Jenny Pygmy Forest Reserve Annual Report

It was established in 1963 by the Kearney Foundation of Soil Research, Davis Campus, under the directorship of Professor P. R. Stout. 1. Current use being made The area is an integral part of the study of ecosystem evolution on the ancient marine terraces along the Mendocino coast. The project was financed by the National Science Foundation, assigned to R. J. Arkley, H. Jenny and A. M. Schultz. The grant expired February 1, 1971. Ground-water tables have been monitored once a week or every two weeks, and vegetation and soil studies have been made at frequent intervals, followed up by laboratory and greenhouse studies in Berkeley. It is impossible to say how much use has been made as there is no official record. For example, at present there are scientific tools on the property, labelled UCLA, but we have no idea who works there and how often. Visits are being conducted for teachers and students, not only by the Berkeley Faculty but also by professors from Humboldt State, Agnew, San Francisco State, Extension Service, etc. Access to the property is by a 1600 foot long trail that is purposely kept hidden to keep people out and maintain the site in an undisturbed condition. 4.Student Prepared Papers. In connection with his M.A. degree, graduate student B. C. Clark wrote a Report on Work in Progress: Plant-soil relationships in the pygmy forest of the Mendocino coast, March 1970. The work has since been expanded and a manuscript is being prepared. To make a general comment, with my European background, I am considering the pygmy reserve as a potential research area for centuries to come. As time goes on, the property will become more and more valuable scientifically. Research may not go on continuously, for much depends on funding and research interests, but even with lengthy interuptions it will become a scientific and educational show place. Another pygmy forest area has been set aside in the Jackson State Forest, but its continuation depends on all sorts of political and pressure activities in Sacramento and, really, only the U.C. property has a built in permanency for research.