ENTS:
I just got back to Minneapolis after attending the Kentucky Old
Growth
meeting on Pine Mountain in SE Kentucky. Thanks to Neil for
organizing--I
learn so much more from these types of small meetings where I
get to talk
with local scientists than the national meetings for the big
organizations
like ESA, which I am skipping this year. We had an hour-long
thunder and
hail storm during the Friday presentations, and the power
blinked and
turned off the projector a couple of times, but the power never
stayed off,
so things went on as planned.
We saw excellent tree ring presentations (Neil Pederson and Ryan
McEwan) as
well as history of old growth research (Leverett), silivculture
of uneven
aged stands (Jeff Stringer) history of old growth conservation
in Kentucky
and E. Lucy Braun (Rob Messick), and Kentucky natural areas
(Marc Evans).
Bill Martin gave a lifetime of lessons on preserving old growth.
Some guy
from Minnesota also gave an earthworm presentation, but I didn't
see it, so
will withhold comment on it. We ended with a hike in Blanton
Forest, with
its rich flora of my favorite genus-the violets, as well as
extremely old
oak and hemlock trees and several resident dogs that went with
us on the
hike (one of which ate the moss blanket from a log--my first
experience
with a moss-eating dog).
The forests in the area are almost like the Smokies, but not
quite. If you
put mixed hardwood forests on a gradient from the MN North Shore
of Lake
Superior to the Smokies, the forests in SE KY are about 80% of
the way down
the gradient, in terms of richness and tree height. Driving down
there I
also observed the changes in tree growth form related to derecho
frequency
and just a generally gentler climate from the point of view of a
tree.
Trees in MN, are the most deformed trees (i.e. have the most
'character')
due to derechos and droughts, while the trees in SE KY are the
least
deformed--unbelievably tall and straight.
I also learned that its best to use cruise control while
listening to the
final movement of Tschaikovsky's 'Little Russian' symphony--if
you don't
put on the cruise control you will inevitably end up going 90
mph as the
music speeds up towards the climax at the end, which is OK in MN
where
highways are straight, but not OK with the curves and mountains
in KY.
Lee |