Forestcast
Explore the largest forest research organization in the world alongside scientists studying, questioning, and solving some of today's most compelling forest issues. Through stories, interviews, and special series, learn what’s happening in your forests, and where those forest ecosystems might be headed. Season 4: Afire A 360-degree introduction to fire from a scientific standpoint. The story of how fire research shapes our landscapes and our lives. Season 3: Women of Research Highlighting women’s perspectives in research over the past 50 years, scientists share stories of mentors and mentorship, motherhood, rural and urban stewardship, passions for science, leadership, and beyond. Season 2: Backcross 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, a long-term resistance. Season 1: Balance & Barrier More than 450 non-native insects have invaded our forests and urban trees since European settlement. Come explore four of these insects, and the scientists studying and combating these pests. A Window of Resurgence for Red Spruce: 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—ere 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. The Two-Sided Story of Periodical Cicadas: Two scientists—one who’s tracked the aboveground movements of 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. Flying the Nuthatch Home: 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. Discover more at fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast What started as a podcast produced by the Northern Research Station focusing on the Northeast and Midwest has now expanded to cover a wide range of forest topics from across USDA Forest Service Research and Development. Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast.
Episodes
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 o...
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 scientist...
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...
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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 ...
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 experi...
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 ...
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.
R...
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 A...
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:
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:
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...
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...
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 gras...
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 conn...
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