The reciprocal transplant project aims identify the factors that explain long-term relationships between environmental conditions and interactions between plants, mosses, lichens, and endophytes. Organisms were collected and co-located with or without interacting species across a stratified gradient in microclimate. Researchers then evaluate species’ responses to microclimate as a function of interspecific interactions, testing hypotheses about differences between the fundamental niche (i.e., species are primarily driven by abiotic conditions) versus the realized niche (i.e., responses to abiotic conditions are strongly mediated by biotic interactions, particularly competition). In the moss experiment, different species of moss from high, mid, and low elevation are transplanted across the elevation gradient with or without a competing moss species. Researchers use a grid to transplant similarly sized mats of moss, then return to measure the growth or shrinkage of the moss mat. Microclimate data, such as understory temperature and relative humidity are measured in each research plots.
Reciprocal Transplant Field Work 2024
forest and landscape burned in the Lookout Fire
Researcher Matt Betts plants a Douglas fir tree seedling
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
the old mass of tree roots burned away
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers record tag numbers for seedlings in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Rhododendrons are sprouting from the ground, where roos survived the fire
Postdoc Emily Conklin plants a Douglas fir tree seedling
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Moving through a burned area of the forest is part of field work
area of burn with small hints of green regrowth beginning
Field tecnician Eleanor Cook plants a Western Hemlock tree seedling
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
The lichen reciprocal transplant experiment involves hanging different species of lichen anchored into embroidery hoops
this piece of obsidian, knapped, indicates prior presence of Indigenous people. This artifact was left in place, as is required by law.
Field technician Yausi Khajavei plants a Western Hemlock tree seedling
Postdoc Amelia Fitch transplants a Douglas fir tree seedling into the ground as part of the reciprocal transplant experiment
lichen reciprocal transplant experiment
burned tree root mass
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
a Douglas Fir seedling and plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
A planted plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
An unburned area and root mass
tree seedlings ready for planting, with Douglas fir on the left and western hemlock on the right
Postdoc Emily Conklin reads off the tag number on a newly-transplanted tree seedling
The lichen reciprocal transplant experiment involves hanging different species of lichen anchored into embroidery hoops
forest and landscape burned in the Lookout Fire
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Field technicians Yausi Khajavei (right) and Eleanor Cook (left) transplant a tree seedlings
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
forest and landscape burned in the Lookout Fire
Field technician Libby Talyor-Manning plants a western hemlock tree seedling
Field technician Eleanor Cook transplants a Douglas-Fir tree seedling
The field crew raced to get tree seedlings, moss, and lichen transplanted before the snow covered the plots
Researchers in an area burned the prior year in the 2023 Lookout Fire
Researchers assess vegetation cover before planting a reciprocal transplant plot
Field technician Eleanor Cook transplants a Douglas-Fir tree seedling
Field technician Yausi Khajavei after a day of field work in the rain
a Douglas Fir seedling begins the regreening of the forest
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
a Douglas Fir seedling and plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
The lichen reciprocal transplant experiment involves hanging different species of lichen anchored into embroidery hoops, one hoop from each tree has a tempurature reader attached
forest and landscape burned in the Lookout Fire
A naturally-growing tree seedling in a nearby part of the forest
Field technician Libby Talyor-Manning records data in the field
The lichen reciprocal transplant experiment involves hanging different species of lichen anchored into embroidery hoops
Researchers re-tag trees that are part of a long-term study on vegetation
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Postdoc Amelia Fitch with a tray of tree seedlings
A planted plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers in an area burned the prior year in the 2023 Lookout Fire
a Douglas Fir seedling and plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
A western hemlock tree seedling with a healthy root system, ready for transplant
The lichen reciprocal transplant experiment involves hanging different species of lichen anchored into embroidery hoops
Moss patches as part of the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers collect data on planted plots in the reciprocal transplant experiment
transplanting tree seedlings in a plot, next to the large "parent" tree in the background
Postdoc Amelia Fitch with moss samples
Researchers Jeff Diez (left) and Bruce McCune (right) at a moss reciprocal transplant plot
A planted plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
a tray of seedlings that will be planted out as part of the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
a tray of seedlings that will be planted out as part of the reciprocal transplant experiment
Forest structure in area adjacent to study area
Field technician Eleanor Cook with a tray of tree seedlings
a Douglas Fir seedling and plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
forest canopy
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Field technician Yausi Khajavei with a tray of tree seedlings
Field technician Yausi Khajavei plants tree seedlings
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Forest structure in area adjacent to study area
forest canopy
The lichen reciprocal transplant experiment involves hanging different species of lichen anchored into embroidery hoops
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
A planted plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
each tree seedling in the experiment was marked with a unique identification number to help researchers track growth over time
completed moss reciprocal transplant plot
a Douglas Fir seedling and plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
the field crew on the reciprocal transplant experiment
Postdoc Amelia Fitch transplants tree seedlings into the ground as part of the reciprocal transplant experiment
The lichen reciprocal transplant experiment involves hanging different species of lichen anchored into embroidery hoops
Douglas fir and western hemlock tree seedlings planted out in a plot for the reciprocal transplant experiment
Amelia Fitch, Emily Conlkin, Matt Betts returning from field work
Field technician Yausi Khajavei transplanting tree seedlings
The lichen reciprocal transplant experiment involves hanging different species of lichen anchored into embroidery hoops
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
The Busby Lab group meets at a reciprocal transplant plot
Postdoc Emily Conklin plants a western hemlock tree seedling
The field crew raced to get tree seedlings, moss, and lichen transplanted before the snow covered the plots
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
A planted plot with moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
The field crew from 2024: from left to right Libby Taylor-Manning, Amelia Fitch, Katelin Kutella, Eleanor Cook, Yausi Khajavei
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
A planted plot with tree seedlings in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
The lichen reciprocal transplant experiment involves hanging different species of lichen anchored into embroidery hoops
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment. Note the burned PVC pipe that had to be replaced as corner markers for the plots
Matt Betts and a hobo logger that records weather data as a part of the long-term bird monitoring study
burned soil, on the left, lost its top organic layer, in contrast to the unburned soil on the right
Researcher Matt Betts confirms the tag number on a Douglas Fir seedling before planting
A planted plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Forest structure in area adjacent to study area
many different types of fungi are colonizing areas that burned in the Lookout Fire
Field technician Libby Talyor-Manning plants a western hemlock tree seedling
researchers noted that morel mushrooms were abundant in areas of the forest that burned the prior year
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
A planted plot in the reciprocal transplant experiment
this hole was created when a trunk of a tree burned away
Empty containers and a completed research plot
The Lookout Fire burned in patches of severity, where some areas were blackened and adjacent areas remained green
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
The Lookout Fire burned in patches of severity, where some areas were blackened and adjacent areas remained green
Trays of tree seedlings organized and ready to be transplanted in the forest as part of the reciprocal transplant experiment
Trays of tree seedlings organized and ready to be transplanted in the forest as part of the reciprocal transplant experiment
research plots, market out by PVC corner posts, had to be reestablished after the fire
forest and landscape burned in the Lookout Fire
Plots have sensors that to track soil moisture and temperature over time to measure the effect of microclimate
plot markers of PVC pipe didn't fare well in the fire and had to be replaced
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Graduate student Abbey Neat with trays of tree seedlings ready to be planted in the reciprocal transplant experiment
forest and landscape burned in the Lookout Fire
Postdoc Emily Conklin with a tray of tree seedlings ready to plant
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Graduate student Abbey Neat plants tree seedlings in the reciprocal transplant experiment
forest and landscape burned in the Lookout Fire
Postdoc Emily Conklin plants a Douglas fir tree seedling
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment
Researchers plant out tree seedlings and moss in the reciprocal transplant experiment