• Address:
  705 Spear Street
  South Burlington, Vermont 05403
  United States of America
  
  Phone: (802) 391-4135
  Email: femc@uvm.edu
  Website: www.uvm.edu/femc

Upland deciduous forest is the most common habitat type at Teatown. The most common species that dominate Teatown’s forests to create various natural communities are oak, hickory, maple, beech, birch, and tulip poplar. The forests of northern Westchester County and throughout much of the northeast are threatened by numerous factors including overabundant deer, invasive species, climate change and development. While these issues are often connected such that one may occur or worsen because of the presence of another, overabundant deer are considered the greatest current threat to the forest ecosystem. White-tailed deer overabundance has been extensively studied at Teatown since 2009. A healthy forest, defined as one with a dense understory of native trees and shrubs, is necessary for the forest to continue thriving into the future and to support all organisms within it. Anecdotal observations of loss of the understory started in the 1980s. To address the forest health issues, Teatown initiated a deer management program in 2014 and has an invasive management plan. To understand the success of our management programs and to determine if other management activities are needed, forest monitoring of forest plots was initiated in 2015 and is ongoing.

• Label: Year

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: ratio
• String Format: D-M-YY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Date

• Storage Type: date

• Measurment Type: datetime
• String Format: M/D/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Plot Number

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: ratio
• String Format: M/D/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Plant Tag Number

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal
• String Format: M/D/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Species

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal
• String Format: M/D/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Status, Live or Dead

• Storage Type: text

• Measurment Type: nominal
• String Format: M/D/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Number of Live Stems

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: ratio
• String Format: M/D/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Label: Number of Dead Stems

• Storage Type: int

• Measurment Type: ratio
• String Format: M/D/YYYY
• Number Type: -1

• Shrub Data
  • Method Description: All seedlings or regeneration (woody species including shrubs < 1> 1.4 m height) were counted, marked, identified to species and status noted. Only shrubs that contributed significantly to the midstory canopy were included. They are listed in Table 2. If multi-stemmed, the number of stems was also recorded for each shrub. Distance and orientation (using a magnetic declination of 13 degrees W) of each tree, sapling and shrub was also recorded with reference to the center of the plots.

• Teatown Forest Inventory, Forest Plot Design
• Sampling Description: Sampling design: A total of 20 forest plot locations were marked in ArcGIS. These locations were investigated to determine if they fit the criteria for sampling, which included the following: forest type (oak dominated), slope (relatively flat or gradual), and dispersal across the preserve. Plot locations were relocated based on field observations if they did not fit the criteria. In total, 18 locations were selected for plot setup. Plots were set up and data collected for the first time in late summer/fall 2015. A circular nested plot design consisting of a 12.6 m radius (500 m2) outer plot and four 2.45 m radius (18.9 m2 x 4 = 75.4 m2) circular inner plots were installed (Figure 1). The center of the outer plot is marked with rebar. The centers of the inner plots are marked with green garden stakes and are located 6 m from the center of the outer plot at 90 degree angles from the center. The first inner plot location was selected at random; due to this, distance from the outer plot center may vary slightly due to the presence of rocks, roots or trees where the garden stakes were placed. The distance and orientation of the inner plots’ center from the center of the outer plot was recorded. In addition, four 12 m transects were laid out radiating from the outer plot center. Transects were oriented such that they fell between the inner plots. Transects were also at 90-degree angles to one another, and no permanent markers for the transects were installed. The orientations of the transects with respect to the center of the plot was recorded. In the outer plot, all trees and saplings were marked with permanent metal tags or temporary yellow plant tags. In 2021, all yellow tags were replaced with writable temporary metal tags. The yellow tags were written on with Sharpie, and weathering caused the tags to fade in the 5 years between sampling periods. All metal tags were placed on the tree such that they face the plot center. The size of the woody plant determined which tag type was used. Generally, any tree (>10 cm dbh; >1.4 m height) was marked with a metal tag, and any sapling (<10>1.4 m height) was marked with the temporary metal tag. All shrubs (<1.4 m height) were also marked with a yellow tag that was replaced with a temporary metal tags. Any shrub species that had more than one trunk was only marked with one tag. Shrubs that were reduced to <1.4m in height in a sampling period due to damage are not measured and their tag removed. Trees were defined as any species in the Burns and Honkala (1990). The full list of species considered trees or saplings (small trees) is below in Table 1.