Poconos, NE Pennsylvania   Ron Gonzalez
  Mar 19, 2006 14:15 PST 

I've been poking around in the Poconos of NE
Pennsylvania, and have noticed a similar stark contrast between moist
areas and dry areas, very often bumping up right next to eachother.

The less common moist woods are dominated by white pine, hemlock and
yellow birch (and sometimes red spruce and American beech), with
rhododendron maximum growing along streambanks, and lots of mosses,
including clubmosses. Wetter areas have many of the typical northern
woodland wildflowers, such as starflower. The forest floor is shady and
cool.

Often only a few yards away, a completely different forest community
dominates, and is generally more common. The drier areas are dominated by
wind-whipped red maple, white oak, chestnut oak and pitch pine, with
mountain laurel and bear oak frequently in the shrub layer. Some areas
have stunted American chestnut, which I understand was very common on the
drier ridges and has been replaced by oaks. The ground cover is usually
dominated by wintergreen and sheep laurel. The forest is very open, and
the forest floor is typically hit by a lot of sun and is often dry.

The only recognized old growth areas are in steep ravines, such as Glen
Onoko and Jeans Run, which always have thick stands of rhododendron in the
shrub layer, lots of mosses, with a shady cover of hemlocks, white pine
and red maple. There is one recognized old growth area of scrub oak/pitch
pine, along Long Pond (protected watershed of the City of Bethlehem),
which also features a rhodora heath.

Sounds like a southern version of the regenerating Canadian Shield forest
Steve Galehouse describes, doesn't it?

I haven't been able to find out if the many square miles of Pocono 'pine
barrens' were there pre-settlement, or are the result of repeated logging
and subsequent fires. In other words, I'm wondering if the miles and
miles of pine barrens are the aftermath of repeated logging of wetter
hemlock forests that have since dried up.

Does anyone know where I could find out more about the natural history of
the Poconos area?

Thanks,

- Ron Gonzalez