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Ant Resource Detection Distance at the Caxiuana National Forest in Brazil 2017-2018
Environmental change scenarios of low precipitation forecast species loss in tropical regions. These losses can affect generalist species that provide important ecosystem services, such as controlling the rate at which nutrients become available for uptake by other organisms in tropical forests. Here, we use a long-term rainwater exclusion experiment in primary Amazonian rainforest to test whether induced water stress affects the detection distance of food resources (baits) in a generalist ant guild (number of colonies, richness, and composition) that remove resources on the ground. We found that (i) overall the distance of resource removal by generalist ants did not change with drought; (ii) however, comparing ant species that occurred in drought-induced and control environments, workers walked shorter distances in the drought habitat; (iii) the number of resources detected by ant colonies in the drought-induced habitat decreased by 50%. Although generalist ants are considered resilient to habitat disturbance, the effect of reduced rainfall can negatively affect the services mediated by them. The rate of removal and consumption of resources in tropical forests may be related to abundance of generalist ants; losses in both nest density and walking distances may cause cascading effects on ecosystem processes and the services they mediate.
Lymantria dispar Defoliation and Mortality Survey at the Quabbin Watershed in Central Massachusetts 2017-2022
For most of the 20th century, the invasive Lymantria dispar was the most serious insect threat to forests and shade trees in the northeastern United States, but outbreaks have been sporadic and light since 1989, after the successful establishment of a fungal pathogen, Entomophaga maimaiga. However, in 2016 a surprising new outbreak of Lymantria dispar began in southern New England, resulting in dramatic oak (Quercus spp.) mortality across thousands of forested hectares by 2018. In 2017, during the height of the outbreak, a rapid assessment of defoliation across 486 plots in six clusters (aka ‘hotspots’) across the Quabbin Watershed Forest in central Massachusetts was conducted. These sample points can be related to satellite-based defoliation estimates, and the tree and site data analyzed for predictors of defoliation severity. In 2022, we returned to 204 of these plots to assess oak mortality, understory vegetation, and oak regeneration.
Vascular Flora Surveys of Permanent Plots at the Harvard Farm at Harvard Forest since 2015
The objectives of this study were to: (1) Determine the species richness and cover of vascular flora in 27 permanent plots at the Harvard Farm (established in HF236). (2) Track any changes in species richness and species dominance in the plant communities at each plot over time. (3) Observe any changes in invasive species richness and cover over time. (4) Identify differences between plant community composition of plots in constant grazing, rotational grazing, and mowing areas. These data were collected by Harvard Forest interns and may include some misidentifications, but they should be considered accurate for larger scale analyses of changes in the density of growth forms and invasive species. For more accurate species-level information, please see data collected every five years by Glenn Motzkin (HF236 with data from 2014 and 2019).
Seedling Survey of the CTFS-ForestGEO Plot at Harvard Forest since 2017
Within a species, trees can vary in size by many orders of magnitude, from tiny seedlings to multi-ton adults. This intraspecific variation in tree size has important consequences for forest structure and function, as it governs patterns of tree abundance, growth rate and energy flux. Recent theoretical models make predictions about size-energy patterns of forests but available evidence indicates deviation from predictions for the smallest and largest trees. The goal of this project is to examine seedling and canopy tree demography at Harvard Forest and explore their theoretical implications. We will link early remote sensing data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) with boots-on-the-ground measurements at Harvard Forest plots. We will also fit demographic models of the trees of this forest in transition.
Coarse Roots and Rock Content in Oak, Hemlock, and Ash Stands at Harvard Forest 2020
When collecting soil samples in the very rocky soils of the Harvard Forest, researchers are forced to core the soil away from rocks. Thus, the resulting samples tend to underestimate the rock content of the soil and overestimate the sand, silt, and other fine particles content. When scaling the results to a spatial area larger than the sample’s (e.g., m2, hectare) it is important to know the actual rock content of the soil to apply the right correction factor. Therefore, we dug pits in three different stands at the Harvard Forest to determine the rock content. At the same time we also collected coarse roots (>2mm diameter) to measure their biomass, which can’t be easily done using the usual soil coring techniques.
Effects of Forest Fragmentation on Carbon Sequestration and Respiration at Harvard Forest since 2016
Forest loss/fragmentation can have profound impacts on the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle by reducing forest uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2; the primary driver of anthropogenic climate change) through photosynthesis and C storage in forest biomass. Relative to intact rural forests, trees growing in forest fragments within developed landscapes typically experience conditions that can enhance growth such as warmer and longer growing seasons (i.e. urban heat island effect) and greater light and nutrient availability (e.g., nitrogen deposition) as well as conditions that can hinder growth such as increased exposure to damaging pollutants such as ozone and higher rates of disturbance. Our research quantifies the impact of fragmentation on C uptake and respiration near forest edges. In 2016 six 600‐m2 plots were installed along forest edges at the HF, measuring 20 m along the forest edge and extending 30 m into the forest perpendicular to the forest edge. Plot biomass was mapped and tree cores were taken in all trees >10cm diameter. The plots were installed at multiple edge aspects and adjacent land cover types (three meadows, two pastures, and one road). Within each plot, a pair of polyvinyl chloride soil respiration collars 20 cm in diameter × 7 cm tall and located 10 m apart was inserted approximately 2 cm into the soil at four distances from the edge (0, 10, 20, and 30m). Each plot had n = 8 collars for a total of n = 48 collars. Following installation, collars were left in the soil for at least 2 weeks to equilibrate. Air temperature, relative humidity, soil temperature, and soil moisture were logged along the center plot transect.
Natural Land Zones in New England in 2006 from 2010 Wildlands and Woodlands Report
This GIS dataset shows different Wildland and Woodland zones in New England and is intended to illustrate how the percentage of protected land could vary between New England landscapes while achieving the total acreage goals as expressed in the Wildlands and Woodlands 2010 Report. This is layer is intended to be conceptual and not prescriptive. The zones were created by expressing the percent natural landcover for a given 500m pixel using a 25 x 25-cell neighborhood. The landuse categories considered to be natural and the breakpoints for each zone are given in the Methods section of this document. The data are provided in vector format as an ESRI shapefile. The projection is NAD 1983 Albers. The Wildlands and Woodlands webpage, http://www.wildlandsandwoodlands.org/, includes a downloadable high-resolution copy of the report and an extensive set of resources that complement and support the arguments and facts presented in it. These include citations, metadata, and downloadable high-quality images of all the graphs and maps. The website will be updated to provide further information on many of the findings, activities, and recommendations provided in the report. Wildlands and Woodlands Report: Foster, D. R., Lambert, K. F., Kittredge, D. B., Donahue, B. M, Hart, C. M., Labich, W. G., Meyer, S., Thompson, J. , Buchanan, M., Levitt, J. N., Pershel, R., Ross, K., Elkins, G., Daigle, C., Hall, B., Faison, E. K., D'Amato, A. W., Forman, R. T. T., Del Tredici, P., Irland, L. C., Colburn, B. A., Orwig, D. A., Aber, J. D., Berger, A., Driscoll, C. T., Keeton, W. S., Lilieholm, R. J., Pederson, N., Ellison, A. M., Hunter, M. L., Fahey, T. J. 2017. Wildlands and Woodlands, Farmlands and Communities: Broadening the Vision for New England.
Overstory Mapped Tree Plots at Harvard Forest since 1990
These plots were established and mapped in 1990 for an experiment designed to study the effects of selective overstory tree mortality. The planned manipulation was to kill and leave standing one species in each of four plots, to simulate mortality by a species-specific pathogen. This manipulation was never done, for logistical reasons and because the appearance of the hemlock woolly adelgid provided a more pressing "natural" experiment to study; however, the plots are maintained and have been used in other studies. There are four 50m x 50m plots, located in a mixed hardwood forest (red oak and maple species are major components), north of the experimental hurricane. Tree data from the control plot of the experimental hurricane study could be added to this set for some analyses, since all the plots are in the same general area and forest type, and similar types of measurements were made on all of these trees. Tree diameter and condition were re-surveyed in these plots in Autumns 2003, 2013 and 2023, and saplings growing into the "tree" size class of greater than or equal to 5cm diameter were measured, tagged and mapped.
Nonstructural Carbon, Phenology and Wood Formation in Three Tree Species at Harvard Forest 2017-2019
This data set comprises various observations and measurements across the 2017 to 2019 growing season for seven red maple (Acer rubrum), eight red oak (Quercus rubra), and six white pine (Pinus strobus) in the Prospect Hill Tract of Harvard Forest. The observations include spring and fall leaf phenology and basic allometry, such as diameter at breast height and height. For the leaf phenology, we followed the protocol from John O’Keefe (HF003). Measurements include wood growth data from weekly microcores and a three time characterisation of growing season nonstructural carbon concentrations (soluble sugars and starch) for stems and leaves. Additionally, stem CO2 efflux was measured once a month for the 2018 growing season and weekly for the 2019 growing season.
Coastal Native American Archaeological Sites in New York and Southern New England 12000-400 BP
Information on coastal Native American archaeological sites in New York and southern New England was compiled from various state historical commissions. The data include the following characteristics: Project Area, Project Size, and Cultural Remains, which identifies the presence of either pre-Contact (PRE) or historic (HI) material, or the lack of cultural material (NCM). Site type Site Type delineates the type of pre-Contact site represented by the artifacts and features identified at a location, which ranges from a Find Spot (FS) (a tool or piece of chipping debris found on the surface or found alone), and a Short-term Site (ST) (presence of artifacts indicating temporary use of a location), to a Seasonal Site (SE) (a site containing evidence of repeated occupation over long periods of time and with features and evidence for a broad range of activities), and a Sedentary Site (SD) (evidence of year-round habitation in form of botanical, faunal, fish and shellfish remains; presence of hearths, storage pits and middens; large variety and great quantity of tool types). Time periods Time Periods include: the Paleoindian Period (P) (12,000-10,000 BP); Early Archaic (EA) (10,000-8000 BP), Middle Archaic (MA) (8000-6000 BP), Late Archaic (LA) (6000-3000 BP), Transitional Archaic (TA) (3500-2500 BP), Early Woodland (EW) (3000-2000 BP), Middle Woodland (MW) (2000-1000 BP), Late Woodland (LW) (1000-500 BP), Contact period (C) (A.D. 1500-1620), and sites of unknown temporal affiliation (U). Activities The activities represented by the artifacts recovered from the sites include: lithic tool repair (LTR) (chipping debris), lithic workshop (LTW) (chipping debris, hammerstones, cores), hunting (HU) (faunal material and/or projectile points), fishing (FI) (net weights, fish hooks, fish bone), shellfish gathering (SG) (presence of shell), plant gathering (PG) (presence of charred seeds and/or nuts), food processing (FP) (bifaces, scrapers, knives, blades, and other lithic tools, f
Historical and Ecological GIS Data from Manuel F. Correllus State Forest on Martha’s Vineyard 1830-1994
Sand-plain ecosystems are a priority for conservation because they are uncommon, support numerous rare or uncommon plant and animal species, serve as groundwater recharge areas, and are threatened by land development. The 5,200-acre Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, in the central part of Martha’s Vineyard, is part of one of the larger sand-plain ecosystems in New England. This GIS data package was created as part of a study on the history and ecology of Martha’s Vineyard and the state forest as part of an effort to understand sandplain landscapes and make management recommendations for their maintenance.
Spectral Vegetation Indices from Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 Data for Harvard Forest 2015-2020
The goal of this work is to exploit time series of remotely sensed data sets with ground observations to improve our understanding of how seasonal variation in canopy and environmental conditions affect the relationship between vegetation indices and leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR). Using three different common vegetation indices (EVI2, NDVI, NIRV), we can estimate LAI, fAPAR, and daily absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) using a semi-empirical model.
Mid-19th Century Land Use on the Southern New England and New York Coasts 1832-1886
The widespread influence of land use and natural disturbance on population, community, and landscape dynamics and the long-term legacy of disturbance on modern ecosystems requires that a historical, broad-scale perspective become an integral part of modern ecological studies and conservation assessment and planning. In previous studies, the Harvard Forest Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program has developed an integrated approach of paleoecological and historical reconstruction, meteorological modeling, air photo interpretation, GIS analyses, and field studies of vegetation and soils, to address fundamental ecological questions concerning the rates, direction, and causes of vegetation change, to evaluate controls over modern species and community distributions and landscape patterns, and to provide critical background for conservation and restoration planning. In the current study, we extend this approach to investigate the link between landscape history and the abundance, distribution, and dynamics of species, communities and landscapes of the Cape Cod to Long Island coastal region, including the islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Block Island. The study region includes many areas of high conservation priority that are linked geographically, historically, and ecologically. This data package includes GIS layers digitized by Harvard Forest researchers from copies of the US Coastal Survey “T-Sheet” maps available from the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. The US Coastal Survey, and then the US Coast and Geodetic Survey mapped the region, or specific parts of it, several times between 1832 and the 1960s. In this project we digitized the earliest T-Sheet available for each location. The original maps were surveyed between 1832 and 1886, with most of them made between 1835 to 1855. The original maps showed features such as roads, farm walls, railroads, buildings, some industrial buildings, saltworks, wharfs, and land cover including woodlands,
Land Cover on the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket 1938
The widespread influence of land use and natural disturbance on population, community, and landscape dynamics and the long-term legacy of disturbance on modern ecosystems requires that a historical, broad-scale perspective become an integral part of modern ecological studies and conservation assessment and planning. In previous studies, the Harvard Forest Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program has developed an integrated approach of paleoecological and historical reconstruction, meteorological modeling, air photo interpretation, GIS analyses, and field studies of vegetation and soils, to address fundamental ecological questions concerning the rates, direction, and causes of vegetation change, to evaluate controls over modern species and community distributions and landscape patterns, and to provide critical background for conservation and restoration planning. In the current study, we extend this approach to investigate the link between landscape history and the abundance, distribution, and dynamics of species, communities and landscapes of the Cape Cod to Long Island coastal region, including the islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Block Island. The study region includes many areas of high conservation priority that are linked geographically, historically, and ecologically. This dataset includes a land cover GIS layer created from aerial photographs from 1938. Janice Stone interpreted the photos onto acetates which were then redrawn onto USGS topographic maps using a zoom transfer scope to reduce edge distortion from the photographs. The landcover polygons were then digitized into a GIS. As 1938 is near the midpoint between the peak of 19th century agricultural land clearance and the modern plant communities of the region, this data provides valuable information on changing landscape characteristics and vegetation successional patterns which shape the modern landscape.
Nonstructural Carbohydrates in Defoliated Oaks in Central Massachusetts 2019-2020
Carbon starvation posits that defoliation- and drought-induced mortality results from drawing down stored nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs), but evidence is mixed and mortality is often observed prior to full drawdown of NSCs. We tested the relationship between defoliation severity, NSC drawdown, and tree mortality by measuring NSCs in mature oak trees defoliated by Lymantria dispar across a natural experimental gradient of defoliation severity. We collected stem and root samples from oaks (Quercus rubra and Q. alba) in interior forests (n=34) and forest edges (n=47) in central Massachusetts, USA. Total NSC (TNC; sugar + starch) stores were analyzed with respect to tree size, species, and defoliation severity, which ranged between 5 and 100%. Forest edge trees had higher TNC stores that were less sensitive to defoliation than interior forest trees. However, TNC stores declined significantly in both groups with increasingly severe defoliation. Furthermore, we observed a mortality threshold of 1.5% dry weight TNC. Our study draws a direct link between insect defoliation and TNC reserves and defines a TNC threshold below which mortality is highly likely. These findings advance understanding and improve model parametrization of tree response to insect outbreaks, an increasing threat with globalization and climate change.
Vegetation Inventory of Harvard Forest 1986-1993
The three main tracts of the Harvard Forest (3000 acres) in Petersham MA have been sampled every 10-30 years since 1907. Though methods have varied, each survey has involved mapping forest stands followed by intensive sampling. This inventory was completed in 1986-1993.
Hemlock Hospice Sculpture Installation at Harvard Forest 2018-2019
Hemlock Hospice was an art-science collaboration between David Buckley Borden, 2016-2017 artist and designer-in-residence at the Harvard Forest, and Harvard Forest Senior Ecologist Aaron Ellison. It featured innovative art installed in the Fisher Museum and along a temporary interpretative walking trail on Prospect Hill, focused on eastern hemlock, a foundation tree in eastern forests that is slowly vanishing from North America as it is weakened and killed by a small insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. Hemlock Hospice blended science, art, and design in respecting hemlock and its ecological role as a foundation forest species; promoting an understanding of the adelgid; and encouraging empathetic conversations among all the sustainers of and caregivers for our forests—ecologists and artists, foresters and journalists, naturalists and citizens—while fostering social cohesion around ecological issues.
Effects of Soil Warming on Bacterial Degradation of Carbohydrates at Harvard Forest 2011
As Earth’s climate warms, soil carbon pools and the microbes that process them may change, altering the way in which carbon is recycled in soil. We used bacterial cultivation to evaluate the hypothesis that experimentally raising soil temperatures by 5°C for 20 years increased the potential for temperate forest soil microbial communities to degrade carbohydrates. A greater proportion of the 295 bacteria from 6 phyla (10 classes, 14 orders, and 34 families) isolated from heated plots in the 20-year experiment were able to depolymerize cellulose and xylan than bacterial isolates from control soils. These findings indicate that the enrichment of bacteria capable of degrading carbohydrates could be important for accelerated carbon cycling in a warmer world. Data for the isolates from the Harvard Forest culturing project is archived at https://osf.io/ahb2v/.
Effects of Soil Warming and Substrate Complexity on Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency at Harvard Forest 2017
Soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is a combination of growth and respiration, which may respond differently to climate change depending on physical protection of soil carbon (C) and its availability to microbes. In a mid-latitude hardwood forest in central Massachusetts, 27 years of soil warming (+5 ◦C) has resulted in C loss and altered soil organic matter (SOM) quality, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we hypothesized that long-term warming reduces physical aggregate protection of SOM, microbial CUE, and its temperature sensitivity. Soil was separated into macroaggregate (250–2000 μm) and microaggregate (less than 250 μm) fractions, and CUE was measured with 18O-enriched water in samples incubated at 15 and 25 ◦C for 24 h. We found that long-term warming reduced soil C and nitrogen concentrations and extracellular enzyme activity in macroaggregates, but did not affect physical protection of SOM. Long-term warming showed little effect on CUE or microbial biomass turnover time because it reduced both growth and respiration. However, CUE was less temperature sensitive in macroaggregates from the warmed compared to the control plots. Our findings suggest that microbial thermal responses to long-term warming occur mostly in soil compartments where SOM is less physically protected and thus more vulnerable to microbial degradation.
Lake Sediment Pollen from Benson Pond in Washington MA from 13834 BP to Present
Aim We analyzed a dataset composed of multiple palaeoclimate and lake-sediment pollen records from New England to explore how postglacial changes in the composition and spatial patterns of vegetation were controlled by regional-scale climate change, a subregional environmental gradient, and landscape-scale variations in soil characteristics. Location The 120,000-km2 study area includes parts of Vermont and New Hampshire in the north, where sites are 150-200 km from the Atlantic Ocean, and spans the coastline from southeastern New York to Cape Cod and the adjacent islands, including Block Island, the Elizabeth Islands, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. Results Boreal forest featuring Picea and Pinus banksiana was present across the region when conditions were cool and dry 14,000-12,000 calibrated 14C years before present (ybp). Pinus strobus became regionally dominant as temperatures increased between 12,000 and 10,000 ybp. The composition of forests in inland and coastal areas diverged in response to further warming after 10,000 ybp, when Quercus and Pinus rigida expanded across southern New England, while conditions remained cool enough in inland areas to maintain Pinus strobus. Increasing precipitation allowed Tsuga canadensis, Fagus grandifolia, and Betula to replace Pinus strobus in inland areas during 9000-8000 ybp, and also led to the expansion of Carya across the coastal part of the region beginning at 7000-6000 ybp. Abrupt cooling at 5500-5000 ybp caused sharp declines in Tsuga in inland areas and Quercus at some coastal sites, and the populations of those taxa remained low until they recovered around 3000 ybp in response to rising precipitation. Throughout most of the Holocene, sites underlain by sandy glacial deposits were occupied by Pinus rigida and Quercus. Main conclusions Postglacial changes in the composition and spatial pattern of New England forests were controlled by long-term trends and abrupt shifts in temperature and precipitation, as well as b
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These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.