The Fernow Experimental Forest,West Virginia,USA: Insights,datasets, and opportunities |
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| Authors: | Luis Andrés Guillén Mary Beth Adams Emily Elliot Jason Hubbart Charlene Kelly Brenden McNeil William Peterjohn Nicolas Zegre |
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| Institution: | 1. Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia;2. Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Madison, Wisconsin;3. Department of Geology and Environmental Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;4. Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia;5. Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia |
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| Abstract: | Long-term experimental watershed studies have significantly influenced our global understanding of hydrological processes. The discovery and characterization of how stream water quantity and quality respond to a changing environment (e.g. land-use change, acidic deposition) has only been possible due to the establishment of catchments devoted to long-term study. One such catchment is the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF) located in the headwaters of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, a region that provides essential freshwater ecosystem services to eastern and mid-western United States communities. Established in 1934, the FEF is among the earliest experimental watershed studies in the Eastern United States that continues to address emergent challenges to forest ecosystems, including climate change and other threats to forest health. This data note describes available data and presents some findings from more than 50 years of hydrologic research at the FEF. During the first few decades, research at the FEF focused on the relationship between forest management and hydrological processes—especially those related to the overall water balance. Later, research included the examination of interactions between hydrology and soil erosion, biogeochemistry, N-saturation, and acid deposition. Hydro-climatologic and water quality datasets from long-term measurements and data from short-duration studies are publicly available to provide new insights and foster collaborations that will continue to advance our understanding of hydrology in forested headwater catchments. As a result of its rich history of research and abundance of long-term data, the FEF is positioned to continue to advance understanding of forest ecosystems in a time of unprecedented change. |
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| Keywords: | experimental catchments Fernow Experimental Forest forest management hydrological processes long-term datasets |
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