http://www.fs.fed.us/research/
Tennessee
Forest Service Research and Development (FS R&D) delivers research to Tennessee through the Southern
Research Station (SRS), which is headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, and has a field office in
Knoxville housing 52 employees. Tennessee has one of the most diverse hardwood species mixes in the
nation covering 14.0 million acres of forestland, approximately 52% of the total land base of Tennessee.
FY 2014
Enacted ($)
FY 2015
Budget ($)
$13,054,684
$14,616,129
$12,962,135
$13,054,684
$14,616,129
$12,962,135
FY 2013
Enacted ($)
Tennessee Funding History
KNOXVILLE -- SRS-4801 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA),
and SRS-4157 Upland Hardwood Ecology and
Management,
TENNESSEE TOTAL
research
and
watershed
management.
Important ongoing research, including work
addressing climate change, forest restoration,
and forest inventory and monitoring will continue.
SRS is evaluating effects of loss of hemlock on water.
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 regional and
national priorities, such as invasive species
FY 2013 Key Accomplishments:
Eastern hemlocks are facing widespread
mortality due to hemlock woolly adelgid
(HWA), an invasive insect pest. Because
hemlock is concentrated in riparian habitats
and maintains a dense, evergreen canopy, its
loss is expected to have a major impact on
forest
processes,
including
transpiration
(Et). SRS estimated changes in Et by monitoring
tree water use and changes in forest
composition. From 2004 to 2011, hemlock
mortality reduced annual Et by 22% and winter
Et by 74%. However, deciduous trees are
replacing hemlock, and as they grow Et will
increase above that seen in unaffected
hemlock forest, which could reduce stream
flow, raising concerns about water availability
in the future.
 Bats provide important ecosystem services by
reducing the number of insect pests in
agricultural lands and forests. Climate models
forecast that the distribution of Indiana bats
during the summer pup rearing season could
be greatly reduced and shift from the Midwest
to the Northeast and southern Appalachians.
Summer temperature was the most important
climatic variable explaining the distribution of
Indiana bat maternity colonies. SRS scientists
are identifying ways to sustain Indiana bat
populations over time. In the short term, bats
will seek cooler roosts under shade in the
summer. As they shift regionally, managers will
need to ensure adequate roosting habitat is
available in the remaining suitable areas.
 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.
Priority Research in Tennessee
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 Tennessee 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.
Science-based management
helps ensure
benefits from ecosystem services, such as
abundant water, fish and wildlife habitat, and
opportunities for recreation. SRS scientists have
developed a Template for Assessing Climate
Change Impacts and Management Options – a
web-based tool that provides forest managers
with the best available scientific information for
managing in a changing future.
Watershed Management and Restoration: With a
growing population competing for a finite supply
of freshwater, sustaining healthy watersheds to
protect the nation’s water supply is critical to the
social and economic well-being of the U.S.
Southern forests are highly valued for wood
products, wildlife, recreation, and rich biological
diversity. SRS is using interdisciplinary approaches
to identify how future climate will affect these
ecosystems and options for managing them.
Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA):
FIA is
providing information about current conditions
and trends in public and private forest health
across the U.S. Researchers in FIA have been
conducting annual inventories in cooperation
with Tennessee and other southern states. Results
are being used by forest industry to determine
economic options for treatment in various areas
across the state.
Localized Needs Research in Tennessee
Research
Focusing
onNeeds
critical regional and local research
issues, SRS provides research results and tools and
technologies including:
Thousand Cankers Disease in Black Walnut: In
2010, Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD) was
discovered in urban areas within the native range
of the eastern black walnut tree. Forest managers
in Tennessee were concerned that TCD may have
spread into the surrounding forests, so SRS
researchers examined data collected between
2000 and 2010 from the FIA program for evidence
of TCD in the eastern U.S. They found that black
walnut crown conditions and mortality levels are
within normal ranges. TCD does not appear to be
threatening black walnut in Tennessee’s forested
landscape, but will need to be monitored over
time.
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.