Background
The Southern US Forest Region is characterized by high forest productivity, rich ecological diversity, and the prominence of a large private forest ownership. Today research must address ways to sustain and enhance forest productivity for an expanding array of goods and services while conserving soils, biodiversity, water quality and quantity, and special habitats for plants and wildlife. Practical and sustainable management systems are urgently needed by the 5 million private forest landowners in this region to achieve these goals.
Conflicts surrounding the use and management of natural resources on both private and public lands will increase as we face population growth, urbanization and demographic shifts to the South. The combination of past land abuse, altered natural disturbance patterns, exotic pest invasions, and human pressures and development, leave us with dynamically changing forest ecosystems. It is projected that the acreage in pine plantations on private lands in the southeast will double by 2040, as will the expansion of non-native plants on all landscapes. Urban and suburban development is subtracting about one percent annually from the forestland base. Commodity and non-commodity outputs and amenities from our shrinking forest resource must be increased and enhanced.
Ecologically sound and economically viable forest vegetation management prescriptions and strategies will be critically needed by both public and private forestlands. On public lands, restoring degraded ecosystems, such as longleaf pine, is now a major management goal. After decades of decline, regeneration of this fire-adapted species is increasing on private lands.
SRS 4552 is located at the G.W. Andrews Forestry Sciences Laboratory on the campus of
Auburn University
and has provided research leadership in forest vegetation management science and technology for more than 25 years. The unit has also provided research leadership and support for long-term (20-50+ years), longleaf pine ecology and management research, on the Escambia Experimental Forest in South Alabama.
Misson
The mission of this research unit is to develop integrated vegetation management strategies and practices that enhance and sustain Southern forest diversity and productivity and to develop management systems and models for restoring and sustaining longleaf pine ecosystems.
Research problem areas include:
- Evaluating the environmental risks and benefits associated with the use of forest herbicides, as compared to other forest vegetation management alternatives;
- Developing vegetation management prescriptions for sustainable forest management, and quantifying the resulting resource benefits and impacts;
- Developing restoration strategies and natural regeneration management alternatives, models and guidelines for longleaf pine ecosystems.
This is the Nation's only USDA Forest Service research unit with a focused mission to address the environmental and ecological impacts of forest vegetation management alternatives (herbicides, mechanical, fire etc.) and the South’s only unit that provides private and public forest managers with safe and effective forest vegetation management prescriptions and guidebooks. The unit also manages the 3000-acre Escambia Experimental Forest near Brewton, AL. This longleaf forest, established in 1947, contains long-term studies and demonstrations that are critical for developing sustainable strategies for longleaf pine ecosystems.
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USDA Forest Service
Southern Research Station 4552
520 Devall Drive ·
Auburn, AL ·
US · 36849
Phone 334.826.8700 ·
Fax 334.821.0037
Copyright 2008
Forest Vegetation Management and Longleaf Pine Research (SRS 4552) is part of the
USDA
Forest Service
Southern Research Station.
Please read our
non-discrimination statement and our
privacy and security notice
concerning this Web site.
For Further Information Contact: Kristina
F. Connor, Project Leader SRS 4552
