About a week before I leave for Israel!
I've been auditing classes while I've been waiting for February 9th to approach. (Prepare for environmental science spiels...) In my Forest Ecology course, we've been exploring our 300+ acre research forest (Bousson) to locate and document
conifer tree plantings and groves. Here in Pennsylvania, our state tree is the
hemlock, a gorgeous evergreen that is vital to our ecosystems. Hemlock is interesting in that it is shade-tolerant, surviving in low light situations where other trees fail to grow. However, given the reduced light, these trees can grow very slowly, and are commonly believed to be "young". Hemlock trees also favor wetter environments than many other tree species.
When I image the forests in Pennsylvania, my picture is never without this beautiful species. However, an invasive pest species, the
hemlock wooly adelgid, has been wiping out the species in the North East United States. The mortality rate of a tree, once infested, is between 98-100%. Ecologists are striving to find a solution to this issue, fearing the extinction of the hemlock tree, and sharply remembering the local extinction of another critical tree, the chestnut. Primary research has been focused on the
ladybird beetle, which feeds on hemlock wooly adelgid.
Thankfully, the hemlock wooly adelgid hasn't reached this part of the state-but it is expected to in the future. This poses an alarming question for our class-if we expect the extinction of the hemlock tree, how do we manage our experimental forest, where hemlock is dominant? This question is complicated by the fact that our college has been approached by natural gas companies for the rights to seismic test and drill on our research property. An advisory group, including a student representative, has been developed to make sure that opinions on such decisions are heard, and conversation is ongoing. At the meeting held tonight, some people stated that even considering the offer is a gross disservice to our college's "green identity", but others perceived this as an opportunity to lead the state-wide discussions and experiments to understand and share the consequences of natural gas drilling. If you'd like to learn more about the advisory group's work, please go
here.
As a class, we have decided to assume that our college will at least grant minimal rights to a gas company at Bousson Experimental Forest. We intend to document all of the existing conifer groves, so that we can provide a detailed map showing areas that the company must not disturb. Our first exploration showed that hemlock is overwhelmingly the most common viable (seed-producing) conifer in the forest. A plantation of red pine and scots/scotch pine exists, but both species are not native to this area. Additionally, red pine does not produce viable seedlings in this area. These are the three conifer species we have identified so far. If hemlock is wiped out, it is likely that there will be no regenerating conifer trees at our research forest. This could have severe consequences for existing wildlife populations, who utilize the conifers for cover, wind block, and trapping heat in the winter as well as a food source. One of our goals for this semester will be to discuss immediate and long-term management practices that will best serve our forest. Even though I'm leaving to go to Israel soon, I will be keeping in touch with my professor and classmates about these issues. I think I'll be revisiting these issues when I start my senior year research project.
Pictures from class:
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| Property boundary, lovely mist |
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| Small grove of hemlocks |
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| More hemlock in the understory |
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| Fallen trees, much pit/mound terrain |
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| Future mound |
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| Deer skull found in hemlock area |
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| Gypsy moth eggs, another damaging pest |
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| My class |
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| Decomposition in action! |
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| Vivid green! |
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| Something was hungry.... |
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| Unidentified seed shells |
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| Larger stream in Bousson |
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| Smaller and seasonal stream |
