Source: USDA Forest Service - Southern Research Station submitted to NRP
TO DEVELOPE KNOWLEDGE METHODS & GUIDELINES TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ON FORESTED UPLAND & WETLAND WATERSHEDS.
Sponsoring Institution
Forest Service/USDA
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
USDA INHOUSE
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0217024
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Aug 29, 2007
Project End Date
Aug 29, 2012
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
USDA Forest Service - Southern Research Station
200 WEAVER BLVD., PO BOX 2680
ASHEVILLE,NC 28804
Performing Department
SRS 4353 Center for Watershed Research - NC
Non Technical Summary
The Forest Watershed Science area will provide the scientific basis, technologies, and tools to: 1. Improve the understanding of how forests, including upland forests, bottomland forests, forested wetlands, and agroforests, function to influence water quality and quantity, as well as related key ecosystems services. 2. Assist landowners and natural resource professionals in establishing, managing, and strategically linking forests across landscapes of diverse land uses to provide a balance of social, economic, and environmental benefits to landowners and society. 3. Enhance landowner and public awareness of the importance of forests in producing and protecting water and providing other ecosystem benefits.
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
80%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1120320205025%
1120210205025%
1020621107015%
1230621107010%
1350819107010%
1320430207015%
Knowledge Area
135 - Aquatic and Terrestrial Wildlife; 102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 132 - Weather and Climate; 123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0621 - Broadleaf forests of the South; 0320 - Watersheds; 0430 - Climate; 0210 - Water resources; 0819 - Natural fisheries, other;

Field Of Science
2070 - Meteorology and climatology; 2050 - Hydrology; 1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
To develop knowledge, methods and guidelines to evaluate the effects of natural resource management on forested upland and wetland watersheds. The magnitude and diversity of human needs and expectations from southeastern ecosystems have increased sharply in recent years and are expected to accelerate even more in the future. As forest management activities intensify and diversify to include restoration of watershed health, there is a critical need to evaluate the ecological consequences of alternative practices from an ecosystem perspective and at large spatial scales.
Project Methods
Problem 2a. Sustain and restore aquatic communities. The unit will develop and test techniques to sustain and restore aquatic communities and the aquatic and streamside habitats on which they depend. Problem 2b. Ecosystem restoration and health. The unit will develop new or improved technologies, reference system models, and reliable indictors of restoration success and ecosystem health for forested upland, wetland, and riparian ecosystems. Problem 2c. Linkage between ecohyhydological processes and management practices. The unit will develop a detailed understanding of the functional linkages between ecohydrological processes in forested upland and wetland landscapes and management practices required for water quality improvement, quantity control, and productivity.

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
OUTPUTS: A paper published in Plant and Soil (titled ⿿Interacting effects of wildfire severity and liming on nutrient cycling in a southern Appalachian wilderness area⿝) by Elliott and others evaluated the effectiveness of aerial application of dolomitic lime in restoring soil exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations in wilderness areas that had experienced severe wildfires. Wildfires that occurred in the area followed by application of dolomitic lime were expected to Ca and Mg, increase soil pH and reduce soil exchangeable Al. However, lime application rates were not sufficient to increase soil Ca and Mg availability to mitigate soil Al availability, increase the Ca/Al ratio above the toxicity threshold, or substantially increase plant uptake of Ca and Mg. Higher lime application rates (e.g., 10⿿20 Mg/ha dolomitic lime) may be necessary to obtain the substantial and long-term improvement of Ca-depleted soils in the sampled areas. While lime additions did increase soil exchangeable Ca and reduce exchangeable Al, the Ca/Al ratio response was small and declined by the second year of sampling. These results show that liming could improve cation availability of these acidic soils, if the application rate was higher or lime was applied repeatedly. PARTICIPANTS: Co-authors on the study: K.J. Elliott, and J.D. Knoepp, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Coweeta Hydrologic Lab; J. M. Vose, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Center for Integrated Forest Science and Synthesis; and W.A. Jackson, USDA Forest Service, Region 8, National Forests of North Carolina, Air Resources Program. Partnerships with the Grandfather Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest personnel were key to the execution and success of the study. This research was funded by a Burned Area Emergency Response grant to Jackson; the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory; and the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research Program at Coweeta Hydrologic Lab administered through the University of Georgia. TARGET AUDIENCES: natural resource managers, scientific community

Impacts
Wilderness and other natural areas are threatened by large-scale disturbances (e.g., wildfire), air pollution, climate change, exotic diseases or pests, and a combination of these stress factors. Potentially sensitive forest ecosystems to these disturbance and stress complexes are found throughout the southern Appalachian region, particularly at high elevation. Wildfires are often landscape scale disturbances that have the potential to significantly impact hydrologic processes such as surface runoff, sediment yield, and sediment and nutrient transport to streams and biogeochemical processes by altering pools and fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and other essential nutrients. Acidic deposition has contributed to declining availability of many soil nutrients in these acid-sensitive forest ecosystem by leaching them from soil in the primary rooting zone. This study evaluated the efficacy of one approach to restoring forest function through soil amendments.

Publications

  • Ssegane, Herbert; Amatya, D.M.; Tollner, E.W.; Nettles, J.E. 2012. Streamflow separation to estimate daily unregulated streamflow of ungauged watersheds in the coastal plains of southeastern United States. 2012 S.C. Water Resources Conference. Exploring opportunities for collaborative water research, policy and management. [Columbia, SC] October 10-11, 2012.
  • Ssegane, Herbert; Amatya, Devendra M.; Tollner, E.W.; Dai, Zhaohua; Nettles, Jami E. 2013. Estimation of daily stream flow of southeastern coastal plain watersheds by combining estimated magnitude and sequence. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. (JAWRA) 49(5): 1150-1166. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12077
  • Trumbo, Bradly A.; Nislow, Keith H.; Stallings, Jonathan; Hudy, Mark; Smith, Eric P.; Kim, Dong-Yun; Wiggins, Bruce; Dolloff, Charles A. 2014. Ranking site vulnerability to increasing temperatures in southern Appalachian brook trout streams in Virginia: An exposure-sensitivity approach. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 143(1): 173-187.
  • Vukovich, Mark; Kilgo, John C. 2013. Fall movements of Red-headed woodpeckers in South Carolina. Journal of Field Ornithology. 84(2): 193-200
  • Wallace, J. Bruce; Ely, Damon. 2014. Stream macroinvertebrate response to clearcut logging. In: Swank, Wayne T.; Webster, Jackson R., comps., eds. Long-term response of a forest watershed ecosystem. Clearcutting in the southern Appalachian. Oxford University Press: 177- 193.
  • Wolner, Catherine W.V.; Moore, Laura J.; Young, Donald R.; Brantley, Steven T.; Bissett, Spencer N.; McBride, Randolph A. 2013. Ecomorphodynamic feedbacks and barrier island response to disturbance: Insights from the Virginia Barrier Islands, Mid-Atlantic Bight, USA. Geomorphology. 199: 115-128. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.03.035
  • Zarnoch, Stanley, J.; Vukovich, Mark A.; Kilgo, John C.; Blake, John I. 2013. Snag characteristics and dynamics following natural and artificially induced mortality in a managed loblolly pine forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research-Revue. 43: 817-825.
  • Amatya, Devendra M.; Fialkowski, Marcin; Bitner, Agnieszka. 2013. A daily water table simulation model for poorly drained South Carolina coastal plain soils. [Abstract] In: 2013 ASABE International meeting, [Kansas City, Missouri], July 21-24, 2013.
  • Amatya, Devendra M.; Jha, Manoj K.; Williams, Thomas M.; Edwards, Amy E.; Hitchcock, Daniel R.. 2013. SWAT Model Prediction of Phosphorus Loading in a South Carolina Karst Watershed with a Downstream Embayment. Journal of Environmental Protection. 4(7A): 75-90. DOI: 10.4236/jep.2013.47A010.
  • Baas, Peter; Mohan, Jacqueline E.; Markewitz, David; Knoepp, Jennifer D. 2014. Assessing heterogeneity in soil nitrogen cycling: a plot-scale approach. In: 12th North American Forest Soils Conference. Whitefish, MT, 16-20 June 2013. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 78(S1): S237-S247. Doi:10.2136/sssaj2013.09.0380nafsc
  • Brown, Kristopher, R.; McGuire, Kevin J.; Aust, W. Michael; Hession, W. Cully; Dolloff, C. Andrew. 2014. The effect of increasing gravel cover on forest roads for reduced sediment delivery to stream crossings. Hydrological Processes. doi: 10.1002/hyp.10232
  • Campbell, Petya K. Entcheva; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Thome, Kurt J.; Kokaly, Raymond F.; Huemmrich, Karl Fred; Lagomasino, David; Novick, Kimberly A.; Brunsell, Nathaniel A. 2013. EO-1 Hyperion reflectance time series at calibration and validation sites: stability and sensitivity to seasonal dynamics. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing. 6(2): 276-290.
  • Cheever, Beth Marie. 2012. Microbial and metazoan effects on nutrient dynamics during leaf decomposition in streams. Blacksburg, VA. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 94p. Ph. D. dissertation.
  • Coughlan, Michael Reed. 2013. Fire use, landscape transition, and the socioecological strategies of households in the French western Pyrenees. Athens, GA: University of Georgia. 202 p. Ph. D. dissertation.
  • Edwards, Amy E.; Amatya, Devendra M.; Williams, Thomas M.; Hitchcock, Daniel R.; James, April L. 2013. Flow characterization in the Santee Cave system in the Chapel Branch Creek watershed, upper coastal plain of South Carolina, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 75(2):136-145.
  • Elliott, Katherine J.; Vose, James M.; Knoepp, Jennifer D.; Jackson, William. 2012. Effects of wildfires and liming of pine-oak-heath communities in the Linville Gorge Wilderness, western North Carolina. In: Dey, Danil C.; Stambaugh, Micahael C.; Clark, Stacy L.; Schweitzer, Callie J., eds. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-102. Newtown Square, Pa: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 230-234.
  • Epps, Thomas H.; Hitchcock, Daniel R.; Jayakaran, Anand D.; Loflin, Drake R.; Williams, Thomas M.; Amatya, Devendra M. 2013. Characterization of storm flow dynamics of headwater streams in the South Carolina lower coastal plain. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. (JAWRA) 49(1): 76-89. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12000.
  • Garabedian, James E.; McGaughey, Robert J.; Reutebuch, Stephen E.; Parresol, Bernard R.; Kilgo, John C.; Moorman, Christopher E.; Peterson, M. Nils. 2014. Quantitative analysis of woodpecker habitat using high-resolution airborne LiDAR estimates of forest structure and composition. Remote Sensing of Environment. 145: 68-80.
  • Garabedian, James E.; Moorman, Christopher E.; Peterson, M. Nils; Kilgo, John C. 2014. Systematic review of the influence of foraging habitat on red-cockaded woodpecker reproductive success. Wildlife Biology. 20(1): 37-46.
  • Golden, Heather E.; Lane, Charles R.; Amatya, Devendra M.; Bandilla, Karl W.; Kiperwas, Hadas Raanan Kiperwas; Knightes, Christopher D.; Ssegane, Herbert. 2014. Hydrologic connectivity between geographically isolated wetlands and surface water systems: A review of select modeling methods. Environmental Modelling & Software. 53: 190-206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2013.12.004
  • Hart, Adam Michael. 2013. Seasonal varation in whole stream metabolism across varying land use types. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 38 p. M.S. thesis.
  • Hoover, Coeli; Birdsey, Richard; Goines, Bruce; Lahm, Peter; Marland, Gregg; Nowak, David; Prisley, Stephen; Reinhardt, Elizabeth; Skog, Ken; Skole, David; Smith, James; Trettin, Carl; Woodall, Christopher. 2014. Chapter 6: quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks in managed forest systems. In: Eve, M.; Pape, D.; Flugge, M.; Steele, R.; Man, D.; Riley-Gilbert, M.; Biggar, S. Quantifying greenhouse gas fluxes in agriculture and forestry: Methods for entity-scale inventory. Tech. Bull. 1939. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist: 6-1-6.114.
  • Hornbeck, James, W.; Bailey, Amey S.; Eagar, Christopher; Campbell, John L. 2014.Comparisons with results from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in the Northern Appalachians. In: Swank, Wayne T.; Webster, Jackson R., comps., eds. Long-term response of a forest watershed ecosystem. Clearcutting in the southern Appalachian. Oxford University Press: 213-228.
  • Kilgo, John c.; Vukovich, Mark 2014. Can snag creation benefit a primary cavity nester: response to an experimental pulse in snag abundance. Biological Conservation. 171: 21-28.
  • Laseter, Stephanie, Miniat Chelcy Ford, Vose, James. 2014. Flow Down! Can managing forests help maintain water supplies in the face of climate change? In: McDonald, Babs; Nickelsen, Jessica; Dobish, Julia; Riley, Elissa; Andrews, Michelle; Melear-Daniels, Emily, production staff. Natural IQ: Investigating questions about climate. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-GTR-183. Asheville, NC. USDA-Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 27-41 p.
  • Lemly, A. Dennis. 2014. Commentary an urgent need for an EPA standard for disposal of coal ash. Environmental Pollution. 191: 253-255.
  • Lemly, A. Dennis. 2014. Teratogenic effects and monetary cost of selenium poisoning of fish in Lake Sutton, North Carolina. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 104: 160-167.
  • Lin, Laurence. 2013. Influences of mountainside residential development to nutrient dynamics in a stream network. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 115 p. Ph. D. dissertation.
  • Lockaby, Graeme; Nagy, Chelsea; Vose, James M.; Ford, Chelcy R.; Sun, Ge; McNulty, Steve; Caldwell, Pete; Cohen, Erika; Moore Myers, Jennifer 2013. Forests and water. In: Wear, David N.; Greis, John G., eds. 2013. The Southern Forest Futures Project: technical report. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-GTR-178. Asheville, NC: USDA-Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 309-339.
  • Long, S. Lynsey; Jackson, C. Rhett. 2014. Variation of stream temperature among mesoscale habitats within stream reaches: southern Appalachians. Hydrological Processes. 28: 3041-3052.
  • Lucas, Richard; Rebelo, Lias-Maria; Fatoyinbo, Lola; Rosenqvist, Ake; Itoh, Takuya; Shimada, Masanobu; Simard, Marc; Souza-Filho, Pedro Walfir; Thomas, Nathan; Trettin, Carl; Accad, Arnon; Carreiras, Joao; Hilarides, Lammert. 2014. Contribution of L-band SAR to systematic global mangrove monitoring. Marine and Freshwater Research. 65(7): 589-603. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MF13177.
  • McManamay, Ryan A.; Orth, Donald J.; Dolloff, A. Charles. 2013. Macroinvertebrate Community responses to gravel addition in a Southeastern regulated river. Southeastern Naturalist. 12(3): 599-618. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1656/058.012.0313
  • McManamay, Ryan A.; Orth, Donald J.; Dolloff, Charles A.; Mathews, David C. 2013. Application of the ELOHA framework to regulated rivers in the upper Tennessee River Basin: A case study. Environmental Management. 51: 1210-1235.
  • Mitchell, Robert J.; Liu, Yongqiang; OBrien, Joseph J.; Elliott, Katherine J.; Starr, Gregory; Miniat, Chelcy Ford; Hiers, J. Kevin 2014. Future climate and fire interactions in the southeastern region of the United States. Forest Ecology and Management http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.12.003.
  • Norman, J.S.; Barrett, J.E. 2014. Substrate and nutrient limitation of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in temperate forest soil. Soil Biology & Biochemistry. 69: 141-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.11.003
  • Novick, K.A.; Walker, J.; Chan, W.S.; Schmidt, A.; Sobek, C.; Vose, J.M. 2013. Eddy covariance measurements with a new fast-response, enclosed-path analyzer: Spectral characteristics and cross-system comparisons. Agricultural and Forest Meterology. 181: 17-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2013.06.020
  • Ogle, Stephen M; Hunt, Patrick; Trettin, Carl. 2014. Quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks in managed wetland systems. In: Pape, Eve, M.D.; Flugge, M.; Steele, R.; Man, D.; Riley-Gilbert, M.; Biggar, S. eds. Quantifying greenhouse gas fluxes in agriculture and forestry: methods for entity-scale inventory. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 4-3-4-23 p. Chapter 4.
  • Rocca, Monique E.; Miniat, Chelcy Ford; Mitchell, Robert J. 2014. Editorial. Introduction to the regional assessments: Climate change, wildfire, and forest ecosystem services in the USA. Forest Ecology and Management. 327: 265-268.
  • Shepherd, J. Marshall; Andersen, T.; Strother, Chris; Horst, A.; Bounoua, L.; Mitra, C. 2013. Urban climate archipelagos: a new framework for urban impacts on climate. Earthzine.


Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13

Outputs
OUTPUTS: A paper published in Plant and Soil (titled ⿿Interacting effects of wildfire severity and liming on nutrient cycling in a southern Appalachian wilderness area⿝) by Elliott and others evaluated the effectiveness of aerial application of dolomitic lime in restoring soil exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations in wilderness areas that had experienced severe wildfires. Wildfires that occurred in the area followed by application of dolomitic lime were expected to Ca and Mg, increase soil pH and reduce soil exchangeable Al. However, lime application rates were not sufficient to increase soil Ca and Mg availability to mitigate soil Al availability, increase the Ca/Al ratio above the toxicity threshold, or substantially increase plant uptake of Ca and Mg. Higher lime application rates (e.g., 10⿿20 Mg/ha dolomitic lime) may be necessary to obtain the substantial and long-term improvement of Ca-depleted soils in the sampled areas. While lime additions did increase soil exchangeable Ca and reduce exchangeable Al, the Ca/Al ratio response was small and declined by the second year of sampling. These results show that liming could improve cation availability of these acidic soils, if the application rate was higher or lime was applied repeatedly. PARTICIPANTS: Co-authors on the study: K.J. Elliott, and J.D. Knoepp, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Coweeta Hydrologic Lab; J. M. Vose, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Center for Integrated Forest Science and Synthesis; and W.A. Jackson, USDA Forest Service, Region 8, National Forests of North Carolina, Air Resources Program. Partnerships with the Grandfather Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest personnel were key to the execution and success of the study. This research was funded by a Burned Area Emergency Response grant to Jackson; the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory; and the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research Program at Coweeta Hydrologic Lab administered through the University of Georgia. TARGET AUDIENCES: natural resource managers, scientific community PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: none

Impacts
Wilderness and other natural areas are threatened by large-scale disturbances (e.g., wildfire), air pollution, climate change, exotic diseases or pests, and a combination of these stress factors. Potentially sensitive forest ecosystems to these disturbance and stress complexes are found throughout the southern Appalachian region, particularly at high elevation. Wildfires are often landscape scale disturbances that have the potential to significantly impact hydrologic processes such as surface runoff, sediment yield, and sediment and nutrient transport to streams and biogeochemical processes by altering pools and fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and other essential nutrients. Acidic deposition has contributed to declining availability of many soil nutrients in these acid-sensitive forest ecosystem by leaching them from soil in the primary rooting zone. This study evaluated the efficacy of one approach to restoring forest function through soil amendments.

Publications

  • Amatya, D.; Panda, S.; Trettin, C.; Ssegane, H.. 2012. Effects of Uncertainty of Drainage Area on Low-Gradient Watershed Hydrology. South Carolina Water Resources Conference. Columbia, SC. October 10-11, 2012. 10 p.
  • Amatya, Devendra; Agnieszka, Bitner; Flalkowski, Marcin. 2012. A daily water table calculation model for poortly drained soils in South Carolina coastal plain. 2012 S.C. Water Resources Conference. Exploring opportunities for collaborative water research, policy and management. [Columbia, SC] October 10-11, 2012.
  • Amatya, Devendra; Trettin, Carl; Panda, Sudhanshu; Ssegane, Herbert. 2013. Application of LiDAR data for hydrologic assessments of low-gradient coastal watershed drainage characteristics. Journal of Geographic Information System. 5(2): 175-191. doi: 10.4236/jgis.2013.52017.
  • Belden, Lisa K.; Peterman, William E.; Smith, Stephen A.; Brooks, Lauren R.; Benfield, E.F.; Black, Wesley P.; Yang, Zhaomin; Wojdak, Jeremy M. 2012. Metagonimoides oregonensis (Heterophyidae:Digenea) Infection in pleurocerid snails and Desmognathus quadramaculatus salamander larvae in southern Appalachian streams. American Society of Parasitologists. Journal of Parasitology. 98(4): 760-767.
  • Block, Corinne E.; Knoepp, Jennifer D.; Fraterrigo, Jennifer M. 2013. Interactive effects of disturbance and nitrogen availability on phosphorus dynamics of southern Appalachian forests. Biogeochemistry. 112: 329-342. DOI: 10.1007/s10533-012-9727-y
  • Bradford, Mark A.; Keiser, Ashley D.; Davies, Christian A.; Mersmann, Calley A.; Strickland, Michael S. 2012. Empirical evidence that soil carbon formation from plant inputs is positively related to microbial growth. Biogeochemistry. 113(1-3): 271-281. DOI: 10.1007/s10533-012-9822-0
  • Bruce, Richard C. 2013. Size-Mediated Tradeoffs in Life-History Traits in Dusky Salamanders. Copeia. 2: 262-267.
  • Danehy, Bob; Dolloff, Andy 2013. Are current efforts sufficient to ensure healthy fish populations? Western Forester 58(1): 1-3.
  • Elliott, Katherine J.; Vose, James M.; Jackson, William A. 2013. Effects of future sulfate and nitrate deposition scenarios on Linville Gorge and Shining Rock Wildernesses. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-GTR-181. Asheville, NC: USDA-Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 30 p.
  • Keiser, Ashley D.; Knoepp, Jennifer D.; Bradford, Mark A. 2013. Microbial communities may modify how litter quality affects potential decomposition rates as tree species migrate. Plant and Soil. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-013-1730-0.
  • Keitzer, S. Conner; Goforth, Reuben. 2012. Response of stream-breeding salamander larvae to sediment deposition in southern Appalachian (U.S.A.) headwater streams. Freshwater Biology. 57(8): 1535-1544. Doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02813.x
  • Elliott, Katherine, J.; Knoepp, Jennifer D.; Vose, James M.; Jackson, William A. 2013. Interacting effects of wildfire severity and liming on nutrient cycling in a southern Appalachian wilderness area. Plant Soil. 366: 165-183. DOI 10.1007/s111104-012-1416-z
  • Freeman, Amanda. 2012. A study of leaf litter interception across varying aged hardwood forests. In: Institute for the Environment Highlands Field Site 2012 Internship Research Reports. Highlands Biological Station, Highlands, North Carolina. pp 32-36.
  • Grossman, Gary D.; Ratajczak, Robert E.; Wagner, C. Michael; Petty, J. Todd 2010. Dynamics and regulation of the southern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) population in an Appalachian stream. Freshwater Biology 55:1494⿿1508. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02361.x
  • Hitchcock, D.R.; Jayakaran, A.D.; Epps, T.H.; Krauss, K.W.; Williams, T.M.; Conner, W.H.; Amayta, Devendra. 2012. Ecological design and hydrological function in developing coastal landscapes. In: Ecosummit. Ecological sustainability restoring the plant's ecosystem services. [Columbus, OH] September 30 - October 5, 2012.
  • Kuhman, Timothy R.; Pearson, Scott M.; Turner, Monica G. 2013. Why does land-use history facilitate non-native plant invasion? A field experiment with Celastrus orbiculatus in the southern Appalachians. Biological Invasions 15(3): 613-626. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-012-0313-y.
  • Lumpkin, Heather A.; Pearson, Scott M. 2013. Effects of Exurban Development and Temperature on Bird Species in the Southern Appalachians. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12085.
  • Lumpkin, Heather A.; Pearson, Scott M.; Turner, Monica G. 2012. Effects of climate and exurban development on nest predation and predator presence in the southern Appalachian Mountains (USA). Conservation Biology 26(4):679-688. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01851.x.
  • Mayfield, Margaret M.; Dwyer, John M.; Chalmandrier, Loic; Wells, Jessie A.; Bonser, Stephen P.; Catterall, Carla P.; DeClerck, Fabrice; Ding, Yi; Fraterrigo, Jennifer M.; Metcalfe, Daniel J.; Queiroz, Cibele; Vesk, Peter A.; Morgan, John W. 2013. Differences in forest plant functional trait distributions across land-use and productivity gradients. American Journal of Botany 100(7):1356-1368. DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1200461.
  • Moran, Emily V.; Clark, James S. 2012. Causes and consequences of unequal seedling production in forest trees: a case study in red oaks. Ecology. 93(5): 1082-1094.
  • Moskwik, Matthew ; Thom, Theresa; Barnhill, Laurel M.; Watson, Craig; Koches, Jennifer; Kilgo, John; Hulslander, Bill; Degarady, Colette; Peters, Gary. 2013. Search efforts for ivory-billed woodpecker in South Carolina. Southeastern Naturalist 12(1):73-84. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1656/058.012.0106.
  • Northington, Robert M.; Webster, Jackson R.; Benfield, Ernest F.; Cheever, Beth M.; Niederlehner, Barbara R. 2013. Ecosystem Function in Appalachian Headwater Streams during an Active Invasion by the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. PLoS ONE 8(4):e61171. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0061171
  • Secoges, Joseph M.; Aust, Wallace M.; Seiler, John R.; Dolloff, C. Andrew; Lakel, William A. 2013. Streamside Management Zones Affect Movement of Silvicultural Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizers to Piedmont Streams. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry 37(1):26-35. DOI: 10.5849/sjaf.11-032.
  • Ssegane, Herbert; Amatya, Devendra M.; Chescheir, George M.; Skaggs, Wayne R.; Tollner, Ernest W.; Nettles, Jami E.. 2013. Consistency of Hydrologic Relationships of a Paired Watershed Approach. American Journal of Climate Change. 2(2): 147-164. DOI: 10.4236/ajcc.2013.22015.
  • Wear, Laura R.; Aust, Michael W.; Bolding, M. Chad; Strahm, Brian D.; Dolloff, C. Andrew. 2013. Effectiveness of best management practices for sediment reduction at operation forest stream crossings. Forest Ecology and Management. 289: 551-561. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2012.10.035
  • Tran, Tyler J.; Elliott, Katherine J. 2012. Estimating Rhododendron maximum L. (Ericaceae) Canopy Cover Using GPS/GIS Technology. CASTANEA 77(4):303-317.
  • Warren II, Robert J.; Bahn, Volker; Bradford, Mark A.. 2013. Decoupling litter barrier and soil moisture influences on the establishment of an invasive grass. Plant and Soil. 367(1-2) 339-346. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-012-1477-z.
  • Warren, Robert J. II; Lake, Jeffrey K. 2012. Trait plasticity, not values, best corresponds with woodland plant success in novel and manipulated habitats. Journal of Plant Ecology 1-12. Doi: 10.1093/jpe/rts035


Progress 08/29/07 to 08/29/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: A paper published in Forest Ecology and Management (titled ⿿Restoration of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)-hardwood ecosystems severely impacted by the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis)⿝) by Elliott and others described the effect of using fire in pine-hardwood ecosystems that had been degraded by insect outbreak to restore the forest community. In the southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern USA, pine-hardwood ecosystems have been severely impacted by the interactions of past land use, fire exclusion, drought, and southern pine beetle (SPB, Dendroctonus frontalis). Coweeta researchers examined the effects of restoration treatments: burn only (BURN); cut + burn on dry sites (DC + B); cut + burn on sub-mesic sites (MC + B); and reference sites (REF; no cutting or burning) on shortleaf pine-hardwood forests. They also evaluated the effectiveness of seeding native bluestem grasses. Structural and functional attributes were measured before, and the first and second growing seasons after treatment. They used path analysis to test their conceptual model that restoration treatments would have direct and indirect effects on these ecosystems. They found a significant increase in the density of oak species (Quercus alba, Q. coccinea, Q. montana, Q. rubra, and Q. velutina) on all burn treatments. However, oaks accounted for a smaller proportion of the total stem density than red maple, other tree species, and shrubs. The high densities of woody species other than oaks, coupled with the fast growth rates of some of these species, suggests that oaks will continue to be at a competitive disadvantage in these pine-hardwood communities through time, without further intervention. Pine regeneration was not improved on any of their burned sites with little to no recruitment of pines into the understory after two years and the pine saplings that were present before the burns were killed by fire on all sites. They found an increase in herbaceous layer cover and richness on all fire treatments. Cut and burn treatments on dry sites (DC + B) had higher bluestem grass cover than the other treatments, and it was the only treatment with increased bluestem grass cover between the first and second growing seasons. Their path model showed that fire severity explained a large proportion of the variation in overstory response; and fire severity and overstory response partially explained soil NO3⿿N. These variables, directly and indirectly, explained 64% of the variation in soil solution NO3⿿N at 30 cm soil depth. They found a good-fit path model for herbaceous layer response in the second growing season, where fire severity had direct effects on overstory and herbaceous layer responses and indirect effects on herbaceous layer response mediated through overstory response. Their path model explained 46% and 42% of the variation in herbaceous layer cover and species richness, respectively. PARTICIPANTS: K. J. Elliott, J. M. Vose, B. D. Clinton, J. D. Knoepp TARGET AUDIENCES: natural resource managers, scientific community PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: none

Impacts
Over the past century, pine-hardwood ecosystems have been on a trajectory of increased pine overstory mortality, a lack of regeneration of all overstory species, loss of herbaceous layer herbs and grasses, and expansion of the evergreen shrub, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.), in the midstory layer. The most recent SPB outbreak (1999⿿2001) resulted in extensive pine mortality, more than 400,000 ha (an estimated economic loss of 1.0 billion). The co-occurrence of an increased fuel load, dry conditions, and increased densities of mountain homes in close proximity to federal land creates hazardous conditions that could result in catastrophic fires. Land managers need information on treatment options that will reduce heavy fuel accumulation from fallen and dying trees, particularly in the wildland⿿urban interface; restore forests impacted by SPB; and prevent the development of future stand conditions that attract SPB, promote heavy fuel accumulation, and increase fire risk.

Publications

  • A. Dennis Lemly. 2012. Source water improvement and protection plan for High Rock Lake. Prepared for: High Rock Lake association board of directors, Southmont, NC and North Carolina Department of Environment and natural resources Division of Water Quality, Raleigh, NC. April 2, 2012. pp. 1-97.
  • Aubrey, Doug P.; Coyle, David R.; Coleman, Mark D. 2012. Functional groups show distinct differences in nitrogen cycling during early stand development: implications for forest management. Plant Soil. 351: 219-236. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-011-0946-0
  • Chescheir, George M.; Skaggs, R. Wayne; Amatya, Devendra M. 2012. Research methods to determine the hydrology and water quality impacts of eucalyptus production in the southern US. [Abstract] In NCASI & Forest sponsored symposium on the Assessment and Management of Environmental issues related to Eucalyptus Culture in the Southern United States. Charleston, SC. February 22-24, 2012
  • Hoffman, Ava. 2012. Estimating tree transpiration accurately depends on wood type and species: A study of four southern Appalachian tree species. In: Choi, Michelle; Shin, Ko Eun ⿿Janet⿝, eds. The Oculus, The Virginia Journal of undergraduate research. 11(1): 30-34.
  • Elliott, Katherine J.; Hoyle, Z. 2012. Southern pine beetle impacts on forests.COMPASS LIVE. 5/22/12. http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/compass/2012/05/22/southern-pine-beetle-impacts-on-f orests/
  • Elliott, Katherine J.; Vose, James M.; Knoepp, Jennifer D.; Clinton, Barton D. 2012. Restoration of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) - hardwood ecosystems severely impacted by the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis). Forest Ecology and Management 274:181-200.
  • Gong, Binglei; Im, Jungho; Jensen, John R.; Coleman, Mark; Rhee, Jinyoung; Nelson, Eric. 2012. Characterization of forest crops with a range of nutrient and water treatments using AISA hyperspectral imagery. GIScience & Remote Sensing. 49(4): 463-491. http://dx.doi.org/10.2747/1548-1603.49.4.463
  • Kaczmarek, Donald J.; Amayta, Devendra, M.; Trettin, Carl C. 2012. Resource requirements and potential environmental consequences of Eucalyptus in the southern United States. [Poster] In: Symposium on the assessment and management of environmental issues related to Eucalyptus culture in the southern United States. February 22-24, 2012. Charleston, SC.
  • Kim, Hyunwoo; Amatya, Devendra M.; Broome, Stephen W.; Hesterberg, Dean L.; Choi, Minha. 2011. Sensitivity analysis of the DRAINWAT model applied to an agricultural watershed in the lower coastal plain, North Carolina, USA. Water and Environment Journal. doi: 10.1111/j.1747-6593.2011.00283.x
  • Kline, Keith L.; Coleman, Mark D. 2010. Woody energy crops in the southeastern United States: two centuries of practitioner experience. Biomass and Bioenergy. 34: 1655-1666. Doi: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2010.05.005.
  • Knoepp, Jennifer D.; Vose, James M.; Michael, Jerry L.; Reynolds, Barbara C. 2012. Imidacloprid movement in soils and impacts on soil microarthropods in southern Appalachian eastern hemlock stands. Journal of Environmental Quality 41:469-478.
  • Lemly, A. Dennis. 2012. Development and testing of a visual assessment technique for evaluating impacts of sedimentation on stream biota. February 8, 2012. Uwharrie National Forest, Uwharrie Ranger District, Troy, NC.
  • Tran, Tyler J. 2011. Using GPS technology to relate canopy cover and other ecological parameters of Rhododendron Maximum L. 2011 internship research report by the Institute for the environment Highlands Field Site. Highlands, NC. Highlands Biological Station. 79-88.


Progress 08/29/07 to 08/29/12

Outputs
OUTPUT: Estimating transpiration from woody plants using thermal dissipation sap flux sensors requires careful data processing. Currently, researchers accomplish this using spreadsheets, or by personally writing scripts in statistical software programs (e.g., SAS). We developed the Baseliner software to enable users to QA/QC data and process data using a combination of visualization, automated steps, and manual editing. Data processing requires establishing a zero-flow reference value, or ⿿baseline⿝, which varies among sensors and with time. This software provides a graphical user interface to allow visual inspection and manipulation of data, as well as a set of algorithms to estimate the zero-flow baseline reliably. The open-source software allows for user customization of data processing algorithms as improved methods are developed.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

  • Adams, Susan B.; Roghair, Craig; Krause, Colin; Warren Jr., Melvin L.; Cochran, J. Allison; Dolloff, Andy; Moran, John; McGregor, Stuart W.; Schuester, Guenter A.; Gangloff, Michael; DeVries, Dennis R.; Kendrick, Michael R.; Grove, G. Lee; Wright, Russell A. 2015. New crayfish species records from the Sipsey Fork drainage, including Lewis Smith Reservoir (Alabama, USA): Native or introduced species?.  Freshwater Crayfish 21(1):17-32 17 p. http://dx.doi.org/10.5869/fc.2015.v21-1.17
  • Amatya, D.M., Chescheir, G.M., and Nettles, J.E. 2016. Impacts of switchgrass intercropping in traditional pine forests on hydrology and water quality in the southeastern United States. In: Examples of Positive Bioenergy and Water Relationships, Proceedings of the UN-FAO Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) and IEA Bioenergy Workshop, Stockholm, Sweden, August 2015, pp: 75-80.
  • Amatya, D.M.; Irmak, S.; Gowda, P.; Sun, G.; Nettles, J.E.; Douglas-Mankin, K.R. 2016. Ecosystem evapotranspiration: challenges in measurements, estimates, and modeling. Transactions of the ASABE, Vol. 59(2): 555-560. 6 p. 10.13031/trans.59.11808
  • Anderson II, Anthony Brian. 2016. Estimating Soil Seed Bank and Forest Management in Apalachicola National Forest, Florida. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. 109 p. M.S. thesis.
  • Arnold, J.G.; Youssef, M.A.; Yen, H.; White, M.J.; Sheshukov, A.Y.; Sadeghi, A.M.; Moriasi, D.N.; Steiner, J.L.; Amatya, D.M.; Skaggs, R.W.; Haney, E.B.; Jeong, J.; Arabi, M.; Gowda, P.H. 2015. Hydrological processes and model representation: impact of soft data on calibration. American Society of Agricultural and Biololgical Engineers Vol. 58(6): 1637-1660.  24 p.
  • Belnap, Jayne; Stark, John M.; Rau, Benjamin M.; Allen, Edith B.; Phillips, Susan 2016. Soil moisture and biogeochemical factors influence the distribution of annual Bromus species. In: M.J. Germino et al. (eds.), Exotic Brome-Grasses in Arid and Semiarid Ecosystems of the Western US, Springer Series on Environmental Management. 227-256.  30 p. DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-24930-8_8.
  • Berdanier, Aaron B.; Miniat, Chelcy F.; Clark, James S.; Phillips, Nathan 2016. Predictive models for radial sap flux variation in coniferous, diffuse-porous and ring-porous temperate trees. Tree Physiology: tpw027-. 10 p.   10.1093/treephys/tpw027
  • Caldwell, Peter; Miniat, Chelcy F.; Aubrey, Doug; Jackson, Rhett; McDonnell, Jeff. 2016. Precipitation partitioning in short rotation bioenergy crops: implications for downstream water availability.  In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to estuaries: advances in watershed science and management -Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015, North Charleston, South Carolina. e-General Technical  Report  SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 1 p.
  • Cameron, Christopher Sean. 2012. Chemostratigraphic investigations of beaver wetlands along Jarrett Creek, North Carolina, USA. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia. 102 p. . M.S. thesis.
  • Farley, Bryan; Trettin, Carl; Allan, Craig. 2016. Investigation of CO2 and CH4 emissions from tidal freshwater and non-tidal bottomland forest riparian zones. [Poster] In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to Estuaries: Advances in watershed Science and management. Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015. North Charleston, SC. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 299.
  • Golden, H.E., Evenson, G.R., Tian, S., Amatya, D.M., and Sun, G. 2015. Forest Hydrology Modeling. In: Amatya et al. (eds.), Chapter 9, Forest Hydrology, CABI Publishers, U.K. pp: 141-161.
  • Hallema, Dennis W.; Sun, Ge; Caldwell, Peter V.; Norman, Steven P.; Cohen, Erika C.; Liu, Yongqiang; McNulty, Steven G. 2016. Relationships between wildland fires and watershed hydrology across the contiguous U.S. [Abstract] In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to estuaries: advances in watershed science and management -Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015, North Charleston, South Carolina. e-General Technical  Report  SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 1 p.
  • Johnson, D.W.; Trettin, C.C.; Todd, D.E. 2016. Changes in forest floor and soil nutrients in a mixed oak forest 33 years after stem only and whole-tree harvest. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 361: 13 pages.: 56-68.
  • Laseter, Stephanie; Miniat, Chelcy; Fowler, Randy; Rightmyer, Dick; Hunter, Ed. Impact of off-highway vehicular trail system on water quality. [Poster] In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to Estuaries: Advances in watershed Science and management. Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015. North Charleston, SC. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 300.
  • Leigh, David S.; Gragson, Theodore L.; Coughlan, Michael R. 2015. Chronology and pedogenic effects of mid- to late-Holocene conversion of forests to pastures in the French western Pyrenees. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, Supplementary Issues, Vol. 59(2): 225-245. 21 p.  10.1127/zfg_suppl/2015/S-59212
  • Li, H.; Deng, X.; Dolloff, C. A.; Smith, E. P. 2015. Bivariate functional data clustering: grouping streams based on a varying coefficient model of the stream water and air temperature relationship. Environmetrics, Vol. 27(1): 12 pages.: 15-26.
  • Li, Yi; Schichtel, Bret A.; Walker, John T.; Schwede, Donna B.; Chen, Xi; Lehmann, Christopher M. B.; Puchalski, Melissa A.; Gay, David A.; Collett, Jeffrey L. 2016. Increasing importance of deposition of reduced nitrogen in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 113(21): 6 pages.: 5874-5879.  10.1073/pnas.1525736113
  • Chescheir, George; Birgand, Francois; Youssef, Mohamed; Nettles, Jami; Amatya, Devendra. 2016. Environmental sustainability of intercropping switchgrass in a loblolly pine forest. [Abstract] In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to Estuaries: Advances in watershed Science and management. Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015. North Charleston, SC. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 219.
  • Manning, David W. P.; Rosemond, Amy D.; Gulis, Vladislav; Benstead, Jonathan P.; Kominoski, John S.; Maerz, John C. 2016. Convergence of detrital stoichiometry predicts thresholds of nutrient-stimulated breakdown in streams. Ecological Applications.
  • Miniat, Chelcy F.; Zeitlow, David; Brantley, Steven T.; Mayfield, Albert; Rhea, Rusty; Jetton, Robert; Arnold, Paul. 2016. Physiological responses of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) to biological control and silvicultural release: implications for hemlock restoration. In:Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to Estuaries: Advances in watershed Science and management. Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015. North Charleston, SC. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 1 p.
  • Currinder, Bryan; Cecala, Kristen K.; Northington, Robert M.; Dorcas, Michael E. 2014. Response of stream salamanders to experimental drought in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, Vol. 29(4): 579-587. 9 p. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02705060.2014.938135
  • Dolloff, Andrew; Roghair, Craig; Krause, Colin; Moran, John; Cochran, Allison; Warren, Mel; Adams, Susie; Haag, Wendell. 2016. Spatio-temporal variation in distribution of aquatic species and their habitats in a reservoir transition zone. In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to estuaries: advances in watershed science and management -Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015, North Charleston, South Carolina. e-General Technical  Report  SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 1 p.
  • Muwamba, Augustine; Amatya, Devendra M.; Trettin, Carl C.; Glover, James B. 2016. Comparing nutrient export from first, second and third order watersheds in the South Carolina Atlantic coastal plain. In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds.  Headwaters to Estuaries: Advances in watershed Science and management. Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015. North Charleston, SC. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 82-88.
  • Norman, J.S.; Barrett, J.E. 2016. Substrate availability drives spatial patterns in richness of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in temperate forest soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 94: 169-172. 4 p.  10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.11.015
  • Oishi, A. Christopher; Hawthorne, David A.; Oren, Ram 2016. Baseliner: an open source, interactive tool for processing sap flux data from thermal dissipation probes. Science Direct
  • Oishi, A. Christopher; Miniat, Chelcy F. 2016. An interactive tool for processing SAP flux data from thermal dissipation probes.[Poster]In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to Estuaries: Advances in watershed Science and management. Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015. North Charleston, SC. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 267.
  • Panda, S.S., Masson, E., Sen, S., Kim, H.W., and Amatya, D.M. 2016. Geospatial Technology Applications in Forest Hydrology. In: Amatya et al. (eds.), Chapter 10, Forest Hydrology, CABI Publishers, U.K., pp: 162-178.
  • Panda, Sudhanshu; Amatya, Devendra; Kim, Young; Sun, Ge. 2016. Advanced image processing approach for ET estimation with remote sensing data of varying spectral, spatial and temporal resolutions. In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to estuaries: advances in watershed science and management -Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015, North Charleston, South Carolina. e-General Technical  Report  SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station.   1 p.
  • Vose, James M.; Elliott, Katherine J. 2016. Oak, fire, and global change in the eastern USA: what might the future hold?. Fire Ecology 12(2): 160⿿179. 20 p. doi: 10.4996/fireecology.1202160
  • Wang, Lixin; Leigh, David S. 2015. Anthropic signatures in alluvium of the Upper Little Tennessee River valley, Southern Blue Ridge Mountains, USA. Anthropocene, Vol. 11: 35-47. 13 p.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2015.11.005
  • Warren, R. J.; Pearson, S. M.; Henry, S.; Rossouw, K.; Love, J. P.; Olejniczak, M. J.; Elliott, K. J.; Bradford, M. A. 2015. Cryptic indirect effects of exurban edges on a woodland community. Ecosphere, Vol. 6(11): 1-13.13 p. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES15-00318.1
  • Warren, Robert J., II 2016. Ghosts of cultivation past-Native American dispersal legacy persists in tree distribution. PLoS ONE 11(3): e015070707. 16 p.   Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150707.
  • Weaver, Nathaniel S. 2015. Influence of exurban neighborhoods on riparian vegetation and stream salamanders in the southern Appalachian mountains. Clemson, SC; Clemson University. 47 p. M.S. thesis.
  • Whitby, Timothy G.; Madritch, Michael D. 2013. Native temperature regime influences soil response to simulated warming. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 60: 202-209. 8 p.  10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.01.014
  • Wyderko, Jennie A.; Benfield, Ernest F.; Maerz, John C.; Cecala, Kristen C.; Belden, Lisa K. 2015. Variable infection of stream salamanders in the southern Appalachians by the trematode Metagonimoides oregonensis (family: Heterophyidae). Parasitology Research, Vol. 114(8): 3159-3165.  7 p.      10.1007/s00436-015-4550-8


Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Understanding the importance of coarse woody debris is critical to maintenance and restoration of ecosystems to support components such as herpetofaunal communities in the southeastern coastal plain. Coarse woody debris (CWD) is thought to benefit heretofauna in a variety of ways including serving as feeding sites, providing a moist environment, and protection from temperature extremes. In a paper published in Forest Ecology and Management (entitled Influence of coarse woody debris on herpetofaunal communities in upland pine stands of the southeastern coastal plain) we used a large scale study to manipulate the quantity of CWD and used drift-fence pitfall trapping to quantify herpetofauna among CWD treatments. Surprisingly, we found that herpetofaunal abundance was unrelated to CWD for most herpetofauna (e.g., anurans, salamanders, and lizards) and snake abundance, species richness, and diversity were higher in areas with the lowest CWD. Contrary to our expectations, our results suggest that amphibians and reptiles in the coastal plain do not rely heavily on CWD as a habitat component. The majority of species captured in the study are adept at burrowing into the sandy soils of the region and the lack of reliance on CWD may reflect adaptation to the longleaf pine ecosystem that historically dominated the upland areas of the study. These results have important implications for restoration and management activities related to CWD in the coastal plain. PARTICIPANTS: John C. Kilgo (USFS); J. Castleberry (University of Georgia); NFS R8; Savannah River TARGET AUDIENCES: land managers, private land owners, policy makers, conservation organizations PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: none

Impacts
Impact-Management of CWD is focal point of many management and restoration efforts in the southeastern U.S. This research is especially important for understanding the role of CWD for providing habitat for herpetofuana and suggests that due to adaptations to historical disturbance regimes, creation and maintenance of CWD may not be required for herpetofuana in these ecosystems.

Publications


    Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09

    Outputs
    OUTPUTS: The recent infestation of southern Appalachian eastern hemlock stands by hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) is expected to have dramatic and lasting effects on forest structure and function. Scientists are examining HWA distribution, the impact of HWA on ecosystems processes, biological and chemical control options, and tools for restoration of degraded stands. Potential impacts to forested systems threatened by the introduced hemlock wooly adelgid are great because of hemlock⿿s role as a foundation species that influences soil, vegetation, and stream characteristics. We installed a long-term study at 49 sites, from Maine to Alabama, designed to survey eastern hemlock health, measure stand dynamics, and predict replacement of eastern hemlock. Hemlock wooly adelgid was present in 24 stands from Massachusetts to Georgia and all of these stands had some degree of hemlock decline. Other New England states, Ohio, western Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Alabama had no hemlock wooly adelgid present and good hemlock health. Coweeta researchers and University of Georgia collaborators studied the short-term changes to the carbon, water, and nutrient cycles in a mixed stand of hemlock and hardwoods, where hemlock was declining due to either girdling (induced mortality) or HWA infestation. For example, we expected that hemlock would decline more rapidly from girdling than from HWA infestation. Unexpectedly, in response to both girdling and HWA infestation, hemlock basal area increment (BAI) reduced substantially compared to reference hardwoods in 3 years. This decline was concurrent with moderate increases in the BAI of co-occurring hardwoods. Although the girdling treatment resulted in an initial pulse of hemlock needle inputs, cumulative litter inputs and O horizon mass did not differ between treatments over the study period. Following girdling and HWA infestation, very fine root biomass declined by 20⿿40% in 2 years, which suggests hemlock root mortality in the girdling treatment, and a reduction in hemlock root production in the HWA treatment. Soil CO2 efflux (E soil) declined by approximately 20% in 1 year after both girdling and HWA infestation, even after accounting for the intra-annual variability of soil temperature and moisture. The reduction in E soil and the concurrent declines in BAI and standing very fine root biomass suggest rapid declines in hemlock productivity from HWA infestation. The accelerated inputs of detritus resulting from hemlock mortality are likely to influence carbon and nutrient fluxes, and dictate future patterns of species regeneration in these forest ecosystems. PARTICIPANTS: C. Dolloff, J.M. Vose, J.D. Knoepp, C.R. Ford, K.J. Elliott, B.D. Clinton, M. Aust (Virginia Tech), P. Bolstad (U.Minn), J. Fratterigo (U. Illinois), J. Bradford (Yale); the research study area has been used as a technology transfer demonstration site for well over 1000 scientists, land managers, students, and private citizens. TARGET AUDIENCES: land managers, private citizens, private land owners. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: none

    Impacts
    Impact-The comprehensive research of examining HWA distribution, impact of HWA on ecosystems processes, biological and chemical control, and restoration of degraded stands will provide land managers and private land owners with the information required to protect or restore areas that are being impacted by HWA.

    Publications

    • Amatya, D.M.; Callahan, T.J.; Radecki-Pawlik, A.; Drewes, P.; Trettin, C.; Hansen, W.F. 2008. Hydrologic and water quality monitoring on Turkey Creek watershed, Francis Marion National Forest, SC. In: Proceedings of the 2008 South Carolina Water Resources Conference, Charleston Area Event Center
    • Trettin, Carl C.; Amatya, Devendra M.; Kaufman, Charles; Levine, Norman; Morgan, Robert T. 2008. Recognizing change in hydrologic functions and pathways due to historical agricultural use ⿿ implications to hydrologic assessments and modeling. In: The third interagency conference on research in the watersheds. September 8-11, 2008. Estes Park, CO. Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds (ICRW).
    • Amatya, D.M.; Williams, T.M.; Edwards, A.E.; Levine, N.S.; Hitchcock, D.R. 2008. Application of SWAT Hydrologic model for TMDL development on Chapel Branch Creek watershed, SC. In: Proceedings of the 2008 South Carolina Water Resources conference, October 14-15, 2008. Charleston, SC.
    • Amatya, Devendra M.; Callahan, Timothy J.; Trettin, Carl C.; Radecki-Pawlik, Artur. 2009. Hydrologic and water quality monitoring on Turkey Creek Watershed, Francis Marion National Forest, SC. In: 2009 ASABE Annual International meeting. June 21-24, 2009, Reno Nevada. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE).
    • Appelboom, T.W.; Chescheir, G.M.; Skaggs, R.W.; Gilliam, J.W.; Amatya, D.M. 2008. Nitrogen balance for a plantation forest drainage canal on the North Carolina Coastal Plain. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. 51(4): 1215-1233.
    • Coyle, David R.; Coleman, Mark D.; Aubrey, Doug P. 2008. Above- and below- ground biomass accumulation, production, and distribution of sweetgum and loblolly pine grown with irrigation and fertilization. Canadian Journal of Forest Resource. 38: 1335-1348. doi:10.1139/X07-231.
    • Dai, Zhaohua; Amatya, Devendra M.; Sun, Ge; Li, Changsheng; Trettin, Carl C.; Li, Harbin. 2008. Modeling the effect of land use change on hydrology of a forested watershed in coastal South Carolina. In: Proceedings of the 2008 South Carolina Water Resources conference, October 14-15, 2008. Charleston, SC.
    • Elliott, Katherine J.; Vose, James M.; White, Alan S. 2008. Pine regeneration following wildland fire. In: Olberding, Susan D., and Moore, Margaret M., tech coords. Fort Valley Experimental Forest - A Century of Research 1908-2008. Conference Proceedings; August 7-9, 2008; Flagstaff, AZ. Proceedings RMRS-P-53CD. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 222-230.
    • Grace, J.M., III; Clinton, B.D. 2007. Protecting soil and water in forest road management. American Society of Agriculture and Biological Engineers. 50(5): 1579-1584.
    • Hales, T.C.; Ford, C.R.; Hwang, T.; Vose, J.M.; Band, L.E. 2009. Topographic and ecologic controls on root reinforcement. Journal of Geophysical Research. 114, F03013, doi:10.1029/2008JF001168
    • Jones, Benjamin C.; Kleitch, Jennifer L.; Harper, Craig A.; Buehler, David A. 2008. Ruffed grouse brood habitat use in a mixed hardwood forest: implications for forest management in the Appalachians. Forest Ecology and Management. 255: 3580-3588. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2008.02.019
    • Kilgo, John C. 2009. Coyotes in the east: are they impacting deer?. Forest Landowner: 5-8
    • Kilgo, John C. 2009. Impact of coyotes on fawn survival in South Carolina. In: 32nd annual Southeast deer study group meeting. Herds without hunters: the future of deer management? Roanoke, VA:
    • Knoepp, Jennifer D.; Clinton, Barton D. 2009. Riparian zones in southern Appalachian headwater catchments: Carbon and nitrogen responses to forest cutting. Forest Ecology and Management. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.04.006. In Press.
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