Ecosystem and Vegetation Response to Hemlock Logging in Southern New England 1999-2005

This study compares the magnitude and trajectory of vegetation and ecosystem function dynamics associated with the direct impact of hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsuga; HWA) infestation versus the indirect consequences of HWA-induced damage in the form of salvage and pre-emptive logging of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere) forests. The study was conducted within an area extending from southern Connecticut up to and including the Connecticut River lowlands west to the Berkshire Plateauin central Massachusetts, USA. Overstory and understory vegetation and ecosystem function parameters such as decomposition and nitrogen cycling were examined in logged and unlogged portions of 10 hemlock stands varying in HWA damage intensity.