The 1936 Long Branch plots at Bent Creek: the first statistically designed study of the Appalachian Forest Experiment Station

Abstract

The first “designed” study conducted by the Appalachian Forest Experiment Station (AFES) marked a change from an observational to a science-based approach in the Station’s research field methods. Before the 1930s, American forest researchers generally applied silvicultural treatments across large areas and compared results using anecdotal observations. The large study areas, however, usually included unrecognized site (e.g., soil differences) or stand conditions (e.g., age differences), which could influence treatment results. During this period, field methods using replicated small plots for agricultural studies had been developed in England (Fisher 1925, 1935) and were strongly recommended for improving the quality of U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service research (Gevorkiantz 1935, Kittredge 1924). The Long Branch study was established in 1936 on the Bent Creek Experimental Forest (BCEF) by Leonard I. Barrett, a forester with a master’s degree from the University of Michigan, who likely had knowledge of Fisher’s study design methods.

Parent Publication

• Celebrating 100 years of forest science: an abridged history of the Southern Research Station

Citation

McNab, W. Henry. 2023. The 1936 Long Branch plots at Bent Creek: the first statistically designed study of the Appalachian Forest Experiment Station. In: Bragg, Don C., ed. Celebrating 100 years of forest science: an abridged history of the Southern Research Station. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-272. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 267-271.