Author: harvardforest

Winter Interns Explore US Forest Cover, Indigenous Partnerships, Museum Communication

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Four Harvard students completed intensive winter internships at the Forest this January, working virtually on a range of projects and presenting their findings to community partners and Harvard faculty and staff on January 19.

  • Nina Chung, a junior studying Integrative Biology, worked with mentors Jonathan Thompson and Valerie Pasquarella to compare the sensitivity of remote sensing products in detecting changing US forest cover. Nina’s internship was a return to the Forest after being a Freshman Seminar student in 2019.
  • Anna Christensen, a PhD candidate in the History of Science department, worked with mentor Clarisse Hart on a number of science communication projects, including a new virtual exhibit for the Fisher Museum (forthcoming in spring 2022).
  • Langa Siziba, a first-year studying Electrical Engineering, and Jaidyn Probst, a junior studying Cognitive Neuroscience and Ethnicity, Migration, & Rights, contributed to several land projects with the local Nipmuc tribe, as well as an Indigenous land & STEM voices project. Mentors included Danielle Ignace, Nia Holley, Clarisse Hart, Meghan MacLean, Marissa Weiss, and 2021 Summer Research Program alumni Lehua Blalock and Rafa Furer.  Langa and Jaidyn will be continuing their work into the spring 2022 semester.

Study Tracks Seasonal Growth and Water Shortage in Trees

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By Anna Christensen

A paper published this past summer in Tree Physiology finds that tree species of varying wood-porosity experience peak growth at different times of the year, exposing some species to more intense water shortages than others.

The wood-porosity of a tree refers to the structure of its vessels—pipelines within the trunk that carry sap throughout the tree.

Some trees such as red maple, paper birch, and American beech, have diffuse-porous structures. This means that they develop vessels that are similar in size throughout the growing season.

Other trees, like the white ash and northern red oak, have ring-porous structures, meaning they develop large vessels early in the growing season and smaller ones as the season goes on. Coniferous trees don’t have vessels, so are considered non-porous.

Loïc D’Orangeville and colleagues found that for tree species with diffuse-porous wood structures, peak growth occurs almost a month later than for trees with ring-porous or conifer structures. This growth occurs at a time of lower water availability and higher temperatures, exposing these trees to greater water shortages during their most important growth period.

This work is revealing the importance of vessel structure to long-term histories of tree species. As Loïc explains, “Late-summer droughts and winter freeze-thaw events can damage the conducting vessels of trees. The large vessels developed in spring by ring-porous trees allow them to restore their water conductive capacity, giving them an edge over other trees. This could explain why the number of ring-porous species increased rapidly since the Cretaceous, when the climate was much warmer than today.”

Harvard Forest Senior Ecologist, Neil Pederson, a co-author on the paper, reflects: “The work led by Loïc was really eye opening to me. First, even though forest ecology is more than 100 years old in the eastern US, let alone the Harvard Forest, this work revealed that we did not have a firm grasp on when the stems of rather common tree species grew during the summer.”

The researchers used data collected over the course of six years (1998-2003) when dendrometer bands were used to measure the growth of more than 800 trees across multiple plots in the Harvard Forest. They then examined seasonal patterns of growth as they related to wood-porosity.

As climate modelling predicts warmer summers and more frequent and severe droughts in US East-coast forests, this study shows how wood-porosity may help predict seasonal climate sensitivity in different tree species. Neil adds, “These small changes have the potential to impact the interactions of multiple species in our forests.”

Figure: Wood and leaf phenology over 1999–2003 across individuals (red curves) and averaged per species (colored symbols).

Photo: HF scientists and students work together to core hemlock saplings. Photo by Neil Pederson.

Study Reveals Impact of Colonial Land Use on Current Forest Composition

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By Anna Christensen

A study just published in PeerJ Life and Environment examines how anthropogenic and natural disturbances from past decades, and even centuries, affect the spatial and species composition of woody plants within a forest plot.

Harvard Forest Senior Ecologist David Orwig and collaborators (Jason Aylward, Hannah Buckley, Bradley Case, and Aaron Ellison) utilized the data from the first census of the Forest’s 35-hectare ForestGEO plot, conducted between 2010 to 2014, to examine the relative abundance of different woody plant species and their spatial distribution within the forest plot. The census collected data on more than 108,000 live stems. The researchers then correlated this information with records from the Harvard Forest archive on histories of land use and abandonment within the plot, as well as with ecological factors and past natural disturbances.

The researchers found that the strongest predictive factors for the distribution and abundance of the most common tree species (including eastern hemlock, northern red oak, red maple, eastern white pine, sweet birch, swamp birch, and American beech) were: soil type, size of neighboring tree species, the specific point during the late 19th century at which fields were abandoned, and the type of forest that began growing after field abandonment as recorded in 1908.

The data suggest that the history of colonial land-use (among other ecological factors) continues to affect the structure and species composition of a forest, even more than a century after colonial farm abandonment.

Bullard Fellowship Applications Due 12/15

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Applications are now closed.

Applications are due December 15 for 2022-2023 Charles Bullard Fellowships in Forest Research – 6 to 12-month fellowships for mid-career professionals who can make an important contribution, either as scholars or administrators, to forestry and forest-related subjects including biology, earth sciences, economics, politics, administration, philosophy, humanities, the arts, or law.

“Bullard Fellows are a vital and dynamic part of the Harvard Forest community,” says Missy Holbrook, Director of Harvard Forest. “Their work is propelled by the important role forests play in the carbon cycle, in sustaining biodiversity, and in supporting human livelihoods. Over the past fifty years, Bullard collaborations have forged new paths of inquiry here at Harvard Forest and in nearly every corner of Harvard University. We look forward to welcoming a new cohort of Bullard Fellows who will work with us to advance our understanding of how forests can contribute to solving some of humanity’s most pressing environmental challenges.”

Urban-to-Rural Study Reveals High Methane Emissions in Boston

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A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that methane emissions in Boston are 6 times higher than previous estimates, and deeply undercounted in state calculations. 

The study, by Harvard Forest research collaborators Lucy Hutyra, Steve Wofsy and colleagues, used long-term methane data from Harvard Forest as a rural benchmark for analyzing Boston methane data. The eddy-flux tower collecting the methane data has created oldest continuous dataset of its kind in the world. All data from the tower are publicly available (methane data are here).

The study also reveals the significant, emissions-reducing impact of COVID-19 shut-downs in the Boston region in 2020.

STEM Teaching Tool Highlights Data from Urban Watershed

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Science teacher Tara Goodhue of Greater Lowell Technical School worked throughout summer 2020 with Josh Plisinski of the Thompson Lab to learn geospatial mapping techniques and analyze ecosystem services data from the public watershed that serves her school. The work was funded by a Research Experience for Teachers grant from the National Science Foundation as part of the Forest’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program.

In collaboration with HF Schoolyard Ecology Coordinator Pamela Snow, Tara created a publicly available teaching tool for high school students that pulls together several real-world datasets into a graphing activity that guides students to explore future decision-making in the Merrimack watershed and its potential effects on drinking water.

Graduate student Amanda Suzzi of the University of Massachusetts received an LTER research award in 2021 to create supporting materials for the watershed teaching tool, focused on diverse and inclusive representation and access. Her work included the creation of an Indigenous land acknowledgement statement, a supporting resource packet for teacher use, and a companion high school lesson plan on human land-use and decision-making, adapted from a university-level lesson by HF Research Associate Meghan MacLean. 

  • Explore and download the high school-level Data Nugget, supporting resource packet (as a .pdf or .ppt), and land-use change lesson plan (as a .pdf or .doc).

Study: For Trees, Carbs Are Key to Surviving Insect Defoliation

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A study published today in Functional Ecology by HF Senior Ecologist Audrey Barker Plotkin and colleagues sheds light on why some oak trees in our region survived a recent severe outbreak of invasive moth, and some did not. The key? Carbohydrates.

The new study reveals the specific threshold of reserves necessary for the trees to survive: 1.5 percent carbohydrates in their dried wood– or about 20-25% of their normal storage capacity.

The repeated emergence of Lymantria dispar (an insect formerly known as “gypsy moth”) from 2016 to 2018 challenged trees’ resilience by defoliating them year after year.

Co-authors on the study include Meghan Blumstein, NSF Post-doctoral Research Fellow at MIT (and former Harvard Forest research assistant and OEB PhD student), HF Research Assistant Danelle Laflower, HF Senior Ecologist Jonathan Thompson, Research Scientist Valerie Pasquarella of Boston University, and Jennifer Chandler and Joseph Elkinton from the University of Massachusetts.

(Photo of Lymantria dispar caterpillar, by Nathan Oalican.)

Trees Telling STEM Stories: Free Online Workshop for Teachers

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WHAT: No-cost, virtual workshop introducing a Harvard Forest research and social media initiative about trees’ changing environments.

WHO: For Massachusetts middle and high school STEM teachers and informal educators. Led by scientists and educators from Harvard University (Harvard Forest) and Boston University.

WHEN: Thursday, August 26, 10:00am – 4:00pm (register by August 13)

WHERE: Online, no cost

WHY: Learn and practice new ways to teach about trees’ growth, ecosystem benefits, and climate dynamics, using real-time, sensor-based STEM data (no tech/data experience necessary) from the nation’s first network of tweeting trees. 5 PDPs available to Massachusetts teachers. A limited number of post-workshop stipends available (see below).

Background

A dendrometer sensor embedded in a tree trunk

This summer, three Massachusetts trees are being outfitted with sensor kits measuring their growth, water/sap flow, seasonal changes, and local climate.

Data coding enables those sensors to send messages to a social media account for each tree (see example), highlighting real-time experiences in each tree’s life (such as a heat wave or heavy rain event) and explaining their biological and ecological importance.

Social media messages include graphs, photographs, data summaries, and conversational explanations that cover content themes including climate, tree anatomy and physiology, carbon, photosynthesis, food webs, the role of trees in ecosystems and human society, and more.

Each new Witness Tree will be located in a different type of ecological community:

  • RURAL: Red Oak (Quercus rubra) in a forest at Harvard Forest, Petersham, Mass.
  • SUBURBAN: Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) in an agricultural setting at Drumlin Farm Mass Audubon Sanctuary in Lincoln, Mass.
  • URBAN: American Elm (Ulmus americana) on the Town Common in Cambridge, Mass.

Teacher Workshop Format & Goals

A tree core being removed from an increment borer

Morning STEM presentations will cover:

  • The technology behind the tweeting trees:
    • —the science of the sensors measuring growth, sap flow, seasonal change, climate, and more
    • —a summary of the coding process that analyzes incoming sensor data and long-term data archives, and outputs messages for social media
  • The natural history and physiology of the 3 trees, including how environmental factors such as climate change influence their growth and community dynamics.
  • Opportunities for using the tree’s data/messages as a STEM teaching tool, incorporating state/national science teaching frameworks

An afternoon of guided independent & group work will give educators an opportunity to:

  • Choose a Witness Tree and brainstorm their own teaching approaches and learning goals for using its data/messaging outputs
  • Connect directly with town/organizational leaders, who will use educator feedback to draft new message coding for their local tree
  • Work with mentorship by the scientists and educators leading the Witness Tree project

Post-Workshop Follow-Up

After the workshop, project scientists and educators will be available via email to answer questions about the project during the coming academic year.

A limited number of $100 stipends are available to workshop participants who provide a post-workshop reflection statement on the feasibility of using this project in their teaching. Additional $150 stipends are available to participants who pilot a lesson and send a reflection statement and student work samples.

Registration

Are you a Massachusetts educator of middle/high school students? Register for the workshop (it’s free!) by August 13 here. We will follow up with a confirmation shortly!

The first 5 registrants will be mailed a copy of the book Witness Tree by Harvard Forest writer-in-residence Lynda Mapes.

Registration is especially encouraged for educators working in communities near the three Witness Trees, and for educators who belong to or teach students from racial/ethnic groups that have been historically excluded in STEM.

This workshop is funded by the Harvard University Climate Change Solutions Fund, and supported by scientists from Harvard Forest and Boston University, and educators from the Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Program. Long-term data streams for the Harvard Forest Witness Tree are courtesy of the Long-Term Ecological Research Program of the National Science Foundation.

Questions?

Contact Clarisse Hart, HF Director of Education & Outreach, at hart3@fas.harvard.edu or 978-756-6157.

(Images, top to bottom, by Sarah Plisinski, Shawna Greyeyes x2, and Lidar scan of the HF Witness Tree courtesy of the Schaaf Lab at UMass Boston)

Senior Ecologist Position Open

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For the first time in nearly a decade, the Harvard Forest is hiring for a new Senior Ecologist. We encourage applications from all career stages, although a PhD and postdoctoral or similar experience is required. We are open to a variety of disciplines. We particularly encourage applications from members of groups that have been historically underrepresented in the sciences (Black, Indigenous, and people of color, women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, LGBTQ+ community members) and others who demonstrate the ability to help us achieve our vision of a diverse and inclusive community.

Applications are due by September 15.

A webinar on July 20 invited interested parties to hear more about the position from the search committee, and to ask anonymous questions (view the recording here).

  • Learn more about the position, link to the application system, read the FAQ, and ask your own questions.

(Photo by Jill Fusco)

HF Welcomes 2021 Summer Research Interns

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On May 24, Harvard Forest welcomed its first-ever class of virtual Summer Research Program students for 11 weeks of mentored research.

Following more than a week of orientation and introductory workshops in data analysis, science communication, and more, these 18 students from around the U.S. are now collecting and analyzing data as part of 10 different research teams.

We are pleased to welcome these exceptional students into our community. They were selected from many hundreds of applicants, and like Summer Students before them, have not only become a core part of our research programs, but have brought unmatched enthusiasm and new perspectives to our work.

We are also grateful to the creativity and innovation of Audrey Barker Plotkin and Sydne Record, co-directors of the program, and Benjamin Goulet-Scott, program assistant and Harvard graduate student, for making the virtual format work!

Going Underground: Microbial controls on root exudate carbon pathways in soil

  • Arturo Aguilar, Harvard University

Going Underground: Fungal responses to soil warming and nitrogen fertilization

  • Jonathan Carcache, Florida International University
  • Emily Embury, Wheaton College (MA)
  • Jennie Wuest, Forham University

Going Underground: Bacterial genomic signatures of warming-accelerated soil carbon loss

  • Theresa Caso-McHugh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Alondra Gabriel, University of Puerto Rico – Arecibo

Indigenous perspectives and diversifying the library at Harvard Forest

  • Faith Blalock, Brown University
  • Rafael Viana Furer, Macalester College

Land Use and Carbon Forecasting: Flux Footprint Spatial Comparison of Co-located Towers

  • Tanai Dawson, Western Michigan University
  • Benjamin Glass, Middlebury College

Land Use and Carbon Forecasting: Near-term Forecasting of Carbon and Water Fluxes

  • Christina Francis, Johns Hopkins University
  • Sarah Sosa, Rowan University
  • Xuan Wilson, Howard University

Land Use and Carbon Forecasting: Land Use History of NEON Sites

  • Samantha Olivares-Mejia, Haverford College
  • Joseph Toman, University of California

Forest Carbon: Land Use Impacts on Forest Carbon

  • Coral del Mar Valle Rodriguez, CUNY Hunter College

Forest Carbon: Genetic Rescue to Maintain Carbon Sinks

  • Nautica Jones, University of Louisiana at Monroe

Forest Carbon: Atmospheric deposition effects on forest carbon sequestration

  • Connor Tamor, Cornell University

High School Teacher Research Opportunity

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This paid, part-time, virtual summer Research Experience for Teachers will support a Massachusetts high school teacher in contributing to a scientific study of environmental justice, using authentic research practices that – when translated to the classroom – will empower students to explore local conservation data, practice research techniques, and make positive contributions to their communities.

Teachers from racial/ethnic groups historically excluded from the sciences, and/or teachers who work in urban or Massachusetts “gateway city” districts, are especially encouraged to apply.

The selected teacher will (remotely) join a Harvard Forest research team in summer 2021. Dates are somewhat flexible. All needed skills and training will be provided on the job. The team will provide one-on-one mentorship to guide the teacher in collecting, analyzing, and visualizing data on equitable access to outdoor space in New England cities and towns, with a focus on environmental justice solutions.

The research team and the teacher will work to define specific learning goals, which ideally will focus on the landscape in and around the teacher’s own schoolyard and community. 

Mentors in both science and education will support the teacher toward the final goal of the work, which is a set of shareable lesson plans and/or curriculum units to engage their students in exploring disparities in land protection across communities. The program is funded by the National Science Foundation and hosted by the Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Program.

  • To be considered for this opportunity, first register your interest at bit.ly/3ur9Flv by June 9th. Update, June 23: We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
  • Questions? Contact us at hf-edu@fas.harvard.edu.