Two Centuries of Land-Use History and Vegetation Dynamics in a New England Cultural Landscape
- HF-ID: HF2007-19
- Category: Research Files
- Creator:
- Ireland, Alex W.
- Oswald, Wyatt
- Foster, David R.
- Date: 2007 to 2010
- Location: Prospect Hill Tract (Harvard Forest)
- Media: Paper
- Contents:
- Manuscript drafts, correspondence. 1 file folder (1 copy).
- Keywords: land use history, petersham history, paleoecology
- Abstract:
- Broad-scale patterns of vegetation response to three centuries of human disturbance in the northeastern United States are well understood, but stand-scale (0.1–10 ha) interactions between land-use history and the ecological processes underlying these patterns are not. Enduring legacies of land-use history, though pervasive in modern forests, are not always obvious or intuitive, particularly in the regenerating stands that cover most of the region. Focusing on a second-growth, post-agricultural landscape in Petersham, Massachusetts, this study integrates (i) a stand-scale sedimentary pollen and charcoal record, (ii) survey and dendroecological data from the surrounding forest, and (iii) analysis of historical documents describing site-specific ownership and land use history.
- Related Items:
- Archives Location: Middle Room, stack 14, drawer 3
- Access: Active