Paul,
Whoa the timber industry really scalped that area if everything above 6
inches was cut. So after the magnificent stands of white and red pine
were cut then a lot of areas grew back to hardwoods right? Isn't a major
industry there managing poplar on short rotations for the paper industry
now?
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul Jost
Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2009 6:42 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ENTS] Re: Mt Tom and red pines
Mike,
The biggest native Wisconsin red pine that I've seen was
about 40" dbh but only about 70' tall. The tallest that I've seen
approached 120', but under 30" dbh. I think that I recall that it had
an irregular trunk that led to it being passed over. In that area, if
the trunk was clean, any large pine would haver been logged prior to
1910 and anything larger than 6" would have been cut by 1940.
PJ
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Leonard <mailto:[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2009 3:22 PM
Subject: [ENTS] Re: Mt Tom and red pines
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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Eastern Native Tree Society
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Send email to [email protected]
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To unsubscribe send email to
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Send email to [email protected]
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To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
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