I think Mohawk has very deep soils (washing down from higher slopes) and with
high hills all around in narrow valleys protecting the forest from winter
storms along with high fertility due to geology- it has very high site index
for this part of the country- just a commentary as I don't know.
And of course, for whatever reason, it wasn't whacked like most of the region's
forests.
Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: Edward Frank
To: ENTS Google
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:08 PM
Subject: [ENTS] Superior Sites (or not)
Mike,
That is part of one of the questions we need to address with regard to these
tree sites. Is Mohawk Trails SF really a superior site for growing pines, or
is it an average site that simply was not ever cut? If you look at the history
of many sites, Cook Forest and Hearts Content, here in Pennsylvania are two
examples, they are currently some of the best white pine sites in the
northeast. They could be by any measure be considered exemplary. However when
they were originally preserved, it was not because they were such fantastic
sites. They were preserved because they were located in the immediate vicinity
of the homes of the lumber barons who were logging the forests. They wanted to
retain a nice patch of woods around their homes for aesthetics, for hunting,
and similar purposes. The locations are still remaining primarily because of
chance proximity to these homes. There is little reason to believe that these
locations are also by pure chance sites that are particularly great fro growing
trees. They are not below average, but are they superior?
In the case of individual trees something can be inferred about the genetics
of the biggest of the trees. They only can be among the biggest if they are a
combination of both growing on a superior site and if they are in the upper
range genetically for growth. For trees of average or smaller in size, there
is no way to tell if the lack of height is due to poor growing conditions or
are a reflection of the genetic makeup of the tree itself. That being said, I
don't see how a similar argument can be made for the superiority of most of the
current sites containing some of the largest white pine trees.
Ed
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and all science." - Albert Einstein
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Leonard
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 4:21 PM
Subject: [ENTS] Re: Back to Bob about Wednesday
It will be interesting to see those big pines and wonder what makes that
site so superior for growing white pine?
"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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