Dr. Gary M. Lovett

This project is primarily focused on understanding the ecology and nutrient cycling of Catskill forests and the responses of the forests to stresses such as air pollution and introduced pests.

This project is focused on the consequences of the invasion of the beech bark disease (BBD) in northern hardwood forests, which dominate the uplands of the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada.

Air pollutants such as sulfur, nitrogen, ozone and mercury have serious direct and indirect effects on organisms in our region. A synthesis of research findings, written by the Cary Institute and the Nature Conservancy, reports that no major ecosystem types in the Northeast are free of air pollution effects.

Carbon released from terrestrial ecosystems is an important source of organic matter in most streams, lakes and rivers. In the Hudson River there has been a doubling in concentration of dissolved organic carbon over the past 15 years.