New grant aims to mitigate hurricane risk to pecan orchards
In a new grant funded by the Natural Resources Conservation service, the Landscape Ecology lab will collaborate with UGA pecan expert Dr. Lenny Wells to address concerns of pecan growers state-wide. Following widespread hurricane damage in the region, this project aims to understand the major drivers of hurricane damage, and make recommendations for hurricane preparedness.
New study: Hurricanes boost reproduction in longleaf pine
Using long-term records of longleaf pine cone production, hurricane tracks, and weather data, a new study has uncovered that hurricanes can boost cone production for two years in the masting species, longleaf pine. The study was led by the Jones Center and the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station and published in the journal New Phytologist.
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.
Plant Ecology lab makes Seeds of Success collections
The Plant Ecology lab, through funding from the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, has collected seeds from Conecuh National Forest in southern Alabama and Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Georgia. These collections are part of Seeds of Success, a nationwide native seed collection program. The long-term goal of the Seeds of Success program is to support […]
Jones Center hosts rare plant workshop
The Jones Center recently hosted a workshop that brought together botanists from Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. The goal of the workshop was to develop a framework for an upcoming Species Status Assessment for ciliate-leaf tickseed. The species is globally rare and is being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The status assessment […]
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!