Tag: Model

New Directions for Fire Ecology Research

by Ivan Garcia, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Fire is a complicated process that affects forests in diverse ways. Current methods for predicting fire effects on forests still largely rely on past observations rather than a deep understanding of how fire interacts with a forest environment. In order to more fully understand fire’s effect on an ecosystem, wildland fire must be viewed as…  More 

Where Does the Rain Go?

by Naomi Cohen-Shields, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Millions of people depend on the forests of the Southern Appalachian Mountains for drinking water. As climate, land use, and land cover changes alter the forest structure in these mountains, they also alter water budgets. “The Southern Appalachian Mountains are a humid montane environment – they are essentially a cooler version of the tropics,” explains…  More 

Post-Fire Mortality for Southern Hardwoods

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
Drive down Highway 7 in northern Arkansas, winding through the Ozark National Forest, and you may glimpse evidence of recent fire: scorched grass, darkened tree bark, maybe even a lingering wisp of smoke. Traces of prescribed burning can be seen throughout the South. Prescribed fire is a critical tool for forest restoration. A new study…  More 

Where Does the Nitrogen from Forest Fertilizers Go?

by Claire Payne, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Pine plantations cover vast areas in the nearly flat, poorly drained high-water-table soils of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. Growing productive forests on these lands requires drainage and extra nitrogen from fertilizers. While most of the nitrogen from fertilizers remains in the plant-soil system, concerns exist that leached nitrogen could enter…  More