9311436 Gower, S. The Kemp Natural Resources Station, a research center operated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, is located in north-central Wisconsin. The station has several unique characteristics: (1) It is located near some of the few remaining large tracts of old growth forests int he easter United States, (2) It is located in a region that contains diverse landforms that are juxtaposed in complex patterns, (3) The proximal location of Keep to Trout Lake Station offer an excellent opportunity to examine interactions between terrestrial and research and undergraduate/graduate training scale. Keep has a long history as a center for community ecology, wildlife ecology, plant pathology and entomology. Current research programs include biological and physical sciences such as terrestrial ecosystem ecology, ecophysiology, restoration, and landscape ecology; and involve scientists from UW-Madison and other UW campuses, USFS, USGS, and several American and Canadian universities. Despite recent and ongoing improvements to both physical structure and research capabilities at Keep Station, the laboratory facilities are not adequate to meet current and future demands. This project will support the remodeling and expansion of the existing research laboratory and the purchase an image analysis system. The modernization of the laboratory will re-establish Keep Natural Resources Station as a center for terrestrial research and promote inter-disciplinary research on terrestrial-aquatic interaction with scientists at Trout Lake Station -- a center for aquatic research. ***
