Out of Desolation, Restoration

There is no region of the country that has relied more on these resources to support public and private forest management than the South. All of the 19 active southern experimental forests have been uniquely important in one way or another, materially advancing what we know scientifically and in application to public and private lands. For example, hydrological studies at Coweeta in North Carolina, the Santee in South Carolina, the Tallahatchie in Mississippi, and the Alum Creek and Koen in Arkansas have provided the scientific basis for our understanding of upland forest hydrology, the role forests play in maintaining water quality, and the management techniques needed to maintain terrestrial and aquatic forest ecosystems.

The recovery of southern pine forests after the timbering era was made possible through silvicultural research in Coastal Plain loblollyshortleaf pine at the Crossett in Arkansas, in Piedmont loblolly pine on the Hitchiti in Georgia, in longleaf pine on the Escambia in Alabama, and in slash pine at the Olustee in Florida. The foundation of artificial regeneration in southern pines was built from genetics and physiology research on the Harrison in Mississippi, and from direct seeding and planting research on the Palustris in Louisiana. These advances collectively have made southern forests the “Wood Basket of the Nation.”

Restoration of degraded Piedmont landscapes was made possible with soil restoration research on the Calhoun in South Carolina, whose site, when founded, was referred to as the “worst of the worst.” Research studies on Appalachian oak-hickory stands at Bent Creek in North Carolina, on Ozark oak-hickory stands at the Sylamore in Arkansas, and in bottomland hardwood stands at the Delta in Mississippi, have been of utmost importance to the recovery and management of the diverse and productive hardwood forests of the region. Finally, research at the Stephen F. Austin in Texas was important in helping to understand the ecology and management of white-tailed deer and later, a range of threatened and endangered wildlife species.

Widening the Lens

As society’s appreciation of forests has changed, so has the research on the experimental forests, which were first set up to help solve relatively local problems. Today, this network of research sites is increasingly seen as important in the context of regional problems. Southern experimental forests are the repository of important long-term research that serves as a benchmark for ecosystem development and forest stability, with a number of unique climate, water, and vegetation datasets that exceed 70 years of continuous measurement. This is in no small measure due to the simple fact that the Federal land base is stable in comparison with privately owned lands, where ownership changes can mean the end of experiments.

Their reputation as holy places of forestry research has made a handful of SRS experimental forests such as Bent Creek, Coweeta, Crossett, and Hitchiti extraordinarily important in the realm of education and demonstration. Field days, continuing education workshops, and short courses have all been used on these sites to translate the dry findings of scientific journal articles into a reality that can in some cases only be fully appreciated with boots on the ground. There are few better ways to grasp the importance of forest health, diversity, productivity, or sustainability than experiencing one of these iconic sites in person.

But there is a broader need in relation to regional and national scientific problems. Scattered as they are across the South, the SRS experimental forests represent a gradient of scientific opportunity to address 21st century issues such as climate change, natural and human-produced disturbance, urban encroachment, and ecosystem fragmentation. Drawing on models of 20th century scientific accomplishment such as the Coweeta Long-Term Ecological Research Program, recent national initiatives such as common weather stations and the development of ecological observatory networks, the experimental forests managed by SRS promise to be equally important in the forest science of the 21st century and beyond.