What's Happening in Science?

In collaboration with Harvard Forest, students are collecting field data at 2 campus field plots including qualitative data regarding topography, slope, rock cover, water sources, and canopy cover. Students are also collecting quantitative data, the diameter at breast height (DBH) of forest plot trees, to measure growth over time. Qualitative and quantitative data collection helps students better understand how available resources affect which species reside in and visit our forest plots and how resources affect the growth of organisms and their population sizes.

Students study "tree cookies" or cross sections of trees to study dendrochronology and dendroclimatology. Studying the growth rings of trees can provide evidence of resource availability and historical climate.