
Our mission: To provide knowledge, strategies, and tools for restoring, managing, and sustaining longleaf pine ecosystems in the United States, and to foster insight about ecosystem restoration globally.
Initiated during the realignment of the Southern Research Station in 2007, RWU-4158 is a team of scientists and support personnel whose mission is to provide knowledge and strategies for restoring, managing, and sustaining longleaf pine ecosystems in the southeastern United States. Scientists in the Unit work on two overarching research problems. They design and carry out research studies that seek to solve these problems or overcome related limitations to our knowledge of longleaf pine ecosystems. The Unit's scientists work with partners to provide knowledge and technologies needed to successfully restore and manage these ecosystems which are increasingly affected by a variety of human and natural influences in times of environmental stress and cultural and climatic change. The problem areas are as follows:
- Providing fundamental physiological knowledge needed to understand the processes that affect longleaf pine seedling production, establishment, and growth and development.
- Providing ecological information about population and community processes that affect restoration of longleaf pine woodlands and at risk native plant species.
- Providing practices, strategies, and models that quantify and predict the influence of management on maintaining and restoring longleaf pine ecosystems.
Our scientists work with partners and cooperators to provide knowledge and technologies needed to successfully restore and manage these ecosystems as they are increasingly affected by a variety of human and natural influences in times of environmental stress and cultural and climatic change.
View our Unit Charter document →
News & Events
The Southern Pine Module Goes Virtual
In 2019, Janet Hinchee, the USDA Forest Service Regional Silviculturist for the South invited me to coordinate the Southern Pine Module, a ten day workshop for the Forest Service National Advanced Silviculture Program. But this year, the field session was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Janet Hinchee was really disappointed that the session might be cancelled, and she asked the best question – why not do the lecture part online? I guess you could say I reluctantly agreed!
Latest Publications
- Barriers to natural regeneration in temperate forests across the USA
Dey, Daniel C.; Knapp, Benjamin O.; Battaglia, Mike A.; Deal, Robert L.; Hart, Justin L.; O'Hara, Kevin L.; Schweitzer, Callie J.; Schuler, Thomas M. - Adaptive trait variation in the federally endangered Lindera melissifolia (Lauraceae), as it relates to genotype and genotype-environment interaction
Hawkins, Tracy S.; Echt, Craig S.; Devall, Margaret S.; Hamel, Paul B.; Wilson, A. Dan; Connor, Kristina F.; Schiff, Nathan M. - What Goes Up Must Come Down: Integrating Air and Water Quality Monitoring for Nutrients
Amos, Helen M.; Miniat, Chelcy F.; Lynch, Jason ; Compton, Jana ; Templer, Pamela H.; Sprague, Lori A.; Shaw, Denice ; Burns, Doug ; Rea, Anne ; Whitall, David ; Myles, LaToya ; Gay, David ; Nilles, Mark ; Walker, John ; Rose, Anita K.; Bales, Jerad ; Deacon, Jeffrey ; Pouyat, Richard - Characterizing the dynamics of cone production for longleaf pine forests in the southeastern United States
Chen, Xiongwen ; Brockway, Dale G.; Guo, Qinfeng - Wood variability in mature longleaf pine: differences related to cardinal direction for a softwood in a humid subtropical climate
Eberhardt, Thomas L.; So, Chi-Leung ; Leduc, Daniel J.