Features

The Forest Service is thrilled to welcome Dr. David Lytle to his new position as Deputy Chief for Forest Service Research & Development (R&D).

Forest Service scientists aid land managers' planning efforts — whether on National Forest System lands or state, Tribal, or privately-owned forests — by publishing data and developing analytical tools. During the recent SCIENCEx Assessments week, researchers reported on new and forthcoming science aiding land managers.

The research featured in this newsletter and in our recent SCIENCEx webinar series is focused on one of the Forest Service’s most pressing challenges: more frequent and severe wildfires, most notably in the West. Our Research and Development Deputy Area produces fire science that helps managers make decisions about how, where, and when to treat the landscape to reduce the impacts of wildfire.

Forest Service Research and Development produces science helping our nation's farmers, ranchers, and forest owners. Nearly 40 percent of forestlands are owned privately by families, individuals, trusts, and estates. Nearly 140 million acres of forestland is owned by landowners who are farmers.

Forests and harvested wood products, such as the lumber used in houses, store carbon dioxide. Carbon emissions, which contribute to changes in climate, are diminished when absorbed and stored by forests and wood products. Our most recent resource update, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals from Forest Land, Woodlands, and Urban Trees in the United States, 1990-2019, not only shows how forests and harvested wood products continue to store greenhouse gas emissions but also signals an anticipated, gradual reduction in the US forest carbon sink over the next few decades. Other Forest Service reports, such as the Resources Planning Act Assessment and previous annual reports, also anticipate this reduction.

The Native American Research Assistantship Program (NARA Program) offers annual summer research assistantships for Native American undergraduate or graduate students in partnership with The Wildlife Society (TWS).

Since the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964, federal land designated as wilderness has increased from approximately 9 million to 109 million acres. Additionally, the U.S. is increasingly more ethnically and racially diverse and more people are spending time outside. Read more in our R&D newsletter.

As Native American Heritage Month nears its end, learn how science and culture intersect with our Natural Inquirer publications!

This month's Research and Development newsletter focuses on the Science to Improve Firefighter Safety and Wellbeing

This month's Research and Development newsletter focuses on Science to Enhance the Wildland Fire System.

Wood builds the backbone of a sustainable society. Wood products can store carbon, replace more carbon-intensive materials, and biodegrade — meaning bacteria and other organisms can break them down. In the Forest Service, our scientists advance the field of wood innovations. They engineer new, sustainable uses for wood and quantify its environmental benefits.

Demand for water is increasing, though rising temperatures combined with more frequent and severe drought are reducing available water in certain parts of the country. In a new report, Forest Service scientists and partners delineated where our drinking water* comes from, how humans move water from one river basin to another, and how many people are served by public water supplied from forested lands. Forested lands provide the cleanest and most stable water supply compared to other land types and many western cities receive most of their drinking water from national forests and grasslands. This knowledge will help managers prioritize areas for treatment and provide support for projects that aim to protect or enhance water supplies.

We may each know a bit about the trees outside our doors. But how might we assess the forests of an entire nation? We turn to the nation’s tree census: our Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program. This program counts, measures, and monitors trees on 325,000 public and privately-owned plots. These plots span 9 time zones, from Guam to the Caribbean territories, and contain about 19 million trees. We invest $75 million a year in FIA to collect data focused on three themes: inventorying forest land, censusing the forest products industry, and surveying forest owners. And FIA researchers have been doing these for over 80 years!

Heatwaves affect everyone — but they disproportionately affect lower income countries. Researchers from the Forest Service’s Southern Research Station and partners determined that lower income countries had less capacity to mitigate extreme heat than higher income countries. Additionally, lower income countries were more likely to experience more and longer heatwaves. To determine where resources are most needed, the researchers modeled when, where, and how heat stress affects people and suggested strategies to help people adapt.

This month's newsletter is spotlighting a number of topics ranging from heat and climate to fire risk.

Read highlights from science featured in this month's R&D newsletter. Topics include resilient tall buildings, new forest atlas, how history helps explain wildfires, and how home values increase with trees nearby.

Read highlights from science featured in this month’s R&D newsletter. Topics include Experimental Forests and Old Growth, Biochar, Urban Areas and Invasive Insects, and Sustainable Forest Management.

Read highlights from science featured in this month’s R&D newsletter. Topics include tree migration, how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected use of public lands, whether fire variety promotes biodiversity, and a rare success story in conservation.

It has been a privilege to help support Forest Service Research over the past 20 years. So much progress has been made in the discovery, application and organization of science. For me, the most rewarding moments have been “stretch” times when we have extended extra effort to build new connections or seize opportunity in unfamiliar territory.

Read highlights from science featured in this month's R&D newsletter. Topics include native burning, estimates of invading insects, inspecting utility poles to prevent wildfires and effects of hurricanes on forests.