Hemlock Understory Vegetation Plots at Harvard Forest since 2002

The invasion of the non-native insect, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelgids tsugae) into hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) stands in New England has the potential to rapidly change the ecology and function of these forests. The investigators of this project are monitoring how forest structure and function changes as the adelgid invades hemlock stands in Harvard Forest. To do this, this study surveyed community vegetation structure and composition prior to adelgid infestation as well as during the progress of the infestation.