Monitoring:
Monitoring is an essential component of the ASCC study. Research partners from many institutions are working together to investigate the effectiveness of different silvicultural treatments aimed at creating adaptive ecosystems. Some of the monitoring items include:
- Residual tree survival and growth
- Natural regeneration survival and growth
- Planted regeneration survival and growth
- Microclimate conditions
- Understory plant cover and diversity
- Pollinator abundance
- Nutrient cycling
Progress & Next Steps:
Each of the adaptation treatments will be replicated 4 times across a 400-acre (160-hectare) area on the Colorado State Forest. The Colorado State Forest Service is collaborating with key partners, including the Colorado State Forest Service Nursery, to determine potential seedlots for future-adapted seedlings. Pre-treatment forest inventory data is currently being collected on the study site and the treatment units will be implemented in the summer of 2023/2024. Future data will be collected at 1,2,3,5, and 10 years post set-up. It will focus on tree regeneration, forest growth, forest health, and carbon and nutrient fluxes, wildlife habitat, and water quality.