Hemlock Understory Vegetation Plots at Harvard Forest since 2002

Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) forests in New England are changing rapidly with the invasion of the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae), an exotic insect pest that kills hemlock trees. As the adelgid invades hemlock stands at Harvard Forest, we are monitoring how forest structure and function changes. We surveyed community vegetation structure and composition prior to adelgid infestation, and are repeating this survey as infestation progresses. These measurements will allow us to link the long-term history of these hemlock stands to other current studies of hemlock response to adelgid infestation.

新英格兰地区的加拿大铁杉（Tsuga canadensis）林正随铁杉球蚜（HWA, Adelges tsugae）的入侵发生快速演变——该外来昆虫害虫可导致铁杉树木死亡。随着球蚜侵染哈佛森林（Harvard Forest）内的铁杉林分，我们正持续监测森林结构与功能的动态变化。我们曾在球蚜侵染前完成群落植被结构与组成的基线调查，并将随着侵染进程重复开展该调查工作。本系列监测数据将助力我们将这些铁杉林分的长期历史记录，与当前其他关于铁杉对球蚜侵染响应的研究建立关联。