The 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment is now available. Written by more than 50 experts, it summarizes trends in natural resources and evaluates how several possible future combinations of socioeconomic and climatic changes could affect forests.

A new study conducted in support of the 2020 RPA, projects that forest area exposed to severe or extreme drought will triple by 2070. Researchers analyzed 10 scenarios that combined five modeled climates and Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5, which indicate large portions of the East could be exposed to drought nearly as often as parts of the West.  



The Forest Resources chapter summarizes recent and projected trends in forest resources – the area of forested land, timber volumes, and historic and future trends in forest carbon. This chapter also covers trends in forest ownership based on the Forest Inventory and Analysis National Woodland Owner Survey. 

In the chapter Disturbances to Forests and Rangelands, researchers evaluate trends in fire, drought, insect invasions, and other disturbances - including management activities such as prescribed fire and thinning, as those activities alter environmental conditions and lead to changes in forest structure or community composition even as they can contribute to long-term forest resilience.  

Across the country, forest land area increased slightly over the past decade as pasture and cropland area declined. This trend is expected to shift to decreasing forest area under all scenarios, although at lower rates than projected in 2010. This is just one of the findings in the Land Resources chapter, which explores changes in land use and cover, forest fragmentation, projected changes in impervious and tree covers, and more.

SRS researchers also contributed to chapters on Future Scenarios, Forest Products, and Outdoor Recreation and Wilderness. The future scenarios are used across all chapters and depict coherent interdependent futures for global and U.S. population dynamics, socioeconomic factors, and climate change.

The U.S. is the world's largest producer and exporter of wood pellets. A new study shows excess pellet supply is negatively affected by rising interest rates and energy costs, and it is unlikely that an increasing excess of pellets in the South will continue.

Equipment operators in the logging industry who trained on a simulator had no significant differences in performance from those who trained on a machine, reports a new study. Simulator training is also more affordable, although machine-trained students showed greater improvement than simulator-trained students on more complex equipment. 

Since 1936, Alabama’s timberland has increased 22%, according to the latest FIA survey for Alabama. Loblolly-shortleaf is the state's predominate forest type, accounting for 38% or 9 million acres of forest. The survey also reports on ownership, stand structure, timber products, and much more. 

A new study builds on previous research on no-bid timber sales by analyzing survey results from NFS personnel involved in timber sales. The analysis validates respondent perceptions of many factors that can affect sales, such as small tree DBH, market information, and roads.

Researchers surveyed 23 sites from 1999 to 2001 and 29 new sites in 2020 and 2021 to learn more about the alligator snapping turtle in Texas. The surveys suggest the turtles are getting caught in fishing lines, and watersheds draining to the Gulf of Mexico are more important for the species' conservation than those draining to the Mississippi River. 

Researchers evaluated a new way to monitor the Louisiana Pinesnake (Pituophis ruthveni), a federally threatened species. The technique evaluates changes in camera trap images and pixels and performed well when compared with tag readers. Further research is needed to improve quality assurance across different sites or environments.

A new study evaluates the distribution of 65 bird species over four decades and reports that while most species show northward range shifts, some have not changed and others have shifted southward. Researchers found migration strategy and diet influenced the range shifts. 

A concise guide to planting oaks discusses site, seedling quality, planting methods, how to protect seedlings from deer and other animals, and much more. It also includes specific guidance on collecting and storing white oak acorns.

A special issue in the journal Forest Ecology and Management focuses on chestnut ecology and management across the globe. Stacy Clark was the lead guest editor for the special issue and also contributed to four articles on topics such as silviculture, international synergy, mycology, and pathology. 

Logging companies in the Coastal Plain have high productivity, especially for larger harvests of pine, reports a new study. However, in the Piedmont, those trends were less obvious. The research uses FIA data to describe differences between the two regions - such as ownership size, market access, and terrain - that have produced differences in logger productivity and capital value. 

A new General Technical Report, Celebrating 100 Years of Forest Science, uses previously unpublished studies, biographies, maps, letters, photos, and other primary materials to show how forestry evolved in the southern U.S. over the past century.

All major rivers in the Arkansas River Basin are projected to experience river flow decline by the end of the century. In the Arkansas River, flow could decline by nearly 30%. The study can inform management strategies to maintain regional water resources and mitigate climate impacts.

LIDAR data can extend our understanding of forest carbon balances to regional and national scales, according to a new study. Results suggest carbon storage is more strongly correlated with forest structural diversity than species diversity.

A new study documents the usefulness of time-series landcover data for estimating the areal extent of forest loss. The method estimates that up to 3,470 square kilometers of forest in the western U.S. lost to fire, climate change, and other disturbances may be converted to other land uses.