Russ,
I'd like to see that big red pine! But are you sure they are native red
pine? If the areas were heavily grazed (the height of the sheep industry
in the mid 1800's?) then where did the seed source come from?
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected]
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 5:44 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ENTS] Re: Mt Tom and red pines
Mike:
There are several areas around Shelburne and Conway that
have native patches of red pine with one of the largest individual trees
I ever measured located on my parents place on Bardwells Ferry Road.
Last I knew the tree was almost 30" DBH and it was in the middle of a
hillside that was heavy to red pine. The bark on the tree was thick and
had large plates more reminiscent of a ponderosa pine. Most places with
red pines are dry or rocky sites on land that was heavily grazed.
I'm sure that Michele Wilson has encountered several
patches of native red pine in her West County travels.
In a message dated 8/28/2009 5:06:12 P.M. Eastern
Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
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
<http://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
<BR
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