Tag: Texas

Water Supply from Southern State and Private Forest Lands

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
Forests provide the most stable and highest quality water supplies among all land uses. A report by the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service quantifies the role of state and private forest lands (SPF) in providing drinking water supply across the southern United States. About half of the South’s land area is forested,…  More 

Amphibian Life Cycles and Climate Change

by Megan Bequette, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
From the trees in the forest to the various organisms populating it, all species of plants and animals have periodic life cycle events. Changes in climate have impacted the timing of these life cycle events for many species. This, in turn, can affect how likely coexisting populations are to interact with each other. A study…  More 

Seminole Bats on the Move

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Over the past 48 years, Seminole bats (Lasiurus seminolus) have drastically expanded their range. “The northern edge of their summer range has expanded by 323 miles,” says Roger Perry, a USDA Forest Service research wildlife biologist. “That’s approximately 7 miles a year since 1970.” The western range is also expanding, possibly because forests are replacing…  More 

Chinese Tallow Litter and Tadpoles

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Centuries ago, a tree was plucked out of its native ecosystems and introduced to the U.S. Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) is a showy tree with waxy seeds and heart-shaped leaves. Every autumn, its leaves turn crimson or orange before falling to the ground – or the water. “Chinese tallow invades wetlands and riparian areas in…  More 

City Trees in Houston

by Texas A&M and Texas Forest Service - adapted from news release  • 
The largest city in the largest continental state in America has an urban forest to match. And now, for the first time, information about Houston’s trees is available online. The My City’s Trees web application is a free tool that makes community tree data easily accessible to the public. The Texas A&M Forest Service has…  More 

Houston’s Urban Forests

by Teresa Jackson, SRS Public Affairs Specialist  • 
Urban forests offer a wide range of environmental services, such as stormwater management, air pollution mitigation, reduced air temperatures (Urban Heat Island mitigation), wildlife habitat, aesthetic appeal and visual barriers. Since 1930, the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program has provided information on the amount, status, and character of forest land across…  More 

My City’s Trees

by Tom Brandeis, SRS Forest Inventory & Analysis  • 
The Texas A&M Forest Service has developed a web-based application, My City’s Trees, designed to give the public easy access to information from the urban forest inventories conducted by the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. The application, hosted at the Texas Forest Info website, currently shows results from FIA’s first urban…  More 

The Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Located seven miles west of Nacogdoches, Texas, the 2,560-acre Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest (Stephen F. Austin) was established by an act of Congress in 1945. For its first 15 years, the experimental forest was primarily used for research that improved methods for growing loblolly and shortleaf pine. In 1949, 40 acres were set aside as…  More 

The Mid-South Forests of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Like most regions of the U.S., the future of the Mid-South forests of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas is one of challenge. A report by the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station outlines those challenges and presents options for managing forests over the next half century. The Southern Forest Futures Project (SFFP) started in 2008 as…  More 

Austin’s Urban Forest

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
In late February, the U.S. Forest Service published its first urban forest assessment for Austin, Texas. Using Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, Austin’s Urban Forest 2014 provides details on the composition and health of the city’s urban forest and the benefits it provides. According to the report, Austin’s trees provide almost $34…  More