Experimental forests and ranges as a network for long-term data

Abstract

In the new millennium, national leaders and policymakers are facing profound issues regarding people and the environment. Experimental Forests and Ranges (EFRs), managed by the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), form a network of locations amenable to the development of long-term data collection across many major ecosystems of the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Truly long-term data sets dealing with range and grasslands are rare but do exist. Unfortunately, the status of older studies, in terms of longevity and variables monitored, are incompletely documented. The paucity of long-term data sets is related to personnel turnovers and a lack of ownership of long-term studies that may be sampled only every 5 or 10 years, coupled with limited funds available to hire personnel for data collection.

Parent Publication

• Meeting current and future conservation challenges through the synthesis of long-term silviculture and range management research

Citation

Vavra, Martin; Mitchell, John. 2010. Experimental forests and ranges as a network for long-term data. In: Meeting current and future conservation challenges through the synthesis of long-term silviculture and range management research. WO-GTR-84. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. p. 15-23.