Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest ‘Methods of Cutting’ study plots 8-11: 88+ years of forest composition

To study the effects of different logging methods on composition and growth of stands, early U.S. Forest Service scientists, including silviculturist Duncan Dunning, established ‘Methods of Cutting’ (MOC) plots in forest stands of varying composition and productivity throughout California. Four of these plots, all fully or partially on what is now the Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest (Stanislaus National Forest), were established in old-growth mixed conifer stands in 1928 and 1929. Each plot was about 10 acres in size. All trees were mapped, and data on species, diameter, and height were taken prior to logging. Patches of shrubs, tree regeneration, and downed logs were mapped on at least some plots in the initial surveys. In combination, these data provide a measure of the composition of such forests at the time. Data from MOC plots, including MOC plots 8-11 on the Stanislaus National Forest, were used in numerous early publications, including yield, stand, and volume tables. Tree data were collected again in 1934 and 1939 and then plots were abandoned when research priorities changed. The MOC plots 8-11 were re-discovered in 2005. The plot infrastructure remained nearly intact, and many numbered tree tags were still in place. Data from surveys and remeasurements taken in the 1920’s and 1930’s were found in the National Archives in San Bruno, CA. Trees were remapped and some of the original variables remeasured once again between 2007 and 2016 to address new questions about forest change, downed log and snag change, and fire-forest structure interactions over time. These four MOC plots are among the oldest mostly intact forest research plots known to exist in California. The geodatabase included in this data publication contains the location and data from trees measured in the 1928-1929, 1934, 1939 and the 2007-2016 surveys of MOC plots 8, 9, 10 and 11.The original 'Methods of Cutting' plot data provide a reference of the structure and composition of old growth mixed conifer forest on a very productive site in 1928 and 1929, and the remeasurement, completed between 2007 and 2016, demonstrates changes that have occurred in this forest as it recovered from logging in the absence of frequent fire which once characterized the disturbance regime.Information about these plots and the associated data can be found in four journal articles published between 2013 and 2021 (Knapp 2013, Lydersen 2013, Knapp et al. 2015, and Ziegler et al. 2021).

These data were published on 07/07/2021. Minor metadata updates were made on 04/18/2022.

为探究不同采伐方式对林分组成和生长的影响，美国早期森林服务局科学家，包括林学家邓肯·邓宁，在加利福尼亚州不同组成和生产力水平的林分中建立了‘采伐方法’（MOC）样地。其中四个样地，全部或部分位于现今的斯坦尼斯劳斯-图奥洛米实验森林（斯坦尼斯劳斯国家森林）内，于1928年和1929年在原生混合针叶林中设立。每个样地面积约为10英亩。在采伐前，对所有树木进行了测绘，并记录了物种、直径和高度数据。在初步调查中，对灌木丛、树木更新和倒木也进行了测绘。这些数据共同提供了当时此类森林组成的度量。包括斯坦尼斯劳斯国家森林的MOC 8-11样地在内的MOC样地数据被用于众多早期的出版物中，包括产量、林分和体积表。树木数据在1934年和1939年再次收集，随后随着研究重点的改变，样地被废弃。MOC 8-11样地在2005年被重新发现。样地基础设施基本保持完好，许多编号的树木标签仍然完好无损。1920年代和1930年代进行的调查和重测量的数据在加利福尼亚州圣布鲁诺的国家档案馆中被发现。2007年至2016年间，树木被重新测绘，部分原始变量再次进行了测量，以解决关于森林变化、倒木和树桩变化以及火灾与森林结构相互作用随时间变化的新问题。这四个MOC样地是加利福尼亚州已知的最古老且基本完好的森林研究样地之一。本数据出版物中包含的地理数据库包含了1928-1929年、1934年、1939年和2007-2016年MOC样地8、9、10和11的树木测量位置和数据。原始的‘采伐方法’样地数据为1928年和1929年在极具生产力的地点上原生混合针叶林的结构和组成提供了一个参考，而2007年至2016年间完成的重测量则展示了该森林在缺乏曾经表征干扰机制的频繁火灾的情况下从采伐中恢复所发生的变化。有关这些样地和关联数据的详细信息可以在2013年至2021年间发表的四篇期刊文章中找到（Knapp 2013，Lydersen 2013，Knapp等2015，Ziegler等2021）。这些数据于2021年7月7日发布，并在2022年4月18日进行了少量元数据更新。