Broad Brook - Backyard Bounty

Broad Brook - Backyard Bounty

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TOPIC: Backyard bounty
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/f0b484d1aa856d4e?hl=en
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== 1 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Apr 11 2008 4:41 pm
From: dbhguru@comcast.net

ENTS,

A swath of what I have come to know as magical woods start immediately behind my wife's house. The woods lead down to a meandering, picturesque stream named Broad Brook, which starts about a mile north of the house. Near the source, the land rises to the crest of a hill that is 541 feet above sea level. From the summit, the terrain drops into a shallow bowl that feeds Broad Brook. The elevation at the source of the brook is about 400 feet. From there, the elevation drops to about 275 feet at the level of Monica's deck and down to about 240 feet at the Brook. The elevation continues dropping to Fitzgerald Lake at about 220 feet.
The underlying bedrock of the region is granitic in composition. There is very little top soil in the area except where decomposition and sedimentation occurs more rapidly such as in wetlands. I've thus far identified along the banks and extending up the hillsides the following species of trees:

N. Red Oak, White Oak, Black Oak, Scarlet Oak, American Beech,
Yellow Birch, White Birch, Black Birch, Sugar Maple, Red Maple,
Stripped Maple, Hop Hornbeam, American Hornbeam, Green Ash,
White Ash, Pignut Hickory, Shagbark Hickory, Witch Hazel, White Pine, Hemlock, Tuliptree, Slippery Elm, Bigtooth Aspen, Black Cherry, and American Basswood.

If the area described above is expanded to include nearby Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area, downstream on Broad Brook, scrawny Eastern Cottonwood and Black Locust and a few other species can be added to the list, that I cannot recall. The Fitzgerald Lake area is an important conservation area, but has little of interest in terms of trees. My main area of focus is the region beginning about 100 yards downstream from the house, extending past the house, and upstream for a mile. Within this latter region, there is an abundance of attractive trees, and in a few spots, there are exceptionally lovely specimens of White Pine, Red and White Oak, and Eastern Hemlock, with a few Pignut Hickories thrown it for good measure. A small area approaches old growth in its outward characteristics. I'll have more to say about this in subsequent emails.
While my thoughts about exemplary forests of Massachusetts often turn to Mohawk, Monroe, and Ice Glen, I am becoming increasingly fond of the Broad Brook woods, and proud too. I wonder how many of my fellow and lady Ents can walk a few yards from their backdoor and put their hands on trees that reach to heights of 120 feet and more. I am pleased as punch to state that I can. The Broad Brook corridor is awash in tall trees. One hundred footers are generously distributed. There is also a concentration of stately 120-footers. Six of these special trees are on Monica's property, including one 132-foot white pine, but the 130-footers don't stop there. There are 130-footers upstream. So far, along the Broad Brook corridor I have measured three White Pines to over 130 feet: 133, 132, and 132 feet. There won't be many more - maybe a couple more. I'll definitely find out in the coming weeks. Some of the pines on the upper stretches of the brook have old bark characteristics, 175
years to perhaps over 200 years in the case of a dozen of the pines.
The understory of the Broad Brook corridor includes a lot of mountain laurel, much of it scraggly and dying. There are also scrawny hemlocks and red maples growing in areas, particularly in areas that are saturated in the spring. Some of these areas dry out in the summer so the trees trying to grow there stay under continuous stress. Mortality is high.

Bob

== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Apr 11 2008 5:10 pm
From: Larry

Bob, Wow! 120's and 130's, Sounds like a beautiful place to live! You
are fortunate to have something like that in your yard and nearby.
Send some photos if you get time. It's 84 down here today, starting to
warm up. I noticed Duluth got a heck of a snowstorm yesterday and
today, 12" +! Larry

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Apr 11 2008 6:43 pm
From: Andrew Joslin

Bob, your Broad Brook trees sound most excellent. How would you
describe the bark characteristics of older white pine (that you mentioned)?

I ask because some of the white pine I've looked at in my area that
have good girth and height appear to have more pronounced bark
plates. For instance a particular tree has this look and also has
some very gnarly old branches up high. It has many more attached dead
limbs, some quite large. It feels old. There's another white near it
of equivalent height but less girth, the bark is smoother. The branch
structure in the upper crown looks less complicated and less
battered, the tree just looks younger. These trees are probably in
the 110+ ft. range, not measured yet. Not big by ENTS standards but
big for my area in eastern Mass. I'm thinking that both trees may be
hitting the ceiling for that spot but one got there first. The
apparent older one has thick diameter at the top with evidence with
of top breakout and re-growth.

Andrew Joslin
Jamaica Plain, MA

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Fri, Apr 11 2008 8:13 pm
From: James Parton

Bob,

I know what you mean. I have between 5 to 9 acres of woods that
surrounds my home. It is wonderful just to be able to walk outside and
look into them or better yet go exploring without even getting into
the car. Paris Woods contains conifers like White, Pitch and Virginia
pine as well as a few hemlocks and Eastern Red Cedar. Hardwoods are
represented by Tuliptree, White & Red Oak, Sourwood and Red Maple. The
understory consists of Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel, Flame Azalea,
Multiflora Rose and Allegheny Chinkapin. A few American Holly and
Hawthorn trees are here too. A beautiful Pinxter Azalea grew here too
before a new road was cut through the forest taking it out. I have not
gotten around to measuring heights on trees in the forest yet but they
are a few that almost without doubt top 100 feet. One nice Tuliptree
was cut from the woods edge near a neighbors house out of fear that it
would fall. It was the biggest tree in the forest that I have found.
It was at least 10 feet in girth and about 120 feet tall. After the
tree was cut down I counted the rings. It was 92 years old. The tree
was healthy. I will upload a picture of the big " Lyda Poplar " to the
file page.

http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/north_carolina/paris/paris_woods.htm

James P.

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 12 2008 5:29 am
From: dbhguru@comcast.net

Andrew,

The older pines have the pronounced bark plates and the older bark goes all the way up into the crown area. There are also younger pines with smooth bark aloft. The problem with dating pines via the eye ball method is that those in wet areas can age fast and show age-related characteristics even though they aren't exceptionally old. I'm going to ask my friend Gary Beluzo if he can help me core a couple and date them. There are other old trees in the area including red maple, sugar maple, red oak and white oak, and hemlock. The old pines have lots of company.

Today, weather cooperating, I'm going to try to find another 130 in the area.
.
Bob

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Sat, Apr 12 2008 7:08 am
From: James Parton

Bob,

Yes, one can't forget just how to look, enjoy and relax amid all the
hoopla of tree measuring. I have a bench set back in the woods near my
home and I sometimes like to go back there and just sit, look and
listen. You see and hear more than you would ever think. Squirrels
come and go, stay still and quiet enough and birds land five feet from
you. Rabbits hop by and if it is early or late I may see a deer or
two. Butterflies fly by. One of the most enjoyable things is just
hearing the wind blow through the pines. I am just getting into tree
measuring but I don't intend to forget how to observe the forest.
There are more to a forest than it's individual trees.

James P.

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