Browsing by Author "Ares, Adrian"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Commercial Chinese Chestnut Production in Virginia
    Commender, Katie E.; Munsell, John F.; Ares, Adrian (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2017-09-21)
    Discusses the production of Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollissima) in Virginia, specifically site selection and preparation, orchard spacing, cultivars, fertilization, pruning, weed and pest control, harvesting and more.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The Effects of Cost-Share Participant Experience on Forest Buffer Retention
    Commender, Katie E.; Munsell, John F.; Ares, Adrian; Sullivan, Jay; Chamberlain, James L. (2020-09)
    Forest conservation buffers provide ecosystem services such as soil and water conservation, wildlife habitat, and clean air. This research studied the experiences and intentions of participants in forest buffer contract programs in Virginia, USA provided by governmental conservation agencies. These programs offer technical assistance and share costs of establishment and maintenance for a period of time typically between 2 and 15 years. Program participant reflections about their experience and intention to retain their forest buffer after their cost-share contract ends were measured. Two-hundred and fifty-one program participants received a mail survey and 136 were returned (response rate = 54%). Two-step cluster analysis grouped respondents into four participant types based on responses to questions about buffer maintenance and costs, and perceived environmental benefits. Discontented and Doubtful respondents (23.4%) experienced financial and maintenance challenges. They also were doubtful about environmental benefits. Contented and Confident respondents (28.2%) experienced minimal financial and maintenance difficulties, and were confident that their buffers provide environmental benefits. Benefited with Burden respondents (22.6%) also were confident about environmental benefits, but experienced burdensome maintenance and costs. Skeptical without Strife respondents (25.8%) were not convinced their buffers provide environmental benefits, but have not had problems with maintenance or costs. A Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test (alpha = 0.05) indicated that Discontented and Doubtful respondents are least likely to retain their buffer after their cost-share contract expires (rank sum = 42.2) and Contented and Confident are most likely (rank sum = 82.8). Benefited with Burden and Skeptical without Strife respondents (rank sum = 59.7 and = 59.8, respectively) were statistically similar to their Discontented and Doubtful counterparts, but slightly more likely to keep their buffer after their contract expires. Overall, Discontented and Doubtful and Benefited with Burden respondents had larger parcels of land and represented the largest percentage of full-time farmers, whereas Contented and Confident and Skeptical without Strife respondents had smaller parcels and were most likely to be part-time farmers or female. Findings suggest distinctions between types are clear along the onus of management, not necessarily perspectives on conservation. The two most influential drivers of program participation were cost-share assistance and water quality, whereas their most important management objective was improving land health.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Forest Certification Perspectives in the Wood Products Supply Chain in Virginia, U.S.A.
    Munsell, John F.; Ares, Adrian; Barrett, Scott M.; Bond, Brian H.; Gagnon, Jennifer L. (MDPI, 2017-09-26)
    Participation among private forest owners, logging contractors, and wood products manufacturers in the forest certification sector remains low. Those that enroll are mainly large-acreage owners and specialized manufacturers. Little is known about certification perspectives across the supply chain and how they relate. Comparing what owners, contractors, and manufacturers think about certification would increase insight regarding sector growth. In this study, 2,741 private forest owners, logging contractors, and wood products manufacturers in Virginia, U.S.A. were surveyed about their beliefs regarding the impact of certification on economic opportunities and image and the extent to which they think it positively affects the forestry sector and understand how to certify forestland. Co-orientation was used to map alignment and predictions between respondents. Owner and contractor responses were similar and predictions about each other mostly accurate, but manufacturer responses and predictions were largely incongruent. Manufacturers generally aligned more so with contractors than owners but contractors identified slightly more with owners. Owners and contractors shared perspectives and a discernable identity, whereas manufacturers viewed certification in a less positive light. Implications for participation in forest certification focus largely on interrelationships of actor perspectives regardless of scale and emphasize the roles each can play in the forest certification sector.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Management trade-off between aboveground carbon storage and understory plant species richness in temperate forests
    Burton, Julia; Ares, Adrian; Olson, Deanna; Puettmann, Klaus (Ecological Society of America, 2013-09)
    Because forest ecosystems have the capacity to store large quantities of carbon (C), there is interest in managing forests to mitigate elevated CO2 concentrations and associated effects on the global climate. However, some mitigation techniques may contrast with management strategies for other goals, such as maintaining and restoring biodiversity. Forest thinning reduces C storage in the overstory and recruitment of detrital C. These C stores can affect environmental conditions and resource availability in the understory, driving patterns in the distribution of early and late-seral species. We examined the effects of replicated (N = 7) thinning experiments on aboveground C and understory vascular plant species richness, and we contrasted relationships between aboveground C and early- vs. late-seral species richness. Finally, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine relationships among early- and late-seral species richness and live and detrital aboveground C stores. Six years following thinning, aboveground C was greater in the high-density treatment and untreated control than in moderate- (MD) and variable-density (VD) treatments as a result of reductions in live overstory C. In contrast, all thinning treatments increased species richness relative to controls. Between the growing seasons of years 6 and 11 following treatments, the live overstory C increment tended to increase with residual density, while richness decreased in MD and VD treatments. The richness of early-seral species was negatively related to aboveground C in MD and VD, while late-seral species richness was positively (albeit weakly) related to aboveground C. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed strong negative effects of live overstory C on early-seral species richness balanced against weaker positive effects on late-seral species richness, as well as positive effects of detrital C stocks. A trade-off between carbon and plant species richness thus emerges as a net result of these relationships among species traits, thinning treatments, and live and detrital C storage. Integrating C storage with traditional conservation objectives may require managing this trade-off within stands and landscapes (e.g., maintain early-seral habitat and species within dense, C-rich forests and, conversely, live and detrital C stores in early-seral habitats) or separating these goals across scales and species groupings.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Research strategy report
    Ares, Adrian; Moore, Keith M.; Kelly, Michael D.; Mulvaney, Michael J. (SANREM CRSP, OIRED, Virginia Tech, 2011)
    The SANREM CRSP is sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and host countries around the world. The SANREM vision is to support sustainable agriculture and natural resource management decision makers in developing countries by providing access to appropriate data, knowledge tools, and methods of analysis in addition to enhancing their capacity to make better decisions to improve the livelihoods and the sustainability of natural resources. The research theme of the SANREM CRSP’s current phase is to develop conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS). Our research engages stakeholders of all levels to develop sustainable, localized farming practices. Increasing smallholder’s agricultural productivity and local food security through improved cropping systems that contribute to and take advantage of improves soil quality and fertility is our ultimate goal. Also, implementing CAPS farming systems will maintain a year-round soil cover, minimize soil disturbance by tillage, and utilize crop rotation systems. This multi-country program is also comparative, with research identifying common elements that affect CAPS adoption.