Robinson Forest 2015

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 13:

Just a few more photos from today of salamander sampling! 

Photo 1: Collecting the salamanders in buckets.

Photo 2: Some of our findings. 

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 13 (FINAL DAY)

Today we learned about the impacts of forest management practices on the lives of our smallest and most vulnerable species. Not only did we learn about and collect salamanders, but also a wide range of macroinvertebrates. 

Areas with a large amount of organisms with a greater amount of diversity of organisms signals that the area has high quality water. The less species and individuals are found, the more the quality of the water decreases. 

Here are just a few of the salamanders caught today - these were in the most biodiverse area in the study! Pictured: Red salamanders, spring salamanders, two line salamanders, seal salamanders, and northern dusky salamanders. How cute! 

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 11 and 12

What a busy past couple of days! There has been little time to write blog posts, as we have been busy learning all about forest management and logging practices. As NRES students, we have learned very little about forest management practices with the intention of logging, so this was an interesting series of days. 

After a morning of measuring trees for various values in the forest, we were whisked away to a saw mill in Whitesburg, Kentucky. The fourth larges sawmill in the state, this particular one stripped, cut, and distributed approximately 4 million board feet of wood for cabinets, floors, walls, and other needs. 

On the second day, more tree measurements were made (including surveys of the tree species in different parts of the forest) to understand the economic values of tree stands. 

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 9

Today Dr. Agouridas came to talk to us about stream restoration. We started by learning the basics of stream restoration then we ventured outdoors to learn how to use the survey equipment that we would need. We then split into two groups, boys versus girls, and surveyed two different areas of Buckhorn creek. One area that had left fairly unaltered and another that had some sort of stream alteration done to it. We could easily see the increase in erosion, sediment load and presence of invasive species in the stream that had been altered. Each group will be putting together a presentation of their findings and will be presenting it the final day of camp.

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 8

On day 8 Dr. Barton started by taking us to one of his research plots on Little Elk Mine where he was experimenting with different methods of reforesting surface mines. There were 4 different research treatments that were compared; left as they would be if the mining company were to reclaim the land (compact), dumping rock similar in composition to what the topsoil would have been then leveling it off (strike-off) and loosely dumping the rock (loose dump). On these 3 different treatment sites we compared the success of 3 different tree types; the White Oak, White Pine and Ash. The comparisons were made based on our measurements of tree height, diameter and survival as well the soil pH, conductivity, penetration and moisture. We found that the loose dump and strike-off treatments fared much better in terms of tree rejuvenation and survival.

After we completed our measurements at Little Elk we moved to look at some streams that mining material had been dumped (valley filling) on and covered and got to see some of the effects on the stream, such as the solidification of stream sediment and the minerals precipitating out of solution, which is what the discoloration in the stream above is. 

Our last stop was at an experimental stream restoration are where they rebuilt a stream over the top of a valley fill. Dr. Barton and the other researchers involved are unsure of what the effectiveness of this will be and whether or not any metals, nutrients or other such things that were deposited in the valley fill will leach to other places.

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 8

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 7

Today the absolutely wonderful and enthusiastic Dr. Chris Matocha came in from the ever more mysterious outside world to teach us all about forest soils. For every nature lover, soils are important. They form the foundation on which the rest of the forest and its organisms depend on for survival. We learned the many different forms of soil formation across the forest landscape and the effects of different conditions in each soil pit. 

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 6

We didn’t know what kind of thrills were in store for all of us. Along with our new companion, Gnarly the Sustainability Gnome, we learned the ins and outs of risk management and topped it all off with a lesson in rappelling. 

A few of our photos from the photography day. Now we all know how to take stunning photos of the natural world, we can spread our appreciation for it with others! 

Pictured: 

1. Chloe’ and Michaela with juvenile eastern newts.

2. A newt hitches a ride on Jeff’s shoulder. 

3. Salamander eggs (Look closely, you can see the tiny salamanders forming!)

4. Jeff and Nathan trudging home from the fire tower trail in the rain. 

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 5

On day 5 David Stephenson, a professional photographer and Pigeon racer, came into camp to teach us some better techniques for photographing nature. Mr. Stephenson especially helped those with iPhones to better understand some of the features that the phones have to offer.

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 4

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 3 (Night)

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 3 (Night)

In the Evening Dr. Lacki took over to introduce us to the world of bats. Before dinner we went over the main types of bats as well as the effects of White Nose Syndrome on bat populations in the Eastern United States and Europe. Although bat populations in the Western United States to this point have been left untouched by White Nose Syndrome, the Eastern cave dwelling bats have been severely impacted, resulting in many species being strong candidates for the threatened and endangered species lists. 

We set out after dinner to hopefully catch some bats. We set up three bat nets, which were a very thin mesh material, in open flyways above roads and creeks. We then opened the nets at dusk. We caught a total of 6 bats, 4 of which were Red Bats, 1 that was a Silver Haired Bat and the last was a Big Brown Bat. All of the species caught were tree dwelling species, which is expected because of the recent declines of cave dwelling bat populations due to White Nose Syndrome.

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 3

Day 3 of Robinson Forest started with Dr. Steven Price introducing us to the various amphibians and reptiles that call Kentucky and more importantly Robinson Forest home. Some of the non-venomous snakes and salamanders were passed around for us to get a better look at.

Next up was to head out into the field and capture some snakes. We did this by finding sites where snake tins had been left out in hopes that there were some snakes warming themselves underneath them. A few Black Racers were spotted but the only snakes captured were Copperheads. The Copperheads were taken back to camp to be tested for a snake fungal disease (in photo). Dr. Price was assisted by graduate student Tom who works with the Pit Vipers and Rattlesnakes here in Robinson Forest.

We also spent time in the streams in search of salamanders and some of the  non-venomous snakes. Some of the salamanders we caught were the Southern Two-Lined Salamander, the Black mountain Dusky Salamander and the Northern Dusky Salamander. 

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 2:

Another exciting day here at the forest. 

Dr. John Cox takes us to ridges in the forest to listen to bird calls. By now, we can identify any we hear around camp and in the forest! 

ROBINSON FOREST DAY 1: 

Seven students and various instructors have embarked on a journey unlike any other in Robinson Forest in Clayhole, Kentucky. 

While trekking through the woods to learn about the many tree species in the forest, one of our instructors stumbled upon one of the most elusive snakes in the forest: the Timber Rattlesnake.

After dinner, we spent a few hours engaged in a conversation about the effects of mining in small rural communities in Western West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.