Jess,
Good to see data from upstate NY and a Rucker Index no less. The 113 and 115-ft black cherries are impressive. I am always surprised to see how well black cherry does in the canopy. I don't know why. I suppose I'm inclined to think of the cherry as a junior member of the forest community - the near plantations of the Allegheny NF not withstanding. Then there are the robust black cherries of Cook Forest. Guess I've got to rethink my perceptions. The young profiles of the trees in your images remind me of how much if our tall trees fit the young, fast growth profile. With warmer temperatures and plenty of CO2, if it stays wet, as it has been in NY this year, we should see the results reflected in growth rates. Lee's point about tree growth being faster now, and presumably trees growing taller starts to be a worthy research topic for us. Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jess Riddle" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Sent: Monday, November 23, 2009 9:09:27 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [ENTS] Beaver Lake Nature Center, NY Ents, Beaver Lake Nature Center encompasses a square mile in the Lake Ontario lake plain, with the namesake glacial lake occupying one third of that area. Around the perimeter of the lake, wetlands vary from small areas of open marsh to a pure red maple swamp with a thick herbaceous layer of royal fern. Away from the lake, the only wetland is a small fen dominated by hemlock, northern white cedar, and yellow birch. The patchwork of different communities on the surrounding, gently sloped uplands largely reflects a range of management objects and includes open fields, conifer plantations, and hardwood forests of varied ages. In the youngest forests, American elm grows scattered amongst locally abundant red maple, sugar maple, white ash, black locust, and aspens. In more mature forest, likely 70 to 100 years, sugar maple and black cherry are probably the most abundant species, but hemlock dominates some north facing slopes. Northern red oak, red maple, beech, tuliptree, and white ash are also common in those stands. The oldest forest occurs adjacent to the lake's eastern shore, and grades from beech to sugar maple dominance, often with a hemlock midstory. Species Dbh (cm) Height Ash, White 58.0 119.9' Basswood, American 64.5 90.7' (I think I missed the top) Basswood, American 47.2 102.7' Beech 65.3 101.8' Black gum 51.0 88.4' Cherry, Black 160 77.2' Cherry, Black 50.9 113.1' Cherry, Black 69.1 115.2' Cherry, Black 45.7 120.8' Cottonwood 85.9 109.2' Cottonwood 73.9 110.7' Maple, Red 52.9 104.2' Maple, Sugar 62.4 110.4' Maple, Sugar 91.7 111.8' Oak, Northern Red 102.9 103.3' Pine, Eastern White 108.2' Tuliptree 90.1 121.5' Rucker Index 110.5' In addition to the trees listed above, red maple, sugar maple, white oak, and beech reach 10' cbh, and Norway spruce and European larch exceed 100'. The large cherry is not as impressive as the dimension suggest. The tree appears to have grown along an old fence row, and one of the two forks has fallen off. The other cherries grow in a tight stand where dozens of cherries are packed on to a half acre of gentle slope, and several of the other measured trees grow in an adjacent flat. White pine is native to the site, but the 108' tree may have been planted. Jess -- 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]
