public read Vegetation Response in Simulated Hurricane Experiment at Harvard Forest since 1990Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative
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Harvard University Harvard ForestleadDuke Forest partnerWind disturbance profoundly shapes temperate forests but few studies have evaluated patterns and mechanisms of long-term forest dynamics following major windthrows. In 1990, a large hurricane simulation experiment was initaited in a 0.8 ha manipulation (pulldown) and 0.6 ha control area of a maturing Quercus rubra/Acer rubrum forest in New England. 276 trees were toppled in the pulldown, using a winch and cable, in the Northwesterly direction of natural treefall from major hurricanes. Eighty percent of canopy trees and two-thirds of all trees greater than 5 cm dbh suffered direct and indirect damage. Twenty years of measurements were used to evaluate the trajectory and mechanisms of forest response after intense disturbance. Based on the patch size and disturbance magnitude, we expected pioneer tree and understory species to drive succession.Forest Ecosystem Monitoring CooperativeForest Research at Harvard ForestEmeryBooseprincipalInvestigatorSince 1907, the Harvard Forest has served as a center for research and education in forest biology and conservation. The Forest's Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, established in 1988 and funded by the National Science Foundation, provides a framework for much of this activity.Vegetation Response in Simulated Hurricane Experiment at Harvard Forest since 1990Wind disturbance profoundly shapes temperate forests but few studies have evaluated patterns and mechanisms of long-term forest dynamics following major windthrows. In 1990, a large hurricane simulation experiment was initaited in a 0.8 ha manipulation (pulldown) and 0.6 ha control area of a maturing Quercus rubra/Acer rubrum forest in New England. 276 trees were toppled in the pulldown, using a winch and cable, in the Northwesterly direction of natural treefall from major hurricanes. Eighty percent of canopy trees and two-thirds of all trees greater than 5 cm dbh suffered direct and indirect damage. Twenty years of measurements were used to evaluate the trajectory and mechanisms of forest response after intense disturbance. Based on the patch size and disturbance magnitude, we expected pioneer tree and understory species to drive succession.VMC.1387.2859mySQL/femc/data/archive/project/Harvard_Forest_Research/dataset/vegetation-response-simulated-hurricane-experiment-harvard1990-01-01speciesSpecies field in the HF Simulated Hurricane Experiment datasetsSpecies field in the Harvard Forest Vegetation Response in Simulated Hurricane Experiment datasets (hf002)textACRAITIS #28728, red maple (Acer rubrum)ACSAITIS #28731, sugar maple (Acer saccharum)BEALITIS #19481, yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)BELEITIS #19487, sweet birch (Betula lenta)BEPAITIS #19489, paper birch (Betula papyrifera)CAGLITIS #19231, pignut hickory; sweet pignut (Carya glabra)CAOVITIS #19242, shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)FAGRITIS #19462, American beech (Fagus grandifolia)FRAMITIS #32931, white ash (Fraxinus americana)PISTITIS #183385, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)QURUITIS #19408, northern red oak (Quercus rubra)TIAMITIS #21536, American basswood (Tilia americana)TSCAITIS #183397, Canada hemlock; hemlock spruce (Tsuga canadensis)UNKITIS #, Unknown plant species ( )CADEITIS #19454, American chestnut (Castanea dentata)POGRITIS #22463, bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata)PRPEITIS #24799, pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica)PRSEITIS #24764, black cherry (Prunus serotina)OSVIITIS #19511, eastern hophornbeam; hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)BEPOITIS #19497, gray birch (Betula populifolia)BESPITIS #19478, birch (Betula sp.)COALITIS #27813, alternate-leaf dogwood; alternateleaf dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)POTRITIS #195773, quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)QUALITIS #19290, white oak (Quercus alba)SALIXITIS #22476, willow spp (Salix sp.)SOAMITIS #25319, American mountain-ash (Sorbus americana)amecanITIS #25108, serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.)ACPEITIS #28754, striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum)CASPITIS #19223, hickory spp (Carya sp.)