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	This publication was written or produced by the Pacific Northwest Research Station and is in the public domain.

	FS INFO In depth catalog of natural resources publications, including index to Forest Service literature, late 1800's to date.

US Forest Service
P.O. Box 96090
Washington, D.C.
20090-6090

(202) 205-8333

Publication Information

Title: 100,000 trees can't be wrong: permanent study plots and the value of time.

Author: Duncan, Sally.

Date: 2004

Source: Science Findings 64. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 5 p

Description: In 1910, Thornton T. Munger, the first director of the PNW Research Station, established the first forested permanent study plot in the Pacific Northwest. He recognized that long-term field observation was the only approach that could provide real data on forest dynamics, which occur over time scales longer than human lifespans.

For the next 80 years, Station scientists established additional plots and continued plot measurements throughout the region. The majority of plots were established in natural, closed canopy forests, unaffected by harvest. Currently the Pacific Northwest Research Station manages this permanent study plot (PSP) network, which includes long-term measurements on over 100,000 trees in 145 plots.

Data from these plots have been used by scientists and managers around the country to address basic and applied questions in forest ecology and management, including development of old-growth structure, tree mortality, carbon sequestration, and timber yield. As the physical, social, and political landscapes have changed over the past century, so the findings from PSP data continue to inform and change the thinking about the future of forests in the Pacific Northwest.

Key Words: Permanent study plots, Thornton Munger

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Citation

Duncan, Sally. 2004. 100,000 trees can't be wrong: permanent study plots and the value of time. Science Findings 64. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 5 p.

US Forest Service - Research & Development
Last Modified: May 13, 2008