ForestGEO at Itasca

"The Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) is a global network of scientists and forest research sites dedicated to advancing long-term study of the world's forests. The network recognizes the importance of collaborating with local institutions to strengthen science capacity in an era of rapidly changing landscapes and climate to understand and predict forest dynamics."

- ForestGEO's Mission Statement 

The Itasca Plot was established in 2019 with initial seed funding from an IBSL Seed-to-Root grant. The plot is coordinated by Dr. Peter Kennedy, professor in the Department of Plant and Microbiological Biology at the University of Minnesota. The initial design of the plot involved collaboration with Dr. Lee Frelich at the University of Minnesota and Dr. Yue-Hu Hua at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (China). The initial census was carried out by a large team of University of Minnesota graduate and undergraduate students, including Talia Michaud, Eduardo Perez-Pazos, Lang DeLancey, Erica Houser, Catherine Glenn-Stone, Briana Beatty, Andrew Ratz, Hakeem Hamshari, Soren Matheny, Lex Bancos, Justice Alvarado, and Josie Johnston. Other undergraduate students involved in the project have included Benjamin Tanner (Whitman College) and Colin Adams (Carleton College). Additionally, multiple high school seniors from Waubun High School have worked as part of the census team through the IBSL White Earth Internship.

The first full census of the plot was completed in summer 2025. In the 16 hectares of the plot, more than 37,000 woody stems greater than one centimeter in diameter at breast height have been tagged, identified, and mapped. The data has been incorporated into the Global ForestGEO network.

The 16-hectare Itasca ForestGEO Plot is located at Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota. This plot sits at the temperate boreal forest ecotone and contains a mix of fire-dependent conifers, along with mesic hardwood species. Relative to other plots in the ForestGEO network, particularly in the northeast of North America, Itasca is characterized by a sizable number of large and old conifer trees. Topographic variability in the plot is relatively limited, although a number of smaller forest patches are seasonally flooded.

The most abundant species is sugar maple (Acer saccharum), which is present throughout the understory of the entire plot due to a combination of decades of local fire suppression along with warming annual temperatures. Large red pines (Pinus resinosa) and white pines (Pinus strobus) serve as canopy emergents, but no regeneration of either species is present in the understory. The dominant canopy trees include multiple species of maple (Acer rubrum and A. saccharum), oak (Quercus rubra and Q. macrocarpa), and aspen (Populus tremuloides and P. grandidentata), along with paper birch (Betula papryifera) and linden (Tilia americana). In seasonally flooded locations, American elm (Ulmus americana) and green and black ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica and F. nigra) become locally abundant. The understory includes significant patches of hazel (Corylus cornuta) along with more limited patches of mountain maple (Acer spicatum), ironwood (Ostrya virginiana), or muscle wood (Carpinus caroliniana). The most common large mammals include black bears, white-tailed deer, and porcupines. While the forest in the plot has not burned for at least 150 years, other human disturbance is minimal.

Kennedy lab (University of Minnesota)

Smith-Martin lab (University of Minnesota)

Schilling lab (University of Minnesota)

Swenson lab (University of Notre Dame)

In summer 2025, College of Biological Sciences (CBS) Dean Saara DeWalt led a "Nature of Life" module for incoming CBS freshman students using data from the Itasca ForestGEO plot. The module, "Botani-cool Biodiversity Adventures", engaged students in both classroom and field-based learning about forest structure and tree diversity. The activities included an introduction to biodiversity concepts, species accumulation curves, and tree monitoring methods, as well as hands-on fieldwork in the Itascae ForestGEO "demo" plots — one 20-by-20 meter plot dominated by angiosperm trees and another dominated by gymnosperm trees. In the field, students identified species, practiced measurement, and compared forest structure and diversity. Back in the classroom, students discussed diversity metrics and reflected on their key takeaways, leaving excited about the unique opportunity to be connected to one of around 85 ForestGEO sites worldwide.