Forests
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Southerly Magazine posted an interesting story last week about the large number of prescribed fires that Georgia and other parts of the Southeast have compared to other parts of the country. The fires are set to keep the forests healthy and clear of underbrush and invasive weeds. Burn plans are made carefully and take into…
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Georgia Trends has a good story and recap of Hurricane Michael’s impact on Georgia agriculture from July 1. It tallies the losses to forestry and pecans as well as some other crops. Devastating! Most of the recovery is being done by loans since the recovery money from the federal government has yet to appear. You…
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A recent study by scientists at the University of Illinois shows that forested areas affected by tornadoes or other wind storms not only knock down many trees but also provide an opening for the spread of invasive weeds and pests by disrupting the forest canopy. In some cases the infestation of exotic pests is so…
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Yale Climate Connections has an interesting story about the importance of the Great Smoky Mountains cloud cover on maintaining the local climate through balancing incoming and outgoing energy. Cloud forests at the tops of the ridges are maintained by dense clouds of microscopic water droplets and other areas benefit from the cloudy and moist conditions…
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Drought affects trees on many different time scales. In the Southeast, we grow a lot of trees in controlled conditions for timber. The timber is managed by planting, thinning, and harvesting. Until recently, there have been very few studies done on the impacts of management techniques like thinning on the trees’ resilience to drought and…
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In the news today (see first story below) was a story that we can put a dent in climate change by planting billions or even trillions of trees, which will absorb and store carbon dioxide. While that will help slow the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere, it really only buys some time, since the…
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If you interested in learning more about forestry and natural resources from your own office or need to add some continuing ed credits, check out this web site of archived webinars. The description of the site is below: Welcome to The Forestry Webinar Portal View Live and On-Demand: Whatever your interest – from improving wildlife…