Hemlock Removal Experiment - Air and Soil Temperature

• Investigators: Audrey Barker Plotkin, Aaron Ellison, Kristina Stinson
• Contact: Aaron Ellison
• Start date: 2004-11-15
• End date: ongoing
• Location: Simes Tract (Harvard Forest)
• Latitude: +42.47
• Longitude: -72.22
• Elevation: 200 to 240 meters
• Taxa: Acer spp. (maple), Betula spp. (birch), Pinus strobus (white pine), Quercus spp. (oak), Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
• Keywords: canopy photographs, hemlock, hemlock woolly adelgid, light, Tsuga canadensis
• Release date: 2005
• EML version: knb-lter-hfr.108.2
• Revisions: data updated 2007-11-26
• Abstract:

  The impending loss of hemlock trees due to hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) infestation is expected to lead to changes in the temperature regime of the forest understory. These changes will both drive succession and will themselves be altered by successional processes. Air temperature (1 m above forest floor) and soil temperature (at 10 cm depth) is measured at 1-minute intervals (hourly averages, minimum, and maximum are stored) using thermistors connected to Campbell 21-X dataloggers. Temperature measurements began 60-120 days prior to applications of the logging and girdling treatments, and will continue for the duration of the study.

• Methods:

  Two thermistors are located in the center of each of the 6 experimental hemlock plots in the Simes Tract. One thermistor is mounted beneath a plywood platform, 1 meter above the soil surface, the other is buried 10 cm into the soil. Thermistors are connected to Campbell 21-X dataloggers. One datalogger services Plots 1, 2, and 3; the other datalogger services plots 4, 5, and 6. Dataloggers are powered by 12-volt deep-cycle batteries. Temperatures are measured each minute; hourly averages, minimum, and maximum values are stored; see program below. Data are manually downloaded at 21-28 day intervals (maximum datalogger storage is approximately 30 days). Data are checked for consistency, outliers, and sensor creep.

• Use:

  This dataset is released to the public and may be freely downloaded. Please keep the designated Contact person informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation or collaboration with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset must include proper acknowledgement. For more information on LTER Network data access and use policies, please see: http://www.lternet.edu/data/netpolicy.html.

• Related datasets: HF081 HF083 HF106