Tag: Development

Decreasing development on forest and agricultural land partly driven by gas prices

by Sean Nealon, Oregon State University News Editor  • 
A new study found a steep decline in the development of forest and agricultural land from 2000 to 2015 compared to the previous two decades. This decline resulted in a broad shift towards denser development patterns throughout the U.S. Researchers from Oregon State University, Montana State University, and the USDA Forest Service found that falling…  More 

Effects of Forest Fragmentation and Restoration on Invasive Species

by Naomi Cohen-Shields, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Managing invasive species is one of the largest challenges that land managers face. They threaten the health of natural ecosystems, prevent the growth of native species, and leave landowners with significant amounts of damage. “More than 4,300 exotic plant species and 66 foreign pest species that can cause negative effects on forest ecosystems and economies…  More 

Forests, Farms, or Houses?

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Molecules relentlessly cycle from one form to another. “Simple human activities, such as building homes, can affect these cycles,” says U.S. Forest Service research soil scientist Jennifer Knoepp. For example, trees growing near streams affect the way nitrogen and other nutrients move from the land to the water. “Riparian zones play a critical role in…  More 

What’s Wilderness Worth?

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
In 1964, Congress protected areas where, according to the Wilderness Act, “the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” Wilderness areas now cover approximately 5 percent of the United States – over 100 million acres. While the ecological and aesthetic value of…  More 

There’s Nothing Simple about the Urban-Rural Interface

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
A new book edited by U.S. Forest Service researcher Wayne Zipperer, with co-editors David Laband and Graeme Lockaby, focuses on urban-rural interfaces—those places where city and suburban development touch on the countryside. Published by the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America, the articles in…  More 

When Development Finds the Forgotten Coast

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  Southern Research Station (SRS) scientist Wayne Zipperer and colleagues from the Center for Forest Sustainability at Auburn University are looking at the effects of urban development on communities where natural resources have long provided both livelihoods and sense of place. The town of Apalachicola is part of what’s known as the Forgotten Coast, an…  More