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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2023
- Title: The Aboveground Response in a New Forest Edge
- Author: Carlos Manuel Zuniga (California State University (all campuses))
- Abstract:
As human development continues to encroach upon our forested landscapes, it will lead to further fragmentation. Among the most affected are the forests of the northeastern United States, which has experienced significant agricultural and urban expansion, resulting in mosaics of fragmented forest and non-forest shaped by human activity. An increasing number of forest edges are being formed, which impose unique microenvironmental gradients on the forest than those found within the interior. Currently, we do not know how quickly these gradients alter the growth rates of trees found along the edge. The impact of forest edge proliferation could be profound as the temperate forest plays a role as one of the world's largest terrestrial carbon sinks. Still, it is also the most heavily fragmented forest biome on the planet, with about 23% of it within 30 meters of a non-forested edge. To measure the immediate impacts of edge creation on tree growth, we cut down a 180 by-45-meter section of Harvard Forest. Using the south-facing edge we created a set of 6 plots that are each 15 by 30 meters in size, with tree species like red oak (Quercus rubra), red maple (Acer rubrum), eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), and black birch (Betula lenta). In each plot, we deployed dendrometer bands to monitor tree growth. We measured tree growth in terms of diameter at breast height for all 104 trees over eight weeks along with collecting tree growth data from red maples and red oaks with point dendrometers installed. The manipulated forest edge demonstrates strong edge-to-interior gradients for microenvironment variables similar to older forest edges: however, the growth response of trees along the edge to interior gradients shows varied responses to these gradients.
- Research Category: Conservation and Management; Large Experiments and Permanent Plot Studies
