You are here
Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2013
- Title: Getting to the Core of the Carbon Question
- Author: Patrick B O'Hara (Harvard College (Harvard University))
- Abstract:
Understanding how a forest is taking in carbon from the atmosphere is critical in an age of global climate change. Determining which parts of the environment are acting as sinks or sources for carbon, and to what extent, can help shape climate policy. Eddy-flux and permanent plot studies indicate that the Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA is a significant carbon sink. This study seeks to determine how the Forest has changed in its role as an extractor of carbon over several decades. From a suite of permanent plots sampled in 1992 and 1937, I selected four 22.5m x 22.5m that best represent the diversity of the Harvard Forest’s core research area based on basal area, tree density, and species composition. In each of these plots, I extracted two increment cores from each tree greater than 10cm diameter at breast height, and the cores were analyzed for yearly growth based on ring width. Using a previously developed program in R, I used the raw measurement data gained from the tree core analysis along with data from live vegetation surveys to obtain a rough estimate of yearly carbon intake. It can be seen from this initial data that over the past century or so the amount of carbon being taken in by HF has been increasing. It is hypothesized that this general increase is due to both regrowth of the forest and to a fertilization effect of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
- Research Category: Forest-Atmosphere Exchange; Group Projects; Large Experiments and Permanent Plot Studies
- Figures: HF REU ABSTRACT PIC.jpg
