In 1990, the Missouri Department of Conservation initiated the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP) to study the long-term effects of forest management disturbances on the biotic and abiotic characteristics of large forested areas in an experimental setting.
MOFEP is located in southeastern Missouri in the Ozark Plateau Province, which is characterized by steep-sided mountains with narrow ridges and deep narrow valleys. The large, contiguous blocks of oak-history forest are separated only by roads and streams.
The soils are primarily Ultisols formed in very cherty residuum resulting from weathering of Ordovician and Cambrian-age dolomite. The area is in a true transition zone with shortleaf pine and southern hardwoods to the south, shortgrass and tallgrass prairies to the north and west, and mixed mesophytic forests to the east.
Research results from MOFEP will be used to determine how forest ecosystems respond to disturbance at various scales from individual plots to landscape. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop ecosystem-based recommendations for forest management. Currently, there are 12 principal investigators representing three universities, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Conservation with active prjects on MOFEP. Pre-treatment data is being collected to investigate the temporal and spatial distribution and composition of a number of forest attributes: woody and herbaceous vegetation, forest interior birds, reptiles and amphibians, canopy insects, litter invertebrates, small mammals, Armillaria species, woody plant genetic diversity, and nutrient cycling. One new study of soil moisture and microclimatic variables along environmental gradients is scheduled to start in 1994.
The experimental design consists of three replications of three management disturbance regimes (evenaged, unevenaged, no cutting). The nine experimental units range in size from 266 ha to 527 ha for a total study area of 3.725 ha. Each treated unit will have approximately 10 percent of its area removed at each cutting cycle. None of the units have been cut in the past 40 years.
MOFEP encourages LTER scientists and their colleagues to consider the Project for individual or multiple site investigations. For more information: Brian Brookshire, Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO, 65102, 314-751-4115, 314-893-6079 (FAX)