successes--our
major accomplishments
Forest Watershed
Science
Facilitating Regeneration of Oak Seedlings Could Improve Sustainability of Bottomland Hardwood Forests
Emile S. Gardiner (662-686-3184)
egardiner@fs.fed.us
Forest managers have long recognized the difficulty of regenerating oak seedlings in mature bottomland hardwood stands. Natural regeneration has been unreliable and difficult to predict, hard to encourage with stand management practices, and slow to respond to disturbance. Research by a SRS scientists and cooperators demonstrated that partial stand harvesting followed by seedling underplanting can be used to establish cherrybark oak on bottomland sites. Application of a suitable herbicide solution can effectively reduce Japanese honeysuckle competition. This new regeneration practice could greatly improve sustainability of bottomland hardwood forests by facilitating establishment of the ecologically and economically valued bottomland oaks.
Alternative practices that ensure establishment of vigorous oak reproduction are necessary to maintain the current level of oak dominance in bottomland hardwood forests across the Southern United States. Fortunately, some underplanting practices developed for upland oaks appear to also have application in hardwood bottoms. Scientists initiated a study near Arkadelphia, AR, to examine the effects of controlling Japanese honeysuckle on the survival and growth of underplanted cherrybark oak seedlings. This approach appears promising for establishing cherrybark oak reproduction on bottomland sites. Japanese honeysuckle, if present in the understory of mature stands, will respond vigorously to canopy disturbance and outcompete oak seedlings. But an early application of a suitable herbicide will effectively reduce its ability to compete with understory oaks.
This research addresses a critical need identified by the National Forest
System in the Eastern United States. In recent years, the Forest Service
has grown increasingly concerned about the lack of sufficient natural oak
regeneration in the forests they manage. Research and Development was asked
to address this problem through research. Private forest landowners also
must deal with the problem of poor oak regeneration. Knowledge gained through
this research is significant because it provides forest resource managers
and landowners with an ecologically based, silvicultural approach for obtaining
bottomland oak reproduction on problem sites.
(Back to summary)
Forested Watersheds Key to Improving Water Quality
Barry Clinton (828-524-2128)
bclinton@fs.fed.us
In
the Southern Appalachians, headwaters of steams and rivers often originate
on national forests, initially draining watersheds only minimally disturbed,
and flow into more developed areas where water quality can be degraded by
inputs from agriculture and urban development. Conversely, streams originating
in urban or suburban settings may flow into relatively undisturbed forested
landscapes. A SRS scientist found that chemicals, sediments, and bacteria
were all reduced as water flowed from an urban area through national forest
land. Primary mechanisms for this reduction were dilution and in-stream
retention and processing.
Land use is an important factor in determining water quality. As populations increase, urbanization impacts on water quality and aquatic resources along the wildland-urban interface must be understood. SRS scientists in Franklin, NC, published a paper that examined the variation in water quality among land use types, and determined the influence of a forested landscape on water quality in a stream originating from an urban landscape. Research results confirmed the positive role forested watersheds play in providing clean water. Chemicals, sediments, and bacteria were all reduced as water flowed from an urban area through national forest land.
This research, conducted with partners from the National Forest System,
helps resource managers, planners, and regulators faced with understanding
impacts of land use change and evaluating management options to offset water
quality impacts. The results of the research were highlighted in Forestry
Source, a newspaper published by the Society of American Foresters.
(Back to summary)
Visualization Can Encourage Conservation
Gary Bentrup (402-437-5178 x18)
gbentrup@fs.fed.us
National Agroforestry Center researchers and science delivery specialists collaborated with partners to develop a 2-CD kit consisting of a Visual Simulation Guide and CanVis, an image-editing software program designed for conservation applications. The kit has been distributed to over 1,800 resource professionals in the United States and around the world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses the kit for coastal planning and management. The Mississippi Forestry Commission utilized this tool for urban forest planting scenarios after Hurricane Katrina. The software allows customers to add to the image library, increasing its value for future applications.
The health of our Nation’s landscapes is ultimately tied to the private lands and the multitude of individual actions taken by landowners. Studies show that willingness of landowners and communities to adopt land stewardship practices is highly complex and often based on something other than just ecology or economics. Being able to answer the question “What will it look like?” seems to be highly influential in the decision-making process, especially for tree-based options that require long-term commitment from landowners and communities. Visual simulations can do this by providing modified images or pictures that portray changes from an existing condition.
A training CD for creating visual simulations was developed and evaluated
using four workshops during the past year. This tool and others like it
can greatly influence public participation in the planning and design process
by encouraging development of a shared vision for land stewardship and acceptance
and adoption of agroforestry and conservation practices. Feedback indicates
these tools are being used successfully in a variety of resource planning
applications, including stream restoration, agroforestry and other conservation
plantings, and urban forestry applications.
(Back to summary)
Can Brook Trout Re-colonize Naturally after Disaster?
C. Andrew Dolloff (540-231-4864)
adolloff@fs.fed.us
A massive flood caused a debris flow at the lower end of the Staunton River,
in Shenandoah National Park, VA. Post-flood fish surveys revealed that brook
trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, had been completely eliminated from
this river section. Consequently, SRS researchers in Blacksburg, VA, were
posed this question — “Could the brook trout quickly and naturally
recolonize the area?”
Transplanting fish to speed population recovery was a good option, except
that the Staunton River trout population was identified as genetically unique
within the Shenandoah National Park. Fortunately, the proper conditions
existed in the Staunton River for natural recolonization, including a nearby
brook trout source population, no insurmountable physical barriers, and
suitable habitat in the affected area. Monitoring studies confirmed that
within three years, the stream was naturally recolonized by adult brook
trout and their population density increased above levels in the non-debris
flow-affected area.
Understanding the ability of fish populations to mobilize and recolonize
disturbed stream areas encourages sound management decisions after similar
catastrophic events. This new knowledge benefits fisheries and aquatic resource
researchers and managers, land managers, modelers, and decision makers.
(Back to summary)
Effects of Forest Age and Land Use Type on Carbon Soil Storage
James M. Vose (828-524-2128, x114)
jvose@fs.fed.us
The carbon (C) stored in the soil represents the largest pool of C in most temperate forest ecosystems. Disturbances such as logging, conversion of forest to other land uses, such as urban or agriculture, and changing climate have the potential to adversely alter soil C pools and cycling processes. If disturbances are pronounced, widespread, and long term, they could influence the ability of forest ecosystems in the Southern Appalachians to store C and their ability to mitigate the impacts of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO) levels. Natural resources managers, regulators, and policymakers need information on the impacts of forest management and land use conversion on soil C pools and cycling processes since very little is known about C pools and processes in the Southern Appalachians.
In FY06, two significant research efforts, led by a SRS scientist and collaborators, provided knowledge on the effects of forest age and land use type on soil C pools and cycling rates. The first effort quantified the variation in soil C among three forest age classes: 20-year-old, 85-year-old, and old-growth forests. Interestingly, although above-ground C pools varied tremendously among these age classes, very little difference in soil CO2 evolution was evidenced. This suggests a high degree of forest ecosystem resistance and rapid recovery (i.e., less than 20 years) from logging activities. The second effort quantified differences in above-ground and soil C pools and processes between two land uses: forest and agriculture. Large differences in C pools were observed, with forested areas having greater soil C and considerably more above-ground C. Soil CO2 evolution was lower on the agricultural sites relative to the forested sites, most likely reflecting lower quantities of readily decomposable soil C on agricultural sites.
Taken together, these studies provide information on the value of forest
lands for C storage and the implications of land use change on C storage
potential.
(Back to summary)
Responding to Hemlock Wooly Adelgid Attacks in the Southern Appalachians
James M. Vose (828-524-2128, x114)
jvose@fs.fed.us
Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) has spread to the Southern Appalachian region of western North Carolina, northern Georgia, and southern Virginia. Without treatment, hemlocks typically die within five to seven years after infestation. The rate of spread and severity of infestations appear to be significantly worse in the Southern Appalachians than in the Northeastern U.S. Neither natural predators nor host resistance have been able to halt the spread.
Hemlock trees serve important ecological roles in the Southern Appalachians.
They are a keystone species near streams, where they provide critical habitat
for birds and other animals and shade streams to maintain cool water temperatures
required by trout and other aquatic organisms. Hemlocks are also prized
for their aesthetic beauty. A comprehensive research program, initiated
by a SRS scientist and partners, is addressing four key elements of the
HWA problem:
• How can the spread of HWA be stopped in the southern Appalachians?
• Where is HWA likely to spread next?
• What will be the impacts of HWA-induced mortality on Southern Appalachian
forest ecosystems?
• How can we manage to mitigate the impacts of hemlock mortality on
ecosystem resources?
Several accomplishments related to the HWA are noteworthy. A team of researchers published a paper on the implications of losing hemlock (and other keystone species) on ecosystem structure and function. A major treatment control effort was initiated on the Coweeta basin in which all hemlocks within a 60-foot riparian area along a 2000 feet length of stream were treated with the chemical imidacloprid. The success of the treatment, along with impacts on other insects and water quality, are being quantified. Models of hemlock distribution across the Southern Appalachians are being combined with HWA spread information to predict HWA movement. Finally, knowledge derived from the research program has been highlighted in several local newspaper articles, along with public presentations to watershed associations, the Cherokee Nation, and public interest groups.
The research is being led by the Southern Research Station and is being
coordinated with the Northern Research Station, Forest Health Protection,
and university cooperators throughout the Eastern U.S. The overall effort
is coordinated through the HWA Research Coordinating Committee and the HWA
Steering Committee.
(Back to summary)
Developing and Testing Techniques for Restoring Aquatic and Streamside Habitats
C. Andrew Dolloff (540-231-4864)
adolloff@fs.fed.us
In 2000, a SRS scientist and university and industry partners established
a study in the upper Piedmont of Virginia to evaluate a variety of scenarios
to help landowners and forest managers quantify streamside management zone
(SMZ) widths and harvest levels that provide the water quality protection
desired by society, while minimizing landowner costs. The research evaluated
effects on water quality and biotic communities of 22 headwater streams
located in the Piedmont of central Virginia. Streams were organized in four
blocks and randomly assigned one of six silvicultural treatments involving
variation of width and harvesting intensity:
• A 30.5m SMZ with no residual harvest
• A 30.5m SMZ with 50 percent residual harvest
• A 15.3m SMZ with no residual harvest
• A 15.3m SMZ with a 50 percent residual harvest
• A 7.62m SMZ
• A control (no harvest within the watershed).
Data indicate that harvesting greatly increased erosion losses from the forest floor within all the SMZs except for the narrowest treatments. The 7.62m wide zones accumulated 28 tons/acre of sediment in the first year after harvest, while all other treatments lost in excess of 33 tons/acre in that same year. This narrow buffer effect is likely due to the increase in understory vegetation following harvest characteristic of narrow buffers, as well as the low landscape position that narrow buffers naturally inhabit. The width of a SMZ had no significant impact on water quality through the first year. Forest harvesting operations generally leave the forest floor intact, and regeneration of both planted and natural vegetation occurs quickly after harvest. This leads to relatively low amounts of sediment and nutrients moving into nearby streams compared to more intensive land uses.
This research will guide managers on optimal design of SMZs in Appalachian
riparian hardwood forests. The scientific community, land managers, riparian
and downstream landowners, and society in general could benefit greatly
from increased knowledge of SMZ design and effectiveness.
(Back to summary)
Strategy for Implementing a Tissue-based Water Quality Criterion for Selenium
A. Dennis Lemly (540-231-6663)
dlemly@fs.fed.us
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing a national water quality criterion to monitor selenium levels based on its concentration in fish tissue. Although this approach offers advantages over the current water-based criterion, it also presents implementation challenges. Whereas waste dischargers now simply collect and analyze water samples, in the future they will need to understand selenium transport, cycling, and bioaccumulation to effectively monitor for the new criterion and, if necessary, develop site-specific standards. Therefore a comprehensive monitoring and assessment protocol is needed to support this new tissue-based approach.
A SRS scientist identified key issues that will affect the implementation of a tissue-based criterion. These range from the selection of sample fish species to the consideration of hydrological units in the sampling design. Dischargers could be required to sample intermittent fish. Only when the water column criterion and the fish tissue criterion are both exceeded, or the fish tissue criterion alone, would a full site-specific analysis be necessary.
Adoption of a scientifically sound implementation strategy will:
• Ensure an appropriate monitoring design is employed to sample target
fish populations and affected receiving waters
• Ensure technically correct and efficient procedures are provided
to the regulated community to help them manage a more complex monitoring
effort
• Provide crucial technical support for those carrying out provisions
of the Clean Water Act.
All Federal and State agencies responsible for implementing provisions
of the Clean Water Act that pertain to surface water quality and aquatic
life will have immediate need for this implementation guidance. This includes
agencies that have regulatory authority for setting water quality standards
as well as those, like the Forest Service, that are affected by them in
a natural resource management context. Municipal and industrial entities
will find this guidance essential to meet monitoring requirements for discharges
regulated under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System.
(Back to summary)
Turkey Creek Working Group Focuses on Sustainable Water Management
Devendra Amatya (843-769-7012)
damatya@fs.fed.us
The low-gradient, forested wetlands of the Coastal Plain of the Southeastern United States represent a unique eco-hydrologic system, yet very little information is available on the region’s ecologic, hydrologic, and biogeochemical processes, flooding patterns, hydroperiods, and water and nutrient balances. SRS scientists organized the Turkey Creek Working Group to address critical issues of sustainable water management for low-gradient forested wetland landscapes. Collaborators include representatives from academia, industries, State and Federal government agencies, private landowners, and non-governmental organizations. Activities based on long-term monitoring capacity include projects to build and share a long-term eco-hydrological database, identify and prioritize new issues, conduct laboratory and field monitoring and modeling studies, and implement the recommended science and technology using appropriate technology transfer approaches.
Long-term hydrologic monitoring can provide the information needed to understand basic processes and their interactions with climatic variation, land use change, and other natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Monitoring also provides researchers with baseline data for evaluating responses, generating new scientific hypotheses, and testing eco-hydrologic models. This information is crucial for the sustainable management of present and future water resources in the Southeastern Coastal Plain region, with its growing population, rapidly expanding development, and intensive timber industry.
Field studies and modeling applications will be an important resource for
management decisions and monitoring assessments on the Francis Marion National
Forest and other large tracts of forest land. They should also serve as
reference units for comparison with more intensively managed forests or
developed lands in the Coastal Plain, or for assessing allowable loading
or discharge criteria. With the watershed’s location at the headwaters
of the Cooper River and Charleston Harbor, the data collected will also
be useful for evaluating additional water quality and quantity issues in
downstream areas with tidal effects.
(Back to summary)
Large-scale, South-wide Study on Epicormic Branching in Southern Hardwoods Continues
James S. Meadows (662-686-3168)
smeadows01@fs.fed.us
Managing hardwood forests to yield profitable sawtimber requires the production
of high-quality logs. Log quality, expressed as log grade, is a major determinant
of the commercial value of hardwood sawtimber. Log value decreases rapidly
in the progression from grade 1 to grade 3. A major factor leading to the
degradation of sawlog quality is epicormic branching. These are branches
that can develop from dormant buds located along the main bole of many hardwood
tree species given the proper conditions. Most epicormic branches are classified
as defects that show up in sawn lumber. In a bottomland oak study in Alabama,
researchers calculated that defects caused by epicormic branches resulted
in a 13 percent reduction in the value of the oak lumber produced from the
stand.
Several years ago, scientists hypothesized that the production of epicormic
branches along the boles of hardwood trees is affected by species, stress,
and sunlight. Coincident with the development of this hypothesis, they also
proposed a preliminary classification of southern bottomland hardwood species
based on known or suspected tendency for epicormic branching.
To provide the additional data needed to refine this classification system,
a SRS scientist is working with the National Forest System, State, and university
partners to initiate a large-scale study on the occurrence of epicormic
branches in southern hardwood stands across the South. The data will eventually
be combined with epicormic branching data collected from a10-year-old series
of thinning studies established across the South. The combined data set
will be used to develop a computer model that describes the production of
epicormic branches in both thinned and unthinned hardwood stands, as affected
by site, stand, and tree characteristics. The model will be a valuable tool
in furthering the long-standing goal of the Forest Service to provide a
sustainable supply of timber for the Nation, specifically by improving the
ability to manage southern hardwood stands for high-quality sawtimber.
(Back to summary)
Generating the Knowledge to Protect the Endangered Pondberry
Margaret Devall (662-686-3161)
mdevall@fs.fed.us
Pondberry (Lindera melissifolia) is a federally listed, endangered, aromatic shrub that grows naturally throughout the Southeastern United States. Published accounts of its life history attributes are few, and quantitative assessments of habitat and physiological requirements are extremely limited. Although the growing range for pondberry extends from Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri east to North and South Carolina, only relatively small and scattered patches that are sparsely distributed occur within this range. Pondberry populations growing in periodically flooded bottomland forests in the Delta National Forest are of special concern since they may be in the project boundary of flood control measures proposed for the southern Mississippi Delta.
In support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan for pondberry,
and the proposed flood control measures, SRS scientists are continuting
to examine the ecophysiology, ecology, genetics, seed biology, and pathology
of pondberry. Synthesis of research results will address concerns about
the persistence and survival of pondberry in the southern Mississippi Delta,
and aid in the development of management practices aimed at ensuring sustainability
of native populations in the Southeast.
Ecological research examined the role of flood duration in niche conservatism
and how varying flood duration can influence growth rate and characteristics
of juvenile plants. An 18-month study separated genetic and environmental
influences on pondberry traits. Ongoing research includes genetic mapping
of pondberry populations and studies of stem dieback disease. A large-scale
experiment examining the influence of flood duration and light availability
on pondberry growth and persistence has entered its second year. Pondberry
colonies exist on the Delta National Forest in Mississippi and the Francis
Marion National Forest in South Carolina. National Forest System managers
must protect and maintain this species when considering management of a
forest stand known to contain pondberry. This research can also be useful
when considering flood control policies and projects in the lower Mississippi
Delta region where the Delta National Forest is found.
(Back to summary)
Modeling Ecological Functions of Riparian Buffers
Michael Dosskey (402-437-5178)
mdosskey@fs.fed.us
A SRS scientist is working with university partners to measure the effects of beaver dams on water flow in streams on agricultural land. The measurements will be used to develop a mathematical computer model that predicts the impact of beavers on the shape and stability of degraded stream channels on farmland in the Midwestern United States. These results will lay the foundation for a larger project for which the objective is to determine how beaver populations that are increasing in some areas and streamside riparian forests might be managed to reduce stream channel erosion and improve ecological performance.
This is important for the Midwest, where many stream channels on farm lands
were straightened, wetlands were drained, beavers were removed, and groundwater
tables were lowered by tile draining. These alterations have resulted in
severe stream channel incision and stream bank instability throughout this
region, creating environmental and economic concerns. Since beaver dams
can slow and trap a large volume of stormwater runoff, they have the potential
to prevent or even reverse the process of stream incision and steam bank
failure. The results from this research will determine whether and how beaver
dams can serve as an ecologically and economically feasible solution to
channel degradation.
(Back to summary)
Designing and Managing Tree-Based Buffers
Michael Dosskey (402-437-5178)
mdosskey@fs.fed.us
A SRS researcher developed and published a framework for designing more effective riparian buffers for water quality improvement using the most up-to-date spatial analysis technologies, including global positioning satellites, landscape data, spatially explicit mathematical models, geographic information systems, and digital computer data. This framework can significantly increase the water quality improvements obtained from installing riparian forest buffers on farmland by identifying and strategizing their placement in a watershed.
Population growth and increasing demands on water resources make effective
soil and water conservation essential to sustaining both agricultural production
and environmental quality. Site level field measurements are linked to off-site
environmental management by accounting for spatial hydrologic characteristics
to then design riparian and upland buffers that minimize flows and off-site
transport. This concept integrates the hydrological surface patterns which
control water flows from a crop field with key off-site patterns in order
to reduce off-site transport. Using a precision-conservation approach can
help situate buffers where there is a greater need and yield better predictions
of their effectiveness.
(Back to summary)
Advancing Demonstration and Research Efforts
Greg Ruark (256-372-4540)
gruark@fs.fed.us
Silvopasture systems combine growing widely spaced southern pine trees to produce high value sawlogs with allowing the same land to generate an annual income from grazing livestock in the understory. Interest and demand for silvopasture technologies and guidelines have grown tremendously in response to the reassignment of the National Agroforestry Center (NAC) to the Southern Research Station in 2005. NAC (SRS) has successfully partnered with faculty at Alabama A&M University (AAMU) to secure two competitive grants to conduct research on goat silvopasture systems.
The first grant provided $100,000 from the Alabama Agricultural Land Grant Alliance to convert a 7-year-old loblolly pine stand into a goat silvopasture research and demonstration site with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives in Epes, AL. The USDA National Research Initiative program awarded the second grant to NAC to conduct detailed research studies at this site. In addition, AAMU provided $60,000 to install a 12-acre replicated pine silvopasture research template at the university’s experimental farm. Forest industry partner CellFor Corporation collaborated on installation. The new experimental site will allow faculty to conduct research and provide onsite landowner education. Current market trends, e.g., low domestic pulpwood prices, are forcing the forestry community to look at other approaches for growing trees.
Research, technology transfer materials, and training opportunities resulting
from these efforts will greatly assist in increasing awareness, acceptance,
and adoption of this alternative forestry operation throughout the Southeastern
United States, especially among small and limited resource farmers.
(Back to summary)
Critical Needs and Emerging Issues in Non-timber Forest Products
James Chamberlain (540-231-3611)
jchamberlain@fs.fed.us
Management of forests for non-timber products is a critical issue of the 21st century. Increased demand on plant materials harvested from forests, for products other than timber, have caused growing concern among forest managers, stakeholders, and policy makers. Non-timber forest products are essential to forest health, rural economies, and the social well-being of under-represented constituents of our society.
SRS scientists recognized the need to invest in this research area and support investigations to better define the industries, as well as understand the management, markets, and economic dynamics that affect these products. The Station has focused on research to develop knowledge and techniques to better manage forest resources for edible, medicinal, and floral products.
Research on Allium triccocum, commonly known as ramps or wild onions, has
changed the policies and regulations that guide harvesting in North Carolina’s
national forests. Research results have also changed how the town of Waynesville,
NC, manages an 8,000-acre watershed; ramps are now incorporated into the
town’s forest management plan. The impacts of long-term harvesting
of Actaea racemosa, black cohosh, are now under study through a
collaborative effort with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Garden
Club of America. This partnership relies on volunteer citizen scientists
to improve inventory techniques and increase understanding of sustainable
harvest techniques. The Station recently created the first profile of non-timber
forest products. Using perception maps developed through communications
with county Extension agents, they defined the overall distribution of the
industry by market segment.
(Back to summary)
Other Significant Accomplishments
Published a book addressing issues and appropriate approaches for considering uncertainties associated with scaling ecological data. The precepts of sustainability are dependent on synthesizing information across varying spatial and temporal scales.
Installed a watershed-scale experiment on the Santee Experimental Forest’s paired-watersheds. The new experiment tests a biomass utilization treatment that is a necessary precursor to regular use of prescribed fire for maintaining the desired forest community.
Edited a special issue of Biomass and Bioenergy dedicated to the proceedings
of the 5th biennial meeting of the Short Rotation Woody Crops Operations
Working Group in conjunction with the International Energy Agency and the
International Union of Forest Research Organizations.
Helped people grow native plants to restore areas affected by invasive
plants.
Helped private landowners restore watersheds with native plants to improve
water quality.
Helped restore wetlands on the Hopi reservation in Tuba City, AZ, to improve
range sustainability.
Continued research on effects of streamside management zone width and
basal area removals on aquatic macroinvertebrates.
Developed a procedure to determine the risk of selenium pollution during
reviews of mine permit applications in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA).
Continued research on American eel distribution, growth, and habitat selection.
Completed research on the implications of global warming for trout distribution
in the Southeastern United States.
Continued research on effects of forest management on sediment transport
and water quality in streamside management zones on riparian and instream
habitat in Southern Appalachian mountain and Atlantic Coast Piedmont watersheds.
Continued research on the influence of large woody debris on stream channel
morphology and fish habitat in Appalachian streams.
Continued research on the influence of alternative management on carbon
metabolism in riparian areas.
Continued research on aquatic organism passage and community relations
associated with transportation networks in eastern forests.
Initiated research on the restoration of aquatic habitat and biointegrity
following implementation of a new flow regime river below a hydroelectric
facility on a medium-sized Southern Appalachian river.
Hosted 2nd interagency conference on research in the watershed.
Initiated studies on factors influencing floods and landslides in the Southern
Appalachians.
Published papers and participated in a conference on carbon cycling pools
and processes in Southern Appalachian ecosystems.
Established Joint Fire Sciences-funded study evaluating the use of fire
to restore shortleaf pine ecosystems impacted by southern pine beetle.
Published papers on the impacts of fire on water quality in mountain, Piedmont,
and Coastal Plain ecosystems in the Southeastern U.S.
Developed and published a framework for designing more-effective riparian
buffers for water quality improvement using the most up-to-date spatial
analysis technologies: GPS, detailed digital landscape data, spatially explicit
mathematical models, GIS, and computers.
Completed development of a watershed planning tool that utilizes soil survey
information to prioritize landscape locations for placing vegetative buffers
to achieve greater impact on watershed water quality.
Completed research into how the performance of water quality buffers changes
over time after they become established.
Researched and synthesized the current state of the knowledge for using
conservation buffers to address natural resources issues.
Prepared manuscripts that report on the current ability to measure, inventory,
report, and predict carbon sequestered in agroforestry and other working
tree plantings for inclusion in greenhouse gas programs and reporting tools.
Published a manuscript critical to the development of harvesting practices in a novel eastern cottonwood–oak afforestation system.
Installed second of a series of thinning studies based on the new concept of stand quality management, in which thinning treatments are based solely on residual stand quality; also completed 1-year measurements on the first study within this series.
Completed 6-year measurements on a study within an older series of thinning studies based on the traditional concept of stand density management, in which treatments are based on different levels of residual stand density.
Developed molecular method tool for the detection of Sirex noctilio larvae in standing trees and imported wood; wrote and submitted Guide to Siricidae of North America.
Published manuscript describing the use of ultrasonics to detect bacterial wetwood disease in green hardwood trees.
Published a manuscript describing the relationships between prescribed burning and wildfire occurrence and intensity in pine-hardwood forests in north Mississippi.
Documented interannual variation in spawn timing and juvenile habitat use of Alabama shad, a candidate for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, in the Pascagoula River drainage, MS.
Began monitoring fish populations for recovery after Hurricane Katrina; pre-hurricane data had been collected on numerous populations.
Completed study on the influence of shelter on channel catfish predation on crayfish.
Organized an international symposium on sculpin phylogenetics and ecology
for the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting; served as organizer and
guest associate editor for special section of the Transactions of the American
Fisheries Society.
Completed study of diversity and stability of Coastal Plain mussel assemblages.
Completed field work for year seven in a long-term study of population
dynamics of intact functioning native mussel communities.
Served on Ivory-billed Woodpecker Recovery Team; presented research paper
“Insect Larvae as Food for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.”
Completed a book chapter on the family Centrarchidae, the sunfishes, which
contains the major freshwater sportfishes (largemouth bass, bluegill, and
crappies) and comprises the backbone of freshwater fisheries management
and the sportfishing industry in the United States.
Published co-authored paper on response of wetland vegetation communities
to drought to facilitate understanding of potential effects of future climate
change on watershed resources and sensitive habitats.
Measured habitat characteristics (water depth, hydroperiod, overstory/understory
vegetation) for correlation with amphibian abundance and species richness.
(Back to summary)
Cerulean Warbler Technical Group Promotes Conservation by Engaging Stakeholders
Paul Hamel (662-686-3167)
phamel@fs.fed.us
Cerulean Warbler Technical Group, an international partnership, develops science-based approaches for conserving this vulnerable songbird. CWTG emphasizes communication and trust to address contentious issues affecting warbler population increase, including mountaintop removal coal extraction, coffee production, and forest habitat management for economic and warbler outputs in both North and South America.
In 2001, founders of this ad hoc group recognized an opportunity to take a proactive approach to cerulean warbler conservation. The organizers, including a SRS scientist, initiated a broad-based forum to exchange technically sound information. Members seek to preempt contentious and unproductive interactions that might otherwise result were the species listed under the Endangered Species Act. With membership from seven nations, numerous States and provinces, national and international conservation and land management agencies and consortia, as well as timber companies, this effort encompasses the entire international range of the species. To better understand habitat distribution and mangement response of the cerulean warbler in the central portion of the range, the CWTG has initiated a large-scale, replicated experiment in which effects of timber harvest to reduce canopy will be evaluated. An explicit CWTG goal is to develop forest management guidelines compatible with industry needs as well as with conservation goals to maintain and enhance cerulean warbler populations.
Forest Service contribution to this partnership involves National Forest
System personnel on several national forests in the Southern and Eastern
Regions, research activities in the Southern and Northern Research Stations,
and support of International Programs for ongoing work in South America,
involving numerous partners in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and one
in Bolivia. Partners are involved in all aspects of this work, including
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funding of conservation studies and
activities in North and South America, numerous cooperators in State and
private sector involvement in large-scale study of population dynamics relative
to silviculture, and public outreach. Forest Service contribution to El
Grupo Ceruleo, the nonbreeding subcommittee of the Cerulean Warbler Technical
Group, is vital to its functioning.
(Back to summary)
Restoring Native Plants and Cultural Connections on a Hopi Reservation
Kas Dumroese (208-883-2324)
kdumroese@fs.fed.us
The Hopi Tribe of northern Arizona uses native willows (Salix species), cottonwoods (Populus species), and aspen (Populus tremuloides) to engage in the cultural traditions of gathering, weaving, and celebrating tribal ceremonies. On the reservation, these plants grow in wetland and riparian communities that comprise only about 2 percent of the arid landscape. Salt-cedar (Tamarix ramoissima) and Russian-olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) have invaded and transformed these rare communities by lowering the groundwater level. One salt-cedar tree can suck up 20 gallons of water in a day. The arduous task of removing the invasive plants is being compromised because both species resprout. The Hopi are charter members of the Intertribal Nursery Council (INC), a Forest Service initiated, tribally guided organization that serves as forum for transferring nursery technology. Through the INC, the Hopi requested Forest Service help in restoring their wetland and riparian communities. In addition to the Station, other partners include the Western Forestry and Conservation Association and the Forest Service Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetics Resources Virtual Team.
This partnership focuses on identifying, collecting, propagating, and planting
native plants for restoration; fostering conservation education; and providing
a facility that combines education and plant propagation. Using Forest Service
funding and expertise, a Cultural Plant Propagation Center (CPPC) was built
by Hopi tribal members at Moenkopi Day School in Tuba City, AZ. Dedicated
in April 2006, the CPPC is where Hopi and Navajo children receive environmental
education and hands-on experience growing plants. Students, teachers, and
natural resource professionals work together to produce native plants, including
narrowleaf yucca (Yucca angustissima), three-leaf sumac (Rhus
trilobata), and four-wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) for
special tribal use.
(Back to summary)
Sirex noctilio Threatens Southern Pines
Nathan Schiff (662-686-3175)
nschiff@fs.fed.us
SRS scientists are collaborating with colleagues from Forest Service Forest Health Protection, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the University of Mississippi, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Brazil to battle Sirex noctilio. The scientists are studying the biological control of this new invasive exotic insect of pines.
The partners use ARS quarantine facilities in Stoneville, MS, to develop molecular identification tools. They have developed a field guide and are working on biological control techniques utilizing trap trees. Sirex noctilio was discovered in New York State, but it is likely to cause the most significant damage in the Southern Region of the Forest Service National Forest System and southern pine plantations. The insect has been controlled successfully in Australia, but North American conifer forests are more complicated than Australian pine plantations. The Sirex noctilio partnership concentrates on fine-tuning the Australian control system (classical biological control with a nematode) to be effective in North American ecosystems.
Scientists developed a DNA method to identify woodwasp larvae that enabled
the positive discovery and identification of a Sirex noctilio infestation
in Scots pine in Oswego, NY. This large European-Asian insect has caused
up to 80 percent mortality in pine plantations, including North American
species, in countries of the Southern Hemisphere. Of all woodwasps, this
species causes the most economic loss to forest production.
(Back to summary)
Weyerhaeuser Company Benefits Endangered Mussels
Wendell Haag (662-234-2744, x245)
whaag@fs.fed.us
SRS scientists at the Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research are beginning
the eighth year of a long-term study on the Little Tallahatchie River in
Mississippi and the Sipsey River in western Alabama. The Sipsey River runs
through forest on Weyerhaeuser Company land. The Sipsey River basin is one
of the most important in the Southeast for aquatic species, especially mussels.
Freshwater mussels are a high-profile conservation target worldwide because
of their endangered status, their critical role in nutrient cycling and
water filtration, and their importance as sensitive environmental monitors.
More than 20 mussel species live in the Sipsey, of which four are listed
by the Federal Government as threatened or endangered:
• Southern clubshell (Pleurobema decisum)
• Alabama mocassinshell (Medionidus acutissimus)
• Orange-nacre mucket (Hamiota perovalis)
• Ovate clubshell (Pleurobema perovatum)
The Sipsey also hosts two other mussel species of special concern:
• Alabama hickorynut (Obovaria unicolor)
• Alabama spike (Elliptio arca)
For all six of these species, the Sipsey River harbors the largest and most healthy populations on Earth.
A major hindrance in management of mussels is a poor understanding of their population dynamics and an inability to predict how landscape and habitat changes will affect long-term population growth and viability.
In cooperation with Weyerhaeuser Company, scientists are developing predictive
population models calibrated with a long-term dataset on population dynamics
of mussels in a variety of landscapes. The models will be invaluable tools
to the resource management community. Based on the species diversity flourishing
in the habitat of the Sipsey River, SRS researchers will be able to ask
what prevents such population dynamics in other areas.
(Back to summary)
Long-Term Ecological Research Center Flourishes at Coweeta
James Vose (828-524-2128, x114)
jvose@fs.fed.us
The National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER ) Program, the University of Georgia (UGA), and the Southern Research Station, Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory enjoy a 25-year partnership conducting jointly funded research on long-term watershed research in the Southern Appalachians. The partnership is built around co-leading the Long-Term Ecological Research program by UGA and Coweeta, as well as personnel, facilities, and equipment.
The overall goals of the LTER are to examine long-term patterns and processes in watershed ecosystems of the Southern Appalachians. These goals are consistent with the Coweeta research mission, and the partnership provides a synergistic relationship between Forest Service research and university research. The partnership significantly increases the breadth and depth of the overall Coweeta research program, recognized as among the best in the world.
This success is due in large part to the collective strengths provided
by the partners. The primary Forest Service contributions include access
to the research facility (land base and infrastructure), long-term data
and experiments, funding of specific projects that build on LTER goals,
and scientific expertise. The primary UGA-LTER contributions include increased
breadth and depth of scientific disciplines and leveraged funding. Coweeta
Hydrologic Laboratory is one of 26 national LTER sites.
(Back to summary)
Emile S. Gardiner prepared a presentation delivered by a co-author at the Fourth International Poplar Symposium, June 5, 2006, Nanjing, China. The meeting provided a forum to interact with other researchers from around the globe working on the forefront of poplar and willow research. The invited presentation outlined state-of-the-art practices being implemented in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley as well as in other regions, and served to stimulatee dialog and information exchange between scientists working in similar problem areas.
Susan Adams organized an international sculpin symposium and invited and obtainied funding for a Japanese expert on sculpin behavior to participate in the symposium.
Susan Adams was asked to review a chapter in a book about Papua, New Guinea, by Australian and Papua, New Guinea, scientists.
Paul Hamel hosted visiting scientists from Germany who were working on rusty blackbird nonbreeding biology; organized a conference on modeling nonbreeding distribution of the cerulean warbler, at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Cumbaya, Ecuador; organized a follow-up conference on modeling nonbreeding distribution of the cerulean warbler, at Instituto Alexander von Humboldt offices, Bogota, Colombia; visited research sites for cerulean warbler nonbreeding season research in Colombia; and visited research sites of cooperators involved in joint activity of USFS International Programs, The Nature Conservancy, and CENICAFE designed to improve biodiversity conservation in coffee-growing region of Colombia.
Margaret Devall served as a member of the organizing committee of the 7th International Conference on Dendrochronology held in Beijing, China, attended the conference, chaired a session, presented paper, and held a business meeting of the IUFRO Working Group on Tree Ring Analysis.
Diane De Steven delivered two presentations at an international wetland science conference and participated in a field tour of forest restoration sites in Northeastern Australia.
James M. Vose hosted a 1-year sabbatical for a professor of hydrology from the University of Istanbul, Turkey, as well as hosted 3-day visit from visiting French scientists to develop collaborative research on sustainable development and outline a book on the topic; he also co-organized, co-sponsored, and participated in an international conference entitled “Forests and Water in a Changing Environment” in Beijing, China.
Devendra Amatya co-organized, co-sponsored, and participated in an international conference entitled “Forests and Water in a Changing Environment” in Beijing, China.
Carl Trettin delivered a presentation at an international conference entitled “Forests and Water in a Changing Environment” in Beijing, China.
Richard Straight organized a 3-hour workshop at the United Nations 4th World Water Forum in Mexico City, Mexico.
Richard Straight organized a tour and series of seminars for the forest supervisor of the Upper Gallile and Golan Heights Forest, Israel.
Greg Ruark coordinated with the People’s Republic of China, Ministry of Water Resources to follow-up on previous scientific exchanges between the Ministry and NAC.
A. Dennis Lemly conducted two international consultations on risk assessment for selenium toxicity in aquatic ecosystems.
Kas Dumroese reported to the international communityof nursery managers about the newly discoverd nursery pathogen, Fusarium commune.
James Chamberlain developed a model for the United Nations Global Alliance to strengthen partnerships for non-wood forest products, during a scientific exchange with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. He was invited to present the model at the international conference “A Future Beneath the Trees,” convened by the Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia.
James Chamberlain presented a paper on his work to estimate
sustainable harvest levels of black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), an
important medicinal plant collected from Appalachian forests, at the “Expert
Workshop on Assessing the Sustainable Yield in Medicinal and Aromatic Plant
Collection” conference, organized by the German Federal Agency for
Nature Conservation.
(Back to summary)
Emile S. Gardiner and Theodor D. Leininger received the 2006 Station Director’s Award for Maintaining and Enhancing the Nation’s Natural Resources and Environment Award for development and application of expert knowledge of afforestation methods that became public policy in a revision of the Conservation Reserve Program’s Conservation Practice 31.
Brian Roy Lockhart received a certificate of superior continuing forestry education accomplishment from the Society of American Foresters for completing 300 hours of continuing forestry education within five years.
Susan Adams received the Rise to the Future Award for Professional Excellence in Research from the Forest Service Fish, Wildlife and Rare Plants Office in the Washington, DC, office for outstanding excellence in research on coldwater and warmwater fish and crayfish.
Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory employees received the 2006 SRS Director’s Award for Technology Transfer – Internal for excellence in meeting the science needs of natural resource managers in the Southern Appalachians.
Gary Bentrup received the 2006 SRS Director’s Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer — External for outstanding effort, creativity, and teamwork in the development of the Visual Simulation Kit, customer outreach, and Visual Simulation Training package.
A. Dennis Lemly received a commendation from the European Science Foundation, Strasbourg, France, in recognition of “A track record of achievements and collaboration with ESF in the development of pan-European benchmarks for high-quality research.”
Devendra Amatya received the President’s Award from
the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers for excellence
in co-chairing the 2006 ASABE international conference “Hydrology
and Management of Forested Wetlands” in New Bern, NC.
(Back to summary)