http://www.fs.fed.us/research/
North Carolina
Forest Service Research and Development (FS R&D) delivers research to North Carolina through the
Southern Research Station (SRS), which is headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, and has field offices in
Asheville, Bent Creek, Otto, Raleigh, and Research Triangle Park. SRS has 135 employees in these locations.
The Bent Creek, Blue Valley and Coweeta Experimental Forests are located in North Carolina. North
Carolina has 17.6 million acres of forest land.
FY 2013
Enacted ($)
North Carolina Funding History
FY 2014
Enacted ($)
FY 2015
Budget ($)
ASHEVILLE -- SRS-4552 Insects, Diseases, and Invasive Plants, SRS-4801
Forest Inventory and Analysis, SRS-4854 Threat Assessment, and
Engineering-Facilities Maintenance, Chestnut Biotechnology, Climate
Change.
$2,014,385
$2,202,053
$2,006,400
BENT CREEK -- SRS-4157 Upland Hardwood Ecology and Management
1,050,941
1,070,527
1,043,490
FRANKLIN -- SRS-4353 Forest Watershed Science
1,644,720
1,526,296
1,633,060
1,634,857
1,915,919
1,623,267
2,952,228
3,217,004
2,930,588
$9,297,131
$9,931,799
$9,236,805
RALEIGH -- SRS-4854 Threat Assessment, SRS-4855, Center for
Integrated Forest Science and Synthesis
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- SRS-4160 Forest Genetics and Ecosystems
Biology, SRS-4854 Threat Assessment, SRS-4804 Forest Economics and
Policy
NORTH CAROLINA TOTAL
$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
research
and
watershed
management.
Important ongoing research, including work
addressing climate change, forest restoration,
and forest inventory and monitoring will continue.
SRS is evaluating the loss of hemlocks and impact 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. Staffs are
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,
FY 2013 Key Accomplishments:
 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.
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.
 Prescribed burning is a commonly used
management tool for upland hardwood
forests, with fuel reduction, ecosystem
restoration, and wildlife habitat improvement.
SRS scientists and partners from NC State
University, High Point University and NC Wildlife
Commission are evaluating how wildlife,
including amphibians, reptiles and breeding
birds, respond to burning at different
frequencies and severities over time. The results
of this work are helping managers plan burns
for ecosystem restoration.
 In 2010, Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD) was
discovered in urban areas within the native
range of the eastern black walnut tree. Forest
managers in North Carolina were concerned
that TCD may have spread into the
surrounding forests, so SRS researchers
examined data 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 the North Carolina’s forests now, but
will need to be monitored over time.
Priority Research in North Carolina
Forest Service R&D priority research areas build on
existing
localNeeds
and regional research to solve issues
Research
important to the American people. Priority
research activities in North Carolina 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.
Understanding how forests are affected by
changes in the environment allows managers to
ensure the continued provision of ecosystem
services.
SRS scientists are advancing the
Template for Assessing Climate Change Impacts
and Management Options to provide managers
with the best available scientific information for
developing strategies to sustain forest resources.
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. SRS
scientists developed and are using The Water
Supply Stress Index Carbon and Biodiversity model
to understand disturbance impacts on ecosystem
services. Researchers at the Coweeta Hydrologic
Lab are continuing internationally significant
research to better understand how disturbances
impact water supply from forested watersheds.
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 North Carolina and other southern states.
Results are being used by forest industry to
determine economic options for treatment in
various areas across the state.
Localized Research Needs in North Carolina
Focusing on critical regional and local research
issues,
SRS provides
Research
Needs research results and tools and
technologies including:
Hemlock Decline: 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
researchers estimated changes in Et by
monitoring tree water use and changes in forest
composition. This higher Et could reduce stream
flow, raising new questions about water
availability in the future.
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.