What do we know about the effects of social power disparities on watersheds, plants, and microbial communities?
Critical Ecology Lab is a new collaborator in the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study seeking to link ecosystem processes and socioeconomic patterns over the past several decades.
Long-term attention to the details of landscapes reveals emergent patterns in soil and water. Established in 1955 by the USDA Forest Service, the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest serves as a pivotal center for forest hydrological research. Hubbard Brook is among the 20 Experimental Forests and Rangelands (EFRs) managed by the USDA Forest Service's Northern Research Station, contributing to the 80 EFRs nationwide. Additionally, it is part of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Networks funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Over the years, the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest has weathered various natural and human-induced disturbances, including 19th-century logging, acid rain, microbursts, ice storms, exotic pests, pathogens, and the impacts of climate change, such as increased precipitation and rapidly warming winters. Understanding how the forest has and will respond to these changes—under the influence of uneven political and economic conditions—is a central focus of our research efforts.
The Critical Ecology Lab's (CEL) collaboration with Hubbard Brook scientists, humanities scholars, and regional community leaders will expand what we know about the effects of social power disparities that drive human activities on biogeochemical processes over time and at the watershed scale, particularly those involving plant and microbial communities.
CEL will collaborate with Hubbard Brook staff to host gatherings of scholars and community organizers focused on advancing critical ecological research methods. These gatherings will prioritize the integration of social theories of power disparities into the study of human-induced ecological disturbances and establish research priorities in global change and social equity. Participants will include community organizers representing Tribal Nations across the Northeast, Hubbard Brook scientists, and scholars from various disciplines, including ecological sciences, critical physical geography, indigenous ecological studies, Black ecology, critical archaeology, social-ecological systems research, as well as ecosystem, social, and climate modeling.
Additionally, the project will invite undergraduate and graduate students who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in environmental fields to participate as intellectual and facilitation contributors. The lack of representation of BIPOC scholars and the concerns of oppressed and colonized populations in global change science contribute to the alienation of BIPOC students from traditional ecological sciences, resulting in attrition at later stages of study and early careers. By prioritizing these demographic groups we aim to enhance diversity, inclusion, and retention of underrepresented groups and address the gap in STEM-focused research opportunities addressing ecological and social issues holistically.
The Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study is a multidisciplinary community of scientists, students, technicians, educators, artists, and environmental leaders contributing to the long-term ecological research in the northern hardwood forest. The Study is a partnership among the USDA Forest Service, the National Science Foundation’s Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) and Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) programs, the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, and scientists from research institutions throughout the world.
Hubbard Brook Research Foundation
Established in 1993, the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation (HBRF) delivers cutting-edge science to decision-makers on the front lines of environmental change. They bridge gaps between science and education, public policy, land management, corporate sustainability, and recreation. Their programs include roundtable and town-hall events, policy-relevant briefings and bulletins, social and mainstream media outreach, and communication training for students and early-career researchers.
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest
The Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest is located on unceded Abenaki land in the southwestern part of the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. This 3,037-hectare (~8,700-acre) forest takes the shape of a bowl-oriented valley, running east to west. Its watersheds are both north- and south-facing slopes, nine of which are equipped with stream gaging stations and other instruments, enabling scientists to delve into the movement of water and chemicals through the ecosystem. It is managed by the USDA Forest Service.
Map of Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest
Source: Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study
Critical Ecology Lab is a non-profit founded by Dr. Suzanne Pierre in 2020 to integrate the scientific and generational knowledge of oppressed communities to fight against social and planetary crises. They do this by facilitating informal education resources, creating novel scientific research, and activating communities towards climate action.
PRESS CONTACT
Sacha Medjo-Akono
Assistant Lab Manager, Critical Ecology Lab
smedjo.cel@gmail.com