Posey Creek NEON / POSE

About Field Sites

Posey Creek (POSE) is an aquatic site located on the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute land near Front Royal, VA. It is a small wadeable stream draining a 2 km² (494 acre) watershed. The NEON field site is located within and hosted by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, a research and education institution run by the Smithsonian Institution. The surrounding area is characterized by second-growth Eastern Deciduous forest. This site is located within NEON's Mid-Atlantic Domain (D02), a densely populated region bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and stretching down the Eastern Seaboard from southern New Jersey to northern Georgia. The Mid-Atlantic Domain includes one other aquatic site and two terrestrial sites. POSE is colocated with the SCBI terrestrial site. [1]

Climate

The climate here is temperate and humid, with annual mean temperatures of 11.8°C (53°F). The coldest month of the year is January with an average temperature of -1.6°C (29.12°F), while July is the warmest month with an average temperature of 23.8°C (74.84°F). On average, this location gets a total of 1090 mm (43 in.) of precipitation annually. September is typically the wettest month with an average monthly precipitation of 160 mm (6.3 in.) and December is the driest with only 50.8 mm (2 in.) of precipitation. [4] [9]

Geology

The geology at POSE is characteristic of the Catoctin Formation, which contains Cambrian-aged metabasalt. These crystalline rocks, in addition to greenstone and gabbro, contribute to the parent materials found at the site including, residium, colluvium, and local alluvium. [2] [3]

Soils

The stream’s substrate composition consists of boulders, organic matter, woody debris, and vegetative cover. The major soils series on the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute land include Hawksbill, Lew, Montalto, Myersville, Catoctin, and Thurmont soils. [1] [2]

Hydrology

Posey Creek is a shallow, wadeable stream flowing through woodlands. The stream is <40 cm deep at average flow and 3-5 m (9-16 ft.) average width; it can be 6 m (19.7 ft.) wide during high flows. The stream’s substrate composition consists of boulders, organic matter, woody debris, and vegetative cover. POSE is located within the Potomac-Shenandoah watershed. Major tributaries of this watershed include the Potomac River, South Fork Shenandoah, and North Fork Shenandoah tributaries. The Potomac-Shenandoah watershed drains into the Chesapeake Bay. [1] [8]

Vegetation

POSE is situated in a broadleaf hardwood forest. Tulip poplars are the dominant species and 80% of the canopy is closed. Understory consists of small shrubs, grasses, and young trees. [1]

Fauna

Some common fish species found in POSE are Eastern blacknose dace (Rhinichthys atratulus), Blue Ridge sculpin (Cottus caeruleomentum), Mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdii), and Creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus). The forest surrounding POSE is abundant with terrestrial fauna. Some notable species include black bear (Ursus americanus), bobcat (Lynx rufus), white tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and beavers (Castor canadensis). [6] [7]

Past Land Management and Use

Posey Creek flows through the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s land. SCBI, previously known as the Conservation and Research Center, has been located in Front Royal, Virginia since 1974. The land SCBI currently owns has a rich history. In 1909, the U.S. Army obtained options on 42 100-acre farms in the Front Royal area. In 1911, the Army bought the land with plans to use it as a breeding and training facility for horses and mules to supply the U.S. Calvary. By 1916, the majority of permanent buildings were constructed and the Ayleshire Quartermaster Remount Depot was up and running. At its peak, the facility had 400 military and civilian personal breeding and training the horses and mules. While the 4200 acres were under military control, nearly all of the woodlands were converted to pastureland at some point. During WWII, additional buildings were erected to house 600 German and Italian prisoners of war. During this time, the facility was also being used to train K-9s. In 1948, legislation was passed to transfer land assets from the Remount Service to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under control of the USDA the land was used as a cattle research station. Additionally, the Department of State utilized some of the facilities as an Emergency Relocation site and a communications station. The center functioned as a communication station up until the winter of 1973. The Smithsonian occupied the property in 1974 and received the title to the land in 1975. Since then, SCBI has used the land as “a center for conservation-related activities of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and sister units of the Smithsonian Institution.” [8]

Current Land Management and Use

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is situated on 17 km² (4200 acres) of land in Front Royal, Virginia. The center is closely linked to the Smithsonian National Zoo, located in Washington, D.C. SCBI is the branch of the Smithsonian Institution that focuses on the Smithsonian’s goal of saving wildlife from extinction and educating conservationists of the future. At SCBI, scientists breed and study more than 20 endangered species and have successfully reintroduced species that were once extinct in the wild, including black-footed ferrets and scimitar-horned oryx. For 65 years prior to SCBI, the U.S. Army Calvary occupied the 4200 acres of land; under their management, almost all of the forest was transformed to pasture land. Since occupying the property in 1974, SCBI’s land management approach has resulted in a substantial increase in forested areas. The difference in land cover can be observed when using GIS to compare vintage aerial photos to modern ones.

NEON Site Establishment

Characterization of POSE and its collocated TOS site, SCBI, was completed in July 2014. The site readiness review occurred on September 8th, 2014. AOS data collection at Posey creek started in February 2015 and AIS data collection started in January 2016.

Additional Resources

[1] Aquatic Instrument System (AIS) Site Characterization Report: Domain 02. NEON.DOC.001589vB

[2] Sattler, A. (2016). NEON Site-Level Plot Summary Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI). Mill Hall, PA: US Department of Agriculture.

[3]U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Mineral Resources Data System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/

[4] Nelms, D. L., & Moberg, R. M. (2010). Preliminary Assessment of the Hydrogeology and Groundwater Availability in the Metamorphic and Siliciclastic Fractured-Rock Aquifer Systems of Warren County, Virginia. Retrieved from https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5190/pdf/sir2010-5190.pdf

[5] NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network). 2020. Data Product DP1.20072.001, Aquatic plant, bryophyte, lichen, and macroalgae point counts in wadeable streams. Provisional data downloaded from http://data.neonscience.org on May 22, 2020.

[6] NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network). 2020. Data Product DP1.20107.001, Fish electrofishing, gill netting, and fyke netting counts. Provisional data downloaded from http://data.neonscience.org on May 8, 2020.

[7] Wildlife Information

Virginia DGIF. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/

[8] Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. (n.d.). Virginia’s Major Watersheds. https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/wsheds.

[8] Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. (2016, July 30). History of the SCBI Complex. Retrieved from https://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservation/history-scbi-complex

[9] Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. (2016, July 30). History of the SCBI Complex. Retrieved from https://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservation/history-scbi-complex

[9] PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, http://prism.oregonstate.edu, created 4 Feb 2004.