Timeline

Timeline_2009

August, 2009:
A 1-day workshop attended by 12 scientists led to a decision to warm 1 hectare of forest.
December, 2009:
A 1-day workshop attended by 16 scientists led to the design of the infrared warming, the group also made the decision to change to a 20 meter diameter circle above canopy site. And our PIs Molly Cavaleri, Tana E. Wood, and Sasha C. Reed agreed to write a white paper and literature review on the topic of warming experiments.

Timeline_2010

September, 2010:
In Rio Piedras, PR a 3-day workshop was organized and attended by 10 scientists. At this meeting the site search began, and the three PIs shared their white paper and literature review with the rest of the group. Design and cost were also discussed.

Timeline_2011

Tana E. Wood, Sasha C. Reed, and Molly Cavaleri wrote a review paper and various other publications.
Met with program managers at different agencies (NSF, USFS, USGS) to set the basis of the project and get feedback on the proposals.
Organized symposiums at international meetings.
The US Forest Service accepted the main proposal.

Timeline_2012

Modelers of global climate change scenarios met at USGS Powell Center to discuss how to improve modeling and prediction based on high quality data and analysis. This meeting resulted in the basis of successful proposal.

Timeline_2013

USFS funding continued through this year.
A NASA/DOE proposal was funded.
August, 2013:
Experimental plot area was selected near the USFS - Sabana Field Research Station.
Design development for plot infrastructure was initiated.
September, 2013:
Power upgrade began at the Sabana Field Research Station. And the new electrical sub-station and control panels were ordered.

Timeline_2014

July, 2014:
The first soil collection for microbial analysis and bulk density was performed in our first Soil Pit Campaign in collaboration with Dr. Pett-Ridge from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Our canopy plant physiology work started.
October, 2014:
The first project manager was hired: Aura M. Alonso-Rodríguez.
December, 2014:
Experimental plots construction began. (Photos)

Timeline_2015

February, 2015:
Minirhizotron sampling tubes were installed in collaboration with Rich Norby from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
May, 2015:
Bruce Kimball configured the heaters and set up the understory weather and datalogger station. Infrared thermometers were also installed at each plot to help monitor the treatment.
June, 2015:
Pretreatment field work campaigns were executed to characterize the site.
October, 2015:
New sensors were installed: sap flow sensors; in collaboration with Jeff Warren's team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
November, 2015:
The canopy access tower was constructed. (Photos)

Timeline_2016

March, 2016:
A pre-treatment soil core campaign was performed.
We constructed and installed our litterfall baskets.
June, 2016:
USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, visited the Sabana Field Research Station and the TRACE project.
September, 2016:
WARMING BEGAN!!
Litterfall baskets were installed, routine sampling began with the collection of point and surface lysimeter samples, our first interns were hired, and our website was built.

Timeline_2017

March, 2017:
Our first PI meeting and soil core campaign post-treatment was executed.
June 2017:
Our plant physiology team performed a successful warming experiment in the canopy tower, warming individual leaves and branches.
September 2017:
On the 1st anniversary of the warming treatment, hurricanes Irma (Sep 6, 2017) and Maria (Sep 20, 2017) traversed Puerto Rico. The experiment was on the ground and had to pause for some time. Adaptation and reconstruction work began after the hurricanes and the experiment had a new concept afterwards: the team was provided with a unique opportunity to study the combined effects of warming and hurricane disturbance.
October, 2017:
CNN visited the project right after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, to learn about the extent of the damages in the Island and the project.

Timeline_2018

March, 2018:
A post hurricane data collection was performed to capture the event.
May, 2018:
Reconstruction of the experimental plots was completed.
July, 2018:
Our second project manager was hired: Megan Berberich.
A new DOE proposal was funded.
September, 2018:
WARMING WAS RESTARTED!! (2ND-YEAR)
October, 2018:
A project coordinator and plant physiology technicians were added to the team. Iana F. Grullón-Penkova and Rob Tunison, respectively, joined the project.

Timeline_2019

Feb, 2019:
Danica Cotto, from the Associated Press, visited the project for an insight on the adaptations to the research scope result of the 2017 Hurricanes.
May, 2019:
The Long-term Ecological Research Network (LTER) science council visited our experiment.
June, 2019:
A new NSF proposal was funded.
October, 2019:
New plant physiology technician, Nicole A. Gutiérrez Ramos, joins the team.
General field technician, William Mejía García, joins the project.
The Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments (NGEE-Tropics) visited our experiment.
November, 2019:
We hosted our first school visit. Sixth graders from the Elementary School Luis Muñoz Rivera in Cataño, PR visited the project to learn about tropical forest research and climate change. Look at the photos here.

Timeline_2020

January, 2020:
6.4 earthquake strikes the south part of Puerto Rico (in Guanica), and the entire island is left with no power.
Oceania, Blue Sea Expedition filming crew made a stop at the project to include our work in their documentary series on United Nations 2030 Sustainability Agenda.
February, 2020:
Soil Pits opened during Oct 2019 were instrumented with oxygen sensors, & temperature and soil moisture probes.
March, 2020:
The Covid-19 pandemic strikes but our routine work has not been interrupted.
July, 2020:
Isabel Loza Rivera joins the team as our new project manager.