Soaproot Saddle NEON - United States of America

The Soaproot Saddle is a complex terrain of coarse hills, steep slopes and narrow drainages. located in the middle elevations of the Sierra National Forest 35 miles northeast of Fresno, near Auberry, California. With an elevation of 3274 - 4537' this site encompasses 1438 acres of mixed conifer forests that are experiencing high levels of mortality due to native Pine beetles. Targeted research addresses a range of concerns and provides much of the direction in resource management. Wildland fire is of particular concern at SOAP, where foresters use a combination of prescribed fire and mechanical fuel treatment to minimize damage while maintaining a healthy fire regime. At the core of this site stands a 171' tall flux tower that collects physical and chemical properties of atmosphere and related process. Soaproot Saddle also hosts an array of sensor measurements along with field observations collected by highly trained NEON staff. The automated instrument measurements and some of the terrestrial observational safor this field site are colocated with NEON's aquatic site, Upper Big Creek, which is located just north of Soaproot Saddle's site boundaries. Total data products planned for this site: 112