Forestry
Field & Lab Testing
A
summary of currently active research projects at the CFRC
Population Densities of Native and Opportunistic Fungi Among Mid
to High-Density Tillamook Forest Conifer Stands
Lead
researcher Mortimer Kelly, PhD.
Of the
hundreds of species of fungi common to the forest environment,
most are beneficial to the health of the forest. To a great
extent there is even a symbiotic relationship in that the trees,
when they die, provide colonization sites for the fungi which
then break down the bark and cellulose to create a nutrient-rich
mulch. This mulch is integrated into the forest floor by an army
of soil-boring insects thus creating a micro-environment
perfectly suited to nurturing follow-on generations of trees. In
some instances however, certain aggressive strains of these
usually beneficial fungi have either migrated or been introduced
into forest stands that - whether through stress caused by fire
or insect damage, or through lack of adaptation to the
particular fungus, or through some as-yet unidentified mechanism
- are unable to ward off the naturally destructive actions of
the fungi, causing widespread premature death of large patches
of otherwise marketable timber. This study attempts a numerical
analysis of the correlation between fungal populations, tree
species densities, key environmental influences, and overall
tree mortality with the goal of identifying plausible trigger
mechanisms and possible treatment/prevention methodologies.
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The
Battle Above: Competitive Pressures Affecting Long-Term
Survivability of Forest-Atmosphere Interface Insect Species
Supervising
investigator Mortimer Kelly, PhD.
In recent
years concepts and metaphors from other fields of Biology and
natural science have made their way into the study of Forest
Ecology and have enriched our ability to visualize and
understand the dynamic processes of the forest vis-à-vis the
world beyond its borders - in particular the notion of the
forest as "ocean" with more or less distinct
"layers" or bio-habitats from ground level to forest
crown. This "ocean" is affected not only by the sun
and rain and wind that directly touches the forest, but also by
weather events and man-made (or man-caused) influences far
beyond the forest's limits. Paradoxically, these macro-environmental
influences can have profound effects on the micro-environments
that occur in the thin and fluctuating layer that defines the
boundary between lower atmosphere and the forest crown. Almost
everything within this boundary is different from what is
measured either at ground level or just 20 feet above the forest
crown. It is a region where the localized turbulence created by
highly pliable treetops (analogous to the wave crests in the
open ocean) provide not only more light, more rain, and more
wind that at levels only a few yards further down the tree
trunk, but also expose creatures that live in this
sub-environment to greater competition from species that either
drift in via air currents, are deposited by transiting birds, or
(in the case of certain spores) settle out in raindrops
condensed from evaporated water that originated hundreds of
miles distant.
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Anomalous
Solutes in Groundwater Samples Drawn from Near-Surface and
Seasonal Springs Peripheral to the Sunken Valley Research
Quadrant
FOREST
ECOLOGY research team findings:
Routine
testing of groundwater samples throughout the CFRC research grid
over the last three years has suggested the possibility that
certain unexpected and currently unexplainable contaminants have
migrated into the deep aquifer that underlies the region.
Further, the data would seem to indicate that these contaminants
have found one or more access routes to the surface and may be
affecting some of the flora and fauna typically found in the
research grid. Of particular concern is the apparent presence of
trace amounts of potentially mutagenic biochemical compounds as
well as some complex organic molecules whose chromatographic
signatures closely resemble agents which are either used in or
which are a byproduct of commercial pharmaceutical production.
These readings, while dubious and in some ways suspicious, have
not yet been explained away as equipment malfunction or procedural
error. However, because the CFRC station is relatively far
removed from any major metropolitan area, and at least 200 miles
from any known pharmaceutical production facility, the presence
of such compounds - such it be confirmed - would be a matter of
significant public concern. Dr. Alejandro Penfield, a
Distinguished Research Fellow at the Academie du Science et
Technologie, will be arriving at the CFRC late 2010 to head up a
detailed investigation into this matter.
Note:
The studies summarized above are all classified as In
Progress and as such do not purport to deliver any
actionable conclusions at this time. Findings of certain
privately-funded research undertakings are available only in
summary form. For additional information concerning unrestricted
research programs or to learn more about how your organization
can contract for a customized Forest Ecology research program,
please contact the CFRC Information
Office.
