Forest Service

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Longleaf Pine (pinus Palustris Mill.) Was a Dominant Tree Species Throughout Much of the Southeastern Us Coastal Plain and Lower Piedmont From Virginia to Texas. Nearly All Longleaf-dominated Stands Have Been Lost, With Many Converted Into Short-rotation Loblolly Pine (pinus Taeda L.) Plantations. However, as Land Managers Consider Ecosystem Services, Including Wildlife Habitat, Fire Suppression, Biodiversity, Carbon Sequestration, and Water Resources, Longleaf Restoration Is Gaining in Popularity. Additionally, Tree- and Stand-level Characteristics of Longleaf Stands May Make Them More Resilient to Climate Change Than Loblolly Plantations. Because the Geographical Range of Both Species Includes Sandy, Well-drained Soils to Loamy, Frequently-saturated Soils, We Currently Lack Data and Effective Models to Predict How Longleaf and Loblolly Stands Across the Region Will Respond to a Changing Climate. by Using a Network of Eddy Covariance Towers That Quantify Sub-daily Ecosystem Exchange of Water and Carbon Dioxide, We Can Quantify the Sensitivity of Forest Water Use and Carbon Sequestration to Short- and Long-term Climatic Drivers. We Will Combine These Data From Our Six Existing Sites With Published Data From Legacy Sites and Establish Two New Sites That Fill Critical Data Gaps in Stand Age/soil Combinations. These Data Will Be Used to Refine Several Ecohydrological Models That Predict Water Yield and Forest Carbon Sequestration Based on Site-specific Characteristics and Climate Drivers. This Project Will Advance Scientific Understanding of the Complex Biophysical Processes and Interactions Affecting These Pine Ecosystems and Provide Tools for Land Managers to Predict How Ecosystem Services Will Respond to a Changing Climate.