H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest: assessing how land use, natural disturbances, and climate change affect carbon dynamics, biodiversity, and hydrology

After two decades of focus on forestry research, theAndrews Forest research program shifted to anecosystem emphasis in 1970 with inception of theConifer Forest Biome studies within the InternationalBiological Programme. Study of forest and stream ecosys-tems continued under the LTER program which AndrewsForest joined as a charter member in 1980. This year'spreparation of the renewal proposal for Andrews LTER(LTER4 program, 1996-2002) triggered reassessment oflong-term studies and identification of critical new projects,especially synthesis—all under reduced funding.
The central question of LTER4 is: How do land use(forestry), natural disturbances, and climate change affectthree key ecosystem properties: carbon dynamics,biodiversiry, and hydrology? We selected these threeecosystem properties because they are scientifically andsocially important, tractable, and their responses are positedto represent different classes of ecosystem behavior at thelandscape scale.
We approach this question through long- and short-term, discipline-focused component studies and throughfour synthesis areas. Component studies focus on: 1) aspectsof spatial and temporal variability of climate; 2) watershedhydrology; vegetation succession in natural and managedforests; 3) biological diversity, especially among inverte-brates; 4) carbon and nutrient dynamics; 5) forest-streaminteractions through stream networks; and 6) landscapedynamics, including disturbance regimes