Forests across the U.S. are affected by multiple factors that pose potential threats to forest health. Since 2000, rates of wood production have increased in eastern U.S. forests but decreased in western U.S. forests. There are growing concerns over widespread forest dieback in the western U.S. due to the combined effects of fire, insect and disease outbreaks, and drought.
Even in the eastern U.S., where forest productivity has increased over recent decades, shifting disturbance regimes, deer overbrowsing, and other factors have led to declines in regeneration of economically and ecologically valuable tree species. However, we lack a quantitative understanding of the geographic extent and severity of these risks across U.S. forests. The Lichstein lab (UF Biology), in collaboration with Dr. Grant Domke (US Forest Service) and Dr. Dan Johnson (UF IFAS), was awarded a USDA grant to use national-scale forest inventory data to quantify and understand trends in tree mortality, growth, and recruitment in U.S. forests.