IV. MANAGEMENT OF THE HARVARD FOREST AND LTER PROGRAM

Administration. The LTER program is administered at the Harvard Forest, base for the PI, many co-investigators and students; the major experiments and research facilities; data management and archives; and the financial office. Harvard Forest is a department in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, administers the Masters in Forest Science, and offers courses and the Ph.D. degree through the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Funding for the Forest is derived from endowments, whereas research activities are supported with grants. As PI and Director, David Foster is responsible for project administration, coordination of science meetings and the Harvard Forest research group, and site representation in the LTER Coordinating Committee. Dr. John O'Keefe, Coordinator of the Fisher Museum, oversees public education and outreach programs through the Fisher Museum. The LTER science team of co-investigators focus much of their research on the LTER and Harvard Forest projects. The science team meets bi-monthly and is responsible for policy decisions, developing new research directions and inter-site collaborations, and representing the LTER in the scientific community. Dr. Emery Boose, Computer Information Specialist, serves as LTER Data Manager, assisted by Julie Pallant as well as HF Archivist John Burk. Forest and facilities management is undertaken by the Woods Crew of four, directed by the Forest Manager.

The emergence of an integrated research and education program in forest ecology at the Harvard Forest has been accompanied by a growing user group of national and international scholars; more than 100 outside scientists, representing more than 30 institutions, conduct research at the Forest annually. To enhance collaboration and use by non-LTER scientists, we advertise opportunities including Bullard Fellowships, visiting fellowships for cross-site LTER studies, the Summer Research Program for Undergraduates, and our Annual Ecology Symposium through our web page and venues including Nature, Science, ESA and BES Bulletins, Conservation Biology, and Journal of Forestry. The protocol for review of new projects includes: submission of a completed web-based form for research proposals; initial review at HF by the Forest Manager, Data Manager, and Director; and review and discussion among the LTER science team. All co-investigators are involved in major land and data management policy decisions.

The Annual HF Ecology Symposium, followed immediately by the joint LTER (NSF) and NIGEC (DOE) science workshop, provides a forum for all researchers working at HF to discuss progress and new directions. The symposium is widely advertised and is open to scientists, students, and professionals throughout the northeastern US, thereby advertising opportunities for collaboration very effectively. The symposium is also well attended by agency representatives, policy makers, and collaborators. Abstracts are published and distributed to all LTER sites, NSF program directors, and ecologists nation-wide. The schedule, whereby we follow the symposium with evening and then day-long workshops for LTER and NIGEC researchers, provides an excellent forum for synthesis, critical oversight of program development, and opportunities for interaction among scientific disciplines that usually do not interact (e.g., historical ecologists, atmospheric scientists, and population biologists).

Since 1985 the Harvard Forest has sponsored an exciting Summer Research Program in Ecology for a diverse and talented group of students centered around an NSF REU site grant (10 students) with additional support from Harvard University (5 students), the Mellon Foundation (2-3 students), and other agencies (5-6 students). The program provides independent research experience and promotes career development in ecology. We use an effective administrative protocol comprising: advertisement and recruitment; selection of diverse and productive students; advanced preparation; individual mentorship within research groups comprised of faculty, graduate students, post-doctoral associates and undergraduate students; weekly seminars and discussion groups on science, careers, graduate studies, and ethics in science; field trips to research sites and other institutions; an annual student symposium; program evaluation and discussion; and follow-up including publication, professional presentation, thesis development, and career tracking.

Land Base. The 1200-ha Harvard Forest has operated as Harvard University's main ecological research and educational facility since 1907, and consequently its historical records on land use and vegetation change are unsurpassed by any site in the US. The Forest also owns the Pisgah old-growth tract in the 5000-ha Pisgah Park, NH, which blew down in the 1938 hurricane and is the site of much historical and current research.

Research Laboratories and Library. The Harvard Forest provides a complete base for research in forest, ecosystem and historical ecology and biosphere-atmosphere interactions. Coincident with LTER I and II, the Forest has overseen phenomenal growth in scientists, educators, students, collaborators, research and education programs, and laboratory, computing, archival, teaching, and housing facilities. Shaler Hallcontains offices, seminar rooms, a 23,000-volume library, dining facilities for 40, laboratories for paleoecological, tree-ring, morphological, computational and GIS studies, and a complete herbarium of the local flora. Torrey Laboratory includes two research greenhouses, offices, and physiology and nutrient analysis laboratories with fume hoods, gas chromatograph, Lachat autoanalyzer, CN analyzer, nano pure water, balances, and drying ovens. The Archive (2200 ft²) houses 100 years of data on the land and research, a sample archive with cold storage facilities, and air photo interpretation systems. Researchers also make extensive use of laboratory, controlled environment, and computing facilities in the Division of Applied Sciences and Biological Laboratories at Harvard, the Ecosystem Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory, the Complex Systems Research Center at University of New Hampshire, and the University of Massachusetts.

Fisher Museum and lecture hall (10,000 ft²) is devoted to public and formal education, has seating for 100, and displays the HF Dioramas, which portray the history, ecology and conservation of New England forests. Residences includes Fisher House, with room for groups of 26, and four houses and ten rental apartments for visiting researchers, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows. Equipment for experimental manipulations, forestry, construction, and maintenance includes a back-hoe, bulldozer, crawler, skidder, tractor, dump truck, flat bed truck, 2 vans, 7 pick-ups, wood-working and machinery shops, and a sawmill.