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Harvard Forest Data Archive

HF051

Fern Understory as an Ecological Filter at Harvard Forest 1993-1995

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Data

Overview

  • Lead: Lisa George, Fakhri Bazzaz
  • Investigators:
  • Contact: Information Manager
  • Start date: 1993
  • End date: 1995
  • Status: complete
  • Location: Prospect Hill Tract (Harvard Forest), Tom Swamp Tract (Harvard Forest)
  • Latitude: +42.49 to +42.55 degrees
  • Longitude: -72.23 to -72.17 degrees
  • Elevation: 230 to 420 meter
  • Datum: WGS84
  • Taxa: Acer rubrum (red maple), Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch), Betula lenta (black birch), Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hayscented fern), Fraxinus americana (white ash), Osmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern), Pinus strobus (white pine), Quercus rubra (northern red oak)
  • Release date: 2023
  • Language: English
  • EML file: knb-lter-hfr.51.21
  • DOI: digital object identifier
  • EDI: data package
  • DataONE: data package
  • Related links:
  • Study type: short-term measurement
  • Research topic: physiological ecology, population dynamics and species interactions
  • LTER core area: population studies
  • Keywords: ferns, regeneration, seed banks, seedlings
  • Abstract:

    We investigated the role of the fern understory as an ecological filter that influences the organization of the tree seedling bank in New England deciduous forests. The data files below summarize a series of field experiments conducted from 1993 to 1995 evaluating the response of seed germination and seedling growth and survival to experimental understory manipulation. These field studies involved three experimental manipulations of the fern understory: 1) removal of ferns 2) ferns tied back (to remove above-ground shading) 3) ferns left intact (control). These manipulations were established in 180 - 1m2 plots spanning six field sites and 2 different fern species (3 understory manipulations x 2 understory fern species x 6 sites x 5 replicates/site = 180 experimental plots).

  • Methods:

    The first data file (hf051-01) contains measurements of germination of planted seeds. The second data file (hf051-02) contains measurements of germination of naturally occurring seeds. The third data file (hf051-03) contains measurements of height and biomass growth of planted seedlings. The fourth data file (hf051-04) contains microenvironmental measurements made in the various experimental plots.

  • Organization: Harvard Forest. 324 North Main Street, Petersham, MA 01366, USA. Phone (978) 724-3302. Fax (978) 724-3595.

  • Project: The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program examines ecological dynamics in the New England region resulting from natural disturbances, environmental change, and human impacts. (ROR).

  • Funding: National Science Foundation LTER grants: DEB-8811764, DEB-9411975, DEB-0080592, DEB-0620443, DEB-1237491, DEB-1832210.

  • Use: This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.

  • License: Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal (CC0-1.0)

  • Citation: George L, Bazzaz F. 2023. Fern Understory as an Ecological Filter at Harvard Forest 1993-1995. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF051 (v.21). Environmental Data Initiative: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/9d7001bf5da578016f5766b9e00223b9.

Detailed Metadata

hf051-01: germination of planted seeds

  1. site: field sites are denoted by the Harvard Forest compartment number in which they are located (PH is Prospect Hill, TS is Tom Swamp)
  2. fern: fern species
    • DEPU: Dennstaedtia punctilobula
    • OSCL: Osmunda claytoniana
  3. manipulation: experimental manipulations of the fern understory
    • 1: control/fern understory intact
    • 2: fern fronds tied back
    • 3: fern removal
  4. plot: plot number
  5. bc94: number of birch (Betula alleghaniensis) germinants in plots cleared of forest floor litter, 1994 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  6. bl94: number of birch germinants in plots with litter layer intact, 1994 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  7. rm7.94: number of summer germinants of red maple (Acer rubrum), 1994 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  8. rm5.95: number of spring germinants of red maple, 1995 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  9. bc95: number of birch germinants in plots cleared of forest floor litter, 1995 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  10. bl95: number of birch germinants in plots with litter layer intact, 1995 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  11. oak: number of red oak (Quercus rubra) seedlings emerging above litter layer (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  12. og1: shoot emergence of first pre-germinated red oak acorn above litter layer
    • 0: shoot did not emerge
    • 1: shoot emerged
  13. og2: shoot emergence of second pre-germinated red oak acorn above litter layer
    • 0: shoot did not emerge
    • 1: shoot emerged

hf051-02: germination of naturally occuring seeds

  1. plot: plot number
  2. site: field sites are denoted by the Harvard Forest compartment number in which they are located (PH is Prospect Hill, TS is Tom Swamp)
  3. fern: fern species
    • DEPU: Dennstaedtia punctilobula
    • OSCL: Osmunda claytoniana
  4. manipulation: experimental manipulations of the fern understory
    • 1: control/fern understory intact
    • 2: fern fronds tied back
    • 3: fern removal
  5. rm94: number of red maple (Acer rubrum) seeds germinating in 1994 per 1m2 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  6. ro94: number of red oak (Quercus rubra) seeds germinating in 1994 per 1m2 wa 94 - number of white ash (Fraxinus americana) seeds germinating in 1994 per 1m2 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  7. wa94: number of white pine (Pinus strobus) seeds germinating in 1994 per 1m2 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  8. wp94: number of white pine (Pinus strobus) seeds germinating in 1994 per 1m2 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  9. yb94: number of yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) seeds germinating in 1994 per 1m2 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  10. rm95: number of red maple seeds germinating in 1995 per 1m2 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  11. wa95: number of white ash seeds germinating in 1995 per 1m2 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  12. yb95: number of yellow birch seeds germinating in 1995 per 1m2 (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  13. rmdistance: distance in meters from the experimental plot of nearest red maple canopy tree (unit: meter / missing value: NA)
  14. rodistance: distance in meters from the experimental plot of nearest red oak canopy tree (unit: meter / missing value: NA)
  15. wadistance: distance in meters from the experimental plot of nearest white ash canopy tree (unit: meter / missing value: NA)
  16. wpdistance: distance in meters from the experimental plot of nearest white pine canopy tree (unit: meter / missing value: NA)
  17. ybdistance: distance in meters from the experimental plot of nearest birch canopy tree (unit: meter / missing value: NA)

hf051-03: growth of planted seedlings

  1. site: field sites are denoted by the Harvard Forest compartment number in which they are located (PH is Prospect Hill, TS is Tom Swamp)
  2. fern: fern species
    • DEPU: Dennstaedtia punctilobula
    • OSCL: Osmunda claytoniana
  3. manipulation: experimental manipulations of the fern understory
    • 1: control/fern understory intact
    • 2: fern fronds tied back
    • 3: fern removal
  4. seedlingspp: seedling species
    • birch: yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
    • maple: red maple (Acer rubrum)
    • oak: red oak (Quercus rubra)
  5. height93: height of seedling (cm) at 1993 planting date (unit: centimeter / missing value: NA)
  6. lfbiomass93: seedling leaf biomass at 1993 planting date (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  7. stembiomass93: seedling stem biomass at 1993 planting date (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  8. rootbiomass93: seedling root biomass at 1993 planting date (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  9. tbiomass93: seedling total biomass at 1993 planting date (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  10. ht95: height of seedling (cm) at 1995 planting date (unit: centimeter / missing value: NA)
  11. lfbiomass95: seedling leaf biomass at 1995 harvest date (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  12. stembiomass95: seedling stem biomass at 1995 harvest date (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  13. rootbiomass95: seedling root biomass at 1995 harvest date (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  14. tbiomass95: seedling total biomass at 1995 harvest date (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  15. rgr.ht: relative growth rate of experimental seedling in terms of height in cm. RGR calculated as [ln (height in 95) - ln (height in 93)]/2 yr (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  16. rgr.lvs: relative growth rate of experimental seedling in terms of leaf biomass in g (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  17. rgr.stems: relative growth rate of experimental seedling in terms of stem biomass in g (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  18. rgr.roots: relative growth rate of experimental seedling in terms of root biomass in g (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  19. rgr.tbiomass: relative growth rate of experimental seedling in terms of total biomass in g (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  20. light.1m: light levels measured above the understory at 1m above the forest floor (unit: molePerMeterSquaredPerDay / missing value: NA)

hf051-04: microenvironmental measurements

  1. plot: plot name
  2. site: field sites are denoted by the Harvard Forest compartment number in which they are located (PH is Prospect Hill, TS is Tom Swamp)
  3. fern: fern species
    • DEPU: Dennstaedtia punctilobula
    • OSCL: Osmunda claytoniana
  4. manipulation: experimental manipulations of the fern understory
    • 1: control/fern understory intact
    • 2: fern fronds tied back
    • 3: fern removal
  5. light.1m: light levels above the understory at 1m above the forest floor measured (unit: molePerMeterSquaredPerDay / missing value: NA)
  6. light.8cm: light levels below the understory canopy at 8cm above the forest floor (unit: molePerMeterSquaredPerDay / missing value: NA)
  7. litter.depth: depth of coarse forest floor litter (unit: centimeter / missing value: NA)
  8. soil.exp: number of randomly scored points (out of 10) in experimental plots under which soil was directly exposed (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  9. soil.mois: g water per g dry soil (unit: gramsPerGram / missing value: NA)
  10. org.mat: g organic material per g dry soil (unit: gramsPerGram / missing value: NA)