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July 1, 2007

A New Understanding of Subsurface Flow in Headwater Streams

In many headwater streams in stony north-central Massachusetts, much of the water flows below the surface of the ground instead of in an open channel. Harvard Forest researchers, including summer students working through the NSF-funded Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, compared water temperatures, chemistry, and aquatic life in surface and subsurface-flowing sections of Bigelow Brook-west, a small, hemlock-dominated

July 1, 2007

The Connecticut River Boating Guide: Source to Sea

Elizabeth Farnsworth (Bullard Fellow, 2005-6) has published The Connecticut River Boating Guide: Source to Sea, with co-authors, John CT River Boating Guideand Wendy Sinton. The Bullard Fellowship supported much of the research and writing for this book. For all those who enjoy appreciating and recreating on New Englands largest river, this guide is

July 1, 2007

Bird Populations Respond to Climate Change, Land Use and Winter Feeding

Rosemary Balfour completed her Masters of Liberal Arts degree at Harvard in June working with thesis advisors David Foster and Wayne Petersen of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Rosemary's study utilized Christmas Bird Count data to examine the long-term trends in the abundance and composition of the bird populations that overwinter across the inland regions of Massachusetts. Her research concluded that

July 1, 2007

Bob Marshall's Research Plots Recovered and Resampled

Bob Marshall with grad students

In the summer of 1924, Bob Marshall, future founder of the Wilderness Society and career forester and ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Indian Affairs came to Petersham to join four other graduate students for studies with Professor Richard Fisher and instructors Albert Cline and Rupe Gast. The group developed a large new experiment on

June 1, 2007

New Harvard Forest Publications

Land-use History Effect on Forest Ecosystems

We used stable N isotopes in tree rings and lake sediments to demonstrate that N availability in a northeastern forest has declined over the past 75 years, likely because of ecosystem recovery from Euro-American land use. Forest N availability has only recently returned to levels forecast from presettlement trajectories, rendering the trajectory of future forest

June 1, 2007

New Elemental Analyzer for John G. Torrey Laboratory

Harvard Forest has just acquired a new elemental analyzer for the John G. Torrey Nutrient Laboratory. Purchased with National Science Foundation LTER funding, the Elementar vario MICRO analyzer can be used for measurements of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. The new, user-friendly equipment is a nice complement to the Lachat 8500 autoanalyzer in the laboratory and is being used for a

May 1, 2007

New Harvard Forest Publications

Oswald, W. W., E. K. Faison, D. R. Foster, E. D. Doughty, B. R. Hall and B. C. S. Hansen. 2007. Post-glacial changes in spatial patterns of vegetation across southern New England. Journal of Biogeography 34, 900–913.

Lindbladh, M., W. W. Oswald, D. R. Foster, E. K. Faison, J. Hou, Y. Huang. 2007. A late-glacial transition from

May 1, 2007

Undergraduate Thesis Investigates the Effect of Harvesting on the Carbon-cycle

Harvard College senior Frances C. O'Donnell completed her thesis Carbon Dynamics of a New England Temperate Forest Five Years After Selective Logging. The thesis quantifies how the carbon source-sink dynamics of the forest were modified due to harvesting activities based on field work conducted at the Harvard Forest. Frances' advisor is Professor Steven Wofsy of the Harvard University

May 1, 2007

Fisher Museum Open on Weekends

Fisher Museum Diorama

Starting May 5th, the Fisher Museum will be open 12 - 4 on Saturdays and Sundays. The Fisher Museum features twenty-three internationally acclaimed models (dioramas) portraying the history, conservation and management of central New England forests. Other exhibits at the museum represent the range of Harvard Forest's research. 

May 1, 2007

Harvard Forest's 100 year old records made available with a Library Digital Initiative grant

For nearly a century, detailed records for all research and forestry operations on the Harvard Forest properties have been maintained HF Tabulation Sheetin the form of extensive research files, maps, photographs, and other materials. This information allows researchers to interpret the landscape history of research sites, and analyze how past natural and anthropogenic

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