An Update From Team Ecosystem Services

What a summer it has been so far :)

Team Ecosystem Services (Ashley and Lauren) has been busy wrapping up our research and we are quite pleased with the way things turned out. We have finished our intercept surveys and have been analyzing the data, writing reports, and finishing up. This project has been the most awesome way to learn about the research process!

A major focus of our study was to investigate the values that people place on the environment and ecosystem services in the Pemigewasset watershed region of New Hampshire. After the initial interviews and data entry, we were able to dive into the analysis portion and see what we could find. Here are two samples of analyses we ran to compare the averages for all of the environmental values and ecosystem services against survey site. We ran this spatial analysis using ArcGIS.

At the beginning of this project, we spoke with Sarah Garlick about her science and community outreach programs. We were inspired by Sarah's ideas and believe that engaging the public with understandable science is a great way to spread the word about environmental issues and topics. We have enjoyed learning and discovering the way people value the environment and we hope our efforts will be able to contribute to community outreach and engagement on a broader scale. We also wanted to try to help create awareness of the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation since it is so important in the science world. Surprisingly, the majority of survey respondents we spoke with had never heard of it before. We gave people a quick overview of what we do here and handed out HBEF pamphlets.

We can't thank our mentors, Amy Villamagna and Shannon Rogers, enough for all of their guidance and dedication throughout the duration of this project. They are truly awesome advisors and we are forever grateful for the skills and knowledge they have provided us with this summer. You guys rock!

We are looking forward to giving a more in depth presentation of all of our hard work at the final conference next Tuesday. We hope to see you all there! -Ashley and Lauren :)

Biogeochemical Hotspots as DOC Sources

Hello,
My name is Kyle Corcoran and I am currently a rising senior at Western Carolina University studying Geology with a focus in Hydrology.

Background Information

Below is a conceptual model showing the distribution of soil groups along a representative hillslope located at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. The vertical arrows in the diagram below show a typical podzol for the region where the first layers of the solum (surface and subsurface soil layers that undergo the same soil forming processes) are the Organic (O horizon) and A horizons followed by the E horizon where organic acids leach the soil layer of iron and manganese. The Bhs horizon layer that forms under the E is more organic rich than the Bs horizon which is typically richer in metals causing the soil to be redder in coloration. The C horizon (parent material) is typically made up of glacial till and is found below the B horizon. In shallow bedrock areas however, the same soil horizons form differently. This soil forming process occurs because bedrock can commonly cause water to flow laterally due to its impervious nature. The flow of water over the bedrock causes the soil horizons to be deposited downslope of each other rather than vertically which is indicated by the horizontal arrows.

Bailey et al. 2014. Geoderma 226-227 (2014) 279-289.10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.02.017

Initial evidence in recent studies suggest that shallow bedrock areas containing shallow soil layers on top are biogeochemical hotspots. The highest Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) concentrations in groundwater have been found to be in the O and E horizons observed near shallow soils on top of shallow bedrock outcrops [Zimmer et al.,2013]. This evidence suggests that these shallow bedrock areas are potential sources of DOC.

REU Project

For my REU project I am focusing on shallow bedrock areas which are suspected to be a source of DOC. I plan to test throughfall in multiple watersheds containing different species of vegetation to have a better understanding of the DOC input in each watershed in relation to the concentration of DOC observed in shallow soil water after storm events. Soil water in the bedrock areas will be collected using no tension lysimeters that were installed on top of bedrock at the base of the shallow soil layers. Soil water samples will be analyzed for DOC, total ions, spectral slope and DOM quality.

The Vegcrew

                Let me introduce you to my coworkers: The Vegcrew

Look at that burl! -Kate Poirier

In addition to finding out how tall trees are, I work with the Vegcrew on the ten-year survey of the trees in the forest. We do this by walking around to “Valleywide” plots and making sure that all of the trees that were there ten years ago are either still alive or accounted for. The plots are 12.62 meters in radius and they work fast, so by the time I can help them we’re usually looking for “bodies” of dead trees. We also look for new trees with diameters greater than 10 cm, called recruits. They’re such cute little baby trees! My favorite trees are the really big ones, the ones that need two people to measure, and really require you to hug the tree. It feels nice.

Matt Harband, of vegcrew. Photo by Kate

We see all sorts of strange stuff at the plots, too. One day someone had left us a message saying “TURBO” on one of the trees, written in sharpie. The positioning of the center pole in our plots is important, requiring us to log a few “witness” trees to make sure it’s in the right place, and occasionally the witnesses are dead, prompting renditions of “Can I Get a Witness?” Trees like to fall on the posts too, and it’s up to us to move them. Sometimes the strange stuff I see at my plot ends up being my coworkers. If they weren’t weird, they probably wouldn’t be half as wonderful and funny as they are. We’ve

found moose antlers, parts of a moose skeleton, and on steep muddy slopes, gravity. It’s still working!

Technical difficulties: our center stake was crushed by
two trees, then eaten by a bear. Photo by Kate

From left to right: Ailis Clyne, Madeline Montague, Kate Poirier, Matt Harband. We found a skull! Photo by Ailis.

I’d also like to take a moment to mention how amazing my mentor is. Affectionately known as “Nat”, she is an inspiration in many ways. Not a single one of her autoimmune issues prevents her from getting out into the field and doing what she loves, and she is one of the most dedicated and hardest working bosses I have ever had the fortune of working under. Her sense of humor, honesty, and total aversion to optimism make every day interesting, and I have learned so much about plants, mosses, and lichens from her. Nat is the champion of the broad leaved orchid, and I hope that someday more will be understood about this elusive and mysterious plant. Being a full eight inches taller than me means that she is a much faster bushwacker, and if you think that you can beat her in the “100 meter hobblebush dash” I’d ask you to reconsider. She knows Hubbard Brook better than the back of her hand because she looks at it far more often. People have mistaken her for being in Olympic training, and she probably carries half of my weight in her backpack every day. I hope that everybody gets an opportunity to work under a “Nat” at one point in their lives. If I could be half as good as her at getting a job done efficiently, thoroughly, and with a minimum of fuss I would be very happy.

-Kate

Must love Bugs: Earth’s Hematologists

(Angela Coco)

underwater: Photic zone, Mirror Lake (Angela Coco)

“The mountains are calling, and I must go.” (John Muir)

caught this beautiful wild brookie on HB (Angela Coco)

I am happy to report my research is ahead of schedule! Having a chance to slow down and engage in more personal activities (such as photography, fishing, and hiking) feels rewarding. I need to continue responding to the enchantment of the White Mountains as much as possible before I migrate home because I don’t know when I’ll be here again. I’m ever grateful for everything that has revealed itself to me thus far and hope to also conquer Mt. Washington, go backpacking overnight, and see a moose.

underwater: Pickerel in Mirror Lake (Angela Coco)

Mt. Tecumseh Trail with Ben & Tyler (Angela Coco)

At science nights, I usually sit with the same person because we enjoyed having interesting little conversations in our corner of the blue Pleasant View futon. Whether it be about Hubbard Brook fauna, the Northern Lights, or food, it was always engaging. She was very kind and patient despite the number of times I accidentally bumped her while eating ice cream because I’m left-handed and she sat on my left. I only knew her name, Michele, and that she was somehow involved in Hubbard Brook. Michele Lynn Pruyn, PhD (bless her soul) passed away this past weekend. I found out she was the PI of the entire REU program. I feel honored to have known her during my first weeks at Hubbard Brook and will miss our little futon conversations that I looked forward to each science night. She was wonderful.

HB Cooperators Meeting (Angela Coco)

Squirrels eat mushrooms? (Angela Coco)

Working with aquatic macroinvertebrates requires scrupulous attention to detail, tolerance for being wet, long hours at a microscope alone, and a love for bugs. Although this work is not suited for everyone and is sometimes tedious, it’s extremely valuable to the world. If you think of water as Earth’s blood, then macroinvertebrates are its white blood cells. These tiny critters are excellent bio-indicators of ecosystem health and water quality. Aquatic ecologists and other scientists that work with water, therefore, are Earth’s Hematologists. Although our existence is often humble, we are nonetheless important and invaluable scientists. We love bugs!

macro sample from Zig Zag Brook (Angela Coco)

Mushroom! Mushroom! (Angela Coco)

"Food Wizard" creator Sarah Russell (Angela Coco)

Potluck's "Food Wizard" (Angela Coco)

black fly pupae from Kineo Brook (Angela Coco)

underwater: deep pool with trout, Kineo Brook (Angela Coco)

~Angela~

p.s. Click on photos to see them at a larger scale!

The Stream Team

(L to R) Tyler, Christen, Kyle, and Ben
investigate the sources of HB streams!

Greetings from the Stream Team (aka Team Hydro)! We actually come from a multitude of backgrounds, including hydrology, geology, and biology. It's a perfect combination, because as it turns out, studying the hydrology of Hubbard Brook lays the framework for much of the other work that occurs here. As recent research has shown, hydrology governs processes related to soil formation, nitrogen cycling, and is the primary interface through which acid rain acts on the environment: a topic of particular importance here at Hubbard Brook. This summer our team project has sought to explore the origins of headwater streams within the experimental watersheds. One of sites has been in Watershed 9, where we've drastically expanded the mapped stream network, from a very short surveyed length as shown by the USGS zero'th order stream, to sub-zero'th order streams that expand all the way to the watershed divide!

As we've found, the connection between the forest and stream is a very complex thing, and not easily defined. We've explored subterranean streams, streams coming from underneath yellow birches, persistant wetlands, seepy areas, dripping moss-covered bedrock, and many other manifestations of the water cycle in effect within the watersheds!

Original map of Watershed 9 on the left, and our newly mapped stream network on the right!

Christen at Rain Gauge 25 at the
top of Watershed 9

There have been plenty of adventures out in the woods, including many wet boots, but we've seen an incredible amount of variety, from a cascading brook to bouldery cascades to water flowing over leaf litter and dripping moss patches.

Ben and Tyler fording Cascade Brook

It's been a real challenge to turn our observations in the field into usable quantitative data that can be examined on a watershed-scale, but even more challenging has been slapping labels on the sections of stream we are walking along, and this has spurred plenty of discussion.

Kyle and Christen with a large tree
throw along Cascade Brook

Much has changed since the beginning of the summer: mostly, that most of the streams we once walked along have since gone dry. We've taken a break from mapping to explore our own individual research topics, delving further into the story or how the streams at Hubbard Brook influence and are influenced by their environment. You can read more about our projects in other blog posts!

Thanks for reading!

A Hole is to Dig

My name is Ben Geyman and I’m a junior at Bowdoin College studying Earth and Oceanographic Science.  I grew up in Seattle, Washington.

Snapshot of roughness in Watershed 3.  Smooth ridgetops are
shown in blue and the rough, jumbled bedrock transition
is shown in yellow downslope.

This summer I’m investigating the transition from bedrock outcrops to shallow soils near the upper watershed boundaries and am taking the Hydropedologic gospel from Dr. Scott Bailey.  My hope is that I can identify a distinct topographic roughness signature of shallow-to-bedrock zones using GIS metrics in order to better predict the spatial distribution of shallow-to-bedrock soils.  Basically, it’s hard to know where bedrock is unless you can see it in the field, so I’m hoping to find an easy way to detect it with hillshade and elevation maps.  These shallow-to-bedrock areas are important because they export high amounts of dissolved organic carbon and are key sites of nitrification.

In order to relate roughness and soil depth, I’m digging a lot of holes.  On a good day, I might stick a metal probe into the ground a hundred times to record the “depth to refusal” by rock, root or a hard pan of till.  Along the way, I’m hoping to characterize the variability in soil units in this region.  To do this, I dig small holes to identify different horizons in the soil profile and characterize the soils as one of five distinct hydropedologic units. 

Here’s a picture of a typical podzol, one of the most common soil units at Hubbard Brook.  You can see the organic “O” horizon on top, a gray “E” horizon leached of organic compounds and metal ions below, and brown and red mineral “B” horizons where organic and metal compounds are re-deposited below.   The photo isn’t very good, but profiles can be pretty beautiful. 

At the end of the day, it’s always nice to come back to Pleasant View.  I start nearly every day looking at the plants in our garden with coffee and I end pretty much every day watching plants with a beer. I do a lot more watching than weeding, so the plants don’t always look great.  This year we have corn, squash, peas, beans, lettuces, chard, carrots, tomatoes and peppers.  We also have a 7-foot tall monster rhubarb. 

On weekends, I’ve been enjoying hiking around Franconia and the Presidentials.  When it’s hot, I suspend my fear of fish and nothing is better than swimming in Mirror Lake.  One highlight was when Geoff took me climbing on a weekday after work. We went up to the Eaglet in Franconia, supposedly the tallest freestanding spire in the NE. 

Sometimes I lose perspective when I’m digging holes in heat, humidity and swarms of blackflies. I question whether I’m collecting enough data, whether these data will produce any results, and whether any of it matters.  Then I have a panic attack because I think I feel a tick crawling on my back.  But most of the time I am really happy here.  Dr. Bailey has a lifetime’s worth of knowledge and I learn something new every time I go into the forest with him.  Hubbard Brook has an amazing tradition of research and a big part of it is living with interesting people in Pleasant View Farm.   

Cool image of rocks along the Pemi stained by
reduced iron from groundwater. Great place to picnic
because it's right behind the Price Chopper parking lot.

- Mapping McConaughey 

Society, Communication and Culture

The three subjects expressed in the title often remain at the forefront of my thinking while conducting research and maneuvering through life. I consider societal nuances and similarities because of the unique areas where I grew up and currently attend school. As a native of Atlanta, Georgia and rising senior at Tennessee State University (a Historically Black University), my experiences differed from the bulk of my housemates. While many of my peers and surrounding community back in Atlanta and Nashville are not too apt in fostering my interest in the environment, I was fortunate to meet an alumnus of the 2014 Hubbard Brook REU program. In the midst of a passionate rant about increasing my university’s environmental consciousness, my fellow classmate proceeded to rave of his past summer at Hubbard Brook and ultimately encourage that I give it a shot.

Classic New Hampshire Tourist Picture

This summer’s experience as an REU at Hubbard Brook has been nothing short of an odyssey filled with unique opportunities, lessons learned, and tasks accomplished. I was chosen to conduct research on the human benefits derived from the ecosystem, termed as “Ecosystem Services”. My research pertains to the variance of landscape values for those individuals who are outdoors relishing the services nature provides (such as recreation, agriculture, scenery, and other intrinsic benefits). I am extremely fortunate to have my mentors, Dr. Shannon Rogers and Dr. Amy Villamagna, who have given continuous guidance and support along the research journey.

Waterfall Near Plymouth State University

Leaving a city of millions for a town of thousands wasn’t the largest leap, rather being in such pristine and undeveloped areas replete with waterfalls, swamp marshes, and trail infused forests—all within a short distance from Pleasant View, my new home. The outdoor aesthetics can be found radiating at all angles of a 360 degree spin, something previously unfathomable in Atlanta. Before I arrived, hiking was always a personal favorite of mine in Nashville, and considered a unique preference among my Atlanta community, but in coming to New Hampshire, I found that it is a preferable pastime of most of the state’s residents. Even in speaking to some of the residents of the Woodstock/Thornton area, I noticed these folks had a deep connection with the lush vegetation, clear water, and dense soil… Citizens knew their geographical location (e.g. whether they were West or East of the nearest basin); they also knew an impressive amount about sustainability and how their action played a part in the environment’s conservation.

First Hike Through The Experimental Forest

These observations led to my interest in environmental attitude and sustainable behavior. Northern New Hampshire’s unique geographical layout and large outdoorsmen population made the Pemigewasset watershed basin an ideal region for researching the intrinsic links between environmental value, concern, and stewardship. Considerably, this research coincides with the basis of Community-Based Participatory Research, in that, during the survey, questions may cause participants to think of the natural world differently. It’s always pleasing to have conversations with respondents about research at Hubbard Brook and the most recent statement a man made after taking our survey was “Wow. I feel so much more conscious of the environment”. Cliché as that statement may be, we hope that most respondents finish our survey with the same new-found perception.

Maxin' & Relaxin' While Working On My Proposal

This research has the potential to provide a different gauge of what it means to connect to the physical environment, which, to me, is the aim of advocacy. As my research partner and I engage with the public by asking people about their attitude toward and behavior within the environment we realize our fulfillment of environmental outreach and advocacy. While we have yet to analyze our results using statistical analysis (SPSS) and geographical maps (ArcGIS), hypotheses still linger as the data piles up.

Great View After Investigating Survey Sites With My Partner, Ashley

An opportunity to attain a more profound perception of experience, understanding, and concern rests within this research’s evaluation of influential agents of landscape value. Hopefully, these results can contribute to future environmental management, outreach, and activism efforts. Aside from institutional/political benefit, I hope to enhance my comprehension of the correlation between ecological literacy and environmental value in order to incorporate the theory into future endeavors in environmental advocacy. While programs like Green Corps are possibilities for the near future, my ultimate goal is transform my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia into the next great site for urban sustainability.

The name is Lauren, by the way ;)