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Compass issue 13
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Compass is a quarterly publication of the USDA Forest Service's Southern Research Station (SRS). As part of the Nation's largest forestry research organization -- USDA Forest Service Research and Development -- SRS serves 13 Southern States and beyond. The Station's 130 scienists work in more than 20 units located across the region at Federal laboratories, universites, and experimental forests.



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Issue 13

Blue Valley

The ecology of eastern white pine

The Blue Valley Experimental Forest (Blue Valley) lies in southwest North Carolina in the Nantahala National Forest. It’s located in Macon County, near the point where North Carolina meets Georgia and South Carolina. Established in 1964, the 1,300-acre experimental forest is the smallest of the three experimental forests in North Carolina and the second smallest of the 19 managed by SRS.

Blue Valley’s landscape is dominated by eastern white pine, but includes oak-hickory stands. Experts believe extensive grazing and logging around the turn of the 20th century contributed to the abundance of eastern white pine. The infertile soil is typical of the southern highlands. Buckberry is the most prevalent of the ericaceous (acid loving) shrubs that dominate the forest understory.

 

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Research studies at Blue Valley started in 1995, and include experiments on management practices such as single-tree selection cutting in white pine/hardwoods, shelterwood and underburning in white pine/hardwoods, and bark beetle populations. Blue Valley also provides opportunities to study the fundamentals of white pine ecology (including seed production and dispersal), ericaceous shrubs, and low-fertility sites.

Henry McNab, research forester with the SRS upland hardwoods unit, manages Blue Valley

 





With increased hurricane activity expected for the next 10 to 40 years, yearly damage to forests along the Gulf Coast could become the norm. (Photo by Peter L. Lorio, U.S. Forest Service, Bugwood.org)
For more than 80 years, Bent Creek researchers have shared their knowledge of forestry with fellow scientists, foresters, landowners, and many others. In this photo, David Loftis leads a group of visitors on a tour of Bent Creek. (Forest Service photo)