Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: Watershed 4 Vegetation Inventory

Twenty-five meter strips were cut progressively on a 2 year cycle on Watershed 4 at HBEF from 1970-1974
for moderate impact on the terrain. 25 x 25 meter vegetation plots were established post cutting and
have been measured regularly for estimates and timing of herbaceous plant and tree succession. Ten years
into regrowth there was no noticeable difference between the age of the strips and vegetation cover.
By year 40 successional pin cherry died off and northern hardwoods returned as the dominant trees with
yellow birch playing a particularly prominent role due to the abundance of seeds provided by remaining adults along cut strips.
This dataset contains a table of tree measurements and a table of sapling measurements.
These vegetation measurements continue at approximately 10 year intervals. Details about this study and data collection can be found in: Martin, C. Wayne; Hornbeck James W. 1989. Revegetation after strip cutting and block clearcutting in northern hardwoods:
a 10-year history. Res. Pap. NE-625. Broomall, PA: US. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 17 p. https://doi.org/10.2737/NE-RP-625 These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES).
The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is
operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.