The overall objective of our research program is to understand the dynamics of forest communities using North Carolina Piedmont forests as a model system. The overall objective of this research proposal is to make it possible for us to maintain and, where necessary, expand long-term observations that will help us and other workers to achieve this better understanding of forest dynamics. A basic premise of our work is that much of forest dynamics and succession can best be understood as a consequence of the population dynamics of the dominant tree species, an approach first articulated in Peet and Christensen (1980) and more recently fully elaborated and documented in Peet (1992). The slow growth of forest trees greatly limits opportunities to document tree dynamics over the full period of stand development, and thus greatly limits our ability to investigate the population processes that underlie succession and community dynamics. The present proposal is designed to continue and expand efforts needed to build a database adequate for such population-based studies of forest dynamics.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. BSR-8905926, BSR-9107357, DEB97-07551, & DEB97-07664. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. To see our final 2002 report to NSF, click here. To see our 2011 proposal for further support of this work, click here.
We are happy to share data collected for this project and to collaborate in its interpretation. Requests for data access and proposals for collaboration should be directed to Robert Peet (peet@unc.edu) at the University or North Carolina or Dean Urban (deanu@duke.edu) at Duke University.