Abstract
The 80 official experimental forests and ranges (EFR) administered by the U.S. Forest Service have provided a remarkable collection of research findings over the last 100 years, helping the agency address information needs related to forest and rangeland management. Long-term data sets are one of the most significant contributions of the EFR system, in particular, the ongoing, long-term studies of the effects of a changing climate on natural resources, streamflow, vegetation, and biogeochemistry from experimental watersheds. These data are crucial for examining ecosystem services from forests over time and are of sufficiently long duration now to be extremely valuable for quantifying the extent of changing climate. We describe a vision for building on the knowledge legacy of EFRs by joining them in a functional, coordinated research, outreach, and partnership network. We present a strategic analysis of options for implementing this network, including measurable criteria for evaluating the current and future potential of EFRs, identification of common minimum levels of infrastructure that could be shared by EFRs, and identification of the assets necessary so that the value of science and monitoring efforts can be maximized across a network of EFRs.
Keywords
Experimental forests and ranges,
network,
monitoring,
data management,
long-term database.
Citation
Stine, Peter A. 2016. Forest Service Research and Development: strategic vision for the experimental forests and ranges network. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-935. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 198 p.
