Project Overview
A red oak-white pine ecosystem on Maine鈥檚 coast, Holt Research Forest (HRF), has filled a key niche of long-term ecosystem monitoring since its establishment in 1983. While many landowners in Maine steward oak-pine forests, HRF is a rare research generator on this critical forest type. A recent harvest at HRF in the fall of 2020 provided a timely opportunity to monitor and distribute data on the impact of disturbance on oak-pine ecosystems, particularly in the context of climate change. With funding provided by the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Fund through Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative, we collected, digitized, and distributed pre- and post-harvest data on overstory composition and regeneration at HRF. This effort gave landowners practical data and tools to inform their management while providing researchers with a long-term foundational dataset for future studies. It additionally contributed to an established body of research from HRF, housed by FEMC, tracking ecosystem change on-site as climate change shifts ecological systems across the region. Lastly, the project contributed to workforce development in forestry and forest research by providing students and early-career professionals with practical, applied experience working in the field and with HRF datasets.
Objectives
Dataset Availability
Downloadable: 3 datasets
See the full list of available dataTags
No tagsStatus - Completed
Start date: 2023-06-01
End date: 2024-08-01
Study Area
