Bob,
In this area, you almost never see red pine seedling/sapling
regeneration. The only places I have seen it under plantations are a few
areas where there is just a strip of red pine with a lot of sunlight
getting through and there is absolutely no understory competition. Did
you note any red pine seedling regeneration on Mt. Tom? What does it
take to facilitate red pine regeneration? Fire to kill off the
competition and exposing mineral soil? Does native red pine in MA only
occur on the poor growing sites like Mt. Tom? While declining red pine
plantations should have some silvicultural treatment, native red pine is
pretty rare in this state so it's probably a good idea to protect these
sites.
When I marked a 40 acre lot in Petersham last year I noted 4 pole size
red pines (6-12 inches in DBH). Three of the red pines were blown part
way over and had grown banana shaped probably from the 1938 hurricane.
The fourth one was relatively straight and had a decent crown so I left
that and marked the other 3 that were on the way out. Could these have
been native red pine or did they seed in from the nearby plantation
that's on Harvard Forest land? Well that's about 100 yards away so I
don't know. I'll have to go back there and try and date those trees now
to see if they predate the plantation era (1930's).
I like red pine. The bark is extremely attractive but unfortunately red
pine is highly susceptible to severe snow and ice damage.
Every once in a while I'll see a decent solitary red pine in the middle
of a mixed stand and wonder how the heck did this tree get here? Would
someone plant a single red pine tree way back when the old farm was
abandoned? There are many other anomalies I see in the woods which makes
my job interesting!
Mike
www.northquabbinforestry.com
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Cc: Belchetz-Swenson, Sarah; Blaich, Tanya; CAMPANILE,
ROBERT; Carr, Robert; Davis, John; Dittmer, Paul; Duke, Carol; Gilmour,
Carol; Heller, Sharl; Hurley, Claudia; Kaiser, Amy; Loomis, Rob ;
Matteson, Mollie; Ricci, Heidi; Ryan, Mike; Seale, Doug; Stahle, David;
Weiss, Nancy; Weil, Phoebe; Zelazo, Timothy; Neil, Rick
Subject: [ENTS] Mt Tom and red pines
ENTS,
Yesterday, Monica and I took a friend for a walk
on the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail along the basalt cliffs of Mount Tom in
the Connecticut River Valley. Mount Tom is volcanic and is known for its
diversity. I will forego the usual deluge of statistics and go right to
the hike. The climb up onto the ledges is fairly steep, but worth every
ounce of sweat. The great majority of hikers go to the cliff region of
Mount Tom for the views. So do I, but also for the vegetation and one
species in particular, red pine.
Image#1-RdPinesLineUp.jpg: This image shows red pines
along the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail. These are the first pines you see
when intercepting the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail from the Quarry Trail,
which is north of Whiting Peak.
Image#2-RedPinesAreBeautiful.jpg: This image looks looks
down through a cluster of red pines into the valley below.
Image#3-RedPinesAndSnag.jpg: The red pine strip goes for
half a mile or more with intermittent pines hugging the basalt ledges.
There is a little regeneration.
Image#4-Guardians2.jpg: This is another view of the
cluster. Very photogenic.
In addition to the old red pines, the basalt
formation is photogenic. Take red and white pines, basalt ledges, and
the valley beyond and Mount Tom becomes a photographer's bonanza.
Image#5-BasaltAndValley.jpg: The basalt formations stand
in bold relief to the valley and Berkshire Hills beyond.
Image#6-BasaltAndValley2.jpg: This image shows the
surface structure of the basalt.
Bob
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