Marys Peak Field Trip – via Woods Creek Road.

Travel: Hwy 20 W from Philomath to Woods Creek Rd., then SW on this road.

Forest ecosystems to visit:

Second growth, and “old” growth forests

Compare: soils, ecosystem structure, composition, shrub and tree autecology, community ecology, succession, contrasts in ecosystem processes: energy, water, nutrients, …; disturbances and system responses.

Discuss considerations for silviculture and management.

Stop 1: Old rock quarry/pit: geology, soils, succession, public uses.

2. “Starker Cedar”: redcedar planted in root rot area.

3. “Starker Corner” and adjacent Forest Service land:

1. alder regeneration, nodules and N
2. more redcedar up close
3. soils and geology in shallow road cuts;
4. second growth Douglas-fir forest:

i. Stand composition and structure

ii. Understory

iii. Forest floor

iv. Wood on forest floor; snags

v. Potentials for silviculture.

Through gate into Forest Service Siuslaw National Forest land at upper end of Corvallis city watershed.

4. Thinning in hemlock: natural reproduction; forest floors; understory veg’

5. Unthinned hemlock forest: structure; composition; understory; forest floor;

6. “Old growth” stand: characteristics; dynamics; potential succession.