Bringing science from groundwater to surface
Data logger records soil moisture on the treatment watershed where longleaf pine is being restored on the Santee Experimental Forest in South Carolina. USDA Forest Service photo by Julie Arnold. On...
View ArticleTaking students to the fireline
Mentorship is a major part of the program – every student has the opportunity to spend time with experienced fire managers. USDA Forest Service photo by Helen Mohr. Over 50 students at Clemson...
View ArticleConserving trees for endangered bats
New research highlights forest management practices that can provide year-round habitat for tricolored bats and other species. Photo by Enwebb, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Tricolored bats...
View ArticleBat foraging in winter vs summer
Northern long-eared bats and other species use different types of habitat depending on the season. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Unlike bats in cold northern regions, bats in...
View ArticleControlling the Spread of Callery Pear
Callery pear invades natural areas – but it can be stopped. Photo by C.E. Price, Pixnio. Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) can be found across most of the eastern U.S. and in a few western states as...
View ArticleWater Supply from Southern State and Private Forest Lands
State and private forest lands in the South supply at least some portion of drinking water for 55 million southerners – and 1.8 million people outside the region. Photo by Patrick Mueller, via...
View ArticleWood-Boring Beetles Not the Primary Cause of Sugarberry Mortality
This dying sugarberry tree in North Augusta, South Carolina has a sparse canopy and branch dieback. Photo by Michael Ulyshen, USFS. In the past decade, sugarberry trees (Celtis laevigata) have been...
View ArticleDiets of Nestling Red-Headed Woodpeckers
Red-headed woodpeckers produce two broods annually. The researchers observed nests through both brood periods, from June 5 to September 5. Photo by Mike Vukovich, USFS. The red-headed woodpecker has...
View ArticleSpecies Selection for Woody Biomass Production
The researchers analyzed late-rotation loblolly pine stands, shown here, that were planted 14-15 years prior to the study. USFS photo. In the southeastern U.S., short-rotation woody crops are a...
View ArticleLongleaf Pine on the Santee Experimental Forest
Mature longleaf pine forests provide shelter and food sources for red-cockaded woodpeckers. Nest cavity trees on the Santee Experimental Forest will be preserved, along with buffers of forage habitat....
View Article“Promise of the Piedmont”
Tour participants learn about the Indian Creek savanna restoration. The project restored grassland bird habitat, reduced wildfire risk, and enhanced water quality on more than 15,000 acres of public...
View ArticleSouthern Roots in New York
Community garden in New York City. Many New Yorkers own land in the South. Photo by Eric Wittman, CC 2.0. Urban-rural connections are quite important for land and forest management in the South. From...
View ArticlePost-Fire Mortality for Southern Hardwoods
Drive down Highway 7 in northern Arkansas, winding through the Ozark National Forest, and you may glimpse evidence of recent fire: scorched grass, darkened tree bark, maybe even a lingering wisp of...
View ArticleImmigration and Reproduction Complicate Coyote Control Programs
Coyotes arrived in the Southeast relatively recently. “Beginning in the early 20th century, coyotes started moving eastward,” says John Kilgo, a research biologist with the U.S. Forest Service. “But...
View ArticleCarolina Hemlock Populations: Isolated and Imperiled
Hemlocks are under attack. U.S. Forest Service scientists and their partners are working to save the native conifers from the hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect from Japan. Carolina...
View ArticleHarvest Disturbance Recovery in Wet Pine Flats
Just after Hurricane Hugo roared over the Atlantic coastal plain in 1989, U.S. Forest Service research soil scientist Bill McKee (now retired) visited Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina....
View ArticleSRS Researcher Receives Grant to Study White-Nose Syndrome
White-nose syndrome (WNS) has killed more than six million bats over the past decade. WNS is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Tri-colored bats hibernate longer than any other bat...
View ArticleProtecting White-Tailed Deer Fawns
Coyotes began moving eastward as the wolf population declined. In some parts of the southeast, they have arrived recently – within the past few decades. Photo by Alan Vernon, courtesy of Wikimedia...
View ArticleBats Adapt to Disturbed Habitat
Rafinesque’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) is considered a rare and sensitive species. The bats are small, with a body length of three to four inches, ears just over one inch, a wingspan...
View ArticleRestoration in the Understory
Some plants are homebodies and refuse to thrive in new areas. “Plants have unique abilities to thrive where they grow but moving plants outside their genetically adapted environment might cause them...
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