Category: Forest Inventory & Analysis

Austin’s Urban Forest

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
In late February, the U.S. Forest Service published its first urban forest assessment for Austin, Texas. Using Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, Austin’s Urban Forest 2014 provides details on the composition and health of the city’s urban forest and the benefits it provides. According to the report, Austin’s trees provide almost $34…  More 

Coldwater Fish in Warming Streams

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Scientists and managers are concerned about the future of trout in the southern Appalachian Mountains, but what about anglers? Over 100,000 people enjoy trout fishing in north Georgia. U.S. Forest Service scientist J. Michael Bowker recently coauthored a study about how trout anglers perceive climate change risks to trout. The study was led by Ramesh…  More 

New Interactive Guide Tells the Story of Forest Products in the South

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
A new storymap developed by U.S. Forest Service researchers allows users to interactively chart the ebb and flow of forest products across the southern states — and visually tells the story of the decline of the forest products industry over the last decades. Using Forest Service Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data loaded onto Esri’s (Environmental…  More 

Native Trees Naturally Fight Invasives in Some Eastern Forests

by Stephanie Worley Firley, Eastern Threat Center  • 
In this modern society, non-stop movement of people and goods means that invasive species will continue to move and spread, too. Recent research indicates that invasive plants can be found in nearly half of the forests of the eastern United States, raising concerns about the sustainability of these ecosystems and the benefits and services they…  More 

Where the Not-So-Mighty Chestnut Still Grows

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
A recent study by U.S. Forest Service, university, and state agency researchers provides baseline information on contemporary populations of American chestnut needed to support restoration of the tree to the forests it once dominated. Biologist Harmony Dalgleish from the College of William and Mary served as lead author on the research published in the journal…  More 

A Big-Picture View of the Invasive Plant Problem

by Sarah Workman and Stephanie Worley Firley  • 
Invasive plants are increasingly altering the structure and function of our natural environment, and now researchers have determined how far-reaching the problem has become. According to a study conducted by U.S. Forest Service and university scientists and published in the journal NeoBiota, at least one invasive species is present in 39 percent of forested plots sampled nationwide…  More 

Plant Invasions Across the United States: Patterns and Clues

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Garlic mustard, Japanese stiltgrass, Oriental bittersweet, and other non-native invasive plants are creeping across backyards, parks, forests, and roadsides throughout the southeastern U.S. Scientists are still trying to understand what drives their relentless spread. Invasions are often assessed by measuring species richness, or the number of non-native species known to grow in a certain area.…  More 

Carbon Accumulation by U.S. Forests May Slow Over the Next 25 Years

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Currently, the carbon sequestered in U.S. forests partially offsets the nation’s carbon emissions and reduces the overall costs of achieving emission targets to address climate change – but that could change over the next 25 years. The accumulation of carbon stored in U.S. forests may slow in the future, primarily due to land use change…  More 

Longleaf Pine at a 50-Year High in South Carolina

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Efforts to restore longleaf pine forests in South Carolina are proving quite successful, according to data published by U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) unit. Longleaf pine forests now occupy less than three percent of an original range estimated at around 92 million acres that once stretched across the coastal plains of…  More 

The Bottomland Forests of the East Coast’s Albemarle Sound

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
The Albemarle Sound watershed stretches 6 million acres along the North Carolina and Virginia borders. “The Sound contains some of the largest areas of bottomland hardwood habitat in the eastern United States,” says U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) research ecologist Anita Rose. “In a variety of ways, both nature and people depend on…  More