Read my latest TREE Fund Webinar Recap in the Winter 2024 issue of Western Arborist. I've copied the article below for anyone who doesn't subscribe to this great publication.
And for any researchers out there working on utility vegetation management be sure to submit your LOI to TREE Fund by March 15 for the upcoming Utility Arborist Research Fund Grant. More details are at the bottom of this page
Greg Mink
Consulting Arborist
WCISA TREE Fund Committee Member
On June 18, 2024 the TREE Fund hosted a webinar with Dr. Chris Halle of Sonoma State University to discuss his research, “Establishing a Western United States Integrated Vegetation Management Network: Initial Results, Ancillary Studies, and Lessons Learned”. The research was partially funded by the TREE Fund’s Utility Arborist Research Fund, which “Supports work with real importance and benefit to utility tree care professionals” (treefund.org). This article provides a very brief synopsis of the hour-long webinar. Please visit TreeFund.org and check out the “Webinars Archive” tab for a link to a recording of this interesting research that is relevant to every Western Chapter Arborist. You can also sign up for notifications for upcoming webinars, which will provide attendees with 1 CEU when viewed live.
Dr. Halle has over 35 years of experience in industry and academia and is currently the Program Development Lead at Sonoma State University’s Center for Environmental Inquiry. In the webinar, he described the idea for this project stemming from working with PGE to develop research in utility Right-of-ways to decrease wildfire ignition, increase native flora and fauna, and engage with the public.
The research occurred over three study sites: Fairfield Osborne Preserve in Rohnert Park, Pepperwood Preserve near Santa Rosa, and a site in El Dorado National Forest. Plots were treated with mechanical treatment only, mechanical treatment with herbicide spot treatments, and natural control. The research team used student interns through the Native Pollinator Partnership to collect data on biodiversity of plant species and abundance of pollinators. COVID did shut down field work for a while, but this allowed a longer field study period.
The paper draws conclusions about the effect on floral diversity and pollinator abundance based on cover conversion, while noting the uncontrollable effect of annual precipitation. Diversity of flora in the managed ROW was greater than the diversity in the untreated control. Abundance of pollinators was greater in the untreated control than the treated ROW during a very wet year; abundance of pollinators was greater in the treated ROW during dry years. Dr Halle postulates the greater diversity of fauna found in the treated plots allowed for more flowering during dry years than was possible in the less diverse untreated plots.
The second part of the project lays out some ideas for establishing a regional framework for conducting similar research in ROW’s throughout the West. Dr Halle points out that Utility Vegetation Managers throughout the West face similar challenges, but there is no unified effort. An overarching steering group could pool resources, direct research efforts, and allow greater opportunity for workforce development with cooperation from universities. This regional cooperative group is still in the planning stages, but hopefully we’ll all get some updates soon!
TREE Fund webinars are a great FREE resource to stay on top of the latest research. To close out the year, TREE Fund will be hosting webinars titled:
Tree Caused Outages – What we know and what we have learned. (Nov. 5, 2024)
Biochar for Tree Growth and Water Quality: Exploring Potential in Urban and Disturbed Soils (Dec. 17, 2024)
The TREE Fund spring grant cycle is opening up soon! See the upcoming grant opportunity below and visit TREEFund.org for more info:
Utility Arborist Research Fund Grant Program: Supports work with real importance and benefit to utility tree care professionals. Award amount: up to $50,000 (minimum $10,000)100-Word Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) accepted January 15 to March 1, 2025For approved LOIs only, applications accepted January 15 to March 15, 2025