LISTEN: How Replanting Forests Can Improve Ecological Benefits and Empower Landowners

[00:00] Intro/Outro
Welcome to the Arkansas Food, Farms and Forests Podcast. The podcast bringing you the latest on food, fiber and forestry research from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

[00:17] Jenifer:
Welcome to Food, Farms and Forests. I’m Jenifer Fouch. Today we are learning about the research related to the project Restoring Bottomland Hardwood Forests, which aims to plant about 600 acres of bottomland hardwood oak forests in Arkansas in the next 3 to 5 years. Joining us is Dr. Nana Tian, a researcher for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and an associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Dr. Tian, thanks for being here with us.

[00:45] Nana:
I’m glad to be here. Thank you.

[00:47] Jenifer:
So last time here on Food, Farms and Forests, we talked about this project, its goals, the history that led to it being needed with Dr. Michael Blazier, who is the dean at the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources. And today we are diving into the research with Dr. Tian, who is the principal investigator and the lead on this project. So, Dr. Tian, the Restoring Bottomland Hardwood Forests Project aims to accomplish three main things – plant five to 600 acres of oak forests by recruiting ten or more small, underserved landowners, quantify the ecological and economic benefits of hardwood plantations in terms of timber and carbon, and then help landowners manage the land and market these commodities. That’s a big project. It sounds ambitious. And it sounds really cool. Let’s start by focusing on your research specifically and how it contributes to this project. Because we hear these big goals. But there’s a lot of scientific research and data and measuring that goes on behind the scenes. Can you explain what your research is and how it’s contributing to these goals?

[02:02] Nana:
For sure. So basically, from my perspective, I just focus on evaluating the ecological as well as the economic benefits that are provided by implementing the restoration practices on those lands. This type of wetlands actually provide many important ecosystem services, such as timber products, you know many important habitats for many wildlife, water regulation, as well as carbon sequestration. So, you know, so speaking of those ecosystem services, some of them are, you know, monetary services, we call it, because it has … there is a market price, for example, for the timber products. But there are also some non-monetary ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, such as water regulation and how can we put a dollar value on those benefits? So that’s what my research really is contributing to this project. You know think about this, putting a dollar value on those non-monetary services actually can help landowners, you know, to know how much kind of benefits they really provided from restoring this type of forestland. And also it can help the small landowners, underserved landowners to improve their economic status because, you know, one important objective for this project is also focusing on marketing for what we call them climate-smart commodities. So, that’s my research part.

[03:45] Jenifer:
So how do you do that? How do you measure especially – as you mentioned, you know, the economics might be a little bit easier to measure because we can talk about the price and the cost of timber and, in the market and all of that. But how do we measure the carbon sequestration, the water quality, as you mentioned?

[04:08] Nana:
That’s a really good question, actually. So, you know, from the economic makeup part, actually we do have some different series or measures to measure. So, for example, one typical measure is called willingness to pay. Basically, we’re just looking back to some surveys and trying to, you know, using the survey, as a quantitative or kind of data collection way. And after that, and that way, we were just, you know, using some more data analysis method to try to estimate or put a dollar value on those non-monetary ecosystem services. You know, they are already very commonly used in this regard. So generally speaking, we just, you know, have those kind of methods already.

[04:58] Jenifer:
And then how do you measure the economic side of it, with the timber cost and things like that?

[05:05] Nana:
So basically, you know, planting, for example, for the Pine Tree Research Station, the demonstrating site, that’s a 40 acres site. So, when we plant them, you know, we will have the seedling part. So, we know how much it would cost to buy the seedling, right? And then we know the transportation costs and all the costs that, you know, we will know, we will record them. So that’s the costs part. And then for the economic part, you know, ten years or 15 years or 20 years later, we can estimate what the biomass growth. And then, we have the, you know, the market price. There are a lot of different sources to record the market price for different timber products. So that’s just kind of the logical way how to get to the economic benefits from the different timber products.

[05:59] Jenifer:
I know you recently did a, had a visit to one of the sites where some of the trees will be planted. This will be the Pine Tree Research Station where some planting will begin this fall, I believe is what Dr. Blazier told me. How did that visit go? What does a site visit look like at this stage of the project? And when will planting begin and what’s that process like?

[06:26] Nana:
So, from there, we have a 40-acre site to plant. And there are, according to our plan, actually, we will plant at that site, starting October, next month. So, on that site, we have two different planting methods. One is called potted planting and the other is bare-root planting. So basically, the 40 acres, half of them, basically 20 acres, will be planted using bare-root, and then another 20 acres will be container or potted planting. And there’s a major reason for using those two different planting methods. That’s that they’ll try to answer another research question. So, basically just try to say what is the ecological as well as the economic trade-off between the different planting methods, including, you know, later what’s the growth difference from the different planting measures. So, technically, we call it the site preparation activities. So, such as spraying, mowing, and also subsoil. So, that’s basically the three major site preparation works that we will do for that site. Right now, we already have finished the spraying there. And the next step will be mowing, and after mowing, so basically subsoil and planting. We just try to figure out all the details about, you know, the planting activity as well into the site preparation activity.

[07:58] Jenifer:
Okay. Very cool. So, planting to start in October this fall. When will be the next site visit and what will you be looking for?

[08:09] Nana:
So basically, for this site, we will do the site visit at least a few times a year because, like what I mentioned, you know, we do want to answer the research questions. So, we need to measure the tree growth or even the site survival rate, you know, next year, fall, at least two times. Just to try to say, to collect the data to, you know, to answer what works … really the ecological difference between the two different planting methods.
So, and also, you know, for that site we will use it as a demonstration site for our future, you know, outreach kind of activities. Maybe we will show it to landowners. So, I think, you know, with that being said, that site will be monitored and least two or three times a year.

[09:05] Jenifer:
So, what types of trees are being planted? Is it just oak trees? Are there specific types of oak trees and why oak?

[09:14] Nana:
Red oak is basically the major focus of our project. And there are different reasons for focusing on red oak. Because, you know, it is the most important tree species for the bottomland hardwood forests. And from the wildlife perspective red oaks actually provide the major food for waterfowl. Then, from the timber products perspective, red oaks can produce very high-quality timber products in the future. So that’s basically the major reason why we want to focus on red oaks.
We will plant a combination of different kinds of red oak species. just to try to train the main species to grow well in this system. So, it’s a combination of red oak species – persimmon, black gum, sycamore, white oak, overcup oak, as well as Northern red oak. So, the major species that we will plant on this site. Black gum and persimmon actually we treated them in the training species to train the red oak to grow well in the future, so just, you know, increases their computation.

[10:32] Jenifer:
Okay. That’s interesting. That’s interesting. And then you said you will be doing site visits a few times a year. What is success going to look like once you step on a site, what do you want to see to say yes, this is working?

[10:47] Nana:
That’s a good one. So basically, this year, we will plant some of them and then study next year. So, we will measure the growth rate to see how fast they grow, how well they grow, which basically refers to the survival rate. So, yesterday, I talked to one of our team members, and I asked, ‘What’s the normal kind of survival rate for red oaks’? And my guess is 80%. But he mentioned that you know, 90% at least. So, it’s a good indication for the survival rate. So, you know next year obviously, we will check on it to see what’s the survival rate, you know, of the planting and also the growth rate.
And not only next year; in the future, how many years because on that site, even though our project length is about seven years, but you know, for that site we will keep there, and then we will not harvest it probably until, you know, 20, 30 years later, you know until it becomes some more marketable kind of timber products. So, with that being said, we will have a really good record for the growth rate, you know between the two different planting methods. Again, you know, for the further kind of future, it will make the research very solid.

[12:15] Jenifer:
And there are six other researchers on this project that you are overseeing. Each of them is focusing on different aspects of this long-term project. You mentioned water quality is one of them, and there many other aspects. Can you talk about the other researchers and their research the different aspects they are looking at, and how it’s going to contribute to this project?

[12:40] Nana:
Sure. So, for this project, we have two different collaborator organizations. So, the first one is the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. So, they have a program called Keep It in the Family program. So, the folks there will help us connect to the small landowners or underserved landowners.
And another collaboration university is called Texas A&M University. So, the researcher from there is Dr. Gan. Jianbang Gan, actually. So, he has a lot of experience in the carbon credit system establishment. So, carbon is a very important topic in this project. So including the carbon quantification, carbon, you know, economic benefits, over carbon, as well as how to establish the carbon credit system. So. So that’s a system we will try to establish from this project. So, he has a lot of expertise in that regard.
And then, other researchers from UAM, for example, Dr. Pelkki, is forest economics, and he basically does work on the ecological benefits. So, you know, try to estimate the non-monetary kind of value from the services.
And then, you know, Dr. Doug Osborne. He is a wildlife professor. So, he will focus on, you know … we know this type of wetland actually provides a very important habitat for the waterfowl. So, we know waterfowl hunting is actually a very important activity culturally and economically in Arkansas. So, his research basically tries to say how, you know, this unique wetland type contributes to the waterfowl population. So that’s basically his research. 

And then we have a soil scientist, her name is Katy Dick. Actually, she is working on the carbon quantification from the soil. Because soil is actually also a very important part of the carbon benefits, so that’s why she is working on quantifying, you know, what’s the difference between different land uses for the soil carbon? So that’s her part.
And we, too, have another researcher, his name is Jacob Hackman, from, you know, the UAEX position. So, he basically just, you know, focusing on, you know, working with me together on the extension and education part. So, that’s basically kind of the last objective of this project.

[15:41] Jenifer:
Also, I want to mention before we go that this restoration project is supported by a $3.71 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, and this is through the partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. Dr. Tian, one last question for you before we go. What was that like for you to see that this grant was coming to UAM and for you to be the lead on this huge project that is going to have benefits for decades and decades to come.

[16:15] Nana:
Well, when I see, you know, the announcement from the USDA, the first kind of feeling is just like, wow, incredible. And so excited. Just really, I mean, such a big grant to bring to UAM and to Arkansas. That’s really my, you know, my honor. That’s, you know, as a researcher that’s what I want to do. But at the same time, I just feel like, wow, you know, the pressure. How should I do this? I mean, you know… but then later, I just realized I have a team here. Not just myself. Right? I have a very good a team with different expertise and different aspects. So that, you know, when I talk with the team members, oh, this feels so exciting. No worries, we will work this out. So, it’s a very exciting project. And we do hope that through this project we can attract more landowners to participate.

[17:22] Jenifer:
Very cool. Yes, I’m sure it’s been a lot of paperwork, a lot of research. And now you’re actually putting the seeds in the ground and seeing where it goes. Those are all of the questions I have for you. Is there anything else you want to talk a little bit more in detail about the research that I didn’t ask?

[17:41] Nana:
I think, you know, for this project, it’s … we call it an integrated project. So, we do have an extension component and also, you know, the research part. So basically, the three major research objectives, just like you mentioned, evaluate the ecological economic benefits for the climate-smart practices or restoring the bottomland hardwood forests. Another thing is to try to quantify the climate-smart commodities, just like the ecosystem services I just mentioned – the monetary or the non-monetary. And another thing I kind of wanted to highlight, you know, for this project is, you know, marketing the climate-smart commodities is another important objective. So, you know, the marketing, you know, we will develop some more key marketing kind of strategy, how to, you know, help the small landowners or underserved landowners to market the different kinds of ecosystem services. So marketing them actually, you know, can help those landowners either to improve their economic status or helping them to retain the working lands right now.
[19:03] Jenifer:
Well, Dr. Tian, thank you so much for your time and sharing your expertise with us.

[19:08] Nana:
Thank you.

[19:09] Jenifer:
That was Dr. Nana Tian, a researcher for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and an associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and principal investigator on the Restoring Bottomland Hardwood Forest Project.

[19:26] Intro/Outro
The Arkansas Food Farms and Forests Podcast is produced by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Visit aaes.uada.edu for more information.