The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, established in 1988 and funded by the National Science Foundation, provides a framework for much of this activity. An understanding of forest responses to natural and human disturbance and environmental change over broad spatial and temporal scales pulls together research topics including biodiversity studies, the effects of invasive organisms, large experiments & permanent plot studies, historical & retrospective studies, soil nutrient dynamics, and plant population & community ecological interactions. Major research in forest-atmosphere exchange, hydrology and regional studies places the work in regional and global context, aided by modeling tools. Conservation and management research and linkages to policy have been part of the Forest since its beginning, and the approaches used in New England can often apply to international studies. [Copied from http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/research.html]

In addition to more than 150 datasets, the Visual Information Access system at Harvard University Library makes nearly 900 images pertaining to Harvard Forest research available online to the public.