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December 11, 2012

Defense Department Supports New Ecosystem Research

Garlic Mustard

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has granted $2 million to Harvard Forest researchers Kristina Stinson (UMass Amherst) and Serita Frey (UNH) for a five-year study of how soil microbial communities respond to major ecosystem change.

Soil fungi are crucial to the growth of many native trees, but their functions can be easily disrupted by the belowground

December 11, 2012

Harvard Forest Archive Now Searchable Online

Harvard Forest founding director Richard Fisher in a pine stand in 1908

A new online catalog for the Harvard Forest Archive--the result of a year-long effort by Archive staff--allows users to search the thousands of maps, research files, samples, administrative records, photographs, and other visual materials available at the Forest. Some records have been digitized and can be viewed in high resolution online (including the photo here, of founding director

December 3, 2012

Applications Open: Summer and Winter Programs for Undergraduates

Harvard Forest Summer Research Program Students

SUMMER: Applications are now being accepted for the 2013 Harvard Forest Summer Research Program, an opportunity for college students across the U.S. to participate in 11 weeks (May 20-August 2, 2013) of paid, independent research with mentors from Harvard and other leading institutions. 2013 projects focus on the ecological and social dimensions of forest ecosystem disturbance, including global

November 10, 2012

"Nature Wars" Author to Speak at Fisher Museum

Nature Wars book cover

If you are among the more than four thousand drivers who will hit a deer today, or beavers have flooded your backyard, or bears have looted your bird feeders, then you won't want to miss Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds.

Join award-winning journalist and author Jim Sterba for

November 5, 2012

Forest Co-Hosts Tour of Farm Property

Bryant house at Harvard Forest

On November 3, the Harvard Forest and the Petersham Historical Society co-hosted a public open house for a farm property that Harvard Forest acquired in 2008. Visitors were able to tour the renovated Bryant farmhouse, get a closer look at the 1760s-era barn, meet contemporary members of the Bryant family, and learn about Harvard Forest's effort clearing the old pastures

November 5, 2012

"Ants of New England" Book News and Events

Field Guide to the Ants of New England by Aaron Ellison

How many of New England's 130 ant species can you name?
Over the next month, the recently released Field Guide to the Ants of New England, co-authored by HF senior ecologist Aaron Ellison, will be featured at a number of public events across the state.

  • November 7, 2012, 6:30pm: Talk and book-signing at the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica
November 5, 2012

Museum Events to Feature Harvard Forest Keynotes

A public event series at the Harvard Museum of Natural History will feature lectures by several Harvard Forest researchers this fall. 

November 15, 6:00pm
Woodlands and Waters, Forests and Faucets: A look at Massachusetts' woods, water bodies, and water supplies for the Boston metro area
Lecture by Betsy Colburn, aquatic ecologist

November 29, 6:00pm
The Ants of New England
Lecture and

October 16, 2012

New Grant to Aid Research on Soil Microbe DNA

Serita Frey collecting soil samples

The Joint Genome Institute of the U.S. Department of Energy recently granted Harvard Forest researchers Jeffrey Blanchard (UMass), Kristen DeAngelis (UMass), Linda van Diepen (UNH), Serita Frey (UNH), and Jerry Melillo (MBL) a Community Sequencing Program award.

The award will cover the processing costs for sequencing 3 terabases of microbial community DNA and RNA gathered from Harvard Forest soils.

October 16, 2012

Study Offers Alternatives for Forest Management after Storms

The Harvard Forest hurricane pulldown area

A Harvard Forest study soon to be published in the journal Ecology highlights 20 years of data from a forest disrupted by a major hurricane simulation in 1990. Although post-storm management strategies generally involve removal of dead and damaged trees, the Ecology study suggests that forests recover more readily when they are left alone.

October 16, 2012

International Conference: Solving Small-scale Forestry Issues

International conference field trip group co-organized by Harvard Forest

In an international conference co-organized by Harvard Forest researcher and University of Massachusetts professor David Kittredge, more than 90 specialists from 18 different countries convened at UMass Amherst in late September to share research results, identify future research themes, and discuss solutions inherent to small scale forests and forestry that can benefit landowners, society, and the

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