PFPP 2.0 (2023 – Present) | Project Leads: Jason Kilgore, Rachel Collins, Ben Dolan, & Jason Tallant

Project E-mail: PFPP.EREN@gmail.com

Project Status: PFPP 2.0 is currently recruiting new and continuing participants.

Description:
The goal of this project is to establish a set of permanent research plots that will allow faculty and students to address questions related to tree biomass, carbon accumulation, invasive species, and disturbance patterns across a range of sites and ecoregions.

Summary of Methods:

Project participants establish one or more permanent 400-m² plots (“Plots”) in forested areas (“Sites”). Trees (“Trees”, > 2.5 cm dbh) are located (tagged or untagged), identified, and measured for diameter across the entire Plot. Saplings (“Small Stems”, ≤ 2.5 cm dbh) are identified and tallied in three 25-m² “Subplots”. Plots should be revisited every two to five years. A critical key to the success of this project is that all researchers use the same protocols so that all data are comparable across sites and years. The protocols have been designed so that work can be conducted as part of a normal class laboratory or as part of student independent research projects. Data are entered into standardized spreadsheets and uploaded to a common location for cleaning, publishing, and sharing. Data authorship follows EREN guidelines and the current PFPP Manual.

PFPP 1.0 (2012 – 2022)

  • Phase 1 of the PFPP (PFPP 1.0) is now CLOSED, but participants who collected data before January 2023 can still submit their data and should contact Karen Kuers (kkuers@sewanee.edu) as soon as possible.

PFPP 2.0  (2023 – present)

  • PFPP 2.0 protocols are now available and published in this Manual.
  • Key changes of PFPP 2.0 include more flexible and streamlined plot set-up, directions for using sites without tagging trees, standardized data entry and cleaning, and regular publication of data to the PFPP Data Package through the Environmental Data Initiative (EDI) with CCBY license.
  • PFPP 2.0 welcomes new sites and plots, as well as continued sampling of plots established under PFPP 1.x.

Other Projects Using PFPP Protocols:

PFPP 1.0 (2012 – 2022 | CLOSED)

Co-PIs: Karen Kuers and Erin Lindquist
To submit existing data from PFPP 1.0, contact Karen Kuers (University of the South – Sewanee), kkuers@sewanee.edu

PFPP 1.06 Materials