While tree species succession and response to disturbance has been extensively researched, little similar effort has focused on understory herbaceous communities. This study conducted the first complete botanical inventories, with ranked abundance estimates, of the experimental watersheds of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), compared their relative floristic characters, and provided baseline data for long-term diversity monitoring at HBEF. Five of these watersheds were composed of mature (90 - 100 year old) secondary-growth forest, while two were young (16 and 26 year old) tertiary-growth forests recovering from conventional clear-cutting treatments. Floristic similarities were analyzed using ANCOVA, dominance-diversity curves, and similarity matrices.
These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.