Foreword

PART I: LANDSCAPE HISTORY OF CENTRAL NEW ENGLAND

Pre-Settlement Forest 1700 A.D.
An Early Settler Clears a Homestead 1740 A.D.
Height of Forest Clearance and Agriculture 1830 A.D.
Farm Abandonment 1850 A.D.
"Old-Field" White Pine Forest on Abandoned Land 1910 A.D.
"Old-Field" White Pine is Succeeded by Hardwoods 1915 A.D.
A Vigorously Growing Forest of Hardwoods 1930 A.D.
The Modern Forest Landscape
Summary: Ecological Lessons from Forest History

PART II: CONSERVATION ISSUES IN THE HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND FORESTS

Old-Growth Forests
Wildlife Habitat in a Dynamic Landscape
Accelerated Erosion with Intensive Land Use
Forest Fire
Forest Fire Management

PART III: FOREST MANAGEMENT IN CENTRAL NEW ENGLAND

Early Treatment of a Hardwood Stand
Improvement Cutting in a Hardwood Stand
First Thinning in a Mixed White Pine-Hardwood Forest
Third Thinning in a Mixed White Pine-Hardwood Forest
Conversion Of Cordwood To Future Sawtimber
Increasing While Pine in Hardwood Stands
Release of Pine from Suppression by Gray Birch
Pruning White Pine to Produce Better Logs
Group Selection Method of Harvesting White Pine
Shelterwood Method in White Pine And Hardwoods

PART IV: ARTISTRY AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE DIORAMAS

Sugqested Further Reading
About the Harvard Forest
The Fisher Museum

Photos by John Green

David R. Foster is Director of the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, and teaches ecology at Harvard University.

John F. O'Keefe is the Coordinator of Harvard University's Fisher Museum of Forestry.

Read More by David R. Foster:

• Thoreau's Country: Journey through a Transformed Landscape