Author: Neil Pederson

Neil Pederson grew up in snow-bound central NY State and spent much time in the Adirondack Mountains. Between his B.S. and M.S. degrees in forest ecology, he worked in the longleaf pine forests of southern Georgia, hardwood forests of northern Vermont and then forests of Mongolia and Russia before focusing on eastern U.S. forests for his dissertation. Neil taught at Eastern Kentucky University for five years in the department of biological sciences before becoming a research scientist at the Tree Ring Laboratory of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia University. His primary research interest is the interaction between climate and forest dynamics in diverse, temperate forests and has initiated research the broadleaf forests of the eastern US, Turkey, and Bhutan.

Year Without a Winter?

by | 2.12.2012 at 6:08pm | 1 Comment
Snow: a tree's winter quilt. Photo: N. Pederson

No, of course not. Do not suggest anything like that to Alaskans, or Europeans where hundreds have died, or Inner Mongolians, or Koreans. But, turning the clock back to December and January for the New York City region, it was not apparent that winter would arrive as it ‘normally’ does. Yes, we have had significant [...]

The good ‘ol forest growth curve [update]

by | 1.29.2012 at 5:24pm
an old-growth forest in the SMoky Mountains

While the New Jersey bill failed, it is going to be discussed in New Jersey’s Senate Environment Committee on Monday, January 30, 2012. The discussion is not yet over regarding New Jersey’s public forests. The discussion about ecosystem productivity over time also continues in the forum of the Native Tree Society. Specifically, this post was picked [...]

Arboreally Speaking, the ‘Good Old Growth Curve Is a Delusion’

by | 12.27.2011 at 6:32pm | 1 Comment
Tree Rings to the Rescue! Image: Neil Pederson

In the previous post, I outlined the argument lighting up parts of the New Jersey legislature and the human elements of its ecological communities. Briefly, one reason some people are using to promote logging on public lands is the perception that old trees and forests are dying of old age. While there are other arguments [...]

Arboreally Speaking, Does Age Matter?

by | 12.20.2011 at 6:32pm | 2 Comments
A truly old forest in New Jersey. Photo: Neil Pederson

“There is unrest in the forest, there is trouble with the trees“…I will mostly spare you one of the more ecologically correct, forest ecology rock tunes (the next two lines, however, “For the maples want more sunlight, and the oaks ignore their pleas,” written in 1978, seem incredibly prescient given that one of the first [...]

Nature & Naturalists, an Ode to Adirondack Color

by | 12.8.2011 at 10:19pm
in Autumn, the Adirondacks are glorious. Sept, 1999. Photo: Neil Pederson

There was a nice article in the NY Times on the Adirondack State Park whose title initially focused readers on how climate change could alter the park’s ecosystems. However, by the time you get to the end of the article, and luckily for us, you get to know Jerry Jenkins, one of the best naturalists [...]

Confessions from a Former Coniferphile

by | 11.29.2011 at 4:01pm | 6 Comments
The oldest-documented loblolly pine in Congaree National Park. Photo: Neil Pederson

The first time I felt truly fanatical about coniferous trees was while walking among the great eastern white pine trees in the Adirondack State Park as an undergraduate research assistant and student.