Tag: Sustainability

Putting Mangrove Data to Work in East Africa

by Christine Chumbler, freelance writer  • 
Mangrove forests are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems on the planet. Their stilt-like roots trap carbon and other nutrients that rivers have carried to the coastal deltas where mangroves grow. They act as a buffer, protecting coastlines and the people who live there from increasingly strong seas and storm surges. People depend on mangrove forests…  More 

Agroforestry Strategies for Landowners

by Patty Matteson, SRS Public Affairs  • 
When most people think of livestock and farming, they envision rolling, open fields with cows grazing on green grass. Add trees to that picture, and you have silvopasture — an agroforestry practice that combines livestock and forest management. Chris Fields-Johnson uses agroforestry on his 300-acre loblolly pine forest in Scottsville, VA. He had planned to…  More 

Eucalyptus or Loblolly: Which Uses More Water?

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
When asked which tree uses more water, the native, industry favorite loblolly pine or the ultra-fast growing immigrant from Australia, Eucalyptus, U.S. Forest Service biological scientist Chris Maier had a quick answer: both. “Growing wood requires water,” says Maier. Loblolly and slash pines currently serve as the main sources of wood fiber in the South,…  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 

Partnership to Better Understand Harvest Methods for Ramps Launched in Michigan

by Patty Matteson, SRS Public Affairs  • 
The U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) and Virginia Tech are partnering with the newly formed Institute for Sustainable Foraging (ISF) based in Traverse City, Michigan, to study ramp harvesting techniques used by private landowners and harvesters in Northern Michigan. This research will be used to better understand harvest methods necessary to ensure sustainability of ramp populations…  More 

Science Partners Launch “Ecosystem Benefits and Risks” Website

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
The Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) and the U.S. Forest Service are releasing products from the first phase of an ongoing study assessing benefits of and risks to the region’s “ecosystem services” — natural assets valued by people, such as clean drinking water, outdoor recreation, forest products, and biological conservation. A wealth of data, maps, and…  More 

A Future for Freeze-Tolerant Eucalyptus in the South?

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Recently published research by U.S. Forest Service scientists provides important first-time analyses of the potential impacts of introducing plantations of freeze-tolerant Eucalyptus into the South. Eucalyptus, a fast-growing tree native to Australia and Indonesia, is planted across large areas of Asia, Africa, and South America as a major source of hardwood fiber for paper and…  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 

McDonough Wins Engineer of the Year

by Teresa Jackson, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
  Mark McDonough, station engineer for the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS), was recently named Managerial Engineer of the Year for 2012 in recognition of his leadership in sustainable operations and products, implementation of valuable engineering strategies, and the successful management of one of the largest capital improvements programs in Forest Service Research…  More 

Are Black Cohosh Harvests Sustainable?

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
In Southern Appalachians forests, harvests of non-timber forest products—plants used for culinary, floral, medicinal and other purposes—just keep increasing. Though overharvesting seems to be a major cause for population declines in plants such as American ginseng, black cohosh, and other medicinal plants, forest managers have lacked methods that would allow them to measure the extent…  More