The Forest Service Experimental Forest and Range Network A total of 80, in 32 states and Puerto Rico...
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The Forest Service Experimental Forest and Range Network A total of 80, in 32 states and Puerto Rico Designated through an official “Establishment Record.”
The Forest Service Experimental Forest and Range Network A
total of 80, in 32 states and Puerto Rico Designated through an
official Establishment Record. This official designation includes
all locations where establishment records have been prepared and
approved by the Chief of the Forest Service according to FSM 4062
direction. Cooperating Experimental Forests and Ranges (four,
including Olympic EF)
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Origins 1881 Division of Forestry in USDA 1886 Bernard Fernow
becomes chief of the Division of Forestry 1896 National Academy of
Sciences appoints commission to investigate Forest Reserves 1897
President Cleveland creates 13 Forest Reserves with about 21
million acres 1897 Organic Act identifies purposes of reserves,
regulates uses, provides for protection of stream flow, authorizes
sale of timber 1898 Biltmore Forest School in North Carolina 1898
Gifford Pinchot succeeds Fernow 1898 first 4 year program in
Forestry, at Cornell 1900 Society of American Foresters established
1900 Yale School of Forestry established 1905 U.S. Forest
established 1907 National Forest lands grow to 150 million acres
through Roosevelt midnight forests executive order
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Historical Context of EFRs 1903 I believe that there is no body
of men who have it in their power today to do a greater service to
the country than those engaged in the scientific study of, and
practical application of, approved methods of forestry for the
preservation of the woods of the United States.
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Beginnings of EFRs 1908 the first experiment station is
established at Fort Valley, Arizona the experiment stations in the
West are now building the scientific foundation upon which the
future practice of American forestry is to rest. Raphael Zon; 1st
Chief of the Bureau of Silvics, U.S. Forest Service Fort Valley
Experimental Forest, Arizona
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EFRs Across the United States Oldest is Fort Valley EF in
Arizona (1908) Newest is Heen Latinee EF in Alaska (2009) 62 are on
NFS lands, the remainder are managed solely by Forest Service
R&D, state lands, one BLM and one private Well represented
across the ecological domains of the US, only four of 20 forested
ecological domains are underrepresented
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Sizes of Experimental Forests and Ranges
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EFRs offer some key advantages largely unavailable at other
research field sites These are permanent facilities dedicated to
research activities.
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Key Advantages Historical environmental records and research
data span up to 100 years and provide a wealth of information from
which new studies can draw. Methods of Cutting plots,
Stanislaus-Tuolomne Exp Forest 1929
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Key Advantages Long term research is feasible and enabled.
Manipulative field studies, testing management ideas, are
encouraged. This is one of the fundamental reasons for establishing
these sites and sets them apart from almost any other field site..
Forest thinning experiments, Teakettle EF
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Key Advantages New studies, complimenting and conterminous with
existing studies, are feasible and enabled. Both basic and applied
research activities are encouraged and enabled. H. J. Andrews
Experimental Forest NSF Long-term Ecological Research Site
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Key Advantages Land and Resource managers are typically
involved in both articulating the research and monitoring questions
as well as enabling the execution of the work through a variety of
logistical support activities. Research on the Desert Experimental
Range addresses the needs of range managers
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Key Advantages Many sites provide demonstration plots or stands
to illustrate the results of research findings for educational
purposes. Logistical support (housing, meeting rooms, laboratories,
data, maps, etc.) is available at many EFRs. Thinning/prescribed
fire Demonstration plot at Sagehen Experimental Forest U.C.
Berkeley Field Station at Sagehen Experimental Forest
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Primary Research Themes Silviculture/Forest Ecology Water Fire
Grasslands and ranges Soil conservation Wildlife Atmospheric
science and climate change Ecological restoration Hubbard Brook EF
New Hampshire
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Recent Additions to Focus on EFRs Urban ecology and forestry
Human uses Social sciences Humanities, arts Bonanza Creek EF
Alaska
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Evaluation Criteria for EFRs Scientific Merit Partnerships
Available Scientific Infrastructure Site Management Research
products generated at EFR Cross-site, regional, and international
activities Access Data management Ecological Importance Education
and Outreach Activities Support from National Forest (or other
host)
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Types of Networks in the EFR System Network in name (e.g. MAB
locations) Environmental Monitoring (e.g. National Phenology
Network) Experimentation Network (e.g. silviculture experiments)
Synthesis Networks (e.g. Quantifying Uncertainty in Ecosystem
Studies (QUEST))
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Current Network Activities Clim DB Hydro DB EcoTrends
StreamChem DB AmeriFlux Federal Pollinator Network Forest Service
Climate Tower Network Monitoring Climate Change Impacts on EFRs
Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET) National Ecological
Observatoryu Network (NEON) National Atmospheric Depositions
Program (NADP) Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) USA National
Phenology Network (NPN) Forest Inventory and Analysis on EFRs
Phenocam Regional Environmental Sensor Network EFR Climate
Synthesis Hydroclimatic Effects on Ecosystem Response Integrating
Landscape-scale Forest Measurements Long-Term Ecological Research
(LTER) Long-Term Soil Productivity Study (LTSP) Long-Term Stand
Responses to Silviculture Quantifying Uncertainty in Ecosystem
Studies USFS Management Intensity Demonstration Plots Decomposition
on the Forest Floor; Soil Productivity Studies Vegetation Dynamics
across EFRs International Cooperative Program on Assessment and
Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests Long-Term Intersite
Decomposition Experiment Team (LIDET) Lotic Intersite Nitrogen
eXperiment (LINXII) Engaging Arts and Humainities Detritus Input
and Removal Treatments (DIRT) Nutrient Network (NutNet) SnoTel
Basic meteorological station Long-Term Ecosystem Productivity
Study
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Analysis of long term temperature records at Experimental
Forests across the U.S.
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EFRs enable evaluation of long-term changes in climate from
local to continental scales. Long history/breadth of distribution
across ecosystem types. Consistency of data collection Relatively
stable landscapes Linkages between changes in climate and changes
in ecosystem structure and function. Regional differences; local
differences (e.g. cold air drainages) Studies can provide critical
guidance on how climate change interacts with management
activities, develop options for mitigation and adaptation.
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Some Key Questions (Fleishman et al. 2010) What quantity and
quality of surface and groundwater will be necessary to sustain US
human populations and ecosystem resilience during the next 100
years? How do different strategies for ecosystem management across
the gradient of development intensities affect human health in
urban areas? How do different strategies for growing and harvesting
biomass or biofuel affect ecosystems and associated social and
economic systems? How do different strategies for managing forests,
grasslands, and agricultural systems affect carbon storage,
ecosystem resilience, and other desired benefits?
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Key Questions (cont.) What are the ecological and economic
effects of different methods of restoring forests, wetlands, and
streams? What are the reliable scientific metrics for detecting
chronic, long-term changes in ecosystems? What are the relative
ecological effects of increasing the intensity versus spatial
extent of agriculture and timber production?
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Data Management Challenges Data Assets: Historical data Modern
data Administrative data Web presence Historical data are both an
invaluable asset and a tremendous challenge
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Research data historical: Unlocking the value in the file
cabinets Catalog holdings; includes assembly of basic metadata
(data creators, field and lab methods, site descriptions, etc.)
Prioritize catalog entries conversion to digital format Convert
from paper to digital; includes organizing data into consistent
file structures Develop complete metadata compliant with an
appropriate standard and EFR/Data Archive best practices; create
supplementary content for understanding the data set Package
components and disseminate on the web via R&D Data Archive
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Experimental Forests and Ranges across the United States: low
to high precipitation Desert Experimental Range, Utah Cascade Head
Experimental Forest, Oregon
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Experimental Forests and Ranges across the United States:
Tropical Sites Hawaii Experimental Tropical Forest Luquillo
Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico
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Experimental Forests and Ranges across the United States:
Boreal Sites Heen Latinee Experimental Forest, AlaskaBonanza Creek
Experimental Forest, Alaska
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Experimental Forests and Ranges across the United States:
Northeastern U.S. Silas Little Experimental Forest, New Jersey
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire
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Experimental Forests and Ranges across the United States:
Southeastern U.S. Palustris Experimental Forest, Louisiana Coweeta
Hydrological Lab, North Carolina
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Experimental Forests and Ranges across the United States: Rocky
Mountain Region Glacier Lakes Experimental Ecosystem Sites, Wyoming
Boise Basin Experimental Forest, Idaho
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Experimental Forests and Ranges across the United States:
Pacific Region Caspar Creek Experimental Watershed, California
Starkey Experimental Forest and Range, Oregon
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Experimental Forests and Ranges across the United States: In
California San Joaquin Experimental Range, California Sagehen Creek
Experimental Forest, California
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EFR Strategic Business Plan Winter 2011-12 It is strategic in
the sense that it will address and recommend the array of
scientific research and monitoring options suited to our collection
of EFRs. It is a business plan in the sense that it will provide a
comprehensive evaluation of our current investments and assets and
lay out the business requirements for how we achieve our vision for
the future. Wind River EF Washington
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EFR Strategic Business Plan Intended to provide FS R&D
Leadership with a menu of options from which to choose Each option
will offer a trajectory for us to move forward on to fulfill a
corresponding set of expectations for the network Priest River
Experimental Forest, Idaho Celebrating its Centennial in 2011
Priest River Experimental Forest, Idaho Headquarters Office in
1912