Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:From October 1st, 2019 - September 30th, 2020the target audience has consisted of a diverse group of practicing foresters, ecologists, researchers, landowners, lawmakers, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Findings from completed activities have been presented at regional and national meetings of professional societies including: Ecological Society of America, Society of American Foresters, etc. Changes/Problems:Travel restrictions and the impacts of COVID-19 have hindered that last year's progress in this research. We were denied access to several study areas and travel restrictions further hindered our ability to gather data. All projects are currently back on track and we do not predict any further changes or problems associated with this project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Four graduate and two undergraduate students have participated in the project over the reporting period. Students gained valuable field experience in learning to design and implement field projects. Students participated in preparation of scholarly manuscripts and presentations at local, regional and national conferences. Students also learned to organize complex field research outings and were instrumental in acquiring collection permits and in gathering needed research materials from distant field sites. Under the supervision of the PI, students learned methodologies for identifying native plant species and laboratory techniques for analyzing tree growth rings and complex data. These are valuable skills that will improve each student's career prospects. The PI has had the opportunity to training and professional development through various workshops, regional conferences, and national conferences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Objective 1: The PI has presented preliminary findings as an invited speaker at a regional conference. Additionally, he and his graduate and undergraduate students have several manuscripts either under review or in preparation. Objective 2: One manuscript is currently published, one is in review, and several are in preparation. The PI's graduate students have also presented findings at a local conference and won an award for oral presentation and poster presentations. Objective 3: Again, one manuscript has been published evaluating the long-term productive and sustainability of mixed-species systems. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, the PI and the graduate and undergraduate students will establish a large study in Alabama to further investigate mixed-species systems. This team will also prepare multiple manuscripts for publication and continue to disseminate research findings at local, regional, and national conferences.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The major goals of this research are to understand techniques for optimizing mixed-species systems for southeastern United states forests for increased resilience, sustainability, and to meet the needs of regional forest landowners. An improved understanding of region specific mixed-species stand dynamics will provide an enhanced understanding of landscape-scale responses to mixed-species management and how negative intra-specific interactions can be mitigated through knowledge-driven management strategies. The specific objectives of this research are: 1. Identify silvicultural techniques for promoting optimal mixed-species systems that increase diversity for forests in the southeastern United States. 2. Compare ecosystem level responses (i.e. abiotic and biotic responses) between mixed-species systems and traditionally managed monoculture systems. 3. Develop quantitative models for evaluating the long-term productivity and sustainability of mixed-species systems in order to better guide regional landowners and natural resource managers. Objective 1: New field sites have been identified in Alabama. These sites will be used to test further mixed-species scenarios, such as different species combinations and different spacings. The PI has recruited three new graduate students and one new undergraduate student into the lab. These students are collaborating with the PI to prepare these sites for planting in spring 2021 and to inventory existing study sites. Two graduate students have collected substantial data from two studies in Mississippi. Objective 2: Field data has been collected from two case studies. The PI and his graduate and undergraduate students will use this data to infer ecosystem level responses for comparing mixed-species systems and traditionally managed monoculture systems. These studies are the basis of one on-going Master's student theses as well as an undergraduate research project. Objective 3: During the reporting period, one manuscript has been published, one under revision, and several are in preparation. A new suite of field experiments has been established and existing experiments will allow for the testing of hypotheses pertaining to the long-term productivity and sustainability of managed mixed-species systems. • The on-going and newly initiated studies under these objectives will determine techniques for and impacts of established mixed-species plantations in the southeastern United States. In the on-going studies established in Tennessee, upland oak and pine plantings were established to test species specific interactions and spacing techniques. In these sites two species of upland oak and three species of pine were mixed-planted at two spacings. These sites are being inventoried annually and several manuscripts are in preparation. • During the reporting period the PI and his graduate students have established several new field studies and have begun collecting field data. One of these studies is investigating the effects of Hurricane Katrina on native mixed stand system in South Mississippi. The data for this study has been collected and a manuscript is currently being prepared. Another is investigating the facilitative effects of mixed-species secessional planting on mine site restoration. This project is currently being established. An additional study is modeling the habitat requirements of mountain stewartia in order to predict where this imperiled species may occur. The study in currently in the revision process. • Under objective three a manuscript was published that highlighted the differential effects of emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), an exotic pest on disrupting natural processes and hindering our ability to conserve genetic diversity and perpetuate ash ecosystem services and functions. The goal of this project was to identify forest communities most at risk in terms of having altered ecosystems following EAB invasion. Using USDA, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis data, Shannon-Wiener species diversity index values were calculated for mixed-species forests containing each of the six native ash species found in the eastern United States. These forest communities differed in their species diversity index values, and diversity indices varied across ecosystem provinces and states. In addition, communities containing ashes that are restricted by a narrow range of suitable environmental conditions consistently had lower diversity index values than communities of ash species with greater geographical ranges. Finally, forest stand cohorts (i.e., seedlings, saplings, and canopy trees) had similar species diversity indices across forest communities containing a single ash species. Tree species diversity index values quantified for mixed-species forests with a single ash species will provide managers with additional information for prioritizing EAB control measures and restoration efforts following EAB invasions.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Granger, J.J., J.M. Zobel, and D.S. Buckley. 2019. Differential impacts of emerald ash bore (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) on forest communities containing native ash (Fraxinus spp.) species in eastern North America. Forest Science. fxz063, https://doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxz063
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Hale, C.W.+, J.J. Granger, A.K. Paulson, C. Ramirez-Reyes, Q. Ma, J. Yang. (In Review). Modeling habitat suitability for Stewartia ovata with maximum entropy techniques, citizen science, and natural history records. Castanea.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Watson, J. 2020. Early Performance Comparison of Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda L.) Bareroot and Containerized Planting Stock: Does Stocktype, Genetics, and Time of Planting Play a Key Role? 97 pp.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Granger, J.J., D.S. Buckley. 2019. Intercropping oaks and pines. In Oak Symposium: Sustaining Oak Forest in the 21st Century Through Science-Based Management. USDA, Forest Service Southern Research Station Technical Report SRS-237. 167-168.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Hale, C.W.+, J.J. Granger, Q. Ma, J. Yang. Modeling Habitat Suitability for a Rare North American Shrub: The Case for Open Access Citizen Science and Herbarium. Geo Bon Open Science Conference & All Hands Meeting. June 6, 2020
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Hale, C.W.+, J.J. Granger. 2020. Gulf coast Atlantic white-cedar recovery post-hurricane disturbance and the implications for conservation. 5th Annual Regional Student Scholars Forum, Shreveport, LA. March 12, 2020
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Hale, C.W.+, J.J. Granger. 2020. Post-hurricane recovery of gulf coast populations of Atlantic white-cedar. Southeastern Partners in Plant Conservation Conference, Atlanta, GA. March 4, 2020
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Hale, C.W.+, J.J. Granger. 2020. Post-hurricane recovery of gulf coast populations of Atlantic white-cedar. Mississippi State University Forestry Graduate Student Association Meeting, Starkville, MS. February 26, 2020
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Hale, C.W.+, J.J. Granger, Q. Ma, J. Yang. 2020. Modeling habitat suitability for Stewartia ovata: using maximum entropy techniques for rare plant conservation. 5th Annual Regional Student Scholars Forum, Shreveport, LA. March 12, 2020
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Granger, J.J., J.M. Zobel, D.S. Buckley. 2019. Differential impacts of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) on native ash-dominated ecosystems in the eastern United States. Society of American Foresters Annual Conference. Louisville, KY. November 2, 2019
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Granger, J.J., D.S. Buckley. 2019. Intercropping oak and pine. Tennessee Forestry Association Annual Meeting. University of Tennessee, Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center. Oak Ridge, TN. October 16, 2019
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Hale, C.W.+, J.J. Granger. 2019. A 14-year post-hurricane reevaluation of an Atlantic white-cedar stand in Mississippi. 17th Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium. Starkville, MS. (1st Place in the Life and Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Division for Masters Student Oral Presentations). October 5, 2019
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Hale, C.W.+, J.J. Granger. 2020. Recovery of Mississippis coastal swamp-cedar communities 14-years post Hurricane Katrina. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Virtual. August 8, 2020
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Reese, A.++, C.W. Hale+, J.J. Granger, S.B. Correa. 2020. Plant diversity along a successional gradient on the Pascagoula river. 5th Annual Regional Student Scholars Forum, Shreveport, LA. March 12, 2020
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Hale, C.W.+, J.J. Granger, Q. Ma, J. Yang. 2020. Modeling habitat suitability for Stewartia ovata using maximum entropy techniques: a framework using citizen science and natural history records for rare plant conservation. Southeastern Partners in Plant Conservation Conference, Atlanta, GA. March 4, 2020
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Progress 04/01/19 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Findings from pending and completed activities under objectives have been presented at regional and national meetings of professional societies including: Ecological Society of America, Society of American Foresters and Southern Hardwood Forest Research Group Meeting. Findings have been published in Journal of Forest Science. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate and one undergraduate student has participated in the project over the reporting period.Students gained valuable field experience in learning to design and implement field projects. Students participated in preparation of scholarly manuscripts and presentations at regional and national conferences. Students also learned to organize complex field research outings and were instrumental in acquiring collection permits and in gathering needed research material from distant field sites. Under the supervision of the PI, students learned methodologies for identifying native plant species and laboratory techniques for analyzing tree growth rings and complex data. These are valuable skills that will improve each student's career prospects. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Objective 1: The PI has presented preliminary findings as an invited speaker at a regional conference. Additionally, he and his graduate and undergraduate students have several manuscripts in preparation. Objective 2: Two manuscripts are currently in preparation. The PI's graduate student has also presented findings at a local conference and won an award for the top oral presentation. Objective 3: During the reporting period, one manuscript has been published evaluating the long-term productive and sustainability of mixed-species systems. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, the PI will recruit an additional graduate and undergraduate student and collectively they will continue to collect field data under objectives 1-3. As results come available the PI and his graduate and undergraduate students will prepare manuscripts for publication and present findings at state, regional, and national conferences.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The major goals of this research are to understand techniques for optimizing mixed-species systems for southeastern United states forests for increased resilience, sustainability, and to meet the needs of regional forest landowners. An improved understanding of region specific mixed-species stand dynamics will provide an enhanced understanding of landscape-scale responses to mixed-species management and how negative species interactions can be mitigated through knowledge-driven management strategies. The specific objectives of this research are: 1. Identify silvicultural techniques for promoting optimal mixed-species systems that increase diversity for forests in the southeastern United States. 2. Compare ecosystem level responses (i.e. abiotic and biotic responses) between mixed-species systems and traditionally managed monoculture systems. 3. Develop quantitative models for evaluating the long-term productivity and sustainability of mixed-species systems in order to better guide regional landowners and natural resource managers. Objective 1: The field sites have been established and planting is planned for spring 2020.The PI has worked with his graduate student to locate these sites and prepare sites for planting. Previously established sites in Tennessee were reinventoried by the PI and his graduate and undergraduate students. Objective 2: Field data has been collected from two case studies. The PI and his graduate and undergraduate students will use this data to infer ecosytem level responses for comparing mixed-speices systems and traditionally mananaged monocululture systems.These studies are the basis of one on-going Master's student theses as well as an undergraduate research project. Objective 3: During the reporting period, one manuscript has been published evaluating the long-term productivey and sustainabiltiy of mixed-speices sytems. A new suite of field experiments have been established in both upland and bottomland mixed-speices forest, which will test hypotheses regarding the long-term productivity and sustatinabitily of mixed-speices systems. The on-going and newly initiated studies under these objectives will determine techniques for and impacts of established mixed-species plantations in the southeastern United States. In the on-going studies established in Tennessee, upland oak and pine plantings were established to test species specific interactions and spacing techniques. In these sites two species of upland oak and three species of pine were mixed-planted at two spacings. These sites are being inventoried annually and several manuscripts are in preparation. During the reporting period the PI and his graduate students have established several new field studies and have begun collecting field data. One of these studies is investigating the effects of Hurricane Katrina on native mixed stand system in South Mississippi. Another study is invetigating the facilitative effects of mixed-species seccessional planting on mine site restoration. This project is currently being established. Under objective three a manuscript was published that highlighted the differntial effects of emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), an exotic pest, on disrupting natural processes and hindering our ability to conserve genetic diversity and perpetuate ash ecosystem services and functions. The goal of this project was to identify forest communities most at risk in terms of having altered ecosystems following EAB invasion. Using USDA, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis data, Shannon-Wiener species diversity index values were calculated for mixed-species forests containing each of the six native ash species found in the eastern United States. These forest communities differed in their species diversity index values, and diversity indices varied across ecosystem provinces and states. In addition, communities containing ashes that are restricted by a narrow range of suitable environmental conditions consistently had lower diversity index values than communities of ash species with greater geographical ranges. Finally, forest stand cohorts (i.e., seedlings, saplings, and canopy trees) had similar species diversity indices across forest communities containing a single ash species. Tree species diversity index values quantified for mixed-species forests with a single ash species will provide managers with additional information for prioritizing EAB control measures and restoration efforts following EAB invasions.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Yang, J., Ren, W., Ouyang, Y., Feng, G., Tao, B., Granger, J.J. and Poudel, K.P., (2019). Projection of 21st century irrigation water requirement across the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Agricultural Water Management, 217:60-72.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Hale, C.W., and Granger, J.J. 2019. A 14- Year Post-Hurricane Reevaluation of an Atlantic White-Cedar Stand in Mississippi. 17th Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium, Starkville, MS. Oral presentation.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Granger, J.J., Zobel, J.M., and Buckley, D.S. Differential impacts of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) on native ash-dominated ecosystems. Society of American Foresters National Convention. October 30-November 03, 2019. Louisville, KY. Oral presentation.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Granger, J.J., Zobel, J.M., and Buckley, D.S. 2019. Differential Impacts of Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) on forest communities containing native ash species in eastern North America. Forest Science (Accepted).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Granger, J.J., Zobel, J.M., and Buckley, D.S. 2017. Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) impacts on on eastern forest communities containing native ash species. Ecological Society of American National Convention. August 11-16, 2019. Louisville, KY. Poster presentation.
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