Tag: Restoration

Longleaf pines & fire in the growing season

by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer  • 
Prescribed fire every two years had no impact on the growth or survival of mature longleaf pines – even when prescribed fire was conducted in the growing season, finds long-term experiment. USDA Forest Service scientist John Willis led a study comparing stands of Pinus palustris burned in winter, spring, and summer. Summer lightning often ignites…  More 

Top Ten of 2020

by Jennifer Moore Myers and Sarah Farmer  • 
As 2020 comes to an end, it is a good time to gather our most-read CompassLive stories from the past year. Each one highlights the work of USDA Forest Service scientists at the Southern Research Station. We hope you enjoy reading this collection, which includes the most popular of 2020 plus a few more that…  More 

SRS Releases American Chestnut Course

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was an iconic tree that is now functionally extinct. For a hundred years, researchers from multiple organizations have been working to restore this tree. A free online course – An Introduction to the American Chestnut – is now available. The course covers chestnut taxonomy, silvics, historical importance, ecology, and its…  More 

New Book on Restoring Longleaf Pine Ecosystems

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
A definitive book about longleaf pine ecosystem restoration is now available. Experts from the USDA Forest Service, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, and many other organizations contributed to the book. Ecological Restoration and Management of Longleaf Pine Forests integrates ecology, hydrology, wildlife, and silviculture. Its seventeen chapters synthesize decades of research on longleaf pine…  More 

Highlights from the Joint Leadership Team Meeting

by Stephanie Laseter, R8-SRS Liaison  • 
On August 30, the U.S. Forest Service Southern Regional Leadership Team met with the Southern Research Station Leadership Team in Asheville, NC. Ken Arney, deputy regional forester, kicked off the day with a recap of the last joint meeting held in 2015. Several priority topics from that forum are still of great importance: longleaf pine…  More 

Women in Science: Callie Schweitzer

by Julia Kirschman, SRS Bent Creek Experimental Forest, Technology Transfer Specialist  • 
The Women in Science series features women scientists from across the Southern Research Station (SRS)–their education, career paths, challenges, achievements, and inspirations. Meet SRS scientist Callie Schweitzer, a research forester with the Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management Research Unit in Huntsville, Alabama. She received her doctorate and master’s degrees in Forest Resources and Ecology from Pennsylvania State University.…  More 

Prioritizing Ecological Restoration

by Stephanie Worley Firley, Eastern Threat Center  • 
If ecological restoration is your vocation, think: location, location, location. The practice of assisting in the recovery of a degraded or damaged ecosystem, ecological restoration on a targeted site is a piece of a larger puzzle. “Many scientists and managers recognize the importance of the surrounding landscape because this context often determines the success of…  More 

American Chestnuts in the Field

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
By the 1950s, two non-native pathogens had killed almost all American chestnut trees. “There’s a lot of interest in breeding a chestnut that looks like American chestnut with the disease resistance of Chinese chestnut,” says U.S. Forest Service research forester Stacy Clark. “However, there hasn’t been much research on reintroducing disease-resistant trees to the forest.”…  More 

Women in Science: Stacy Clark

by Teresa Jackson, SRS Public Affairs  • 
The new Women in Science series features women scientists from across the Southern Research Station (SRS)–their education, career paths, challenges, achievements, and inspirations. Meet SRS scientist Stacy Clark, a research forester with the Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management Research Unit in Knoxville, Tennessee. She received a B.S. from the University of Tennessee in Forest Management and…  More 

Oaks, an Unrecognized Ally in Longleaf Pine Restoration

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Longleaf pine ecosystems are among the most threatened in the U.S., and managers across the southeast are prioritizing longleaf restoration. The conventional approach calls for removing hardwood trees such as oak. “Hardwood reduction techniques are commonly deemed necessary for ecological restoration of longleaf pine ecosystems,” says U.S. Forest Service research ecologist Louise Loudermilk. “Hardwoods are…  More