Goal: Apply Knowledge Globally Forest Inventory and Analysis plots provide foundational data for the Experimental Forest Network

The SRS FIA Program collects, analyzes, and reports on the status, trends, and condition of America’s forests: how much forest exists, where it exists, and how it is changing.

A pilot study in 2009 installed 50 FIA plots on the Coweeta, Calhoun, and Santee Experimental Forests and laid the foundation for how to develop a series of experiments across the SRS Experimental Forest Network. These experiments will provide the infrastructure necessary to conduct broad-scale studies across the South, expand collaborative research opportunities, and increase connectivity between experimental forests.

In 2020, the Network team and FIA installed the first plots on the Bent Creek and Palustris Experimental Forests. FIA plots and collection methods are a low-cost, reliable way of generating a consistent set of measurements across the Network that will help local and regional planners develop strategies to sustain forest lands in the southeastern U.S.

Experimental Forests of the Southern Research Station Story Map: this story map shows locations, research highlights, future research opportunities, and other information about each of the Southern Research Station’s 19 experimental forests.