HF FAB

The “Forest and Biodiversity at the Harvard Forest” (HF FAB) experiment will examine how forest diversity, physiological tolerances of trees from different climate zones, and introduced pests and pathogens affect forest function.

This research incorporates phylogenetic diversity, or the evolutionary relationships among biological entities, in this case trees and their associated pathogens. Using sixteen native tree species with different climatic distributions and varying susceptibility to environmental stressors, the research team addresses these questions:

• How do multiple dimensions of biodiversity and composition in forests, including physiological tolerances, species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and variation in ecological niches of tree species affect forest function, stability, and resilience?
• How are interactions among tree species vary based on their ecological and phylogenetic similarities?
• How do pests and pathogens differ in their impacts on forests depending on forest diversity?
• How do physiological tolerances of trees influence ecosystem resistance to stress?

HF FAB is located at the Harvard Farm, approximately ¾ miles southeast of Harvard Forest’s main campus in Petersham. The experiment is envisioned to include over 200 forest plots varying in species richness, phylogenetic diversity, climatic niche, and successional status, with some plots being monocultures of individual species and others having up to 12 species. Diversity of species mixes range from maple, birch, beech, walnut, pine, and magnolia families. The tree species within each family occupy relatively different ecological niches, including those that are early and late successional.

Species of Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) are under significant stress due to the increasing presence of introduced host-specific pathogens in the region. To better understand how the tree communities interact in the absence of these pathogens, each plot will be replicated to include Beech or Hemlock individuals that have been treated to remove pathogens.

Embedded within the experiment is an oak diversity experiment (OAK DIV) for Quercus rubra, Quercus alba, Quercus palustris and Quercus bicolor.

The experiment is envisioned to provide a collaborative platform for research that will lead to a better understanding of how changes in the environment affect forests locally and how to better prepare for climate change.