Corvallis Research Facilities

WED's research facilities are located at Corvallis and Newport, Oregon. The main research complex is located on 14 acres in Corvallis, surrounded by the Oregon State University campus. It includes a variety of laboratories, plant and animal research facilities, a library, a computer center, and office buildings. The Willamette Research Station (WRS) comprises laboratories and field research facilities on a 10-acre site adjacent to the Willamette River in Corvallis, approximately 4 miles south of the main lab. The Coastal Ecology Branch carries out research in laboratory facilities at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, the marine campus of Oregon State University. The Center is located on Yaquina Bay on the Pacific Ocean at Newport, 55 miles west of Corvallis.

A terrestrial ecology laboratory within the Corvallis complex includes a number of greenhouse and field research modules. These units provide the capability for research on: 1) effects of gaseous air pollution, 2) effects of heavy metals, 3) effects of toxic substances, and 4) plant propagation and growth assessments.


Main Research Complex Corvallis	Willamette Research Station Corvallis

Also located at the main complex, a field exposure facility includes 21 large open-top exposure chambers, a nursery site, an automated irrigation system, an experimental rhizotron site, and a control center containing automated pollutant delivery-control and data-acquisition/management systems. This field site provides a unique setting for research that addresses environmental issues of national importance, such as tropospheric ozone effects on conifers, deciduous trees, and crops.

To complement the plant exposure facilities described above, WED constructed a highly sophisticated Terrestrial Ecophysiology Research Area (TERA) in 1994. The facility consists of a large polyhouse to shelter the data acquisition and control computers, and a field of sunlit plant growth chambers. Ambient temperature, dewpoint and CO₂ concentration in each outdoor enclosure are carefully controlled by programmable microprocessors. This facility plays an important role in long-term global climate change research. It will be used to conduct long-term studies on conifers and hardwoods, with experiments designed to evaluate the response of forests to climate change.

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Corvallis Research Facilities

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