Harvard Forest Research

Biodiversity of plantations and early successional habitat

Principal Investigator: David Foster
Harvard Forest: May 01 2007 - Nov 01 2016:

Abstract:
The Harvard Forest is harvesting 77 acres of mature plantation forests and is conducting intensive long-term studies of the biodiversity changes and vegetation dynamics in the resulting early successional habitat. The plantations of primarily non-native conifers (red pine, white and Norway spruce) were established in old fields during the early years of the Harvard Forest as long-term experiments on forest growth, productivity, and suitability of species to New England conditions. The stands are 60 – 90 years in age and are nearing or past maturation, and will be harvested in order to regenerate a diversity of native trees species and to eventually restore mature native forests to these sites through natural succession. The resulting early-successional habitat is a regionally uncommon landscape type throughout southern New England, and treatments should provide 10-15 years of early seral habitat for many plant and animal species. Approximately 50 acres of other plantations will remain unharvested as controls and to protect existing study sites. The harvesting began in Winter 2007-2008 and will continue through Winter 2008-2009.

2008: A primary goal of this summer's work is to build on the baseline vegetation surveys conducted in 2007 by adding observations of habitat structure, browsing by deer and moose, and sampling other biota such as salamanders and bats. Our results will be used to determine both the contribution of plantations to biodiversity, the impacts of clear-cutting on biodiversity, and the subsequent changes in biodiversity that occur during successional changes from open vegetation to mature forest.

2009: Plans for this season are to re-survey permanent plots in stands soon after harvest. This includes plots 4, 5, & 6; and possibly plots 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 if they are harvested during Summer '09.: