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Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest
Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest is an ecological research forest in interior Alaska. Along with
Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed, Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest
is one of only two boreal forest
research facilities in the boreal forest, or taiga, zone of Alaska. The forest provides a place to
conduct ecological and forestry research, unencumbered by other management objectives.
Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest is leased to the USDA forest service,
PNW station by the State
of Alaska.
University research activities are coordinated through the
Boreal Ecology Cooperative
Research Unit (BECRU) formed through a cooperative agreement between the
University of Alaska
and the USDA Forest Service.
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The Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest (BCEF), located approximately 20 km southwest of
Fairbanks, Alaska, was established in 1963 with about 3360 ha (8,300 acres) of upland,
interior Alaska boreal forest. In 1969, the experimental forest was enlarged to 5053 ha (12,487 acres)
to include representative floodplain forests along the Tanana River. The Forest is within the Tanana
Valley State Forest, a unit managed by the Division of Forestry, State of Alaska. In 1987 the
Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research program was established, with BCEF as its primary research site.
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The area represents a transect of typical vegetation and landforms in interior Alaska, and
includes a section of the Tanana River floodplain at an elevation of approximately 120 m and
adjacent uplands. These uplands form the southern limit of the Tanana-Yukon uplands, rising to a
ridge crest of 470 m (LTER Clickable Image Map).
The vegetation, a mosaic of forest and non-forest types, corresponds to four broad topographic
zones: upland hills and ridges, lowland toeslopes and valley bottoms, old Tanana River terraces,
and the active floodplain.
Activities within the area interfering with long-term research plots is restricted through the
lease agreement. Research development within the area is managed by BECRU, Permission to
conduct research can be obtained by contacting the lead principal investigators or the site manager
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