Drought Risk and Tree Planting

Shelterwood planting
Shelterwood planting

The PINEMAP team produced a helpful publication on whether To Plant or Not to Plantwhich includes a checklist of eight items for consideration before planting tree seedlings. The Fact Sheet, produced by the Texas Forest Service and Texas Agrilife Extension Service, refers to Texas, but the process for timber stand drought risk assessment is broadly applicable and not time-limited.  Important considerations before planting include working with a qualified professional, assessing the site quality and soil moisture, …

Protect Your Forest Asset

Adapted from peer reviewed publication SREF-FM-0018 May, 2013. L. Jennings, L. Boby, W. Hubbard and M. Megalos. Protecting Your Forest Asset. www.sref.info.

Record droughts, rising temperatures, increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, insect and plan invasions, and more intense storm events all pose threats to the health of Southern forests. Scientists project that increases in temperature and changes in rainfall patterns will cause these disturbances to become more common, occurring with greater intensity or duration. 

The use of …

Webinars on Demand!

If you missed a climate and natural resources webinar of interest, check out the links below. 

ANREP Climate Science Initiative Webinars:

“Extension Leadership with Community Climate Planning Scenarios”

“Benefiting Clientele and Educators through Climate Education Networking”

“Extension Climate Communication in Practice”

“Urban, Rural, and Remote: Extension Climate Adaptation Programs and Practices”

“FloriDays Cutting-Edge Extension”

“The North Coast Alignment Project” and “Delaware’s Climate Change Impact Assessment”

The Role of Universities in Climate Change Education and Research

ClimateWebinars.net:

Archived Climate Webinars

Preventing Forest Tree Illness

pine trees
Root diseases usually thin or fade crowns over a period of years. Photo: Chris Schnepf.

Do not wait to act on insect and disease issues until after you see dead branches. Look for visible symptoms or signs of tree illness and learn how to prevent a favorable environment for organisms that harm trees. It is important to understand that successful methods for minimizing forest insect and disease problems are usually preventative, occurring before problems are noticed. Monitoring your forest for …

Regional Climate Hub Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies

General storm damage

USDA’s Regional Climate Hubs were established in February of 2014 to deliver science-based knowledge, practical information, and program support to farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and resource managers to enable climate-informed decision-making in light of the increased risks and vulnerabilities associated with a changing climate. As part of their function, the Hubs were tasked with providing periodic regional assessments of risk and vulnerability to production sectors and rural economies, building on material provided under the National Climate Assessment conducted through the …

Oak Decline

Written by D.J. Moorehead and G.K. Douce for Forest Encyclopedia Network

Causal Agents

Oak decline is the name given to a slow-acting disease complex stemming from interactions between biotic and abiotic stressors of oaks (Quercus spp.). Abiotic factors that contribute to oak decline include tree maturity, low site productivity, drought, and spring frost. Biotic factors include root diseases such as Armillaria root disease (Fig. 1) (Armillaria spp.), canker causing fungi such as Hypoxylon canker (Fig. 2) …

Southeast U.S. and Caribbean Climate Assessment

Adapted by Melanie Lenart, University of Arizona, and reviewed by Susan E. Moore and Mark A. Megalos, North Carolina State University, from: Carter, L. M., J. W. Jones, L. Berry, V. Burkett, J. F. Murley, J. Obeysekera, P. J. Schramm, and D. Wear, 2014: Ch. 17: Southeast and the Caribbean. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J. M. Melillo, Terese (T.C.) Richmond, and G. W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, 396-417. Accessible

Overview of the Effects of Climatic Variability and Change on Forest Ecosystems in the Southeast United States

The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) to produce the National Climate Assessment (NCA) for the President and Congress every four years, analyzing the effect of global change on multiple sectors and regions in the United States and projecting major trends forward for up to 100 years. Effects on Climatic Variability and Change on Forest Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the U.S. Forest Sector (PNW-GTR-870) serves as the U.S. Forest Service …

Effects of Climatic Variability and Change on Forest Ecosystems in the Southeast United States

Adapted from Effects of Climatic Variability and Change on Forest Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the U.S. Forest Sector
Original article may be found at : http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr870/pnw_gtr870.pdf

Forests of the Southeastern United States are a complex mixture of private and public land, interspersed with rapidly urbanizing areas and agriculture. A long history of active forest management, often including intensive management such as forest plantations, fertilization, and prescribed fires, creates stand conditions and management regimes that differ from those in …

Invasive Plants and Your Forests


Adapted from PINEMAP publication NC AG-771 (2013), by H. Cole, M. Megalos and C. Temple.
Original article may be found at http://www.pinemap.org/publications/fact-sheets/Healthy_Forests_Invasive_Plants_and_Your_Forests.pdf

 

Invasive plants are referred to by many names: nonnative, exotic, nonindigenous, alien, or even noxious weeds. They come in all forms, including trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and ferns. Invasive plants are aggressive survivalists and exhibit distinct adaptive strategies and characteristics:

  • Grow vigorously
  • Survive in a range of conditions
  • Reproduce quickly
  • Difficult to eradicate

Invasive Plant Concerns

Invasive plants …