Category: Experimental Forests

Young Forests Can Benefit Wildlife

by Caroline Ketcham, Volunteer Intern, U.S. Forest Service National Forests in North Carolina  • 
It’s easy to think of forests as peaceful, unchanging places. In reality, this isn’t the case, because forests are much more dynamic than they may seem. In fact, forests are shaped by change, and many forest ecosystems depend upon it. In the aftermath of a major change or disturbance like wildfire or human clearing of…  More 

Learning about the Importance of Proper Road Construction

by Patty Matteson, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
“It is ironic that roads designed to help people enjoy the Appalachians often destroy the beautiful scenery and clear water that make the mountains so attractive. Poorly constructed access roads often cause severe erosion, and stream sedimentation. These effects can degrade water quality for decades. Erosion can be disastrous in fragile mountain environments, and the…  More 

The Next Fifty Years of Acorn Production

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Some acorns go on to become the next generation of oak trees, but others are eaten by birds, bears, rodents, and deer. Rodents are in turn eaten by carnivores, and deer browsing affects which kinds of plants become established and survive. “Acorns have a far-reaching influence on wildlife species and forest ecology,” says U.S. Forest…  More 

The Chipola Experimental Forest

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Located in the sandhills of the Florida Panhandle, the Chipola Experimental Forest (Chipola) was established in 1952 on privately owned land under a 99-year lease to the Southern Forest Experiment Station (now SRS), International Paper Company, and Hardaway Contracting Company. The two companies requested the cooperative arrangement with the Forest Service to enable research on…  More 

Kids Enjoy Learning at the Crossett

by Patty Matteson, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Pirates, beavers, and eagles recently descended on the Crossett Experimental Forest. These are the names of the school mascots for the more than 150 students from Lakeside, Drew Central, and Crossett high schools in Arkansas who showed up for a day of hands-on forestry learning brought to them by faculty and staff from the U.S. Forest Service…  More 

New Study Finds Lower Elevation Forests More Affected by Drought

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Recently published research by scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), the  U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS), and two other universities shows how the effects of drought on lower elevation forest watersheds in the Southeast could affect drinking water supplies as the region’s climate continue to change.  Taehee Hwang,…  More 

The Crossett Experimental Forest

by Jim Guldin, SRS Southern Pine and Ecology Management unit  • 
Since it was established in 1934, the Crossett Experimental Forest has served as the repository of silvicultural alternatives to the intensive plantation methods that dominate industrial forestry on the Coastal Plain. The not-so-hidden secret of southern forestry is that naturally regenerated Coastal Plain loblolly-shortleaf pine is one of the Nation’s most pliable forest types, able…  More 

2014 Crossett Forestry Field Day, May 16-17

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Held at the Crossett Experimental Forest near Crossett, Arkansas, the 2014 field day will provide a full program for foresters, conservationists, land owners, and policy makers on the broad range of ecosystem services provided by loblolly and shortleaf pine forests of natural origin. Included in the general program on May 16 are experts in forest…  More 

Eighty Years of Southern Pine Silviculture on the Crossett Experimental Forest

by Sarah Farmer, Science Delivery Group  • 
By the 1930s, U.S. Forest Service researchers and others were developing silvicultural practices that small landowners and farmers could use to grow productive forests even in the southeastern U.S., where land use had led to widespread depletion and degradation of natural resources. Forest Service researchers established Farm Forestry demonstration plots where landowners could see research…  More 

The Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
From surface to core, the Earth’s radius is almost 4,000 miles, but only the uppermost sliver of that rocky expanse, called the critical zone, sustains life. This zone extends from the base of weathered rock to the treetops, and includes water, soils, vegetation, and animals.   A new study, led by Duke University and funded…  More