Coweeta LTER scientists and staff conduct numerous educational and guided scientific tours for various user groups. These groups include primary, secondary, and college education classes, visiting regional to international scientists, forest and watershed managers, and other user groups. These guided tours have been facilitated by the completion of the Coweeta Conference Center where groups gather, tour materials are distributed, and participants receive introductions to the research projects and sites that they will visit.

Goals
The goal of guided tours at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory is to give to the tour participants:
 A succinct and clear synopsis of the study questions asked and the conclusions learned from the studies that are viewed
 Access to the scientists and staff that conduct the study and/or the publications and other materials that they generated so that tour participants can informally interact and learn while in the field
 An appreciation for the effort needed to design and implement studies in the complex terrain and diverse terrestrial and aquatic biota of the southern Appalachians
 An appreciation for the investment, value, and knowledge gained by conducting long-term ecological research

 Summary of Visitors
Click the title above for a summary of the visitors that have attended guided tours by the scientists and staff at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, a majority of whom are USDA Forest Service employees. More than 1200 visitors per year learn from direct contact via these guided tours. In addition, approximately 300 drop-in visitors per year obtain information in the Coweeta Conference Center during office hours or from the Coweeta Information Booth.
Examples of Tour Topics

Water, nitrogen, and carbon ecosystem cycling

 Soil CO2 efflux system on watershed 18


Showing the contribution of soil CO2 to carbon cycling
Stream biology
 Litter exclusion project demonstrating the importance of forest litter to stream ecosystem productivity.

Watershed water quality and yield
 Watershed comparisons at Coweeta measure the change in export of water and dissolved nutrients
resulting from various natural and management disturbances on forested watersheds.

 

 

 

 

 
Importance of diversity on ecosystem structure and function
 The rich forest herb community in southern Appalachian cove forests is being studied to determine its functional role in ecosystem processes.

Road construction and maintenance
 The importance of road design, construction, and maintenance in steep mountain terrain is crucial to minimizing sediment export to stream ecosystems. Marc Crawford is shown on a steep section of Ball Creek Road.