The North American Long-Term Soil Productivity study: collaborations to understand forest responses to land management.

Abstract

The Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP) Study is one of the most successful and extensive collaborative science efforts undertaken by the USDA Forest Service. It was launched through a back-of-the-bus conversation about problems arising from the National Forest Management Act of 1976 and rose as a grassroots effort to determine how soil compaction and organic matter removal are linked to both tree and stand productivity. It has sparked collaborations at all levels of the agency and with universities, non-profits, and other research organizations, nationally and internationally, with the common goal of sustaining forest productivity in perpetuity while continuing to provide ecosystem services after timber harvesting.