Our mission: To advance the scientific understanding of the roles of genetics, environment, and their interactions toprovide guidelines and tools for improving the sustainable productivity of southern forest ecosystems.
Research at the Southern Institute of Forest Genetics (SIFG) focuses on developing procedures to improve the health, productivity and genetic diversity of southern forests through better understanding of the genetics, ecology and evolutionary relationships in forest ecosystems. Learn more about us →
News & Events
Prescribed Fire Effects on Soil Fertility
USDA Forest Service researcher John Butnor wondered how dormant-season prescribed fire affects forest soil fertility in the months after a burn. Do nutrients from burned pine straw, grasses, and woody debris remain in the forest? Others have studied soil a year or more after a prescribed burn. Butnor’s research compares soil chemistry before burning and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after.
Latest Publications
- Is there hope for hybrid poplars in the Southern United States?
Rousseau, Randall J.; Smith, Kiah M.; Murphy, Mark; Bowling, Taylor. - Growth Response of mature longleaf pine to drought and thinning at the Harrison Experimental Forest in south Mississippi
Butnor, John R.; Eaton, Robert J.; Nelson, C. Dana. - White oak (Quercus alba L.) microsatellite markers for genetic diversity studies
Thunder, Rachel; Conrad, Anna O.; Burdine, Charles; Yang, Jian; Lhotka, John M.; Abbott, Albert G.; Nelson, C. Dana. - Readily available resources across sites and genotypes result in greater aboveground growth and reduced fine root production in Pinus taeda
Shively, Timothy J.; Cook, Rachel; Maier, Chris A.; Garcia, Kevin; Albaugh, Timothy J.; Campoe, Otávio; Leggett, Zakiya. - Limited increases in savanna carbon stocks over decades of fire suppression
Zhou, Yong; Singh, Jenia; Butnor, John R.; Coetsee, Corli; Boucher, Peter B.; Case, Madelon F.; Hockridge, Evan G.; Davies, Andrew B.; Staver, A. Carla.