Gary:

Yes, but only for short segments of the range limit.  Of course 
community composition often shifts with changes in moraines or other 
glacial features, because the different soil composition leads to a 
different mix of species.

Lee

Gary A Beluzo wrote:
> Lee,
>
> Interesting topic.  Have you seen any tree species ecotypes that seem  
> to follow a natural boundary like terminal moraine, shift in soil  
> taxon, etc?
>
> Gary
>
> On Nov 3, 2009, at 3:24 PM, Bob <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>   
>> Lee
>>
>>      Thanks for weighing in on this topic.  In the future, I'll be
>> cautious about accepting that explanation when I hear glaciation given
>> as defining the range for a species. I'm embarrassed to admit that
>> I've often repeated the glaciation explanation for cucumber magnolia's
>> absence from part of New York.
>>
>> Bob
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Nov 3, 2009, at 3:06 PM, Lee Frelich <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>     
>>> Bob:
>>>
>>> I am always amazed that people attribute ranges of various trees or
>>> other organisms to glaciation. It seems unlikely that a glacier that
>>> existed 14,000 years ago can control the range limit of species  
>>> today,
>>> especially for trees that can grow in a wide variety of soil types. I
>>> have been told the same about native earthworms--that they only
>>> occur in
>>> unglaciated areas, but in WI they occur only in the glaciated part  
>>> and
>>> not in the unglaciated part of the state. There is always a
>>> possibility
>>> that a species could grow on either side of the glacial boundary by
>>> chance. There are also areas where the glacier scraped the soil away
>>> down to bare rock, which does have an influence on what grows there,
>>> but
>>> this effect does not occur at the scale of tree species ranges.
>>>
>>> Lee
>>>
>>> [email protected] wrote:
>>>       
>>>> Kirk,
>>>>
>>>> Yes, I see the distribution goes fairly far north. Those  
>>>> distribution
>>>> maps existed at the time I was told about the limited range factor.
>>>> I'm now puzzled. The ecologist who told me about the glacial  
>>>> boundary
>>>> is well respected. I wonder what he knew that we don't.
>>>>
>>>> Bob
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Kirk Johnson" <[email protected]>
>>>> To: [email protected]
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:16:59 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada
>>>> Eastern
>>>> Subject: [ENTS] Re: King Pennisula, Allegheny River, Forest County,
>>>> PA
>>>>
>>>> Bob,
>>>>
>>>> I don't remember hearing that before, so I don't know if it's true.
>>>> However, the attached distribution map I found online seems to
>>>> indicate otherwise (showing range into NYS all the way to Lake
>>>> Ontario).
>>>>
>>>> On the other hand, the Allegheny NF & environs does seem to be a  
>>>> good
>>>> home for cucumber magnolia anecdotally speaking. There are a lot of
>>>> them here and some of them are large, so they seem to like it here.
>>>> (They are one of my favorites.)
>>>>
>>>> Kirk
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>   Kirk,
>>>>
>>>>   I was once told by a forest ecologist from Vermont that the
>>>>   cucumber magnolia appears south of the glaciated zone in western
>>>>   NY-PA, but not in it. I presume there isn't a sharp line of
>>>>   demarcation, but practically so. Is this explanation for the
>>>>   distribution of cucumber magnolia still in vogue?
>>>>
>>>>   Bob
>>>>
>>>>   ----- Original Message -----
>>>>   From: "Kirk Johnson" <[email protected]>
>>>>   To: [email protected]
>>>>   Sent: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 11:32:59 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada
>>>>   Eastern
>>>>   Subject: [ENTS] Re: King Pennisula, Allegheny River, Forest
>>>> County, PA
>>>>
>>>>   Bob,
>>>>
>>>>   That is true. To the west of the Allegheny River and to the east
>>>>   of the Big Level was glaciated. But what is today Allegany State
>>>>   Park in NY and the Allegheny NF was not glaciated.
>>>>
>>>>   Kirk Johnson
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>           Ed,
>>>>
>>>>           I am jealous. The Connecticut River corridor has some fine
>>>>           trees, but the Allegheny River has sycamores and silver
>>>>           maples that exceed any I've found along the Connecticut.
>>>>           If I remember correctly, the area of the Allegheny in PA
>>>>           wasn't glaciated. Is that correct?
>>>>
>>>>           Bob
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>         
>
> >
>   

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