David Foster

When it’s best to do nothing at all

A new study by Harvard University researchers, soon to be published in the journal Ecology, yields a surprising result for large woodlands: When it comes to the health of forests, native plants, and wildlife, the best management decision may be to do nothing.

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Posted in Audrey Barker Plotkin, Brimfield State Forest, Clarisse Hart, David Foster, Ecology, Environments & Sustainability, Forests, Harvard Forest, HarvardScience, Hurricanes, McKinstry Brook Wildlife Management Area, Petersham, Salvage logging, storms, Tornadoes, Woodlands | Comments Off

An invasion of New England

While new species naturally expand to other places and sometimes disrupt the scene when they arrive, the pace of introduction of invasive species has picked up enormously over the past century and a half, stressing and transforming New England forests.

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Posted in Alvin Powell, Arnold Arboretum, Asian long-horned beetle, David Foster, David Orwig, Emerald ash borer, Environments & Sustainability, Forests, Harvard Forest, Harvard Museum of Natural History, HarvardScience, Hemlock woolly adelgid, Invasive species, New England, Winter moth | Comments Off

Faust on forest foray

Harvard President Drew Faust toured scientific sites at the Harvard Forest last week in a visit that marked the first time in decades that a Harvard president visited the 3,500-acre experimental forest site.

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Posted in Alvin Powell, Campus & Community, David Foster, Drew Faust, Harvard Forest, On Campus | Comments Off

A forest washing into the sea

Harvard researchers probe environmental shifts on Martha’s Vineyard, where they document one wooded area’s recovery from a massive die-off and another’s passage into the ocean.

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Posted in Alvin Powell, Chappaquiddick, Climate Change, David Foster, Environments & Sustainability, Harvard Forest, HarvardScience, Martha’s Vineyard, oak, pitch pine, Polly Hill Arboretum, Wasque | Comments Off