Ed, Wow, thanks. I'm finding all kinds of stuff now. Jennings sounds great.
Now I am wondering about restoration projects that involve cutting down parts of forests to create meadow (if it is determined that meadow was there for a long time before the forest encroachment.) Since there isn't a whole lot of space for recreating natural ecosystems in the northeast, I wonder how decisions are made about priority. Should the ecosystem most threatened by species extinction take precedence? Do you think meadows within a forest add to their aesthetic value? I love coming into one from a trail. Maybe you already have this in the paper. Thanks, Jenny On May 1, 11:11 am, "Edward Frank" <[email protected]> wrote: > Jenny, > > You might look up the word prairie on a web search. There are many areas of > prairie across the east coast. They typically form where there is a soil > type that is not good for tree growth. At Jennings Environmental Education > Ceneter in western PA the site says "The Jennings prairie remains due to a > thick layer of impermeable clay that prevents most tree species from becoming > established. Plants and animals that do live on the prairie must tolerate > shallow soils, fluctuating periods of drought and saturation, and fire. Even > under these harsh conditions, this ecosystem teems with life." Other ones > exist at places like serpentine barrens where the soil is poisonous to trees > but grass and some herbs can establish. Another area is along flood plains > frequently flooded. Some trees can establish there, like sycamore and silver > maple, but often frequent harsh flooding will create an area that is occupied > by grasses because they replenish faster than trees. Finally there are grass > areas in environments that are frequently burned. Many of these are > reverting to scrub oak and pine forests as people have messed with the fire > cycle. To some degree many of these pockets of grasslands are on a very long > term transient, but they can exists for thousands of years at a locality > before transitioning to another ecotype, but they can also form in new areas > as well. > > Ed Frank --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
