West Virginia

The Fernow Experimental Forest, a 1,902-ha outdoor laboratory and classroom, was established in 1934 and named for Bernhard Fernow, a pioneer in American forestry research. Early research addressed high-elevation red spruce and the effects of fire on hardwood forests. The Fernow was closed during World War II, but a new research program was begun in 1948 to study the silviculture of mixed hardwood forests and watersheds of the central Appalachians. The Fernow, located near Parsons, West Virginia, lies within the Allegheny Mountain section of the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. Elevations range from 533 to 1,112 m, with generally steep slopes.

Climate

The climate at the Fernow is characterized as rainy and cool. Mean annual precipitation is about 1,470 mm per year, distributed evenly throughout the year. Mean annual temperature is 8.9 °C, with a frost-free season of about 145 days. Although winter snowfall can be heavy, the snow pack is intermittent.

Soils

A rock layer composed of fractured hard sandstone and shale underlies most of the Fernow. A majority of the soils are of the Calvin and Dekalb series, which originated from these rocky materials (loamy-skeletal mixed mesic Typic Dystrochrepts). On the southeastern part of the forest, Greenbrier limestone outcrops to produce a midslope zone of limestone soil of the Belmont series (fine-loamy mixed mesic Typic Hapludalfs). The average soil depth is about 1m.

Vegetation

The Fernow was heavily cutover between 1905 and 1911. The second-growth vegetation is mixed hardwood forest, and has been classified as mixed mesophytic. Principal overstory species include northern red oak, sugar maple, yellow-poplar, and red maple. There are 22 commercial tree species on the Fernow.

Research, Past and Present

Scientific studies on the Fernow have followed two lines of research, with considerable overlap. Silvicultural research, focused mostly on mixed hardwood stands, addresses questions relating to regenerating, growing, tending, and harvesting trees and stands. Watershed research has addressed some of the more basic questions about water use by forests and forest hydrology, as well as critical issues affecting roads, best management practices, and forest management effects on water and soil resources. In 1994, two research units combined to incorporate larger and broader scales of research. The Fernow also has been in the forefront of research on acidic deposition and nitrogen saturation. A wholewatershed acidification study has been conducted since 1989. Recently, research on threatened and endangered species has assumed a more prominent role, due to the presence of Indiana bat and running buffalo clover on the Fernow.

Major Research Accomplishments and Effects on Management

Research on the Fernow has demonstrated the benefits of good forest management in the central Appalachians and shown that improved log quality gives the greatest return from good hardwood forest management. Guidelines for determining site quality from topographic and soil features were developed, along with improved logging methods that are practical and profitable. Researchers have demonstrated that although streamflow can be increased by practical forest management, cutting a forest does not create a high flood hazard when the forest floor is protected from erosion. Work from the Fernow has been used to develop best management practices for West Virginia.

Collaborators

On the Fernow, collaborators include scientists from West Virginia University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Georgia, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University, and specialists from the Monongahela National Forest. Industrial cooperators include MeadWestvaco, and the Jim C. Hamer Lumber Company.

Research Opportunities

The opportunities for research on the Fernow are abundant thanks to its long-term studies and the wealth of data. There is the opportunity for stand manipulations as the Fernow has its own logging crew and equipment.

Facilities

Facilities on the Fernow that include a water-quality and another laboratory facility, small, historic bunkhouse, and the Timber and Watershed Laboratory in Parsons.

Lat. 39°3′15″ N, long. 79°41′15″ W

Contact Information

Fernow Experimental Forest
Northern Research Station
USDA Forest Service
P.O. Box 404
Parsons, WV 26287
Tel: (304) 478-2000

Related Publications

Adams, M.B.; Edwards, P.J.; Kochenderfer, J.N.; Wood, F. 2004. Fifty years of watershed research on the Fernow Experimental Forest, WV: effects of forest management and air pollution on hardwood forests

Coxe, Robert B.; Stephenson, Steven L.; Madarish, Darlene M.; Miller, Gary W. 2006. Vascular flora of the Fernow Experimental Forest and adjacent portions of the Otter Creek Wilderness Area

Crews, Jerry T.; Wright, Linton. 2000. Temperature and Soil Moisture Regimes In and Adjacent to the Fernow Experimental Forest

Ford, W. Mark; Menzel, Jennifer M.; Menzel, Michael A.; Edwards, John W. 2002. Summer Roost-Tree Selection by a Male Indiana Bat on the Fernow Experimental Forest

Ford, W. Mark; Owen, Sheldon F.; Edwards, John W.; Rodrigue, Jane L. 2006. Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust) as day-roosts of male Myotis septentrionalis (northern Bats) on the Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia

Godwin, Marc Layne; Wood, Frederica; Adams, Mary Beth; Eye, Maxine C.; [Compilers]. 1993. Annotated bibliography of research related to the Fernow Experimental Forest

Madarish, Darlene M.; Rodrigue, Jane L.; Adams, Mary Beth. 2002. Vascular flora and macroscopic fauna on the Fernow Experimental Forest

McGill, David W.; Schuler, Thomas M. 2003. USDA Forest Service farm woodlands case study - 50 year results from West Virgina

Reinhart, K.G.; Eschner, A.R.; Trimble, G.R., Jr. 1963. Effect on Streamflow of Four Forest Practices in the Mountains of West Virginia

Trimble, George R., Jr. 1977. A history of the Fernow Experimental Forest and the Parsons Timber and watershed Laboratory

Summary information presented here was originally published in:

Adams, Mary Beth; Loughry, Linda; Plaugher, Linda, comps. 2004. Experimental Forests and Ranges of the USDA Forest Service. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-321. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 178 p.

Information may have been updated since original publication.