Forest threats include wildfires. In 2015, satellites detected over 80,000 wildfire occurrences in the U.S. USFS photo.
Insects, diseases, droughts, and fire threaten forests. Each year, the U.S. Forest Service assesses threats facing the nation’s forests. Forest managers, scientists, and decision-makers rely on the annual reports.
The Southern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service recently published the 2016 Forest Health Monitoring report. The report is the 16th in the annual series, and is sponsored by the FS Forest Health Monitoring program.
“This report is a valuable resource for everyone who cares about the big picture of forest health across the United States,” says Kevin Potter.
Potter is the lead editor of the report, which Barbara Conkling co-edited. Conkling and Potter are researchers at North Carolina State University and cooperators with the SRS Eastern Forest Threat Center.
Scientists from across the Forest Service contribute to the annual report, as do university researchers, state partners, and many other experts.
“The report is the only national assessment of forest health undertaken on an annual basis,” says Potter. “It includes both short-term and long-term evaluations of our forest resources across broad regions.”
For more information, and a sound recording of Kevin Potter describing the Forest Health Monitoring report, see this blog posting from the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station.
November 1, 2017
