Research Highlights

Mapping U.S. Drought Projections Helps Foresters Plan for Sustainability

Droughts are natural disturbances that can cause negative effects on natural ecosystems and also have important social and economic consequences. Researchers are helping land managers prepare for changing climate conditions by developing projections of how drought may change in the future. Station: NRS

El Yunque National Forest Atlas release

Publication of an atlas about El Yunque National Forest, a collaboration between the International Institute of Tropical Forestry and El Yunque National Forest. Station: IITF

Do roads drive forest plant invasions?

Roads provide a means for moving people and products, but they can also allow hitchhiking organisms to spread. Some exotic invasive plants thrive on the disturbance created by road construction that displaces native plants, but researchers found that the presence of a road may be less important than the presence of farms and other human activities nearby. These research findings were awarded an“editors’ choice” award from the journal Diversity and Distributions in March 2018. Station: SRS

Support a child’s education by planting neighborhood trees?

Greenness around a child’s home and school is associated with higher scores on standardized math and reading tests, whereas proximity to major roads is associated with lower scores. Station: PNW

New Methods, Old Studies Reveal Source of Carbon in Lakes and Streams

Over recent decades, dissolved organic carbon concentrations (DOC) in lakes and streams have increased through the northern hemisphere, leading to concerns about changes in drinking water quality and about productivity of these aquatic ecosystems. Scientists paired a novel technique and long-term studies to explore this phenomenon and develop insight that can be used to improve water quality. Station: NRS

Study Finds Differences in How Men and Women Manage Family Forests

Although women are the primary decision-makers for more than 44 million acres of forest land in the United States and influence the land management decisions on many more acres, little is known about whether or how their management attitudes, behaviors, and intentions may differ from those of their male counterparts. Recognizing differences between male and female forest landowners is important for understanding constraints and barriers and should be considered in the design of forestry programs and outreach. Station: NRS

Why and where high-severity fire occurs

An evaluation using consistent data and methods across the broad geographic range of forested landscapes of the western United States will allow for an improved understanding of the most influential factors driving fire severity and will provide forest managers with highly relevant information for planning and mitigation purposes. Station: RMRS