Through the AmeriFlux Rapid Response System Program, this field site (AmeriFlux Site ID: US-NC5) aims to quantify the benefits of active forest management and silvopasture to ecosystem services (carbon sequestration, water supply and water quality protection) by measuring carbon and water fluxes from a mixed pine-hardwood forest watershed. The study started in April 2025 and forest treatment will be implemented in 2026.
A telescoping tower equipped with eddy covariance instruments in a mixed-pine forest scheduled for conversion to prairie for cattle production at Umstead Farm, Butner, North Carolina, USA. Photo credit: Miko Belgado.
Science
A mixed pine-hardwood forest at Umstead Research Farm in Butner, North Carolina, is being converted into a silvopasture using a targeted removal through mechanical thinning of about 50% of the tree canopy to allow sunlight to reach the forest floor for forage production. This land-use change creates a rare opportunity to measure how carbon uptake, carbon release, and water movement shift as the site changes from a closed forest to a more open grassland system.
The project is using an eddy covariance flux system with telescoping tower to measure carbon dioxide and water vapor exchange before, during, and after the forest-to-silvopasture transition. Importantly, the system is already operating and collecting preliminary data while the forest is still intact. These preliminary measurements provide a valuable baseline that can be compared with future data after tree thinning, forage establishment, and cattle grazing. In addition, this data integrates directly with small watershed hydrological monitoring research that is being conducted by local universities.
Impact
This study will provide timely field data on how open-forest and silvopasture restoration affects carbon cycling, water use, and watershed function in North Carolina’s Piedmont. The results can help land managers better understand the climate and hydrologic benefits and tradeoffs of converting dense forest stands into more open, climate-resilient landscapes.
The work also supports broader goals in biodiversity, watershed health, livestock management, fire-based restoration, and long-term active forest management. By capturing the transition as it happens, the project can provide practical information for USDA Forest Service, NC State University, AmeriFlux, rural private landowners, and other partners working to manage landscapes under changing management practices.
Summary
An integrated project has already begun at Umstead Research Farm, where an eddy covariance flux system is operating and collecting preliminary carbon and water flux data before the planned forest-to-silvopasture conversion. This early start is critical because the current mixed pine-hardwood forest condition will soon change through thinning, prescribed burning, and pasture conversion.
These pre-conversion measurements provide the baseline needed to understand how the ecosystem responds as the landscape shifts from a dense forest to an open pasture. Over the initial monitoring period, the project will track changes in ecosystem carbon balance, energy, water balances under alternative land management.
Because the transformation is already underway, this rapid-response effort is capturing information that would otherwise be lost. The findings will help quantify the benefits and tradeoffs of open landscapes and provide a foundation for longer-term monitoring in the Piedmont region.
View the telescoping tower short demo video HERE.
Contact
Maricar Aguilos (NC State University, mmaguilo@ncsu.edu )
Ge Sun (USDA Forest Service, ge.sun@usda.gov)
John King (NC State University, john_king@ncsu.edu)
Johnny Boggs (USDA Forest Service, johnny.boggs@usda.gov)
Miko Belgado (NC State University, mjbelgad@ncsu.edu)
Funding
This research was funded by the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station and SE Climate HUB, with field instrumentation and equipment support provided through the AmeriFlux Rapid Response System Program, supported by the Department of Energy. Additional support was provided by North Carolina State University.
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