Tag: Florida

Reptile and Amphibian Response to Prescribed Burns in Florida

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
USDA Forest Service and University of Florida scientists partnered to monitor reptiles and amphibians before and after growing season (spring and summer) and dormant season (winter) prescribed burns in longleaf pine sandhills in a study on the Ocala National Forest in Florida. The research team recorded the number of animals captured, the number of species…  More 

Hurricane Michael Recovery Focus of State Line Meeting

by Teresa Jackson, SRS Public Affairs, and Stephanie Laseter, SRS-R8 Liaison  • 
In May, state foresters from Florida and Georgia, along with their staffs, personnel from the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, the Apalachicola National Forest, and Tall Timbers gathered at the Wakulla Environmental Institute in Crawfordville, Florida for a State Line meeting. Participants discussed Hurricane Michael impacts, recovery, and challenges that the agencies are facing…  More 

Predicting Fire Behavior with New 3D Fuel Models

by Diane Banegas, USDA Forest Service, Knowledge Management and Communications  • 
Land managers have a new tool in their firefighting arsenals that models forest fuels in three dimensions. These 3D fuel models developed by the USDA Forest Service have the potential to make firefighting and the management of controlled burns safer and less costly while helping to protect valuable natural resources. The 3D fuels modeling technique…  More 

Southern Timber Hit Hard by Hurricane

by Patty Matteson, SRS Public Affairs  • 
Hurricane Michael roared through Florida, Alabama, and Georgia on October 10 and delivered a hard hit to timberland owners and timber markets. John Alter and Elizabeth Alter manage more than 1,000 acres in Malone, Florida, including 18 Tree Farm stands. The Alters were honored as Florida’s Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year in 2015. “This is a true…  More 

Carbon Storage in Longleaf Pine Roots

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
“Longleaf roots are pretty legendary,” says USDA Forest Service scientist Peter Anderson. “It’s common to hear that you can dig up a really old stump and use it as a quick, reliable kindling.” Pines contain oleoresins, a sticky liquid mix of oil and resin (or rosin). “There are companies today that buy and dig old…  More 

Saving the Torreya

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
A century ago, about half a million torreya trees grew in the wild. Today, there are fewer than 1,000. Is extinction imminent, or can the species be saved? “I’m more optimistic now, after the Torreya Tree of Life Workshop,” says USDA Forest Service geneticist Dana Nelson. “The workshop brought a large group of enthusiastic people…  More 

The Many Dimensions of Tree Trunks

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
The taller a tree grows, the wider its trunk becomes. “It’s a fundamental relationship,” says U.S. Forest Service research ecologist Dale Brockway. Scientists use math to describe this height-diameter relationship. But one of the mathematical constants – a scaling exponent of 2/3 – is not always so constant, according to a recent study by Brockway…  More 

Monitoring Frog & Toad Populations?

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Over the past few decades, scientists have become increasingly concerned about amphibians. “Populations of many frog and toad species have declined,” says U.S. Forest Service research ecologist Katie Greenberg. “The global decline highlights the need to monitor frogs and toads where they live.” Greenberg has been doing just that for 24 years. Since 1994, Greenberg…  More 

Bumblebees and Blueberries

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Flowering plants and pollinators depend on each other. It’s a global truism, and it’s true on a 440 acre blueberry farm in northern Florida. “Bumblebees are extremely efficient pollinators,” says U.S. Forest Service research ecologist Joseph O’Brien. “In the time it takes a honeybee to pollinate a single blueberry flower, a bumblebee can pollinate as…  More 

Longleaf Pine Silviculture

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
By best estimate, longleaf pine forests once spanned over 90 million acres – an area more than twice the size of Georgia. “Today, 97 percent of these forests are gone,” says U.S. Forest Service research ecologist Dale Brockway. “However, the longleaf pine ecosystems that remain are home to a very diverse community of plants and…  More