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Trees in Transition
Kevin Potter collects cones from a Fraser fir. Photo courtesy of North Carolina State University. In forests as in life, the only constant is change. Forest species are ever adjusting to changing...
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Hot Time in the City
View of downtown Atlanta. Photo by Daniel Mayer, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. In Georgia, U.S. Forest Service scientists and cooperators are mapping out climate change vulnerability at the county...
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Shifting Rainfall Patterns May Change Southern Appalachian Forest Structure
Cove hardwood forest at Coweeta in western North Carolina. Photo by Paul Bolstad, courtesy of Bugwood.org. A new research study by U.S. Forest Service scientists finds that changes in rainfall patterns...
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Air Pollution Could Worsen Water Shortages in a Changing Climate
Over the past 40 years since the passage of the Clean Air Act, air pollution from automobiles, factories, and power plants has substantially decreased, leading to better human and environmental health....
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Where’s the Carbon?
Carbon is the foundational element of life, and trees use atmospheric carbon dioxide to grow. “Trees can partially offset carbon dioxide emissions,” says U.S. Forest Service plant physiologist John...
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The Most Vulnerable Trees
Water locust, native to the Southeast and found in wet soils, is among the U.S. tree species most vulnerable to climate change. Photo by Troy Evans, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Bugwood.org....
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Eastern Trees Move North & West
The distribution of 13 red oak species shifted west during the study period. Photo by David Stephens, Bugwood.org. After analyzing extensive data collected on 86 tree species in the eastern U.S.,...
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Drier Weather, Drier Fuels
Prescribed fires are only conducted when weather conditions are safest. If fuels dry out, those conditions could become rarer. Photo by Yongqiang Liu, USFS. Dry weather – and huge wildfires – are...
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National Silviculture Workshop
Scientists and managers are working to understand and anticipate the effects of climate change. Climate change could cause a number of disturbances such as insect outbreaks, ice storms to become more...
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Air, Water, and Wavelets
Sunflower River in Sunflower MS, located within the Lower Mississippi River Basin. Photo by Ying Ouyang, USFS. We know air temperature has increased over the last 15-20 years, and that it will continue...
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Frogs, Toads, and Ephemeral Wetlands
A gopher frog tadpole metamorphosing into a juvenile frog. Photo by Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, courtesy of Flickr. When ephemeral wetlands swell with water, frogs and toads congregate to...
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Conserving Eastern Hemlock
Hemlock woolly adelgids have affected half of all eastern hemlock ecosystems. Photo by Nicholas Tonelli. Where can you go to find an eastern hemlock tree? Although threatened by the hemlock woolly...
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Daily Precipitation Patterns Are Changing at Coweeta
Since 1950, heavy rains have become more common in the southern Appalachians. U.S. Forest Service researchers have witnessed such changes at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory. Coweeta was established in...
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Climate Influences Male-Female Balance in Longleaf Pines
For many reptile and fish species, temperature during egg incubation determines whether hatchlings are male or female. In the northern part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, scientists have...
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The Future of Fish in the NC Piedmont
The study shows that in the NC Piedmont, withdrawing more than 25 percent of a river’s natural flow could harm fish. Photo by G.A.O., Wikimedia Commons. What will fish communities of the North...
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Climate Drivers of Carbon Gain and Water Loss in a Southern Appalachian Forest
The eddy covariance tower at Coweeta continuously measures the concentration of gases in the air. USFS photo. The planet is warming, and warmth revs the machinery of life. “As it gets warmer, living...
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Projections of Future Climate and Annual Runoff
Hydrologists have traditionally relied on historic precipitation data to estimate broad-scale runoff. “Rainfall was always number one,” says USDA Forest Service scientist Ge Sun. “But things are...
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Trees in Protected Areas
Conservation goals range anywhere from aesthetics to survival. Among the most important of those is ensuring that an ecosystem is resilient to disturbances and provides as many different functions as...
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Water Tables and Wetlands
Cypress wetland, showing the distinctive ‘cypress knees’ – an adaptation to water-saturated and oxygen-deprived soil. Photo by Art Anderson. Some wetlands won’t stay wet, according to new research...
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Foraging in the Future
Non-timber forest products include common edibles such as wild blackberries. Photo by Anthony Inswasty, Wikimedia Commons. Foraging can be as casual as searching for wild blackberries in a suburban...
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