Headquarters and the research facility were affected by heavy snow and falling trees. Due to fallen trees on all roads, access to the site is limited. Check conditions before traveling to the site. See photos of the "snowdown" event and clean up efforts: https://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/gallery/snowdown-2019
A recent publication out of the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest LTER site illustrates the role that summer research experiences can play in contributing to LTER science and in engaging and mentoring students. Oregon State University graduate student Matthew Kaylor is the lead author on a paper about how trout and salamanders respond to drought. Kaylor wrote this paper in collaboration with two undergraduate students. The first student, Brian VerWay, worked with Kaylor to survey trout and salamanders in a set of streams in the Andrews Forest in 2014 and 2015.
Francisco Guerrero-Bolano, PhD Candidate, Sustainable Forest Management and Water Resources Science. Major professor: Jeff Hatten
Dissertation Defense: “Biogeochemical signals of watersheds’ response to disturbance”
In his research, Francisco looks at long-term records (30-1500 years) of biogeochemical signals that result from the interaction between streamflow, sediment transport and nutrient cycling in forested landscapes. Francisco combines detailed physical-chemical analysis of sediments with fundamental principles derived from the mathematical theory of information to gain mechanistic insights on ecosystem behavior. By understanding the biogeochemical signals of watersheds response to disturbance, Francisco’s research aims to gain insights into integrated resilience assessments in forested watersheds of the Pacific Northwest.
Wednesday, November 7, 2 PM. 361 Strand Hall
We’ll share a collection of data and short presentations from PIs on the drought year of 2015, to see how various data collection efforts align (or don't) in a year that may be representative of future climate conditions in this region.
Immediately following the talks, the general meeting will include updates on proposals, graduate students, Willamette National Forest partnership, site use proposals.
Graduate student highlight: “Modeling canopy architecture and crown interlocking effects by using point clouds” presented by Rong Fang, PhD student in the Department of Forest Engineering Resource and Management.
Monthly meetings are used to share science, news, and opportunities related to the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest and Long-Term Ecological Research program. We start with a science hour and then move into program news and announcements. Anyone is welcome to attend. Monthly meetings are on the first Friday of the month during the academic year, from 9 AM - 11 AM.
Forestry Sciences Lab, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Room 20. 9 - 11 AM.
New insights into old forests: Forest ecology and conservation in the area of the Northwest Forest Plan. Dr. Tom Spies
January 24, 2018 4PM, LINC 302
About the Seminar: The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan for federal forests was designed to conserve populations of species associated with complex old-growth forests within the range of the northern spotted owl. Over the last 24 years we have learned that the ecology of old growth forests in the region is more diverse than we appreciated when the plan was developed. Improved knowledge of historical fire regimes can inform old-growth forest conservation based on ecosystem perspectives, but it can also be a challenge to existing conservation approaches based on individual species associated with one type of old growth. In addition, recent research indicates that forest conservation is more than just protecting existing areas of old-growth from disturbance: disturbance processes and other successional stages must also be considered.
About Dr. Spies: Thomas Spies is a Senior Scientist at the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station in Corvallis, Oregon. He is also a courtesy professor in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. He received his Ph.D. in forest ecology 1983 from the University of Michigan. His research interests include, old-growth forest ecology and conservation, remote sensing, landscape ecology, fire ecology, and coupled human and natural systems. He is editor of the 2009 book “Old-growth in a New World: A Pacific Northwest Icon Reexamined”, which explores the social, ecology and policy dimensions of old-growth forests. He is currently leading a USFS effort to synthesize science and monitoring results to inform revision of national forest plans in the area of the Northwest Forest Plan. http://fpf.forestry.oregonstate.edu/faculty/thomas-spies
WebEx Address: https://oregonstate.webex.com/oregonstate/j.php?MTID=me0bf783a44637fd96c48f76817298f6c
GEOTECHNICAL LECTURE SERIES: The USGS Debris-Flow Flume: Past, Present, and Future
RICHARD M. IVERSON, PH.D., Senior Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey
ABSTRACT: The U.S. Geological Survey debris-flow flume is a unique, large-scale experimental facility located at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in the Willamette National Forest, Oregon. Research on the dynamics of debris flows, landslides, and related phenomena began there in 1992 and continues today. More than 160 experiments have been conducted to date. Detailed instrumental monitoring of reproducible, appropriately scaled experiments at the flume has yielded data that have served to both motivate and test new mathematical models of landslide and debris-flow processes, and some of these models are now in widespread practical use. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the factors that spurred development of the debris-flow flume facility and of the scientific advances that have resulted from experimentation there.
BIOGRAPHY: Richard (Dick) Iverson is a senior scientist at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington, where he has worked for more than 33 years. Previously he received a B.S. degree from Iowa State University as well as two M.S. degrees and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. His research focusses on the dynamics of debris flows and landslides as well as other geomechanical phenomena. In the early 1990’s he oversaw design and construction of the USGS debris-flow flume at the H.J.Andrews Experimental Forest, and since that time he has been in charge of science and operations at the facility. Iverson is a fellow of the Geological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union, and has received the Kirk Bryan Award, E.B. Burwell Award, Jahns Lectureship, and Langbein Lectureship from these organizations.
Location: Kearney 112, OSU Campus
Date: November 30, 2017
Time: 4:30 PM
Clearcuts often create stark boundaries between forest habitats. These ecological “edges” can seriously affect neighboring undisturbed ecosystems for some distance in from the edge, perhaps representing a multi-decadal legacy of has clearcutting. A new study led by David Bell took on the question of how historical timber harvests have affected the structure of neighboring old-growth forests in western Oregon.