Kaskaskia Experimental Forest

Photo Credit

USDA Forest Service photo.

Northern Research Station staff conducting training on protocols for forest inventory plots in the Kaskaskia Experimental Forest.

The formal establishment of Kaskaskia Experimental Forest on the Elizabethtown Ranger District of the Shawnee National Forest was completed in 1942. Boundaries included about 526 ha reserved for experimental purposes and 16 ha purchased in 1934 for the administrative site. The Kaskaskia was administered from Columbus, Ohio, until 1946 when administration was transferred to the newly established research center in Carbondale, Illinois. By 1961, the boundaries of the forest enclosed 4,047 ha, of which 1,335 were in federal ownership. In 1972, when the research mission turned to hardwood plantations culture, 465 ha of federal land not currently part of the active research studies were returned to the Shawnee National Forest, with a new boundary enclosing only 870 ha of federal and privately owned lands. More than 30 research studies were established within the Kaskaskia; currently the longest running active study was established in 1935 to document long-term changes in an old-growth natural area.

Climate

Photo Credit

USDA Forest Service photo.

The average length of the growing season (frost-free period) is 190 days. The average date of the last killing frost of spring is April 16; the first killing frost of autumn is September 24. Annual average temperature is 13 °C and regional annual rainfall is 1,098 mm distributed equally throughout the year; prolonged dry periods during the growing seasons are not unusual. The Rosiclare_5_NW weather station (site 117487) in Hardin County compiled the following averages from 1971 to 2000: winter average minimum temperature; 4 °C, maximum temperature 7 °C, summer average minimum temperature, 18 °C; maximum temperature, 30 °C, average annual rainfall, 99 cm; snowfall 25 cm.

Soils

The soils on the Kaskaskia are primarily Alford silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, mesic, Typic Hapludalfs), Grantsburg silt loam, and Clarksville cherty silt loam. In many areas, nearly the entire loessial mantle has been lost, leaving a surface covered with chert. St. Louis and St. Genevieve limestones underlie these soils. A narrow belt of fine sandy loam runs along Goose Creek, Hogthief Creek, and Big Creek. These belts are an alluvial formation, fairly fertile, and subject to frequent overflow. The Kaskaskia is located on an extensive anticline known as Hicks Dome, which was formed during an explosive phase of igneous activity during Permian times. Erosion has removed much of the original sedimentary formations, leaving Devonian limestone outcroppings in some areas that are remnants of the Ozark uplift that occurred about 200 million years ago. Subsequent action by wind and water from glaciers north of the area cut into the exposed rock, producing areas of deep glacial till through this area of gently to steeply sloping hills. Elevation ranges from 120 to 200 m above sea level.

Vegetation

The following SAF forest types are documented on the Kaskaskia: SAF40 (post oak-black oak), SAF52 (white oak-red oak-hickory), SAF 53 (white oak), SAF59, and SAF64 (sassafras-persimmon). About 40 percent of the area is mixed hardwood forests found on the lower and middle north and east slopes. Coves and stream bottoms are dominated by yellow-poplar, northern red oak, white oak, black oak, several hickory species, black gum, elm, American beech, and maples. About 50 percent of the area is of the oak-hickory type found along south- and upper north-facing slopes and on the ridgetops dominated by black, white, post, scarlet, southern red, and black jack oak, and a mix of hickories. There is also a small disjunct stand of chestnut oak.

No buildings are being maintained on the Kaskaskia following abandonment of the administrative site in 1988. The nearest town is Golconda, Illinois. Neighboring towns include Glendale, Simpson, Robbs, and Elizabethtown.

Lat. 37°32′ N, long. 88°21′ W

Research, Past and Present

Several notable research projects include a compartment study with 40 plots treated with various cutting methods, cutting cycles, rotation lengths, and management intensities using uneven-age silviculture. Additional topics include conversion of farm woodlands to managed forests, chestnut and cottonwood provenance progeny tests, regeneration and growth following small group-selection cutting, and documenting natural succession on upland oak-hickory forests.

Major Research Accomplishments and Effects on Management

At the Kaskaskia, the following studies were considered important:

• Decadal remeasurement of oak and mixed hardwood old-growth plots
• Compartment study with replicated treatments of various cutting methods, cutting cycles, rotation lengths, and management intensities using uneven-age silviculture
• Maple succession without disturbance of upland old-growth oak-hickory forests
• Effect of small group opening on light, soil moisture, and natural regeneration
• Development of a tree-quality index for hardwood trees
• Processing and utilization of oak and hickory for lumber

Research Opportunities

Areas on the Kaskaskia are available for cooperative research subject to approval by the Northern Research Station and the Shawnee National Forest.