LTREB: Collaborative Research: Long-term Studies of Forest Dynamics on the North Carolina Piedmont

9707551目前关于森林演替的性质和机制的许多不确定性是缺乏长期数据集的结果，特别是关于个别植物的建立、生长和死亡模式的数据集。北卡罗来纳州山前的森林长期以来一直被视为研究次生演替的模式系统，部分原因是可以获得森林发展的长期记录。尚待解决的关键问题包括在从平均年龄林向所有年龄林过渡期间影响社区重组的进程，以及大的、不经常发生的骚乱的作用。该项目将继续对杜克森林及其附近丰富的长期研究地块进行测量，从而提高该遗址作为研究演替的模式系统的价值。1996年9月，许多长期地块受到飓风弗兰的不同程度影响，为该项目提供了新的方向和机遇。众所周知，飓风等重大干扰在森林动态中发挥着重要作用，但这种事件很少发生在具有足够长期研究历史的地点，以便能够评估干扰事件引起的生态过程的变化。国际热带木材研究所研究的第二个重点将是杜克森林数据的记录和存档，包括标准元数据，以便分发给当前和未来的研究人员。最终，调查人员将可以通过标准网络协议自由访问这些数据。

9707551 Peet Much of the current uncertainty regarding the nature and mechanisms of forest succession is a consequence of the paucity of long-term data sets, particularly those dealing with patterns of establishment, growth, and mortality of individual plants. The forests of the North Carolina Piedmont have long been viewed as a model system for the study of secondary succession, in part because of the availability of long-term records of forest development. Among the key issues that remain to be resolved are the processes that influence community reorganization during the transition from even-aged to all-aged stands and the role of large, infrequent disturbances. This project will continue measurements of a rich assemblage of long-term research plots in and near the Duke Forest and thereby enhance the value of this site as a model system for the study of succession. In September 1996, many of the long-term plots were impacted to various degrees by Hurricane Fran which provides a new direction and opportunity for this project. Major disturbances like hurricanes are known to play an important role in forest dynamics, but rarely do such events occur on sites with a sufficient long-term history of research to allow assessment of the changes in ecological processes induced by the disturbance event. A second focus of tis study will be the documentation and archiving of the Duke Forest data, including standard metadata, for distribution to current and future researchers. Ultimately, these data will be freely accessible to investigators via standard network protocols.