Boreal Ecology Cooperative Research Unit
Legacy
The Boreal Ecology Cooperative Research Unit (BECRU) works to understand the structure and function of the dynamic boreal forest through a cooperative agreement with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It is the northenmost outpost of the USDA Forest Service. The 12,486-acre Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest is about 20 miles southwest of Fairbanks. The experimental forest was established in 1963 on land owned and managed by the state of Alaska. The state has given the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, a longterm lease on this land for the exclusive purpose of conducting forestry research.
Facilities Information
Address
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 756780
Fairbanks, AK 99775-6780
Voice: 907-474-5435
Website: http://www.becru.uaf.edu
Science
Our goals are to conduct research designed to understand interactions between climate, disturbance, and ecosystems in central and northern Alaska, develop conceptual and real models of multiple spatial and temporal scales of pattern in Alaska vegetation, and lead cooperative research at the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site. The majority of research at Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest is done under the auspices of the Long-Term Ecological Research program. LTER research is organized around three themes: (1) forest dynamics, (2) the changing boreal carbon cycle, and (3) regional and landscape controls over disturbance ecological resilience through a combination of longterm monitoring of control sites, modeling, geographic information system analysis, and experimental studies.
People
Teresa Hollingsworth is team leader in Fairbanks, supported by Jeffrey Barnard in Juneau. The research unit mentors graduate and undergraduate students, and provide support and coordination for the. Our partners include with other agencies (including the Joint Fire Science Project (JFSP), Alaska Division of Forestry (DOF), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and educational institutions such as University of Florida, Yukon College, University of Saskatchewan, Michigan State University and Kyoto University in Japan