Seedling Survey of the CTFS-ForestGEO Plot at Harvard Forest since 2017

Within a species, trees can vary in size by many orders of magnitude, from tiny seedlings to multi-ton adults. This intraspecific variation in tree size has important consequences for forest structure and function, as it governs patterns of tree abundance, growth rate and energy flux. Recent theoretical models make predictions about size-energy patterns of forests but available evidence indicates deviation from predictions for the smallest and largest trees. The goal of this project is to examine seedling and canopy tree demography at Harvard Forest and explore their theoretical implications. We will link early remote sensing data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) with boots-on-the-ground measurements at Harvard Forest plots. We will also fit demographic models of the trees of this forest in transition.