N

NREM 301Forest Ecology & Soils

Day 20 – October 23, 2008

1. Answer Questions on Test2. Introduce Lab Semester Project (Reactor Woods)3. Tree & Stand Growth/Succession4. Take Home Test due Today at 5 pm – if I am not there

slide it under the door or come in and put it on my chair

Rice

Ag Study Abroad BBQToday 5-7 PMKildee PavilionFree Burgers/Ice Cream

930 ftReactor Woods Property

N

Major Project – Develop a Management Plan

Objectives for the site

• Create a natural area for local residents

• Low impact use park/wild area

• Increase biodiversity – upland & riparian forest & restore prairie

• Feature forest and prairie wildlife

• Stabilize stream banks

• Reduce surface runoff

• Reduce flooding impacts on Ames

• Develop area for outdoor classrooms

930 ftReactor Woods Property

N

Major Project – Develop a Management Plan

Major Class Activities

• Evaluate present condition of the site

• Determine what it would take to recreate pre-1800 conditions

• Develop a plan to develop & manage the area as a low impact

park and wildlife refuge

Teams7 and 89 and 10

Teams1 and 2 3 and 45 and 6

930 ftReactor Woods Property

NApproximately 76 acres

Approximately 58 acres

N

N

Vegetation, Soil & Wildlife Habitat & Stream Corridor Surveys

Forest Vegetation

Species by BA (saplings/trees)

Crop Tree Management (all prism plot “in” trees)

2 - 1 m2 plot – Herbaceousvegetation & FF conditions

Wildlife Habitat

Whitetail deer, turkey, tree squirrels

Furbearers – raccoon, fox, opossum

Neotropical birds

Pheasant & Quail

SoilsUse a probe to characterizesoil at each plot site & compareto mapping unit in survey

Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP)

Describe physical & plant community in all delineated communities

3 inventory plots in each forest community (summit/shoulder, backslope, bottomland, plantations)

3 plot descriptions in each grass, riparian perennial plant zone (data sheet provided next week)

Wildlife habitat description of each delineated community (data sheets provided next week)

3 SVAP evaluations along your reach of stream

Soils descriptions at all plots using probe if available

Vegetation Type ; Plot Number ; “In” Trees ; BA = ft2/ac

Slope Position (summit, oxbow etc.)Aspect (N, S, E, W, NE, SE, etc.)Slope (%)

Soil Mapping Unit

Parent Material

Forest floor – depth, mull, mor, moderNumber of canopies

Number of seedling/ herbaceous plant cover (%) per m2 plotLarge logs touching plot

Draw soil profile showing depth of horizons, texture and general color to 24” if possible

Crop Tree Inventory

Species DBH Height Crop treeA, WQ,

W, T

Crop TreeFTG

Other TreeCut,

leave

CanopyHt &

width

Crop Tree Management System

Manage for wildlife, timber, aesthetic or water quality crop trees.

Each tree - assessed as either a crop tree or an ‘other’ tree.

‘Other’ trees are cut (C) or leave (L) depending on their interference with a crop tree.

Crop trees should be free to grow in each of the cardinal quadrants.Timber

Aesthetic

Wildlife

1 2

3 4

Crop tree is free to grow (FTG) on 3 sides

‘Other’ treeIdeally should be cut

‘Other’ treesLeave trees – do not interfere with crop tree growth

Crop Tree – canopy expands about 1 ft per year on a side

Cover

Brood rearing cover – where young feed

Escape cover – habitat used to escape from predators

Loafing cover – habitat for resting during the day – may or maynot be the same as roosting or escape cover

Nesting cover – where wildlife nest to raise young

Residual cover – dead vegetation from previous season

Roosting cover – where wildlife sleeps or beds

Habitat Requirements• Food• Water• Cover • Space

Wildlife Habitat

Red and Gray Squirrels

Red – open woods, farm groves, woodedfence rows, crop fields (corn)

Gray – mature to over-mature mast producing forests (oak-hickory),with dense underbrush, near water

Wild Turkey

Mature oak – hickory forest

Nesting – moderately dense understorygrassy & woods, typically field/forest edge

Winter habitat – open oak-hickory withhard mast (nuts), corn fields

Roost in trees at night – oaks with leavesand conifers provide thermal cover

South & west exposure good as they mayhave less snow

Whitetail Deer

Home range – 0.5 – 1 sq mile, more movementin fall and winter

Doe seeks seclusion in brushy fields, heavilyvegetated stream bottoms, forest edges,pastures & grasslands

Winter most are in heavy timber with crop fieldedges

78% of diet is corn/soybeans

13% woody browse/ hard mast

5% forbs & grasses

FurbearersGrasslands & true wetlands

Timbered river bottoms & streamvalley corridors very important

Examples:

Opossum – brushy areas near streams

Woodchucks – timber/ open fieldedges

Red fox – more grasslands thangray fox but very adaptable

Badgers – open country

Raccoons – hollow trees near streams

Opossum, woodchuck, beaver, badgermuskrat, coyote, fox, raccoon, minkweasel, river otter, bobcat

Pheasant

Good mixtures of row crops, small grainsHay, idle grassland

Nesting habitat – undisturbed grassy areas with 8-10 inch heights – usually in residual cover – best in blocks 40 acres in size

Winter habitat – tall grassy habitats fornight roosting, shrubby for loafingduring day

Large multi-row conifer shelterbelts good during years of heavy deep snow

Gray Catbird

Migration Status: Neotropicalmigrant

Habitat: Dense undergrowth; saplings and shrubs

Diet: insects, berries

Nesting: nest in dense shrubs

American GoldfinchMigration Status: Year-round inhabitant

Habitat: Brushy and weedy

Diet: Small seeds, insects

Nesting: shrub/tree, made of plant fibers and spider webs

Downy WoodpeckerMigration status: Year-round inhabitant

Habitat: Open deciduous woodlands, especially riparian areas.

Diet: Insects (beetles, ants), berries, seeds

Nesting: Excavate cavities in soft/rotten wood

Ring-necked PheasantMigration status: Year-round inhabitant

Habitat: Size between 20-100 acres.

Nesting Habitat: >10 inch undisturbed grass with forbs

Winter Habitat: Tall weeds or shrubby during day. Tall, grassy for night

Nesting: Depression in ground.

Bob-white Quail15 acres per covey up to 80 acres per covey

• Edge habitat (early- to mid-successional stages of succession, shade intolerant annuals & clump grasses; patches of woodyplants & shrubs for cover)

• Ideal ( 50% annual weeds, legumes, row crops; 30% grasses (native clump grasses); 20% shrubby woody cover

Riparian buffer

• Most abundant small rodent in mixed forests in the eastern US • Also in brushy areas bordering agricultural lands • Build nests in warm and dry places (hollow tree, vacated bird's nest) • Home range 1/2 to 1 1/2 acres with 4 to 12 mice per acre• Live 1 year, nocturnal, omnivorous • Diet varies seasonally - seeds, berries, nuts, insects, grains, fruits, &

fungi • Do not hibernate - store seeds and nuts for the winter

White-footed Mouse(Peromyscus

leucopus)

• Most common habitats - prairies, bushy areas, & woodlands • Activity centers around a nest and food cache • In grassland nest constructed just below ground level in its own

burrow or one abandoned by another animal • In forest construct nests near ground in stumps, logs, brush piles,

tree cavities, reconstructed bird nests, tree bark• Eat insects, other invertebrates, seeds, fruits, flowers, nuts, and

other plant products• In winter groups of ten or more of mixed sexes & ages huddle

together in nests to conserve heat• In winter may enter a daily torpor to reduce body temperature &

conserve energy

Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus)

Temperature

Hei

ght

Dep

th

Bare Soil

Group Activity Draw a temperature profile for 6 am and 2 pm on a warm sunny May day over a bare field and a forest

Hei

ght

Dep

th

6 am 2 pm 6 am 2 pm

Wind Speed

Hei

ght

Dep

th

Bare Soil

Group Activity Draw a wind profile on a warm sunny May day over a bare field and a forest

Hei

ght

Dep

th Why do both begin at zero?

Wind Speed

Hei

ght

Dep

th

Bare Soil

Group Activity Draw a vapor pressure profile on a warm sunny May day over a bare field and a forest

Hei

ght

Dep

th

Open Forest

Note: 1) Where is the radiating surface?2) What are the differences in extremes at the

radiating surface?3) What are the differences in depth of heat pulse

into the soil?

Group Activity

Radiating Surface

Cool Clear Day Cold Clear Night

Explain these temperature responses and the importance of the “thermal belt”

Hemlock Seedlings

North Carolina Upper Michigan

Top Vegetative Buds

Lower Vegetative Buds

Floral Buds

Stem cambium

Roots

Rank from most to least tolerant of cold

Which seedling would have a better chance of surviving Iowa winters?

Quick Review of the Central Iowa Soil Model

Provide locations and names for the following soils:

Mucky silty clay loam in concentric depressions –

Eroded loam A/C found on upland knobs & forested backslopes –

Colluvial loam on footslope –

Loam with deep A over B in prairie uplands –

Loam with A, strong E over B in summits and shoulders along streams –

Clay loam on toe slope –

Sandy loam, deep A, localized along stream banks –

Loam with moderate A, weak E over B (ecotone) -

Okoboji

Storden

Terril

Clarion

Hayden

Coland

Hanlon

Lester

Shade Intolerant Trees Are Better or Poorer than Shade Tolerant Trees at:

Natural thinning

Juvenile height growth

Capacity for release

Having denser crowns

Having less stem taper

Better

Better

Better

Poorer

Poorer

Poorer

Better