Category: Science Shorts

Science Shorts are 200-word summaries, similar to a news brief, that highlight one or two key findings from a new research paper.

Two decades of annual national forest health check-ups

by Lars Pomara, ecologist  • 
For 21 consecutive years, researchers from the USDA Forest Service and partners at North Carolina State University have tracked the status and trends of forest health across the U.S.  Annual assessments of forest health are key to understanding whether year-to-year changes are part of longer-term trends. Forests constantly change because of tree mortality and growth,…  More 

New species of Southern Appalachian earthworms

by Mac Callaham, research ecologist, and Jacqueline Patterson, SRS Science Communications Resource Assistant  • 
Two species of earthworms, new to science, have now been formally described. My colleagues and I were studying the effects of the 2016 wildfires in the Southern Appalachian Mountains when we found a few earthworms that we could not identify. Back at the lab, we carefully examined the specimens and conducted molecular (DNA) analysis to confirm…  More 

Do property tax benefits for forest landowners work?

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Every state in the U.S. has a program that lowers property taxes for people who enroll their private forestlands. But the programs may not work, according to a new review paper by USDA Forest Service research economist Greg Frey. Frey organized the review around two broad goals that the programs might have: keeping forests as…  More 

Wildfires on a warmer planet

by Jeff Prestemon, senior research forester and project leader, Southern Research Station  • 
Wildfires are projected to burn three times as much area on federal lands by the end of the century, as compared to previous decades. Furthermore, across all climate scenarios, median federal spending for wildfire suppression is projected nearly triple, translating into a $3.70 billion increase compared to historic spending over the same time frame. The…  More 

Bringing science from groundwater to surface

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
On May 3, 2022 the USDA Forest Service hosted a virtual Santee Experimental Forest Research Forum. More than 40 scientists, researchers, and other partners came together to discuss projects occurring on the Santee Experimental Forest. The Santee Experimental Forest is nestled in the Francis Marion National Forest 10 miles from the coast in South Carolina.…  More 

The fate of wood

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Trees are part of the carbon cycle. When they die, they go on storing carbon for a while. But as the fallen trunks and large branches decompose, that carbon moves into the soil and the atmosphere. USDA Forest Service researcher Carl Trettin and his colleagues have designed a new study to show how wood-carbon moves…  More 

Payments for ecosystem services

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
People who own forested land may be able to sell the ecosystem services the land provides. Hunting leases are one example. For the years 2010-2019, payments for hunting leases, wildlife viewing fees, and other such services averaged $1.5 billion a year, as USDA Forest Service research economist Greg Frey and his colleagues estimate. Markets for…  More 

Pondberry needs light to thrive

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
  Pondberry (Lindera melissifolia) can tolerate deep shade and flooded soil – conditions that would kill many plants. However, the endangered shrub prefers more light and less flooding, as a team of USDA Forest Service researchers led by Ted Leininger shows. Leininger and colleagues have conducted several pondberry studies at the Flooding Research Facility on…  More 

Maintaining productivity in the logging industry

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
Across the U.S., the logging industry population has declined for the last two decades. USDA Forest Service scientist Mathew Smidt contributed to a study investigating changes in employment and profitability in the logging industry. Mingtao He, a graduate student at Auburn University, led the study. Since 1997, the population decline meant fewer young people were…  More 

Climate change worsens heatwaves

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
Since the 1980s, climate change has increased the impact of heatwaves. They arrive earlier, last longer, have higher temperatures, and cover wider areas. Their effects across the globe, however, vary by location and income level. USDA Forest Service scientist Jeffrey Prestemon contributed to a study, led by Mohammad Reza Alizadeh at McGill University, that shows…  More