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April 2017

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April 27, 2017

Study: Wildfire in a Warming Climate Could Relegate Some Forests to Shrubland

A fire burning on a hill surrounded by dense vegetation.

The ability of some Western conifer forests to recover after severe fire may become increasingly limited as the climate continues to warm, according to a new study published today in Global Change Biology, by HF Senior Ecologist Jonathan Thompson and fellow scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and UVA.

Although most of the evergreen trees in the study region

April 25, 2017

New Study Links Hemlock Decline to Shifts in Water Resources

Underneath the canopy of hemlock trees.

Each year in New England, tree-killing insect pests cause sweeping changes in forests. Some changes are highly visible – like swaths of dead trees. A new Harvard Forest study points to a less visible but still critical impact: changes to freshwater streams, including streams that source public water supplies.

According to the study, recently

April 18, 2017

2017-2018 Bullard Fellows Announced

People walking down a path surrounded by trees in the fall.

We are pleased to announce the Harvard Forest Charles Bullard Fellows for 2017-2018. The mission of the Charles Bullard Fellowship Program is to support advanced research and study by individuals who show promise of making an important contribution--either

April 13, 2017

Museum Event to Launch New Book: Witness Tree

The witness tree by Lynda V. Mapes

Near the edge of the Harvard Forest stands a stately red oak tree that, if you listen closely, tells a rich, 100-year story of human and environmental change. Veteran Seattle Times reporter Lynda Mapes studied the tree and its environs intently for a year during a recent Bullard Fellowship. The result is her new book,

April 10, 2017

Field Trip Scholarships for Middle & High School Classrooms

Guided field trip

Scholarships are now available for educators wishing to bring middle and high school classes for a guided field trip to explore the forest and Fisher Museum, and to collect data as part of an authentic ecological field study. 

Field trips are available in two locations: the Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts or Highstead in southern Connecticut.

A limited number