Forestcast

Afire: Fire Ignition, Mitigation & Recovery May 15, 2024

Fire shapes landscapes and lives, but how do humans shape fire? By measuring wildfire ignition, mitigation, and recovery, as well as the wildland-urban interface—where houses meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland vegetation—scientists are uncovering the complex dynamics between wildfire and human behavior.

Research social scientist, Miranda Mockrin, sheds light on the rapidly growing wildland-urban interface and the challenges it poses for fire management and community resilience. Research forester, Jeff Kline, delves into private landowners' behavior in central Oregon, and the surprising insights into their awareness of fire risks and the factors influencing their mitigation actions. Kline also investigates the various ways humans cause wildfires across the Pacific Northwest, and what can be done with that data.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Miranda Mockrin, Research Social Scientist, Baltimore, Maryland
Jeff Kline, Research Forester, Corvallis, Oregon

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Afire: Fire Effects Above and Belowground May 08, 2024

Fire affects forests above and belowground. Travel along on a multiscale journey from forest-wide influences to molecular-level changes, unraveling the knowns and unknowns of fire effects on soil, vegetation, and carbon.

Sharon Hood explains how fire affects tree mortality, tracing the pivotal role of carbohydrates in a tree's post-fire survival. Dexter Strother investigates the production and persistence of black carbon in soils, shedding light on its potential climate implications. Matt Dickinson shares innovative techniques for measuring belowground heat transfer during fires, and unveils the intricate effects on soil nutrients and microbial life.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Sharon Hood, Research Ecologist, Missoula, Montana
Dexter Strother, Research Ecologist, Athens, Georgia
Matt Dickinson, Research Ecologist, Delaware, Ohio

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Afire: Fire Weather, Wind & Smoke May 01, 2024

From whipping winds that fan flames to swirling smoke that obscures visibility, fire weather is a complex phenomenon. In Episode 4 of "Afire," hear from three meteorologists at the intersection of the intricate relationships between fire weather, wind, and smoke.

Brian Potter explains how large-scale atmospheric patterns, like extended dry periods before a wildfire, may contribute to the development of extreme fire events. Natalie Wagenbrenner discusses WindNinja, a high-resolution wind model that simulates local winds in complex terrain. And Scott Goodrick investigates the turbulent dynamics of small‑scale surface fires, as well as superfog—dense smoke-enhanced fog that can severely reduce visibility.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Brian Potter, Research Meteorologist, Seattle, Washington
Natalie Wagenbrenner, Research Meteorologist, Missoula, Montana
Scott Goodrick, Research Meteorologist, Athens, Georgia

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Afire: Understanding Different Fire Apr 24, 2024

Prescribed fire plays a vital role in creating healthy landscapes that better survive natural and human-caused disturbances, while reducing wildfire risk to communities, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources. Episode 3 of "Afire" highlights three scientists and partnerships that are attempting to better understand and utilize prescribed fire.

From Georgia, ecologist Joe O’Brien explains how researchers and forest managers are forming unique meetings that spark fresh ideas and advancements in prescribed burning across the South. In California, forester David Weise begins research into the processes related to pyrolysis to better estimate how prescribed burning affects people. And, in Arkansas, forestry technician Virginia McDaniel recounts a decades-long story of prescribed fire fortifying an ecosystem and an endangered woodpecker.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Joe O'Brien, Research Ecologist, Southern Research Station, Athens, Georgia
David Weise, Research Forester, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Riverside, California
Virginia McDaniel, Forestry Technician, Southern Research Station, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Afire: Understanding Fire Differently Apr 17, 2024

Indigenous tribes gained their unique understanding of fire, and the role of fire on the landscape, long before European settlers came to what is now called North America. Since then, the relationship between federal fire management and indigenous perspectives has often been one of misunderstanding and mistrust. On Episode 2 of "Afire," join Forest Service scientists, Frank Kanawha Lake, a tribal descendant, and Serra Hoagland, a tribal member, as they explain the ways in which Forest Service fire research is collaborating with tribes to jointly strive to better understand and manage fire.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Frank Kanawha Lake, Research Ecologist, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Arcata, California
Serra Hoagland, National Program Lead for Tribal Research, Missoula, Montana

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Afire: Understanding Fire Apr 10, 2024

Fire is a form all of its own, but a simple way to understand fire is as a swarm. A swarm of bees. Or starlings. Or mosquitos. A spreading fire is a swarm of ignitions, a series of small fires over and over.

Season 4 of Forestcast is a series of fires, a series of voices. It’s a 360-degree introduction to fire from a scientific standpoint. The story of how fire research shapes our landscapes, and our lives.

Through kaleidoscoping voices from across the country, listeners will be taken inside the largest forest research organization in the world to hear from seventeen scientists on what they know, and don’t know, about one of the most complex elements in nature—fire.

In episode one, hear from research mechanical engineer, Sara McAllister, on the process of ignition; spatial fire analyst, Greg Dillon, on the timeline of fire management and research in the Forest Service; and research forester, Dan Dey, on the history of fire: where it was, where it’s been, and what can be done knowing its history?

Related Research:

Scientists:

Sara McAllister, Research Mech. Engineer, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana
Greg Dillon, Spatial Fire Analyst, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana
Dan Dey, Research Forester, Northern Research Station, Columbia, Missouri

Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

This episode, we used the following archival recordings:

The Fires of 1910 [National Wildfire Coordinating Group]
Forest Service Officials Testify on Wildfire Management [C-SPAN]
The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film [USDA Forest Service]
1950s Smokey the Bear P.S.A.s [USDA Forest Service]
Suppression of Fires in Natl. Parks & Forests [C-SPAN]
The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (1988-07-27) [AAPB]
The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (1988-09-13) [AAPB]
Harry Gisborne Oral History Project [U of Montana]
Up In Flames: A History of Fire Fighting in the Forest [Forest History Society]
Higgins Ridge [Montana PBS]
Learning from the Experts: Richard Rothermel [Wildland Fire LLC]
U.S. House of Representatives House Session (2009-03-26) [C-SPAN]
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (2000-08-07) [AAPB]
Wildfire Crisis Strategy 2022 [USDA Forest Service]
President Biden Signs Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill [C-SPAN]

Flying the Nuthatch Home Jun 27, 2023

Once spanning nearly 6 million acres in Missouri's Ozarks, the shortleaf pine and oak woodland ecosystem has dwindled to 100,000 acres today. Along with the loss of this habitat, a bird—the brown-headed nuthatch—disappeared as well. However, after decades of woodland restoration, the brown-headed nuthatch has returned to Missouri—by plane.

Over two summers in 2020 and 2021, a team of scientists successfully captured and flew 102 birds from Arkansas to Missouri, marking the bird’s return to the state after being locally extinct since 1907. Weighing in at a mere one-third of an ounce, approximately the combined weight of a nickel and a quarter, the return of the brown-headed nuthatch is nevertheless a weighty event.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Frank Thompson, Research Wildlife Biologist, Northern Research Station, Columbia, Missouri
Jody Eberly, Wildlife Biologist/Fire Mgmt. Officer (Retired), Mark Twain National Forest, Rolla, Missouri
Angelina Trombley, Wildlife Biologist, Mark Twain National Forest, Doniphan, Missouri

We used the following recordings from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: ML180391131 (Milton Hobbs, Georgia, USA), ML225986 (Bob McGuire, Florida, USA) & ML unknown (Andrew Spencer, Florida, USA)

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-special-episode-flying-nuthatch-home

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: Our Sustainable Future with Cindi West Apr 13, 2023

Cindi West has over 30 years of experience working across private industry, academia, and federal government in a variety of jobs to ensure sustainability of natural resources. In February 2021 she assumed the position of Director of the Northern Research Station and the Forest Products Lab.

She has served in various leadership roles in the Forest Service, including as the Director of the Office of Sustainability & Climate Change, Associate Deputy Chief for R&D, Director for Resource Use Sciences, and Deputy Station Director for Pacific Northwest Research Station.

Cindi holds a BS degree in Forestry Management, an MBA in Marketing and Management, and a PhD in Wood Science and Forest Products from Virginia Tech. As a research scientist, she published more than 60 papers and presented at more than 80 conferences on forest sector trade and industry development.

Scientist:

Cindi West, Station Director, Northern Research Station, Madison, Wisconsin

If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-10-our-sustainable

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: Scientific & Ethical Integrity with Maggie Hardy Apr 10, 2023

Maggie Hardy is the program manager of the Rocky Mountain Research Station Forest and Woodland Ecosystems Program, a group of scientists that develops and delivers scientific knowledge and management tools for sustaining and restoring the health, biodiversity, productivity, and ecosystem processes of forest and woodland landscapes.

Before joining the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Maggie served as Chief Regulatory Scientist and as an Executive Director with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. In these roles, Maggie managed areas of policy; regulation and budget; provided strategic stakeholder engagement; and led integrated learning and development initiatives. In previous federal government roles, including with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga., Maggie held broad responsibilities for program implementation and regulatory assurance, as well as emergency response and preparedness. Her career has focused on incorporating research in drug discovery, bioterrorism agents, vector-borne diseases, and foodborne, waterborne, and environmental diseases.

Related Research:

Scientist:

Maggie Hardy, Forest & Woodland Ecosystems Program Manager, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Flagstaff, Arizona

If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-9-scientific-ethical

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: Changing the World Through Soil with Deb Page-Dumroese Apr 06, 2023

Research soil scientist Deb Page-Dumroese’s research interests center around maintaining soil productivity during and after land management activities.

As site principal investigator for several North American Long-Term Soil Productivity Study plots, Deb is well-versed in the pre- and post-treatment sampling necessary to determine changes in above- and below-ground nutrient properties associated with harvesting, organic matter removal, and biochar additions. In partnership with the Missoula Technology Development Center (Keith Windell) and Dr. Nate Anderson (RMRS) she developed a biochar spreader to easily distribute biochar on forest sites.

Related Research:

Scientist:

Deb Page-Dumroese, Research Soil Scientist, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow, Idaho

If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-8-changing-world

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: A Life of Healthy Forests with Jenny Juzwik Apr 03, 2023

Research plant pathologist, Jenny Juzwik, conducts studies on diseases of trees that impact forest health and productivity.

Her career-long interest and passion has been the study of interactions among microorganisms and insects associated with disease occurrence and development. One particular focus has been on the insects responsible for transmission of the oak wilt fungus, Bretziella fagacearum. In 2014 she completed research that involved elucidation of the major biotic determinants of hickory decline and investigation of the role(s) putative pathogens play in the complex. In 2010, she initiated 13 years of investigations of bark and ambrosia beetles associated with eastern black walnut in the Midwestern states and their potential as carriers of the Thousand Cankers Disease fungus, Geosmithia morbida, as well as other pathogenic fungi that may cause symptoms similar to those of thousand cankers disease.

Related Research:

Scientist:

Jenny Juzwik, Research Plant Pathologist, Northern Research Station, St, Paul, Minnesota

If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-7-life-healthy-forests

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: The Nature of Stewardship with Lindsay Campbell Mar 30, 2023

Research social scientist, Lindsay Campbell, explores the dynamics of civic stewardship, environmental governance, and sustainability policymaking--with a particular emphasis on issues of social and environmental justice—all from New York City.

She is a founding member of the New York City Urban Field Station, which was jointly created by the Northern Research Station and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The Urban Field Station develops and applies adaptive management and science to improve human well-being and the environment in urban metropolitan areas. She creates transdisciplinary spaces of collaboration between land managers, scientists, artists, and other practitioners.

Related Research:

Scientist:

Lindsay Campbell, Research Social Scientist, Northern Research Station, New York, New York

If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-6-nature-stewardship

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: Plots to Blocks with Sjana Schanning Mar 27, 2023

Ecologist Sjana Schanning’s fieldwork has taken her from the Rincon Mountains of Arizona, to the the winter woods of Wisconsin, to the summer shores of Michigan’s Isle Royale. But, she’s recently shifted away from the field towards data analysis, our cities’ trees and the Urban FIA Program.

Sjana collects field data and performs data analysis and reporting for the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program. FIA data provides critical status and trend information to resource managers, policy makers, investors, and the public through a system of annual resource inventory that covers both public and private forest lands across the United States.

Related Research:

Scientist:

Sjana Schanning, Ecologist, Forest Inventory and Analysis, Northern Research Station, Hayward, Wisconsin

If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-5-plots-blocks-sjana

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: Juggling Motherhood & Ornithology with Susannah Lerman Mar 23, 2023

Ecologist Susannah Lerman walks us through her career and life, from falling in love with birds in Israel, to making something more of mowing, to hosting a motherhood workshop, to the mentors that enabled her to create a career out of science.

Susannah’s research goal is to improve the sustainability of urban and human-dominated landscapes for birds, bees and other wildlife, and advancing human well-being through strengthening connections between people and nearby nature.

Related Research:

Scientist:

Susannah Lerman, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Amherst, Massachusetts

If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-4-juggling-motherhood

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: Watershed Moments & Moms with Chelcy Miniat Mar 20, 2023

Ecologist Chelcy Miniat shares watershed moments of her career and life, from a spark of science in sixth grade, to her time at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, to her decisions about if and when to have children.

Chelcy is the program manager of the Rocky Mountain Research Station Maintaining Resilient Dryland Ecosystems (MRDE) program, a group of scientists that investigates the biology, use, management, and restoration of grasslands, shrublands, and deserts. Her own research is centered on developing a mechanistic understanding of watershed ecosystem function by studying how abiotic and biotic factors (species, environmental variables, disturbances) regulate carbon, nutrient, and water cycling processes.

Related Research:

The Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and the Coweeta Long‐Term Ecological Research Project (2021)

Scientist:

Chelcy Miniat, Maintaining Resilient Dryland Ecosystems Program Manager, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Albuquerque, New Mexico

If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-3-watershed-moments

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: An Ode to Mentors by Sara Brown Mar 16, 2023

Ecologist Sara Brown takes us through eight chapters of her career and the 10 mentors that made her, from wildland firefighting, to smokejumping, to teaching in New Mexico, to directing the Missoula Fire Science Lab.

Sara is a classically trained ecologist, with a focus on fire ecology. Before her return to the Forest Service in 2015, she was an Assistant Professor of Forestry at New Mexico Highlands University. She taught wildfire science and ecology courses, and enjoyed working on research problems in the field with students. Her applied research program provided graduate and undergraduate students with opportunities to work on questions relating to fire effects, fire intensity, fuel treatment effects and understanding fire history as it applies to reintroducing appropriate fire return intervals to a variety of ecosystems. Today, she is the Fire, Fuel & Smoke Program Manager at the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Montana.

Related Research:

Scientist:

Sara Brown, Fire, Fuel & Smoke Program Manager, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana

If you're interested in hearing more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-2-ode-mentors-sara

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Women of Research: Twenty-Five Years of Mentorship with Laura Kenefic & Susan Stout Mar 13, 2023

To celebrate the immeasurable impact of women in our nation’s history, and to honor the scientists who have inspired others to dream, work, study, serve and succeed, Forecast is kicking off a special 10-episode series highlighting women’s perspectives in research over the past 50 years.

Eleven scientists from the Northern Research Station and Rocky Mountain Research Station will share their experiences from before, during and after careers with the USDA Forest Service. Stories of mentors and mentorship, motherhood, rural and urban stewardship, passions for science, leadership, and beyond.

To kick things off, a conversation between a mentor and mentee about how they met, the evolution and value of their relationship, their shared diversity research, and where to go from here.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Laura Kenefic, Research Forester, Northern Research Station, Bradley, Maine
Susan Stout, Emeritus Research Forester, Northern Research Station, Irvine, Pennsylvania

If you're interested in hearing more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-1-twenty-five-years

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Backcross: How A Bird Influences Beech Resistance Patterns (BONUS) Feb 07, 2023

Beech bark disease has been killing American beech trees in eastern North America since the late 1890s. In northern New England, New York, and the Maritimes where the disease is most severe, groups of disease resistant trees occasionally occur. Genetic studies reveal that trees in groups are families, and distribution patterns suggest that they were “planted” by blue jays.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Jennifer Koch, Research Biologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio
Laura Kenefic, Research Forester, Northern Research Station, Bradley, Maine
Dave Houston, Principal Plant Pathologist (Retired), Northern Research Station, Hamden, Connecticut

In this episode, we used the following recording from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: ML526793201 (Kendrick DeBoer, Alberta, Canada)

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-2-backcross-episode-6-bonus-how-bird-influences

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Backcross: Will Ash be the Blueprint for Tree Restoration? Mar 29, 2022

The number one way you can stop an insect invasion or pathogen from spreading is by stopping it from ever starting. Who says geneticists and ecologists can’t act in the same way—taking action before a tree is ever in danger?

With ash, proactive and collaborative breeding is already taking place, and it could be a roadmap for the future of combating tree species restorations.

Related Research:

Green Ash Trees That Survive Beetle Infestation Pass on Their Resistance Through Propagation and Planting (NRS)
The Key to Rescuing Green Ash from Emerald Ash Borer is in the Genes (NRS)
“Saving Green Ash” (2017)
“Restoring Green Ash: Breeding for Resistance to the Emerald Ash Borer” (2020)
“Convergent molecular evolution among ash species resistant to the emerald ash borer” (2020)
Saving Oregon Ash (2022) [Oregon Dept. of Forestry]

Scientists:

Jennifer Koch, Research Biologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio
Kathleen Knight, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio
Richard Sniezko, Center Geneticist, Dorena Genetic Resource Center, Cottage Grove, Oregon

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-2-backcross-episode-5-will-ash-be-blueprint-tree

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Backcross: A Return to Elm Street Mar 22, 2022

Dutch elm disease (DED) is one of the most commonly known and destructive tree diseases in the world. The disease was first observed in Ohio in 1930, and by 1976, only 34 million of the estimated 77 million elms present in U.S. urban locations remained.

Research on American elm from the 1970s to the present has focused in large part on the identification of American elm individuals that can withstand the DED pathogen. To increase American elm’s long-term recovery as a canopy tree, it is crucial to increase the genetic variation of tolerant elms available for planting in urban and rural settings.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Jennifer Koch, Research Biologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio
Kathleen Knight, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio
Denny Townsend, Research Geneticist (Retired), USDA ARS, U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, D.C.
Dale Lesser, Farmer, Lesser Farms and Orchard, Dexter, Michigan

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-2-backcross-episode-4-return-elm-street

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Backcross: The Past, Present and Future of American Chestnut Mar 15, 2022

A hundred years ago, the American chestnut was the redwood of the East. It was big, and it was everywhere, especially in the southern Appalachians. But, today, it’s just a shrub and is, functionally, extinct.

With chestnuts having gone through such a dramatic decline, restoration has been a priority, and it’s been a restoration effort unlike many others. It’s been one of the most passionate efforts an American tree has ever seen.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Leila Pinchot, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio
Bethany Baxter, American Chestnut Oral History Project, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Ella Preston, American Chestnut Oral History Project, Letcher County, Kentucky
Harding Ison, American Chestnut Oral History Project, Letcher County, Kentucky
James Mullins, American Chestnut Oral History Project, Dickenson County, Virginia

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-2-backcross-episode-3-past-present-and-future

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Backcross: How Do You Breed Better Trees? Mar 08, 2022

Tree species restoration—especially with species that are threatened with extinction—isn't even on the table unless you have resistant planting stock. But, trees live on another timescale than humans—a much longer one. And, to be a geneticist, to breed, your job is to infiltrate that timeline, and to understand it. By understanding that timeline, you can begin to fiddle with it, fiddle with time, and with the future. The future of that plant, but also the future of our planet. Genetics allow us to make better trees, make a better world, and do it all by fooling our forests.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Jennifer Koch, Research Biologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-2-backcross-episode-2-how-do-you-breed-better

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Backcross: Tree Species Restoration & Resistance Breeding Mar 01, 2022

In season one of Forestcast, entomologists showed us the ways we slow insects from attacking and killing trees. This season, we’ll meet another set of scientists, scientists who have been attacking the issue of non-native invasive insects and pathogens from a different angle. Chemicals and biological control can buy trees time, but they cannot completely control the non-native insects that are attacking trees that have never experienced these insects before. We need something on top of those controls, and these scientists, they’ve been working towards a solution — a long-term resistance.

What is it? Well, it’s simple. At least, a simple idea: use trees.

Related Research:

“Proceedings of the Sixth International Workshop on the Genetics of Host-Parasite Interactions in Forestry—Tree Resistance to Insects and Diseases: Putting Promise into Practice” (2020)

Scientists:

Jennifer Koch, Research Biologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio
Kathleen Knight, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio
Leila Pinchot, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio
Charlie Flower, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-2-backcross-episode-1-tree-species-restoration

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Searching for Cicadas in the Chattahoochee Jul 15, 2021

Mac Callaham, a research ecologist, goes searching alone in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest for one of Brood X’s most-southern cicada emergences.

Scientist:

Mac Callaham, Research Ecologist, Southern Research Station, Athens, Georgia

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

The Two-Sided Story of Periodical Cicadas May 05, 2021

Any day now, periodical cicadas will emerge across 15 states stretching from Illinois to New York and northern Georgia.

Two scientists, one who’s tracked the aboveground movements of these cicadas, and another who’s unearthed the belowground impact of these insects, take you inside the many mysteries and forgotten elements of these evolutionary enigmas.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Sandy Liebhold, Research Entomologist, Northern Research Station, Morgantown, West Virginia
Mac Callaham, Research Ecologist, Southern Research Station, Athens, Georgia

Hey listeners! We're looking for cicada recordings! To be a part of an upcoming episode of Forestcast, record cicadas chorusing around you. In the recording, tell us where you are and who you are. Just record the cicadas on your phone and send the recording to jonathan.yales@usda.gov.

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

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Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

A Window of Resurgence for Red Spruce May 14, 2020

In the 1970s, red spruce was the forest equivalent of a canary in the coal mine, signaling that acid rain was damaging forests and that some species – especially red spruce – were particularly sensitive to this human induced damage. In the course of studying the lingering effects of acid rain, scientists came up with a surprising result – decades later, the canary is feeling much better.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Mary Beth Adams, Research Soil Scientist, Morgantown, West Virginia
Paul Schaberg, Research Plant Physiologist, Burlington, Vermont

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-special-episode-window-resurgence-red-spruce

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Balance & Barrier: The Future of Forest Threats Apr 02, 2020

In addition to studying and monitoring the non-native insects already here, scientists are monitoring pests that have potential to become problems if they ever do arrive, whether from overseas or from other parts of North America.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Robert Venette, Research Biologist, Northern Research Station, St. Paul, Minnesota
Melody Keena, Research Entomologist, Northern Research Station, Hamden, Connecticut

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-1-balance-and-barrier-episode-6-future-forest

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Balance & Barrier: The Hornless Asian Longhorned Beetle Mar 26, 2020

The Asian longhorned beetle has the makings of a disaster pest poster — a wide possible geographic and climatic range, a number of host trees, and few control options. Lucky for us, it just doesn’t seem to spread far on its own. There are biocontrol and predator options, but nothing is ideal, or especially effective. At this time, there isn’t much we can do other than chop down and chip infested trees.

Related Research:

“New York's Battle with the Asian Longhorned Beetle” (1997)
“Mapping of the Asian Longhorned Beetle’s Time to Maturity and Risk to Invasion at Contiguous United States Extent” (2017)
National ALB Program Overview (2018)

Scientists:

Melody Keena, Research Entomologist, Northern Research Station, Hamden, Connecticut
Talbot Trotter, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Hamden, Connecticut

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-1-balance-and-barrier-episode-5-hornless-asian

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Balance & Barrier: When A Single Clone Caused An Invasion Mar 19, 2020

With no parasitic wasps — like we have for emerald ash borer — and no miracle fungal pathogen — as with gypsy moth — our control options for the nonnative insect threatening Eastern hemlock forests, the hemlock woolly adelgid, have been tricky. Hemlock forests, and the hemlocks in your yard, are paying the price.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Nathan Havill, Research Entomologist, Northern Research Station, Hamden, Connecticut
Talbot Trotter, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Hamden, Connecticut

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-1-balance-and-barrier-episode-4-when-single

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Balance & Barrier: Slowing the Spongy Moth's Spread Mar 12, 2020

Insect biological control comes in all shapes and sizes — parasitoids, predators, or pathogens. So, what happens when neither a parasitoid nor a predator are feasible? Well, sometimes we have to turn away from using insects to attack insect pests, and turn to using an even smaller organism, something microscopic: a pathogen — in this case a fungus.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Andrew "Sandy" Liebhold, Research Entomologist, Northern Research Station, Morgantown, West Virginia
David Smitley, Professor, Michigan State University, Department of Entomology, East Lansing, Michigan

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-1-balance-and-barrier-episode-3-slowing-spongy

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Balance & Barrier: Wasps vs. Emerald Ash Borer Beetle Mar 05, 2020

With global trade and travel, organisms are moved around easily and abruptly, causing biological invasions. What’s our best hope to combat these rapidly spreading pests? Sometimes, it’s to do the exact same thing, to start moving around organisms — on purpose — to attack unwanted pests.

This is called ‘biological control.’ It is one of the most cost-efficient and environmentally acceptable long-term approaches for managing invasive species. And, it’s been a crucial component to managing the damage caused by the most destructive forest insect in U.S. history — the emerald ash borer beetle.

Related Research:

Scientists:

Leah Bauer, Research Entomologist, Northern Research Station, Lansing, Michigan (retired)
Roy Von Driesche, Entomologist / Conservation Biologist, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts (retired)
Jian Duan, Research Entomologist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Newark, Delaware

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-1-balance-and-barrier-episode-2-wasps-vs-emerald

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Balance & Barrier: A Slow Explosion of Damaging Forest Insects Feb 24, 2020

A biological invasion is an enormous increase in population of some kind of living organism. It happens when an organism — like an insect — arrives somewhere beyond its previous range, when it breaks out past its natural barrier, unbalancing the biological order. More than 450 non-native insects have invaded our forests and urban trees since European settlement. In this series, we'll explore four of these insects, and the scientists studying and combating these pests.

In 1957, a British ecologist, Charles S. Elton, gave three radio presentations entitled “Balance and Barrier.” Within a year, he had expanded these ideas into what was to become a bible for practitioners of a burgeoning new science: invasion biology. In a tribute to those broadcasts, this six-part series will explore biological invasions — and their repercussions — in the Midwest and the Northeast.

Related Research:

“Ecology of Forest Insect Invasions” (2017)
“A Highly Aggregated Geographical Distribution of Forest Pest Invasions in the USA” (2013)
“Historical Accumulation of Nonindigenous Forest Pests in the Continental United States” (2011)
“Economic Impacts of Non-Native Forest Insects in the Continental United States” (2011)
“The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants” (1958)

Scientists:

Therese Poland, Project Leader/Research Entomologist, Northern Research Station, Lansing, Michigan
Sandy Liebhold, Research Entomologist, Northern Research Station, Morgantown, West Virginia
Robert Haight, Research Forester, Northern Research Station, St. Paul, Minnesota

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-1-balance-and-barrier-episode-1-slow-explosion

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Welcome to “Forestcast” Feb 24, 2020

The Northern Research Station invites you inside the largest forest research organization in the world — the USDA's Forest Service — for conversations with scientists at the forefront of forest research. Forestcast brings you stories, interviews, and special in-depth anthologies of the science that's examining and explaining how forests affect our lives, and how we affect our forests.

To kick things off, a special six-part series on one of the most significant environmental threat to our forests, and the scientists studying and combating these threats. Coming soon!

Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station.

Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov