Ents, Within the city limits of Atlanta, across the street from a golf course, and otherwise surrounded by old homes, lies the 67 acre Fernbank Forest. Now maintained as an outdoor classroom for local schools, the forest owes its continued existence to active protection since the late 1800’s, and no records remain of any earlier management. Consequently, many of the larger canopy trees appear around 175 years old, and recently fallen trail-cut trees suggest similar ages. Tuliptrees and scattered beech dominate the canopy along the small northwest flowing stream that runs the length of the site and the adjacent short, steep, northeast facing slope. Tuliptrees also follow ephemeral streams up the gentle south facing slopes that form most of the site. An overstory of mixed hardwoods, especially white and northern red oaks, shades those slopes, but loblolly and shortleaf pines are also locally important. Saplings of the overstory species, especially beech but minus the shade intolerant tuliptree and pines, compose most of the understory, but scattered evergreen invasive shrubs reflect the forest’s urban setting. The invasive problem is worst in the understory where English ivy forms a continuous mat over many acres, but the forest continues to support one rare plant species and locally uncommon amphibians. Progress is gradual due to the scale of the problem, but managers and volunteers have removed the ivy from some sections of the forest.
Overall, the composition of Fernbank Forest compositionally resembles many other forests in the GA Piedmont, where tuliptree, white oak, and loblolly pine may be the three most abundant species. However, southern red oak, another regionally abundant species, grows only on the site's highest fringes. The richness of the soils may put that species at a disadvantage to its slightly larger competitors. The stature and age of the trees also sets the forest apart from others in the Piedmont. Tuliptree takes advantage of the rich, moist soils to become the site's most striking species, often exceeding three feet in diameter and 140' tall. However, relative to the sizes reached at other sites, white oak is the forest's most impressive species, exceeding the heights the species reaches in the cooler, moister, mountains of north Georgia. Species Cbh Height Basswood 6'3.5" 110.0' Hickory, Pignut 7'9" 131.6' Oak, Black 5'0.5" 118.8' Oak, Northern Red 8'5" 130.3' Oak, Northern Red NA 130.7' Oak, Post 7'0" 103.0' Oak, White 8'5.5" 131.9' Oak, White 7'2.5" 133.5' Oak, White 8'4" 138.0' Oak, White 8'9" 140.8' Pine, Loblolly 9'0" 129.2' Pine, Loblolly 7'3" 131.7' Pine, Shortleaf NA 116.4' Pine, Shortleaf 6'6" 124.0' Sweetgum NA 124.3' Tuliptree NA 140.7' Tuliptree 12'10" 143.0' Tuliptree 8'10.5"151.0' Rucker Index 128.3' (includes previously measured white ash and beech) Wind complicated the measuring process and the highest point was likely missed on many trees, so in many cases these measurements likely underestimate the true height by a few feet. The post oak and white oak are new state height records. Post oak has barely been sampled previously, but the tallest white oak found after searching many other Georgia sites was 133.9'. Taken together, these measurements set the standard for upland tall tree sites in the Georgia Piedmont. In this relatively hot region, a few sites with greater Rucker Indices have been found, but those sites are larger and associated with large streams that would presumably offer more consistent water access. The most comparable site ENTS has documented is probably Tanglewood Park (http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/north_carolina/tanglewood_park2.htm), a larger site with compositionally similar younger forest and similar topography in the NC Piedmont. Eli is an educator with Fernbank and would be happy to answer any questions and host any ENTS wishing to visit the Forest. Jess and Eli
