Objectives: We sought to evaluate the impact of changes in soil calcium and aluminum due to acid deposition on the growth and physiology of sugar maple and American beech trees at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (Thornton, New Hampshire) following a major ice storm in 1998.
Principal Investigator: Joshua Halman, Paul Schaberg, Gary Hawley, Tim Fahey
Laboratory: Schaberg/Hawley Lab
Recommended Citation: Halman JM, Schaberg PG, Hawley GJ, Hansen CF, and Fahey TJ. 2015. Sugar maple and American beech tree cores from NuPert plots at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH.
Project Contents: Data for 3 Plots, 180 Trees, 360 Cores
Project Period: 2008-10-01 to 2014-03-20
Species:
Acer saccharum
Fagus grandifolia
Data License: 
What's this?Description: To evaluate the impact of changes in soil calcium and aluminum due to acid deposition, we examined sugar maple and American beech growth and forest composition at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (Thornton, New Hampshire) following a major ice storm in 1998. We measured xylem annual increment, foliar cation concentrations, American beech root sprouting, and tree mortality at the experimental nutrient perturbation (NuPert) plots located within HBEF where treatment plots had been amended with calcium or aluminium beginning in 1995.
Related Publications:
- Halman, J.M., Schaberg, P.G., Hawley, G.J., Hansen, C.F. and Fahey, T.J. 2015. Differential impacts of calcium and aluminum treatments on sugar maple and American beech growth dynamics. Can. J. For. R View
Project Metadata
Taxonomic standard used: USDA Plants Database
How plots were selected: To better evaluate the interaction of Ca depletion and Al mobilization on a northern hardwood forest, the Nutrient Perturbation (NuPert) study was initiated in 1995, west of the biogeochemical reference watershed (W6) at the HBEF (43.95411°N, 71.74779°W). The study area is on a south-facing slope, with an elevational range of 700–760 m, and most soils are classified as either Aquic Haplorthods or Aquic Haplumbredts (Berger et al. 2001). Twelve sugar maple dominated plots (45 m × 45 m) were randomly assigned to one of three treatments (Ca addition, Al addition, or control (no addition)), yielding four replicates of each treatment in the study. In addition to sugar maple, American beech and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) are co-occurring tree species in these plots, whereas hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides Michx.) and striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum L.) dominate the understory.
How trees were selected: We sampled from the three following groups of trees on each NuPert plot: dominant sugar maple, nondominant sugar maple, and codominant American beech. Five trees per plot of each group were selected for sampling in August 2008.
Exclusion of trees (if any): We excluded dead trees.
How cores were collected: In early November 2008, increment cores were collected from the sample trees (see above), and the diameter at breast height (DBH; 1.3 m) was recorded. Two increment cores per tree were removed at 180° from one another at breast height and perpendicular to the slope.
How cores were processed: Cores were mounted, dried, and sanded, and annual growth rings were measured to the nearest 0.01 mm. Cores were then visually crossdated and aged using standard dendrochronological methods (Stokes and Smiley 1968). The computer program COFECHA was used to crossdate and identify areas of cores that may contain false or locally absent rings. Locally absent rings were also identified by subsequent visual inspection of the cores.
Exclusion of cores (if any): {null}
Added to the database: 02/20/2018
Last modified: 03/03/2022