General Research Overview

Using long-term records of air temperature, precipitation, stream temperature, streamflow, snowpack, and lake ice cover we study how the forest ecosystem at Hubbard Brook is responding to a changing climate.

We study how forests and streams respond to changes in the chemistry of the atmosphere, particularly declines in air pollution brought about by federal restrictions on emissions.

We study the quantity and quality of water moving through the ecosystem by measuring precipitation, stream flow, and water chemistry at each control and treated watershed.

We study how nutrients cycle through forests and streams, examining the roles of both geologic and biological factors in element fluxes.

We study streams as discrete ecosystems within the broader Hubbard Brook landscape, and we study how stream ecosystems interact with the terrestrial ecosystems that surround them.

We study the structure and composition of the forest at Hubbard Brook, tracking the predominant forest vegetation types by decadal measurements of all trees greater than 10 cm in diameter on 371 permanent plots.

We study the biodiversity and food webs of the forest and streams at Hubbard Brook. We have one of the longest running studies of migratory songbirds in the world, initiated in 1969.

We study the development of forest soils, soil fertility, soil biology, and soil carbon sequestration.

We study how forests and streams respond to disturbances, both natural and human-caused.