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openCC (other)Nov 2023View details →

Dendrometer band measurement data from two tidal forest plots at GCE 11 on the Altamaha River in Southeast Georgia from December 2014 to December 2020

We established two 0.1-ha plots in December 2013. In each plot, we identified and measured DBH (diameter at breast height) of every tree using standard diameter tapes. We also placed dendrometric bands on 40 trees (20 per plot) in December 2013. Bands were measured in December 2014 as baseline measurements and yearly thereafter.

Ants Under Climate Change at Harvard Forest and Duke Forest 2009-2015

Experimental field studies are needed to understand the consequences of global climatic change for local community structure and associated ecosystem processes. We are using 5-m diameter open-top environmental chambers and 1m pvc minichambers to simultaneously manipulate air and soil temperatures at the Harvard Forest and at the Duke Forest in North Carolina. These field manipulations are designed to reveal the effects of temperature increases on the populations, communities, and associated ecosystem services of assemblages of ground-foraging ants. Ants are a model taxon for studying effects of global climatic change because they comprise the dominant fraction of animal biomass in many terrestrial communities and because they provide essential ecosystem services, including soil turnover, decomposition, and seed dispersal. The experiment is designed to test three predictions: 1. Projected atmospheric warming will lead to declines in ant species’ abundances at the warmer, southern extent of their ranges in the US. Conversely, projected atmospheric warming will lead to increases in abundance or range extensions of ant species at the cooler, northern extent of their ranges in the US. 2. Warming will change the relative abundance and composition of ant communities, and will lead to the loss of ant biodiversity. 3. Warming will potentially diminish ecosystem processes and services provided by ants, particularly with respect to the dispersal of seeds. To explore these, we are conducting two experiments. In one experiment, twelve open-top chambers at each site which will each be exposed air temperatures ranging from 1.5 to 7 deg C above ambient; soil temperatures will be increased simultaneously from 0 to ~ 2 deg C. After an initial year of pre-intervention measurements, the experiment will run for 3 consecutive years of continuous warming. In the second experiment, shade cloth and plastic greenhouse sheeting will be used to increase or decrease temperature by 0.5 deg C in

Ants and Ecosystem Function in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest 2006-2014

Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a foundation species in eastern North American forests. Hemlock stands host unique assemblages of flora and fauna, and the structure of these assemblages is expected to change as hemlock declines due to infestation by the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) and is removed by pre-emptive salvage logging. A 2003 survey of hemlock stands in central Connecticut and Massachusetts showed that ant species richness and abundance is substantially greater in logged and adelgid-infested hemlock stands than it is in intact hemlock stands (see HF065) and we hypothesized that we would see similar changes in ant species diversity following application of treatments in the Hemlock Removal Experiment at the Simes Tract (see HF118). We further hypothesized that because ants are known to modulate ecosystem function in other habitats that observed changes in ant species diversity would be accompanied by changes in ecosystem processes including soil respiration rate and nitrogen availability. In April 2006, we established a set of sub-plots in all eight canopy manipulation plots of the Hemlock Removal Experiment. In each canopy manipulation plot, we installed two ant exclosure plots, two disturbance control plots, and two control plots. Ant species richness and abundance, as well as effectiveness of the exclosures, is monitored with pitfall traps monthly during the summer. Soil nitrogen availability is measured using resins that are collected every three months, and soil respiration is measured bi-weekly during the growing season.

20-Year Synthesis of Soil Respiration Data at Harvard Forest 1991-2008

All data on soil carbon flux (“soil respiration”) collected using chamber-based methods at Harvard Forest from a range of observational and experimental plots were collated, their units were harmonized, and geographic (locations) and environmental characteristics (soil series, drainage class, soil temperature, soil moisture, vegetation type, etc.) were identified for each observation. This yielded a dataset with 106,192 observations of soil respiration taken between 1991 and 2008. These data provide a unique resource for exploring spatial and temporal patterns in soil respiration in a range of common New England forest types. For the Giasson, et al. (2013) publication, we also used 24 site-years of eddy covariance measurements from two Harvard Forest sites (EMS and Hemlock towers) to examine the relationship between soil and ecosystem respiration. Here, we present all derived/synthetic datasets associated with the manuscript. M.-A. Giasson, A. M. Ellison, R. D. Bowden, P. M. Crill, E. A. Davidson, J. E. Drake, S. D. Frey, J. L. Hadley, M. Lavine, J. M. Melillo, J. W. Munger, K. J. Nadelhoffer, L. Nicoll, S. V. Ollinger, K. E. Savage, P. A. Steudler, J. Tang, R. K. Varner, S. C. Wofsy, D. R. Foster, and A. C. Finzi 2013. Soil respiration in a northeastern US temperate forest: a 22-year synthesis. Ecosphere 4:art140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13.00183.1

Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology URSSA Survey since 2006

Program Context Since its inception in 1985, when a single undergraduate worked on a study of old-growth forests, the Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology (HF-SRPE) has developed into a thriving and well-coordinated program that is central to the educational and research mission of the biological field station. With core support since 1993 from a succession of NSF REU Site awards and NSF REU supplements, and with additional funding from Harvard University, HF-SRPE has grown to support 20-30 undergraduate students annually. Students are mentored by principle investigators and senior scientists in conducting research in ecology, soil science, paleoecology, wildlife biology, conservation biology, and atmospheric sciences. The research conducted by our HF-SRPE students contributes substantially to long-term scientific investigations supported by NSF’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) and National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) – Earth Ventures (EV) programs, The Smithsonian Institution’s ForestGEO network of plots, and Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC). The overarching objectives of the program are to: enhance the ability of students to undertake high-quality interdisciplinary research; build teams of researchers in which students bring different strengths to the table, collaborate on cutting-edge projects, and find their own intellectual “voice”; encourage students to link fundamental and applied issues in their research; and cultivate the next generation of ecological scientists and educators that reflects the diversity of backgrounds and experiences of students in the United States. Problem Statement Starting in 2005 the National Science Foundation (NSF), as one of the largest funders of undergraduate research programs, began emphasizing the use of project evaluations to both qualitatively and quantitatively measure the success of REU programs (R

Incidence of Ticks and Tick Bites at Harvard Forest since 2006

In an effort to determine exposure to ticks and to determine appropriate preventative measures to reduce the occurrence of Lyme Disease in summer research interns at Harvard Forest, data are collected about where students work at Harvard Forest; the time spent in the field; the number of ticks students find on themselves after each trip to the field; and the number of ticks that actually bite and embed themselves in the skin. From these data, we estimate areas of high tick densities and estimate time of summer during which ticks are most prevalent. The results are used to develop recommendations for appropriate precautions that students can take to avoid tick-borne diseases.

Ecological Momentary Assessment of Family Forest Owners in New England 2016

Family forest owners (FFOs) across the U.S., and particularly in New England, are critically important to the health and future of the nation’s forests. It is important to understand the behavior of FFOs because they in the United States collectively own more forested land than the federal government or any other type of owner, and their actions and decisions will impact the public goods these forests provide. Typical studies of FFO behavior use self-reported survey data; participants are asked to recall past behavior or predict future behavior. These surveys are prone to bias, as it can be difficult to remember when things occur or to accurately predict what one will do in the future. Ecological momentary assessments, used commonly in medicine, are a fresh approach to measuring behavior by querying the subject in real-time. The PING project was designed to reduce this bias and provide a more accurate snapshot of how landowners engage with their land on a short-term basis. Participants in two experimental groups were invited to take part in a month-long survey, where the same questions were sent to them in the method of their choosing (text, via social media, or e-mail) once per week, asking about woodland engagement that week. Participants also took a pre- and post-survey to capture both demographics and feedback on the method. Over 61% of participants completed all 4 surveys and there was no statistically significant difference between the day a participant received their survey. Demographics were consistent with national statistics on woodland owners. A plurality of woodland owners in the study harvested timber for personal use and collected non-timber forest products. Finally, 86% of participants found the method of contact and number of questions reasonable, while 77% found the weekly contact reasonable. A plurality of respondents reported that their answers were typical of a given week, but that the survey question made them think more about their woods than t

Carbon Budget at the Harvard Forest 1992-2015

How, where, and why carbon (C) moves into and out of an ecosystem through time are long-standing questions in biogeochemistry. Here, we bring together hundreds of thousands of C-cycle observations at the Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts, USA, a mid-latitude landscape dominated by 80–120-year-old closed-canopy forests. These data answered four questions: (i) where and how much C is presently stored in dominant forest types; (ii) what are current rates of C accrual or loss; (iii) what biotic and abiotic factors contribute to variability in these rates; and (iv) is climate change affecting the forest’s C cycle? Harvard Forest is an active C sink resulting from forest regrowth following land abandonment. Soil and tree biomass comprise nearly equal portions of existing C stocks. Net primary production (NPP) averaged 750–970 g C m-2 yr-1; belowground NPP contributed 30–60% of the total. Mineral soil C measured in the same inventory plots in 1992 and 2013 were too heterogeneous to detect change in soil-C pools; however, radiocarbon data suggest a small but persistent sink of 10–30 g C m-2 yr-1. Net ecosystem production (NEP) in hardwood stands averaged ~300 g C m-2 yr-1. NEP in hemlock-dominated forests averaged ~450 g C m-2 yr-1 prior to infestation by the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) in 2013, and then became a net C source. Stand dynamics and climate change in the last three decades enhanced the C sink in hardwood stands; NPP increased 26% between 2000–2014 (p = 0.02) and NEP increased 93% between 1992–2015 (p = 0.13). Compared to long-term global change experiments at the Harvard Forest, the C sink in regrowing biomass equaled or exceeded C cycle modifications imposed by soil warming, N saturation, and hemlock removal. Median forest biomass in the surrounding ecoregion was only 78% of that at the Harvard Forest due to higher timber harvesting rates across the region. Results of this synthesis and comparison to simulation models suggest that forests across the reg

Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology Student Surveys 2016-2021

Tree Ring Data from the Lyford Mapped Tree Plot at Harvard Forest 1861-2014

Is it possible to reconstruct aboveground carbon/biomass from tree rings? If so, how far back in time can researchers go when using tree-ring data in the reconstruction of past biomass? Answers to these questions will have a significant impact on our understanding of dynamics in the terrestrial carbon sink. Long tree-ring records of biomass can reveal intra-annual to annual to multidecadal variations that cannot be resolved by forest census data that is not conducted annually. Additionally, while these dynamics might be resolved using remote sensing, most remotely-sensed products are only two decades or less in length. By having long records of carbon biomass, we can then identify not only the dominant drivers of biomass, but how the importance of these drivers might change during different eras as environmental factors change (e.g., climate, air pollution, disturbance). To test these and other questions, we collected tree-ring records from three 20m radius plots set within the Lyford Plot at the Harvard Forest. The Lyford Plot has been remeasured, on average, decadally since 1969. We can convert these data to biomass using allometric equations and compare tree-ring inferred aboveground biomass to the census data going back in time. Dye et al. (2016) have shown that these data fall within the range of uncertainty of census data sampled in similar plots going back to 1969. Dye, A., Barker Plotkin, A., Bishop, D., Pederson, N., Poulter, B. and Hessl, A., 2016. Comparing tree‐ring and permanent plot estimates of aboveground net primary production in three eastern US forests. Ecosphere, 7(9).

Harmonic Baseline Experiments for Landsat-Based Forest Condition Monitoring in Southern New England 2017

This dataset was developed as part of a study of harmonic baseline model parameterization for forest condition monitoring using Landsat time series. We implemented a previously published harmonic modeling approach for forest condition monitoring in Google Earth Engine and systematically assessed the relative ability of condition change products generated using various model parameterizations for predicting pest abundances and defoliation during the 2016-2018 Lymantria dispar outbreak in southern New England. We ran a series of 32 experiments that considered a variety of parameter choices for establishing multi-year “baseline” models representing relatively stable forest conditions for each Landsat pixel in our study area. We tested a full set of factors including (a) spectral vegetation index used for model fitting, (b) baseline-modeling period, (c) frequencies of harmonic regression terms, and (d) differences in Landsat time series input imagery. We generated average condition score estimates for each of these 32 baseline parameterizations for a May 1 to September 30, 2017 monitoring period, then used Generalized Linear Mixed Models to test the relationships between ground-based observations of defoliation and defoliator abundance (larva and egg masses). This archived dataset includes the full set of experimental raster results, as well as a “reanalysis” product from a previous implementation of our condition monitoring workflow. More information on model parameterization rankings can be found in the associated publication (Pasquarella et al. 2021).

Tree Ring Data from the Harvard Forest EMS Tower 1896-2014

Is it possible to reconstruct aboveground carbon/biomass from tree rings? If so, how far back in time can researchers go when using tree-ring data in the reconstruction of past biomass? Answers to these questions will have a significant impact on our understanding of dynamics in the terrestrial carbon sink. Long tree-ring records of biomass can reveal intra-annual to annual to multidecadal variations that cannot be resolved by forest census data that is not conducted annually. Additionally, while these dynamics might be resolved using remote sensing, most remotely-sensed products are only two decades or less in length. By having long records of carbon biomass, we can then identify not only the dominant drivers of biomass, but how the importance of these drivers might change during different eras as environmental factors change (e.g., climate, air pollution, disturbance). To test these and other questions, we collected tree-ring records from two 20m radius plots set within the footprint of the EMS tower plot at the Harvard Forest installed and continuously operated since 1989. We can convert these data to biomass using allometric equations and compare tree-ring inferred aboveground biomass to the census data going back in time. Dye et al. (2016) have shown that these data fall within the range of uncertainty of census data sampled in the Harvard Forest Lyford plot going back to 1969. Dye, A., Barker Plotkin, A., Bishop, D., Pederson, N., Poulter, B., Hessl, A. 2016. Comparing tree-ring and permanent plot estimates of aboveground net primary production in three eastern U.S. forests. Ecosphere 7: e01454.

Tree Ring Data from Goose Egg State Forest NY 1681-2014

Is it possible to reconstruct aboveground carbon/biomass from tree rings? If so, how far back in time can researchers go when using tree-ring data in the reconstruction of past biomass? Answers to these questions will have a significant impact on our understanding of dynamics in the terrestrial carbon sink. Long tree-ring records of biomass can reveal intra-annual to annual to multidecadal variations that cannot be resolved by forest census data that is not conducted at annual time steps. Additionally, while these dynamics might be resolved using remote sensing, most remotely-sensed products are only two decades or less in length. By having long records of carbon biomass, we can then identify not only the dominant drivers of biomass, but how the importance of these drivers might change during different eras as environmental factors change (e.g., climate, air pollution, disturbance). To test these and other questions, we collected tree-ring records from three 30m radius plots set in Goose Egg State Forest in New York State. We chose this location because it has old oak dominated forests that can be compared to the long-term forests being studied for carbon dynamics at the Harvard Forest. We can convert these data to biomass using allometric equations and compare tree-ring inferred aboveground biomass to the census data going back in time to understand forest recovery and carbon dynamics in a heavily disturbance forest. Recruitment dates for some of the trees from these plots have been published in Pederson et al. (2017). Pederson, N., Young, A. B., Stan, A. B., Ariya, U., Martin-Benito, D. 2017. Low-Hanging DendroDynamic Fruits Regarding Disturbance in Temperate, Mesic Forests. In: Amoroso, M. M., Daniels, L. D., Baker, P. J., Camarero, J. J., Dendroecology: Tree-Ring Analyses Applied to Ecological Studies, Springer, Cham., Switzerland.

Tree Ring Data from North Round Pond in Pisgah State Forest NH 1754-2015

Is it possible to reconstruct aboveground carbon/biomass from tree rings? If so, how far back in time can researchers go when using tree-ring data in the reconstruction of past biomass? Answers to these questions will have a significant impact on our understanding of dynamics in the terrestrial carbon sink. Long tree-ring records of biomass can reveal intra-annual to annual to multidecadal variations that cannot be resolved by forest census data that is not conducted at annual time steps. Additionally, while these dynamics might be resolved using remote sensing, most remotely-sensed products are only two decades or less in length. By having long records of carbon biomass, we can then identify not only the dominant drivers of biomass, but how the importance of these drivers might change during different eras as environmental factors change (e.g., climate, air pollution, disturbance). To test these and other questions, we collected tree-ring records from four 30m radius plots set in the vicinity of North Round Pond in Pisgah State Forest, New Hampshire. Two plots are set in broadleaf-dominated forests while two are set in oak-mixed conifer dominated forests. We can convert these data to biomass using allometric equations and compare tree-ring inferred aboveground biomass to the census data going back in time. While a strong hurricane in September 1938 knocked down 80% of a stand ca 3.5 km SSE of these stands and the stands in the vicinity of the North Round Pond are set on N- and NW-facing slopes, and thus potentially shielded by the strong tropical winds, they, too, were disturbed by the hurricane of 1938. However, there are some very old trees and patches of trees in this landscape, while, at the same time, we suspect some logging impacted parts of some of these plots in the 1960s, like in North Round Pond Plot 1. The forest stands have since regrown and the plots we installed can be used to understand forest recovery and carbon dynamics in a heavily disturbance for

Tree Ring Data from the Harvard Tract in Pisgah State Forest NH 1675-2015

Is it possible to reconstruct aboveground carbon/biomass from tree rings? If so, how far back in time can researchers go when using tree-ring data in the reconstruction of past biomass? Answers to these questions will have a significant impact on our understanding of dynamics in the terrestrial carbon sink. Long tree-ring records of biomass can reveal intra-annual to annual to multidecadal variations that cannot be resolved by forest census data that is not conducted at annual time steps. Additionally, while these dynamics might be resolved using remote sensing, most remotely-sensed products are only two decades or less in length. By having long records of carbon biomass, we can then identify not only the dominant drivers of biomass, but how the importance of these drivers might change during different eras as environmental factors change (e.g., climate, air pollution, disturbance). To test these and other questions, we collected tree-ring records from two 30m radius plots set within Harvard’s Pisgah Tract in Pisgah State Forest, New Hampshire. We can convert these data to biomass using allometric equations and compare tree-ring inferred aboveground biomass to the census data going back in time. Famously, 80% of this tract was knocked down in September 1938 by a strong hurricane. The forest has sine regrown and the plots we installed can be used to understand forest recovery and carbon dynamics in a heavily disturbance forest. Given that this was a known/decently documented event, these data were used by Trotsiuk et al. (2018) to test various growth release methods as applied to tree-ring data. Trotsiuk, V., Pederson, N., Druckenbrod, D. L., Orwig, D. A., Bishop, D. A., Barker Plotkin, A., Fraver, S., Martin-Benito, D. 2018. Testing the efficacy of tree-ring methods for detecting past disturbances. Forest Ecology and Management 425: 59-67.

openCC (other)Sep 2025View details →

NRCS-USFS Soil Moisture Measurements - Fernow Experimental Forest, WV, 2022-2025

This dataset consists of soil moisture (volumetric water content and water potential), temperature, and electrical conductivity measurements at multiple depths within 20 soil pedons distributed across Watersheds 4, 5, 6, and 7 at the Fernow Experimental Forest from September 2022 to June 2025. This work is a part of a larger partnership between the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to install, monitor and generate long-term soil moisture datasets across multiple forested watersheds in the U.S. Associated data packages from both the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest can be found on the EDI Data Portal. Dataset contributors: Fernow site selection and project planning conducted by Ben Rau (USFS), Ann Tan (NRCS), and James Leonard (NRCS). Megan Thomas (NRCS) and Joel Gebhard (NRCS) assisted with site installation. Site visits, data downloading, and logger maintenance was by Tyler Sharretts (USFS) and Chris Cassidy (USFS). The dataset was curated by Emily Piche (USFS, ORISE) and Amanda Pennino (NRCS). Overall partnership initiation and project management was by Stephanie Connolly (USFS) and Skye Wills (NRCS).

openCC (other)Dec 2022View details →

Multi-locus DNA metabarcoding of western spotted skunk diet in the McKenzie River Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest from 2017-2019

There are increasing concerns about the declining population trends of small mammalian carnivores around the world. Their conservation and management is often challenging due to limited knowledge about their ecology and natural history. To address one of these deficiencies for western spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis), we investigated their diet in the Oregon Cascades of the Pacific Northwest during 2017 –2019. We collected 130 spotted skunk scats opportunistically and with detection dog teams and identified prey items using DNA metabarcoding and mechanical sorting. Western spotted skunk diet consisted of invertebrates such as wasps, millipedes, and gastropods, vertebrates such as small mammals, amphibians, and birds, and plants such as Gaultheria, Rubus, and Vaccinium. Diet also consisted of items such as black-tailed deer that were likely scavenged. Comparison in diet by season revealed that spotted skunks consumed more insects during the dry season (June –August), particularly wasps (75% of scats in the dry season), and marginally more mammals during the wet season(September –May). We observed similar diet in areas with no record of human disturbance and areas with a history of logging at most spatial scales, but scats collected in areas with older forest within a skunk’s home range (1 km buffer) were more likely to contain insects. Western spotted skunks provide food web linkages between aquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal systems and serve functional roles of seed dispersal and scavenging. Due to their diverse diet and prey-switching, western spotted skunks may dampen the effects of irruptions of prey, such as wasps during dry springs and summers. By studying the natural history of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest forests while they are still abundant, we provide key information necessary to achieve the conservation goal of keeping this common species common.

openCC (other)Oct 2025View details →

Raw microclimate data from plots at burned areas from the 2020 Holiday Farm fire in the Andrews Experimental Forest and Hagan Block, 2022-2024

This dataset includes a suite of microclimate sensor data from areas burned by the 2020 Holiday Farm fire within the McKenzie River basin. A total of 42 microclimate sensor suites were installed in July and August of 2022 distributed across RS01, RS08, RS15, WS02, WS09, WS01, HGBK. All sensor locations are within the Holiday Farm Fire footprint and within Permanent Sample Plots (PSPs). An additional sensor was placed within the Primary meteorological station (PRIMET) of the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest for comparison and calibration between open-air measurements. Sites are stratified across three treatment variables including 1) fire severity: high or low; 2) management: managed or unmanaged; 3) water balance: moister or drier topographic positions. This resulted in eight treatment blocks, each with 5 sensor suite replicates. Each microclimate site includes a suite of measurements: Hobo temperature and relative humidity sensor installed at 1.5m within a gill shield (recording at 30 minute interval), one TOMST TMS-4 temperature and soil moisture sensor was located within 1 m of plot center (recording at 15 minute interval). The TOMST sensors include air temperature sensors at 15cm, 2cm, and soil temperature at -6cm in soil near-surface. Soil moisture is measured across the ~10cm near surface zone.