All Articles Page 98

Forest Service Termiticide Testing Program

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Termites cause an estimated $5 billion in damages in the United States every year. In the South, where termite damage is legendary, proof of treatment for the insects is often required before a home can be sold. Many people assume that termites are just urban or suburban pests and are surprised to learn that the Forest Service…  More 

It’s All About Insects

by Stacy Blomquist, SRS Insects, Diseases, and Invasive Plants unit  • 
Representatives from the Southern Research Station (SRS) Insects, Diseases, and Invasive Plants unit recently hosted a forestry booth as part of “Demonstration Days at AgMagic” at the annual Louisiana State Fair in Shreveport, Louisiana.  Children and adults visiting the booth were able to view and touch live insects, create insect pictures from stencils, and receive an activity sheet…  More 

Impact of Red Oak Borer Outbreaks on Arkansas Forests

by Jim Guldin, project leader of the SRS Southern Pine Ecology & Management unit  • 
Over the past 50 years, oak decline events have been reported in upland oak forests of the eastern United States with increasing frequency — and Arkansas is no exception. A team of forest entomologists at the University of Arkansas led by Fred Stephen, in cooperation with Jim Guldin, project leader of the Southern Research Station (SRS)…  More 

Cytogenetics and the Fate of Trees

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  Nurul Islam-Faridi, research geneticist with the Southern Research Station (SRS) Forest Tree Molecular Cytogenetics Laboratory on the Texas A&M campus at College Station, TX, and adjunct professor in the university’s Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, is one of a handful of scientists in the world who can literally count the chromosomes inside the living cells of any…  More 

Ozone Effects on Forest Watersheds in the Southeast

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  Southern Research Station (SRS) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) scientists have found that rising levels of ozone, a greenhouse gas, may amplify the impacts of higher temperatures and reduce streamflow from forests to rivers, streams, and other water bodies. Such effects could potentially reduce water supplies available to support forest ecosystems and people…  More 

New Tools to Bring Back the American Chestnut

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
It’s been a long time now since American chestnut trees dominated the forest canopies of the East, so long that there are few people alive who remember stands with trees nearly the size of redwoods or the pungent smell of chestnuts in bloom that filled the forests before the blight came. It’s taken almost 30…  More 

Chestnut Blight

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Chestnut blight, the disease that decimated the American chestnut trees of the eastern U.S. in the early 1900s, is mainly caused by Cryphonectria parasitica, a member of the largest group of fungi, the ascomycetes (sac fungi). C. parasitica enters through wounds and cracks in chestnut bark, causing dead areas on bark called cankers. Once introduced, the…  More 

Testing the Survival of American Chestnut Seedlings

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) dominated the forest canopy in the eastern United States for thousands of years, until it was decimated by an exotic fungal pathogen, the chestnut blight (Chryphonectria parasitica) in the early part of the 20th century. Since then, tree enthusiasts and scientists have been trying to find a way to…  More 

SRS-Funded Forest Project Wins National Award

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The Western North Carolina Forest Project, funded with a $1.97 million American Reinvestment and Recovery Act grant through the Southern Research Station (SRS), helped retain or create 164 jobs among 15 small businesses and organizations in Western North Carolina. Now the Land-of-Sky Regional Council, the local administrator of the project, has received the 2012 Innovation Award…  More 

North American Freshwater Mussels

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
New Book Highlights Natural History, Ecology, and Conservation A new book by Southern Research Station (SRS) scientist Wendell Haag provides the first comprehensive view of the ecology and conservation of the approximately 300 species of North American freshwater mussels. Intended for resource managers, scientists, students, and those interested in natural history, North American Freshwater Mussels…  More