Longmeadow Gold    dbhg-@comcast.net    Aug 10, 2003 15:02 PDT  ENTS:    There is a large wildlife refuge in the town of Longmeadow, MA that borders the Connecticut River. The areas is well flooded this year and bird life is abundant throughout. For trees, the area is loaded with green ash, cottonwood, pin oak, red maple, and silver maple. Some of the best cottonwood habitat is just outside the refuge and bordering farm fields. The trees in the refuge are stressed by too much flooding.    Jani and I went for a drive along the rural road network around the refuge and accompanying farms and I was able to measure 3 splendid cottonwoods. Tree #    Girth      Height 1          9.5'         110.1 2          7.9'         113.1 3          8.8'         119.2'     A large cottonwood in nearby Enfield, CT measured 87.5' in height and 14.6' in circumference. This is my first for Connecticut.      The Excel attachment lists the 87 cottonwoods in my New England database that meet any of the following criteria:    Hgt 100 ft or more    Girth 12 ft or more    Hgt x girth of 1300 points or more      The list illustrates that it is far easier to break 100 ft on a cottonwood that 12 ft in circumference. The probabilities are about equal at a height of 116 feet and a circumference of 12 ft. It will be interesting to see the probabilities hold after double the list size. I suspect that eventually, the probabilities will equal out at maybe 118 feet. I just have that sense.      However, regardless of where the numbers fall, in terms of cottonwood habitat, we haven't even scratched the surface in southern New England. Bob Holy Fungus    dbhg-@comcast.net    Aug 10, 2003 17:09 PDT      On Saturday, Jani and I went to the wetlands of Longmeadow, MA and saw some eye-popping cottonwoods. I measured 3 in Longmeadow and one in Enfield, CT. The best growing conditions for the Cottonwoods was not in the wetlands, but on the borders of corn fields. Nitrogen run-off? I got 119.1 feet out of a cottonwood. It's estimated girth is 9 feet. Bob Re: Cottonwood, white pine and mackerel    lef    Aug 11, 2003 16:50 PDT  Bob: Yes, cottonwoods are a good way to soak up excess nitrogen coming from farm fields. They are the quintessential fast growing pioneer species that requires high nutrient and light levels. Their floodplain locations receive huge (or did receive) deposits of nutrient rich silt yearly from floods. Lee   Home