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Although the northeastern US includes extensive areas of aggrading forest, uncertainty regarding the intensity and pattern of forest harvesting hampers an understanding of important ecological processes and characteristics such as carbon and nitrogen storage, habitat quality, and forest dynamics, and impedes regional conservation and management planning. Due to the complex ownership pattern dominated by thousands of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners and the difficulty of detecting selective logging using remote sensing, details of the harvesting regime remain largely unknown to the scientific and policy communities. To examine the value of statewide regulatory data for Massachusetts as a unique source of this critical information, we analyzed 17 years of timber harvest data gathered for regulatory purposes for a 168,000 ha forested landscape in Massachusetts that is the focus of concerted conservation planning and intensive study of landscape and ecosystem pattern and process. The North Quabbin Region is heavily wooded with a complicated ownership pattern dominated by over 2500 NIPF owners, three state agencies, and diverse conservation and municipal holdings.The extent and intensity of harvesting were surprising, with an annual disturbance rate of 1.5% and a mean intensity of 44.7 m3 ha−1 (approximately one-fourth of average stand volume). The predominant form of harvesting was selective removal of commercially valuable tree sizes, grades and species (e.g., Quercus rubra and Pinus strobus). The spatial pattern of logging was random with regards to major physical, biological, or cultural factors. However, logging was strongly related to landowner class. NIPF owners control 60% of the forest area and were responsible for 64.1% of harvest area, but the highest logging intensity (volume per area harvested; 69.3 m3 ha−1) among major landowners was conducted by the state agency responsible for managing southern New England’s largest conservation property, the watershed of Boston’s drinking reservoir.This regime of chronic disturbance is occurring over the entire landscape and exerting a major influence on forest composition, dynamics, and habitat quality. However, dispersed selective harvesting is largely unnoticed by residents, is routinely overlooked by ecologists and conservationists, and would remain unrecognized in the absence of this previously unused regulatory data. These results identify the value of regional regulatory spatial information to estimate ecological trends and to assist in conservation planning. Given similarities among ownership and forest patterns for much of the northeastern US, we expect that the broad findings of this study to have regional application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tropospheric ozone occurs at phytotoxic levels in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Quantifying possible regional-scale impacts of ambient ozone on forest tree species is difficult and is confounded by other factors, such as moisture and light, which influence the uptake of ozone by plants. Biomonitoring provides an approach to document direct foliar injury irrespective of direct measure of ozone uptake. We used bioindicator and field plot data from the USDA Forest Service to identify tree species likely to exhibit regional-scale ozone impacts. Approximately 24% of sampled sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), 15% of sampled loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), and 12% of sampled black cherry (Prunus serotina) trees were in the highest risk category. Sweetgum and loblolly pine trees were at risk on the coastal plain of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. Black cherry trees were at risk on the Allegheny Plateau (Pennsylvania), in the Allegheny Mountains (Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland) as well as coastal plain areas of Maryland and Virginia. Our findings indicate a need for more in-depth study of actual impacts on growth and reproduction of these three species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce atmospheric deposition, in 1990 Congress passed amendments to the Clean Air Act requiring electric utility power plants to decrease emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, with Phase I beginning in 1995. We analyzed precipitation volume, wet deposition, and concentration of the sum of base cations measured at 12 National Atmospheric Deposition Program sites in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. We compared five-year means prior to and following passage of the amendments and for five years after the implementation of Phase I. Whereas only one of the monitoring stations recorded a decline in base cation deposition, three sites out of the 12 showed a decline in base cation concentration. None of the sites exhibited a significant change in precipitation volume. Continued deposition of base cations may help to reduce the detrimental effects of acidic deposition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Maps of physiognomic classes of vegetation in the northeastern UnitedStates before European human impact and for the late 20th century, based onpollen data, closely resemble each other, indicating a robust pattern in theface of the novel and extensive disturbances of the last 500 years. On the otherhand, species abundances have changed considerably, with today's vegetationhaving less Fagus L. and TsugaCarrière and more Betula L., Picea A. Dietr., and Abies Miller. Picea and Castanea Miller increasedfrom 1700 to 1900, but have decreased in this century. The difference betweenthe main physiognomic classes has remained strong, however, with continuouslymore Picea, Abies and Betula in the north and more QuercusL. and Carya Nutt. in the south, indicating the dominanceof climate in regulating the relative abundances of these genera. Thevegetational patterning within these broad classes has changed in some placesand remained stable in others, suggesting differences in local factors thatdetermine relative species abundances. The influence of slight altitudinalgradients, for example, may influence forest composition only after severalgenerations of trees, while substrate differences may be apparent in the firstforest that regenerates after agricultural abandonment or logging. Forests oftoday, therefore, reflect complex interactions of disturbance and environment,and may be in equilibrium with some but not all features of their currentenvironments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new study examines the potential for wolf recovery in the northeastern US and determines whether it could be achieved naturally via dispersal from southeast Canada or through managed reintroduction. Biological factors considered include dispersal habitat, habitat conditions and distance to source populations. It is shown that recovery is a possibility, although there are serious limitations, including negative human attitudes towards predators.

A new study analyses the extent and connectivity of potential habitat for wolves in eastern North America. The study includes an evaluation of whether certain contiguous areas in the northeastern US are suitable for a recovery plan for eastern timber wolves. It is suggested that before recovery strategies can be enacted, significant public education in the projects is required.

This study examines the relationship between mesoscale meteorological conditions and high-ozone days in the northeastern United States. It is proposed that the leeside trough and the sea-breeze front are two mesoscale features that can be important on these high-ozone days. The 19 June and 4 July 1995 case studies are presented to illustrate the role of each feature, respectively. The 19 June case revealed that the leeside trough initially formed to the lee of the high terrain from southeast Pennsylvania to the Maine coast but shifted southeastward during the course of the day. As the trough advanced toward the coast, the surface winds ahead of the trough remained southwesterly, paralleling the source regions of the major metropolitan areas. It appears that the surface flow near the trough acted to elevate and concentrate ozone and its precursors in a narrow band along and just south of the trough, with much lower values north and west of the trough, where cleaner trajectories were encountered. In the 4 July case, the sea-breeze front initially formed parallel to the Atlantic coast and advanced northward through southeast New York and southern New England as the larger-scale flow became more southerly. High ozone concentrations developed in a narrow, east-west band along, and just south of, the northward-moving boundary. The combination of the boundary's initial location near a major source region, confluent airflow along the front, and a capping inversion on the front's cool side is presented as the likely cause for the observed pattern of high ozone. The high ozone values occurred despite relatively low peak values up and down the coast the previous day.

Numerous roof collapses throughout the Middle Atlantic and New England States followed the occurrence of two winter storms during the period of Jan. 6-15, 1996. Cumulative horizontal ground-measured snow loads for these two storms are derived by analyzing dally liquid-equivalent precipitation measurements and preexisting snow depth observations at approximately 300 stations. The resulting values are compared to published 50-year recurrence interval snow loads that define the minimum design criteria for roof structures. In general, snow loads were found to exceed the 50-year recurrence interval value along a band encompassing the Boston to Washington corridor. Snow loads in excess of the 100-year recurrence interval value were estimated near Baltimore, Md; in central New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania; over the Lower Hudson Valley and extreme eastern Long Island in New York; and south of Boston, Mass. Snow loads in southern New Jersey, central Massachusetts, and most of Rhode Island did not to exceed the 50-year return period amount.

The (Laurentian) Great Lakes region (GLR) of North America contains ∼20% of the world's freshwater by total area. Yet, the water quantity and quality of lakes in this region are threatened by water level fluctuations and excessive algal growth associated with climate warming. To understand the mechanisms that drive these changes, we have established a 900-year history of environmental change using sediments from a small kettle lake, Barry Lake, located within the GLR. To understand how water quantity changed over time, we used stable isotopes of oxygen and carbon in marl to reconstruct effective moisture. Our reconstruction for Barry Lake shows that the Little Ice Age (LIA) was wetter than present, whereas the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) was drier than present. There is considerable spatiotemporal variation in effective moisture across the GLR and northeastern (NE) USA. This variation may reflect changes in the sign of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), which can alter moisture delivery by modifying the strength and position of the polar and subtropical jet streams. To identify changes in water quality, we reconstructed primary production using sedimentary chlorophyll a (Chl- a (s)) contents and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in organic matter. There was relatively little change until the last 150 years, revealing that shifts in effective moisture did not noticeably influence primary production. Rather, primary production was impacted by anthropogenic pressures such as land use change and associated increases in nutrient delivery. Our research contextualizes recent threats to water quantity and quality in the GLR against a backdrop of environmental change, while also synthesizing hydroclimate records from across this region and the NE USA. • At Barry Lake, effective moisture was variable throughout the last ∼900 years. • Barry Lake is more productive now than at any time in the last ∼900 years. • Variations in effective moisture are not driving these increases in production. • The western Great Lakes region is more sensitive to drought than the northeast USA. • Spatiotemporal moisture patterns in these regions match the PDO and AMO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth explored the impact of Wal-Mart stores on 14 Northeastern counties to address concerns from local businesses. Unlike the Midwestern states, Northeastern counties have larger populations that can support more retail outlets as shown by the neutral or positive impact of Wal-Mart stores on local business compared to the negative impact on local businesses with similar products in the Midwest. The lack of a significant impact may cause Wal-Mart to revise its rapid growth plans because the profit margin is not as high in the Northeast.

Observed solar radiation data at three sites in the northeastern United States are compared with values estimated for nearby airport locations using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC) models. A tendency toward considerable overestimation of relatively low values of observed solar radiation is evident in the NREL model. This bias is apparently regardless of season. A similar bias is not detected in the NRCC model. For moderate to high values of solar radiation both models produce estimates with similar accuracy for most practical applications. However, these models both tend to underestimate observed solar radiation on days when near maximum possible radiation levels are received. The tendency for the NREL model to overestimate low solar radiation values appears to be linked to the use of total sky cover, rather than the combination of cloud coverage and cloud base height information. Although total sky coverage data may be superior for estimates of moderate to high daily solar radiation values, it appears that information regarding the height of low overcast layers and the presence of obstructions to visibility, such as fog or haze, is required to accurately estimate low daily solar radiation totals.

Drainage has been used in the northeastern United States and Canada since colonial times. It has only been since the 1970s that substantial quantities of subsurface drains have been installed annually in Quebec. Drainage in Ontario was first installed in the early 1900s. Today there is an increasing concern that drainage is harmful to the environment. It has only been in recent years that projects have been initiated to evaluate the environmental impacts of agricultural drainage. Both nitrates and pesticides have been detected in agricultural drainage waters, sometimes at concentrations exceeding drinking-water standards. Research has identified the need for integrated management of water quality and quantity. There is a need to quantify the role of preferential flow as a mechanism of pollutant transport in surface and subsurface drainage water and to develop a modeling approach that is applicable at the field and watershed scale.

The effects of contingent valuation (CV) information when used as basis for implementing groundwater protection laws were examined. Groundwater is an important source of drinking water for over one-half of the Northeastern States' inhabitants. However, local governments have not yet taken the necessary steps to protect valuable groundwater resources. CV information can help these governments in formulating the necessary policies. The public was found to be supportive of such policies, especially if a contamination incident is discovered.

The economic structure of the mid-18th to mid-19th century rural northern communities was based on local exchange of goods and services. Peddlers, or 'itinerant merchants', introduced a demand for purchased consumer goods and the resultant demonstration of affluence.

This article estimates the contribution of farm household members to agricultural output in the antebellum northern United States. I reject the hypothesis that children contributed more in the least settled regions. The contribution of young children and teenage females was greatest in the Old Northwest; teenage boys made their largest contribution in the Northeast. In the Midwest young males and females performed the same tasks, namely market production and land clearing, but in the Northeast males were more likely to specialize in market production and females in household production.

The purpose of this article is to discuss why the core area of the American urban system developed in the northeastern part of the country and not in the South. It is proposed that this development was determined by historical accident and was not a result of environmental constraints. This "coincidence hypothesis" is supported by historical material, and it helps to explain the recent decline of the Snowbelt cities vis-a-vis the rise of the Sunbelt cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]