Harvard Forest Research

Ecological and historical aspects of biological invasions in New England

Principal Investigator: Kristina Stinson
Harvard Forest: Jul 01 2005 - Dec 01 2010:

Abstract:
This project investigates the historical and ecological factors that facilitate invasion of several exotic plants across New England landscapes, the interactions between exotic and native species, and demographic aspects of invasive species' spread. Mapping of exotic species at Harvard Forest (Prospect Hill and other tracts), and at the statewide level are ongoing. These studies will help determine the role of geographic variation, site characteristics, and land use history in the local and regional distribution of invasive plants. Vegetation surveys and experimental methods are being used to test the effects of exotic plant presences and abundances on local/native community composition and diversity. To date, this work has provided both correlative and empirical evidence that medium-to-high garlic levels of invasion reduce native species diversity via altered species composition, including canopy tree seedlings.
Ongoing work will also provide more explicit spatial analyses to to continue long-term mapping of garlic mustard and other exotic species at Harvard Forest, which will contribute to our long-term datasets on vegetation, and to the LTER-inter-site invasive species initiative.
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