The Kessler Farm Field Laboratory, 320 acres of mostly undeveloped land near Washington, 30 minutes south of Norman, has been a valuable research site for OU.

Now, with a grant from the National Science Foundation, professor Linda Wallace plans to build a small lab structure, classroom and bunkhouse for researchers.

"It's something that can be used by the entire campus," Wallace said. "It would be a really good place for student group retreats."

There are already several ongoing research projects at the site.

"What's unique about KFFL is that it is a multidisciplinary research site with strong research and teaching programs already under way in meteorology, botany and microbiology, and geography," Wallace said. "New programs are starting in zoology, as well."

Caitlin Flora, botany senior, is researching at the site.

"It offers a great chance to do some research both short term and long term, because it's so diverse and it's protected," Flora said.

Professor Yiqi Luo is conducting experiments on the effects of global warming at the site.

"There wasn't any land available nearby for research purposes," Luo said. "It's great that the farm is converting to experimental field science."

With the political debate about global warming continuing, Luo is studying how temperature change might affect Oklahoma.

"We use infrared heaters to increase temperature by 2 degrees Celsius, close to 4 degrees Fahrenheit," Luo said. "The main objective is to understand how global warming impacts ecosystems, for example, how global warming will affect hay productivity, ranching or the cattle business in the future."

So far, findings have shown that changes from warming may not be immediately obvious.

"One of the most interesting things we've found out there is that the grassland plants themselves have not changed, but the function of those plants has changed," Wallace said. "It doesn't look any different, but it's acting different."

Flora said the research site is important for gaining understanding about the environment.

"I think it's going to take a little bit longer to understand it," Flora said. "It deserves a lot of attention and energy."

The original plot was donated to OU by Edwin Kessler, former director of the National Severe Storms Lab, in 1988.

"I wanted to preserve the land," Kessler said. "The problem in agriculture today is everybody just wants to get from today to tomorrow. Intensive practices mortgage the future."

He donated the farm under a trust agreement that prohibits insecticides and herbicides and allows only limited grazing to preserve the prairie.

The land contains "a combination of wild areas, streams, interesting geological formations, upland prairies and an ancient floodplain," Kessler said. "There is also an 11 acre pond, of which eight acres is on the property."

The original homestead house and one of the oldest working windmills in the state, built in 1929, are also on the site.

In December, Kessler donated another 130 acres. The recent donation will allow new research on how land usage affects nearby water.

"We need to understand how our activities in the land affect water quality and water quantity," Wallace said. "That's one of the things we can do now that we've got the whole farm."

Another new project is the KFFL Piconet, a "network of rain gauges, temperature gauges, etc." being put into place at the farm, Wallace said.

"This will enable us to determine how much spatial and temporal variation there is within a single storm," and how this variation "affects whole ecosystem processes," she said.

Other meteorology facilities on the site are used for forecasting the weather, measuring ultraviolet radiation and monitoring acid rain.
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