Mission
The two problem statements below describe our contract with the U.S. public-- to use the best research methods available to resolve these problems and get the answers to the landowners, policy makers, and the public who need them.
Problem 1. Information, methods, and guidelines are lacking to implement and evaluate ecosystem management concepts, practices, and effects on water, soil and forest resources.
Research during the past 5 years has concentrated on quantifying the impacts of several alternative forest practices on soil and water resources. A body of knowledge, largely published, has emerged to assess practices such as cable logging, forest roads, herbicides, mechanical site preparation and cut/burn stand restoration. In many cases, results were translated into management guidelines and some studies were terminated. Remaining results will be published and appropriate guidelines and evaluation tools developed with an emphasis on responses of soil nutrients and site productivity. The RWU will continue to provide leadership in the Wine Spring Creek Ecosystem Management Project for both direction and conduct of research. New studies will address gaps in knowledge on the structure and function of ecosystems that must be filled to evaluate ecosystem sustainability.
Problem 2. Improved knowledge, baseline data, and predictive methods are required to evaluate effects of the atmospheric environment on forested watersheds in the southeastern U.S.
Research over the past five years has focused on developing a mechanistic understanding of the interactions among the atmospheric environment (chemical and physical) and watershed resources and biological processes at multiple scales. Particular emphasis has been placed on quantifying the atmospheric environment's regulation of carbon, water, and nutrient cycles, as well as potential climate change impacts on productivity and hydrology. Modeling has been a large component of these activities for integrating, synthesizing, and scaling processes across space and time. In the upcoming five years, past studies will be concluded and results published. New research to develop regional scale models of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles will be conducted along with synthesis of trends in atmospheric deposition and watershed level stream chemistry responses. Other new studies will focus on evapotranspiration and runoff processes as related to management and environmental issues.
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