The unit consists of eleven employees spread out over two locations: eight in Athens, Georgia and three in Gainesville, Florida. Our research program focuses on improving our understanding of how people living in rural, interface, and urban landscapes influence—and are influenced by—the natural environment and ecology of the South.
The unit also consists of a science delivery center called Urban Forestry South, which addresses issues such urban forest management, children and nature connection, tree health, tree biology, health benefits of urban forest ecosystems, and more. This center is jointly funded by SRS and Region 8. Learn more about us →
View our Unit Charter document →
News & Events
Wildfire Recovery Hot Moments
Disasters can be catalysts for change. As wildfires become more common, an emerging objective is to make communities fire-adapted, where ecological benefits of fire can be realized while minimizing threats to life and property. Yet questions remain as to when and how such community change takes place.
Latest Publications
- Planted forests and natural regeneration in forest transitions: patterns and implications from the U.S. South
Schelhas, John; Brandeis, Thomas J.; Rudel, Thomas K. - “Black Folks Do Forage”: Examining Wild Food Gathering in Southeast Atlanta Communities
Johnson Gaither, C.; Aragón, A.; Madden, M.; Alford, S.; Wynn, M., Emery, M. - Contributions to groundwater from National Forest lands in the Mississippi Embayment: a century-long simulation
Ouyang, Ying; Leininger, Theodor D.; Panda, Sudhanshu S.; Zipperer, Wayne C.; Stroope, Timothy L. - Urban development and environmental degradation
Zipperer, Wayne C.; Northrop, Robert; Andreu, Michael. - Estimates of above-ground tree carbon after projected land-use and land cover change in a subtropical urban watershed
Lagrosa, John J.; Zipperer, Wayne C.; Andreu, Michael G.
Featured Publications
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“Where the sidewalk ends”: sustainable mobility in Atlanta’s Cascade community
Johnson Gaither, Cassandra; Himmelfarb, David; Hitchner, Sarah; Schelhas, John; Shepherd, J. Marshall; K.C., Binita -
Engaging African American landowners in sustainable forest management
Schelhas, John; Hitchner, Sarah; Johnson Gaither, Cassandra; Fraser, Rory; Jennings, Viniece; Diop, Amadou
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Socioecological disparities in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina
Lewis, Joshua A.; Zipperer, Wayne C.; Ernstson, Henrik; Bernik, Brittany; Hazen, Rebecca; Elmqvist, Thomas; Blum, Michael J.
Latest Video
Environmental Justice and Atlanta’s Urban Forest
Seminar presented by Dr. Cassandra Johnson Gaither and Eric Kuehler at Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia.
Latest Podcast
Science of the Seasons: Recreation
July 10, 2017
Mike Bowker and others examine trends in outdoor recreation and the future of recreation on National Forests.
Related publication: Outlook for outdoor recreation in the northern United States