NDLI: An integrated reconstruction of recent forest dynamics in a New England cultural landscape

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Ireland, Alex W. Oswald, W. Wyatt Foster, David R.
Copyright Year	2011
Abstract	Broad-scale patterns of vegetation response to three centuries of human disturbance in the northeastern United States are well understood, but stand-scale (0.1–10 ha) interactions between land-use history and the ecological processes underlying these patterns are not. Enduring legacies of land-use history, though pervasive in modern forests, are not always obvious or intuitive, particularly in the regenerating stands that cover most of the region. Focusing on a second-growth, post-agricultural landscape in Petersham, Massachusetts, this study integrates (i) a stand-scale sedimentary pollen and charcoal record, (ii) survey and dendroecological data from the surrounding forest, and (iii) analysis of historical documents describing site-specific ownership and land use history. We demonstrate the strength of this multifaceted approach to vegetation reconstruction on sites with long land-use histories that are typical of the modern landscape. We infer that periods of low and high intensity agriculture commenced around 1760 and 1850, respectively, and that the agricultural era was initiated and terminated by episodes of increased fire. Dendroecological data corroborate deed records and suggest that a portion of the forest regenerated and was used for small-scale timber production during the mid to late 1800s. Most of the forest established in the early 1900s, after which time the greatest disturbance was Cryphonectria parasitica (chestnut blight) induced mortality of Castanea dentata (American chestnut) and replacement by Betula (birch) species. This study highlights the potential to expand integrated historical ecological research into landscapes with lengthy histories of human disturbance and underscores the potential of this research to generate data with spatial and temporal resolution relevant to management and conservation efforts.
Starting Page	245
Ending Page	252
Page Count	8
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09396314
Journal	Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
Volume Number	20
Issue Number	4
e-ISSN	16176278
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2011-03-06
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Land-use history Stand-scale palynology Historical ecology Forest management Harvard Forest Archaeology Climate Change Paleontology Anthropology Biogeosciences
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Plant Science Archeology (arts and humanities) Paleontology

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