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squash, marsh elder, sunflowers, and knotwood. This was associated with the development
of small settlements, gardens and mosaics of clearings at different successional stages. The
highest population of native Americans in New England was probably sustained from 1100-
1500 ce, but contact with Europeans brought diseases like smallpox, bubonic plague, tuber-
culosis, and typhoid, which devastated the population. By the time the
Mayflower
arrived in
1620, the indigenous population had been reduced by as much as 90% (Foster 2003, Foster
et al. 2008).
Europeans arrived in the cooler climate of the Little Ice Age, which was already causing
vegetation changes, such as the decline of hemlock and beech, and the increase of oak and
bracken fern in central Massachusetts. The Little Ice Age ended in the mid nineteenth cen-
tury, when temperature reconstructions show an increase of about 1.5 ºC (Foster et al. 2008).
About 20,000 English settlers arrived in New England between 1620 and 1640, and occupied
the fertile valleys and lowlands, which were better drained, easier to cultivate, and provided
the added benefit of easy transport via the sea and navigable rivers. The major patterns of for-
est distribution and composition were intact at this time, and have been reconstructed from
property surveys that recorded the location of 'witness trees' (Foster 2003). Generally, hick-
ory, chestnut, and oak are more prevalent in the low-lying southern and coastal hardwood
forests, as well as river valleys. Balsam fir and spruce are found in the higher-elevation north-
ern areas, with a transition band dominated by white pine, beech, and hemlock in between.
An additional pitch pine forest type, with an understory of scrub oak and heath, is found on
some sandplains of southern New England, especially where there has been a long history of
land use and fire.
The European settlers prospered due to successful agriculture, development of thriving
trade networks, high fertility, and good health. The settlers considered the indigenous popu-
lation to be unworthy land stewards and pursued an aggressive campaign of land acquisition,
cultivating fields that had been abandoned in the wake of outbreaks of European diseases,
and weaving native American agricultural practices into European pastoral methods. The
agricultural boom lasted more than two centuries and led to loss of 75% of forest cover across
the region and up to 90% of forest cover in some of the most heavily populated areas (Foster
et al. 2008). Most land was cleared for livestock pasture, though fields of corn, wheat, rye,
oats, and hay were also cultivated, and timber was exported. Old-growth forests and slow
growing species like hemlock and beech were heavily exploited and their prevalence declined
in the landscape. At the same time, populations of wolves, deer, beaver, and pigeons were
also decimated as they were considered pests. Woodlots were retained on wetlands and
steep, rocky slopes unsuitable for agriculture. They contained young stands of oak, chestnut,
maple, and birch, forming important islands of tree cover, which would later provide seed
sources and connectivity for the remarkable forest rebound that occurred after agriculture
had waned.
The settlers enjoyed a generally prosperous life that became increasingly sophisticated
with the development of rural towns that acted as trade centres and social and cultural hubs.
However, industrialization, the opening of the western frontier, the development of the rail
network and coastal steamers, as well as the discovery of gold on the west coast, all
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