ENTS: The tallest trees for most species are generally on the lower third of slopes. Those sites have a constant supply of water without being flooded, and they may also be sheltered from wind.
Lee Andrew Joslin wrote: > Definitely, that thought occurred to me. There does seem to be some > correlation to greater height potential on slopes, don't know how much > it's been explored. My understanding is that Hyperion (Coast Redwood) > the current world height champ is a relatively young tree (as redwoods > go) on a steep slope. Compare that to older not quite as tall Coast > Redwood more in the river bottoms. It could be an aberration with no > relationship to location ie: slope vs. low flats. Your theory is a good > bet in Dunbar though. > -AJ > > DON BERTOLETTE wrote: > >> Andrew- >> Taking a page from A Sand County Almanac, where Aldo admonishes us to >> "think like a mountain", if we were to think like a logger a century >> or two ago, we'd be thinking about a winter logging operation, going >> into a valley where we could, and plucking out a hickory or an >> oak, depending on what species the market was seeking, and pulling it >> out by horse or mule, or oxen on a sled. The technology for getting >> trees further up the slopes was yet to come... >> -Don >> >> >>> Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:23:16 -0500 >>> From: [email protected] >>> To: [email protected] >>> Subject: Re: [ENTS] Meet the Neil Pederson Pine >>> >>> It's so interesting that the tallest Dunbar Brook pines are up on the >>> slopes and not in the bottom along the creek. I would've thought it >>> would be the other way around. Perhaps there is a sweet spot between >>> being too high on the slope and suffering wind damage but still being >>> high enough to get more sunlight as opposed to the pines in shadow down >>> in the bottom by the brook. Thoreau and Grandfather pines might be >>> demonstrating that principle, both on the slope, the Grandfather higher >>> up, the upper crown is more sparse (limb break out) and not as tall as >>> Thoreau despite appearing to have equivalent age or maybe even being an >>> older tree than Thoreau. >>> >>> Something else to consider is that we're only looking at a 100+ year >>> cycle, it may be that the pines in the bottom of the cove are >>> >> turtles in >> >>> the race, if they keep going for another 100 years undisturbed maybe >>> some become the mythical plus 200 ft. trees, while the Thoreaus and the >>> Grandfather pines max out due to greater exposure to extreme wind >>> >> events >> >>> over time up on the slope >>> -Andrew >>> >>> [email protected] wrote: >>> >>> >>>> ENTS, >>>> >>>> Yesterday Monica and I went to Monroe State Forest on a specific >>>> mission. On a couple of previous trips, about 15 minutes up the trail >>>> from the trailhead, I had observed a white pine high on the south >>>> facing slopes across Dunbar Brook. Most of the year, the pine cannot >>>> be seen. The forest in the foreground is dense, the brook below the >>>> trail is mesmerizing, and one must watch one's footing. Consequently, >>>> the pine is obscured from sight most of the year. When we were in >>>> Monroe State Forest on Monday, I happened to look across the brook at >>>> just the right spot and realized that I needed to see this pine up >>>> close and personal. Around 9:00AM yesterday, I sheepishly approached >>>> Monica about tracking down the pine as the day's mission. Although >>>> >> she >> >>>> needed to practice for upcoming concerts, being the perfect wife, she >>>> relented and off we went. >>>> >>>> To cut to the chase, the pine is on the south facing ridges of Dunbar >>>> Brook. Sheep pasturing was an economic mainstay of that location in >>>> the more distant past, and more recently, the area experienced >>>> logging. The ridge is recovering from those past activities and to an >>>> extent and shows promise, but compared to the north-facing slopes is >>>> not inspiring. On the slopes, the white ashes reach to between 100 >>>> and 110 feet. The sugar maples reach to between 90 and 100. White >>>> birches reach to 85 feet at most. The only tall trees are close to >>>> Dunbar Brook. The hardwoods on the slopes are nothing to get excited >>>> about. But then there are the pines. They too are on the short side. >>>> Almost all are between 115 and 125 feet. Only two brush 130 feet. >>>> >> Then >> >>>> there is the mystery pine. >>>> >>>> Upon reaching the tree, it revealed itself to be modest in size. Its >>>> girth is 9.9 feet, exactly matching another pine farther down the >>>> slopes. IBut several other pines are larger, including one that is >>>> 11.7 feet in girth. It did look pretty tall. I finally settled on >>>> 144.1 feet. That is significant. It becomes the 5th tallest tree in >>>> the Dunbar watershed and the northern most 140 in Massachusetts. Its >>>> trunk volume is approximately 400 cubic feet. I thought to myself, >>>> "this fine tree deserves a name." My Kentucky friend Dr. Neil >>>> >> Pederson >> >>>> came to mind and so it was. It became the Pederson Pine. >>>> >>>> The first two of the attached images show Neil's pine. The first shot >>>> is up close with Monica in the image for scale. The second is through >>>> the peep hole on the other side of Dunbar Brook. Neil's pine is the >>>> one with dark green foliage. The 3rd image is of a handsome pine >>>> >> lower >> >>>> on the ridge. - a 129.5-footer. >>>> >>>> The confirmation of the Pederson Pine rekindled my memory of the >>>> mission that Jack Sobon and I undertook years ago to locate and >>>> measure all 140-foot white pines in Massachusetts. That mission >>>> >> continues. >> >>>> Bob >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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] >>>> >>>> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >>>> >>>> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >>>> >>>> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >>> -- >>> 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] >>> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now. >> <http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141665/direct/01/> -- >> 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] >> > > -- 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]
