CTFS-SIGEO Welcomes Indiana University Forest Dynamics Plot to Global Network

Indiana University researchers joined CTFS-SIGEO in April, 2012, increasing the scope and impact of the sizable temperate plot network. Stuart Davies, CTFS-SIGEO Director, is very pleased about the new addition, "This provides an important new site for the network. By expanding the spatial coverage of forest observatories in the US our ability to understand the role that temperate forest ecosystems play in the global environment will be greatly enhanced.

The research will take place at Lilly-Dickey Woods, a 220-hectare forest in Brown County, Indiana, valued as an important central hardwoods forest. Human management has been minimal for the last 150 years, and parts of the Woods contain some of the largest trees to be found in Indiana forests. The forest lies near the center of the Nature Conservancy's Brown County Hills region, targeted as a prime location for forest conservation. Lilley-Dickey Woods was designated as part of the Indiana University Research and Teaching Preserve (IURTP) in 2003. The IURTP maintains natural field settings to enhance the research, teaching, and service mission of Indiana University.

PI Keith Clay in the Lilley-Dickey Woods of Indiana

IU's involvement with STRI evolved from the PhD research of Daniel Johnson, graduate student in the Department of Biology. "I wanted to start a project for my PhD thesis that would outlast my time here at IU," says Johnson. Thus far, the project has been funded by the IURTP, the Indiana Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation. Johnson will continue to lead the project until he completes his degree next year. Keith Clay (Professor of Biology and Director of the IURTP) and Richard Phillips (Assistant Professor of Biology) will oversee the initiative. Johnson has completed 9 hectares of the initial survey and the CTFS-SIGEO collaboration will increase the area of study to 25 hectares. 

Graduate student Daniel Johnson follows CTFS-SIGEO protocol for measuring trees

Keith Clay (Johnson's graduate advisor), when asked about the project, responded, "This is an enormous undertaking. Dan will be creating a substantial legacy. The CTFS-SIGEO plot will not only provide a resource for future environmental science research at IU, but the data collected will be used by scientists throughout the world to answer critical questions about climate change and other environmental issues. This project will spotlight the value of IURTP resources to the university and the global scientific community." 

Publications: October 2011- January 2012

Alvarez, E., Duque, A., Saldarriaga, J., Cabrera, K., de las Salas, G., del Valle, I., Lema, A., Moreno, F., Orrego, S., Rodriquez, L., 2011. Tree above-ground biomass allometries for carbon stock estimation in the natural forests of Colombia. Forest Ecology and Management, 267 (2012):297-203.
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Heartsill Scalley, T., Crowl, T.A., and Thompson, J., 2009. Tree species distributions in relation to stream distance in a mid-montane wet forest, Puerto Rico. Caribbean Journal of Science 45 (1): 52-63.
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Iida, Y., Poorter, L., Sterck, F. J., Kassim, A. R., Kubo, T., Potts, M. D. and Kohyama, T. S., 2012. Wood density explains architectural differentiation across 145 co-occurring tropical tree species. Functional Ecology, 26 (1):274-282.
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Jansen, Patrick, 2011. The roles of vertebrates in forest dynamics: A new CTFS program. Proceedings of the Pasoh International Symposium, 10-11 November 2010, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Selangor.
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Kamiya, Koichi, Gan, Yik Yuen, Lum, Shawn K. Y., Khoo, Min Sheng, Chua, Siew Chin, Faizu, Nik N. H., 2011. Morphological and molecular evidence of natural hybridization in Shorea (Dipterocarpaceae). Tree Genetics & Genomes, 7:297–306.
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Kanagaraj, R., Wiegand, T., Comita, L. S. and Huth, A., 2011. Tropical tree species assemblages in topographical habitats change in time and with life stage. Journal of Ecology, 99:1441–1452.
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Kays, Roland, Jansen, Patrick A., Knecht, Elise M.H., Vohwinkel, Reinhard, and Wikelski, Martin, 2011. The effect of feeding time on dispersal of Virola seeds by toucans determined from GPS tracking and accelerometers. Acta Oecologica 37:625-631.
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Kays, Roland, Tilak, Sameer, Kranstauber, Bart, Jansen, Patrick A., Carbone, Chris, Rowcliffe, Marcus, Fountain, Tony, Eggert, Jay, and He, Zhihai, 2011. Camera Traps as Sensor Networks for Monitoring Animal Communities. International Journal of Research and Reviews in Wireless Sensor Networks (IJRRWSN), 1(2), June 2011.
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Makana, Jean-Remy, Ewamgo, Corneille N., McMahon, Sean M., Thomas, Sean C., Hart, Terese B., and Condit, Richard, 2011. Demography and biomass change in monodominant and mixed old-growth forest of the Congo. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 27:447-461.
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Martin, Adam R., Stedman, Elvis R., and Thomas, Sean C., 2011. Size-dependent changes in light requirements of tropical trees: weak light-growth relationships in seven Caribbean rainforest species preclude testing a general hypothesis. Journal of Negative Results - Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 8:6-17.
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Rowcliffe, J. Marcus, Carbone, Chris, Jansen, Patrick A., Kays, Roland, and Kranstauber, Bart, 2011. Quantifying the sensitivity of camera traps: an adapted distance sampling approach. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2:464-476.
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Saner, P., Loh, Y.Y, Ong, R.C., Hector, A., 2012. Carbon Stocks and Fluxes in Tropical Lowland Dipterocarp Rainforests in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. PLoS ONE 7(1): e29642.
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Šizling, Arnošt L., Kunin, William E., Šizlingová, Eva, Reif, Jiří, and Storch, David Storch, 2011. Between Geometry and Biology: The Problem of Universality of the Species-Area Relationship. The American Naturalist, 178(5):602-611.
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Stephenson, Nathan L., van Mantgem, Phillip J., Bunn, Andrew G., Bruner, Howard, Harmon, Mark E., O’Connell, Kari B., Urban, Dean L., and Franklin, Jerry F., 2011. Causes and implications of the correlation between forest productivity and tree mortality rates. Ecological Monographs, 81(4):527–555.
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Uriarte, Maria, Yackulic, Charles B., Lim, Yili, and Arce-Nazario, Javier, 2011. Influence of land use on water quality in a tropical landscape: a multi-scale analysis. Landscape Ecology, 26:1151–1164.
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van Breugel, Michiel, van Breugel, Paulo, Jansen, Patrick A., Martinez Ramos, Miguel, and Bongers, Frans, 2012. The relative importance of above- versus belowground competition for tree growth during early succession of a tropical moist forest. Plant Ecology, 213:25-34.
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Visser, M. D., Muller-Landau, H. C., Wright, S. J., Rutten, G. and Jansen, P. A., 2011.
Tri-trophic interactions affect density dependence of seed fate in a tropical forest palm. Ecology Letters, 14:1093–1100.
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Wang, Xugao Wang, Wiegand, Thorsten, Wolf, Amy, Howe, Robert, Davies, Stuart J., and Hao, Zhanqing Hao, 2011. Spatial patterns of tree species richness in two temperate forests. Journal of Ecology, 99:1382–1393.
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Yackulic, Charles B., Fagan, Matthew, Jain, Meha, Jina, Amir, Lim, Yili, Marlier, Miriam, Muscarella, Robert, Adame, Patricia, DeFries, Ruth, and Uriarte, Marie, 2011. Biophysical and Socioeconomic Factors Associated with Forest Transitions at Multiple Spatial and Temporal Scales. Ecology and Society, 16(3):15.
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CTFS-SIGEO Celebrates 20 Years of Service from Suzanne Lao

Suzanne Lao, CTFS-SIGEO data manager, began her career at the Smithsonian in Panama as a statistician for the Galeta Oil Spill Project in Naos, and then quickly shifted to CTFS, where she has stayed for almost two decades. Managing the data from the BCI 50 hectare plot has been Suzanne's main responsibility during her many years with CTFS. She recently mentioned that the high quality of the BCI data has also benefited from the great working relationship that she has with colleagues Rolando Pérez and Salomón Aguilar. Suzanne has taken experiences learned from BCI data management and used them to help other sites manage their data. Suzanne has also played a key role in training workshops for the network. Most recently, she has worked to migrate plot data into a modern web-accessible database system, helping transform the way CTFS partners manage and use their data.

Suzanne recently said that the best part of working for CTFS-SIGEO has been getting to know collaborators from different sites, first via email, and then through workshops. She calls the CTFS-SIGEO network a "family," despite differences in language, culture, and scientific approaches. Suzanne is proud of all she has achieved during her years with STRI, and is grateful for her colleagues, particularly Rick Condit, who supports her in learning new database and analytical tools. She looks forward to meeting new people and continuing to advance her knowledge as STRI and CTFS-SIGEO grow and change. The entire CTFS-SIGEO community thanks Suzanne for her commitment, expertise, and dedication to the global network.

California Temperate Forest Plot Joins CTFS-SIGEO Network

The University of California Santa Cruz Forest Ecology Research Plot (UCSC-FERP), located in the UCSC Campus Natural Reserve, will expand from its original size of 6 ha to 16 ha as it joins the CTFS-SIGEO network. This Mediterranean climate, mixed evergreen coastal forest plot was originally established in 2007 by PI Gregory Gilbert and colleagues, and contains 8,180 tagged stems from 31 species and 18 families. The four dominant species are Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), Shreve's Oak (Quercus parvula var. shrevei) and Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus); Fagaceae and Pinaceae together comprise three-fourths of all stems. Additional studies at the site investigate soil nutrients, texture, and moisture, as well as understory light conditions. There is also ongoing monitoring of phenology, micrometeorology, small terrestrial mammals, bats, fungi, and arthropods.

Plot expansion will bring several new aspects to the site, such as the ability to follow population dynamics, an expansion into different soil types, and the inclusion of an area that has undergone significant canopy mortality in the last two decades for unknown reasons. The expanded plot will also include a significant area of redwood-dominated forest. Over 100 students have already been involved in plot studies through undergraduate courses, senior theses, and internships, and this plot expansion promises expanded research and educational opportunities.

Dr. Gregory Gilbert in the UCSC forest dynamics plot

African Savanna Plot Joins the CTFS-SIGEO Network

On August 14^th, 2011, tree mapping and tagging began at the Mpala forest dynamics plot in Kenya. The new plot is within the Mpala Research Centre and Wildlife Foundation. The 150-hectare plot is the first CTFS-SIGEO plot in Savanna vegetation, with an open tree canopy and grassy and herbaceous understory. The plot traverses two distinct soil types: black cotton soils at higher elevations, which are dominated by the “whistling thorn” acacia (A. drepanolobium), and red clay soils in lower terrain, with a diverse flora of including several other acacia species. 

Mpala plot researchers with CTFS Africa Program Coordinator David Kenfack (far right)

Despite being almost on the equator, the plot is 1,660 m above sea level and is consequently not as botanically diverse as many CTFS-SIGEO tropical forest plots.  The tree species diversity is estimated to be around 100 species. Some common species include: Acacia mellifera, Acacia nilotica, Acacia brevispica, Acacia xanthophloea, Acacia etbaica, Boscia angustifolia, Balanites aegyptiaca,  Balanites glabra, Maerua sp., Combretum molle, Mystroxylon sp., and Scutia myritina.

Although of moderate botanical diversity, the savanna has an exceptional diversity of wildlife, including: elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, hippos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyena, wild dogs, and many species of antelope. The herbivorous species have a huge impact on the plant community.  

Before the commencement of the work at Mpala, twelve staff took part in a one-week training session where they learned CTFS standard field protocols and data management techniques. The team has already encountered several new challenges associated with the Savanna ecosystem: many individual plants have multiple stems with low branching heights, many species have large, sharp thorns, and staff have to be alert, having to play hide and seek with the elephants and other wildlife during fieldwork! As of October 29, 2011, an area covering 13 ha had been mapped and tagged, and included seven species. As expected, tree density is low, with an average of 792 trees per hectare.

Staline Kibet and David Kenfack contributed to this post.

Plot Census Finished in Pacific Northwest Temperate Forest of the U.S.

Fieldwork for the establishment of the Wind River Forest Dynamics (WFDP) plot finished in early October. Located in southwest Washington State, the plot extends 800 m east-west and 320 m north-south, for a total area of 25.6 ha. This configuration matches the Yosemite Forest Dynamics Plot in California and the Wabikon Forest Dynamics Plot in Wisconsin. The WFDP has approximately 35,000 trees (data entry not yet complete). In addition to tagging all woody stems according to the CTFS protocol, the project has mapped snags ≥10 cm dbh, continuous patches of shrub cover ≥2 m², and large woody debris ≥50 cm diameter. Snags remain standing for decades in the Pacific Northwest, and constitute important habitat for vertebrates. Snag height and decomposition class will be measured as part of the 5-year measurements to track snag devolution over time. The project team measures shrubs because they form dense patches that inhibit tree regeneration, and woody debris because it can remain an important part of the ecosystem for centuries.

From left, Sean McMahon(SIGEO), Andy Jones (Oregon State), Stuart Davies (SIGEO),
and Jim Lutz (WFDP PrincipalInvestigator) in front of a typical Douglas-fir, 72 meters tall.

Wind RiverForest Dynamics Plot 2011 volunteers, Rachel Mickey,

Cassie Gamm, Dani Lange, SeanJeronimo, and James Freund,

demonstrate their techniques on the last dayof nailing.

The WFDP was established by the PIs (Jim Lutz and Andrew Larson), their students, a dedicated and waterproof field crew, and a large cadre of volunteers. The grid survey was conducted by surveying professionals and instructors and students from University of Washington, University of Montana, and Clark College.


More information about the Wind River Forest Dynamics Plot can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/wfdp.

Publications: July-September 2011

Arias García, J.C., Duque Montoya, A.J., Cárdenas López, D., 2009. Crecimiento diamétrico de un bosque del Noroccidente amazónico. Revista Colombia Amazónica Nueva Época Vol. 2, 57-64.

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Barreto Silva, J.S., Duque Montoya, A.J., Cárdenas López, D., Moreno Hurtado, F.H., 2010. Variación florística de especies arbóreas a escala local en un bosque de tierra firme en la Amazonia colombiana. Revista Acta Amazónica, 40(1): 179-188.

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Calle Rendón, B.R., Moreno Hurtado, F.H., Cárdenas López, D, 2011. Relación entre suelos y estructura del bosque en la Amazonía colombiana, Biología Tropical Vol. 59 (3): 1307-1322.

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Cárdenas López, D., Cordero Parada, Z., Salinas Nelson, R., Suárez Suárez, S., Zuluaga Trochez, A., Barreto Silva, J.S.,  Arias García,  J.C.,, Castaño Arboleda, N., Duque Montoya, Á.J., Sua Tunjano, S., 2010. Composición florística de diez hectáreas de la Parcela Permanente Amacayacu, Amazonia colombiana, Revista Colombia Amazónica Nueva Época Vol. 3: 141-177.

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Martin, A.R., and Thomas, S.C., 2011. A Reassessment of Carbon Content in Tropical Trees. PlosOne 6(8), e23533.

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McEwan, R.W., Lin, Y.-C., Sun, I.-F.,  Hsieh, C.-F., Su, S.H., Chang, L.-W., Song, G.-Z.M., Wang, H.-H., Hwong, J.-L., Lin, K.-C.,  Yang, K.-C.,  Chiang, J.-M., 2011. Topographic and biotic regulation of aboveground carbon storage in subtropical broad-leaved forests of Taiwan. Forest Ecology and Management 262, 1817–1825.

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Peña, M.A., Cárdenas López, D., Duque Montoya, A.J., 2010. Distribución de especies y su relación con la variación ambiental y espacial a escala local en un bosque de tierra firme en la Amazonía colombiana. Revista Actualidades Biológicas, 32(92): 41-51.

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Rüger, N., Berger, U., Hubbell, S.P., Vieilledent, G., Condit, R., 2011. Growth strategies of tropical tree species: Disentangling light and size effects. PLoS ONE, 6:e25330.

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Rüger, N., Huth, A., Hubbell, S.P., Condit, R., 2011. Determinants of mortality across a tropical lowland rainforest community. Oikos, 120:1047–1056.

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Van Breugel, M., J. Ransijn, D. Craven, F. Bongers, J. S. Hall, 2011. Estimating carbon stock in secondary forests: Decisions and uncertainties associated with allometric biomass models. Forest Ecology and Management 262, 1648–1657.

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