Southern Research Station Headquarters - Asheville, NC
![[Images] Five photos of different landscape](/images/imstr1.jpg "[Images] Five photos of different landscape")
Issue 5
New Products
Southern Pine Ecosystems
1 Craul, Philip J.; Kush, John S.; Boyer, William D. 2005. Longleaf pine site zones. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-89. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 23 p.
The authors delineate six major climatic
areas of the longleaf pine region. They subdivide these areas into 21 site zones, each of which is deemed homogenous with respect to climate, physiography, and soils. The site zones are mapped and their climate, physiography, and soils described. The authors recommend that plantings of longleaf pine in any of the six major climatic areas of the longleaf region be made with a seed source from the same area.
2 Grace, J.M. III; Skaggs, R.W.; Cassel, D.K. 2006. Soil physical changes associated with forest harvesting operations on an organic soil. Journal of Soil Science Society of America. 70: 503-509.
The influence of forest operations on forest soil and water continues to be an issue of concern in forest management. However, poorly drained forested watersheds with organic soil surface horizons have not been extensively investigated. A study was initiated to investigate the effect of harvesting operations in the Tidewater region of North Carolina on soils classified as shallow organic soils. Compaction caused by the harvest operation increased bulk density (Db) from 0.22 to 0.27 g cm -3, decreaded saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat) from 397 to 82 cm h-1, and decreased the drained volume for a given water table depth.
Wetlands, Bottomlands, and Streams
3 Adams, Susan B. 2005. Katrina: boon or bust for freshwater fish communities? Watershed. Fall & Winter: 19-21, 23.
Hurricane Katrina was the most damaging storm to hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast in recent history. Although catastrophic in human terms, was Katrina a disaster for freshwater ecosystems? Were the storm and its impacts on freshwater fish communities “natural”? The naturalness of the storm’s effects on freshwater communities varies depending on previous anthropogenic alterations of ecosystems. Long-term effects will further depend on human actions following the storm. Although many fish, especially near the coast, were killed, populations are expected to rebound. In addition, the storm will leave an extremely beneficial ecological legacy in the form of copious wood (trees and root wads) deposited in streams and rivers, where it will provide vital habitat complexity for years to come.
4 Amatya, D.M.; Trettin, C.C.; Skaggs, R.W. [and others]. 2005. Five hydrologic studies conducted by or in cooperation with the Center for Forested Wetlands Research, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Res. Pap. SRS-40. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 22 p.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Center for Forested Wetlands Research has conducted or cooperated in studies designed to improve understanding of fundamental hydrologic and biogeochemical processes that link aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The topics of the include: (1) soil moisture dynamics, flow regimes, and water chemistry of low-gradient forested wetlands; (2) effects of various water management and silvicultural management practices; (3) questions related to public concerns about the need for protection, restoration, and sustainable management of forested wetlands; (4) hydrology and water quality of intensively managed shortrotation woody crop plantations; and (5) surface-water and groundwater interactions between Carolina bays and their surrounding uplands. Recommendations are provided for using knowledge gained through these and other studies as a basis for expanding needed hydrologic research with collaborators to address major areas of water-related issues in the Southeast.
5 Dosskey, M.G.; D.E. Eisenhauer, D.E.; and M.J. Helmers, M.J. 2005. Establishing conservation buffers using precision information. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 60 (6): 349-354.
To reduce water pollution, grass or forest vegetation is often located between agricultural fields and streams to trap sediment and fertilizer in runoff before it enters streams. Currently, buffers are installed having uniform width along a stream. However, runoff typically flows unevenly from agricultural fields and overwhelms some portions of buffer, while other portions do not contact runoff. We propose a new approach-vary the width of buffers to match the filtering needs of every location along the stream. This approach is made possible using detailed topographic maps, global positioning devices, geographic information systems, and improved mathematical models. This approach would achieve substantially greater water quality benefit from each acre of buffer.
6 Grace, J.M. III. 2006. A new design to evaluate erosion and sediment control. In: Proceedings, Environmental Connection 2006. Colorado Springs, CO: International Erosion Control Association: 153-162.
Controlling sediment movement is a common objective in most forestry best management practices (BMPs). Monitoring designs for effective evaluations of erosion and sediment control practices are critical. General engineering design aspects involved in evaluating erosion control, sediment control, and BMPs on the forest landscape are presented in this work. Statistical considerations to optimize data collection and increase the probability of statistically valid results are presented. In addition, we present an innovative study design (real world) and application to evaluate the effectiveness of three road sediment control treatments in filtering sediment-laden storm runoff: settling basins, sediment basin with riser control, and hay bale barriers.
7 Mulhouse, John M.; De Steven, Diane; Lide, Robert F.; Sharitz, Rebecca R. 2005. Effects of dominant species on vegetation change in Carolina bay wetlands following a multi-year drought.Journal of Torrey Botanical Society. 132(3): 411-420.
Wetland vegetation is strongly dependent upon climate-influenced hydrologic conditions, and plant composition responds in generally consistent ways to droughts. However, the extent of species composition change during drought may be influenced by the preexisting structure of wetland vegetation. We characterized the vegetation of 10 herbaceous Carolina bay wetlands on the South Carolina Upper Coastal Plain during a period of average rainfall and again near the end of a four-year drought. Aquatic species decreased during the drought in all wetlands, regardless of vegetation group. Compared to grass/sedge marshes, pond/meadow wetlands acquired more species, particularly nonwetland species, during the drought. Pond/meadow wetlands also had greater increases in the abundances of species that require unflooded conditions to establish. The results suggest that Carolina bay vegetation dynamics may differ as a function of dominant vegetation and climate driven variation in wetland hydrologic condition.
Mountain and Highland Ecosystems
8 Clinton, Barton D.; Vose, James M. 2006. Variation in streamwater quality in an urban headwater stream in the Southern Appalachians. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 169: 331-353.
Land use is one of the most important factors determining water quality. As human populations increase and land use patterns change, resource managers, planners, and regulators need to understand the impacts of urbanization on water quality and aquatic resources. We examined the influence of a forested landscape on the quality of water in a stream originating on an urban landscape. Over the roughly 2-km reach of this stream there were significant reductions in some nitrogen and phosphorus compounds due to the stream’s inherent ability to improve water quality through a variety of in-stream processes when inputs are minimized. In addition, bacteria populations declined as did total suspended solids. This study illustrates the importance of undisturbed stream reaches in mitigating against point and non-point sources of nutrients and sediment.
9 Predny, Mary L.; Chamberlain, James L. 2005. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis): an annotated bibliography. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-86. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 55 p.
Bloodroot is a spring-blooming herbaceous perennial found in hardwood forests throughout the Appalachian Mountain regions and eastern United States. The common name and the scientific name Sanguinaria refers to the plant’s blood-red sap, which contains alkaloids that make the plant so valuable. Native Americans used bloodroot as a dye, love charm, and medicine. Bloodroot was described in medicinal pharmacopoeias as early as the 1800s, with detailed descriptions of the plant, its chemical constituents, and therapeutic values. Bloodroot is primarily wildharvested for domestic and international markets. This report describes the characteristics and growth habits of bloodroot, summarizes the plant’s many uses, reviews the global market and trade, examines the conservation status of the plant, and identifies future research needs.
10 Predny, Mary L.; Chamberlain, James L. 2005. Galax (Galax urceolata): an annotated bibliography. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-87. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 33 p.
Galax is an evergreen groundcover harvested for use in the floral industry. The plant’s durable, shiny green leaves turn red in the fall, and are popular background foliage in floral arrangements. People living in western North Carolina and other rural Appalachian locations have harvested galax for supplemental incomes since the late 19th century. Today, more than 90 percent of the harvesters are of Latino origin. Experienced harvesters can collect about 5000 leaves a day and generate from $20 to $120, depending on the prices which varies with the season, size and color of the leaves, as well as market demand. Industry concern for the availability and sustainability of galax prompted the U.S. Forest Service to restrict the harvest season, and to undertake studies to determine sustainable harvest levels. This book describes plant’s characteristics and growth habits, summarizes its many uses, reviews trade and market conditions, examines its conservation status and identifies future research needs.
11 Predny, Mary L.; Chamberlain, James L. 2005. Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis): an annotated bibliography. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-88. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 67 p.
Goldenseal, a member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), is an herbaceous perennial found in rich hardwood forests of eastern United States. Originally used by Native Americans as a medicine and a dye, the herb was adopted by European settlers in the 19th century. The alkaloids in goldenseal have antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic effects. Growing awareness of the plant’s medicinal values has increased worldwide consumption, which, combined with loss of habitat, has greatly reduced wild populations. In 1997, Goldenseal was listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Demand for cultivated roots has increased as wild populations become scarce, motivating research into propagation and cultivation techniques.
Inventory and Monitoring
12 Brandeis, Thomas J.; Kuegler, Olaf; Knowe, Steven A. 2005. Equations for merchantable volume for subtropical moist and wet forests of Puerto Rico. Res. Pap. SRS-39. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 15 p.
In Puerto Rico, where locally grown woods are primarily used for furniture and crafts production, estimation of wood volume makes it possible to estimate the monetary value of one of the many commodities and services forests provide to society. In the forest inventories of 1980 and 1990, workers calculated stem volume directly by applying geometric formulae to bole sections of merchantable trees. Field crews recorded several diameter and height measurements along the bole of each tree. If tree volume estimates were based on fewer tree measurements, this would significantly increase field crew productivity. For this reason, tree volume equations have been derived from Puerto Rican forest inventory data by directly calculating stem volume, then creating regression equations that estimate inside and outside bark merchantable stem volume from tree diameter at breast height and total height.
13 Johnson, Tony G.; Wells, John L. 2005. Georgia’s timber industry—an assessment of timber product output and use, 2003. Resour. Bull. SRS-104. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 46 p.
This report contains the findings of a 2003 canvass of all primary woodusing plants in Georgia, and presents changes in product output and residue use since 2001. It complements the Forest Inventory and Analysis periodic inventory of volume and removals from the States’ timberland. The canvass was conducted to determine the amount and source of wood receipts and annual timber product drain, by county, in 2003 and to determine interstate and cross-regional movement of industrial roundwood. Only primary wood-using mills were canvassed. Primary mills are those that process roundwood in log or bolt form or as chipped roundwood. Examples of industrial roundwood products are saw logs, pulpwood, veneer logs, poles, and logs used for composite board products.
Large-Scale Assessment and Modeling
14 Liu, Yongqiang. 2005. Land breeze and thermals: a scale threshold to distinguish their effects. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. 22(6): 889-902.
Land breeze is a type of mesoscale circulation developed due to thermal forcing over a heterogeneous landscape. It can contribute to atmospheric dynamic and hydrologic processes through affecting heat and water fluxes on the land-atmosphere interface and generating shallow convective precipitation. If the scale of the landscape heterogeneity is smaller than a certain size, however, the resulting land breeze becomes weak and mixed with other thermal convections, like thermals. This study seeks to identify a scale threshold to distinguish the effects between land breeze and thermals. The results suggest that the effects of land breeze can be clearly distinguished from those of thermals only if the size of the landscape heterogeneity is larger than the scale threshold of about 5 km for dry atmospheric processes or about 15 km for moist ones.
15 Liu, Yongqiang; Avissar, Roni. 2005. Modeling of the global water cycle—analytical models. In: Anderson, M.G., ed. Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences. New York: John Wiley & Sons: 2781-2794.
Both numerical and analytical models of coupled atmosphere and its underlying ground components (land, ocean, ice) are useful tools for modeling the global and regional water cycle. Unlike complex three-dimensional climate models, analytical models are able to provide more direct and intuitive figures of variability and processes in a highly simplified system. They can be an especially efficient alternative for studying the continental water cycle. This article describes the analytical models developed based on soil and atmospheric water and energy conservation equations. We use a fourth-order model to illustrate the perturbation equation, solutions, and physical interpretation. We present our understanding of some water cycle variability issues, including timescale, persistence, and major physical parameters and processes.
Wildland-Urban Interface and Urban Forestry
16 Genton, Marc G.; Butry, David T.; Gumpertz, Marcia L.; Prestemon, Jeffrey P. 2006. Spatio-temporal analysis of wildfire ignitions in the St. Johns River Water Management District, Florida. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 15: 87-97.
We analyze the spatio-temporal structure of wildfire ignitions in the St. Johns River Water Management District in northeastern Florida. We show that wildfire events occur in clusters. Clustering correlates with irregular distribution of fire ignitions, including lightning and human sources, and fuels on the landscape. In addition, we define a relative clustering index that summarizes the amount of clustering over various spatial scales. We carry our analysis in three steps: purely temporal, purely spatial, and spatio-temporal. Our results show that arson and lightning are the leading causes of wildfires in this region and that ignitions by railroad, lightning, and arson are spatially more clustered than ignitions by other accidental causes.
Foundation Programs
17 Clarke, John W.; White, Marshall S.; Araman, Philip A. 2005. Effect of stringer repair methods and repair frequency on performance. Pallet Enterprise. 25(2): 68-73.
Over 135 million wooden pallets were repaired for reuse in 1995. Notched stringers are one of the most commonly damaged components. Metal plates, half companion stringers, and full companion stringers are repair methods described in the U.S. industry standard published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This study evaluated the effect of these three stringer repair methods on the bending strength and stiffness of 48x40 GMA-style pallets spanning the pallet stringers.
18 Dumroese, Kasten R.; James, Robert L. 2005. Root diseases in bareroot and container nurseries of the Pacific Northwest: epidemiology, management, and effects on outplanting performance. New Forests. 30: 185-202.
In forest and conservation nurseries in the Pacific Northwest, seedling production can be limited by root diseases caused by fungi. These root pathogens are encouraged by water saturated soils or medium. Infected seedlings usually have yellowish or dead needles or leaves with extensive root decay; one serious root pathogen often causes serious root decay without shoot symptoms. The best approach to reduce losses from these diseases is to use a holistic integrated pest management program. This program should combine chemical controls with cultural practices, particularly those that increase soil permeability and drainage and reduce potential sources of inoculum, especially by disinfesting seeds and containers reused for crops. We found, in general, that seedlings meeting nursery specifications for outplanting on forest soil but having these disease organisms on their root systems perform as well as non-infected seedlings.
19 Hwang, Chin-Yin; Hse, Chung-Yun;Shupe, Todd F. 2005. Effects of recycled fiber on the properties of fiberboard panels. Forest Products Journal. 55(11):66-64.
This study examined the effects of recycled and virgin wood fiber on the properties of fiberboard. Replacing virgin fiber with recycled fiber adversely affected physical and mechanical properties of fiberboard. Bending properties and dimensional stability were linearly dependent on virgin fiber ratios. Based on strength properties, panels with 20 and 40 percent recycled fiber contents conformed to standards for class 4-service and class S-industrialite hardboard, respectively. All panels with recycled fiber content greater than 40 percent failed to meet any commercial requirement.
20 Lin, Lianzhen; Hse, Chung-Yun. 2005. Liquefaction of CCA-treated wood and elimination of metals from the solvent by precipitation. Holzforschung. 59: 285-288.
Spent chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood was liquefied in polyethylene glycol 400/glycerin (2:1 w/w). Sulfuric acid (95-98%) and ferrous salts (FeSO4•7H2O or FeCl2•4H2O) were used as catalysts and additives, respectively. The resulting liquefied CCA-treated wood was diluted with aqueous solvents and was then mixed with complexion/precipitation agents, followed by precipitation or filtration to remove the toxic metal-bearing sediment. As a result, more than 90% of Cu, Cr or As was removed.
