Through the advice and counsel of SFRP's Science Committee the Partnership chose Carbon Management; Economic Impact of Southern Forest; Water Quality and Yield from Forests; Biomass; and Biodiversity as their priority research/technology topics for FY 2005/06. With these selections in place, the Science Committee appointed Technical Teams to further investigate the issues and to begin writing research grant proposals in support of the issues. The respective team leaders are: Eric Vance - National Council for Air and Stream Improvement; Steve Bullard - University of Kentucky; Vacant; Larry Biles / Mike Rauscher/ Bill Hubbard ---Southern Forest Research Partnership, USDA Forest Service, and Southern Region Extension Forestry; and Bently Wigley / David Guynn --- National Council for Air and Stream Improvement and Clemson University. Each of these leaders has formed teams and began dialogue around the issues. The research/technology transfer questions being considered and outreach activities promoted are:

1. What are the major direct and indirect effects of managed forests and wood processing systems on the global carbon cycle? How can current and emerging forest technologies be deployed most effectively to enhance sequestration and biomass energy production while sustaining biodiversity? What are the most important economic and technological barriers to enhancing forest carbon sequestration and biomass energy production? Considerations include soil and root carbon, site disturbances, productivity, fate of harvested materials and residues, measuring and increasing carbon sequestration and carbon credits.

2. What is the total, commodity and non-commodity, value of forests and forestry to the region? Considerations include how is forest industry restructuring and international competition affecting local and regional economies, what is the value of forest based outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing, to the South's economy, what would happen to the region if the forest resources and forest industries were lost, and what is the influence of government monetary and tax policy on southern forests?

3. In what ways, and by how much, do forests and forestry practices affect water quality and quantity across the region? Considerations include the effects of forest fertilization on water quality and aquatic biota with specific reference to scaling up from fields and stands to landscapes, and the fate of fertilizers applied to forest stands.

4. Teaching foresters, forest educators, forest landowners and managers, timber harvesting professionals, and rural community development leaders and practitioners about emerging bioenergy and biobased forest product markets. The project is advancing knowledge about new markets with specific reference to growing, harvesting, and processing forest-based feedstocks in an economically and environmentally sustainable fashion. Moreover, the project is encouraging utilization of forest biomass resources to enhance forest health, increase the use of renewable energy sources, and provide opportunities for rural economic and community development.

5. What are the relationships between disturbance (e.g., management, hurricanes) and invasive species dynamics? How do you predict which species (plants, animals, pathogens) and how many of each species might result in simplification of native forest ecosystems? How can we identify which species will co-exist with native species, displace native species, or vice versa?

At the close of the discussion and deliberation phase, the Technical Teams will initiate a search for funding opportunities and prepare responses to these opportunities. The anticipated funding sources are government agencies and the philanthropic community.