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August 1, 2005

New Harvard Forest Publication: Historical Human Impacts on Walden Pond

Multi-proxy analysis of a sediment core spanning 1600 years from Walden Pond, Massachusetts (USA), reveals substantial changes in the nutrient status over the past ∼250 years resulting from anthropogenic impacts on the lake and watershed. Following a period of environmental stability from about 430 AD to 1750 AD, the abundance of the diatom Cyclotella stelligera increased, the chrysophyte cyst to diatom ratio decreased,

August 1, 2005

Forests in Time: Now Available in Paperback

"Forests in Time represents the cutting edge of efforts to create a truly historical approach to ecological science, and should be read by anyone who cares about the past, present, and future of terrestrial ecosystems."

- William Cronon, Author of Changes in the Land and Nature's Metropolis

"Forests in Time: The Environmental Consequences of 1000 Years of Change in New England", David

August 1, 2005

Harvard Forest Master's Student receives Honorable Mention for Outstanding Thesis in the Biological Sciences

Brooks Mathewson, Masters' student in forestry, has been awarded the Dean's Prize Eastern Redback Salamanderfor Outstanding Thesis in the Biological Sciences, receiving an Honorable Mention for his research at the Harvard University Extension School Masters of Liberal Arts Program. Brooks' thesis advisors were Harvard Forest ecologists Betsy Colburn and David Foster, and Harvard

July 1, 2005

New Harvard Forest Publication: Physiological Costs of Carnivory in Carnivorous Plants

Harvard Forest Senior Ecologist Aaron Ellison and Bullard Fellow Elizabeth American Journal of Botany 2005 CoverFarnsworth analyzed photosynthetic rates, tissue nutrient content, and morphology of the California pitcher plant Darlingtonia californica, and found that carnivorous plants deviate substantially from generalized spectra of leaf traits proposed for a wide variety of terrestrial plants. This

July 1, 2005

Local Flora Inventory

For nearly a century, Harvard Forest has been the focus of a wide range of Flora Inventoryecological investigations, with a strong emphasis on studies of vegetation, disturbance history, and stand dynamics. Little is known of the local flora prior to the establishment of Harvard Forest in 1907. Hugh Raup developed the first checklist

June 1, 2005

New Harvard Forest Publication: Statistics of Rarity

Ecologists deal with rarity in many guises - species can be rare, particular Ecology 2005 Coverinteractions may be uncommon, and catastrophic events that reshape landscapes are, by definition, infrequent. Although ecologists often seek out abundant species or events for their investigations out of convenience, rare species are often of special central concern to

June 1, 2005

Wildlands and Woodlands: A Vision for the Forest of Massachusetts

In a new scientific report entitled "Wildlands and Woodlands: A Vision for the Forests Wildlands and Woodlands Coverof Massachusetts", Dr. David Foster the Director of Harvard Forest and his colleagues from the University of Massachusetts and Brandeis University call for a bold new land protection effort to stave-off accelerating forest fragmentation in Massachusetts.

June 1, 2005

Spring leaf development very late this year (2005)

Forest From Tower

Thanks to one of the coolest May's on record in southern New England the green-up of our deciduous forests has progressed very slowly this spring. In addition, a significant but very patchy frost on the morning of May 13th killed the just emerging leaves of some oaks and red maples setting them even further back.

Based on observations of leaf emergence

June 1, 2005

Summer Students Arrive at Forest

33 summer students have arrived as part of the Harvard Forest summer research 2005 REU Internsprogram in ecology. Students come from all over the United States to participate in on-going research projects including atmospheric pollution, global warming, hurricanes, treefalls, and insect outbreaks. Researchers come from many disciplines and institutions. Specific projects center

May 1, 2005

New Harvard Forest Publication: Newts As Carnivorous Plant Prey

The northern pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea) receives some of its nutrients from the decomposition of prey that fall into its Northeastern Naturalist Coverpitcher-shaped leaves. The majority of prey consists of ants, beetles, spiders, and slugs, and in rare cases, frogs and lizards. Here we report on the unusual occurrence of 22 Red-spotted Newt

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