Dysart Woods, SE Ohio   Thomas Diggins   Apr 01, 2007 12:05 PDT  ENTS, Hey, finally starting to get around to some Ohio OG sites to measure tree heights... Yesterday I visited Dysart Woods in Belmont County, SE OH, a nice (although ominously small) remnant of Central Hardwood/Mesophytic forest that serves as an outdoor laboratory for Ohio University. Probably as close to a truly virgin site as you'll find in Ohio. While I don't think anyone has ever ruled out modest salvage/selective harvest in the 1800s, if this did occur any evidence is long since gone, and the site looks completely pristine. BTW, the ecology of Dysart Woods has been well studied, and several papers from Brian McCarthy (OU) and colleagues/students can be found in the scientific literature. I know that one finding of this research is that, despite the woods' impressive character, they are in transition from oak-dominated to a more maple/beech composition, likely due to alteration of the natural fire regime through extreme fragmentation. Woodland patches in this very pastoral region of Ohio are few and far between. Dysart Woods is NOT necessarily a killer tall-tree site, as it is pretty high up and exposed (1200-1350' asl). Some gullies and ravines, however, yielded pretty good numbers. Modest tree heights may also be due in part to the great age of the overstory. Canopy trees, especially the white oaks, have beautifully twisted broccoli crowns, and are often quite flattened and spreading. Blown out tops are pretty common too. Species composition, basal area, age structure, coarse woody debris, etc. can all be found in the literature. White oaks are up to 350 years old, and I came across a cookie with 275 rings from an ancient ~3' DBH NRO fallen across a trail. The tallest trees were those that happened to near the bottoms of the small stream gullies through the site. Their crowns often extended upward as high as those of neighbors located upslope. Highlights: 1) Tulip 144.4' x 9'2" 2) Tulip 141.8' x 9'9" 3) Tulip 133.0' x (oops, forgot to go back and check) 4) Tulip 128.8' x 12'0" 5) Tulip 124.9' x 8'10" 6) NRO 128.8' x 9'1" 7) NRO 123.8' x 11'8" 8) NRO of 16'2" CBH, total crown blow out, branches reach 91' 9) White oak 125.2 x 13'6" Nice! 10) White oak 121.0' x 11'6" 11) White oak 114.3' 12) White ash 129.2' x 7'3" 13) White ash 109.9' 14) Beech 114.1' x 8'0" 15) Beech 108.3' x 9'0" 16) Cucumber 119.3' x 7'2" 17) Sugar maple 109.5' x 5'5" 18) Black cherry 111.6' x 5'10" *Other species likely over 100' include red maple, shagbark and mockernut? hickories, and possibly black tupelo (which were quite abundant and really gnarly). Another site visit should be done to generate a Rucker Index, as this was not really my objective. I was trying to fill in height numbers for some of the species of interest in terms of latitudinal/longitudinal gradients. Other OH sites that I will be tallying and reporting before leaf-out include Goll and Hueston Woods, Mohican SP, and some of the Lake Erie gorges in NE OH. More to come... Tom Diggins RE: Dysart Woods, SE Ohio   Steve Galehouse   Apr 01, 2007 20:04 PDT  Tom- You probably already know of these spots, but you might want to consider going to Little Mountain in Lake county( nice white pines, unusual for Ohio), and Graber's (Johnson's) woods in Wayne county. If you are in the Cleveland-Akron area, I'd love to tag along, business commitments permitting. Hueston Woods is a beautiful beech-maple forest, but I would be surprised if any really tall or big trees are found--I can't remember any there from 1973. Steve Galehouse   Home