| Wintergreen
Gorge and PA Rucker Index update |
Dale
J. Luthringer |
| May
24, 2004 08:45 PDT |
Bob,
Tom, Bruce,
I had some spare time this Sunday to check the record red maple
in
Wintergreen Gorge behind PSU Behrend for correct species
identification
and height. I checked this tree a number of times over the late
winter
with no leaves, and was beginning to think that I had grossly
misidentified this tree by using bark characters. The bark
resembles
sugar maple, but the leaves are definitely red maple. There are
a
number of sugars nearby, which show classic sugar bark and leaf
structure. If I would have first found this tree in the winter
and went
on bark alone, I probably would've identified it as a sugar
maple. I've
actually gone through this exercise 2x now, and am thoroughly
convinced
it is a red maple. My question is, have red and sugar maples
been known
to hybridize?
Last year's height on 4/19/03 was 136.6ft. The last time I
measured it
for height this year was on 3/21/04 at 136.7ft. It's starting to
experience crown breakage due to wind, but the top branch is
still
holding strong.
I was also able to find a taller E. hemlock in late March. It's
located
in the bottom of the ravine near the depositional side of a
sharp curve
in the creek. It's a nice hemlock with some age, >200 years,
at 7.8ft
CBH x 128ft high. The steep finger leading down into this
section of
the ravine is the first section of stunted old growth hemlock
I've come
across in Erie County. Preliminary core count suggest 357 years
on a
very gnarled and stunted specimen (4.7ft CBH x 60.3ft high)! A
nice N.
red oak nearby went to 143+. Ring counts on recently harvested
hemlock
along the streambed farther upstream to ~215 years.
I also got another 12x100 class N. red oak on the edge of this
old
growth area to 12.6ft CBH x 105.1+ft high. I've now followed the
entire
west side of the stream course south to I-90. My next endeavor
will be
to check out one drainage and finish following the east
escarpment south
to I-90 as well. Crown architecture along the escarpment
suggests
numerous oak and beech to at least the 150 age class, but I'm
not sure
how thick this buffer is. Should be an interesting hike.
Wintergreen Gorge's current Rucker Index as follows:
Species CBH Height Comments Rucker
Index
Tuliptree 9.5 145.4 128.28
Red maple 7.8 136.7 tallest
NE US
White ash 9.9 129.8
Sycamore 7.7 129.7
E. hemlock 7.8 128
Slippery elm 8.8 123.7 tallest
NE US
Sugar maple 5.7 123.4 tallest
PA
Cucumbertree 8.6 123.1 tied
tallest NE US
Am. basswood 9 121.7 tallest
PA
Black cherry 8.8 121.3
Wintergreen's last RI was 127.89 back in 2003.
Here is how the rest of Pennsylvania's sites line up:
Site Rucker
Index Site
Comments
Cook Forest State Park 135.47 mostly
old growth,
all RI species > 150 years
Wintergreen Gorge 128.28 mostly
2nd growth
Fairmont Park 127.72 2nd
growth/urban old growth?
Ander's Run Natural Area 121.48 old
growth & 2nd
growth
Walnut Creek Gorge 121.28 mostly
2nd growth
Ricketts Glen State Park 119.85 mostly
old growth
Heart's Content Natural Area 113.79 mostly
old growth
Lake Erie Community Park 113.57 mostly
2nd growth
Alan Seeger Natural Area 111.13 mostly
old growth
Coho Property 109.59 2nd
growth
Scott Community Park 109.56 old
growth & 2nd
growth
Tionesta Natural Area 109.36 mostly
old growth
Detweiler Run Natural Area 104.65 mostly
old growth,
all RI species > 150 years
Laurel Run Rd. 104.6 2ndary
old
growth, private site, Centre County
Glenwood Park 98.08 urban
old
growth?
Bear Meadows Natural Area 97.72 mostly
old growth, all
RI species > 150 years
Parker Dam State Park 85.57 2nd
growth
Best Regards,
Dale |
|