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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2005
- Title: The Effects of Forest Harvesting on Invasive Plants in Massachusetts
- Author: Daniel S Katz (Bard College)
- Abstract:
Both forest harvesting and invasive plant species may have strong effects on forest composition and structure in Massachusetts. However, there has been relatively little study on how these two types of disturbances interact. This study tested whether harvesting facilitates either the initial establishment of invasive species or increases their abundance at sites where they already occur. Specific research questions were if either the time since harvesting or the harvesting intensity had any effect on this dynamic. The data used to answer these questions comes from a larger scale study, the Forest Harvesting Project, for which we sampled 60 sites this summer in addition to the 82 sites sampled last summer. At each site we recorded cutting intensity, historical land use, and recorded abundances for the 21 most common invasive species. By using the Fisher Exact Test on the first summer’s data, we determined that neither cutting intensity (p>.05) nor time since harvesting (p>.05) have a statistically significant effect on either the presence or abundance of invasive species. Historical land use (p=.0169) and soil substrate (p=.0114) did have a significant effect on both the presence and abundance of invasive species. As predicted, sites which were heavily modified by human activity (like agricultural land) had higher frequencies and concentrations of invasive species, as did sites with richer soil substrates. My results imply that contemporary forest harvesting in Massachusetts does not have a significant effect on invasive species.
- Research Category:
