http://www.fs.fed.us/research/
Oklahoma
The Forest Service funds research in Oklahoma through its Southern Research Station (SRS), which is
headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. Currently, no research work units are located in Oklahoma.
Almost 10 million acres (approximately 25% of the land) of Oklahoma is forested and forest industry
contributes more than $2 billion annually to Oklahoma’s economy.
FY 2013 Key Accomplishments:
 A new guide produced by SRS, “Introduction
to Prescribed Fire in Southern Ecosystems,” is
helping natural resource managers better
plan prescribed burns in forests and
grasslands. The guide provides a synthesis of
science, including environmental effects,
importance of weather, smoke management,
and techniques. State and local agencies are
using the guide for fire management training
modules throughout the South.

Using wood for energy raises issues for nearly
every aspect of forest management. SRS,
North Carolina State University, the Swedish
Agricultural Institute, and Virginia Tech
University evaluated economic impacts of
using wood for energy. Results show that if this
technology is achieved, this policy could
have significant impacts on forests, forest
landowners, and the forest products industry.
Factors that will impact forests include
responses of forest landowners, land use
change, and the level of logging residue
recovery achieved. Timber supply responses
to the potentially large and rapid expansion
of the wood bioenergy sector in the U.S. will
be crucial to ensuring sustainable forests.

Bats provide important ecosystem services by
reducing the number of insect pests in
agricultural lands and forests. SRS has
compiled a synthesis of science regarding
effects of fire on bats. Studies suggest fire
generally has beneficial effects on bat habitat
by creating snags, more open forests, and
increasing the abundance of flying insects.
Fire also has direct negative effects on bats
through heat and smoke. Intense fires may
pose a risk to tree-roosting bats during the
reproductive season of summer, while burning
on cold winter days could impact litterroosting species.
This synthesis helps
managers improve habitat while minimizing
direct impacts to bats.
SRS scientists are helping minimize impacts of fire on bats.
Southern Research Station Overview
SRS serves 13 Southern States: Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Staff is organized
into Research Work Units at locations throughout
the region. SRS employs over 103 scientists and
many more technicians and administrative
personnel covering a diversity of disciplines.
The FY 2015 President’s Budget for SRS is
$44,785,000, of which $14,629,000 is for annualized
Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA). In addition,
$2,282,000 is provided for National Fire Plan
research. SRS will also receive a competitive
share of the national amount of $6,914,000 for the
Joint Fire Science Program.
FY 2015 Program Changes
The President’s Budget includes a decrease of
$3,493,000 from the FY 2014 Enacted for SRS.
Funds will be used to address some emerging
regional and national priorities, such as invasive
species research and watershed management.
Important ongoing research, including work
addressing climate change, forest restoration,
and forest inventory and monitoring will continue.
Priority Research in Oklahoma
Forest Service R&D priority research areas build on
existing local and regional research to solve issues
important to the American people.
Priority
research activities in Oklahoma include:
Forest Disturbance: Managing forest ecosystems
to sustain desired benefits, such as clean water
and healthy forests, requires knowledge of how
forests change over time in response to natural
disturbances and management activities. There is
a need to understand how to help our forests
adapt to disturbance, including developing novel
species compositions, restoring forest and
wetland function, and controlling invasive
species. SRS scientists will evaluate the carbon
footprint of prescribed burning and begin to
assess how wildland fire might be included in
carbon policy.
Watershed Management and Restoration: With a
growing population competing for a finite supply
of freshwater, sustaining healthy watersheds to
protect the nations’ water supply is critical to the
social and economic well-being of the U.S. SRS is
conducting long term studies to assist with forest
restoration and protection of watersheds
throughout the region.
Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA): The FIA
program provides current conditions and recent
trends in the area of public and private forest
land in the U.S. A re-inventory in the eastern
portion of Oklahoma was initiated in October
2007 with supplemental funding and was
completed in January 2009. Researchers in the
FIA unit are working in cooperation with the
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and
Forestry. Results are being used by forest industry
to determine economic options for treatment in
various areas across the state.
Localized Research Needs in Oklahoma
Focusing on critical regional and local research
Research Needs
issues, SRS provides research results and tools and
technologies including:
Decreasing the Cost of Delivering Woody
Biomass: SRS scientists are evaluating supply
systems to deliver high tonnage feedstocks for
biofuels production. A harvesting system was
developed and is currently being tested by
comparing four different machines. The results will
allow managers to select the most efficient
system and machinery based on production rates
and costs, as compared with conventional
systems.
Riparian Buffers: Streamside management zones
(or riparian buffers) in the Ouachita Mountains of
Arkansas and Oklahoma help protect water
quality, provide wildlife habitat, and increase
landscape diversity. SRS researchers compared
forest characteristics in riparian buffers in midslope shortleaf pine stands to those in upland
portions of these stands and evaluated the
effects of upland forest harvesting on these
riparian corridors.
SRS scientists found clear
cutting trees near riparian buffers degrades snags
and may increase the risk of blowdowns.
FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (FS R&D) is a world leader in innovative science for sustaining global forest resources for future
generations. Research findings and products benefit forest and rangeland managers, and everyone who uses goods or services from
forests. We operate five research stations that encompass all 50 states, the Forest Products Laboratory located in Madison, Wisconsin, and
the International Institute of Tropical Forestry located in Puerto Rico. Our researchers and support personnel are located at 67 field sites
throughout the United States. We also maintain 80 experimental forests and ranges across the Nation. Our unique ability to integrate
science and decision making and to work across boundaries between public, private, and tribal lands through strong partnerships
advances the Agency’s three core themes of restoration, communities, and fire.
The FS R&D program has two components: Priority Research Areas and Strategic Program Areas. The Priority Research Areas address
urgent needs in seven areas: Forest Disturbance, Forest Inventory and Analysis, Watershed Management and Restoration, Bioenergy and
Biobased Products, Urban Natural Resources Stewardship, Nanotechnology, and Localized Needs Research (region-specific needs). The
Strategic Program Areas (SPAs) are the long-term programs from which Priority Research Areas are funded. The seven SPAs are: Wildland
Fire and Fuels; Invasive Species; Recreation; Resource Management and Use; Water, Air, and Soil; Wildlife and Fish; and Inventory and
Monitoring.
The FY 2015 President’s Budget includes $275,315,000 for Forest and Rangeland Research, $19,795,000 for the FS R&D National Fire Plan, and
$6,914,000 for the Joint Fire Science Program.