This page gives an overview of the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) goals and objectives. For information about study sites, harvesting treatments, sampling design, and more, see our Study Design page and US Forest Service General Technical Report NRS-P-108, The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: A Framework For Studying Responses to Forest Management.
The Issue
Forest management in the eastern United States is faced with many modern challenges. Professional foresters have an innovative set of management options for the maintenance of healthy forest ecosystems. But some options raise public objections when applied to public lands (e.g., types of timber harvest, prescribed fire) and the effects of some management options on forests and their native inhabitants are poorly understood. Moreover, forest lands in the eastern and Midwestern United States primarily are in small privately-owned parcels that change ownership relatively frequently. These lands are often managed for short-term financial gains rather than long-term sustainability.
As populations of some forest organisms decline, restrictions on landowners may increase because species become classified as endangered or threatened (e.g., the Indiana bat), while increasing populations of other species (white-tailed deer, invasive plants) create economic and ecological challenges. These problems are compounded by the lack of scientifically rigorous research on the overall impacts of forest management on the effected ecosystems and their components. To address this set of issues, the HEE, a long-term, large-scale experimental study of forest management and its impacts, was initiated in 2006.
Research Goals and Objectives
The primary research goal of the HEE is as follows:
What are the ecological and social impacts of long-term forest management on public and private lands in Indiana and the Central Hardwoods Region?
The objectives of the HEE are diverse, because the information will be of use to a broad array of potential users. Our research objectives include efforts to:
- Develop a proven system of forest management prescriptions to maintain desired populations of native plant and animal species and important communities such as those dominated by oak species;
- Understand the response of targeted native wildlife and plant species to forest management, in order to identify the positive effects and mitigate the potential negative effects on species of conservation concern;
- Assess public attitudes towards forest management to develop new approaches for education of the general public and private landowners; and to engage various interest groups in a discussion of proper land management;
- Identify direct and indirect benefits of specific forest management practices to local and regional communities, and understand the impact of forest management practices in community development.
Project Outcomes
The HEE is in its initial stages and is planned as a 100-year project. Data were collected for two years prior to the first round of timber harvests and inventories have been conducted annually since, allowing us to quantify the varied responses of plants and animals to active forest management. This data will ultimately be used to develop management prescriptions that provide for resilient and sustainable managed forest ecosystems in Indiana.
Project Contributions
Over 40 M.S. and Ph.D. level graduate students to date have completed all or part of their research as part of the HEE. The project has also employed more than 250 undergraduate and post-graduate students to conduct field work. In addition to the US Forest Service General Technical Report NRS-P-108, The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: A Framework For Studying Responses to Forest Management, HEE data has contributed to the publication of more than 60 peer-reviewed journal publications. The HEE is also involved in many local and national outreach and extension events with partners like the White Oak Initiative, Let the Sun Shine In, US FS, and Purdue FNR Extension. In addition, the HEE has been highlighted in media outlets including the Chicago Tribune, Hoosier Ag Radio, WTHR Channel 13 Indianapolis, The Herald Times (Bloomington), and WIBC 93.1FM/1340 AM Indianapolis.
Study Design
This page provides information on the overall design of the project, including study sites, treatment methods and sampling design. A more comprehensive description is available in The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: A Framework for Studying Responses to Forest Management.
Study Sites
Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests
Study sites are spread over Morgan-Monroe State Forest (MMSF) and Yellowwood State Forest (YSF) in south central Indiana. MMSF is over 9,712 hectares in Morgan and Monroe Counties, and was established in 1929. YSF encompasses over 9,439 hectares of Brown County and was established in 1940.
Nine HEE Research Units were established in MMSF and YSF in 2006. Each unit has a central research core area and a buffer area around this core. The units were created using existing Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry management tracts. Each research core is comprised of 2-3 management tracts, and tracts adjacent to these cores are designated as buffers. The size of the research cores and their buffer areas range from 364 ha (900 acres) to 405 ha (1000 acres). The 9 management units were randomly drawn from 11 possible areas. Each of the 9 units was then randomly assigned to a treatment, with 3 units assigned as control units, 3 to even-aged management, and 3 to uneven-aged management.
Harvesting Treatments
Control
The three units assigned as the controls receive no harvest or burn treatments in the 200-acre Research Core for the duration of the study. The control units are used to monitor variation in plant and animal populations and communities in the absence of active forest management.
Uneven-aged management units
Uneven-aged management within the designated Research Cores consist of four 0.4 ha (1.0 ac), two 1.2 ha (3.0 ac), and two 2 ha (5.0 ac) openings. In the remaining area of the uneven-aged research core, single tree selection with a target basal area of 16.1 – 23.0 m2/ha (70 – 100 ft2/ac) was harvested. Single trees are not harvested within 15.2 m (50 ft) of the harvest area boundaries to avoid expanding the size of the openings. The harvest design for the uneven-aged Research Cores were designed in consultation with HEE researchers. This treatment was designed with the intent of replicating the current silvicultural practices used at Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests.
Even-aged management units
Management within the even-aged Research Cores consists of 4-hectare (10-acre) openings using clearcut and shelterwood harvesting methods. Four openings were created; two openings were clearcut and two were harvested as shelterwoods. The return interval for each opening will be 100 years.
Timber Sales for Initial Treatment Establishment
Timber was posted for closed bid on April 17, 2008 at Morgan-Monroe State Forest. To account for the variation in logging techniques (machinery, etc.), the units were divided up into blocks which include a control, an uneven-aged, and an even-aged management unit (Table 1).
Table 1: Timber Sale Block Unit Assignments
| Block Name | Uneven Aged Unit | Even-Aged Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan-Monroe | Unit 1 | Unit 3 |
| Yellowwood West | Unit 8 | Unit 6 |
| Yellowwood East | Unit 7 | Unit 9 |
The Morgan-Monroe Block contained a total of 742,149 board feet of timber marked for sale. Yellowwood West had 425,978 board feet. Yellowwood East had 442,334 board feet.
Timber was sold in blocks, and the buyer agreed to use the same crew on both the uneven- and even-aged units within the block. Buyers were asked to begin harvesting as soon as possible. Uneven-aged unit harvests had to be completed and closed prior to harvesting in the even-aged unit. All harvesting had to be completed and closed by February 28, 2009. Best Management Practices were to be followed when applicable. Table 2 shows the approximate start date and close date for each unit.
Table 2: Harvest Dates and Equipment Used by Sale Block
| Uneven-Aged Unit | Even-Aged Unit | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block Name | Start Date | Close Date | Start Date | Close Date |
| Morgan-Monroe | 7-15-08 | 9-8-08 | 11-15-08 | 12-04-08 |
| Yellowwood West | 10-6-08 | 11-30-08 | 12-1-08 | 1-6-09 |
| Yellowwood East | 9-9-08 | 10-3-08 | 10-4-08 | 10-17-08 |
Sampling Design
Vegetation Sampling
To monitor the growth and condition of the forest over time, a total of 716 vegetation inventory plots were established across the nine HEE research units on a 75 x 150 meter grid. A broad range of data has been collected at each plot including the diameter, species, light field, strata, condition, and location of overstory trees. Similar data has been collected for saplings within the plots. In addition, decay class, height, and species is recorded for all snags (standing dead trees) within the plots. Data concerning herbaceous plants and seedlings is also recorded at these same plots. Full inventories of all plots are designed to follow a four-year schedule. Over time, this data will be used to calibrate regional growth and yield models, validate remotely sensed data, and be related to habitat analyses for wildlife and insect communities.
Animal Sampling
Species selected for study include a range of vertebrate taxa that represent both species of management concern and species indicative of microhabitat conditions and successional stages. Selected forest vertebrates are monitored before and after management treatments to determine the impacts on individual, population and community levels. Surveys of breeding birds, small mammals, bats, and amphibians will target selected species of interest, but data will be collected on all species detected.
In addition to vertebrate species sampling, an important aspect of the project is the invertebrate component. Longhorned beetles and moth species are also being collected to determine the effects of timber management on their populations.
Social Sampling
Many attitudes and values toward forest management are held by stakeholders. We aim to better understand attitudes toward forest management practices and policies, to engage stakeholders and decision-makers in dialogue, and to design outreach programs aimed at affecting the attitudes and behavior of recreational visitors and landowners living adjacent to or near the Morgan-Monroe State Forest. The sample for this component of the research consists of neighboring landowners and recreational visitors to the forest.