All Articles Page 101

Acorns and Prescribed Fire

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Southern Research Station (SRS) scientists have found that litter and soil can provide the insulation needed to protect acorns when prescribed fire is used to help restore oak ecosystems. “Acorns inside the leaf litter or in the soil are for the most part protected from fire,” says Katie Greenberg, SRS researcher and lead author of…  More 

Seeing Forest Stress from Drought in Real Time

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Most climate change models predict drier and warmer conditions across parts of the southern United States, which may translate into more frequent and severe drought events for those areas. With an estimated 60 percent of the drinking water of the South coming from forested watersheds—and many forests already stressed—land managers need to start planning now…  More 

Where Does the Nitrogen from Forest Fertilizers Go?

by Claire Payne, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Pine plantations cover vast areas in the nearly flat, poorly drained high-water-table soils of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. Growing productive forests on these lands requires drainage and extra nitrogen from fertilizers. While most of the nitrogen from fertilizers remains in the plant-soil system, concerns exist that leached nitrogen could enter…  More 

Nosing Out Future Landslides

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
In the mountains of Southern Appalachia, landslides sometimes follow major rainstorms. Increases in the frequency of heavy rainfall events predicted under climate change could ramp up the risk of landslides in an area where development and roads crawl up steep hillsides. In western North Carolina, the North Carolina Geological Survey  documented over 2,700 landslides and…  More 

Klepzig Recieves A.D. Hopkins Award

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  Dr. Kier Klepzig, Southern Research Station (SRS) Assistant Director is the recipient of the A.D. Hopkins Award, which is presented to individuals who have an outstanding record of service to Southern forest entomology.  Klepzig received the award from the Southern Forest Insect Work Conference at the groups annual meeting, held this year in Charlottesville,…  More 

Dogwoods in Decline?

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  Dogwood trees are cherished across the southeastern United States for their showy spring flowers. The small, deciduous trees are often found in the understory of hardwood forests, where they shuttle calcium from far below ground to leaves. Each fall, the calcium-rich leaves fall to the forest floor and decompose, enriching the topsoil with minerals.…  More 

Southern Pine Silviculture Training at the Crossett Experimental Forest

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
In June, the Southern Research Station (SRS) and the Forest Service Southern Region jointly hosted the two-week Southern Pine module for the National Advanced Silviculture Program (NASP) at the Crossett Experimental Forest in Ashley County, Arkansas. The silviculture certification program for the Forest Service, NASP consists of four core training modules led by academic institutions, and a fifth…  More 

Forest Detectives Solve Asheville Watershed Mystery

by Stephanie Worley Firley, EFETAC  • 
  Scientists with the USDA Forest Service Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center (EFETAC) headquartered at the Southern Research Station in Asheville, North Carolina, recently discovered an area of damaged trees within the watershed from which Asheville draws most of its water supply. Though monitoring forest health is an everyday role of the Forest Service,…  More 

American’s Preferences for Outdoor Recreation Changing

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The Southern Research Station (SRS) recently published a national study, Outdoor Recreation Trends and Futures, which shows that American’s current choices for outdoor recreation differ noticeably from those made by previous generations. Participation in “traditional” activities such as hunting and fishing has flattened or declined, while participation in activities that involve viewing and photographing nature is growing.…  More 

Recession Effects on Southern Forest Industries

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  Economic conditions from 2005 to 2010 accelerated sawmill closings and job losses and affected timber management across the southern United States, according to a report recently published online by the Southern Research Station (SRS) Forest and Inventory Analysis (FIA) unit. Authored by Tom Brandeis, team leader for the FIA Resource Analysis Team, with fellow…  More