Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for 2012

Every fall, Linda Wang, national timber tax specialist, and John Greene, research forester for the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS), prepare tax tips specifically for forest landowners. These tips are published as a Technology Update by Forest Service Southern Region. Federal income tax law contains provisions to encourage stewardship and management of private…  More 

Bio-prospecting in Beetles

Forest Service Grant Supports Undergraduate Research Funding from the U.S. Forest Service certainly served its purpose of enhancing undergraduate research at Delta State University (DSU) in Cleveland, Mississippi. Almost 3 years ago, Tanya McKinney and Ellen Green, associate professors of biology at DSU, started brainstorming a project to give science undergraduates research experience in the fields…  More 

ForWarn Team Wins 2013 Interagency Partnership Award

  The U.S. Forest Service Eastern Forest and Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Centers‘ ForWarn team is among the agency recipients of the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer’s (FLC) 2013 Interagency Partnership Award. The award recognizes the collaborative efforts of federal laboratory employees for outstanding work in technology transfer, and is one of the…  More 

SRS Scientists Contribute to New National Report

Study projects significant forest loss due to suburbanization and land fragmentation A comprehensive U.S. Forest Service report released on December 18 examines the ways expanding populations, increased urbanization, and changing land-use patterns could profoundly impact natural resources, including water supplies, nationwide during the next 50 years.  Forest Service Southern Research Station scientists who took lead roles in conducting…  More 

Invasive Earthworms, No Joke

Earthworms, the darlings of gardeners, fishers and composters, have a dark side: some are globetrotters and when introduced to new homes can cause real problems, both above and below ground. “Invasive earthworms are a global problem and can cause considerable changes to ecosystems,” says Mac Callaham, research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research…  More 

The Latest on Tennessee Forests

  Tennessee Forests, 2009, a new resource bulletin published by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS), provides results from the eighth complete survey of Tennessee’s forest resources, showing that forests continue to cover about half of the states 26 million acres with a slight gain in forest land during the period 2005 to…  More 

Future Longleaf Pine Forests in Virginia

Southeastern Virginia marks the northern boundary of the natural range of longleaf pine forests, which once stretched along most of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from Virginia to eastern Texas. Research aimed at finding the best seed sources to restore longleaf pine forests to southeastern Virginia area is also providing important clues for adapting…  More 

Rabbit Rules for Prescribed Burns

Forest Service scientists with the Southern Research Station (SRS) Center for Forest Disturbance Science  (CFDS) recently tested Rabbit Rules, a simplified model they developed that can be used to quickly calculate fire and smoke behavior from prescribed burns. The impacts of smoke on air quality are particularly important in the South, where managers use prescribed…  More 

Southern Forest Science in Support of a Low Carbon Economy

Research from the Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) on biomass for energy and the capacity of southern forests to offset the  greenhouse gas emissions that have led to global warming are featured in the special issue of the journal Forest Science published in October. Often called the “wood basket of the Nation,” the forests…  More 

Invasive Tallow Tree Lowers Frog Egg Survival

  Aquatic “mesocosm” used to test effects of tallow tree litter on southern leopard frog eggs. Photo by Cory Adams. Amphibians across the world are rapidly declining. Numerous studies have addressed causes of the decline, but very few have looked at the effects of invasive plants. Dan Saenz, Southern Research Station (SRS) research wildlife biologist…  More