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February 2019

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February 28, 2019

Study: Decades of Tree Rings Extend Today's High-Tech Climate Stories

A person taking a sample from a tree.

Satellite imagery, carbon dioxide measurements, and computer models all help scientists understand how climate and carbon dynamics are changing in the world’s forests. But the technology powering these high-tech data only stretches back about thirty years, limiting our picture of long-term change.

A new study in Nature Communications co-authored by HF Senior Ecologist Neil Pederson with scientists from Columbia University,

February 26, 2019

Museum Event to Discuss Dam Removal in New England

Construction equipment in a dam.

More than ten thousand dams were built on New England rivers over the past four centuries. In the past twenty years, intentional removal of these structures has become common throughout the region, motivated by public safety, maintenance costs, and the desire to restore passage for migratory fish.

Scientist Noah Snyder, Harvard Forest Bullard Fellow and Associate Professor at

February 22, 2019

Study: Recent Land-Use Trends Limit Carbon Potential

A map of the New England states.

Over the next 50 years, land-use change in New England (both forest harvest and land development) will have more of an impact on forest dynamics than climate change.

And, if recent trends in regional land use are maintained, the landscape will fall far short of its potential to store carbon, explains a new paper in the journal Global Environmental Change, by HF

February 15, 2019

Improvements to Harvard Farm Include Public Art Sculpture

Three triangular structures.

Travelers on Route 32 in Petersham will soon see improvements to the Harvard Farm, formerly the Petersham Country Club property, now a working cow pasture, ecological research site, and outdoor classroom owned by the Harvard Forest.

Some changes are small and aesthetic: the Harvard Forest Woods Crew has been clearing brush and pruning dead tree branches to beautify the view from

February 6, 2019

Harvard Forest Map Collection Digitized for Public Use

A map of Harvard Forest.

A partnership with Massachusetts Digital Commonwealth has led to the digitization of 600+ maps from the Harvard Forest Archive: local property maps, forest inventories, detailed maps of damage from the 1938 Hurricane, even winter range maps of local snowshoe hares! All the maps are free for download and use under a Creative Commons license.