Forest Plumbing: How Hillsides “Flush” Nutrients Through the Soil

January 17, 2025

High in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, there’s a small, forested watershed that scientists treat like a living laboratory. Here, at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, researchers have long investigated how water, soil, and forest ecology interact—creating one of the most studied forest ecosystems in the world. In their…

Spotlighting Diatom Communities in Northern Hardwood Streams

January 2, 2025
Box plot

Small creatures play a part in asking big questions. The 2024 preprint Environmental Factors Drive the Composition of Diatom Communities Across a Range of Northern Hardwood Streams by Lindsey Sahlmann, et. al. examines the sensitivity of diatom communities to environmental changes in forested headwaters. According to the authors, these algae…

Long-term Data Reveal Earlier Snowpack Disappearance and Increased Mid-winter Snowmelt in Northeastern U.S. Forests

December 20, 2024

Seasonal snow cover is important for the health of Northeastern forest ecosystems, influencing everything from soil temperatures and nutrient cycling to groundwater recharge and wildlife habitat. A newly published paper reports that warming winter temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns may be altering these once predictable snowpack dynamics. “Long-term measurements of…

It’s Official: Ice-in at Mirror Lake is December 7

December 15, 2024

“The official Ice-in date for Mirror Lake is December 7th,” Tammy Wooster from the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies reports. “I was waiting to share thinking the recent rain might cause it to break up, but it seems locked in for the winter!” This year’s Ice-in date is part of…

The Hidden Dynamics of Hubbard Brook’s Headwater Streams

December 6, 2024

Once upon a time… The early morning light filtered through the canopy of sugar maples and yellow birch, dappling the forest floor with soft golden patches. John Morgan stepped over a mossy log and paused, listening for the faint trickle of water. He was deep in the Hubbard Brook Experimental…

AGU24 Preview: The Hidden Season Shaping Our Forests

December 4, 2024

In the forests of New Hampshire, climate change is shifting the seasons in subtle yet profound ways. Winter is warming faster than any other season across northern latitudes, accelerating snowmelt and vegetation green-up. However, the rate of change is uneven, resulting in a longer transitional period between snowmelt and full…

AGU24 Preview: How Drones Are Changing What We Know About Snow

November 27, 2024

Snow, a defining feature of New England winters, is as complex as it is fleeting. Its distribution and behavior—how much falls, where it accumulates, and when it melts—are shaped by a web of factors ranging from topography to vegetation. But these patterns are changing, and so are the tools used…

AGU24 Preview: Understanding the Northeast’s Changing Snow Patterns: Insights from the NESS Feasibility Study

November 1, 2024

At the American Geophysical Union’s 2024 Fall Meeting, researchers including University of New Hampshire-based Hubbard Brook Research Foundation trustee Alix Contosta will present “The Northeast Snow Survey (NESS) Feasibility Study,” highlighting shifts in winter conditions in the northeastern United States. Winter is warming faster than any other season east of…

The Complex Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Soil Respiration in Forest Ecosystems

September 13, 2024

Soil respiration plays a crucial role in regulating the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from soils into the atmosphere. This is particularly important in temperate broadleaf forests like Hubbard Brook, where about 70% of ecosystem respiration comes from soil. Understanding how nutrient availability, particularly nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), affects…

Eastern Salamanders Are Major Players in Forest Ecosystems

September 6, 2024

A new study, “Range-wide salamander densities reveal a key component of terrestrial vertebrate biomass in eastern North American forests”, (paywall) published in the August 2024 issue of Biology Letters describes the significant ecological role of the eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) in forests across eastern North America. For findings reported…