Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
Maryland
1050 ha varied landscape
mostly deciduous forest
Key Investigators/Institutional Affiliations:
* Geoffrey G. Parker (SERC) and David C. Correll (SERC)
* contact person's e-mail address:PARKER@SERC.SI.EDU
* web-link
Sponsors:
* Smithsonian Institution, NASA-GSFC
Location/Principal biome/main communities:
* Location: 38 ° 53 ´ Latitude (N), 76 ° 33 ´ Longitude (W)
- 25 miles east of Washington D.C.; long-term research site of about 1050 ha
* map
* Elevation: 11 m (above msl) at tower
* Precipitation: 1080 mm; Temperature: 13.2 degrees C
* Slope / Exposure: nearly flat around tower
* Canopy height: 36m (mean top height of dominants), 40 m maximum
* Canopy structure: leaf area density distribution has peaks in understory and overstory
* Canopy roughness - soon to be available
* Fetch - nearly continuous vegetation for 2 km in most directions
* Vegetation around tower is mature (about 95 years old)
- deciduous forest of the "tulip poplar association"
Since:
* Eddy correlation: nearly continuous since January, 1995
* Profile microclimatology: nearly continuous since January, 1992
Research topics:
* Long-term community, ecosystem and landscape studies
* Influence of canopy structure on
- a) forest environment
- b) exchange of matter and energy
* Forest development on the mid-Atlantic coastal plain
* Remote sensing of canopy structure and stand function
Instrumentation:
* Top of 50 m walk-up scaffolding tower:
- a) rain gauge
- b) net radiation
- c) upward/downward looking pyranometers
- d) wind speed and direction
- e) eddy correlation instruments on elevated, rotatable spar
- i) three-axis sonic anemometer (10Hz)
- ii) hygrometer (10 Hz)
- iii) Li-Cor IRGA (10 Hz)
* Profile at eight levels (1.4 to 50m) on tower (15 minute averaging):
- a) temperature
- b) relative humidity
- c) wind speed (cup anemometer)
- d) PAR (quantum flux)
- e) CO2 concentration (ppm)
* Ground level
- a) barometric pressure
- b) soil heat flux
- c) soil temperature at 3 depths
Core & Ancillary Measurements:
* Stem growth measurements on 1.56 ha plot around tower (DBH > 2 cm)
* Spatial distribution of all canopy trees (DBH > 20 cm) within 200-300m
* GIS overlays of land use within about 20 km
* Canopy structural measurements (including LAI since 1987)
* Event-based equations for canopy and litter interception
* Some measurements of forest floor CO2 evolution
