IU land to be used to study dynamics of forest area

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and IU researchers will use IU-owned Lilly-Dickey Woods to study the long-term dynamics of forests.

Lilly-Dickey Woods, located in Brown County, is a 550-acre forest donated to IU by the Lilly and Dickey families in 1942.

The woods are now used by the University as the IU Research and Teaching Preserve, which manages about 1,600 acres of land for research purposes.

According to a press release, the project initially began as research for graduate student Daniel Johnson’s doctoral thesis, which he said he wanted to outlast his time at IU.

Every tree and shrub in the area will be identified, measured and mapped.

The trees and shrubs will then be remeasured every five years so changes in biomass can be analyzed.

Lilly-Dickey Woods, which is the second forest in the Midwest to be used in the Smithsonian research, will then become a part of the Smithsonian’s Center for Tropical Forest Science-Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatories, grouped with other forests dedicated to Smithsonian study of forest functioning.

Data from 46 forest plots from across the world will also contribute to this study.

Because land from different locations will be utilized, scientists will be able to identify patterns in forest growth.

In the long run, researchers said they hope results of the study will allow scientists to better understand local forests’ role in the global carbon cycle, according to a press release.

Biology professor Keith Clay and assistant biology Professor Richard Phillips will oversee the project.

The project is funded by the IU Research and Teaching Preserve, the Indiana Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation.

— Kirsten Clark