Entomology Research. The U.S. Forest Service provides fundamental knowledge and technology to better understand how native and non-native insects, diseases, microorganisms, and non-native invasive weeds affect forest and range health, and conversely, how forest conditions and environmental stresses influence insect, disease, and exotic weed damage. This research provides basic biological and ecological information necessary to better predict and control pest problems, and to restore ecosystems degraded by native and non-native invasive species.

Quantitative Ecology Research is the integration of disciplines to design experiments, analyze results and synthesize and make predictions about complex systems. Research is focused on quantifying forest and rangeland system processes at multiple scales, integrating our understanding of forest and rangeland system function and process at multiple scales, developing management strategies based on this integrated understanding, developing prediction systems of forest and rangeland response to support decision-making and forest and stand management.

Fire Systems Research and development is needed to better understand and predict the behavior of large fires, understand the interactions of wildfires with other disturbances, evaluate the effectiveness and environmental safety of different fuel treatments, estimate the ecological, economic, and social impacts of wildfires, evaluate the human and economic implications of different suppression strategies, track the large-scale build up of fuels and residential developments, and develop warning systems and mitigation measures to assure the safety of fire crews and residents.

Fire Ecology Research and Management. The challenge facing fire research and management is how best to balance the beneficial and damaging effects of fire to achieve healthy, productive ecosystems with minimal negative impacts on society. As land managers work to reduce the risks of catastrophic fires and restore ecosystem health in areas subject to years of fire suppression, scientists work to better understand wildland fire -- its interactions with ecosystems, the atmosphere, and the economy -- and the effects of alternate approaches to fire management. This knowledge will help sustain fire-dependent ecosystems and the people who live with and near them.

Microbiology Research. This position is devoted to understanding the role, and identification of, microbes (mostly bacteria and fungi) and arthropods (mostly insects) in controlling the vital process that control forest and grassland ecosystems. Forest Service R&D is focusing on the critical process of decomposition of woody debris, belowground nutrient transformation, and interactions with forest microbes and arthropods with the trees. We are also developing monitoring techniques to allow forest and rangeland managers to understand what is normal and thus, tolerated and what is abnormal and thus needs immediate intervention by managers.

Silviculture and Plant Genetics Research. Silviculture research is applied forest ecology. It forms the ecological knowledge base for forest management and conservation. Silviculturists study how to regenerate forest trees and other plants, how they grow through time, and the interactions

of stands of trees with other factors such as the environment, wildlife, diseases and insects. Plant genetics forms the evolutionary knowledge base for forest and grassland management and conservation. Research range from
developing genetic information to assist in the conservation of rare and endangered plants, to developing technologies and science to assist breeding commercial forest tree species, to basic understanding of tree genome.

Rangeland Ecology Research. Rangelands provide habitat to a wide array of native wildlife and plants, high quality water, forage for domestic livestock and wildlife, and an assortment recreational opportunities. Forest Service research provides the scientific knowledge and technology to advance the understanding of our nation's grasslands, prairies, shrublands, and deserts. Research priorities include monitoring, rangeland sustainability and health, restoring the health and productivity of degraded rangelands, enhancing the functioning of riparian systems, habitat enhancement for sensitive species, the influence of rangeland conditions on non-native weeds and the affect of weeds on rangeland health, and vegetation classification of our rangeland systems.

Global Change Research. The Forest Service Global Change Research Program (FSGCRP) is a part of the US Government's Global Change Research Program. FSGCRP provides the scientific basis to address four broad questions concerning global change and forest ecosystems (USDA Forest Service, 1993): what processes in forest ecosystems are sensitive to physical and chemical changes in the atmosphere; how will future physical and chemical climate changes influence the structure, function, and productivity of forest and related ecosystems; what are the implications for forest management; and how must forest management activities be altered to sustain forest productivity, health, and diversity?

Forest Pathology is the study of how various microorganisms interact with their hosts and each other, in a forest or urban setting, to produce undesirable or desirable conditions from an ecological or economic view point. Forest pathologists often work with colleagues in entomology, silviculture, soil science and other disciplines to understand the ecological and economic influences of targeted microorganisms. Emphasis is placed on research to protect the Nation's forests from catastrophic losses and to enhance forest sustainability and healthy watersheds. Examples of forest pathology research include: development of hosts resistant to pathogens, use of biotechnology in the identification of microorganisms, development of desirable wildlife habitat with pathogenic fungi, reduction of fuels for catastrophic wildfires, mitigation of disease using silvicultural treatments, and understanding the influence of air pollutants on forest decline.

Forest Operations. Without new technologies, managers of both public and private forest lands are not able to fully implement practices needed to provide a full array of values and services, while protecting the future health and productivity of our nation's forest resources. Improved and new forest operations systems and technologies help to: better protect wildlife habitat, harvest trees on seasonally wet lands, reduce erosion and stream sedimentation from forest roads, elevate aesthetics of future forest activities through computer-aided visualization, and prevent major fire or insect and disease outbreaks by thinning unnaturally dense forests.