RESEARCH SUMMARY: Regionwide Trials | Basic Research | Software | Future Direction
Jose and Jessica processing soil samples	Research efforts to understand the fundamental soil and plant processes underlying forest productivity are critical if we are to have the knowledge to develop timely answers to future questions. Recent examples of fundamental research that have proven particularly important include our work identifying the strong linkages among nitrogen availability, leaf area, and growth and the use of remotely sensed data to estimate leaf area. This research has stimulated the operational use of leaf area to prescribe and evaluate the effects of fertilization and vegetation control in pine plantations.
Fundamental research is focused on understanding soil and climatic factors that influence nutrient and water availability, the ecophysiological bases of resource availability effects on forest production, and genetic differences in resource acquisition and utilization. Graduate students projects are an integral part of these efforts. We undertake fundamental research on our regionwide field trials and two intensive forest research sites, the Henderson Site Productivity Study and the Southeast Tree Research and Education Site (SETRES). Some of our current fundamental research projects include: Quantifying the seasonal dynamics of growth and leaf area in young Radiata pine stands in Chile Developing techniques to assess leaf area of understory vegetation in pine stands Developing an ecophysiologically based growth and yield system for pine plantations Assessing the fate of forest floor carbon and nitrogen during regeneration Quantifying the role of labile carbon in controlling nitrogen availability in pine plantations Examining the causes and effects of stem growth deformities in rapidly growing pine plantations Assessing individual tree leaf area and growth efficiency following thinning and nutrient additions Examining interactions among stand density, nutrition, and genetics.