Tag: Land use change

Piedmont Forests: The Next 50 Years

by Rod Truesdell, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Recently, CompassLive highlighted the changes likely to occur in the forests of the Appalachian-Cumberland Highlands over the next 50 years. Scientists with the Southern Forest Futures Project, a multi-agency effort led by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station, released these findings in the first of five subregional reports for the South. This first report addressed…  More 

Assessing Future Life Along the Lumber River

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
A new project brings together researchers from the U.S. Forest Service and North Carolina State University (NCSU) with students from the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) to assess how land use and climate change impacts on the Lumber River will affect members of the Lumbee Tribe, the largest Native American tribe in North…  More 

UNC and SRS Scientists Awarded NSF-USDA Grant to Address Water Scarcity in the Southeast

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
University of North Carolina (UNC) and U.S. Forest Service researchers with the Center for Integrated Forest Science (CIFS) recently received a $2.2 million grant from the National Science Foundationand the USDA to design strategies for communities in southeastern U.S. shifting from water abundance to water scarcity due to climate change effects on weather patterns. Accustomed…  More 

The Future of Invasive Insects and Diseases in Southern Forests

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
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 

The Bioenergy Balancing Act

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Wood-based energy has been proposed as an alternative to fossil energy sources such as coal and natural gas, a way to reduce the carbon emissions that lead to atmospheric warming and changing climatic conditions. But debate continues about whether substituting wood for natural gas or coal actually reduces emissions, and how long it takes for…  More 

Life in the Rubbish: Crayfish Habitat in the Mississippi Yazoo River Basin

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Crayfish – also called crawfish, crawdads, or mudbugs, depending on where you live – look like tiny lobsters, and live in freshwater rivers and streams. Crayfish need instream cover to hide from predators – and from larger, cannibalistic kin. They also use cover to find food, to shelter while incubating eggs, and to keep themselves…  More 

Appalachian-Cumberland Highlands: The Next 50 Years

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Knowing more about how the future might unfold can improve decisions that have long-term consequences. The Southern Forest Futures Project, a multi-agency effort led by the U.S. Forest Service, aims to forecast and interpret changes in southern forests under multiple scenarios over the next several decades. The first of five sub-regional reports to explore these…  More 

The Future of Outdoor Recreation in the South

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The Southern Forest Futures Project Technical Report provides an interdisciplinary assessment of potential futures of southern forests and the many benefits they provide. 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…  More 

Does Carbon in Wetland Soils Go With the Flow?

by Stephanie Worley Firley, EFETAC  • 
Among the various providers of ecosystem services, forested wetlands might be the champions. With their sponge-like abilities, they supply and purify water, protect communities from flooding, offer habitat for diverse species, produce timber and other goods, and present many opportunities for recreation and general enjoyment. Hidden in wetland soils is another critically important benefit: storage…  More 

Outdoor Recreation in the Shifting Societal Landscape of the South

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The Southern Forest Futures Project Technical Report provides an interdisciplinary assessment of potential futures of southern forests and the many benefits they provide. 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…  More