Intensive herbivory by white-tailed deer has plagued Valley Forge National Historical Park’s forests since the early 1980s. A deer management plan was enacted to reduce the size of the herd by at least 1000 deer over the next two years. The goal of my research was to model the impacts of changing levels of deer herbivory on the forests. I developed a forest model using data from a large deer exclosure erected in the park in the late 1980s. I am using the model to simulate how changes in herbivory and disturbance may affect forest composition over the next 120 years. My results suggest that changes in herbivory may be a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for restoring forests to their historical state. The finished model will serve as a tool for the park’s resource managers to use in developing long-term restoration plans.

People Meghan Blumstein Researcher Andrea Lloyd Sponsor & Professor of Biology

Related Links National Forest Service Tree Index National Park Service Organic Act National Park Service White-tailed Deer Management Plan USDA Plants Database

Downloads Symposium Presentation Slides Thesis Paper (Defense Draft)

Middlebury College has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2016. As the largest private landowner in Addison County, there is tremendous potential for land management practices to contribute to the goal of carbon neutrality. As part of an effort to understand how carbon sequestration varies among the different forest types on College-owned lands, we monitored carbon uptake in the Battell Research Forest, an old-growth hemlock forest in East Middleury, VT. As expected for an old-growth forest, the Battell Research Forest contains substantial pools of carbon in live and dead biomass. The size of the woody debris pool was substantially larger at the Battell Research Forest than in secondary forests at Breadloaf. We conclude our presentation with a proposal for how to implement an ongoing carbon monitoring protocol on College-owned forest lands.

People Sama Winder Meghan Blumstein Elizabeth Davis Max Odland Lauren Sanchez Oliver Weisser Researchers Andrea Lloyd Sponsor & Professor of Biology

Related Links Multi-Cohort Management Project Carbon Neutrality at Middlebury College United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 2011. Kyoto Protocol. MiddLab: Changes in the leaf area index (LAI) due to ice storm damage at Harvard Forest

Downloads Symposium Presentation Slides Carbon Monitoring Proposal

Terrestrial ecosystems play an integral role in the global carbon balance, potentially functioning as carbon sinks that fluctuate through time and seasonal changes. The net ecosystem exchange of these ecosystems has been heavily studied at the Harvard Forest Environmental Measurements Site (HFEMS) and has shown an increase in carbon sequestration over the past two decades. My study was conducted to analyze various impacts of the ice storm tat struck New England in December 2008 with respect to the forest carbon flux.

People Lauren Sanchez Researcher Steve Trombulak Professor of Environmental and Biosphere Studies Andrea Lloyd Professor of Biology

Related Links Harvard Forest Environmental Measurements Site (MFEMS) Harvard Forest on Google Maps New England Ice Storm of 2008 on Wikipedia Undergraduate Research

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A high mortality of seeds and seedlings has been documented in areas of high conspecific adult density as a result of increased predation and disease. Although this phenomenon has received significant attention in the scientific literature, the long-term evolutionary and ecological impact of density-dependent seedling mortality remains poorly understood. The purpose of the present study is to determine the population-level impact of density-dependent seedling mortality on heavily exploited big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla).

People Chris Free Researcher Matt Landis Faculty Sponsor

Related Links Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna Undergraduate Research Office Senior Work Fund

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Tim Parsons, the College’s Horticulturalist developed an interactive map of all the trees on campus. In Tim’s Urban Forest class, his students took the tree population and ran it through modeling software called iTree to look at carbon sequestration, pollution abatement, etc. Students in other classes have used the map for tree identification. For example, a student recently contacted Tim because she was looking for Cherry trees to evaluate for a plant community ecology class.

People Tim Parsons College Horticulturalist and Project Lead Bill Hegman GIS Specialist Katie Clagett and Chris Rodgers LIS GIS Interns

Related Links BIOL 1003: Trees in the Urban Forest Campus Tree Map Updated Campus Tree Map FAQs Case study in Teaching with Technology

Downloads Google Earth Campus Tree Map Heritage Elm Collection Memorial and Class Trees