Compass, published quarterly by the SRS science delivery group, is designed to inform a wide range of audiences about SRS research on focused topics. Now in its fourth year, the magazine has covered subjects ranging from the possibilities and challenges of biomass-based energy to the interaction of forests with global climate change. The region served, the Southeast, is one in which the pressures of development, lost timber economy, and climate change increasingly affect forest ecologies. Compass brings into focus the issues the region faces while highlighting the work of SRS researchers and collaborators to come up with solutions.

Issue 9 of Compass, which focused on upland hardwood forests in the South, was submitted for the award. SRS staff writers contributing to the issue included Zoë Hoyle, Livia Marqués, Claire Payne, Perdita Spriggs, and Carol Whitlock. Art director Rodney Kindlund designed the magazine and took many of the photos for the issue.

Current and past issues can be accessed online at http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/compass/archives.htm or ordered as hard copies through pubrequest@fs.fed.us.
News Release Science Contact:
News Release Science Contact:
News Release Science Contact: Zoë Hoyle]]> Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:01 -0400 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/154 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/154 Sonja Oswalt and Chris Oswalt wanted to examine how stand-level factors influence damage likelihood in forests in Mississippi. They also wanted to know how the initial estimates made using remote sensing compared to the data collected on the ground.

In the article Relationships between Common Forest Metrics and Realized Impacts of Hurricane Katrina on Forest Resources in Mississippi, published in Forest Ecology and Management, Oswalt and Oswalt state that tree species and diameter at breast height (dbh) consistently affected the probability of trees suffering at least some wind-related damage in each zone of damage. Stand density was significant only in interaction with other main effect variables. Hurricane path and damage zones were developed by FIA research forester Dennis Jacobs. Zone numbers rose from one to five based on distance from landfall. The percentage of FIA survey plots experiencing damage decreased as distance from landfall increased, with the exception of zone five, the most western area. Damage in that zone was most likely also impacted by damage caused from spin-off tornado activity. Analysis revealed that damage figures calculated by models using remotely sensed data were comparable with on-the-ground inventory. Hardwood forests sustained more damage from Hurricane Katrina than softwoods. This likely relates to the dominance of hardwoods in forest composition rather than susceptibility to damage. Oswalt and Oswalt found that, in softwoods, stand spacing and tree height were more important than species type for determining potential breakage.

The Oswalts believe that trying to reduce the vulnerability of forests to hurricanes by management may be subject to too many variables. Sonja Oswalt says, “We are not making recommendations for managing for stochastic wind events like a hurricane or tornado. While our data show that height and diameter play a role in the probability of damage, we were unable to successfully make predictions using those variables. ”

For additional information, please contact Dr. Sonja Oswalt at 865-862-2058 or by email at soswalt@fs.fed.us

You can read the full text of the article at http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/29784
News Release Science Contact: Sonja Oswalt
News Release Science Contact:
News Release Science Contact: Claire Payne]]> Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:02 -0400 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/155 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/155 Dr. Ge Sun, research hydrologist with the Forest Service's Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center (EFETAC), was recently elected president of Sino-Ecologists Association Overseas (Sino-Eco) for its 2008-2010 term. Sun will assume presidential responsibilities May 1, 2008.

Sun, who conducts forest hydrological research with EFETAC's Southern Global Change Program in Raleigh, says of this new role, "I am honored to have been selected president of Sino-Eco, whose scientists make significant contributions to research efforts around the world. I will work to continue the organization’s commitment to enhance global collaborations in ecological research and communications among Chinese ecologists."

EFETAC Director Dr. Danny C. Lee encourages Sun's Sino-Eco involvement. "Ge is a top-notch scientist whose experience in ecosystem sciences and international cooperative research projects will benefit Sino-Eco considerably." This is also an excellent opportunity for the Forest Service to engage further with other university and government scientists to advance global ecological research."

Sino-Eco is a non-profit academic organization established in 1988 to encourage exchange of ideas and knowledge among Chinese ecologists in China and around the world. The organization promotes development of ecology and related sciences through mutual understanding and cooperation. Since inception, Sino-Eco and its members have organized numerous symposia, seminars, workshops, conferences, and publications. Additional information can be found at http://www.sino-eco.org.

EFETAC is a joint effort of the Forest Service’s Research and Development, the National Forest System, and State and Private Forestry. The Center actively develops new technology and tools to anticipate and respond to emerging forest threats. Headquartered with the Southern Research Station in Asheville, NC, the Center also has an office in Research Triangle Park, NC.

For additional information, please contact Ge Sun at (919) 515-9498, by email at gesun@fs.fed.us, or visit http://www.forestthreats.org.
News Release Science Contact: Ge Sun
News Release Science Contact:
News Release Science Contact: Stephanie Worley Firley]]> Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:03 -0400 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/153 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/153 In the February issue of Plant Disease, SRS plant pathologist Stephen Fraedrich and fellow researchers provide results from their assessment of the fungus, the beetle that carries it, and their combined effect on redbay and other members of the laurel family, including sassafras, spicebush, and avocado.

Extensive mortality of redbay, an attractive evergreen tree common along the coasts of the southeastern United States, has been observed in South Carolina and Georgia since 2003. Though the wilt was at first attributed to drought, the cause was soon found to be a fungal pathogen and the exotic redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus, a native to Southeast Asia that was first found in the area in 2002. Many ambrosia beetles carry species of fungi as food for their larvae; a previously undescribed fungus in the genus Raffaelea is a fungal symbiont of this ambrosia beetle.

To determine if the fungus was the cause of the wilt, Fraedrich and his colleagues inoculated redbay trees and containerized seedlings with the Raffaelea fungus; the plants died within 5 to 12 weeks. To connect fungus and beetle, they also exposed redbay seedlings to X. glabratus beetles; the ambrosia beetles tunneled into almost all of the plants, causing 70 percent of them to die. The researchers found the fungus in 91 percent of the beetle-attacked plants.

"These experiments showed that the Raffaelea species we isolated from wilted trees and from the redbay ambrosia beetle is the cause of redbay wilt," says Fraedrich. "The fungus, which is routinely isolated from the heads of X. glabratus ambrosia beetles, is apparently introduced into healthy redbay during beetle attacks on stems and branches."

Redbays are common along Southeastern coast, and both residents and visitors are disturbed by the massive mortality. Deer browse on the evergreen foliage of the tree, and the fruit is eaten by songbirds, wild turkeys, and other animals. Redbay is also the primary host for the larvae of the palamedes swallowtail butterfly. But it’s not just the redbays that plant pathologists are worried about.

"The fungus we isolated has also been associated with the death of other trees in the laurel family, and the Raffaelea sp. has been isolated from wilted sassafras, pondberry and pondspice," says Fraedrich. "Our inoculation studies have shown that the fungus is deadly to these species as well as to spicebush, and avocado, but not to red maple."

The researchers concluded that there is reason to be concerned about the spread of the wilt to other members of the laurel family, which are common components in forests across the United States and other areas of the Americas. Recent studies have shown that California laurel, a West Coast species in the Lauraceae, is also susceptible to laurel wilt.

"We are also very concerned about avocado, a species indigenous to Central America which is grown commercially in Florida and alifornia," says Fraedrich. "Our evaluation of avocado indicates that it is also susceptible to laurel wilt, and the wilt has been found recently in avocado trees growing in a residential area of Jacksonville, Florida."

For more information: Stephen Fraedrich at 706-559-4273 or sfraedrich@fs.fed.us

Read more about laurel wilt on the Forest Health Protection, Southern Region website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/laurelwilt/index.shtml
News Release Science Contact: Stephen W. Fraedrich
News Release Science Contact:
News Release Science Contact: Zoë Hoyle]]> Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:04 -0400 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/152 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/152 Susan Loeb and Paul Hamel received honors at the Wings Across Americas Awards Ceremony held at the 73rd North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Phoenix, AZ. Awards go to FS employees and their partners, including conservation organizations, universities, volunteers, foundations, and private sector firms.

Wings Across the Americas is a FS program that represents an integrated and collaborative approach to bird conservation across agency program areas. The annual awards ceremony celebrates exceptional work that conserves birds, bats, and butterflies and their habitats across the Americas, recognizing the important roles that these sometimes overlooked species play in the environment and in relation to human concerns.

Susan Loeb, SRS research ecologist, shared the Bat Conservation Award for cooperative research on the ecology and conservation of forest bats with the National Forests-Region 8; the Sumter, Chattahoochee, Daniel Boone, and Nantahala National Forests; the Congaree and Great Smoky Mountain National Parks; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Clemson University; and MeadWestvaco. Individuals recognized include Dr. Eric Britzke, a private consultant and Dr. John Blake of the USFS-Savannah River.

Loeb leads a comprehensive research program on the ecology and conservation of southern forest bats developed in direct response to needs expressed by customers and cooperators. The program, which is part of the SRS Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management Research Unit, serves the research needs of managers in a variety of ecosystems throughout the Southeast.

Paul Hamel, SRS wildlife biologist, received the International Cooperation Award for the Cerulean Warbler Nonbreeding Habitat Assessment conducted by El Grupo Cerúleo, a subcommittee of The Cerulean Warbler Technical Group, of which Hamel is a founding member. Project locations include Northern Andes of South America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.

Hamel is an expert on the cerulean warbler, a bird that is becoming a less common sight in the eastern United States; habitat loss and fragmentation is thought to be behind a steady decline in recent decades. Hamel’s studies on the national and international assessments of bird conservation needs and opportunities along with the research, monitoring, and evaluation for bird habitat protection were key to his receiving this award. The award will be shared among FS employees and 40 other partners involved in the project.
News Release Science Contact: Susan C. Loeb
News Release Science Contact: Paul B. Hamel
News Release Science Contact: Wilma Fant]]> Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:00:05 -0400 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/156 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/156 Dr. Jim Reaves, who returns to the South after nearly a decade in the Agency’s national research office, where he served as budget director, staff director for vegetation management research, and associate deputy chief

A research pathologist by training, Reaves earned a B.S. from Voorhees College and a Ph.D. from the former Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). He started the southern part of his career on the campus of Alabama A&M University, where he held two positions, as a project leader for the Southern Station and as USDA liaison to Alabama A&M. He was later promoted to assistant station director for planning and applications at Station headquarters in Asheville before being tapped for the assignment at the national office.

The Southern Station serves the 13 Southern States and beyond as part of the Agency's Research & Development program- the leading organization for research on natural resource management and sustainability in the United States. Organized into research work units with supporting technical, professional, and administrative personnel, the Station’s 130 doctorate-level scientists work at federal laboratories, universities, and experimental forests throughout the region in disciplines ranging from genetics to hydrology to social sciences.

At an introductory meeting with Station employees, Reaves stressed that he is returning to a landscape greatly changed from the one he left. Early in the decade, a Station-led assessment of forest resources raised concerns about increasing urbanization and fragmentation of forest land. Since then, the natural resources community has been less concerned with questions of harvesting and more concerned about keeping forest land under forest cover. To that end the Station is embarking on a futuring project in partnership with the Southern Group of State Foresters, southern universities, the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, and other Forest Service organizations in the South. Like the original assessment, the futuring effort will engage experts and interested citizens - this time in developing a range of possible futures for each of the major ecoregions of the South, and then defining a range of approaches and tools for addressing the challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities inherent in each scenario.

Leading the Station and its partners in the futuring effort will be one of Reaves' biggest challenges for the remainder of this decade. "I am elated to be selected as the director of the Southern Research Station. I look forward to returning to the Southern Station and working with such an esteemed group of world-class scientists and dedicated and talented administrative and support staff. I believe that the Southern Station is well-positioned to conduct innovative research that will provide the science to address the complex natural resources issues facing the southeast and the entire nation."

Reaves reported to his new position on January 14.

For more information about the Southern Forest Resource Assessment and the work of the Southern Research Station, visit our Web site at: www.srs.fs.usda.gov
News Release Science Contact: Susan C. Loeb
News Release Science Contact: Paul B. Hamel
News Release Science Contact: Carol Whitlock]]> Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:00:06 -0400 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/141 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/141 Compass two Awards of Excellence and an Award of Merit. The magazine and the cover of Issue 8 designed by Rodney Kindlund, art director for the SRS Science Delivery Group, received Awards of Excellence. Kindlund's design for the packaging for the Oakus mini-CD included in Issue 9 received an Award of Merit.

Compass, published quarterly by the SRS Science Delivery Group is designed to inform a wide range of audiences about SRS research on focused topics. Now in its third year, the magazine has covered subjects ranging from the possibilities and challenges of biomass-based energy to the interaction of forests with global climate change. Current and past issues can be accessed online at www.srs.fs.usda.gov/compass/ or ordered as hard copies through pubrequest@fs.fed.us.
News Release Science Contact: Susan C. Loeb
News Release Science Contact: Paul B. Hamel
News Release Science Contact: Zoë Hoyle]]> Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:07 -0500 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/140 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/140 www.forestthreats.org.

“The forest threats summary viewer is an excellent tool for individuals concerned about environmental threats to healthy forests, or how these threats affect trees in their backyard,” says Danny C. Lee, EFETAC Director. “The viewer will make forest research more relevant and useful to forest land managers and homeowners by connecting them with resources to help address their concerns.”

The viewer is a user-friendly, Web-based tool searchable by forest threat (e.g., hemlock woolly adelgid) or by State. Threats are categorized by today’s familiar forest concerns, including invasive plants, insects and diseases, loss of open space, climate change, and wildland fire. The user is also provided current and credible Web links to other Federal, State, and local resources that offer additional in-depth information. This initial version of the multi-phased tool will be continually updated with environmental threats as well as additional search features.

"UNC Asheville is excited to be working with the Forest Service on a project that provides an innovative and dynamic way for people to access information on forest threats," said Karin Lichtenstein, NEMAC project manager and research associate. "This new collaboration allows students to work directly on applied research projects and create real products for the public that help the environment."

EFETAC and NEMAC joined forces in June 2006 to create user-friendly tools that share the latest research and expertise concerning threats to forest health. These tools will assist forest landowners, managers, policy makers, scientists, and general audiences make sound land management decisions.

Established in 2005, EFETAC is a joint effort of the Forest Service’s Research and Development, the National Forest System, and State and Private Forestry. The Center is actively developing new technology and tools to anticipate and respond to emerging forest threats. Headquartered with the Southern Research Station in Asheville, the Center also has offices in Raleigh and Research Triangle Park, NC.

NEMAC, established at UNC Asheville in 2003, is nationally recognized for expertise in environmental modeling and visualizations, Web technology, and database development.

For additional information on the forest threats summary viewer, please contact Perdita Spriggs, EFETAC Communications Director, at (828) 259-0542 or by email at pspriggs@fs.fed.us.

News Release Science Contact: Susan C. Loeb
News Release Science Contact: Paul B. Hamel
News Release Science Contact: Perdita B. Spriggs]]> Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:00:08 -0500 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/117 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/117 David Neale (University of California-Davis) is the principal investigator for the grant, which includes 11 other university and Federal research collaborators. SIFG, a unit of the USDA Forest Service (FS) Southern Research Station based in Saucier, MS, will serve as a unit of the Genetic Stocks Center with responsibility for archiving important genotypes of loblolly pine. Approximately 1,000 genotypes will be grafted and maintained as living trees by SIFG for current and future use in the research and outreach efforts of the CTGN. SIFG researchers and the CTGN project team will focus on associating specific DNA sequences with attributes such as growth rate, tree form, wood quality, stress tolerance, and disease and insect resistance. The FS Pacific Northwest Research Station will develop a similar stock center for Douglas fir at Corvallis, OR.

“The loblolly pine and Douglas fir genetic stock centers will be valuable resources, both now and into the future, for geneticists trying to locate DNA sequence variations that control biological, physical, and chemical attributes of conifer trees,” says Dana Nelson, SIFG project leader and CTGN cooperating scientist.

The Southern Institute of Forest Genetics was established in 1954 on the Harrison Experimental Forest located 25 miles north of Gulfport, MS. Research at the SIFG focuses on developing procedures to improve the health, productivity and genetic diversity of southern forests through better understanding of the genetics, ecology and evolutionary relationships in forest ecosystems.

USDA news release: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2007news/conifercap.html
News Release Science Contact: C. Dana Nelson
News Release Science Contact: Paul B. Hamel
News Release Science Contact: Zoë Hoyle]]> Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:09 -0400 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/115 http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/news/115 Chelcy Ford and Jim Vose from the FS Southern Research Station (SRS) Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory present findings on eastern hemlock rates of transpiration (the amount of soil water taken up by trees) from a 2-year study in western North Carolina.

Eastern hemlock, a keystone species in the streamside forests in the southern Appalachian region, is already experiencing widespread decline and mortality and may be decimated by the hemlock woolly adelgid (a tiny nonnative insect) within the next 10 years. As a native evergreen capable of maintaining year-round transpiration rates, eastern hemlock plays an important role in the ecology and hydrology of mountain ecosystems. Hemlocks provide critical habitat for birds and other animals; their shade helps maintain the cool water temperatures required by trout and other aquatic organisms in mountain streams.

"No other native evergreen in the southern Appalachians will likely fill the ecohydrological role of eastern hemlock if widespread mortality occurs," says Ford, ecologist with the Otto, NC unit where Vose is project leader. "With the loss of this species, we predict changes to streamflow, streamside forest structure, and soil moisture that will have to be addressed by land managers."

Hemlock woolly adelgids attach themselves to the base of the needles of the eastern hemlock, feeding on carbon fixed by the trees, slowing growth and causing the needles to drop. Needle loss causes the crown of the tree to thin and dieback in branches; in a surprisingly short time - usually 5 to 10 years - the tree fades away and dies.

To estimate the impact the loss of hemlock will have on the water balance, the researchers measured transpiration rates over a range of tree sizes for 2 years. "We found quite substantial transpiration rates for individual hemlocks, with large trees transpiring as much as 49 gallons of water a day." says Ford.

The study showed that eastern hemlock plays two distinct ecohydrological roles in the southern Appalachian region: one as an evergreen tree with relatively stable water use throughout the year; the other as a streamside tree with high rates of water use in the spring. If hemlock is lost, there is probably no other native tree species that can fill these roles.

"As hemlock woolly adelgid infestations increase, we expect to see at least short term reductions in forest transpiration rates," says Ford. "For southern Appalachian forests specifically, we estimate that eastern hemlock mortality could reduce annual forest transpiration by 10 percent, and winter and spring transpiration by 30 percent. We expect this will increase soil moisture and alter both the amount and timing of stream flow. The duration of these changes will depend on how other vegetation responds to the loss of hemlock."

Read the full text of the article at http://www.esajournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1890%2F06-0027