Josh, ENTS- So why would second growth be taller than old growth, unless the old growth was really second growth "once removed"? I think if younger trees are growing larger and faster than their ancestors, they must have been released from some environmental constraint, which might relate to climate change, or species mix degradation in the forest.
Steve On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 10:51 PM, Josh Kelly <[email protected]>wrote: > Will, Gaines, > > The "Type Map: Gennett Lumber Company Tract No. 309f.g. Graham Co. > North Carolina" by John Wasilk (sound familiar) and Party from June, > July 1935 clearly shows an abandoned field adjacent to second growth > coves we visited, but depicts the coves, like the 99% of the rest of > the 13,055 acre tract, as "virgin". The more I think about it, the > more I think those coves were logged sometime from August 1935-late > 1937, when the USFS acquired the tract. The wagon road that led to > the abandoned field gave better access to that exceptional spot than > was available to Poplar Cove, so now we are left with exceptional 2nd > growth, rather than exceptional old-growth. I'd wager many of the > poplars in that stand regenerated in the late 1930's while a few are a > decade or two older. For all of you botanically inclined ENTS, I have > started to key in on a couple of tall tree and high-productivity-site- > indicating herbs. They are Goldie's Fern (Dryopteris goldiana) and > walking fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum), both basophiles or > calceophiles. A number of the tall tree spots in the Smokies have one > or both of these species as well as "Wachacha Flats" -the name I > propose for the exceptional 2nd growth area at Kilmer. > > For all of you of you folks interesed in LiDAR and tall trees, I am > compiling an article from information contributed by Paul Jost, Jenn > Hushaw (Nichols School masters student at Duke), Hugh Irwin (ENTS, > SAFC), Will Blozan, Jess Riddle, and myself. Included in the article > will be a narrative about our experiences utilizing LiDAR data and > some notes on its accuracy and precision in the mountains of North > Carolina. It will also include some fancy smancy maps! > > Josh > > On Jan 11, 7:22 pm, "Will Blozan" <[email protected]> wrote: > > Gaines, > > > > I have a 170 footer in Big Creek; 69 years at BH. The Kilmer trees may > only > > be 75 years old. > > > > Will F. Blozan > > President, Eastern Native Tree Society > > President, Appalachian Arborists, Inc. > > > > "No sympathy for apathy" > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > > > > Behalf Of Gaines McMartin > > Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 7:20 PM > > To: [email protected] > > Cc: [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [ENTS] Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest LiDAR ground-truthing > > expedition 1-2010 > > > > Will: > > > > Thanks for the very exciting account of your survey in Joyce > > Kilmer. Maybe you know, but there have been reports of site indexes > > of up to 140 feet for tuliptree. Second growth can really be > > something if given just a little time. I don't have any data for > > tuliptree growth rates past 50 years. It may be out there. > > > > --Gaines >
