The Harvard Forest LTER studies how forests in New England respond to natural and human disturbance and environmental change at spatial scales ranging from individual sites to the entire region. The proposed work will focus on two specific aspects of this larger mandate. First, researchers will investigate the causes and consequences of the unexpected and widespread death of oak trees on the southern New England coast. This work will be integrated with ongoing studies of similar decline in hemlock and beech trees across New England and will address the scientific and management challenges associated with the decline or loss of important ecological species. Second, a wireless (radio) network will be installed on the Prospect Hill Tract at the Harvard Forest. The wireless network will make it possible to collect data in real time from a wide range of scientific projects in the forest so that equipment may be monitored and controlled remotely and so that selected data may be posted online as it is collected.
At a regional scale, the decline or loss of species caused by multiple stresses, including invasive pests and disease, climate change, and urban and suburban development, is a growing problem for scientists, policy makers, and land managers across the nation. The proposed work will shed light on the mechanisms and impacts of such events for critical tree species. At the landscape scale, recent advances in sensor, network, and wireless technologies now make it possible to conduct measurements over broad areas and at high sampling rates in a way that was unthinkable just a few years ago. The proposed wireless network at Harvard Forest will support a wide range of new studies, in effect creating an 'outdoor laboratory and classroom' for researchers and students at Harvard Forest, in the LTER Network, and in the larger scientific and educational community.
