The Duke Forest
Annual Report 1932-34

To the President of the University from Clarence Korstian, Director of Duke Forest:

I have the honor to present herewith my report as director of the Duke Forest for the years 1932 - 1933 and 1933 - 1934.

Further progress was made in developing the Forest as a field laboratory for demonstration, research, and for educational use by the students and faculty of the proposed graduate school of forestry.  New plantations comprising 92 acres planted to 85,800 trees were added during the winter of 1932-1933, bringing the total area planted during the first three winters to 266 acres.  In this planting, loblolly pine, yellow poplar, shortleaf pine, black locust, longleaf pine, red gum, southern cypress, black walnut, and slash pine, were used. Most of the planting was concentrated on a few large open areas in the Durham Division of the forest. The remaining open areas, chiefly run-down farms from which the buildings have been removed, were included.

Increased attention has been given to protection of the Duke Forest and surrounding timberlands from fire and to the immediate detection and prompt suppression of such fires as may start.  Through the cooperation of the University officials and the forest staff, the University Chapel tower was made available for use as a forest fire lookout station for the countywide cooperative forest fire control organization.  The Chapel tower overlooks practically all parts of the Durham and New Hope Creek Divisions of the Forest; and, as the county organization maintains a lookout on the tower during spring and autumn, the Duke Forest is under constant daylight observation during these critical periods.

Increased interest has been shown by the University community and by the people of Durham in the use of the forest for purely recreational purposes or for combined recreational and educational activities.  Five picnic sites were developed in 1932, each with an outdoor fireplace, a table, and a garbage receptacle.  During the picnicking seasons the grounds are serviced once a week to renew wood supply and dispose of garbage. These picnic grounds were used by over 4,000 people in 1933-34.  The forest roads and trails are much used for horseback riding by students, faculty, and townspeople.

In April 1932, a study was initiated to determine the soil-leaf moisture relationships between five different forest types in the Duke Forest.  The account, mostly by Mr. T.S. Coile, covers the essential features of this project:  The data collected add materially to our knowledge of the relationship between soil moisture and leaf moisture through the growing season, and are an aid in explaining the reason for the development of forest types.