Recent Research:
Since 2002, I have been studying the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) on the Highland Rim (upland area surrounding the Nashville Basin).  During the 1930s the chestnut Blight swept through this region and killed every standing American chestnut.  However, a few very rare root sprouts persist on the Highland Rim even today 70 years after nearly all the standing trunks died.  My students and I have recorded site characteristics of all American chestnuts that we find.  All live chestnut stems have been measured as to diameter and height while dead chestnut stems have been cut and examined to determine the rate of growth and the age at death. With a GPS instrument, we have precisely recorded the locations of over 3000 American chestnut trees on the Highland Rim of Middle Tennessee and South Central Kentucky.  All of this data has been stored in an Excel spreadsheet file.  By analyzing this database we will be able to determine the  status of the American chestnut on the Highland Rim.

Past Research:
My past research has involved several ecological studies of the forest communities at Land Between the Lakes, Radnor Lake Natural Area and the Taylor Hollow Natural Area.

Photo of Joe Schibig standing next to one of the tallest American chestnuts in Kentucky.
(Photo made in December, 2002)

Publications:

Fei, S., J. Schibig, and M. Vance.  Spatial habitat modeling of American chestnut at Mammoth Cave National Park.
     Forest Ecology and Management.  2007 (in press).  View the paper

Schibig, J., M. Vance, S. Cumming, L. Fly, C. Neel, and J. Torkelson.  Ecology of the American chestnut and
     Allegheny Chinquapin on the Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky and Tennessee.  Journal of the American Chestnut
     Foundation.  20: No. 2: 44-50.  

Schibig, L. J., C. Neel, M. Hill, M. Vance, and J. Torkelson. 2005.  Ecology of American chestnut in Kentucky
     and Tennessee.  Journal of the American Chestnut Foundation. 19: No. 1: 42-48.  Available at:
     http://www.acf.org/journal.htm   (Click on Volume XIX No. 1 Spring 2005).

Vance, J. M. and L. J. Schibig.  2005.  Ecology of American chestnut at Mammoth Cave National Park. Page 12
     In:  Abstracts of the Eleventh Annual Symposium on the Natural History of Lower Tennessee and Cumber-
     land River Valleys.  The Center for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN.  Available
     online at:  http://www.apsu.edu/field_biology/center/Symposium%202005/2005%20Symposium%20Abstracts.doc

Schibig, L. J., and M. J. Hill. 2005.  Ecology of American Chestnut at Land Between the Lakes.  Page 13.  In: 
     Abstracts of the Eleventh Annual Symposium on the Natural History of Lower Tennessee And Cumberland
     River Valleys.  The Center for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN.  Availabe online at:
     http://www.apsu.edu/field_biology/center/Symposium%202005/2005%20Symposium%20Abstracts.doc

Schibig, L. J. 2004.  The American chestnut still lives in Tennessee.  The Tennessee Conservationist.  70 (5):24-27.
     Text available at:  http://www2.volstate.edu/volstate.edu/jschibig/tennesseeconservationistl.htm

Schibig, L. J., R. R. Barber, M. J. Hill, J. L. Katzenmiller, C. Neel, J. C. Torkelson, and J. M. Vance. 2003.  Status
     of Castanea dentata on the northern Highland Rim of Kentucky and Tennessee.  In:  Proceedings of the Tenth
     Annual Symposium on the Natural History of Lower Tennessee and Cumberland River Valleys.  The Center for
     Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN.

Schibig, L. J. 2002.  The Hickories of Land Between the Lakes.  Pp. 335-351. In.  Chester, E. W. and J. S. Fralish
     (eds.).  Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky and Tennessee:  Four Decades of Tennessee Valley Authority Steward-
     ship.  The Center for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville. TN.

Schibig, L. J. 1999.  Structure of forest communities at Taylor Hollow Nature Preserve, Sumner County, Tennessee.
     Pp. 135-145.  In. Hamilton, S. W., D. S. White, E. W. Chester, and M. T. Finley (eds.).  Proceedings of the
     Eighth Annual Symposium on the Natural History of Lower Tennessee and Cumberland River Valleys.  The Center
     for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN.

Chester, E. W., and L. J. Schibig.  1997.  Characterization of some remnant bottomland forests of the lower Cumber-
     land River in Tennessee and Kentucky: 2.  The St. Stevens site in Lyon County, Kentucky.  Pp. 175-185. In: 
     Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Symposium on the Natural History of Lower Tennessee and Cumberland River
     Valleys.  The Center for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN.

Schibig, L. J. 1996.  Twenty years of forest change at Radnor Lake Natural Area, Davidson County, Middle Tenn-
     essee.  Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science. 71 (3):57-72.

Chester, E. W., R. J. Jensen, and L. J. Schibig.  1995. Forest communities of Montgomery and Stewart counties,
     northwestern Middle Tennessee.  Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 70:82-91.

Chester, E. W. and L. J. Schibig.  1993.  Characterization of some remnant bottomland forests of the lower
     Cumberland River in Tennessee and Kentucky: 1.  Introduction and the Cross Creeks site in Stewart county,
     Tennessee.  Pp. 65-75. In:  Hamilton, S. W., E. W. Chester, and A. F. Scott (eds.).  Proceedings of the Fifth
     Annual Symposium on the Natural History of the Lower Tennessee and Cumberland River Valleys.  The Center
     for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN.

Schibig, L. J., R. J. Jensen, and E. W. Chester.  1990.  The Fagaceae and Juglandaceae of Land Between the Lakes:
     A review.  Pp. 129-145.  In Hamilton, S. W., and M. T. Finley (eds.).  Proceedings of the Third Annual
     Symposium on th Natural History of Lower Tennessee and Cumberland River Valleys.  The Center for Field
     Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN.

Chester, E. W. and L. J. Schibig.  1989.  Characterization of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) stands in the Tennessee
     Valley Authority's Land Between the Lakes, Northwestern Tennessee.  P. 8 in:  Abstracts of the 15th Annual
     Scientific Research Meeting, Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  U. S. Park, May 25-26, 1989.  U. S.
     Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Southeast regional Office, Atlanta, Ga.  30303.

Schibig, L. J., and E. W. Chester.  1988.  Vegetation and floristic characterization of a mixed hardwood-shortleaf
     pine stand in Stewart County, Tennessee.  Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 63:83-88.

Chester, E. W., R. J. Jensen, L. J. Schibig, and S. Simoni.  1987.  The Nut Trees of Land Between the Lakes. 
     The Center for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN.

Schibig, L. J., and J. Burkett.  1979.  The vertebrate fauna of Taylor Hollow Natural area, Sumner County,
     Tennessee.  Research paper submitted to the Nature Conservancy. 10 p.

Schibig, L. J., and E. W. Chester.  1979.  A note on the distribution of Styrax americana (Styracaceae) in Tennessee.
     Sida.  8:213.

Carpenter, L.,  J. Turner, and L. J. Schibig.  1976.  Forest communities of the Radnor Lake Natural Area, Davidson
     County, Tennessee.  Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 51:68-72.

Jensen, R. J., L. J. Schibig, and E. W. Chester.  1973.  The forest communities of the Northwestern Highland Rim,
     Kentucky and Tennessee.  Pp. 15-16.  In:  Abstracts of the International Geobotany Conference.  The University
     of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.

Schibig, L. J. 1972.  An Ecological and Taxonomic study of the Juglandaceae on the Northwestern Highland Rim.
     M. S. thesis, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN.