All Articles Page 100

Secretary’s Honor Award for Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
On September 12, the team leading the Forest Health Protection Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program received a 2012 USDA Secretary’s Honor Award. Key members of the group are John Nowak (team leader), Don Duerr, Wes Nettleton, and Linda Brett from Forest Service, Region 8, and Kier Klepzig, Assistant Director for Research at the Southern Research Station. …  More 

Latest Forest Inventory for Kentucky

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Forest area remains same, growth rate still greater than removal rate. According to the update recently released by the Southern Research Station (SRS) Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, forest land in Kentucky covers an estimated 12.4 million acres, remaining the same from he last reported data. The report—compiled from data collected by the Kentucky…  More 

Georgia Forests, 2011

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Forest area remains the same, while ownership changes Georgia contains the largest area of forest cover of any state in the South, with forests making up 67 percent of land cover or 24.8 million acres, according to a Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) factsheet recently released by the Southern Research Station (SRS). While this land area…  More 

New Guide to Woodwasps of the Western Hemisphere

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Includes DNA barcodes for early detection of major pests The North American forest community reacted with alarm when specimens of Sirex noctilio Fabricius were found in New York State in 2004.  Native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, S. noctilio—a species of woodwasp in the family Siricidae—is fairly benign in its native range, but as a…  More 

Tom Holmes Co-Authors Prize-Winning Article

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
On August 20, Southern Research Station (SRS) research forester Tom Holmes received notice that a paper he co-authored won the first Soren Wibe Prize from the Journal of Forest Economics. Fellow co-authors of the article are Christopher Moore from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Kathleen Bell from the University of Maine. The Soren Wibe…  More 

Bioenergy and Climate Change

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—come from ancient deposits formed millions of years ago beneath the Earth’s surface. These deposits are not being replenished. When these nonrenewable fuels are burned, greenhouse gases—including carbon dioxide (CO2)—are released into the Earth’s atmosphere, where they trap heat and contribute to global climate change. Burning wood also releases CO2…  More 

Mapping Species Invasions

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Forest Service scientists help organize international meeting. Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center research ecologist Frank Koch and Northern Research Station research biologist Robert Venette, and international colleagues co-organized the sixth annual International Pest Risk Mapping Workgroup (IPRMW) held July 23-26 in Norway. The IPRMW is a group of like-minded scientists focused on improving the…  More 

Wood for Electric Power, and So Much More

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  A wood-to-energy gasification project by the Forest Service in Louisiana proves that its possible to produce electricity from forest biomass while promoting forest health and researching new sources of transportation fuels. In 2008, the Southern Research Station (SRS) Utilization of Southern Forest Resources (USFR) unit, the Kisatchie National Forest and Forest Service State and Private…  More 

Prescribed Fire in the Piney Woods

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Effects on amphibians and reptiles Forest managers across North America use prescribed burning for many reasons—restoring ecosystem functions, improving wildlife habitat, reducing wildlife hazard, to name a few. Prescribed fire can have both beneficial and negative effects on specific plants and animals. Managers are increasingly sensitive to possible effects of fire on amphibians and reptiles…  More 

Oak Regeneration in Upland Hardwood Forests

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Two-day workshop for managers In July, the Southern Research Station (SRS) Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management Research unit hosted a 2-day workshop on oak regeneration in upland hardwood forests at the Bent Creek Experimental Forest near Asheville, North Carolina. Over 35 private, state, and federal agency forest managers participated in lecture presentations, field trips and…  More