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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2009

  • Title: Regional and Historical Variation of Tree Composition in New England Forests
  • Author: Michael S Lawrence (University of British Columbia - Vancouver)
  • Abstract:

    Differences between forest plant communities are the result of complex interactions among a multitude of environmental variables and disturbance. The environmental and disturbance factors determine successional changes in forest structure and composition. In this analysis, plot level data collected in the summer of 2009 is used to compare the overstory composition of forests in four New England locations (Martha’s Vineyard (MA), Petersham (MA), Strafford (NH), Levi Pond (VT)). Next, Horn’s model of forest succession is used to predict the future composition of these forests. The present and projected forests are then compared to early European settlement forests (according to witness-tree data) to showcase transitional trends in the overstory vegetation over the past 500 years. New England offers a prime example to study reforestation after major landscape alteration, and delineating the patterns of change in these forests will help to understand the long term ecological impacts of such intensive management on temperate forests.

  • Research Category: Conservation and Management