Site Grid for Northern Experimental Forest of the Forest Ecosystem Dynamics Project Spatial Data Archive

The nature and extent of the impacts of these changes, as well as the feedbacks to global climate, may be addressed through modeling the interactions of the vegetation, soil, and energy components of the boreal ecosystem. The Howland Forest research site lies within the Northern Experimental Forest of International Paper. The natural stands in this boreal-northern hardwood transitional forest consist of spruce-hemlock-fir, aspen-birch, and hemlock-hardwood mixtures.

The topography of the region varies from flat to gently rolling, with a maximum elevation change of less than 68 m within 10 km. Due to the region's glacial history, soil drainage classes within a small area may vary widely, from well drained to poorly drained. Consequently, an elaborate patchwork of forest communities has developed, supporting exceptional local species diversity.

The Site Grid 83 data layer is a grid that covers the 10km X 10km area located in the Northern Experimental Forest. The grid was created using coordinates in Universal Transverse Mercator projection (UTM) Zone 19, North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27). The latter was then used for locating and data organization.

The grid has since been converted into NAD 83.