There are many signs visible in the forest that give us clues about how the land was used over the past several decades.
The presentations will go over some of the easily-observed indicators that you can use to fairly easily tell areas that have been forested for a long time from areas that were used for farming or pasture up until the mid-1900s. Observations both in our area and elsewhere in the Northeast suggests that invasive plants may be more common on land that was previously used for farming, and is now reverting to forest. Therefore, we would like to collect some information about the presence of indicators of past agricultural use as we collect the data on the occurrence of the exotic species.
Having learned these indicators, you will find that you can ‘read’ the history of a forest easily as you hike through it (or even as you quickly drive down the interstate on your way to a hike).