Progress 03/01/19 to 02/28/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Throughout this project, 38 students or recent grads had intensive hands-on training, with over 200 more exposed to the research through lectures and presentations. Over 90% of these were minorities. The output of this work will be continued to be used in teaching and training material and would be expected to reach 80+ a year for the next 4 years. During the first-year reporting period, 12 students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field reach dendrology and forest science to identify common wildlife, data management, and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 50 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Botany, Ecology, and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. Due to delayed grant setup and COVID-19, the large educational component will run Summer 2021. During the second-year reporting period, 9 students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field reach dendrology and forest science, to identify common wildlife, data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 32 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Ecology, and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. Due to COVID-19, the large educational component will run Summer 2021. During the third year reporting period, 15 students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field research dendrology, and forest science, to identify common wildlife, and data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 60 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Ecology, and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. During the fourth-yearreporting period (extension), 2 students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field research dendrology, and forest science, to identify common wildlife, and data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 80 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Ecology, and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the fourth-yearreporting period (extension), 2 students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field research dendrology, and forest science, to identify common wildlife, and data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 80 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Ecology, and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. New staff used this base data as training, along with training videos that were developed for the field crew. Staff involved in this project were given professional development opportunities with a number of external partners, including UAH and Morton Arbortum. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Research data has been integrated into three courses, from freshman to graduate students Primary PI had health issues over the last 12 months and three manuscripts are in development. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. Undergrad Training: The primary direct funding and training of undergrads through this grant concluded last year. We were able to leverage this work and research site to work with American Conservation Corp and assisted in training new crews for continuing the census. Two undergraduate students from AAMU continued working on research projects based on the plot data.Casey Mills (AAMU) focused her research on Walking Fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum) habitat throughout the plot. CJ Holden's work focused on developing educational research materials. Samford UniversityEnvironmental ScienceundergraduateMadelyn Thompson (a summer intern at the Morton Arboretum) was assisted on plot Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) taxonomy. 2. Three graduate students are now using the base data from the plot to extend their research. Three funded projects will continue this work. 3. Listing in process
Publications
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Progress 03/01/21 to 02/28/22
Outputs
Target Audience:During the third year reporting period, 15students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field research dendrology, and forest science, to identify common wildlife, and data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 60 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Ecology, and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the third year reporting period, 15students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field research dendrology and forest science, to identify common wildlife, and data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 60 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Ecology, and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The local community has been engaged through hunt club meetings, the broader scientific community has been engaged at conferences and workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Currently on an extension - finishing out data QA/QC and developing papers and presentations.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. Infuse undergraduate students from AAMU's forestry and ecology program with experiential training from leading scientists by intensive engagement in ecological research, experimental design, plot establishment, quantitative analysis, and leadership training and experience. Our fourth field season lasted from June-August 2021. By this point AAMU, having adjusted to the Covid-19 pandemic, allowed us to hire a much larger team as we'd planned for the Summer 2020 season. The same field coordinator and dendrologist continued on, Zane Green was promoted to the team leader position, and we were able to hire 8 new field technicians, including several AAMU students and recent graduates. The new technicians, several with backgrounds in the natural resource sciences (i.e. biology, forestry, environmental sciences), included: Lorra Carter [University of North Alabama], Casey Mills [AAMU], Evan Tenorio [AAMU], Christopher Holden [AAMU], Ethan Vroonland [AAMU], Isabelle Barnes [University of Alabama of Huntsville], Tavis Ewing [University of Alabama of Huntsville], and Angus Pritchard [University of the South, Sewanee]. We also hadone of the AAMU students, Shawn Troby, from the AAMU Spring 2021 Summer Forestry Field Techniques course stay on to volunteer for a couple of weeks into the season. This season we were offered additional activities and experiences like a bioblitz with Bert Harris and Jared Gorrell and a lecture series organized by William Finch and Dr. Stephen Hubbell. The following fall field season ran from September-mid November 2021. We didn't have the funds to maintain the entire group from the summer season, but we did keep Zane, Tavis, and Lorra. We also invited back one of our crew veterans, Olivia. Casey Mills worked for Dr. Lemke as an undergraduate student worker and, being inspired during her stint on the summer team, is starting her own research project about ferns on the research plot. This was a vital period in the project as we pushed hard to complete a 20ha research area. We fell just short of our goal, but hope to finish up the remaining quadrats in the spring. This season we paid particular attention to mentoring our crew, as they were all unsure what direction they wanted to take in their careers. We helped them in fine-tuning their resumes, allowed them to try other activities like bat-netting and helping with the assembly of a greenhouse aquaponics system, and invited them tomeet with USDA Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Allison Cochran as she presented a new mentoring program available through the Alabama Chapter of the Wildlife Society. Several local individuals visited the site and generously took the time to mentor our young recruits. Some of these individuals includeDr. Luben Dimov, a Co- Principle Investigator on the project and dendrologist, forest ecologist, and former faculty in the Forestry Program at Alabama A&M University; Bill Finch, a Co-Principle Investigator on the project and a naturalist and botanist; Beth Maynor Finch, a conservation photographer; and Dr. Heather Howell, an Adjunct Faculty, Wildlife Research Associate, and ecologist in the Forestry Program at Alabama A&M University, and several of the scientists that presented at the summer 2021 lecture series. 2. Engage students with eminent forest scientists from multiple institutions to undertake research on (i) forest woody species composition, structure, and dynamics, (ii) mechanisms that maintain tree diversity in species-rich temperate forests, and (iii) the impact of climate change on forests. As of February 2022, there were 35 Families, 50 genera, and 77 species of woody plants (trees and shrubs) tagged within the 20 ha Plot. The most abundant species are sugar maple, Acer saccharum (or Acer saccharum complex), and American Beech, Fagus grandifolia; several species are represented singly or by a few individuals. These are primarily non-native invasive species that are found in disturbed areas, native, successional, edge species, found along the road or in openings, and shrubs that rarely have stems that reach 10cm in diameter. Four non-native, invasive woody species have been tagged on the Plot. Oaks (Quercus spp.) and Hickories (Carya spp.) are represented by the greatest number of species per genera. Fabaceae is the most represented family. Northern spicebush, Lindera benzoin, is an abundant, multi-stemmed understory shrub found at lower elevations in the Plot. 3. Become an active member of the Smithsonian Institution's ForestGEO research network, in which the same forest patterns and processes are studied worldwide. Currently in progress
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Lemke, D., Dimov, L. & Condit, R. (2022) Forest Dynamics of Southeastern Forests: An Education-focused Project that Builds Long-term Research Capacity. ARD Research Symposium 2022: Pathways to Building Back Better. Atlanta, GA 4/2-4/5/2022
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Mills, C. & Lemke, D. (2022) Ferns of the Paint Rock Forest Dynamics Plot. Alabama A&M University Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Day March 24th, 2022
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
NPR interview of field crew - NIFA is acknowledged in the link given to our website
https://whyy.org/episodes/the-fight-against-extinction/
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Progress 03/01/20 to 02/28/21
Outputs
Target Audience:During the second year reporting period, 9 students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field reach dendrology and forest science, to identify common wildlife, data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 32 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Ecology, and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. Due to COVID-19, the large educational component will run Summer 2021. Changes/Problems:A new research plan was submitted and approved to adjust for Covid, this primarily focused on shifting how personal worked, not changing the objectives or outcomes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the first year reporting period, 9 students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field reach dendrology and forest science, to identify common wildlife, data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 32 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Ecology and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This year dissemination was limited with shifting conferences and less open visitation at the site. We now have in place protocolto make visiting easier and professional organization have developed great remote options for sharing knowledge, so this will be more complete in 2021. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We should complete the first 25 ha by the end of summer this will give us a full data set to the work on strong publications and further development of grants. This should happened toward the end of 2021.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our 1st field season was impacted by Covid, we shifted the work to small teams running though out the year, this increases the supervision need but keeps crew sizes at Covid safe numbers and distances.The field crew was comprised of a field coordinator (Patience Knight), a botanist (Helen Czech), and four field technicians. We ran crews in one season in 2020; fall Sept to Nov and restarted in spring (Feb to April).We made progress on our forest inventory, having tagged, measured, mapped, and identified all trees of greater than one-centimeter diameter at breast height on a further threeha of our field site. Our field technicians varied in their fieldwork experience (some having none at all), so we had the opportunity to teach them how to work effectively and safely in challenging field conditions, to expose them to and train them in forestry concepts including dendrology and forest science, to identify common wildlife, and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Along with three hectares of data collection and strong professional development, we produced training material that will be used both for future fields season and other projects. This included safety training modules that focused on practical applications relevant to the project. Protocol was developed for the long-term management of the scientific validity of the site, this included visitors logs, visitor training, QA/QC practices. We have started on online training to pre-train crews and reduce classroom contact time and the need for large group interaction. These will be fully developed by the Summer.
Publications
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Progress 03/01/19 to 02/29/20
Outputs
Target Audience:During the first year reporting period, 12 students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field reach dendrology and forest science, to identify common wildlife, data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 50 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Botany, Ecology, and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. Due to delayed grant set up and COVID-19, the large educational component will runSummer 2021. Changes/Problems:Due to delayed grant set up and COVID-19, the large educational component will run Summer 2021. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the first year reporting period, 12 students or recent graduates were exposed to hands-on training in field reach dendrology and forest science, to identify common wildlife, data management and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Another 50 students were exposed to the research project through guest lectures in Botany, Ecology and GIS classes. More than 90% of these were minorities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?More than 40 scientists from more than 20 universities and federal, state and private research institutions across the country, including Harvard University, UCLA, University of Georgia, University of Illinois, University of North Carolina, University of Alabama, Auburn University and the National Forest Service have visited the site over the last year. Also, 11 public officials and their staff have visited the site as part of a broader engagement of the community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The focus this year will be on small team fieldwork due to Covid-19 and developing strong training material. We will never get to complete fivefurther hectares of the plot, leaving 12 ha for 2021. Field coordinator and botanist will develop research-based educational resources that can be integrated into Fall courses in both hands-on and online forums, this will give students pre-training experiences before 2021.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our 1st field season ran May-August 2019. The field crew was comprised of a field coordinator (Patience Knight), a botanist (Lynne Weninegar), two team leaders (Sam Tessel, Brittany Greene Schneck), and five field technicians (Josh Peterson, Sarah Baugh, Olivia Amos, Glenn Sayre, Meghan Letson). Our field crew, originally strangers representing five universities, developed impressive interpersonal dynamics and exhibited a fantastic work ethic. We made considerable progress on our forest inventory, having tagged, measured, mapped, and identified all trees of greater than one-centimeterdiameter at breast height on 8 ha of our field site. With an average of about 1300 trees/ha, we processed roughly 10,400 individual trees and shrubs consisting of about 84 species. Our field technicians varied in their fieldwork experience (some having none at all), so we had the opportunity to teach them how to work effectively and safely in challenging field conditions, to expose them to and train them in forestry concepts including dendrology and forest science, to identify common wildlife, and to instill in them stronger teamwork and leadership skills. Several local individuals visited the site; their visits allowed us to introduce novices to forest ecology research and expose them to fieldwork. Dr. Luben Dimov, a Co-Principal Investigator on the project and dendrologist, forest ecologist, and former faculty in the Forestry Program at Alabama A&M University; Bill Finch, a Co-Principal Investigator on the project and a naturalist and botanist; Beth Maynor Finch, a conservation photographer; Dr. Heather Howell, an adjunct faculty, Wildlife Research Associate, and ecologist in the Forestry Program at Alabama A&M University; and Helen Czech, Wildlife Research Associate, and naturalist at Alabama A&M University, visited with our field crew and took time to mentor our young recruits. Along with eight hectares of data collection and strong professional development, we produced training material that will be used both for future fields season and other projects. This included safety training modules that focused on practical application relevant to the project. Protocol was developed for the long-term management of the scientific validity of the site, this included visitors logs, visitor training, QA/QC practices.
Publications
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