Category: Experimental Forests

The Delta Experimental Forest

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Located in Washington County, Mississippi, the 2,600-acre Delta Experimental Forest (the Delta) was established in 1945 by the U.S. Forest Service and is owned and managed by Mississippi State University (MSU). The Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research conducts research on the forest under a long-term cooperative agreement. Until the 1970s,…  More 

Jennifer Knoepp Named Soil Science Society of America Fellow

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
U.S. Forest Service scientist Jennifer Knoepp was recently selected as a Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Fellow for 2014.  Fellow is the highest recognition bestowed by SSSA, an international scientific society whose more than 6,000 members are dedicated to advancing the field of soil science and fostering the transfer of knowledge and practices to…  More 

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