The site was established in 1983 following a clear cut and a burn. Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) seedlings were planted at 2.4m by 2.4m spacing and ecosystem development has not been managed after planting. Canopy height increased from 16m in 2001 to 18m in 2004. The canopy is comprised primarily of P. taeda with some emergent Liquidambar styraciflua L. and a diverse and growing understory with 26 different woody species of diameter breast height 42.5 cm. The flux tower lies upwind of the CO2-enriched components of the free atmosphere carbon enrichment (FACE) facility located in the same pine forest. EC instrumentation is at 20.2m on a 22m tower.

The research and science objectives of the Duke Forest Loblolly Pine site are as follows: 1) Examine ecological roles of vegetation and climate in controlling long-term carbon exchange; 2) Determine the contribution of vegetation from that of climate and soils on controlling ET at three adjacent SE Piedmont ecosystems, namely the three Duke Forest Sites, US-Dk1, US-Dk2, and US-Dk3; 3) Quantify soil carbon pools, inputs, turnover, and long-term storage to better understand the capacity of forest soils for carbon sequestration; 4) Quantify seasonal and annual forest floor CO2 efflux in a loblolly pine plantation forest type, and to separate the effect of forest type from that of climate or soil on the magnitude and dynamics of forest floor CO2 efflux. (Stoy et al., 2008, Stoy et al., 2006, Lichter et al., 2005, Palmroth et al., 2005)