| MTSF
Statistical summary |
Robert
Leverett |
| Apr
17, 2006 07:23 PDT |
Dale,
Will, Ed, et al.,
On Sunday, John Eichholz ad I went
to Clark Ridge in MTSF to check
on the Ash Queen. I hadn't seen the tree in 3 years. It is a
stiff climb
up to the stately tree, which grows in a boulder field. Well,
the Queen
still reigns. She now proudly stands 147.9 feet tall and is a
solid 9.5
feet around. Above the Queen a thinner ash grows that I measured
to
around 138 feet 3 years ago. John confirmed the ash at 141.0
feet and
7.7 feet in girth. The latter ash makes number 18 for the
species that
breaks 140 feet in MTSF and #19 in Massachusetts. I'm reluctant
to state
that Massachusetts's claim to tree fame is its "big white
ashes" - just
doesn't sound quite right.
John and I remeasured the red
maple champion. We took extremely
careful measurements of the base position to get the best
midpoint spot
possible. The result is a solid 128 feet in height for the
slender red
maple. Measuring the nearby Saheda pine, using careful base
positioning,
we got 164.8 feet and a girth of 11.4 feet. A similar
measurement of the
Tecumseh tree yielded 161.8 feet and 11.7 feet around.
The measuring exercise encouraged
me to develop a current summary
of MTSF data. It is presented below for the reading pleasure of
all.
Rucker Index Summary:
Current Index Native Species: 135.5
Current Index All Species: 135.8
Historical Index Native Species: 136.1
Historical Index All Species: 136.3
Rucker Index #
Iterations # Iteration
Current Potential
No Species Hgt
(ft)>=
(Native)
1 160
2 150
2 140
6 130
12 120
18 110
20 100
22 species including native and non-native exceed 100 feet in
height
The non-natives include Norway spruce and white spruce
No Species Hgt
(ft)>=
(Native)
1 160
2 150
2 140
6 130
12 120
18 110
20 100
Species No. Trees Hgt(ft)
>=
WP 165 1
WP 160 4
(maybe 5)
WP 155 14
WP 150 78
WA 150 1
WP 140 229
WA 140 18
WP 130 303
(Many not yet measured)
WA 130 58
(Fair many not measured)
SM 130 6
(Small number not measured)
NRO 130 4
(Very small number not measured)
AB 130 2
HM 130 1
Species Maximum Probable Statistical
Outlier
Height
Potential Potential
WP 170
- 175 180
WA 145
- 150 155
SM 130
- 135 140
NRO 130
- 135 136
AB 128
- 133 135
HM 128
- 133 134
BNH 128
- 133 134
RM 125
- 130 131
ABW 125
- 130 131
BC 125
- 130 131
BTA 120
- 125 127
AE 120
-125 125
RP 115
- 120 125
BB 110
- 115 116
SBH 110
- 115 116
RS 110
- 115 117
YB 100
- 105 106
WB 100
- 105 110
WO 100
- 105 107
BO 100
- 105 110
WP=white pine, WA = white ash, SM=sugar maple, NRO=nortehrn red
oak,
AB=American beech, HM=hemlock
BNH=bitternut hickory, RM=red maple, ABW=Americna basswood,
BC=black
cherry, BTA=bigtooth aspen
AE=American elm, RP=red pine, BB=black birch, SBH=shagbark
hickory,
RS=red spruce, YB=yellow birch
WB=white birch, Wo=white oak, Bo=black oak
Probable additions within 5 years to >=100 club
1. Eastern cottonwood.
2. Green ash (identification pending)
Bob
Robert T. Leverett
Cofounder, Eastern Native Tree Society
|
|