As money-makers, trees stand tall. The U.S. forest industry is an economic powerhouse. Southern states alone grow more commercial wood than any country in the world. The Center for Advanced Forestry Systems is using forestry science and collaborations among universities, industry and governments to make commercially grown forests more productive and sustainable. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), research teams at Virginia Tech, North Carolina State University and the University of Washington have teamed up through the center to study how new, slow-release fertilizers could improve growth and go easier on our waterways, and to look more closely at the role of forests in storing carbon.