Paul,
The principle range of red pine is supposed to be around the Lake States
but perhaps it does better in southern Michigan and Wisconsin? Although
in my textbook of dendrology it says that the best development of red
pine was made in the upper Great Lakes region. In addition it says: "On
light sandy soils too poor for white pine, red pine grew in abundance,
and on the better sites was mixed with the former species; occasional
trees, often of large size, were found in hardwood mixtures on heavier
soils. Following logging and fire, much of the land which had supported
red pine became too poor for anything but jack pine, which over large
areas established itself as a pioneer tree. In a similar way, red pine
occupied former eastern white pine land."
Red pine is rather intolerant of shade - more tolerant than jack pine
but much less tolerant than white pine.
I wonder why you couldn't find the seed trees of the red pine
regeneration you noted. Perhaps squirrels carried off some pine cones?
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul Jost
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 5:25 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ENTS] Re: Mt Tom and red pines
Mike,
My recollection of natural red pine regeneration in far
northern Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan is limited. It
tends to be uncommon outside of plantations. It is found on rocky
sites, gets established high up on washed out or collapsed river banks,
along logging skid paths, along roadsides, and areas susceptible to
fire. When I do find red pine regeneration, it is often difficult to
find the seed trees. They may end up high on ridges or hills up wind as
much as a mile away, depending on topography. I suspect the really
distant ones are animal dispersed, primarily by birds.
Paul
On Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 4:04 PM, Mike Leonard
<[email protected]> wrote:
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
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 10:04 PM
To: [email protected]
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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