The Southern Forest: Geography, Ecology, and Silviculture

America's 754 million acres of forest constitute more than a major geographical feature. They are intricately woven into the national economy and culture-providing a fifth of the nation's industrial raw material, protecting and regulating its watersheds, providing grazing range for a sizeable portion of livestock, producing most of its game and much of its nonsport wildlife, and attracting millions of tourists annually.The Southern Forest: Geography, Ecology, and Silviculture examines in-depth the forests of the South, providing a comprehensive description of the region from which most of the nation's wood for housing and paper will be grown and harvested in the future. Closing the old-growth forests of the Northwest and reduction of harvests in the tropics necessitate the U.S. South intensifying tree growth to accommodate society's requirements. This book provides the information for practicing foresters, researchers, and students to increase forest growth dramatically for the many forest types and in the various subregions without detrimentally affecting soil, species diversity, or long-term aesthetics.The four factors of site-edaphic, biotic, climatic, and physiographic-are given special attention. Over 200 photographs; an extensive listing of literature citations; and appendixes of tree, insect, and disease agents are included. With files of field notes and photographs, Walker and Oswald revisit-and take the reader along to grasp-the South's rich forests. A land manager will need no other reference to the soils, biotic components, climate or physiology of the region.

Laurence C. Walker, as a research forester for government, universities, and industry, worked extensively on herbicide use, nutrient fertilization, and policy matters. For 13 years, he was dean of the school of forestry (now the Arthur Temple College of Forestry) at Stephen F. Austin State University. Subsequently, he served as the Lacy Hunt professor of Forestry, retiring with emeritus rank in 1988. Dr. Walker held degrees from Pennsylvania State, Yale, and Syracuse universities. Consulting assignments on every forested continent included association with the U.S. Forest Service, Peace Corps, private environmental agencies, the Conservation Foundation, the National Plant Food Institute, the National Park Service, colleges, forest landowners, the wood-suing industry, attorneys, and state agencies. Among his honors were Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Fellow, SAF; Fellow, the American Scientific Affiliation; and Distinguished Eagle Scout (for service to one's profession for men who were Eagle Scouts as youths). His publications included eight books and more than 150 journal articles and textbook chapters. During the final preparation for this book, on July 28, 1999, Dr. Laurence C. Walker, its senior author, died. Brian P. Oswald is Associate Professor of Fire Ecology, Silviculture, and Range Management at the Arthur Temple College of Forestry, Stephen F. Austin State University. He earned a BS in Forestry from Michigan State University, an MS in Forestry from Northern Arizona University, and a Ph.D in Forestry, Wildlife, and Range Sciences from the University of Idaho. Prior to joining the faculty at SFA, he was Assistant Professor of Forest Ecology and Silviculture at Alabama AandM University, and spent five years teaching forestry and range management at a community college on the Navajo Reservation. Dr. Oswald has published some 10 refereed articles and more than 10 proceedings manuscripts.