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This open access book describes the serious threat of invasive species to native ecosystems. Invasive species have caused and will continue to cause enormous ecological and economic damage with ever increasing world trade. This multi-disciplinary book, written by over 100 national experts, presents the latest research on a wide range of natural science and social science fields that explore the ecology, impacts, and practical tools for management of invasive species. It covers species of all taxonomic groups from insects and pathogens, to plants, vertebrates, and aquatic organisms that impact a diversity of habitats in forests, rangelands and grasslands of the United States. It is well-illustrated, provides summaries of the most important invasive species and issues impacting all regions of the country, and includes a comprehensive primary reference list for each topic. This scientific synthesis provides the cultural, economic, scientific and social context for addressing environmental challenges posed by invasive species and will be a valuable resource for scholars, policy makers, natural resource managers and practitioners.

This edited volume presents original scientific research and knowledge synthesis covering the past, present, and potential future fire ecology of major US forest types, with implications for forest management in a changing climate. The editors and authors highlight broad patterns among ecoregions and forest types, as well as detailed information for individual ecoregions, for fire frequencies and severities, fire effects on tree mortality and regeneration, and levels of fire-dependency by plant and animal communities. The foreword addresses emerging ecological and fire management challenges for forests, in relation to sustainable development goals as highlighted in recent government reports. An introductory chapter highlights patterns of variation in frequencies, severities, scales, and spatial patterns of fire across ecoregions and among forested ecosystems across the US in relation to climate, fuels, topography and soils, ignition sources (lightning or anthropogenic), and vegetation. Separate chapters by respected experts delve into the fire ecology of major forest types within US ecoregions, with a focus on the level of plant and animal fire-dependency, and the role of fire in maintaining forest composition and structure. The regional chapters also include discussion of historic natural (lightning-ignited) and anthropogenic (Native American; settlers) fire regimes, current fire regimes as influenced by recent decades of fire suppression and land use history, and fire management in relation to ecosystem integrity and restoration, wildfire threat, and climate change. The summary chapter combines the major points of each chapter, in a synthesis of US-wide fire ecology and forest management into the future. This book provides current, organized, readily accessible information for the conservation community, land managers, scientists, students and educators, and others interested in how fire behavior and effects on structure and composition differ among ecoregions and forest types, and what that means for forest management today and in the future.

Synthesizes the ecology and natural history of North American freshwater mussels for scientists, natural resource professionals, students and natural history enthusiasts.

This open access book synthesizes leading-edge science and management information about forest and rangeland soils of the United States. It offers ways to better understand changing conditions and their impacts on soils, and explores directions that positively affect the future of forest and rangeland soil health. This book outlines soil processes and identifies the research needed to manage forest and rangeland soils in the United States. Chapters give an overview of the state of forest and rangeland soils research in the Nation, including multi-decadal programs (chapter 1), then summarizes various human-caused and natural impacts and their effects on soil carbon, hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biological diversity (chapters 2–5). Other chapters look at the effects of changing conditions on forest soils in wetland and urban settings (chapters 6–7). Impacts include: climate change, severe wildfires, invasive species, pests and diseases, pollution, and land use change. Chapter 8 considers approaches to maintaining or regaining forest and rangeland soil health in the face of these varied impacts. Mapping, monitoring, and data sharing are discussed in chapter 9 as ways to leverage scientific and human resources to address soil health at scales from the landscape to the individual parcel (monitoring networks, data sharing Web sites, and educational soils-centered programs are tabulated in appendix B). Chapter 10 highlights opportunities for deepening our understanding of soils and for sustaining long-term ecosystem health and appendix C summarizes research needs. Nine regional summaries (appendix A) offer a more detailed look at forest and rangeland soils in the United States and its Affiliates.

Over 1.6 million miles of dirt and gravel roads exist within the United States providing a vital part of the nation's transportation system. An environmentally sensitive road maintenance practice is a practice that when implemented reduces the adverse effect of a road on the environment by treating the cuase of the problem and is in keeping wtih the natural landscape. This illustrated field guide provides examples of environmentally sensitive maintenance practices, which if implemented reduce erosion and sediment, maintain subsurface hydrologic connectivity, restore drainage density to more natural conditions, and eliminate diversion potential. It is organized to identify visual signs and problems associated with CAUSES and SOLUTIONS for the most commonly encountered road problens (road surface, ditch, cutbank, etc.) Highway inspectors, public works construction inspectors, to include some construction and building inspectors and engineers that must meet compliance with specifications, building codes, and other regulations, Additionally, City engineers, concrete masonry contractors, road maintenance specialists and workers, and technicians, as well as County Road Supervisors may ber interested in this volume. Students pursuing degree programs for Civil Engineering or certificates of study for Industrial Maintenance Technology or Public Works training in clases such as Roadway Asset Management Essentials, or Inspecting Pavement Markings or certified Public Infrastructure Inspector courses may be interested in this print field guide as a handy reference. Related products: Sign Up for the Public Roads print subscription to begin receiving valuable guidance bimonthly from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/750-005-00000-4?ctid= Drainage Manual can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/024-003-00177-5 Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils, Version 3.0 is available for purchase here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/001-000-04758-2 Converging Waters: Integrating Collaborative Modeling With Participatory Processes to Make Water Resources Decisions can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/008-022-00349-5 Gravel Roads Construction and Maintenance Guide is available for purchase here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/050-001-00348-1 Designing Sustainable Off-Highway Vehicle Trails: An Alaska Train Manager's Perspective is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/001-001-00701-3 Other resources that may be of interest produced by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/199 Other publications produced by the U.S. Forest Service within the United States Department of Agriculture can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/819 , .

Grow It, Try It, Like It! Preschool Fun with Fruits and Vegetables is a garden-themed nutrition education kit for child care center staff that introduces children to: three fruits - peaches, strawberries, and cantaloupe, and three vegetables - spinach, sweet potatoes, and crookneck squash.

This book provides a detailed discussion of four class-action discrimination cases that have recently been settled within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and have led to a change in the way in which the USDA supports farmers from diverse backgrounds. These settlements shed light on why access to successful farming has been so often limited to white men and/or families, and significantly this has led to a change for opportunities in the way the USDA supports famers from diverse backgrounds. With chapters focusing on each settlement Jett provides an overview of the USDA before diving into a closer discussion of the four key settlements, involving African American farmers (Pigford), Native Americans (Keepseagle), Woman famers (Love) and Latino(a) farmers (Garcia), and the similarities between each. This title places and emphasis on what is happening in farming culture today, drawing connections between these four settlements and the increasing attention on urban farming, community gardens, farmers markets, organic farming and the slow food movement, through to the larger issues of food justice and access to food. Fighting for Farming Justice will be of interest to scholars of food justice and the farming arena, as well as those in the fields of Agricultural Economics, Civil Rights Law and Ethic Studies.

Practical, easy-to-follow guide tells how to select, prepare, and can fruits, vegetables, poultry, red meats, and seafoods; how to preserve fruit spreads, fermented foods, and pickled vegetables; and much more.