Tag: Forested wetlands

Payments for ecosystem services

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
  People who own forested land may be able to sell the ecosystem services the land provides. Hunting leases are one example. For the years 2010-2019, payments for hunting leases, wildlife viewing fees, and other such services averaged $1.5 billion a year, as USDA Forest Service research economist Greg Frey and his colleagues estimate. Markets…  More 

Wetland Silviculture & Water Tables

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Water tables are everywhere, but their levels fluctuate – especially in the poorly drained clay soils of coastal South Carolina. Topography also affects water tables, and forested wetlands in the Coastal Plain tend to be flat. “They respond rapidly to rainfall and evapotranspiration,” says Devendra Amatya, a USDA Forest Service research hydrologist. Amatya is on…  More 

Tribal Wetlands Training

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
In June, seven representatives of five Tribal Nations joined USDA Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers experts for the Tribal Wetlands Training workshop, hosted by the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. Where does a wetland begin or end? Delineating the boundaries of a wetland is difficult. “Our goal was to help participants –…  More 

Ephemeral Wetlands and Climate Change: Implications for Frogs and Toads

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Many frog and toad species live on land as adults, but their lives always begin in water. Depending on the species, dozens or hundreds of eggs, bound together into a gelatinous glob or string, are laid in a pond, puddle, or marsh. When frogs and toads spawn in waters inhabited by fish, many of the…  More 

Black Mangrove on the Move on the Gulf Coast of Texas

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Some plant species are already migrating due to climate change, moving north into areas that aren’t as cold as they used to be. Along the Gulf Coast of Texas, black mangrove, a small shrubby tree, is expanding into saltmarshes as the intervals between winters with freezing temperatures lengthen. Easily outcompeting the Spartina cordgrasses that dominate…  More