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Harvard Forest Data Archive

HF154

Tree Growth in Hemlock and Deciduous Forests at Harvard Forest HEM and LPH Towers 2000-2005

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Data

Overview

  • Lead: Julian Hadley
  • Investigators: Susan Cheng, Nicole Smith
  • Contact: Information Manager
  • Start date: 2000
  • End date: 2005
  • Status: complete
  • Location: Prospect Hill Tract (Harvard Forest)
  • Latitude: +42.539 to +42.542 degrees
  • Longitude: -72.185 to -72.180 degrees
  • Elevation: 355 to 380 meter
  • Datum: WGS84
  • Taxa:
  • Release date: 2023
  • Language: English
  • EML file: knb-lter-hfr.154.11
  • DOI: digital object identifier
  • EDI: data package
  • DataONE: data package
  • Related links:
  • Study type: long-term measurement
  • Research topic: large experiments and permanent plot studies
  • LTER core area: primary production
  • Keywords: aboveground biomass, carbon, tree growth, tree rings
  • Abstract:

    Tree growth was measured to determine tree ages and growth rates and to quantify carbon storage in these forests, and to detect changes in growth and carbon storage that could be associated with climate changes or historic disturbances.

  • Methods:

    Tree cores were taken at 1.25 m height, aiming toward the center of each tree and mounted in wooden holders. They were then examined under a dissecting microscope connected to a computer, which recorded annual radial growth increments. At the Hemlock site, cores were taken from both the south and north sides of the trunk, whereas due to time limitations only the north side was cored at the Little Prospect Hill site. An attempt was made to reach the oldest growth ring in each tree, but was not always successful. At the Little Prospect Hill site, for some trees radial growth was measured only back to the mid-20th century, prior to a severe fire in 1957 that destroyed most trees within 200 m of the eddy flux tower. The data shows that in the hemlock stand, a few white pines (Pinus strobus) forming a small portion (9%) of the tree basal area are responsible for about 20% of the aboveground carbon storage in the 1990’s. In the deciduous forest at Little Prospect Hill, red oak (Quercus rubra) has continually stored most of the above-ground carbon since the fire in 1957. There was a notable dip in carbon storage at the Little Prospect Hill site in 1980 and 1981, probably due to an infestation of Lymantria dispar during those years.

  • 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: Hadley J. 2023. Tree Growth in Hemlock and Deciduous Forests at Harvard Forest HEM and LPH Towers 2000-2005. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF154 (v.11). Environmental Data Initiative: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/fb3059715701832a853ae8bfaff9e9c1.

Detailed Metadata

hf154-01: Hemlock trees

  1. core.id1: core ID from north side of tree
  2. core.id2: core ID from south side of tree
  3. tag: tree tag number
  4. species: genus and species of tree. For genus, A = Acer, B = Betula, F = Fagus, P = Pinus, Q = Quercus
  5. distance: distance from Hemlock tower base (unit: meter / missing value: NA)
  6. transect: compass bearing (degrees from north) of transect on which plot occurs (unit: degree / missing value: NA)
  7. diam: tree diameter at 1.25m (unit: meter / missing value: NA)
  8. ba: basal area at 1.25m (unit: squareMeter / missing value: NA)
  9. sapwood1: thickness of sapwood on north side of tree (unit: centimeter / missing value: NA)
  10. sapwood2: thickness of sapwood on south side of tree (unit: centimeter / missing value: NA)

hf154-02: Hemlock cores

  1. core.year: year core was taken
  2. core.id: unique core ID, n indicates core taken from north side of tree and s indicates south
  3. year: growth year
  4. ring.width: annual radial growth (unit: centimeter / missing value: NA)

hf154-03: Little Prospect Hill cores

  1. core.year: year core was taken
  2. distance: distance from Little Prospect Hill tower base (unit: meter / missing value: NA)
  3. transect: compass bearing (degrees from north) of transect on which plot occurs (unit: degree / missing value: NA)
  4. tag: tree tag number
  5. species: genus and species of tree. For genus, A = Acer, B = Betula, F = Fagus, P = Pinus, Q = Quercus
  6. year: growth year
  7. ring.width: annual radial growth (unit: centimeter / missing value: NA)