Forest Ecosystem Branch
Chief: Thomas W. Doyle, Ph.D.
(doylet@usgs.gov)
Phone: 337 266-8647
Fax: 337 266-8592
Overview
Provide an understanding of ecological processes and regeneration requirements for different types of forested wetlands, develop landscape simulation models that describe forested wetland development and resilience to various climatic disturbances, and investigate the restoration potential of forested wetlands within the southern United States and abroad.
Capabilities
Issues
Most forest research at the National Wetlands Research Center focuses on forested wetlands, the most common and widespread wetland type in the southern United States. Forested wetlands include bottomland hardwood forests, cypress-tupelo swamps, and mangrove forests, among others, and are of great economic and ecological value. Despite drastic losses last century (80% of bottomland hardwoods in the lower Mississippi Valley alone), southern forested wetlands still account for more than a third of all wetlands in the contiguous 48 states. Forested wetlands also provide an important source of livelihood, income, and protection to societies throughout the world.
Locations
- USGS National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette, Louisiana
Return to NWRC
Organizational Structure
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey