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On 12 April 2020, a tornadic quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) produced two EF-3 tornadoes in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana in close proximity to instrumentation operated by the University of Louisiana Monroe’s (ULM) Atmospheric Science program. In addition to the in situ environmental information, a high-resolution aerial damage survey was conducted by the ULM Unmanned Aerial Systems program. In this paper, these datasets are used to provide a comprehensive environmental and storm-scale analysis of the tornadic QLCS through northern Louisiana. In addition, we discuss the importance of aerial damage surveys, and how Doppler radar-derived tornado intensity estimates compared to the damage survey. 

Abstract A growing body of research shows that plant genetic factors can influence ecosystem processes and structure communities, but one aspect that has received little study is sex differentiation in dioecious plants. Since headwater streams are reliant on riparian leaf litterfall, plant sex differences in leaf traits may influence in‐stream processes. Sitka willow (Salix sitchensis) at Mount St. Helens is dioecious and heavily infested with the stem‐boring weevil (Cryptorhynchus lapathi), which causes branch dieback and summer litterfall. We found that female willow shrubs tend to grow closer to the stream bank, are more likely to be infected by the weevil, and have 42% higher litter C:N than male willows. These factors may lead to increased litter inputs and slower litter mass loss for female willows. The combination of colonization location, herbivore attack, altered litter quality, and slower mass loss results in female shrubs providing more sustained carbon and nutrient resources to microbes and invertebrates in the early successional streams at Mount St. Helens. In addition, since dioecy is a relatively common trait in riparian habitats, it is possible that plant sex plays a far more interesting role in structuring linked terrestrial–aquatic communities and ecosystem processes than previously understood.