Looking good for its age: Southern research at 100

NORTH CAROLINA—This year, the Southern Research Station and all of Forest Service Research & Development celebrate the centennial of Forest Service research in the South.

On July 1, 1921, two new southern forest experiment stations opened their doors. They were modest operations—the Southern Forest Experiment Station, headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, had only five employees, and the Appalachian Forest Experiment Station in Asheville, North Carolina, had few supplies: one compass, four books and a few typewriters.

From these humble beginnings, Forest Service research in the South would go on to make enormous contributions to the region. Though the tools and methods have evolved, our current research builds on these foundations. The early stations merged to become the Southern Research Station in 1995.

Forests of the early 1900s were very different than those of today. In the Gulf Coastal Plain, hundreds of millions of acres of longleaf pine forest had been clearcut—and methods for collecting, processing and planting seeds were unknown. In the Southern Appalachians, timber harvests had left steep slopes bare, and streams and rivers filled with silt. In the Piedmont, farming practices had led to erosion so severe that farms were abandoned and carved with canyons.

The first Forest Service scientists of the South were devoted to restoring forest health while protecting people’s livelihoods. Researchers experimented with pine replanting and soil rehabilitation. They developed systematic, scientific surveys of forest inventory and condition that would inform the region’s new timber industry. Researchers studied hardwood regeneration, watersheds, genetics, wildlife and more.

Some of this research took place on National Forest System lands and some on private land. By the 1930s, researchers also had access to 10 experimental forests. Today, the Southern Experimental Forest Network includes 19 sites where station researchers are working with partners to answer broad -scale questions about the future of our forests.

Our science priorities build on the research of the past. Today, longleaf and shortleaf pine restoration are high priorities. Station researchers are also developing tools to help managers create open forests and ecosystems that are more resilient to drought and wildfire. We continue learning about the role of fire across the landscape and providing tools for preventing and managing wildfires, as well as conducting safe prescribed fires.

We’re also researching how to protect forests from invasive species, make them more resilient to catastrophic disturbances such as hurricanes and ice storms, and sustain their productivity and diversity in the face of climate change.

For more than a century, Southern Research Station science has led to healthier forests. Researchers continue to develop the tools needed to sustain the South’s diverse forest ecosystems.

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