Ed,
You gave a masterful account of the workshop. If Dale and Larry
are co-Tree Dudes of the Month, you are Assistant Tree Dude of the
Month.
Question. Do we need a Tree Dudess of the Month?
Bob
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 8, 2009, at 3:47 PM, "Edward Frank" <[email protected]> wrote:
> ENTS,
>
> Over the past two days, Dale Luthringer has been conducting a
> Teacher's Workshop at Cook Forest State Park and other areas
> focusing on old growth forest ecology. The blurb for the program
> was:
> OLD GROWTH FOREST ECOSYSTEMS TEACHER WORKSHOP
>
> Cook Forest State Park and the North Central Region Math/Science
> Education Collaborative will be conducting an 'Old Growth Forest
> Ecosystems Teacher Workshop' on 8/6-7/09. This two-day workshop
> will emphasize identification of old growth forest characteristics
> when delineating forest types between ancient and younger age stands
> within Cook Forest State Park, Hearts Content, and Anders Run
> Natural Areas. Various forest mensuration tools and techniques
> will be utilized. Advanced tree identification via ancient bark
> character and shape will be presented as well as field
> identification of reptiles, birds, and amphibians associated with
> old growth forests. Teachers will receive a copy of 'Eastern Old
> Growth Forests: Prospects for Rediscovery and Recovery' by Mary Byrd
> Davis and will have the option to receive ACT 48 hours.
>
> <DSCN0800a.JPG> learning to use a Biltmore stick
>
> When I first saw the announcement, I immediately volunteered to help
> hime with the workshop, not that I actually thought I could be much
> help. I figured I could pass things out, help the teachers with
> their tree identification, and perhaps slap a few around who got out
> of hand. Really I just want to take the course for my own
> information.
>
> I arrived early Thursday morning because the computer I donated to
> their nature center was malfunctioning again and I wanted to try and
> fix it before the workshop. That didn't work, but by 8:00 or so
> people were starting to arrive. Altogether a couple dozen people or
> so were taking the workshop. Dale had morning snacks for everyone
> and soon after doing some paperwork everyone settled down for the
> course. Dale first outlined the schedule for the next two days and
> then launched into a power point presentation on old growth forests.
>
> I must say the presentation was very informative. He discussed
> various characteristics that could be used to tell if a tree was
> old. These ranged from size, to upturned branches and reiterations,
> to stag-head crowns, to curved limbs, various types of bark
> characteristics. From here he went on to discuss the general
> characteristics of old growth forests that cold be seen in the
> field, Most of the photos were from Cook Forest, but he also used
> examples from other sites he has visited in Pennsylvania - Anders
> Run, Gettysburg, Erie, various cemeteries. He also had shots from
> the Niagara Gorge near Niagara Falls, NY and ONT. Overall it was a
> fantastic presentation. I have been encouraging (read as brow
> beating) him to write an article outlining the characteristics he is
> using to determine what trees are old and estimate their ages in the
> field for publication on the ENTS list, the website, and perhaps the
> Bulletin. The photos he had were great and I learned quite a bit
> because it was presented in an organized way rather than the hit and
> miss way myself, and perhaps any of you are picking up this type of
> information. You really start noticing certain characteristics in
> the field when they are on your mid. Sure you may have noticed them
> before, and they may have been in the back of your mind, but once
> you focus on something I have found you begin to see more and more
> of them as you are exploring. That is true of old-growth limb
> characteristics, small species such as hawthorns, or any of a myriad
> of other features, Once they are in you thoughts, you see more of
> them.
>
> After the presentation Dale demonstrated how to use a Biltmore
> stick. I am sure it was fun to try and learn how to use one. If
> you are proficient in using one in the forest, perhaps you can
> quickly collect many diameter measurements. However in the case of
> the teachers the process of measuring diameter with a stick was
> slow, and many of the readings were hideously bad. They would have
> been better off in terms of speed and accuracy to simply use a D-
> tape. But the point was to expose them to different measuring
> techniques and a Biltmore stick is one of them.
>
> <DSCN0810a.JPG> "Preacher arms" on a white pine.
>
> From here Dale went over tree identification using some trees right
> beside the Log Cabin Inn. He pointed out white pine, eastern
> hemlock, beech, yellow birch, black cherry, and black birch. The
> focus was on looking at the bark as a distinguishing factor in the
> identification. He also had everyone smell the scent from the
> cambium of of the birches ad black cherry. From here we went up
> the Longfellow trail to the edge of the old growth. here he pointed
> out the different characteristics found on the bark of old white
> pine and hemlock trees, limb patterns he had shown in photos
> earlier, coarse woody debris, standing dead snags, trees in a row
> from nurse logs, a white oak bent and twisted by age a and a big
> lightening scar. he discusses the role of deer population in the
> lack of regeneration in the understory of the old growth forest.
> How we have lost several age families of seedling and saplings over
> the past seventy years because of over browsing.
>
> <DSCN0857a.JPG> Working on the transect
>
> After this we headed up to the Seneca Pine. he talked about other
> things on the way such as nurse logs, recycling of CWD, fungus and
> moss. Once at the Seneca Pine the people taking the course were
> given their first fieldwork assignment. They were to run a transect
> of 50 meters in length, 10 meters wide through the old growth
> forest, noting and measuring the girth any living trees greater than
> 24" in diameter within the transect., any standing dead trees with a
> diameter greater than 20" in the transect, ad any downed trees that
> crossed the center line of the transect that were greater than 20"
> in diameter. For the fallen trees the entire length of the fallen
> log was noted as well as the upper and lower diameters of the log.
> In addition they were to note other tree species present that were
> there, but too small for inclusion the calculation, any birds seen
> or heard, and to look for whatever amphibians present in the area in
> springs or under logs and rocks. This is a somewhat simplified
> version of a more thorough transect, but appropriate for the time
> constraints and for demonstration purposes. They stretched out
> tapes, used the Biltmore sticks, and D-tapes, looked under logs and
> jotted down all the information. Those who are taking the workshop
> for additional credit will complete a "homework" assignment from
> data collected on this transect, and similar transects conducted at
> each of the four different sites we visited. The transect ran from
> near the base of the Cornstalk pine out to almost the intersection
> of the Indian trail ad the Longfellow trail, by the National Natural
> Landmark sign for those of you who are familiar with the site. By
> this time we were running late and we did not make the trip further
> out the Longfellow Trail to the Longfellow Pine, nor out to the
> downed 436 year-old Cucumbertree. On the way back Dale stopped and
> demonstrated how the increment borer worked taking a core from a
> large hemlock tree and successfully not getting the bit stuck. I
> have some videos of portions of these discussions that I will post
> over the next few days.
>
> <DSCN0877a.JPG> Shaggy red maple in maple Drive area
>
> We returned to the Log Cabin Inn and after a short break headed over
> to the Maple Drive area of the park to look at a different type of
> old-growth forest. Dale pointed out some old growth characteristics
> at the site. Then he cored a section of an old white oak tree
> demonstrating the tree was at least 150 years old as he suggested
> based upon estimates based upon bark and limb characteristics.
> Everyone did another transect and collected data. After this a
> short walk through a portion of the area took us to some other old
> trees. There were fallen trees with an upturned root clump - pit
> and mound topography. There was one of the shaggiest red maples I
> have ever seen, ad a number of tree species was had not encountered
> in the Forest Cathedral area of the park. End of Day 1.
>
> <DSCN0888a.JPG> Maple Drive area
>
> Day 2 started with everyone meeting at the Log Cabin Inn there at
> Cook Forest and car pooling to Anders Run Natural Area farther north
> near Warren, PA. I had never actually visited there before. I had
> driven past it many times as it is along the road to the uppermost
> of the islands in the Allegheny River Islands Wilderness. We
> parked along the road across from the snag of the Cornplanter Pine,
> once the largest volume pine in PA, now dead. There were a number
> of old trees and different species here for the teachers to see.
>
> <DSCN0914a.JPG> Beech Bark disease
>
> The beech in this area are being hit hard by Beech Bark Disease.
> The disease results when bark, attacked and altered by the beech
> scale, Cryptococcus fagisuga Lind., is invaded and killed by fungi,
> primarily Nectria coccinea var. faginata Lohman, Watson, and Ayers,
> and sometimes N. galligena Bres.
> http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/beechbark/fidl-beech.htm
> The little white bumps that are the first stage of the disease were
> visible on most of the beech trees that were not already dead.
>
> <DSCN0902a.JPG>
> There were some really nice examples of coral fungus. One person
> found an intact porcupine skull complete with teeth, and we even
> found an uncommon orchid growing along the trail. I need to look up
> the species, We ran another transect at this site along the stream
> flat that runs between the stream and the road.
>
>
> <DSCN0923a.JPG> native orchid
>
> From here we left for the Hearts Content Scenic Area in the
> Allegheny National Forest. This is perhaps the second best site in
> Pennsylvania to see large white pines and hemlocks.
> http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny/recreation/camping/heartscontent/
> "In the mid 1800’s, a 20 acre parcel was protected from logging by t
> he Wheeler and Dusenbury Lumber Company. This parcel of original for
> est, often called "old growth" or "virgin" timber was donated to the
> Forest Service in 1922. In the following decades, more land was pur
> chased to make up the Allegheny National Forest as we know it today.
> In 1934, the virgin timber area and 102 acres of the land surroundi
> ng it was designated a “Scenic Area” by the Chief of the Forest
> Service. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the pavilions and
> the campground south of the road in 1936. The Scenic Area was dedica
> ted as a National Natural Landmark in 1977. The original forest was
> a mixture of white pine, Eastern hemlock, and American beech, with a
> multi-layered understory of hobble bush, witch hazel, and many othe
> r species. Time, weather, insects, and disease have all affected the
> forest in different ways, along with a high population of deer. The
> se have changed, and will continue to change, the species compositio
> n – the look and feel – of this forest with implications far into
> the future. The oldest of the existing trees, mostly white pine and
> Eastern hemlock, are estimated at 300-400 years old. Many of the oth
> er trees in the stand are younger and have come in through natural s
> uccession, displaying multiple vertical layers of vegetation typical
> of a natural – not human-influenced – forest and occasional open
> gaps where large old trees have fallen and young seedlings and sapli
> ngs are filling in to renew the forest."
>
> <DSCN0942b.JPG> fat hemlock at Hearts Content
>
> http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/oldgrowth/heartscontent.aspx
>
> "There are gnarly old beech snags amid a carpet of ferns. The ferns
> themselves are an indicator of a major problem in this forest. The
> ferns are almost the only plants not eaten by the over-abundant
> deer. Deer browsing in the past has removed virtually all of the
> understory shrubs and tree seedlings. It is exciting for visitors
> who come here regularly to note that this is changing, in part
> because of installation of protective fencing to keep the deer out.
> Now saplings as much as five feet tall can be seen scattered through
> the understory, a condition that wasn't possible in the past several
> decades. The forest is changing, in spite of all diligence on the
> part of humans. Disease plays a large role in these changes. Beech
> bark scale is killing most of the large beech trees. It can be seen
> on the big beech trees as tiny white spots scattered over the smooth
> light gray bark. Smaller beech trees continue to sprout from the
> spreading roots of the dying larger trees, but they rarely grow to
> maturity. This is a problem, since the beech saplings come to
> dominate many areas of the forest floor and crowd out other trees
> that would grow more successfully. Beech saplings can be spotted
> easily in the winter because they retain their papery tan leaves."
>
> <DSCN0965b.JPG> white pine crown
>
> This area certainly is changing. There are an exceptionally high
> number, in my opinion, of standing dead white pines and dead
> hemlocks compared to the number of older living trees. I am not
> sure why so many of the large old white pines seem to be dying.
> Maybe Dale has a different perspective on the area. I don't know.
> We ran our fourth transect through a section of this site, then
> continued around the interpretive trail. I found myself taking
> many photos of crown structure in the old hemlock and white pine
> canopy trees.
>
> <DSCN0967a.JPG> conjoined beech and hemlock trees
>
> There were a couple of other trees I want to mention that caught my
> eye. One was a pair of white pine and beech trees that were growing
> together right beside the trail This was an excellent example of
> what we called conjoined trees in out Multitrunk discussions earlier.
>
> <DSCN0988a.JPG> Cucumber tree hanging on
>
> Another was a snag of cucumbertree, perhaps ten feet high and a foot
> in diameter - only it wasn't exactly a snag. It was weathered and
> broken, but near the top was a single green shoot of a branch,
> wilted, but alive growing upward along the tree surface. It was
> somehow still alive.
>
> <DSCN0963a.JPG> Bonus photo - Dale Luthriger counting rings on a
> 170+ year old fallen white pine
>
> After leaving this site, everyone headed back to Cook Forest where
> the teachers had evaluations ad other paperwork to complete.
> Earlier in the day I had offered to take anyone interested on a
> quick hike back to the Longfellow Pine and the cucumbertree at Cook
> Forest.they had missed because of time constraints earlier. When I
> mentioned it, many people seemed interested, but by the time the end
> of the day was here, only one person took me up on the offer.
>
> Ed Frank
>
>
>
>
> "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
> It is the source of all true art and all science." - Albert Einstein
>
> >
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