Lee, ENTS, I believe this is the first time I've seen the word allelopathic used. I was aware of such a phenomenon in Butternut trees. Do you know if Butternut is negative allelopathic?
Mike On Sep 23, 8:54 pm, Dale Luthringer <[email protected]> wrote: > Got it, Ed, > > The scrub oak was neat. The tallest I have from Scott is 1.5ft CBH x 16.7ft > high. I haven't measured any out here. We have virutally no data on this > species. > > My dendro prof used to take us out in that neck of the woods to have us ID > it. The hilltops in the Clearfield/I-80/Parker Dam area are often covered > in it, but darned if I've seen any this far west at the same latitude. > > Dale > > On Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 1:41 PM, Edward Frank <[email protected]> wrote: > > July 12, 2009 - Today I revisited Marion Brooks Natural Area in Elk > > County, PA. I first visited the site on January 1, 2009 and posted about > > it to the ENTS list: > >http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/penna/20090101-marionbroo.... > > In the latter part of the 1800’s the entire region had been logged. By > > around 1912, the area was a wasteland of barren and eroding hills. Repeated > > fires took place among the branches, brush, and tree tops left behind > > after the logging operation. These frequent and intense fires burned across > > the area and devoured even the organic materials in the soil, leaving behind > > a mineral soil with virtually no organic content. It was in this soil > > that a few pioneering species, like paper birch were able to establish a > > foothold, where nothing else would grow. As a result of these fires the > > area is today occupied by an almost pure stand of paper birch (*Betula > > papyifera). * > > > The view that greeted me today was far different from that scene in > > January. In the midst of winter the vista was one of stark white tree > > trunks growing from little clumps extending across the hilltop. Today the > > white trunks were topped by masses of green leaves. The floor of the > > woods was covered by a carpet of green bracken and blueberry. It is a > > place whose face changes dramatically with the season. I need to return > > in the fall when the green leaves turn to yellow. > > > On the initial trip I measured nine species of tree in the ten to twenty > > acres immediately adjacent to the parking area. This was the purest > > section of the paper birch stand I found. One species that was reported > > to be present was Serviceberry *(Amelanchier arborea?). *I could not be > > sure of the identification in the winter. Serviceberry was indeed present > > and red berries were growing on the trees. Overall in the purest stands > > around 90% of the mature trees present were paper birch. > > > *Small serviceberry tree - photo by Edward Frank* > > > ** > > > *Patch of sassafras trees - photo by Edward Frank* > > > Beyond that the most common trees present were sassafras (*Sassafras > > albidum) *and serviceberry. I was surprised at the number of sassafras > > present. It usually is not that common of a species in the forests around > > here. Sassafras was also commonly present in the shallow herbaceous > > layer. Other trees that were relatively common were red maple (*Acer > > rubrum)*, red oak (*Quercus rubra)*, and witch hazel (*Hamamelis > > virginiana*). Scattered small white pine (*Pinus strobus*) grew here and > > there. Less commonly found were black cherry (*Prunus serotina*), white > > oak *(Quercus alba)*, and pitch pine (*Pinus rigida*). I found a single > > cucumbertree *(Magnolia acuminata)* just as I was leaving. There were no > > hemlock (*Tsuga canadensis*) present in the area of the purest paper > > birch, but some specimens were located nearer the edges of the stands. > > Small > > Norway spruce starts were present here and there, likely seeded from some > > large specimens along the run below the site. > > > *Low sweet blueberry on the left and common bracken fern on the right - > > photo by Edward Frank* > > > The herbaceous layer is similarly depauperate with only four species > > commonly found there. Across the entire site is a two foot high mass of > > common bracken fern (*Pteridium aquilinium*). In most of the area there > > also are blueberries. The Elk County Natural heritage Inventory > > identified them as low sweet blueberries (*Vaccinium angustifolium*). > > There does seem to be two distinct sizes of the bushes, and I am not sure if > > these represent two separate species of blueberry or not. Also common on > > the forest floor under the bracken ferns are teaberry *(Gaultheria > > procumbens?) *Also present in some areas are numerous sassafras shoots > > rarely more than a couple feet tall. Around the edges of the site are > > also found some mountain laurel *(Kalmia latifolia)*. The largest was > > just over ten feet tall and 8 inches in girth. Most were much smaller. A > > wider variety of other herbaceous species were reported present in the > > swampy area along Page Run below this portion of the site. These areas were > > not investigated this trip. > > > The overall distribution pattern of the trees is very patchy. The cluster > > of paper birch near the parking area occupies about 10 acres. Surrounding > > this area dominated by paper birch are areas of trees where oaks and maples > > are more common and generally larger in size. In other areas the ground is > > open with only an occasional tree. These are generally occupied by > > blueberries and to a lesser extent by bracken ferns. > > > *Open area with a carpet of blueberry and bracken fern and a hawthorn > > tree - photo by Edward Frank* > > > In the large open area approximately 600 feet north of the parking lot > > there are some hawthorn trees growing in the open amongst the blueberries. > > In the areas where the paper birch is dominant, the trees are generally > > more stunted than elsewhere. All of the trees in the area are generally > > undersized because of the poor soil; it is just that some areas are more > > stunted than others. On a broader scale there are clusters of nearly > > pure paper birch scattered here and there separated by bands containing > > larger numbers of other species. > > > On this trip I completed a Rucker Height Index for the birch stand adjacent > > to the parking area. The RI value of 63.36 reflects the stunted nature of > > the trees in the area and the general lack of diversity overall. Previously > > I calculated a RI for a larger portion of the site that included areas of > > less stunted trees, but it was still only 72.77 with taller examples of > > pitch pine and white pine replacing the shorter examples from the birch > > dominated stand. I am sure a broader exploration of the natural area > > would lead to some marginally higher numbers, but the RI will still reflect > > a generally short forest. > > > Rucker Index > > > Number > > > Name > > > Species > > > Girth > > > Height > > > Date > > > Measurer > > > Method > > > 1 > > > Northern Red Oak > > > *Quercus rubra* > > > 7' 11" > > > 80.15 > > > 1-Jan-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 2 > > > American Beech > > > *Fagus grandifolia* > > > 2' 11" > > > 57.03 > > > 1-Jan-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 3 > > > Black Cherry > > > *Prunus serotina * > > > 5' 3" > > > 81 > > > 1-Jan-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 4 > > > Sassafras > > > *Sassafras albidum* > > > 3' 11" > > > 58.56 > > > 1-Jan-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 5 > > > Red Maple > > > *Acer rubrum* > > > 6' 6" > > > 85.03 > > > 1-Jan-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 6 > > > White Pine > > > *Pinus strobus* > > > 3' 9" > > > 35.08 > > > 1-Jan-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 7 > > > Paper Birch > > > *Betula papyifera* > > > 3' 10" > > > 74.83 > > > 1-Jan-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 8 > > > Pitch Pine > > > *Pinus rigida * > > > 2' 9" > > > 36.43 > > > 1-Jan-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 9 > > > Serviceberry > > > *Ameliancher * > > > 2' 6" > > > 54.52 > > > 12-Jul-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 11 > > > White Oak > > > *Quercus alba* > > > 4' 10" > > > 71 > > > 12-Jul-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > *Rucker Height Index* > > > * * > > > *63.363* > > > 10 > > > Mountain Laurel > > > * Kalmia latifolia*** > > > 8" > > > 10 > > > 12-Jul-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 12 > > > Cucumber Magnolia > > > * Magnolia acuminata*** > > > na > > > ~40 > > > 12-Jul-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > 13 > > > Witch Hazel > > > * Hamamelis virginiana*** > > > 11" > > > 16 > > > 12-Jul-09 > > > Edward Frank > > > ENTS > > > I am unsure of the history of human utilization of the area after the > > initial logging operations and subsequent fires. There was some > > activity as evidenced by old overgrown roads leading off from the current > > roads. There are some patches of Norway spruce and European larch along > > Losey Road where it crosses Page Run. However I believe this human > > utilization was limited. The soil is so poor that farming was unlikely to > > have taken place. Perhaps there were some hunting camps, or some cattle > > grazing taking place in some areas adjacent to the natural area. > > > *Multitrunk paper birch trees - photo by Edward Frank* > > > The paper birch trees are mostly splaying multitrunk clusters of trees. > > This > > likely indicated that after the paper birch first sprouted after the initial > > wave of intense fires, another fire took place. This second fire was less > > intense but burnt the newly growing paper birches off at ground level. > > Afterwards > > they resprouted from the surviving roots forming these multitrunk clumps. > > Some reports have suggested that the paper birch are dying out as they are > > reaching the end of their natural life spans. There are open areas within > > the paper birch dominated area where birch trees have died and fallen. > > There > > are fallen tree trunks on the forest floor. I do not believe that they > > are dying because they are reaching the end of their normal life span. > > There > > is the normal thinning of the trees over time. Some are dying for a > > ... > > read more » > > DSCN0739c.JPG > 173KViewDownload > > DSCN0755c.JPG > 90KViewDownload > > DSCN0758c.JPG > 95KViewDownload > > DSCN0740c.JPG > 148KViewDownload > > marion02a.JPG > 106KViewDownload > > fd09_03a.jpg > 84KViewDownload > > DSCN0737c.JPG > 154KViewDownload > > DSCN0733c.JPG > 151KViewDownload > > DSCN0728c.JPG > 165KViewDownload > > DSCN0762c.JPG > 137KViewDownload > > DSCN0764c.JPG > 72KViewDownload > > marion01a.JPG > 132KViewDownload > > DSCN0742c.JPG > 144KViewDownload --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
