Harvard Study Shows Sprawl Threatens Water Quality, Climate Protection, and Land Conservation Gains in Massachusetts

Important findings reveal promise and peril of land-use decisions Petersham, MA – A groundbreaking study by Harvard University’s Harvard Forest Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program and the Smithsonian Institution reveals that, if left unchecked, recent trends in the loss of forests to development will undermine significant land conservation gains in Massachusetts, jeopardize water quality,… Read more »

NSF Announces continuation of GROW Program

The National Science Foundation has announced the continuation of the Graduate Research Fellowship’s (GRFP) Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide (GROW) Program. Through the Program, NSF Graduate Fellows are provided an international travel allowance to engage in research collaborations with investigators in partner countries located outside the United States. For more information please see NSF document number… Read more »

NSF invites proposals for LTREB

The National Science Foundation is inviting proposals for the Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) Program, which addresses important questions in evolutionary biology, ecology, and ecosystem science. The Program intends to support decadal projects, and funding for an initial 5-year period requires the submission of a preliminary proposal and, if invited, submission of a… Read more »

Study: Forest clearcuts show sustained losses of carbon, surprising trends in water

PETERSHAM, Mass.—A new study out of the Harvard Forest, released today in the journal Global Change Biology, is the first detailed account of how carbon, water, and energy balances shift in the three years following the clearcut of a deciduous forest. The study, conducted by Clark University Professor Christopher Williams and colleagues in a 20-acre… Read more »

Just published: LTER Network News, Fall 2013, Vol. 26 No. 3

The Fall edition of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network newsletter is out. The LTER Network News, Fall 2013 Vol. 26 No. 3 (see http://news.lternet.edu/fall-2013) covers current developments within the Network, as well as stories about research, education, and social science activities from various LTER sites.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: Shuttered parks, wildlife refuges hamstring long-term research projects

Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net. 202/628-6500 Published: Wednesday, October 9, 2013 Researchers in New Mexico can’t keep tabs on prairie dog populations. Scientists got booted from bunkhouses in an Oregon forest. And biologists are barred from tagging sharks and alligators in the Everglades National Park. It’s all thanks… Read more »

DataBits Newsletter, Fall 2013

Welcome to the Fall 2013 issue of Databits, which covers a variety of topics. A Commentary article gives an overview of network products, highlighting 2013 as a watershed year for the roll-out of community-developed IM tools. Several articles in this issue contain further information about these products. Two other commentaries extol the strengths of the… Read more »

Read the latest LTER E-News, Summer 2013 Vol. 26, No. 2

The current issue of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network newsletter is out. The second issue of this year, the LTER Network News, Summer 2013 Vol. 26 No. 2 includes stories about science news and activities from various LTER sites, various news items from around the Network, education, and a new children’s book.

Harvard Forest researchers say whitebark pine tree’s future may be at risk

New research by Harvard Forest (HFR) LTER scientists suggest that widespread death of the whiteback pine tree from beetle infestations and tree disease outbreaks may be affecting seed production and hence the future of the tree–a mountain tree important to wildlife and water resources in the western United States and Canada. In a paper published… Read more »