Introduction

The Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF) was formally established in 1962 to study the ecology and hydrology of peatlands. Although formally established in 1962, monitoring of streamflow, weather, and water table elevations began in 1960. The MEF is an 1141-ha tract of land located 40 km north of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The MEF has been reserved for long-term research with the cooperation of the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, the Chippewa National Forest, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Itasca County, and a private landowner.

More information can be found on the Marcell EF website.

Data Description

The MEF contains six research watersheds and other study sites. The research watersheds each consist of an upland portion and a peatland that is the source of a stream leaving the watershed. The distinct landscape features provide a wide range of environments to study. The Marcell Experimental Forest has a large database on soils, hydrology, and chemical cycling and transport. Meteorological and hydrologic data have been collected at monitoring stations since 1961. Not all variables were measured at all watersheds in all years.

Queryable databases

• Soil moisture
   Database query tool
  Available soil water measured three times a year (1966 - ongoing) at the Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF)
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  • Download metadata and supplemental files (ZIP file)
• Streamflow data
   Database query tool
  Daily streamflow data for watersheds S1, S2, S4, S5, and S6.
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  • Download metadata and supplemental files (ZIP file)
• Upland runoff
   Database query tool
  Estimated daily and measured event upland runoff volume data for both surface and subsurface plots in the S2 and S6 research catchments.
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  • Download metadata and supplemental files (ZIP file)
• Water table elevations
   Database query tool
  Daily peatland, daily upland well, and monthly upland well water table elevations.
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  • Download metadata and supplemental files (ZIP file)
• Weather Data
   Database query tool
  Daily maximum & minimum temperature and daily precipitation measurements.
  • Daily Air Temperatures
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    • Download metadata and supplemental files (ZIP file)
  • Daily Precipitation
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    • Download metadata and supplemental files (ZIP file)

All data publications

• Browse our full list of data publications.

If you have questions about these data or have conducted a research study on the Marcell Experimental Forest and would like to make your dataset available for use by others, please contact Randy Kolka and Stephen Sebestyen.

Some supplemental data documentation available on this site may be provided in PDF or PDF/A format. Get the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to interpret these files.