In the spring of 2024, the Lamont Sanctuary Forest entered a new era of research and education through the formal establishment of its campus experimental site for long-term monitoring of soil and forest health. This milestone marked the beginning of a comprehensive initiative aimed at investigating carbon sequestration, ecological health, and climate resilience within a rewilded forest ecosystem.
Spearheaded by Dr. Yushu Xia, alongside Dr. Brendan Buckley, Dr. Ben Bostick, and Dr. Dave Goldberg, this project established a permanent 1-hectare study plot to collect high-resolution data on both aboveground and belowground systems. This initiative expanded the forest’s research scope far beyond observational ecology to include soil health assessment, greenhouse gas (GHG) flux monitoring, and allometric tree measurement.
Throughout 2024, the team implemented advanced field sampling techniques to characterize the forest’s dynamic soil properties (DSPs), including bulk density, permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), and enzyme activities. Simultaneously, allometric data such as tree height, diameter, and species composition were collected to link belowground processes with aboveground biomass. This integrated approach will allow researchers to track changes in ecosystem health and carbon cycling over time.
The project’s scientific objectives were threefold:
The establishment of this experimental site reflects a commitment not only to climate and ecological research, but also to hands-on, interdisciplinary education. Today, Lamont Sanctuary Forest stands as a living laboratory for soil scientists, forest ecologists, and students alike.