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About VFEF:
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The 1200 acre managed mixed-oak forest is a cooperative effort between the MeadWestvaco (formerly Mead Paper Corporation) and the
Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. The compound includes a
conference building, large equipment barn, bunkhouse, gazebo, and an electronic weather
station. The Hopewell Lodge, named for the Native Americans who once occupied the
area, is home to visiting scientists and research technicians while they are working at
the experimental forest.
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On-going research at the VFEF:
- Fire & Fire Surrogate Research-
The FFS study began in 2000 and attempts to restore mixed oak forests in southeastern
Ohio by combining selective harvesting with prescribed fires.
- Ecosystem Management Study- Four different
areas (two at the VFEF) are being studied to understand the effects of
prescribed burning on the regeneration of oak-dominated ecosystems in southern
Ohio.
- Silvicultural Methods Study - Eleven different harvesting methods
are being tested side-by side to gauge how the intensity of cutting, along
with site quality and topographic factors, affect growth and species composition.
- Uneven-Age Silviculture Study - Variations of traditional
cutting practices and management methods are being applied to an uneven-age
forest wherein individual trees vary in age, with at least three different
age classes present. The overall purpose is to find ways for the forests
of today and tomorrow to meet a variety of goals including those pertaining
to timber production, watershed management, aesthetics, recreation and
wildlife management.
- Even-Age Silviculture Study - Traditional cutting practices
and management methods primarily utilized to achieve timber production
goals are being applied to an even-age forest, but at different seasons
of the year, in different quality sites and in different aged stands.
- Even-Age Intermediate Silvicultural Study - Pre-commercial and
commercial thinnings, weedings, salvage cuttings and other treatments are
being applied to measure their effects on the timing, quality and value
of timber yields and to determine the best methods of managing a stand
to provide economic returns throughout the length of its rotation.
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RWU NE-4153, USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio, USA
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