Forest Landscape Ecology
The mission of the Landscape Ecology Lab is to advance the science and practice of landscape ecology to inform the conservation and management of ecosystems in the Southeastern US and beyond. We achieve this by (1) conducting innovative, interdisciplinary research addressing pressing conservation challenges, (2) designing practical, evidence-based solutions that integrate ecology, community, and policy, and (3) fostering the development of skilled experts and leaders who drive positive change in conservation. We focus our efforts on three major goals:
- Understand how hurricanes and fire shape forest structure and function
- Improve conservation and management outcomes in longleaf pine forests.
- Accelerate training and adoption of new technologies for addressing conservation issues
Read more about our research efforts, and see below for recent news from the Lab
News from the Landscape Ecology Lab
New study: Patterns of hurricane gaps in a longleaf pine landscape
Ecological approaches to forestry seek to emulate aspects of natural disturbances like hurricanes which are a common disturbance in longleaf pine forets. This study used airborne lidar to measure patterns of hurricane-created gaps to offer guidance for application of natural disturbance-based management in landscapes dominated by longleaf pine.
Interview: Ichauway Forest Dynamics Plot joins as 77th site in global network
Smithsonian ForestGEO recently welcomed its 77th Forest Dynamics plot – Ichauway – in the southeastern United States. Here, they interview Principal Investigator Dr. Jeffery Cannon about the plot and how he got involved with ForestGEO.
PNAS: New study defines hurricane regimes for North American forests
Hurricanes are a chronic disturbance to many forests. but currently no study defines hurricane regimes for North America. This study uses hurricane models and long-term data to define four distinct hurricane regimes for the region, and discusses how hurricanes may be a useful lens for understanding the distribution of tree species and their traits.
New study: Predicting spatial patterns of litter fuels for fire behavior modeling
UGA graduate and Landscape Ecology lab alumnus Suzie Blaydes recently published a new article in the journal Fire Ecology. The article uses long-term data and geospatial methods to predict litter fall in longleaf pine forests. The findings will contribute to the next generation of spatilly-explicit fuel and fire models
Ichauway Forest Dynamics Plot included in global Smithsonian network
The Ichauway Forest Dynamics plot is a 40 acre research plot in a longleaf pine-oak woodland which consists of 18,000+ mapped trees over 1 cm in diameter. The new infastructure will support long-term research in longleaf pine and fire dynamics in the southeastern U.S.
Zampieri awarded SAF Mollie Beattie Scholarship
The Society of American Foresters named Dr. Nicole Zampieri among two 2023-2024 Mollie Beattie Visiting Scholars. Nicole is a post-doctoral researcher at Tall Timbers Research Station and the Jones Center at Ichauway Landscape Ecology Lab. Her current work investigates patterns of mortality in pine-oak savannas and uses dendrochronology techniques to understand patterns of disturbance. She also plays an important role in guiding and mentoring the research of fellow labmates and beyond. Congratulations, Nicole!
New study: Longleaf pine woodlands increase streamflow during droughts
Jones Center researcher Dr. Seth Younger found that longleaf pine woodlands increase water yeidl during droughts. The study looked at 21 rural watersheds with varying levels of longleaf pine cover and found that those with high longleaf pine cover had 17% higher stream flow than those with low cover. The increase was even higher during critical drought periods, highlighting how longleaf pine restoration can improve conservation outcomes on land and in streams.
Sen. Ossoff visits Ichauway, launches bill to improve data collection
Sen. Jon Ossoff visited the Jones Center at Ichauway to announce a bill that would improve data collection efforts of the US Forest Service. The new bill would authorize USFS to collect data on above and below ground carbon and adopt new technologies such as lidar. The bill is expected to improve data collection within the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis.
PBS features Landscape Ecology Lab’s tree winching research
Chuck visits the Jones Center at Ichauway and chats with Director Dr. Kier Klepzig about their work on the 30,000-acre property. They join Dr. Jeff Cannon in the field and help him with a bit of hands-on research into how much hurricane wind force it takes to fell a longleaf pine.
News from the Landscape Ecology Lab
New study: Patterns of hurricane gaps in a longleaf pine landscape
Ecological approaches to forestry seek to emulate aspects of natural disturbances like hurricanes which are a common disturbance in longleaf pine forets. This study used airborne lidar to measure patterns of hurricane-created gaps to offer guidance for application of natural disturbance-based management in landscapes dominated by longleaf pine.
Interview: Ichauway Forest Dynamics Plot joins as 77th site in global network
Smithsonian ForestGEO recently welcomed its 77th Forest Dynamics plot – Ichauway – in the southeastern United States. Here, they interview Principal Investigator Dr. Jeffery Cannon about the plot and how he got involved with ForestGEO.
PNAS: New study defines hurricane regimes for North American forests
Hurricanes are a chronic disturbance to many forests. but currently no study defines hurricane regimes for North America. This study uses hurricane models and long-term data to define four distinct hurricane regimes for the region, and discusses how hurricanes may be a useful lens for understanding the distribution of tree species and their traits.
New study: Predicting spatial patterns of litter fuels for fire behavior modeling
UGA graduate and Landscape Ecology lab alumnus Suzie Blaydes recently published a new article in the journal Fire Ecology. The article uses long-term data and geospatial methods to predict litter fall in longleaf pine forests. The findings will contribute to the next generation of spatilly-explicit fuel and fire models
Ichauway Forest Dynamics Plot included in global Smithsonian network
The Ichauway Forest Dynamics plot is a 40 acre research plot in a longleaf pine-oak woodland which consists of 18,000+ mapped trees over 1 cm in diameter. The new infastructure will support long-term research in longleaf pine and fire dynamics in the southeastern U.S.
Zampieri awarded SAF Mollie Beattie Scholarship
The Society of American Foresters named Dr. Nicole Zampieri among two 2023-2024 Mollie Beattie Visiting Scholars. Nicole is a post-doctoral researcher at Tall Timbers Research Station and the Jones Center at Ichauway Landscape Ecology Lab. Her current work investigates patterns of mortality in pine-oak savannas and uses dendrochronology techniques to understand patterns of disturbance. She also plays an important role in guiding and mentoring the research of fellow labmates and beyond. Congratulations, Nicole!
New study: Longleaf pine woodlands increase streamflow during droughts
Jones Center researcher Dr. Seth Younger found that longleaf pine woodlands increase water yeidl during droughts. The study looked at 21 rural watersheds with varying levels of longleaf pine cover and found that those with high longleaf pine cover had 17% higher stream flow than those with low cover. The increase was even higher during critical drought periods, highlighting how longleaf pine restoration can improve conservation outcomes on land and in streams.
Sen. Ossoff visits Ichauway, launches bill to improve data collection
Sen. Jon Ossoff visited the Jones Center at Ichauway to announce a bill that would improve data collection efforts of the US Forest Service. The new bill would authorize USFS to collect data on above and below ground carbon and adopt new technologies such as lidar. The bill is expected to improve data collection within the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis.
PBS features Landscape Ecology Lab’s tree winching research
Chuck visits the Jones Center at Ichauway and chats with Director Dr. Kier Klepzig about their work on the 30,000-acre property. They join Dr. Jeff Cannon in the field and help him with a bit of hands-on research into how much hurricane wind force it takes to fell a longleaf pine.
