Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest is an area of land in the towns of Woodstock, Ellsworth and Thornton in the White Mountains of New Hampshire that functions as an outdoor laboratory for ecological studies.

HBEF research teams have succeeded in elucidating a number of vexing environmental problems, most notably the harmful effects of acid rain.

The forest preservation the research promotes helps to protect watershed chemistry, ambient humidity, seasonal temperature fluctuations, and wildlife habitats.

The idea for using the small watershed approach being used at Hubbard Brook for studies of elemental budgets and cycles was born with Professor F. Herbert Bormann of Dartmouth College, who began taking his botany classes for field trips to this area of the White Mountain National Forest in the early 1950s, and Forest Service scientist Robert Pierce.

The forest comprises nine individual watersheds, each of which drains into Hubbard Brook which flows eastward into the Pemigewasset River near West Thornton.

Soil is predominantly well-drained spodosol derived from glacial till, with sandy loam textures, combining to produce an evident, but narrow E horizon.

The forest floor is characterized by the complete suite of taxonomic subhorizons, has been classified as mor type humus, with mull occurring beneath maple stands at lower elevations (600 meters (2,000 ft)).

Soil depths are highly variable, with shallow strands of organic matter comprising the entire profile at higher elevations (folist) or underlain by sandy unsorted material (podzol).

Each summer, Hubbard Brook scientists and experts from afar gather at the base station for a 2-day colloquium to present and discuss ongoing research.