Got Nature? Blog

Cerulean Warbler captured in a mist net being processed by researchers.

Our oak-hickory forests provide us with many environmental, social and economic benefits. Without proper stewardship, these benefits and services can be reduced. Professional foresters have an innovative set of management options for the maintenance of healthy forest ecosystems. But some options raise public objections when applied to public lands (e.g., types of timber harvest, prescribed fire) and the effects of some management options on forests and their native inhabitants are poorly understood. Moreover, forest lands in the Indiana and Midwestern United States primarily are in small privately-owned parcels that change ownership relatively frequently. These lands are often managed for short-term financial gains rather than long-term sustainability.

To address this set of issues, the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE), a long-term, large-scale experimental study of forest management and its impacts, was initiated in 2006. Two new videos developed from the HEE provide managers and landowners insights into sustaining our oak forests as well as how some wildlife responses respond to timber harvesting.

Videos:
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment – Sustaining Our Oak-Hickory Forests, FNR-542-WV, The Education Store
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment – Wildlife Responses to Timber Harvesting, FNR-543-W,The Education Store

Other resources:
Breeding Birds and Forest Management: the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment and the Central Hardwoods Region, The Education Store-Purdue Extension
The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: Indiana Forestry and Wildlife, The Education Store
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment

Brian MacGowan, Extension Wildlife Specialist
Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Purdue University