Smart Forests Technology at the Penobscot Experimental Forest

The 3,855-acre Penobscot Experimental Forest is located in the towns of Bradley and Eddington in east-central Maine. It is the site of long-term U.S. Forest Service research on silviculture of northern conifers (spruce-fir-hemlock) and mixedwoods (softwood-hardwood mixtures). Since the 1950s, researchers have been studying even- and uneven-aged silviculture and exploitative cutting, with a focus on the shelterwood and selection systems, exploitative harvesting, and rehabilitation. The Penobscot Experimental Forest, which is owned by the University of Maine Foundation, also serves as the location of long-term University research on commercial thinning and ecological forestry and a number of short-term ecology and silviculture studies by students and collaborators. The portions of the forest not used for research are managed by the University Forests Office for income generation and demonstration.

Smart forest technology is located in a mixedwood stand near the U.S. Forest Service office at the Penobscot Experimental Forest and includes a weather station, a webcam and two soil profiles. Meteorological data are collected every 5 minutes at the weather station. Measured variables include air temperature and pressure, dew point, relative humidity, wind speed, chill and direction as well as precipitation type and intensity. The weather station is also equipped with a webcam to document seasonal canopy phenology. Soil climate data are collected hourly at two sites near the weather station. Soil measurements include volumetric water content and soil temperature at 3 depths, 10 cm, 20 cm and 30 cm below the surface.

Report: Penobscot Experimental Forest: 60 Years of Research and Demonstration in Maine 1950-2010 (.pdf)