Talladega National Forest NEON - United States of America

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Basic Information
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Site Name
Talladega National Forest NEON
Short name
TALL
Country
United States of America
Web Address
https://www.neonscience.org/field-sites/tall
Site Manager
David Mitchell
Site Description
The Talladega National Forest (TALL) is a terrestrial NEON field site located within the Oakmulgee District of the Talladega National Forest in west-central Alabama, in Hale and Bibb counties. TALL has a total sampling area of 52.3 km2 (12,924 acres) on land that is managed by the U.S Forest Service. It is encompassed within the Fall Line Hills of the Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain Physiographic Region. The site is located in NEON's Ozarks Complex Domain (D08) and is the northernmost aquatic field site in the Domain. D08 has two other terrestrial field sites and three aquatic field sites. TALL is colocated with the Mayfield Creek (MAYF) aquatic site. TALL and MAYF are upstream of the Dead Lake (DELA) and Black Warrior River (BLWA) sites.
Relationships to other sites
This site groups with:
Last modified
2025-09-18 15:21:42

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
2015
Observed properties
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
GERI✔This site is a verified "GERI" member.
NEON✔ (TALL)This site is a verified "NEON" member.
Photos
Tower at TALL
Tower at TALL
Geographic
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 32.95046 Longitude: -87.39327

Size
ca. 5300.00ha
Elevation (average)
135.00msl
Elevation (min)
63.00msl
Elevation (max)
179.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml] [.geojson]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml] [.geojson]
GEO-BON Biome
Terrestrial
Biome
Mixed Forest
Ecosystem Type
Forest
Deciduous Forest
Evergreen Forest
Mixed Forest
Air Temperature: Average Annual
17.20°C
Precipitation Annual
1350.00mm
Geology
The parent materials at TALL consist of undifferentiated marine sediments of the Cretaceous age Tuscaloosa Group. In particular they are characterized by the Gordo and Coker Formations containing sand, clay, and mudstone.
Vegetation
Vegetation across the Oakmulgee District in Talladega National Forest is similar to that of the Upper Costal Plains; however, the topography is more characteristic of the steep slopes of the Appalachian Plateau. TALL is dominated by conifers, with some areas of intermixed conifers, hardwoods, bottomland hardwoods, and wetlands. TALL's canopy is dominated by longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), with mixed species of oak in the understory. Although the Oakmulgee District is known for its longleaf forests, over 40% of Oakmulgee is covered with hardwoods and wetlands.
Soils
Talladega National Forest soils are primarily sand, clay, and mudstone from the Typic Hapludults soil subgroup. Parent materials are undifferentiated marine segments from the Tuscaloosa Group, dating to the Cretaceous age. These marine sediments include Boswell, Boykin, Coldwell, Conecuh, Luverne, Maubila, Smithdale, Wadley, and Wilcox. Soils, as a result of this composition, are dominantly varicolored and sandy, loamy, and clayey. Some soils within the Talladega Forest also have a hardened bedrock of ironstone.
Hydrology
The hydrology of TALL is the same as its colocated Mayfield Creek site, and is located in the Talladega National Forest. Mayfield Creek's stream channel is highly sinuous, with many sharp, meandering bands and few straight reaches. The flow regime is typical of forested streams in the southeast. Base flows are highest in the winter and spring (February through May) and lowest in the late summer and fall (July through November). Precipitation-driven high flow events may occur at any point during the year, though wetlands likely attenuate the intensity of floods. Although the banks and channel of Mayfield Creek are comprised of sand, the vegetation appears to provide significant stability and resistance to bank failure. Mayfield is a small stream, 4.5-6 m (15-20 ft.) across and just a few feet deep. It runs into a larger stream that eventually enters into the Black Warrior River, part of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee watershed that ultimately flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
Site Type
Platform
Design of Experimentation
mainly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
beyond catchment scale
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
beyond catchment
Permanent Power Supply
Yes
Accessible All Year
Yes
Permanent Operation
Yes