2050, that 15 - 37% of species in our sample of regions and taxa will be ‘committed to extinction.”

- Thomas et al., Nature, 2004

We’ll look the least at extirpation, but it’s been the topic of some prominent and controversial studies. Most people take Thomas et al.’s prediction of mass global extinction by 2050 to be hyperbole.

While these kinds of predictions can be helpful in getting people fired up about climate change, can you imagine the ways in which they might be harmful?

Photo credit: Sierra McLane

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Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis)

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a threatened keystone species that inhabits mountainous regions in western North America. Its nutritious seeds are distributed by Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) and serve as a critical food source for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). The slow-growing tree also creates microhabitats that promote the recruitment of other tree species in high elevation environments.

treeline niche. This niche is bounded at lower elevations by continuous forests and at upper elevations by alpine areas with poor soil formation and extensive snowpacks. Not surprisingly, the elevation of whitebark pine’s niche drops as one moves northwards, from 3,600 m in the southern portion of its range in the Sierra Nevada to 1,000 m in the northern portion of its range in central British Columbia.

Image: “White Pine Blister Rust alone is projected to cause a decline of more than 50% over a 100 year time period. The effects of Mountain Pine Beetle, climate change, and fire exclusion will increase the decline rate further. Likely, none of the causes of decline can be reversed...placing this species at high risk of extirpation in Canada.” COSEWIC, May 2010 (Photo credit: Bottom left, Jane Partiger, Ecoflight; Bottom right, Richard Perry, New York Times)

Future range predictions

Photo credit: Sierra McLane; Microsoft

Geographic distribution

Endangered

Whitebark pine has a wide geographic distribution throughout mountainous western North America, but within that range it grows in a narrow ecological

Whitebark pine is considered endangered in both Canada and the United States.

Over 50% of all whitebark pines in the northern United States and in Canada are dead or dying due to the combined impacts of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) and white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola).

As a result, the federal governments of the United States and Canada have both ruled that whitebark pine is deserving of federal endangered status.

In addition to the insect- and pathogeninduced declines already experienced by whitebark pine, future climatic range models predict that the species will need to migrate hundreds of kilometers over the next century in response to climate change. Whitebark pine is projected to lose 73% of its current climatic range within British Columbia by 2085, while gaining an equivalent-sized new climatic range northwest of its current northern range limit (compare upper left to lower right). Simultaneously, the species is projected to lose 97% of its current climatic niche within the United States (Warwell et al. 2007). Interestingly, whitebark pine is not currently filling its climatic range according to these maps, as illustrated by the difference between the current observed (upper left) and current predicted (upper right) range for the species.

Photo credit: Sierra McLane

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Research question

Can whitebark pine establish in areas of northwestern British Columbia that are predicted to be climatically suitable under both current and future climates? Will it do so on its own as the climate warms? If not, should we assist its migration? If we do, northwestern British Columbia may become a primary refuge for the species under climate change, but other species and ecological systems will doubtless be affected. If not, we might have to witness the extinction of this keystone species.

cycles ranging from current observed to extreme warming temperature scenarios. The seedlings were grown under these experimental conditions for two growing seasons.

In 2011, the seedlings from the growth chamber trials were planted under the Peak-to-Peak gondola at Whistler, BC. This informal experiment uses elevation as a proxy for climate change, with seedlings planted in the valley growing

Photo credit: Sierra McLane

Assisted migration trial

Almost 20,000 whitebark pine seeds were collected from seven populations spanning from Oregon through central BC.

under the greatest warming conditions and those at the top planted adjacent to native whitebarks. It also serves the dual purpose of replanting a clearcut with an endangered native species.

survival. However, in two sites where a snowpack never established due to wind in Atlin, BC, survival was near zero. Thus whitebark pine needs enough snowpack for winter insulation but not so much that the growing season is curtailed.

Results: Maternal effects trump genetic effects (for now)

We were interested in assessing genetic differences between the seven populations. What we found is that so far, maternal effects trump genetic effects. What does that mean? The seeds from the different populations were different sizes and colors. That might be a genetic effect, but it’s even more likely to be what’s called a maternal effect. A maternal effect is the impact that mom had on the offspring, genetics aside. If it was a bad year for mom to produce big, well-nourished seeds, then those seeds have a handicap when it comes to growing that has nothing to do with their genetic potential. After many years, we may see genetic effects start to dominate over maternal effects, but so far seedling survival has more to do with initial seed weight than any genetic factors.

Results: Poor competitor

Photo credit: Sierra McLane

The seeds were planted in eight common gardens, all but two of which were north of the species range. Germination and growth were assessed for three summers.

Seven populations were also planted in five growth chambers that were programmed to mimic growing seasons

Results: Whitebark can establish Whitebark pine germinated and survived in all of the planting locations.

Results: Establishment affected by snow

Seedling establishment was strongly affected by the date of snowmelt; the earlier the snowmelt, the better the

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Finally, a result from the growth chambers. One batch of lodgepole pine was grown per chamber (the bushy seedlings in the back). At the coldest temperature — a na logous to current temperatures in whitebark pine’s native range— the whitebark pine seedlings grew taller than the lodgepole pine seedlings. At the second-coldest temperature, the two species were neck-and-neck. But at the three warmest temperatures, lodgepole pine dominated. This bodes poorly for whitebark pine’s competitive potential under warming scenarios.

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survive through the winter. On the positive side for whitebark, more precipitation is predicted to fall as rain as the climate warms, which could meanthe snow might melt earlier, leading to a longer growing season. However, again, too much snow loss could reduce winter insulation.

CONCLUSIONS

We have shown that whitebark can establish north of its current range, but there is concern that it might not be able to migrate fast enough to get there on its own (remember, it is dependent on Clarkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nutcrackers for migration!).

Being such a slow-growing species, it probably wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t adapt fast enough to remain competitive given the fast pace of anthropogenic climate change. It can deal with higher temperatures, as illustrated by the growth chamber seedlings, but other species will likely outcompete it within its native range.

So the question is, should we assist the migration of whitebark pine?

Whitebark pine on a local scale

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a pictorial representation of what all of this means on a local scale for whitebark pine. As temperatures warm, whitebark pine is likely to lose out as faster-growing competitors encroach on its narrow treeline niche from lower elevations. It could easily migrate to higher elevations except that soils may not be well developed enough to support tree growth. The Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium predicts approximately a 20% decline in snowpack across BC by the 2050s, which could mean the loss of the critical insulating snowpack needed to help whitebark pine seedlings American Society of Consulting Arborists

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New RCAs

Welcome New Members Timothy Heartquist Novato, California Heartquist17@gmail.com

Allen Taylor Seatle, Washington allenataylor@gmail.com

Lisa Sullivan, RCA #624

Amy Heath Dallas, Texas office@dallastreesurgeons.com

Ryan Thomas Arthurdale, West Virginia rmthomas071@gmail.com

Mike Delves, RCA #626

John Colavecchio Tucker, Georgia jcolavecchio@bartlett.com

Larry Martony Santa Ana, California larry.martony@brightview.com

Mark Rockwood, RCA #628

Stephen Cushing Federal Way, Washington arbor.steve@gmail.com

Jim Hosick Barrie, Ontario info@legroupltd.com

Larry Martony Santa Ana, California larry.martony@brightview.com

Robert Montgomery Johnston, Rhode Island bobyardstick@gmail.com

Chris McDonald Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada mcdonaldchris13@gmail.com

Shawn Riberdy New Westminster, British Columbia Shawn.riberdy@ubc.ca

Kyle Offerdahl Clackamas, Oregon kyle.offerdahl@gmail.com

Marc Wesley Chico, California mswtree@yahoo.com

John Huddleston, RCA #625 Daniel Maple, RCA #627

RCA Embosser and Stamp— Distinguish Yourself The Registered Consulting Arborist® (RCA)* status represents ASCA's premier level of membership. Official RCA stamps and embossers are available for purchase—use these items to distinguish your work products. *You must be an RCA to order RCA products.

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Mission: Lead the arboricultural consulting profession

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Adopted July 2017 2017-2020+

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Send Us Your Best Shot­—­ What’s Bugging You?

Tree pests can be a real nuisance to tree care professionals and their customers. However, some pests can be quite interesting and even beautiful (in their own unique biological ways). We asked members to send us their best shots of interesting tree pests.

Unicorn caterpillar, Schizura unicornis, is not an especially damaging pest but one of the dozens of caterpillars that feed on oaks and provide food for the wildlife we like to see in our gardens, like song birds.

(Photo credit: Michael E. Merchant, Ph.D., BCE, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Photo submitted by Micah Pace.)

Loblolly pine sawfly, Neodiprion spp., is one of the few pine needle feeding insects we see. When it occurs, its numbers can be impressive, stripping pine trees from top to bottom. Looks like a caterpillar, but it is really one of the primitive plant-eating wasp families.

(Photo credit: Michael E. Merchant, Ph.D., BCE, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Photo submitted by Micah Pace.)

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Not so much a pest but an interesting insect— Megarhyssa greenei ovipositing in a recently carved pileated woodpecker cavity. Host plant: sugar maple.

(Photo credit: Oliver K. Reichl, RCA #553).

A butterfly resembling the Tawny Emperor, Asterocampa clyton, imbibing alcoholic flux on Shumard oak in North Carolina. A benign organism that indicates a microbial pest. We hated to call “Closing time!” at this arboreal bar when we arrived to clean and treat the infection.

(Photo credit: Guy Meilleur)

Tuliptree scale, one of the largest scale insects in North America, maturing on a sweetbay magnolia in North Augusta, South Carolina. Neither crawlers or eggs were present. The municipality decided to use an insect growth regulator to reduce the risk of harming nontarget species. The application will wait until crawlers are present.

(Photo credit: Patrick Anderson, RCA #475)

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asca2017 ASCA Annual Conference November 29 – D ecember 2 Skamania Lodge | Stevenson, WA

asca-consultants.org/2017

Co-sponsored by: New York State Arborists ISA Chapter Pacific Northwest ISA Western Chapter ISA

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The Grammar Tree

Ad

ve

Colons vs. Semicolons

rb

Adjective

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un

No

n

ou

on Pr

Ve rb

Although colons (:) and semicolons (;) look similar, they have entirely different purposes. The semicolon is most similar to the comma, and the colon’s closest relative is probably the period.

So, what is the difference?

A colon introduces something—usually a list, whether

vertical or horizontal. It can also introduce a quote within a sentence. Occasionally, you can use a colon to separate two parts of a compound sentence, but when used this way, it implies that the second part of the sentence is either a result of or follows from the first part. Consider these examples: 1. The following are my favorite foods: pizza, cheese, avocado, and olives.

A semicolon connects things rather than introducing

them. It separates two closely related sentences if you don’t want to use a comma with a conjunction, and it can separate items in a series that already have commas within them. It can also be used to separate parts of a compound sentence that has series that could complicate its meaning. Consider these examples: 1. The experiment was a success; the solution precipitated when we added silver nitrate.

2. These are the ingredients to make the cookies: • Flour • Sugar • Eggs

2. The speakers included Joan Arnold, a local songwriter; Steve Jacobs, a music producer; and Sally Phillips, the owner of the music venue.

3. The company’s CEO made the following statement in front of all the employees: “This year, everyone will receive a bonus due to the strong performance of the company.”

3. Last year we traveled to Greece, Italy, and the South of France; and we will go to Argentina, Peru, and the Galapagos Islands next year.

4. The training is required: it will ensure your safety on the job.

You could not substitute a colon for a semicolon in those examples—or vice versa.

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Example Reports

A Day in the Life of a Consultant A Strange Day

By Lew Bloch, RCA #297 I recently received an email from a man stating that someone had pointed out signs of distress at the base of a large tree in his backyard. The man was subsequently looking for an “educated opinion” on whether the tree could be saved.

He attached two photos showing the problem areas, and he thanked me in advance.

I replied the same day with the following; “There is no way to determine just how extensive the decay problem is without an onsite inspection. The fee for the consultation is $---------.”

for Consulting Arborists 3rd Ed.

He responded, the very same day. “Yes, of course, the photos were just to give you an idea of the issue.”

The next day, I got the following message from him; “When I read your reply to my wife she felt that you were not someone we would like to employ. Frankly, we do not like your attitude.”

How ‘bout them apples??? Maybe we could have an attitude adjustment session at one of our conferences and I could learn to do better. :-)

This is your resource for knowing what information to include and how to format Consulting Arborist reports. The book encompasses practice reports from students of the ASCA Consulting Academy and a real-life report as submitted by an author to an actual client.

Order your copy at www.asca-consultants.org

It’s a CEU Year—Maintain Your Membership!

Members need to submit 30 CEUs earned between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2017, and submitted by September 30, 2017. ASCA provides many opportunities to earn CEUs so that you can maintain your ASCA membership—View a full list of approved CEUs.

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Member News Peter Childs recently passed the ISA TR AQ risk assessment qualification in Massachusetts. Peter is a Massachusetts Certified Arborist and president of Childs Arborists, Inc., a second generation, family owned tree and consulting service on Cape Cod. Jonathan S. Frank, RCA #618, recently received the Loren Westenberger Award from the Florida Chapter ISA. The award is given to an individual who, like Loren Westenberger, has practiced the professional principles of arboriculture consistent with the mission and objectives of the Florida Chapter ISA to better the environment for future generations.

David Lusk Tree Care Associates was recently awarded the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. The Torch Awards honor businesses that go above and beyond in advancing marketplace trust in Northwest North Carolina. These businesses have leadership that demonstrates impeccable character and business practices that meet the highest standards of integrity.

Tanner Lusk, Amy Starnes, David Lusk

Finalists were chosen by local consumers and business professionals and were selected by an independent panel of judges. There were more than 40 entries that were narrowed down to 11 finalists, from which the three winners were chosen, from categories based on company size. The awards were presented on June 15 during a ceremony at Wake Forest’s Bridger Fieldhouse, with keynote speaker Head Football Coach Dave Clawson and Emcee JR Snider of WSJS Radio.

ASCA has learned of the recent passing of John McBride, Triangle Tree & Exterminators. John was born Jan. 13, 1935, and attended North Texas State College, graduating in 1959. After a few years in the food industry, he became the owner and operator of Triangle Tree and Exterminators for 45 years, until his death. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joann, and their son, Curby.

Guy Meilleur, of Historic Tree Care, has had two articles published in Australia’s Arbor Age magazine. The June-July issue had “Advanced Report Writing,” while his “Biology, Mechanics and Tree Care” is in print for the October issue. On September 27, Guy will be speaking on “Gardens around the World” and “Regenerating Hollow Trees for Life,” sharing the day’s program with Dr. Julian Dunster at the CanWest Hort Expo in Vancouver, Canada.

ated the trees and did comprehensive soil testing as a first step toward developing a plan that will enhance the health of the trees and provide guidance for their management.

The Importance of Your Online Profile Are you giving potential clients a good reason to hire you? The ASCA website is a key resource for those looking to hire a Consulting Arborist, so why not ensure that you have a complete member profile in the system. Please take a few minutes to update your profile on the ASCA website. asca-consultants.org/ MemberGuide

Barb Neal, RCA #428, is a member of a Cornell University team tasked with creating a management plan for the elm trees that line the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The team evalu-

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Industry Reports From ASCA’s Representatives American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 Committee (ASC)

By Richard Gessner, RCA #496 ASCA’s representative to the ASC is Richard Gessner, RCA #496 (2017–2019). The ASCA alternate representative to ASC is Andrew Mertz, RCA #542 (2017–2019).

The A300 liaison to the ASCA board of directors is Jonathan Butcher, ASCA vice president (2017). Current members of the ASCA A300 Advisory Committee (AAC) (2017) include: • Glenn Gentzke, RCA #485 • Kenneth Knight, RCA #507 • John Martyn • Ronald Matranga, RCA #488 • Anita Schill, RCA #421 • Zeb Haney, RCA #616

Currently, four additional standards are under revision for the coming year: • Part 2: 2011 Soil Management a. Modification, b. Fertilization, and c. Drainage (look this document will go into public review in the fall of 2017) • Part 5: 2012 Management of Trees and Shrubs during Site Planning, Site Development, and Construction • Part 6: 2012 Planting and Transplanting • Part 7: 2012 Integrated Vegetation Management The next meeting of the ASC300 committee is scheduled for October 3, 2017, in Gainesville, Virginia.

I look forward to the next meeting in fall and the challenges of improving our industry standards.

On March 28 to 30 2017 the A300 Committee (ASC) met in Reno, Nevada

Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers (CTLA)

Two standards recently published in 2017 are now available:

By Jim Clark, Ph.D., RCA #357

• Part 1: 2017 Pruning • Part 9: 2017 Tree Risk Assessment a.

Structural Failure I encourage everyone to become familiar with these two documents. Specifically, note that pruning has several changes from previous standards, including “Pruning Systems” and the elimination of the “Utility Pruning” sections, among others.

CTLA continues to revise the 10th edition manuscript. The Council met in Denver in June. As a result of our discussion, we plan to meet in September. It is our plan that the manuscript will be finalized at that time.

As I said in last issue, I don’t have a specific timetable but will keep you posted.

Sustainable Urban Forest Coalition (SUFC)

By Jeffrey Ling, RCA #337 The ongoing contest inside “The Beltway” has had a definite impact on the urban forestry services and programs.

Earlier, it was reported that the Administration had proposed a cutting approximately $48 million for urban forestry programs from the Department of Interior budget.

On July 17, this report came to me as your SUFC representative: “House Interior Report has been posted.

Allocated $27,324,000 for Urban and Community, $716,000 below the fiscal year 2017. All things considered, this is a win for us (SUFC) and we should be pleased with our work thus far. We’ve got to keep the pressure on the Senate for similar level.”

Please see: https://appropriations.house. gov/uploadedfiles/23918.pdf There is no word if actual and projected programs impacting urban trees in the Department of Agriculture will be altered. As mentioned above, the Senate must still act. Then the conference committee must reconcile any differences.

Thanks again for your support and encouragement.

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