Abby Road NEON / ABBY

Abby Road (ABBY) is a terrestrial NEON field site located approximately 30 km (18 mi.) northeast of Vancouver, WA and situated in the western foothills of the Cascade Range in the Yacolt Burn State Forest. The 29.9 km² (7390 acre) site is a conglomerate of parcels managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and is typical of WDNR land in the area. Different parcels have logging years that range from 1940 to 2016, allowing for the opportunity to collect NEON data on a dynamically managed forest landscape. ABBY is located in NEON's Pacific Northwest Domain (D16), which is bounded by the Pacific on the west and Canada on the north. It includes the eastern halves of Washington and Oregon and parts of northern California. The Domain hosts three other field sites: two aquatic and one additional terrestrial. [1]

The climate of ABBY is maritime, defined by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River Gorge, with secondary orographic lifting effects from the Cascade Range. Warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters are typical. On average, 2450 mm (96.5 in.) of precipitation falls annually, with an average yearly temperature of 10°C (50 °F). Interannual variation plays a major role in yearly precipitation levels; the El Niño Southern Oscillation is a driving force behind warmer, drier years, which leads to an increased chance of drought and wildfires. [5] [12]

Historic volcanic and glacial activity largely defines the geology of ABBY. Basalt and andesite flows dominate the area, with pre-Fraser alpine glacial drift influence near the flux tower. [2] [7]

The physical and chemical weathering of igneous rock and volcanic ash produced the majority of soil types present at ABBY, including the Cinebar, Kinney, Larchmount, Olympic, Ferteg, Huss, and Aschoff soil series. Most series have only a minor presence; Cinebar silt loam and Kinney silt loam each make up about a third of the overall soil components across the site. Another minority series is the Yacolt soil series, formed by alpine glacial drift mixed with basalt, pumice and volcanic ash alluvium. Most ABBY soils classify as andisols or andic type soils, owing to a high presence of weathered volcanic glass. [2] [3] [7]

Situated in the East Fork Lewis River Watershed, ABBY contains many small streams and larger creeks converging to form Rock Creek, which flows into the East Fork of the Lewis River and travels westward to the Columbia River. [15]

Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) dominate the upper canopy in older stands, with pockets of red alder (Alnus rubra) in mixed forest zones. In recently logged areas, western red cedar (Thuja plicata) grows between the planted Douglas fir. The understory varies with succession; short stature vine maple (Acer cercinatum) is often found in recently logged parcels while salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) is more common in shrubby habitats. Salal (Gaultheria shallon) and Cascara buckthorn (Frangula purshiana) are found throughout the ABBY site. [1] [10]

Elk (Cervus canadensis), black bear (Ursus americanus), black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), fisher (Martes pennanti), coyote (Canis latrans), mountain lion (Puma concolor), raptors, and various types of small mammals including reptiles and amphibians are found in the area. [1] [5] [8] [9]

The Yacolt Burn State Forest, in which ABBY is situated, is named after the Yacolt Fire, the largest of many wildfires that destroyed over 900 km² (350 sq. mi.) of southwestern Washington State in the summer of 1902. Thirty-eight people died, hundreds of families were displaced, and billions of board-feet of lumber were destroyed in the span of three days. The first state fire warden was appointed the following year in response to the crisis, but it was not until 1905 that a state legislature-appointed fire suppression authority was formed. The true origins of the Yacolt Burn are unknown, but human carelessness is the prevailing theory, whether from loggers burning slash or settlers clearing land. Over the next fifty years, the area experienced many re-burns, including a particularly serious fire in 1952, until advanced fire management practices and intensive reforestation effectively reduced the severity of burns, though occasional small fires continue to the present day. [14]

The 365 km² (227 sq. mi.) Yacolt Burn State Forest is managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) as a working forest, providing opportunities for timber production, biomass byproducts, and numerous recreational activities. Undeveloped parcels increase water-retention potential to combat droughts and provide habitat for native species. The forest is contained within the WDNR's Pacific Cascade Region, which includes 1942 km² (750 sq. mi.) of state-managed forests, agricultural land, and urban and conservation areas. [6] [11]

TOS Distributed Plots were allocated at ABBY according to a spatially balanced and stratified-random design. The 2011 National Land Cover Database (NLCD) was selected for stratification because of the consistent and comparable data availability across the United States. Due to active logging and seeding that takes place within the NEON terrestrial sampling boundary, a combination of NLCD map and logging years were used to create a vegetation map for stratification. For older stands (1940-2000), the 2011 NLCD map was used to determine NLCD classification, in particular to distinguish areas of evergreen forest, mixed forest and deciduous forest. For parcels that had been logged after 2000, a combination of logging year and field validation was used to assign a NLCD classification. TOS Tower Plots were allocated according to a spatially balanced design in and around the NEON tower airshed. Plot establishment was completed in December 2016; TOS and TIS sampling began in January and April 2017, respectively.