Articles

In 2024, our researchers published hundreds of papers aiming to understand southern forest ecosystems and address these threats. We’ve rounded up some important projects of the year to showcase this science and the benefits for southern forest ecosystems, mangers, and landowners.

The temperature of soil at the ground surface has big impacts on tree seedlings and future forest cover.

Microbial communities found in depressional vs. upslope soils impact nitrous oxide emissions in agricultural fields due to differences in nitrogen cycling.

Whitebark pine trees grew faster and had better resin duct characteristics in forests where competing tree species had been thinned.

Scientists developed a promising tool to determine the presence of 10 key fish species.

The 1964 Wilderness Act famously defines wilderness as an area “untrammeled by man.” But what does it mean to “trammel” the wilderness?

Scientists reconstructed the taxonomy of Lamprey using DNA analysis

The diversity and depth of partnerships at Starkey Experimental Forest and Range represent a shining success story of Forest Service research informing adaptive management. For the last several decades, Starkey’s lead scientist, Michael Wisdom, has focused on creating and nurturing fruitful collaborations that reinforce the Pacific Northwest Research Station’s gold-standard reputation for applied science.

The new Southern Forest Outlook report on water is designed to inform forest sector decisionmakers and the interested public about observed trends, anticipated futures, and critical issues based on authoritative synthesis and interpretation of existing science, data, and 50-year projections.

The last pine standing: certain types of snags in different areas last longer, providing longer-term habitat value for woodpeckers.

Thanks to collaborators, the Southern Research Station now has access to a machine that can make biochar, a wood product with many potential uses. The team is currently cooking 10,000 pounds of biochar for an ecological restoration study.

To restore temperate southern woodlands, managers often replace loblolly and slash pines with longleaf and shortleaf pines. However, researchers found that retaining some loblolly and slash pine can save resources without affecting restoration goals.

We know that extreme weather and heavy fuels can lead to extreme fire behavior. Researchers at the USDA Forest Service Missoula Fire Sciences Lab are developing a new fire spread model to more accurately predict how far and fast fires can move – even under extreme conditions. The new model will provide better information to help fire managers make decisions when responding to fires. It will a...

The updated National Fire Danger Rating System uses new fuel moisture models, simpler surface fuel models, and has been shown to be just as good or better at predicting measures of fire danger, despite the more automated process.

Differences in pollen nutrition among plant species can predict bee visitors and support pollinator diversity.

Dr. Jacqueline Ott is working with partners from the U.S. Geological Survey and Colorado State University on grassland response to different drought scenarios on Buffalo Gap National Grassland. The research will offer tailored management tools for land managers seeking strategies for long-term resilience.

The William B. Bankhead National Forest is a living laboratory with long-term studies on the effects of thinning and prescribed burning. This year, researchers conducted the 100th prescribed burn.

By teasing out the relative importance of vertical and horizontal tree structure in fire behavior, researchers suggest ways to help forest managers meet the dual goals of reducing crown fire hazard and increasing forest structural complexity.

The Rocky Mountain Research Station has co-produced a vulnerability assessment for aquatic and riparian ecosystems in the southwestern United States.

Beekeeping introduces large numbers of bees to an environment that can lower the abundance of and alter the community composition of local native bees, requiring responsible practices.