BELLVILLE, Ohio -- Explore change of Ohio's forests through the impact of the emerald ash borer to agriculture to urban development at the 28th annual Central States Forest Soils Conference.
The event will take place Oct. 14-Oct. 16 in Bellville, Ohio, and is sponsored by Ohio State University Extension, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Association of Ohio Pedologists, Society of American Foresters, and Ohio Department of Natural Resources Soil and Water Conservation.
The theme of this year's conference is "change," and sessions will focus on the impact EAB has on Ohio's forests and the management strategies to minimize that impact; how forests and forest soils change as the landscape is converted from an old growth forest to a second growth forest to an agricultural field; and the changes that occur to soils in the urban environment and how those factors influence the survival, growth, and performance of urban trees and forests.
The conference will begin on Oct. 14 at Troyer's Dutch Heritage Restaurant, SR 97, in Bellville, Ohio, with registration from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. A welcoming program will follow.
On Oct. 15, the program will run from 8 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., beginning at Smith Farm in Morrow County. Session topics include the examination of riparian and adjacent forest soils, with particular attention to the role of ash species and the potential impact of their loss; an introduction to the role of forest soils in sugar maple decline; an in-depth look at the soil and forest characteristics of an old growth and second growth beech maple forest and adjacent agricultural fields; carbon sequestration; pit and mound topography; forest vegetation composition; diversity and structure; and woody debris.
On Oct. 16, the program will run from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. beginning at Secrest Arboretum on the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center campus in Wooster, Ohio. Session topics include an examination of an urban forest ecosystem; a discussion of the impact of EAB on an urban forest; a look at Ohio's Street Tree evaluation plots; and a look at the variability observed in a silt loam soil.
Registration before Sept. 30 is $80 and $95 thereafter. Registration closes Oct. 7th.
An optional lunch and tour of Secrest Arboretum is available for $10.
For more information or to register, log on to http://woodlandstewards.osu.edu, or contact Kathy Smith at (614) 688-3136 or smith.81@osu.edu.