Henry R. Koen Experimental Forest

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The 720 acre Henry R. Koen Experimental Forest, part of the Ozark National Forest, is located south of the Buffalo River near Jasper, AR. The Experimental Forest was established in 1951 to develop scientific principles for forest management. The site was named for Henry R. Koen, once the forest supervisor of the Ozark National Forest, whose conservation career lasted four decades in the first half of the 1900s. Research at the site focused on upland hardwood forests through 1979 with a staff of 4 scientists and a team of 12 technicians.

Currently the Henry R. Koen Experimental Forest serves as the fieldwork base for the Upland Hardwood Research Work Unit. Seventeen studies are being implemented by a staff of 1 scientist and 2 permanent technicians. This integrated contemporary research program addresses upland hardwood forest dynamics and the development of both short- and long-term studies at three scales: individual tree, stand, and region. These studies address: growth, woody species reproduction, competitive capacity, stand dynamics, stand composition, forest species restoration, quantitative silviculture, development of forest management methods, forest ecology, disturbance ecology, landscape ecology, climate change, biomass management and diversity of Arkansas upland hardwood forests.