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Compass
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Article
by Kalen Breland, SRS Communications • March 7, 2024
New research shows that even the smallest ecological communities – like the microbes in the soil – thrive after prescribed fire. The bacterial and fungal communities in the soil are small but mighty, cycling nutrients and carbon through the ecosystem by contributing to decomposition and carbo...
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Article
by Kalen Breland, SRS Science Communications • February 27, 2024
In 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delisted eight species of mussels from the Endangered Species Act due to extinction. All of these mussels were native to the Southeast, a region of significant freshwater biodiversity. In addition to enigmatic declines, mussels face habitat destruction ...
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Article
by Christine Martens, Science Delivery Specialist • February 22, 2024
Older forests in particular are shifting from drought-tolerant tree species like oak and hickory to shade-loving trees like maple and poplar, reports a new study that evaluates fine-scale factors driving mesophication across the eastern U.S.
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • February 15, 2024
For many indigenous nations, river cane is a cultural keystone. The Forest Service currently stewards land that is the ancestral homeland of many tribal nations. Working with Tribes to restore, sustain, and improve access to river cane is one of the ways we are putting our Tribal Action Plan into...
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Article
by Ashlynn Amon, Southeast Climate Hub • February 13, 2024
The latest outreach efforts of the Southeast Climate Hub include participation at multiple public events. The Hub is bringing science-based information to farmers, foresters, and land managers across the South. At two events in 2023, the team interacted with over 4,000 people.
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Article
by Kalen Breland, SRS Science Communications • February 2, 2024
For more than 40 years, invasive wild pig (Sus scrofa) populations have exploded across the South, costing billions of dollars in damage to ecosystems and farms each year. New research indicates a promising new management tool for reducing the density of wild pig populations, but without consiste...
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • January 30, 2024
In the Southern Appalachians, fires that kill mature trees create habitat for birds - especially the species that depend on young forests and early successional habitat. But even bird species that are not considered disturbance-dependent were more abundant in areas that burned more severely.
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Article
by Sarah Farmer and Jennifer Moore Myers • January 25, 2024
Because American-Chinese chestnut hybrids are viable, people have assumed that the two species are compatible. However, new research reveals that their chromosomes are not so similar after all, at least in one key region of the genome.
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Science Shorts
by Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Science Communications Resource Assistant • January 23, 2024
Tree-of-heaven and Chinese tallow tree are the most invasive tree species in the South, according to a recent study which uses Forest Inventory & Analysis data to identify highly and moderately invasive nonnative species across the U.S.
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Article
by Kathryn Sosbe, Washington Office of Communication • January 17, 2024
Tax tips for forest landowners are now available. Updates for the 2023 filing season include changes to the limit for bonus depreciation. Many factors, including forest ownership classification, holding period, and the method of selling timber can affect taxes. The complexities of some of these i...
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Article
by Kalen Breland, SRS Science Communications • January 2, 2024
Across Florida, 30% or more of the ant species present are nonnative. In parts of southern Florida, that number has reached 70%. Ants disperse seeds and are important members of nutrient cycles. The researchers plan to further study nonnative ants and forest health, how to detect new species at p...
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Article
by Christine Martens, SRS Science Delivery Specialist • December 12, 2023
The Southeast Bat Hub was recently established to help people in 10 southern states conduct bat surveys that follow NABat protocols. The data collected is helping researchers understand how white-nose syndrome and other threats are affecting bat populations.
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Article
by Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Science Communications Resource Assistant • December 7, 2023
Cutting gaps in the canopy around eastern hemlock significantly improves their survival despite hemlock woolly adelgid infestations, reports a recent study. Researchers tested different gap sizes of up to 0.15 acres and found that the larger the gap, the better the hemlocks were able to produce n...
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Article
by Christine Martens, SRS Science Delivery Specialist • November 30, 2023
In October 2024, oak experts from around the world will gather in Knoxville, Tennessee for the International Oak Symposium. The Symposium is designed to meet Forest Service priorities, sustain oaks, and bring researchers and managers into productive dialogue. The call for abstracts – for both o...
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Article
by Kalen Breland, SRS Science Communications • November 7, 2023
A new economic model for understanding hardwood markets allows researchers to account for trends in the supply and demand of important species such as white oak. White oak is vital to many industries and is ecologically important. Previously, all hardwood species were modeled as a group. The new ...
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • October 26, 2023
The Louisiana pinesnake is one of the rarest snakes in the country. The Forest Service is restoring its longleaf pine habitat, tracking released snakes, and studying their population ecology. “This work highlights the multidisciplinary nature of species conservation and the multiple partnership...
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Article
by Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Science Communications Resource Assistant • October 19, 2023
A new modeling study suggests that climate change has become the major driver of erosion in the Mississippi River Basin. In the future, extreme precipitation is expected to occur more frequently in the upper basin cropland area. Croplands are more vulnerable to extreme rainfall and contribute mor...
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Article
by Christine Martens, SRS Science Delivery Specialist • October 11, 2023
A 20-year study confirms Asiatic bittersweet's sit and wait strategy. The invasive vine grew rapidly for the first 9 years in gaps created by Hurricane Opal. After that point, the gaps closed in with new growth, and Asiatic bittersweet increased only slowly until year 20. The study also reports t...
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Science Shorts
by Jacqueline Patterson SRS Science Communications Resource Assistant • October 3, 2023
Remote sensing technologies such as LIDAR are leading to more accessible and efficient ways to map forest structure in order to track forest health, conservation needs, and climate change impacts over time. LIDAR data can be used to create 3D maps of forest structure. A new study shows that fores...
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Article
by Christine Martens, SRS Science Delivery Specialist • September 28, 2023
A special issue in the journal Forest Ecology and Management focuses on chestnuts across the globe. Most of the 22 articles focus on the American chestnut and the European sweet chestnut. Topics included chestnut ecology, disease pathology, wildlife perspectives and silviculture for timber produc...
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • September 26, 2023
The most advanced hybrid American chestnut trees do not yet have the blight resistance needed for forest restoration, according to results from an eight year field trial. The recent study is part of a larger effort representing the oldest field trials of advanced hybrid seedlings.
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Article
by Mike Haldeman, SRS Science Communications • September 14, 2023
By 2070, drought is likely to affect three times the forest area as it has in recent decades. This is based on projections from a new Forest Service study that shows where drought exposure may increase and which forest types could be most affected. Managing for open forests by thinning, planting ...
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Article
by Allyson Mann, University of Georgia Athens • September 12, 2023
New research reveals that the plentiful—although short term—presence of black locust trees after a land disturbance creates nutrient conditions that favor species like maple and tulip poplar, rather than oak and hickory, and the effects can last for decades. In addition, fire makes soil more ...
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Article
by Mia Beams, SRS Science Communications intern; Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • August 17, 2023
A new book takes an ecosystem approach to urban forest management. The book provides detailed steps for developing a successful urban forest management plan – from assembling a project team, engaging the community, surveying the urban forest and working within the governance to create a sustain...
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • August 10, 2023
Prepared as a part of the centennial of Forest Service research in the South, a new report uses previously unpublished studies, biographies, maps, letters, photos, and other primary materials to show how forestry evolved in the southern U.S.
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Article
by Mia Beams, SRS Science Communications Intern • August 3, 2023
A new study is the first to examine how large storage dams in freshwater streams affect crayfish. The study reports that streams with a dam have fewer microhabitats, more predators, less aquatic vegetation and warmer water. They also have fewer crayfish. Streams without a dam have more microhabit...
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Article
by Mia Beams, SRS Science Communication Intern • August 1, 2023
Since 2007, some bee populations have fallen by more than 80%, according to a recent 15-year study on bees and butterflies in northeastern Georgia. This study was among the first to assess pollinator decline in forests largely undisturbed by humans. Many previous reports of pollinator declines to...
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Article
by Tom Brandeis, Forest Inventory and Analysis • July 20, 2023
Forest Inventory and Analysis experts recently shared forest inventory knowledge with experts in the Republic of Tajikistan. The Tajikistan government is seeking to reforest rural areas, improve watershed management, and implement a national forest inventory that would provide them with the infor...
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Science Shorts
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • July 18, 2023
Timber sales are part of the Forest Service land management strategy. But in recent years, almost 15% of timber sales have not gotten a single bid when first offered. New research is illuminating the factors driving no-bid timber sales and pointing towards solutions that can reduce them.
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • July 11, 2023
With partnerships, a model, and maps, fire managers on the Oconee National Forest in Georgia doubled the acres treated with prescribed fire.
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Science Shorts
by Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Science Communications Resource Assistant • June 28, 2023
A new study found that, at broad scales, dense, crowded forests are at higher risk of damage from insects and diseases. USDA Forest Service researchers Christopher Asaro, Frank Koch, and Kevin Potter compared the amount of space trees take up, or total basal area (TBA), with survey maps of fore...
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Article
by Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Science Communications Resource Assistant • June 22, 2023
Forests provide critical pollinator habitat and pollinators provide important benefits to forests. A new global review discusses why forests are incredibly important to pollinators and how forest pollinators can provide substantial economic benefits to neighboring agricultural areas.
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Article
by Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Science Communications Resource Assistant • June 16, 2023
The 2023 FIA National User Group Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina was hosted by the Society of American Foresters and the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement. The meeting highlighted partner projects as well as FIA program updates.
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Article
by Jacqueline Patterson and Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • June 15, 2023
140 sixth-graders recently spent a day at Bent Creek Experimental Forest, learning about hemlock ecology and spending time in the woods. Forest Service researchers Bud Mayfield and Andy Whittier showed students the hemlock insectaries, where biocontrol agents that prey on hemlock woolly adelgids ...
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Article
by Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Communications Resource Assistant • June 1, 2023
Table mountain pine, a rare and fire-dependent tree species that grows in the Appalachian Mountains, has declined due to fire suppression and changing land uses. Researchers are studying the genetic diversity of the species to guide restoration efforts. Replanting and restoration may be essential...
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Article
by Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Communications Resource Assistant • May 30, 2023
A survey of alligator snapping turtles focused on habitat preferences and environmental DNA as a safer, more efficient method for sampling populations of these rare, potentially endangered turtles.
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Article
by A. Dan Wilson, research plant pathologist • April 17, 2023
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Article
by Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Communications Resource Assistant • April 6, 2023
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Science Shorts
by Lars Pomara, Ecologist • March 23, 2023
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • March 22, 2023
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Science Shorts
by Mac Callaham, research ecologist, and Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Science Communications Resource Assistant • March 14, 2023
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Science Shorts
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • January 26, 2023
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Article
by Kathryn Sosbe, Forest Service Office of Communciation • January 24, 2023
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Article
by Mei Geller, Science Communication Intern • January 12, 2023
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Article
by Sam Lambert, SRS Forest Inventory and Analysis • January 5, 2023
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Article
by Sarah Farmer and Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Communications • December 14, 2022
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Article
by Laurel Haavik, Technical Writer-Editor • December 8, 2022
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Article
by Amy Androff, Public Affairs Specialist, Forest Products Laboratory • December 6, 2022
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Article
by A. Dan Wilson, Research Plant Pathologist • November 16, 2022
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Article
by Preston Durham, SRS Forester • November 2, 2022
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • November 1, 2022
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Article
by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications • October 27, 2022
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • October 26, 2022
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Article
by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications • October 13, 2022
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • September 29, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Jeff Prestemon, senior research forester and project leader, Southern Research Station • September 22, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer, and Mei Geller, SRS Communications Intern • September 1, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • July 21, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • July 14, 2022
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Article
by Mei Geller, SRS Science Communications Intern • July 12, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • June 28, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • June 22, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • June 9, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • June 7, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • June 2, 2022
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Article
by Deena C. Bouknight • May 19, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • May 12, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • May 10, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • May 5, 2022
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • May 3, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • April 28, 2022
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Article
by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications • April 26, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • April 21, 2022
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Article
by Paul Hamel, retired USDA Forest Service scientist • April 20, 2022
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Article
by Joyce El Kouarti, Office of Communications • April 19, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Teresa Jackson, SRS public affairs specialist • April 14, 2022
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Article
by Mac Callaham, research ecologist, and Virginia McDaniel, science writer • April 12, 2022
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Article
by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer • April 7, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • April 5, 2022
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Article
by Meredith Blackwell, professor emerita; and Brian Sullivan, research entomologist • March 24, 2022
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Article
by Jennifer Moore Myers and Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • March 22, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • March 17, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Andrew Dolloff, SRS Project Leader & Fishery Research Biologist • March 15, 2022
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Article
by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer • March 10, 2022
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • March 8, 2022
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Article
by Sean Nealon, Oregon State University News Editor • March 2, 2022
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Article
by Kathryn Sosbe, Office of Communication • February 23, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer • February 17, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Forestry Technician • February 15, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer • February 3, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer • February 1, 2022
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • January 27, 2022
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • January 26, 2022
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Article
by Virginia McDaniel, Forestry Technician • January 25, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • January 13, 2022
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Science Shorts
by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer • January 4, 2022
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • August 12, 2021
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, Science Writer • January 18, 2018
Raindrops that land on trees may never hit the ground. “Trees intercept a significant amount of rain,” says U.S. Forest Service science delivery specialist Eric Kuehler.
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Article
by Texas A&M and Texas Forest Service - adapted from news release • August 1, 2017
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Article
by Tom Brandeis, SRS Forest Inventory & Analysis • December 7, 2016
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Article
by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications • October 6, 2016
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Article
by Jenni Moore-Myers • September 13, 2012
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Article
by Stephanie Worley Firley, EFETAC • July 19, 2012