Southern
Research Station

Reptiles and Amphibians Unharmed by Prescribed Fires in Early Growing Season

By Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications    May 31, 2018

Amphibians and reptiles tend to be most active during the spring and summer, when it’s warmer. A recent USDA Forest Service study compared how herpetofauna respond to prescribed fires conducted during the growing season – when vegetation is actively growing – versus those in dormant season months.

Post-Fire Mortality for Southern Hardwoods

By Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications    April 19, 2018

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 smoke.

Traces of prescribed burning can be seen throughout the South. Prescribed fire is a critical tool for forest restoration.

A new study led by USDA Forest Service research forester Tara Keyser examines the effects of prescribed burning on the mortality of ten upland hardwood species found in the eastern United States.

The Cold Hill Silvicultural Assessment

By Teresa Jackson, SRS Public Affairs    February 22, 2018

Upland hardwood forests mature slowly – it can take as long as a century. It can also take years to answer research questions about these forests, which are often dominated by oaks and hickories.

In 2003, the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS), Northern Research Station, and Southern Region (Region 8) of the National Forest System initiated a long-term cooperative project on the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky.