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A joint Harvard Forest-Smithsonian study released today in PLOS ONE compares modern forests to their pre-colonial condition in a 9-state analysis of Northeastern forest change. More than 300,000 colonial-era "witness tree" records--never before analyzed at this scale--reveal that although the same types of trees are present today, the number and locations of these trees are dramatically different.

Maples

A list of 100 Influential Papers published by the British Ecological Society for its centennial celebration includes Harvard Forest director David Foster's 1992 study, "Land use history (1730-1990) and vegetation dynamics in central New-England USA" among the honorees.

The list was comprised by nomination: 100 ecologists were asked to name the paper that they

A recent study led by Harvard Forest Policy Analyst David Kittredge reveals surprising trends in how private landowners--whose small holdings comprise the majority of forests in the eastern U.S.--make decisions about their land. 

The study shows that most landowners have an informal network of 7-10 people with whom they discuss general issues about their land. For major

A study published today in the journal Nature, led by Harvard faculty member Andrew Richardson and post-doctoral fellow Trevor Keenan, uses more than 20 years of data from Harvard Forest research towers to explain how rising CO2 levels help trees use water more efficiently.

As trees become more efficient at using water, the researchers explain,