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WV Wesleyan College Hosts Fifth CAWS Workshop
released: 06/06/02
On May 15 and 16, 2002, West Virginia Wesleyan College hosted the fifth Collaborating on Appalachian Watershed Studies (CAWS) Workshop. Eleven faculty from six Appalachian College Association colleges were on campus for the two-day workshop to learn new testing techniques and methods.

"My interest in participating in the study began when I attended a workshop at the Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg in the summer of 1999," said Dr. Jeffrey Simmons, associate professor of biology and environmental science. "The University of Maryland at Frostburg maintains two watershed sites. They wanted to involve researchers from other Appalachian schools, and they decided to expand last year with three satellite sites."

Dr. Simmons and three students began the data collection for Wesleyan's part in the project in summer 2001. The watershed being studied, Fox Run, contains forest, meadow, and stream ecosystems. One part of the project will compare the health of the
ecosystems at different stages of recovery, and the watersheds being studied are in varying stages of recovery.

The collaborative research project is scheduled to last six to eight years, and will test the response of ecosystems to disturbance such as mining and logging.

During the first day of the workshop, participants collected samples and performed field work at the Fox Run site. The following day, after a guest lecture on soil respiration, the group gathered in the lab to test their samples, analyze data, and discuss their findings. Measuring soil respiration is one way to estimate the rate of decomposition in a forest soil.

Dr. Simmons said, "The workshop was a great success! We all learned some new methods for 'taking the pulse' of our watersheds. In the fall we all plan to have our students measure soil respiration simultaneously at each of our watersheds and then compare their results online. The students will be collaborating on an intercollegiate research project."
For further information about the CAWS project, go to www.ferrum.edu/caws.