Oneida County, Wisconsin

The Harshaw Experimental Forest is located in Cassian Township, Oneida County, WI . The forest was established in 2011 and is administered by the USDA Forest Service’s Northern Research Station.

Climate

The climate is Continental with cold winters and hot, humid summers.  Average annual temperature of  4.9°C. Summer maximums of 26 °C are common and winter minimums can reach -33 °C. Average annual rainfall is 828 mm, mostly occurring during the growing season. Snowfall averages 1477 mm per year. The growing season averages about 120 days.

Soils

 Soils in the region are young, glaciated, Alfasols, about 12,000 years old that largely developed under mixed hardwood and coniferous forest.  The soils at the Harshaw EF are predominantly mixed, frigid, coarse loamy Alfic Haplorthods with sandy loam surface layer and stratified sand and gravel substrata.  Occasional clay layers at 30 to 60 cm occur throughout the property.  Prior to acquirement by the FS, most of the site was farmed for potatoes and small grains for about 50 years thus much of the area is overlaid by a 30 cm plow layer.  Topography is gently rolling to level, 1574 feet above MSL.

Vegetation

This 520 acre site lies in the ecotone between the Eastern Deciduous and Boreal biomes.  The property was purchased by the USFS in 1972, at which time it was predominantly agricultural field.  Since 1972 it has been used by the FS Institute for Applied Ecosystem Studies (IAES) in Rhinelander for short rotation intensive culture, mixed genetics trials, which were initiated in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and global change research.  A small woodlot of second-growth upland hardwoods is also present.

 

Areas by Cover Type	Acres
Upland Hardwoods	140
Fallow Pasture	60
Planted Red Pine	100
Research Plantations Jack pine full sibs Jack pine half sibs Jack pine population index study Jack pine seedling seed orchard Jack pine grafts seed orchard Black spruce seed source study Larch hybrids Larch selections Larch spp. arboretum Hybrid poplars for short rotation -- intensive culture White spruce early/late flushing study White spruce early/late flushing selections White spruce superior trees from Consolidated Paper Co. White spruce Ontario Canada seedling selections	220

Research, Past and Present

year initiated

1974: Range-wide provenance test for black spruce.
1975: Hybrid spruce study.
1976: Heritable insect resistance in jack pine.
1976: Potential for European and Japanese larch hybrids.
1977: Inheritance in white spruce.
1978: Jack pine open-pollinated progeny test.
1978: Selection for juvenile height and early flowering in jack pine.
1979: Population index study of jack pine.
1980: Provenance hybridization in jack pine.
1982: Tamarack provenance test.
1982: Weed control in hybrid poplar intensive culture plantations.
1983: Intensive culture of Larix for biomass production.
1984: Matching species to site for maximum biomass yield.
1984: Induced strobili production of early- and late-flushing white spruce.
1986: Conversion of hybrid poplar stands to a new Populus clone after harvest.
1996: Aspen FACE elevated CO₂ and ozone experiment.
2000: Use of willow clones for biomass production.

Major Research Accomplishments and Effects on Management

By far the most noteworthy and high-impact study to occur at the Harshaw EF was the Aspen FACE experiment, 1998-2008, and 2010.  This 10-year experiment hosted over 80 researchers from 20 institutions and 8 countries, and was the subject of more than 130 peer-reviewed publications and numerous news reports including a feature on National Geographic Today.

Collaborators

Michigan Technological University
University of Wisconsin – Madison
University of Michigan
University of Idaho
University of Tennessee
Ohio State University
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory
Canadian Forest Service
Göteborg University, Götborg, Sweden
University of Joensuu, Joensuu, Finalnd
University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
Finnish Forestry Research Institute

Research Opportunities

The aspen, birch and maple stands from the former Aspen FACE experiment are still in place providing an opportunity for follow-up studies on these naturally-regenerated plots.  Six of the 12 plots consist of soils that were labeled with a unique 13C signature, although the 13C signal will continue to degrade each year.  The greatest research opportunities are for follow-up studies on existing plantations, or establishment of new model forest studies or genetics work. Fallow pasture is currently being invaded by native conifers and would provide an opportunity for research on forest succession.

Facilities

Two of the 80 acre parcels on the property are surrounded by deer-proof fence.  One of those areas has a locked security gate.  All current facilities are located within the 80 acre secure study area on Grace Lane where the Aspen FACE experiment once stood.  Facilities include: a 1520 ft² office and shop, 1536 ft² fiberglass storage shed, a 3600 ft² Implement shed, and a 2700 ft² field laboratory.  There are twelve 120 ft² sheds distributed evenly throughout the 80 acre secure study area, interconnected to the office building by a buried optic fiber network.  There is electrical power at each shed. 

The 2700 ft² David F. Karnosky Field Laboratory is located at the secure study area.  The Laboratory has two overhead doors providing access to two work areas suitable for processing field samples.  A third work area contains four standard household refrigerators and two chest freezers and a 17 ft3 ultra cold (-80°C) chest freezer.  The field laboratory also has a tornado-proof shelter.

Motorized field equipment is available including a John Deere 970 tractor with bucket loader, forks, mower deck and back blade attachments, and a Honda 250 cc FourTrax 4 wheeler.

An instrumented meteorological monitoring tower is located at the north end of the secure study area.  Voice and data communications are available.  The U.S. National Weather Service (NOAA) weather monitoring station 477113 is located at the Oneida County Airport about 12 miles east of the site. 

Housing is usually available at the Universtiy of Wisconsin – Madison Kemp Biological Station near the town of Lake Tomahawk, and the Universtiy of Wisconsin – Stevens Point Treehaven field station 5 miles south of Rhinelander.
The USFS IAES is about 8 miles east of the site.Lat. 45.6 °N N, long. 89.5°W

Contact Information

Mark E. Kubiske
USDA Forest Service
Northern Research Station
Institute for Applied Ecosystem Studies
Rhinelander, WI  54501
715-362-1108

Related Publications

Pregitzer, KS, AJ Burton, JS King, DR Zak. 2008. Soil respiration, root biomass, and root turnover following long-term exposure of northern forests to elevated atmospheric CO₂ and tropospheric O₃. New Phytologist, 180: 153-161.

Uddling, J, RM Teclaw, ME Kubiske, KS Pregitzer, DE Ellsworth. 2008. Sap flux in pure aspen and mixed aspen-birch forests exposed to elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide and ozone.  Tree Physiology, 28: 1231-1243.

Kubiske, ME, VS Quinn, PE Marquardt, DF Karnosky. 2007 Growth and competitive interactions in mixed communities of trembling aspen, paper birch and sugar maple under elevated CO₂ and O₃. Plant Biology, 9: 342-355.

Kubiske, ME, VS Quinn, WE Heilman, EP McDonald, PE Marquardt, RM Teclaw, AL Friend, DF Karnosky.  2006. Climatic variation mediates CO₂ and O₃ effects on forest growth.  Global Change Biology, 12: 1-15.

King, JS, ME Kubiske, KS Pregitzer, GR Hendrey, C Giardina, EP McDonald, VS Quinn and DF Karnosky.  2005. Net primary production in young stands of trembling aspen, paper birch, and sugar maple as affected by elevated atmospheric CO₂.  New Phytologist., 168: 623-636.

Karnosky, DF, Zak DR, Pregitzer KS, et al., 2003.  Tropospheric O₃ moderates responses of temperate hardwood forests to elevated CO₂: a synthesis of molecular to ecosystem results from the Aspen FACE project.  Functional Ecology, 17: 289-304.

Takeuchi, Y., M.E. Kubiske, J.G. Isebrands, K.S. Pregitzer, G. Hendrey and D.F. Karnosky.  2001.  Photosynthesis, light and nitrogen interrelationships throughout a young Populus tremuloides canopy under open air CO₂ enrichment.  Plant, Cell and Environment, 24: 1257-1268.

Strong, T, EA Hansen. 1991. Response of three Populus species to drought.  USDA Forest Service Research Note NC-302.  St Paul, MN.

Karnosky DF, B Mankovska, K Percy et al. 1990.  Effects of tropospheric O₃ on trembling aspen and interaction with CO₂: results from an O₃-gradient and a FACE experiment.  Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 116: 311-322.

Hansen, EA, DA Netzer.  1985. Weed control using herbicides in short-rotation intensively cultured poplar plantations.  USDA Forest Service Research Paper NC-260.  St Paul, MN.

Riemenschneider DE. 1985. Heritability and intertrait correlations in breeding subpopulations of jack pine.  In Guries, RP (ed) Proceedings of the Fourth North Central Tree Improvement Conference, Madison, WI.

Danfield, W, J Martishus, EA Hansen. 1983. Application date affects herbicide tolerance of hybrid poplars.  USDA Forest Service Research Note NC-301. St. Paul, MN.

Hansen, EA, L Moore, D Netzer, M Ostry, H Phipps, J Zavitkovski. 1983. Establishing intensively cultured hybrtid poplar plantations for fuel and fiber.  USDA Forest Service General Technical Report NC-78.  St Paul, MN.

Riemenschneider, DE, H Nienstaedt. 1983.  Height growth to age 8 of larch species and hybrids in Wisconsin.  USDA Forest Service Research Paper NC-239.  St Paul, MN.

Riemenschneider, DE.  1981.  Height and seasonal growth pattern of jack pine full-sib families.  In: Guries, RP (ed) Proceedings of the Second North Central Tree Improvement Conference.  Madison, WI.

Jeffers, RM. 1975. Survival and height growth of tamarack planted in Northern Wisconsin.  USDA Forest Service Research Note NC-190.  St Paul, MN