SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE HISTORICAL DISTURBANCE COMPLEX HAVE ALTERED ECOLOGICAL FUNCTION IN MANY SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTED ECOSYSTEMS. TO MAINTAIN OAK AND HICKORY AND PERPETUATE THE FOREST TYPES THAT HAVE BEEN ECOLOGICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT TO THE REGION, IT IS NECESSARY TO SEEK ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES THAT WILL RESTORE SPECIES, STRUCTURAL, AND FUNCTIONAL COMPLEXITY TO THE APPALACHIAN REGION. WE ARE PROPOSING TO EVALUATE OAK REGENERATION UNDER TRADITIONAL SILVICULTURAL SYSTEMS AND USE THESE RESULTS TO GUIDE THE DESIGN OF AN ALTERNATIVE EXPANDING-GAP APPROACH; TO INITIATE BASELINE SAMPLING IMPERATIVE IN THE LONG-TERM EVALUATION OF THE EXPANDING-GAP APPROACH; AND USE STAND- AND LANDSCAPE-SCALE SIMULATIONS TO TEST THE DEGREE TO WHICH A GAP-BASED, SILVICULTURAL APPROACH WILL INCREASE: 1) OAK REGENERATION, 2) STRUCTURAL COMPLEXITY AND SPECIES DIVERSITY; AND 3) CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND STORAGE. SPECIFICALLY WE WILL EVALUATE THE CAPACITY FOR ALTERNATIVE HARDWOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO INCREASE THE REGENERATION OF OAK AND HICKORY WITHIN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN MIXED OAK FOREST. WE WILL ASSESS THE INTERACTIONS AMONG FOREST STRUCTURE, COMPOSITION, REGENERATION AND ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES AND INTEGRATE OUR EMPIRICAL RESEARCH INTO A SPATIALLY-EXPLICIT LANDSCAPE MODEL TO SIMULATE MULTIPLE SCENARIOS OF MANAGEMENT, DISTURBANCE, AND CLIMATE INTERACTIONS. WITH STRONG SUPPORT FROM LOCAL AND REGIONAL FORESTRY PROFESSIONALS AND NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS, OUR TEAM OF UNIVERSITY AND FOREST SERVICE SCIENTISTS WILL ENSURE THAT THE RESULTS WILL REACH MANAGERS AND RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS. WE SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS AFRI PROGRAM AREA D, PRIORITY 1 WITH THE GOALS OF ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PROCESSES AND INTERACTIONS AND ASSESSING AND DEVELOPING NEW MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO IMPROVE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES.