Physical and Biological Characteristics of Harvard Forest

Location

• North-central Massachusetts
• 42.5°N Latitude; 72°W Longitude

Land Base

• Petersham, MA: 1200 ha
    Prospect Hill: 375 ha
    Tom Swamp: 475 ha
    Slab City: 200 ha
    Simes Tract: 125 ha
    Schwarz Tract: 15 ha
  
• Royalston, MA: 28 ha Tall Timbers Tract
• Hamilton, MA: 40 ha Matthews Plantation
• Winchester, NH: 10 ha Pisgah Tract, which is part of the 5000 ha Pisgah State Forest

Climate

• Cool, moist temperate
• July mean temperature 20°C
• January mean temperature -7°C
• Annual mean precipitation 110 cm, distributed fairly evenly throughout the year

Physiography

• New England Upland Region
• Elevation: 220m to 410m above sea level
• Bedrock: granite, gneiss and schist

Soils

• Mainly sandy loam glacial till, with some alluvial and colluvial deposits
• Moderately to well drained in most areas
• Acidic
• Average depth 3 m

Vegetation

• Transition Hardwood - White Pine - Hemlock Region

Dominant species:

• Red oak (Quercus rubra)
• Red maple (Acer rubrum)
• Black birch (Betula lenta)
• White pine (Pinus strobus)
• Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

Species found on drier soils:

• White oak (Quercus alba)
• Black oak (Quercus velutina)
• Hickory (Carya ovata)
• Chestnut (Castanea dentata), now only found in understory because of chestnut blight

On moist, cool, but well-drained sites:

• Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
• Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
• Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
• Paper birch (Betula papyrifera)
• White ash (Fraxinus americana)
• Hemlock
• White pine

In peatlands:

• Red spruce (Picea rubens)
• Black spruce (Picea mariana)
• Larch (Larix laricina)

Plantations:

• Conifer plantations cover about 7% of Harvard Forest land