PHYS-FEST 3
CSU Mountain Campus - 2021
Fort Collins, Colorado
PhysFest 3 was hosted at the Colorado State University Mountain Campus (CSU-MC), which is situated within a high-elevation parkland (Pingree Park) ~53 miles west of Fort Collins, CO. CSU-MC was obtained by CSU in 1914 and the first academic courses were held in 1915, making it one of the longest running summer field camps in the US. The campus is now populated with dorms, cabins, conference facilities, and a dining hall to support summer camps and workshops (like Phys-Fest 3). The CSU-MC sits at 9,000 ft elevation, with a high-elevation meadow bordering the east and regenerating lodgepole pine forests on the west. A short walk up in elevation leads to spruce-fir forests and, eventually, the alpine of Comanche Peak Wilderness. Within a short drive there are also large areas of Ponderosa Pine Forests all within the Roosevelt National Forest. Much of the area was burned in the Cameron Peak Fire during the summer of 2020, which offered us a unique opportunity to learn key ecophysiological methods and apply them to understanding the recovery of these ecosystems following a ecological disturbance. For more information about the campus and the surrounding area, visit the CSU-MC webpage at: https://mountaincampus.colostate.edu.
Phys-Fest 3 was organized to accomplish 3 distinct goals:
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Provide an immersive field measurements component incorporating
a broad range of ecophysiological techniques -
Training in science communication and outreach
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Student dissemination of eco-physiology to a public audience
The workshop aimed to broadly train graduate students in plant ecophysiology techniques, initiate discussion addressing research frontiers within plant ecophysiology, and promote collegiality among participants.