Tag: Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory

Research spans the South: Cross-site studies of the Experimental Forest Network

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Communications  • 
A small team of USDA Forest Service employees are making huge contributions to the SRS Experimental Forest Network. Chuck Burdine and Bryan Mudder are key members of this team. For the past two years, they have been on temporary assignments as western and eastern regional coordinators, respectively. “When I took on the regional coordinator role,…  More 

100 Years of Forest Service Research in the South

by Sarah Farmer and Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
In 2021, the Southern Research Station and all of USDA Forest Service celebrates the centennial of Forest Service research in the South. On July 1, 1921, the Forest Service established two new experiment stations. They were modest operations. The Southern Forest Experiment Station, headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, had only five employees. The Appalachian Forest…  More 

Cross-Site Studies Take Root across the Southern Experimental Forest Network

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Most of the 19 southern experimental forests were founded in the 1930s or 1940s. Over the past five years, they have become something new: the SRS Experimental Forest Network. “Each experimental forest is a regional asset,” says Stephanie Laseter, a USDA Forest Service scientist and network co-lead. Johnny Boggs is also a co-lead. “When part…  More 

The Southern Experimental Forest Network

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
The Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service manages 19 experimental forests that function as living, transpiring laboratories. They are scattered across 10 states, separated by hundreds of miles, and many are approaching 80 years old. Most of them are located on national forests. Five years ago, SRS began linking the 19 experimental forests…  More 

Carbon Pools and Fluxes in Southern Appalachian Forests

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
An estimated 35 percent of the global terrestrial carbon is stored in soil and biotic carbon pools, such as forests. These pools can store or release carbon. Because forests store immense amounts of carbon, forest management is becoming part of efforts to increase carbon sequestration and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Long-term research from the USDA…  More 

Past Partial-Cutting Techniques More Beneficial Than Past Clear-Cutting

by Casey Conrad, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
What is the most sustainable way to harvest a forest? A team led by USDA Forest Service scientists Katherine Elliott and Chelcy Miniat, along with Forest Service intern Andrea Medenblik, tries to answer this question. Data were analyzed from a long-term study looking at the biomass effects of partial-cutting versus clear-cutting in different watersheds in…  More 

Formidable Forest Shrubs Affect Tree Height and Biomass

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Forests are made of three-dimensional life forms that constantly interact with each other and with the abiotic factors in their environment. A recent study shows how complex those interactions can be. “Trees growing within an evergreen shrub layer can be almost 20 feet shorter than trees without a shrub layer,” says USDA Forest Service scientist…  More 

Coweeta Technicians Travel to Puerto Rico

by Katie Bower, Coweeta LTER Research Technician  • 
Electric blue squares dotted the urban landscape. From the descending plane, USDA Forest Service visitors thought they might be swimming pools. Alas, they were tarps covering the roofs of homes and keeping leaks at bay on rainy days. These tarps were the first sign of lingering damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Broken roads, twisted…  More 

Climate Drivers of Carbon Gain and Water Loss in a Southern Appalachian Forest

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
The planet is warming, and warmth revs the machinery of life. “As it gets warmer, living things burn up more carbon through respiration,” says USDA Forest Service scientist Chris Oishi. “It’s true of trees and soil microbes.” Soil is bursting with invertebrate life, microbial life, and living plant roots. It’s also where decomposers do their…  More 

A Tour of the Eastern Experimental Forests

by Stephanie Laseter, experimental forest & range network lead  • 
In February 2018, Southern Research Station scientists and staff participated in the second round of SRS experimental forest tours. SRS manages 19 experimental forests. Three teams visited 11 eastern experimental forests over five days. In September 2017, two teams had visited eight of the western experimental forests. Experimental forests are a station-level asset. They are…  More