Western New York The combination of land-use history, soils and topography in western New York make this region particularly vulnerable to changes in vegetative composition. There are primarily three contributing factors driving this susceptibility: (1) Compacting subsoils, (2) Abandonment of farmland, and (3) invasive species.
1. The compaction of subsoils resulted from an increase in the power and weight of farming equipment which allowed farmers to work fields during wetter times of the year. Farming soils that are extremely moist or wet destroys soil structure (i.e. competitive advantage for species with adaptations to grow in saturated soils). 2. Land abandonment generally leaves irregular ground surfaces that are conducive to trapping water (e.g., tire ruts, plowed fields, etc.). Even areas that were not previously wetlands, per NRCS soil survey data, prior to farming are becoming wetlands. The adverse effects of changing land uses increases the displacement of surface water. Reasons behind the increase of water entering parcels from adjacent sites range from changes in site elevations and plugged drains to increased impermeable surfaces; all of which increase surface and internal water discharges. 3. Lastly, invasive shrub species (Rhamnus cathartica, R. frangula, Ligustrum spp., Rosa multiflora, Lonicera tatarica) become so dominant in early seral stages following disturbances that they prevent the recruitment of most tree species. (statement is based on personal observation/anecdotal) In these area, the primary species found are best described as successional northern hardwoods - green and black ash, red and silver maple, with scatterings of young American elm. Less disturbed old fields also include hawthorn spp., pin and black cherries and paper birch. On sites not faced with the same land-use history, trees commonly seen are red, pin (primarily south of glacial lake Warren where pH are lower), bur, and swamp white oak, American beech, sugar, silver and red maple, black cherry, eastern hemlock, shagbark and bitternut hickory, green, black, and white ash. Floodplain areas commonly have black willow, eastern cottonwood, American sycamore, and boxelder. There are also large expanses of old pine plantations (almost entirely Scotch Pine and a few Douglas Fir) and apple and pear orchards (heirloom varieties that bruise easy?). Travis Morse On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 7:38 AM, Larry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Beth, Down in Southern Ms., Pines and Hardwoods are mixed. Longleaf, > (The rarest Pines), Loblolly, Slash dominate with some mixed Spruce > Pine. Live Oak dominates the Coastal region, Water Oak, Southern > Magnolia are also abundant, as is Bald and Pond Cypress, (Along > waterways). Mixed Sweetgum, Tulip Poplar, Red Oaks, (Several Species) > White Oaks, Several Species) are inland along with Hickories, (Several > Species). Black Willow, Dogwood, Eastern Red Cedar, Southern Red > Cedar, Maples, Scyamores, Tupelo, River Birch also are abundant. > Larry > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org You are subscribed to the Google Groups "ENTSTrees" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
