Document: JON-3-99-175

The forest vegetation of Cape Cod: A regional-historical analysis.

HARROD, J.*, B.HALL, D.R.FOSTER, G.MOTZKIN and R.W.EBERHARDT

Harvard University, Petersham MA 01366 USA ¹

Abstract:
Our study documents changes in land use and forest cover in Cape Cod, MA over the past 400 yr and evaluates influences of historical land use, regional position, and geologic substrate on modern forest composition and structure at landscape to regional scales. Pollen and witness tree data suggest that the Cape was largely forested and that pitch pine and oaks were the most abundant trees at the time of European settlement in the 17th C. Fuelwood cutting and land clearance led to a rapid loss of forest cover; by the 18th century, wood shortages and severe soil erosion occurred in several towns. Landcover maps from the mid 19th C show the Cape as 49% forested, with most areas near the coast cleared and large patches of forest remaining in the interior. Forest cover increased following farm abandonment and afforestation efforts, exceeding 65% in 1951, but then decreased due to residential and commercial development to 48% in 1990. Our analysis of the modern forest vegetation, based on 270 plots, indicates that Cape-wide vegetation patterns reflect historical land use, geologic substrate, and regional position. Several species show strong regional variation, with mesophytic trees and vines most abundant on the inner Cape and early-successional shrubs and grasses most abundant on the outer Cape. Within landscapes comprised of single substrate types, history of past land use is the principal factor driving compositional patterns. While 400 yr of land use have dramatically transformed the Cape's land cover and strongly influenced distributions of individual species, modern canopy composition is strikingly similar to that inferred from 17th C witness tree data.

Keywords: forest cover

This abstract is being presented at: 10:30 AM in session:
Poster Session #5: Landscape Ecology.