STAND MANAGEMENT COOPERATIVE
Articles of Interest
Fall river Long-Term Productivity Study Update
Gage Wagoner and Barry Flaming, Graduate Students
College of Forest Resources, University of Washington
Fall River Long-Term Productivity Study Update The project is currently in the middle of its second year of the 40-year projected timeline. Project installation is now nearing completion. At present, an exclusion fence is being installed at the study site to protect it from elk, deer, and humans. Planting with Douglas-fir stock is scheduled to take place beginning March 20. The weed control treatment (Oust and Accord) was installed the 2nd week of March.
A series of recent meetings with US Forest Service researchers Connie Harrington and Kate Piatek has produced many interesting collaborative opportunities. Workplans are currently being developed for the following activities:
1) Post-treatment assessment of organic matter retention by Kate Piatek and Tom Terry.
- The objective is to assess the biomass and nutrient pools of different types of organic matter remaining in the different levels of harvesting treatments (conventional bole-only harvest to a 3-5” top, total bole removal to a 2” top, total-tree removal, and total-tree removal “plus”).
- Field sampling between March and July of this year will characterize organic matter biomass by size, decomposition class, and nutrient content. —Estimates of stump, coarse root, and fine root biomass are also being planned.
2) An interactive, GIS-based study information system will be developed by Connie Harrington and Rick Jordan, USFS, Olympia Lab, to display treatment layout and pertinent information and study result overlays. —Study site, plot locations and sampling location points have been referenced.
- Aerial photos are scheduled for May to document treatments and location of large woody debris and old-growth stumps.
- GIS overlays have already been created for roads, drains, soils, and treatments.
3) A high-quality weather station will be installed this spring for climate monitoring.
- It will ensure reliable data on air temperature, soil temperature, windspeed and direction, and humidity at the site.
- Solar-panel power will reduce need to continuously replace batteries on stations currently in use and reduce chances for data interruption.
4) Post-treatment vegetation monitoring by Connie Harrington.
- Percent cover of understory species will be assessed, including weed control treatment effects.
- Data will be linked to soil moisture and seedling moisture stress information.
5) Assessment of microclimatic effects on seedling growth by Connie Harrington and Tom Terry.
- Weather station data will be used in conjunction with Hobo temperature monitors and seedling sap flow sensors, including measurements of soil temperature and moisture.
- Extra seedlings will be planted for biomass sampling at age 2-years.
- Seedlings will be sampled for biomass and morphological characterization prior to planting.
- Project will be installed at time of planting.
6) Treatment effects on nutrient uptake over time by Rob Harrison.
- Biomass estimates of seedlings will be made at age 2 and 5-years. —Extra seedlings will be planted for destructive sampling to estimate nutrient concentrations and content.
7) Wood-block decomposition study by Marty Jurgensen.
- Treatment effects on decomposition rates of several woody materials will be measured.
- Wood stakes and soil will be assessed for microbial biomass.
8) Laboratory and field incubations of forest floor and soil to estimate mineralization and nutrient release in organic matter treatments by Barry Flaming.