Association for Biology Laboratory Education

Teaching Quantitative Skills and Carbon Sequestration Concepts with the EREN Permanent Forest Plot Project
 

Laurel J. Anderson, Erin S. Lindquist, Karen Kuers, Jerald J. Dosch, & Jose-Luis Machado

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2019, Volume 40

Supplemental Materials:

Abstract

The Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN) teaches students quantitative and conceptual skills for working with multi-site ecological data using collaborative research projects. The EREN Permanent Forest Plot Project (PFPP) is a network of 20 x 20 m plots in forested sites across the nation in which students collect tree diameter data using standardized methods. During two lab periods, students measure tree diameters and then use the PFPP database to explore research questions about forest carbon uptake. Students gain experience in tree identification, forestry techniques, allometric equations, statistical analysis with large datasets, and thinking across spatial scales.

Keywords:  quantitative skill, forest ecology, carbon sequestration

The Ohio State University (2018)