OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

“Big Plot” coming to the HJ Andrews

Joe LaManna

This summer, Dr. Joseph LaManna and his team from Marquette University (http://www.lamannalab.org/) will begin installation of a 25-hectare “big plot” at the HJ Andrews.  The HJA Big Plot will be the first of its kind in Oregon, adding to a growing network that is part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Earth Observatory Network, or ForestGEO (https://forestgeo.si.edu/).  Presently there are 67 big plots in 27 countries around the globe, representing millions of trees and thousands of species.  The location of the HJA Big Plot and smaller “satellite plots” will be arrayed across an elevation-climate gradient within the HJA, leveraging and expanding on our existing network of permanent plots.  Dr. LaManna’s research will examine how interactions between forest tree species and their natural enemies or mutualists influence community assembly along the climate gradient.  He will also study density dependence and genetic diversity of tree seedlings in relation to nearby mature trees.  The PNW-PSP team and the HJ Andrews welcome Joe and this partnership with The Smithsonian ForestGEO network!