Huntington Wildlife Forest Research Articles

Management trade-offs between forest carbon stocks, sequestration rates and structural complexity in the central Adirondacks

Managing forests for carbon sequestration is an emerging objective within forestry sectors, although considerable uncertainty remains about how best to influence forest C dynamics through silviculture. This study tests hypotheses regarding forest C management within the central Adirondacks and assesses management trade-offs between aboveground live tree C relative to forest structural and biological complexity. The effects of management on forest C stocks, sequestration rates and structural complexity were assessed using a multivariate metric of management intensity derived from historical harvest records, combined with forest inventory data collected from Huntington Wildlife Forest (Newcomb, NY) from 1970 to 2011. Management intensity was quantified using a principal component analysis on measures of management inputs (harvest duration, total harvest area, number of harvest entries) and outputs (harvested wood volume). The first principal axis was used as a unitless metric of management intensity, which explained 64.1% of the variation in management activity. As management intensity increased, above ground live tree C stocks significantly declined but C sequestration rates significantly increased. Management intensity was correlated with decreased structural complexity. Active management can increase forest C uptake through the distribution of resources to young tree cohorts within a stand, which is consistent with the hypothesis of the C stock-sequestration trade-off. However, structural complexity was significantly reduced in areas with the highest C sequestration rates. These trade-offs should be considered and balanced when implementing management that aims to improve the C storing potential of central Adirondack forests.

Long‐term ecosystem monitoring at Huntington Forest: Integrating hydrology, biogeochemistry and climatic controls on watershed processes

AbstractLocated in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State, Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF) is a 6000‐ha research and education facility operated by SUNY ESF (State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry) with continuous long‐term monitoring (LTM) programs spanning over six decades. One of the ‘cradles’ of acid rain research in North America, HWF was in the first cohort of National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) sites beginning in 1978. HWF is currently the only location (NY‐20) in New York with the full suite of NADP programs in operation, including atmospheric mercury speciation (AMNet), along with EPA CASTNET. Nearby to NY‐20 at HWF, Arbutus Lake and its forested watershed have been the focus of intensive LTM since installation of v‐notch weirs at the lake outlet and inlet in 1991 and 1994, respectively. Discharge at these locations has been monitored continuously at 15‐min intervals since 1999. Lake outlet water chemistry samples were collected starting in 1983. Weekly sampling of water chemistry at both weirs began in 1995 and was expanded to include two headwater streams and groundwater wells in 2007. More recently, LTM programs at HWF have been augmented by participation in the PhenoCam Network since 2008, collection of high‐resolution LiDAR in 2009, and installation of a precision NY Mesonet weather station in 2016. In 2018, we installed sensor networks that continuously monitor soil microclimate and snow depth. Lastly, we improved data access via a new website (www.adk-ltm.org) where users can create custom queries and visualize outputs.

Genetic algorithm-based method for forest type classification using multi-temporal NDVI from Landsat TM imagery

ABSTRACTRemote-sensing technology has been a useful tool for mapping and characterizing forest cover types and species composition, providing valuable information for effective forest management. This study investigates the application of a genetic algorithm (GA)-based approach on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to separate local forest communities at Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF), located in New York State of the United States, into deciduous, mixed/coniferous and nonforests using Landsat TM imagery. Overall accuracy, producer’s accuracy, user’s accuracy and kappa coefficient of agreement are employed to assess the performance of the proposed method. Its overall effectiveness is supported by the accuracy of 80.41% and kappa coefficient of 0.56, and its capability of separating the forest cover types is endorsed by the class-wise accuracy measures. This method shows advantages in its limited demands for input features, that only multi-temporal NDVI indices are required; and in its simple and efficient mechanism, which refers to threshold optimization and feature selection.

Meteorological effects on Hg wet deposition in a forested site in the Adirondack region of New York during 2000–2015

An analysis of weekly measurement data of mercury (Hg) wet deposition was conducted for Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF), a forest ecosystem in Upstate New York and a biological Hg hotspot, during 2000–2015. Annual accumulated Hg wet deposition flux was found to decrease at a rate of −0.13 μg m−2 yr−1 (2% yr−1) (p = 0.09), and volume weighted mean (VWM) Hg precipitation concentrations at −0.14 ng L−1 yr−1 (2.5% yr−1) (p = 0.00). In examining data by season, no trends were identified for the two variables. It was found that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) affected Hg wet deposition predominantly in spring, as did the position of the U.S. East Coast trough in summer, which suggests different dominant mechanisms driving Hg wet deposition in different seasons. The impacts of such large scale circulation processes were facilitated via variations in precipitation amounts. This was manifested in spring 2011 with the strongest positive phase of NAO, resulting in the wettest spring with the largest Hg wet deposition flux, and in summer 2007 with the U.S. East Coast trough positioned the farthest out over the Atlantic Ocean, causing the driest summer with the lowest Hg wet deposition flux of the study period. Extreme precipitation amounts in spring could singularly drive the overall long-term trend in Hg wet deposition whereas in summer other factors could just be as important. Similar mechanisms were thought to control the long term variations of Hg wet deposition and precipitation concentrations in all seasons but summer as indicated in their significant correlation in all but summer. Atmospheric concentrations of gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) and particulate borne mercury (PBM) at HWF over 2009–2015 hardly exhibited correlations with Hg wet deposition or precipitation concentrations. Chemical transport model simulations strongly supported efficient scavenging of oxidized Hg by precipitation resulting in the lowest concentration of GOM in the warm season despite the supposedly largest GOM production. Our findings suggest that over the long run climate change could play an important role in atmospheric deposition of Hg into ecosystems facilitated by precipitation amounts, which is closely linked to variations in large scale circulation.

Changing climate alters inputs and pathways of mercury deposition to forested ecosystems

Although land cover and meteorological conditions are known to impact mercury (Hg) deposition processes, few studies have addressed how changes in forest cover and shifting climatic conditions will impact the Hg cycle. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of forest type (hardwood vs. conifer) and meteorological variation on atmospheric Hg deposition in two forest stands in Huntington Wildlife Forest in upstate New York, USA. Mercury deposition associated with litterfall was similar between the hardwood and conifer stands, but total Hg deposition was greater in the coniferous stand due to larger throughfall Hg. Soil evasion losses of Hg were significantly higher in the hardwood plot. Although Hg deposition was greater and evasion losses were lower in the conifer plot, soil Hg pools were smaller than in the hardwood plot. Annual variability in meteorological conditions was substantial between 2009 and 2010, and changes in Hg deposition over this period appear to be related to variation in temperature and precipitation quantity. The results from this study suggest that projected increases in temperature and precipitation in the northeastern United States could alter Hg deposition and availability by decreasing litterfall Hg inputs and increasing throughfall Hg inputs.

Machine learning approaches for forest classification and change analysis using multi-temporal Landsat TM images over Huntington Wildlife Forest

This research investigated three machine learning approaches – decision trees, random forest, and support vector machines – to classify local forest communities at the Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF), located in the central Adirondack Mountains of New York State, and to identify forest type change over a 20-year period using multi-temporal Landsat satellite Thematic Mapper (TM) data. Because some forest species are sensitive to topographic characteristics, three terrain correction methods – C correction, statistical–empirical (SE) correction, and Variable Empirical Coefficient Algorithm (VECA) – were utilized to account for the topographic effects. Results show that the topographic correction slightly improved the classification accuracy although the improvement was not significant based on the McNemar test. Random forest and support vector machines produced higher classification accuracies than decision trees. Besides, random forest- and support vector machine-based multi-temporal classifications better reflected the forest type change seen in the reference data. In addition, topographic features such as elevation and aspect played important roles in characterizing the forest type changes.

Long-Term Trends in Breeding Birds in an Old-Growth Adirondack Forest and the Surrounding Region

Breeding bird populations were sampled between 1954 and 1963, and 1990 and 2000 in an old-growth forest, the Natural Area of Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF), in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. Trends were compared with data from regional North American Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS) and from a forest plot at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. Trends for 22 species in the HWF Natural Area were negative, eight were positive, and one was zero; 20 were significant. Fifteen of 17 long-distance migrants declined, whereas 7 of 14 short-distance migrants and permanent residents declined. Most (74%) HWF Natural Area species, despite differences in sampling periods and local habitat features, matched in sign of trend when compared to Adirondack BBS routes, 61% matched northeastern BBS routes, and 71% matched eastern United States BBS routes, while 66% matched Hubbard Brook species. The agreement in population trends suggests that forest interior birds, especially long-distance migrants, are affected more by regional than local factors. The analysis indicated that bird trends generated from BBS routes may not be as biased toward roads as previously suggested.

Mercury deposition in the Adirondacks: A comparison between precipitation and throughfall

The volume-weighted mean (VWM) Hg concentrations and the total cumulative fluxes in deciduous throughfall (6.6 ng L −1 and 12.0 μg m −2, respectively) were statistically higher than in precipitation (4.9 ng L −1 and 11.6 μg m −2, respectively) during 2 years of sampling at the Huntington Wildlife Forest in Newcomb, NY. Seasonally, the VWM Hg concentrations and the Hg fluxes in both precipitation and throughfall were lowest in winter and highest in summer. Due to the wash-off of dry deposition and foliar leaching, concentrations in throughfall were almost 50% higher than those in precipitation during the leaf-on period, while concentrations in throughfall were slightly higher than (or similar to) those in precipitation during the leaf-off period. During the 2 years of sampling, the total deposited cumulative flux in precipitation and deciduous throughfall were very similar (11.6 μg Hg m −2 and 12.0 μg Hg m −2, respectively), because the higher concentrations in throughfall were offset by smaller throughfall depths. Meteorological analysis indicated that the precipitation events resulting in the highest Hg fluxes were associated with trajectories that passed through regions of Midwest where major Hg sources including coal/oil-fired power plants and waste incinerators are located.

The Adirondack Ecological Center at Huntington Wildlife Forest, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry

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Sources of Nitrate in Snowmelt Discharge: Evidence From Water Chemistry and Stable Isotopes of Nitrate

To determine whether NO3− concentration pulses in surface water in early spring snowmelt discharge are due to atmospheric NO3−, we analyzed stream δ15N-NO3− and δ18O-NO3− values between February and June of 2001 and 2002 and compared them to those of throughfall, bulk precipitation, snow, and groundwater. Stream total Al, DOC and Si concentrations were used to indicate preferential water flow through the forest floor, mineral soil, and ground water. The study was conducted in a 135-ha subcatchment of the Arbutus Watershed in the Huntington Wildlife Forest in the Adirondack Region of New York State, U.S.A. Stream discharge in 2001 increased from 0.6 before to 32.4 mm day−1 during snowmelt, and element concentrations increased from 33 to 71 μmol L−1 for NO3−, 3 to 9 μmol L−1 for total Al, and 330 to 570 μmol L−1 for DOC. Discharge in 2002 was variable, with a maximum of 30 mm day−1 during snowmelt. The highest NO3−, Al, and DOC concentrations were 52, 10, and 630 μmol L−1, respectively, and dissolved Si decreased from 148 μmol L−1 before to 96 μmol L−1 during snowmelt. Values of δ15N and δ18O of NO3− in stream water were similar in both years. Stream water, atmospherically-derived solutions, and groundwaters had overlapping δ15N-NO3− values. In stream and ground water, δ18O-NO3− values ranged from +5.9 to +12.9‰ and were significantly lower than the +58.3 to +78.7‰ values in atmospheric solutions. Values of δ18O-NO3− indicating nitrification, increase in Al and DOC, and decrease in dissolved Si concentrations indicating water flow through the soil suggested a dilution of groundwater NO3− by increasing contributions of forest floor and mineral soil NO3− during snowmelt.

LOCALIZED MANAGEMENT OF WHITE-TAILED DEER IN THE CENTRAL ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS, NEW YORK

Abstract The social behavior of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) provides an opportunity for managing deer populations. In northern forests, female deer associate in multigeneration social groups and exhibit site fidelity. We tested whether localized removal of a social group created a persistent area of lower deer density on Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF) in New York, USA. We examined relative abundance and home ranges of deer to determine whether the removal created a lower-density area, how long the lower-density area persisted, and origin of repopulating females. Abundance declined due to removal. Home-range analysis showed that no radiomarked deer from surrounding areas moved into the removal area post-removal and that deer density was reduced for 5 years. Repopulating deer were offspring of females remaining within the removal area or immigrants from adjacent social groups.

Windows of opportunity: white-tailed deer and the dynamics of northern hardwood forests of the northeastern US

Herbivory, lighting regimes, and site conditions are among the most important determinants of forest regeneration success, but these are affected by a host of other factors such as weather, predation, human exploitation, pathogens, wind and fire. We draw together >50 years of research on the Huntington Wildlife Forest in the central Adirondack Mountains of New York to explore regeneration of northern hardwoods. A series of studies each of which focused on a single factor failed to identify the cause of regeneration failure. However, integration of these studies led to broader understanding of the process of forest stand development and identified at least three interacting factors: lighting regime, competing vegetation and selective browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). The diverse 100–200 year-old hardwood stands present today probably reflect regeneration during periods of low deer density (<2.0 deer/km 2) and significant forest disturbance. If this hypothesis is correct, forest managers can mimic these “natural windows of opportunity” through manipulation of a few sensitive variables in the system. Further, these manipulations can be conducted on a relatively small geographic scale. Control of deer densities on a scale of 500 ha and understory American beech (Fagus grandifolia) on a scale of <100 ha in conjunction with an even-aged regeneration system consistently resulted in successful establishment of desirable hardwood regeneration.

Flying the North American Adirondack whitetail on instrumentsA multi-parameter modeling approach to ecosystem-based wildlife management

We compare ecosystem-based wildlife management to instrument flight of aircraft. Airplanes cannot be controlled without visual ground reference, or if this is impossible to a cluster of flight instruments. Instrument pilots are trained to develop a rhythmic scan of the cluster to monitor and correct flight path and attitude. The untrained tendency is to fixate on a single gauge. Then, the aircraft deviates from its desired attitude and trajectory, and control may be lost. Fixation is like single-factor management wherein variables like habitat quality, recruitment, predator control, or harvest rates are singled out for adjustment without considering the others. Ungulate populations are no less complex than aircraft in flight. They are multifactorial and move through time and space. To be managed effectively they must be guided in these movements through the monitoring and control instruments nature has provided. These are not necessarily proximate because populations are embedded in ecosystems and cannot be isolated from systemic complexity. Holistic management is needed, which requires a suite of monitoring and control parameters analogous to those in instrument flight. We hold that every institution serving the interests of wise resource use should employ comprehensive, large-scale, ecosystem-based models built, tested, and perfected as a committed institutional activity over long periods of time. We call this Institutionalized Model-Making (IMM), and see models drawn from the collective expertise of scientists and their data in the same relation to nature as flight simulators are to actual aircraft. They mimic responses to control actions, and enable training in multifactorial management analogous to the instrument scans and control actions of the instrument pilot. A model comprehensive enough for institutional use has not been built. We call attention to our efforts to develop such a model at the Huntington Wildlife Forest in New York's Adirondack Mountains. This is a model of the North American whitetail deer ( Odocoileus virginianus Miller). It is too complex and incomplete for use in this paper, so a smaller-scale model is employed to make the case. In simulation trials parameters are ranked as to control sensitivity, then manipulated singly and multiply to demonstrate the superiority of the multiparameter approach.

Synthesis of chaos and sustainability in a nonstationary linear dynamic model of the American black bear ( Ursus americanus Pallas) in the Adirondack Mountains of New York

Black bears on the 6000-ha Huntington Wildlife Forest, in the central Adirondack region of upper New York State, were modeled using the stella II simulation software. The purposes were to (1) express black-bear biology as a population system inseparably derived from its ecosystem; (2) demonstrate how chaos, with origins in nonlinearity, and sustainability, related to linearity, can be incorporated into dynamical models, minimizing the use of mathematics that may not be well-chosen due to an inadequate rationale; and (3) demonstrate how qualitative biology, natural history, and ecology can be realistically built into a model despite many unknowns and initially limited data. A rationale is presented for synthesizing chaos and sustainability in ecological models. From this and the good behavioral properties observed in simulated baseline and sensitivity dynamics, it is concluded that a useful approach in ecological modelling may be to put nonlinear attributes into the parameter space and linear ones into the state space to conform the two opposed properties of well-behavedness and surprise. The role of linearity in modelling, and in formulating humanity's future ecological paradigm of existence, should not be overlooked.

Critical loads for nitrogen deposition: Case studies at two northern hardwood forests

A critical load of a pollutant is the level of input below which no harmful ecological effects occur to a complex ecosystem. Critical loads are being used in policy decisions regarding air pollution emissions. In this paper, we applied four mass and charge balance methods of calculating critical loads to two northern hardwood forests in the northeastern United States. Critical loads for nitrogen deposition with respect to acidity ranged from 0–630 eq/ha-yr. Critical loads for nitrogen deposition with respect to effects of elevated nitrogen (eutrophication and nutrient imbalances) ranged from 0–1450 eq/ha-yr. At both the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF) and Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF), the critical load for nitrogen with respect to acidity was exceeded. At the HBEF, due to reduced forest growth, the critical load for nitrogen with respect to nutrient imbalances and eutrophication was exceeded in recent years. At Huntington Wildlife Forest, the critical load with respect to nitrogen effects was also exceeded. This analysis demonstrated that the calculated critical load of nitrogen varies in response to changes in environmental conditions such as variations in atmospheric deposition of sulfate or changes in forest biomass accumulation.

Acid rain stone test sites

As a part of the United States National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, Task Group G: Effects on Materials and Cultural Resources, which is chaired by Ray Herrmann, the National Park Service has established four test sites for 10‐year testing of two kinds of dimension stone used in buildings and monuments. The four sites are (from south to north) Research Triangle Park near Raleigh, N.C. (activated May 25, 1984); the roof of the West End Branch of the Washington, D.C. Library (activated August 11, 1984); the Department of Energy Compound at the Environmental Measurements Laboratory of Bell Telephone Laboratories near Chester, N.J. (activated June 5, 1984); and Huntington Wildlife Forest in the Adirondack Mountains, Newcomb, N.Y. (activated June 19, 1984).

Controlling Deer Use of Forest Vegetation with Electric Fences

In 1961, an electric fence to control deer (Odocodus virginusnus) was erected around a 255-acre part of a 5Bacre stand of cut-over northern hardwood forest in the Adirondack Mountains. In addition to the main fence, a Sacre area was enclosed with an outrigger fence, as recommended by the Vermont Fish and Game Department, to test its effectiveness compared to the main fence. Observations of the outrigger fence indicated that it effectively repelled deer during early winter but was ineffective after 6 inches of snow had accumulated. High resistance to ground in dry snow was mea^ sured and the fence was modified by adding wires at ground potential. The main fence was modified in 1962 to include ground wires, and in 1963 to replace solid copper wire with copper-clad steel wire. Track counts and direct observaffons indicated that the electric fence effectively repelled many deer although numerous observations of deer penetrating the fence were made. Vegetative tallies indicated that deer browsing was significantly ( P < 0.0S ) reduced inside the fence. Cost per acre over the study period was $22.47. The efficiency of the electric fence in controlling deer use was considered too marginal to recommend its use as a management tool, and its cost was relaffvely too high. The effect of the white-tailed deer on Adirondack forest vegetation has been studied on The Archer and Anna Huntington Wildlife Forest Station since 1939. These early exclosure studies concluded that deer are not an important limiting factor in the establishment of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants in the uncut mature northern hardwood forest ( Webb et al. 1956 ) . Later studies on logged northern hardwood stands indicated a dramatic effect of deer on the height growth of most indigenous hardwoods, except American beech ( Fagus grandifolia), (Tierson et al. 1966, Farnsworth and Barrett 1966 ) . The desirability of reducing deer use to permit adequate stocking and growth of preferred timber species was clearly evident. Unpublished studies on the Huntington Wildlife Forest have also demonstrated that browsing by the extant deer population has changed the northern hardwood forest un1 A contribution of New York Pittman-Robertson Project W-105-R, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, the New York State Conservation Department, and the State University College of Forestry, Syracuse University, cooperating. 922 derstory to one comprised largely of beech, a species little used by the white-tail and not highly regarded by the forester. Fencing to control deer browsing on large areas of forest land has had little application. Electric fencing techniques have been used even less. Seamans ( 1951 ) used electric fencing to control deer damage, primarily to orchards, in Vermont. In 1960, a study was instituted on the Huntington Wildlife Forest to test the effectiveness of electric fences in controlling deer use on a large forested area under timber management. Thanks are due E. F. Patric and R. A. Seamans for their assistance. D. F. Behrend reviewed the manuscript.

Establishment of a Natural Area on the Huntington Wildlife Forest

Establishment of a Natural Area on the Huntington Wildlife Forest