By Frank Hanson

Updates on the experiment at the Long-Term Ecosystem Productivity Site in the Olympic State Experimental Forest (OESF).

Please join us at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, at the Hemlock Forest Room at the Olympic Natural Resources Center at 1455 S. Forks Ave., Forks for a presentation by our ONRC interns from the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.

The interns spent their summer helping perform ongoing research duties at our Olympic Peninsula‘s Long-Term Ecosystem Productivity site and other projects in the OESF.

Our presenters: Katherine Jesser is an incoming senior at the University of Washington majoring in environmental science and resource management with a focus in wildlife conservation and minoring in marine biology. She has volunteered extensively in the areas of environmental science and wildlife. Allison Erskine also is an incoming senior at the UW majoring in environmental science and resource management as well as communications. She is particularly interested in soils sciences.

Alec Meade is an incoming junior at the UW majoring in environmental science and resource management with a focus in landscape ecology. He brings strong field survey and data support skills to the team.

ONRC’s local LTEP research is part of a large effort to help land managers meet ongoing needs with new knowledge to help design forest management systems whose sustainability will be more certain for future generations. The LTEP is part of the ongoing efforts to evaluate and monitor specific sites for 200 years. There are multiple hypotheses of various designs with in the project, as well as some small specific plot studies in the short-term timeline within the overall project. Our interns will share their experience on their specific summer tasks. Our LTEP site is near Sappho. ONRC interns are working under the supervision of DNR intern Courtney Bobsin.

Principal investigators on this long-term project are ONRC director, Dr. Bernard Bormann, Dr. Richard Bigley of the DNR, and representatives from Oregon State, University of Oregon, Western Washington University and the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station. This 200-year experiment evaluates the effects of harvesting timber in our area, woody debris retention levels and the effects of various plant species on tree and soil productivity.

This process includes analysis of soil carbon, nutrients and structures, along with a survey in plant species diversity. The Long Term Ecosystems Productivity Site project was started in 1995 with funding provided by Forest Service, EPA, Washington Department of Natural Resources, National Science Foundation and various universities. This study is replicated in four experimental sites across the Pacific Northwest: Willamette National Forest, Siskiyou National Forest, Siuslaw National Forest and the Olympic Experimental State Forest. Our specific site in the OESF consists of distinct treatments and controls.

The LTEP experiment is ongoing and continually seeks scientists interesting in using these sites to answer important research questions. Long-term ecosystem productivity is determined by the cumulative interaction of soil, biota, climate, natural disturbance and human activity. Within this large and centuries-long study are specific objectives, hypotheses and designs developed in specific zones which will provide input to the various local communities over time.

Two primary mechanisms by which forest management may influence long-term productively were identified and helped formed the basis for the research objectives. Does altering the pattern of succession through species manipulation influence long-term ecosystem productivity? Do the amount, timing and distribution of organic matter left on site influence long term ecosystem productivity? Our interns’ summer work effort is part of this legacy of integrated information on productivity.

For an in-depth look at the organizing concepts, the 200-year strategy of the experiment’s design, specific information on the various research sites, past program history, research management collaborations and the research and science plan can be found on the web at www.fsl.orst.edu/ltep/. Our interns focused on surveying the development of understory vegetation. They will share their experience at the upcoming ONRC Evening Talk.

ONRC Evening Talks are funded through the Rosmond Forestry Education Fund, an endowment that honors the contributions of Fred Rosmond and his family to forestry and the Forks community. Refreshments will be served and a potluck of your favorite dessert is encouraged. For more information, contact Frank Hanson at 374-4556 or fsh2@uw.edu.