Harvard Forest Research Project 2024

Title: Seedling demography in ForestGEO plot
Principal investigator: Sydne Record (sydne.record@maine.edu)
Institution: University of Maine
Primary contact: Sydne Record (sydne.record@maine.edu)
Team members: Marcos Rodriguez
Abstract:
Seedling recruitment and survival are a key determinant of forest regeneration after disturbances. However, most studies do not include observations of seedling dynamics because data collection is time consuming. For instance, the Smithsonian ForestGEO protocol does not include standard seedling sampling with the smallest sized individuals entering into 5-year censuses being those individuals >1cm in diameter at breast height. At Harvard Forest, it is especially important to consider seedling observations because the forest is in transition (e.g., mortality of eastern hemlocks in response to invasion by hemlock woolly adelgid and defoliation of oaks due to the spongy moth). To address this knowledge gap, this study provides seedling demographic data for the ForestGEO plot at Harvard Forest.

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