Tara Bal

Michigan Technological University | MTU · School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

A global assessment of the status of tertiary, vocational, and technical forest education and training found deficits in the inclusion of knowledge and student diversity. Coverage of forest services and cultural and social issues was characterized as weak in the curricula of many programs. The inclusion of traditional and Indigenous knowledge was f...

Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.) and glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus Mill.) are considered invasive plants in North America, capable of displacing native vegetation. Their invasion often results in decreased biodiversity and weakened ecosystem resilience. Therefore, their removal is important for forest restoration. Invasive buckthorns are...

Discourse used in the field of invasion ecology has significant impacts on society's perception, yet communication related to “invasives” is rife with problematic, exclusionary language. We provide potential solutions, including a repositioned perspective that may facilitate better relationships with the natural world by applying the two-eyed seein...

Recreational foraging is an important cultural activity in the rural region of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. During the summer of 2019, an exploratory survey was conducted of foragers in the Keweenaw Peninsula area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to identify local knowledge of berries and a new invasive fruit fly, Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD, Drosophi...

The teaching strategy of blended learning (incorporating both online and experiential education) was used to design a university course covering multiple aspects of maple syrup and sugar history, ecology, management, production, and consumption to attract students. A key aspect of the course is to introduce students with little‐to‐no previous exper...

The American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) has been impacted by the beech bark disease (BBD) complex throughout the northeastern United States for over 100 years, but the disease has been present in the Great Lakes region only for around 20 years, requiring acknowledgement of the evolving context surrounding F. grandifolia. This disease threatens...

Ask most students to draw or color a bee, and their sketch will likely feature a large-bodied, circular, fuzzy, black and yellow striped insect resembling a bumblebee or indicating some honey-producing behavior. There is a large propensity for society to perceive of all bees in one generic group, as popular bee images across media are often portray...

American beech is facing pressure from a number of emergent health issues including beech bark disease, beech leaf disease, beech leaf mining weevil, and climate and habitat change. Interest has increased in the propagation of American beech in response to the demand for more disease-resistant American beech for use in restoration. This study descr...

The field of natural resources struggles to attract diverse talent despite efforts to increase racial/ethnic diversity. We explored factors influencing career choices among racially/ethnically underrepresented students and professionals in natural resources fields. The Social Cognitive Career Choice theory was used as a framework for analyzing data...

This report is part of the “Global student networking and green jobs in the forest sector”, a capacity development project coordinated by the European Forest Institute (EFI) in collaboration with the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). The project explores ways to...

In the modern forest industry, the need for bio-based, renewable, and environmentally-benign wood preservatives is increasing. The world harvests approximately 1700 million m3 of wood annually for use in a variety of applications. Unfortunately, when exposed to moisture, wood products are at high risk of decay by wood degrading fungi. Preservatives...

A survey of 396 undergraduate and graduate students from 51 countries on 5 continents currently enrolled in Forestry or Related Natural Resource (FRNR) degree programmes was conducted of attendees to the International Union of Forest Research Organizations' (IUFRO) conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, 2014. These perspectives come from some of the m...

Two figured woods, commonly known as birdseye maple (Acer saccharum, sugar maple) and curly maple (Acer rubrum, red maple), were exposed to brown rot and white rot fungi in a standard laboratory decay test and compared with unfigured wood of each species, respectively. For the birdseye maple, two levels of figure intensity were used: wood with heav...

The purpose of this paper is to examine education as a driver of change in U.S. forests and the forest sector over the next two decades. Likely outcomes in general education include: (1) greater emphasis on the production of information products and services associated with a knowledge-creation society; (2) more emphasis on nondiscipline-specific o...

Under-representation of minorities and women in natural resources (NR)-related fields is common, both as students and as professionals. The perception of a predominantly white, male student body and workforce is a potential barrier to recruiting women and minorities to Forestry and related-NR fields. The images of “forestry” and “natural resources-...

An aqueous suspension made with ground sterile sclerotium of the fungus Inonotus obliquus, commonly called chaga, was used as a pressure treatment to pine and birch wood blocks. Pine blocks were exposed to three brown rot fungi and birch blocks were exposed to three white rot fungi using a standard soil block decay test. In most cases chaga treatme...

In 2018, a web image content analysis was conducted to assess the perceived gender and race/ethnicity diversity and representativeness of 11 natural resources-related, professional society websites. Results highlight the lack of inclusivity of women and minorities in images most frequently seen at the top of these organizations’ home webpages. More...

The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a destructive invasive beetle that has caused mortality of millions of Fraxinus spp. trees in North America. The extended interval between insect establishment, detection and management has allowed this pest to spread over large parts of North America. Artificial purple canopy traps are currently used...

Sugar maple (Acer sacharrum Marsh.) in the western Upper Great Lakes region has recently been reported with increased crown dieback symptoms, prompting investigation of the dieback etiology across the region. Evaluation of sugar maple dieback from 2009 to 2012 across a 120 plot network in Upper Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and eastern Minnesota ha...

The annual national report of the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introduces new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently comple...

Over the last 60 years, multiple studies have attributed sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) dieback and decline to nutrient status, interaction and tree stress. Site differences in deficient, toxic or antagonistic levels of soil calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese and aluminium are correlated with mortality and dieback in many stu...

‘Forest Health’ is an important concept often not covered in tree, forest, insect, or fungal ecology and biology. With minimal, inexpensive equipment, students can investigate and conduct their own forest health survey to assess the percentage of trees with natural or artificial wounds or stress. Insects and diseases in the forest are the focus, t...

The article contains all presentation abstracts from the Wildland Fire track of the 2013 Society of American Foresters National Convention.

Forest ecosystems across the Northwoods will face direct and indirect impacts from a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of forest ecosystems in the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province of northern Wisconsin and western Upper Michigan under a range of future climates. Information on current forest conditi...

The article contains all presentation abstracts from the Wildland Fire track of the 2013 Society of American Foresters National Convention.

Unusually high levels of dieback have recently been reported in sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marsh., in Upper Michigan, and a network of plots was established to determine the extent and factors associated with the dieback. A possible contributor to this dieback is sapstreak disease caused by Ceratocystis virescens (Davidson) Moreau. Unhealthy trees...

Acer saccharum Marsh., is one of the most valuable trees in the northern hardwood forests. Severe dieback was recently reported by area foresters in the western Upper Great Lakes Region. Sugar Maple has had a history of dieback over the last 100 years throughout its range and different variables have been identified as being the predisposing and in...

Unusually high levels of dieback have recently been reported in sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marsh., in Upper Michigan, and a network of plots was established to determine the extent and factors associated with the dieback. A possible contributor to this dieback is sapstreak disease caused by Ceratocystis virescens (Davidson) Moreau. Unhealthy trees...

The exotic insect, emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), is responsible for the death of millions of ash trees. Removal of ash from areas in close proximity to outlier populations will reduce the potential population density of emerald ash borer (EAB).

he exotic emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis)(Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is established in a number of states, including Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, and in one Canadian province, Ontario. At high population densities, all green, black, and white ash trees are apparently susceptible to attack and can be expected to die. Emerald ash borer larvae d...

The exotic emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis)(Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is established in Lower Michigan and some surrounding states. At high population densities, all green, black, and white ash trees are apparently susceptible to attack and can be expected to die. The first record of this insect in Upper Michigan was from Brimley State...