Researsch

We study how stand structure, competition, regeneration, and disturbance shape forest development and how silvicultural treatments can be used to guide those processes toward management objectives. Current work includes long-term forest change on the Sewanee Domain and applied questions in regeneration, thinning, and stand development. 

A major focus of the lab is measuring and quantifying forest change. We use permanent plots, historical inventories, growth measurements, and statistical modeling to evaluate changes in species composition, stand structure, timber volume, biomass, and carbon through time. 

We are interested in how forest growth connects to the harvesting, utilization, and value of forest resources. Research in this area includes forest operations, timber procurement and supply, wood properties and products, harvesting systems, and the economic and operational decisions that shape working forests. 

We are developing research focused on the silviculture and management of shortleaf pine on the Cumberland Plateau. Areas of interest include stand establishment, regeneration, competition, growth, thinning, and the use of silvicultural treatments to maintain or expand shortleaf pine within mixed pine–hardwood landscapes.

We examine the role of Eucalyptus plantations both as highly productive working forests and as part of a broader landscape matrix. In addition to their direct role in pulpwood production and economic return, plantations can influence land-use patterns, forest connectivity, secondary forest development, and the distribution of natural forest across the landscape. 

Our longleaf pine research emphasizes forest mensuration, growth and yield, and quantitative tools for improving management of planted stands. Previous work has included development of individual-tree taper, volume, and green-weight equations to support timber inventory and management decisions.

Our tropical forest research focuses on natural and secondary forests of the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) in southern Bahia, Brazil. We study forest recovery, stand development, biomass accumulation, and landscape change, with particular interest in how natural forests persist and regenerate within intensively managed landscapes.