**Job Openings**
Recent News
Auburn awarded $1.8 million
Dr. Lisa Samuelson, Director of the Center for Longleaf Pine Ecosystems in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University, has been selected by SERDP (Strategic Environmental Research and Development) with the Department of Defense for an award of $2.43 million to support the project "Developing tools for ecological forestry and carbon management in longleaf pine". Auburn is the lead institution with collaborators at the University of Florida and the USDA Forest Service. The project will collect extensive data on carbon pools in longleaf pine forests on military installations throughout the Southeast to develop ecological forestry and carbon management models for longleaf pine ecosystems.
For more information read: Auburn awarded $1.8 million to aid carbon sequestration on military bases
Longleaf Pine Forests
Prior to European settlement, longleaf pine forests were the largest temperate forest type in North America occupying between 24 and 36 million ha in the southern and Atlantic regions of the United States. Longleaf pine is considered the premier pole and sawtimber species of the southern conifers because of its straight, well-formed stem, high wood density and better grade of lumber. Land clearing for crops and pastures, logging, turpentine operations, conversion to other southern pines and the interruption of natural fire regimes brought about by the forest fire protection policies implemented in the 1920’s have reduced the longleaf forest to 3 to 5% of its original range. There is a renewed interest in restoring longleaf pine for high value wood products, pine straw production, ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, and wildlife benefits. Longleaf pine ecosystems are among the most diverse in temperate North America and contain nearly two-thirds of all species in the southeastern U.S. that are declining, threatened or endangered. Interest in the restoration and management of longleaf pine ecosystems is growing because of the economic, ecological, and recreational returns from longleaf pine forests. Public agencies are important in leading the effort in longleaf restoration and recovery on large acreages but the majority of small tract longleaf forests are on private non-industrial lands. Forest managers have diverse management objectives and are interested in restoring longleaf ecosystems when knowledge and technical assistance is made available. This Center was created to acquire the critical research knowledge needed to meet these needs.
(Information on longleaf forests from: Stokes et al. 2010, Frost 1993, Landers et al. 1995, Brockway and Lewis 1997, Gilliam and Platt 1999, Hardin and White 1989; Walker 1993, Glitzenstein et al. 2001, Outcalt and Outcalt 1994)
