Tag: Arkansas

Prescribed Fire and Snags in Shortleaf Pine Woodlands

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
“I’ve spent years working in these shortleaf pine woodlands and always wondered about the availability of snags, especially given their importance to bats,” says U.S. Forest Service research wildlife biologist Roger W. Perry. Perry is talking about 250,000 acres on the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Efforts to restore shortleaf pine woodlands have…  More 

Mississippi Alluvial Valley Forests

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The Southern Forest Futures Project (SFFP) started as an effort to study and understand the various forces reshaping the forests across the 13 states of the Southeast. Chartered by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region and Southern Research Station (SRS) along with the Southern Group of State Foresters, the project examined a variety of possible…  More 

How Much Smoke Will a Prescribed Fire Produce?

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Prescribed fire is an important and widely used management tool, but the smoke produced can cause air quality issues and health problems. Before conducting prescribed fires, managers typically model the amount of smoke a fire will produce, which is directly related to the amount of fuel available. “Most fire-effects models were developed in the western…  More 

Shortleaf Pine: What’s in the Genes?

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Despite shortleaf pine’s importance, relatively little is known about its genetics. “The lack of knowledge is especially apparent in this era of molecular genetics and genomics,” says U.S. Forest Service research geneticist Dana Nelson. Nelson and his colleagues recently reviewed shortleaf pine genetics, and their implications for restoration and management. The research team included Oklahoma…  More 

The Koen Experimental Forest

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  Established in 1951 in northern Arkansas, the Henry R. Koen Experimental Forest (Koen) is covered mostly in oak-hickory upland hardwood forest and oak-pine stands. Named for Henry R. Koen, forest supervisor of the Ozark National Forest during the first half of the 20th century, the experimental forest was set aside to develop scientific principles for forest…  More 

Alum Creek Experimental Forest

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The 4,660-acre Alum Creek Experimental Forest (Alum Creek) was established in the late 1950s in the upper headwaters of the Lake Winona Basin near Jessieville, Arkansas. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station Southern Pine Ecology and Management unit, Alum Creek is affiliated administratively with the Ouachita National Forest. From 1960 until the…  More 

The Crossett Experimental Forest

by Jim Guldin, Project Leader, Southern Pines Ecology & Restoring Longleaf Pine Ecosystems units  • 
Since it was established in 1934, the Crossett Experimental Forest has served as the repository of silvicultural alternatives to the intensive plantation methods that dominate industrial forestry on the Coastal Plain. The not-so-hidden secret of southern forestry is that naturally regenerated Coastal Plain loblolly-shortleaf pine is one of the Nation’s most pliable forest types, able…  More 

A Homeowners Guide to Dealing with Storm-Damaged Trees

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Whether trees are damaged by hurricanes, tornadoes, intense rainstorms, or ice storms, they need to be carefully assessed to ensure the safety of homeowners and property. It’s also important to carefully assess whether a damaged tree can be saved, and if so, what actions can be taken to ensure and maintain optimal health.The following are…  More 

Winter Prescribed Fire and Litter-Roosting Bats

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Rather than hibernating in caves, some bat species in the southeastern U.S. get through the coldest parts of winter by roosting under fallen leaves, twigs, and other dead plant material on the forest floor. Although this leaf litter protects bats from the cold, it could also put them at risk of being injured or killed…  More 

Little Rock Hosts International Silviculture Workshop

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
On May 31st, over 50 researchers from the United States, China, Germany, Slovenia, Chile, Germany, Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Canada, Belgium, and the United Kingdom descended upon Little Rock, Arkansas to discuss forestry management techniques from around the world at the 10th International Workshop on Uneven-aged Silviculture. Jim Guldin, project leader for both of…  More