Tag: Early successional habitat

Appalachian-Cumberland Meeting Addresses State and National Forest Partners’ Research Needs

by Teresa Jackson, SRS Public Affairs  • 
In early March the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station hosted its first joint State Line and Green Line Meeting. Approximately 60 state and national forest partners attended the two-day meeting held in Johnson City, Tennessee to learn about a variety of SRS research topics relevant to their specific needs and the Appalachian-Cumberland region. SRS…  More 

Forest Birds & Forest Trees

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
For every stage of forest succession, there’s a bird species that needs it. But others are flexible, thriving in many types of forests. The blue-gray gnatcatcher, eastern wood-pewee, great crested flycatcher, summer tanager, and white-breasted nuthatch are all associated with mature forests. But a recent study suggests these birds are forest generalists rather than mature…  More 

Creating Young Forests to Benefit Wildlife

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
There’s a tendency to think of the hardwood forests of the South as pristine, undisturbed, and unchanging. But forests are constantly changing, which is a good thing for disturbance-dependent species that require open structural conditions created immediately after forest disturbances or at some point early in the process of recovery. Historically and still today, windstorms,…  More 

18th Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference Held in Knoxville

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The first week of March, the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) and the University of Tennessee (UT) hosted nearly 250 scientists and silvicultural specialists in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the 18th Annual Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference (BSSRC).  The conference boasted attendance from academic, international, state, federal, private, and non-governmental institutions and agencies from…  More 

Young Forests Can Benefit Wildlife

by Caroline Ketcham, Volunteer Intern, U.S. Forest Service National Forests in North Carolina  • 
It’s easy to think of forests as peaceful, unchanging places. In reality, this isn’t the case, because forests are much more dynamic than they may seem. In fact, forests are shaped by change, and many forest ecosystems depend upon it. In the aftermath of a major change or disturbance like wildfire or human clearing of…  More 

Cutting Trees for the Early Birds

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
U.S. Forest Service scientists recently published the results of one of the longest studies conducted on the effects of multiple forest harvest methods on early successional bird species. Published online in Forest Ecology and Management, the article by Forest Service Southern Research Station research wildlife biologist Roger Perry and retired scientist Ron Thill presents findings…  More 

Prestigious USDA Grants Support SRS Research in the Southern Appalachians

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
In the News Two SRS units—the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and the Upland Hardwoods Ecology and Management unit—recently received word that their scientists, along with university collaborators, received grants from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) for studies based in the Southern Appalachian region. AFRI supports research,…  More 

Sustaining Young Forest Communities

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The recent SRS publication Sustaining Young Forest Communities: Ecology and Management of Early Successional Habitats in the Central Hardwood Region, USA, addresses a variety of concerns raised by Forest Service managers and natural resource professionals regarding early successional habitats. An in-depth look by ecologists, conservationists, and land managers, the book defines early successional habitats and…  More