Ecology and Managemof a Forested Landscape: Fifty Years on the Savannah River Site

By John Kilgo and H. Ronald Pulliam

Can land degraded by centuries of agriculture be restored to something approaching its original productivity and diversity? This book tells the story of fifty years of restoration and managemof the forested landscape of the Savannah River Site, a 310-square-mile tract of land in the coastal plain of South Carolina that has been closed to the public for more than five decades. Ecology and Managemof a Forested Landscape presents for the first time a complete synthesis and summary of information on the Savannah River Site, providing a detailed portrait of the plant and animal populations and communities on the site and the effects on them of fifty years of managempractices. Contributors offer thirty-two chapters that describe the site's history, land management, physical environment, plant and animal communities, endangered species, and game species. Extensively illustrated with photos, maps, charts, and tables, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the forest managempractices that can support long-term forest recovery and restoration of native habitats. It represents for natural resource managers a detailed case study in long-term land management, and provides scientists with an in-depth analysis of the natural history and physical and biological characteristics of a southeastern forested landscape.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Island Press
• Release date: Jun 15, 2005
• ISBN: 9781597262514

John Kilgo

John C. Kilgo is research wildlife biologist, USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, Center for Forested Wetlands Research. He is stationed at the Savannah River Site. John I. Blake is assistant manager for research at USDA Forest Service-Savannah River.