Tag: Forest futures

FIA Data Inform Studies on Land Use Conversions, Markets, and More

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Strong forest markets protect forests by reducing conversion of forests to other land uses, according to a recent study. The study uses data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program. “Across the Southeast and the rest of the U.S., FIA provides detailed observations of every aspect of the forest resource,” says John Coulston, a USDA…  More 

David Wear Wins SAF Award in Forest Science

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
On November 4, U.S. Forest Service scientist David Wear received the National Award in Forest Science from the Society of American Foresters (SAF). The award was presented at a special reception as part of the SAF annual conference held November 2 – 6 in Madison, Wisconsin. SAF recognized Wear, senior scientist and project leader at…  More 

Forests of the South’s Coastal Plain

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
What will the Coastal Plain forests of the South look like in 50 years? With the myriad of factors involved—including climate change, population growth, economic outlooks, and more—it’s not a simple question. U.S. Forest Service researchers provide an overview of current and future issues for southern coastal forests in the general technical report Outlook for Coastal Plain Forests. The report is one of…  More 

The Appalachian-Cumberland Highland: The Next 50 Years

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Knowing more about how the future might unfold can improve decisions that are sure to have long-term consequences. The Southern Forest Futures Project, a multi-agency effort led by the U.S. Forest Service, aimed to forecast and interpret changes in southern forests under multiple scenarios over the next several decades. The project also included a suite…  More 

The Future of Fire in the South

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Fire is an integral part of the southern landscape. In the U.S., most of the focus is on the catastrophic fires that regularly sweep across the western states, but wildfires actually occur more frequently in the Southeast, where rapid vegetation growth and fuel accumulation combine with frequent ignitions from lightning and humans. The South leads the nation…  More 

Who Will Own Southern Forests in the Future?

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Forest ownership in the South has changed substantially over the past decade, raising questions about future landowner objectives and approaches to forest management — and ultimately about the retention of forest lands. Chartered by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region and Southern Research Station along with the Southern Group of State Foresters, the Southern Forest Futures…  More 

Conserving the South’s Forests in a Rapidly Changing Future

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Ensuring the sustainability of the world’s forest ecosystems in these times of rapid environmental, economic, social, and political change presents considerable challenges. In particular, rapid and unprecedented change portends a future where many of the principles and conditions that we’ve relied on to guide future management may never exist again, rendering traditional approaches to forest…  More 

Mississippi Alluvial Valley Forests: The Next 50 Years

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
The Southern Forest Futures Project (SFFP) started in 2008 as an effort to study and understand the various forces reshaping the forests across the 13 states of the Southeast. Chartered by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region and Southern Research Station (SRS) along with the Southern Group of State Foresters, the project examined a variety…  More 

Projected Land Use Change in the South

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
The Southern Forest Futures Project (SFFP) started in 2008 as an effort to study and understand the various forces reshaping the forests across the 13 states of the Southeast. Chartered by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region and Southern Research Station along with the Southern Group of State Foresters, the project examines a variety of…  More 

Coastal Plain Forests: The Next 50 Years

by Rod Truesdell, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
What will our Southern coastal forests look like in 50 years? With a myriad of factors involved—including climate change, population growth, economic outlooks, and more—it’s not a simple question. However, forest researchers have provided what they believe is a comprehensive answer to that question in the new general technical report Outlook for Coastal Plain Forests. The…  More