Tag: Coastal Plain

Long-term impact of hurricanes on forest markets and carbon storage

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
Hurricanes have long-term impacts on forest markets and the welfare of landowners in areas hit the hardest. They also disrupt carbon storage processes in forests. USDA Forest Service scientist Jesse Henderson recently published a study in Forest Policy and Economics that showed replanting trees after disasters like Hurricane Michael is the best way to foster…  More 

Pondberry needs light to thrive

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
  Pondberry (Lindera melissifolia) can tolerate deep shade and flooded soil – conditions that would kill many plants. However, the endangered shrub prefers more light and less flooding, as a team of USDA Forest Service researchers led by Ted Leininger shows. Leininger and colleagues have conducted several pondberry studies at the Flooding Research Facility on…  More 

Prescribed fire history affects pollinator diversity in southern forests

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
Landscapes with diverse fire histories – or pyrodiverse landscapes – have higher diversity of pollinators, as a recent study by USDA Forest Service scientist Michael Ulyshen shows. The study was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Tall Timbers Research Station, the study location, is nestled in the Red Hills Ecoregion of the Coastal…  More 

Conserving trees for endangered bats

by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer  • 
Tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) in South Carolina are threatened by habitat loss and white-nose syndrome. New research shows where they roost during winter, and where they and northern yellow bats (Lasiurus intermedius) roost in summer. Northern yellow bats are considered a species a special concern in South Carolina. USDA Forest Service scientist Susan Loeb contributed…  More 

Bat foraging in winter vs summer

by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer  • 
Unlike bats in cold northern regions, bats in the South can be active year-round. However, most studies of bat habitat use have been conducted during the summer, Little is known about winter bat habitat. In summer and winter 2018 and 2019, USDA Forest Service scientist Susan Loeb, Clemson University graduate student Kyle Shute, and his…  More 

Prescribed Fire Effects on Soil Fertility

by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service contract science writer  • 
USDA Forest Service researcher John Butnor wondered how dormant-season prescribed fire affects forest soil fertility in the months after a burn. Do nutrients from burned pine straw, grasses, and woody debris remain in the forest? Others have studied soil a year or more after a prescribed burn. Butnor’s research compares soil chemistry before burning and…  More 

Translating National Forest Policies to Local Forest Management

by Naomi Cohen-Shields, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
The USDA Forest Service operates at the national, regional, and local levels and must account for a variety of constraints and considerations across its range. Therefore, national-level priorities may not always translate into local-scale management actions. One example of a Forest Service, National Forest System priority area is carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the process…  More 

Longleaf Pine on the Santee Experimental Forest

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
In 1989, South Carolina’s Francis Marion National Forest lost close to a third of its pine and hardwood trees to Hurricane Hugo. USDA Forest Service land managers have spent the last thirty years recovering from that disturbance and working to meet the state’s growing needs for clean water, forest products, recreation areas, and wildlife habitat.…  More 

New Book on Restoring Longleaf Pine Ecosystems

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
A definitive book about longleaf pine ecosystem restoration is now available. Experts from the USDA Forest Service, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, and many other organizations contributed to the book. Ecological Restoration and Management of Longleaf Pine Forests integrates ecology, hydrology, wildlife, and silviculture. Its seventeen chapters synthesize decades of research on longleaf pine…  More 

Sabbaticals Bring Exciting Innovations to Forest Research

by Teresa Jackson, SRS Public Affairs  • 
Three U.S. Forest Service scientists will be expanding on current research — or focusing on new or emerging research — as recipients of the SRS sabbatical program. The sabbaticals will give these researchers the opportunity to collaborate with researchers from around the world. “The sabbatical will afford each of the scientists an opportunity to be…  More