| MTSF
Rucker Iterations |
Robert
Leverett |
| Nov
10, 2004 06:14 PST |
John and John:
Last night I updated the MTSF Rucker index
through 13 iterations. I
guess curiosity got the better of me. The iteration values
follow.
134.45
132.27
130.34
127.76
127.59
126.93
126.09
125.33
124.13
122.97
121.97
121.91
120.99
120.32
The 14th iteration drops below 120, so I
stopped.
It would be super sweet if we could get the
4th order index up to
130, but I seriously doubt we can. I do think we can extend the
120s out
to maybe 16 or 17, but probably not much beyond.
The bread and butter species for us will
continue to be white pine,
white ash, sugar maple, red oak, black cherry, red maple, and
maybe
basswood. Beech would be, but too much of it has died and the
distribution of bigtooth aspen, a solid performer through 10
iterations,
is on the low side. Most of the performers come from a single
small
stand.
Even allowing for the death of some of
the current champions, it is
unlikley that Mohawk's 1st order index will drop below 133 over
the next
few years. But are there opportunities for it to rise above its
present
level? Well, with continued growth from the pines, ashes,
maples, and
oaks, it might conceivably climb back to 134.7 or 134.8, but I
just
can't see 135, now or in the future.
What are the opportunites? It is
conceivable we could eventually get
a 130-foot black cherry. That would replace the aging beech
champ, but
the beech will be gone, so gaining the cherry would only be a
holding
action. A few hemlocks could climb up into the low 130s. We
might gain
one or two tenths of a point.
Overall, I believe we are at the
pinnacle of height development for
the Mohawk forests and we get to experience them at their height
zenith.
Rather exciting when you think about it.
Dale:
How far out the iteration path do you
feel comfortable going with
the Cook Forest? I don't even want to ask Will how far out he
can hold
up the low 150s. It's not fair, darn it. It's just not fair.
Bob
Robert T. Leverett
Cofounder, Eastern Native Tree Society
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