Fire and smoke
 from the station director

 fy-06 accomplishment
 summary


 successes--our major
 accomplishments


   forest values, uses,
   and policies


   threats to forest health

   forest watershed science

   forest ecosystem restoration
   and management


   natural resources inventory
   and monitoring


 appendix--budget and work
 units


   science delivery

   products by research
   work units

   working with our partners

   research work unit directory

   experimental forests

   for more information




















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































successes--our major accomplishments
Threats to Forest Health

FireFlux Experiment Heats Up Great Plains

Scott Goodrick (706-559-4237)
sgoodrick@fs.fed.us

Grass fires present a major threat to life and property in drought regions in the United States Great Plains. Since December 2005, major prairie fires in Texas burned nearly 5 million acres, destroyed over 400 homes, and killed 11 people and an estimated 10,000 livestock.

Fire Flux experimentSouthern Research Station scientists from Athens, GA, participated in an intensive field measurement experiment called FireFlux near Houston, Texas. The experiment used a variety of instrument platforms within and immediately downwind of a 155-acre tall grass prairie burn unit. The experimental burn replicated a natural wildland grass fire as closely as possible. Fire-induced winds more than doubled the ambient wind speed and led to rates of spread exceeding those predicted by BEHAVE, the current fire behavior model.

These measurements are intended to serve as a test bed for evaluating coupled fire-atmosphere models, such as the Firetec model developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Understanding the physics of fire spread on simple cases will provide more confidence in model performance when applied to more complex conditions. Fireflux was an opportunity to capture data from within a fire never captured before, proving useful in improving both fire behavior and smoke dispersion models.
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Sustaining Pine Communities on Table Mountain

Thomas A. Waldrop (864-656-5054)
twaldrop@fs.fed.us

Table Mountain pines’ silvical characteristics, such as serotinous cones and shade intolerance, suggest that fire created stands of these communities. Today, most stands are entering later-seral stages, with oaks replacing Table Mountain pines in the overstory and mountain laurel replacing it in the shrub layer. Previous post-wildfire studies were limited to post-wildfire observations, and suggested that high intensity prescribed fires were needed to remove forest canopy and expose mineral soil for successful regeneration.
Previous research indicated that high-intensity, stand replacement prescribed burning may reverse the decline. However, accomplishing these burns is difficult. Such prescriptions provide a narrow window of opportunity and raise questions about worker safety and smoke management. SRS researchers re-measured study plots six years after burning and results showed that fires of all intensities killed essentially all overstory trees, but mortality was not immediate and occurred over a three to six-year period. Studies show that, regardless of fire intensity, regeneration was abundant in all study plots after six years. Fires of all intensities created heavy hardwood competition, and shrub density was very high in areas where it was present before burning. Pines remain overtopped by hardwoods but are expected to survive and may eventually outgrow the hardwoods. These new results show that lower intensity fires, with flames six to eight feet, can be just as successful, with the fires being safer and easier to accomplish.

This study suggests that Table Mountain pine sites are not as dependent on high intensity fires as previously thought. A periodic multiple disturbance that includes canopy openings and surface fires may be a more appropriate and manageable way to sustain Table Mountain pine communities than infrequent intense fires.
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Receiving the Best Yield and Quality on Unthinned Loblolly Pine

Alexander Clark, III (706-559-4323)
aclark@fs.fed.us

The demand for pine pulpwood is soft in the Southern United States. It is difficult to profitably thin young pine stands at the optimum time in the rotation to maximize sustainable growth and economic return on landowner investment. Consequently, landowners and forest managers are planting pine at wider spacings, and using weed control and fertilizing to grow chipping saw and sawtimber in shorter rotations. Forest managers should know the optimum initial planting density for growing quality loblolly pine when the demand for pulpwood is low.

SRS researchers engaged in a 20-year unthinned loblolly pine spacing study, providing opportunity to determine the effect of initial planting density branching habit, wood specific gravity, wood strength, and stiffness and merchantable stem yield per acre. The study was established in the Coastal Plain of Georgia near Rincon, GA, with loblolly pine seedlings. Trees were planted at various integrals per acre, and the study plots were treated with herbicides to control woody and herbaceous weeds after planting and fertilized at age 5 and 10 with 300 lbs of urea per acre. In the summer 2005, 21 trees per spacing were felled, all branches were measured, and trees were destructively sampled to determine wood properties.

Studies show that initial planting density has a significant effect on tree survival and average diameter and height of trees at first thinning. When first thinnings must be delayed to age 20 because of weak pulpwood markets, landowners and forest managers can plant loblolly pine at 300 to 450 trees per acre on good sites to produce high quality trees and increase sustainability.
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A More Effective Southern Pine Beetle Bait

Brian T. Sullivan (318-473-7206)
briansullivan@fs.fed.us

The southern pine beetle is the most serious economic pest of conifers in the Southern United States, and its outbreaks result in continuous patches of infested, dying, and dead trees that can expand over hundreds of acres if uncontrolled. For years, it was thought that landing female beetles release only one aggregation pheromone – frontalin – which, combined with compounds coming from the tree, induce beetles to mass attack the tree.

Southern Pine Beetle LureSRS scientists in Pineville, LA, used a complex technology called electroantennal detection gas chromatography. GC-EAD combines chemical analysis with measuring the ability of a beetle’s antennae to detect the compound being analyzed. Using this technique and traps set up in forests, scientists discovered that a compound once thought to stop beetles from attacking trees actually attracts beetles.

This technology has led to the development of dramatically more effective detection and trapping systems for the most important forest pest in the Southern United States. This has significant implications for detecting and monitoring aggressive, tree-killing bark beetles. The Station has the the only forest insect laboratory in the U.S. to use this advanced technology. These baits are already in use by research partners in Forest Health Protection, Forest Service Research and Development, and the Texas Forest Service.
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Loblolly Pine Seedlings Resistant to Generation of Southern Pine Beetle

Brian L. Strom (318-473-7235)
brianstrom@fs.fed.us

The southern pine beetle is the most serious economic pest of conifers in the Southern United States. One of the major factors in the ability of pines to protect themselves against attack by this tree-killing beetle is to produce large amounts of resin through the holes that beetles make in trees as they attack. Trees that rapidly dispense larger quantities of resin are considered to be more resistant to infestation by the southern
pine beetle.

SRS scientists selected appropriate parent trees from which to collect seed and culture seedlings. Seed collected from several loblolly pine crosses was prepared and planted, and seedlings were generated. These are the first such trees available for planting. Seedlings generated will be planted on experimental forests for longer term research evaluating resistance of these trees as they mature. Seedlings will also be planted in urban areas for use in restoration activities and as demonstration plots. 
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New and Effective Termite Control Products

Terry Wagner (662-338-3112)
twagner01@fs.fed.us

Termite control products containing termiticides require efficacy data for Federal and State registrations. The Forest Service has been the primary provider of these data for decades and has tested virtually every termiticide registered in the United States. Tests are conducted on repellent and non-repellent termiticides, chemically impregnated barriers, and other termite control products. Products typically undergo 24 months of laboratory screening and six years of field testing at Forest Service sites in Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Hundreds of products have been evaluated over the decades, most failing the registration process and never becoming available to the American public.

In 2006, the Forest Service had 43 agreements with industry cooperators to screen six termiticides in the laboratory and install one termiticide at four test sites and one termiticide at two test sites. SRS researchers collected data as part of ongoing studies involving 30 termiticides and five impregnated barriers. Partnering with State and Federal regulators through the Termiticide Label Review Committee, scientists offered comment to EPA on several new and amended termiticide labels under registration review, and a proposed revision of EPA’s Product Performance Test Guidelines for Structural Treatments.

This collective work contributed to the registration of new termiticides and new uses for existing termiticides. Registration actions included approval of Acetamiprid 70 WSP Insecticide (FMC/Nippon) “kills only” label, Termidor® 80WG (BASF) label amendments, Termidor® SC label amendments to include pre-construction use, and Premise® Granules (Bayer Environmental Science) spot and perimeter label.
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Liquid Termiticide Has Long-term Success

Chris Peterson (662-338-3104)
cjpeterson@fs.fed.us

SRS scientists designed a study to evaluate the social and economic impacts of the wide array of Forest Service management activities on national forests. The research examines benefits that accrue from Forest Service management activities at both the contractor and subcontractor levels. Over 200 interviews were completed with timber sale purchasers and service contractors in six national forests across the United States. The results provide important information to better understand actual and perceived impacts of Forest Service management activities on forest-based communities.

Interview results with timber sale purchasers identified several direct benefits to local communities:
• A significant percentage of timber purchasers are small businesses.
• A significant percentage of their direct and subcontract employees come from the local area.
• A significant percentage of timber sale volume purchased from the Forest Service is sold and /or processed locally (25 miles from business operation) or regionally (150 miles from business operation).
Interview results with service contractors identified fewer direct benefits to local communities.
• Although a significant percentage of service contractors are small businesses, there is a large degree of employment variability due to the seasonal fluctuations in work offerings.
• Large mobile companies provide the most employment; however such employment is also the most seasonal and involves the most travel and time away from home.
• Smaller contractors tend to employ fewer people and are less likely to work away from home.

This approach to analyzing Forest Service timber sale and service contracting programs will improve the Agency’s ability to accomplish its land management goals, and contribute to the sustainability of neighboring rural communities.
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Determining Flight Speed of Termite Alates

Thomas G. Shelton (662-338-3108)
tshelton@fs.fed.us

Little is known of termite flight capabilities, yet understanding this life process is obviously important to understanding dispersal. While man is largely responsible for long-distance dispersal of termites via movement of infested wood (typically landscape timbers), termite flight provides the most important means of natural dispersal. Because flight speed is an important parameter of dispersal capability, SRS researchers investigated the speed of Reticulitermes flavipes alates measured over two different flight seasons using two types of flight mills.

Termite gender and colony of origin did not significantly influence flight speed (e.g., all R. flavipes alates fly at about the same speed). The maximum distance flown by a female was 458 m, which is likely a conservative estimate considering that many insects make use of weather fronts and wind to assist in dispersal. Measuring instantaneous speeds over time revealed distinct phases of acceleration, cruising, and deceleration in termite flight. Data from each phase were used to build mathematical models.
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Exotic Ambrosia Beetle Causing Extensive Red Bay Mortality

Stephen Fraedrich (706-559-4273)
sfraedrich@fs.fed.us

Extensive mortality of red bay trees has been reported since 2003 in coastal counties around Hilton Head, SC, and Savannah, GA, and more recently the problem has been found near Jacksonville, FL. Red bay (Persea borbonia) is an aromatic, evergreen tree common in forests of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains of the Southeastern U.S. The species is important for wildlife and as an ornamental.

SRS scientists determined that trees afflicted with the disease exhibit symptoms of wilt and decline rapidly. The sapwood of diseased trees is discolored with pronounced streaking, and leaves of diseased trees become purplish brown. A pathogenic fungus in the genus Ophiostoma has been consistently isolated from dead and dying red bay trees, and the fungus is believed to be responsible for the wilt. Studies discovered that an exotic ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus, has also been routinely recovered from dead and dying red bay, and may serve as a disease vector. This beetle, a native to Asia, was only recently discovered in the United States. Work is continuing to characterize and identify the fungal species associated with the disease, and to better understand the epidemiology of the disease.
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New Trap Lure for Southern Sawyer Beetles

Daniel R. Miller (706-559-4247)
dmiller03@fs.fed.us

Southern sawyer beetles (Monochamus titillator) can cause significant adverse economic impacts by attacking recently felled, dying, or fire-stressed southern pines. The larvae mine extensively throughout the phloem and sapwood, causing degradation damage to forestry products through their creation of large-diameter holes and tunnels. Southern sawyer beetles’ impacts on the forest industry are even higher to export wood products because sawyer beetles transmit the pine wood nematode, which causes a fatal wilting disease in many species of pines in other countries.

Detection of pine wood nematodes in forest products has resulted in quarantine restrictions on the export of North American wood products. A trapping system for southern sawyer beetles at ports of entry and departure, and at certified wood processing areas, would be invaluable in minimizing the threats to overseas regions and North American markets. Such trapping systems could be deployed in containment and eradication programs after inadvertent introductions. Several commercial traps, such as the multiple-funnel trap and intercept trap, are used in monitoring programs for exotic bark and wood-boring beetles.

SRS researchers found that multiple-funnel traps baited with two pine engraver pheromones, ipsenol and ipsdienol, were very effective in capturing southern sawyer beetles in four Southern States: Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina. A third pine engraver pheromone, lanierone, had no effect on catches of beetles. The combination of ipsenol and ipsdienol appears to be a cost-effective lure for an operational program to detect and monitor southern sawyer beetles.
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Prescribed and Surrogate Fire Affects Visiting Floral Insects

Jim Hanula (706-559-4253)
jhanula@fs.fed.us

Pollination by insects in forests is an extremely important process that should be conserved. Pollinating insects help to maintain plant diversity within forests, and also aid in pollinating crops found near forested land. Currently, the effects of various forest management practices on visiting floral insect abundance or diversity is unknown. SRS scientists investigated how prescribed burning, mechanical shrub control, and a combination of the two affected abundance of visiting floral insects in a Southern Appalachian forest.

Researchers caught nearly 8,000 floral visitors from four orders and 21 families. Hymenoptera (bees and wasps) was the most abundant and diverse order, with Halictidae being the most abundant family. Most floral visitors were captured in the mechanical shrub control plus prescribed burn treatments, while lower numbers were caught on the mechanical shrub control only, prescribed burn only, and control treatments. These floral visitors included the Diana fritillary (Speyeria diana), a rare species seen only in mechanical shrub control and prescribed burned plots. Overall, species richness was also higher on mechanical plus burn treatments. Total pollinator abundance, and the abundance of most orders and families, was correlated with decreased tree basal area and increased percent herbaceous plant cover.

The study shows that floral visitors increased in abundance and species richness most from forest disturbance that reduced the density of overstory trees, minimized the shrub layer, and increased the amount of herbaceous plant growth. This study is one of the first to show how forest management affects pollinator communities, providing valuable information on the composition of this community in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
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Field Guide Sought After for Species Identification

James H. Miller (334-826-7000, x36)
jmiller01@fs.fed.us


Invasive plant species, and the cost of effectively combating them, continue to increase. Programs aimed at fightting the invasion of alien species must be both effective and timely. Additionally, the most up-to-date information is required to address forest plant invasions in the Southern Region, and must be readily available to forest users.

Nonnative Invasive Plants of Sotuhern Forests CoverThe third revision and reprinting of Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests: A Field Guide for Identification and Control brought new images to aid positive identification and the latest herbicide prescriptions to this field guide that nears 90,000 copies distributed over 3 years. Also, revised was the Web version (http://www.invasive.org/weeds/usfsr8/) that serves even a broader user base.

Research with cooperators at Auburn University is aimed at combating the spread of cogongrass. It has resulted in the identification of effective treatment combinations for reforestation of cogongrass infestations and has successfully established alternative covers. In the future, SRS researchers plan to organize and coordinate a southern regional task force of Forest Service specialists to produce a list of a priority invasive species. Scientists also plan to report on comparative control research for Chinese wisteria and cogongrass with restoration implications.
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FIA Developing New Technology to Improve Existing Systems

William Bechtold (828-257-4357)
wabechtold@fs.fed.us

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) is developing an estimation engine to process inventory data for its Phase 2 plot network. This is an ongoing national effort that will eventually supercede the regional processing systems currently in use. Development of this engine will likely require several more years before being fully implemented and tested. Implementation of similar processing engines for Phase 3 data will occur after the Phase 2 system is completed. In the meantime, Phase 3 data collection continues with five years of FIA Phase 3 data currently available for analysis. Phase 3 results are being considered for inclusion in FIA analytical reports.

To satisfy the urgent need to process and analyze Phase 3 data already available, SRS scientists developed processing software for the ozone and crown indicators, and taught short courses to train FIA analysts in how to use the software and analyze the data. As a result, the backlog of data awaiting analysis is being processed, analyses of ozone and crown data are currently underway, and many of the processing and analytical techniques developed for this effort will eventually be incorporated into FIA’s Phase 3 national estimation engine.
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Model Tracks Invasive Species Along Human Pathways

William Smith (919-549-4067)
bdsmith@fs.fed.us

Humans are an important facilitator of forest pest introduction and spread. With ever-expanding global trade and interstate commerce, the introduction and spread of invasive species is likely to increase, particularly along human-mediated pathways. To address this issue, SRS scientists developed a spatial linear model based on commodity traffic along U.S. roadways. The model includes input nodes, destination nodes, and transit pathways. Input nodes represent production facilities, airports, marine ports, and border crossings associated with pest introductions. Destination nodes are points where pests have already or might possibly become established.

The model utilizes a Bayesian approach to model probabilities of pest introduction at destination nodes given one or more active entry nodes, with a priori weights based on available probabilistic and statistical analyses. Conversely, possible points of introduction are determined given pest presence at a destination node. Once the actual source or sources of the pest is found, the same network model can be used to determine additional entry nodes downstream. This approach to modeling and tracking invasive species will allow monitoring agencies to maximize limited resources by focusing detection surveys in high-risk areas.
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National Landscape Pattern Assessment

Kurt Riitters (919-549-4015)
kriitters@fs.fed.us

SRS scientists are designing research to improve the Nation’s ability to monitor and assess changing forest spatial patterns as they relate to impacts on biodiversity, water quality, and other ecological endpoints that society values as forest outputs. While the basic and applied research has been successful in terms of publications and other outlets, it is also important that national reports prepared by the U.S. Government are harmonized with or at least comparable to similar reports prepared by non-governmental and global organizations.

A SRS scientist has been serving on the Landscape Pattern Task Group, a component of the H. John Heinz III Center’s effort to produce five-year reports entitled “The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems.” During the past year, the Task Group re-considered the suite of landscape pattern indicators that will be implemented in the 2007 report by the Heinz Center. SRS has informed the group about Forest Service national protocols used for reporting under the domestic RPA program, and pursuant to the international Montreal Process. In addition, the scientist conducted prototype applications of alternatives and showed that protocols used by the U.S. Government are also suitable for non-governmental reporting. Presently, an indicator developed by the Station is being promoted as the “core national” indicator of landscape patterns, and protocols and approaches developed are the basis for indicators of landscape patterns for both “forest” and “shrubland/grassland” ecosystems.

Research performed can be directly applied to reports prepared outside of the U.S. Government. Similar efforts to harmonize assessment protocols are underway with other countries participating in the Montreal Process, with the European Union Joint Research Center responsible for European reporting of forest spatial patterns, and with other U.S. Federal agencies.
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Interactive Experimental Forest and Range Web Site

Ken Stolte (919-549-4022)
kstolte@fs.fed.us


A primary goal of the Intensive Site Monitoring (ISM) component of the Forest Health Monitoring Program (FHM) is to standardize core monitoring processes across all ISM sites, making information from these and other sites offering process-level research readily available to researchers. SRS researchers launched a Web site (now in a Beta-testing phase) promoting this goal. The Web site address is http://fsweb2.dv.r5.fs.fed.us:88/efr/.

The Web site is an important research tool that addresses the need to quantitatively link the process-level relationships studied with the landscape-level indicators used in the FIA and FHM programs. Strategies for linking this information are simplified because it is now possible to search numerous research sites, such as experimental forests and rangelands (e.g., all sites with nitrification research) to determine where co-locating landscape-scale indicators with process-level research will provide the most beneficial information for specific forest types and eco-regions.

In addition to establishing available and potential linkages between process-level and landscape-level research,the Interactive Experimental Forest and Range Web Site enables the Forest Service to address customer information needs more efficiently, to promote standardization among experimental forests and rangelands (EFRs), and to attract additional collaborators and resources to the EFR system.
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National Forest Health Monitoring Reports Published

William Bechtold (828-257-4357)
wabechtold@fs.fed.us

The national Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) program was initiated in 1990 to evaluate status and trends in the ecological condition of the Nation's forests. The program grew dramatically over the years, partnering with multiple State and Federal agencies. Comprehensive datasets were assembled from an extensive plot network implemented specifically to monitor forest health, as well as a variety of other sources within and outside the Agency.

Beginning in 2001, SRS scientists began utilizing these data to produce reports on the health and condition of the Nation’s forests. Results were realized this year when reports were published for 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. The publications are a collaborative effort among several partners, including the Agency’s Forest Health Protection (FHP) and Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) programs, and North Carolina State University.

These are the first in a series of annual reports where data from a variety of sources are compiled and analyzed to assess forest health from a national perspective. They are based on a variety of “indicators” such as drought, tree mortality, and fragmentation patterns, which were selected and developed to characterize forest health at the ecosystem and landscape scales. Researchers consider these reports to be important benchmarks that serve to measure progress in promoting long-term forest sustainability.
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Population Growth Impacts Future Water Shortages

Steve McNulty (919-515-9489)
smcnulty@fs.fed.us

The U.S. population is expected to increase during the next 35 years, which will coincide with changes in climate, land-use, and land-cover across the region. SRS scientists hypothesized that future changes in climate, land-use, land-cover, and population will significantly affect the water availability and demand relationship at local and regional scales. The study aims to quantify these effects over the next 35 years.

Specifically, researchers combined the Hadley climate change scenario, U.S. census population projections, water demand and use data, alternative water conservation measures, and land-use and land-cover data to examine future chronic and episodic water shortages across the Nation. Research found that the U.S. will have over 100 times more water available than water demand, but some areas within the region will experience significant chronic or episodic water shortages due to high population density and water demand, and/or periodic drought. Projected population change had the greatest impact on local water supply stress, followed by climate change, and finally land-use and land-cover changes.
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Other Significant Accomplishments

Initiated study to explore the links between above- and belowground carbon dynamics in mature pines in frequently disturbed (fire) ecosystems.

Established research on fire ecology of tropical pine forests, including the link between stand structure and fire ecology in tropical pine rocklands.

Began treatments in a new study to determine how rainfall patterns impact the flammability of coarse woody debris.

Began a study of the uses of remote sensing platforms to conduct rapid assessment of forest damage by severe weather events.

Provided examples and analyses of multi-ecosystem questions on soil biology and herpetofaunal abundance for the National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study.

Developed a prediction model for seasonal U.S. wildfires using the North Pacific sea surface temperature utilizing singular value decomposition and regression analysis.

Analyzed the effects of Hurricane Katrina on forests using satellite remote sensing through a collaborative study with George Mason University.

Managed an extensive cooperative agreement program—via competitive, peer-reviewed proposals—awarding over $1.2 M to cooperative southern pine beetle research projects.

Identified chemical compounds from stressed host trees that attract non-native invasive ambrosia beetles.

Conducted analyses and wrote a draft manuscript on the associations of wood-decay fungi and subterranean termites in forest ecosystems of northeastern Mississippi.

Cooperated with Creare Design Group in Phase I of a Small Business Innovation Research Project, developing and evaluating low cost acoustical sensors and supporting software for detecting termites in wood.

Revised and submitted a historical unit publication entitled “Subterranean Termites: Their Prevention and Control in Buildings.”

Concluded laboratory and field research on the effects of fire charring of wood on termite infestation.

Collected and analyzed laboratory data on a novel application of a soil termiticide used as a termite bait.

Evaluated the effects of prescribed fire and alternatives on tree mortality and bark beetle abundance in a longleaf pine forest.

Completed initial one-year data collection for Sudden Oak Death risk assessment in Georgia and South Carolina.

Evaluated the relative roles of ecological regions and land-cover composition for guiding establishment of nutrient criteria.

Participated in the international review and revision of biodiversity and fragmentation indicators for the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators.

Collaborated with the Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team to produce national risk maps for three invasive pests.

Provided consultation to the Canadian Forest Service in the development of their national climate change assessment.

Co-Chaired United States–China Carbon Consortium project and meeting.

Developed a critical acid loads map for all forests in the Lower 48 continental United States.

Initiated development of a hypertext-based encyclopedia of forest environmental threats.

Began cooperating with the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and other partners to develop infrastructure for high-speed access and sharing of models and databases useful for predicting, detecting, and assessing forest threats.
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Partnership Highlights

EFETAC Shares Lead for Early Warning and Detection System

Danny C. Lee (828-257-4854)
dclee@fs.fed.us

The Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center (EFETAC) is sharing the lead in developing an integrated early warning and detection sytem for monitoring the Nation’s forests and wildlands for environmental threats. Key parters include a variety of Federal agencies and university cooperators (see list below). The envisioned system will utilize a combination of remote sensing technologies, site-level data collection, and advanced modeling and analsis capabilities. Development of this system advances the Center’s mission to predict, detect, and assess environmental threats with sufficient warning for managers to take preemptive action.

Cooperators include:
• Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center
• NASA John C. Stennis Space Center
• National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center
• Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center
• Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team
• Forest Service Forest Health Protection
• Southern Group of State Foresters
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Key International Activities

John Stanturf presented papers at a meeting of the Scandinavian/Baltic Disturbance Network, Palanga, Lithuania; at the Fourth International Poplar Symposium in Nanjing, China for the IUFRO Poplar and Willow Working Party 2.08.04; at the Korean Society of Foresters in Seoul, Korea; and at the International Symposium on Conservation and Management of Natural Resources in the DMZ in Gangwon, Korea. He also provided advice and counsel to a variety of international committees and working groups, including IUFRO, North American Forestry Commission, and IUCN, and provided technical assistance and advice on post-fire restoration in Mongolia.

Joseph J. O’Brien was an invited speaker at the Abaco Science Alliance Conference to discuss the role of fire in structuring the tropical pine rockland ecosystem, as well as helping to draft a fire management plan for the Abaco National Park, Bahamas.

Mac A. Callaham, Jr., presented data at the 8th International Symposium on Earthworm Ecology in Krakow, Poland.

Scott Goodrick presented papers and posters at the American Meteorological Society 6th Symposium on Fire and Forest Meteorology in Canada.

Yongqiang Liu provided technical assistance and research coordination at the Sixth Fire and Forest Meteorology Symposium in Canada, and reviewed a manuscript for Advances in Atmospheric Science, published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Kenneth W. Outcalt provided assistance on the fire management plan for the Abaco National Park, Bahamas, and attended a Pine Rockland Conference and Workshop, Marsh Harbor, Bahamas.

Kier D. Klepzig was invited to share his knowledge and research about bark beetles and fungi at the annual meeting of the Tree Protection Cooperative Program of the Forestry and Agriculture Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, South Africa, and to international researchers in Australia.

John C. Moser (emeritus scientist) presented to an international audience of mite researchers at the XIIth International Congress of Acarology in The Netherlands, Austria, and Poland.

Brian T. Sullivan cooperated with researchers and managers in Mexico and Belize concerning southern pine beetle and a newly discovered Dendroctonus species bark beetle causing major damage in Mexico and Central America.

Daniel R. Miller reviewed 10 manuscripts for the Chinese Academy of Science.

James L. Hanula participated in a cooperative study of natural enemies of Chinese privet for the Chinese Academy of Science.

James H. Miller was the invited chair for “A Global Syntheses of Forest Vegetation Management Science” conference in South Africa.

Jerry L. Michael was invited to Ireland to give a global perspective on the use of forestry herbicides and their impacts on soil microbes and aquatic organisms.

For the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators, Kurt Riitters served as U.S. co-lead for forest biodiversity and lead for forest fragmentation. He also worked with the European Union Joint Research Center and the University of Lecce in Italy.

William Smith consulted with the Norwegian Institute for Agriculture and Environmental Research, Plant Health and Plant Protection Division to improve the detection and monitoring of invasive species.

Steve McNulty and Ge Sun co-organized an international conference on “Forests and Water in a Changing Environment” in Beijing, China.
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Awards

Kenneth Outcalt received the Station Director’s Award for Natural Resources Stewardship for innovative approaches to stewardship of the unique longleaf pine ecosystem by restoring fire disturbance, thereby reducing the risk of wildfire while protecting diversity.

Thomas A. Waldrop received the Station Director’s Award for Natural Resources Leadership in restoring the health and diversity of Table Mountain pine ecosystems by diagnosing the problem and developing safe and effective alternatives to stand-replacing fires.

John Stanturf received several awards, including the Station Director’s Award for Global Stewardship for leadership and sustained effort to advance the global mission of the Forest Service as a leader in restoration science; the Station Director’s Award for Distinguished Science for leadership in developing methods for restoration of temperate forests and for developing innovative methods to rehabilitate and restore southern forest ecosystems; and the Chief’s Award for Distinguished Science for an exceptional record of research and outstanding national and international reputation, leadership, and extraordinary service ethic.

Gary Achtemeier, Scott Goodrick, Yongqiang Liu, Ken Forbus, and Tim Giddens received the Excellence in Science Award from the National Fire Plan.

Richard Reitz received the Working Group National Merit Award from the Society of American Foresters for significant contributions in science and technology transfer.

Pauline Spaine received an award from the Forest Service Washington Office for work on the Performance Criteria and Accountability Taskforce.

James H. Miller received an award from the Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council for best invasive picture in a foreign category.

William A. Bechtold received a Forest Service merit award for providing effective leadership as acting project leader for Forest Health Monitoring.

Kurt Riitters received a Forest Service merit award for pioneering research accomplishments in landscape ecology, particularly forest fragmentation and its causes internationally.
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