Progress 08/01/11 to 07/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The land for the Rogers Research Site was willed to the University of Wyoming by William R. Rogers. In his will he directed as follows. "I direct that my Successor Trustee convey any interest I retain at my death in Triple R Ranch in the amount of 320 acres located in township 26 north, range 71 west of Albany County, Wyoming to the University of Wyoming with the requirement that said ranch be used for the public benefit as a center for studies, a retreat for conducting meetings, conducting conferences or conducting research in connection with the improvement of wildlife and forestry, or to hold in a natural wooded area in its natural state with specific instructions that no part of it be subdivided or sold for residential or private business purposes but held as an entire tract. Said restriction is to continue in perpetuity. If violated, said property shall revert to the U.S. Forest Service." In order to honor the tone and intent of the Rogers will, efforts have been made to target audiences that have an interest in natural resource management in general and forestry specifically. As such target audiences include various private land owners in the general vicinity, many of who have forested land under their ownership. Also included are National and State forest personnel, many of who have visited the site. Other audience include other faculty and staff at the University of Wyoming who might be interested in initiating their own research at the RRS. Student groups have also been targeted, and several have visited the site including student work crews. Changes/Problems:Because of a major forest fire in the early summer of 2012, one of the study objectives was expanded to include pre- and post fire soils data. Another objective was modified to address post-fire regeneration of the major timber species that occupies the study site (Ponderosa pine). What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student completed her research project at the RRS during this research period. Another post-masters student essentially oversaw all of the establishment of the post fire ponderosa pine regeneration study. Approximately 20 different undergraduate students worked on various phases of this study particularly since the 2012 fires. Futher, undergraduate students have visited the site several times as part of class field trips. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Some results have been disseminated (see publications section of this report). The main Comprehensive Report (see publications section) is divided into three chapters. Each of these will be published separately either in journals or as AES reports. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Establish a Climate Data Base for the RRS: A data base has been established from weather stations in the vicinity. In summary, the climate is semi-arid with snowfall during at least half of the year. The growing season (temperatures above 32oF/OoC) is 100 days or less. Annual precipitation varies from around 12 inches (30 centimeters) in the foothills to as much as 40 in (100 cm) in the mountainous band that stretches from Laramie Peak to Casper Mountain. The balance of the Laramie Mountains lie between these extremes, with probably 16-20 in (41-51 cm) being the most common (Reider, et al., 1990). The number of weather stations in the Laramie Mountains has always been few and most are now discontinued. The most complete weather records in the vicinity were kept by the Double Four Ranch (elevation 6,119 ft/1,866 m), about 4 miles (6.5 km) southwest of RRS. Weather was recorded at the ranch for 50 years, from 1955-2005, after which the station was discontinued. Those records show an annual average precipitation of 15.4 in (39.2 cm) and a mean annual temperature of 47.5oF (8.4oC). In 2013 a weather station was established at the Rogers Research Site. It is an automated weather station where data is downloaded remotely to a location initially at the Powell Research and Extension Center in Powell, Wyoming. Now this information link is defunct and the intention is to download weather information to a location at the University of Wyoming. Objective 2a. Conduct an edaphic survey (parameters focused on plant growth as related to soil characteristics) at the RRS. This will include mapping of the soils and vegetation at the RRS as well as identification of nitrogen fixing species and a general identification of mycorrhizal fungi (ectomycorrhizal organisms and arbuscular mycorrhizal organisms ) and their host plants at the RRS. Surveys were completed and summarized here: Vegetation of RRS is dominated by Ponderosa pine but there are other macro-vegetative components that include aspen, willow (Salixspecies), and alder (Alnusspecies). The understory is occupied by various rosaceous and rhamnaceous shrubs, including bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) and several buck brush species (Ceanothus velutinusandCeanothus fendleri). There are numerous legumes in the understory including lupine (Lupinnus argenteus) and several types of loco weeds (Astragalusspecies andOxytropisspecies). Other forbs in the understory include thistles (Cirsiumspecies) as well as rabbit tobacco (Filago prolifera). Riparian areas often have coniferous and deciduous species intermixed and are largely dominated by aspen. Graminoids on RRS include winter bent or rough bent (Agrostis scabra). This species is common in mountains and has proliferated at RRS since the 2012 fire. Another grass that has proliferated since the 2012 fire is the highly invasive cheatgrass or downy brome (Bromus tectorum). A variety of macro-fungi have been observed at RRS. Macro-fungi were observed abundantly prior to the fire in 2012 and included a number of organisms that likely formed mycorrhizal associations with the trees, especially ponderosa pine. Among the macro-fungi observed are the king bolete (Boletus edulis), slippery jack (Suillus luteus), stubby stalk (Suillus brevipes), aspen scaberstalk (Leccinum aurantiacum) and several hedgehog mushrooms (Hydnumspecies). Other genera observed include the brittle-gills (Russulaspecies), shaggy mane (Coprinusspecies includingCoprinus commatus), field mushrooms (Agaricusspecies), and occasionally an amanita (e.g.Amanita muscaria). Objective 2b. This objective was modified due to the intensive forest fire that burned the entire Rogers Research Site in 2012. The soils focus was extended to include pre- and post-fire characterization of major soil groups at the RRS. After the fire availability of base forming cations in surface soils increased, including the important micronutrients calcium, magnesium and potassium. The increase in post-fire pH can be explained by the increase in base cations and by the combustion of organic acids and consumption of H+. Inorganic N increased significantly for both ammonium and nitrate in surface soils, and just for ammonium in all horizons. Weight %N increased as well in soils. This increase in soil N, especially the inorganic pools, is due to the release of organic bound N from surface plant and animal debris. Microbial community mortality during fire is caused by the direct effects of heating. The results of this study showed no significant difference between pre- and post-fire total abundance of several major group markers (as identified via Phospholipid Fatty Acid (PLFA) analysis). Bacterial PLFA signatures neither increased nor decreased, but a loss was observed in actinomycete communities. Fungi present in soils under ponderosa pine stands are likely dominantly arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal in nature. Since the fire destroyed much of the standing and ultimately below ground vegetative biomass, the loss of the symbiotic fungal PLFAs could partially be due to the severing and subsequent removal of physical bonds and associations formed with the plant rhizomes. More likely though, since the soil samples taken post-fire were collected so quickly after the burn, the measured mortality of these groups was due to the direct effects of heating, loss of soil moisture and other micro-site alterations. Objective 3. Determine via N15/N14 natural abundance the putative rates of nitrogen fixation in order to project a nitrogen budget for the RRS. Due to the intense forest fire during late June and early July of 2012, this objective was completely abandoned. New objectives were set to evaluate various post-fire treatments on generation of the major tree species on site, Ponderosa Pine.These were to determine: 1) if seeding a native grass mixture on the burned site will aid in controlling soil erosion; 2) which method of introducingPinus ponderosato the burned site is most effective for forest regeneration; and 3) which method of treating the burnedPinus ponderosatrees is most effective for forest regeneration. To test the experimental objectives, three treatments were applied to the burnedPinus ponderosa forest study site. An erosion control treatment was applied to half of the plots within each block by broadcasting native grass seed. A tree planting treatment was applied across each block; one-third of plots were planted with Ponderosa Pine seedlings, one-third of plots had Ponderosa Pine seed broadcasted within them, and one-third of the plots were not planted in order to observe the effects of natural regeneration. Lastly, a cutting treatment was applied to the standing dead Ponderosa pine trees within each block; one-third of plots had all trees cut and removed, one-third of plots had all trees cut with slash left behind, and one-third of plots did not receive any cutting. To test the experimental objectives, four blocks were established within RRS, each located in a unique watershed. Within each experimental block, eighteen replicated plots were established; all plots were 50 meters × 50 meters, or 0.6 acres. Every plot received a combination of three treatments. The heterogeneity within each unique watershed (i.e. boulders, steep slope, existing structure, difference in tree density) created experimental challenges. Regardless, 72 experimental units, or plots, were established across RRS.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Williams, S. E. 2015. Rogers Research Site Activities. Key Note Presentation at the SAREC (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center) Open House/Field Day, August 20, 2015.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Williams, S. E., M. E. Herget and C. D. Wilkin. 2016. Comprehensive Report on the Rogers Research Site. Introduction. S. E. Williams 16 pp.;
Chapter 1. Pre-Fire and Post-Fire Soil Comparisons. S. E. Williams and C. D. Wilkin. 13 pp.; Chapter 2. Soil Amendment and Microbial Community Recovery after Highly Severe Forest Fire. C. D. Wilkin and S. E. Williams. 24 pp.; Chapter 3. Restoration of Ponderosa Pine. M. E. Herget and S. E. Williams. 30 pp; APPENDICES: Nine Appendices totaling 139 pages.
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Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences reached during the reporting period in question include scientists in forestry, natural resource conservation and fire ecology as well as graduate and undergraduate students in these disciplines. Changes/Problems: The major change in this project has been that Dr. Axel Garcia y Garcia has left the University of Wyoming system and has secured a postion elsewhere. His absence should not have a negative impact on the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The project has provided for the training of one graduate student (Claire Diane Wilkin) who earned her masters degree and wrote her thesis on the RRS graduatating in fall 2014. Field trips of students in the class Forest and Range Soils have visited the site to learn of soil based fire ecology. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The thesis by Claire Wilkin is on file at the University of Wyoming Libraries and in the Departmental Library. Abstracts of papers have been published. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next reporting period weather station records will be downloaded on a server at the Univeristy of Wyoming campus,The edaphic Survey will be completed, and natural abundances of N15/N14 will be completed. In addition, a study examining erosion control measures will be set up, as well as various methods to establish Ponderosa Pine on the site will be completed.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Establish a climate database at RRS: The weather station at the RRS became functional during the reporting period and weather records, including soil temperature, are available. Objective 2a: The edaphic survey is in progress at the RRS in cooperation with Dr. L. C. Munn. Objective 2b: The edaphic survey has included excavation of eight pits and descriptions as well as chemical, physical and biological analysis of the soil horizons in those pits. Objective 3: Determine putative rates of nitrogen fixation on the RRS. Nitrogen fixing systems on the RRS have been identified but N15/N14 natural abundances have not been determined yet.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Wilkin, Clair Diane. 2014. Soil Amendments and Microbial Community Recovery Following High Intensity Forest Fire. Masters of Science thesis in Environmental Engineering (Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, University of Wyoming. Committee: M. Urynowicz (Co-Chair), S. Williams (Co-Chair), P Colberg. 91 pages.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Wilkin, C. D. and S. E. Williams. 2014. Enhancement of Microbial Community Recovery Following a High Intensity Forest Fire. Poster in: Climate Change, Adaptation and Mitigation. Soil Science Society of American special session. Sacramento, California.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Williams, S. E., S. Bellgard, J. Aronis and B. Boldgiv. 2014. Developing National Biosecurity Charters: Safeguarding Forest and Agro-ecosystems for cultural and functional integrity. Oral Presentation IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organizations). Salt Lake City, Utah. October 5-10, 2014.
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Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences include students (in a formal class) that visited the site, researchers that were introduced to research on-going on the site, and several land owners in the area interested in forest management. Changes/Problems: The most significant problem that has resulted in significant changes was the fire the essentially burned all of the research site during the summer of 2012. Although this fire occurred prior to this reporting period, the re-establishment of electrical power on the RRS, removal of hazard trees and reconsidering the original objectives when factoring in the result of the forest fire have all contributed to not so much a revision of the original objectives, but more how those objectives will be attained. Indeed, the forest fire has provided more opportunity than the original, unburned site provided. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The graduate student on this project has learned to design field studies, sample and analyze soils including mineral nitrogen analysis, phosphorus, basic cations, pH, total nitrogen, total carbon and electrical conductivity. Undergraduates on this project have learned also to design field studies, take soil samples and determine pH and electical conductivity in the field. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been communicated to the State Forestry Division as well as to Medicine Bow National Forest. Under each objective, the following impacts have been reported in both written and oral form: Objective 1. Weather Station: The weather station is now established and functioning. Data is being generated and stored. There is considerable interest by State Forestry Division as well as, to a lesser degree, the USDA Forest Service in this station and supplementing it with RAWS instrumentation. The RRS is effectively surrounded by USDA Forest Service lands as well as State of Wyoming Trust lands. The entire ecological unit of ponderosa pine woodlands that here lies on a sub-range to the east of and of the Laramie Mountain Range, is not well instrumented for weather and fire weather information. The State Forestry Division wants the weather station at the RRS to meet the codes and certification of the Remotely Accessed Weather System (RAWS), a networked system used by the Federal agencies in the region. This will be important in monitoring precipitation events as well as snow pack and will be important to fire weather forecasting. Objective 2a. Fortuitously, a good vegetation map of the RRS was generated in 2007 (Seymour, 2007). This was useful in establishing the 50 meter by 50 meter plots that are part of the plan for detailing vegetation and soil properties. Although a complete vegetation survey was not done of each plot in June of 2012, rough maps were generated and the plots were photographed. Further, a soil pit was excavated in the center of each plot and samples taken by horizon. These were analyzed for standard soil characteristics (see outputs above). The fire burned through the RRS on July 1st, 2012. There was not public access to the fire immediately after the fire. Roughly three days after the fire, there was a rainstorm that moved through the area and deposited an estimated 1.5 inches of precipitation in less than one day. This event extinguished the fire, but it also caused considerable erosion of surface materials from the area including the RRS. Access to the fire are was not possible until the 11th of July, at which time we began to relocate and re-establish plot corner stakes and take post fire soil samples for analysis. Objective 2b. Post fire samples showed considerable phosphorus in surface ash material (a change from 31 mg/kg of phosphate P to 90 mg/kg) and change in pH, mostly in the range of 0.6 pH units higher in the post burn samples than in the pre-burn samples. It is unusual to secure pre-burn and post-burn soils data so close to the actual date of the burn. This is an exceptionally valuable as well as fortuitous data set. Objective 3. The effort to detail nitrogen cycle at the RRS is taking a different dimension due to the fire which occurred during the summer of 2012. There are few outcomes to report at this time. Further, it will be several years likely before enough regeneration has occurred on the RRS in order to secure even a qualitative notion of the rate of nitrogen cycling in the ponderosa pine forest of the RRS. The landscape level study will provide more complete information on nitrogen cycling in this environment. This study will take another year to fully implement and will be a long term study perhaps spanning decades of observation. This landscape study will also provide an opportunity to demonstrate locally and regionally the methodology and logic behind forest management. This should be of interest to private land owners as well as the State Forestry Division and the National Forest System. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next reporting period, a soils map will be completed, a web page for the RRS, and establishment of the landscape level field study will be completed.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Purchase and set up a weather Station at the Rogers Research Site (RRS): Dr. Axel Garcia ordered the weather station in the spring of 2013. The station components included rain and snow measuring capability, temperature recorders, wind measuring devices, soil moisture probes, etc. The station has been installed and is fully automated, power generated via solar panels (with line back-up) and information recorded and down-loaded remotely. The specifications for this unit are such that it will become part of the Federal RAWS (Remotely Accessed Weather Stations) network that includes the above components but also monitors fire weather. Objective 2a. Conduct an edaphic survey at the RRS. Edaphic refers to the capacity of the soil to produce and support plant growth. Such a survey here goes beyond a usual soil survey, which relies mainly on abiotic characteristics of the landscape. These surveys are in progress, but have been modified due to an unforeseen happening at the RRS early in July of 2012. In mid June of 2012 a lightning strike started a forest fire on Medicine Bow National Forest north and west of the RRS. For several weeks this fire, named the Arapaho Fire, burned out of control. Medicine Bow National Forest shares boundaries with the RRS on three sides: to the west, the north and the east. On July 1 and 2, 2012, the fire burned across the RRS. Surveys since the fire show the fire was a very hot ground fire that on roughly half of the RRS also produced a crown fire. Almost all understory plants were burned away in the fire and nearly 96% of ponderosa pines were fire-killed. Larger percentages of other macro-vegetation types withstood the fire (Table 1), but overall the post-fire unburned area was only 5.5%. Much of the survey work done since the fire has focused on post-fire evaluations and resolving some of the issues associated with reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed in the fire. Table 1. Pre-fire and post-fire areas of macro-vegetation at the RRS. Vegetation Type Pre-fire area (hectares) Post-fire area (hectares) Dense Ponderosa Pine 81.5 4.5 Sparse Ponderosa Pine 21.5 0.0 Mixed Grass/Shrubs 14.5 0.0 Aspen 5.0 0.5 Willow 1.0 0.5 Aspen/Willow 2.0 1.0 Ponderosa/Aspen/Willow 0.5 0.5 TOTALS 126.0 7.0 Prior to the fire vegetation was described and soil samples taken from eight 50 meter by 50 meter plots within the RRS. This included initial mapping of the soils and vegetation at the RRS as well as identification of nitrogen fixing species and a general identification of mycorrhizal fungi (ectomycorrhizal organisms and arbuscular mycorrhizal organisms) and their putative host plants at the RRS. These organisms are major symbiotic systems that integrate mostly plants and fungi into symbioses that allow survival of both under normal soil conditions but also in harsh climates or during harsh times. Evaluation of these systems can be used as indicators of ecosystem health. This is a key issue for Aspen health. Initial efforts are underway towards a pathogen survey: survey of pine bark beetles and soil fungal pathogens as further indicator of ecosystem health. Objective 2b. Construction of soil pits and soil analysis. At the center of each of the 50 m by 50 m plots indicated above, a soil pit was constructed to capture all of the pedogenic horizons within a meter depth of the surface. In all cases but one, the pits contacted lithic materials at depths shallower than one meter. Of these plots and soils pits, two were in dense ponderosa pine, two in sparse ponderosa pine, two in aspen stands, one in very sparse ponderosa pine on a rocky outcrop and one in a riparian zone. Immediately post-fire, a second set of pits was constructed within 0.25 meters of the first set of pits on each of the eight plots. Soil analysis showed some significance (at p=0.05 or less) for surface soils only and for all soils all depths between pre-fire parameters and post fire parameters. For the five ponderosa pine sites (two dense, two sparse and one on the rocky outcrop), significant increases from pre-fire to post fire were noted in the surface soils (A horizon) for both nitrate and ammonium N; water soluble calcium, magnesium, and potassium; pH; electrical conductivity; phosphate P; and percent by weight of both nitrogen and carbon. Objective 3. Determine via N15/N14 natural abundance the putative rates of nitrogen fixation. In this part of the project non-leguminous nitrogen fixers, leguminous nitrogen fixers and biotic crust nitrogen fixers were almost entirely removed by the fire in 2012. Pre-fire these systems were coarsely identified. Non-legume nitrogen fixers identified were: Two species of buckbrush (Ceanothus velutinus and Ceanothus fendleri), bitter brush (Purshia tridentata), and in riparian areas alder (Alnus ssp). Leguminous nitrogen fixers included several members of the genera Astragalus and Oxytrophis as well as lupines (Lupinus argenteus). Biotic crustal nitrogen fixing systems were not identified pre-fire, although presence of the genus Peltigera a nitrogen fixing lichen, was noted in some areas. Post-fire, there has been some minor natural regeneration of especially understory plants on the RRS during the first fall and spring post fire. During the 2013 growing season, more grasses, shrubs and forbs have been observed on the burned area. Invasive species (e.g. Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense) have been observed on the RRS and in places abundantly. Cheat grass (Bromus techtorum), although expected, has not been observed. A landscape level study is being established to examine more fully nitrogen cycle organisms and nitrogen cycling in general in this ponderosa pine system. Three questions are addressed in this study: How will seeding of erosion control grass cover impact nitrogen cycling? How will removal of all standing biomass as well as post harvest slash impact long-term nitrogen cycling? How will ponderosa pine re-establishment methodology impact nitrogen cycling? The experimental design for this study is a 2x3x3 factorial design replicated four times in four blocks. Each block then has two grass seeding treatments (seeded and un-seeded), three cutting treatments (un-cut, cut and all saw wood and slash removed, cut and only saw wood removed-slash left on site), and three ponderosa pine re-establishment treatments (no artificial re-establishment (natural re-establishment only), re-establishment via seedling, re-establishment via out-planting seedlings (three to six month old tublings)). All of the above are providing a baseline for further forestry related as well as wildlife related projects. Literature Cited: Seymour, M. 2007. Vegetation mapping of Rogers Research area, northeast Albany County, Wyoming, using high resolution AEROCam photography, Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center internal report, 12 p.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Williams, S., A. Garcia y Garcia and J. Freeburn. 2013. Post-Fire Resource Evaluation and Forest Regeneration at the Rogers Research Site. In: Field Days Bulletin, 2013. 103-104. University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station. 169 pages.
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